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Our goal is to promote a knowledge of the rich military-history belonging to the city of Rochester and the surrounding areas. Our collection and library includes artifacts and material from all eras of the military history of the United States and is open to the general public free of charge. On display in our main gallery is a large collection of Civil War items focusing on artillery. You can learn about the most common field artillery pieces, the projectiles fired and the batteries in which they fought. Immerse yourself further into the lives of the fighting Rochestarian by viewing their day-to-day equipment, uniforms and weaponry. Also, you can stay and relax while reading something from our collection of over 2,000 books. For the gun enthusiast, we have a large display of muskets, rifles and carbines which leads you through the transition of the major U. S. firearms from the Revolutionary War to World War Two. In our back gallery, see items from World War One, World War Two, Vietnam and more modern times including uniforms and a D-Day diorama. There is also an extensive collection of Navy and Air Force combat aircraft models from World War One to the present day.
Operating as usual
Stephen R. Purchase, a med evac helicopter pilot, was awarded the Silver Star for action in Vietnam on 27 December 1971. During a move by a relative, the medal was lost but was reunited with the family by a diligent veteran’s organization. The Society will be open from noon to 9 so come in and share the story. Military History Society of Rochester * 250 N. Goodman St, 2nd Floor * Rochester, NY 14607 * (585)730-4041 for additional information. rochestermilitary.com
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The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington, ultimately under the command of American Revolutionary war veteran Major James McFarlane. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. Beer was difficult to transport and spoiled more easily than rum and whiskey. Rum distillation in the United States had been disrupted during the American War of Independence, so whiskey distribution and consumption increased after the Revolutionary War. The "whiskey tax" became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue for the war debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. The tax applied to all distilled spirits, but consumption of American whiskey was rapidly expanding in the late 18th century, so the excise became widely known as a "whiskey tax". Farmers of the western frontier were accustomed to distilling their surplus rye, barley, wheat, corn, or fermented grain mixtures to make whiskey. These farmers resisted the tax. In these regions, whiskey often served as a medium of exchange. Many of the resisters were war veterans who believed that they were fighting for the principles of the American Revolution, in particular against taxation without local representation, while the federal government maintained that the taxes were the legal expression of Congressional taxation powers. rochestermilitary.com
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Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British and executed. Hale has long been considered an American hero and, in 1985, he was officially designated the state hero of Connecticut. rochestermilitary.com
The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role in the early months of Operation Enduring Freedom. Gary Beikirch, a Rochester native, was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on 1 April 1970 while serving with the 5th in Vietnam. rochestermilitary.com
September 19, 1692 - Giles Corey (82) was an English-born American farmer who was accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha Corey during the Salem witch trials. After being arrested, Corey refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. He was subjected to pressing in an effort to force him to plead—the only example of such a sanction in American history—and died after three days of this torture. rochestermilitary.com
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MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
OPEN THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY 12-4
Ph 585-730-4041
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17 SEPTEMBER 1859 – Joshua A. Norton proclaims himself Emperor of the United States with a proclamation delivered to the offices of the San Francisco Bulletin. Although he had no political power, and his influence extended only so far as he was humored by those around him, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments he frequented. Though some considered him insane, or eccentric, the citizens of San Francisco celebrated his regal presence. In 1863 also gave himself the title of Protector of Mexico. rochestermilitary.com
Each year people from the surrounding towns in France gather to pay homage to the brave airmen and soldiers who helped to liberate them form the German occupation. They do not forget. They honor our heroes of the Greatest Generation, rochestermilitary.com
The Xerox 914 was the first successful commercial plain paper copier which in 1959 revolutionized the document-copying industry. The culmination of inventor Chester Carlson's work on the xerographic process, the 914 was fast and economical. The copier was introduced to the public on September 16, 1959, in a demonstration at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York, shown on live television. rochestermilitry.com
16 SEPTEMBER 1620 – The Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists–half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs–had been authorized to settle by the British crown. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the Mayflower off course, and on November 21 after 66 days at sea, the “Pilgrims” reached Massachusetts, where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in late December. rochestermilitary.com
