5 Things No One Knows About Major Historical Events
1. We don't actually know if they ate turkey at the first Thanksgiving.
Four men were sent on a "fowling" mission by William Bradford according to the journal of Edward Winlsow, who was a Pilgrim chronicler, but although there would have been a plentiful supply of wild turkey in the area we can't be sure that the men didn't bring home ducks, geese, or even swans. They ate all those birds on a regular basis. We do know that there was plenty of venison, the Wampanoag arrived with five deer to contribute to the festivities.
2. There was more than one Boston Tea Party.
It happened in March of 1774, three months after the Boston Tea Party that we all know. Sixty men, in disguises, boarded a ship called Fortune, forced the crew below deck, and then dumped chests full of tea into the harbor. This incident isn't as famous as the original since only about 30 chests were dumped, compared to the 340 that were destroyed three months earlier.
3. The Declaration of Independence was not signed on the 4th of July.
The document was officially adopted on July 4, 1776, but it wasn't actually signed for almost a month for several reasons. First of all, official support from the New York delegates didn't come in until July 9, after that it took two weeks for the document to be written out on parchment in a clear hand or "engrossed". Then on August 9 most of the delegates signed, although a few signed at a later date, and two never signed at all.
4. There were spies among the troops in the War of 1812.
Who were the spies? None other than the troops wives! Back then women would often travel with their husbands' military units, and a few of them weren't trustworthy. One notable case was that of Laura Secord, a Canadian, who walked 20 miles to warn the British of an attack that was planned for the Niagara Falls area. That information led the British to attack the U.S. instead, therefore keeping control of the peninsula. The Prince of Wales later labeled her a hero, and there is a chain of candy stores named in her honor in Canada today.
5. The California Gold Rush was not the first gold rush in American history.
The first gold rush in U.S. history started fifty years before the California version, was located in North Carolina, and was triggered by a 17-pound gold nugget being found in Cabarrus County. This gold rush attracted more than 30,000 people, and for 30 years all the gold coins that the U.S. Mint issued were made from North Carolina gold.
Four men were sent on a "fowling" mission by William Bradford according to the journal of Edward Winlsow, who was a Pilgrim chronicler, but although there would have been a plentiful supply of wild turkey in the area we can't be sure that the men didn't bring home ducks, geese, or even swans. They ate all those birds on a regular basis. We do know that there was plenty of venison, the Wampanoag arrived with five deer to contribute to the festivities.
2. There was more than one Boston Tea Party.
It happened in March of 1774, three months after the Boston Tea Party that we all know. Sixty men, in disguises, boarded a ship called Fortune, forced the crew below deck, and then dumped chests full of tea into the harbor. This incident isn't as famous as the original since only about 30 chests were dumped, compared to the 340 that were destroyed three months earlier.
3. The Declaration of Independence was not signed on the 4th of July.
The document was officially adopted on July 4, 1776, but it wasn't actually signed for almost a month for several reasons. First of all, official support from the New York delegates didn't come in until July 9, after that it took two weeks for the document to be written out on parchment in a clear hand or "engrossed". Then on August 9 most of the delegates signed, although a few signed at a later date, and two never signed at all.
4. There were spies among the troops in the War of 1812.
Who were the spies? None other than the troops wives! Back then women would often travel with their husbands' military units, and a few of them weren't trustworthy. One notable case was that of Laura Secord, a Canadian, who walked 20 miles to warn the British of an attack that was planned for the Niagara Falls area. That information led the British to attack the U.S. instead, therefore keeping control of the peninsula. The Prince of Wales later labeled her a hero, and there is a chain of candy stores named in her honor in Canada today.
5. The California Gold Rush was not the first gold rush in American history.
The first gold rush in U.S. history started fifty years before the California version, was located in North Carolina, and was triggered by a 17-pound gold nugget being found in Cabarrus County. This gold rush attracted more than 30,000 people, and for 30 years all the gold coins that the U.S. Mint issued were made from North Carolina gold.
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