Middletown Patch: Eight Members of the "Samson" Poisoned by British During the American Revolution
Humane treatment of prisoners of war has been an issue that has bedeviled civilization for centuries. Laura Hillenbrand’s recent publication of Unbroken—the amazing story of endurance, courage, and perseverance exhibited by Olympic athlete and airman Louie Zamperini -- revisited the well-known inhumane treatment of POWS by the Japanese during World War II. John McCain’s remarkable courage and determination as a POW during the Vietnam War has been well publicized.
The sad story of the deliberate poisoning of eight members of the crew of the Samson during the American Revolution reminds us that mistreatment of prisoners of war has roots deep in our history and a strong connection to Middlesex County. The incident took place 229 years ago this coming week on June 4th off the coast of New York.
Built in Higganum, the sloop of war Samson, had a crew comprised primarily of men from Haddam and Chatham (now called East Hampton). Captain David Brooks, a native of Higganum, commanded the ship. The 1st lieutenant was Shubael Brainerd; Samuel Arnold was the master gunner onboard in charge of the 6-8 guns of from 9-12 pounders; other crewmembers included Jonathan Brainerd, Jr., Elihu Cook, and James and Nathaniel Stocking—both brothers of the captain’s wife, Jemima Stocking. The Stockings were from Haddam Neck. Timothy Clark, Elijah Green, and William Aikens were crewmembers from Chatham. According to the 1885 Beers History of Middlesex County, the Samson had “a sharp bow for fast sailing” and “gained quite a reputation among friend and foes as a strong fighter.” Her most famous engagement took place in Long Island Sound at night against the British sloop Swallow—a ship with 20 guns. Although out-gunned, the Samson held her own. After several hours, both ships retreated for repairs but soon re-engaged several hours later with the Samson as the aggressor. Having retired to Cow Bay near New York for repairs, the captain of the Swallow decided to scuttle his ship rather than fight the Samson again.
The Samson continued to plague British ships and even crossed the Atlantic to engage British ships in the English Channel! There she was captured and the crew imprisoned in the Jersey prison ship off the New York coast. Captain Brooks, Lt. Brainerd, William Aikens, Elihu Clark, Elijah Green, Jonathan Brainerd, Jr., and the Stocking brothers all died on June 4, 1782, after inadvertently ingesting poison. Some accounts say that their food was poisoned, as the master gunner, Samuel Arnold, did not partake of the food and survived. Dr. Dudley Field, author of a Brainerd genealogy, maintains on p. 106 that the crew of the Samson was poisoned with tainted liquor. Either way, Middle Haddam church records show that all died together under suspicious circumstances.
Jonathan Brainerd, Sr., whose son was among those poisoned, was so distraught at his loss that he sought desperate means to escape military service. When the drafting council came to Hog Hill to draft more men for war, the elder Brainerd leapt from a second story window to avoid the draft. Then he had his other son, Jeremiah, “declared a fool” by a magistrate in order to protect him from military service. Young Jeremiah, “smarting under the indignity, took his father down…and gave him a severe beating.” Jonathan Brainerd, Sr., born May 16, 1737, was married 3 times. He survived his son’s beating and lived to be 88 years old.
The history of the maltreatment of prisoners of war is grim. Prisoners captured during ancient times could expect enslavement or slaughter. Warfare during the Middle Ages brought prospects not much better for prisoners, especially in religious wars where heretics could expect almost certain execution. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 brought a beginning of formal attempts over the next 3+ centuries to try to get all nations of the world to agree upon humane treatment of POWS, particularly in conventions held at both The Hague and Geneva. The results have been mixed. Clearly, however, British treatment of American POWS from Middlesex County in June of 1782 was shockingly barbarous, as at least 8 men from well-known families in Haddam and Chatham met their untimely death through poisoning.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
New Jersey - June 4 and 5: Mark the day!
NewJerseymonthly.com: Brigade of the American Revolution Weekend
http://ww.kean.edu/libertyhall
Brigade of the American Revolution WeekendSaturday & Sunday, June 4 & 5
In commemoration of the 231st Anniversary of the Battle of Connecticut Farms & the Bicentennial of the Kean Family’s acquisition of Liberty Hall, the renown Brigade of the American Revolution will encamp on the historic grounds of the LHM.. This will be a weekend of energetic, colorful activity. During Friday night and early Saturday the 18th century camps are set up, complete with soldier's tents, officer's marquees, cooking areas and craft displays. After reveille and officer's call (the entire day is run by period drum signals), the Brigade is assembled, inspected and drilled in maneuvers and firings.
Throughout the day there will be Field Music & Artillery Demonstrations, along with the “People of the Brigade” Clothing Program. In the afternoon a safe tactical weapons demonstration is staged with American Continentals & Militia facing the Crown Forces of British, Tories, & Germans. The day ends with a formal Retreat Ceremony with honors to the flags, accompanied by the Brigade's Field Music. Sunday begins with optional Church services, conducted by a Chaplain in proper vestments for the 18th century. The remainder of the day follows a similar schedule to that of Saturday. Camp is struck late on Sunday. (For Additional Information: www.brigade.org).Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day
http://ww.kean.edu/libertyhall
Brigade of the American Revolution WeekendSaturday & Sunday, June 4 & 5
In commemoration of the 231st Anniversary of the Battle of Connecticut Farms & the Bicentennial of the Kean Family’s acquisition of Liberty Hall, the renown Brigade of the American Revolution will encamp on the historic grounds of the LHM.. This will be a weekend of energetic, colorful activity. During Friday night and early Saturday the 18th century camps are set up, complete with soldier's tents, officer's marquees, cooking areas and craft displays. After reveille and officer's call (the entire day is run by period drum signals), the Brigade is assembled, inspected and drilled in maneuvers and firings.
Throughout the day there will be Field Music & Artillery Demonstrations, along with the “People of the Brigade” Clothing Program. In the afternoon a safe tactical weapons demonstration is staged with American Continentals & Militia facing the Crown Forces of British, Tories, & Germans. The day ends with a formal Retreat Ceremony with honors to the flags, accompanied by the Brigade's Field Music. Sunday begins with optional Church services, conducted by a Chaplain in proper vestments for the 18th century. The remainder of the day follows a similar schedule to that of Saturday. Camp is struck late on Sunday. (For Additional Information: www.brigade.org).Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day
DAR celebrates 90 years and welcomes newcomers
ENCToday.com: DAR celebrates 90 years and welcomes newcomers
Becoming a Daughter of the American Revolution is a birthright — attained through pride and research.
The local chapter of Richard Dobbs Spaight, signer of the Constitution and the first native-born governor of North Carolina, has been celebrating revolutionary heritage for 90 years.
The chapter now has more than 100 members and it welcomes new ones
“You have to prove bloodline descent from a patriot — man or woman — who assisted with the patriot side, the rebel side from the 13 colonies,” said Carolyn McCulley, outgoing regent for the group.
There are some misnomers — not all linage comes from the militia of the time or the Continental Army.
“A lot of people think you have to prove descent from someone who fought,” she said. “There is a lot of other patriotic service that DAR recognizes — people who fought with words or deeds — not just with arms.”
Donating horses, guns, money or crops count. Preachers who espoused the cause from the pulpit qualify.
The potential “Daughter” does have to document each generation leading back to the late 1770s, husband and wife.
The more recent generations are more easily attain through vital records such as birth and marriage certificates. These date to the early 1900s and usually cover about three generations. Obituaries and baptismal records are also recognized.
Earlier records include census reports, family Bibles and estate records.
“The real sticky part is when you go back before 1850, because that was the first census that included not only the head of household, but everybody in the household,” she said. “Before that it just had the head of household and (numbers) so many women, so many men and so many children.”
She said the most critical link is that between child and parent.
The local chapter, which began with 15 charter members in 1921, continues to grow. It is not by accident.
The group has a linage research team, including McCulley, and incoming regent Lou Walker of Oriental, who has undergone intensive genealogy training in the DAR national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and also in Durham.
She and Walker will be at Saturday’s Family History Fair at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, hosting a course on tracing ancestry to the American Revolution.
The national DAR has a public-access database to trace family histories.
