In 1860, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was concerned about the possibility of a civil war. Being an abolitionist, Longfellow wanted the North to stand up to the South. He wanted to write an inspiration poem in favor of fighting for the Union. The result was “Paul Revere’s Ride”. He did Read more…
Deborah was born on Dec. 17, 1760 in Plympton, Mass. She was the great-great granddaughter of William Bradford. She was one of seven kids. When she was five, her father did not return from a sea voyage. It was thought he had perished, but actually he abandoned his family. Read more…
Kazimierz Michal Wladyslaw Wiktor Pulaski was born to a noble family in Warsaw on March 6, 1745. He loved the military so he became a cavalryman when he grew up. He fought the Russians, but his side lost. A failed attempt to kidnap the pro-Russian king got Pulaski exiled. Read more…
The 14th Continental Regiment twice had a role in saving the American Revolution. If not for them, the United States would have gone the route of Canada. The unit was created as a militia in January, 1775 in anticipation of trouble with England. Most of the men were fishermen. Read more…
I have been a fan of history since junior high. When I became an American History teacher, I made it my goal to make my course as interesting as possible. I did this through anecdotes that I encountered over the years. When I retired, I started this web site to Read more…
When I was in high school, I wrote report on Banestre Tarleton. I do not remember why I chose him. I certainly was not a Tory, but I must have been attracted to his villainy. It seems appropriate to explore this fascinating man again, after almost 50 years, because Read more…
On April 25, 1777, a force of 2,000 redcoats landed at Westport, Connecticut and marched on Danbury. There they burned homes and destroyed rebel supplies. The raid was similar to the one on Concord, Massachusetts a year earlier. Col. Henry Ludington was in command of the militia forces in Read more…
Americans are familiar with the heroes of the Revolutionary War. People like Washington, Knox, Lafayette, and Hamilton are well known, but they all were officers. Few people have heard of the most famous common soldier of the war. Joseph Plumb Martin was born in Massachusetts on November 21, 1760. Read more…
Israel Putnam was born on Jan. 7, 1718. He parents opposed the Salem Witch Trials. They signed a petition to exonerate the elderly Rebecca Nurse, but it failed. When he reached adulthood, he bought farmland in Connecticut. He became famous in the area when he crawled into a Read more…
Without John Glover, the Revolution would not have succeeded. He was that important. Glover was a successful shipowner and merchant before the war. He was given command of a regiment of seamen and fishermen from Gloucester and Marblehead in Massachusetts. They became known as the Glover’s Marbleheaders. Gen. Washington Read more…