July 1776

I have copied from the National Archives site the following about the Declaration of Independence.  (For information about what happened to lead up to this, go below this blog post and read the one for June 1776.)

From the National Archives site:  

Jefferson drafted the statement between June 11 and 28, submitted drafts to Adams and Franklin who made some changes, and then presented the draft to the Congress following the July 2nd adoption of the independence section of the Lee Resolution. The congressional revision process took all of July 3rd and most of July 4th. Finally, in the afternoon of July 4th, the Declaration was adopted.

Under the supervision of the Jefferson committee, the approved Declaration was printed on July 5th and a copy was attached to the "rough journal of the Continental Congress for July 4th." These printed copies, bearing only the names of John Hancock, President, and Charles Thomson, secretary, were distributed to state assemblies, conventions, committees of safety, and commanding officers of the Continental troops.

On July 19th, Congress ordered that the Declaration be engrossed on parchment with a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and "that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress." Engrossing is the process of copying an official document in a large hand. The engrosser of the Declaration was probably Timothy Matlock, an assistant to Charles Thomson, secretary to the Congress. 

But to me the most important part of this process was the July 19th NEW TITLE of UNANIMOUS DECLARATION of the thirteen UNITED states of America!  

June 1776

The Continental Congress appointed the "Committee of Five" to draft the Declaration of Independence on June 11, 1776. 

The five delegates appointed to draft the document were:

• Thomas Jefferson (Virginia)
• John Adams (Massachusetts)
• Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania)
• Roger Sherman (Connecticut)
• Robert R. Livingston (New York) 

From the National Constitution Center:

When the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1775, it was far from clear that the delegates would pass a resolution to separate from Great Britain. To persuade them, someone needed to articulate why the Americans were breaking away. On June 11, 1776, Congress formed a committee to do just that; members included John Adams from Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman from Connecticut, Robert R. Livingston from New York, and Thomas Jefferson from Virginia, who at age 33 was one of the youngest delegates.

Although Jefferson disputed his account, John Adams later recalled that he had persuaded Jefferson to write the draft because Jefferson had the fewest enemies in Congress and was the best writer. (Jefferson would have gotten the job anyway—he was elected chair of the committee.) Jefferson had 17 days to produce the document and reportedly wrote a draft in a day or two. In a rented room not far from the State House, he wrote the Declaration with few books and pamphlets beside him, except for a copy of George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights and the draft Virginia Constitution, which Jefferson had written himself

 

May 1776

 George Washington had left Boston as quickly as possible after the British  Evacuated Boston on March 17th, 1776.  (Remember the fortification of Dorchester Heights).  By April 14 he had arrived in NY guessing correctly that the British would head to NY from Boston.  He orchestrated the movement of the troops from Boston to New York as well as artillery and weapons.

By May 1:

Since arriving two weeks ago, Washington has had his hands full in New York City. Here, the king’s friends are numerous, the enemy can arrive by sea at any moment, and coastal defenses are incomplete.

Map from https://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/american_revolution_campaigns_1775_1776.htm#google_vignette

In May 1776, the 13 colonies were transitioning from armed resistance to full independence. The Second Continental Congress moved toward separation by authorizing colonies to form new governments (May 15 Preamble), while Virginia instructed its delegates to formally propose independence. Revolutionary governments replaced loyalist authorities, and support for total independence grew rapidly.

Rhode Island Act Repealing Allegiance to Great Britain, May 4, 1776. Via this act, Rhode Island's General Assembly formally rejected King George III and broke their legal ties to him months before independence was officially declared by the Second Continental Congress.

On May 15, the Virginia Convention instructed its delegates in Philadelphia to move that the Continental Congress declare the United Colonies free and independent states

Transitioning Governments: Throughout the colonies, royal officials were dismissed and replaced by local conventions and committees of safety.

On May 15 John Adams drafted a revolutionary preamble, passed by Continental Congress, declaring that all British authority must be "totally suppressed" and recommending that colonies create new independent governments.

April 1776

This information is from the Mount Vernon Site.  

So the month of April is spent tying up loose ends in Boston and moving his troops to New York.

