Stratford Mail
Stratford Hall Historic Preserve, Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey, Director of Research
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About This Podcast
Finally, a history podcast for folks on the go! Who can spare an hour these days? Give us about 20 minutes, and we'll inform and entertain you!
From Stratford Hall Historic Preserve in Westmoreland County, Virginia, join Vice President of Research and Collections Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey as he reads over the shoulder of letter-writers of yesteryear.
What to expect? Once a month we feature an historical letter from a onetime resident, associate, ally, or friend of Stratford Hall. Whether the topic is wine, crossing the Delaware, ghosts, or fanciful hats, you'll learn what life on the ground looked like from those who lived the moments that make up our difficult and beloved past. And maybe you'll discover something about your present in our past! If you don't have more than 20 minutes, and you love history, discover Stratford Mail. And share it with your friends!
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Recent Episodes
S3E6 Choice Spirits
Send a text260 years ago, a merchant on the banks of the Rappahannock River threatened to undermine strategic non-compliance with the Stamp Act. He needed stamped paper to offload a cargo of…
S3E5 Take Nobody's Word
Send a textIn 1662, the Royal Society of London adopted a motto that promised a revolution: Nullius in verba—or, on the word of no one. It was a bold renunciation of authority in favor of evidence,…
S3E4 From Compulsion, Nothing
Send a textIn October 1774, a congressional committee with Richard Henry Lee at the helm drafted a Petition to the King. The petition invited “royal attention” to colonial grievances in pursuit of a…
S3E3 Wounds Too Deep
Send a text17 June 1775. The redoubt fortifying Breed’s Hill–not terribly far from the taller Bunker’s Hill–proved permeable to the advancing waves of better trained, better equipped British…
S3E2 "A Very Warm Engagement"
Send a textBritish General Charles Cornwallis said it best: “The Rivers of Virginia are advantageous to an invading army.” In the spring of 1781, the Royal Navy and loyalist privateers raided along…
S3E1 Another Woman's Mail
Send a textA 1781 letter written by Stratford-reared Alice Lee Shippen is mistakenly delivered to Braintree rather than to Boston. Politically literate, if shaped by family partiality, Alice's letter…
S2E8 In the Bleak Midwinter
Send a textOf the two epically scaled paintings of George Washington’s Delaware crossing, by far the most recognizable is Washington Crossing the Delaware by German-born, Philadelphia-raised Emanuel…
S2E7 Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Send a textTime once again for a seasonal special edition of Stratford Mail. Visitors to Stratford are often struck by the wards against witches and evil spirits incised into its exterior brick and…
S2E6 School Days
Send a textBack to school with Stratford Mail! This month we think about educational opportunity in the Virginia colony. The rural Northern Neck was slow to develop the kind of city and district…
S2E5 Every Heart Throbs
Send a textBefore Beatlemania, there was Marquismania! 200 years ago this August, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to these shores after an absence of 40 years. In his 13-month 'farewell tour' of…
S2E4 Resting in Peace
Send a textSociologist Émile Durkheim taught us that the study of human mourning raises a window on human values and lifeways. Returning after a brief hiatus, Stratford Mail ponders elite deathways…
S2E3 Hannah Corbin, Widow
Send a textHannah Lee Corbin was undeniably a force to be reckoned with. She attracts interest from scholars and history-lovers alike, whether for her unusual private life, her defection from the…
S2E2 Resistance & Resilience
Send a textIn commemoration of Black History month, Stratford Mail considers a trio of portraits of Black women and men, two of whom were enslaved at Stratford Hall under Colonel Philip Ludwell Lee.…
S2E1 The High Rollers
Send a text1778, British-occupied Philadelphia. The American alliance with France and defeat at Saratoga have depressed the British outlook on the war. General William Howe pays the cost, resigning…
S1E10 Unfinished Business
Send a textJoin Dr. Steffey for a special edition of Stratford Mail. In this final episode of Season 1, Hallowtide is upon us, and as the veil between the worlds grows thin, our minds turn to the…
S1E9 Spy Games
Send a textAs conflict with England escalated, delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress foresaw the need for diplomatic and intelligence services. On 29 November 1775 the Committee for…
S1E8 Burning Peggy Stewart
Send a textOn October 19, 1774 a tyrant minority in Annapolis compelled traders James Dick & Anthony Stewart to burn the merchant brigantine Peggy Stewart. The so-called Annapolis Tea Party…
S1E7 All the Rage
Send a textIn 1787 Thomas Lee Shippen, an American student at Inner Temple, London, shipped a hat to his sister Anne Home Livingston in Philadelphia. Nancy, as she was called by kith and kin, was…
S1E6 Painting Mr. Pitt
Send a textIf you’ve visited Stratford Hall since 2016, you likely noticed the looming full-length portrait of British statesman WIlliam Pitt the elder in our parlor. Standing at 8 feet by 5 feet,…
S1E5 Wine & Rattlesnakes
Send a textVirginia wine has made a comeback from its bleak beginnings. Cultivation failed to make native grapes competitive with European vintages, and European vines struggled to adapt to the…
Frequently Asked Questions
Stratford Mail has published 24 episodes since January 2023, covering topics in Courses, Documentary.
Stratford Mail is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 months. Average episode length is 14m.
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