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by Joe Cuhaj.
Softcover (7.4×9.7 inches). 228 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: 21 Extraordinary and Forgotten Stories From American History
This pleasant read centers around 21 anecdotes of history — some I knew, some I kinda knew, and many I did not.
For example, a “Pig War” almost erupted between the US and Britain over a US farmer shooting a pig belonging to a British farmer on a Canadian-US border San Juan Island. Events spun out of control until cooler heads prevailed.
The “Pelican Girls” were a group of young women sent from France aboard the ship Pelican to marry French trappers in Louisiana area. I had heard of women sent to Canada, but not to Louisiana.
To me, the best story was the “Two-Girl Army” which sounds too absurd to be true, and yet, that very absurdity makes it believable. During the American Revolution, the British were landing to raid Scituate Harbor, MA — scene of a number of raids in the past. This time, two girls grabbed a flute and a drum and played previously-learned military marches and drill songs. The closer the British came to shore, the louder the girls played, fooling the British into thinking the garrison was prepared and ready to shoot them as they disembarked. So the British raiding party turned around and withdrew back to their ship and the port town was saved.
The book does not contain any illustrations.
It does contain an obvious typo: Pearl Harbor was first attacked in 1941 and not “1942” (p173).
It’s all quite innocuous light reading and each of the chapters ends with a “footnote” of a page or two about some related event.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
