“M” — John André In the James Bond films, the spymaster is never known by their name, only their codename. In 1777, Britain’s master spy was John André. John André was a British Major officer on the staff of General Henry Clinton (Commander in Chief of British Forces in North America). In 1774, André was …
Continue reading “Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#16)”
Well, sometimes you just have to let someone know what you think and polite words don’t work. We’ve all been at events when we wanted to let loose on one or more of the “brilliant” attendees who “know everything.” Well, its just a matter of speaking the right language (Ik mompel gewoon in het Nederlands …
Continue reading “Swearing and Profanity in 18th Century England”
The Spy who Loved Me… — Peggy Shippen Margaret “Peggy” Shippen was the second wife of American General Benedict Arnold and perhaps the highest-paid spy in the American Revolution. The Shippen family was a prominent Philadelphia family with Loyalist tendencies. During the British occupation of Philadelphia, Peggy Shippen was courted by British Head of Intelligence, …
Continue reading “Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#15)”
David Rittenhouse was a highly respected scientist during the formative years of the United States. Anyone who has attempted to survey knows that straight lines are much easier than curves. Rittenhouse ran the survey that established the circular boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware, a circle of 12-mile radius, with Newcastle as its center. He later …
Typically, when we think of pirates, images of Long John Silver with an eye patch and a parrot come to mind. This is, of course, fiction. There were some pirates in the Caribbean (although most of them were Jews displaced by the Spanish Reconquista) but by far most pirates hailed from ports in Asia and …
The Reinheitsgebot, literally “purity order”, is a series of regulations limiting the ingredients in that can be used to make beer and how beer can be sold in the states of the former Holy Roman Empire. The best-known version of the law was adopted in Bavaria in 1516. According to the 1516 Bavarian law, the …
AKA Samuel Culper Jr — Robert Townsend Robert Townsend was a member of the Culper Ring and operated in New York City. For most of the war, his identity was known only to Abraham Woodhull who was instructed never to tell his name to anyone, even to Washington. Motivated by Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the …
Continue reading “Spy vs Spy: George Washington’s and King George’s Spies (#14)”
The colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania both claimed the land between the 39th and 40th parallels according to the charters granted to each colony. In 1632, King Charles I gave Cecilius Calvert a land grant for a colony in America to be named Maryland. The boundaries for Calvert’s land were: in the north the 40 degree north latitude line; …
Sunday, August 25, 20241:00 – 4:00 pmRichard Wall House1 Wall Park DriveElkins Park, PA 19027 The Richard Wall House is hosting Michael Carver in his impression of the noted surveyor David Rittenhouse, to teach 18th Century surveying on August 25 from 1:00 pm to 4:00pm. The public is invited to participate in a hands-on program …
September 15, 202410 AM – 4 PMPrinceton Battlefield500 Mercer StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540 Going into the Revolution, Americans were at a huge disadvantage to the European powers when it came to spy-craft and cryptography. The British and French employed master spies who had the benefit of centuries of experience in coding and deciphering secret communication between public officials. …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 