Two gunshots rang out. One man, his pistol smoking, stood erect. The other crumpled to the ground. This July 11, 1804, duel between former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and current Vice President Aaron Burr outside Weehawken, New Jersey, resulted in Hamilton’s death in New York City the next day. While Read more…
I spotted it. I had always hoped to but never thought it would actually happen. Last week on Cumberland Island, I saw a pure white piebald deer. So what is a piebald deer and why should you be as excited as I am? Read on to find out. A piebald Read more…
Competition. Violence. Privateering. What do these three things have in common? The Gulf Stream. You may wonder how a current could possess such sinister associations, but centuries ago European royalty competed over this highly-coveted waterway to increase their wealth and power. Learn how below. The Gulf Stream is a Read more…
It is that time of year. At Cumberland Island’s beach, a spot of sand stirs and develops a depression, and little leathered heads emerge. It is loggerhead sea turtle hatching season. After incubating for two months, these tiny two-inch-long creatures leave their nest and instinctively make their way to the Read more…
I recently returned from leading a tour in Ireland and was struck by a few things. First, the scenery was magnificent, such as the stunning Slea Head Drive around the Dingle Peninsula where neon-green mountains cascade to craggy cliffs overlooking the sea. Also, the cuisine was unexpectedly delicious, as the Read more…
How often can you have your cake and eat it too? At the Woodbine Opry, you can. This popular live music event held every Friday and Saturday evening raffles off home-made goodies such as delicious pound cakes, pineapple upside-down cakes, and strawberry cupcakes to maintain the Old School, now the Read more…
Arbor Day arrives the end of April, and whether you observe this holiday or not, there is a majestic local tree worth celebrating: the live oak. Appreciated for centuries as a reliable building product, today it is simply adored as an iconic symbol of the South. Below we explore basic Read more…
When we study World War II, we learn of the European and Pacific theaters, but what about destruction on the home front? For several months in 1942, German U-boats, or submarines, inflicted unprecedented carnage upon residents along the United States’ Atlantic coast. Below we will explore these U-boat attacks, including Read more…
“To the cure of this malady, neither medical knowledge nor the power of drugs was of any effect. Such terror was struck into the hearts of men and women by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother…and very often the wife her husband. Such was the multitude of corpses brought to Read more…
A non-descript headstone rests on a prime piece of real estate overlooking Cumberland Island’s pristine South End marsh. It appears unremarkable until you read it memorializes a remarkable man: General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. What is this great Revolutionary War general’s connection to Cumberland Island, and why was he Read more…