John U. Rees

John U. Rees has been writing for thirty-nine years on the experiences and material culture of common soldiers and women in the armies of the American Revolution. Subjects include women with the army, military food, soldiers’ belongings and burden, campaign shelters, and battle and campaign studies; many of his works are available online. John’s first book was “'They Were Good Soldiers': African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783" (Helion, 2019); his second book, coauthored with Don Troiani, titled "Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America’s Wars,1754-1865," will be published by Stackpole in January 2025. ____________ Through my life, I’ve often relied on fellow human beings and my curiosity to guide me. In 1984 leaving the Folk Fest at Mercer Museum after talking to members of a recreated Revolutionary War unit, my wife Linda asked me, "Are you going to join?" She knew I'd been interested in living history/reenacting for several years, having corresponded with a few Civil War groups. But, as I then replied, we had just purchased our house and it needed a lot of work, we just did not have much money and certainly not enough for a musket or clothing. She told me I ought to join, so I did. Getting involved with Revolutionary War living history led me to write to answer all the questions I had that I could find no satisfactory answer for. At this point (August 2024) I am 67 years old and have written about the era for 39 years, beginning at 28 years of age. I've no college degree, but I was a voracious reader since childhood and in the decade of the 90s (my first article was published in 1990) had the benefit of three generous mentors, Don Hagist, Sandy Oliver, and Holly Mayer, who critiqued and red-lined my work making me into a much better writer, and, I hope, historian. I was born and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and still live within ten miles of my childhood home. At present (August 2024), in addition to my marriage and our two sons, my life's work has resulted in over 200 articles, one (soon to be two) books, and wonderful friends and acquaintances in the living history, research, and academic realms.