Two thousand fishermen from Cape Cod had gone off to enlist in the Continental Army, and in their absence the British had repeatedly landed raiding parties to harass the citizens.
Every man, woman and child on the Cape hated the soldiers and sailors of King George and would do anything to work them harm. When the Somerset was wrecked off Truro in 1778 the crew were helped ashore, but they were immediately marched to prison.
It was now November 1779 – the night before Thanksgiving Day in fact – and ugly weather caused a British three-decker warship to yaw wildly and drift toward land with a broken tiller. No warning signal was raised on the bluffs; not a hand was stirred to rescue. The New Englanders who saw the accident watched with sullen satisfaction.
Ezekiel and Josiah Breeze – father and son – stood at the door of their cottage and watched the warship’s peril until three lights twinkling faintly through the gray of driving snow were all that showed where the enemy lay, straining at her cables and tossing on a wrathful sea.
They stood long in silence, but at last the boy Josiah said “I’m going to help the ship.”
“If you stir from here to help King George’s men, you’re no son of mine,” said Ezekiel. Continue reading
*** In general, we are all familiar with the original 13 Colonies that broke away from England during the American Revolution. Because Maine is not named among those 13 colonies, some people are confused when it is mentioned as the location for various battles of the Revolutionary War. 
APRIL 2nd – Off the coast of Delaware the British frigates HMS Perseus and HMS Roebuck spotted the South Carolina Navy’s schooner the USS Defense, captained by Thomas Pickering. Outnumbered, the Defense fled and the British vessels pursued her from roughly 6:00am to 1:00pm. 
THE SALAMANDER – The 4th of July is fast approaching! As another seasonal post Balladeer’s Blog examines the Revolutionary War career of Captain Jonathan Haraden, nicknamed the Salamander because of “his ability to withstand fire.” 
The Tyrannicide wasted no time, battling the HMS Dispatch on July 12th. The Dispatch boasted 20 cannons but after an hour & a half battle fell to Fisk and Haraden’s crew. The commerce raider towed this prize into Salem by July 17th and soon set out for more. 
MARCH 8th – Another encounter during the Great Forage War. American and British troops continued foraging for supplies throughout the New Jersey No Man’s Land. Near Amboy, NJ an unknown number of U.S. forces under General William Maxwell ambushed hundreds of British-Allied Hessian troops and captured 70 Hessians in the resulting fighting.
MOSES CLEAVELAND (1754-1806) – With the 4th of July fast approaching, here’s a seasonal post about this Revolutionary War veteran and founder of Cleveland, OH despite the difference in spelling. 
JULY 4TH, 1788 – The Constitution of the United States is starting to come into full effect this calendar year, instituting the government we are still officially ruled by. First elections are scheduled for later in the year.
THE SPY (1914) – This four-reel movie was based on the 1821 novel of the same name by THE James Fenimore Cooper. The story is set largely at a home in Scarsdale, New York as American Rebel families share feuds, intrigues and romances with British Loyalists. 
THE CHASSEURS-VOLUNTAIRES DE SAINT-DOMINGUE – French assistance to the emerging United States of America during our Revolutionary War took many forms. One of the most often overlooked elements of such assistance came in the form of a unit from Saint-Domingue (renamed Haiti during the nation’s own revolution against French control in 1804). 
These Chasseurs arrived outside Savannah, Georgia on September 8th and served alongside the American forces and other French troops in besieging the city. In December of 1778 the British had taken Savannah as part of their operations in Georgia and the Americans were trying to take it back. 
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the independent comic book character the Black Coat, a masked hero in 1770s New York City. 
The Black Coat is really Nathaniel Finch, brilliant young scientist and friend of Ben Franklin himself. Our costumed hero runs his own covert network of rebels called the Knights of Liberty, men and women who risk everything to fight against tyranny. His coal-black horse Phobos stands ever-ready as well.
THE BLACK COAT Vol 1 #1 (2006)
The saved Franklin visits with our hero in his civilian Nathaniel Finch identity at the New York Sentinel, Finch’s patriot newspaper. Rumors of war breaking out at any moment are everywhere. British General Savidge has secretly allied himself with shadowy conspirators called the League – an evil version of the Founding Fathers’ Masonic Lodges. 
Balladeer's Blog 