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 prepare for the house the matters referred to them” – i.e., Saturdays were supposed to be a catch-up day for committee work, but that had become rare.
• The cartel between Brigadier General Arnold and Captain Foster about an exchange of prisoners following the Canadia campaign fiasco – was again postponed.
• A committee of three was appointed “to draw up rules and regulations for the conduct of the house, during debates.” As with other resolutions, we can only speculate what precipitated this resolution, but Jefferson was among the three appointed.
• Several claims were considered and approved.
• Finally, a committee of five was appointed to consider provisions for the wounded and disabled – again, the details and urgencies of war had to be attended to.

Paul Smith’s Letters from Delegates (vol. 4) also notes the submission of signed certification for “James Wilson’s Conduct in Congress.” Wilson, a Pennsylvania delegate, had become the subject of attack on his fidelity in a series of letter by a Robert Whitehill, one dated June 10, the very day that Congress had tabled the independence debate for three weeks.

Basically, Whitehill tasked Wilson for either waffling or outright lying when it came to supporting independence; on the one hand, Wilson claimed privately to be staunchly pro-independence, but publicly he feel duty bound by the strict standing instructions from the Pennsylvania Assembly against independence. The Assembly’s stance, however, had begun to soften under the influence of the Virginia resolves around June 5, and by June 8 it had rescinded those instructions and replaced them with the authorization

to concur with the other Delegates in Congress, in forming such further Compacts between the United Colonies, concluding such Treaties with foreign Kingdoms and States, and in adopting such other Measures as upon a View of all Circumstances, shall be judged necessary for promoting the Liberty, Safety and Interests of America.

I.e., Pennsylvania, like New Jersey the day before, had moved to supporting independence. But, Whitehill claimed, during Congress’s debates of June 8 and 10 Wilson nonetheless remained opposed to independence, claiming that he either did know of the rescission or had not been officially informed. Some 22 of Wilson’s fellow delegates – including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – expressed their support by signing the document.

Even so, Wilson’s predicament – if we are skeptical of Whitehill’s accusations (which also were directed toward John Dickinson) – was not an untypical one, since the issue of binding instructions was quite a sensitive as matters unfolded rapidly – and unevenly. Virginia and Massachusetts were clearly the front runners, but the movement toward independence in the middle colonies could be ragged and ugly. And New York’s convention’s instructions still stood firm.

Meanwhile, a little over a week remained before the Declaration draft would be submitted to Congress’s consideration, and we really don’t know with much exactness its state at this point. Chances are very likely that Jefferson was looking forward to the weekend to devote undistracted attention to it – but, with all else going on, surely he felt some pressure to wrap it up. But on the upside, the middle colonies were starting to move. But how would Jefferson concoct a document that would adequately reflect and inspire interstate agreement in the midst of all this jostling and bustle – not to mention dispiriting war news – in advance of an actual vote?

But before going forward, we’ll need to look backward a week …

Countdown to Semiquincentennial: Number x, June x
By Michael G. Ditmore