#d is for delaware

[anton-exe]

@toshi-flakes

@rainylunesstorm

@shiningnightstars

@a-moths-privacy

You make a post asking others to tag their favorite mutuals.

You tag your favorite mutual and post.

Your favorite mutual reblogs your post and tags you.

You two are now obligated to tag each other and reblog the post forever.

The longer it goes on, the faster you two get.

Eventually, the bulk of new posts is just you two reblogging the same post.

Tumblr is forced to buy more servers and storage just for your reblogs.

Tumblr starts selling a new badge called "Best Mutuals" to fund the growing infrastructure.

Tumblr becomes known as that site that's exclusively about two people calling each other their favorite mutuals.

ISPs are forced to improve their infrastructure to accommodate how quickly you two keep reblogging each other.

News spreads to other sites.

The internet eventually becomes just you two reblogging each other.

All news becomes updates about how many times you two reblog each other.

One day, you reblog your mutual's post and they do not reblog back.

Everyone on Tumblr panics and tries to find out what happened to your mutual.

Other social media sites learn about the drama.

News sites give Breaking News reports that your mutual didn't respond back.

Every website starts gathering information about what happened to your mutual.

Political parties come together to find out what happened to your mutual.

World leaders come together to find out what happened to your mutual.

Billionaires pour all their money into finding out what happened to your mutual.

Eventually, your mutual is found and the world waits with baited breathe fearing the worst.

Your mutual was hungry and stepped away to make a sandwich.

After finishing their sandwich, they reblog your post.

All is right with the world.

[coolthingsguyslike]

[20th-century-railroading]

DH 49

A bit of a sad sight, U33Cs 757 and 754 wasting away out behind the main shop building at Colonie in May of 1987.

[aryburn-trains]

MNCR 5043, Katonah, NY, 1983

Metro-North's early days were not easy, A southbound Harlem Line train approaches Katonah the morning after a blizzard dumped more than two feet on the area on February 13, 1983. A former New Haven FL9 leads a set of coaches originally rebuilt for Delaware & Hudson/Amtrak Adirondack service.

Art Deeks photo

[superdictionary]

Delaware - Delaware is a state in the east part of the United States. It is on the ocean. El Dragón likes Delaware because it begins with the same letter as his name.

[jack-the-sol]

The Death of John Laurens: A Summarized Account of August 26th and 27th, 1782

Sources and links to said sources will be listed at the end of this post in Chicago format. This post is purely for educational purposes and is not meant to be used in any research, citations, or criticism of other works or individuals. Please refer back to the list of sources if you intend to use this material in a similar fashion.

What happened on the evening of August 26th, 1782, and the morning following? This was the eve of the death of John Laurens and the events that would occur on the morning on the 27th would go on to be recognized as incomplete, like a puzzle missing some pieces. However, after some recent diving into the topic and looking into letters from Nathanael Greene, Mordecai Gist, and others describing Laurens’ “gallant fall”, I will be presenting a summary and compilation of this information to paint an unfortunate night in an incomplete fashion. There are still things that remain unclear to me, but this may provide some clarity on those who are unaware of what happened. 

To set the scene, Tar Bluff, the Combahee Ferry, and the Combahee River in South Carolina is a mix of two sets of scenery in the present day. Nearer to the river and the flatter land, it is thick marshland and difficult to travel through. This is why the ferry was so necessary and useful and likely why the British commandeered it. The drier land higher than the marsh was primarily deciduous and coniferous trees that covered muddy and sandy ground with leaves and pine needles. Today, the area is very dense and overgrown along the riverbanks due to the nature of the region and its climate. It is uncertain what the weather at the time of this engagement might have been, but by referring back to lunar calendars, it is deductible that the night of the 26th-27th was a waning gibbous; the moon would be mostly full but not entirely so and would continue to cast less light in the coming days. Furthermore, it is important to mention that the location that is mentioned that Laurens had been staying and later buried at was roughly thirty-seven miles from where the engagement against the Regulars occurred. Gist mentioned that the main encampment he had made was twelve miles north of Chehaw Neck and roughly fifty miles away from Greene's main headquarters outside of Charleston.

