Dave Does History

Dave Bowman
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Dave Does History explores American history, military history, the Revolutionary War, the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, liberty, and the events that shaped the modern world. Historian and broadcaster Dave Bowman brings historical figures, battles, ideas, and turning points to life through engaging storytelling, analysis, and perspective.

  1. Sep 15

    The Last Offramp

    On September 11, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge crossed to Staten Island under a flag of truce. They came seeking the limits of Britain’s peace offer and discovered there was no offer at all, only pardons in exchange for submission. The Staten Island Peace Conference failed to stop the war, but it clarified what the Revolution had become. Independence was no longer a bargaining position. It was the cause for which Americans would have to fight. Listen to the latest Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live. #DaveDoesHistory #AmericanRevolution #StatenIslandConference #JohnAdams #BenjaminFranklin #DeclarationOfIndependence #RevolutionaryWar

  2. Sep 8

    The American Crises

    In September 1776, New York newspapers carried a mocking letter from a supposed eyewitness who claimed that George Washington and his “dirty pack of New England long faces” were losing the war. The author did not exist. The letter was British propaganda, part of an organized effort to ridicule the Continental Army, undermine public confidence, and convince Americans that resistance had become hopeless. The uncomfortable part was that the propaganda did not need to invent the defeats. Washington’s army had been driven from Long Island and New York City. Fort Washington would soon fall, taking nearly 3,000 American soldiers with it. Fort Lee would be abandoned so hastily that cooking pots and provisions remained beside the fires. Pursued by Cornwallis, the shrinking Continental Army fled across New Jersey until the Delaware River provided one last barrier between it and destruction. By December, independence no longer resembled the glorious promise proclaimed in Philadelphia five months earlier. It meant cold, hunger, disease, expiring enlistments, and the growing possibility that the entire enterprise might collapse. Congress fled Philadelphia. Loyalists became bolder. Neutrality suddenly appeared prudent. Washington had preserved his army, but he was rapidly running out of army to preserve. Then Thomas Paine, who had marched among these exhausted soldiers and witnessed the retreat himself, picked up his pen. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” he wrote. His words were aimed directly at the summer soldier and sunshine patriot who embraced liberty when it was exhilarating but abandoned it when sacrifice became real. In this episode of Dave Does History, we enter the darkest weeks of the Revolution, when survival required Washington to retreat and victory seemed almost unimaginable. Yet somewhere between Fort Washington and the frozen Delaware, the meaning of the struggle changed. If the Revolution was going to survive, Washington would have to stop running. Christmas night was coming.

  3. Aug 25

    Camp Fortunate: When Lewis and Clark Changed the Method but Kept the Mission

    What happens when the map is wrong, the river runs out, and the plan that brought you across a continent can take you no farther? In August 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Continental Divide expecting to find a practical water route leading west toward the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. Instead, the Corps of Discovery encountered mountain ranges stretching across the horizon, rivers too swift and rocky for navigation, dwindling food supplies, and the possibility that the expedition might have to turn back. Yet at this moment of uncertainty, an extraordinary reunion changed everything. Sacagawea had been kidnapped from her Shoshone people as a child and carried east by Hidatsa raiders. Now, returning to her homeland with Lewis and Clark, she discovered that the Shoshone chief with whom the captains desperately needed to negotiate was her brother, Cameahwait. Their emotional reunion helped establish the trust the expedition needed to obtain horses, guides, and assistance for the journey ahead. The encounter occurred at a place Lewis called Camp Fortunate. Today, the historic campsite lies beneath Clark Canyon Reservoir in southwestern Montana. In 1805, it became the setting for one of the expedition’s most consequential decisions. The Corps had arrived as river travelers. If the mission were to continue, the men would have to leave their boats behind and enter the mountains on horseback. That meant accepting that their maps and assumptions were wrong without concluding that the mission itself had failed. In this episode of Dave Does History, Dave Bowman joins Bill Mick to examine Sacagawea’s homecoming, the collapse of Lewis and Clark’s geographical expectations, Meriwether Lewis’s revealing reflections on his thirty-first birthday, and the leadership lesson hidden beneath the waters of Camp Fortunate. Sometimes perseverance does not mean following the original plan. Sometimes it means remembering the purpose, listening to those who know the terrain, and finding another way forward. #LewisAndClark #CampFortunate #Sacagawea #Cameahwait #CorpsOfDiscovery #AmericanHistory #MontanaHistory #DaveDoesHistory #BillMickLive

