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. January 20, 1781 Pompton Mutiny — revolt of New Jersey troops On January 20, about 200-300 of the soldiers at Pompton mutinied. According to eyewitness accounts, they were also …
Category Archives: Ideas
The Health Benefits of Beer
So, I went to this lecture at a synagogue downtown (Rodeph Shalom) and the rabbi pulled a dozen or so Talmudic[i] references on beer and brewing for the group to consider. Now I will not bore my non-Jewish readers with the esoterica of rabbinic debate but the selection we discussed was who follow this blog …
A Short History of Mapmaking in the Americas
Maps of land surfaces and charts of the sea coasts are scaled down representations of the earth’s surface. They are ideal documents to prove that a discovery has taken place and provide the means for the exploration to be repeated by others. They are tremendous assets to the military and are a great aid to …
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Historical Tidbits — Battle of Golden Hill
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. The Battle of Golden Hill was a clash between British soldiers and the Sons of Liberty in the American colonies that occurred on January 19, 1770, in New York City. Along with the Boston Massacre and the Gaspée Affair, the event …
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Making Matchcord
Despite what you may have learned watching Saturday Morning Cartoons, cannon are not fired by lighting a fuse like you see on a firecracker which slowly burns down to the charge. Well, they are but the fuse is generally a pile of loose gunpowder or a gunpowder impregnated quil that burns very rapidly to fire …
Making Gunpowder
Gunpowder that was of vital to the success of the American soldiers in the American Revolution. Bunker Hill was lost not because of overwhelming British superiority but rather because the militia entrenched on Breeds Hill ran out of ammunition. In all of England, including the colonies, making black powder was legally a Crown monopoly. While …
“Beer” Recipe — Black Cider
One of the biggest atrocities of the Revolutionary War was committed not by our enemies the British or even the Hessians, it was committed within our hallowed halls and ultimately enshrined in the Constitution and that atrocity was slavery. Eighteenth Century white men all felt that they were morally and intellectually superior to men of …
Historical Tidbits — Battle of Cowpens
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. January 17, 1780 Battle of Cowpens Shortly after sunrise, the American rifleman encountered the lead elements of Colonel Balastre Tarleton’s British Legion, the 7th Regiment of Foot, 71st Regiment …
GOP vs Founding Fathers
Round 6 — The Right to Keep and Bear Arms Well folks, this is an election year. This guarantees we will disagree on many things but please heed this bit of advice – wear boots! The Republican Party likes to claim that they are “originalist” and that they know the intentions that the Founding Fathers …
Fighting the War behind a Desk
History books are filled with glorification of exploits on the battlefield and we have all heard the story of Alexander Hamilton bristling at the role of Aide-du-Camp and demanding his opportunity to prove himself in the field. The reality of military operations, however, is very different. Much of the real WORK of a military commander …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 