The British were commanded by Major William Brereton and reportedly one-hundred and forty men strong consisting of the British 64th Regiment and volunteers from the British 17th Regiment. The 64th Regiment had been in other engagements where Laurens was present also, including the battles of Brandywine and Germantown as well as the much later and much more influential Siege of Charleston in 1780. This was not the end of the 64th engaging against Laurens as they were reportedly at the Siege of Yorktown and surrendered with the body of men under General Cornwallis’s command. 

On the days leading up to the 27th, Gist remarked that an enemy fleet of British regulars had taken the command of the Combahee Ferry and both sides had been locked in a stalemate regarding the waters due to the circumstances: the Patriots could not engage the enemy due to the ships in the river, and the Regulars could not get their supplies north and across the Combahee because the Patriots were patrolling the area. Gist, with a combined might of over three-hundred men consisting of the 3rd and 4th Virginia Regiments under the command of Colonel Baylor, the Delaware Regiment, one-hundred infantry of the line commanded by Major Beall, the entirety of the command under Lt. Col. John Laurens, and all of which was under the command of General Gist. 

It’s important to mention before continuing that despite much research into the matter of Laurens’ illness on the evening and morning of the 26th and 27th, myself and other partners in researching [the esteemed @pr0fess0r-b1tch] could not find a reputable source mentioning directly that John Laurens was ill. Gregory D. Massey does not explicitly mention a source in his book, but instead says,

“From his sickbed, Laurens learned of Gist’s orders. He forwarded the latest news to headquarters and added a query…”

Other sources we found mentioned that many of the northern regiments and men were falling ill, even some doctors themselves, but there is not a primary source that lists that Laurens was sick or bedridden aside from Massey and the sources that pull from his accounts including the Wikipedia of Laurens and the American Battlefield Trust. Because of this oversight, I am choosing to redact the concept of Laurens’ illness until otherwise proven by a primary source whether it be a letter or other statements. 

Laurens was given the command of the men under Gist by General Greene and despite not being well-liked by the men who were formerly under Light Horse Harry Lee’s command, it was theoretically remedied by the intermediary of Major Beall. On the night of the 26th, Brigadier General Mordecai Gist recounted in a letter to Major General Nathanael Greene that “Lt. Col. Laurens arrived in the intermediate time, that solicited the direction and command at that post”, the post being that Gist had ordered an earthworks to be constructed at Chehaw Neck to “annoy their shipping on their return”. In the evening that Laurens took command and oversight, Gist sent fifty men to be under his command with some Matrosses and a Howitzer. Laurens, in command of these men, were stationed on the northern bank of the river. 

The commanding officer of the British, Major Brereton, evidently received information of this movement of the Howitzer to the earthworks within the day that such a motion was ordered. The quick intelligence may allude to an inside source that the British had or a matter of good reconnaissance, but Major Brereton left in the ships at two in the morning and “dropped silently down the river”, according to General Gist. These movements went undiscovered until four in the morning when patrols noticed and alerted the extended body led by Laurens. It is stated that the troops were then “put into motion to prevent their landing”. Gist then mentions that before he could arrive and defend the efforts, the British had successfully landed and engaged Laurens directly. The men scattered when Laurens fell, but Gist regathered them within the quarter mile, following which the enemy forces reboarded the boats and left. 

According to a Delaware Captain, William McKennan, under Laurens’ command, Laurens was “anxious to attack the enemy” before the main body and Gist’s reinforcements arrived. McKennan says,

“being in his native state, and at the head of troops…were sufficient to enable him to gain a laurel for his brow…but wanted to do all himself, and have all the honor.”

