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. Americans were the subject of intense British propaganda to …
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 …
The Continental Army of 1775 This article presents four eyewitness accounts on the condition and general attitude of the American Forces in the summer of 1775. It concludes with six of George Washington’s commentaries on the situation of the army at that time and his personal frustrations. After the battles of Lexington and Concord (April …
“The cobbler aproned and the parson gowned, The friar hooded, and the monarch crowned. Or cobbler-like, the parson will be drunk; Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow. The rest is all but leather or prunella.” Pope, Essay on Man The word shoe is derived form the Anglo Saxon ‘scoh,’ meaning any …