250 and Counting

Category: American Revolution

  • Congress Gets Bad News–November 1, 1775

    Cover art for November 1, 1775: Page 1 of the Olive Branch Petition (detail). Via Library of Congress.

    In July 1775, there were still several delegates to the Second Continental Congress who thought that reconciliation with Britain was a possibility. There were a few others who may not have necessarily been of that opinion, but were willing to take a chance. Some of these men, led by John Dickinson, formed a committee to draft what’s come to be known as the Olive Branch Petition. The intent was to continue pledging loyalty to the King, but to simultaneously ask for some equitability in trade and tax regulations.

    The document asked for a firm settlement to the Colonies’ grievances, and identified all of the colonies as signatories except Georgia. The only reason Georgia wasn’t named is because they only had one delegate at the time, and he wasn’t comfortable with speaking for the entire colony. Consequently, he abstained from many votes.

    It was on this day that Congress learned what King George III had to say back in August regarding the Olive Branch Petition.

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  • Sam Adams on Armies–October 31, 1775

    Cover art for October 31, 1775: Samuel Adams, ca. 1772 by John Singleton Copley

    Sam Adams was a patriot in his own right, oftentimes supporting his second cousin John. The two of them were often able to work together closely. What’s more, they were an efficient team, with Sam Adams being the fiery agitator and organizer, and John Adams acting in the more measured and sophisticated role, playing the political diplomat.

    But Sam also had his own ideas about how things should be organized. When he heard that the Massachusetts Assembly was considering putting together military groups, he applauded the idea, but he was also worried that having each colony create an army, then putting them all under the control of a single entity, might be dangerous in the long run. He expressed these fears in a letter to Eldridge Gerry, written on October 29 and delivered to Gerry today.

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  • An Intercepted Gift–October 29, 1775

    Cover art for October 29, 1775: A contemporary path through old growth forest in Congaree National Park.

    One of the most fascinating things about this event, and we only got to touch on it briefly in the episode itself, is that some important parts of the story are under dispute.

    What’s not debated is that the order went out to transfer gunpowder and lead to the Cherokees on October 29. What is debated, however, is the date and the place where the materials were confiscated.

    By some accounts, this incident took place on November 3, 1775 in a place called Mine Creek. This is farther inland (by over 70 miles) than reported by Moses Cotter ON November 3, who said it took place at Congaree on October 31. Other than the date and the place, the two stories are nearly the same, right down to the names of the people involved. And, of course, there are historical marker plaques in both locations.

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  • Dorothy Becomes Mrs. Hancock–October 28, 1775

    Cover art for October 28, 1775: Portrait of Dorothy Quincy, 1772, by John Singleton Copley

    It’s nice, isn’t it, that not everything we have for your benefit concentrates on people shooting at each other or generally not being kind?

    Take today, for instance. It’s Wedding Bells for the President of the Continental Congress! John Hancock got married to Dorothy Quincy today!

    (Okay, never mind that the motivations to get these two together may have been a little corrupt. Let’s just be happy for this couple, hm? )

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  • It’s Finally Official–October 27, 1775

    Cover art for October 27, 1775: Detail of a broadside containing the text of King George III's speech to Parliament on this day.

    We’re 300 days into 1775 and therefore 300 days into this show, and we’ve finally gotten to the point where British troops will be shooting at Americans because the two parties are officially at war.

    Up until now, all the fighting was about control, because what better way to control people than by shooting at them?

    But King George III’s declaration of rebellion in August was informal in nature. It wasn’t until he declared the Colonies to be in rebellion before Parliament that genuine attention was paid to it. It was still theoretically possible that the Colonists could back off and let things go to the way they were, but the odds were vanishingly small.

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  • A New Facet of War–October 26, 1775

    Cover art for October 28, 1775: The Old Feather Store in Boston, 1775. Print by Louis Prang & Co., 1860. via the National Museum of American History digital archives.

