Cannonball Tavern at Fort Mifflin

Patrons are invited to an evening of storytelling and merriment during which they can enjoy an 18th Century tavern experience complete with period beer, cocktails, competitive toasts, games and various entertainments, and maybe even a rousting political debate.

The Regimental Brewmeister will provide period correct, field brewed beers, ciders, and meads. The Admiral of the Blue Apron, then takes these with the addition of locally produced spirits to fashion 18th Century tavern cocktails, punch, and other libations.

Beyond good ale, cocktails, and punch, we provide the following entertainments you are likely to encounter were you to visit a tavern in 1770:

• Competitive Toasting: Toasts would solidify the bonds of groups. Toasts add a competitive element of drinking. To give a proper toast requires courage, it’s sort of a mini performance, one that requires facing the chance of achieving great success or stumbling over what you say. Toasting elicits laughter, dispenses well wishes, and venerates people, events, and ideas (like liberty).
• Parlor Games: Just like today, people of the 18th Century enjoyed parlor and tavern games, often gambling. There are two primary types of parlor games: card games, and dice games but certainly some establishments, especially in London, also had draughts, backgammon, chess, darts and billiards. The aim of most tavern games is not to create a competition but rather an excuse to sit together and discuss the day’s news.
• Sharing of news and current events: Did you know Fort Mifflin has a newspaper? Taverns shared newspapers because the roads were poor and travel in the 18th Century was difficult and slow but when travelers came, they shared the news. Some even brought their newspapers, pamphlets, and even books which when they had finished reading which they frequently left or loaned at the tavern.
• Glees and Tavern Songs: Glees and songs made for and about drinking are, of course, nothing new. Americans used drinking songs to band together in ale and song. In the ultimate homage to a night of drinking, Francis Scott Key borrowed the tune of a bawdy British drinking song (“To Anacreon in Heaven”) about overindulgence and questionable relationship choices when he wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Ticket can be purchased at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/fortmifflinonthedelaware/cannonball-tavern-801189955.

This is a fundraiser for Fort Mifflin so come and enjoy the comradery of your fellow soldiers at the fort. We will be in the casemates this year so you may even get to meet some of our permanent garrison.