The Underground Movement

History is replete with scoundrels bent on villainy who claim the mantle of revolutionary. Few meet with the honor that attends our Nation's First Revolutionary. The myths about Washington multiplied after his death. No doubt he would have been embarrassed by the adulation. Beginning when he was...

Despite some noted flaws, Lincoln remains the paragon of American ideals. His rise to the presidency is an incredible story. By 1860 Lincoln’s Indiana was mobilized by political clubs like the Lincoln “Rail Maulers,” and the “Wide Awakes.” Parades, rallies, fireworks, and Republican...

To avoid capture by the British, in 1776 the Continental Congress moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore. Henry Fite’ Tavern, a three story brick building, provided a large enough meeting place. It was renamed Congress Hall. Here Congress gave George Washington powers to conduct the Revolutionary...

In 1663 Charles II granted eight men, the Lords Proprietors, a large slice of North America to finance, develop, and to rule. Lord Ashley, the most notable of the group, specified the street plan for a new city. He also had his secretary, the philosopher John Locke, write the Fundamental...

The Tea Act met resistance throughout the colonies. American merchants refused to purchase East India Company tea because of the tax. A crowd of 5000 Bostonians met at the Old South Meeting House, resulting in hundreds of men disguising themselves with soot and blankets to throw about a million...

During the Civil War, Captain John Ericsson rendered wooden naval vessels obsolete with his revolutionary vessel the U.S.S. Monitor. In 1862 D. Brainerd Williamson and James Porter honored Ericsson’s contribution with a prophetic ballad: “O give us a Navy of Iron, And to man it our Yankee Lads;...

Nathaniel Lyon of Connecticut was the first Union general to die on the field of battle in the Civil War. Assigned to protect the St. Louis Arsenal in Missouri in 1861, Lyon was met by Confederates at Wilson’s Creek. Despite a serious wound to his leg and a bullet grazing his head, Lyon regrouped...

Amos Doolittle’s engraving of the Battle of Lexington and Concord and other early American scenes provide a visual historic record of the people, places, and events that shaped the nation. Ever the patriot, Doolittle created several pieces that celebrate the Federal Union. Self-taught, he has been...

Far overmatched by British forces, colonial militiamen often rallied with acts of defiance. Perhaps Sgt. Nathan Blood, atop Breed’s Hill, chiseled a “13” for colonial unity on the face of one 6 lb cannonball destined to crash through the superior numbers in British lines. Sgt. Blood fell on...

America’s diversity has been unique in the world from colonial times to the present. In 1737, Irish colonists first celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in Boston. New York City’s Irish initiated their celebration at the Crown & Thistle Tavern in 1756. General George Washington, commander of a large...

Taverns were the center of reading and conversation in colonial days. So, it was inevitable that taverns would be centers of patriot activities in the American Revolution. The Green Dragon became a favorite rendezvous for the Sons of Liberty as they plotted resistance in Boston. Here they organized...

President Jefferson was keenly interested in the West. Before Louisiana was purchased he convinced Congress to finance an expedition. He chose his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, a young army veteran and William Clark, Lewis’s friend to lead the Corps of Discovery. The perilous journey of...

Ranks of teetotalers swelled during Lincoln’s presidency. They soon dwindled during the war only to re-surge again in a movement that’s crescendo saw prohibition rake the nation with turmoil and spawn a new form of underground movements and speakeasies. A, circa 1909, bottle of Old Empire...

Taverns hosted forums for citizen action across the colonies. Many taverns evoked a spirit of connection with the British before tension in the colonies grew. Patriots, inflamed by British repression, often discharged their anger and weapons at common British symbols. Five musket balls slammed into...

History buffs remember the pirates of the North African Barbary states. But, who recalls Marine lieutenant Presley O’bannon and his small band of Americans who trekked the North African deserts to help overthrow the Pasha that profited from the piracy? O’bannon was presented with the Mameluke...

Few of the patriots who threw British tea into Boston Harbor were identified in their lifetimes. The master goldsmith, Paul Revere, was a known leader of that act. As a member of the Boston Committee of Correspondence, he was deeply involved in the rebellion. But his fame as the celebrated rider who...

The Rough Riders, assembled to fight in the Spanish American War, were led by Colonel Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt. They became nationally recognized because of Roosevelt’s accounts of their bravery, especially in the charge up San Juan Hill. But the casualty list was long. About one in...

The “Last Spike” at Promontory Point, Utah united the nation by rail in 1869. The Central Pacific owners then organized the Southern Pacific as a sister company to capture the California market. For thirty-five years passengers on the Southern Pacific traveling to and from Ogden, Utah would...

The American Revolution owes much to the Enlightenment and the First Great Awakening. But there was also a unique American foundation to the rebellion. The Sons of Liberty, deeply influenced by the ideals, rituals and confederate structure of the Iroquois tribe, dressed as Indians for the Tea...

Volunteer American fighter pilots, organized and trained by Claire Chennault, swung into action just one day after Pearl Harbor. While the nation reeled from the Japanese attack, the Flying Tigers began their defense of the Burma Road, China’s vital supply line. Churchill, not one to waste praise...

The Stamp Act would have created an intrusive bureaucracy. Nearly every transaction was taxed—court documents, licenses, newspapers, church documents, even playing cards. When the underground Sons of Liberty and others intimidated the tax agents, Parliament repealed the Act, passed the Townshend...

President Truman announced the surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945, and Americans began to use the term “VJ Day” for that date. The actual terms of surrender were not signed until September 2, 1945 on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo harbor. Supreme Allied Commander, General Douglas MacArthur...

Alexander Winton built and sold the first advertised American automobile, not in Detroit, but in Cleveland. While others like the Duryea brothers and Ransom Olds were establishing companies that intended to sell autos, Winton was the first to advertise and sell a series of identical motorcars. By...

In 1876, the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia led the nation in producing steam locomotives. The firm built 232 engines in that centennial year. The most noted was the Jupiter, now housed in the Smithsonian. It was shipped to California on a heavy flatcar and became part of the revolution in...

Wilbur and Orville Wright set up a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio in 1892. Their Van Cleve bicycle named for ancestors who were among the first settlers of Dayton, was advertised for its speed. Before their historic flight at Kitty Hawk,North Carolina, the Wrights had published a newspaper, invented a...