On the web: ncdar.org/RichardDobbsSpaightChapter
Becoming a Daughter of the American Revolution is a birthright — attained through pride and research.
The local chapter of Richard Dobbs Spaight, signer of the Constitution and the first native-born governor of North Carolina, has been celebrating revolutionary heritage for 90 years.
The chapter now has more than 100 members and it welcomes new ones
“You have to prove bloodline descent from a patriot — man or woman — who assisted with the patriot side, the rebel side from the 13 colonies,” said Carolyn McCulley, outgoing regent for the group.
There are some misnomers — not all linage comes from the militia of the time or the Continental Army.
“A lot of people think you have to prove descent from someone who fought,” she said. “There is a lot of other patriotic service that DAR recognizes — people who fought with words or deeds — not just with arms.”
Donating horses, guns, money or crops count. Preachers who espoused the cause from the pulpit qualify.
The potential “Daughter” does have to document each generation leading back to the late 1770s, husband and wife.
The more recent generations are more easily attain through vital records such as birth and marriage certificates. These date to the early 1900s and usually cover about three generations. Obituaries and baptismal records are also recognized.
Earlier records include census reports, family Bibles and estate records.
“The real sticky part is when you go back before 1850, because that was the first census that included not only the head of household, but everybody in the household,” she said. “Before that it just had the head of household and (numbers) so many women, so many men and so many children.”
She said the most critical link is that between child and parent.
The local chapter, which began with 15 charter members in 1921, continues to grow. It is not by accident.
The group has a linage research team, including McCulley, and incoming regent Lou Walker of Oriental, who has undergone intensive genealogy training in the DAR national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and also in Durham.
She and Walker will be at Saturday’s Family History Fair at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, hosting a course on tracing ancestry to the American Revolution.
The national DAR has a public-access database to trace family histories.
On the web: ncdar.org/RichardDobbsSpaightChapter
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
'The Battle of the Crooked Billet' Screened at Southampton Library
UpperSouthhamptonPatch: 'The Battle of the Crooked Billet' Screened at Southampton Library
The filmmakers hope to teach residents about a battle that happened in their own backyards
http://www.battleofcrookedbillet.com/
While many people may be aware of larger battles in the American Revolutionary War, such as Brandywine and Valley Forge, fewer may know about a significant battle that happened locally — the Battle of Crooked Billet.
The producers of one documentary film hope to change that.
"The Battle of the Crooked Billet" chronicles the events leading up to and surrounding the battle, which occurred in what is now Bucks and Montgomery counties on May 1, 1778. The film was screened at the Southampton Free Library Monday night, with a question-and-answer session following.
A screening in Southampton was apt, as one of the major historians whose research brought the Battle of Crooked Billet and militia Gen. John Lacey's work to light, Gen. William Watts Hart Davis, was a Bucks County native.
"It's great to have this shown here in Southampton in his own backyard," said director and executive producer Scott Randolph.
According to the film, at the time of the battle, the American militia, headed by Gen. Lacey, of Bucks County, was tasked by George Washington to keep supplies from getting into Philadelphia to be sold to the British. The British wanted to stop the militia's interference and capture Lacey, so British forces, including a regiment of American loyalists, marched from the city to Crooked Billet, present-day Hatboro, to achieve these aims.
However, Lacey foiled the British plans. Being familiar with the area, he led hundreds of militiamen to escape by heading north into the farmlands of Bucks County, saving many lives.
Ultimately, 26 militiamen were killed in the battle. Nine were wounded, and 58 were captured by the British.
Attendees learned many historical tidbits throughout the evening. Many may not know that in the mid-1930s, there was a failed effort to make the area from Byberry Road to Bristol Road, and from Davisville Road to Old York Road, a national military park similar to Gettysburg because of its role in the battle.
Another little-known fact is that the fallen militiamen were originally buried at one of two locations: one at the current site of Lacey Park in Warminster, and another on the grounds of Wolverton's Welding on County Line Road in Hatboro.
The Battle of Crooked Billet was also demonstrative of a sentiment among historians that the American Revolution was the nation's first Civil War, said Randolph. Brother fought against brother in the struggle for the nation's independence, and anecdotes go that one member of the militia was killed by his own neighbor, a loyalist, at Crooked Billet.
Randolph, a resident of the Burgundy Hills section of Southampton, had a natural interest in the battle. His father was a history buff, so he learned a great deal about all types of history.
"I grew up with the story," he said. "I grew up on the edge of the battlefield."
As a graduate of Crooked Billet Elementary School in Hatboro, named after the historic battle, Randolph thought he knew about the events that transpired that day. But once he began researching for the film, he learned that he was not correct.
"When I met with the historians, I realized that I didn't know the story," he said. "They wanted to make sure to clear up the misconceptions and present the story as it actually happened."
A common false belief about the battle was that it was a win for the British. However, Randolph said that, in talking with historians, he learned that "it was a British failure" because they did not achieve any of their goals. The British did not capture Gen. Lacey, and within 48 hours of the battle, he and his remaining troops were back to disrupting the flow of British supplies into the city.
Other misconceptions, said Randolph, were that Lacey was court-martialed and that the militia "just ran away."
Executive producer Trey Crease also got an education while putting together the documentary. A Civil War buff, Crease knew little about the Revolutionary War.
"It was an actual learning experience for me," he said.
Crease added that the Battle of Crooked Billet was indicative of the brutality of war. The loyalists and British troops killed the militiamen in barbaric ways, even setting some of the wounded on fire in buckwheat straw, burning them alive. The sacrifice of these soldiers is rarely discussed, Crease said.
"People know about the suffering that went at Valley Forge, but there were men being shot at and killed at Crooked Billet," he said. "History overlooks them. Our solders have been forgotten. We believe it's good to give a little recognition to them."
Randolph shared these sentiments.
"We have something that happened right here," he said. "It makes it special. People gave their lives for the founding of our nation. You don't have to go far to find it."
Along with the film, other efforts have been made to commemorate the battle. Crooked Billet Elementary School, where much of the fighting occurred, has a ceremony with its students every year. And, two years ago, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf and Rep. Tom Murt introduced a resolution officially marking May 1 as "Crooked Billet Day" in Pennsylvania.
Besides the Southampton Library screening, the film has been shown at the Union Library of Hatboro and the Upper Moreland Free Public Library. A screening is scheduled for this evening at 7 p.m. at the Horsham Township Library.
"This is what we call our 'grand library tour,'" said Randolph.
The showing at the Southampton Library, which drew close to 25 people, was in the works for about a year, according to reference librarian J.L. Garner.
"It finally gelled, and I was really happy with the turnout," Garner said. "It was really very well attended."
Garner was impressed with the quality and subject matter of the documentary, and he thought screening the piece would be a great addition to the library's adult programming.
"The film is just stupendous; it's History Channel quality," he said. "It's really interesting. It's local history, and it's so professionally done."
The library has been expanding its adult programming to include such events, Garner said. Other adult events at the library include Friday movie screenings of recent DVD releases and bracelet-making workshops.
The filmmakers hope to teach residents about a battle that happened in their own backyards
http://www.battleofcrookedbillet.com/
While many people may be aware of larger battles in the American Revolutionary War, such as Brandywine and Valley Forge, fewer may know about a significant battle that happened locally — the Battle of Crooked Billet.
The producers of one documentary film hope to change that.
"The Battle of the Crooked Billet" chronicles the events leading up to and surrounding the battle, which occurred in what is now Bucks and Montgomery counties on May 1, 1778. The film was screened at the Southampton Free Library Monday night, with a question-and-answer session following.
A screening in Southampton was apt, as one of the major historians whose research brought the Battle of Crooked Billet and militia Gen. John Lacey's work to light, Gen. William Watts Hart Davis, was a Bucks County native.
"It's great to have this shown here in Southampton in his own backyard," said director and executive producer Scott Randolph.
According to the film, at the time of the battle, the American militia, headed by Gen. Lacey, of Bucks County, was tasked by George Washington to keep supplies from getting into Philadelphia to be sold to the British. The British wanted to stop the militia's interference and capture Lacey, so British forces, including a regiment of American loyalists, marched from the city to Crooked Billet, present-day Hatboro, to achieve these aims.
