Last night was the first night of Hannukkah. Tonight as I was driving home from gaming with my friends I was listening to NPR's Hannukkah Lights and trying to think of a story or a midrash that I could use to relate to Hanukkah.
I've been reading a bit about the American Revolution lately, about the Battle of Trenton in December of 1776 in particular.( Read more... )
I've been reading a bit about the American Revolution lately, about the Battle of Trenton in December of 1776 in particular.( Read more... )
A recent entry in the Boston 1775 blog points to another entry in 2008 where the author debunks the "one-third, one-third, one-third" analysis of the American colonists' loyalties during the Revolution.
Or, to be more accurate, the author points out that John Adams did, indeed, make the remark, but in reference to Americans' feelings towards the French Revolution, not towards their own.
Rev War reenactors (and others who talk to the public about American history) take note...
Or, to be more accurate, the author points out that John Adams did, indeed, make the remark, but in reference to Americans' feelings towards the French Revolution, not towards their own.
Rev War reenactors (and others who talk to the public about American history) take note...
thank you, Cecil Adams
Oct. 22nd, 2010 05:00 pmGee, why *didn't the American rebels just use bows and arrows instead of guns?
A straight answer from Straight Dope.
A straight answer from Straight Dope.
Vermont, Day Two continued
Aug. 23rd, 2010 06:33 pmGood lord! I have no Vermont icon *and* no Rev War icon? What have I been doing all this time? :-) ( the rest of Friday )
one thing leads to another
Aug. 18th, 2010 03:31 pmI was following one trail, and it led me to find these links to Rev War reenacting units that recreate four of the regiments my NY forebears served in
the 1st New York
the 3rd New York
another 3rd New York
the 4th New York
the 5th New York
Spoors also served in the 8th and 11th NY Regiments. Several served in Massachusetts regiments from Sheffield, Egremont, Great Barrington, and Mt Washington, but at the moment I don't know which regiments. Probably the 1st, 13th, and/or 15th, or Brewer's, Fellow's, Porter's, or Woodbridge's Regiments, as these seem to have been the regiments raised in Berkshire County.
the 1st New York
the 3rd New York
another 3rd New York
the 4th New York
the 5th New York
Spoors also served in the 8th and 11th NY Regiments. Several served in Massachusetts regiments from Sheffield, Egremont, Great Barrington, and Mt Washington, but at the moment I don't know which regiments. Probably the 1st, 13th, and/or 15th, or Brewer's, Fellow's, Porter's, or Woodbridge's Regiments, as these seem to have been the regiments raised in Berkshire County.
Flitting around history, we now light on 18th century Philadelphia and a most amazing ball.( read on to see why Nothing Says 'Goodbye, Sir!' Like a Fancy-Dress Ball )
while I'm bunging lots of posts up here
Nov. 20th, 2009 06:08 pmThere's probably lots I haven't caught up on, but here's a start ( Read more... )
a very nice day
Oct. 4th, 2009 10:58 pmI ran a Rev War miniatures game at one of the local clubs and got quite good turn out--three French/American players plus a kibitzer and three, eventually rising to four British players. The British almost broke through the Allied lines, but we ran out of time before the last decisive couple of turns. The American reserves had arrived and were counterpunching effectively, so it's hard to be sure what would have happened.
Then I cam home, met
redactrice and
shy_kat and we went out to dinner at their favourite of my local restaurants (Samanthas). Which, sadly, had run out of the crab that was an integral part of the dishes they had been lusting after--but I think we still had a pretty darn good meal! Mel and I had variations of a Peruvian dish (onions and peppers and tomatoes sauteed, over chips, in a cilantroy sauce--hers had steak tips, mine had shrimp and scallops) and Chris had a zarazuela with clams, shrimp, fish, and ?pasta?. And we all split some ice cream for dessert, then came back here and played two games of Carcasonne: Hunters and Gatherers (Mel won one, Chris won the other).
