Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all us at Emerging Revolutionary War! The Irish contributed significantly to the cause of American independence. A large percentage of the Continental army was made up of Irish immigrants and Americans of Irish descent. One of Washington’s trusted aides in the war was the Irish Catholic patriot, Colonel John Fitzgerald.
While American independence benefited greatly from Irish support, the American Revolution helped to inspire the Irish rise up for their own freedom back in Ireland. Following the American and French Revolutions, the Irish sought to break the sectarian divides between Catholics and Protestants and unite to drive the British out of Ireland at the end of the 18th century. The United Irishmen rose up in 1798 and fought a bloody conflict that was brutally suppressed by the British.
This Sunday, join us as we discuss the 1798 Irish rebellion and the dramatic battle that occurred on Vinegar Hill near Enniscorthy, Ireland. We will be joined by historian and archaeologist Damian Shiels from Ireland. He has worked at Vinegar Hill and will give some insights on the battlefield. Join us as we gear up for this year’s ERW Symposium where we will be discussing the international importance of the American Revolution.
The talk will broadcast live on Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. ET on our Facebook page. If you are unable to join live, you can catch it on our Facebook page, YouTube page, and podcast later.
Miss us this Sunday? Our “Rev War Revelry” Sunday evening discussions on all things Revolutionary War happen every other Sunday evening live on our Facebook page, and are available afterwards to watch on our YouTube channel. We now have uploaded every program on our podcast, available to stream from Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
That is 63 episodes, over 60 hours of content! You could listen to nothing but Emerging Revolutionary War on a road trip from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, and you would still have more than 20 hours of content left to listen to! So, whether you are at the gym, going on a road trip, or just commuting back and forth to work, be sure to check out the Emerging Revolutionary War podcast!
Happy Washington’s Birthday (observed) from all of us at Emerging Revolutionary War. Though commonly incorrectly referred to as Presidents Day, the federal holiday is specifically for George Washington only. The indispensable man of America’s founding, Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Born on February 22, 1732, the holiday is observed every year on the third Monday in February.
We hope you celebrate the day maybe by enjoying Washington’s favorite breakfast of “hoecakes swimming in butter and honey,” or making the journey to a Washington related site such as Mount Vernon, Ferry Farm, or his birthplace. Last year ERW historians Mark Maloy and Rob Orrison were able to be at his birthplace at the same time he was born (check out the video here). His hometown of Alexandria is holding a parade in his honor as well. If you are not nearby these sites, Mount Vernon is hosting special virtual programming. Be sure to also check out our interview with Tom Hand on the character of Washington we hosted last night. We hope you enjoy the day and remember George Washington on his holiday!
On February 11, 1731/32 George Washington was born at Popes Creek Plantation in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Seems like we have the date wrong? Actually, George had two birthdays, one in the old style calendar and one with the change to the new style, which pushed his birthday to February 22, 1732. According to his mother, Mary Ball, the first date, February 11, was the real date–regardless of the calendar change–and is what is written in the Washington family bible.
That fact and story and so much more will be the focus of this “Rev War Revelry” as Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back historian Tom Hand of Americana Corner. Tom will join us in a discussion of all things George Washington as we celebrate the 290th birthday of this great American. The talk will broadcast live on Sunday, February 20 at 7 p.m. ET on our Facebook page. If you are unable to join live, you can catch it on our Facebook page, YouTube page, and podcast later.
The link to register for the Third annual Emerging Revolutionary War Symposium on September 24, 2022 is now live! To register for this year’s symposium visit: https://shop.alexandriava.gov/EventPurchase.aspx
The Lyceum in historic Alexandria, VA
Emerging Revolutionary War is excited to continue our partnership with Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and The Lyceum of Alexandria, VA to bring to you a day-long Symposium focusing on the American Revolution. The theme for 2022 is “The World Turned Upside: The American Revolution’s Impact on a Global Scale.” The American Revolution created waves across the world with its lasting impacts felt even today. This symposium will study the effects of this revolution that transformed governments and the governed across the globe.
King Louis XVI
Our speakers and topics include:
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky: “Peace and Inviolable Faith with All Nations”: John Adams, Independence, and the Quest for Neutrality.
Dr. Norman Desmarais: “Reevaluating Our French Allies”
Kate Gruber: “A Retrospective Revolution: England’s Long 17th Century and the Coming of Revolution in Virginia”
Scott Stroh: “George Mason and the Global Impact of the Virginia Declaration of Rights”
Eric Sterner: “Britain, Russia, and the American War”
We will be highlighting each speaker and their topics in the coming weeks. Registration fee is only $60 per person and $50 for Office of Historic Alexandria members and students. If you feel more comfortable attending virtually, the fee is $30. Again, to register visit: https://shop.alexandriava.gov/EventPurchase.aspx
This Sunday, February 6, at 7 p.m., join ERW historians and guests as we discuss General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold’s epic campaigns through the north to capture Quebec and claim Canada as the 14th colony.
One of the most difficult tasks when researching the French and Indian War is uncovering primary sources that can answer the age-old question in military history: Why did men fight? What were their motives for answering the call and sustaining the struggle? What were their observations and opinions regarding the events that surrounded them?
The letter included here in this post, written by Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Whiting of the 2nd Connecticut Provincial Regiment to his wife on August 1, 1755, during the Crown Point Expedition in New York is a rarity. Not only is it filled with raw emotion, but it also highlights a soldier’s fears and concerns relating to news of the war elsewhere, as well as his hopes for the coming days and weeks. The most fascinating aspect, however, is how the letter closes with the precise reasons for why Whiting was fighting—Duty to himself, his country, and his God. The commonly cited theme of duty, honor, and country is a constant in why men fight and sustain. Even in the French and Indian War, a conflict that did not involve a fight for independence, to preserve the Union, or to free the world from oppression, Whiting’s motives were still consistent.
