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. September 23, 1779 HMS Serapis captured by John Paul Jones On September 23, the Bonhomme Richard engaged the Serapis and the smaller Countess of Scarborough, which were escorting the …
Tag Archives: American Revolution
Historical Tidbits
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. September 22, 1776 – Nathanial Hale is executed as a spy on Long Island without trial. “My only regret is that I have but one life to give to …
Historical Tidbits
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. September 21, 1776 — Great Fire of New York erupted destroying 10 to 25 percent of buildings in the city. The British Army accused revolutionaries of deliberately setting the …
Historical Tidbits
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. September 20, 1777 Massacre at Paoli On the evening of September 20, 1777, near Paoli, Pennsylvania, General Charles Grey and nearly 5,000 British soldiers launch a surprise attack …
Colonial Spymaster (#2) — Caesar Cypher
The Caesar cypher is one of the earliest known and simplest cyphers. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is ‘shifted’ a certain number of places down the alphabet. For example, with a shift of 1, A would be replaced by B, B would become C, and so …
Colonial Spymaster (#1) — Codes and Cyphers in the Continental Army
Going into the Revolution, Americans were at a huge disadvantage to the European powers when it came to cryptography, many of which had been using secret offices where sensitive letters were opened and deciphered by public officials for centuries. It was not uncommon for the messages of Revolutionary leaders and American diplomats to be intercepted …
Continue reading “Colonial Spymaster (#1) — Codes and Cyphers in the Continental Army”
Historical Tidbits
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. September 16, 1779 Failed Siege of Savannah The Siege of Savannah was also known as the Second Battle of Savannah. The year before, the city had been captured by …
Historical Tidbits
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. September 11, 1777 Battle of Brandywine The eleventh of September was greeted with a heavy fog. Washington received reports of different contents about the movements of the British troops. …
A New Name for the New Nation
On September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formally renamed our nation the United States of America. This replaced the term United Colonies, which had been in general use. In a declaration dated September 9, 1776, the delegates wrote: “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the …
Historical Tidbits
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. September 8, 1780 Battle of Eutaw After receiving reinforcements, Major General Nathanael Greene of the Continental Army resumes offensive action against Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart and the British soldiers …
