Category: History and Archaeology

Celebrating Uncle Sam

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A good way to celebrate America on its birthday (and other times) is to learn about good ole Uncle Sam. Where did he come from, what did he do, and where is he going? How much better is it to celebrate in 2026, the year of America’s 250th birthday!

By Mark D. Harris

The 250th birthday of America is only a week away. Raleigh County (WV) has a county fair, a baseball game, several fireworks displays, special dinners, a golf cart parade, and activities at our veterans and first responders museum, to celebrate the occasion. For these events, some of us will become Uncle Sam, entertaining others and telling them about our great nation. If any of our readers wants to serve as Uncle Sam for this, or any other Independence Day activity (in any year), the information  following can help.

Materials

  • Uncle Sam costume – basic costumes cost $30-100. High quality, custom made costumes will cost over $1,000.
  • Uncle Sam poster 24×36 – This is the classic portrayal which most people remember

What about weapons? Uncle Sam has been heavily involved in defending the nation.

  • Revolutionary and 1812 (west) Virginia Rifle (flintlock) – Brother Jonathan and later Uncle Sam (1812) would have had such a rifle.
  • Civil War rifle (caplock) – Springfield model 1861/3.
  • World War 1 – typically without a weapon at all, but reenactors can use the 1903 Springfield or the 1917 Enfield.
  • World War 2 – Uncle Sam could be portrayed with an M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle or the M1 Garand.
  • Vietnam – M16, standard issue rifle

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Saratoga Campaign 1777

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The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution. Leaders like John Burgoyne, Horatio Gates, and Benedict Arnold, with thousands of valiant men, fought in a drama that would change the world.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Background: The Road to Saratoga

After fighting side by side to defeat the French and Indians (1756-1763), Britain and her American colonies drifted apart. Laboring under a heavy debt, Parliament increased taxation and control over the Americans. The Quebec Act (1774) was intended to build support for Britain among the Catholic French Canadians, institute the French system of civil law,[1] and limit colonial migration into the Ohio Valley. However, it infuriated English colonists. But it, and other “intolerable acts,” provided the tipping point into revolution.

Before Congress even declared America to be a new nation (4 July 1776), American rebels captured Fort Ticonderoga (10 May 1775), Crown Point, Fort St. Johns (17 Sep to 3 Nov 1775), and Montreal in the early months of the conflict. US General Richard Montgomery commanded about 1000 militia through the St. Lawrence River north to Quebec. Moving primarily by water, they brought most of the artillery and supplies. US General Benedict Arnold began taking about 1000 militia through the wilderness of Maine, from the Kennebec River to the Chaudière River. Having started in July, Arnold’s force lost about 500 men to starvation, desertion, expiring enlistments, and disease (smallpox). Montgomery’s force diminished to 700 by expiring enlistments.

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The Battle of Tarawa: America’s Early Lesson in WWII Amphibious Warfare

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By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

What was the Battle of Tarawa in World War II? Why was it important then,…and today?

The morning of November 20, 1943, dawned over a small coral atoll in the Central Pacific that few Americans had ever heard of. Within seventy-six hours, Tarawa would become seared into the American consciousness as one of the most savage battles of World War II. The ferocious fighting on this tiny strip of land, barely twelve square miles in total area, would claim over 6,000 lives and fundamentally transform how the United States Navy and Marine Corps conducted amphibious operations for the remainder of the war.

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Jerusalem’s Hidden Gems

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Tourists, pilgrims, scholars, and activists can encounter little-known places outside and inside the Old City of Jerusalem. By looking at these hidden gems in Jerusalem, the minds, bodies, and souls of faithful Christ-followers will receive a blessing.[1]

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The murmurs of tourists and the low rumble of shopkeepers fill the Old City of Jerusalem. From the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Wailing Wall, Christians and Jews come here to find God, or to find Him again. Muslims visit the Islamic Quarter, the Dome of the Rock, and the al-Aqsa Mosque. Many tourists jet in for a week, visit the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, jet out, and never set foot elsewhere in Israel, the West Bank, or other areas mentioned in scripture. Others stay much longer to soak their bodies and souls in the Land of the Bible.

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The Battle on the Marchfeld

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The Battle on the Marchfeld is a little known but important event in military history. As a result of the battle, the Habsburgs came to power and ruled the Holy Roman Empire and later Austria and Spain until the 20th century. 

By Stephen T. Harris, Historian

Background

In 1250, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250) died. He had quarreled with the pope and was excommunicated multiple times. The pope had gone so far as to depose Frederick II. As the pope refused to allow one of his descendants to take the throne, the imperial throne fell vacant, leading to the Great Interregnum (1254-1273). A group of princes known as the electors[1] elected Richard of Cornwall (1209-1272), brother of Henry III of England, as King of the Romans in 1257. Still, Richard held little real power in the empire. Richard often remained in England for long periods. The German princes were virtually independent and could do whatever they wished. Some historians argue Richard’s election was intentionally designed to prevent a strong ruler from trying to curb the princes’ power. During the Great Interregnum, the princes worked to increase their power, and many did. The most successful was Ottokar II (1233-1278), King of Bohemia, who used conquest and political marriages to build a massive kingdom that stretched to the Adriatic.

One of those marriages was with the daughter of the Duke of Austria, a woman named Margaret of Babenberg (1204-1266). However, the duchy was not rightfully Ottokar’s. It was an imperial fief and as such should have gone back to the emperor, to grant to whomever he chose. Several years after he married, the pope granted Ottokar an annulment to marry a woman his age and have children. However, this meant he no longer had a legal right to Austria through marriage.

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Why Did Jesus Choose So Many Fishermen to be His Disciples?

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Jesus chose twelve disciples for His earthly ministry. Of all the things that He could have done and all the people He could have taught, Jesus spent the lion’s share of His life discipling these men. After His resurrection, Jesus entrusted them to carry His message to the world. At least four of His disciples were fishermen. Did their profession, which God gave them, have anything to do with their selection?

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Whether from church, work, or other sources, we at the MDHI get many questions on a variety of topics. Earlier this month, a reader wrote about a question about Jesus’ disciples that he and his brother had discussed, “why were 1/3 of the disciples fishermen by trade?” Given the fact that most people in Israel engaged in agriculture at the time, the query is valid. While we cannot know for sure, as the Bible does not directly tell us, we can derive a reasonable answer. First, we require a summary of Israelite society in the first century.

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