However, Lacey foiled the British plans. Being familiar with the area, he led hundreds of militiamen to escape by heading north into the farmlands of Bucks County, saving many lives.
Ultimately, 26 militiamen were killed in the battle. Nine were wounded, and 58 were captured by the British.
Attendees learned many historical tidbits throughout the evening. Many may not know that in the mid-1930s, there was a failed effort to make the area from Byberry Road to Bristol Road, and from Davisville Road to Old York Road, a national military park similar to Gettysburg because of its role in the battle.
Another little-known fact is that the fallen militiamen were originally buried at one of two locations: one at the current site of Lacey Park in Warminster, and another on the grounds of Wolverton's Welding on County Line Road in Hatboro.
The Battle of Crooked Billet was also demonstrative of a sentiment among historians that the American Revolution was the nation's first Civil War, said Randolph. Brother fought against brother in the struggle for the nation's independence, and anecdotes go that one member of the militia was killed by his own neighbor, a loyalist, at Crooked Billet.
Randolph, a resident of the Burgundy Hills section of Southampton, had a natural interest in the battle. His father was a history buff, so he learned a great deal about all types of history.
"I grew up with the story," he said. "I grew up on the edge of the battlefield."
As a graduate of Crooked Billet Elementary School in Hatboro, named after the historic battle, Randolph thought he knew about the events that transpired that day. But once he began researching for the film, he learned that he was not correct.
"When I met with the historians, I realized that I didn't know the story," he said. "They wanted to make sure to clear up the misconceptions and present the story as it actually happened."
A common false belief about the battle was that it was a win for the British. However, Randolph said that, in talking with historians, he learned that "it was a British failure" because they did not achieve any of their goals. The British did not capture Gen. Lacey, and within 48 hours of the battle, he and his remaining troops were back to disrupting the flow of British supplies into the city.
Other misconceptions, said Randolph, were that Lacey was court-martialed and that the militia "just ran away."
Executive producer Trey Crease also got an education while putting together the documentary. A Civil War buff, Crease knew little about the Revolutionary War.
"It was an actual learning experience for me," he said.
Crease added that the Battle of Crooked Billet was indicative of the brutality of war. The loyalists and British troops killed the militiamen in barbaric ways, even setting some of the wounded on fire in buckwheat straw, burning them alive. The sacrifice of these soldiers is rarely discussed, Crease said.
"People know about the suffering that went at Valley Forge, but there were men being shot at and killed at Crooked Billet," he said. "History overlooks them. Our solders have been forgotten. We believe it's good to give a little recognition to them."
Randolph shared these sentiments.
"We have something that happened right here," he said. "It makes it special. People gave their lives for the founding of our nation. You don't have to go far to find it."
Along with the film, other efforts have been made to commemorate the battle. Crooked Billet Elementary School, where much of the fighting occurred, has a ceremony with its students every year. And, two years ago, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf and Rep. Tom Murt introduced a resolution officially marking May 1 as "Crooked Billet Day" in Pennsylvania.
Besides the Southampton Library screening, the film has been shown at the Union Library of Hatboro and the Upper Moreland Free Public Library. A screening is scheduled for this evening at 7 p.m. at the Horsham Township Library.
"This is what we call our 'grand library tour,'" said Randolph.
The showing at the Southampton Library, which drew close to 25 people, was in the works for about a year, according to reference librarian J.L. Garner.
"It finally gelled, and I was really happy with the turnout," Garner said. "It was really very well attended."
Garner was impressed with the quality and subject matter of the documentary, and he thought screening the piece would be a great addition to the library's adult programming.
"The film is just stupendous; it's History Channel quality," he said. "It's really interesting. It's local history, and it's so professionally done."
The library has been expanding its adult programming to include such events, Garner said. Other adult events at the library include Friday movie screenings of recent DVD releases and bracelet-making workshops.
First vets: Revolutionary War markers dedicated
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen: First vets: Revolutionary War markers dedicated
BURNETT – The Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will host two grave marker dedications on Saturday.
The group will have a ceremony at the grave site of Gershom Noyes, in the Clyman Center Cemetery, at 10 a.m.
After a break, the group will reconvene at the grave site of Levi Holcomb, in the Burnett Corners Cemetery, at 2 p.m.
Aaron Krebs, WISSAR 1st vice president and secretary, said he believes the dedication ceremonies should take around 45 minutes each.
He said this will be the last year that the group does the ceremonies, as they will have finished dedicating the grave markers at all 41 of the graves of Revolutionary War veterans buried in Wisconsin.
Krebs said that since Wisconsin wasn’t a state until 1848, the veterans would have settled in the area when it was still a territory.
“It seems a bit odd that we would have 41 of these people that fought in the revolution buried here,” Krebs said.
He said East Coast states like Massachusets and Virginia have thousands of Revolutionary War graves.
Debra Woldvogel, who has been assisting with the Burnett ceremony planning, said the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has found over 100,000 graves, and only 41 of them are located in Wisconsin.
“It’s pretty rare,” Woldvogel said. “I would imagine most of the people were either killed in the war or stayed on the East Coast. This gentleman [Levi Holcomb] was from Connecticut and ended up moving eventually to Wisconsin.”
Holcomb was born in 1763 in Granby, Conn. He was 16 or 17 when he enlisted as a substitute for his brother. He served for two months at Stratford in Connecticut. In 1781, he enlisted again as a substitute for his other brother, this time for six months guarding British prisoners. He enlisted for a final time after his six months were up, spending 13 months stationed in Stratford, Conn. After the war he moved to New York, then Pennsylvania, before moving to Wisconsin Territory with his daughter and son-in-law. He died in Dodge County in 1854.
Noyes was born in Connecticut in 1764 and grew up in Vermont. At age 17 he enlisted for nine months in Vermont. After the war he moved to New York and spent 50 years with his childhood friend, Nancy. They raised nine children and when she died in 1845, he moved to Wisconsin Territory with his son. He died in 1850.
For more information, visit www.wissar.org.
BURNETT – The Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will host two grave marker dedications on Saturday.
The group will have a ceremony at the grave site of Gershom Noyes, in the Clyman Center Cemetery, at 10 a.m.
After a break, the group will reconvene at the grave site of Levi Holcomb, in the Burnett Corners Cemetery, at 2 p.m.
Aaron Krebs, WISSAR 1st vice president and secretary, said he believes the dedication ceremonies should take around 45 minutes each.
He said this will be the last year that the group does the ceremonies, as they will have finished dedicating the grave markers at all 41 of the graves of Revolutionary War veterans buried in Wisconsin.
Krebs said that since Wisconsin wasn’t a state until 1848, the veterans would have settled in the area when it was still a territory.
“It seems a bit odd that we would have 41 of these people that fought in the revolution buried here,” Krebs said.
He said East Coast states like Massachusets and Virginia have thousands of Revolutionary War graves.
Debra Woldvogel, who has been assisting with the Burnett ceremony planning, said the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has found over 100,000 graves, and only 41 of them are located in Wisconsin.
“It’s pretty rare,” Woldvogel said. “I would imagine most of the people were either killed in the war or stayed on the East Coast. This gentleman [Levi Holcomb] was from Connecticut and ended up moving eventually to Wisconsin.”
Holcomb was born in 1763 in Granby, Conn. He was 16 or 17 when he enlisted as a substitute for his brother. He served for two months at Stratford in Connecticut. In 1781, he enlisted again as a substitute for his other brother, this time for six months guarding British prisoners. He enlisted for a final time after his six months were up, spending 13 months stationed in Stratford, Conn. After the war he moved to New York, then Pennsylvania, before moving to Wisconsin Territory with his daughter and son-in-law. He died in Dodge County in 1854.
Noyes was born in Connecticut in 1764 and grew up in Vermont. At age 17 he enlisted for nine months in Vermont. After the war he moved to New York and spent 50 years with his childhood friend, Nancy. They raised nine children and when she died in 1845, he moved to Wisconsin Territory with his son. He died in 1850.
For more information, visit www.wissar.org.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Five Things To Know Today
Groton Patch: Five Things To Know Today
Of these five things, only one concerns the American Revolution.
