Curio Cabinet

Every delivery has to start somewhere. This month in 1792, President George Washington signed the Post Office Act, creating nationwide mail service that persists to this day. Before the Post Office Act, the thirteen American colonies had their first taste of a comprehensive mail delivery service thanks to Benjamin Franklin, who developed the colonial mail service. As the American Revolution approached, the value of expanding such a service was clear: should conflict break out against the British, communication between the colonies would be paramount. Naturally, Franklin was chosen as the first postmaster. This early version of the postal service used couriers to relay messages from the battlefield to the Continental Congress, and was essential to the success of the revolution. Still, there was no permanent form of nationwide mail delivery until 1792, when the Post Office Act established the Post Office Department.
 
Besides delivering packages and war correspondence, the early Post Office made newspapers much more widely available by making their deliveries cheaper. The Post Office Act also established some important rules that helped people trust the new system. Firstly, the act strictly forbade the government from opening the mail of private citizens for the purposes of surveillance. Secondly, it gave the power of establishing new mail routes to Congress, not the executive branch. Throughout the 19th century, the Post Office was critical for the U.S. as it expanded its territories and its citizens became ever more spread out. During this time, the Post Office Department came up with several innovations, like postage stamps and standardized rates. Over a century and a half later, the Post Office was revitalized by the Postal Reorganization Act, which changed the name to the United States Postal Service (USPS). While private parcel delivery companies also exist today, many of them also rely on the USPS to make their business models feasible. Remember to thank your mail carrier, especially when they’re beset by snow or rain or heat or gloom of night!

 
[Image description: Three shipping boxes on the ground, with one on a dolly. Two stickers on the boxes read “FRAGILE.”] Credit & copyright: Tima Miroshnichenko, Pexels

This gives new meaning to “too much of a good thing.” This month in 1478, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, was supposedly drowned in a barrel of wine. We’ll never know for certain whether this unusual execution actually took place, since it was common for stories in the 15th century to be passed around until they became exaggerated. We do know that, one way or another, the duke was executed for treason. We also know some details about the events, both sad and violent, leading up to his death.
 
George was the younger brother of Edward IV of England. The brothers’ father led the House of York in the War of the Roses against the House of Lancaster over the right to the English throne. While their father died in battle, Edward eventually took the throne. Given a dukedom by his brother, George could have lived the rest of his life in ease and prosperity. Instead he, along with others in the House of York, were grievously insulted when Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, a widow from the House of Lancaster. The relationships between the two brothers only soured further when George married the cousin of a man who was a vocal critic of Edward. At one point, George even helped lead a rebellion against his own brother, captured him, and held him prisoner for a time, though wartime trouble with the Scots eventually led to his release.
 
Edward suspected that George was plotting to overthrow him, and George was forced to flee to France, for a time, to avoid Edward’s wrath. The brothers had a brief reconciliation after Henry VI was restored to the throne via political machinations. George helped Edward defeat him and retake the throne. Then, two things happened that finally ended the feud between the brothers once and for all. First, George’s wife passed away a few months after giving birth, and he accused one of her female servants, or “ladies”, of poisoning her. Without the proper authority to do so, he had the servant arrested and executed, which angered Edward. Around the same time, someone in George’s household was accused of “imagining the king’s death by necromancy.” When George publicly protested the charge, he was charged with treason himself. Although historical accounts show that he was executed in private, rumors began circulating shortly after his death that he was drowned in Malmsey wine, an expensive fortified wine from Portugal. Some accounts even claim that he made the request himself, and that it was to mock his brother’s drinking habits. With his own brother constantly trying to overthrow him, could you blame the guy for having a drink now and then?

 
[Image description: A black-and-white illustration of the Duke of Clarence being drowned in a barrel of wine. The Duke is being held upside down by his feet as a guard pushes on his head.] Credit & copyright: John Cassell's illustrated history of England vol. II (London, 1858). Internet Archive. Public Domain, Mark 1.0

You may remember the Alamo, but how much do you actually know about it? On this day in 1836, the Battle of the Alamo began. Many Americans (especially Texans) think of the battle as a heroic last stand fought by brave patriots. As with many violent historical conflicts, though, things weren’t quite as simple or morally black-and-white as movies and folk songs might lead us to believe.
 
The Battle of the Alamo took place during the Texas Revolution, a war for Texan independence from Mexico. While Mexican officials obviously took issue with Texas attempting to break away, they were also upset by Texans’ use of slaves, since Mexico was cracking down on slavery. Texans argued that their economy depended on slavery, with many of their wealthiest being cotton farmers. At first, as the staunchly abolitionist Mexican government tried to outlaw slavery in their territory, some of the colonists left. By 1835, however, tensions grew into armed conflict. By the time of the battle, Texans were emboldened by their previous victories against the Mexican army, especially after they’d managed to drive the Mexicans south of the Rio Grande. However, when Mexico retaliated by sending General Antonio López de Santa Anna north with thousands of soldiers, many of the Texan rebels quickly abandoned the ground they had gained. One of the few remaining garrisons was located in a former Spanish mission called the Alamo. The adobe structure was not suitable for defending against an attack, and few rebels remained. Nevertheless, the commanders of the fort, William Travis and James Bowie, stayed behind, hoping that reinforcements would be sent their way. In the weeks leading to General Santa Anna’s arrival at the fort, the two commanders sent impassioned letters to the Texas legislature asking for reinforcements, to no avail. The Texas government was brand new and not organized enough to mobilize a large fighting force. Even if they had been, it would have been extremely difficult to get enough troops to the Alamo before the Mexican army’s arrival.
 
Travis and Bowie were both well aware of the approaching army, but refused to flee. Neither of them had much military experience, and with the fort poorly equipped or laid out for a defense, the odds were truly against them. On February 23, 1836, General Santa Anna arrived with his troops, and a 13-day siege began. Among the Texan soldiers was former Tennessee congressman Davy Crockett and the families of the soldiers garrisoned there. Some popular, modern imaginings of the battle, such as 1960’s The Alamo starring John Wayne, depict it as a desperate last stand. Historical accounts paint a different picture, though. Rather than a fight to the last man, about half of the Texan rebels fled before the battle’s end, and most of them were skewered by Mexican cavalry. Crockett himself surrendered and was executed, while the families of the soldiers were allowed to leave unharmed. The battle also did little to delay General Santa Anna and his troops on their way to their larger mission: capturing San Antonio. He had promised the Mexican government that he would take the city by March 2, and it was captured on the 6th.
 
Today, the Battle of the Alamo and the purported courage of the men who died there is an integral part of Texas state history, but that history is often not told in full. Most accounts of the Alamo make little mention of slavery, even though Texans’ desire to keep slaves was one of their main reasons for wanting to break with Mexico. Most modern adaptations of the story also leave out the Tejanos, the settlers of Mexican descent who fought alongside the white Texans. History might seem like a thing of the past, but it’s always relevant to the present.

 
[Image description: A watercolor drawing of the ruins of the Alamo.] Credit & copyright: Ruins of the Church of the Alamo, San Antonio de Béxar, Edward Everett (1818-1903). Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Gift of Anne Burnett Tandy in memory of her father Thomas Lloyd Burnett, 1870-1938. Public Domain.