Bob Jannoni Lectures At Quincy Library

Co-author Bob Jannoni addressed the audience and fielded questions at an author's event hosted by the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, Massachusetts, Wednesday, September 16th. We hope that other libraries and historical organizations will contact us about presentations at similar events: Two_Capes_Press@yahoo.com.

Above, see the picture of our hard-working researcher at the podium! [Just click on the image for a full-screen view!!]

Lenny Cavallaro on Cable TV Show

Lenny Cavallaro will be among the authors featured on Haverhill Community Television’s cable TV program, WRITE NOW, with host Gayle Heney. The show will air on Haverhill Community TV in Haverhill, MA, Comcast Channel 22, during the month of September on Tuesdays @ 8 pm, and Wednesdays @ 8 am, 11 am, and 4 pm. One of the engineers from the studio provided the following instructions on how to access the program:

<< If you navigate to our website, there is a link that says “Video on Demand” (http://haverhillcommunitytv.org/HCTV_Web_Video_On_Demand.html)

<< Then you would click “Weekly HCTV Programming” (http://haverhillcommunitytv.org/HCTV_Web_Video_On_Demand_Weekly.html)

<< [The] show is listed under Tuesdays. Click the name of your show and the video playback will start. >>

HOW TO PURCHASE OUR BOOK

If the retail outlets listed below are not convenient, the volume can be purchased by mailing a check for $11.70 (including shipping and handling) to Robert Jannoni, 45 Pipers Way, Carver, MA 02330.

The following stores carry the book:
• Borders Book Store in Hyannis and Kingston
• Cranebrook Gift Shop in Carver
• Divers Market in Plymouth
• Donelan’s Supermarkets in Acton, Groton, Littleton, Lincoln, Pepperell, and Wayland
• Front Street Book Store in Scituate
• John Alden Gift Shop in Plymouth
• Mayflower Ship Gift Shop, Plymouth, MA
• Noble’s Camera Shop in Hingham
• Old Company Store, Wareham, MA
• Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth
• Walgreen’s in Plymouth
• Westwinds in Duxbury
• White Horse General Store in Plymouth

For further information, e-mail us at Two_Capes_Press@yahoo.com .

Crew of GENERAL ARNOLD Honored By Congress

We are delighted to announce that our book has prompted congressional recognition for the brave men who served on board the General Arnold. On June 24, 2009, the following text was entered into the Congressional Record:

Remarks of The Honorable Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts
Honoring the Crew of the General Arnold

U.S. House of Representatives
June 24, 2009

Madam Speaker –

I rise today so that my colleagues in the House of Representatives can join me in recognizing the heroic crew of the General Arnold, a contingent of men who risked and ultimately gave their lives for our country’s independence some 230 years ago.

During the course of the Revolutionary War, the American colonies relied on a small, organized navy as well as a vast number of privateers to defend themselves against the British. The privateers chartered vessels both large and small, were commissioned with letters of marque, and dispatched on the high seas. Indeed, it is unlikely that our nation could have achieved its independence without the noble efforts of these privateers, many of whom disrupted British shipping and wrought considerable damage upon the enemy’s vessels during the war.

On Christmas Day, 1778, one of these privateer ships – the General Arnold, a brigantine with 20 canons under the command of Captain James Magee – set sail with its own crew and a battalion of marines led by Captain John Russell. Battered by a frightening and terrible nor’easter, the ship was driven back toward Plymouth Harbor, where it ran aground on the White Flat, a sandbar approximately one half-mile from shore.

For three days, the crew remained trapped aboard the ill-fated vessel’s quarter-deck, drenched by angry sea and freezing snow and lashed by savage winds. By the time help arrived on December 28, 72 of the 105 men had perished. Many of their bodies were frozen together, locked in an “embrace of death.” Some of the survivors were permanently crippled, some forced to undergo amputation, and some died prematurely not long thereafter, making this incident one of the most tragic and gruesome losses of life experienced by either side during our nation’s struggle for independence.