Maurice Barboza, who wants to create a national memorial in Washington D.C. honoring black soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, has asked the Groton Town Council for its support. Barboza wants the council to approve a resolution that recognizes local black soldiers and supports a national memorial. Of the black soldiers known to have fought in the American Revolution, 24 came from Groton.
Of these five things, only one concerns the American Revolution.
Maurice Barboza, who wants to create a national memorial in Washington D.C. honoring black soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, has asked the Groton Town Council for its support. Barboza wants the council to approve a resolution that recognizes local black soldiers and supports a national memorial. Of the black soldiers known to have fought in the American Revolution, 24 came from Groton.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
SAR marks grave of Revolutionary soldier
TroyMessenger.com: SAR marks grave of Revolutionary soldier
On a brisk Sunday afternoon beneath the towering oaks at Pea River Cemetery near Tennille, three fifth-generation grandsons of John Griffin unveiled the headstone that marks the final resting place of the patriot of the American Revolution.
The Grave Dedication Program for John Griffin, a Revolutionary War soldier from Pike County, was conducted by the Wiregrass Chapter, Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution.
Dr. David Billings, president of the Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution, told the large gathering of family members and friends that John Griffin was a true patriot who was willing to fight gain the independence and freedoms that Americans enjoy today.
“Let us remember our obligations to our forefathers,” Billings said.
The family of John Griffin gathered to remember their obligations to their “great” grandfather, a true American patriot.
Dr. John Pugh of Atlanta said that he was humbled by the sacrifice of his great grandfather and all of the others who fought and died for America’s “freedom.”
“We owe everything to our ancestors,” Pugh said. “We stand on their shoulders.”
Pugh’s ties to Pike County are through the Pugh and Griffin families. He had a strong desire to locate the final resting place of John Griffin. He wanted to “make it right.”
“But for a long time, it seemed that it would never be,” he said. “I resigned myself to not knowing where he was buried.”
However, information surfaced that placed John Griffin’s final resting place next to that of his son, Isaac, in the Pea River Cemetery.
“It was almost as if ol’ John had reached out his hand to us with the grit and determination of a true patriot,” Pugh said.
As the headstone was unveiled, the wind swept through the cemetery causing the limbs of the giant oaks to bend, almost as a salute to John Griffin, American patriot, and, as an indication that the century oaks will be the sentinels for the American Revolutionary War soldier.
Floral tributes were made. “Amazing Grace” was played on the bagpipes and the SAR Color Guard gave a final musket salute to Griffin. An obligation had been paid. Perry Vickers, president of the Wiregrass Chapter SAR, said Griffin was born in either Virginia or North Carolina. He fought in the American Revolution and carried British lead in his body to the day of his death. “John Griffin came to Alabama before it was admitted as a state and settled in Greene County,” Vickers said. “He came to Pike County in 1822 and settled on the Mulkey place, close to where Bethel church now stands.
“He remained there until 1826 when he went to Columbus, Georgia, with his son, Isaac, but returned to Pike County in 1832. He died in 1840 at the Carpenter’s mill place, about two miles east of Troy at the advanced age of 110 years. “Griffin was one of many Revolutionary War soldiers who, following the war, went westward”
On a brisk Sunday afternoon beneath the towering oaks at Pea River Cemetery near Tennille, three fifth-generation grandsons of John Griffin unveiled the headstone that marks the final resting place of the patriot of the American Revolution.
The Grave Dedication Program for John Griffin, a Revolutionary War soldier from Pike County, was conducted by the Wiregrass Chapter, Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution.
Dr. David Billings, president of the Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution, told the large gathering of family members and friends that John Griffin was a true patriot who was willing to fight gain the independence and freedoms that Americans enjoy today.
“Let us remember our obligations to our forefathers,” Billings said.
The family of John Griffin gathered to remember their obligations to their “great” grandfather, a true American patriot.
Dr. John Pugh of Atlanta said that he was humbled by the sacrifice of his great grandfather and all of the others who fought and died for America’s “freedom.”
“We owe everything to our ancestors,” Pugh said. “We stand on their shoulders.”
Pugh’s ties to Pike County are through the Pugh and Griffin families. He had a strong desire to locate the final resting place of John Griffin. He wanted to “make it right.”
“But for a long time, it seemed that it would never be,” he said. “I resigned myself to not knowing where he was buried.”
However, information surfaced that placed John Griffin’s final resting place next to that of his son, Isaac, in the Pea River Cemetery.
“It was almost as if ol’ John had reached out his hand to us with the grit and determination of a true patriot,” Pugh said.
As the headstone was unveiled, the wind swept through the cemetery causing the limbs of the giant oaks to bend, almost as a salute to John Griffin, American patriot, and, as an indication that the century oaks will be the sentinels for the American Revolutionary War soldier.
Floral tributes were made. “Amazing Grace” was played on the bagpipes and the SAR Color Guard gave a final musket salute to Griffin. An obligation had been paid. Perry Vickers, president of the Wiregrass Chapter SAR, said Griffin was born in either Virginia or North Carolina. He fought in the American Revolution and carried British lead in his body to the day of his death. “John Griffin came to Alabama before it was admitted as a state and settled in Greene County,” Vickers said. “He came to Pike County in 1822 and settled on the Mulkey place, close to where Bethel church now stands.
“He remained there until 1826 when he went to Columbus, Georgia, with his son, Isaac, but returned to Pike County in 1832. He died in 1840 at the Carpenter’s mill place, about two miles east of Troy at the advanced age of 110 years. “Griffin was one of many Revolutionary War soldiers who, following the war, went westward”
Quaint hamlet of Stormville has ties to American Revolution and dairy farming
Poughkeepsie Journal: Quaint hamlet of Stormville has ties to American Revolution and dairy farming
Stormville, a hamlet in the Town of East Fishkill, has become known for hosting a huge flea market that takes place on its namesake airport grounds on holiday weekends from spring through fall. But it has ties to the American Revolution and was for centuries a major dairy operation.
It was originally named Snarlington; its latest moniker was selected in 1826, when a post office was established in the community.
"The community was originally named Snarlington because apparently there were a number of silversmiths in the area," local historian and author Malcolm Mills said. "When silversmiths make a silver goblet, they punch it to form its decoration and that process is called snarling. That's where the original name came from."
The Storm family, which began to settle in the area during the mid-1700s, had grown significantly by time the hamlet's post office was established, and an election was held to determine its official identity. Records show that when all votes were tallied, the name "Stormville" won by a single vote.
"The Storm family came to the area before the Revolutionary War," Mills said. "Primarily farmers, one of the family's earliest homes is the Storm-Adriance-Brinkerhoff house that sits on today's Beekman Road, just east of the Taconic Parkway."
The home, built by Thomas Storm in the mid-1700s, remains privately owned.
Garrett Storm, whose home still stands on Phillips Road, was too old to serve in the military during the Revolutionary War but was an outspoken patriot. One evening, a group of Tory soldiers entered his home and tried to hang Storm in the attic.
If not for the heroic act of one of his slaves, Epye Schouten, who came out of hiding after the soldiers left and cut him loose, Storm would have died there.
The Stormville Union Chapel was built during the late 1800s along Old Route 52, south of today's Fire Department. The Stormville Train Station sat just beyond it, adjacent to the railroad tracks. Rail service ran between Hopewell Junction and Danbury, Conn. While the chapel still exists, the train station is long gone.
Jeanne Keppel, 87, was raised on her family's farm and recalled a quieter time in the hamlet during her youth.
"Walter Storm used to run the local feed store years ago, and the only people that lived in Stormville back then were dairy farmers or store owners," Keppel said. "When I was young, we worked on our farm on Old Route 52. It was eventually sold and became single-family home developments."
Stormville's Charles Morris Lane is named for Keppel's family and leads to the old ice pond in the hamlet.
"Years ago, they cut ice there and all the farmers had ice houses to keep their milk," Keppel said.
From 1932 to 1937, private airplanes at the Stormville Airport shared the site with a regular schedule of auto racing staged there.
While housing developments now occupy a significant portion of its former farmland, Stormville still maintains a quaint, rural charm.
