In the 21st Century, I carry a laptop computer everywhere I go. You see, as an educated person, I generally work with my mind and for that to have any meaning whatsoever, I must communicate those thoughts, ideas, analyses, and such to others. While far fewer people were educated in the 18th Century and even …
Monthly Archives: March 2022
Beer Recipe: Boston Tea Party IPA
By 15 December, the Eleanor and the Beaver, also both laden with tea, arrive at Griffin’s Wharf. The law is clear: if the duty on the Dartmouth’s tea is not paid by 17 December, the customs officer is authorized to seize the ship and its cargo. The governor and the tea consignees, seeing a potential …
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. March 29, 1780 – SIEGE OF CHARLESTON: After approximately six weeks of siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British. It was …
THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A BRIEF HISTORY #9
Insurrections often are propagated upon misinformation. So too are the most recent band of domestic terrorist who like to hide behind our most sacred American institutions. In this series, I want to explore the Bill of Rights and why some of the hype and hyperbole thrown around by the extremist is not just wrong but …
Son’s of the American Revolution Drilled at Fort Mifflin on March 27
It was a cold day but 9 compatriots of the PHILADELPHIA CONTINENTAL CHAPTER of the SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION COLOR GUARD came to Fort Mifflin to learn and improve their ceremonial drill. Unlike a reenacting unit that drills regularly, the Color Guard primarily performs at significant civic events and many of our members needed …
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Fort Mifflin will have a Newspaper at Siege Weekend
This year for Cannonball Tavern I made up a period newspaper with news as it would have been published in March of 1777. I plan to produce souvenir newspapers this year Siege Weekend. The news will be reproduced for the time period (October 1777) as will most of the ads but if you want to …
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Bring Documents to your Reenactments!
Today Americans boast a whoppingly deplorable literacy rate of about 86% depending on how you measure literacy. Compare this to Colonial New England where, discounting slaves, women, indentured servants, and indians, in a time when books, newpapers, and magazines were largely unobtainable, the literacy rate was almost 60%*. Today with telephones, television, radio, and various …
Could one of our Founding Fathers have been a Jew?
While writing the blog on Chanukah in Colonial America, I came across some lectures and articles by Andrew Porwancher, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, who has an interesting hypothesis. It seems that while researching the early life of Alexander Hamilton, Porwancher uncovered some interesting facts. Alexander Hamilton is the son of Rachel Faucette …
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Unfiltered Beer is Good for You!
For thousands of years beer served as food and medicine; it had antiseptic, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. The health benefits of beer not only come from the grains and yeast but also the hops. Hops contain a flavonoid called xanthohumol that strongly suppresses CYP1A2 (suppressing is good), a liver enzyme that metabolizes various environmental procarcinogens …
Anna Strong May not Have Been a Spy
During the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, Washington, then commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, was repeatedly surprised by the British. He only escaped the destruction of his army thanks to fog, adverse winds that blocked the British fleet from cutting him off and the caution of British commander William Howe. Fresh off his …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 