Non-Profit Dedicated to the Historical Education of Our Youth
By Nathaniel Parry: Nathaniel is author of Samuel Adams and the Vagabond Henry Tufts: Virtue Meets Vice in the Revolutionary Era, just published by McFarland Books. When redcoats arrived in Flatbush as part of a campaign to regain control of New York City in mid-August 1776, they marveled at the magnificence of the colonists’ homes …
The raid and capture of Turtle Bay Depot, New York City, on July 20, 1775, a British military storehouse and magazine, was another cog in the wheel that churned towards a war upon which there was no going back. It was a bold and decisive move by leaders of the militant branch of the New …
If we had destroyed all the men of North America, we should have enough to do to conquer the women. British officer commenting on American Camp Followers Hardened by the rigors of military life, women who lived in the camps and marched with the army were, or became, “as tough as nails.” To the British …
Colonial leaders always had misgivings about black enlistments in militias during pre-Revolutionary War years and later among those who fought for American Independence. Though there was a large population of available African Americans to fill the ranks of colonial enlistments, the number one fear both north and south was the apprehension that slaves trained in …
History treats the feats by men as fact; whereas woman’s accomplishments are legends. Women’s actions come with an accompanying tag line ‘fact or fiction,’ or are described by highlighting the myth. More often than not, a women’s achievements are either downplayed, or left out of history entirely. There is a simple reason for this; men …
From a flat bar of soft iron, hand forged into a gun barrel; laboriously bored and rifled… in a shop long since silent, fashioned a rifle which changed the whole course of world history. — Captain John G. W. Dillin, The Kentucky Rifle How, since the 15th century and right up to the American Revolution, did weapon manufacturers …
June 10, 1778, has been referred to as the ‘bloodiest day,’ in the history of Lycoming County; a span of settlements along the west branch of the Susquehanna River of northcentral Pennsylvania. The Plum Tree Massacre was one of three separate attacks in one day on settlers by a war party of Iroquois and Loyalists. …
Ignorance does more damage than anything I know of. I believe that we need a fuller and more complete history taught, so we can learn from our mistakes. Noah “Ned Hector” Lewis Interview First Posted on American Revolution Photos. Interview by Ken Bohrer, June 30, 2022 There were so many more questions I wanted to …
The Battle of Rhode Island began on August 9, 1778 with an American siege of the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island. It ending twenty days later on August 29th with the Americans in full retreat and a British attack on their rear-guard. America and France’s first joint effort in the American Revolution had ended …
Much has been written about Prince Whipple over the years (c. 1750 – 1796); mainly related to folk lore and romantic vignettes that gained prominence when Prince was incorrectly associated with two paintings depicting General George Washington crossing the Delaware River. Bare bones facts indicate that as a free child in Africa, Prince was caught …
African American James Forten (Sept. 2, 1766 – March 4, 1841) was born free, the grandson of a slave who had ‘freed himself.’ He and his older sister Abigail were the only two children of Thomas and Margaret Forten; second generation of freed parents. They lived in Philadelphia on Third Street near Walnut Street in …
The Battle of Fort Griswold, Groton, Connecticut, was fought on September 6, 1781, between Connecticut militia and British Regulars under turncoat traitor Benedict Arnold. Jordan Freeman, African American patriot, stood firm before the onslaught of enraged redcoats pouring over the fort’s walls. Just as British Major William Montgomery mounted the rampart, Jorden grabbed a 10-foot …
Philip Abbot (also spelt Phillip Abbot or Phillip Abbott) fought and died at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, Charlestown, a hefty stone throw over the Charles River to Boston, Massachusetts. Philip was a slave, owned by Nathan Abbott who survived the carnage. We don’t know much about Philip. Except he was there; …
Thomas Heyward Jr (July 28, 1746 – March 6, 1809) was a planter, lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier. One of the Founding Fathers who attended the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, he was among the last to sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. On February 3, 1779, as captain of artillery in …
One may describe the American Revolutionary War general and United States Senator, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg – referred to as Peter (Oct. 1, 1746 – Oct. 1, 1807), as a man who sought to sever the chains of a chosen destiny to seek his own self. Son of one of America’s most powerful and strong-minded …