Showing results for "Marsh" in History

Between the 8th and 11th centuries, Vikings stormed out of their Scandinavian homelands to raid and loot along the coasts of Europe. In old Norse, to "go viking" meant to take to sea in a long ship for an adventure. Sometimes this was a trading trip, sometimes a piratical raid. Often it was both. Explorers and traders, warriors and poets, they ranged between Byzantium in the south and ventured as far as Iceland and even North America. Their fame lives on.

Anna Smith Strong (1790-1812) was a fearless woman who acted as a spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Recruited by Washington’s spymaster, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, she joined the Culper Ring, a group of American spies. General Washington placed a huge amount of trust in his spies, and Anna helped pass him important messages at great risk to herself and her family. One of her cleverer devices was to hang laundry on the line in a planned fashion so that other spies could read the "message".