The American Revolution as Civil War

Advisor: Timothy H. Breen, William Smith Mason Professor of American History, Northwestern University,
National Humanities Center Fellow. Copyright National Humanities Center, 2011

Glossary
unmartial: unmilitary,
unprepared for war
tar and feather: an attack in
which a crowd strips the victim,
pours hot tar over his/her body,
and then rolls the victim in
feathers that adhere to the tar,
after which the victim might be
paraded around in a cart; done to
intimidate and threaten the
victim and others like him/her
prohibition: ban
Text Analysis
Excerpt 1

Contextualizing Questions
1. What kind of text are we dealing
with?
2. When was it written?
3. Who wrote it?
4. For what audience was it
intended?
5. For what purpose was it written?

1. Where are the maneuvers held? Why might the Patriots have chosen this space?
Maneuvers were held in two separate fields. One of the fields was very grassy
and trees and the other one was very plain. They chose these fields because
they wanted them to be seen so they could send a message.
2. What messages do the Patriots intend to send with the maneuvers?
The message that they wanted to send with the maneuvers was a warning to
Loyalists
3. How does Schaws account reveal the militias strength? Cite specific
language.
Schaw says that the militia is capable of committing the most shocking
outrages, and its a force of 2,000 men.
4. What did the groom do to anger the Patriots? How does Schaw characterize
his offense?
The groom smiled at the Patriots and that got them angry because it showed
that he was not taking them serious.
5. What does it suggest about the Patriots that they found the grooms behavior
offensive?
The Patriots were over reacting towards the grooms reaction to them

6. Is Mr. Neilson, the grooms master, a Loyalist of a Patriot?

Mr. Neilson is the grooms loyalist because he works for a English groom, and
this would not be good to the Patriots
7. What does the action of the officers suggest about relations in the town?
The action of the officers suggest that the relations in the town illustrate the
conflicting lines of friendship and allegiance that run through the town
8. What makes the groom an especially likely and vulnerable target?
He is an easy target because he has a low status, and because he is English,
he is not from the colonies
9. What message does the grooms punishment send to the community, and
how do the Patriots make sure the message is widely heard?
The grooms punishment sends the message of their intolerance for any
behavior that suggests disloyalty to the cause of the Revolution. They made
the message heard by the grooms public humiliation

Excerpt 2
10.
Why have the Patriots decided to hold their prisoners in the middle of a
street?
The patriots held their prisoners in the middle of the street because they
wanted to send a message.
11.

What message does this public punishment send to the town?

This public punishment sends the town the message that they will see the
patriots wrath if they are seen with the British.
12.
Why do the Patriots not punish these Loyalists as they did the English
groom?
The patriots dont punish the loyalists as they did the English groom because
they thought that the groom was a foreigner
13.
How does this passage illustrate how tight-knit the community of
Wilmington is? Cite specific evidence from the text.
This passage illustrates how tight-Knit the community of Wilmington by how
closes friends and foes are there.
14.
How does Schaw indicate that the rebellion is sustained only through
violence and intimidation? Cite specific language.
Schaw indicates that the rebellion is sustained only through violence and
intimidation when one of the prisoners asked the authorities, the patriots were
imposing the test of loyalty.

15.
Compare the image of the militiamen in this excerpt with the description
of them Schaw offers in the first.
The first paragraph Schaw introduces the militiamen them as rag-tag
backcountry men, and dangerous. In the next paragraph the patriots were
hugely comic and threatening
16.
Compare Schaws response to the Patriots in the first excerpt with her
response to them in the second. Cite specific language.
The first paragraph says that Schaw was patronizing of the Patriots but she was
worried of them., in the other paragraph schwa still looked down on the patriots.