Stormville, a hamlet in the Town of East Fishkill, has become known for hosting a huge flea market that takes place on its namesake airport grounds on holiday weekends from spring through fall. But it has ties to the American Revolution and was for centuries a major dairy operation.
It was originally named Snarlington; its latest moniker was selected in 1826, when a post office was established in the community.
"The community was originally named Snarlington because apparently there were a number of silversmiths in the area," local historian and author Malcolm Mills said. "When silversmiths make a silver goblet, they punch it to form its decoration and that process is called snarling. That's where the original name came from."
The Storm family, which began to settle in the area during the mid-1700s, had grown significantly by time the hamlet's post office was established, and an election was held to determine its official identity. Records show that when all votes were tallied, the name "Stormville" won by a single vote.
"The Storm family came to the area before the Revolutionary War," Mills said. "Primarily farmers, one of the family's earliest homes is the Storm-Adriance-Brinkerhoff house that sits on today's Beekman Road, just east of the Taconic Parkway."
The home, built by Thomas Storm in the mid-1700s, remains privately owned.
Garrett Storm, whose home still stands on Phillips Road, was too old to serve in the military during the Revolutionary War but was an outspoken patriot. One evening, a group of Tory soldiers entered his home and tried to hang Storm in the attic.
If not for the heroic act of one of his slaves, Epye Schouten, who came out of hiding after the soldiers left and cut him loose, Storm would have died there.
The Stormville Union Chapel was built during the late 1800s along Old Route 52, south of today's Fire Department. The Stormville Train Station sat just beyond it, adjacent to the railroad tracks. Rail service ran between Hopewell Junction and Danbury, Conn. While the chapel still exists, the train station is long gone.
Jeanne Keppel, 87, was raised on her family's farm and recalled a quieter time in the hamlet during her youth.
"Walter Storm used to run the local feed store years ago, and the only people that lived in Stormville back then were dairy farmers or store owners," Keppel said. "When I was young, we worked on our farm on Old Route 52. It was eventually sold and became single-family home developments."
Stormville's Charles Morris Lane is named for Keppel's family and leads to the old ice pond in the hamlet.
"Years ago, they cut ice there and all the farmers had ice houses to keep their milk," Keppel said.
From 1932 to 1937, private airplanes at the Stormville Airport shared the site with a regular schedule of auto racing staged there.
While housing developments now occupy a significant portion of its former farmland, Stormville still maintains a quaint, rural charm.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
McDonnell announces $41M for Yorktown museum
VirginiaPilotOnline: McDonnell announces $41M for Yorktown museum
Funding to replace the Yorktown Victory Center, a 35-year-old museum that chronicles aspects of the American Revolution, has been secured through the sale of bonds, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Thursday.
The project will include a new 80,000-square-foot building with expanded exhibition galleries, classrooms and support functions, and a reorganization of the center's 22-acre site.
In a statement about the $41 million investment, McDonnell touted the new York-town Victory Center as part of his effort to boost state tourism.
"Virginia is where the Revolutionary War was won and a young nation's independence was secured. Yorktown should be the first place tourists from all across the globe come to learn about a war that forever changed the world," said McDonnell, who is overseas on an Asian trade mission.
"The new Victory Center will go far to enhance its status as the nation's only living-history museum dedicated to telling the entire story of the American Revolution, and will result in a significant investment in the economy of the Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Historic Triangle."
The Yorktown Victory Center and Jamestown Settlement are operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. The center opened in 1976 to coincide with the nation's bicentennial. Planning for a new museum began in 2007.
In addition to the bonds for the museum project, McDonnell also announced Thursday that $600 million in bonds had been sold as part of his plan to jump-start funding for road projects around Virginia.
Funding to replace the Yorktown Victory Center, a 35-year-old museum that chronicles aspects of the American Revolution, has been secured through the sale of bonds, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Thursday.
The project will include a new 80,000-square-foot building with expanded exhibition galleries, classrooms and support functions, and a reorganization of the center's 22-acre site.
In a statement about the $41 million investment, McDonnell touted the new York-town Victory Center as part of his effort to boost state tourism.
"Virginia is where the Revolutionary War was won and a young nation's independence was secured. Yorktown should be the first place tourists from all across the globe come to learn about a war that forever changed the world," said McDonnell, who is overseas on an Asian trade mission.
"The new Victory Center will go far to enhance its status as the nation's only living-history museum dedicated to telling the entire story of the American Revolution, and will result in a significant investment in the economy of the Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Historic Triangle."
The Yorktown Victory Center and Jamestown Settlement are operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. The center opened in 1976 to coincide with the nation's bicentennial. Planning for a new museum began in 2007.
In addition to the bonds for the museum project, McDonnell also announced Thursday that $600 million in bonds had been sold as part of his plan to jump-start funding for road projects around Virginia.
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Myth of Molly Pitcher
According to Ray Paphael, the story of Molly Pitcher, who fired her husband's cannon after he was killed, is a myth. However, as Rafael states, there were women on the battlefield who could have fired cannons.
At the Battle of Monmouth, amid scorching temperatures, thirty-seven soldiers died from heat stroke. This accounted for more than 1/3 of the battlefield casualties. (Despite lasting for over 5 years, the American Revolution actually killed very few soldiers, compared with the wars that were to come.)
Several hundred women were either on the battlefield or close at hand. These were "camp followers", women who followed the army and assisted in the logistics of everyday living. On normal days they cooked, washed, and hauled things about, during battles, they nursed the wounded and carried supplies to and from the lines. Undoubtedly, some of these women tended to thirsty, sweltering soldiers. Very likely, some helped in the firing of cannons.
(At Fort WAshington on November 16, 1776, Margaret Corbin stood in for her husband John,who had just been killed. Margaret herself was wounded by three grapeshot during the battle, and lost the use of one arm for the rest of her life.
Camp followers (from Wikipedia):
Camp-follower is a term used to identify civilians who follow in the wake of armies or service their needs whilst encamped, in order to sell goods or services that the military does not supply. These can include cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sutlery, and even sexual services. From the beginning of organised warfare until the end of 19th century camp-followers were a vital part of an army's system of support and before sutler services were militarised even military goods were often provided. Camp-followers usually accompanied the baggage train and they often outnumbered the army itself, adding to its logistic problems.
_____
Bibliography
FOunding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael, 2004
At the Battle of Monmouth, amid scorching temperatures, thirty-seven soldiers died from heat stroke. This accounted for more than 1/3 of the battlefield casualties. (Despite lasting for over 5 years, the American Revolution actually killed very few soldiers, compared with the wars that were to come.)
Several hundred women were either on the battlefield or close at hand. These were "camp followers", women who followed the army and assisted in the logistics of everyday living. On normal days they cooked, washed, and hauled things about, during battles, they nursed the wounded and carried supplies to and from the lines. Undoubtedly, some of these women tended to thirsty, sweltering soldiers. Very likely, some helped in the firing of cannons.
(At Fort WAshington on November 16, 1776, Margaret Corbin stood in for her husband John,who had just been killed. Margaret herself was wounded by three grapeshot during the battle, and lost the use of one arm for the rest of her life.
Camp followers (from Wikipedia):
Camp-follower is a term used to identify civilians who follow in the wake of armies or service their needs whilst encamped, in order to sell goods or services that the military does not supply. These can include cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sutlery, and even sexual services. From the beginning of organised warfare until the end of 19th century camp-followers were a vital part of an army's system of support and before sutler services were militarised even military goods were often provided. Camp-followers usually accompanied the baggage train and they often outnumbered the army itself, adding to its logistic problems.
_____
Bibliography
FOunding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael, 2004
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Myth of Paul Revere's Ride
On April 5, 1860, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow walked past Boston's Old North Church, and while doing so heard a folkloric rendition of Paul REvere's midnight ride from a friend, George Sumner. The story caught his imagination, and the next day he "began setting thoughts to paper."
For Longfellow, Revere was a timely hero: a loney rider who had issued a wakeup call. As the Civil War was approaching, Longfellow felt, according to Raphael, "If Revere had roused the nation once, perhaps he could do it again,"
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
However - Longfellow's poem was really a fiction. Before Longfellow wrote his poem, Revere was never regarded as a central player in the Revolutionary saga (nor was he a central player.)
