250 and Counting

George Washington was a pretty smart guy. He knew exactly what his army needed, in all aspects. He had a handle on discipline, on supplies, on tactics and any number of other things. Washington surrounded himself with people who were smart, too. This went a long way toward ensuring his success. So when his army started to fall apart because some basic needs weren’t getting met, Washington to...

Okay, first off, it’s only appropriate that I apologize for the stupid title. I really shouldn’t write when I’m low on sleep. Manley’s beginnings were murky (e.g. his year of birth is approximate) but he was a quick study and it’s no wonder that George Washington selected him as one of his first captains in the Revolutionary War. Just a few months later he was promote...

To be clear, the actual burning of Falmouth took place on October 18, but the events that led directly to it happened on this day. Captain Henry Mowat had been captured by patriots in Falmouth some time earlier. When he returned, he brought five gunships with him. When he demanded that the locals swear allegiance to King George III, he gave the command that laid waste to the town. The post The Bur...

Fort St. Jean was a relatively soft target compared to Boston. Plus, it wasn’t as well fortified because the British weren’t holed up there. Sooner or later something would come along to break up the stalemate. On this day, a couple of somethings arrived, from Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The big guns that Montgomery had hoped for finally arrived. And not long behind that, Montgom...

Programming Note: Mike came down with a case of electronic laryngitis, so you’re getting me again for today’s episode. But Mike wrote it, so there’s that. John Dabney Terrell Sr. was…not one of our best and brightest Americans, but the work he did will lead us to a bigger story some time down the road. Much of what he did laid down the foundation for the event that became k...

It’s Cake and Candles for the US Navy, born this day in 1775. The Continental Congress initially authorized the purchase and retrofitting of two ships. But before long they saw the wisdom of having a navy, and soon many more ships were purchased, and commissioned into service. The Continental Navy, to be honest, didn’t have a huge impact on the war. Many ships were lost to British atta...

Although Lyman Beecher could be considered famous just for being the father of several prominent writers and ministers, he also had some achievements in his own right. Beecher first became known for a sermon which was published shortly afterward on the evils of duelling. Because it was in the wake of Alexander Hamilton’s death, it proved quite popular. Beecher next turned his eyes to intempe...

Benedict Arnold and Company are still on the move toward Quebec. Over a three-week period they’ve moved fewer than 90 miles, with only…300 to go. Today they’ve reached The Great Carrying Place, a 13-mile walk alternating between woods and knee-deep mud, all while carrying everything they’ll need to get to Canada. Back in the Colonies proper, General Gage is being replaced b...

That’s an interesting goof I made with today’s cover art, with the tiny black stripe down the right. It’s a mistake, but it looks like the picture has a shadow, so I’m keepin’ it. The Second Continental Congress was a very serious, thoughtful body of men who did not shirk their duties. They often worked very long hours, six days a week, and might have gone for seven h...

By now the British appear to accepted the fact that the war was going to go on for much longer than they thought. They thought that fighting the colonies would be a cake walk. They discovered that it was quickly becoming a quagmire. Fortunately they recognized it and began to make plans. Lord Dartmouth and General Howe started drawing something up that involved isolating Washington’s army fr...

When the war first started, the Continental Army took on all comers, largely because they didn’t have a lot of choice. Frankly, they needed whatever bodies they could get. But it was around this time in 1775 that George Washington and his advisers decided that they could afford to get choosier about their recruits, So they decided not to take on any more Black soldiers. What’s more, so...

While Boston was under siege, the British were having a hard time getting food and other supplies. But they still controlled the water, so British naval vessels went in search. Captain James Wallace was especially good at procuring supplies, largely because he harassed people until they gave in, or he would threaten to shoot up the place. This second tactic was the one he chose for Bristol, Rhode...

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 r...

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 w...

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 Patrio...

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 (wi...

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 1...

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...

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 beca...

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...

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...

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 th...

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...

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 Indep...

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. H...