"'Donderburg's Pumpkin Vine'" provides a detailed commentary on the frantic preparations made in advance of the long awaited British push, led by the British Navy up the Hudson Valley that occurred in early October of 1777. Other events in Canada had evolved that made the valley's defense critical; Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne was thrusting down thru the Adirondack wilderness towards Albany. The defenses in the Hudson, or North River as it was called, were essential to keeping the British bottled up in New York City and preventing the juncture of Henry Clinton with Burgoyne. Such a juncture,...

The single-wire telegraph revolutionized long distance communication but it was not the brainchild of one inventor, Samuel Morse. His colleagues and employees--specifically Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry--made crucial contributions. Examining the careers of the three men and the key events, this book presents Morse as primarily a businessman and consolidator of ideas who, frequently in conflict with his associates, sought to present the telegraph as a uniform system under his sole imprimatur. The battle between Morse and Cornell over the invention of the magnetic relay was central to the...