  4. Aug 18

    Fall Back

    American independence was declared in the summer of 1776.Whether the new nation could survive long enough to make that declaration mean anything was another matter entirely. By the autumn of that year, George Washington's ContinentalArmy had suffered a succession of defeats around New York. The British had the larger army, the Royal Navy controlled the surrounding waters, and General William Howe repeatedly maneuvered to trap Washington and destroy his army. At several critical moments, one largely forgotten Massachusetts officer helped make sure that didn't happen. His name was John Glover. Glover commanded the famous Marblehead Regiment, aremarkable collection of sailors, fishermen, ship captains, Black soldiers, Native Americans, and other Massachusetts men whose experience on the water made them unlike almost any other regiment in Washington's army. When Washington found himself trapped after the disastrousBattle of Long Island, Glover's men helped ferry thousands of Continental soldiers across the East River under cover of darkness and fog. Washington's army escaped. Seven weeks later, Glover was called upon again. At Pell's Point, roughly 750 Americans found themselvesfacing thousands of advancing British and Hessian troops. Glover couldn't defeat them. Instead, he used the stone walls of the Westchester countryside to create a defense in depth, forcing the British to deploy, attack, reorganize, and advance repeatedly. He was buying Washington something more valuable thanterritory. He was buying time. In this episode of Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, wefollow John Glover from the evacuation of Brooklyn to the fighting at Pell's Point and the road toward White Plains. We also connect his story with Benedict Arnold's stand at Valcour Island and examine one of the great strategic lessons of 1776. Washington didn't have to defeat the British Army. First, he had to make sure it didn't destroy his.   #DaveDoesHistory #JohnGlover #AmericanRevolution#RevolutionaryWar #PellsPoint #MarbleheadRegiment #GeorgeWashington #BattleOfLongIsland #WhitePlains #BenedictArnold #ValcourIsland #1776 #AmericanHistory #MilitaryHistory #BillMickLive

  5. Aug 11

    Benedict Arnold Saves The American Revolution

    Everyone remembers Benedict Arnold the traitor. Far fewer remember Benedict Arnold the hero. This week on Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, we explore the Battle of Valcour Island, where Arnold built a navy from scratch, took on the greatest naval power in the world, and lost a battle that may have saved the American Revolution. Discover how one desperate stand on Lake Champlain bought the time that led to Saratoga and, ultimately, American independence. Discover why history is almost never as simple as we remember it. #DaveDoesHistory #BenedictArnold #ValcourIsland #AmericanRevolution #RevolutionaryWar #MilitaryHistory #NavalHistory #GeorgeWashington #HistoryPodcast #Liberty250

