I'm working on a series of short stories/oneshots set in New York starting before the capture of the city and extending past the end of the war. The MC is a girl and the only Loyalist in her family.

Being a sort of perfectionist, where can I begin researching? For family, the town, the cutlture, the food, the cooking, the servants, the clothes, the hair, the suitors, the apprenticeships, the jobs for men, the Regulars, the British, the Patriots, the politics...... Etcetra, etcetra, etcetra.....

Also on the same note, where should this be set? I don't want it in New York City proper, but on the outskirts - far enough out that it's is only a small town, but somewhere where a small garrison would be stationed - would it be possible to make up a town? If so, how?

This is unlikely to ever be published, but if it were to be.....

I don't really know what I'm asking for, so patience, prithee. Thank you beforehand for any assistance you may provide!

Best guess, I would start by seeing what you can get on the city. See if you can find a book on the history of New York, or an old map or something. If you know of any forts you can visit (especially if they do reenactments), you might be able to ask questions of a historian who would know where to point you. For the people, it might be easier to look into Boston since it played a more popular role in the war.

A popular role? How so? I'm actually looking to write to story more from the Regulars/Loyalist's viewpoint, so....

Bunker Hill. Boston just seems more talked of than New York when it comes to the war. Not that New York did not play a part, I just hear a lot more about Boston and thought it might be easier to research. As for Loyalists, you can probably find some journals or letters from famous Loyalists during the era. Of course, every name has left my mind just now...

But of course!! Things never seem to be remembered when you need them to be.... *smiles*

That makes sense....

Yes. Such things make for interesting discussion among we historians. Why does the historiography of the American Revolution give the impression nothing ever happened outside Boston? A lot happened outside Boston.

The same is true of the Civil War. The war was much more than the Army of the Potomac.

Some things probably stuck out more to people at the time, so the highlights were carried on more than other points.

The prevailing idea is that it was a bit more deliberate than that.

In truth, Virginia was incredibly dominant during the Revolution: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Henry, Lee, Clark (of Lewis & CLark) ... and the list goes on. There was incredible jealousy and fear over Virginia's power. Many thought they intended to set up a dynasty to rule the new nation.

Then the issue of slavery became a big problem soon after (the 1820s). I know my history classes in gradeschool thru highschool failed to connect how close upon the heels of the Revolution slavery was debated. Many of those who had fought the Revolution participated in the slavery debates ... and many were proslavery. Jefferson was actually consulted about the Missouri Compromise.

So, as people started to write histories of the U.S. in the 19th century, there was a deliberate effort to create a "Yankee" myth for the new nation - an idea of hard work, individualism, and dedication to liberty. As such, they turned to figures like Paul Revere who actually played a pretty small part. He was even charged with misconduct and forced to resign his military commission at one point - but you don't hear about that part in history class. It's not "the American way".