Non-Profit Dedicated to Historical Education of the American Revolution and the Colonial Period
Scottish immigrant and Law Professor, Judge James Wilson (Sept. 14, 1742 – Aug. 21, 1798), was one of America’s most influential founders who helped shape the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution. One of only six who signed both, he was “widely regarded in his time as the most learned lawyer in a …
Battle of Rugeley’s Mill, South Carolina, November 30, 1780, not December 4th,[1] was a battle in name only. Eighty American dragoons, light horse cavalry under Lt. Colonel William Washington (distant cousin of General George Washington) attacked 109-112 loyalists[2] led by Colonel Henry Rugeley. The King’s Men were secured in a fortified barn surrounded by a …
From January 19 – February 15, 1781, a dramatic race of courage, determination, and endurance played out over a 250 mile stretch of South and North Carolina to the Dan River, just over the border of Virginia. British General Charles Cornwallis had one mindset; to destroy the American Southern Continental Army under General Nathanael Greene. …
The Siege of Fort Ninety-Six, May 22 – June 19, 1781, was part of American Southern Continental Army Commander Major General Nathaniel Greene’s continuous pressure to regain the Carolinas from the British. In the purest sense, it was not a win for the Americans. Greene lifted the siege as British Lord Rawdon approached with a …
Major General Joseph Spencer (October 3, 1714 – January 13, 1789) was a good officer. Through three wars, rising in rank from lieutenant to major general, he followed orders and demonstrated clear thinking and carefully thought-out decisions. But he was not a great general. He had not the daring and drive of a Benedict Arnold, …
The Molasses Act of 1733 was an attempt by the British Parliament, under de facto Whig Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole[1], to control the molasses trade that produced rum; a major source of income for the North American colonial markets – more so than tobacco. The act placed a high tax on any molasses that …
The Stamp Act, issued on March 22, 1765, was among the first rubs, some would note the last straw after a series of lesser trade acts, that led to North American colonies flexing their independent muscle. The Act in itself was the result of a new fair-minded British Prime Minister and his determination that Americans …
A hotheaded patriot lawyer whose cheeks would become so red when arguing a point, he was nicknamed ‘Old Bacon Face.’[1] An aggressive proponent of independence, thirty-three-year-old Samuel Chase was chosen to represent Maryland in the First Continental Congress, September 5, 1774. In the Second Congress, he rebelled against his conservative colony that favored peaceful concessions …
Scopholites was a derogatory name given to mainly South Carolina backcountry Loyalists, or ‘King’s Men,’ during the American Revolution by rebellious colonials calling themselves patriots. A form of propaganda, the term united patriot frontiersmen who lumped all who favored the Crown to be defined as enemies. The moniker’s origins ran from a notorious cattle thief, …
The Battle of Block Island, April 6, 1776, was between the British 20-gun frigate HMS Glasgow and the first fleet launched by an infant United Colonies Navy, led by its first commander, Commodore Esk Hopkins. Some scholars considered the contest a British victory, while most concur the battle was a draw. Four American ships, all …
Hugh Gaine was the leading newspaper publisher in New York City and its most successful printer during the time of the American Revolution. He was often accused for his absence of moral fiber, choosing which side of the rebellion to back as easily as one would pick which hat to don for a day’s outing. …
On November 10, 1775, the future United States Marine Corps was officially born. The Second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of Continental Marines to be drawn from General George Washington’s army outside Boston. They would be commanded by one colonel, two lieutenant colonels, and two majors, with the subordinate officers chosen along …
The quick and dirty history of toilet paper begins with toilet paper out of the picture. Not even in colonial America did our charming ‘bear’ bottoms experience a soft and perfumed wipe after one’s ‘necessary.’ That came decades later. In fact, the first toilet paper had chips and splinters which cuddly blue bears would not …
The Battle of Barbados, March 7, 1778, was one of the largest joint Continental and State Navy operations of the war. The frigate USS Randolph, under Captain Nicholas Biddle, former British naval officer, was besting a double decker ship-of-the-line, when the American tragically exploded after a spark entered the powder magazine. Three Hundred and one …
Crawford’s Defeat, also known as the Battle of Sandusky, May 25 – June 12, 1782, ended in the rout of around 500 Pennsylvania militia by an equal number of Native Americans; mainly Wyandot and Lenape Delaware, with some Shawnee, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, including a company of Butler’s Rangers. The Sandusky Expedition by Pennsylvania settlers, …