by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 25, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
Tuesday morning, June 25, 1776, was taken up with military affairs mainly: letters from General Washington (he wrote daily) and other generals (referred to the Board of War), a compensation request, a large batch of marine appointments, a secret committee order for...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 24, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
After an unusually long adjournment, Congress resumed business with two letters from General Washington and a resolution “to put a stop to the raising the companies of Mohickan and Stockbridge indians.” Quoting a New Jersey convention letter describing Governor...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 23, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
June 23 being a Sunday, Congress continued in its usual adjournment, after an unusual Saturday adjournment. As expected, delegates caught up on correspondence, extending as far back as April – and were often expressing dismay, disappointment, and alarm over the very...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 22, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
No business in Congress on June 22, 1776, as it adjourned for both Saturday and Sunday. During the break, William Ellery (for the the Rhode Island delegation) wrote an update about Congress to Governor Nicholas Cooke, which included a brief but accurately detailed...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 22, 2026 | Editing
To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I’m welcoming a guest writer to this space! Michael Ditmore is a professor, author, early American scholar, and my husband! Everyone knows (or thinks they know) that we celebrate July 4 because that’s when the...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 21, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
The Committee of Claims directed that Andrew McNair, the custodian, be reimbursed to “the sum of 120 23/90 dollars” for provisioning “twenty four Indians while at the state-house, which was twenty days” — the Iroquois legation that had met earlier with Congress...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 20, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
Some highlights of Congress’s proceedings include: A reminder that “adjournments from the Friday evening, be always to Monday morning, unless on any particular occasion, the Congress shall order otherwise.” Why? “… in order to give time to the several committees, to...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 19, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
Amid so much celebration, it is at the same time appropriate to reexamine the agonizing drama that led up to it its pivotal moment with the Declaration. Although it’s really too long and involved a story to recount with much justice … I called attention yesterday to a...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 18, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
As usual, Congress began with notice of receiving and reading several letters (those from generals were then sent to the board of war and ordinance). Gunning Bedford, Esq., was “promoted to the rank of muster-master general” (basically the person in charge of the...
by Tammy Ditmore | Jun 17, 2026 | Countdown to Semiquincentennial
Congress’s closing business on on Saturday, June 15, 1776, came out of another committee of the whole, in response to a group of reports dealing with the botched Canadian campaign and its aftermath. In closing for the day, Congress appointed “a committee of four … to...
