Mythbusters

On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, Four Rivers Heritage Area held a workshop for area interpreters and guides, aimed at “busting” some myths that continue to circulate around our sites. Below are summaries of several of the presentations, for ready reference.

A.  Dr. Russo Presentation: “What Do Molly Bannaky, Mathias Hammond, and Ben Franklin have in Common?” by Dr. Jean Russo

B.  Rod Cofield Presentation: “Whatcha talkin’ about Willis?” — Popular Myths and Misconceptions about the Colonial Past, by Rod Cofield

C.  Jane McWilliams Presentation: “The Older the Better, What Exaggerations Tell Us about Annapolis’s History,” by Jane McWilliams

A second workshop was held on August 22, 2012.

D.  USNA – Common Mistakes Misnomers Interesting Facts, submitted by Mianna Jopp, Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center

E.  Our featured speaker was Mary Miley Theobald, who writes a regular “blog” on debunking history myths

F.  Glenn Campbell’s outstanding talk on “Firsts, Bests and Onlys” was featured on Theobald’s Blog: http://historymyths.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/first-best-and-only-the-cousins-of-myths/

G. Ralph Eshelman’s talk on the War of 1812 was also featured on Theobald’s blog: http://historymyths.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/myth-96-because-trans-atlantic-communication-was-so-slow-the-battle-of-new-orleans-occurred-after-the-war-of-1812-had-ended/