Category: Uncategorized

Old Fort Harrod State Park

On By Eric SternerIn Civilian, ERW Weekender, Memory, Monuments, Native American, Photography, Preservation, Uncategorized, Western Frontier1 Comment

In 1774, frontiersman James Harrod led a surveying party from western Pennsylvania to the region south of the Ohio River known as Kentucky.   The group laid out a small fort, started their first buildings, and staked out claims to larger farms beyond the town’s walls but left the area with the start of Dunmore’s War between Virginia and the Shawnee Native Americans living north of the Ohio. 

Old Fort Harrod Interior

            Harrod returned in the spring of 1775 with a group of settlers.  Greater numbers made a larger fort and town necessary.  Harrod’s return to the area coincided with the outbreak of the American Revolution, which quickly led renewal of intense fighting between Native Americans and whites living on the American frontier.  British support for the Native Americans, particularly after 1777, made Kentucky an extraordinarily dangerous place to live.  Together with Boonesborough and Logan’s Station, Harrodstown, also known as Harrodsburg, constituted the bulk of white settlement in Kentucky during the war’s early years. 

“[T]he poor Kentucky people, who have these twelve months past been confined to three forts, on which the Indians made several fruitless attempts.  They [the Indians] have left us almost without horses sufficient to supply the stations, as we are obliged to get all our provisions out of the woods.  Our corn the Indians have burned all they could find the past summer, as it was in cribs at different plantations some distance from the garrisons, & no horses to bring it in on.  At this time we have not more than two months bread,–near 200 women & children; not able to send them to the inhabitants; many of those families are left desolate, widows with small children destitute of necessary clothing.”

Despite continuing violence on the frontier, the prospect of land and escaping the war in the east led immigration into Kentucky to outpace population outflows while military success under George Rogers Clark ensured that the frontier settlements survived and increased. 

Harrodsburg became the capital of Kentucky County when Virginia asserted ownership of the area and is still the seat of Mercer County.  To commemorate Kentucky’s frontier history, the state established Old Fort Harrod State Park, which encompasses a recreated fortified town complete with period buildings, furnishings, and crops.  Living historians and artisans demonstrate the 18th century skills needed to survive and flourish far from the eastern seaboard.  Several exhibits help explain the frontier experience before, during, and after the American Revolution.   Additionally, the park incorporates several later buildings as a museum of local history and monuments to George Rogers Clark and Abraham Lincoln’s family.

Old Fort Harrod exterior curtain wall with blockhouse

Old Fort Harrod State Park

100 S. College Street

Harrodsburg, KY  40330

The Final Battle: The Battle of Eutaw Springs with Bert Dunkerly – This Sunday’s Rev War Revelry!

On By Rob OrrisonIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Join us this Sunday, February 5th at 7pm as we welcome back historian and author Robert Dunkerly. The Battle of Eutaw Springs took place on September 8, 1781, and was among the last in the War of Independence. It was brutal in its combat and reprisals, with Continental and Whig militia fighting British regulars and Loyalist regiments. Although its outcome was seemingly inconclusive, the battle, fought near present-day Eutawville, South Carolina, contained all the elements that defined the war in the South. Shrouded in myth and misconception, the battle has also been overshadowed by the surrender of Yorktown.

Eutaw Springs represented lost opportunities for both armies. The American forces were desperate for a victory in 1781, and Gen. Nathanael Greene finally had the ground of his own choosing. British forces under Col. Alexander Stewart were equally determined to keep a solid grip on the territory they still held in the South Carolina lowcountry.

In one of the bloodiest battles of the war, both armies sustained heavy casualties with each side losing nearly 20 percent of its soldiers. Neither side won the hard-fought battle, and controversies plagued both sides in the aftermath. Join us as we talk about the Battle Eutaw Springs with ERW”s own Bert Dunkerly, co-author of the book Eutaw Springs: The Final Battle of the American Revolution’s Southern Campaign live on our Facebook page on February 5th at 7pm, or you can watch/listen to the replay anytime on our You Tube page and podcast channel.

