Saturday marks the 300th anniversary of one in the long list of failed treaties between the Native Americans and the New England Colonists. In 1713, the Treaty of Portsmouth established new trade guidelines – soon to be ignored – between the colonies and the Indians of the region. Hostilities would break out again within ten years. For more information, Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth will host a lecture on the treaty on Saturday.
Connecticut soldiers in the U.S. Civil War were coming to grips with their losses this morning following the Battle at Gettysburg. The Connecticut Historical Society shares a photo from its Civil War collection today, with the reminder that on July 1-3, 1863, 1,300 Connecticut soldiers took part in the battle. Sixty-nine died and 291 were wounded, captured or missing. Following three days of fighting that killed or mortally wounded 11,000 men in total, and a day of rain on July 4, by July 5 the waterlogged troops were leaving for home. The last of the Confederate Army had left the Union territory by July 13.
The Maine Historical Society posted today’s featured flashback, the Destruction of the Caleb Cushing. The Cushing, a revenue cutter, was captured by a daring crew of Confederates in 1863 who were caught trying to guide her out of Portland Harbor. Though they surrendered, they first destroyed the vessel.
If your travels take you to Newport, R.I., take a moment to look around Eisenhower Park. While officials in Washington, D.C. continue wresting with when, how and whether to honor the 34th President, Newport already has attached his name to a wonderful park in the city. The Newport Historical Society recently posted a timeline of the park, beginning with its origins in 1639.
Finally, if you’re concerned about the state of affairs, it may be worth looking back at how things stood 50 years into the American experiment. Harvard University Press has published a fascinating look at the events that defined 1826, including the deaths of both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the election of a president who was not the popular-vote winner, and the slow, steady unravelling of the Southern economy.
Today’s Flashback
U.S.S. Caleb Cushing, destroyed by Confederate Rebels in Portland, 1863. Source: Maine Historical Society.
