In constructing the annals of a time when harrowing warfare came to communities all along the Chesapeake Bay I’ve spent lots of time searching for long forgotten manuscripts and newspapers that were penned long ago. These aging letters, newspaper accounts, diaries and other sources from everyday people open a window on history, providing glimpses of…
Searching for the First Draft of History: Overseeing the Process of Finding Lessons About the War of 1812 in Stacks of Old Newspapers
Local papers have brought up-to-date information to residents of Havre de Grace since the early 1800s. But on that day in May 1813 when the British stormed into the fishing village, almost completely destroying it, there wasn’t a local weekly to tell people about one of the biggest stories in the annals of the town’s history. As…
Opening a Window on History: A Letter Provides a Personal Glimpse on the War of 1812
While historians learn about the past in many ways, one of the most exciting can be reading letters that were penned long ago. You never know what these private communications from another age are going to reveal or where they’re going to come from. Sometimes these pieces of paper have been stashed away in a…
Teaching African American Heritage and Culture at Wilmington University This Summer
Wilmington University has asked me to teach a new humanities course, African American Heritage and Culture, a local perspective. It runs this summer and I’m excited to be the professor for the new offering at the University. The course explores the multi-layered history of African Americans, from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin to the Civil Right to…