After Laurens had been injured in three other battles, Brandywine, Germantown, and Coosawatchie, and having his pride wounded at losses most notably the loss of Charleston in 1780, it would be understandable that he would be so willing to return to the fight for his nation after being detached and moved frequently in the later years of the war. McKennan’s account states in the same paragraph that Laurens was killed in the first volley of the attack by Brereton’s men. Some sources say that Laurens was upon a horse when he fell and was mortally wounded, but others suggest that he may have merely been standing in the enemy fire. All appear to agree that Laurens was one of the first victims of the enemy volleys. Whether he died upon the first impact is unknown, but his body was abandoned until Gist could regroup the men and return to the site to gather an understanding of who was killed and wounded in the action. 

Following the death of a notable officer, statesman, and diplomat, many men would come to regard Laurens as an incredibly accomplished and noteworthy young man and officer. Greene writes in an August 29th letter to General Washington,

“Colo. Laurens’s fall is glorious, but his fate is much to be lamented. Your Excellency has lost a valuable Aid de Camp, the Army a brave Officer, and the public a worthy and patriotic Citizen.”

In “The Delaware Regiment in the Revolution” where McKennan’s recollection of events can be found, it states,

“In the fall and death of Colonel John La[urens], the army lost one of its brightest ornaments, his country one of its most devoted patriots, his native State one of its most amiable and honored sons, and the Delaware detachment a father, brother, and friend.”

Gist’s letter to Greene on the day of the 27th says that “that brave and gallant officer fell, much regretted and lamented.” Alexander Hamilton, a fellow aide, close friend, and alleged lover, remarks in a letter to General Greene on October the 12th, 1782, over a month since Laurens’ passing,

“I feel the deepest affliction at the news we have just received of the loss of our dear and inestimable friend Laurens. His career of virtue is at an end. How strangely are human affairs conducted, that so many excellent qualities could not ensure a more happy fate? The world will feel the loss of a man who has left few like him behind, and America of a citizen whose heart realized that patriotism of which others only talk. I feel the loss of a friend I truly and most tenderly loved, and one of a very small number.” 

As for how his own father, Henry Laurens, reacted to the news, a pair of letters and brief segments from them may very well put it into perspective of how not only close friends, but a good number of men felt about the death of Laurens. On November 6th, 1782 from John Adams to Henry Laurens:

“I know not how to mention, the melancholly Intelligence by this Vessell, which affects you so tenderly.— I feel for you, more than I can or ought to express.— Our Country has lost its most promising Character, in a manner however, that was worthy of her Cause.— I can Say nothing more to you, but that you have much greater Reason to Say in this Case, as a Duke of ormond said of an Earl of Ossory. ‘I would not exchange my son for any living Son in the World.’”

In a return letter to Adams from Henry Laurens dated November 12th, 1782:

