Last chance to see 4 revolutionary war flags at Colonial Williamsburg's DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
3 battle flags flew above the troops in a South Carolina field on May 29, 1780. Colonel Abraham Buford and his 3rd Virginia Detachment were heading back north after trying to reinforce Charleston, under siege by Lord Cornwallis, but the 17th Light Dragoons caught up with the patriots near the North Carolina line. Since 2007, the 3 flags, along with a Connecticut cavalry flag, have been on view in the "Captured Colors: Four Battleflags of the American Revolution" exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg's DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. Soon these flags (among the 25 flags that survived the war) will be returned to the owner, and may never again be on public view. (hamptonroads.com)
Untold truths about the American Revolution
The American Revolution (independence from England) was a just cause: Why should the colonists here be ruled by England? But did we have to go to the Revolutionary War? Canada is independent of England and they didn't fight a revolutionary war, so why do we think that we had to fight a bloody revolutionary war? In the year before those famous shots were fired, poor farmers in Western Massachusetts had kicked the British government out without firing a single shot. They had assembled by the thousands around courthouses and colonial offices and they had just taken over. It was a nonviolent revolution, but then the rich the Founding Fathers stepped in. (commondreams.org)
The Revolutionary City summer program at Colonial Williamsburg
There is always something new to see at the Colonial town of Williamsburg, and their Revolutionary City program lets visitors to get involved. The programs include: "Citizens at War, 1776-1781" follows the progress of the war as the town experiences the Declaration of Independence and occupation by traitor Benedict Arnold and his British troops - and how free and enslaved people cope with the effects of war profiteering, inflation and other hardships. --- "In Defense of Our Liberty:" join the Continental Army, and experience what it was like to be a soldier in the 18th century. (examiner.com)
US historian discovers 47 copies of Ben Franklin letters
A Ben Franklin scholar from the University of California, was in London to research his Franklin tome ("Benjamin Franklin and the Politics of Improvement") and discovered an authentic treasure trove of 47 copies of Benjamin Franklin letters, never before published, which sat undiscovered on the shelves of the British Library for 250 years. Alan Houston was on the last day of his overseas research trip in 2007, when he made the discovery of an historian's lifetime. His discovery has remained a secret for two years while he had the files authenticated. Benjamin Franklin spent a total of 18 years in England during his lifetime. (chattahbox.com)
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution [book review]
Author Richard Beeman spent 40 years thinking about American Constitution and 4 years writing it. It took far less time for the "plain, honest men" to craft a document that hit obstacles at every turn, like widespread apathy over whether such a national charter even was needed. The delegates began meeting in Philadelphia in 1787. George Washington, the star of 1776, was constitutional convention president. Delegates debated over the usual boilerplate issues: free states vs slave states, big states vs small states, republicanism vs federalism. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR] (newsok.com)
Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse [book review]
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, on March 15, 1781, was the largest single conflict of the American Revolution within North Carolina. Lord Cornwallis, commanding 2,000 British and Hessian soldiers and a few American sympathizers, technically defeated an American force of 4,000 (largely North Carolina and Virginia militia and some regiments of the Continental Line) under General Nathanael Greene. This "victory" cost Cornwallis a quarter of his army in terms of dead and wounded. In "Long, Obstinate, and Bloody" historian Lawrence E. Babits and researcher Joshua B. Howard join forces to deliver a professional account of this battle. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR] (starnewsonline.com)
Archeological dig in Ridgebury looks for Revolutionary war militaria
Items from Revolutionary War encampments are the stuff Connecticut historians dream about. Perhaps a button from a military uniform or a bit of flint from an infantryman's musket can be discovered during an archeological dig to confirm the presence of past military action at a local farm. "French Comte de Rochambeau's camp site was in the area. If there's something here connected with his troops' presence, we want to know it," explained Dan Cruson, a local archeologist. (newstimes.com)
Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War
"Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War" (published by the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution) offers a lot of information - not only lists of names by state, but background information on Revolutionary service in the area and samples of information from historical documents like pension records. The listings include whether the patriot was African American or American Indian (including the tribe or nation). (bangornews.com)