Joseph Smith enlisted in the Third Maryland Regiment at the age of twenty-three. Apparently illiterate, Smith signed his enlistment and the company payroll with his mark. Smith saw service in Pennsylvania, New Jerseys, and the South. He was wounded at Camden in 1780 and captured. He remained a prisoner until the end of the war …
Monthly Archives: December 2022
Historical Tidbits — Washington resigns as Commander in Chief
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. December 23, 1783 Washington resigns as Commander in Chief “Having now finished the work assigned to me, I retire from the great theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate …
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SinterKlaas
During the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, formerly New Amsterdam), celebrated the tradition of Sinterklaas as symbol of the city’s non-English past. In the 1770s the New York Gazetteer noted that the feast day of “St. a Claus” was celebrated “by the descendants of the ancient Dutch families, with their usual festivities.” Sinterklaas is …
Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (Mordecai Sheftall)
In Georgia it was a Jew who took the lead in establishing the first “American” government in that colony. Mordecai Sheftall was a second-generation Jewish resident of Savannah and in the late summer of 1774, he became the head of the Parochial Committee of Christ Church Parish. He worked hard to fully implement the Non-Importation …
Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (Jewish Pirates)
When the Spanish expelled the Jews in 1482, many came to the “New World” is search of freedom and safety. Not surprising, many turned to piracy as both a means of income and as retribution for their mistreatment in Spain. Similarly, many Jews, already heavily involved in shipping and trade, began to arm merchant ships …
How Cartridge Paper almost killed King George
In order to facilitate rapid loading during battle, 18th Century musket cartridges were made from rolled brownish-white paper. This paper tube held both the powder and the ball was its own self contained wadding. For training, reviews and firing a “feu de joie” or celebratory musket salute, however, blank rounds were needed. Numerous accidents were reported …
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Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (Moses Franks)
In 1776, as Washington was preparing in Boston to move against New York, the general requested Congress to send him $250,000 in hard coin to pay the militia whose term of service had expired. Washington’s problem was not to raise the money, but to transport it to Boston past hostile Tories. Shipping the specie by …
Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (David Salisbury Franks and Solomon Bush)
Yesterday we discussed Mordecai Sheftall’s career during the Revolution. There were two other Jewish soldiers that became staff officers in the Continental Army – David Salisbury Franks and Solomon Bush. When General Richard Montgomery took Montreal from the English, David Salisbury Franks (then a Canadian civilian) lent the American Army money and sold them supplies, …
Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (the "Jew Company")
In South Carolina of at least thirty-four Jewish soldiers served in what would become known as the “Jew Company” under Captain Richard Lushington. The Jews who served in Lusington’s company did not constitute a majority, but since most of them had been conscripted as a group from the King Street shopkeepers of Savanah, they all …
Best Real Estate Deal in History!
On December 20, 1803, The Louisiana Purchase, a land deal between the United States and France in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million, was finalized. In 1802 Spain lost the vast territory of Louisiana, which had been its spoils for assistance in the …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 