Non-Profit Dedicated to Historical Education of the American Revolution and the Colonial Period
“Glass.” The tall Virginian stood on an outcrop of rock appropriately named Point of Rock. He trained his eyes on the spectacle unfolding below. The four-draw mahogany spyglass with brass scope and brass cap was laid neatly in his open palm. The name “Shuttleworth of London,” indicating its fine workmanship, was engraved on the bottom …
Europeans and Asians had discovered metals approximately 12,000 years ago and progressed from the Stone Age and into the Bronze and then Iron age. But not so for the Native Americans who were still using stone tools and weapons when the first Europeans arrived. But why, when John Smith landed at Jamestown in 1607 and …
If you were an unemployed colonial who wished to learn a trade that guaranteed work, enough to give your family a decent livelihood, than learning the trade of cooper was the way to go. A cooper is one who fashions wooden vessels of shaped boards, called staves, held together by wooden or metal hoops with …
We envision what it must have been like to illuminate one’s home before electricity. The evening’s gloom thickened and the room’s furnishings cast their long shadows from the dying light seeping in through pane glass windows. Candles were lit and a soft glow continued to play with the shadows, now shimmering in a flickering light. …
July 5th, 1777, Fort Ticonderoga, New York, fell to British General Burgoyne’s forces, however the northern army, consisting largely of continental troops, disciplined and experienced fighters, was saved. But perhaps more importantly, New York and all of New England was ignited. There was no solid bastion left to thwart a British invasion from the north. …
The wounded guardsmen and Tory prisoners were “laid upon the floor, weltering in their blood… the faithful Sheldon [guardsman] sat on a bench, his body bent forward, and a bayonet dripping with blood lying before him which he had just drawn out of his breast…” So describes the aftermath of one of the many prisoner …
One year after the famed Boston Tea Party, an American company of militia, during a raging snowstorm, attacked a British Fort. Cannon and shots were fired while farmers and sailors stormed the fortification. They came to blows with the defenders and wounded the English commander and another soldier. This clash between armed British subjects firing …
Almost nothing is known of Virginian and former slave George Latchom. Most of what we do know relates to one incident during the American Revolution in which he displayed incredible strength and unselfish courage. He was not a Continental soldier; over eight hundred African Americans would ultimately fight alongside patriots in the Virginia Line. Nor …
“The Colonies will no longer need Britain’s protection. She will call on them to contribute toward supporting the burdens they have helped to bring on her, and they will answer by striking off their chains.” Comte de Vergennes at the close of the French and Indian War Myth 1: Americans were the subject of intense …
The number of African American soldiers who stood beside their patriot white comrades in arms during the American Revolutionary War has frequently been dismissed as unimpressive or inconsequential. An incorrect argument can be made to support such an opinion when taking the total number of soldiers who fought the entire war and factoring the ratio …
Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773, was the overt action that sparked a revolution in America. When approximately one hundred ‘patriots’ disguised as Native Americans, catapulting Smuggler John Hancock, Failed Brewer Samuel Adams, and Silversmith Paul Reverie into the annuals of legend, dumped sack upon sack of East India tea into Boston’s murky waters, one …
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 …
Throughout history, our development has been categorized into ages: the stone age, the bronze age, and the iron age. Colonial times in America can be given its own category, the wooden age. Much of the domestic and farm articles that were necessary on a colonial farm were not made of metal, but of wood. North …
At the start of the American Revolutionary War, colonies scrambled to enlist men to fight. The northern states readily accepted African Americans in their ranks. Slavery was common throughout the colonies including the northern provinces. New York City had the greatest slave population than any other city and Rhode Island had the highest percentage of …
In the early 17th century nations making claim to the Americas discovered an enormous wealth of natural resources. Raw materials bolster a country’s economy and increase its ability to dominate in trade and in war. Though the discovery of gold by the Spanish increased that nation’s wealth, iron ore from North America gave Great Britain the …