Eileen Palma

Profile

I began my academic career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Social Work. I have since dedicated my professional career to supporting U.S. military service members and their families as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

With the aid of the Post-9/11 GI Bill earned from my service in the U.S. Army Reserves, I returned to school to pursue my other passion for military history.

I then graduated with a master’s degree in Military History from Norwich University in Vermont and completed a thesis entitled ‘Refusal of Quarter: A Study of American Revolutionary War Atrocities Occurring in 1778.’ The focus of my thesis was on a year during the war when the revolutionaries heavily leveraged the power of the newspaper press to allege the British violated European laws of war. 

Research interests

My PhD research expands upon my MA thesis by taking a broader look at war crime allegations during the American War for Independence (1775 to 1783). During the war, the revolutionaries alleged on multiple occasions that British forces and their auxiliary troops (German and indigenous) breached European laws of war. I will research how these allegations evolved and impacted the course of the war. The allegations of focus are those made by the revolutionaries and published in the colonial newspapers. I will analyze the newspaper response to five conflicts during the war and provide evidence of how the intersection of laws of war and newspapers played out on the ground through the public eye. Additionally, my research will assess the impact of these allegations on British operations, strategy, and tactics. I am also interested in exploring the utility of these allegations in shaping racial and cultural perceptions.

Publications

• ‘The Battle of Wyoming, 1778: Legends of Atrocities,’ Iroquoia, 5 (2019), 119-145.

Book Reviews

• Eileen Palma, Review of Prussian Army Soldiers and the Seven Years’ War: The Psychology of Honour, by Katrin and Sascha Möbius, H-War, H-Net Reviews (2021). URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56013 

Conferences

• Society of Military History Conference 2022: ‘After Lexington and Concord: The Battle for the Moral High Ground’

I am happy to correspond with anyone interested in my research topic. You may contact me via my Leeds email or on Twitter @ei_palma.

Qualifications

• BA Psychology
• MSW Social Work
• MA Military History