This week, the Regimental Brewmeister added a new skill to his repertoire — Blacksmithing. When Fort Mifflin was reconstructed in 1798, the first permanent structure built was the smithy and this was because no real work could begin on the structure without the hardware and tools produced in this shop. All the nails, bolts, hinges, …
Category Archives: Ideas
“Beer” Recipe: Battle of the Bees Mead
Bees played a small role in the Revolutionary War on two notable occasions. The first is “The Battle of the Bees” that occurred Oct. 3, 1780 at McIntyre’s Farm, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Loyalists, led by Capt. John Doyle, were traveling down Beattie’s Ford Road with 60 wagons. Their mission: to plunder area farms …
How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools — Using the Gunter’s Rule
Using the Gunter’s Rule So how was multiplication done in the 18th Century. Sure, you could and people did do long-hand multiplication just like you were taught in elementary school. For example, we can multiply 384×56. The number with more digits is usually selected as the multiplicand: The long multiplication algorithm starts with multiplying the …
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Historical Tidbits — 1st Bank of North America established
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. December 31, 1781 1st Bank of North America established Chartered May 26, 1781, by the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation, this enterprise was the first national and truly …
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Historical Tidbits — Arnold Attacks Quebec City
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. December 31, 1775 — Patriot forces under Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery attempted to capture the British-occupied city of Quebec and with it win support for the …
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I’m Planning my 2023 Season
I am beginning to set my schedule for next year and wanted to take the time to remind you that if you want to book the Regimental Brewmeister for an event, now is the time to reach out! I offer many programs, though the most popular are brewing, tavern keeping, and surveying. Calendars always fills …
We’re Reopening the Blacksmith Shop at Fort Mifflin
In 1776 the Committee of Safety of the Delaware River ordered a “Smith Shop and Forge” to be built on Mud Island. That building was likely demolished during the siege of 1777 but we have the rebuild (new and improved) blacksmith shop from 1798 The only thing missing is a blacksmith is on duty managing …
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Auld Lang Syne
At midnight on December 31st, throughout the English-speaking world, the song “Auld Lang Syne” is sung practically everywhere. This song — actually a poem by Robert Burns — is indelibly linked to New Year’s celebrations, but what does it mean? You’ve all seen Billy Crystal in Harry met Sally: “Does that mean that we should …
The Other East India Companies
When we talk about 18th Century trade monopolies, the big three (British East India Company, Hudson Bay Company, and the Dutch East India Company). The era of Spanish hegemony in trade was well in the decline by 1700 but what about the other imperial powers. Let’s not forget that France, Austria, Demark, Sweden, and Portugal …
The British East India Company
Founded in 1600 by royal charter, the East India Company was established as a joint-stock trading company to exploit opportunities east of the Cape of Good Hope where it was granted a trade monopoly. Crucially, to conduct this trade, the EIC was permitted to ‘wage war’. Although the EIC did not hold sovereignty in its …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 