A really nice day spent gaming with lots of friends! The onyol way it could have been better was if I had spent a couple of hours of it outside--the weather looked great--hiking or cycling. But, as my dad always used to say "You can't have curly hair and everything!" :-)
Then I cam home, met
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A really nice day spent gaming with lots of friends! The onyol way it could have been better was if I had spent a couple of hours of it outside--the weather looked great--hiking or cycling. But, as my dad always used to say "You can't have curly hair and everything!" :-)
(no subject)
May. 19th, 2009 08:18 pmHey,
gr_c17, Ship of the Line arrived in the post today. Sixteen more scenarios for Flying Colors, which you liked, msot of the from the American Revolution! Including one where the British fight THE DUTCH! Huzzah!
Also a box from Noble Knight with the new 40K rules and codexes for my armies, because you and
john_arundel held a gun to my head...
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Also a box from Noble Knight with the new 40K rules and codexes for my armies, because you and
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35/50: excellent American history!
Dec. 29th, 2008 04:46 pmAnother book on CD I enjoyed tremendously was Jospeh J. Ellis's American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic. I bought this out of desperation because I had a long car ride ahead of me and had forgotten to get another recorded book from the library. I was able to regift this at Christmas, but I might almost be tempted to buy a copy of the book itself at some point to refer to again in the future. ( Read more... )
(no subject)
Dec. 19th, 2008 11:37 amanother entry in my wargaming blog
I'd set up an RSS feed to directly display them here, as I've seen other people do, but neither the Blogspot not LJ FAQs on this are sufficiently penetrable by my current intellect to allow me to do this. :-( I will turn in my geek membership badge and decoder ring on the way out.
I'd set up an RSS feed to directly display them here, as I've seen other people do, but neither the Blogspot not LJ FAQs on this are sufficiently penetrable by my current intellect to allow me to do this. :-( I will turn in my geek membership badge and decoder ring on the way out.
(no subject)
Dec. 13th, 2008 03:41 pmWhat I spent my afternoon doing
Still needs a lot of work linking to other articles, but at least the utter tripe that was there before is improved 100%+.
Still needs a lot of work linking to other articles, but at least the utter tripe that was there before is improved 100%+.
(no subject)
Aug. 9th, 2008 03:48 pmI think I've visited it before, and I may even have posted about it before, but I'm really impressed by this page about Banastre Tarleton (specifically) and the American Revolution in the South (more generally). It's full of excellent stuff, put together very professionally (if not full of over-the-top web tricks and froo-fraws, like annoying, unstoppable music or unnecessary and bandwidth-jamming video). I was looking for information on George Hanger*, who was somewhere between an ordianry English gentleman and officer and a complete and utter fruitcake, and this site was very helpful.
* You've got to know that someone who wrote two autobiographical volumes, one titled "Lives, Adventures, and Opinions" and anther called "Lives, Adventures, and Sharping Tricks of Eminent Gamesters" is going to be a rare character, worthy of swapping stories with Sir Harry Flashman. Apparently no one has written a biography of him; this seems criminal, and if I ever have the time to do proper research, I think I owe it to history to put him at the top of my list for writing on.
* You've got to know that someone who wrote two autobiographical volumes, one titled "Lives, Adventures, and Opinions" and anther called "Lives, Adventures, and Sharping Tricks of Eminent Gamesters" is going to be a rare character, worthy of swapping stories with Sir Harry Flashman. Apparently no one has written a biography of him; this seems criminal, and if I ever have the time to do proper research, I think I owe it to history to put him at the top of my list for writing on.
I'm hosting a Revolutionary War miniatures wargame this Saturday. We have several players signed up, but there is certainly room for a few more players. You can command some of the plucky, numerous, but somewhat undisciplined Continentals, or a portion of the tough and battle-hardened (but slightly outnumbered) forces of the Crown. The rules are easy to learn, troops and terrain are provided.
American Revolution wargame
Apr. 9th, 2007 03:47 pmI'm going to be hosting a Rev War game (25mm) at my place in Fairfax on the 28th. It will be a large battle, with extra command spaces available if anyone would like to join in. The rules are simple and easy to learn and can be downloaded for free from the author's Yahoo group. Reply here or email me if you'd be interested in playing.