Book Talk with Gene Procknow: “William Hunter – Finding Free Speech”

On By Mark MaloyIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Join us on Sunday, January 22 at 7 p.m. on our Facebook page as we welcome author Gene Procknow to discuss his new book: “William Hunter – Finding Free Speech: A British Soldier’s Son Who Became an Early American.” During the American Revolution, Hunter accompanied his father on a campaign to fight the American Rebels. Witnessing first-hand the terrors of combat and twice experiencing capture, Hunter wrote the only surviving account written by a child of a British soldier during the American Revolution. Previously unknown, the journal is one of the most important document discoveries in recent years. He later became a prominent newspaper editor and representative. Join us as we learn more about this fascinating story from early American history.

Can’t make it this Sunday? You can see a recorded version on our YouTube page or on our podcast!

Looking toward May and warmer weather…

On By erwpostIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

For those in certain geographical areas of the United States winter weather and temperatures are upon us. The barometer fluctuates between highs and lows and wind whips through open spaces. Similar to the winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-1778. Much like the soldiers of the Continental army, looking toward warmer weather in the spring so should you! And it includes a visit to Valley Forge as well!

Join Emerging Revolutionary War historian Phillip S. Greenwalt and other historians in the Pursuit of History: Forging the Continental Army as part of the HistoryCamp.org event weekend. Starting on May 19, 2023 the event rolls through the weekend, Check out the full event page, including the book package where you can secure a copy of The Winter that Won the War, the Winter Encampment at Valley Forge 1777-1778, a volume in the popular Emerging Revolutionary War Series published by Savas Beatie, LLC.

To learn more and book your spot, click here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Emerging Revolutionary War

On By Rob OrrisonIn Uncategorized1 Comment

As we prepare to celebrate the Holiday season, we want to thank everyone who has followed us this past year. We had a very successful year with nearly 30 Rev War Revelries, our Third Annual Rev War Symposium, two books published, various blog posts and a very successful bus tour to Valley Forge and Monmouth.

2023 will be another very busy year for us. We will have two more books released in our book series (Battles for Charleston by Mark Maloy and Battle of Camden by Mark Wilcox and Rob Orrison). We will continue our Rev War Revelry every other Sunday (check our Facebook page for our line up) and our Third Annual Bus Tour will take place on Nov 10-12, 2023 in Charleston, SC. Also, stay tuned for some very exciting news about our annual Revolutionary War Symposium (hint, a change of venue and location!) and we will continue our partnership with Historic Alexandria on a new 18th century style tavern program.

We will not have a Rev War Revelry this Sunday, but we will be resharing our video from last year of ERW historian Mark Maloy narrating the movie The Crossing to honor the anniversary of the Battle of Trenton. We will be back live on January 8, 2023 with historian Andrew Outten, Historical Programs Manager for the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati who will discuss his research on British cartographer William Faden’s maps of the Battle of Brandywine. In the meantime, check out our You Tube Channel to catch all of our nearly 200 videos and our podcast channel as well (every Rev War Revelry now is a podcast). We look forward to seeing you then and we hope Santa brings you history books!

“Fort Ticonderoga, the Last Campaigns” with Dr. Mark Edward Lender

On By William GriffithIn Uncategorized2 Comments

During the War for Independence, Fort Ticonderoga’s guns, sited critically between Lakes Champlain and George, dominated north-south communications in upstate New York that were vital to both the British and American war efforts. In the public mind Ticonderoga was the “American Gibraltar” or the “Key to the Continent,” and patriots considered holding the fort essential to the success of the Revolutionary cause. Join us for this Sunday at 7 p.m. for the latest installment of our Rev War Revelry series as we welcome back award-winning historian, Dr. Mark Edward Lender, to discuss his newest book and the importance of Fort Ticonderoga in the oft-forgotten latter years of the Revolutionary War in Upstate New York.

The discussion will be held via Facebook Live on our page, https://www.facebook.com/emergingrevwar, and will be available afterwards on YouTube and Spotify.

