250 and Counting

Category: Correspondence

  • August 19, 1775: Washington Hates the Rumor Mill

    Cover art for August 19, 1775: Interior of the British prison ship Jersey. Artist: Edward Bookhout, engraved by Felix Darley, created 1855 but meant to represent conditions during the Revolution.

    In 1681, John Dryden said in his poem “Absalom and Achitophel”:

    Beware the fury of the patient man.

    I hear ya, Dryden, because that’s how I operate.

    And apparently George Washington operated the same way, because he initially took the high road, assuming that rumors about how American prisoners were being treated were just that, and giving General Gage the benefit of the doubt.

    But when the rumors began that Washington was mistreating his prisoners…oh, that didn’t sit well with the General at all.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • August 12, 1775: George Washington Writes a “Dear John” Letter

    Cover art for August 12, 1775: a miniature portrait of John Brown by Edward Greene Malbone, created in 1794.

    One thing that you can’t say about George Washington is that he was a slacker. He was constantly communicating with people, whether it was the orders of the day, making plans to organize his army, or writing letters. And Washington was absolutely prolific at writing letters.

    In this case, he’s writing to a Rhode Island merchant, thanking him for the advance notice of an incoming shipment, and reassuring him that the shipment will reach its destination safely, at least to the extent that he had any control over the matter.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • August 11, 1775: Washington Gets Serious About POWs

    Cover art for August 11, 1775: A sample of George Washington's handwriting in a letter. It's NOT the letter described in today's episode (hence the blurring).

    While today is perhaps the earliest documented instance of George Washington expressing concern for his captured troops, it certainly wouldn’t be the last. For years he worried about this, largely because the British didn’t always consider the Continental Army to be a genuine army, nor did they consider themselves to be “at war” with America; instead this was some kind of petty grievance that needed to be put down.

    As a result, Washington was in frequent communication with his counterparts on the British side, and several people on the Colonial side, expressing his worry that his men were being treated poorly…or worse.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 24, 1775: A Leaked Letter From Someone Who Knows Better

    Cover art for July 24, 1775: Engraving of John Dickinson, approximately mid-1770s, from the New York Public Library Digital Collection.

    Even when it’s Mike’s voice you hear on the episode, it’s Claude who takes the blame for the episode titles.

    It wasn’t a bad thing for members of the Continental Congress to disagree, but some level of decorum was still expected from those members. And almost certainly, one of the commandments was Thou Shalt Not Trash Talk Thy Fellow Delegate. (I may have softened the language a little bit, there.)

    Still, Adams had a right to express whatever frustration he had with John Dickinson, unfortunately the letter in which he did it got intercepted by the British and publicly published; the mere suggestion that there was some dissention among the ranks of a group that typically presented its work as a united front was certainly a Big Deal.

    And it certainly didn’t grease the skids between Adams and Dickinson, nor was that rift ever truly healed.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 23, 1775: John Adams Has Opinions

    Cover art for July 23, 1775: Portrait of John Adams by Mather Brown, 1788.

    John Adams wrote to his wife twice on this day in 1775. What did you do for your spouse that was such a big deal?

    In these letters, the sparks don’t fly the way they do in many others, but the affection he feels for her is still present nonetheless. That he took the time to write a second, more thoughtful letter after dashing off the first one is a nice measure of his esteem for her, and his ability to use her as a sounding board, even when she’s 300 miles and several days’ travel apart.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 16, 1775: Abigail and George

    Cover art for July 16, 1775: Portrait of Abigail Adams by Benjamin Blyth, 1766.

    As noted a couple of days ago, Abigail and John Adams wrote to each other quite frequently. Their relationship was not only deep with love, but with admiration for one another. If you get an opportunity, read David McCullough’s biography of John or, better yet, the Library of America’s volume of Abigail’s letters (not just to John but to many others). Their writing is florid without being mawkish. There’s a LOA volume of John’s correspondence as well.

    In today’s episode, they’re not pining for one another (as they so frequently are). Abigail is relaying to John the details of her meeting with George Washington. Spoiler alert: she found him impressive, despite what she knew about him before meeting him.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 7, 1775 (no, really): Dear Abby

    Cover art for July 7, 1775: Detail of the letter that John Adams sent to his wife Abigail on this day. Source: Massachusetts Historical Society digital archives.

    As you’ll hear today, I have a huge sinus infection and it took a lot of effort to get today’s episode recorded, so I hope you’ll excuse this part being rather brief.

    John and Abigail Adams was probably one of the best documented relationships of the Colonial Era, and it’s a ridiculously touching love story. It’s clear that they hated being apart, and you’d do well to watch the HBO/Max miniseries about him.

    In future episodes we’ll have to dedicate some portion to the literal language between the two. In the meantime, enjoy my Barry White impression.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 6, 1775: The Declaration Before The Declaration

    Cover art for July 6, 1775: Detail of a broadside published in Portsmouth, NH relating the Declaration adopted on this date. (from Library of Congress digital collection)

    Note: I realized belatedly that the episode that dropped yesterday was titled July 7, as was the audio file itself, but if you’ve listened, you know that it was in fact the July 5 file and what we’ve got here are a couple of typos that have mostly been fixed. My apologies for the error and thanks for your forbearance.

    While the Olive Branch Petition was a step toward reconciliation, and the Declaration that Congress adopted today was meant to be in the same vein, in fact it had the opposite effect. Even though the Olive Branch Petition arrived late, the fact that this one, outlining why we’re willing to go to war, effectively cancelled out the other one. Not that it mattered anyway, since King George III declared the Colonies to be in rebellion before he ever saw either one. Plus, much of Parliament was in the mood to squash the Colonies as flat as possible.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • June 28, 1775: A Day of Paperwork

    Cover art for June 28, 1775: Portrait of Jonathan Trumbull by Harry Ives Thompson. Painted in 1880, long after Trumbull's death but it appears that Thompson was trying to re-create Trumbull's appearance at the time of the Revolution.

    It feels like we’re selling the day a little short, but not every day has to be Bunker Hill. Also, we’re discovering (and we hope you are, too) that sometimes it’s the smaller moments between the bigger ones that give us better insight into the hearts and minds of the people who lived during that time.

    Cover art for April 28, 1775: portrait of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, artist unknown.

    Today’s artwork is a portrait of Jonathan Trumbull (brother of John Trumbull, the guy who painted so many of the Founding Fathers), but this painting—which was created in 1880, long after he died—appears to show him as he was around the time of the Revolution. Compare that to the image we used for him back in April (right), which showed him in his later years as Governor of Connecticut.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • May 19, 1775: From Sam Adams to Samuel Purviance

    Cover art for May 25, 1775: Portrait of Samuel Adams by John Singleton Copney. Adams is probably wondering why everyone is offering him a beer these days.

    Baltimore has a lot of historic pride in its street names. Nearly all of them can be traced back to an historic figure or event: Key Highway, named after Francis Scott Key. (Also the Key Bridge, but we’re all still sad about that.) Fort Avenue, leading to Fort McHenry. And while I’m at it, McHenry Street, about two miles from the fort. The town also has John Street, Eager Street and Howard Streets, all of them named after John Eager Howard. one of the earliest governors of the state.

    During the revolution, a prominent family in the city of Baltimore was the Purviance Family, led by brothers Robert and Samuel Purviance. They were both well-known for their activities to support the Colonists’ side during the Revolution. Where are they memorialized?…Listen in and find out.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

    P.S. I do have theories about this but I’m hoping to explore those in a later episode.