Jumbo the elephant, living at the London Zoo, topped out at 11 feet, six inches tall and 13,000 pounds . P. T. Barnum made an offer to the London Zoo that superintendent A.D. Bartlett could not refuse in 1880. Jumbo was off to become a celebrity in America for the sum of $10,000. By today’s standards, Barnum forked over more than $227,000 for the world’s largest elephant in captivity. On Sept. 15, 1885, Jumbo was out for a walk to get some exercise along some railroad tracks in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Not used to the footing, the giant tripped, fell, and impaled himself on his own tusks. Jumbo died instantly next to Scott, his most loyal and faithful human companion. An oncoming train couldn’t stop in time, and it hit the already-dead elephant as if to add insult to his injuries. Jumbo was 26 years old, far short of the 60 to 70 year lifespan of African elephants in the wild. rochestermilitary.com
The first use of tanks on the battlefield was the use of British Mark I tanks at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the Battle of the Somme) on 15 September 1916, with mixed results. Many broke down, but nearly a third succeeded in breaking through. rochestermilitary.com
Dom Pierre Pérignon, O.S.B., (December 1638 – 14 September 1715) was a French Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of Champagne wine in an era when the region's wines were predominantly still red. Popular myths frequently, but erroneously, credit him with the invention of sparkling Champagne, however he did greatly improved the process of fermenting. The famous Champagne Dom Pérignon, the prestige cuvée of Moët & Chandon, is named for him. The remains of the monastery where he spent his adult life is now the property of that winery. The first vintage of Dom Pérignon was 1921 and was only released for sale in 1936. rochestermilitary.com
![Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)[3] was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick...](https://scontent.fymy1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/119453571_1755054817984726_2553791805358410624_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=jg59c7awIesAX8OoPca&_nc_ht=scontent.fymy1-2.fna&tp=7&oh=9f5af667bdb14b390883a07b2d26d171&oe=5F937E19)
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)[3] was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland. Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 while aboard a British ship during the War of 1812. He was inspired upon seeing the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn and wrote the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry"; it was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song "To Anacreon in Heaven". The song with Key's lyrics became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem, finally achieving official status more than a century later under President Herbert Hoover as the national anthem. The national motto "In God We Trust" derives from a line in "The Star-Spangled Banner". rochestermilitary.com
Follow The Military History Society of Rochester and see daily posts on all kinds of history. Some thought provoking, some fun, some common, some unusual, but always interesting and always true. Every day has a bit of history. rochestermilitary.com
A childhood hero!!!! rochestermilitary.com
The Gatling gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented on November 4, 1862. Gatling wrote that he created it to reduce the size of armies and so reduce the number of deaths by combat and disease, and to show how futile war is. The Gatling gun operated by a hand-crank mechanism, with six barrels revolving around a central shaft (although some models had as many as ten). Each barrel fires once per revolution at about the same position. The barrels, a carrier, and a lock cylinder were separate and all mounted on a solid plate revolving around a central shaft, mounted on an oblong fixed frame. Turning the crank rotated the shaft. The carrier was grooved and the lock cylinder was drilled with holes corresponding to the barrels. Although the first Gatling gun was capable of firing continuously, it required a person to crank it; therefore it was not a true automatic weapon. Modern Gatling guns are true automatics. rochestermilitary.com
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Lady Godiva was an 11th century noblewoman married to Leofric, the powerful Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry. As the story goes, Godiva was troubled by the crippling taxes Leofric had levied on the citizens of Coventry. After she repeatedly asked him to lessen the burden, Leofric quipped that he would lower taxes only if she rode naked on horseback through the center of town. Determined to help the public, Godiva stripped off her clothes, climbed on her horse and galloped through the market square with only her long flowing hair to cover herself. Before leaving, she ordered the people of Coventry to remain inside their homes and not peek, but one man, named Tom, couldn’t resist opening his window to get an eyeful. Upon doing so, he was struck blind. (According to legend this is origin of the term “Peeping Tom”) After finishing her naked ride, Godiva confronted her husband and demanded that he hold up his end of the bargain. True to his word, Leofric reduced the people’s debts. Godiva Chocolatier was founded in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium, by the Draps family who opened their first shop in the Grand Place in Brussels under its present name, in honor of the legend of Lady Godiva. rochestermilitary.com
10 SEPTEMBER 1813 - The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812. Aboard his flagship, the Lawrence, Perry engaged the British. The Lawrence suffered terrible damage and when the her last gun became unusable, Perry decided to transfer his flag. He was rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to the Niagara while the Lawrence was surrendered. It is said his personal servant, African American sailor Cyrus Tiffany, accompanied and protected Perry during this journey. rochestermilitary.com
