250 and Counting

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 […]

The post Troop Movement in North Carolina–February 11, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 […]

The post Common Sense Comes to NC–February 10, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 […]

The post A New Job For John Adams–February 9, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 post Gadsden, Come Home–February 8, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 that more Americans died as a result of disease than died on the battlefield. Over 10,000 men […]

The post What To Do With Prisoners?–February 7, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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, […]

The post Vive La France–February 6, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 post Here Come The Hessians–February 5, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 […]

The post When Generals Meet–February 4, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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). […]

The post Fort Whetstone–February 3, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.

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 […]

The post Salisbury Iron Furnace–February 2, 1776 appeared first on 250 and Counting.