Ford and the Quadricycle In 1776, before departing Philadelphia for New York, Washington writes to Burwell Bassett, his brother-in-law, that Martha has undergone smallpox inoculation and is doing well: Her fever has passed, and only “about a dozen” pustules have appeared on the 13th day. In 1776, in a letter to his brother, John Augustine Washington, Washington welcomes Virginia’s move toward independence and dismisses hopes of British peace commissioners as deception. He ur

Charles Richard Drew In 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto claimed Florida for Spain. In 1754, during the Seven Years’ War, a 22-year-old lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia named George Washington began construction of a makeshift Fort Necessity. In 1776, in Philadelphia, Congress finalized military measures developed in consultation with Washington. It authorizes militia reinforcements, approves defensive naval preparations for New York Harbor, and organizes wha

Cleveland Wedding In 1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort. In 1774, the British Parliament renewed the Quartering Act as part of what Americans called the Intolerable Acts. Under the original Quartering Act of 1765, the colonies had to provide barracks for soldiers. The revised law granted military commanders aut

In 1754, in the first engagement of the French and Indian War, a Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeated a French reconnaissance party in southwestern Pennsylvania. In a surprise attack, the Virginians killed 10 French soldiers from Fort Duquesne, including the French commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and took 21 prisoners. Only one of Washington’s men was killed. In 1776, Washington writes to Major General Israel Putnam in New York. He

In 1775, approximately 500 rebels, led by Colonel John Nixon of Sudbury and Colonel John Stark and his New Hampshire regiment, waded across the Chelsea-Hog Island channel, which at low tide became an easily fordable, knee-high creek with wide mudflat banks. In 1776, Washington reconvened with the Continental Congress, focused on defending New York and assisting the army in Canada. Virginia delegates, acting under instructions from the Virginia Convention, present directions c

Betsy Ross House, also known as the American Flag House In 1637, during the Pequot War, an allied Puritan and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacked a Pequot village in Connecticut, burning or massacring some 500 Native American women, men, and children. In 1647, Alse Young became the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies when she was hanged in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1647, Massachusetts banned priests from entering the colony. In 1736,

On behalf of Katella’s History Adventures, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our service members, past and present, who have fought to ensure freedom for this country and all people around the world. Memorial Day began after the Civil War to honor those who died in that horrible conflict. In the beginning, it was known as Remembrance Day, and no one is sure which state it first occurred in, but in 1966, President Johnson declared Waterloo, NY, the birthplace of th

Former Ohio congressman Clement L. Vallandigham In 1721, John Copson became America’s first insurance agent. In 1738, a treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ended the Conojocular War through the settlement of a boundary dispute and the exchange of prisoners. In 1776, Washington was in Philadelphia, attending the Continental Congress for a second consecutive day. He confers with the delegates as a whole about how to meet the growing British military threat, particularly in

Mary Campbell Plaque In 1758, Ten-year-old Mary Campbell was abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape tribesmen during the French and Indian War. She was returned six and a half years later. In 1832, the first national convention of the Democratic Party was held in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1856, during the small civil war known as Bleeding Kansas—a dispute over control of the new US territory of Kansas under the doctrine of popular sovereignty—the town of Lawrence was sacked by a pr

Meclenburg Declaration of Independence. In 1639, Dorchester, Mass., formed the 1st school funded by local taxes. In 1774, upset by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property by American colonists, King George III of England gave his royal consent to three of the four Coercive Acts, to the outrage of American Patriots. In 1775, North Carolina became the first colony to declare its independence. Citizens of Mecklenburg County, NC, declared in

Bath Township School Disaster In 1631, the English colony of Massachusetts Bay granted Puritan voting rights. In 1631, John Winthrop was elected 1st Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1652, Rhode Island enacted the first law declaring slavery illegal. In 1775, American Colonel Benedict Arnold, aboard Continental sloop-of-war Liberty, raided the fort and Shipyards at St John, Quebec. In 1852, Massachusetts ruled that all school-age children must attend school. In 186

Octavia Butler In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was established by members of the Virginia Company. In 1767, British government disbands American import duty on tea. In 1776, Troubling intelligence seems to come from every direction. From Connecticut, lawyer Jonathan Sturges warns that men seized aboard a small sloop confess they are bound for Long Island to join British forces, suggesting a growing Loyalist plot. In 1776, From the

Eugene V. Debs In 1774, a Boston Town Meeting, moderated by Samuel Adams, passed a resolution calling for an economic boycott in response to the Boston Port Act. In 1776, Washington directs officers to identify precise alarm posts in New York for each regiment, ensuring the army can respond instantly to an attack. In 1776, Washington writes to William Gordon, a Massachusetts clergyman. He emphasizes that substantial defenses are now rising in New York and expresses confidence

Major General Benjamin Lincoln In 1776, in his General Orders, Washington directs that the carpenters, boat builders, and painters parade at sunrise tomorrow morning to receive further instructions. These skilled artisans are essential to turning New York into a defensible position. In 1776, Ensign Peter Clayes, an officer guarding prisoners at the old City Hall, writes after a mob delivers Charles Oliver Bruff, a New York goldsmith suspected of Loyalism, into custody. Clayes

Pullman Palace Company In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning Christmas, forbidding “feasting and similar satanic practices”—with a penalty of five shillings. Back in 1621, the Plymouth Colony scrooge, er, governor had personally confiscated toys. In 1751, the first chartered hospital in the US was founded in Philadelphia. In 1776, Rumors swirl that German troops, hired by the British, are en route to America. To John Hancock, Washington proposes that Cong

Coca-Cola advertisement In 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, becoming one of the first European explorers ever to do so. In 1639, William Coddington founded Newport, Rhode Island. In 1776, Washington confirmed sentences from a court-martial: One soldier is to receive 20 lashes for deserting his guard. He also confronts the spread of smallpox, directing officers to identify infected men immediate

Seattle Slew In 1776, Washington sharpens the army’s readiness; he directs every regiment in the line to mount a picquet every night at sunset. These detachments are to lie on their arms, ready to turn out at a moment’s notice. The tone is unmistakable: The enemy is expected in New York. In 1776, in the evening, after receiving fresh intelligence by express, Washington writes to Congress and raises a political as well as a military question: If the expected British peace comm

In 1776, in his General Orders, Washington warns his colonels to clothe and equip their men immediately, so they can "march, or embark, upon the shortest notice." The army must be prepared to move at once. Nicholas Cooke, Rhode Island's governor, reports that his colony has renounced allegiance to King George III—the first colony to do so. Unbeknownst to Washington, British warships HMS Surprise and HMS Isis reach Quebec with reinforcements, threatening the American siege. In

Mary Kries - Hatmaker In 1775, Ben Franklin returned from Great Britain after spending most of the previous two decades as a colonial agent in London. In 1775, ordered to “convey a parcel of sheep to Boston as provision for the garrison”, HMS Sloop of war Falcon seized two small sloops at [New] Bedford, Massachusetts, to use as transports. In 1776, Washington confronts a dangerous weakness at the heart of his army. Writing to John Hancock, he again raises the alarming short

Early map of Manhattan In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on what is now Manhattan. In 1775, George Washington set out from Mount Vernon in his chariot for a five-day journey to attend the second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In 1776, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the first to renounce allegiance to King George III. In 1776, Washington felt the war stretching in opposite directions. In New York, he manages encampments delayed b