Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in the city of Boston in a small house on 17 Milk Street, across the street from the Old Meeting House. His father was Josiah Franklin, a chandler (soap and candle maker). Josiah Franklin, emigrated from England in 1682. He had seven children with his first wife, …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
Historical Tidbits — Cook Crosses Antarctic Circle
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. January 17, 1773 – HMS Resolution, under the command of James Cook, became the first vessel to cross the Antarctic Circle. The Royal Society and the government were eager …
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GOP vs Founding Fathers
Round 6 — The Right to Keep and Bear Arms Well folks, this is an election year. This guarantees we will disagree on many things but please heed this bit of advice – wear boots! The Republican Party likes to claim that they are “originalist” and that they know the intentions that the Founding Fathers …
The Kieve
The Regimental Brewmeister uses a 1 barrel brewery set up including a 30-gallon kieve (aka keeve) and a 30 gallon kühlschipp.(AKA koelschip). As we strive for ever increasing levels of authenticity to both the beer and our experience brewing, this new equipment takes us back to the basics of 18th Century zymology. In our previous …
Fighting the War behind a Desk
History books are filled with glorification of exploits on the battlefield and we have all heard the story of Alexander Hamilton bristling at the role of Aide-du-Camp and demanding his opportunity to prove himself in the field. The reality of military operations, however, is very different. Much of the real WORK of a military commander …
The Regimental Brewmeister does “Talks” as well as brewing demonstrations.
The Regimental Brewmeister is happy to give talks and lectures at your site to audiences of any size. I ask that you provide appropriate auto visual projection equipment and event promotion. I typically come in 18th Century attire and conduct interactive discussions. While I am happy to consider talks on other subjects, I have delivered …
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GOP vs Founding Fathers
Round 5 — Scientific Reason Well folks, this is an election year. This guarantees we will disagree on many things but please heed this bit of advice – wear boots! The Republican Party likes to claim that they are “originalist” and that they know the intentions that the Founding Fathers had when they penned the …
Basic Colonial Brewing — The Koelschip
The Regimental Brewmeister uses a 1 barrel brewery set up including a 30-gallon kieve (aka keeve) and a 30 gallon kühlschipp.(AKA koelschip). As we strive for ever increasing levels of authenticity to both the beer and our experience brewing, this new equipment takes us back to the basics of 18th Century zymology. Modern breweries make …
How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools — Using the Sector
The sector and the related proportional compasses (proportional dividers) were developed in the second half of the 16th century. There are several inventors, most of them from Italy but most people attribute its development to Galileo Galilei. The sector consists of two arms connected by a pivot joint. For example, linear, trigonometric, and logarithmic scales …
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The Admiral of the Blue Apron
In Francis Grose’s A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, first published in 1785, I found an entry that I have adopted as the moniker for my tavern impression — The Admiral of the Blue Apron. The ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE, is a publican wearing a blue apron, as was formerly the custom among gentlemen …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 