US History Archives - 250 and Counting

The Pennsylvania Constitution turned out to have many unique qualities, but they were so good that before long they weren’t unique anymore, because so many people copied them.

That’s not to say that everything about the Pennsylvania Constitution was unique, or even original. For instance, the document begins with a Declaration of Rights that was lifted directly from Virginia.

Regardless, there were some radical ideas in there (for that time), which clearly demonstrated that some of the authors had a little bit of an ax to grind when it came to the way thin...

The Battle of the Black Hole, also known as the Battle of Coweecho River, lasted about two hours and had surprisingly few casualties, considering its location and just how fierce the fighting was.

Colonel Andrew Williamson essentially marched into an ambush in a deep gorge, and had to fight their way out. They began by using a circular formation because they found themselves surrounded. But because they were in such a tight spot geographically, they realized that the only way out is through, as the expression goes. Williamson led a bayonet charge, which drove out the Cherokees...

Washington’s report to Congress regarding the events at Harlem Heights a couple of days earlier didn’t pull any punches with regard to how badly his army was beaten, or what mistakes he and his men might have made.

It didn’t always make for cheerful reading in Congress, but at least they knew what they were up against. They knew they weren’t getting whitewashed “Everything Is Just Peachy” reports from someone afraid of dealing with Congressional fallout.

And fortunately, Washington’s report in this case was a mixed bag of bad luck, extraordinaril...

While it didn’t change the result in New York, the Battle of Harlem Heights was a tactical win for the Continental Army, and a boost to morale as well.

It was the Continental Army’s first true victory since Lexington and Concord, and after the demoralizing loss at Kip’s Bay only a day earlier, demonstrating that these soldiers (who were still little more than ordinary citizens) could, in fact, stand up successfully to the mightiest fighting force in the world.

Harlem Heights is a neighborhood to the west of Harlem, and nowadays is called...

Calling it “The Battle of Kip’s Bay” may actually be overstating it a little bit; there were 500 militamen from Connecticut in the area when the British landed, and their defenses were blown away almost immediately, after which they panicked and ran.

But I tell you all about that in the episode. This is my chance to tell you a related story, and nobody knows whether it’s true.

If you look at today’s artwork, you’ll see a piece of a map and an estate called Inclenberg, about where modern-day Murray Hill can be found. Ki...

Washington was on the brink of retreating from New York City, but he was getting pushback from some of his generals regarding how it should be done.

Fortunately for him, this Gordian Knot was cut by a letter arriving from John Hancock on behalf of the Continental Congress.

Nathanael Green and William Heath weren’t necessarily in agreement with Hancock’s recommendations, but orders are orders and everyone prepared to move out based on those.

But about a week later, something happened to render part of those orders moot.

When Patriot forces saw four ships moving into Bushwick Creek, it was ominous but probably not a huge surprise, given that the British already held Brooklyn. They put up largely token fire from their own strongholds and that was pretty much that.

Washington knew that Manhattan was next, but it wasn’t clear how the attack would come, or from where specifically, but he’d already begun the work of getting people and materials out of town, so it probably wasn’t much more than a distraction for him.

In fact, it was a distraction and a...

The Staten Island Peace Conference was a bust almost from the beginning. Not because the sides were so opposed, but because one side didn’t have the authority to do any real negotiation.

John Adams, Edward Rutledge and Benjamin Franklin had to row over from Perth Amboy, New Jersey to get to the Totten House, which is near the southernmost tip of New York State, on Staten Island. At the narrowest point I could find from the vicinity of the house, that’s nearly a half-mile across the mouth of the Arthur Kill River where it opens into...

General William Heath was around for the battle at Lexington and Concord, but you may remember him from our episode from just a few days ago.

He was already a Brigadier General in Massachusetts before Lexington & Concord, and as the siege in Boston started, he worked at training the troops. When the Continental Army officially formed, he retained his title and was promoted to Major General in August 1776.

Unfortunately (as Mike notes), George Washington didn’t think much of him and kept him largely sidelined. And the one time Washington did ask him to do so...