A Prize Court is a formal organization dedicated to the disposition of items captured from an enemy. Because the Colonies were more or less building it all from the ground up, much of what they adopted came directly from the British. As a result the Prize Court and its structure is a British institution that […]

It’s a little bit unfair using this portrait to represent Henry Knox, because it was painted many years after his involvement in the Revolution, which began when Knox was 25 years old. As it turns out, this painting is from 1806, the year Knox died. Henry Knox ran a bookstore in Boston as a young […]

As noted during the episode, James Carnahan was the president of what was later known as Princeton University, the ninth man to hold that title since the school’s founding nearly 90 years earlier. Carnahan held that position for over 30 years, making him the longest tenured president of that school to that date, a record […]

Lord Dunmore issued his Proclamation just a week earlier, but the response was much stronger than anticipated, probably because—who knew!—people hate being slaves. While the Proclamation only applied to the Virginia colony, because Dunmore had no authority conferred upon him anywhere else, a huge number of slaves and otherwise indentured servants from throughout the thirteen […]

Montgomery had done his thing at Fort St. Jean. Benedict Arnold had finally made it through the Maine (heh.) Now it was time to move in on Montreal. What the Canadians didn’t count on was the possibility that Americans weren’t moving on Quebec, but Montreal. Americans can walk and chew gum at the same time, […]

It should come as a surprise to nobody that America has a troubled relationship with its past when it comes to race relations. It may come as surprise to you that our Founding Fathers had a complex relationship with their present when it comes to race relations. Yes, many of them owned slaves, but a […]

The Battle of Hog Island was the first of two major events early in the Revolution that got South Carolina firmly on board with the Independence cause. Hog Island caused the South Carolina Committee of Safety to expand their navy; in this respect they were way ahead of the Continental Congress. But when King George […]

The United States Marine Corps celebrates its birthday every year on this day, usually with a ball (the dancing kind) and a cake-cutting ceremony. The cover art today is from their 233rd birthday celebration. Until 1921, the Marines marked the occasion on July 11, which was the date of the re-establishment of the Corps, since […]

We gotta give Benedict Arnold this: he set a goal and he stuck to it. Given the opportunity to take men and help invade Quebec through a kind of pincer move with General Montgomery, Benedict Arnold took 1100 men through the wilds of Maine to the St. Lawrence River, a trip that he thought would […]

When we talk about Franking, we typically use it in the context of the Franking Privilege, something that members of Congress, ex-presidents, and a few others get to use. In short, if they put their name on the envelope, they can mail stuff without cost to themselves. (The Congressional budget reimburses the US Postal Service.) […]

Lord Dunmore was driven from the Governor’s Mansion back in June, but he never went far. That same day he took refuge on a British ship near Williamsburg and continued playing the role of Governor, even though the House of Burgesses was already doing quite nicely, thank you. Slave revolts were a constant concern in […]

There are going to be days when no truly big events happen, but that wasn’t going to stop the Second Continental Congress from getting stuff done. Today we have a bit of an image of that group as a bunch of men who are hard-drinking philosophers, ready—and maybe eager—to burst into fisticuffs, or perhaps the […]

Guy Fawkes Day is one of those holidays, we think, that many people in America know ABOUT, but don’t necessarily know when it takes place, nor do they have any idea who Guy Fawkes was. Fortunately we’re here to give you some of the scoop. Guy Fawkes was one of eleven conspirators involved in a […]

As we told you yesterday, Major Preston was hoping that reinforcements were coming in time to rescue him and his men from Fort St. Jean, so he tried to stall for time with General Montgomery. General Montgomery wasn’t biting, though, and the siege finally ended when Preston’s men surrendered. Today, only a day later, a […]

If you’re scrutinizing today’s cover art and you’re having trouble reading the plaque, that’s because what you see is mostly in French. The bottom half, only part of which is visible here, is in English. The English part (which is a translation of the French part) reads: FORT SAINT JEAN Constructed in 1743 by M. […]

It’s noted that Brooklyn is the place where Jeromus Johnson was born, but to be more specific, Johnson was born in a neighborhood called Wallabout, which still exists but Johnson wouldn’t recognize it today. Wallabout got its name from the adjacent Wallabout Bay, which has been mostly filled in and is now occupied by the […]

In July 1775, there were still several delegates to the Second Continental Congress who thought that reconciliation with Britain was a possibility. There were a few others who may not have necessarily been of that opinion, but were willing to take a chance. Some of these men, led by John Dickinson, formed a committee to […]

Sam Adams was a patriot in his own right, oftentimes supporting his second cousin John. The two of them were often able to work together closely. What’s more, they were an efficient team, with Sam Adams being the fiery agitator and organizer, and John Adams acting in the more measured and sophisticated role, playing the […]

Sally Scott Murray was a political wife for the better part of her adult life, given all the different elected offices that her husband Edward Lloyd the 5th held. There were a few years immediately after their marriage when id didn’t hold elected office, and he predeceased her by about twenty years, but in between, […]

One of the most fascinating things about this event, and we only got to touch on it briefly in the episode itself, is that some important parts of the story are under dispute. What’s not debated is that the order went out to transfer gunpowder and lead to the Cherokees on October 29. What is […]