  6. Aug 4

    The Great New York Fire of 1776

    For most Americans, the story of September 1776 begins andends with Nathan Hale. We remember the young schoolteacher turned patriot spy,the gallows, and the words that have echoed through American history: "Ionly regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." But Hale's final days unfolded against the backdrop of aneven larger drama. Just two months after the Declaration of Independence,George Washington's army stood on the brink of collapse. At Kip's Bay,frightened American soldiers broke and ran before the advancing British Army,leaving Washington in one of the darkest moments of his military career. NewYork City, the largest city in British North America, fell into British hands,while the Continental Army barely escaped destruction. Then, in the middle of the occupation, disaster struck. In the early hours of September 21, a massive fire eruptedat the southern tip of Manhattan. Driven by fierce winds, the flames racedthrough the wooden city, destroying hundreds of buildings and transformingBritish victory into panic. Was it an accident? An act of sabotage? Or theopening move in a campaign of resistance? Nearly 250 years later, historiansstill cannot answer that question with certainty. As British soldiers searched desperately for the people theybelieved had set the city ablaze, Nathan Hale quietly entered New York on adangerous intelligence mission for George Washington. Within days, he would becaptured, condemned as a spy, and executed. At the same time, Washington faced a crisis within his ownarmy, forcing him to decide whether discipline demanded another execution orwhether mercy would better serve the cause of independence. This week on Dave Does History, we explore one of themost dramatic and overlooked weeks of the American Revolution, when fire, fear,espionage, and leadership reshaped the struggle for independence and revealedthat the Revolution would not be won by words alone.   #DaveDoesHistory #AmericanRevolution #NathanHale#GreatFireOfNewYork #GeorgeWashington #RevolutionaryWar #FoundingFathers #USHistory #HistoryPodcast #HistoryMatters #AmericanHistory #HarlemHeights #KipsBay #NewYorkHistory #SpyStory #ContinentalArmy #HistoryLovers #ThisDayInHistory #BillMickLive #DavidRayBowman

  7. Jul 28

    Patriot, Prisoner and Grandson

    What happens when the greatest legacy of a Founding Father isn't his own life, but the life of a grandson he never knew? In this episode of Dave Does History, we celebrate the 280th birthday of Thomas Heyward Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence whose story deserves far more attention than history has given him. Born into one of the wealthiest families in colonial America, Heyward had everything to lose. Instead of protecting his fortune, he risked it all by signing the Declaration, serving as an artillery commander, suffering wounds in battle, enduring imprisonment by the British, and returning home to find much of his world destroyed. His was not the comfortable life we often imagine when we picture the Founding Fathers. It was a life defined by sacrifice and conviction. Yet this story takes an unexpected turn. Thomas Heyward was also a slaveholder, and that uncomfortable truth cannot be ignored. The ideals he pledged his life to defend were larger than the world he himself could fully imagine. Decades later, those same ideals would be claimed by his own biological grandson, Thomas Ezekiel Miller, a Black congressman from South Carolina who stood on the floor of the United States House of Representatives demanding that America finally honor the promise that "all men are created equal." This is not a story about choosing between celebrating the Founders or condemning them. It is about understanding how ideas can outgrow the people who first expressed them. The Declaration of Independence became something greater than any individual signer. Its promise endured, challenged future generations, and inspired Americans to continue the work of creating "a more perfect Union." Join us as we explore one of the most remarkable—and deeply human—stories of the American founding, and discover why the greatest legacy Thomas Heyward Jr. left behind may have been a promise fulfilled by someone who carried both his blood and his unfinished dream. #DaveDoesHistory #ThomasHeywardJr #DeclarationOfIndependence #AmericanRevolution #FoundingFathers #RevolutionaryWar #AmericanHistory #HistoryPodcast #Liberty250 #ThomasEzekielMiller #CivilRightsHistory #AbrahamLincoln #DeclarationPromise #BillMickLive #HistoryMatters

  8. Jul 21

    The Empire Strikes Back

    While the nation celebrates Independence, the British move on New York City. Washington is out numbered, and basically trapped because of a political decision to hold the city. And in the first real standup fight between the Continental Army and the British, things go disastrously for the Americans. Independence is hanging by a thread...

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About

Dave Does History explores American history, military history, the Revolutionary War, the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, liberty, and the events that shaped the modern world. Historian and broadcaster Dave Bowman brings historical figures, battles, ideas, and turning points to life through engaging storytelling, analysis, and perspective.

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Bowman
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    652
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dave Bowman
  • Show Website
    Dave Does History

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