I would add that as usual George Washington is modestly suggesting that it is the pamphlet "Common Sense" that is influencing the Virginia men to rally around the Revolutionary War.  I suggest that it is the news that has traveled throughout the 13 colonies of the fact that the siege of Boston has ended with a Victory for the Patriots with no blood shed!

My own ancestor, William Morrison and his two brothers along with young men from Pittsylvania County, Virginia and adjoining counties leave their homes for Williamsburg in March 1776 to join George Washington for the battles that will be fought in the next two years!  I do not believe it is a coincidence

 Do not miss this four minute account of March 1776 and events that led up to it from the American Battlefields.org:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cao-s0_mkLQ

March 1776

 March 1776 was an extremely important month!  After months of planning, George Washington ordered continental forces and local volunteers to stealthily fortify Dorchester Heights location with cannon all in ONE night. 

Instead of writing about this event myself, I am going to give you the URL for the Mount Vernon website to read what has been written there.  Mount Vernon updates every day so if you are reading this much later you will want to go to the pages written for March 1776.

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/revolutionary-war/250-years-ago-day#interactive-timeline 

Two of my favorite pieces of information from that site are:  

and

This military operation led British forces to evacuate Boston two weeks later, on March 17, 1776.  The siege of Boston was at an end!

Battle of Moore's bridge February 1776

 

                                                                                           

The most important event in February 1776 was the Battle of Moore's Bridge.  This battle took place on February 27.  British Royal Governor Josiah Martin sought to reestablish Great Britain's authority in North Carolina.  Maj Gen Henry Clinton was dispatched with a British Army to North Carolina's coast.  The loyalists in North Carolina (mostly Scottish Highlanders) assembled at Cross Creek (now Fayetteville) to join the British Troops.  

Col Richard Caswell moved the patriot militia to hold Moores Creek Bridge which was a strategic crossing for the Loyalist troops.  Caswell fortified the eastern Bank, Removed the Bridge planks and waited for the Loyalists to approach.  The Loyalist troops reached the bridge just after Midnight Feb 27.  They were met with deadly Patriot Rifle and artillery fire.  The volleys shattered the attacking Loyalists and forced a retreat.  Caswell's men scattered the Loyalists and captured hundreds.

The Patriot victory at Moores Creek Bridge secured North Carolina to remain in Patriot hands for the rest of the Revolution. The defeat discouraged Loyalist recruitment in the region and delayed significant British operations in the South until 1780.

  

 

 

January 1776

All sources seem to agree that the most important event to happen in January of 1776 was the publication of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense.

Though the First Continental Congress had already convened by the time of Paine’s arrival in America, many of the leading Patriot voices were uncomfortable to fully come out in support of independence.  Their general complaint had always been that their natural rights as British subjects had been violated by Parliament, and they wished to see those wrongs rectified. Paine’s far more radical outlook led him to see the situation quite differently, and so he set out to make the case for independence and describe his vision for America’s political future in his most famous work: the 47-page pamphlet titled “Common Sense.”  

Published on January 10th, 1776, “Common Sense” decries not just British tyranny, but the concept of monarchy itself, and calls for the formation of an American republic in the purest sense of the word: a government run as a res publica, or “public affair.” Paine’s radical rhetoric and skillful argumentation electrified the colonies, and “Common Sense” quickly became one of the best-selling written works in America, followed only by the Bible. As one Connecticut reader wrote to a Philadelphia newspaper, “We were blind, but on reading these enlightening words the scales have fallen from our eyes.” Seven months after the publication of “Common Sense,” the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, announcing their intention to formally sever ties with Great Britain. 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/common-sense

But I would add a thought that I wrote last year:   Shortly after taking command of the Continental Army

in July 1775, General George Washington ordered an

accounting of the patriots’ gunpowder stores. When he

learned the total available was a measly 90 barrels, an

eyewitness claimed Washington “did not utter a word

for half an hour.” Things were not much better by

January 1776, when Washington wrote a letter to a

trusted officer bemoaning the lack of supplies. “We are

now without any money in our treasury—powder in our

magazines—arms in our stores.

Equipping his new army and making them into a real army was a challenge.