Blog
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The Battle of White Plains
On October 28, 1776, British and Hessian troops captured Chatterton Hill, forcing another American withdrawal. Follow Washington’s retreat through New York and explore how White Plains became associated with Sleepy...
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How Tea Reached Colonial America
A chest of tea arriving in colonial America had already passed through many hands: the people who grew and processed the leaves in China, the workers who packed them for...
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Salem and the Witch Trials of 1692
Follow the Salem witch trials from the first accusations to the long effort to clear the victims’ names. With recommendations from the Salem Witch Museum team, this guide connects the...
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Benedict Arnold’s Lake Champlain Campaign: Valcour Island, 1776
In October 1776, Benedict Arnold’s improvised fleet faced a stronger British force on Lake Champlain. Its story spans hurried shipbuilding, a nighttime escape, and a costly retreat whose consequences extended...
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September 16, 1776: The Battle of Harlem Heights
One day after the collapse at Kip’s Bay, fighting in upper Manhattan gave George Washington’s discouraged army an opportunity to prove it could still stand against British regulars. The Battle...
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The Battle of Long Island
Less than two months after Congress declared the thirteen colonies independent, George Washington faced the task of defending one of America's most important cities against a British force of unprecedented...
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No Fault, No Pardon: Washington in New York
The American Revolution had entered a new political reality by mid-July 1776. The Continental Congress had declared the colonies free and independent states, but Britain did not recognize that change....
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The Articles of Confederation and the Challenge of Union
In July of 1776, Congress was attempting to do two things at once: break apart an empire and construct a political union in its place. The first task produced the...
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Remembering The Battle of Sullivan's Island
The summer of 1776 was a season poised on the edge of a knife. In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress debated the dangerous, irreversible words of a formal declaration of...
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The Drafting of the Declaration
The path toward the Declaration began on June 7, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution before Congress. It declared that the colonies “are, and of right...
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The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
A strategic stronghold, an early American victory, and the artillery that helped shape the course of the Revolution. On the morning of May 10, 1775, before the day had fully...
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Book review: A Social History of Tea
Dear Oliver, I have a fourth tea book that you may want to review: A Social History of Tea, by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson. This book, also offered by Benjamin...
