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HistoricAnnapolis
May 26, 20223 min read
War And Peace
Through the past three months, we’ve witnessed the war in Ukraine through news reports and social media feeds viewed on our living room...



HistoricAnnapolis
Mar 14, 20223 min read
Nothing But A Dream
Across the ages, prim and proper elders have often asked some variation of this question: “What’s the deal with today’s young people?”...



HistoricAnnapolis
Jan 13, 20224 min read
Of Singular Advantage to this Country
By January 1772, the nonimportation associations of 1769 and 1770, which organized and enforced colonial boycotts of taxed English goods,...



HistoricAnnapolis
Sep 18, 20213 min read
The Meanest House In Town
A year after actress Nancy Hallam captivated an anonymous Annapolis gentleman (most likely Rev. Jonathan Boucher—see “In Praise of...


HistoricAnnapolis
Aug 21, 20214 min read
Down A Rabbit Hole
Sometimes a 250-year-old clipping from the Maryland Gazette sends me down a research rabbit hole. The welcome mat into this week’s warren...


HistoricAnnapolis
Aug 6, 20213 min read
Five Pounds Reward
A little more than a year ago, I mentioned two projects that told the stories of nine freedom seekers who tried to escape from bound...


HistoricAnnapolis
Jul 23, 20213 min read
Where's My Package?
"I will leave no stone unturn’d to find out who keeps them from me..." Online shipment tracking has really spoiled us. Through the magic...


HistoricAnnapolis
Jul 4, 20213 min read
Five Years Before Independence
250 years ago, on July 4, 1771, the American colonies were only five years away from declaring their independence from England....


HistoricAnnapolis
Jun 17, 20212 min read
Coming Soon: A Theater Near You
Several months ago, I wrote about actress Nancy Hallam (“In Praise of Artistic Genius,” September 10, 2020) and the rundown playhouse (“A...


HistoricAnnapolis
Jun 4, 20212 min read
Good Times And Bad
The Maryland Gazette provides an invaluable window into what Annapolis was like 250 years ago. News articles and public letters tell us...


HistoricAnnapolis
May 20, 20212 min read
A Place In Our Paper
My last blog included a piece by John Clapham printed in the May 2, 1771 Maryland Gazette. In it, the son-in-law of Annapolis printer...


HistoricAnnapolis
May 6, 20213 min read
The Freedom And Impartiality Of Your Press
This past Monday was World Press Freedom Day, and the theme “Information as a Public Good” was just as relevant 250 years ago as it is...


HistoricAnnapolis
Feb 25, 20212 min read
A Slow News Cycle
Some news cycles are lighter than others, and that was just as true 250 years ago as it is today. Of course, some 21st-century media work...


HistoricAnnapolis
Feb 12, 20213 min read
Just A Few Queries
I’ve written before (see my November 5, 2020, November 26, 2020, and January 14, 2021 blog entries) about Governor Robert Eden’s...


HistoricAnnapolis
Jan 14, 20212 min read
Off To A Rough Start
It would be a wonderful world if old problems simply disappeared with the start of a new year, but that’s not the real world that we...


HistoricAnnapolis
Dec 10, 20203 min read
Liberty is what we are all contending for...
Two months had passed since a group of Baltimore merchants called for a meeting in Annapolis to consider whether Maryland should continue...


HistoricAnnapolis
Nov 26, 20202 min read
A Predictable Pattern
Maryland’s last proprietary governor, Robert Eden, was nothing if not predictable. Early in his administration, he established a pattern...


HistoricAnnapolis
Nov 5, 20203 min read
Unanimous Resolutions
Following her husband Samuel’s death in August 1770, Anne Middleton assumed control of the family’s Annapolis tavern and ferrying...


HistoricAnnapolis
Oct 15, 20203 min read
Cracks in the Wall
By the autumn of 1770, serious cracks were appearing in the American colonies’ united front against unpopular British policies. More than...


HistoricAnnapolis
Oct 8, 20202 min read
A Dramatic Scheme
Last month, I wrote about actress Nancy Hallam, who caught the eye of an Annapolis gentleman (most likely Rev. Jonathan Boucher, rector...

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