Category «Historical Background»

How Did Revolutionary War Soldiers Write Home? Powdered Ink & the History of Iron Gall Ink

quill and ink

Ever wonder how eighteenth century soldiers composed letters home or wrote journal entries while sitting on a log before a campfire, in a tent, or traipsing throughout the countryside, campaigning prior to or after military action? For ions, right up to the nineteenth century, the method of writing included a container of ink and a …

Alexander Hamilton the Myth and the Man Part 1: He Never Fired a Shot During the Battle of White Plains!

Perhaps, when describing the Battle of White Plains and participants, it is appropriate to use the romantic term historians and fictional writers ascribe to combat; the fog of war. In this case, as in most all conflicts, it has been cast over the facts that have been handed down to us over the decades. The …

Slavery & Religion: Christian Slaveholders Claimed God Sanctioned and Ordained Slavery

The following is a letter addressed by John C. Calhoun (Vice President of the United States) to the Methodist Reverend Alexander McCain in response to McCain’s pamphlet in favor of slavery being ordained by God. “My Dear Sir. I have read with pleasure your pamphlet, entitled, ‘Slavery Defended from the Scriptures Against Abolitionists.’ You have …

Redcoats and Patriots: British and Continental Soldiers of the American Revolution

British officer. Photo by Ken Bohrer.

For thousands of photos on the American Revolution, Visit Ken Bohrer here. If you were to ask someone on the street what was the ordinary British soldier was like during King George’s time, he or she might  say something like: dregs, scoundrels, scum from the streets of London, debtors, drunks, common criminals or sweepings from …

Old Slips of New York City

As a small boy, Harold Goldstein recalls being taken on a walking tour of New York City’s waterfront.  He describes something that astonished and delighted him: “a number of small harbors, inlets from the East River, rectangular in shape and about the size of a city block, in which rusty freighters and even a few …