Tag: Revolutionary War

• America’s Revolutionary War is still with us

  I’ve finished reading two books on the Revolutionary War. To me the most revolutionary insight from reading them is that 250 years ago Americans were fighting the same stuff we are today. And no, I don’t mean the British. I mean us. The first book, The War for American Independence by Samuel B. Griffith II,…

  Mark

  February 26, 2022

  History, Politics 2022

  Anti-federalists, Articles of Confederation, Billy Lee, Continental Army, Continental Congress, Democrats, Federalists, George Washington, Republicans, Revolutionary War, Robert Morris

• The news from Newport News

  My blogging has been delayed by an overdue family reunion. Months in the planning, all but one of my siblings and most of our spouses met in southern Virginia, our first get together since my father’s funeral in 2016. We chose what turned out to be a beautiful but eclectic rental house on the James…

  Mark

  October 30, 2021

  Travel

  Hampton Roads, James River, Jamestown, Revolutionary War, Virginia, Yorktown

• A truer understanding of the meaning of the Second Amendment

  This Washington Post OpEd by Dennis Barron (who is an English and linguistics professor out of the University of Illinois) really intrigued me. He takes the late Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia to task for his reading of the Second Amendment. It’s this amendment that grants us gun rights. To refresh your memory, here is…

  Mark

  May 22, 2018

  Politics 2018

  Anton Scalia, Continental Army, Dennis Barron, District of Columbia v. Heller, George Washington, Gun control, Militias, Revolutionary War, Second amendment, Soldiers

• Book Review: The First Salute, by Barbara Tuchman

  Barbara W. Tuchman (1912 – 1989), a noteworthy historian and author, churned out eleven histories in her career. I have read a couple of them over the years. Some, like A Distant Mirror can be challenging reads but all are flawlessly researched and illuminate periods of history that generally need illumination. Her last book, The…

  Mark

  February 19, 2016

  History

  Barbara W. Tuchman, Dutch, George Washington, Revolutionary War, St. Eustatius

• A Nation Built on Smuggling

  It can be dangerous to read history books. You learn things you don’t necessarily want to know. I am currently reading To Rule the Waves by Arthur Herman. It is the story of how the British Royal Navy shaped what we now know as our modern world. It’s an excellent read and hard to put…

  Mark

  May 26, 2005

  History

  American History, Revolutionary War