250 and Counting

Category: George Washington

  • Enlisting Apprentices–January 30, 1776

    Cover art for January 30, 1776: "Colonial Blacksmith, 1776". Wood engraving, attributed to "Granger" though this may be the name of the collection.
    “Colonial Blacksmith, 1776”. Wood engraving, attributed to “Granger” though this may be the name of the collection.

    While we’re talking about enlisting apprentices today, it should be noted that there was precious little difference between an apprentice and an indentured servant, except maybe their age. Thus, the rules that applied to apprentices when it came to enlistment could also be applied to indentured servants, especially inasmuch as some of those rules seemed designed more for them than apprentices.

    Also: Mike mentioned James Mease and his ketchup recipe. To clarify, ketchup had been around for hundreds of years, originating in China (or Vietnam; it’s a little fuzzy). What Mease did was add a tomato base, giving us the ketchup that we’re used to putting on our cookout foods. The Chinese stuff, commonly called “kê-chiap” was a fish-based sauce.

    Mease’s recipe involved brandy and spices; no sugar or vinegar. Here’s the recipe he published:

    Slice the apples* thin, and over every layer sprinkle a little salt; cover them, and let them lie twenty-four hours; then beat them well, and simmer them half an hour in a bell-metal kettle; then add mace & allspice. When cold, add two cloves of raw shallots cut small, and half a gill of brandy to each bottle, which must be corked tight, and kept in a cool place.

    *Mease called them “apples” because he was using the French word for tomatoes, “pommes d’amour” or “love apples.”

    Anyway, try it out and get back to us.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • From John To George–January 29, 1776

    A letter written by John Hancock.

    Letters from John Hancock to George Washington weren’t especially scarce, nor were letters going the other way. However, today’s letter takes on a few important topics for Washington that one hopes came greatly appreciated.

    There was commendation that Washington had the foresight to send troops to New York, there was some good financial news, there was also good news in the realm of troop recruitment, and there was a warning about likely military action coming fairly soon.

    All in all, it was a letter packed with information, and if we had to guess (because we don’t know), it was likely conveyed by courier rather than the postal system, which was still prone to interception by the British.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • The Noble Train Pulls Into The Station–January 26, 1776

    Cover art for January 26, 1776: "Knox entering camp with artillery" by William H. van Ingen, c. 1831. via Library of Congress.
    “Knox entering camp with artillery” by William H. van Ingen, c. 1831. via Library of Congress. Depicts Henry Knox on horseback with soldiers transporting a disassembled canon on a sled through the snow, winter 1775-76, following his famous capture of artillery at Fort Ticonderoga. Wood engraving, hand-colored.

    The Noble Train of Artillery has finally arrived!

    Given that it was over 150 miles from Ticonderoga NY to Cambridge, MA, and that it was wintertime, and that Interstate 90 was still over 150 years in the future, it’s pretty amazing that Henry Knox was able to move so much artillery so efficiently.

    As Mike notes in the episode, the arrival date is largely a guess, since Knox’s diaries ended the last time we checked in with him, about two weeks ago when he was in western Massachusetts and, it appears, nobody else kept accurate notes on the event. There are, however, notes on the disposition of the materiel, so that makes this a pretty good guess. And it allowed the Continental Army to maintain the Siege of Boston until the British finally bailed out two months later.

  • Many Letters to George–January 17, 1776

    Cover art for January 17, 1776: copy of a letter send in April 1776 by Washington to the Continental Congress. via Library of Congress.
    Copy of a letter sent in April 1776 by Washington to the Continental Congress. via Library of Congress.

    George Washington was a prolific letter writer, and as such he also tended to receive a great number of letters.

    We have to day three missives sent to George Washington on this day in 1776.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

    (Pardon my brevity for this episode; as I write this my wife has spent the better part of the day in the hospital for a surgical procedure, and I’m too exhausted to be my usual clever self.)

  • Washington Has Concerns–January 14, 1776

    Cover art for January 14, 1776: correspondence from Charles Thompson, Secretary to the Second Continental Congress, to George Washington. via Library of Congress.
    Correspondence from Charles Thompson, Secretary to the Second Continental Congress, to George Washington. via Library of Congress.

    As George Washington’s aide-de-camp, Joseph Reed was privy to a lot of things on his Commander-in-Chief’s mind. And it shows in the level of prose that Washington uses when writing to Reed, because it’s much less formal.

    Compare that to the letter he sent to the Continental Congress the same day. In both cases he was expressing concerns regarding his troops, but in one case it’s a criticism of their readiness (Joseph Reed), and in the other it’s concern for their well-being (John Hancock).

