Thank you, Sarah, this is fantastic. I've made a point of plugging the many gaping holes in my knowledge of the Revolutionary War period. I too, had heard of Crispus Attucks, but only a vague notion (perhaps a shadow memory from a trip to Boston decades ago.)
What a fascinating lesson. Thank you. Your story sent me chasing down this "The colored patriots of the American Revolution," published in 1855. It turns out the book is available on the Internet Archive with full text search. (Swoon.) You'll find it at archive.org/details/coloredpatriotso00nell.
I've used the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's farewell tour of America as a tow rope to take me through much of this history, (see Projectkin.org/lafayette). That story introduced me to James Armestead Lafayette.
I also didn't know anything about his story until I'd dug into Lafayette. I now better I understand the lyric reference to the "man on the inside" in the Yorktown scene in Hamilton.
Thank you, Barbara! Your project about identifying kin who might have seen the Marquis de Lafayette is so cool. I went to a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's visit to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, last September. The reenactment was neat, and afterward, I went across the street to the cemetery to see if I could find gravestones of people who might have been there 200 years earlier. I wrote about it here: https://thesilentsod.substack.com/p/meeting-the-marquis
Oh, my, Sarah! How did I miss that? Very cool, indeed. Out here in California, we're very far from all of that fun. Inventing our own town of Lafayette was the best we could do.
Great and historical bits of history I was not all aware of Sarah.
* Yes, Paul Revere was indeed a very accomplished silversmith and engraver. He's remembered as the person who famously warned that "The British are coming!" because a poem that focused on his role, y went (you might say) viral at the time in part due to this catchy rhyming stanza:
In fact, Revere was instructed to give the warning and there were others involved who gave equally important warnings to the people as part of a coordinated plan to fight the British soldiers.
You can read more about it and the Paul Revere House here:
Having been raised in Massachusetts (and hailing from Framingham, the same hometown as Crispus Attucks!), I really enjoyed hearing about this from your Ohio outsider's perspective. I'm pretty sure the Revolutionary War was the basis for about 85% of what I learned in elementary school, and I distinctly remember field trips to Lexington and Concord and to various historical sites in Framingham. I don't really have much to offer in terms of suggestions for Boston proper, but I do highly recommend exploring the North Shore enclaves of Salem and Marblehead, both of which have done excellent work in preserving their historical distinctiveness. (You may need to scrape away a few layers of modern witch kitsch and gothiness in Salem, but I promise the history is there!) Happy travels -- looking forward to more of your thoughts on all of this!
Marblehead is "the birthplace of the American Navy" and the home of Fort Sewall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sewall), which I think you'll find interesting. It's a good place for a weekend getaway, too!
Wow, I learned something new! I wonder if that book you mentioned is still in print. Very interesting!
It's freely available on Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Colored_Patriots_of_the_American_Rev/Jy8OAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Thank you, Sarah, this is fantastic. I've made a point of plugging the many gaping holes in my knowledge of the Revolutionary War period. I too, had heard of Crispus Attucks, but only a vague notion (perhaps a shadow memory from a trip to Boston decades ago.)
What a fascinating lesson. Thank you. Your story sent me chasing down this "The colored patriots of the American Revolution," published in 1855. It turns out the book is available on the Internet Archive with full text search. (Swoon.) You'll find it at archive.org/details/coloredpatriotso00nell.
I've used the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's farewell tour of America as a tow rope to take me through much of this history, (see Projectkin.org/lafayette). That story introduced me to James Armestead Lafayette.
I also didn't know anything about his story until I'd dug into Lafayette. I now better I understand the lyric reference to the "man on the inside" in the Yorktown scene in Hamilton.
So many stories, distorted and lost.
Thank you, Barbara! Your project about identifying kin who might have seen the Marquis de Lafayette is so cool. I went to a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's visit to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, last September. The reenactment was neat, and afterward, I went across the street to the cemetery to see if I could find gravestones of people who might have been there 200 years earlier. I wrote about it here: https://thesilentsod.substack.com/p/meeting-the-marquis
Oh, my, Sarah! How did I miss that? Very cool, indeed. Out here in California, we're very far from all of that fun. Inventing our own town of Lafayette was the best we could do.
Great and historical bits of history I was not all aware of Sarah.
* Yes, Paul Revere was indeed a very accomplished silversmith and engraver. He's remembered as the person who famously warned that "The British are coming!" because a poem that focused on his role, y went (you might say) viral at the time in part due to this catchy rhyming stanza:
"Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. "
https://www.paulreverehouse.org/longfellows-poem/
In fact, Revere was instructed to give the warning and there were others involved who gave equally important warnings to the people as part of a coordinated plan to fight the British soldiers.
You can read more about it and the Paul Revere House here:
https://www.paulreverehouse.org/the-real-story/
I'm going to put the Paul Revere house on my list for my Boston trip. Thank you!
Having been raised in Massachusetts (and hailing from Framingham, the same hometown as Crispus Attucks!), I really enjoyed hearing about this from your Ohio outsider's perspective. I'm pretty sure the Revolutionary War was the basis for about 85% of what I learned in elementary school, and I distinctly remember field trips to Lexington and Concord and to various historical sites in Framingham. I don't really have much to offer in terms of suggestions for Boston proper, but I do highly recommend exploring the North Shore enclaves of Salem and Marblehead, both of which have done excellent work in preserving their historical distinctiveness. (You may need to scrape away a few layers of modern witch kitsch and gothiness in Salem, but I promise the history is there!) Happy travels -- looking forward to more of your thoughts on all of this!
I definitely need to venture to Salem soon. Had not heard of Marblehead so I'll check that out as well.
Marblehead is "the birthplace of the American Navy" and the home of Fort Sewall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sewall), which I think you'll find interesting. It's a good place for a weekend getaway, too!