In the summer of 1775, George Washington and the fledgling Continental Army was unable to effectively lay siege to British-occupied Boston because the Royal Navy had a firm command of the sea-lanes and the harbor. All George Washington could do was observe the flow of enemy supplies into Boston harbor and wondered if intercepting a …
Monthly Archives: October 2025
Colonial Spymaster (#12) — Disguises
If you are routinely going places where the enemy discusses, either intentionally or unintendedly, matters of military or political significance, you may wish to remain anonymous. To do this, spies employ disguises. The most common disguise is to simply change your clothes. Sometimes soldiers sent on reconnaissance missions would wear civilian clothes such as when …
Beer Recipe: Battle of the Kegs — British Brown Ale
Early in January, 1778, David Bushnell, the inventor of the American Torpedo, and other submarine machinery, prepared a number of “infernals,” as the British termed them, and set them afloat in the Delaware River, a few miles above Philadelphia, in order to annoy the royal shipping, which at that time lay off that place at …
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US Marines in the American Revolution –The Evacuation of Fort Billingsport
2 October 1777 Defenses along the Delaware River were planned to protect Philadelphia, the capital of the new republic, against a possible invading naval force. Aware of these defenses, the British entered the Chesapeake and took the capital by the land route. By late September 1777, the enemy was in the rear of these defenses …
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Doctor Heal Thyself — 18th Century Medicine Gone Wrong
Isaac Newton Stuck a Needle in His Own Eye Isaac Newton voluntarily stuck a needle in his eye in the name of science. The experiment was designed to test optics and color perception. He thought that if he slid a long needle behind his eyeball, between the eye and the eye socket, and started poking, his vision would …
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Colonial Spymaster (#11) — Letter-locking
Long before email, text, and instant message, important words were passed discreetly from closed palm to palm. To keep the messages private, these hand-written notes were often elaborately folded, sealed with wax, and rigged with anti-tamper devices. The technique of “locking” letters involves folding the parchment, papyrus, or paper securely so that the letter functions …
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Grave Robbers
As science shifted from the “exact sciences” pushed forward by the church and based not on observation but on theological premise toward “empirical sciences” focused on observation, experimentation, and challenge, new problems arose. Throughout antiquity, doctors need not sully themselves with knowing the form and structure of the body, they delt in elegant theories like …
Which Witch?
The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the …
What the Hell is a Haversack?
Hang around any group of reenactors and you will always see them with a haversack. Even though most of us throw our car keys and wallet in there, it’s not a purse. It’s an essential piece of military kit that dates back to the Middle Ages. The haversack gets its name from the Dutch word …
Colonial Spymaster (#10) — Invisible Inks
One form of secret writing used by both the British and American armies was invisible ink. The secret writing was placed between the lines of an innocent letter and could be discerned by treating the letter with heat or a chemical substance. The recipient placed the paper over the flame of a candle or treated …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 