Closing on a real estate deal is a lot of paperwork and promissory notes. Even if you pay “cash,” no one (except perhaps a mafia boss) will accept a suitcase filled with several hundred thousand dollars in cash. It’s just too easy to counterfeit. So, how did James Monroe and Robert Livingston, who concluded a …
Continue reading “How Did Americans Actually Transfer Money To France For The Louisiana Purchase?”
Having witnessed plague in London in 1665 and the famously calamitous fire of 1666, Penn wanted his Philadelphia to be ‘a greene countrie towne, which will never be burnt, and allways be wholsome.’ The way he proposed to achieve this was by planning the city so that it was ordered and regulated. Orderly space, Penn …
Samuel Wilson, a meat packer in Troy, New York, supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. To segregate barrels that were shipped to the Army from those he shipped to his other customers, he stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for United States. Soldiers receiving the shipments began referring …
Continue reading ““Uncle Sam” and “G.I.” were Appropriated Terms for Ordinary Things.”
During the Revolutionary War, the American submersible craft Turtle attempted to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare. The Continental Army out armed, outmanned, and outmatched by the British at almost every angle. This …
Continue reading “The Beginning of Submarine Warfare — September 7, 1776”
I am going to deviate from my normal focus on the 18th Century to discuss some brewing terminology that seems to be confusing people in craft brew pubs. The other day, my wife and I visited a brewery and her questions about the beer menu prompted me to clarify some jargon that are too often …
Continue reading “Basic Colonial Brewing #16 — Making Sense of the Beer Menu”
Potatoes are native to the Americas and were first brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors during the mid-16th century. The English buccaneer, Sir Walter Raleigh, is known to have gifted them to Queen Elizabeth as an American delicacy. Since then, potatoes have become a staple food source for many people all over the world. We …
This year, I am adding a somewhat archaic bit of brewing equipment to the gear brought out by the Regimental Brewmiester. The yeast ring or gjarkrans is a piece of traditional brewing gear from medieval Sweden and Denmark. This tool resembles a complicated wreath of small pieces of whittled wood. Yeast harvested from one batch …
Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries. Before the era of radio communication and television, when you wished to convey a message to a large audience, you published it. Originally published anonymously, “Common Sense” not only advocates independence but explains how the …
One question I frequently get asked at reenactments is “is that the really the way beer was made in the 1770’s?” For the most part, the answer is “yes” but there are some very necessary exceptions. Not all “Colonial Beers” are good and some of the methods used in the 18th Century were unsafe by …
Continue reading “Basic Colonial Brewing #15 — Necessary Anachronisms in Colonial Brewing”
On August 15, 1620; the Mayflower and the Speedwell set sail for VIRGINIA. Unfortunately, after only about 200 miles in the rough waters of the north Atlantic, the Speedwell sprang began taking on water and had to turn back. The decision to abandon the Speedwell and transfer many of its passengers onto the Mayflower set …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 