Although Revere did ride out to warn the Colonists the British were coming...he was captured by the British and never completed the ride. A second volunteer, William Dawes, did so. (But it must have been hard to find some part of a horse to rhyme with Dawes).
Revere's friends knew of his ride, and talked about it and praised it... but he was only one of about 40 men who alerted the countryside, and again, he never finished the ride.
On the other hand:
Bibliography
FOunding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael, 2004
For Longfellow, Revere was a timely hero: a loney rider who had issued a wakeup call. As the Civil War was approaching, Longfellow felt, according to Raphael, "If Revere had roused the nation once, perhaps he could do it again,"
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
However - Longfellow's poem was really a fiction. Before Longfellow wrote his poem, Revere was never regarded as a central player in the Revolutionary saga (nor was he a central player.)
Although Revere did ride out to warn the Colonists the British were coming...he was captured by the British and never completed the ride. A second volunteer, William Dawes, did so. (But it must have been hard to find some part of a horse to rhyme with Dawes).
Revere's friends knew of his ride, and talked about it and praised it... but he was only one of about 40 men who alerted the countryside, and again, he never finished the ride.
On the other hand:
For a long time, historians of the American Revolution as well as textbook writers relied almost entirely on Longfellow's poem as historical evidence - creating substantial misconceptions in the minds of the American people. In re-examining the episode, some historians in the 20th century have attempted to demythologize Paul Revere almost to the point of marginalization. While it is true that Revere was not the only rider that night, that does not refute the fact that Revere was in fact riding and successfully completed the first phase of his mission to warn Adams and Hancock. Other historians have since stressed Revere's importance, including David Hackett Fischer in his book Paul Revere's Ride (1995), a scholarly study of Revere's role in the opening of the Revolution
Bibliography
FOunding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael, 2004
Monday, May 9, 2011
The American Revolution, Seen Through 1965 Eyes
History of the World for Young Readers has 16 chapters. Chapter 13, "The Age of Revolution", covers the American REvolution (Chapter 12 having dealt with the founding of European colonies in what is now North America).
While the author deals sympathetically with the Indians in North America ("Had Spaniards and Englishmen met the Indians in the spirit of friendship, much bloodshed and abguish might have been avoided. But the white man's insatiable greed made him careless of the Indian's rights. Understandably, the natural warmth of the Indian quickly turned to hatred and a desire for revenge of the wrongs imposed on him.)
However, there is no such sympathy for the British ruling America in 1776, or for the Tories (American Loyalists).
Indeed, the entire Revolution is given only a single page (the wrongs done by England to the Colonies, leading up to the Revolution, are given 7 pages. [But then, the American Civil War is only given a couple of paragraphs, too. That's what you get when you read an overview of history.]
Bibliography
History of the World for Young Readers, Paul Gelinas, 1965.
While the author deals sympathetically with the Indians in North America ("Had Spaniards and Englishmen met the Indians in the spirit of friendship, much bloodshed and abguish might have been avoided. But the white man's insatiable greed made him careless of the Indian's rights. Understandably, the natural warmth of the Indian quickly turned to hatred and a desire for revenge of the wrongs imposed on him.)
However, there is no such sympathy for the British ruling America in 1776, or for the Tories (American Loyalists).
Indeed, the entire Revolution is given only a single page (the wrongs done by England to the Colonies, leading up to the Revolution, are given 7 pages. [But then, the American Civil War is only given a couple of paragraphs, too. That's what you get when you read an overview of history.]
Bibliography
History of the World for Young Readers, Paul Gelinas, 1965.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A New Approach to American History Histories of america before the Revolution
Wall Street Journal Book Reviews: A New Approach to American History Histories of america before the Revolution
The War That Made America by Fred Anderson (2005). Ignore the awful title; the book is a wide-ranging popular summary of the French and Indian War by one of its best historians. Mr. Anderson covers the full sprawl, but he focuses on its role in the conflicts that later resulted in the Revolution.
Ecological Imperialism by Alfred W. Crosby (1986). Written with a welcome dry wit, this classic study suggests that Europe's triumph was based on the often inadvertent refashioning of American ecosystems. The second edition (2004) has a characteristically punchy new introduction by the author.
Mosquito Empires by J.R. McNeill (2010).Brilliant. Ranging freely across the "greater Caribbean"—the region between the Chesapeake Bay and the Guyanas—McNeill makes a riveting case that the primary driver in the colonial conflicts there was not political or economic but microbiological. Worth reading alone for the tale of malaria's role in the American Revolution.
American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan (1975).Morgan, now 95 and still active, targets the great American paradox—that the planters of Virginia developed the nation's ideals of freedom even as they embraced slavery. Outdated in some ways but set down with elegance and power.
The Middle Ground by Richard White (1991). For 150 years Europeans and Indians formed what amounted to a conjoined society around the Great Lakes. Thought violent and unsettled, this mixed place represented, for a while, a different vision of this nation's future. Somewhat academic in tone but fascinating nonetheless.
—Charles C. Mann
CW Launches New Website on Revolution
Williamsburg Yorktown Daily: CW Launches New Website on Revolution
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation launched a new website Friday dedicated to the American War of Independence and the Revolutionary era.
The website, OurAmericanRevolution.org, focuses on the period between 1750 and 1800. It was designed to be a standard reference point for students, scholars and the public and features objects, artifacts, buildings and primary sources along with interpretive essays creating a narrative of the period. The site highlights the Foundation’s collections as well as the role Williamsburg played in the events leading to the Revolution.
“The new website is a direct result of Colonial Williamsburg’s Education for Citizenship initiative,” said project director Jim Horn, vice president for research and historical interpretation and the George and Abby O’Neill director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library. “It engages guests with the principles that shaped our founding, the hardships endured to win independence, and the continuing struggle of those denied their rights. The Revolution was only a beginning, the start of an experiment in democracy that has continued down to our own times.”
The Foundation launched the site Friday to honor the anniversary of the Fifth Virginia Convention, which declared the colony's independence.
The site is organized around four chronological storylines. “Empire & Nations” documents the massive struggle between Britain, France and the Indian nations that laid the groundwork for crisis within the British colonial system. “Roads to Revolution” carries the story through the increasing tension between Britain and its colonies to the severing of ties with Britain in 1776. “War & Upheaval” chronicles the War for Independence and the creation of new republican states. “Continuing Revolutions” examines the efforts of America’s countrymen to build a government reflective of republican ideals and with the capacity to survive.
Colonial Williamsburg staff and other colonial scholars developed text and contributed thematic essays.
The website was funded through a $341,833 2007 Interpreting America’s Historic Places grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) with matching funds from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The project was also designated an NEH We the People project. The Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha, Wis., also helped support scholarship and website content development devoted to religious history and the American Revolution.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation launched a new website Friday dedicated to the American War of Independence and the Revolutionary era.
The website, OurAmericanRevolution.org, focuses on the period between 1750 and 1800. It was designed to be a standard reference point for students, scholars and the public and features objects, artifacts, buildings and primary sources along with interpretive essays creating a narrative of the period. The site highlights the Foundation’s collections as well as the role Williamsburg played in the events leading to the Revolution.
“The new website is a direct result of Colonial Williamsburg’s Education for Citizenship initiative,” said project director Jim Horn, vice president for research and historical interpretation and the George and Abby O’Neill director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library. “It engages guests with the principles that shaped our founding, the hardships endured to win independence, and the continuing struggle of those denied their rights. The Revolution was only a beginning, the start of an experiment in democracy that has continued down to our own times.”
The Foundation launched the site Friday to honor the anniversary of the Fifth Virginia Convention, which declared the colony's independence.
The site is organized around four chronological storylines. “Empire & Nations” documents the massive struggle between Britain, France and the Indian nations that laid the groundwork for crisis within the British colonial system. “Roads to Revolution” carries the story through the increasing tension between Britain and its colonies to the severing of ties with Britain in 1776. “War & Upheaval” chronicles the War for Independence and the creation of new republican states. “Continuing Revolutions” examines the efforts of America’s countrymen to build a government reflective of republican ideals and with the capacity to survive.
