This is the first in a series.

As we near the 250th anniversary of American independence, I have decided to concentrate on the little-known heroes and events.

If you ask a group of citizens if they have heard of the Boston Tea Party, most hands would be raised. Mention Betsy Ross, and heads nod knowingly. But the New Jersey Tea Party gets you a room full of blank stares.

Why are some events forgotten and a hoax remembered? In 2007 Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote “How Betsy Ross became Famous,” stating, “For…