Non-Profit Dedicated to Historical Education of the American Revolution and the Colonial Period
Growing up in the late 50’s and 60’s in New Jersey, just across the river from New York City, nearly every evening I was glued to one of our three local TV stations: channel five, nine, or eleven. Every night they showcased a plethora of black and white classics from the 30’s and 40’s. Besides …
The Battle of Great Bridge, December 9, 1775, was Virginia’s major opening salvo of the American Revolution. The buildup to and battle held the fate of who would govern Virginia in the balance. It proved to be a decided victory for the rebellious colonial Whigs, those calling themselves patriots. It pitted undisciplined rebel militia, farmers …
There were approximately 1,400 military ‘doctors’ during the American Revolution who treated American soldiers either on the battlefield or in hospitals. Of this number, only 400 were actually trained physicians; the other thousand or so were assistants or young apprentices who basically ‘learned on the job’. Several doctors put aside their scalpels for the sword …
In 1780, as the War for Independence raged throughout North America, a crier standing in the central square of Sheffield, Massachusetts, a small town in the western part of the former colony, read from the state’s newly enacted constitution. When he came to Article 1 he clamored, “All Men are born Free and Equal,” a …
Fact: The slave trade was banned in England in 1102, 674 years before the American Revolution! A recent claim by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida at a “Stop Woke Act’ event, stating that prior to the American Revolution no one questioned slavery, is shocking and has absolutely zero factual basis. This is alarming, especially when …
It is a pleasure to present my good friend and American Revolution Photographer Ken Bohrer’s interview with American Revolution reenactor Noah “Ned Hector” Lewis – Black Revolutionary War Hero. This is the first interview of a three part series. Ken Bohrer’s website American Revolution Photos has over eight thousand outstanding photos and dozens of videos of …
February 24, 1781. Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Virginia patriot leader of cavalry and light infantry, rode before four hundred North Carolina loyalists. The militia, eager to join British Lt. General Charles Cornwallis’ army, had lined up for review. With Lee’s cavalry by his side, the Continental Army commander was enthusiastically greeted by …
“For damned fighting and drinking, I’ll match you against the world!” Lt. Col. William Meadows cries out leading the 23rd at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Sept. 11, 1777. The British 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) played a crucial role in nearly every major battle during the American Revolution; from the very beginning …
September 8, 1781 and the Battle of Eutaw Springs destroyed any hope England had of reclaiming the southern colonies. But sixteen months earlier, that was nowhere near the case. American General Benjamin Lincoln had just surrendered the southern army at Charleston to British General Henry Clinton on May 12, 1780. The devastating loss of over …
“A downright democracy!“ British officer describes Rhode Island. In the summer of 1772, angry New England zealots carried out a far more hostile and dangerous attack against the British crown’s authority a year and a half later, December 16, 1773, when a bunch of patriots dressed up as Native Americans dumped a ton of tea …
Often misunderstood, the Navigation Act was not born of a punitive measure against a rebellious colony; such as the Coercive Acts of 1774 (labeled the Intolerable Acts by American patriots) which punished Massachusetts after a band of rowdy Bostonians dumped a fortune of East Indian tea in the harbor. The legislation that established England’s Laws …
John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) General Stark was a true warrior of his time; hardened by the harsh reality of growing up in the wilderness, cast into a deadly caldron as a young lieutenant of Rogers’ Ranger’s savage troops, and in the American Revolution, commanding a rag-tag rabble of steely farmers …
“Contrary to general opinion, only thirteen percent of colonial Americans owned a gun at the start of the American Revolution and of those, clearly half did not work.” Michael Bellesiles, noted author and researcher The Myth of Minutemen looms large in legends surrounding the American Revolution. Statues with robust colonials grasping their musket line New …
David Bushnell (1740 – 1824), while a patriot student at Yale University, imagined a submersible craft capable of underwater attack upon enemy shipping. To achieve his vision, the future combat engineer and munitions expert had to develop several innovations that ultimately modernized naval warfare. But unfairly, history has pretty much credited Bushnell as the sole …
Polly Cooper’s generosity and courage have long been honored by the Oneida Native American people over the generations as exemplar of the indomitable spirt of the Oneida. With the unveiling of the Oneida memorial at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC that honors Polly and her people’s contribution to the American Revolution, the United States …