Colonial Williamsburg staff and other colonial scholars developed text and contributed thematic essays.
The website was funded through a $341,833 2007 Interpreting America’s Historic Places grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) with matching funds from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The project was also designated an NEH We the People project. The Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha, Wis., also helped support scholarship and website content development devoted to religious history and the American Revolution.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
How Isaac Newton’s science inspired the American Revolution
HelenaIR.com: How Isaac Newton’s science inspired the American Revolution
Was the scientist Isaac Newton a grandfather of the American Revolution? When Newton published his revolutionary new theories of gravity and motion way back in 1687, I’m sure he didn’t expect it to trigger a political revolution in the American colonies almost 100 years later. However, Newton’s scientific revolution changed the way that people thought about the universe, leading them to question the relationship between people and their rulers, helping to light the fuse to the American Revolution of 1776.
Ever since the Ancient Greeks, scientists and philosophers had dreamed of discovering the mathematical laws that run the universe. But it took the genius of Isaac Newton to really discover those laws. He created a mathematical theory that allows us to predict how things will move under the force of gravity or other forces. Newton used his equations to predict how the Moon goes around the Earth, and how apples fall from trees. He showed that there really are natural laws that rule our universe.
Seeing this amazing success, the philosophers of Newton’s day asked: If there are natural laws for how planets move, shouldn’t there be natural laws for how people should act as well? And if so, what are these natural laws? Perhaps the most important philosopher to consider this question was the Englishman John Locke. Locke carefully studied Isaac Newton’s new theories, and the two men became friends, meeting and writing to each other about a variety of issues.
John Locke believed that these natural laws say that every person has certain basic rights, and he argued passionately for freedom of religion. He wrote that every person has the natural right to defend his “life, health, liberty or possessions.”
Locke was also influenced by how the scientific process demands skepticism and doubt. As scientists, we accept a new theory only if we have strong evidence for it. Until that evidence appears, we have to wait and keep our minds open. As a result, there are lots of questions that science cannot yet answer. Is there life on Mars? What triggered the big bang? Are Earth-like planets common? At this point, we don’t have enough evidence to answer these questions. John Locke argued that because we have so much doubt about so many things, each person should have as much freedom as possible. Because we really don’t know the best way to organize and improve our society, all people should make their own decisions about what they want to do with their own lives.
Locke’s ideas about freedom and natural rights were studied carefully by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and many of the other founding fathers of the United States.
When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he echoed Locke, writing about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The scientific revolution opened up a universe of possibilities. By using reason, logic and skeptical questioning, men like Newton solved mysteries that had puzzled the human race since the beginning. This amazing success inspired the founding fathers to use reason, logic and skepticism on the question of how governments should be organized. It’s not a coincidence that America’s greatest scientist, Benjamin Franklin, was right in the middle of the revolutionary struggle.
Of course, there were many different forces that led to the American Revolution of 1776, social forces, economic forces and political forces. Personally, I think that the scientific revolution was an important factor in the birth of American freedom. Isaac Newton himself served in the English Parliament, and took part in some of the great political struggles of his day, arguing for liberty and freedom. I think Newton would have been very happy to read our bill of rights and to see how freedom and scientific advancement have shaped the United States of America.
Kelly Cline, Ph.D., is associate professor of astronomy and mathematics at Carroll College
Was the scientist Isaac Newton a grandfather of the American Revolution? When Newton published his revolutionary new theories of gravity and motion way back in 1687, I’m sure he didn’t expect it to trigger a political revolution in the American colonies almost 100 years later. However, Newton’s scientific revolution changed the way that people thought about the universe, leading them to question the relationship between people and their rulers, helping to light the fuse to the American Revolution of 1776.
Ever since the Ancient Greeks, scientists and philosophers had dreamed of discovering the mathematical laws that run the universe. But it took the genius of Isaac Newton to really discover those laws. He created a mathematical theory that allows us to predict how things will move under the force of gravity or other forces. Newton used his equations to predict how the Moon goes around the Earth, and how apples fall from trees. He showed that there really are natural laws that rule our universe.
Seeing this amazing success, the philosophers of Newton’s day asked: If there are natural laws for how planets move, shouldn’t there be natural laws for how people should act as well? And if so, what are these natural laws? Perhaps the most important philosopher to consider this question was the Englishman John Locke. Locke carefully studied Isaac Newton’s new theories, and the two men became friends, meeting and writing to each other about a variety of issues.
John Locke believed that these natural laws say that every person has certain basic rights, and he argued passionately for freedom of religion. He wrote that every person has the natural right to defend his “life, health, liberty or possessions.”
Locke was also influenced by how the scientific process demands skepticism and doubt. As scientists, we accept a new theory only if we have strong evidence for it. Until that evidence appears, we have to wait and keep our minds open. As a result, there are lots of questions that science cannot yet answer. Is there life on Mars? What triggered the big bang? Are Earth-like planets common? At this point, we don’t have enough evidence to answer these questions. John Locke argued that because we have so much doubt about so many things, each person should have as much freedom as possible. Because we really don’t know the best way to organize and improve our society, all people should make their own decisions about what they want to do with their own lives.
Locke’s ideas about freedom and natural rights were studied carefully by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and many of the other founding fathers of the United States.
When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he echoed Locke, writing about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The scientific revolution opened up a universe of possibilities. By using reason, logic and skeptical questioning, men like Newton solved mysteries that had puzzled the human race since the beginning. This amazing success inspired the founding fathers to use reason, logic and skepticism on the question of how governments should be organized. It’s not a coincidence that America’s greatest scientist, Benjamin Franklin, was right in the middle of the revolutionary struggle.
Of course, there were many different forces that led to the American Revolution of 1776, social forces, economic forces and political forces. Personally, I think that the scientific revolution was an important factor in the birth of American freedom. Isaac Newton himself served in the English Parliament, and took part in some of the great political struggles of his day, arguing for liberty and freedom. I think Newton would have been very happy to read our bill of rights and to see how freedom and scientific advancement have shaped the United States of America.
Kelly Cline, Ph.D., is associate professor of astronomy and mathematics at Carroll College
Assembly to remember burning of the Gaspee
Projo.com: Rhode Island News: Assembly to remember burning of the Gaspee
http://www.gaspee.com.
PROVIDENCE — On a June morning in 1772, Rhode Island Colonists burned the British ship HMS Gaspee, a key event in the lead-up to the American Revolution.
The attackers included sea captains, lawyers and members of the General Assembly.
On Thursday, state lawmakers will recognize the historic event that was considered an act of treason by British officials.
Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, D-Warwick, will host the 3:15 p.m. ceremony in the State House Lounge. Officials will read a proclamation and celebrate the 46th anniversary of the staging of the month-long Gaspee Days in Pawtuxet Village.
The program will include the mock indictment of Chuck Easterbrooks, descendent of Nathaniel Easterbrooks, for crimes against King George III. Nathaniel was one of about a dozen men from Bristol who rowed across the Narragansett Bay to join the eight other boatloads of men who attacked the Gaspee. Chuck Easterbrook is a member of the Gaspee Days Committee.
Students from the Wyman Elementary School in Warwick will take part in the program.
Other Gaspee Days activities include the Pawtuxet Village Proclamation Ceremony on May 21; an arts-and-crafts festival on Memorial Day Weekend, on May 28-30; and the Gaspee Days Weekend, June 10-12, with parades and fireworks in Pawtuxet Village.
The event will culminate with a reenactment of the burning of the Gaspee in Pawtuxet Park Cove at 4 p.m. on June 12.
The State House ceremony is open to the public and will be shown on Cox Channel 15 and Verizon Channel 35.
A list of Gaspee Days events and activities can be found on the website, http://www.gaspee.com.
http://www.gaspee.com.
PROVIDENCE — On a June morning in 1772, Rhode Island Colonists burned the British ship HMS Gaspee, a key event in the lead-up to the American Revolution.
The attackers included sea captains, lawyers and members of the General Assembly.
On Thursday, state lawmakers will recognize the historic event that was considered an act of treason by British officials.
Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, D-Warwick, will host the 3:15 p.m. ceremony in the State House Lounge. Officials will read a proclamation and celebrate the 46th anniversary of the staging of the month-long Gaspee Days in Pawtuxet Village.