9 SEPTEMBER 1942, a Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on an Oregon state forest—the first and only air attack on the U.S. mainland in the war. Launching his Yokosuka E14Y from the Japanese sub I-25, Nobuo Fujita piloted his light aircraft over the state of Oregon and firebombed Mount Emily, alighting a state forest—and ensuring his place in the history books as the only man to ever bomb the continental United States. The president immediately called for a news blackout for the sake of morale. No long-term damage was done, and Fujita eventually went home to train navy pilots for the rest of the war. Rochestermilitary.com
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8 SEPTEMBER 1883 - The Northern Pacific Railroad Completion Site is located near Gold Creek in Powell County. . Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final “golden spike” in an event attended by rail and political luminaries. The building of a transcontinental railroad route across the northern United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast began in 1870. Crews built from both the eastern and western ends, progressing towards a yet undetermined meeting point somewhere in between. The two crews finally met near Independence Creek in Western Montana on August 22, 1883, which is near Gold Creek where gold was first discovered in Montana. At this point the track was connected, completing the transcontinental line, however, the "golden spike" completion ceremony would not occur until September 8, 1883. rochestermilitary.com
Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), known by her nickname Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is often cited as an example of an individual who successfully began a career in the arts at an advanced age. Her works have been shown and sold in the United States and abroad and have been marketed on greeting cards and other merchandise. Moses' paintings are displayed in the collections of many museums. Sugaring Off was sold for US$1.2 million in 2006. rochestermilitary.com
7 SEPTEMBER 1776 - David Bushnell, an American inventor, began building underwater mines while a student at Yale University. Deciding that a submarine would be the best means of delivering his mines in warfare, he built an eight-foot-long wooden submersible that was christened the Turtle for its shape. Large enough to accommodate one operator, the submarine was entirely hand-powered. Lead ballast kept the craft balanced. Ezra Lee piloted the craft unnoticed out to the 64-gun HMS Eagle in New York Harbor on September 7, 1776. As Lee worked to anchor a time bomb to the hull, he could see British seamen on the deck above, but they failed to notice the strange craft below the surface. Lee had almost secured the bomb when his boring tools failed to penetrate a layer of iron sheathing. He retreated, and the bomb exploded nearby, causing no harm to either the Eagle or the Turtle. Other attempts were tried but all failed rochestermilitary.com
The Challenger
History in Lego-Once again Beyond the Brick release a superb short video regarding the Battle of Cambrai.
5 SEPTEMBER 1666 - London had already burned several times in its history, most notably in 1212, but in September 1666 the conditions were present for an inferno of epic proportions. The city of 500,000 people was a tinderbox of cramped streets and timber-frame structures, many of them built with flammable pitch and tar. Stables filled with hay and straw were everywhere, and many cellars and warehouses were packed with combustible materials such as turpentine, lamp oil and coal. To make matters worse, a months-long drought had created a water shortage and left most of the wood buildings kindling-dry. The fateful spark in the Great Fire came early on Sunday, September 2, at the Pudding Lane bakery of Thomas Farriner. Before heading to bed that night, Farriner had made a final inspection of his bakery and raked the spent coals in his ovens, which were still warm from a day of making ship’s biscuit for King Charles II’s navy. An ember must have survived, for it ignited a fire in the bakery. With the house on fire, a bucket brigade was formed, but most just stood and watched. Sir Thomas Bludworth, London’s Lord Mayor, took even less action. After arriving to inspect the blaze, he pronounced it so insignificant that “a woman might piss it out” and returned to bed. The fire was not extinguished! Over the next days the fire spread to other homes, to other blocks until the London was ablaze. All told, the Great Fire had destroyed 13,200 buildings and left an estimated 100,000 people homeless. Over 400 acres of the city had burned, leaving behind a desert of charred stone and smoldering wood beams. “London was, but is no more,” rochestermilitary.com
5 SEPTEMBER 1776 - The first formal movement for a navy came from Rhode Island, whose State Assembly passed on 26 August 1775, a resolution instructing its delegates to Congress to introduce legislation calling "for building at the Continental expense a fleet of sufficient force, for the protection of these colonies, and for employing them in such a manner and places as will most effectively annoy our enemies..." The US Navy recognizes 13 October 1775 as the date of its official establishment, the date of the passage of the resolution of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that created the Continental Navy. On this day, Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchant ships. The first uniforms were adopted on 5 September 1776. rochestemilitary.com
250 N Goodman St, Fl 2nd
Rochester, NY
14607
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| Friday | 12:00 - 16:00 |
| Saturday | 12:00 - 16:00 |
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