250 and Counting

Tag: US History

  • He Built This City–March 28, 1776

    Cover art for March 285, 1776: Portrait of Juan Bautista de Anza. Painted by Fray Orci; 1774. via Wikimedia Commons

    Juan Bautista de Anza is considered one of the founding fathers of Spanish California.

    He was born in 1736 in New Spain (what we now call Sonora, Mexico) into a family of military leaders. Most of his military actions involved taking on Native Americans while he explored what is now known as Arizona.

    Near the end of the 1760s Spain began to colonize Alta California, which was basically anything not considered Baja California. They took a two-pronged approach; one expedition ran up the coast at sea, which turned out to be quite difficult because the winds were going the wrong way. The other path was over land, which was a little more direct and allowed the Spanish to establish several missions along the way.

    In 1772 Anza proposed a new expedtion to Alta California, which was eventually approved by the King of Spain, and in January 1774 he set out from a place a little bit south of present-day Tuscon, Arizona. By April he’d reached Monterey, California before returning to the place he’d started.

    October 1775 brought a new start to the expedition, this time with the goal of transporting colonists to Monterey. Having done that, he continued north until arriving at the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino, which is now known as Stevens Creek. Two days later he’d spotted the San Francisco Estuary and identified the sites for the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.

    Having established an overland route, Anza returned the way he’d come. Unfortunately in 1781 the Yuma Tribe closed off the trail at the Colorado River, which stayed closed until the 1820s, meaning that if you wanted to get to Alta California from Baja, for over 40 years you had to do it by sea.

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  • A New Home For The Royal Navy–March 27, 1776

    Cover art for March 27, 1776: Depiction of Citadel Hill during the American Revolution, viewed from Fort Needham, 1780. Engraved and published by Edward Hicks, 1780. From the Virtual Halifax archives, via wikimedia.

    The image in today’s cover art is an engraving of Citadel Hill, around 1780.

    Citadel Hill is a very popular historic site in Halifax, and while four forts have been built on this site, none of them have ever had to withstand a direct attack. In a couple of instances, structures near the Citadel were attacked, but never the building itself. It’s possible that the forts that were erected on the site served as deterrents.

    The first Citadel was built in 1749. Fortifications were constructed on this hill to protect against raids by the French, colonial Akadians, and local tribes, especially the Mi’kmaq (pronounce it “MicMac”). By 1761 the fort was in ruins and a second, larger Citadel was built in 1776. This is the one in the artwork. While the garrison was always on alert, again it was never attacked, and by 1784 it was again in ruins. The third Citadel was built starting in 1796, when the old one was dismantled. This one was larger still and looked much like the current model, except it had more earthworks. During the War of 1812 some quick renovations were made in case the Americans attacked, but again the whole thing fell to ruin by 1825.

    Construction for the current Citadel began in 1828. It was a huge masonry-construction star-shaped fort that took 28 years to finish. An incident in the nearby waters nearly dragged the Citadel into the American Civil War but again there were no attacks on the fort. Eventually it was restored by historians and in 1956 it opened as a historic site and home to the Halifax Army Museum. In the 1990s it was restored again to its 1869 appearance and is maintained as such.

    The grounds of the Halifax Citadel are open year round. From spring to fall, a living history program features re-enactors portraying the 78th Highland Regiment (stationed at Halifax between 1869 and 1871), the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band, the Third Brigade of the Royal Artillery, soldiers’ wives, and civilian tradespeople. Parks Canada also hosts several re-enactment events each year by volunteers of the Brigade of the American Revolution and the two living history associations.

    The Citadel’s role in the history of Halifax and North America is communicated through guided and self-guided tours, audio-visual presentations, and various exhibits. On average, the citadel sees over 200,000 visitors annually. A ceremonial firing of the noon gun is conducted daily by staff, and continues year-round, even when the site is closed to visitors. The artillery is also used for formal occasions such as 21-gun salutes.

    The “Army Museum”, located in the Citadel’s Cavalier Block, displays a rare collection of weapons, medals, and uniforms exploring Nova Scotia’s army history. It is an independent non-profit museum, and staff work in close partnership with the Citadel staff and Parks Canada.

    In July 2006, the Halifax Citadel celebrated the 100th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last British military forces from Canada. The Citadel hosted over 1,000 re-enactors from around the world. Approaching the Christmas season, Citadel Hill annually hosts a “Victorian Christmas”. Visitors are treated to crafts, carolers, and games, as well as a visit from Santa Claus.

    Ghost tours are held at the fort in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Ghost tours! Nobody ever died in battle there, but we’re doing ghost tours. Fantastic.

