David Rittenhouse was a highly respected scientist during the formative years of the United States. Anyone who has attempted to survey knows that straight lines are much easier than curves. Rittenhouse ran the survey that established the circular boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware, a circle of 12-mile radius, with Newcastle as its center. He later …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
Barbary Pirates
Typically, when we think of pirates, images of Long John Silver with an eye patch and a parrot come to mind. This is, of course, fiction. There were some pirates in the Caribbean (although most of them were Jews displaced by the Spanish Reconquista) but by far most pirates hailed from ports in Asia and …
Reinheitsgebot
The Reinheitsgebot, literally “purity order”, is a series of regulations limiting the ingredients in that can be used to make beer and how beer can be sold in the states of the former Holy Roman Empire. The best-known version of the law was adopted in Bavaria in 1516. According to the 1516 Bavarian law, the …
Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#14)
AKA Samuel Culper Jr — Robert Townsend Robert Townsend was a member of the Culper Ring and operated in New York City. For most of the war, his identity was known only to Abraham Woodhull who was instructed never to tell his name to anyone, even to Washington. Motivated by Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the …
Continue reading “Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#14)”
We’ve all heard of the Mason-Dixon Line but who were Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon
The colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania both claimed the land between the 39th and 40th parallels according to the charters granted to each colony. In 1632, King Charles I gave Cecilius Calvert a land grant for a colony in America to be named Maryland. The boundaries for Calvert’s land were: in the north the 40 degree north latitude line; …
Colonial Surveyor will be in Cheltenham
Sunday, August 25, 20241:00 – 4:00 pmRichard Wall House1 Wall Park DriveElkins Park, PA 19027 The Richard Wall House is hosting Michael Carver in his impression of the noted surveyor David Rittenhouse, to teach 18th Century surveying on August 25 from 1:00 pm to 4:00pm. The public is invited to participate in a hands-on program …
Colonial Spymaster will be in Princeton
September 15, 202410 AM – 4 PMPrinceton Battlefield500 Mercer StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540 Going into the Revolution, Americans were at a huge disadvantage to the European powers when it came to spy-craft and cryptography. The British and French employed master spies who had the benefit of centuries of experience in coding and deciphering secret communication between public officials. …
Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#13)
AKA Samuel Culper Sr — Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull was the main spy in a spy network that would eventually be known as the Culper Spy Ring. He was recruited by Benjamin Tallmadge, who after the death of Nathan Hale, sought to create a well-organized and TRAINED set of spies that could evade detection while …
Continue reading “Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#13)”
Andrew Ellicott finished the work of Mason and Dixon before becoming the Chief Surveyor of Washington DC
We first met Andrew Ellicott in my earlier article on Benjamin Banneker. A commissioned officer in the Maryland militia, by the time Ellicott was given the job of surveying Washington DC, he was a highly accomplished surveyor having gained experience by working on the survey which extended the Mason-Dixon line westward to its originally intended terminus …
Ask your Tavernkeeper
Perhaps its just that sort of week for me but its definitely 5:00 HERE so here are some terms to take with you to your local watering hole to show you understand the drinking habits of we merry 18th Century barmen… Bene Bowse — good beer, or other strong liquor Bingo — brandy or other …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 