Women in History

Historical Writers Forum presented a great talk on Women in History over the weekend that I was honored to participate in. Missed it? That's alright. Watch it now!

Colonial Dinner

A couple of weeks ago, my husband said, 'LaSalle Grill is having a Colonial Wine Dinner. Do you want to go?' I paused in whatever I was writing. Was it possible that I just heard that perfect combination of words come together? 

He showed me the menu.

Oh my gosh, yes. Make the reservations.

LaSalle Grill is our favorite place in the area. The last time we went was our twenty-fifth anniversary, and they treated us like we were the first people on earth to manage to be married that long. 

I was anticipating this dinner all day, almost wishing I had a 17th century dress to wear when I sampled dishes like peanut soup and madeira braised venison. While I am no culinary expert, I would love to share this experience with you, my dear reader.

The first course was cream of peanut soup, which I was quite curious about. I love trying interesting foods, like burgers on donut buns or other crazy combinations that chefs come up with. And it had chicken in it. Chicken and peanuts - what would that be like?

Well, I'll tell you. It was yummy with a pleasant creamy peanut butter flavor that wasn't overwhelming. It made me wonder if Abigail Adams made peanut soup for John when he came in chilled from his travels.

Second was butter poached blue crab on johnnycake with bacon jam. Now there's a dish with lots of delicious components, and it was just as amazing as you're probably thinking it was. My husband and I joked that we needed bigger servings of this one, but we still had five courses to go.

It was paired with an organically brewed Michigan apple cider that probably tasted a lot like what our ancestors used to drink.

Third was an oyster. I know I've said I'm an adventurous eater, but seafood is not my favorite and I had never before tried oysters. But this was an evening for trying new things, and I was intrigued by the ginger pickled watermelon rind which accompanied it.

I am glad I tried oyster . . . but I probably won't be ordering a plate full of them. On the other hand, the watermelon, which was chopped up sort of like a relish, was quite good! The oyster was appropriately paired with a dry riesling from the Finger Lakes region of New York.

I started thinking about how people used to be able to forage for oysters along the shores of Manhattan Island. Was this still possible during the American Revolution? Did hungry soldiers in the Continental Army supplement their poor army fare with fresh oysters? Another thing to look into.

Then came the boar chop with braised greens and crackling bread. All of this was amazing, as was the Williamsburg adagio with which it was paired. Is this the kind of thing Dolley Madison served at her 'squeezes' at the White House? I must find out.

I had no idea what kind of meat would even be in squab pie - apparently pigeon - and it was delicious. The flavors of sage and onion with that flaky crust . . . it was like Thanksgiving at grandma's house. And the cabernet franc with it was our favorite of the evening.

I bet George Washington loved squab pie. The Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant and Fraunces Tavern both sell a chicken pot pie with his recommendation. Trying this dish made me wonder if the chicken pot pie is a modern substitute.  

The madeira braised venison osso bucco was my husband's favorite, but I may have had my mind too much on the soon-to-come apple brown betty. I'm from Michigan, so I've had venison, but this wasn't like that. I actually double-checked the menu, because it had the milder flavor of beef. The toasted walnut samp was my favorite part of this dish, and I made a note to myself to find out what type of people would have eaten this. Was it an upper-class delicacy or something everyday housewives were setting before their families?

The moment I had been waiting for - the apple brown betty. Wow! This was so good. Maybe caramel sea salt gelato wasn't served in the 1700s (or maybe it was, I'll have to look that up), but I know Martha Washington and Dolley Madison served ice cream so close enough. This was the best dessert I've had in ages, and I was so excited to try the madeira, knowing what a popular drink it has been through the ages. 

How many of history's big events have occurred with glasses of madeira passed around? It tasted like sweetened walnuts and was more pleasant than I expected. Raise a glass!

My thanks to LaSalle Grill for putting on this event. As a writer, there is nothing like truly experiencing what it was like to live in another era, and trying these foods has my mind buzzing with ideas!

Aelfgyva: The Mysterious Woman of the Bayeux Tapestry

 Did you miss the Historical Writers Forum talk on the identity of Aelfgyva? Watch it now and decide for yourself - who was the real Aelfgyva?

