Ken Burns: American Revolution Ep. 3: Reading Guide

Further Reading for "The Times that Try Men’s Souls" (July 1776 - January 1777)

War Comes to New York and New Jersey: Explore history from Ken Burns’ The American Revolution, Episode. 3.

This guide provides further reading on the disastrous New York campaign, Long Island, the British occupation of Manhattan, the retreat across New Jersey, Hessian troops, Phillis Wheatley, Fort Ticonderoga, Spy Rings, and South Carolina skirmishes covered in Episode 3 of Ken Burns' documentary series, The American Revolution. Watch on PBS

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New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”

New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”
New York Firefighting and the American Revolution: Saving Colonial Gotham from Incineration
Reconstructs Revolutionary-era Manhattan as a smoky, contested urban space where fires, arson fears, and occupation shaped daily life—perfect for viewers fascinated by occupied New York.

Tags: Urban History, Local Interest – New York, Civics-Friendly

Key Concepts & Topics: Occupied New York & sabotage/arson fears.
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New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”
Chronicles of the British Occupation of Long Island
Expands on the dark period following Washington’s defeat in New York, detailing the harrowing life of civilians under the brutal yoke of British military occupation from 1776 to 1783.

Tags: , Local Interest – New York, Civics-Friendly

Key Concepts & Topics: Occupied New York
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New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”
Westchester County in the American Revolution: Neutral Ground
Shows how the area between British New York and Patriot-held territory became a no-man’s-land of raids, espionage, and divided loyalties.

Tags: Backcountry / Frontier, Local Interest – New York, Loyalist–Patriot Conflict

Key Concepts & Topics: Raids, foraging, divided loyalties.
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New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”
The American Revolution on Long Island
Zeroes in on Long Island’s occupation, skirmishes, and civilian hardships—the on-the-ground story of the campaign where Washington suffers his major early defeats.

Tags: Military History, Local Interest – New York

Key Concepts & Topics: Washington’s early defeats.
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New York, Westchester & “Neutral Ground”
The Poems of Phillis Wheatley
Visit the same collection of poetry that Phillip Vicker Fithian of Cohansey, New Jersey introduces to his children. From the episode:

"After college, he spent a year as a tutor on a Virginia plantation, where, seeing the inhuman cruelty of slavery up close, he introduced the owner's children to the work of the enslaved poet Phillis Wheatley.
"In New York, Fithian found himself sleeping on the floor of a Loyalist's abandoned home, conducting prayer meetings twice a day and afterwards visiting the hospitals filled with men dying from dysentery."

Tags: Poetry, African American, Slavery

Key Concepts & Topics: Early American Literature
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Crossing the Delaware

Crossing the Delaware
Colonial Marblehead: From Rogues to Revolutionaries
Discusses the specific role of Marbleheaders in George Washington’s famed crossing of the Delaware River.
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New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution

New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution
Colonial Taverns of New Jersey
Highlights New Jersey's role as the "Crossroads of the American Revolution," where taverns served as recruitment stations and safe houses for Washington's spies.
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New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution
New Jersey Hessians: Truth and Lore in the American Revolution
Unpacks who the Hessian soldiers actually were, separating legend from reality and tying directly into the Trenton/Princeton segment.

Tags: Military History, Ethnic History, Classroom-Friendly

Key Concepts & Topics: The Hessians’ real identities & motivations.
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New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution
Monmouth County Revolutionary War Sites
A site-by-site guide that extends the story forward to Monmouth and other key actions in a state that sees more fighting than almost anywhere else.

Tags: Local Interest – New Jersey, Public History

Key Concepts & Topics: Mapping New Jersey battlefields.
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New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution
Bergen County Voices from the American Revolution
Todd W. Braisted Uses pension applications and diaries to tell the stories of soldiers and residents in New Jersey—the "Crossroads of the Revolution"—as they navigated the divided loyalties and hostilities of the mid-war period.

Tags: Local Interest – New Jersey, Public History
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Primary Sources

Courage, Youth & Night Rides

Courage, Youth & Night Rides
Patriot Hero of the Hudson Valley: The Life & Ride of Sybil Ludington
Tells the story of a teenage rider whose alarm ride in 1777 becomes a local counterpart to Paul Revere—excellent for viewers thinking about youth in wartime.

Tags:Women’s History, Youth-Friendly, Local Interest – New York

Key Concepts & Topics: Youth participation & alarm riders.
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Courage, Youth & Night Rides
Bergen County: The Times that Tried Men's Souls
A localized narrative keyed directly to Paine’s phrase—"The times that tried men's souls"—showing what these “times” looked like for one New Jersey county pressed between armies.

Tags:Local Interest – New Jersey, Military History, Loyalist / Patriot Civil War


Key Concepts & Topics: Paine’s famous line and New Jersey in the Revolution
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