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250 and Counting

Acroasis Media

This day 250 years ago

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2:00

Things Heat Up in Wilmington–February 15, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/15

We should confess that by the time we actually get to the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, it’s not going to be as big a battle as anyone thought it was going to be. But the buildup was something else again. It seemed pretty clear to everyone involved that this was going to be epic and a veritable cast of thousands would be involved. But, things happen. Motivations change. Cynicism and even capriciousness sets in. And there’s still a battle, but it involves hundreds, not

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2:00

Washington Goes Mail-Order Shopping–February 14, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/14

There were many reports from George Washington over the course of the Revolutionary war, but for the most part I think they were carefully crafted and frankly not always worthy of the reactions they proposed. The careful craftsmanship does makes sense, though, because Washington was a diligent collector and reader of books. As an autodidact, he was constantly learning, and he was the teacher. It’s just a huge shame that when Washington died, his book collection was broken up and sold

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2:00

A More Organized War–February 13, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/13

So nearly a year ago, in March 1775, Patrick Henry said “Give me Liberty or give me death.” Today the Continental Congress said “Bet,” and sent him to lead troops in Virginia. That was a coincidence, of course: practically anyone who showed any real leadership skills was given the opportunity to lead troops. Henry had the leadership and the oratory skills to get his troops into shape. We mentioned the various committees and their reports today. One of them was

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2:00

Mary Pickersgill–February 12, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/12

The thing that’s hard to understand when considering the flag that Mary Pickersgill put together, and that inspired our National Anthem, is that it’s huge. Mike says specifically that this flag is 17 feet by 42 feet, but that’s hard to picture. When the flag was first displayed at the Smithsonian, it hung out in the open, against the atrium wall. But a flag that big, and that old, eventually begins to give in to gravity. So the Smithsonian folks took it down and spent a

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2:00

Troop Movement in North Carolina–February 11, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/11

Richard Caswell was in charge of the Minutemen in New Bern, North Carolina until the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. Not long after that, the Provincial Congress did away with the Minutemen in favor of a more broadly-trained milita. From that point, his position in the Continental Congress was pretty much over for good. Caswell remained active in the military throughout the Revolution, and was in charge of the Provincial Congress when it came time to write their first State

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2:00

Common Sense Comes to NC–February 10, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/10

As the ideas behind Common Sense spread through the country, it’s an interesting coincidence that Common Sense came to both North and South Carolina a day apart. What’s curious is the way it caught on very quickly in South Carolina, but was more of a slow burn in North Carolina. It’s possible that the difference is as simple as Christopher Gadsden presenting the pamphlet orally before the Provincial Congress, whereas John Penn took more of a backdoor approach, giving a

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2:00

A New Job For John Adams–February 9, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/09

One of John Adams’ stronger talents was being able to see the motivation behind the action, and because of this he was usually able to thwart unattractive actions somehow. In today’s case, he was able to thwart people who opposed him by simply agreeing with them. As a newly-minted Chief Justice of Massachusetts, some Loyalist (if not Loyalist, then certainly in the Don’t Declare Independence crowd) delegates from Maryland suggested that because he worked for Massachusetts,

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2:00

Gadsden, Come Home–February 8, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/08

Christopher Gadsden is famous almost entirely for the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag. But even for that, most people don’t know that the flag was named after a person. And those who do, don’t necessarily know Gadsden’s first name. And yet, he was instrumental in getting America to break away from England. Christopher Gadsden was the one who got South Carolina more excited about Independence. He was a Brigadier General in that colony during the war. He

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2:00

What To Do With Prisoners?–February 7, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/07

Detail from “The Battle of Bennington” by Grandma Moses, 1953, depicting British prisoners being taken. Originally commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution but rejected because of some inaccuracies. Now at the Bennington Museum. When I mentioned in today’s episode that American prisoners were left to disease or neglect, I wasn’t telling you the half of it. The British used captured, damaged or obsolete ships as their prisons. Conditions were so bad

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2:00

Vive La France–February 6, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/06

Much like the Hessians of our last episode, the story involving our getting French recognition and friendship is longer and more complex than most people realize. The events of today were important, but they laid the groundwork for so much more in the future. France was already annoyed with Britain over the Seven Years’ War, so supporting the Colonies was the shrewd thing to do: France would annoy Britain with the treaty, America would get arms and soldiers (and naval support), and we

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2:00

Here Come The Hessians–February 5, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/05

