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Telling my Daughters about bin Laden
Photo by Jonathon Colman Fairly significant departure here from my normal material. This blog is typically devoted to reflections on early American history. And will continue to be so. But today, how...
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Reflections on One Year of Blogging
"Veteran in a New Field," by Winslow Homer “Historical Digression” is one year old. It started with this squib, on September 1, 2010. I’m glad that I’ve kept up with it and have managed to meet my goal...
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Liebster Blog Award
How ’bout that? In the span of a couple weeks “Historical Digression” got nominated twice for the Liebster Blog Award. I am most grateful to “…and then there was Sarah” and “Peabody’s Lament” for the...
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The Convoluted Legacy of Guy Fawkes
Reblogged from Historical Digression: Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy...
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Where the First Thanksgiving Took Place
Reblogged from Historical Digression: The image depicted here is probably the sort of thing that many people picture when they think of the first Thanksgiving. I, for one, remember images like this...
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The Monumental Significance of Boston's Christmas Tree
Reblogged from Historical Digression: The City of Boston's official Christmas Tree on the Common was ceremoniously lit on December 2 this year. I was not there. In fact, I've never actually attended...
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A Tale of Two Plymouths…and Pilgrims
Captain John Smith’s map of New England, published 1616 The subject of this post may fall within the category of quaint historical trivia. But I have long found the anecdote intriguing and when I...
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William S. Clark: Legend in Japan, Nearly Forgotten in Massachusetts
Statue of William Smith Clark (1826-1886) at Hitsujigaoka Hill, Sapporo, Japan I have written before about Col. William Smith Clark, a historical figure whom I very much respect. In an earlier post I...
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The Rapture, Millerites, and the Great Disappointment
William Miller (1782-1849), proponent of The Rapture and founder of modern Adventism So, here we are, roughly 24 hours before the supposed Rapture. I suspect we will all still be here at 6:01 p.m....
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A Tornado Saves Washington during the War of 1812
A burnt-out White House, August 1814. The War of 1812 is, in my opinion, a bizarre episode in U.S. History. Both nations went into the war with few clear objectives. Neither were prepared. The...
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A Tornado Saves Washington during the War of 1812
Patrick Browne:In honor of the bicentennial of this peculiar episode during the War of 1812, I am re-posting this article I wrote a couple years ago. Originally posted on Historical Digression: A...
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The Haunting of the Capt. Phillips House in Plymouth
Capt. Thompson Phillips House, Plymouth, built c. 1725 On October 1, 1733, Ann Palmer left the Captain Thompson Phillips House on King Street (now Middle Street) in Plymouth, Massachusetts under...
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The Room where Lincoln Died
Patrick Browne:In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s death, I re-post this article on the subject–one of the first I wrote for this blog, years ago. Originally posted on Historical...
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The Death of King Caesar, Duxbury’s Maritime Magnate
Ezra Weston II, “King Caesar” (1772-1842) as a young clerk in 1793. For Julius Caesar, it was the Ides of March. For a more modern Caesar, it was the Ides of August. August 15 marks the anniversary of...
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Two Friends at Antietam
Patrick Browne:In honor of the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, I reblog an article from 2011 about two old friends reunited on the morning of the battle. Originally posted on Historical...
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Governor John Andrew and Abraham Lincoln
John Albion Andrew, from frontispiece of “A History of Massachusetts in the Civil War” by William Schouler, 1868 John Albion Andrew, the “War Governor” of Massachusetts, and President Abraham Lincoln...
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“Anti-Tom” Novels, Southerners Refute Harriet B. Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) in 1853. She first published Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a serial in 1851. On March 17, 1861, Mrs. Virginia G. Cowdin of Liberty, Mississippi, a novelist and composer, sent a...
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Grave of Governor William Bradford
I’ve been on hiatus from posting on this site for quite some time as I pursue my doctoral studies. However, rather than leave it altogether to collect ethereal dust, I thought I would switch gears a...
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Boston’s Misguided Emancipation Monument
Boston’s Emancipation Memorial (photo by author) A new podcast debuted a couple weeks ago called “Uncivil.” It focuses on the divisions in our country that caused the Civil War and that still divide us...
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A Monument in Cambridge and a Veteran’s Final Tribute
Cambridge Soldiers and Sailors Monument On Memorial Day, it perhaps fitting to consider the history of one of the Commonwealth’s more remarkable Civil War memorials, a collaborative effort between...
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