Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#9)

Opening Doors to France — Francis Daymond Francis Daymon, was a Frenchman hired by Benjamin Franklin as librarian for his Library Company at Carpenter’s Hall.  Daymon served as translator and organizer for meetings between Julien-Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir, a former French Army officer who retired to Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay.  Frankin and Jay …

Noted Surveyor and Astronomer, Benjamin Banneker a Real Self-made man

Benjamin Banneker was an African-American farmer, self-educated mathematician, astronomer, and surveyor but most importantly, Benjamin Banneker was a FREE MAN not a slave, despite living in a slave state during the early years of the republic.   Although he received little schooling, Banneker demonstrated exceptional scientific ability and taught himself advanced mathematics and astronomy. In 1789 …

Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#8)

Proper British Spies — Henry DeBerniere and John Brown In March 1775, Ensign Henry DeBerniere of His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot disguised himself as a land surveyor and headed out of Boston in search of the arms cache of the local militia.  He and Captain John Brown of the 52nd Foot, had been ordered …

If we tried to have a revolution today, would we succeed?

If we tried to have a revolution today, would we succeed?  Do we have what it takes?  I hear boasts at reenactments all the time and everyone thinks they have what it takes to rebel but are we willing to “dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,”[1] or are we more likely …

George Washington was a Surveyor

As a boy, George Washington strongly considered a career in the Royal Navy and studying geometry and celestial navigation.  To improve his skills, he took up surveying using a set of surveyor’s instruments his father owned for his farm. Early in 1748, Washington accompanied George Fairfax and James Genn, the Royal Surveyor of Prince William …

Coming-of-age ale — a long-forgotten British beer style

For most of the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, the practice of home-brewing was common on most farms and homestead, but one beer style was almost exclusively the domain of noblemen and country gentlemen – the “coming-of-age” beer.  These beers, typically extra stout, were brewed and laid down laid down when the son and heir …

Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#7)

No one would suspect “little ole me” of being a spy — Ann Bates Ann Bates was Philadelphia schoolteacher with Loyalist sympathies.  She was also married to a British soldier and gunsmith, posted in New York. At the British camp, she met Major Duncan Drummond, the intelligence chief for the British commanding general, who preceded …