In 1774, First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts, in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.  In 1797, USS Constitution first launched from Boston Harbor. It earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812 because the cannonballs seem to bounce off the sides of the ship. The vessel is still a commissioned ship. In 1861, Union troops suffer a devastating defeat in the second major engagement of the Civil War

Aaron Burr In 1774, The Articles of the Continental Association were agreed to by the First Continental Congress, which calls for a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of all goods, wares or merchandise. In 1781, A combined force of approximately 700 British, Loyalist, and Iroquois launched raids in the New York Mohawk Valley. In 1803, The U.S. Senate , after due consideration and considerable oratory, ratified the Louisiana Purchase . In 1807, former

Jack Johnson In 1767, The Mason-Dixon Line was formally agreed upon when Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon completed their survey of the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. This date marked the acceptance of their work as the official boundary, resolving a long-standing dispute between the two colonies. In 1775, Washington gathers his top officers for a Council of War. Congress has urged him to consider an attack on British-occupied Boston before winter sets in. His gen

Jefferson Davis In 1691, New royal charter for Massachusetts now includes Maine and Plymouth. In 1775, Winter is coming. Washington orders the quartermaster general to distribute 20 greatcoats to each brigade. These coats are for the sentinels—the men who stand watch through long, cold nights. The coats are to be handed from one guard to the next, a shared defense against the chill. In 1777, Following their defeat at the Second Battle of Saratoga (Bemis Heights), British forc

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the galleys, heard in the very hall of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor—he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and wears their face and their garment, and he

In 1775, Portland, Maine, is burned by the British. In 1780, Royalton and Tunbridge, Vermont, experience the last major raid of the American Revolutionary War In 1846, William Thomas Green Morton first demonstrated the use of ether as a general anesthetic before a gathering of physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1848, The first US homeopathic medical college, the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gazette of the United States In 1780, 200 Continental soldiers under Major Melanchthon Woolsey successfully defended Middleburgh Fort, New York against a combined force of 1,000 British regulars, Hessians, Mohawks and Loyalist. Among the Loyalist commanders was Sir John Johnson and Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant. In 1781,  Cornwallis turned all of his guns onto the nearest allied (second allied parallel) position. He then ordered a storming party of 350 British troops, under the c

Annapolis Tea Party In 1773, American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom's East India Company tea ships' cargo are burned at Annapolis, Maryland. In 1780, 352 Patriots, commanded by Major Joseph Cloyd, defeated 500 Loyalists, commanded by Colonel Gideon Wright, at Shallow Ford, North Carolina. In 1781, LtCol Alexander Hamilton led the charge to take Redoubt 10 at the Battle of Yorktown. In 1863, Battle at Bristoe Station, Virginia (about 2000 casualties). In 1865, The Chey

"I here close my examination into those natural rights, which, in my humble opinion, it is the business of civil government to protect,...

Laura Houghtaling Ingalls In 1635, Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony , and, as a result, he later founded the...

Soldiers at the Siege of Yorktown In 1633, Massachusetts Bay Colony forms its first government. In 1775, Officers decide to bar enslaved...

"Always stand on principle…even if you stand alone." John Adams

Juan Cabrillo In 1492, Christopher Columbus misses Florida when he changes course. In 1542, Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, on a voyage...

In 1853, 4th National Women's Rights Convention opens in Cleveland, Ohio In 1857, First American Chess Congress is hosted by the American...

"The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed."  William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the...

Edgar Allen Poe In 1789, From the 1st Presidential Residence on Cherry and Pearl Streets in New York City, President Washington...

“As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon others, God or nature. We must...

Religious Persecution In 1656, English North American colony of Connecticut passes law against Quakers. In 1780, British army officer...

Townshend Duties In 1768, British troops landed in Boston to enforce the Townshend duties (taxes on paint, paper, tea, etc., passed in...

“Nothing opens the door for a totalitarian regime as surely as the elimination of God as source and guarantor of our rights. You do not...

George Washington In 1630, Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston. In 775, Governor Lord Dunmore of Virginia, takes...

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Abraham Lincoln

John Andre - Self Portrait In 1780, British spy John André  is court-martialed, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. In 1789,...