I think I need to clarify something that I said during today’s episode. I mentioned that about 2200 Hessian soldiers fought in the Revolution. That number is accurate, but it only refers to the soldiers who came from Hesse-Hanau and were affected by the treaty alluded to today. Another big chunk came from Hesse-Kassel and the rest came from elsewhere in Germany. In all, more than 30,000 Hessians fought in the Revolutionary War, comprising about a fourth of the British land forces

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2:00

When Generals Meet–February 4, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/04

A war map of New York City from 1776. This was almost the entire city at that time.OK, I’ll admit I cheated the title a little bit. The fact is, both General Charles Lee, who was part of George Washington’s inner circle, and General Henry Clinton, who was a British general, did arrive in New York City on the same day. The odds are pretty low that, despite how small New York City is compared to today, they actually encountered one another on this day. The post When Generals

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2:00

Fort Whetstone–February 3, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/03

Aerial view of Fort McHenry. The curved earthworks wall along the bottom third of the picture is a remnant of Fort Whetstone. via Wikimedia Commons. I was actually rather disappointed not to be able to find any images of Fort Whetstone. Surely there are some pictures from that time, but the Internet was not in a giving mood today. In today’s artwork you can see some remnants of the original fort (most of what you see is modern-day Fort McHenry). Those are along the bottom of the

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2:00

Salisbury Iron Furnace–February 2, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/02

A typical iron factory setup, This image is generally used to represent the Salisbury Furnace. via National Park Service.In early 1775 when hostilities first broke out, the Salisbury Iron Furnace was owned by an Englishman named Richard Smith. By the end of the year he’d cleared out and gone back home to England, and remained there for the rest of the war. After an inspection in early January, the Committee of Safety formally recommended that the Salisbury Iron Furnace be confiscated

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2:00

William Montgomery Crane–February 1, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/02/01

Portrait of William Montgomery Crane. By Unknown author – The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume XII, 1904, page 422, via Wikimedia Commons. If you’re going to have a kid in 1776, you’re probably going to be feeling a little patriotism when you do so. Such was the case with William Montgomery Crane, who got his middle name from General Richard Montgomery, under whom his father served around this point in the Revolutionary War. Crane’s father was

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2:00

The Fate of a Crew–January 31, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/01/31

Etching of William Alexander, Lord Stirling, as a Major General. Etching by H.B. Hall, 1892. via New York Public Library.The capture and ultimate disposition of the HMS Blue Mountain Valley and her crew was, in the bigger scheme of things, a relatively minor event in the American Revolution, however it did suddenly bring both New Jersey and New York into more active participation in the war. And even though the Blue Mountain Valley was beset by storms that they couldn’t possibly

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2:00

Enlisting Apprentices–January 30, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/01/30

“Colonial Blacksmith, 1776”. Wood engraving, attributed to “Granger” though this may be the name of the collection.While we’re talking about enlisting apprentices today, it should be noted that there was precious little difference between an apprentice and an indentured servant, except maybe their age. Thus, the rules that applied to apprentices when it came to enlistment could also be applied to indentured servants, especially inasmuch as some of those rules

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2:00

From John To George–January 29, 1775

250 and Counting ·

2026/01/29

A letter written by John Hancock. Letters from John Hancock to George Washington weren’t especially scarce, nor were letters going the other way. However, today’s letter takes on a few important topics for Washington that one hopes came greatly appreciated. There was commendation that Washington had the foresight to send troops to New York, there was some good financial news, there was also good news in the realm of troop recruitment, and there was a warning about likely

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2:00

Arrest of a Franklin–January 28, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/01/28

Portrait of William Franklin, 1790, attributed to Mather Brown. via Wikimedia.It used to be rumored that Benjamin Franklin had over 30 children out of wedlock, but that’s since been debunked. (And there goes a perfectly good “lightning rod” joke.) But William Franklin was considered illegitimate, though he was raised by his father and his common-law wife Deborah Read. There are some breadcrumbs here and there that lead some historians to believe that Deborah was, in fact,

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2:00

Rules for Native American Trade–January 27, 1776

250 and Counting ·

2026/01/27

Engraving titled Washington and Fairfax and a War-Dance by John Rogers, 1857. The event depicted actually took place in 1779. As noted in the episode, there were several different rules laid down for trading with Native Americans at that time, and some of them were designed to ensure that they remained on our side or, at worst, that they remained neutral in Revolution-based matters. But the rules wound up working out well for both sides: the various tribes were able to get the materials

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