“My Country enjoins & condescends to desire, I must therefore, also at all hazards to myself obey & comply. Diffident as I am of my own Abilities, I shall as speedily as possible proceed & join my Colleagues. For the rest, the Wound is deep, but I apply to myself the consolation which I administered to the Father, of the Brave Colonel Parker. ‘Thank God I had a Son who dared to die in defence of his Country.’” 

~~~

I would like to send a huge thank you to @butoridesvirescens for instigating this rabbit hole that we went down and @pr0fess0r-b1tch for being my research partner and assisting in transcriptions. I appreciate the work done by both of them.

Sources 

“Combahee River .” Combahee River Battle Facts and Summary . Accessed February 20, 2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/combahee-river. 

“From Alexander Hamilton to Major General Nathanael Greene, [12 October 1782],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-03-02-0090. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 3, 1782–1786, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962, pp. 183–184.] 

“To George Washington from Nathanael Greene, 29 August 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-09304. 

“From John Adams to Henry Laurens, 6 November 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0013. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 14, October 1782–May 1783, ed. Gregg L. Lint, C. James Taylor, Hobson Woodward, Margaret A. Hogan, Mary T. Claffey, Sara B. Sikes, and Judith S. Graham. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008, pp. 25–26.] 

“To John Adams from Henry Laurens, 12 November 1782,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-14-02-0029. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 14, October 1782–May 1783, ed. Gregg L. Lint, C. James Taylor, Hobson Woodward, Margaret A. Hogan, Mary T. Claffey, Sara B. Sikes, and Judith S. Graham. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008, pp. 56–57.] 

Bennett, C. P., and Wm. Hemphill Jones. “The Delaware Regiment in the Revolution.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 9, no. 4 (1886): 451–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20084730. 

Cook, Hugh (1970). The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's). Famous Regiments. London: Leo Cooper. 

George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: Mordecai Gist to Nathanael Greene, with Copy; with Letter from William D. Beall on Casualties. 1782. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw431868/. 

Johnson, William. 1822. Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene, Vol. II: 339. 

Massey, Gregory D. 2015. John Laurens and the American Revolution. Columbia: University Of South Carolina Press. Pages 225-227. 

[doomedandstoned]

High Reeper Share Fiery New Single “Cold World”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

HIGH REEPER just keep on reaching higher and higher places with their sound. Their songs have a fiery, dauntless spirit to them, with singer Zach Thomas belting out one soulful, prophetic line after another with grit and conviction.

Take their latest single "Cold World." Guitars mark out a wicked groove, like a snake slithering across your path and you wonder if it just might bite. Drums join with strong intonation and deep resolve. Bass keeps the song thumping along. Vocals gleam with metallic sheen. What a fitting anthem for winter.

High Reeper remark:

When we were making 'Doom Sessions Vol. 5' we were unable to include all the tracks that we recorded on the actual release. We are hard at work on a new record and thought we would share "Cold World" with you and continue with our full-on heavy metal assault.

You can check out our review of Doom Sessions Vol. 5 right here and get the album via Heavy Psych Sounds. The new single drops Friday.

Give Ear...

LISTEN: High Reeper - "Cold World"

SOME BUZZ

Formed in 2016, HIGH REEPER is made up of Zach Thomas, Tyler Yoder, Justin Di Pinto, Pat Daly and Shane Trimble. Originally started as a studio band, it rapidly became apparent that these songs were meant to be heard live and loud. The band made their debut in the Philly/Delaware stoner rock scene in early 2017 with success, followed up by the recording of their self-titled debut in May.

With a sound deeply rooted in modern stoner rock while giving a nod to early days Sabbath, their self-titled debut was driven by pounding rhythms, thick guitars and soaring, screeching vocals. For their sophomore record, the addition of Di Pinto on drums helped focus in an even more powerful direction.

DOOM SESSIONS VOL.5 - High Reeper // Hippie Death Cult by HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records

After their sophomore album release and a successful 2018 European tour that included Desertfest Berlin, High Reeper hit Europe once again in 2019, visiting ten countries as well as an appearance at Desertfest London. The band has been working on new material since then, with a new album yet to be announced on HPS Records.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[real-mr-meat]

Good riddance

Might I suggest, New YorJerseyDeladelphia

[fuckinuhhh]

Take a Walk 09/22/24 - Albany, NY Special Edition