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  • A Death In Rhode Island–March 26, 1776

    Cover art for March 26, 1776: Portrait of Samuel Ward, probably by David McNeely Stauffer. (image cropped) via New York Public Library Digital Archives.

    Samuel Ward Sr. was a farmer and a politician, the governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a Justice of that colony’s Supreme Court.

    As a younger man, Ward believed in governments issuing hard money rather than paper, often battling with Stephen Hopkins over this issue. Because of this specific topic, the two men became bitter rivals and for several terms they alternated being governor of Rhode Island.

    His final term as governor ended in 1767, at which he left politics to work on his farm. But in 1774 he was called back into service as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Fortunately, he and Hopkins had buried the hatchet and the two were more friendly with one another. I say “fortunately” because Stephen Hopkins was also called to join the Congress.

    Ward died in Philadelphia and was buried there, but over 80 years later he was moved to the Common Burying Ground in Newport, RI and reinterred there.

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  • Raid On Tybee Island–March 25, 1776

    Cover art for March 25, 1776: Map showing Savannah and Tybee Island, 1733. Via The Boston Public Library digital map archive.

    The raid on Tybee Island wasn’t the only one of its kind; in fact a similar action had been taken at Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina a few weeks earlier.

    In that case there were many more runaway slaves involved, but like Tybee, very few were actually captured and the fate of most of the others is unknown, although there is one account that says fifty people had resisted capture and were subesquently killed.

    But in both cases we see a raid that took place specifically to deny people their freedom, and the proclamation the led to these raids directly influenced the argument in the Declaration of Independence that King George incited “domestic insurrections.” So…the desire of slaves to be free…drove the Patriots to desire independence.

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  • Letters From The General–March 24, 1776

    Cover art for March 24, 1776: Reproduction of a portrait of Josiah Quincy I by John Singleton Copley. Photo uploaded to Wikipedia by user Mmangan333.

    Mike had a little fun busting on George Washington’s spelling in today’s episode, but we do have to offer a little grace here, because in 1776 efforts to standardize spelling in the English language were only just beginning to catch on.

    About a hundred years earlier, some of the language was simplified; thus, sinne became sin; logique became logic; toune to town, etc. Not long afterward, some words were tied to their Greek or Latin roots, e.g. det became debt (Latin, “debitum”) and dout became doubt (Latin, “dubitare”), and so on.

    It really wasn’t until the 19th Century that more serious efforts to standarize some English took place, as the science of phonetics began to rise. In the 1870s, societies actually began springing up that were dedicated to reforming the English language’s spelling. One such group had the editor of the Chicago Tribune as a member, so whenever his group had something they thought was good, he’d be the first one using it in print.

    In 1903 a group called the Simplified Spelling Board was formed, backed by Andrew Carnegie. Their recommendations were immediately relayed to all government agencies by President Teddy Roosevelt.

    And then between the 1930s and 1975, the Chicago Tribune (again) was at the forefront of changes to standardized spelling, thus giving the new language a huge platform on which to rest.

    Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls, kids.

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  • Here Come The Privateers–March 23, 1776

    Cover art for March 23, 1776: "A View of His Majesty's Brigg Observer Engaging the American Privateer Ship Jack, by British artist Robert Dodd. Hand-colored aquatint, 1784. The battle itself took place two years earlier.

    When you first hear the word “Privateers” and its definition, your mind probably goes to your basic concept of a pirate: someone who attacks a ship and plunders its hold for anything valuable. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but there’s still a difference.

    A privateer is essentially a pirate who’s working on the right side of the law. Privateers are given commissions through a document called a Letter of Marque, which authorizes a vessel to engage with any ship they consider unfriendly. This wasn’t unique to America; privateering was done all over the world. But in our case, it was a response to the fact that America was sorely out-gunned by the British and needed whatever help they could get. And early privateers had a high success rate, until the British realized that privateers were in use at all.

    One of our most famous privateers is John Paul Jones, who volunteered his services and, rather than using his ship to raid British vessels near America, did most of his work near the English coast. He would raid towns, attack vessels and send the Congress their share of the spoils.

    So the bottom line when it comes to the difference: permission. Privateers and pirates did much the same thing, except privateers had consent.

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  • William Tryon Isn’t Popular–March 22, 1776

    Cover art for March 22, 1776: "Governor Tryon and the Regulators." Alexander Bobbett's 1877 line engraving based on an earlier illustration by the prominent American artist Felix Octavius Carr Darley (F.O.C. Darley) in 1876.

    To be perfectly clear, William Tryon was never popular on this side of the pond.

