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. March 15, 1783 Newburgh Address General George Washington, having learned that his officers planned to meet to discuss a fiery petition to mutiny if Congress failed to provide them …
Category Archives: General history
Eli Whitney Patented the Cotton Gin on March 14, 1794
In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export. Despite its success, the gin made little money for Whitney due to patent-infringement issues. Also, …
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When someone asks you ‘Are you a God?’, you say YES!”.
In the movie Ghostbusters[i], Gozer asks Ray “Are you a God?” After the first disastrous encounter, he is then admonished by Winston: “Ray, when someone asks you ‘Are you a God?’, you say YES!” The problem with that is then you might have to prove your omnipotence. Eclipses often were viewed as supernatural phenomena and …
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Ben Franklin DID NOT Invent Daylight Savings Time!
Well, today we lose an hour of sleep to the interest of commerce. Don’t worry, you will get it back in November. Before the middle of the 19th Century, keeping time was more of an art than a science. Time pieces and clocks were available, even common in certain circles but they were notoriously inaccurate. …
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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 …
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Historical Tidbits — Frigate Randolph Sinks
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. March 7, 1778Frigate Randolph (32 guns) blown up in an engagement at sea The Randolph engaged the British 64-gun ship-of-the-line HMS Yarmouth. Rather than trying to flee from the …
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Historical Tidbits — Boston Massacre
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. March 5, 1770 Boston Massacre In 1767, in an attempt to recoup the considerable treasure expended in the defense of its North American colonies during the French and Indian …
British Soldiers in a FRENCH Hat? Pourquoi?
A bearskin is a tall fur cap worn as ceremonial headgear of grenadiers. The standard bearskin of the British Foot Guards is 18 inches tall, weighs 1.5 pounds, and is made from the fur of the Canadian black bear. An officer’s bearskin is made from the fur of the Canadian brown bear as the female …
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I’m Back! — The Admiral of the Blue Apron will run this year’s Cannonball Tavern at Fort Mifflin
Saturday, April 19th4:00 pm – 10:00 pm While few Officers’ Clubs survived the Cold War, we are going to bring back the tradition at Fort Mifflin this year. Military Officers’ clubs date back to the Middle Ages and were establishments where officers from the aristocratic landowners congregated. These were meant to be distinct from the …
Historical Tidbits — John Adams inaugurated President
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. March 4, 1797 John Adams inaugurated President At the time of the founding of our republic, monarchs led nearly every other nation. Even as democratic systems began to spread, …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 