Adam Weishaupt Establishes a Secret Society called the Order of the Illuminati in the Bavarian Town of Ingolstadt
On the night of Wednesday, the first of May 1776, three men gathered at the house of a young law professor, Adam Weishaupt, in the …
1770s
General William Livingston Made a Resolution of Congress that May 17th Should be Observed by All Colonies as a Day of Humiliation, Fast, and Prayer
General William Livingston made a resolution to Congress which passed without dissent: “We earnestly recommend that Friday, the 17th day of May be observed by …
Battle of Dorchester: General Washington Bold Plan to Take Back Boston is Foiled by Weather, but Maybe God kept His Young Army from a Battle they Could Not Win
Gen. Washington’s bold plan to take back Boston, would have trapped him on Dorchester Heights early in the war without an escape route in which …
The American Seizure of British Occupied Nassau
On March 3 the Marines captured Nassau without a fight and seized a sizable store of cannon, mortars and munitions. The battle marked the first …
The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge
It was January 1776. In a bold plan hatched in London to end this rebellion, General Sir Henry Clinton was to sail from New York …
Reverend John Peter Gabriel Muhlenburg Removes His Robe to Reveal his Colonel Uniform, Recruiting 300 Patriots to Enlist & Defend Liberty
Toward the end of 1775, Muhlenberg was authorized to raise and command as its colonel the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. After George …
Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ is Published
It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense was signed “Written by an Englishman”, and the pamphlet became …
Benjamin Franklin Article on the Rattlesnake as a Symbol for America
The following letter from “An American Guesser” was published in the Pennsylvania Journal on December 27, 1775. Its author has been identified as Benjamin Franklin. …
King George Establishes ‘The American Prohibitory Act’, Forbidding the Americans from All Trade and Commerce
American Prohibitory Act “It throws thirteen colonies out of the royal protection, levels all distinctions, and makes us independent in spite of our supplications and …
Did the British use Smallpox as a Weapon During the Revolutionary War?
On Dec. 4, 1775, Washington informed Congress that the British were sending civilians infected with smallpox out of the city: “By recent information … General …