    With both Boston and Canada in a state of stalemate, there wasn’t a lot of active fighting going on in the Colonies.

    Not until, as we said yesterday, General Woodford stumbled into a bunch of British soldiers preparing to attack Hampton, VA. This set off the first major battle of the Revolution in a southern state, and one of our first significant victories.

    But in the meantime, Congress discovered that a shooting war wasn’t the only tool they had at their disposal: they had economic power as well, and they began to leverage that.

    We mentioned in the past that the Colonies didn’t have a ton of economic clout, but the cost of war combined with whatever other money-related tactics they could try, added up to a bigger impact than originally postulated.

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  • An Unexpected Battle–October 25, 1775

    Cover art for October 25, 1775: portrait of William Woodford.

    William Woodford was both smart and able to see the bigger picture. He’d already begun training his troops in earnest in anticipation of a British attack. Then the word came in that his men were to protect Norfolk or Portsmouth.

    When they began the march, they had not idea that they were about to stumble into a British attempt to attack amphibiously. Woodford’s men repelled the attack and created the first important British casualties of the war effort.

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  • When Washington Couldn’t Help–October 24, 1775

    Cover art for October 24, 1775: portrait of George Washington during the French and Indian War, as painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772.

    For what it’s worth, the picture I used for George Washington depicts what he looked like during the French and Indian War, which ended roughly twelve years prior to this date. But we wanted to show you that he didn’t always look like the guy on the dollar bill.

    After the firebombing and destruction of Falmouth, Massachusetts (and which we mention for the first time today, I think, is the same place as Portland, Maine), it was only natural that the locals there felt vulnerable. It’s because it had been demonstrated to them exactly how vulnerable they were.

    Their Committee of Safety contacted George Washington in Cambridge asking for help in the form of soldiers and/or weapons. Washington conceded that the attack was over the line and wished the victims well, but unfortunately he couldn’t help.

    Washington cited the need to maintain the siege at Boston, and the possibility that he didn’t have the authority to help, but Washington was a shrewd tactician, as we’ll see in future episodes. It’s entirely possible that he didn’t see the point in defending a city that had already been leveled.

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  • RIP Peyton Randolph–October 23, 1775

    Cover art for October 23, 1775: Peyton Randolph, by John Wollaston the Younger, 1775.

    Peyton Randolph is another one of those Founding Fathers who goes largely unknown to most people, probably because he died relatively young (age 54) and early in the whole Independence movement.

    But Randolph was a true Patriot and while he wasn’t around to sign the Declaration of Independence, it’s said that his spirit was at the heart of the document.

    It’s worth noting that, as the Royal Governors were kicked out one by one, the Continental Congress began to assume governmental duties for the Colonies. This is why some would argue that, as the first President of the Continental Congress, Peyton Randolph should also be considered our first US President, and never mind the fact that he died before the nation was established. It’s not a terrible idea, we guess…

    Fort Randolph in present-day West Virginia was named after him, as are the Randolph Counties in North Carolina and Indiana, not to mention the town of Randolph, Massachusetts.

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  • William Howe Makes An Odd Decision–October 22, 1775

    Cover art for October 22, 1775: a color mezzotint of British General Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, 1777, by Richard Purcell aka Charles Corbutt.

    After the Pyrrhic victory at Bunker Hill, the fact that General Gage was about to be replaced probably came as a surprise to nobody.

    That he was replaced by William Howe…well, that also probably wasn’t a surprise. Howe had experienced success in the Seven Years’ War. And while he was known to have shown some sympathy with the Colonies (he’d voted against the Intolerable Acts, for instance), it was thought that he could break the Siege of Boston.

    So Howe came to America and on October 11 he took over the job from Gage. He stayed in Boston with the besieged soldiers. And he had lots of ideas about breaking the siege, and eventually the Continental Army. What’s more, Lord Dartmouth had some creative ideas as well.

    But Howe chose something entirely different.

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