Just a note to the 3 day-one fans/followers of my take a walk commentary series, I have a few posts to catch up on that are dated and slated to be put together as soon as I find the time. But I just wanted to get this special edition out as soon as I could because its fresh and I have the motivation to and this one is short. (And because this is my blog, and I make the rules, and were doing this one first!!)

While I was visiting my friends in Albany, a place I called home for a number of years, I had some time to kill so my old friend and I decided to take a long walk and shoot some photos. :)

First off we have the Hinckel Brewery building originally built as just the right-most building in 1855, with additions made in subsequent years as the business began to grow to be one of the biggest beer distributors in the Northeast even rivaling Anheuser-Busch and Samuel Adams during the early 1900's.

The original architect is unknown, but to the best of my understanding many of the building's interiors as well as the surrounding building complex have been modernized and incorporated into the @HudsonPark apartment scheme. I wasn't able to find a lot of info on the apartments that exist therein within the apartment complex, and they don't exactly have rave reviews on sites like google and apartments.com.

When we walked into the small inner concrete courtyard underneath the old docking bay in the office building, the vibe was very vacant aside from being locked and then this strange noise I caught of one of the seemingly-annoyed tenants who wasn't happy we were all up in their business. (either that or it was a ghost, give the sound a listen in the last 5 seconds of this video and let me know lol).

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Then we walked past some of my favorites, that I neglected to get pictures of -_- bc I didn't think I would be making this post, BUT that I'll def be able to get pictures of from my archives/google. I'll throw together a short run through of those real quick and then get to the main event.

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The Van Ostrande-Radliff House at 48 Hudson Ave, a must see (even if you cant see much) in Albany. This is the oldest standing building in the city, originally built in 1728. Preservation efforts are ongoing to restore it to its former charm, but it remains covered for the time being so as to not fall into further disrepair. I recommend checking out the sick pictures that Historic Albany Foundation has on their website of the current interior.

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Down the street is the SUNY Headquarters Building, an old railroad building that served the state capitol under the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Co. Architect Marcus T. Reynolds designed this one, it was originally built as six separate buildings from 1915 on and connected to form one continuous structure, this imposingly beautiful Flemish Gothic building is one of my personal favorites in downtown Albany.

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Turning around we see this beautifully ornate neo-classical building at the corner of State St. & Broadway. Originally built as the Albany Trust Company building in 1902, also by architect Marcus T. Reynolds! This building has such a striking facade and the renaissance revival dome is truly an architectural masterpiece (if not bordering on a little gaudy). I was so lucky to find out they had just given it a fresh spruced up paint job when I walked by it! Today it operates as the SUNY Research Foundation building.

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Then juuuust up the street 2 buildings away is BY FAR my favorite little guy in the city (I would treat her so right, please god give me a chance).

This is 63 State St. Being built originally by one of my favorite architects, Russell Sturgis in 1876 for the Mechanics & Farmers Bank. For such a small sliver of a property footprint this building just does so much right with its balance of form and ornament. The turret on the corner is stunningly delicate, as well as the bright red brick to complement the light sandy stone. Not to mention that beautifully ornate third floor circle window. This building changed hands a couple times throughout the centuries but retains the old vault door in the basement as well as the brass fixtures and marble floorings inside that give it quite the stately presence upon entering.

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How could I not include the most imposingly large, ornate, stately, balanced (every other adjective I've ever used on this blog...) building in Albany, the state capitol building!? Main architect: Henry Hobson Richardson, along with Leopold Eidlitz, Thomas Fuller, and Isaac G. Perry. Finished in 1899 after 32 years!

I'm going to keep this very brief because we only stopped here briefly on our walk and this building deserves it's own deep dive post at some point anyway. Plus it isn't even the aforementioned "Main Event" of our walk. But the detail in the scrolling on the columns here is absolutely insane. My friend and I were discussing it's architectural style/influences and we weren't completely convinced it falls into any one, Italianate/Neoclassical/Victorian/Georgian/Flemish/Gothic/Spanish influences... the confluence of styles in this design is absolutely masterful. As well as whether one would consider the columns corinthian or not, maybe composite? But just take a look at these bad boys, I would sit and take a full semester's course just on the symbolism sprinkled in and throughout this structure.

