All of that great eating on Thanksgiving Day sometimes has natural consequences that lead us to seek entirely different recipes for Friday. If we’ve time-traveled to the mid 18th century and are relying on published cookbooks for information, we’re in luck: most books containing recipes were not strictly cookbooks in the sense that we know […]
While the modern, formalized definition of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November was not set as a national observance until the time of the Civil War, and wasn’t codified into law until 1941, governors of the various states (and before the Revolution, colonies) proclaimed harvest Thanksgivings each year, so our food traditions around this […]
What to serve for desert after a Thanksgiving meal? Pumpkin pie, obviously. Unfortunately for the revolutionary-era aspiring chef in America, pumpkins are plentiful but pie-making recipes using them have yet to be published. Indeed, one of the most widely-printed British cookbooks said that “The Pumpkin is a very ordinary Fruit, and is principally the Food […]
Yesterday we saw how to roast a turkey according to a popular 18th century cookbook. It wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving dinner without turkey, but it also wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving dinner without an assortment of tasty dishes to go with that luscious bird. This is where preparing the meal in accordance with published period recipes […]
It’s the time of year when Americans are musing over favorite recipes for Thanksgiving meals. Everyone has a favorite dish and there are countless family traditions, but the undisputed king of the holiday table is the turkey. This tasty fowl is also a cook’s challenge, because whole turkeys are seldom served in the home at […]
Signers of the Declaration of Independence are treated with particular reverence in American historical memory. Caesar Rodney, Delaware’s delegate to the Second Continental Congress, is no exception. He is remembered not just for his signature, but also his vote for independence and the mad dash he made to Philadelphia in time to cast it. His […]
Dear Mr. History: I’ve read that before he became a hero in the Continental Army, Lafayette departed France in defiance of orders from King Louis XVI and only a few steps ahead of the law. Can this be true? Sincerely, Francophile. Dear Franco: Mais oui, it’s true; Lafayette’s departure from France involved more twists and […]
The must-attend American Revolution conference of 2014 is being hosted by America’s History, LLC, one of the nation’s leading history tour and conference companies. The conference will take place the weekend of March 21-23, 2014, at the Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia. Friday, March 21 (7 pm) – Sunday, March 23 (Noon)Colonial Williamsburg […]
On late summer days, sailboats of all sizes dot the Hudson River like so many white specks against a blue-gray background. But when the changeable weather of October arrives the river can become an unpredictable waterway, covered in mist or heavy fog. In the Hudson Highlands, a majestic series of mountains beginning about a third […]
With the 2013 holiday season upon us, it’s important that we take special care of those Revolutionary War history geeks in our lives. All too often they get nothing more than gift cards or Civil War books. This year, give the 18th century lover on your list a gift that says “I know the American […]
Midway through his two and a half year tour of duty as Quartermaster General of Washington’s army, Nathanael Greene wrote to George Washington: “No body ever heard of a quarter Master in History as such or in relateing any brilliant Action.” A later commander, Erwin Rommel, took a different view. He wrote: “The first essential […]
America’s Revolutionary decades produced a new republican system, and with it new republican language. One term that surfaced early in that period and remains with us today is “caucus.” The word’s origin is mysterious, but its meaning has stayed fairly steady and the earliest uses offer a good glimpse into pre-Revolutionary politics. The first form […]
Stripped of command and left in camp to drink his sorrows away, Benedict Arnold fumed and ranted in frustration until his aggressive nature took over and caused the deposed general to ride his horse onto the field of battle just in time to lead the final assault against Burgoyne’s redoubts and seal the British fate […]
On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress officially announced the creation of the Continental Army, a military force representing all of the colonies resisting British authority in North America. The following day the Congress named the army’s commander. George Washington, a planter and Congressional delegate from Virginia, would become the commander-in-chief, taking command of […]
1. MYTH: The Tea Act imposed a tax on American colonists (which is why tax protestors often revere the Boston Tea Party). BUSTED: The Tea Act did no such thing; instead the actual law gave the East India Company a tax break on tea shipped to the American colonies, along with special new privileges for […]
Every now and then I meet someone who thinks that people “back then” were all highly religious and led straight-laced, pious lives. Those people haven’t read newspapers of the era. Legal notices appeared frequently in which husbands and wives absolved themselves of responsibility for the debts and dissipations of spouses who’d abandoned them. Sometimes competing […]
Although many immigrants to the American colonies enjoyed a richer and more varied diet than they had in their home countries, as evidenced by the relative height of European-born and American-born men[i], across much of inland New England, with trade disrupted by the Crown’s blockades and other military action of the Revolution, the most reliable […]
In April 1775 the Fairfield, Connecticut, mansion of the Honorable Thaddeus and Eunice Burr was a-bustle. Preparations were being made to welcome a contingent of key patriots: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Lydia Hancock and Dorothy Quincy. Word had reached Burr (who was High Sheriff of the County), Colonel Gold Selleck Silliman (he hadn’t yet been […]
As a young woman in Somerset in 1773 you married that handsome weaver from a neighboring parish, but now it’s two years later and a war has begun across the ocean and your husband has just come home from the nearby market town and announced that he’s enlisted in the army. You’re impressed with the […]
The Controversy In the region we call Vermont today land claims were vociferously contested between settlers from New York and from New Hampshire during the American Revolution. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys who aggressively protected their perceived property rights were ringleaders of the New Hampshire claimants. The New Yorkers were equally forceful in […]
New History Book Loaded with Fascinating Discoveries, Expert Analysis on American Revolution; The Revolutionary War is Remarkably Presented in this Compilation of 60 Essays by 20 Historians We are treating today as our official launch day with books immediately available via the publisher’s website and via the publisher’s Amazon marketplace. Those who buy direct from […]
Mark your calendars! The RevWar Schmoozer (Boston) event is confirmed for Friday, November 8, upstairs at The Point (147 Hanover St.) from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The space is reserved exclusively for this event. Join fellow history professionals and amateurs for a fun evening of sipping, schmoozing and storytelling. Historians, authors, museum execs, publishers, literary […]
When the Continental Congress first commissioned the use of private ships and boats of war in April 1776, they specified that each vessel’s commander had to deliver a bond payable to the president of the Congress before the privateering commission — called a letter of marque and reprisal — could be granted. These bonds were […]
