Stories of the Four Thieves may not be true but like all myths there is more to the tale than meets the eye. Since the time of Hippocrates, miasma or “bad airs” were blamed for the spread of petulance and disease, particularly cholera, typhus, and the bubonic plague. The Miasma theory held that a poisonous vapor or …
Monthly Archives: June 2020
Who Cares What King George Thinks about the Declaration of Independence!
I know most Americans don’t understand this, but the Declaration of Independence was never written for King George nor for Parliament. Sure, it was sent to them, but they were not the target audience: The American People were! On Saturday June 28th at Fort Mifflin and again on Friday July 3rd at Thornbury Farms near …
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Historical Tidbits
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. June 10, 1752 – Benjamin Franklin demonstrates that lightning is a form of electricity. This kite experiment will make Mr. Franklin one of the most famous men in the …
Historical Tidbits
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. June 9, 1772 – The HMS Gaspee, a British customs ship that ran aground in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The Gaspee, commanded by Lieutenant Dudingston, was engaged in a …
What do you do when you can’t run events?
Fix your gear… About three years ago, I broke the wrist on my Brown Bess Musket while doing a demonstration as a Volunteer in the Park at Valley Forge. I tried to epoxy the pieces but that proved to be a temporary fix. I bought a new stock but never got around to getting the …
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WMD — Weapons of Musical Destruction
From 1745 to 1996, the Kingdom of Great Britain considered the bagpipes weapons of war, not instruments played in battle, like the fife and drum that is used to direct troops, but an actual physical weapon, like a sword or a musket. Those of you who have heard bagpipes may not be completely shocked, but …
Basic Colonial Brewing -Malting the Grain
Before grain can be used to make beer, the starches stored in the kernel must be converted to fermentable sugars. The grain does this naturally as part of the germination process, so the brewer need only harness this process and then stop it before the grain sprouts to capture the sugars they need for their …
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Colonial Mayfair Benjamin Banneker House, Ellicott City, MD
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 Benjamin Banneker, a free and self-educated African-American man born in 1731, spent his life farming, studying mathematics and publishing six almanacs. In commemoration of this icon of the self made man, an 18th-century Market Fair will be held at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Museum and Park on …
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Historical Tidbits
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. June 5, 1767 The New York Restraining Act — forbade the New York Assembly and the governor of New York from passing any new bills until they agreed to …
Historical Tidbits
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. June 4, 1738 – King George III is born. He will rule England from 1760 to 1820.
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 