    Washington’s troops would remain relatively undisciplined for several months, until the winter encampment at Valley Forge. But I’m getting waaaaay ahead of the story, so stick around. Meanwhile, put this in your ears.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • Preparing To Defend New York–January 7, 1775

    Cover art for January 7, 1775: Portrait of Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith, painted by his son John Trumbull, 1778. via New York Public Library.
    Portrait of Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith, painted by his son John Trumbull, 1778. via New York Public Library.

    There are many letters between George Washington and Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull. Presumably something as simple as proximity to another leader was attractive to both of them, especially in an age where letters took several days to go a hundred miles.

    We have to presume that the two men had very reliable people transporting these letters, given how much detail is in this one regarding Washington’s guesses about British troop movements and exactly what he was going to do about it. It’s certainly been the case before that correspondence has been intercepted by the British in the past, and the Postal Service hadn’t been up and running for very long by that point.

    At any rate, Washington was correct in that the British were taking a hard look at New York City (still mostly just the southern tip of Manhattan, mind you) and the palisades along the Hudson River, which was still called the North River then. Where he was likely incorrect was in the timing of that move, which may have resulted in a little complacency.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • Washington Has A Change Of Heart–December 30, 1775

    Cover art for December 30, 1775: Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown, by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger (cropped), watercolor, 1781.

    Back on October 8, the Continental Army determined that Blacks were no longer to be permitted to enlist, and that existing soldiers would not be allowed to re-enlist.

    But on this date, George Washington changed his mind. Was he suddenly an abolitionist? Not a chance. He owned slaves until the day he died. This was a more pragmatic decision. It was borne of the fact that he and his staff suddenly realized that a lot of soldiers were going to end their enlistment come January. That October decision was starting to look rather short-sighted.

    Add to that the fact that word had gotten about about Lord Dunmore’s offer to free slaves who fought on the British side. Now, he really couldn’t do anything for slaves who came from anywhere other than Virginia, but the offer was still hanging out there.

    Finally, it was quite apparent that there was a growing number of Blacks, whether slave or free, who had shown interest in fighting for the Patriot cause.

    It suddenly looked like a whole lot of bodies were getting turned down by the Continental Army for no good reason.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • Washington Has Some Intel–December 18, 1775

    Cover art for December 18, 1775: A hand-colored printed halftone of a 19th-century illustration of George Washington writing at his desk.
    A hand-colored printed halftone of a 19th-century illustration of George Washington writing at his desk.

    Military Intelligence is a peculiar thing, if only because you never know where it’s going to come from, and/or what it’s going to affect.

    And that’s where today’s episode comes in, because Congress received a letter written today which detailed some plans for British military activity in Virginia. What’s surprising is that the intelligence came from…George Washington, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    Washington was the lucky recipient of food that had been intercepted on its way to the British folks under siege in Boston. He also received several documents outlining plans that were afoot in Virginia, and he dutifully passed them along.

    Most of it was related to Great Bridge, which had already seen some action, but it still put Congress wise to the fact that the war wasn’t only taking place in the northeast, and that military intelligence can come from anywhere.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • The Noble Train Of Artillery–December 17, 1775

    Cover art for December 17, 1775: One of many, MANY images mistakenly showing the Ticonderoga artillery being transported on ox-drawn sleds. Author unknown, National Archive Collection number 111-SC-100815.
    One of many, MANY images mistakenly showing the Ticonderoga artillery being transported on ox-drawn sleds. Author unknown, National Archive Collection number 111-SC-100815.

    Colonel Henry Knox was just about ready to begin moving the Noble Train of Artillery (a phrase he coined, incidentally). He’d have everything he needed to move by the 20th or 21st of December, and then just seventeen days later, he’d be marching into Cambridge.

    As we all know, he was wrong about how long it would take. But that sort of thing happened frequently.

    What we don’t know is why he said he had the animals he needed to transport the materiel when he didn’t. And even though there are numerous images of the Noble Train of Artillery involving oxen, there weren’t any at all: everything was moved using horses.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

    On a personal note: today would have been my grandmother’s 103rd birthday. A lot of things have changed since I was born, but a lot more things changed from the time she was born. The mind boggles.

  • Martha Comes to Cambridge–December 11, 1775

    Cover art for December 11, 1775: Portrait of Martha Dandridge Custis, 1757 by John Wollaston. This was the year her first husband died.

    Most of the portraits we see of Martha Washington were made when she was older, so we have (I think) this image of her as a bit of a crabby old frump.

    And maybe she was, by the time her husband got to be President. She didn’t really love the life of the public spouse and charming party hostess. But it turned out she was good at it, and if it made her crabby, nobody who mattered knew about it on a firsthand basis.

    In fact, Martha Washington was known to be fashionable, calm, outgoing and easy to get along with. And because Boston was rather straitlaced compared to Virginia, she gave off a bit of an exotic air during her time in Cambridge.

    Frump, indeed.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed