Friday, February 5, 2021

Revolutionary War: Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events that Happened During the War.

 


Just spent some delightful time with a new book by Jack Darrell Crowder (title above), published in 2019 by Clearfield Company, a division of Genealogical Publishing Company, which has been offering genealogy books for decades.

Author Crowder gives snippet-stories by chapters of time periods spanning 1765 to 1783. Each little bit has a reference, which I greatly appreciated.  Examples:

"Doctor James Thacher served for eight years in the Revolutionary War. In the diary he kept he wrote about a very lucky soldier: 'A brave soldier received a musket ball in his forehead, observing that it did not penetrate deep, it was imagined that the ball rebounded and fell out; but after several days, on examination, I detected the fall laying flat on the bone, and spread under the skin, which I removed. No one can doubt but he received his wound while facing the enemy, and it is fortunate for the brave fellow that his skull proved too thick for the ball to penetrate." 

"At the time of the Revolutionary War about 20% of the Colonial population of 22-million were black and the number of blacks that fought for the Americans was over 5,000. By 1779, some 15% of the army was black. These men served in an integrated army which would be the last one until the Korean War."

"Once the war began gold and silver coins were scarce. Each state printed its own money to pay for the way and because so much was printed and it was easy to copy, the paper money lost most of its value. When one soldier was paid $80 Continental money, the dollar was worth less than 1/4 of a penny. It was just enough money to pay for breakfast and a bit of rum. Many people called the money 'shin plasters,' because they felt that the only use it had was to bandage a sore leg."

If you'd enjoy reading the entire 145-page book for yourself, click to www.genealogical.com.  Price is $30 but tell them Donna Potter Phillips sends you and ask for your discount. 

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