    When he was appointed Lieutenant Governor in North Carolina in 1764, he wasn’t able to move into the usual housing for a man of that title because the previous inhabitant refused to move out.

    When the Stamp Act was enacted in 1765, there was a great deal of opposition in North Carolina, so he refused to allow meetings of the Assembly in order to prevent them from voting for a resolution formally opposing it.

    When he was appointed Royal Governor, he made plans for an elaborate new Governor’s Mansion that cost twice the amount of money allotted for it. Then he hired laborers from Philadelphia to construct it, saying that North Carolinians didn’t have the necessary skills.

    The 1771 Regulator Uprising that Mike talks about in today’s episode was the last straw for William Tryon in North Carolina, and many historians view it as the first sign that a true revolution was coming. Within a month of that event, he left North Carolina and headed for New York, where things, as you’ll hear, didn’t go any better.

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  • John Frederick Frelinghuysen–March 21, 1776

    Cover art for March 21, 1776: John Frelinghuyser's gravestone in the Old Somerville Cemetery. via WIkimedia Commons.

    John Frelinghuysen was born on this day in 1776 (hey! Cake and Candles for this man!) and died in 1833. Like many people of the time, he never permanently left the area where he was born. Born there, lived and worked there, died there.

    He probably went to Trenton on business a few times, and he was stationed at Sandy Hook while in the Army, but that appears to be about all as far as travel.

    John Frelinghuysen married Louisa Mercer in 1797, and they had two daughters: Gertrude and Mary Ann. Louisa died around 1809 and John married Elizabeth Mercereau Van Vechten on November 13, 1811. They had eight children: Louisa, Theodore, Frederick J., Catharine, Sallie, Sophia, and Elizabeth LaGrange Frelinghuysen.

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  • Meet The New Boss–March 20, 1776

    Cover art for March 20, 1776: portrait of Nathaniel Greene "painted from memory" by John Trumbull, 1792. via Yale University Art Gallery.

    While preparing to depart Boston for New York, George Washington appointed Nathaniel Greene to run things for awhile until everything was back in order.

    Fortunately for both Greene and Washington, matters straightened out rather quickly, because Greene was called to join Washington just a few weeks later.

    Nathaniel Greene was tasked with fortifying Brooklyn while Washington prepared to defend Manhattan. As a military leader, Greene had a bit of a mixed record, but more often than not it appears that he was the victim of poor timing when things didn’t go well for him.

    Later on in the war, he took on the position of Quartermaster General, which on its surface looks like a demotion, but Washington still considered him “inner circle” and Greene would sit in on War Council meetings, even though he was considered a staff officer.

    Later on, when things started looking gloomy in South Carolina and Georgia, Nathaniel Greene was put in charge of the Southern Department of the Continental Army, where he embarked on a campaign of guerilla warfare rather than pitched battles. His unconventional approach wasn’t always successful, but if the British won a battle it was at a much greater cost than it should have been.

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  • Philemon Beecher–March 19, 1776

    Cover art for March 19, 1776: Gravestone of Philemon Beecher. via findagrave.com.

    Philemon Beecher is an unusual name (said the guy named Claude Call, sigh), but that’s on us for not recognizing it as a name from the Bible. Philemon was a man to whom the apostle Paul wrote while in prison. He was in prison more than once, but it’s not entirely clear which stretch Paul was doing when he wrote it.

    Philemon was a leader in the Colossian Church, and Paul’s letter—one of a very few that scholars generally agree was actually written by Paul—touches on themes of reconciliation, forgiveness, and Christian fellowship, addressing themes of slavery, freedom, and ethical conduct within the Roman social context. While it doesn’t explicitly condemn slavery, it reframes master-servant relationships in spiritual terms, highlighting the moral and social transformation encouraged within early Christian communities.

    But I digress. Philemon Beecher was a successful attorney and a semi-successful politician who was one of Ohio’s first House members once Ohio became a state. Beecher also got married in 1803, so that was a pretty good year for him. He was one of ten children, one of whom died at the age of three and who coincidentally was also named Philemon Beecher. They recycled that name two years later! Some of his other siblings also died relatively young but they had reached adulthood.

    I don’t imagine he had an especially distinguished political career, given that I couldn’t find an image of him in any of my usual haunts. What’s more, I couldn’t ascertain whether he and his wife Susan had any children, though it appears the answer to that is “no.” Nevertheless, he remained a prominent citizen as an attorney and member of the board of the Lancaster, Ohio Bank. He also participated as a member of The Colonization Society in Lancaster, a group dedicated to repatriating Black people back to Africa as an alternative to slavery.

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