Topic Definition:
Revolutionary weapons are tools of warfare that colonists use for protection and security. In the American colonial life, these weapons were primarily used for hunting as well as protection from Native American hostilities. The primary weapon of the time was the musket and the sidearm, the flintlock. These tools were a necessity in the time of the American Revolution for their uses in warfare.
Key figures/artists:
3rd Pennsylvania Regiment, 1777
British Royal Army
Marques de Lafayette
George Washington
Mira Costa Library
General Comment:
Mira Costa library offered a variety of sources for my topic, specifically the American Revolution. The databases in the library gave me help for my topic, such as U.S History in context. However, I found some of the articles in this section satisfactory than the other school I go to, Cal State San Marcos. Even though some of the articles are satisfactory on popular spectrum, I found a little use of information for my topic, Revolutionary weapons. Overall, I the U.S History in context am a good database source in the Mira Costa library. I feel the sources here are both secondary and primary sources, because there are many letters written by actual people of the Revolutionary War and some authors who quote weapons used in the war. In addition, this would be considered as a scholarly source, because it has very credible information.
Sources
History and World Affairs. Web. 14 September 2011.
An excellent source for topics that deal with history and purpose. This database gives excellent articles and sections that relate to this history and context of a specific topic. I feel this source can help me in writing my research as well as contributing as useful sources for my research paper. This source is a secondary source in which the author talked about the uses of muskets. Overall, this database gave me credible information about history of my topic.
“Muskets and Musketry.” Encyclopedia of the American Revolution: Library of Military History. 2006.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research paper because it provides good information of weaponry. For instance, in the “Development and Discipline” section, “The first rank of musketeers, with bayonets fixed, would kneel before firing and might remain in that position without reloading, partly because it was difficult to reload a muzzle-loading musket while on one knee and partly to offer with their bayonets protection for their colleagues against a charge by cavalry or infantry.” This type of information would help me in my essay by the infantry tactics that soldiers use with their muskets. This source contributes to my research as well as being a secondary source. I feel this source is a secondary source, because it’s an encyclopedia with using information from various sources. This meets the academic level for my research paper that I can clearly explain the information. Lastly, on I feel sources such as this in the Miracosta library would be most likely secondary sources in terms of the authors who used information from various of sources.
“The Revolutionary War.” Dictionary of American History. 2003.
This source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it has information of the Revolutionary War itself. For example, in one of the first chapters, “The war was not restricted to colonials and British. The French joined with the Americans against their British enemies.” This information would be helpful to me, because I would include Marquis de Lafayette in my arts and cultures essay of “The Art of the Weaponry.” This would give me a better understanding how the French assisted the Colonial Army and their tactics against the British. I feel this source will contribute to my research, because it has adequate information for my topic in weaponry. I feel this source would be scholarly, because it is from a certified author who used maps and history to talk about the Revolutionary War. Lastly, I feel that I understand and know that this source and many others in the library, can be evaluated in a secondary source of its lack of actual letters from minor figures in the Revolutionary War. Even though there are some instances from George Washington, I need actual information of the creator behind the musket.
Boot, Max. War made new : technology, warfare, and the course of history, 1500 to today. New York : Gotham Books, 2006. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it has factual evidence of the weapons that were in U.S history. Even though I’m focusing on muskets, the book has information of the transition from sword to gun. For example, in chapter 6, the author explains that in the time of the 16th century, the sabers on British officers were only used for regulations and cosmetics of their military (Boot). I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of all the cool information it has. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of real accounts of actual officers. This book will help greatly in my research paper.
Chernow, Ron. “Washington : a life.” New York : Penguin Press, 2010. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it has information about the military career of George Washington. Washington’s relation to my topic of weaponry is important, because it is under his leadership that militiamen were able to understand the tactics of war. For example, in chapter 10, the author talks about Washington’s relationship with Lafayette and his plea for his help to train Washington’s army (Chernow). I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of the background information of leadership and weaponry used in the American Revolution. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of real accounts of Washington and his life.
