History Distilled

In November 1775, the American Revolution violently arrived in the South Carolina backcountry. The First Battle of Ninety Six wasn't fought by British regulars, but by neighbors staring down the barrels of long rifles at men they had known for years.   Trapped on the plantation of John Savage, 560 Patriot militiamen hastily built a makeshift stockade out of fence rails, barn wood, and beef hide. They were completely cut off from water and surrounded by nearly 2,000 Loyalists who had transformed the town's brick jail into an impenetrable redoubt just 250 yards away. From the theft of Cherokee gunpowder to the use of a heavy wooden "mantelet" war machine, discover how a fragile backcountry erupted into a three-day siege that changed the Southern colonies forever.   

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Timestamps:
0:00 - The Spark in the Backcountry
1:31 - The Treaty of Ninety Six & Stolen Gunpowder
4:27 - Cornered at Savage's Old Fields
6:06 - The Siege Begins
7:40 - Fire, Water, and the Loyalist Mantelet
10:30 - A Desperate Truce

In October 1775, the Royal Navy unleashed a firestorm on the colonial seaport of Falmouth, Massachusetts (modern-day Portland, Maine). What started as a punitive bombardment by Lieutenant Henry Mowat to punish the town turned into a massive strategic blunder. It radicalized the eastern seaboard, helped establish the Continental Navy, and literally wrote itself into the Declaration of Independence.

Welcome back to History Distilled. In this episode, we break down the maritime standoff that sparked the siege, the relentless incendiary barrage of the HMS Canceaux, and the defiant militia resistance in the burning streets.

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The water of the Richelieu River ran black and freezing in the autumn of 1775. Here, in the dense, mosquito-infested swamp lands of the Canadian wilderness, the first great offensive of the American Revolutionary War ground to a muddy, agonizing halt. 

The Siege of Fort St. Jean was a brutal, fifty-four-day war of attrition fought against disease, exposure, and dwindling ammunition.  

As the master key to Canada, Fort St. Jean guarded the critical corridor linking the rebellious Thirteen Colonies to the relatively unprotected heart of British North America. 

In this first installment of our series covering America's 1775 invasion of Canada, we explore how an unpolished Continental Army force under Brigadier General Richard Montgomery established a stranglehold on Major Charles Preston’s British garrison. From the deployment of a massive 13-inch mortar dubbed the "Old Sow" to the catastrophic failure of British relief efforts at Longueuil, discover how this grinding standoff broke the British defense in the Richelieu Valley and opened the road to Montreal.  

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If you learned something new about this forgotten Revolutionary War siege, please hit the like button and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.  Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss Part 2 of the 1775 Invasion of Canada, and as always, have a great day if you want to.

On the night of June 16, 1775, 1,200 colonial militiamen raced against the dawn to build a massive earthen redoubt on a 75-foot hill overlooking Boston. Their goal? To challenge the mightiest military force on the planet.

Following the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, British forces found themselves trapped. To break the siege, ambitious British generals launched a massive frontal assault on the colonial positions. What followed was a staggering bloodbath that shattered the myth of British invincibility, prompted King George III's Proclamation of Rebellion, and proved that a motley assemblage of farmers and tradesmen could stand ground against an empire.

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If you learned something new or enjoyed this look at the Battle of Bunker Hill, please hit the like button and consider subscribing to History Distilled for more deep dives into the American Revolution. Let me know your thoughts on today's topic in the comments below!

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In May 1775, a simple raid for livestock accidentally sparked the first British naval defeat of the American Revolution. Six weeks after Lexington and Concord, British General Thomas Gage and his army are trapped inside the Boston peninsula, entirely cut off from mainland supplies. Desperate for food and fodder, Gage relies on the heavily stocked Noddle's and Hog Islands in Boston Harbor.

To starve the British out, Colonel John Stark and a force of provincial militia march into the freezing mud of the tidal estuary in the dead of night to strip the islands bare. But what begins as a battle for calories quickly escalates when the Royal Navy dispatches the heavily armed schooner HMS Diana to intercept them. Discover how frontier tactics, shallow waters, and a 76-foot mast turned a nighttime farm raid into a humiliating defeat for the British Empire.

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The Heist of Fort Ticonderoga: Allen, Arnold, and America's First Offensive
In this episode, we dive into the dark, misty morning of May 10, 1775, when a ragtag band of rebels executed the very first offensive colonial operation of the American Revolutionary War.

Discover how a giant frontier brawler, Ethan Allen, and an ambitious merchant, Benedict Arnold, set aside their fierce rivalry to lead the Green Mountain Boys on a desperate gamble. Their target was the crumbling "Gibraltar of America," Fort Ticonderoga, and its unguarded dragon's hoard of over 200 heavy cannons. Without losing a single life, this 10-minute raid changed the course of the siege of Boston and the entire war.
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General Gage wanted a surgical strike. He got a slaughterhouse. Everyone knows the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," but the reality of April 19, 1775, was a tactical disaster that broke the British Empire.

In this episode of History Distilled, we track the British column from the initial standoff at Lexington Green to the "Circle of Fire" at Concord. Beyond the legends of Paul Revere, we analyze how a colonial militia turned a simple search-and-seizure mission into a running bloodbath.

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In this video, we cover:

The Intelligence War: How the "Alarm and Muster" system beat British secrecy.

The North Bridge: The moment the militia finally fired back.

The Rescue: Why Earl Percy was the only thing standing between the Regulars and total surrender.

The Butcher’s Bill: A final breakdown of the casualties that ignited the Siege of Boston.

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History remembers the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in April 1775, but four months earlier, a high-stakes heist in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, set the stage for war.

In this episode of History Distilled, we uncover the story of the Raid on Fort William and Mary. Triggered by a confidential order from King George III to ban arms exports and sparked by a forgotten "midday ride" by Paul Revere, a group of patriots—led by John Langdon and John Sullivan—risked death for high treason.

Join us as we break down how 400 men stormed a British fort, faced down cannons, and utilized flat-bottomed "gundalows" to steal 97 barrels of gunpowder right from under the nose of the Royal Governor .This is the gunpowder that would later be used to defend Bunker Hill.

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On June 28, 1778, soldiers dropped dead without a scratch, their hearts bursting from the 96-degree heat. The Battle of Monmouth wasn't just a fight against the British Empire—it was a battle against human limits.
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In this episode, we dive into the "Fatal Sunday" that changed the trajectory of the American Revolution. We track the Continental Army as they emerge from the freezing misery of Valley Forge to face the searing furnace of the New Jersey plains. 

We take a look at George Washington’s finest hour as a battlefield commander. Facing a collapsing army and an insubordinate second-in-command, Washington risked his life and reputation to rally his troops in the sweltering heat. We break down the tactics of the "Great Cannonade," the role of Baron von Steuben’s drill training, and how this inconclusive battle silenced Washington's critics forever.

On the night of May 19, 1778, 16,000 British soldiers marched through the dark to crush just 2,000 rebels. Their target was the 20-year-old Marquis de Lafayette, and their trap was perfect: the Americans were surrounded on three sides with a raging river at their back.

In this episode of History Distilled, we break down the Battle of Barren Hill—a near-disaster that could have ended the American Revolution before the summer began. General James Grant had sworn to send the "Boy General" back to France in chains, but he underestimated Lafayette’s coolness under fire. Discover the bravery of the Oneida warriors, the secret "sunken road" that offered a lifeline, and the tactical brilliance that allowed an entire army to vanish in plain sight.

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In this video:
* The British plan to entrap Lafayette 
* The crucial role of the Oneida warriors 
* The "Sunken Road" escape route 
* How the Continental Army survived to fight another day 

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