Film, culture, history
The early settlement of Crawford County, Illinois is still relatively clouded in mystery.
The movies used to simplify the westward expansion as a contest between “Indians” and “The White Man.” But when I presented this stereotype a couple of decades ago, on my visit to the a little town near Russelville in Illinois, I was corrected.
Continue reading “Fort Allison: Black History and the War of 1812 in Illinois”
Despite her conviction, Susannah Lalliment was lucky. The far off colonies of the Empire had too few loyal subjects, and the parliament had an idea of how to get more people there. Susannah’s death sentence was commuted to banishment, life on the other side of the world. Continue reading “Susannah Lalliment meets the American pirates”
Susanna Lalliment didn’t know how to spell her own name. She was said to be descended from French Huguenot refugees, but she seemed to speak English well enough.
The Lalliments were skilled lace makers in Nottingham. The lace business in Nottingham, however, was changing. New technology put many traditional craftsmen out of work.
Perhaps being descended from immigrants contributed to workforce mobility. Susannah and her father moved to London; and that’s where all the trouble started. Continue reading “Sentenced to death over a ten pound bank note”
There’s a new initiative called World Book Night that allows readers to give away 480,000 books. To join you need to be willing to distribute 24 copies.
I was thinking it would be nice if we could vote for some books that teach history. It would be a shame if some substandard “chewing gum for the brain” book won.
It would be much worse, however, if the winner were one of those dull “classics” that everyone displays but no one reads. Continue reading “What’s your favorite book about 1812?”
Here the Earth, river, &c torn with furious convulsions, opens in huge trenches, whose deep jaws are instantaneously closed; there throws a thousand vents sulfurous streams gushed from its very bowels, leaving a vast and almost unfathomable caverns. – William Leigh Pierce, eyewitness
1812 was a year of science. The discovery of dinosaurs, the electric battery, iodine and many other marvels firmly placed the year within the “Age of Reason.”
At the same time, new “superstitions” were developing. One of these was helped by three of the most powerful earthquakes America had ever known. Some scientists fear such earthquakes could come again, and this time, the devastation could be much greater. Continue reading “When Tecumseh made the Mississippi flow backwards”
From Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branaugh, to a portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret “Maggie” Thatcher, you’ll see the British flag waving down the aisle at this year’s academy Awards. Again. Yet again.
One starts to wonder if the Americans have a “sense of inferiority” when it comes to the dramatic arts. If so, from whence does this pathetic inferiority complex come? Let’s start in the month of April, 1812. Continue reading “The Empire’s New Talent”
a tale by Candy Korman
The men were celebrating. Pushing the Americans back at Queenston Heights on the Niagara front was, no doubt, a decisive moment in the combat, but there was no telling what turns the war would take. Continue reading “A Man of Science”
“A snake of the diamond kind has been lately killed at Blackwattle swamp, the length of which was 10 feet 4 inches, and its largest circumference five inches.” the Sydney Gazette reported on January 4th, 1812.
A woodcutter was going about his business, when he turned around and saw the “monstrous” creature. Naturally the woodcutter was afraid of snakes, so he whacked the animal on the head.
That didn’t stop the snake much, so the woodcutter ran for his life. Continue reading “Great Snakes! Australia in January 1812.”
Edinburg, Scotland; John Skelton was apprenticed to a gunsmith. He had a big future ahead of him. And he enjoyed the night’s New year’s Eve celebrations.
But Mr. Skelton soon found he was a wanted man. John Skelton was implicated in robbery and the murder of a policeman, with a reward on his head.
The motive? Booty. A black-watch ribbon, a watch-key of gold. With a cornelian stone set in. A silk purse. And a hatred of the police. Continue reading “Edinburgh’s New Year Rioting and Robbery”
The Royal Mail is kindly reminding us why the American Patriots signed the Declaration of Independence. It costs 76p to send a letter from the the mainland Britain Empire to America. And who is on a 76p stamp? None other than King George III.
King George III, of course, is remembered as the man who introduced the “stamp tax”, a kind of consumption tax (or sales tax, or VAT) that affected all printed matter. Continue reading “George III and the 76p Stamps”