This month, the anticipated film In the Heart of the Sea will portray one of America’s most well-known tragedies. The film’s title is taken from Nathaniel Philbrick’s acclaimed historical narrative of the same title, whose subtitle, ”The Tragedy of the Whale ship Essex,” reveals the full account and tantalizing subject matter of what truly transpired to both ship and crew during those fateful years between 1819 to 1821. Most Americans today are acquainted with the story through Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby Dick.

Historians generally agree that French aid was instrumental to the American victory during the Revolutionary war. Officers such as the famous Marquis de Lafayette and Viscount Francois-Louis Teissedre de Fleury to the countless numbers of enlisted men, all helped the Colonies gain their independence.

Out of over 500,000 graphic images, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is rich in various holiday illustrations, lithographs, watercolors, and photographs. A sampling of which is presented here in this holiday edition of History Hits.

Prior to the Revolutionary War, thousands of indentured servants and convicts were transported (often against their own will) by Great Britain to either mainland America or to the British colonies in the West Indies. Though the majority of those who survived the voyage, disease, and physical abuse by their masters eventually became responsible citizens, a significant number failed to be reformed of their past criminal behavior. Perhaps surprisingly, many of these repeat offenders were women.