As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of our nation, it is important that we take a moment to acknowledge the brave men aboard the General Arnold who suffered and died for our freedom. Many of them, sadly, remain nameless. Yet we owe them a debt of gratitude for their valiant efforts to champion the cause of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To the crew and to all those who served on the General Arnold, today we honor and give you thanks for your admirable sacrifice.

How To Purchase Our Book

We shall be updating the list of retail outlets carrying our book in the near future. These are primarily in the Greater Plymouth/South Shore area. If you are some distance from that neck of the woods, simply e-mail us at:

Two_Capes_Press@yahoo.com or jsbwolf@yahoo.com -- and we'll get right back to you with information.

Lenny Cavallaro at "Authors' Gathering" in Haverhill

Co-author Lenny Cavallaro appeared at the "Authors' Gathering" in the Haverhill Library on May 30th, marking our first book-signing north of Boston. Let us hope the occasion was a harbinger of more to come!

Bob Jannoni to appear at Gifts at Crane Brook Sunday, 4/26

The following text is excerpted from today's Carver Reporter. Our colleague, Bob Jannoni, garnered the following write-up:

Local artists featured in open house meet-and-greet
By Bobbi Sistrunk

Carver - After a long period of political campaigns coupled with crazy New England weather, it’s time to put politics aside, shed your tendencies towards hibernation and get out and about in the neighborhood. And what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to celebrate the local flavor? Join the staff of Gifts at Crane Brook for an artists’ open house, where you can meet several of the area’s finest artists, photographers and authors. Gift Shop Manager Denise Cunningham said she works hard to find unique treasures that are made locally to sell in her shop. . . .

The open house features readings from local authors like . . . Bob Jannoni, co-author of Solved: The Mystery of the General Arnold, will read from his book as well. Jannoni’s book tells the tragic story of a ship that sank off the coast of Plymouth in 1778. It is considered one of the worst disasters of the American Revolution.

Jannoni said he looks forward to sharing part of the book with visitors to the Crane Brook Gift Shop Sunday.

“I want to talk about the 105 men on board, of which 72 froze to death,” Jannoni said. “They were frozen together, literally. They brought them to the Mill Pond to try to thaw them out so they could bury them, but they were frozen together and they buried them that way. We only have 18 names of the 72 that died, and we’re searching for the others because we want to put a memorial with all the names down on the waterfront.”

He said the idea for the book came to him by a man named George Hanlon, who knew of the wreck. He said he had been researching another shipwreck at the time. After hearing of the General Arnold, though, he became interested in that wreck and further pursued the subject.

“I had to give my wreck up for five years to work on this book,” he said.

Jannoni said he plans to read excerpts from the book, as well as sign copies. . . .

The open house takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 26. Gifts at Crane Brook is located at 225 Tremont St.

Our Letter To Congress

Late last year, we sent a letter to the United States Congress. The text is reprinted, below.
******
To the Congress of the United States:

This letter addresses a tragic and nearly forgotten incident from the Revolutionary War. We allude to the fate of the brigantine General Arnold, which went aground amidst a dreadful snowstorm (“nor’easter”) on the White Flat off Plymouth Harbor on Christmas Day, 1778. More than 72 men succumbed to the elements, freezing to death in what was clearly the most gruesome loss of life suffered by either side during our nation’s struggle for independence.

We have recently completed a short book entitled, Solved: The Mystery of the General Arnold, in which we explain what happened to the vessel afterwards. Our volume is the first ever devoted to the ill-fated brig and puts to rest decades of controversy about the ship. However, the larger issue -- which is what prompted us to write in the first place – remains.

The brave men serving on board – Captain James Magee’s sailors and the detachment of marines under Captain John Russell – deserve posthumous recognition for the great sacrifice they made. A number, in fact, are technically “MIA’s.” For but a single example, Lt. Fortunatus Bassett is believed to have died on board, since he disappeared from all records thereafter. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether he has “officially” been identified as a casualty.

President Abraham Lincoln observed, “Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” As the 230th anniversary of this tragedy approaches, we urge Congress to grant these heroes of the American Revolution the recognition which they so richly deserve and for which they paid so dreadful a price.

Respectfully submitted,
The Authors (Lenny Cavallaro, Bob Jannoni, and Lou Cook)