Here is his letter:
My dearest wife,
I am here much Longer than I expected When I left you[.] Tis unhappy on many Accounts that we have delayed so long, but know not that it could be prevented. [W]e have orders now to March and . . . tis probable I shall not have opportunity to write you again till I get to the Carrying Place [the future site of Fort Edward along the Hudson River] I doubt your tender concern for me my dear will fill you with too many uneasy apprehensions & fears for my Safety Which I fear will be much increased upon hearing of the unhappy disaster of General [Edward] Braddock [at the battle of the Monongahela] but Let Not that trouble you my dear[.] God is my Safeguard and defense & I Trust has better things in store for his people than to give them all a prey Into the hands of their enemys—we are never more discouraged on Account of that defeat but Rather Animated with the greater Resolution to go on, we may have more enemys to encounter so that we may want more Strength, or our conquests will be more Glorious or our defeat less Shameful but the Latter I hope & believe Will Not be the Case. Pray make your Self as easy as possible I know your Dayly prayers are for my preservation Let it be an article of them that it not be obtained by any unworthy means, but in the prosecution of the Duty I owe at this time to my Self, my Country & my God.
Whiting, a New Haven merchant and veteran of King George’s War, led the 2nd Connecticut Regiment with distinction at the battle of Lake George on September 8, 1755, the culmination of the British campaign to capture Fort Saint-Frédéric (Crown Point) along Lake Champlain. Another post highlighting that action can be found here.
A new year and a new way to follow Emerging Revolutionary War! For 2022, we’re proud to unveil the Emerging Revolutionary War Podcast! We have taken the audio from our “Rev War Revelry” discussions (available on Facebook and YouTube) and have used them to create a new podcast. Now you can listen wherever you are, through Spotify and Apple Podcasts, to these engaging and interesting discussions with Emerging Revolutionary War historians and guests. We have all the programs from 2020 available in podcast form now and will be adding all of 2021 over the next few weeks. Now you can listen to discussions with Emerging Revolutionary War historians any time on your mobile device and on the go!
Merry Christmas from all of us at Emerging Revolutionary War! One of our favorite Christmas movies to watch is the movie “The Crossing”. In this movie, Jeff Daniels portrays George Washington on the eve of the battle of Trenton. The movie depicts the situation in December of 1776 and dramatizes the crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton.
Join Emerging Revolutionary War historians Mark Maloy, Dan Welch, and Kevin Pawlak as we host a watch party of the movie. You can tune in live on Sunday, December 26, 2021 (the 245th anniversary of the crossing and the battle) on our Facebook page at 7 p.m. ET.
As we watch the movie, we will comment on and explore what the movie gets right, wrong, our favorite scenes and lines, and take questions about the movie and actual events themselves. It should prove to be an entertaining and fun experience, so grab that glass of Madeira (“God be praised, it has been a year since I have tasted such Madeira.”) and join us in watching “The Crossing”.
On December 23, 1783, George Washington, the victorious commander of the Continental Army, resigned his commission and gave up his power. The only historic precedent to this action was in the days of ancient Rome when the Roman hero Cincinnatus who turned his sword into a plowshare and became a farmer. Washington was quickly hailed as the American Cincinnatus and esteemed as the greatest man of his age by his contemporaries. John Marshall, the future Supreme Court Justice, wrote from Richmond, Virginia that “at length the military career of the greatest man on earth is closed.”
The ceremony for his resignation occurred at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was then meeting. Following his resignation at noon on the 23rd, Washington, now a private citizen, was eager to get to his home, Mount Vernon, less than 50 miles away.
Throughout the war, Washington had longed to return to his beloved Mount Vernon. He had left in the spring of 1775 and was away for more than six years. He returned, briefly, in 1781 on his way to and from the Siege of Yorktown. Other than those brief stays, by the end of 1783, Washington had spent more than eight years away from his beloved home Mount Vernon. His first desire as a private citizen was to get there as fast as he could. He hoped to live out his days on his plantation, under his “own vine and fig tree.”
He rode out of Annapolis accompanied by a few of his aides in the afternoon of the 23rd and made it halfway to Virginia before it became too dark, and he and his party stopped at a tavern for the night. The next morning, he continued his journey towards the Potomac. He crossed a ferry below Alexandria and made it to the house before dark, as snow began to fall on the ground. At Mount Vernon was his wife, Martha, who had traveled to be with Washington and his army at every winter encampment of the Revolutionary War.
Washington simply wrote a few days later on December 28, 1783 that “I arrived at my seat the day before Christmas, having previously divested myself of my official character—I am now a private Citizen on the banks of the Potomack . . .”
A fanciful lithograph of George Washington returning to Mount Vernon on Christmas Eve, 1783. (Library of Congress)
Having spent the Christmas of 1776 preparing an attack on Hessians at Trenton, and the past eight Christmases at various winter encampments (including Valley Forge), the Christmas of 1783 would have been among the happiest in his life. He wrote that “The scene is at last closed — I feel myself eased of a load of public care — I hope to spend the remainder of my days in cultivating the Affections of good Men, and in the practice of the domestic Virtues.” However, Washington would be called by his countrymen again to serve in building of a new nation. Although, he preferred the quiet walks of private life, he never would forgot his duty to his country.
To learn more about the eventful month of December 1783, including his farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern, his resignation and his homecoming, check out General Washington’s Christmas Farewell by Stanley Weintraub.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Emerging Revolutionary War!
Emerging Revolutionary War Era 