These melting pot moments have a really important place in American history overall. Immigrating a little after, but also around the same time as the Irish, were the Italians. But there was a huge backlash (as there always seems to be) against immigrants in America. “For most of American history, anyone not Anglo-Saxon fell somewhere on a descending scale of human ‘pollution.’ […] … the immigrants arriving from southern and eastern Europe, the ‘scum and offscouring,’ as a former Virginia governor put it, newcomers who purportedly brought crime and disease and polluted the bloodlines of […]
“First of May, sir! Out of the Way!”
It being a fine, bright, mild morning, I got up early, to take a walk on the Battery, the most glorious place for a morning or evening stroll, to be found in the world. Coming down into the entry, I found it cluttered up with a specimen of almost every thing that goes to the composition of house keeping, and three or four sturdy fellows with hand barrows, on which they were piling Ossa upon Pelion. I asked what the matter was, but all I could get out of them was, “First of May, sir—please […]
Astoria and John Jacob Astor
When I set out to start a newsletter about research rabbit holes, the sort of deviation from what I was supposed to be doing research on is sort of what I was thinking of. I see a sentence or two that sends me into a totally different direction than I thought I would be heading. I was reading through The Life and Letters of Washington Irving compiled and annotated by his nephew, Pierre Monroe Irving, when I found the following: For upwards of a month I have been quartered at Hell Gate, with Mr Astor, and I have not […]
Quebec and the American Revolution
Did you know that we invaded Quebec? The Quebecois sure know that we invaded Quebec. They don’t much like us up there. If you’ve ever taken a tour of the Citadel in Quebec City, you would also know this. Our tour guide spent a good long time telling us of all the things that the Quebecois do not like about the British or the Americans. If you spend enough time in Vermont, you’ll also know that we invaded Quebec. When we weren’t invading Quebec, we were thinking about it. And part of that history is […]
Digging the Fortifications on Breed’s Hill
On the 16th day of June, 1775, at night after roll call, I was furnished with a shovel and ordered to march. I was ordered to Bunker Hill, to use my shovel in throwing up a breastwork. I was compelled to labor till daylight. As soon as we were discovered, the British ships and batteries opened a tremendous fire upon us; this they continued till about ten o’clock in the day, when they began to cross Charlestown Ferry. Here they landed their forces and soon after set fire to the town, then formed their troops […]
When Your Great-Grandfather Poses for a Statue
Every year around Patriots’ Day (in Massachusetts), a combination of photo memories and public posts from Minute Man National Historical Park remind us of a story from our family. That story? Our great-grandfather claimed that he had posed for Daniel Chester French for the statue of the minute man that stands at the Old North Bridge. The likelihood that this story is true? Very low. Very, very low. Not entirely impossible. But very unlikely. To read the rest, please click on the link to my Substack below. When Your Great-Grandfather Poses for a Statue
Riding the Hoofbeats of the Early Revolution
Today is 16 April 2025. We are only days away from what would be the opening shots of the American Revolution, 250 years ago this year. Yes, I’ve been banging on about this since, well… Basically since I started this newsletter. 250 years ago this, 250 years ago that. I think you have all been getting the idea by this point. Many of the important anniversaries thus far have been smaller events leading up to this point. Some of them are a bit bigger, such as the Boston Massacre, but we haven’t yet seen any […]
What Happened Yesterday
New Substack Newsletter out now! What Happened Yesterday – by Robin Donovan Bocchiaro
Corned Beef and Cabbage
When I was working in Boston, I would be giving tours and have to explain the history of a pretty important holiday to Boston in the early American Revolution. Suffolk County, the county in which Boston sits, has a holiday that is not celebrated in the rest of the state – let alone the rest of the country. It’s called Evacuation Day. The fact that this holiday – recognized as a day off for city offices – falls on Saint Patrick’s Day, has always seemed a bit suspicious to outsiders due to the large Irish […]
The Boston Massacre
250 years ago, on March 6th, Dr. Joseph Warren gave the fifth annual address commemorating the events of 5 March 1770 in Boston. This was the second time Dr. Warren had been chosen as the orator, the first time being in 1772. “… you will permit me to say that with sincerity, […] I mourn over my bleeding country: with them I weep at her distress, and with them deeply resent the many injuries she has received from the hands of cruel and unreasonable men.”1 This would be the last time Dr. Warren would give this […]