Category «Historical Background»

American Revolution’s Long Path to War

The seeds of self-governance began in America with the first splash of the Mayflower’s anchor in 1620, nearly seventy years before the idea of self-rule was encouraged in England.  Great Britain’s Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the 1689 Bill of Rights established that the British Parliament, and not the king, had the ultimate authority in …

Top 50 African American Books

There are so many important texts available on African American Studies and understanding what it means to be black in America.   From slavery to civil rights, millions of Americans have been embroiled in a long and difficult fight for freedom, equality, identity, and social justice.  A struggle that to this day, permeates throughout a nation …

Early History of Veterinary Medicine & Colonial Animal Caregivers

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Veterinary medicine owes much to mankind’s infatuation with the horse that helped finance and advance its development from amateur status to scientific discovery. It also benefited from strides in human medicine, in sorts, becoming a sister that …

Ferry Boats of Colonial America

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution.  Rivers that were too wide to construct a bridge (or too expensive), yet needed to be crossed to populate the new world’s wilderness and countryside provided the earliest setters with commercial potential. As these rural and soon …

December 1776: Washington and the Continental Army in Crisis

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. “A thick cloud of darkness and gloom covered the land and despair was seen in almost every countenance…” an officer in the Continental Army, December, 1776. Another wrote, “…strong apprehensions are entertained that the British will soon …

Washington’s Retreat Across New Jersey: A British Fox Chase

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Once Fort Washington fell on November 16, 1776, Washington’s army was still divided into three sections. General Charles Lee, second in command, remained at North Castle, New York, Westchester County, where the main army had withdrawn nine …

Margaret Corbin: Manned the Cannon When Her Husband Fell at the Battle of Fort Washington

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Margaret Cochran Corbin (November 12, 1751 – January 16, 1800), nicknamed ‘Captain Molly’ by the troops in her husband’s company, like her counterpart Mary Ludwig Hays, aka ‘Molly Pitcher’, was an incredibly brave person who had history …

British General Charles Cornwallis Was America’s Best Friend Before Becoming Her Fiercest Enemy

British retreat at Battle of Lexington and Concord

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. In the spring of 1776, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis sailed from England with his beloved 33rd Regiment of Foot, labeled England’s Immortals, and landed near Charleston, South Carolina. On June 28th, he took part in the year’s …

Coffee Brewed Patriotic Passions in the American Revolution

In 18th century America, where news and the powers of persuasion depended on pamphlets or word of mouth, coffeehouses rose supreme among all outlets of media. Politicians, merchants, businessmen, farmers, and mekanics – the working-class muscle of rebellion – consumed pages upon pages of lengthy opinions detailed in pamphlets and distributed among the colonial American …

America’s First Great Slum – Built over New York City’s Collect Pond and Fresh Water Source for Two Hundred Years

Once, where now large buildings crowd downtown Manhattan, a substantial and beautiful pond spread out in a pristine valley between the forested countryside. Collect Pond, or Fresh Water Pond, was a body of fresh water near the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City, that covered approximately 48 acres (194,000 m²) and ran as …

American Revolutionary War Artillery: Spiking Cannon so the Enemy Was Unable to Use

Hessian artilery by Don Troiani.

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution.  Whenever there existed the possibility that artillery pieces could fall into the hands of the enemy, the weapons were rendered useless, even if only temporarily.  The method most common was called spiking.  Spiking involved jamming some metal …

Why Was America So Obsessed to Gain Canada, the 14th Colony?

From the open broadside of hostilities in 1775 between the ‘rebel’ patriots in America and British forces, the newly appointed American Congress became obsessed to gain Quebec, the fourteenth colony, within their fold either by diplomatic means or by force. Americans convinced themselves that the Canadians held the same passions close to heart that spurred …

General Mordecai Gist and the Maryland Line Were Among the Best Troops in Washington’s Army

Colonel Mordecai Gist actively recruited some of the finest young men from good Maryland families to form a regiment which, like the famed Highlanders of the Black Watch, were to forge its own legend in a war of rebellion that gave birth to a new nation. In the very first contest of the American Revolution …