“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future.”—John F. Kennedy. The lesser known corners of early America are filled with scandal, sex, and violence, the kind of juicy detail that never makes the school textbook. Below are ten events that slipped through the cracks of mainstream history.
Lesser Known Highlights of Early America
10 First Barbary Coast War
“From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli…” That line from the U.S. Marine Corps hymn actually commemorates a 1805 clash at the Battle of Derna, fought during the First Barbary Coast War. The fledgling United States had been paying tribute to North‑African pirates who preyed on merchant vessels—a practice inherited from the British Royal Navy before independence. When Thomas Jefferson became president, he refused to continue the annual tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli, prompting the Pasha to declare war in 1801.
The conflict dragged on for four years, with victories and setbacks on both sides. The decisive Battle of Derna in 1805 forced the Tripolitans to the negotiating table, yet American ships still had to ransom captured sailors. It wasn’t until a decade later, in 1815, that the United States finally stopped paying tribute to the Barbary pirates.
9 Yazoo Land Fraud Scandal
Imagine a land‑grab so massive it spanned what is now Alabama and Mississippi, and a deal so cheap it sounds like a joke. After the Revolutionary War, Georgia claimed territory all the way to the Mississippi River, an area already home to Cherokee, Creek, and other tribes. The state tried twice to hand the land over to the federal government, but the deal fell through, leaving the coveted Yazoo lands up for grabs.
By the 1780s, speculators were lobbying the Georgia legislature, offering bribes and stock to sway votes. In 1795, a law was passed that let four companies purchase 35 million acres for less than two cents an acre—an absurdly low price even after inflation adjustment. The public erupted when the corruption was exposed, leading to the burning of the law and its records. In 1802 the lands were sold to the federal government for $1.25 million, but legal battles over compensation dragged on until 1814.
8 First American Kidnapping
Captain George Weymouth set sail in 1605 aboard the Archangel, ostensibly hunting a Northwest Passage to India. In reality, his mission also involved spying on French colonies in Nova Scotia and scouting locations for English dissident settlers. After a friendly encounter with local natives, Weymouth decided the best souvenir would be five of the native men themselves.
Through deceit and force, he abducted the five men, shipped them back to England, and handed three to Sir Fernando Gorges and two to Sir John Popham, the Chief Justice of England. One of the captives may have been the legendary Squanto, who would later endure multiple kidnappings before meeting the Pilgrims.
7 Pelican Girls and Casket Girls
When France controlled Louisiana, the colony suffered from a severe gender imbalance. To remedy the shortage of wives, the Compagnie des Indes dispatched young French women to the New World. In 1704, the ship Le Pélican delivered twenty virtuous “Pelican girls” aged 14‑18, who were quickly claimed by eager colonists.
Later shipments brought the infamous “casket girls” (filles à la cassette). These women traveled with their belongings packed in tiny wooden caskets, were housed in the Ursuline convent in New Orleans, and were supervised until they found husbands. Some chose religious life, but most married, and those who survived the hardships often inherited generous estates thanks to favorable inheritance laws.
6 The Notorious Joseph Bradish
While most people know the tale of Captain William Kidd, fewer are aware of his Massachusetts‑born counterpart, Joseph Bradish. In 1698‑99, Bradish was a boatswain’s mate on the Adventure, a British “interloper” bound for Borneo. He incited a mutiny, marooned the captain, and seized command of the vessel, pilfering gold, opium, lead, and other valuables.
Bradish brought the ship to Long Island, scuttled it, and tried to continue piracy with a tiny sloop. Arrested in Boston, he escaped with the help of a relative jailer, only to be recaptured and shipped to England. There he shared a cell with William Kidd, and both met the same grim fate on England’s Execution Dock.
5 A Ghostly Lawsuit
In Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, farmer Thomas Harris died leaving a will that split his estate among his four illegitimate children. His brother James, the executor, ignored the will and kept the money. A few months later, Harris’s best friend, Revolutionary‑war veteran William Briggs, claimed to have seen Harris’s ghost—dressed in a blue coat—warning him about the betrayal.
Briggs recounted the apparition’s details, which matched only the Harris brothers. Confronted, James promised to honor the will but died before he could act. His widow, Mary, seized the property, prompting the children to sue. In court, Briggs testified about the ghostly encounter; the judge even acknowledged the existence of spirits, making this one of America’s most eerie legal battles.
4 First American Executed For Bestiality
In 1642, teenage servant Thomas Granger of the Plymouth colony was accused of violating Biblical law by engaging in bestiality with a mare and a host of other livestock. After an initial denial, Granger confessed to intercourse with a mare, a cow, two goats, five sheep, two calves, and a turkey.The court sentenced him to death, and a parade of the implicated animals was brought into the courtroom so Granger could identify his victims. All the animals were slaughtered, their carcasses buried in a pit, and Granger was hanged—the youngest person ever executed under such statutes.
3 Final Blow Struck for the Revolution
When the British finally evacuated New York City in September 1783, they agreed to fire a cannon at 1 o’clock to signal the end of their occupation. The jubilant Americans celebrated early, toppling a statue of King George III and hoisting the Stars and Stripes. Provost Marshal William Cunningham, notorious for his cruelty toward prisoners, tried to tear down a rebel flag outside Day’s Tavern.
Mrs. Day, the tavern’s owner, rushed out with a broom and struck Cunningham so hard that powder flew from his wig and his nose bled. Whether the story is fact or folklore, it paints a vivid picture of a woman delivering the “final blow” of the Revolutionary War.
2 Ladies Had the Vote in New Jersey
When New Jersey drafted its state constitution, it allowed any property‑owning citizen to vote—women included. Because married women’s property automatically transferred to their husbands, only single women and widows met the property requirement. Records from 1797 show women’s names on poll lists, and both Federalists and Democratic‑Republicans courted female voters.
Despite the novelty, many argued that women were too delicate for politics. In 1807 the state rescinded women’s voting rights, and it would be another century before New Jersey women reclaimed the franchise with the 19th Amendment in 1920.
1 Whaling Aids American Independence
While the Revolutionary War raged, Nantucket whalers were busy charting the Gulf Stream, a powerful Atlantic current that could shave weeks off a transatlantic voyage. Benjamin Franklin, ever the curious scientist, obtained these secret charts and passed them to the Continental Congress.
In 1781, the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse used the Gulf Stream to outmaneuver the British, leading to the decisive victory at Yorktown. Had the British received the intelligence in time, they might have altered the outcome of the battle, potentially changing the course of American independence.