Tag: Emerging Revolutionary War

Lafayette at Brandywine

On By Bert DunkerlyIn Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Continental Leadership, Emerging Revolutionary War, ERW Weekender, Monuments, Northern Theater, Personalities, Photography, Revolutionary War4 Comments

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat serving in the French army, and recently married, when the Revolution broke out in America.  He followed events with interst, and was motivated to come and fight with the Americans.

He arrived in March, 1777, nineteen years old and eager.  He immediately formed a friendship with Washington, and was an aide on his staff.  In the meantime British forces had invaded Pennsylvania, intent on capturing Philadelphia.  Washington’s army took a position behind Brandywine Creek, and the British attacked on September 11, 1777.  British troops had flanked the Americans, and reinforcements were rushed to the threatened sector, making a stand on Birmingham Hill.

Eager to get to the fighting, Lafayette and a group of French officers rode to the unfolding battle at Birmingham Hill, arriving as the action was at its hottest.  Approaching from the south, they rode up the Birmingham Road, and turned to the left, coming in behind the brown-coated troops of General Thomas Conway’s Pennsylvania brigade.

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Benjamin Henry Latrobe: Architect of the Republic

On By erwguestIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Civilian, Emerging Revolutionary War, Social HistoryLeave a comment

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes guest historian Darien Ashley. A short bio follows this post.

The best architecture is that which reflects clearly the ideals and activities of the people which inhabit it. This is true for both private dwellings and public buildings. The objects of architecture serve as a lasting testament to identity. These objects, once created, continue to shape minds long after the architect is gone. A nation’s capital city is a site where man can establish glorious structures which convey a sense of who the people are, where they came from, and where they intend to go. The United States Capitol building is a prime example of a structure that continues to inform American identity long after its architects have passed. This article serves as an investigation of the life of one of the most important architects of not only the Capitol, but of the nation itself, Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

Guests to the United States Capitol building often get a shock from the fact that one of its primary architects, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, was an Englishman. Indeed, the man who designed the hallowed, old halls of Congress hailed from a Moravian religious settlement located on the outskirts of Leeds, England. However, Latrobe himself would have objected to the label “Englishman”. Indeed, throughout his life, Latrobe referred to the United States as “his” country and was quick to point out that his mother, Anna Margaretta Antes, was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Latrobe’s father, Benjamin Henry Latrobe Sr., met Anna after she had been sent to London to finish her education. Both of Latrobe’s parents held prominent positions within the Moravian ministry and raised their children to follow in their example.

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Beer Drinking in the 18th Century

On By erwguestIn Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Personalities, Social History4 Comments

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Vanessa Smiley

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack

Benjamin Franklin was one of many 18th century beer lovers.
(Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Siffred Duplessis, c. 1785)

During the 18th century, Colonial society held three common beliefs about beer drinking:

  1. Drinking beer was healthier than drinking water
  2. Beer and its ingredients were a healthy supplement to the entire family’s diet
  3. It was an accepted way to promote social discourse

A little different from today’s society, except for beer connoisseurs (such as the Emerging Revolutionary War folks), these beliefs were formed from the circumstances of the time.

Though a generation away from understanding the connection between boiling water and sanitation, most folks understood that water could make you deathly ill. And yet, ale and beer drinkers did not seem to have that same risk. They did not know it at the time, but the boiling process to make these alternative drinking options neutralized much of any tainted water’s ill effects. Therefore, many substituted beer, ale, and other alternatives such as hard cider over water, making these a major dietary staple in the colonies.

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The 245th Anniversary of "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Continental Leadership, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Personalities, Politics, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

On this date, in 1775, Virginian Patrick Henry, a delegate to the Second Virginia Convention from Hanover County, Virginia sat in on the ongoing debate at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.

Patrick Henry

The 28-year old then stood to give his defense of his proposed amendments to the petition then being debated. Below is the last few lines of his now famous statement, with the last sentence being the one most remembered;

“If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

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ERW Weekender: Ninety Six, The Site That Has It All

On By erwguestIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Revolutionary War, National Park Service, Southern TheaterLeave a comment

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes historian Vanessa Smiley to the blog.

The thing about Ninety Six National Historic Site is that it’s unassuming exterior hides a wealth of history. It’s also nowhere near a major highway, meaning you have to want to get there if you’re thinking of visiting. And when you do get there, you will realize that there’s more history per acre than its demur entrance lets on. Located in the back country of South Carolina, Ninety Six has a history that speaks to the stories of Native Americans, the American frontier of the 18th century, and the American Revolution.

