The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, on King Street in Boston to set the tone for the historical decade. On December 16, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty, many dressed in disguise as Mohawks, boarded three British ships docked in Boston harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the chilly waters of Boston Harbor in a protest known as the Boston Tea Party. After the intolerable acts passed, rebellion was in the air as the colonists liberty continued to be infringed so Governor Thomas Gage, British general over Massachusetts, directed the Redcoats to begin warrant-less searches for arms and ammunition to prevent any uprising. Congress began to meet in secret, pray for answers, and in July of 1776, the American colonists declared their independence from England, thus starting the Revolutionary War. Symbolically, almost simultaneously, the Illuminati, a secret society with the goal of destroying all governments and religions, would be established as well.
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Thomas Paine publishes “The American Crisis”: “These Are the Times That Try Men’s Souls… Tyranny, Like Hell, is Not Easily Conquered”
The days of December 1776 were some of America’s darkest times. Thomas Paine epically captured the moment in “The American Crisis.” “These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, ...
Continental Congress Calls for a Day of Fasting and Humiliation for the Soldiers
Because of the distressing condition of the tattered but unbowed soldiers, the American Continental Congress called for a day of fasting and humiliation: Resolved, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as possible to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation; to implore of Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and to beg the countenance ...
The Heroics of Margaret Corbin, the First Woman in U.S. History to be Awarded a Military Pension.
A similar story to that of the famous Molly Pitcher is that of Margaret Cochran Corbin, wife of artilleryman John Corbin. On Nov. 16, 1776, John Corbin, along with 2,800 Continental soldiers, defended Manhattan’s Fort Washington, which was being attacked by 9,000 Hessian mercenary troops. Margaret Corbin was bringing water to swab the cannon, when her husband was killed. She immediately took his place at the ...
King George III speaks for first time since American independence declared
On October 31, 1776, in his first speech before British Parliament since the leaders of the American Revolution came together to sign of the Declaration of Independence that summer, King George III acknowledges that all was not going well for Britain in the war with the United States. In his address, the king spoke about the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the revolutionary leaders who signed it, saying, “for daring and ...
American Patriot Nathan Hale was Hanged for Spying on British Troops: Last Words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
As he was led to the gallows, Hale's famous last words—inspired by a line from Joseph Addison's popular play, Cato, reportedly were—"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Hale allegedly spoke these words to British Captain John Montresor, chief engineer of His Majesty's Forces in North America and aide-de-camp to British General William Howe, while the preparations for his ...
The first Submarine, the Turtle, is Launched in a Mission to Sink a British Flagship
Innovation is the word to best describe America’s first submarine. David Bushnell from nearby Westbrook, Connecticut was a Yale graduate interested in creating an explosive weapon to use against the British during their occupation of New York Harbor during the Revolutionary War. Bushnell found local artisans who helped him construct an underwater vessel that could secretly transport a “bomb” to an unsuspecting British warship. Dubbed the ...
Washington Crossing The East River and the Miracle at the Battle of Long Island
There is not a famous painting of this river crossing on the night of August 29/30, 1776 unlike the crossing of the Delaware before the Battle of Trenton four months later (see The Jersey Campaign) but it was just as important for achieving American independence. In March 1776 the British abandoned Boston, sailing away to Nova Scotia. There, they were reinforced and developed a plan to ...
The First Group of Hessian Mercenaries Arrive to Staten Island, NY
In December 1775, British Colonel William Faucitt and Hessian minister Martin Ernst von Schlieffen drafted a treaty promising the Hessian Landgraf Friedrich II a large sum of money in return for soldiers.[1] The British had spent the fall of 1775 offering subsidies to German states of the Holy Roman Empire they were allied with in return for manpower.[2] The Germans who “were used to being sent outside their ...
Delegates sign the Declaration of Independence
Members of Congress affixed their signatures to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence a month after Congress had approved the declaration of independence from Britain. Fifty-six congressional delegates in total signed the document, including some who were not present at the vote approving the declaration. The delegates signed by state from North to South, beginning with Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire and ending with ...
Samuel Adams Advocates American Independence
Samuel Adams, one of the most ardent of the Founding Fathers in his desire for independence from England, delivered this speech to a numerous audience at the State House in Philadelphia on August 1, 1776. Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, also served as Delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1794. Abridged. Our forefathers, 'tis ...