The scrolling is unique on EVERY column and sprinkled with tons of historical imagery and symbolism but they all have the same visual weight and if you weren't paying attention you'd never notice.

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If you think nothing could compete with the capital building's insanely intricate detail look across the street for it's closest competitor, The State Education Department building and Chancellor Hall at 89 Washington Ave. I think I remember thinking for a long time this was my favorite Albany building for years before discovering the charming old gothic bank building on lower State St.

Spanning a whole city block (a long one) is this building's imposing Greek-revival corinthian colonnade with 36 massive columns along it! Another scale-defying building joining the capitol building at you-have-to-see-it-in-person scale, the columns on this bad boy are comparable to the width of a redwood tree (see the picture of my legs as I lay down between them to get shots of the ceiling).

Originally Built in 1911 by architect Henry Hornbostel, this building has retained it's integrity and intention by functioning as the base of operations for the NY state education system since its completion. Its structure and facade, including the intricate brass lighting fixtures and the beautiful tiling along its exterior, has been kept in immaculate condition and is incredible to look at in person. This is another architectural feat with such minute detailing that I could sit there with an expert for probably weeks just in awe of it's symbols and attention to detail. I sat there for about 20 minutes when we visited it just looking at it and taking its beauty in. This is the type of building that just transports you somewhere else when you really take it in, it could've easily been cherry picked from the acropolis and plopped in upstate New York and you wouldn't question it thats how beautifully true to form it feels in person.

I didn't know I would be making this post in the moment while taking the walk so I don't have a dishonorable mention, but if you've ever been to Albany, NY you know there are far too many of those to ever pick from so I'm going to give myself a pass this time.

[marvelsmostwanted]

Some snippets of good news (sorry for no sources, grabbing things from Twitter here)

• New York and Maryland have passed measures to protect abortion

• Ruben Gallego is projected to defeat Kari Lake for a much-needed Democratic Senate gain in Arizona (replacing Kysten Sinema, who had become an independent)

• Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester will become the first woman and first black person to represent Delaware in the Senate.

• Angela Alsobrooks will become the first black woman to represent Maryland in the Senate.

• ^This is the first time 2 black women have been elected to the US Senate at the same time. Only 3 black women have served in the Senate before them: Carol Moseley Braun, Kamala Harris, and Laphonza Butler, who is a current Senator (D-CA).

*Update:

• Sarah McBride (D-DE) will become the first transgender person to serve in the US House of Representatives.

[britishchick09]

clarissa received a letter... with nothing written on it! ;)

[wardback]

D for delaware

idk when i think about it too hard it’s kinda wild that i follow and keep up with the blog that made THE delaware post

why tho the delaware post is a d tier level post

[coolthingsguyslike]

[20th-century-railroading]

Fresh Lightning Stripes by Erie Limited Via Flickr: Somewhat fresh from rebuilding at M-K in Mountaintop, PA, D&H 7401 poses for a portrait at Kenwood Yard in Albany. 7401 was outshopped about a month prior to this photo. In that time it acquired a bit of grime on the long hood. The following year it would be sold to CSX where it still operates today as CSXT 4309.

DH 7401 GP39-2 (ex-RDG 3401) July 17, 1990

[aryburn-trains]

First car is former D&H diner. Chappaqua, NY April 27, 1982

[gas-stxtion-a]

@modestmuses said: Viktor: “I missed you.” (viktor being tender to jerry. will probably instantly regret it tbh LKJFDKSDJF)

(love languages - open)

Jerry pauses at Viktor's words, looking up to see the other watching him with an almost fond expression on his face. Immediately, Jerry smiles around the screw in his mouth, which he sets in his hand before responding (he's learned from previous near-choking-incidents.)

"Aw," he coos, "that's real sweet a' ya', Viktor. I missed ya' too." His fake southern accent is a bit stronger than usual today, as absorbed in his work as he's been. "I mean, you're always so much fun to hang out with. Who else would be both willin' an' able to help me take apart this old thing and make it better?" As he speaks, he gestures to the pile of metal pieces before them that used to be the gas station's hot dog roller, putting an arm around Viktor's shoulders and squeezing him lightly.

"When we're done with this thing," Jerry continues, "it's gonna make such fuckin' good hot dogs. Like... so good, we might not be able to give them to customers without makin' them sign a waiver. You eat these dogs, and immediately you meet God, that sort a' thing." He laughs, mostly to himself. "I mean, if God were real, of course. But, yeah, I think that'd be pretty sick." Jerry squeezes Viktor's shoulders again, then puts the screw back in his mouth as he gets back to work.