What Did the Pilgrims Really Eat!

The first Pilgrims did brings hens with them on the Mayflower. However, the record does not say how many, and if they survived the first great winter or not. We can safely assume, some of the Pilgrims most likely ate eggs.

We know, from Winslow's writings, that the Pilgrims did not eat fresh beef, enjoy milk or fresh cheese, butter and cream, until 1624. This is when Winslow mentions he made a voyage back to England that year, and returned from England with cattle.

The following is a list, which most likely was the fare of the first Thanksgiving, here we see some changes for the good. These items were mentioned in Edward Winslow's diaries, and were readily available, because of the help the Pilgrims received from the Native American Indians.

From the Ocean:

Cod fish, lobster, clams, seals and eels

From the Land:

Wild turkey, duck, rabbit, deer, partridge, goose and even eagles. Plums, pumpkins (which the colonists would stew or fry) and wild grapes and pumpkin. Beans, onions, lettuce, carrotts, and leeks, round out the vegetables available at that time. The Pilgrims had olive oil, wheat flour and Indian corn. They enjoyed walnuts, acorns, dried currents, and chestnuts.

Of interest, is the Native American Indians taught the colonists to make a certain dish, out of beans and corn. With just a slight variation on the recipe, this dish is still known today as "succotash."

Winslow's writings further tell us the Pilgrims ate "stewed or fried pumpkin", not pumpkin pie. No mention of cranberries and all the trimmings which come with the celebrating of Thanksgiving today. However, their diet was far better during the first harvest and improved each year as they learned from Native American Indians further skills in planting and harvesting.

There is no indication of a 2nd harvest celebration. The celebration of Thanksgiving, becoming a United States national holdiay officially, did not take place until approximately 280 years later through an act of United States Congress. We can only know for sure, that the Pilgrims were brave and courageous, and learned to endure from their many hardships, coming to a new unknown land and colonizing it. Indeed, they must have been truly thankful....expect maybe, for those hard biscuits!

Today in History

I every so often read about "today in history" to see if there is anything I should not miss! There often is a lot I SHOULD miss. I do not care when the first Harry Potter movie opened or when the Sound of Music hit Broadway, but I do get a kick out of ture American history.


Today I read about a woman in the American Revolution, she is to beleived the first woman in the Conntinetal Army and she was injured this date back in 1776. I guess I never really thought about woman as soldiers back then.

On this day in 1776, Hessian Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen and a force of 3,000 Hessian mercenaries and 5,000 Redcoats lay siege to Fort Washington at the northern end and highest point of Manhattan Island.

Throughout the morning, Knyphausen met stiff resistance from the Patriot riflemen inside the fort, but by afternoon, the Patriots were overwhelmed, and the garrison commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, surrendered. Nearly 3,000 Patriots were taken prisoner, and valuable ammunition and supplies were lost to the Hessians. The prisoners faced a particularly grim fate: Many later died from deprivation and disease aboard British prison ships anchored in New York Harbor.

Among the 53 dead and 96 wounded Patriots were John and Margaret Corbin of Virginia. When John died in action, his wife Margaret took over his cannon, cleaning, loading and firing the gun until she too was severely wounded. The first woman known to have fought for the Continental Army, Margaret survived, but lost the use of her left arm.


But her battle does not end here. Horribly wounded and disfigured by grapeshot and musket balls, Margaret is taken prisoner, paroled, and transported to a Pennsylvanian hospital. When the Continental Congress formed the Invalid Regiment in June 20, 1777, Margaret Corbin was enrolled as one of the disabled soldiers and moved with it to West Point.

In June 28, 1779, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania awarded Mrs. Corbin $30 and suggested she receive a pension. She became the first woman in the United States to receive a pension from Congress. A year later, Mrs. Corbin was given this pension (one-half soldier’s pay) and a set of clothes.

Imagine the societal battles Mrs. Corbin had to face during that time. Her left arm was unusable, her face disfigured, and she was a war widow. Accounts state that the Philadelphia Society for Women had planned to erect a memorial in her honor; until they met her and saw face-to-face the reality of what impoverishment does to soldiers and their widows. She still lived a soldier’s life style – she drank and smoked and lacked a genteel way of speech. Despite this, Margaret remarried in 1782.

But her battle does not end there. The Invalid Regiment was disbanded and her second husband, also a disabled veteran, died within the year. She was moved from West Point to Buttermilk Falls and placed in the care of a Mrs. Randall.

Again Margaret Corbin seems to fade from history’s gaze until her death at age 48, in 1800. But her battle does not end there. In 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution, in an effort to recognize Margaret Cochran Corbin’s pivotal role in US History, exhumed her body and had it re-interred behind the Old Cadet Chapel at West Point with full military honors.

Just Random Thoughts

I have not been a good Blogger since I found Facebook. AND I miss you Blogger!

It has been a rough summer with two hospital visits lasting a total of 17 days. Hey when I go to the hospital I do not mess around, I go for the long haul! UGH! Lately these guys have been my friends way to often (see picture) If you have never experienced the "joy" of potassium through your veins, I warn you ... eat foods high in P and take your vitamins! The pain is horrid. As my veins heal form the burns of the last round I have experienced muscle cramping. WHERE the hell is my Tylenol!! SO I am hoping this mess is over with and I can move on!

SO let me tell you about my AMAZING daughter Regina!! Early last year she decided to do a Triathlon. So she went into "over-drive" training very hard and ran her first NY Tri! YEA!! We were all so amazed at her task to do this. Moving forward she competed in yet several more Tri's only to get meaner and leaner!! Her next quest was the Mooseman Ironman Tri which was held this June in New Hampshire! It was really what they call a 1/2 Iron, 70.3 miles ~ swim 1.2, bike 56, and run 13.1. After 7 hours she did it! AN AMAZING JOB! Here she is soooo happy to cross the finish line! Weeks after her Ironman she was back at the NYC Tri, which also means the swim is in the Hudson River, I think that in itself is the bravest thing in the world to do, who the hell swims in the Hudson in NYC!! Anyway, she beat her time of last year and did I say looked lean and man! LOL (Photos from NYC Tri)
The swim! The Ride! Happy It is over! After that there were a few more Tri's and YET ANOTHER IRONMAN in NJ!! I'm not sure where she gets this energy from!!! She is an amazing woman, raising a son, working and training so hard. She has druing this quest raised a lot of money for cancer reseach. The world is a lucky place to have her in it!

OK so now I have been bragging about my daughter Regina .... now can I brag about my daughter Danielle??? Another amazing young woman!! She is my world traveler and dare devil! Yes, she may look like a California LA LA blond, but don't let her fool you!! She will be the first one in line to dive out of a plane or into the dark ocean at night! Actually she has dove at night, sharks and all!! She has motor biked through Vietnam, dove in the Australia reef, skydived, Bungy jumped in New Zealand 500 feet into a cavern, gone caving, etc. The list is just to long!! Here is her most recent adventure climbing Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, a two day climb!

Climbing Mount Kinabalu from The Rogue Unit on Vimeo.

This is from her trip too!

Sipadan from The Rogue Unit on Vimeo.

What awesome woman I have in my life!!!!
Have a great day~

A Pittance of Time - Terry Kelly

Thanks to K over at Vancouver Voyeur for telling me about this clip! It is a day late but still so worth the Pittance of Time to watch this clip.

Veterans Tribute

A few Veterans Day Songs

Freedom Never Cries


Green Fields of France (Wille McBride)


Thank You Soldiers


Duty Called - Vietnam Veterans


Freedom Isn't Free