The Historical Society of Frankford announced that HSF member and Revolutionary War historian Robert N. Fanelli will address its monthly meeting and lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Society’s library/museum at 1507 Orthodox St. His topic will be Allen McLane at The Rocks, in honor of the semiquincentennial. A tale of the Revolution widely known in the past but less so today, early on the morning of June 8, 1778, Captain Allen McLane and company rode into a British ambush at the upper end of Frankford. Knowing the countryside well and “preferring death to being a prisoner,” the patriot officer made a daring attempt to escape the trap. Fanelli will recount the skirmish, relate its implications in the Revolution and locate the event in the present-day Frankford landscape.
Fanelli is the secretary of the Washington Crossing American Revolution Round Table, a trustee of the Swan Historical Foundation, which owns a collection of Revolutionary-era artifacts displayed at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey, and a contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution. His Revolutionary War biography, Lydia’s Tale: The Mystery of Lydia Darragh, Irish Quaker, Patriot Spy, will be available for purchase and signature.
Doors open at 7 p.m., and the presentation begins at 7:30. It will also stream live on the HSF Facebook page. The event is free and open to the public. Free, off-street parking will be available across Orthodox Street at Frankford Friends School. Light refreshments will be served before and after the presentation. ••
