Welcome!

Announcement!

Hands-on History is pleased to announce that owner/presenter Jeff Berndt has been selected by the National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars as the winner of the Division I award for historic research, preservation, and restoration. Jeff is the first historian from Michigan to win the Division I award.

Jeff is both surprised and pleased to have been recognized once again, at the regional level, by the DCW. He is likewise grateful for the cash prize, which will be used to expand and enhance the presentations offered by Hands-on History.

So what’s up with that arrow in your logo, anyway?

The Hands-on History logo makes use of the English Broad Arrow Cipher. This symbol was first used during the reign of King Richard II, and is used to mark crown property. During the Revolutionary War, the Broad Arrow was often accompanied by the initials G.R. (Georgius Rex, Latin for King George). The Broad Arrow is still in use, but it is currently accompanied by the initials E.R. (Elizabeth Regina).

During the American Revolution, the British soldiers were volunteers, but some of them were drafted. How is this possible?

In the 18th Century, the word ‘drafted’ had a different meaning. If a regiment was being disbanded, or was so understrength that it was obliged to return to England for more recruits, seasoned soldiers who were still healthy enough to fight were transferred to another regiment that was closer to full strength. This process was called ‘drafting.’

So what else was going on in the world?

The American Revolution did not take place in a vacuum. All sorts of other events were taking place all over the world. So to help students place the War for Independence into global context, here’s the first of several year-long timelines.

1775

13 January: First performance of the opera La Finta Giardiniera (The Pretend Garden Girl), by W. A. Mozart.
17 January: First performance of the play The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
22 January: André-Marie Ampère, French physicist who is generally credited as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism, is born. The ampere unit of measurement of electric current is named after him.
23 March: Patrick Henry delivers Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech.
19 April: Battle of Lexington and Concord
23 April: First performance of the opera Il Rè Pastore (The Shepherd King), by W. A. Mozart.
15 June: George Washington is named commander-in-chief of the Continental army.
1 October: Battle of Lobositz. Prussians under Frederick the Great defeat Austrians.
16 December: Jane Austen, English novelist, is born.

Announcement

Hands-on History is pleased to announce that owner/presenter Jeff Berndt has been recognized “for his outstanding contributions to the preservation of Colonial History” in the State of Michigan by the National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars.
Jeff is grateful to the DCW for finding his efforts worthy of recognition, as well as for the cash award, which will be put toward further historical research.

Interesting RevWar Trivia

RevWar Poetry

Major Arent Schuyler dePeyster of the King’s or 8th Regiment of Foot was not only a British officer but also Michigan’s first English language poet. His written work is descriptive of life in places like Detroit and Michilimackinac during the 1770s and 80s. After the war he went to Great Britain where he became freinds with Scotland’s Robert Burns. The two poets are buried near each other.
Here is an example of one of DePeyster’s Michigan poems:

Red River

A Song descriptive of the diversion of carioling, or staying upon the Ice at the Post of Detroit, in North America.

Tune–The Banks of the Dee

In Winter, when rivers and lakes do cease flowing,
The Limnades¹ to warm shelter all fled;
When Ships are unrigged, and their boats do cease rowing,
‘Tis then we drive up and down sweet River Red².

Freeze River Red, sweet serpentine river,
Where swift carioling³ is dear to me ever;
While frost-bound, the Dunmore⁴, the Gage, and Endeavour,
Your ice bears me on to a croupe en grillade⁵.

Our bodies wrapped up in a robe lined with sable,
A mask o’er the face, and fur cap on the head,
We drive out to dinner–where there is no table,
No chairs we can sit on, nor stools in their stead.

Freeze River Red, sweet serpentine river,
Where swift carioling is dear to me ever;
To woods, where on bear skins, we sit down so clever,
While served by the Marquis⁶ with Croupe en Grillade.

“Une Verre de Madeir⁷,” with his aspect so pleasing,
He serves to each lady (who takes it in turn)
And says, Chere Madame, dis will keep you from freezing,
Was warm you within where the fire it would burn.

Freeze River Red, sweet serpentine river,
Where swift carioling is dear to me ever;
While served by the Marquis so polite and so clever,
With smiles, and Madeir, and a croupe en grillade.

The goblet goes round, while sweet echo’s repeating
The words which have passed through each fair lady’s lips;
Wild deer (with projected long ears) leave off eating,
And bears sit attentive, erect on their hips.

Freeze River Red, sweet serpentine river,
Your fine wooded banks shall be dear to me ever;
Where echo repeats Madame’s Chançon⁸ so clever,
Distinctly you hear it say croupe en grillade.

The fort gun proclaims when ’tis time for returning,
Our pacers all eager at home to be fed;
We leave all the fragments, and wood clove for burning,
For those who may next drive up sweet River Red.

Freeze River Red, sweet serpentine river,
On you, carioling, be dear to me ever;
Where wit and good humour were ne’er known to sever,
While drinking a glass to a croupe en grillade.

1) River spirits, from Greek mythology.
2) The River Rouge.
3) Sleighing on the river.
4) British warships on the Great Lakes.
5) Barbecued venison.
6) We are unsure to whom Depeyster refers by “The Marquis.”
7) Madeira wine.
8) Song.

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