Entrance to the park
(courtesy of Ninety Six NHS, NPS)

The site at Ninety Six holds a treasure trove of study on these subjects. Native American, mostly Cherokee, activity was heavy in the area long before European settlers arrived. One of the earliest backcountry trading posts, established by Robert Gouedy in 1759, made Ninety Six a hotbed of trading activity thanks to its location at the crossroads of twelve different roads and paths, linking the area to nearly all parts of the colonies.

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March Presentations

On By erwpostIn Emerging Revolutionary War, Preservation, Revolutionary War, WomenLeave a comment

Emerging Revolutionary War (ERW) would like to highlight from time to time some of the lectures, presentations, talks, and events that our historians are apart of.

This month, ERW historians are giving the following presentations:

Bert Dunkerly

March 27th: “The Brown’s Island Explosion Victims” at the Virginia Forum, Richmond, Virginia

Kate Gruber

March 13th: “Tenacity: Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia” Shenandoah Lyceum Lecture Series, Harrisonburg, Virginia. For more information click here.

Travis Shaw

March 29th: “Lord Dunmore.” Aldie, Virginia

ERW Weekender: Boston Massacre: 250 Years and 1-Day Later

On By Phill GreenwaltIn African-American, Battlefields & Historic Places, Common Soldier, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, National Park Service, Northern Theater2 Comments

Crispus Attucks. Every American school child learned that name in a social studies or history class in grade school. On the night of March 5, 1770, Attucks, an African-American was one of the six Bostonians that was killed by British soldiers.

Known in American history as the “Boston Massacre” the tragic event was used as fodder by the Sons of Liberty and pro-revolutionary minded individuals to propel the colonies toward rupture with Great Britain.

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Interview with Tom Chaffin, author of Revolutionary Brothers, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship that Helped Forge Two Nations

On By erwpostIn Book Review, Emerging Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Last week, Emerging Revolutionary War‘s Phillip S. Greenwalt wrote a review of the above mentioned book. To find that review click here. Recently, through email, Emerging Revolutionary War had a chance to interview the author. The questions and his responses are below.

Tom Chaffin, author
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Review: Revolutionary Brothers, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship that Helped Forge Two Nations by Tom Chaffin

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Book Review, Emerging Revolutionary War, MemoryLeave a comment

Thomas Jefferson, Marquis de Lafayette, two household names from the American Revolutionary War. One the author of Declaration of Independence and one of the great political minds of the era. The other, a Frenchman, enamored with the ideals of the rebelling colonies of British North America who risked a maritime crossing, was wounded at Brandywine, and served both on the field of battle and the international sphere to help achieve American independence.

That much is known about these two gentlemen, icons of history. How about their friendship, one that spanned decades and brought both men through times of personal and professional difficulties. Although years separated visits and both men were well into adulthood before making their respective acquaintance, the friendship helped cement the bond between countries, from aid during the American Revolution to a thankful nation celebrating the return of the Marquis in the mid-1820s.

This friendship has finally been captured in narrative form by historian Tom Chaffin, author of other historical works and biographies in a book published by St. Martin’s Press in 2019.

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McColloch’s Leap

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Common Soldier, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Monuments, Native American, Uncategorized, Western Frontier8 Comments

“By no means comparable with the feats of a similar character” and “performed an act of daring” and “nay, desperate horsemanship” and “seldom been equaled by man or beast.” All these describe the amazing escape of Major Samuel McColloch in September 1777 during the attack on Fort Henry around where present-day Wheeling, West Virginia.

I first encountered this amazing, daring, and crazy eluding of capture when I took my own, well not as risky, but still a leap, moving to Wheeling to attend university there. Parents were 3,000 miles away in England and I was attempting to juggle basketball, studies, getting re-acclimated to life in the United States, and unknowingly, a left knee that was about to explode. Being a history major, this was one of the first accounts learned in a freshman year seminar class about local history to inspire the incoming students to explore the area outside of campus.

Fort Henry, built in 1774, was originally named Fort Fincastle, one of the titles of Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia. When the colonies revolted, the fortification was renamed in honor of Patrick Henry.

Fort Henry
courtesy of West Virginia History OnView
https://wvhistoryonview.org/catalog/041457
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