Rev War Revelry: 2023 Bus Tour Reveal

On By Rob OrrisonIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

We have A LOT to be thankful for in 2022! We had a great year in releasing new Emerging Revolutionary War book titles, blog posts, 26 Rev War Revelries, many partnerships with the American Battlefield Trust, Americana Corner & many others. Most of all, we are thankful for a successful Second Annual ERW Bus Tour. We are now all recovered & ready for 2023’s bus tour! This Sunday’s Rev War Revelry focus is to reveal the topic and location of our Third Annual Bus Tour.

We will recap our 2022 bus tour, share some fun stories from this year’s tour and set the scene for 2023. We will discuss the sites we will visit, the personalities, battles and stories that our tour will focus on.

We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving & as you think of gifts for friends and family that love history, be sure to check out our books & the 2023 bus tour.

You can tune in live to the discussion on our Facebook page on Sunday, November 27 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Can’t make it for the live viewing? Check out the recording later on our Facebook page, our YouTube page, or our podcast!

“Rev War Revelry” Book Chat with Bert Dunkerly

On By Daniel WelchIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

 “The Importance of the North River (the Hudson), and the sanguine wishes of all to prevent the enemy from possessing it, have been the causes of this unhappy catastrophe.” So wrote General George Washington in 1776 as the British invaded New Jersey. Worse was to come, as the British overran the state, and the Americans suffered one unhappy catastrophe after another.

 Central New Jersey witnessed many small battles and important events during the American Revolution. This area saw it all: from spies and espionage, to military encampments like Morristown and Middlebrook, to mutinies, raids, and full-blown engagements like Bound Brook, Short Hills, and Springfield. The British had their own catastrophes too. So did civilians caught in the middle.

Continue reading ““Rev War Revelry” Book Chat with Bert Dunkerly” →

Discovery of Human Remains at Red Bank Battlefield

On By Mark MaloyIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In the summer of 2022, archaeologists discovered the remains of 13 Hessians who had been killed during the Battle of Red Bank in New Jersey. The Battle of Red Bank was fought on October 22, 1777 and resulted in the deaths of dozens of Hessian soldiers. Join Emerging Revolutionary War as we welcome one of the archaeologists who worked on the project, Wade Catts, to discuss the battle, the surprising discovery that occurred this summer, and what we can learn from archaeology about the men who fought the battle 245 years ago.

You can tune in live to the discussion on our Facebook page on Sunday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Can’t make it for the live viewing? Check out the recording later on our Facebook page, our YouTube page, or our podcast!

Tippecanoe Battlefield

On By Eric SternerIn Uncategorized1 Comment

During a recent trip following VA Militia Colonel George Rogers Clark and his Illinois Campaign, my brother and I stopped off at the Tippecanoe Battlefield Interpretive Center in the appropriately-named Battlefield, Indiana, not far from Lafayette.  The battlefield park encompasses the site of a clash between American soldiers and a multinational coalition of Native Americans led by Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, more widely known as “The Prophet.”  It is a gem of a battlefield from America’s founding era.  The Treaty of Paris ceded British “authority” over the Northwest Territory to the new United States.  Of course, it did so without consulting the Native Americans who actually lived there.  That imposition of a European concept naturally led to resistance and involved the United States in some of its earliest wars as a country, notably the War for the Northwest Territory during the Washington Administration and then Tecumseh’s resistance movement and the War of 1812, in which Native Americans in the area primarily sided with the British.  Like St. Clair’s Defeat (1791), the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), and the Battle on the Thames (1813), Tippecanoe (1811) became a milestone among those conflicts.  

Harrison Monument at Tippecanoe in Battlefield, IN. The hilltop stretches into the distance. Some of the trees visible were present during the battle, but are dying from the afflictions that affect aging trees.

Concerned by growing nativist sentiment and alliances among the Indians from several different tribes, Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison led nearly 1,000 infantry, militia, and cavalry north from Vincennes to a growing Indian Settlement known as Prophetstown established by the Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and the Prophet.  Expecting a parlay with Tenskwatawa on November 7, Harrison made camp on a hill near Tippecanoe creek the night of November 6, 1811.  Tecumseh, an experienced war captain and diplomat, was away from Prophetstown at the time, leaving his brother nominally in charge, although various war captains and chiefs from tribes interested in The Prophet’s message were at Prophetstown as well.  

Continue reading “Tippecanoe Battlefield” →