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250andcounting.bsky.social
250 and Counting
@250andcounting.bsky.social
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250 and Counting is a two-minute daily podcast about whatever happened 250 years ago today.
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On This Day in 1776: The Continental Congress works on several projects with the goal of getting the war effort a little more organized.
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A More Organized War–February 13, 1776 - 250 and Counting
So nearly a year ago, in March 1775, Patrick Henry said “Give me Liberty or give me death.” Today the Continental Congress said “Bet,” and sent him to lead troops in Virginia. That was a coincidence, ...
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February 13, 2026 at 1:38 PM
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On This Day in 1776: it's Cake and Candles for the woman who created one of our most famous flags ever.
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Mary Pickersgill–February 12, 1776 - 250 and Counting
The thing that’s hard to understand when considering the flag that Mary Pickersgill put together, and that inspired our National Anthem, is that it’s huge. Mike says specifically that this flag is 17 ...
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February 12, 2026 at 3:43 PM
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Some of you folks tune in every day; others are binge listeners. It does weird things to our download stats but we're just happy you're listening!
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February 12, 2026 at 3:30 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Just a day after it was brought to South Carolina, Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is presented to the Provincial Congress in North Carolina.
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Common Sense Comes to NC–February 10, 1776 - 250 and Counting
As the ideas behind Common Sense spread through the country, it’s an interesting coincidence that Common Sense came to both North and South Carolina a day apart. What’s curious is the way it caught on...
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February 10, 2026 at 7:53 PM
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On This Day in 1776: John Adams is re-appointed as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, which results in his resignation from another post.
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A New Job For John Adams–February 9, 1776 - 250 and Counting
One of John Adams’ stronger talents was being able to see the motivation behind the action, and because of this he was usually able to thwart unattractive actions somehow. In today’s case, he was able...
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February 9, 2026 at 8:25 PM
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On This Day in 1776: France recognizes America as a separate country from Britain. It's the beginning of the two nations developing a great relationship.
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Vive La France–February 6, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Much like the Hessians of our last episode, the story involving our getting French recognition and friendship is longer and more complex than most people realize. The events of today were important, b...
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February 6, 2026 at 3:38 PM
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OTD in 1776: The Committee of Safety in Annapolis MD authorizes the Baltimore Committee to construct a defensive location for the city's harbor.
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Fort Whetstone–February 3, 1776 - 250 and Counting
I was actually rather disappointed not to be able to find any images of Fort Whetstone. Surely there are some pictures from that time, but the Internet was not in a giving mood today. In today’s artwo...
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February 3, 2026 at 3:12 PM
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On This Day in 1776: The Connecticut Committee of Safety formally approves plans to confiscate an iron furnace and retool it to turn out cannons and other armaments.
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Salisbury Iron Furnace–February 2, 1776 - 250 and Counting
In early 1775 when hostilities first broke out, the Salisbury Iron Furnace was owned by an Englishman named Richard Smith. By the end of the year he’d cleared out and gone back home to England, and re...
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February 2, 2026 at 3:14 PM
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It's Cake and Candles today for William Montgomery Crane, a naval officer in the War of 1812, born this day in 1776:
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William Montgomery Crane–February 1, 1776 - 250 and Counting
If you’re going to have a kid in 1776, you’re probably going to be feeling a little patriotism when you do so. Such was the case with William Montgomery Crane, who got his middle name from General Ric...
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February 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM
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On This Day in 1776: among other actions, the Continental Congress puts forth recommendations for recruiting apprentices to the Continental Army.
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Enlisting Apprentices–January 30, 1776 - 250 and Counting
While we’re talking about enlisting apprentices today, it should be noted that there was precious little difference between an apprentice and an indentured servant, except maybe their age. Thus, the r...
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January 30, 2026 at 5:53 PM
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On This Day in 1776: John Hancock has mostly good news for George Washington.
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From John To George–January 29, 1775 - 250 and Counting
Letters from John Hancock to George Washington weren’t especially scarce, nor were letters going the other way. However, today’s letter takes on a few important topics for Washington that one hopes ca...
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January 29, 2026 at 4:48 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Founding Father Francis Lightfoot Lee writes a letter in which he opines his thought that Independence from Britain is inevitable.
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“Which Will Be Your Choice?”–January 22, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Francis Lightfoot Lee is another one of those Founding Fathers who was there for much of the main action, but who doesn’t seem to get as much press as Jefferson, Franklin, Adams and a few others. That...
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January 22, 2026 at 5:55 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Elisha Haley, the first Congressional Representative from Connecticut's 3rd District, is born.
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Elisha Haley–January 21, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Elisha Haley wasn’t necessarily a lawmaker at either the State or the Federal level who made such a huge mark that he’s become a kind of household name, but he appears to have been solid enough that h...
