Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (Isaac Franks)

Isaac Franks, became a lieutenant colonel in the Pennsylvania militia, but that was after the war. In 1776, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in a regiment of volunteers, arming and equipping himself at his own expense. After the Battle of Long Island, when his company retreated to New York City, he was captured …

Beer is Good for You

Okay this is weird but as the Regimental Brewmeister I feel compelled to inform you that the Mayo Clinic has suggested (not proved but only suggested) that may be preventative for Alzheimer’s Disease.  For those of you who may have forgotten (pun intended), Alzheimer’s often causes memory loss and personality changes.  It generally afflicts the …

US Marines in the American Revolution

Marines with Washington at Princeton 3 January 1777 Encouraged by his success against the Hessian garrison at Trenton on Christmas night 1776, General George Washington determined upon a further stroke. Crossing the Delaware River again on 30 December, he reoccupied Trenton. General Charles Cornwallis, who commanded a large British force occupying the town of Princeton, …

Re-Enactor, Interpreter, or Living Historian?

In my tagline, I use the two terms that are sometimes seen as synonyms and just as often as antonyms by the Living History community:  Re-enactor and Interpreter.  So, are you a re-enactor, an interpreter, or a living historian?  Are you part of the exhibit, the staff, a visitor, or something else altogether?  These are …

Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories (Joseph Smith)

Joseph Smith enlisted in the Third Maryland Regiment at the age of twenty-three.  Apparently illiterate, Smith signed his enlistment and the company payroll with his mark.   Smith saw service in Pennsylvania, New Jerseys, and the South. He was wounded at Camden in 1780 and captured. He remained a prisoner until the end of the war …

The ULITMATE Role Model for the Regimental Brewmeister — Arthur Guinness

Arthur Guinness was born on September 28, 1725. His father Richard, who was land steward to the archbishop of Cashel, brewed beer for workers on the estate taught Arthur the craft of brewing.  When the archbishop died in 1752, he left 100 pounds each to “his servant” Arthur and his father. Using this initial investment, …

Did Jews Participate in the American Revolution? Well here are a few stories. (Mordecai Sheftall)

In Georgia it was a Jew who took the lead in establishing the first “American” government in that colony. Mordecai Sheftall was a second-generation Jewish resident of Savannah and in the late summer of 1774, he became the head of the Parochial Committee of Christ Church Parish.  He worked hard to fully implement the Non-Importation …

THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A BRIEF HISTORY #1

Insurrections often are propagated upon misinformation.   So too are the most recent band of domestic terrorist who like to hide behind our most sacred American institutions.  In this series, I want to explore the Bill of Rights and why some of the hype and hyperbole thrown around by the extremist is not just wrong but …

The original “Doctor Death”

During the 1700’s, executions in France were public events where entire towns gathered to watch. A common execution method for a poor criminal was quartering, where the prisoner’s limbs were tied to four oxen, then the animals were driven in four different directions ripping the person apart. Upper-class criminals could buy their way into a …