Today we celebrated the French Alliance with our new nation. Born of difficult negotiation by Benjamin Franklin with King Louis and his court, the US alliance with France is one of the oldest relationships between our country and another nation. In fact, it is hard to imagine how the underarmed, undermanned, and frequently defeated Continental …
Monthly Archives: May 2021
“Beer” Recipe: John Adams — Breakfast Cider
Apple juice was fermented because before we had refrigeration, it was hard to stop that from happening — apples would just ferment naturally. When English colonists first arrived in North America, they enthusiastically embraced the wide range of wild fruits they found growing, from grapes to berries and of course, begam to make wines and …
Continue reading ““Beer” Recipe: John Adams — Breakfast Cider”
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. May 1, 1778 Battle of Crooked Billet The Battle of Crooked Billet was fought near the Crooked Billet Tavern (present-day Hatboro, Pennsylvania). In the skirmish action, British forces under …
There was no SPCA in the 18th Century – Fox Tossing
Der Vollkommene Deutsche Jäger (The perfect German hunter) describes a game called Fuchsprellen or “fox tossing.” Fox Tossing was a competitive sport mostly practiced by members of the upper classes. The sport was held on a closed patch of land where people threw live foxes and other animals up high using slings, with a person …
Continue reading “There was no SPCA in the 18th Century – Fox Tossing”