Epic Homeschool Mentoring

  Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth and the Swamp Fox Study the Battles The Battle of Monmouth The Battle at Chestnut Neck The French capture Granada The Southern Theater Charleston Molly Pitcher Read about Molly Pitcher on Wikipedia here. The Swamp Fox Francis Marion was known as the "Swamp Fox." He was a brave and formidable foe. Here is the Wikipedia article on Francis Marion . Book Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox  JUV Poem To the Memory of the Brave Americans under General Greene, in South Carolina, Who Fell in the Action of September 8, 1781 General Howe Resigns General Howe resigned from leading the British offensive during the American Revolution because he felt that it was better to resign than lose face. The war was not going well and there was pressure from home to improve the results. The Americans were dragging it out by moving their capital and using guerrilla tactics. What factors led to his resignation? General C...

  General Washington at Valley Forge Valley Forge General Washington has won Trenton and Princeton. General Howe has taken Philadelphia. General Washington can't afford a frontal assault but he would like to harass the British. In the Battle of Brandywine, General Howe gets some of his troops behind General Washington's line and could have totally destroyed Washington's army. However, he failed to do so because he lacked cavalry. In the Battle of Germantown, General Washington moves his forces undetected into position. A heavy fog caused confusion but the patriots aren't able to surprise the British. George Washington has the opportunity to possibly end the war with this battle but one of his leaders attacks against orders because he is intoxicated. That leader is eventually courtmartialed. Wikipedia states, “The genius and audacity shown by Washington, in thus planning and so nearly accomplishing the ruin of the British army only three weeks after the defeat at the Bra...

  Capture of the Hessians at Trenton The Battles of Trenton and Princeton This is a summary of one of my favorite battles. The setting is New Jersey. George Washington has his men for a few days more and then their enlistment is up. He really wants to do something, but what? He decides to attack Trenton.  One eye witness said, “I rode along the river yesterday morning and could see the Hessians in Trenton. It is a pretty village, containing about 130 houses and a Presbyterian meeting-house. A stone bridge spans the Assunpink creek on the road leading to Bordentown. There are apple orchards and gardens.” Newtown, Pennsylvania is where George Washington has his headquarters. He has just been chased out of New York, but luckily all the boats are on his side of the river. George Washington had stationed a spy named John Honeyman, posing as a Tory, in Trenton. Honeyman was a butcher and bartender, who traded with the British and Hessians. This enabled him to gather intelligence and...

  Battle of Brooklyn on Long Island, NY The Battle of Brooklyn Miracle after miracle helped George Washington as he learned to lead the Continental Army. The first miracle was that Knox and his men moved the cannon 300 miles in fifty-six days  in winter. With the help of [80 yoke of] oxen and ice sledges he arrived outside Boston on January 25, 1776. At a river crossing near Albany, “a few of the heavily laden sleds broke through and their vital cargo had to be dredged up from the icy river bottom.” (Quoted in Harvard Magazine) The second miracle was that the British didn’t notice 2,000 men and 400 oxen moving the cannons up onto the heights. “Howe was reported as saying [when he woke up March 5 to discover the development], ‘The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month.’ These canons were used to kick the British out of Boston.   Source   After compelling the British evacuation of Boston in the early months...

  Washington at Mount Vernon George Washington vs. King George George Washington was not the eldest child. His father died before he could go to college. Not having an inheritance, and no formal education, George had to scramble to find a mentor. His neighbors the Fairfax family were good mentors. As a teenager, he wanted to go into the military but his mother was totally against it. Instead, he became a surveyor of the wilderness of Virginia colony. He learned a little about warfare in the Virginia militia fighting the indigenous tribes. They reported that he could not be killed. As a military commander, George Washington saw many humiliating defeats. Even though the rag tag army of rebels couldn't win, George realized that he only needed to harass the British and keep them from gaining ground. George was criticized by many as an incompetent leader. When the soldiers faced their toughest winter at Valley Forge, he almost submitted his resignation. He decided to do his du...

  Battle of Bunker Hill Our Lives, Our Fortunes The United States of America had it's beginning when 56 men courageously put their signatures on the Declaration of Independence. The document set forth the moral justification of a rebellion against the divine right of kings. At issue were whether men's rights were God-given or whether these rights are dispensed by governments to their subjects. Who were the men and women that courageously fought for freedom? (This is the text of a powerpoint presentation that I use to teach about these men. Each page has a photo or painting of the person.) Robert Morris - Financier of the Revolution Robert Morris “established a network of agents, based in both the colonies and various foreign ports, charged with procuring supplies for the Continental war effort.” He was “attack[ed]…for allegedly using his position in Congress for his own financial benefit, but in early 1779 a congressional committee cleared Morris of all charges….Morris led a gr...

  Signing the Declaration of Independence The US Declaration of Independence What were the advantages and disadvantages of declaring independence from Great Britain? Advantages    Possibility of foreign aid from France Legitimacy in the world community Captured soldiers treated as POWs not spies or rebels Independence might unite different areas of the colonies Stating for the world the ideological basis of this new country Freedom from subservience to the King    Disadvantages Might lose friends in England who supported cause of colonists in regard to representation in Parliament but not independence Might cause division within the colonies  If Revolution failed, the and leaders might be tried and executed as traitors. Colonies were poorly prepared for war, Fighting the largest military power in the world No weapons nor manufacturing to make them Dependent on England for  elements needed to fight a war. Chances of winning the war were slim. Colonists ...

Battle of Lexington The Tipping Point Watch the TED-Ed video about the Boston Tea Party Learn about the first battle of the American Revolution:  Lexington and Concord Read The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere Questions to Understand the Poem 1. Who volunteered to warn the colonists of the British troop movement to secure the arms stored at Lexington and Concord?  Did you know there were two riders? 2. Who or what did Paul Revere have to overcome? HMS Somerset   3. Can you find an example of imagery in the poem? 4. What were the lamps for? 5. Was Paul Revere captured? 6. Did Paul Revere receive any reward for his service? Check out this EdSitement Lesson Plan about Paul Revere's Ride Watch this Lego Reenactment of the Battle of Lexington Image Credit: William Barnes Wollen / National Army Museum / Public Domain

Garment workers at a hosiery factory in England Unalienable Rights The word unalienable is not pronounced as is commonly heard: un – alien (as in the creatures in flying saucers) – able. Thus it has nothing to do with the legal concept of aliens, or foreigners, or our rights. The true pronunciation is un – a lien – (as in a bank lien, or tax lien on a piece of property) – able. This legal term has direct reference to the non-transferability of property. “Those rights we have been endowed with by God. These are unalienable – or non-transferable.” - Kyle Roberts God given rights might include Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. But what other rights do you think God gave you? Is movement a God-given right? Is food a God-given right? Is health care a God-given right? Is the right to live in a house transferable? Is the right to drive a car transferable? Is the right to have a certain person as a husband or wife transferable? Why can't you keep a dinosaur bone you found? Who ga...