250 and Counting

This day in American History, 250 years ago.

  • Arnold’s March to Canada Ends–November 9, 1775

    Cover art for November 9, 1775: "Quebec from the Pointe Lévis Side" by James Pattison Cockburn, Watercolor and pencils, 1827

    We gotta give Benedict Arnold this: he set a goal and he stuck to it.

    Given the opportunity to take men and help invade Quebec through a kind of pincer move with General Montgomery, Benedict Arnold took 1100 men through the wilds of Maine to the St. Lawrence River, a trip that he thought would take 20 days over 180 miles.

    But they ran into problems almost immediately involving weather, leaky boats, bad maps, bad terrain, illness and almost half the men turning back.

    But make it he did, still with 600 men in tow, and with the help of the locals he got the sick ones healthy, the hungry ones fed, and established a base of operations for the next step, which we’ll talk about in just a few days.

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  • Birth of a Privilege–November 8, 1775

    Cover art for November 8, 1775: a wood engraving cartoon from Harper's Weekly, March 10, 1860, depicting a member of Congress franking his laundry. From the US Senate collection, accession number 38.00536.001

    When we talk about Franking, we typically use it in the context of the Franking Privilege, something that members of Congress, ex-presidents, and a few others get to use. In short, if they put their name on the envelope, they can mail stuff without cost to themselves. (The Congressional budget reimburses the US Postal Service.)

    But Franking isn’t limited to the franking privilege. “Franking” refers to any kind of device, mark, or combination of the two that makes something eligible for mailing. Put a postage stamp on a letter, that’s franking. Run it through a meter, that’s franking. Business Reply Mail is franking, too. And many of the rules are international in nature; any disputes are handled by an agency that answers to the United Nations.

    For what it’s worth, the franking privilege is intended solely for typical communication with constituents: newsletters or “what’s going on” letters. It can also be used for official business. However: the use of the privilege for political purposes is a big no-no. In addition, there are blackout periods, such as 60 days before an election, or 90 days if the congress member is on the ballot.

    See that? You’ve learned from me, now go learn from Mike.

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  • Dunmore Has A Tempting Offer–November 7, 1775

    Cover art for November 7, 1775: detail of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation as it appeared in the Philadelphia Journal and Weekly Advertiser, 12/6/1775. Via the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

    Lord Dunmore was driven from the Governor’s Mansion back in June, but he never went far. That same day he took refuge on a British ship near Williamsburg and continued playing the role of Governor, even though the House of Burgesses was already doing quite nicely, thank you.

    Slave revolts were a constant concern in the slave states, and Dunmore was almost certainly inspired by an incident just a couple of days earlier during the Battle of Kemps Landing. An enslaved man, serving alongside the British regulars, came face to face with his former enslaver, Joseph Hutchings, a local militia commander. Hutchings fired at him point blank and missed. In retaliation, the black soldier wounded him with a sword.

    Dunmore and his British compatriots, who were clearly already aware of the power of a general revolt, saw this event as an opportunity.

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  • Congress Has A Busy Day–November 6, 1775

    Cover art for November 6, 1775: portrait of John Langdon by Hattie Elizabeth Burdette, 1916.

    There are going to be days when no truly big events happen, but that wasn’t going to stop the Second Continental Congress from getting stuff done.

    Today we have a bit of an image of that group as a bunch of men who are hard-drinking philosophers, ready—and maybe eager—to burst into fisticuffs, or perhaps the occasional song, depending on where you got your impressions.

    So for that reason, we do like to remind you that the Continental Congress, for all their weird little squabbles, was a serious group of men. They took their jobs seriously, and put a lot of thought into everything they did. They often put in long hours, working until after darkness fell many days, and they typically worked six days a week.

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  • Washington Chides His Men–November 5, 1775

    Cover art for November 5, 1775: Detail from an engraving of some of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, with Guy Fawkes in the center.

    Guy Fawkes Day is one of those holidays, we think, that many people in America know ABOUT, but don’t necessarily know when it takes place, nor do they have any idea who Guy Fawkes was. Fortunately we’re here to give you some of the scoop.

    Guy Fawkes was one of eleven conspirators involved in a plot to blow up the House of Lords with King James I inside, killing him and setting up an opportunity to install a Catholic king instead. The plot was discovered, and Fawkes eventually confessed.

    Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. “Hanged” in this sense meant being raised by the rope, rather than dropping and getting one’s neck broken. The person would be hanged almost to the point of death, then emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and quartered. The remains were then put on display in a prominent place, to remind people what happens to traitors. (Those were the days!)

    In Fawkes’ case, however, he accidentally died during the hanging when his neck was broken. Many think he orchestrated his “premature” death.

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  • Reinforcements Arrive Too Late–November 4, 1775

    Cover art for November 4, 1775: A 1790 watercolor showing Fort Saint-Jean in the background, and HMS Royal Savage in the foreground. Watercolor, pen & ink by James Peachey.

    As we told you yesterday, Major Preston was hoping that reinforcements were coming in time to rescue him and his men from Fort St. Jean, so he tried to stall for time with General Montgomery. General Montgomery wasn’t biting, though, and the siege finally ended when Preston’s men surrendered.

    Today, only a day later, a few hundred men arrive in Quebec from Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, but it’s too late for the fort. On the other hand, when the Americans try to take out Quebec City, they’ll have a much tougher time than they thought (and they lost anyway).

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  • The Siege at Ft. St. Jean Ends–November 3, 1775

    Cover art for November 3, 1775: plaque commemorating the siege at Fort St. Jean in 1775, placed in 1926. via WIkipedia.

    If you’re scrutinizing today’s cover art and you’re having trouble reading the plaque, that’s because what you see is mostly in French. The bottom half, only part of which is visible here, is in English.

    The English part (which is a translation of the French part) reads:

    FORT SAINT JEAN

    Constructed in 1743 by M. de Léry under orders from Governor la Galissonnière. This post was for all the military expeditions towards Lake Champlain. In August, 1760, Commandant de Roquemaure had it blown up in accordance with orders from the Governor de Vaudreuil in order to prevent its falling into the hands of the English. Rebuilt by Governor Carleton, in 1773. During the same year, under the command of Major Charles Preston of the 26th Regiment, it withstood a 45 day siege by the American troops commanded by General Montgomery.

    So…yeah. The FORT withstood the siege, but eventually the soldiers within the fort gave themselves up.

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  • Jeromus Johnson–November 2, 1775

    Cover art for November 2, 1775: Jeromus Johnson, 1832. Oil on canvas portrait by William Sidney Mount. via the Brooklyn Museum.

    It’s noted that Brooklyn is the place where Jeromus Johnson was born, but to be more specific, Johnson was born in a neighborhood called Wallabout, which still exists but Johnson wouldn’t recognize it today. Wallabout got its name from the adjacent Wallabout Bay, which has been mostly filled in and is now occupied by the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “Wallabout” is a corruption of a French phrase meaning “bend in the harbor”.

    For all that, you rarely hear the name Wallabout anymore; the village has been largely absorbed by Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill.

    How do I know all this? I used to work a few blocks from there.

    Another personal connection: the town to which Johnson retired is Goshen, NY, in Orange County. My oldest daughter used to go to school up that way, and to avoid traffic I’d often visit her by driving a state highway that passed right through Goshen. It’s a lovely, rustic-looking village (at least it was ten years ago), and that area is a nice, relaxing drive.

    But what about Jeromus Johnson? Go listen to Mike.

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  • 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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