CSU San Marcos:
Lyle Noceda
General Comment:
CSU San Marcos library offered me excellent sources of my topic in Revolutionary weapons. There were many scholarly articles as well as secondary texts in the library. These collections were good and proved useful to me when I was researching the details of weaponry. I feel the sources here are both secondary and primary sources, because there are many letters written by actual people of the Revolutionary War and some authors who quote weapons used in the war. In addition, this would be considered as a scholarly source, because it has very credible information.
Most Useful Resources
Savas, Theodore P., and David J. Dameron. A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution. New York: Savas Beatie, 2006. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay because it has good information about the type of battles fought in the American Revolution. This book was a great help for topic, because it has chapters that give information about the weaponry used in the American Revolution. For example, in the fourth chapter, the authors talked about the tactics of the Colonial Army against the British. This information would be helpful to me, because it gives me a background of the muskets that were used by the Colonial Army. I feel this source can contribute to my research paper, because of the useful information it has on weapons on the battlefield. . I feel this source would be scholarly, because it is from a certified author who used battles to talk about the Revolutionary War. Lastly, I feel that I understand and know that this source and many others in the library can be evaluated in a secondary source of its lack of actual letters from minor figures.
Berg, Gerald M. “Comparative Studies in Society and History.” The Sacred Musket. Tactics, Technology, and Power in Eighteenth-Century Madagascar 27.2 (1985): 261-279. Print.
This article was most useful because it gave me a very good insight of the musket and its uses in the European colonies. This text offers me an academic view of the different part of the musket and the line of sights when shooting the musket in battle. The tactics and strategies were very ingenious which gave me and perspective of how weapons were used in the time. I feel this source can help me in my research paper as well as contributing to the research of my paper. This also meets the requirements of academic research and being a secondary source about weaponry in the American Revolution. This source can contribute to my research, because it has credible information. In addition, the web does provide information about a submarine which I never knew about it. I feel like this source is a scholarly source, because it has information of the weapon themselves and their connection with warriors. In addition, I feel like this is a primary source, because it has good sources of muskets.
Freedman, Russell. Lafayette and the American Revolution. New York : Holiday House, 2010. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay because it has good information about Lafayette and his discipline towards Washington’s army. For example, in chapter 4, the author explains that Lafayette trains the soldiers to learn the functionality of the musket and becoming an extension of themselves (Freedman). I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of the different tactics that Lafayette taught to the army. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of real accounts of Lafayette and his knowledge of weapons.
Gravois, Michael. “American Revolution.” New York: Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2003. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay because it has good information about the American Revolution. For example, in chapter 6, the author explains that weapons were the deterrent in protecting the American Revolution ideals (Gravois). I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of the different battles in the American. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of real accounts of figures in the American Revolution and militia brigades.
UCSD Library
General Comment:
UCSD was very helpful, because it provided me many scholarly sources, such as books. Most of the sources I found related to my topic are books. There were also a wide variety of collections in the library that were also useful to any topic in history or biographies. I feel the sources here are both scendary and primary sources, because there are many letters written by actual people of the Revolutionary War and some authors who quote weapons used in the war. In addition, this would be considered as a scholarly source, because it has very credible information.
Useful Sources
Moore, Warren. “Weapons of the American Revolution”. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968, 1967. Print.
This was a very excellent source for my topic! I was able to find all the information I need for my topic which are American Revolutionary weapons. I found a variety of information,
including tactics with weaponry. For example, I learned how the colonists would use a formation where one squad will fire upon the enemy while the secondary squad reloads their muskets. I feel this source can help me in my research paper as well as contributing to the research of my paper. This also meets the requirements of academic research and being a secondary source about weaponry in the American Revolution.
Neumann, George C. “The history of weapons of the American Revolution”. New York: Harper& Row, 1967. Print.
This was also an excellent source, because there were drawings provided in the chapters about the functions of the weapon. This was very interesting, because reliability of a weapon is a very important in the battlefield. For example, the muskets would jam because many colonial militia men would not clean their weapon thoroughly before engaging in battle. Given the time and period, the musket needed to be inspected by the soldiers every 2 hours. Many of the Revolutionary battles had different weather conditions and inspection of the musket is very important. I feel this scholarly source can help me in my research paper as well as contributing to the research of my paper. This also meets the requirements of academic research and being a secondary source about weaponry in the American Revolution. However, there are no actual dialogue from military officers to comment each weapon discussed in the chapters of the book.
