Abraham Lincoln In 1766, Francis Lightfoot Lee signed the Westmoreland Resolves (aka, the Leedstown Resolutions), that was drafted by his brother, Richard Henry Lee. In 1776, at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge , North Carolinian revolutionaries defeated loyalists during the American Revolution , thwarting a British invasion of the southern colonies. In 1776, Washington issued  orders reminding his men of the stakes of the coming campaign. Any soldier skulking or retreatin

AI rendered pencil drawing of the Pneumatic Subway in NY In 1732, the First Mass was celebrated in the first American Catholic church, St. Joseph's, Philadelphia In 1776, Washington fixed his attention on Dorchester Heights, the key to Boston. He issues  orders to consolidate entrenching tools—axes, shovels, pick-axes—and  writes John Hancock, explaining that the army is quietly preparing to seize the Heights. The move is meant to force the British to fight or abandon the

Fort Sackville Memorial In 1776, Washington set his mind on medical readiness. He  order ed a formal examination of every surgeon and mate in the Continental Army. Inventories of instruments, medicines, and bandages are demanded at once. In 1779, Fort Sackville surrendered , marking the beginning of the end of British domination in America’s western frontier. In 1782, the Battle of Tydiman's Plantation took place in South Carolina. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was nominated for

In 1761, James Otis voiced opposition to English colonial rule in a speech before the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. In 1776, Washington  authorize d regimental commanders to apply for $500 warrants to send trusted officers into the countryside to purchase arms. Only sound muskets, preferably “Kings Musquets” with bayonets, are acceptable. Washington warns officers not to compete with Massachusetts county committees, whose parallel buying could inflate prices. In 1803, Marb

Nicolas Cooke In 1776, Washington  writes to Nicholas Cooke, the governor of Rhode Island, introducing Frederick William, Baron de Woedtke, a Prussian-born former officer who has been driven ashore by bad weather on Cape Cod. Woedtke is traveling from St. Domingo to Philadelphia with the specific purpose of offering his military service to the American cause and delivering letters of introduction to several members of Congress. Washington urges Cooke to extend hospitality an

First Lady "Lemonade" Lucy Hayes In 1630, Indians introduced pilgrims to popcorn at Thanksgiving. In 1732, President George Washington was born. In 1776, on his 44th birthday, from headquarters at Cambridge, Washington studies returns, orders discipline , and waits on news from distant fronts.  Additionally. Brigadier General William Heath  writes to explain that several chaplains have been appointed only on a temporary basis. Uncertainty about how long they can remain with

Judge RIchard Peters In 1779, five hunters from Vincennes traveling in a boat were captured by George Rogers Clark and his band of Patriots. After questioning the hunters, Clark found that his small army had not yet been detected and that the people of Vincennes, Indiana, were still sympathetic to the Americans. In 1792, President George Washington  signed legislation that reestablished the United States Post Office as a cabinet department led by the postmaster general, guara

Charlotte May Pierstorff - Mailed as a child In 1776, Washington weighed the war in pounds. In a  letter to Jonathan Trumbull Sr., the governor of Connecticut, Washington writes that he expected to receive almost 8,000 pounds of gunpowder from Providence, but instead finds only 4,217 pounds.  In 1777, the Continental Congress  voted to promote Thomas Mifflin, Arthur St. Clair, William Alexander, Lord Stirling, Adam Stephen, and Benjamin Lincoln to the rank of major general.

Flying cows In 1685, Fort St. Louis was established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay, forming the basis for France's claim to Texas In 1735, the first opera was performed in America, "Flora," in Charleston, South Carolina In 1776, B ritish forces remained bottled up in Boston, but scarce supplies and a chronic lack of gunpowder prevented Washington from turning the siege into an assault. In 1776, Lieutenant Henry Edwin Stanhope, a British army officer and prisoner of war,  wri

Only known portrait of Thomas Neale In 1691, Thomas Neale granted an English patent for the American postal service In 1776, Preparation defines today’s  General Orders . Washington directs that every regiment be fully supplied with 24 rounds of ammunition per man, each round accounted for through a chain of signed receipts, with deficiencies fined from a soldier’s pay.  In 1776. In the first cruise of a Continental Navy squadron, Commodore Esek Hopkins sails from Philadelphi