Legend of Nancy Morgan Hart

 

The history of women during the American Revolution can be challenging to separate from myth and legend. Unlike men of the era, women's daily life and courageous exploits were not thoroughly documented and reported. We may never know if Sybil Ludington made her famous ride or if Agent 355 even existed. Nancy Morgan Hart was another woman who lived during the American Revolution, but how many of the stories about her are true?

Ann Morgan (called Nancy) was born around 1735 and married Benjamin Hart in 1760. She was a woman of the Georgia frontier, capable of managing a household and all that entailed in the wilderness far away from sources of supplies. Nancy cooked, cleaned, made soap, and sewed clothes. She also raised livestock, planted crops, and hunted deer. All while raising eight children. She is remembered as a large robust woman. Some reports put her at 6' tall, towering over most men of the era.

Nancy Hart has been memorialized as an American patriot with streets, lakes, and a Georgia county named after her. Enthusiasts have attempted to claim Nancy's shared ancestry with Daniel Boone and Daniel Morgan, though there is no proof of either. These honors came decades after the American Revolution and after Nancy had passed away, taking her memories with her.

Variations on Nancy's story include her spying for the patriots or helping an American spy escape loyalist troops. What is the same in each version of these stories is that Nancy was brave and brutal when it came to dealing with the enemy.

One story has Nancy notice a British spy peering through a hole in her wall while she was making soap. Demonstrating lethal marksmanship, she tossed a ladle of the boiling mixture at the hole, sending the man away blind and wounded. 

In the early 20th century, the remains of six men were discovered in the area where the Hart cabin was believed to have once stood. This is the best evidence that at least one story told about Nancy Hart is true. 

According to this legend, six British troops stopped at the Hart cabin either looking for a spy or demanding food. Finding Nancy uncooperative, they shot her last turkey and ordered her to cook it for them. She seemed to be submitting while plying them with alcohol and stealing their weapons. When one of the soldiers realized what was happening, Nancy shot him and sent her daughter (or a slave) to neighbors for help. When the neighbors arrived, they hanged the remaining soldiers. 

Were those soldiers the men whose remains were unearthed more than a century later?

Other folklore puts Nancy fighting in the battle of Kettle Creek, acting as a sniper as British attempted to cross the Savannah River, and dressing as a man to serve as a spy and/or soldier. The fact that stories like this exist is good evidence that Nancy Hart was a formidable woman who probably had some brave interactions with British loyalists while her husband was away fighting, but we may never know exactly what happened on the Georgia frontier. 

Nancy probably died between 1825, when the first stories about her are documented in local newspapers, and 1830, the date chosen for her grave marker when erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution in the early 20th century. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Additional reading: 

"Nancy Hart, Georgia Heroine of the Revolution: The Story of the Growth of a Tradition" in The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol 39, No 2 (June 1955) by E Merton Coulter

Women of the American Revolution by Samantha Wilcoxson is available from Pen & Sword History.

Also available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and your favorite bookseller.

Now you can listen to Women of the American Revolution on Audible or audiobooks.com.

Women of the American Revolution: Cover Reveal

 I am thrilled to reveal the cover for my first nonfiction book, Women of the American Revolution!

Women of the American Revolution will explore the trials of war and daily life for women in the United States during the War for Independence. What challenges were caused by the division within communities as some stayed loyal to the king and others became patriots? How much choice did women have as their loyalties were assumed to be that of their husbands or fathers? The lives of women of the American Revolution will be examined through an intimate look at some significant women of the era. Some names will be familiar, such as Martha Washington who travelled to winter camps to care for her husband and rally the troops or Abigail Adams who ran the family’s farms and raised children during John’s long absences. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton is popular for her role in Hamilton the musical, but did you know she was also an early activist working tirelessly for multiple social causes? Decide for yourself if the espionage of Agent 355 or the ride of Sybil Ludington are history or myth. Not all American women served the side of the revolutionaries. Peggy Shippen gambled on the loyalist side and paid severe consequences. From early historian Mercy Otis Warren to Dolley Madison, who defined what it means to be an American First Lady, women of the American Revolution strived to do more than they had previously thought possible during a time of hardship and civil war.

Coming from Pen & Sword History in 2022.