Author Archives: Michael Carver

Civilized Men Drink Their Beer from Glasses — and for good reasons!

Valentines Day(2/14) 1873, Joe Johnson of Lockport, New York was celebrating his good fortune. His friend and brewery owner John Gibson agreed to Johnson fulfilling a dream by spending a night in the brewery. It was a ill-conceived celebration; his body was found, head hanging down into a wooden, open-tank of beer. His glee over …

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The Holiday of Gŵyl Mabsant

The Welsh holiday of Gŵyl Mabsant, which celebrates a local parish saint, hasn’t been properly celebrated since the end of the 19th century. It was celebrated with highly unorthodox athletic competitions such as blindfolded wheelbarrow-driving, “fives” (a squash-like game played against the church walls), and something called “old women’s grinning matches.” There were also more conventional sports like football (soccer) …

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A pity they let the old punishments die. Was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming.

The Intolerable Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish the American colonies for the Boston Tea Party.  Following the Seven Years War, Parliament was strapped for cash.  Add to this rampant corruption in the world’s largest corporation – the East India Company, and Parliament’s bail-out, urged but MPs …

Continue reading “A pity they let the old punishments die. Was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming.”

Kick off the new year with Historic Rittenhouse Town!

Tavern NightSaturday, February 8th  Historic Rittenhouse Town Join Historic Rittenhouse Town for Tavern Night! Come join us as the buildings and grounds of our historic 18th-century homestead are transformed into a tavern from the 1770s, where the simple pleasures of good food, drink, and fellowship collide. Tavern Night will feature an evening of storytelling and …

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Supply Chain Issues?  — The Bread Famine in 18th-century France.

Yesterday, I was dismayed at the lack of stocking in my local Giant supermarket.  Voltaire once remarked that Parisians required only “the comic opera and white bread.” But bread has also played a dark role in French history and, namely, the French Revolution. The storming of the medieval fortress of Bastille on July 14, 1789 …

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What’s with the Short Pants?

For those of us involved in 18th Century reenactments, men in knee breeches are de rigor.  Outside of formal equestrian events, however, you rarely see such garments today.  Similarly, pants were considered foreign attire, even uncouth attire before the 14th Century in Europe. Many names have been used for men’s leg coverings through history: Latin …

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US Marines in the American Revolution

Flag Raising at New Providence 28 January 1778 Shortly after his arrival at Georgetown, South Carolina, Captain John Peck Rathbun of the sloop Providence was informed by a merchant captain who had just returned from the Bahamas that the Mary had put into Nassau for repairs. The news immediately brought back memories of his brief …

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