Well I just got an email from Benjamin Banneker House that they are cancelling an event in June of 2021. Yes, that’s right NEXT SUMMER. Given the current condition of the country and the pandemic, they have decided that it is “neither practical nor prudent” and they are right. We have a long slog ahead …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
Thanksgiving – 1770’s Style
In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a national day of thanksgiving to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution. Thanksgiving as a celebration of surviving the first year of the Plymouth Colony had been celebrated in Massachusetts …
Ah yes, the omnipresent conspiracy theories of the GOP…
In late 1621, about four or five dozen Pilgrims — settlers in the New World from England — and roughly 90 Native Americans celebrated the settlers’ first successful harvest in North America but Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated EVERY year. The first official national day of thanks was November 26, 1789, created by proclamation by President George …
Continue reading “Ah yes, the omnipresent conspiracy theories of the GOP…”
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. November 22, 1718 – William Teach (AKA Blackbeard) was captured and executed by the Royal Navy off the coast of North Carolina. His mythical buried treasure has not been …
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. November 19, 1794 — Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America (AKA the Jay Treaty) facilitated ten years of peaceful …
Disposing of this year’s beer… :)
I learned today that the Frost Faire at Pottsgrove is cancelled. I had prepared quite a lot of beer for events this year and while beer keeps for a very ling time, there was just too much to keep. It was time to clean out as this beer not be good next year. Faced with …
“Run Away!” – Revolutionary Deserters
One of the fundamental problems with the Continental Army was that the State Legislatures were reluctant to establish a European-style professional army with long-term enlistments for fear of a strong military leader seizing the government. Without a professional attitude, soldiers were much more likely to be casual about remaining in ranks for the full term …
Dying at Battle Reenactments
So yesterday we had an event at Fort Mifflin. Siege Weekend is not really a reenactment of the actual battle since the British reenactors can’t field the several ships and 200 cannons that assaulted the fort. What we do is a skirmish intended to give the visitors a feel for what 18th Century warfare was …
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. November 14, 1770 – the Article of Confederation were adopted by the Second Continental Congress. This third part of the Lee Resolution provided a system of national government necessary …
Von Stueben Altbier
During the early American Revolutionary War, Continental Army lacked strong central command and was made up of state-run militias operating independently of each other. Each militia operated by its own rules and regulations and there was very little standardization or guidance for the duties and responsibilities of soldiers and officers. In 1777, Friedrich von Steuben …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 