With the sesquicentennial of the American Revolution on the horizon, "Tories, Terror, and Tea" delves deeply into contemporary accounts of the times that so severely tried the souls of Rebels and Tories alike. Author John L. Moore paints a surprisingly fresh picture of the era. His true stories range from the eastern cities to the rustic frontier.
There's a common misconception that the American Revolutionary War pretty much ended when the British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. Not true. More than eight months later, a force of Indians and British burned the western Pennsylvania settlement of Hannastown, then the Westmoreland County seat. The town was never rebuilt.
Everybody knows that American soldiers suffered terribly during the winter the Continental Army spent at Valley Forge. Few recall that Brigadier General Anthony Wayne couldn't get Pennsylvania political officials to provide suitable clothing for the troops of the Pennsylvania Line although he repeatedly documented that hundreds of men lacked even "a single rag of a shirt."
Did you know that when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia as the British army approached, its members went first to Bethlehem and sought to make the Moravian town the U.S. capital for the duration of the war? Or that the wagon hauling the Liberty Bell away from the British broke down on the street in Bethlehem?
About the Author: JOHN L. MOORE of Northumberland, Pa., writes non-fiction books about Colonial America and the early United States. They reflect a half century of research and travel throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
A retired newspaperman, Moore said he employs a journalist's eye for detail and ear for quotes in order to write about 18th century people in a lively way. His books are based on letters, journals, memoirs and transcripts of interrogations, depositions and treaties. He has participated in several archaeological excavations of Native American sites, including: the Village of Nain, Bethlehem, Pa.; the City Island project, Harrisburg, Pa. conducted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; and a Bloomsburg University dig near Nescopeck, Pa.
Moore's 46-year career included stints as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, as managing editor of the (Sunbury, Pa.) Daily Item and as editor of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal in Bethlehem, Pa.
His monthly history column appears in four Pennsylvania newspapers.
