On July 4, 1827, a new two-act national drama premiered at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Written by George Washington Parke Custis, it was based on the story of his grandfather’s (through marriage) encounter with indigenous tribal...
On May 28, 1754, George Washington led a band of Virginia recruits and Native American warriors led by the Mingo sachem Tanaghrisson in a surprise attack on French troops. Little did he realize that the incident would spark a world war involving Great Britain,...
It was well-known that Benjamin Franklin had a near-death experience – with a turkey! Among Franklin’s many experiments with electricity was his 1750 attempt to demonstrate a procedure for electrocuting a turkey, believing that killing a turkey in this manner,...
On July 11, 1780, three officers of the French Army arrived in Newport, Rhode Island. Their leader was Jean-Baptiste Donatien, Compte de Rochambeau, who would command 5,500 French soldiers under the leadership of General George Washington and participate in...
One of the most recognized, iconic paintings of the American founding is prominently displayed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol. Simply and appropriately called Declaration of Independence, it is one of eight oil-on-canvas paintings measuring 12 by 18...
For more than a hundred fifty years, school children have been introduced to birth of the United States by the thrilling verses penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Listen my children and you shall here of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. On the eighteenth of...
