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 16, 1780 Battle of Guilford Courthouse The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought at a site which is now in Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British …
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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. Why are Marines often called “Leathernecks?” Leather neck stocks were part of the standard uniform of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps at the time of the American Revolution. …
We recently held a brewing class at Fort Mifflin and one question was asked that deserves clarification in this blog: “How were beers of the 18th Century different from what we drink today?” I hope the table below adds some clarification. Colonial Beers vs Modern Beers: Key Differences Colonial BeerModern BeerMaltMixture of malted grains including …
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 15, 1783 Newburgh Address General George Washington, having learned that his officers planned to meet to discuss a fiery petition to mutiny if Congress failed to provide them …
“Air and Exercise” = being whipped with a Cat-o-Nine-Tails. Prior to the arrival of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, American officers often imitated their British peers. In a rather startling example, George Washington once lobbied congress for permission to allow 500 lashes — “Air and Exercise”– as punishment to maintain discipline the Continental soldiers! Congress …
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In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export. Despite its success, the gin made little money for Whitney due to patent-infringement issues. Also, …
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Pi (often represented by the lower-case Greek letter π), one of the most well-known mathematical constants, is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. For any circle, the distance around the edge is a little more than three times the distance across. Pi has interested people around the world for over 4,000 years. …
So, I find myself driving alone late at night across Pennsylvania and in the interest of staying alert, I turn on the radio (mistake #1). The music kind of drones on and doesn’t really help so I switch to “talk radio” (mistake #2). Have you noticed that despite their arguments to the contrary, bigots, anarchists, …
Continue reading “Let’s Rise to the Challenge and REALLY Make America Great Again.”
Perry is made by fermenting the juice of freshly squeezed pears with the help of natural yeasts. As apples are to cider, so pears are to perry. Perries have complex but subtle flavors that are typically more delicate than cider; good perry can be like a subtle white wine. In some parts of West England …
Cider has a long and rich history in America. It was the beverage of choice from the first English settlers in the 16th Century until well into the late 19th Century. When the Mayflower suffered beam damaged in a storm badly enough to consider turning back to England, a large iron screw was taken from …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 