250 and Counting

Author: Claude Call

  • October 2, 1775: Whoa…We’re Halfway There!?

    Cover art for October 2, 1775: one of several markers commemorating stops for Benedict Arnold and his soldiers. This one is near Ticonic Falls, which is the modern name for Norridgewock Falls.

    It was not so very long ago that some of us sought directions from Mapquest. Then we printed them out in order to make a trip of some kind.

    It was only a little bit longer ago that we depended on physical maps to get places. In fact, if you’re a fan of the HBO show The Wire, you may recall a plot point that revolved around printed maps. A secret code led to a point on the map.

    Back in the 18th Century, maps were very important resources for the overland traveler. And if a map had a mistake on it, you could be hopelessly lost. It’s not as though you could pull into Ye Olde Gas Station and get directions.

    So the bad news for Benedict Arnold and Company is that the map he used to get to Quebec was terribly inaccurate. The good news is that it was largely incorrect from a distance standpoint. It could have genuinely been much worse.

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  • October 1, 1775: The Adams Family Letters

    Cover art for October 1, 1775: Page 1 of the letter Abigail Adams sent to John on this date. (Blurred to keep the MHS off our tails.)

    We have two fun events for you today: first up, North Carolina reaches an important deadline it had set back in August.

    Then, by sheer coincidence, John and Abigail Adams each wrote a letter to the other. Of course, they wrote to one another quite frequently, so this probably happened more often than you’d think. But remember also that any news they received was probably two weeks old by the time the letter landed in their hands.

    I will close today’s notes with an amusing anecdote that John Adams used to close his letter. He wrote:

    A few days ago, in Company with Dr. Zubly, somebody said, there was nobody on our side but the Almighty. The Dr. who is a Native of Switzerland, and speaks but broken English, quickly replied “Dat is enough.—Dat is enough,” and turning to me, says he, it puts me in mind of a fellow who once said, The Catholicks have on their side the Pope, and the K[ing] of France and the K. of Spain, and the K. of Sardinia, and the K. of Poland and the Emperor of Germany &c. &c. &c. But as to them poor Devils the Protestants, they have nothing on their side but God Almighty.

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  • September 30, 1775: Robert Adrain

    Cover art for September 30, 1775: Oil on canvas portrait of Robert Adrain, attributed to Charles Cromwell Ingham.

    Robert Adrain is one of those names that most people wouldn’t recognize, but back in the day he was a mathematical scholar in a place where there really weren’t any. At least, none of special note.

    Adrain made education his entire life, teaching youngsters while still pretty much a child himself, being 15 when he started. After moving to America, he resumed his teaching career and became the publisher of a mathematical journal, which ran for several years.

    It’s Cake and Candles today for Robert Adrain.

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  • September 29, 1775: David McConaughy

    Cover art for September 29, 1775: Portrait of David McConaughy by unknown author - Image from Washington & Jefferson College's Learned T. Bulman '48 Historic Archives & Museum, part of the U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives., Public Domain

    During the episode we noted that not much is known about David McConaughy’s early life. Even his adult life isn’t especially well-documented. We don’t even know who painted the portrait in today’s cover art.

    But there’s no question that, even if the man himself is a bit of a cypher, his legacy at Washington College is not.

    Meanwhile, another couple of Washingtons are in communication with each other. Lund Washington, a cousin of George, is taking care of Mount Vernon in George’s absence. Unfortunately, he’s having a rather tough week.

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  • September 28, 1775: A Friendly Meeting With The Natives

    Cover art for September 28, 1775: Oil on canvas portait of Rev. Samuel Kirkland painted by Augustus Rockwell in the 1870s.

    First off: let me apologize for not tutoring Mike in the correct pronunciation of “Iroquois.” I’d make him record that part again but he’s at a podcasting conference and away from his studio. (It only looks like a French word, Mike; it’s not pronounced like one.)

    Of course, I grew up in New York so those tribes were kind of beaten into us during Social Studies classes.

    At any rate, we’ve talked in the past about efforts to get the various tribes in upstate New York to join the war effort, but the problem that the Patriots bumped into was that their “family argument” metaphor was taken too well, and the Native American tribes decided that this was exactly the case, and opted to stay out.

    All of them, but one in particular. Tune in and find out which.

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  • September 27, 1775: Virginia Prepares For Battle

    Cover art for September 27, 1775: Portrait of William Woodford, date and artist unknown to us b/c our Google-fu failed.

