Historical Tidbits — 2nd Continental Congress

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. May 10, 1775      2nd Continental Congress As the first Continental Congress adjourned in December 1774, they agreed that should Parliament not repeal the Coercive Acts by May, they would …

WMD — Weapons of Musical Destruction

From 1745 to 1996, the Kingdom of Great Britain considered the bagpipes weapons of war, not instruments played in battle, like the fife and drum that is used to direct troops, but an actual physical weapon, like a sword or a musket. Those of you who have heard bagpipes may not be completely shocked, but …

Historical Tidbits — Pontiac’s Rebellion

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. May 7, 1763Pontiac’s Rebellion begins when Ottawa Indians attach Fort Detroit. After the conclusion of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Chief Pontiac (Ottawa) led a loosely united group …

Peace or War? What ARE we talking about?

Almost all of the Abrahamic religions have a huge focus on the idea of peace.  In fact, common greetings in Hebrew (שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎ — shalom aleichem) and in Arabic (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ‎ — as-salamu alaykum) quite literally mean “peace be upon you.”  In the Anglican Church ceremony celebrating the French Alliance yesterday they opened their proceedings with …

What is the Artist Doing Here?

I have all these 18th C portraits that cycle through my PC desktop wallpapers. I am not sure why but today, this one caught my attention. Let me draw your attention to the man in the middle… Now those are either extraordinarily tight fitting breeches or this man is “Mooning” the British Regulars. Its something …

Sugar Cones or Loaves and the Making of Rum

During Antiquity and the Middle Ages, sugar was rare and expensive commodity.  Beginning in the 15th century, however, sugar cane plantations developed in the West Indies, then South America, particularly in Brazil. Sugar was the top colonial commodity. It was at the root of the ‘triangular trade’, where European shipowners exchanged trinkets for African men, who were then sold as slaves …

Come to Crooked Billet and Learn to Survey

Saturday, April 26, 202510 am – 4pmKeith Valley Middle School227 Meetinghouse Rd, Horsham, PA In my persona as “David Rittenhouse,” I will be conducting hands-on surveying demonstrations at this years Crooked Billet History Fair in Horsham. The first surveyors in America arrived with the Jamestown Company in 1621.  Given the goal of quickly settling Virginia …

The dye that causes people to die

Wallpaper with Scheel Green In the mid-1700s, Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered a copper derivative that was a particularly vivid green. Scheele’s discovery — known as Scheele’s Green — was used as a pigment for all sorts of artistic works, particularly among the European elite. Wallpaper, in particular, was made using Scheele’s Green to achieve the …