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January 21, 2026 at 1:54 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Dr. Benjamin Church, jailed for traitorous activities, is given release because of illness. He lives free but under guard and within Connecticut borders only, before recovering and voluntarily returning to confinement.
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Church Gets Out–January 18, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Given that Benjamin Church was discovered to be a traitor long before Benedict Arnold was, it’s a little peculiar that Arnold’s name has carried down through history much more than Church’s was. Maybe...
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January 18, 2026 at 2:59 PM
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On This Day in 1776: George Washington convenes his War Council to plan for the eventual end of the Siege of Boston.
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A Council of War–January 16, 1776 - 250 and Counting
George Washington was a good leader in the sense that he knew what his troops needed, but he was also a good leader because he sought the counsel of others before making decisions. Washington would ca...
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January 16, 2026 at 2:39 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Samuel Adams has seen the New Hampshire Constitution, and he's got some worries.
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Sam Adams Also Has Concerns–January 15, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Samuel Adams made a point of telling his second cousin John Adams that he didn’t have a lot of time to write. Then he cranked out 570 words of worries about the language in the New Hampshire constitut...
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January 15, 2026 at 5:31 PM
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On This Day in 1776: George Washington writes two letters expressing his worries about the state of his troops. They have very different tones.
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Washington Has Concerns–January 14, 1776 - 250 and Counting
As George Washington’s aide-de-camp, Joseph Reed was privy to a lot of things on his Commander-in-Chief’s mind. And it shows in the level of prose that Washington uses when writing to Reed, because it...
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January 14, 2026 at 3:32 PM
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On This Day in 1776: John M. Snowden, future mayor of Pittsburgh, is born in Philadelphia. Also: Henry Knox makes his last diary entry for the Noble Train of Artillery, but the trip isn't over yet.
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John M. Snowden–January 13, 1776 - 250 and Counting
What can I say about John M. Snowden that I didn’t tell you about in the episode itself? The truth is, he’s not a well-documented man, nor is his family, even though (as I noted) his wife was an advis...
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January 13, 2026 at 1:22 PM
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On This Day in 1776: British forces move in on Prudence Island in the Narragansett Bay, hoping to pillage some supplies. Ultimately it didn't go well for either side.
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Prudence Island Under Attack–January 12, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Prudence Island, in the Narragansett Bay off Rhode Island, didn’t have a lot of strategic value to anyone. What it DID have was livestock, and the British were hard-pressed to get supplies, especially...
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January 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Dr. Benjamin Rush marries Julia Stockton, daughter of Richard Stockton. Before long both Rush and Stockton would be elected to the Second Continental Congress.
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Rush To The Altar–January 11, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Although she was quite young when she married Benjamin Rush, Julia Stockton was probably as brilliant and opinionated as her husband was. Not long after they married on this day in 1776, Benjamin was ...
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January 11, 2026 at 3:31 PM
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On This Day in 1776: Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is published. It took some time, but it was probably the intellectual spark that the Colonies needed to finally break away.
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It’s Just…You Know…–January 10, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Okay, so here’s the thing about Common Sense: It’s not as though Thomas Paine came up with prose so extraordinarily clear that everyone suddenly smacked their foreheads and said, “My God! Independence...
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January 10, 2026 at 6:35 PM
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On This Day in 1776: NC Royal Governor Josiah Martin reveals his plan to Loyalist leaders for taking the colony back. We'll see in a few weeks how well it went.
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A Plan Is Hatched–January 9, 1776 - 250 and Counting
Josiah Martin was the last Royal Governor of North Carolina, and while he spent the first few months of the job in New York, he probably wouldn’t have a reputation as an especially bad governor if he ...
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January 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM
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On This Day in 1776: General John Burgoyne stages a satirical play for his troops in Charles Town. It proves to be a great diversion for the Continental Army to use.
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The Play’s The Thing–January 8, 1775 - 250 and Counting
Mike wasn’t kidding when he said that, had it not been for his part in the Revolution, John Burgoyne would be best known as a playwright. He wrote several plays, most of them quite successful. Interes...
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January 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM
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On This Day in 1776: British ships, in need of supplies, retreat from Charleston Bay. The American response was probably ill-advised in the long run.
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Retreat From Charleston–January 6, 1776 - 250 and Counting
From a strategic standpoint, Charleston Bay was probably much more attractive to the British than Boston Harbor was. The northern harbor was more open to the sea, there were a bunch of small islands t...
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January 6, 2026 at 3:22 PM
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On This Day in 1776: New Hampshire becomes the first American commonwealth to draft its own constitution. Also: Martha Washington throws a party.
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The First State Constitution–January 5, 1776 - 250 and Counting
It’s fun to say that the New Hampshire Constitution was the first time that an American commonwealth constitution, and that several of the others quickly followed, as though a dam had broken. But the ...
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January 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM