005 - Washington? Never Heard of Him

07/05/21 • 18 min

1 Listener

George Washington was just some guy the British never heard of.

General Thomas Gage, commander of British troops in America in the early days of the Revolution, made a point of not addressing George Washington by his rank, and made sure that no one else did either. Although he was following official British military policy of not giving validity to anyone in rebellion against the Crown, General Gage did it with a kind of insufferable arrogance all out of proportion to the situation at hand.

I wonder why?

Well. Maybe it’s because George Washington once saved his life. After the father of our country started the French and Indian War.

This may be a bit awkward.

Thanks for listening, and for your support of the History's Trainwrecks Podcast.

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Sources for this episode:

De Fonblanque, Edward Barrington, 1821-1895. "Political And Military Episodes In the Latter Half of the Eighteenth Century: Derived From the Life And Correspondence of the Right Hon. John Burgoyne, General, Statesman, Dramatist". London: Macmillan and co., 1876. (around page 200 for letters to Washington)

Ellis, Joseph J. "His Excellency: George Washington". Vintage, 2005.

Marshall, John. "The Life of George Washington". Derby & Jackson, 1857.

McCullough, David, “1776” Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Wikipedia. “Thomas Gage.” 2021.

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George Washington was just some guy the British never heard of.

I wonder why?

Well. Maybe it’s because George Washington once saved his life. After the father of our country started the French and Indian War.

This may be a bit awkward.

Thanks for listening, and for your support of the History's Trainwrecks Podcast.

Click here to support the History's Trainwrecks podcast!

Sources for this episode:

Ellis, Joseph J. "His Excellency: George Washington". Vintage, 2005.

Marshall, John. "The Life of George Washington". Derby & Jackson, 1857.

McCullough, David, “1776” Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Wikipedia. “Thomas Gage.” 2021.

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

004 - Stubborn Nags of Ancient Rome, Part I

Meet Cato the Elder, a stick in the mud of the ancient Roman Republic, who felt it was his duty to keep everyone in line.

Hopefully, his descendants would be more fun. In a future episode, we'll meet his great-grandson--Cato the Younger, and find out that the apple doesn't really fall far from the tree.

The Catos.

Their family will be on the front lines of the slide from Republic to the Roman Empire.

Stay tuned for Stubborn Nags of Ancient Rome, Part II.

Thanks for listening, and for your support of the History's Trainwrecks Podcast..

Click here to support the History's Trainwrecks podcast!

Sources for this episode:

Duncan, Mike. “The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic” Public Affairs, 2017.

Livy, “The Early History of Rome.” Penguin Classics, 2002

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.

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Next Episode

006 - Teddy Roosevelt's Third Term, Part I

When Teddy Roosevelt shot himself in the foot, he did it the same way he did everything else: boldly, energetically, and with little regard for long-term consequences.

This was the approach had catapulted him to national prominence and popularity, making him among the first of that rare breed of celebrity American politicians and kicking off the twentieth-century presidency with a bang. But in this case, his trademark impulsiveness backfired in a way that made him regret it to the end of his days.

This time, it cost him the White House.

Any time Theodore Roosevelt annoyed the political bosses of New York, they tried to send him out of town to a career-ending job in Washington, DC.

This never worked out for them.

Thanks for listening, and for your support.

Click here to support the History's Trainwrecks podcast!

Sources for this episode:

Adirondack.net – “Theodore Roosevelt’s Midnight Ride to the Presidency.” Retrieved July 14, 2021 from https://www.adirondack.net/history/midnight-ride/

McNamara, Robert. "Theodore Roosevelt and the New York Police Department." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/theodore-roosevelt-ny-police-department-1773515.

Morris, Edmund. “Theodore Rex.” Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Morris, Edmund. “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.” The Modern Library, 2001.

United States Senate (senate.gov). “Mark Hanna and the 1896 Election.”

United States Senate (senate.gov). “Theodore Roosevelt, 25th Vice President (1901).”

Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2018). “Theodore Roosevelt.” Digital History. Retrieved June 27, 2021 from https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3140

National Archives. “Pieces of History.” Retrieved June 27, 2021 from https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2010/11/09/teddy-roosevelt-and-abraham-lincoln-in-the-same-photo/

Wikipedia, “Theodore Roosevelt.” Retrieved June 28, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.