Posts Tagged ‘military history’
Fort Washington History Hub
Fort Washington Park is the last remaining fortification from the Revolutionary War in Cambridge, but the park and neighborhood hold rich histories beyond the Revolutionary era. This History Hub contains materials that details the eras of the park
Read MoreMay 3 History Café Recap: What is the History of Fort Washington Park?
Revisit our History Café from May 3rd, 2023, where we explored the history of Fort Washington Park in Cambridgeport from pre-colonization, through the Revolutionary War, and up to the present.
Read MoreSelf-Guided Tour: The Work of Revolution in Cambridge
Introduction For many, the first image that comes to mind when thinking of Cambridge during the Revolutionary Era is that of General George Washington taking command of the Continental Army on Cambridge Common in July of 1775, under what would come to be known as the Washington Elm. Although we now know that this tale…
Read MoreThanksgiving in Civil War Cambridge
By Beth Folsom, 2021 From the beginnings of English settlement in the American colonies, both religious and secular leaders called for certain days to be set aside for fasting, prayer and thanksgiving, usually aligned with the change in seasons and their accompanying times of planting and harvesting. The earliest settlers to arrive in Massachusetts brought…
Read More1861: The Civil War Comes to Cambridge
Cornelius Gerrit Hendrick Bennick enlisted in April 1861, joining some 100 other Cambridge men in Company D, 5th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry. The unit fought in several major battles, including Gettysburg. After the war, Bennick was a member of the Common Council and the Massachusetts House of Representatives. His papers are in the Cambridge Historical Society…
Read MoreSome Aspects of the East Cambridge Story
By John W. Wood, 1956 “This paper gives a totally inadequate account of an appealingly picturesque and colorful neighborhood, the area that might have been a slum and isn’t, the step-child of the University City. “ For some reason, the local history of East Cambridge has been almost completely neglected. It is a little hard…
Read MoreFort Washington, 1775-1975, and Other Cambridge Fortifications
By Douglas Payne Adams and Charles Sullivan, with an introduction by Charles W. Eliot, 2nd Presented June 1, 1975 Mr. Eliot Of the fortifications which were constructed in Cambridge two hundred years ago, a single battery—Fort Washington —still exists. Lieutenant-Governor Oliver had been forced to resign on September 2, 1774, and by the following spring—after…
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