Category: US HISTORY

U.S. History

PRIVATE SOLDIER UNDER WASHINGTON

REDMOND'S REVIEWS are provided frequently at Universal Digest.

Private soldiering at the beginning of the Revolutionary War was just that; private. How many people in this present generation would know this. Enjoy this week’s REDMOND’S REVIEW.

PRIVATE SOLDIERS UNDER GEORGE WASHINGTON

The Private Soldier Under Washington, Charles K. Bolton, 1902.

As we have just celebrated the anniversary of the birth of the great experiment that is the United States of America, I thought it would be a good time to read and review a wonderful book by Charles K. Bolton that was published in 1902. The book titled “The Private Solider Under Washington,” is a must read for any one who wants to gain insight in a very informative and entertaining way of what is was like to be a solider in the army of Washington himself.

The reader is brought in a very endearing way, into the day to day life of the soldier who marched with, lived with and fought along side George Washington. In this book you learn what pay was like, food was like, and you learn how the troops passed the time. You learn long forgotten nicknames that some of the most famous people of the time of our founding had for each other.

Did you know for example that in one colony the price for a rifle for a soldier may be 3-5 pounds in one state, but in another only 2 pounds? Did you know that the average penalty for theft in camp by a soldier was 39 lashes? And, did you know that Washington was very skeptical of foreign “soldiers for hire” and almost always chose to have local, inexperienced militia that he could train, than worry about the allegiance of a for hire soldier.

JERKING A STONE

This is one of my favorite parts of this book. It was when George Washington himself, showed a group of young soldiers how to skip a stone over water. Imagine the father of our country doing that! Back then it was called “jerking a stone.” This wonderful book is free in the public record.

Written By: Darren Redmond

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for our contributing authors. We do not claim credit; we simply want to make it more available to the general public. And, the opinions of the authors are not necessarily the opinion or stance of this website.

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PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT, THE HISTORY

REDMOND'S REVIEWS are provided frequently at Universal Digest.

PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT, A HISTORY 1608-1650

Plymouth was settled by Pilgrims arriving from England in 1608. In this week’s rendition of REDMOND’S REVIEW, this book review details some of the history of the time Plymouth settlement.

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William Bradford wrote the “Historie of ye Plymouth Settlement, 1608-1650” and it is free to read in the public domain.

THE HISTORY OF THE PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT, 1608-1650 AD

As the political narrative, along with the mandated tenured professors indoctrination on the current interpretation of the Pilgrim’s, it morphs and changes with the current times, far from an agenda-driven perspective. Here one reads the compelling writings of William Bradford. These valuable insights and historical writings were thought lost for many years. And, the world is a better place that they were not.

Whatever side of the logical prism you may reside, other forms of information for an accurate historical perspective need to be researched. And, I for one have spent quite a bit of time doing so. This is not the platform to discuss the historical inaccuracies being put forth by many in the educational system today. But, please understand fabrication of facts are alive and well today.

One should not try to do away with a myth by making up a fable. For example, many people point to the fact that William Bradford did not write about a ‘Thanksgiving’ so, they look at that as a cause to show that it did not ever happen. But, when one conducts the research on other writings of the time, you find that maybe William Bradford, and, I stress the word ‘maybe’, did not write about it because giving thanks was quite commonplace.

THANKSGIVING WAS SOMETHING COMMONPLACE

The writings about that Thanksgiving talk of games being played and meals being shared to celebrate a wonderful crop and harvest.

Battles, between diverse groups was commonplace, and so was negotiation, compromise, and the sharing of best practices.

William Bradford’s writings give a detailed accounting of what it was like to move from your birth place to another country. Then, set sail across the vast ocean to a world that you did not understand where an unknown future awaited.

Had the Pilgrims planned to land at Plymouth or was their another location in Virginia where they wanted to go?

Did you know one of the ships the original pilgrims went on had to be sunk?

Do you know the name of the first Pilgrim child to be born in America?

All of this information is free to read in the public domain. Those who want to enrich their scholarly understanding of the pilgrims and their plight at the Plymouth settlement will learn much.

Written By: Darren Redmond

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for our contributing authors. We do not claim credit; we simply want to make it more available to the general public. And, the opinions of the authors are not necessarily the opinion or stance of this website.

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GERONIMO STORY OF HIS LIFE

REDMOND'S REVIEWS are provided frequently at Universal Digest.

GERONIMO AND THE STORY OF HIS LIFE

Geronimo is the subject of this week’s REDMOND’S REVIEW. Darren continues his weekly report on book reviews. His unique insights into what each author provides to their readers gives us a better understanding in a condensed form.

Darren Redmond is the Executive Director of a non-profit firm in Fresno, California. He and his colleagues work diligently to help those with addictions to overcome and return to a happy, fruitful life.

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“Geronimo’s Story of His Life” is detailed in this week’s delivery of REDMOND’S REVIEW.

REDMOND’S REVIEW

For those who follow the books that I read for review; three tendencies always seem to show themselves.

  1. They are usually autobiographical.
  2. Thus, they are usually nonfiction, unless they are poetry or a fable.
  3. They tend to be free in the public record.

I was enthralled with the autobiography, “Geronimo’s Story of His Life”, transcribed by S. M. Barrett and published in 1906. This first-person account of this icon, of Apache, Mexican, and American history, gives details of his life that many including myself never thought. And, you may find it to be very surprising.

This book makes you feel like you are riding along with Geronimo and Cochise. The reader learns in fine detail what life was like for Geronimo.

SOME FACTS NOT WELL KNOWN ABOUT GERONIMO

Some quick facts that you may or may not have known:

  1. Much of Geronimo’s quest for vengeance, came from the fact that soldiers murdered his wife, his children and his mother.

  2. Those soldiers came from Mexico.

  3. Many of the battles and raids put forth by Geronimo were with less than a hundred men on his side. On more than a few occasions there were only two or three men with him.

  4. On at least six different occasions Geronimo was shot.

  5. Geronimo had a great admiration for President Theodore Roosevelt. And, he even dedicated this book to him.

  6. Geronimo gives painstaking detail and evidence of the many times he had gone into agreement with soldiers on the American side, just to have them break their treaty. However, he was much more angry during his whole life with the government and soldiers of Mexico.

  7. Geronimo points out many times the differences between homesteaders and pioneers. Mostly, they treated him and his people fairly. They were from both Mexico and the United States. And, many of these people were soldiers, too.

  8. Geronimo was very impressed with the World’s Fair of 1904. And, he gives a wonderful account of being on a Ferris wheel for the first time.

  9. Geronimo became a Christian but never stopped advocating for the lands of the Apache in the mountains of Arizona. And, for his people to be assimilated with the government of America, but at the same time to be able to have the lands that were agreed on more than a few times.

  10. Geronimo goes into great detail about their traditions and customs of his people. Some of which shatter myths that people perpetuate this day.

SUMMATION

One can listen to the audio version, which lasts less then 5 hours.

It is a wonderful book to read. And, I highly recommended reading or listening to it.

This book is absolutely free to read in the public domain.

Written By: Darren Redmond

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for our contributing authors. We do not claim credit; we simply want to make it more available to the general public. And, the opinions of the authors are not necessarily the opinion or stance of this website.

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SYMBOLS FROM MAN CARL JUNG

REDMOND'S REVIEWS are provided frequently at Universal Digest.

SYMBOLS MAN USES AS WRITTEN BY CARL JUNG

Symbols and how man uses them, as written by Carl Jung in 1961, is this week’s book review. Darren Redmond delivers an in depth look in this version of REDMOND’S REVIEW.

Darren Redmond is an Executive Director for a non-profit firm operating in Fresno, California. His work with youth is widely known. He and his wife are family-oriented parents. They have raised two children who are very successful in life.

CARL JUNG BOOK REVIEW

This past Wednesday – Saturday, I read “Man and his Symbols” with a specific emphasis on the segment, “Approaching the Unconscious.” These were the last published writings by Carl Jung.

Written in 1961, right before his death, and published in 1964, this scholarly work, deals with the intrinsic use of symbols in our dreams. It goes on to warn us, be very careful with having preconceived notions of what a symbol means when trying to do dream interpretation.

The “this symbol means that” sort of approach is folly according to Jung If you do not have a contextual understanding about the person who is having the dream.

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Written in 1961, Carl Jung wrote about men and their symbols. He was a respected psychiatrist in the 20th century.

For if you as the person interpreting the dream, you have preconceived notions as to what that symbol in a dream means. Then, you are defining the data of what that symbol means differently than the person having the dream.

Jung also goes into great detail; going into our generational understanding of symbols in our conscious and unconscious, got the need for these symbols. He then explains their importance to us, had to have come from someplace; a unified source.

Jung explains, why sometimes we are about to say something and we forget what we were going to say. His explanation as to why something will instantaneously slip from the conscious to the unconscious, is what’s borderline brilliant in my opinion.

Written By: Darren Redmond

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for our contributing authors. We do not claim credit; we simply want to make it more available to the general public. And, the opinions of the authors are not necessarily the opinion or stance of this website.

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