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Washington's Dispatches

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Kitty Knight: Wartime Celebrity

11/07/2023

It is difficult to imagine that the beautiful and serene Sassafras River was once a battlefield, but this was the case on May, 6, 1813. As the British troops advanced towards Fredericktown and Georgetown- two small communities separated by the Sassafras- local militia fired at them from both towns. Though the militia fought back only briefly before retreating, the British troops took their revenge by first setting Fredericktown aflame, then crossing the Sassafras to Georgetown. Much of Georgetown was destroyed in the fire started by the British, but two structures survived due to the courage and tenacity of one local resident, Catherine “Kitty” Knight.

  • War of 1812
  • Archives
Goats on runway Ramitelli Italy March 1945

National Home Front Project - Michael Conway and the goat in the bar

11/03/2023

The National Home Front Project is a major grassroots initiative under the leadership of historians at Washington College. Our innovative oral history program partners with individuals, communities, and organizations across the United States to record, preserve, and share audio interviews with civilians who experienced World War II. By pulling together in the spirit of wartime Americans, we can ensure that future generations hear their voices, and that our country never forgets its past.

  • National Home Front Project
  • Starr Center
  • World War II
  • Archives
Testimony in the case of Martha Polk

The Mystery of Martha Polk

10/31/2023

Now that we are well into Fall and as Halloween nears, let’s look at a bit of true crime hidden in the Joseph Wickes papers.

  • MS 0066 Joseph Wickes papers
  • Mystery
  • True Crime
  • Archives
Compendium Malfarium

Compendium Malfarium

10/24/2023

Originally published in 1608, Brother Francesco Maria Guazzo’s Compendium Malefarium was an immediate success and widely regarded as the authoritative text on witches and witch-hunting.

  • Halloween
  • Special Collections
  • Witches
  • Archives
Brick Ruins

Hole-in-the-Wall

10/20/2023

Just down the road, along Route 50 near Trappe, is an eerie landmark that hasn’t yet been swallowed by housing developments or shopping complexes. This lonely brick ruin is all that remains of Whitemarsh Chapel, a church dating back to 1665, which was mostly destroyed by fire in 1897.

  • Ghosts
  • Halloween
  • Maryland Special Collection
  • Archives
Rosenbergs

National Home Front Project - Meet Joan Rosenberg Kovachi

10/17/2023

The National Home Front Project is a major grassroots initiative under the leadership of historians at Washington College. Our innovative oral history program partners with individuals, communities, and organizations across the United States to record, preserve, and share audio interviews with civilians who experienced World War II. By pulling together in the spirit of wartime Americans, we can ensure that future generations hear their voices, and that our country never forgets its past. For this short entry, we’d like to share the story of Joan Rosenberg Kovachi.

  • National Home Front Project
  • Newark Public Library
  • Starr Center
  • World War II
  • Archives
Third Base In My Home

Remembering Brooks Robinson

10/12/2023

This distinctive signature will be familiar to many baseball fans and Marylanders. It belongs to the man who has been known as “Mr. Oriole,” “Mr. Hoover,” and “The Human Vacuum Cleaner,” a man who is almost synonymous with Baltimore baseball…. legendary third baseman, Brooks Robinson.

  • Baltimore Orioles
  • Brooks Robinson
  • Maryland Special
  • Archives
Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley

10/10/2023

Aubrey Beardsley was an English artist whose name you might not know, although you may recognize his work.

  • Aubrey Beardsley
  • Gibbes Museum of Art
  • Rare Book Collections
  • Archives
Washington College

History Crush- Leah Hackett Frederick

10/06/2023

It’s easy to see why Leah Frederick, class of 1936, was described by this anonymous Pegasus writer as “bewitching everyone that she meets on the campus” even without her “wide smile” on display

  • Class of 1936
  • Pegasus
  • yearbooks
  • Archives
Washington College

Your own folder in the President’s papers

10/03/2023

In many of the Presidents’ papers, there is typically a folder titled “Discipline”. Most of these folders contain varied infractions of co-ed parties or alcohol on campus so when the whole folder is about one student, you want to know more about them.

  • Alumni
  • Class of 1930
  • Archives