Wilkinson, Frederick. “Flintlock guns and rifles; an illustrated reference guide.” Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books,1971. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay because it has information about flintlocks and rifles with detailed illustrations like the other book I looked into. For example, in chapter 4, the author explains that flintlocks were powerful in its day that it was sometimes used for duels in America (Wilkinson). I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of the different functions of the weapon. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of the function of the weapons and it’s uses on the battlefield.
Leach, Douglass Edward. “Flintlock and tomahawk; New England in King Philip's War.” New York, Norton 1966, 1958. Print.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay because it has information of the techniques and conjunctions of using gun and tool at the same time. For example, in chapter 7, the author talks about how Colonial soldiers who fought for the British during the French War would use their flintlocks for long range combat and Indian axes for close quarters combat. I feel this source would contribute to my essay, because of the different techniques implemented in the battlefield. This is a scholarly source in the spectrum which has primary sources of the techniques of the weapons and it’s uses on the battlefield.
Web
General Comment:
The Web was somewhat helpful, because some sites are credible and not credible at the same time. However, the sources presented here can fit in my research paper, because it interesting dacts about weapons used at the time of the Revolutionary War. I feel the web would be helpful in writing my essay for my topic, because the information of weaponry is quite similar like the books I checked in libraries. The information that can be contributed to my research is the illustrations of the weapons shown in the web. I feel the sources here are secondary sources, because it has various web sites of weapons. In addition, this would be considered as a popular source, because anybody can aquire this information other than a real library.
Sources
“Weapons of the Revolution.” Angelfire.com. n.p., n.d. Web.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it had good information of the weapons. For instance, “the Charleville was a French musket was more toward the end of the American Revolution when the French started to ship arms to help the Americans in the revolution. This musket is firing characteristics are the same as most muskets, short range and inaccurate.” This source seems quite useful for writing my college essay, because it has a variety of weapons along with information about it. This source can contribute to my research by emphasizing what the weapons looked like back in the Revolutionary War. I feel like this source is a secondary source, because it has enough information of the weapon themselves. In addition, I feel like this is a secondary source, because it has various sources from different web sites.
“Weapons of the Revolutionary War.” Revolutionarywarantiques.com. n.p., n.d. Web.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it had good information for weapons in the Revolutionary War. For example, the swords and sabres are used mostly by officers; Revolutionary War swords were often ornamental in nature and decorated with precious materials. This source seems very useful, because it has information about swords other than the weapons. This source can contribute to my research, because it has credible information. In addition, the web does provide information about a submarine which I never knew about it. I feel like this source is a popular source, because it doesn’t have enough information of the weapon themselves. In addition, I feel like this is a secondary source, because it has various sources from different web sites.
“Tactics and Weapons of the Revolutionary War.” Doublegv.com. n.p., n.d. Web.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because it had good information for each weapon. For instance, “The British musket, (the Brown Bess), was 75 caliber and they used a 69 caliber ball. The French musket (the Charleyville), supplied to the Americans, was 69 caliber and fired a 65 caliber ball ( “Tactics and Weapons of the Revolutionary War”). This source is quite useful, because it has credible information about muskets and cannons. This source can contribute to my research, because it has information about the functionality of the musket. I feel like I understand this source is a popular source, because it’s web page from the internet. In addition, I could find sources like this in the internet, but it will be secondary sources.
“Artillery.” Americanrevolution.org n.p., n.d. Web.
I feel this source is good in writing in my college research essay, because the artillery used in the American Revolution was important with conjunction of the muskets. For example, artillerymen were considered elite troops and sighting was simplicity itself. This type of information would help me greatly, because of the types of weapons used in the battlefield. This source can contribute to my research, because it has background on the artillery of the weapons rather than handheld firearms. This is important to my research, because it cites other tools of weapons that were used in the Revolutionary War. I feel like I understand and know that this source is scholarly, because the author used various sources. I can find other sources like this, but it will be most likely secondary sources, because it is from the internet. This web page meets on a good academic level of research, because it provides sufficient information. This is indeed a secondary source, so I couldn’t get actual documented people who used the weapons at the time.