The Economy of Tobacco Tobacco was central to colonial life and economy. A major cash crop (especially in Virginia), it functioned as currency and helped fuel trade tensions leading to the war. Production shifted toward food crops during the conflict, but the leaf remained a cultural constant.

At the Putnam County Heroes Battle the Redcoats event on June 6, 2026, at Veterans Memorial Park in Carmel, NY, members of the 4th Light Dragoons – Moylan’s Horse provided a striking mounted escort for George Washington. Their green uniforms created a vivid presence amid the local 250th commemoration, offering excellent opportunities to document cavalry in action during drills, formations, and escort duties.

At the recent Putnam County Heroes Battle the Redcoats event in Carmel, NY, a compact iron 3-pounder cannon from 1777 roared to life once more. Nicknamed “gallopers” or “grasshoppers” (depending on the side) for their lively recoil and nimble movement across fields, these light field pieces delivered outsized punch in the fluid, hard-fought battles of the American Revolution.

In May 1781, General George Washington met with French commander Comte de Rochambeau at the nearby Joseph Webb House to finalize plans for the Yorktown campaign — the decisive maneuver that effectively ended the war.

Atop Battle Hill stands the Altar to Liberty, crowned with a bronze statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare.

In the space of eighteen days in August–September 1778, Sarah (13), Eunice (12), Abijah (11), Abigail (7), Benjamin (4), and Moses (3) all died—most likely from smallpox or a similar epidemic that ravaged even rear-area towns during the Revolutionary War.

In the cold dawn light on Lexington Battle Green, Jonas Parker — farmer, father, and one of the first Americans to fall — stands his ground. He had promised he would never run. He kept that promise.

This post announces the launch of a personal street photography project focused on the REv250 celebrations and the amazing people that participate in presenting the living history of the nations founding.