I am beginning to set my schedule for next year and wanted to take the time to remind you that if you want to book the Regimental Brewmeister for an event, now is the time to reach out! I offer many programs, though the most popular are brewing, tavern keeping, and surveying. Calendars always fills …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
The Scourge of Slavery (#10) — Concessions were made to slave owners in the US Constitution — the 3/5ths Compromise
At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, it is important to remember that none of the delegates called for an actual the end of slavery. While some of them expressed their discomfort with it — George Mason of Virginia called for anti-slave trade laws and Gouverneur Morris of New York called slavery “a nefarious institution – …
Glögg
Hot spiced wine has been offered to messengers and postmen in Norway who travelled on horseback or skis in cold weather since at least the 16th century. Glögg is a common winter drink consisting of sweet wine or grape juice mixed with syrup and some harder spirits like rum, brandy or cognac. Glögg begins by …
Prescription Julep
Most people in the United States associate Julips drinks with The Kentucky Derby and certainly mint juleps have a storied history in that event but julep drinks have been around a lot longer and there are more julep drinks than the mint julep. This cocktail has origins back to the late 1700s, and ‘Julep’ is based …
How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – Measuring Lines
Land surveys consist of six basic tasks: Determinizing your position on Earth using celestial navigation methods Measuring distances with a Gunter’s Chain. Measuring changes in elevation with a Range Pole Measurement of directions and angles using a Compass. Drawing the map on a Plane Table, and Computing areas with basic plane geometry In this series …
Continue reading “How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – Measuring Lines”
The Birth of Urban Planning in America
Despite what you may think today, Philadelphia was America’s first planned city. William Penn had a broad vision for the new settlement and started a revolution in city planning: the open grid plan that became Philadelphia. Having witnessed plague in London in 1665 and the famously calamitous fire of 1666, Penn wanted his Philadelphia to …
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. December 1, 1779 2nd Encampment at Morristown While much in made of the harsh conditions at Valley Forge, the winter of 1779 was the harshest in the war. “A …
The Regimental Brewmeister’s Vanilla Extract
For hundreds of years, the Totonac people, who lived on the east-central coast of Mexico, have grown and harvested the Tlilxochitl vine, an orchid that can only grow in very specific climates. In the mid 1400’s the Aztecs conquered the Totonac people and forced them to provide regular tributes. These tributes included the fruits of …
Continue reading “The Regimental Brewmeister’s Vanilla Extract”
Washington, D.C. is Actually, the Ninth Capitol of the USA
While Washington, D.C., is the U.S. capitol we’re most familiar with today, it’s far from the country’s first. In fact, it came at the end of a long road. When the Second Continental Congress declared the independence of the United States of America in 1776, its home base at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence …
Continue reading “Washington, D.C. is Actually, the Ninth Capitol of the USA”
George Washington is Actually the 16th President of the United States NOT the First
The Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britian in July 1776 but George Washington was not inaugurated as President until April 30, 1789 (13 years later). During the Revolutionary War (1774 – 1783) the states acted largely as independent nations and the only real role that he Continential Congress had was the prosecution of the …
