250 and Counting

Tag: American Revolution

  • October 6, 1775: A Strongly-Worded Letter

    Cover art for October 6, 1775: Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Basic design adopted by Governor John Hancock and the Council on December 13, 1780 [1], present design adopted in 1901, rendered by E.H. Garrett

    We actually touched on this once before, but George Washington was known for being quite the gentleman, but he did have a temper, especially when things weren’t handled in a gentlemanly way. Cross the lines of civility and he was hoisting the Jolly Roger, my friend.

    In a previous episode we noted that Washington wrote to General Gage about the treatment that captured American soldiers were receiving. In it was a thinly-veiled hint that he had prisoners too. And he’d be more than happy to treat them the way the British were apparently treating American soldiers. It’s not clear whether this had the desired effect. What is clear is that when something didn’t meet his expectations, he was going to make himself heard.

    And by this date, Washington had a few things that needed to be addressed by the Massachusetts General Court. That sounds like a legal body but it was, in fact, the provincial government at that time. There were some things that the Continental Congress handled for the army, but the General Court took care of much more at that time. Unfortunately for Washington, the General Court was—in his opinion—dragging its feet and needed a nudge in the right direction.

    And Washington was only too happy to provide that nudge.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • October 5, 1775: An Arrest In Canada

    Cover art for October 5, 1775: Oil-on-wood portrait of Thomas Walker

    Thomas Walker was born in England and emigrated to Boston in 1752. In 1763 he moved to Montreal and became a merchant.

    When the war broke out in the Colonies, both Walker and his wife’s sympathies remained with the Americans. So it was that he agreed to assist with the invasion of Montreal. The plan never got to the point where his task came in, but since he was known to be part of it, the word went out for his arrest.

    Walker didn’t give up quickly but he was caught by the British for his crime. A month later he was put on a ship bound for Quebec, but it was captured by the Americans and he was released. He returned to Montreal(!) but when an American delegation showed up in May 1776, he decided to return to America with them, and he re-established himself in Boston. Unfortunately we don’t know a lot about what happened to him after that except that in 1785 he petitioned Congress for reimbursement for lost income because of the war.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • October 4, 1775: A Spy In The Ointment

    Cover art for October 4, 1775: Portrait of Benjamin Church, created posthumously based on people's descriptions of him. A life portrait was never made of him.

    It’s actually kind of curious that Benedict Arnold gets all the “traitor” press when there were other spies and turncoats doing their thing during the Revolution. Of course there were! There were Loyalists among the Patriots! It was practically a civil war.

    Dr. Benjamin Church, essentially our first Surgeon General (but that wasn’t a thing yet, so), was a Loyalist in Patriot clothing. Arnold was swayed by his young, pretty, Loyalist wife Peggy Shippen. But we’ll get to that eventually. (There was probably more to it than that, but Peggy was at the heart of it.)

    Incidentally, we ran out of time to tell you this part, but it’s only presumed that Church died on the way to Martinique because the entire boat simply vanished; it was never heard from again. I guess you could argue that it was claimed by the Bermuda Triangle.

    Do people still talk about the Bermuda Triangle? That was a big honkin’ deal fifty years ago.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • October 3, 1775: Rhode Island Suggests a Navy

    It’s often tough to remember that when the fighting first broke out, it wasn’t a bid for independence from Britain. It was an attempt to protect and defend rights that the Colonists thought they had as part of their relationship with Britain. Reconciliation was (amazingly) still on the table, even six months after Lexington.

    So while many colonies had created their own small navies (with Congress’ encouragement), there were several in Congress who felt that creation of a navy was a step too far. They were okay with an army, but not a navy? I don’t really get it either.

    When Rhode Island finally put forth a formal proposal for a Continental Navy, it met with almost universal resistance. Why? Tune in and find out.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

    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 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed