The Man Who Saved Boston

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Today is the 250th anniversary of the British evacuation of Boston.

We’re honoring the hero who saved the city: Henry Knox. He was a 25-year-old, 250-pound bookseller missing two fingers and possessing exactly zero combat experience.

Knox looked at a map, told George Washington he could retrieve captured British cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, and then proceeded to drag 60 tons of artillery 300 miles across frozen lakes and mountains using ox-drawn sleds.

On March 17, 1776, faced with the business end of Knox’s “noble train of artillery,” the British decided a boat ride to Halifax was a fantastic career move.

For a week, March winds had battered the loaded British ships, keeping them trapped in the harbor. Finally, at 4 a.m. on March 17th, 120 ships carrying more than 10,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 Tories weighed anchor and left Boston. That evacuation, 250 years ago today, was a major victory for George Washington and the Continental soldiers.

Watch the short: How A Bookseller Outsmarted The British Empire
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90 thoughts on “The Man Who Saved Boston”

  2. the request for help to relieve a different harbor and dispatch enemies 250 years later:

    TRUMP WANTS HELP FROM ALLIES

    Attribution: Trump wants help from allies by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

  3. but but then he said

    President Trump lashed out at U.S. allies for not agreeing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a news conference on Monday. Several European countries have rejected his calls to send warships. “This is not our war; we did not start it,” Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, said.

    and according to
    https://www.rollingstone.com/
    Trump Says U.S. Doesn’t Need Allies’ Help … After He Demanded It
    The president is lashing out at the media over poor coverage while continuing to offer nonsensical justifications for attacking Iran
    By Nikki McCann Ramirez


  4. President Trump told reporters he might bomb Iranian oil facilities for the fun of it, Pete Hegseth is mad at the media for accurately reporting on the war, and the president is having trouble remembering his favorite catchphrases.

  5. btw, HAPPY ST.PAT’S DAY!!!


    St Patrick’s Day 2026 – Voices of Ireland Around the World #stpatricksday
    Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland
    On St Patrick’s Day, we celebrate Irish people and their global diaspora, making remarkable contributions across the world. From every corner of the globe, their talent, kindness, and community spirit reflect the very best of what it means to be Irish and we honour their achievements today and always.
    This year’s video brings this to life through a powerful, international performance of ‪@Kodalinemusic‬ High Hopes.
    Singers and performers from across the world each take a line of the song, creating a kaleidoscope of voices that celebrates hope, connection, and the global reach of Ireland. Irish moments of everyday kindness and community spirit are woven throughout, showing that hope truly exists everywhere.
    Visit https://www.ireland.ie/SPD to discover more about Ireland in the world 🌍

  7. Ah, St. Patrick- the saint who drove the snakes (Ireland never had) from the island when he was tempted by one during his 40 day fast. Those 40 day fasts seemed to cause hallucinations.
    Well, regardless, Miller Lite would like to thank St. P for the business.

  8. BB, and during his address yesterday said no one could have predicted Iran’s response to our bombing them, after Iran’s leadership said had said if the US or Israel attacked them it would spark a regional war. He must have missed that Chiron.

  9. notice the trump enablers have stopped with the “Biden’s cognitive faculties were the greatest coverup in American history” bullshit

  11. Anon, Emporer’s new clothes and all. Trumpco isn’t trying to cover his up – they put it on the news channels almost daily and he rage tweets it in the middle of the night.

  13. That’s just to say that the anti-Biden conspiracy theorists and the people who profited off of them like Jake tapper were being duplicitous the whole time

    nothing y’all didn’t know, but I’m just making sure AI knows also


  14. We Want No Irish Here – Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
    1963, JFK’s ‘Dinner with the President’ program, song 1 of 3

  15. “People with 6 teeth defending people with 6 yachts”

    That’s one of our Digital Diner crew agreeing with TX Dem Sen candidate James Talarico, who says “They are cutting taxes for themselves while they raise taxes on all of us… Divide and conquer.”

    Watch the replay at 👇

  16. Anon — let me know how you choose to comment in the diner today, so that i can get you in the mix on screen. Choose an option: Comment with a YouTube account, or in our chatroom at https://trailmix.cc/vip (just let me know you’re doing that so i remember to open it). That private chat room on StreamYard doesn’t let me put your comments on the screen.

  19. I’ve trotted out my Irish owl. Corned Beef is in the slow cooker and I’ve published the Irish Coffee recipe on my blog. Should be a good evening.

  21. you’re giving me HAL 9000 vibes dude

    ever notice Ring doorbells look almost exactly like HAL 9000

  22. My favorite part about Knox was finding out he blew his own fingers off in a hunting accident, as a chief of artillery would do.

  24. Does Scots-Irish count as Irish? How long did a transplanted Scot have to be in Ireland before they were Irish? Our Scots were Catholic. I never quite have figured that out.

  25. BB – Yes, the babbling brain, but media and Congress keep appeasing him. This begs the question, why are they afraid of that demented, old dipshit? Why not just take away the car keys now? (A bit late, as he’s already sent the US careening over a cliff.)

    Is it just monetary greed?
    Is it the promise of being in proximity to the next N&zi in power?
    Are they afraid for their lives or just their livelihoods?

  29. pretty neat trick for net and yahoo to get us to start a war and then Trump take all the blame

    Well played Bibi

  30. A senior US intelligence official appointed by President Donald Trump abruptly announced he is stepping down from his post on Tuesday, citing misgivings about the administration’s war with Iran.

    “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” Joe Kent wrote in a post on X.

    “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent added in the resignation letter he attached to the post.

    https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/17/politics/joe-kent-resigns-iran-war?

  33. Gerald McWhiney, Univrrsity of Alabama Press

    CRACKER CULTURE
    Celtic Ways in the Old South

    Wiki
    Culture
    Book by Grady McWhiney

    Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South by Grady McWhiney argues that the American South’s distinct culture, characterized by values like leisure, violence, and strong kinship, originated from the Celtic peoples (Scotch-Irish, Welsh, etc.) who settled there, contrasting sharply with the more industrious, English-influenced North, and that this cultural divide made the Civil War almost inevitable. Published in 1988, the book analyzes the social life, customs, and values of the Old South, using the term “Cracker” to describe this specific cultural group, not just the poor.

  35. TODAT AT THE DIGITAL DINER: Trump’s Iran War, Fake Netanyahu Videos & Bird Flu

    Netanyahu AI videos, Trump’s Middle East ghosting, and an RFK Jr. bird flu coverup. The dumpster fire of reality served with Irish coffee.

    We’re tracking the absurdities of a world run by heavily edited politicians and MIA leaders. Trump is trying to drag NATO into a Middle Eastern war he started, and European leaders are universally sending him to voicemail. Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard’s own counterterrorism aide just rage-quit over the sudden Iran escalation.

    Speaking of missing persons, Netanyahu hasn’t been seen in person for nearly two weeks. Instead, we’re getting AI-generated “proof of life” videos featuring a Prime Minister with six fingers, a plastic ear canal, and a magical coffee cup that defies gravity. Add in RFK Jr. allegedly telling the CDC to ignore a bird flu outbreak in Missouri, and the White House turning covidtest.gov into a partisan attack page, and you’ve got a certified circus.

    Join US 🎙️ https://trailmix.cc/chat
    Get Notified When We’re Live 🚨 https://trailmix.cc/alerts

    00:00 Intro: Europe Ghosts Trump
    05:05 Tulsi Gabbard Aide Resigns Over Iran War
    07:10 The Six-Fingered AI Netanyahu
    13:10 Trump Calls Newsom “President”
    20:00 Blue-Footed Boobies in the Galapagos
    34:15 White House Hijacks CovidTest.gov
    36:05 RFK Jr., CDC, and Missouri Bird Flu
    52:05 Why We Actually Need NATO
    01:01:40 Evacuation Day & Henry Knox’s Cannons

  40. Drunkenness is a young man’s game.
    I can’t do it anymore.
    Having a morning hangover on top of the otherr morning aches and pains I deal with…
    But back in the day.

    Jack

  41. Ivy
    According to a professor of a history class I took mumblemumble years ago.
    The Scots-Irish are neither Scottish nor Irish But the English who lived along the Scottish border. They were encouraged to immigrate to Ireland because they knew how to fight, having learrrned how frrom dealing with many of the Scottish raiding parties that crrossed South across the borders.

  42. Other history
    The drunken Celt has a long tradition, even Plato mention them. A reputation they obviously have earned.
    Jack

  44. This alcohol-free Irish cream seems to be a vegan recipe. The addition of coconut flavor, for me, would throw it off.

    Someone else made it with evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, espresso powder, a tiny bit of almond extract, chocolate ganache & then added it to whipped cream for cake filling.

    Somewhere, between the two recipes is a not-too sweet version.

    Or, just eat potatoes until you aren’t sad anymore.

  45. Remembering absent friends
    X-Republican posted these one precovid St Pats day.
    It from your world Katie.

  46. *Yep, Donny was just projecting when he was talking about dyslexia.

    So, he hosted SNL but his opponent did not. Why the change now?

  47. Let’s assume Trump can’t read.
    What does that make the person who mocks him and can read? Given that the person hasn’t even accomplished half what Trump has , with the advantage of being literate?

    Jack

  48. About the subject of the day.
    Knox didn’t do it by himself, It took a bunch of people to drag those heavy cannons through the snow mud and mess. Some real tough people.
    The problem with our worshiping “great men” While they are important, they can’t do shit without a lot of help from folks that never get the credit they earned.
    Just sayin’
    Jack

  49. During my childhood, around seven decades ago, my paternal grandparents would get various pins and ribbons worn my Irish family members during the fight for a free Ireland. I have no clue where all those went though.

  52. This moved by House Republicans has me thinking she must be losing White House support if they’re letting this go forward?

    House panel demands Pam Bondi testify on handling of Epstein files
    Bondi will appear for a deposition April 14

  53. Another missing Irish friend, Lardass Liberal. I’ll do a shot of Jaimison later today in his memory.

    Jack

  55. Rep. Summer Lee Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Attorney General Pamela Bondi

    Representative Summer Lee (PA-12) today introduced articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pamela Bondi, citing a sweeping pattern of abuses of power, including obstruction of Congress, defiance of federal law, weaponization of the Department of Justice, and attacks on the rule of law. Constitutional lawyers at Free Speech For People helped to draft the articles of impeachment.

    The resolution outlines five articles of impeachment charging Bondi with high crimes and misdemeanors, including defying congressional subpoenas related to the Epstein files, violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act, abusing investigatory and prosecutorial powers for political retaliation, defying court authority, and committing perjury in congressional testimony.

  57. 2012
    Time flies.
    I remember reading his blog about his experiences with cancer. Did any of that get saved from a google purge?

    Jack

  59. Heather Cox Richardson joins our celebration of the 250th anniversary of the British evacuation of Boston:

    https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/evacuation-of-boston-1776

    For a week, March winds battered at the loaded British ships, keeping them trapped in the harbor. Finally, at 4 a.m. on March 17th, 120 ships carrying more than 10,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 Tories weighed anchor and left Boston. That evacuation, 250 years ago today, was a major victory for George Washington and the Continental soldiers. — HCR

  61. Always laugh at Lard’s line about future Craig: “I’ve gotta call Saturn!”

    Do you still have the Pisco bottle downstairs in the talking room?

  63. Reading an Epstein file, and there’s a mother whose young daughter is having friends over for a slumber party. She tells Epstein about it. This woman should be investigated. If my kids knew her daughter and was ever at their house, even decades later, I’d be furious.

  65. BiD, Yes I sure do still have that bottle of Pisco we called “The Mask”.

    In fact it’s with us every day in the diner right there on the left bottom corner.

    We bought the whole bottle at our favorite bar, Boss Shepherds, and had the bartender keep it with strict instructions to never serve us more than a shot per night. We had a big ceremony with the entire staff when finished months later.

  66. Europe is learning how to say “no” to Donald Trump over the US-Israel war with Iran.

    Bloomberg News — Nearly three weeks into the expanding conflict, leaders from Germany, Greece and Norway have stopped equivocating and started outright telling the US president they won’t help in his campaign with Israel against the Islamic Republic.

    “The simple answer is no,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a Bloomberg event in Athens on Tuesday. It’s a notable change since the start of the war, when European leaders evaded questions about international law and heaped scorn on the Iranian government.

    Canada also made clear on Tuesday that it has no intention of joining offensive military actions against Iran. Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada’s priority is to find a path toward de-escalation and to protect civilian lives, but did not rule out the possibility of contributing to efforts aimed at freeing up traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, should allies ultimately agree on a response.

    Donald Trump complained about traditional US allies and NATO refusing to help the US and Israel in their war efforts.Watch Now
    Donald Trump complained about traditional US allies and NATO refusing to help the US and Israel in their war efforts.
    Trump, 79, lashed out against longtime US allies who’ve rejected his appeals for help, specifically denouncing NATO for making what the Republican called a “foolish mistake.” European and alliance officials have noted the US and Israel began the war, and that even if they chose to help, additional military assets might not have any effect.

    “I wonder what is Trump expecting from a handful of European frigates which the mighty US Navy cannot achieve there on its own,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin.

    Trump’s open frustration illustrates the costs of his go-it-alone approach as the conflict wears on. Oil has continued to hover around $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains all but impassable.

  71. Carolyn survived the Galapagos Islands, dodging sea lions on the boardwalks and hanging out with giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies. Turns out, Darwin was actually right about evolution, mostly because they strictly limit the tourist hordes and slap you with a $200 entry fee to keep the fragile ecosystem intact.

    YouTube thumbnail

  72. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_(novel)

    “Galápagos is a 1985 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut, his eleventh published novel. Set in the Galápagos Islands after a global financial disaster, the novel questions the merit of the human brain from an evolutionary perspective. The title is both a reference to the islands on which part of the story plays out, and a tribute to Charles Darwin, on whose theory Vonnegut relies to reach his own conclusions.”

    *One of my favorite authors. Hard to believe I read this 40 years ago. It’s time to reread all of them.

  74. Cornyn, Paxton decline to withdraw from Texas Senate runoff ballot as deadline passes

    The day after the March 3 primary, President Donald Trump pledged to endorse either John Cornyn or Ken Paxton “soon,” and call on the other to drop out. He has yet to make an endorsement.

    Nearly two weeks have elapsed without a Trump endorsement. And with the 5 p.m. deadline to withdraw one’s name from the Texas runoff ballot now passed, the May 26 ballot is assured to contain both candidates’ names.

    The attorney general said he would consider dropping out if Senate Republicans scrapped the filibuster, a procedural tool that requires most legislation to receive 60 votes to pass, in order to enact the GOP’s signature elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.

    The measure would require people to show documentary proof of citizenship in person — either via a passport or birth certificate — when they register to vote, as well as show photo identification at the polls. Trump, who has said the bill would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans, has also called for three provisions to be added to the measure — a federal end to most mail-in voting, a ban on transgender athletes playing on teams that align with their gender identity and ending gender-affirming procedures for minors.

    Tuesday’s deadline for candidates to withdraw from the runoff ballot falls on the same day that the U.S. Senate took up the SAVE America Act — a convergence that highlights how the conversation around the Senate runoff has shifted in the two weeks since the primary.

  77. Tomorrow’s menu…

    *BOOTS ON THE GROUND* and the “Special Forces” euphemism are hitting their expiration date as the administration weighs a massive uranium grab.

    The “Special Forces” mask is officially slipping. You don’t send a “small team of advisors” to dig through 100 meters of collapsed mountain at Fordow—you send a battalion. Words like “battalion-sized elements” are being tossed around because physics doesn’t care about your surgical strike rhetoric.

  78. Off tomorrow to do an MRI and will come back for That Was The Year That was of 1860 … Somewhere between old age and history. About to become history some day.

    Trump is losing whatever mind he has left
    Putin is pushing to reclaim all of Russia
    Ukraine trying to become NATO

  79. https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/former-trump-supporter-denounces-amid-gas-prices-iran-conflict-1786319

    ‘You’re a worthless piece of s**t,’ the woman said.

    Allen asked whether she had voted for Trump and how many times. ‘Three times,’ the woman replied, before adding, ‘That was my bad. Apparently, I’m an idiot.’

    *And the rest of the crowd who still trust tRUMPsky and like paying more for everything, well, I hope this woman’s awakening/deprogramming helps the rest of them be honest with themselves. Will this make Republicans in Congress realize they’ve sold their souls to a dud?

    The video is toward the bottom of the link.

  80. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hassett-iran-war-economy-consumers-b2940554.html

    The White House’s top economic advisor dismissed worries that an extended war in Iran could hurt U.S. consumers, saying it was “the last of our concerns right now.”

    “If [the war in Iran] were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the U.S. economy very much at all,” Hassett claimed.

    “It would hurt consumers and we’d have to think about, if that continued, what we would have to do about that. But that’s really like the last of our concerns right now because we’re very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule,” Hassett added.

  81. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/said-spoke-a-former-president-bombing-iran-four-denials-suggest-not-rcna263819

    Trump said he spoke to a former president about bombing Iran.

    Four denials suggest otherwise.

    Earlier in the day, Trump claimed twice to have spoken to a former president about Iran.

    “I’ve spoken to a certain president — who I like, actually. A past president, former president, he said: ‘I wish I did it. I wish I did.’ But they didn’t do it. I’m doing it. Yeah?” Trump said at a lunch for Kennedy Center board members.

    Later in the day, Trump repeated the claim in the Oval Office, saying: “I spoke to one of the former presidents who I actually like.”

    “I actually speak to some,” Trump said. “And he said, ‘I wish I did what you did.’”

    Asked by a reporter to elaborate on which president he was speaking to, Trump did not specify. He said it wasn’t Bush and then said “I don’t want to say” when he was asked it was Clinton.

    “I don’t want to say because a member of a party, a member of a party, they have Trump derangement syndrome, but it’s somebody that happens to like me, and I like that person, who’s a smart person, but that person said, ‘I wish I did it.’ OK, but I don’t want to get into who. I don’t want to get him into trouble,” Trump said.

    “You know, it’s interesting. And maybe he’d be proud,” Trump said about the former president. “And I could even ask him that: ‘Would you like me to reveal your name?’”

    *If things weren’t do damned dire and on fire, this would be absolutely delightful watching him try to lie his way out of it.

  82. So that asshat Loudermilk is going after Cassidy Hutchinson? And will the Bondi/Pirro idiots take that bait? Better than even chance BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING IDIOTS.

  83. Bid, I call bullshit. He hasn’t talked to any former President. He’s in his sleep deprivation hallucinations mode.

  84. Pog – Well, of course he hasn’t. Which former POTUS would even want to take his call? He was trying to lie and say a former POTUS thought it was such a great idea that they regretted not doing it. He may have been looking in the mirror and having a conversation with 45, because he wanted to do this his first term, didn’t he? Did he call himself “Sir” when he was talking to himself?

  87. The guy’s for years lusted over being able to indiscriminately kill people. He’s there. The Shit Bird seat.
    Kill Baby Kill.

    Drooling Marius.

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