The Magical History Tour

As I have noted in many prior articles on my blog, living history bring a nuance to understanding parts of history. Living historians play a role of someone living in the time period in which the persona would have lived. Many of these living historians take on personas that are difficult, imagine if you will…

Greetings Friends, The world has been interesting over the last several weeks, and while I love to bring you regular stories about history, my current full-time job is in the emergency medical services. While the EMS service that I work for in Western Pennsylvania has not been particularly busy during the pandemic it is a…

Below is a video from Townsends about the memoir of Joseph Plumb Martin, who was a revolutionary war soldier, in his memoir, he writes about being quarantined with many other soldiers so that they could receive the Smallpox inoculation. The video uses some outtakes from the book, and I have also supplied a link to…

The television show “The Big Bang Theory” and Dr. Sheldon Cooper’s “Fun with Flags” vlog is sort of my inspiration for this post. I have always been very interested in the various flags I have seen from the American Revolution on the continental side. It is also interesting to see how those flags have developed…

On May 2nd, 2020, I will be presenting at History Camp – Philadelphia. My topic will be “Slavery, Abolition and Seeking Freedom in Pittsburgh.” The Pittsburgh area has an interesting history in regards to Slavery and Abolition, and while it wasn’t a major place of Underground Railroad activity, there are some important figures from the…

Nestled on a long curve on the Allegheny river roughly 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh is the town of Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The town’s name come from the name of a Leni Lenape (Delaware) village that was established on the same land in 1730. This village would be the site of a small but memorable battle…

On the banks of the Ohio River in what is now Baden, PA (Beaver County), 15-18 miles northwest of Pittsburgh PA, once stood a town of as many as 80 structures called Logstown. This small town would host visitors from British and French as well as meetings between native tribes and representatives from the French…

On New Year’s Day in Philadelphia a very grand parade happens. The costumes for those in the parade are extravagant, some can even put Mardi Gras costumes to shame. The Tradition in Philadelphia began January 1 , 1901. The purpose of the parade is to welcome in the new year. Philadelphia’s Parade has five different…

Below are letters from soldiers to their families during the holidays. The letters themselves may not always portray the holiday spirit itself. During the American Revolution, December the 25th, while celebrated was not celebrated in the American Colonies they way it may have been celebrated in Europe. On Christmas 1776, Continental Troops took advantage of…

In April of 1805, a wealthy man and a companion arrive in Pittsburgh. The wealthy man contracts to have a flatboat built to sail the Ohio river into the expanding Northwest Territory, the builders were surprised when the wealthy man wanted the boat to have a bedroom, kitchen and dining area with a fireplace. This…