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“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” — George Mason of Virginia In April of 1775, the British Royal Military Governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, sent 800 British Army Regulars, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, on a preemptive raid to seize guns from American patriots at Lexington and Concord.

During the first six decades of the eighteenth century, the American colonies were mostly allowed to govern themselves. In exchange, they loyally fought for Great Britain in imperial wars against the French and Spanish. But in 1763, after the British and Americans won the French and Indian War, King George III began working to eliminate American self-government. The succeeding years saw a series of political crises provoked by the king and parliament. What turned the political dispute into a war was arms confiscation at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

On April 19, 1775, seventy-eight-year-old Captain Samuel Whittemore crouched behind a stone wall next to his home. Whittemore’s old fingers tightly gripped his musket and his pistol. A sword hung from his belt. A phalanx of Redcoats looted homes as they retreated back to Boston. The senior Patriot, who had resisted tyranny and the rule of the Crown for years, planned to fight to the death to defend his home.When the British troops approached, he blasted away, slaying two Redcoats and wounding or killing a third with his sword. The Redcoats then unleashed their fury on Whittemore, shooting him in...

The teaching of history has become a flashpoint in the culture wars. But while the battle is fierce, it’s not new. An earlier round in the conflict in the 1920s — over the teaching of the American Revolution — indicates that it will be crucial for historians to weigh in loudly and forcefully during the current debate. That will give them the space to continue to teach the most accurate, up-to-date version of U.S. History and prevent forces that fundamentally don’t understand the job of historians from shaping what American children learn about the past. In the late 19th century,...

The Life of Frederick William Von Steuben: Major General in the Revolutionary Army - tells the story of Baron Steuben, who had been an officer in the Prussian army. Considered one of the fathers of the United States Army, he had a leading role in improving the Continental Army during the American Revolution and turning them into a professional fighting force. https://librivox.org/the-life-of-frederick-william-von-steuben-by-friedrich-kapp/

The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, The Battles at Lexington and Concord Dramatic narration and authentically recreated scenes, enhanced with an original score, chronicles the settlement of the American Colonies, the formation of colonial governments, and the tension that resulted from the economic strain on Great Britain for its prosecution of the Seven Years War with France. It illustrates how Great Britain’s attempt to make the American colonies pay for its debts, among other issues, brought about the revolt. British Parliament's passage of The Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts, and the effects...

On the morning of March 15, 1781, British General Charles Lord Cornwallis's force of 2,100 men discovered the Americans holding a defensible position on elevated ground about one and a half miles from the Guilford Courthouse near present day Greensboro, North Carolina.

“The commander in chief expressed ‘disapprobation of such disorderly proceedings’ (ad hoc mass meeting of officers) as the illegally called meeting. He summoned a meeting of his own for the following Saturday, March 15, 1783. This was probably the most important single gathering ever held in the United States. Supposing, as seemed only too possible, Washington should fail to prevent military intervention in civil government?

He was the greatest American. Don't settle for less.“First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. He was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.“To his equals he was condescending; to his inferiors kind; and to the dear object of his affections exemplarily tender: Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his...

A 200-year-old painting of George Washington was stolen from a Colorado storage unit in January.. The Englewood Police Department (EPD) received a call Jan. 22 about the theft of the “historical painting” from a storage facility, but they believe the theft occurred two weeks earlier on Jan 10 ... “The painting is of our first president, George Washington, and was created in the early 1800s... The approximate size of the piece is 24 inches by 30 inches, measured in a gold-colored frame. The value is undisclosed and hard to estimate due to its historical significance,” ... Police told the outlet...

On the morning of October 19, 1781, General Charles Cornwallis was ashamed of himself. Equestrian Washington The prior week had begun with General Cornwallis finding himself – along with his 8000 British, Loyalist American, and Hessian troops – hemmed in at Yorktown. He had consciously settled in there that spring, erecting fortifications, seemingly declaring the site permanently “British-held ground.” But gradually, things went against him. The American Commander in Chief, General George Washington, and French General Rochambeau moved in with their American and French troops… The great British Navy under Admiral Thomas Graves was unable to offer support, as French...

A digital sonar image of a different vessel on the floor of the York River. Shipwreck may date to 1781 siege YORK — Two years ago a sonar company in Gloucester was testing equipment in the York River when the crew hit the jackpot: an uncharted shipwreck on the river bottom. “That was quite a surprise,” said David Hazzard, an archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The area where the ship was found is well-documented. There have previously been nine documented shipwrecks in the York River associated with the Revolutionary War and the Siege at Yorktown. Seven ships...

A replica of an 18th century French warship has set sail from France for the United States.

General John Glover delivered a priceless gift to the nation. He saved the cause of American independence on Christmas Day in 1776. Glover was a Marblehead, Massachusetts, mariner-turned-Revolutionary War hero who led a rugged regiment of calloused New England fishermen. This famed Marblehead militia ferried George Washington and 2,400 troops in row boats across the ice-choked Delaware River on the night of Dec. 25 with the American rebellion on the brink of collapse. The daring assault overwhelmed a garrison of 1,400 Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey, who were fighting on behalf of the British crown. It was a stunning...

Four in ten Democrats agree with removing statues of George Washington as some leftist cities consider doing so, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday found. While the survey found 77 percent of Democrats expressing at least a somewhat favorable view of the country’s first president and Revolutionary War hero, 40 percent at least somewhat approve of removing public monuments of the figure. Of those, 21 percent of Democrats “strongly” approve. However, 53 percent at least somewhat disapprove of doing so.

Almost four decades after the death of George Washington, a beautiful new marble sarcophagus was donated to replace the deteriorating original. On Oct. 7, 1837, family and friends gathered at the vault on the grounds of Mount Vernon for the installation. During the process, Washington's inner wooden coffin was found in poor condition. Part of the lead lining was pulled back to reveal the head and chest of the Father of Our Country. Here's a description from a private letter in the collection of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon.This episode is brought to you in part by...

Today is the 247th anniversary of the mysterious, Providential fog that covered the evacuation of the Continental Army from Long Island to Manhattan in 1776. The term Providence was very common in this era. The president of Princeton College, John Witherspoon, defined Providence as the operation of God’s presence. After the evacuation on August 29, 1776, one soldier sent a report to a Boston newspaper that said: “Providence favored us. The night was remarkably still. The water as smooth as glass, so that our boats got all over. At sunrise a great fog came up. The enemy did not discover...

In Rob Lowe's episode of "Who Do You Think You Are," the actor delves into his family history and uncovers a surprising connection to early American history. Through genealogical research and personal interviews, Lowe traces the lineage of an ancestor who fought in the American Revolutionary War and explores the possibility that he may have been commissioned to defeat George Washington. The episode provides an engaging and insightful look into Lowe's personal connection to the events that shaped early American history.Emmy nominee Rob Lowe has a Surprising Ancestral Link to George Washington!40:14 | Who Do You Think You Are? |...

George Washington was truly the “Indispensable Man”. He commanded a consistently ragged, underfed, seldom paid, often mutinous amalgam of regulars and militia through over eight years of war. Toward the end after Yorktown in October 1781, his officers were determined to confront the Continental Congress with a list of truly legitimate, morally imperative grievances this body had ignored.Washington opposed this initiative, which for him was brought into sharp focus by publication in 1775 of the first volume of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He foresaw in this undertaking an outcome similar to generals leading legions marching...

Here is a very interesting video of the founding of our country, and our first President, George Washington, from the perspective of a Japanese historian. Happy Washington's Birthday!