The program will include the mock indictment of Chuck Easterbrooks, descendent of Nathaniel Easterbrooks, for crimes against King George III. Nathaniel was one of about a dozen men from Bristol who rowed across the Narragansett Bay to join the eight other boatloads of men who attacked the Gaspee. Chuck Easterbrook is a member of the Gaspee Days Committee.
Students from the Wyman Elementary School in Warwick will take part in the program.
Other Gaspee Days activities include the Pawtuxet Village Proclamation Ceremony on May 21; an arts-and-crafts festival on Memorial Day Weekend, on May 28-30; and the Gaspee Days Weekend, June 10-12, with parades and fireworks in Pawtuxet Village.
The event will culminate with a reenactment of the burning of the Gaspee in Pawtuxet Park Cove at 4 p.m. on June 12.
The State House ceremony is open to the public and will be shown on Cox Channel 15 and Verizon Channel 35.
A list of Gaspee Days events and activities can be found on the website, http://www.gaspee.com.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monument Monday: Edmund Burke
ShopFLoor.org: Monument Monday: Edmund Burke
This statue of Burke — appreciated here as a supporter of the American revolution — stands in a small triangular park at Massachusetts Avenue and 12th Street, NW. According to DCist.com, the Sulgrave Institution—an organization to promote Anglo-American understanding—presented the bronze statue in 1922. (New York Times, Feb. 16, 1922: “British Sulgrave to Send Gifts Here.”) This version is actually a copy of the statue that stands in Bristol, England, the city Burke represented in Parliament. The inscription reads: “Magnanimity in Politics is Not Seldom the Truest Wisdom.”
We took the photo on a walk from Chinatown to Dupont Circle on a stormy evening last week. The park itself is ill-kept and is easily overlooked by drivers along Massachusetts Avenue.
The connection to manufacturing?
Burke wrote about manufacturing in the 1757 book written with his cousin, William Bourke, “An Account of the European Settlement of America.” For example, Chapter 12 is entitled, “The Commodities of Carolina for Export – Rice, Indigo, Pitch and Tar – Process in Raising and Manufacturing These Commodities.”
He also cited the revolutionaries’ attack against manufacturing in a famous Parliamentary speech of Feb. 9, 1790, condemning the excesses of the French Revolution:
The French had shewn themselves the ablest architects of ruin that had hitherto existed in the world. In that very short space of time they had completely pulled down to the ground, their monarchy; their church; their nobility; their law; their revenue; their army; their navy; their commerce; their arts; and their manufactures…[there was a danger of] an imitation of the excesses of an irrational, unprincipled, proscribing, confiscating, plundering, ferocious, bloody and tyrannical democracy…[in religion] the danger of their example is no longer from intolerance, but from Atheism; a foul, unnatural vice, foe to all the dignity and consolation of mankind; which seems in France, for a long time, to have been embodied into a faction, accredited, and almost avowed.
Contemporary conservatism is often said to begin with Burke.
Montgomery, NJ breaks ground on veterans memorial
MyCentralJersey.com: Montgomery breaks ground on veterans memorial
The township has broken ground on the long-awaited Montgomery Veterans Memorial.
With plans that call for honoring veterans from as far back as the American Revolution, the memorial at Montgomery Park will be the culmination of nearly 20 years of planning and changes in location.
The memorial will have five three-sided pillars engraved with the names of veterans and the wars in which they served.
On Friday, officials from the township and the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee hosted a ground-breaking ceremony at the site, which sits at the highest point of Montgomery Park, in a grove of trees near the sharp turn in Harlingen Road.
"It has a special air and a special sense about it, which sort of sets it apart," said Hugh Dyer, chairman of the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee. "So we think the location is ideal."
While discussions for the memorial began two decades ago, Dyer said the committee started a "serious" fundraising drive in 2002. But the $200,000 project has been delayed for several years because of changes in location.
Township officials said in a news release that the veterans memorial committee has raised enough money to begin the project, which is funded entirely by private contributions. About $20,000 is needed to complete the first phase, which includes the engraved pillars and also calls for a central pentagram, a small plaza, flagpoles, basic lighting and landscaping.
The second stage will cost about $110,000, the news release said. It will allow the memorial to include a full outer plaza, finished walkways, granite benches and enhanced landscaping details.
"We're going to build as much of memorial as we possibly can," Dyer said. "If we don't build the whole thing, we'll continue our fundraising efforts until we have all the resources to build the whole memorial."
ON THE WEB: Visit www.MontgomeryVeteransMemorial.org for a list of Montgomery's veterans and for information on how to donate to the Montgomery Veterans Memorial.
The township has broken ground on the long-awaited Montgomery Veterans Memorial.
With plans that call for honoring veterans from as far back as the American Revolution, the memorial at Montgomery Park will be the culmination of nearly 20 years of planning and changes in location.
The memorial will have five three-sided pillars engraved with the names of veterans and the wars in which they served.
On Friday, officials from the township and the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee hosted a ground-breaking ceremony at the site, which sits at the highest point of Montgomery Park, in a grove of trees near the sharp turn in Harlingen Road.
"It has a special air and a special sense about it, which sort of sets it apart," said Hugh Dyer, chairman of the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee. "So we think the location is ideal."
While discussions for the memorial began two decades ago, Dyer said the committee started a "serious" fundraising drive in 2002. But the $200,000 project has been delayed for several years because of changes in location.
Township officials said in a news release that the veterans memorial committee has raised enough money to begin the project, which is funded entirely by private contributions. About $20,000 is needed to complete the first phase, which includes the engraved pillars and also calls for a central pentagram, a small plaza, flagpoles, basic lighting and landscaping.
The second stage will cost about $110,000, the news release said. It will allow the memorial to include a full outer plaza, finished walkways, granite benches and enhanced landscaping details.
"We're going to build as much of memorial as we possibly can," Dyer said. "If we don't build the whole thing, we'll continue our fundraising efforts until we have all the resources to build the whole memorial."
ON THE WEB: Visit www.MontgomeryVeteransMemorial.org for a list of Montgomery's veterans and for information on how to donate to the Montgomery Veterans Memorial.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Founding Myths, by Ray Raphael
Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael
The New Press, 2004
280 pages plus Notes, and index. Various paintings of people and scenes scattered throughout text
Library: 973.3 RAP
Description
The truth behind the popular founding myths of America:
-The legend of Paul Revere's Ride was invented by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longellow in 1861, eighty-six years after the fact.
-Thomas Jefferson was not seen as the architect of American equality until Abraham Lincoln assigned him that role, four score and seven years later.
-Molly Pitcher, the revolutionary heroine whose picture adorns many current textbooks, is a complete fabrication.
In Founding Myths, award-winning author and historian Ray Raphael examines thirteen well-known tales of America's founding moment. Supposedly these stories commemorate our nation's birth, but Raphael shows how they belittle the REvolutionary ideal popular sovereignty. Conceived in the narrowly nationalistic politics of the nineteenth century, they undermine today's egalitarian values. Surprisingly, our best-loved tales sell America short.
Why then do these myths persist in movies, plays, novels, and even best-selling history books and school texts? Tracking each narrative through time, Raphael explores the curious intersection of history-making and story-making to seek out answers. By laying nare our myths of national creation, he uncovers the true roots of American patriotism. Dounding Myths is a timely and welcome celebration of the spirit that propelled our country to independence.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Inventing a Past
Heroes and Heroines
1. Paul Revere's Ride
2. Molly Pitcher
3. The Man Who Made a Revolution: Sam Adams
David and Goliath
4. The Shot Heard 'Round the World: Lexington and Concord
5. The Winter at Valley Forge
Wise Men
6. Jefferson's Declaration of Independence
7. Founding Fathers: The Greatest Generation
Doing Battle
8. "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"
9. "Do Not Fire Until You See the Whites of their Eyes
Good vs Evil
10. Patriotic Slaves
11. Brutal British
Happy Endings
12. The Final Battle at Yorktown
13.
March of the American People
Conclusion: Storybook Nation, or Why We Tell Tall Tales
A Note for Teachers
Notes
Photo Credits
Index
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