New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

American Revolution

Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

by 2 Comments

Mohawk “squaw,” watercolorFor many people, “American” history begins with European exploration of the continent. From there, the narrative invariably centers on the colonial perspective and, after 1776, the perspective of the United States.

Consequently, the general public is generally uninformed about the history of Indigenous People that both predates New Netherland and the Pilgrims and persists to the present. And this article is by no means capable of addressing this broad historical issue. So let’s turn from this historical macrocosm to the microcosm of one city, Schenectady. [Read more…] about Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

Experiences of Revolution: Occupied Philadelphia

by Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcast

What was everyday life like during the American War for Independence?

We’ll investigate answers to this question by exploring the histories of occupied Philadelphia and Yorktown, and how civilians, those left on the home front in both of those places, experienced the war and its armies.

These episodes will allow us to see how the war impacted those who remained at home. They will also allow us to better understand the messy confusion and uncertainty Americans experienced in between the big battles and events of the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Experiences of Revolution: Occupied Philadelphia

Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine

by Leave a Comment

re-enactor Noah Lewis as Revolutionary War soldier Edward “Ned” HectorIn February of 1777, with the American colonies engaged in a seemingly hopeless war with the world’s foremost military power, Edward “Ned” Hector enlisted in a state militia unit known as Proctor’s Third Pennsylvania Artillery, where he was assigned duties as a bombardier, one of the three rear positions on the cannon.

This fact, in and of itself, would not seem significant, but Ned Hector was African American, one of perhaps 5,000 African Americans who fought with the Continental Army in the War for Independence. [Read more…] about Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine

Museum Acquires Revolutionary Era Powder Horn Reproduction

by Leave a Comment

Horn craftsman Hank Yost presents the powder horn to Old Stone Fort MuseumThe Old Stone Fort Museum and Schoharie County Historical Society have received a donation of a Revolutionary War era powder horn.

Skillfully created by horn craftsman Hank Yost, the piece presented reflects the architecture and engraving styles of the Revolutionary period and was specifically designed to represent the life and times of the Hartmansdorf House’s original occupant Philip Bartholomew. [Read more…] about Museum Acquires Revolutionary Era Powder Horn Reproduction

Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

by Leave a Comment

Revolutionary War Encampment courtesy frontierfolk.orgWho knew that a military encampment once existed in today’s busy eclectic Chelsea in Manhattan?

The inquisitive tourist will not see or hear anything about a Revolutionary War camp there. Nor will they hear about General John Fellows or his headquarters at a glass works factory. Additionally, there were long forgotten tent encampments near the glassworks where 1500 Massachusetts Provincials slept.

These ghosts with muskets and white canvas tents were members of the Fellows’ Massachusetts Brigade. History recorded little about their activities and no known permanent monuments or markers were ever established to give us a clue about soldiers actual location or activities. [Read more…] about Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

Loyalism in the British Atlantic World

by Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcastIn this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World Podcast, Brad Jones, Professor of History at California State University, Fresno and author of the book, Resisting Independence: Popular Loyalism in the Revolutionary British Atlantic (Cornell, 2021), joins us to investigate what loyalists believed and how loyalism was not just a loyalty or ideology adopted by British Americans living in the 13 rebellious colonies, but by Britons across the British Atlantic World.  [Read more…] about Loyalism in the British Atlantic World

Free People of Color in Early America

by Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcast
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World Podcast, Warren Milteer Jr., an Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the author of North Carolina’s Free People of Color, 1715-1885 ((LSU Press, 2020) and Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South (Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2021), joins Liz to explore the lives and experiences of free people of color, men and women who ranked somewhere in the middle or middle bottom of early American society. [Read more…] about Free People of Color in Early America

Bruce Dearstyne On Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

by Leave a Comment

revolutionary new yorkPlanning has begun for commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, to be officially called the “Semiquincentennial.” The federal government has established America 250. A number of states, including Virginia have established state commissions. In Massachusetts it is called Revolution 250. [Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne On Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin Documentary with Producer David Schmidt

by Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcast
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World Podcast, David Schmidt, a senior producer at Florentine Films and a senior producer on Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin, joins Liz to investigate documentary filmmaking and the life of Benjamin Franklin. [Read more…] about Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin Documentary with Producer David Schmidt