Free Republic

General George Washington embraced each of his military officers before stepping down from his commission Angelica George Washington gave a final goodbye to his soldiers at the close of the Revolutionary War on this day in history, Dec. 4, 1783. Washington, then-commanding general of the Continental Army, rallied his military officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York City, according to History.com. He then informed his troops that he would be stepping down from his commission to return to civilian life. The future first president of the United States led his army through six years of warfare against the British ahead...

Gibraltar finally joined the official list of British cities on Monday (Aug 29), after 180 years in which its status, granted by Queen Victoria, had been overlooked due to an administrative error. The British overseas territory bid to become a city earlier this year as part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, but research in the National Archives established it had in fact been granted city status in 1842. "It is excellent to see official recognition given to the City of Gibraltar, a huge accolade to its rich history and dynamism," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in...

Even though Iceland seems to be getting more press… Superintendent Rögnvaldur Ólafsson is at the coordination center of the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, patiently waiting to see how things develop on the Reykjanes peninsula, where an eruption is considered likely. He tells mbl.is that in case of an eruption, it is highly unlikely that houses need to be invacuated in the Reykjanes peninsula. Most likely, a potential eruption would be a small one that would not put inhabited areas and infrastructure at risk. “We’re just waiting,” he states. This, he adds, is similar to what he experienced...

It is beyond my power of discernment to identify the most over-the-top comment criticizing President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord. But this tweet by a Harvard professor named Joyce Chaplin is surely a contender: The USA, created by int’l community in Treaty of Paris in 1783, betrays int’l community by withdrawing from #parisclimateagreement today. Chaplin teaches American Studies. Yet, she appears not to know how America was created. Ted Cruz reminded her: Just sad. Tenured chair at Harvard, doesn’t seem to know how USA was created. Not a treaty. Declaration+Revolutionary War+Constitution=USA. He added: Lefty academics...

The article is about a Channel 4 (UK) documentary series called Catastrophe. I found the following excerpt particularly interesting. I don't remember ever hearing about the 1783 toxic cloud over Britain, and now wonder whether this had any influence on early British-American relations, or any long-lasting historical impact. Toxic Cloud Over Britain In 1783 in Laki, Iceland, a volcanic eruption occurred, spewing out gas and lava for eight months and covering an area of 200sq miles in molten rock. The Laki eruption produced huge quantities of sulphur dioxide, burning people’s eyeballs, scorching the skin off livestock and killing plants. The...