Lars D. H. Hedbor is an author of historical novels of the American Revolution, focusing on the everyday experiences of ordinary people during that extraordinary era of chaotic change. The first novel of his Tales From a Revolution series, The Prize, follows the pivotal events along the shores of Vermont's Lake Champlain. He is currently working on a novel chronicling the incredible exploits of General Gálvez in West Florida, tentatively titled The Wind. Hedbor resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and five daughters and enjoys practicing fiddle, homebrewing and amateur astronomy when he's not otherwise occupied. For more information, visit http://larsdhhedbor.com/.
Upon our arrival, I did behold a most curious Sight, which gave me further Cause to wonder about the true Safety we might here enjoy. Above the entrance to the Harbor of this town there stands upon the Gibbet a most piteous set of remains, being the last mortal pieces of a most heinous Criminal, […]
As early as October of 1775, the Continental Congress voted to authorize its first naval vessels[1], and as these ships were outfitted and crewed, the crews needed to be fed. Reconstructing the diet on board involves a certain amount of detective work, as accounts of the early Navy are focused less on the routine, and […]
In the tumult of the military revolution that forms the backdrop of most study of the War of Independence, it’s easy to forget that the sciences were undergoing a parallel revolution. We’ve all heard about Benjamin Franklin’s experiments along the far frontiers of knowledge of electricity, even if the popular conception of them is somewhat […]
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 […]
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 […]
We’ve all had to “eat humble pie” at one time or another, a saying that hearkens back to the medieval period, when the term meant that one was eating a dish made with the scrap meat from a successful hunt or slaughter[i]. Where the master of the house might get a fine roast, the servants […]
These articles have, to this point, focused on reproducing the meals of our Revolutionary-era forefathers with all of the conveniences of the modern kitchen. However, it is important to remember that the cooks of those days prepared all of these wonderful foods using wood fires and cast iron. When Daniel O’Neil, Executive Director of the […]
Although often overlooked, New Orleans, as a Spanish colonial city, was the site of pivotal events in the war for American independence from Great Britain. As detailed in an earlier article published in the Journal of the American Revolution, it was here that Bernardo de Galvéz vaulted onto the scene. He rose from his role […]
While it is a shameful chapter in our national past, the fact of slavery during the Revolutionary Era is inescapable, and part of understanding how the people of this nascent country ate is exploring how the slaves were fed. Sources are exceptionally scarce and contemporary recipes are nonexistent, but we can reconstruct some idea of […]
Most of us learned the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy” as schoolchildren, and many of us puzzled over the reference to macaroni in its lyrics. How could one confuse a feather for pasta, and did they even have macaroni back then? The short answer is, “yes,” but short answers are rarely as interesting as long ones. […]
This time, we’re going to visit the farm country of Pennsylvania, settled by German-speaking immigrants who formed a fairly cohesive community starting in the 1680s, as war convulsed their homeland. They comprised almost half of Pennsylvania’s population, and were supportive of the American Revolution, volunteering to serve in numbers even greater than the Congress asked […]
Over the course of time, many fashions change. The hem lines on women’s skirts rise and fall, folks give up hula-hooping for jogging, and emus replace llamas as the trendy exotic livestock to raise. So it is with food fashions, as well. Reading “receipt books” – cookbooks – of the Revolutionary era, one is struck […]
One of the best ways to get a visceral sense of what life in the Revolutionary Era was like is to eat the foods that they ate. Of course, there are challenges in this endeavor, not the least of which are changes in ingredient availability, cooking technology, labor availability and the overall culture of food. […]
It’s tough to bring history alive, particularly when all of the participants have been reduced to dust and bones by the inexorable flow of time. It’s even harder to make historical events interesting and vital to teenagers, as most any high school teacher of history can probably tell you. With her popular webcomic The Dreamer […]
It’s a little bit dangerous to write with disdain about the medical practices of bygone times, as one has to be aware that the passage of time may make some of our contemporary practices look barbaric and primitive in turn. For example, our descendents may shake their heads in disbelief at our approaches to cancer, […]
One of the genuine pleasures of research is the discovery of someone whose contributions are barely noticed in classroom histories, but without whom, events would have turned out dramatically differently. The Spanish Governor-General of Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, is one such figure. His energetic and often brilliant contributions to the American Revolution ensured that the […]
In all times and places, people have engaged in trade, and the American Colonies during the time of the Revolution are no exception. Although some trade was conducted as barter, particularly for commodities such as tobacco or beaver pelts, it was common for people to use coins (of nearly any country – Spanish dollars were […]