    William Woodford got his start in the military when he joined George Washington’s Virginia Regiment, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1761.

    When hostilities with Britain began to turn into actual shooting at each other, Woodford became a colonel commanding the 2nd Virginia Regiment. Based on a letter he’d received from his fellow Virginian George Washington, he determined to ensure that his men were well-trained.

    In early December we’ll learn how that paid off handsomely.

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  • September 26, 1775: Commander Thomas Jefferson

    Cover art for September 26, 1775: Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by John Trumbull, 1788 but depicting Jefferson in 1776

    Thomas Jefferson was a writer, an inventor, a lawyer, a philosopher, a statesman, and of course a soldier.

    Wait, what?

    Yes, indeed. Thomas Jefferson was named commander of the militia in Albemarle County. It could be argued that the title was little more than ceremonial, but then again…Jefferson saw no combat. It’s entirely possible that his mere presence was a deterrent to the British, who wanted no part of this fierce warrior.

    It’s not likely, but it’s possible.

    OK, I’m kind of in a mood today, I admit. Go listen to Mike and his story of Jefferson the Soldier.

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  • September 25, 1775: The Capture of Ethan Allen

    Cover art for September 25, 1775: Ethan Allen Before Prescott (cropped), engraving by H.C. Merrill, after creator F.C. Yohn, via the New York Public Library digital collection.

    And this, kiddies, is what happens when you don’t push the “publish” button. You get a late episode. At least the radio folks heard it today.

    BTW: Shout-out to Hillsboro’s News Hound, HBORO.com! Welcome aboard!

    Ethan Allen was part of the Green Mountain Boys and the whole contingent that went north to invade/convince Canada in the effort to get them to join us in the Independence movement. Allen was young and ambitious, and that may have contributed to his downfall here. Because while a plan to move in on Montreal fell apart and resulted in his capture, subsequent research has revealed that Allen may have acted on his own, and that there was in fact no plan.

    Also, for what it’s worth and in case you’re curious: there’s no genuine connection between Ethan Allen the man and Ethan Allen the furniture company other than that the company’s founders was making early-American style furniture at the time.

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    Also worth noting that I keep having to backspace when I write “Ethan Allen” because as someone living in Baltimore I keep typing “Allan”. Thanks, Mister Poe.

  • September 24, 1775: Captain Nathan Heald

    Cover art for September 24, 1775: Photograph of Nathan Heald, date unknown.

    It could be argued that Captain Heald’s biggest claim to fame is that he was on hand for the disastrous outcome at Fort Dearborn, but at least he doesn’t eat the blame for it; it just happened to be the guy who was there.

    On the bright side (such as it is), the events at Dearborn were soon overshadowed by President Madison declaring war on the British, thus beginning the War of 1812. Heald and his wife, who were both injured at Fort Dearborn, were released back to the Americans. Heald was promoted shortly thereafter and given a disability discharge in 1814. And isn’t that always the way.

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  • September 23, 1775: Independence Day on Long Island

    Cover art for September 23, 1775: a 1777 map of the western end of Long Island by John Montresor. via the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston Public Library.

    For those of you new to this podcast (or those who haven’t been paying attention), I grew up on Long Island, and have lived or worked pretty much from one end of the map in today’s cover art to the other at one time or another.

    For instance, my childhood home is just about where the Long Island portion of the map ends at the top right.

    I did my undergrad work approximately where the “H” appears just above Hempstead. I got my graduate degree at a school along that road between Oyster Bay and Huntington.

    So when a story like this pops up, it’s a lot of fun for me to research and record, because I learn so much.

    One of the names I expected to see in my research didn’t turn up, however. That would be the Denton family, which was located in modern-day New Hyde Park. They were also quite influential in the development of the Hempstead area, but that was in the 1600s. By the 1770s they were a revered name but not especially influential.

    The Denton home, a mansion for its time, still stands today. It was empty for several years when I was a young adult, then it became a restaurant for a bit. The McDonald’s Corporation purchased the property, intending to knock it down and build a new restaurant there, but a local historical society intervened and got the building historic status. After a couple of years of negotiation, McDonald’s renovated the building so that it retains its colonial-era charm. If you’re ever in the area, check it out. It’s one of the coolest McDonald’s restaurants you’ll ever see, inside and out.

    According to the person who posted this photo to Wikipedia, he caught grief from store management for trying to take a photo from the parking lot, so this is a "drive-by" shot from his moving car on the street.

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