Author Archives: Chris Mackowski
A Tree as Old as the Country
The coastal redwoods of Muir Woods form as close to a natural cathedral as I’ve ever visited. Tucked in a hidden valley in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, just north of San Francisco, the national park allows visitors to escape … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Monuments, National Park Service
Tagged Bicentennial Tree, Muir Woods, Redwoods
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Philip van Cortlandt’s Roadside Monument
I’m sure the men who’d embarked on the 1779 Sullivan-Clinton Campaign weren’t traveling along New York’s Southern Tier Expressway as they moved through the lands of the Iroquois Confederation. In the “Tory-Indian Town of Painted Post,” I’m sure members of … Continue reading
The Sons of Liberty in Kentucky
In Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this month, I paid a visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum downtown. Across the street, I was pleasantly surprised to see a marvelous statue of a minuteman. The plaque on the back reads Sons … Continue reading
Oriskany Battlefield (part two)
part two of two In my first post, I described my visit to the Oriskany Battlefield near Rome, New York, on a dreary day. Recent rain, mostly dried, still left streaks on the monuments. The denuded trees created deceptively open … Continue reading
Signers in St. Michael’s Churchyard
While Charleston, South Carolina, absolutely overflows with history dating all the way back to colonial times, I had the chance to explore a particularly historic churchyard recently. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church sits on the corner of Meeting Street and Broad … Continue reading
Review: American Dialogue by Joseph Ellis
“The study of history is an ongoing conversation between past and present from which we all have much to learn,” write Joseph Ellis in his new book, American Dialogue: The Founders and Us. The book serves as Ellis’s attempt to … Continue reading
Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized
Tagged American Dialogue, Joseph Ellis, law, Politics, race
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A Detour to Cowpens
I know we’re getting close to the Cowpens battlefield when we pass Redcoat Drive and then Tory Trail. Unfortunately, my GPS takes us to the maintenance shed rather than the visitor center, but the park’s signage finally manages to get … Continue reading
Standing in the Room Where American Was Born
As I stood in Independence Hall, in the room where the Founders debated the Declaration of Independence, I suddenly started thinking of the opening scene from the musical 1776, when John Adams cries for independence while everyone else complains about … Continue reading
Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Continental Congress, National Park Service
Tagged 1776-the musical, Ben Franklin, Carpenter Hall, City Tavern, Congress Hall, Constitutional Convention, Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Independence National Historical Park, James Madison, John Adams, The Signer, Thomas Jefferson
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