Historical Tidbits — Williamsburg Gunpowder Incident

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. April 20, 1775     Williamsburg Gunpowder Incident.  On the night of April 20, Royal Navy sailors went to the Williamsburg powder magazine, loaded fifteen half barrels of powder into the …

Clive of India: Literally a Robber Baron of the 18th Century

Robert Clive, the 1st Baron Clive is also known as Clive of India and is widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East India Company (EIC) rule in Bengal after winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757.  When Clive left India in January 1767, he had a fortune of £180,000 (equivalent to £25,700,000 today).  On 22 November 1774 …

SAVE the DATE

Come Study a Truly Astronomical Event and Its Effects with the Colonial Scientist Fort Mifflin — April 8, 202411am – 5:30 pm The total solar eclipse of June 24, 1778 was the first to be carefully observed in the newly founded United States. David Rittenhouse, witnessed the eclipse from Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson also tried to see …

Freedom Means NOTHING Unless You Also Embrace Tolerance

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. John F Kennedy As Americans we focus a lot on our Constitutional Freedoms.  Frankly, we are far more enthralled with these than most of the rest of the world for in the time since our Revolution, …

Exposing Spies

William Wickham was Britain’s first Master Spy and head of the British Secret Service. Wickham was also the focus of a massive government scandal and Parliamentary investigation when it was found that millions of pounds in taxpayer’s money had been funneled to Wickham and then disappeared without a trace.  In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen …

THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A BRIEF HISTORY #10

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 …

Not the First Library but Perhaps the Best

In 1727, Benjamin Franklin and several friends established a “club of mutual improvement” called the Junto which met in a Philadelphia alehouse each Friday evening. There they held lively discussions of politics, morals and philosophy. Eventually, they left this ale-infused atmosphere for a quieter meeting place in the home of one of the wealthier members. …