Benjamin Franklin In 1741, Benjamin Franklin began publishing "The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America". In 1760, Cherokee Indians held hostage at Fort St. George by South Carolina Governor Lyttleton were killed in revenge for Indian attacks on frontier settlements that broke a peace treaty of December 1759. In 1776, Washington convened a  Council of War to consider an assault on British-held Boston. He reports that reinforcem

Henry Highland Garnet In 1733,  James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists founded the colony of Georgia. This was the 13th and last colony of the original States and was named in honor of King George II. In 1776, in his  General Orders , Washington expresses astonishment that regimental officers have discharged men without authority. Washington warns that any colonel or commanding officer who repeats this will be arrested and tried. In 1776 , John Hancock , president of the Contine

Emma Goldman In 1753, Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, began admitting patients; it was cofounded by Benjamin Franklin . In 1766, the Stamp Act was declared unconstitutional in Virginia. In 1768, the Massachusetts Circular Letter of 1768, drafted by Samuel Adams, was sent by the Massachusetts House of Representatives to the other colonies' Houses of Assembly. In 1776, Washington rides out early from Cambridge to inspect the frozen heights sout

Vesta Stoudt In 1763, the French and Indian War officially ended. France lost all claims to Canada and gave Louisiana to Spain. France reclaimed Louisiana in 1800 before selling the territory to the United States in 1803. In 1776, the Patriot ship 'America' was captured on the Cape Fear River by two British ships stationed there, with credit going to HMS Cruizer, commanded by British Capt. Francis Parry. In 1776, Washington  writes to Major General  Charles Lee with sympath

1824 Election In 1775, the British Parliament declared the Massachusetts Colony in rebellion In 1776, Washington wrote three letters to  John Hancock , president of the Continental Congress. His letters circle a single anxiety: time. Short enlistments, he warns, have already cost America dearly, contributing to the death of Major General Richard Montgomery, and they threaten to undo the army outside Boston just as surely.  In 1822, the American Indian Society was organized. I

Henry Clay in the Senate In 1774, the special investigative commission reports to the English Privy Council that the Massachusetts petition calling for the dismissal of Governor Hutchinson and provincial secretary Andrew Oliver is based on false charges. In 1775, Benjamin Franklin published "An Imaginary Speech" in defense of American courage. At the time, Franklin was residing in London. In 1776, at Cambridge, Washington issued  General Orders to steady his army. Guards an

Golfing on the moon In 1776, Major General Charles Lee  writes Washington from New York while seriously ill, having been carried part of the journey in a litter. He reports that British General  Henry Clinton arrived in the city almost simultaneously, claiming he has come only to visit former royal governor William Tryon and had brought no troops.  In 1778, the treaties of Amity and Commerce and Alliance were signed, and in May 1778, the Continental Congress ratified them.

Rush Limbaugh Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom In 1776, Fielding Lewis , Washington’s brother-in-law, writes from Fredericksburg. Virginia is raising new regiments, repairing muskets, building powder mills, and even experimenting with heavy rifles designed to drive British warships from narrow rivers. In 1776, in New York City today, two generals—one American, one British—arrive almost simultaneously. Major General   Charles Lee comes to organize the city’s defen

1925 - Noem, Alaska Sled Dogs In 1571, all eight members of a Jesuit mission in Virginia were murdered by Indians who pretended to be their friends. In 1653, New Amsterdam, later New York City, was incorporated. In 1776, across the lines in Boston, General  William Howe   writes Washington, refusing the General’s request for James Lovell’s release. Howe writes that he has discovered James Lovell carrying on a “prohibited Correspondence” and therefore revokes the liberty he h

In 1750, Jonathan Mayhew, a Unitarian-leaning minister of Boston’s West Church, preached a sermon entitled “Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers.” In 1776, from Cambridge, Washington  writes to Major General  William Howe under explicit orders from Congress proposing a formal prisoner exchange. He offers Philip Skene, a royal governor, in return for prominent Boston patriot James Lovell, imprisoned by the British.  In 1779. At Fort Henderson, Georgi