July Revolutionary Calendar

[gunville]

From Breeds Hill Institute

July Revolutionary Calendar


Jul 1, 1775:
Congress resolves to forge Indian alliances
The motion read: "That in case any Agent of the ministry, shall induce the Indian tribes, or any of them to commit actual hostilities against these colonies, or to enter into an offensive Alliance with the British troops, thereupon the colonies ought to avail themselves of an Alliance with such Indian Nations as will enter into the same, to oppose such British troops and their Indian Allies."


July 2, 1776
Congress votes for independence
On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, formally adopts Richard Henry Lee's resolution for independence from Great Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining. The resolution had originally been presented to Congress on June 7.

July 3, 1775
Washington takes command of Continental Army
George Washington rides out in front of the American troops gathered at Cambridge common in Massachusetts and draws his sword, formally taking command of the Continental Army

July 4, 1776
American colonies declare independence
On this day in 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of a new United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts

Jul 5, 1775:
Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition
Written by John Dickinson, the petition was directly addressed to King George III and expressed a hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.

July 7, 1777
Battle of Hubbardton
On this day in 1777, British and Patriot forces in the Saratoga campaign engage in the only battle fought in Vermont territory during the War for Independence, at Hubbardton, near Ticonderoga.

July 11, 1782
British evacuate Savannah, Georgia
On this day in 1782, British Royal Governor Sir James Wright, along with several civil officials and military officers, flee the city of Savannah, Georgia, and head to Charleston, South Carolina.

July 16, 1779
Anthony Wayne earns his nickname
On this day in 1779, American Brigadier General Anthony Wayne launches a coup de main against British fortifications at Stony Point, New York, on the orders of General George Washington. He earns the moniker 'Mad' Anthony Wayne for the ensuing maneuver.

July 18, 1792
Naval hero John Paul Jones dies in Paris
On this day in 1792, the Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones dies in his Paris apartment, where he was still awaiting a commission as the United States consul to Algiers. John Paul Jones is buried in a crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, where a Marine honor guard stands at attention in his honor whenever the crypt is open to the public.

July 21, 1775
Battle of Brewster Island
On this day in 1775, Patriot minutemen in whaleboats, commanded by Major Joseph Vose, raid Nantasket Point, also known as Little Brewster Island, in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The raiders temporarily drive off the islands British guard and confiscate lamps, oil, gunpowder and boats, before burning the wooden parts of the point's lighthouse. Ten days later, at General George Washington's orders, American Major Benjamin Tupper returned to the island with 300 men in whaleboats to prevent the British from completing their repairs to the burned lighthouse. They successfully killed or captured all 32 Redcoats defending the island, in addition to a British soldier with the rank of subaltern (just below a captain) and 10 carpenters who were employed there. Although Tupper missed the first tide and had to engage in an unexpected battle with British reinforcements, he lost only two men. Vose rose from his position as a major in William Heath's Massachusetts Regiment to a colonel of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment on January 1, 1777. In that capacity, he fought under General George Washington in the campaign for Monmouth, New Jersey, before moving back to New England and seeing action near Newport, Rhode Island. In February 1781, Vose took command of a battalion consisting of the eight oldest companies of Massachusetts troops. Vose's battalion then took its place in the Marquis de Lafayette's division of the Continental Army, fighting in Virginia during 1781, including in the victorious Battle of Yorktown. Vose completed his service during the War for Independence by commanding a Massachusetts regiment during the evacuation of New York City on November 25, 1783

July 26, 1775
Congress establishes U.S. Post Office
On this day in 1775, Congress establishes the United States Post Office and names Benjamin Franklin the first United States postmaster general

July 31, 1777
Marquis de Lafayette becomes a major-general without pay
On this day in 1777, a 19-year-old French aristocrat, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, accepts a commission as a major-general in the Continental Army--without pay.