“If you want to safeguard our History, tell the truth.”
The First Tratior of the Revolution
3, October 1775
Massachusetts
Doctor Benjamin Church, JR a Spy and Traitor to the Liberties of all Americans begins his last piece of treachery.
Dr. Church was a confidant and friend of Samuel Adams and the late Joseph Warren, as well as the Sons of Liberty. He was a courier for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress to Philadelphia, member of the Committee of Correspondence, member of the Massachusetts Army and Surgeon-General of the Continental Army. In June 1775, Church was sent to Philadelphia to consult with the Continental Congress on matters of supplies, troop numbers and locations.
The story unfolds that after three failed attempts to convey information from his trip to British General Gage; his fourth attempt was intercepted and reported to General Washington. The normal chain of communications appeared to be disrupted which placed DR. Church in a predicament. On the 20th of September, He entrusted a letter the woman (unnamed) that was going into Newport, Rhode Island. She was instructed to hand the letter to a Captain Wallace or a Mr. Dudley. However the woman being unable to locate either talked with a friend, Godfrey Wainwood who was given the letter for delivery. Mr. Wainwood kept the letter without forwarding it as promised and showed it to a friend named Mr. Maxwell. Maxwell opened the letter and saw mixed-up characters as a cypher and took it as possible important correspondence to the enemy.
On the 26th of September; Mr. Maxwell, being in contact himself with the American headquarters, made way to see General Greene in Roxbury. General Greene sent the letter and report to headquarters. General Washington instructed that an investigation be made of the cypher. Reverend Samuel West and Elisha Porter decoded the letter and found it to contain confidential material which could help the enemy. Meanwhile, Mr. Wainwood and the unnamed woman was found and interviewed, giving details of whom and how the situation unfolded. It was noted by the General that DR. Church tried to resign from the army on the 20th but under the needs of the army, the request was refused. (To: Dr. Church, SIR: I am directed by his Excellency the General to inform you that his unwillingness to part with a good officer alone prevents his complying with your request, in your letter of the 20th instant. He desires you would stay with your family some time longer, and if there is then no prospect of its being in such a situation as to permit you to return to your duty, you will receive a discharge pursuant to your letter. Your very humble servant, HORATIO GATES, Adjutant-General.”)
There is also a notation in the 18, September 1775 Head-Quarters report of the day; “The inquiry into the Conduct of Dr. Church Director Genl. of the hospital and the respective regimental Surgeon, to be held tomorrow in General Heaths brigade.” Notice the dates of the paperwork and events are not working to give an accurate account of the circumstances.
Sometime around the 24th, General Washington informed the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts of the suspicion and evidence of the transgression, calling for an arrest warrant of Dr. Church. On the 3rd of October, the General had Church arrested by the military and questioned. At first Dr. Church denied the accusations, but the contents of the decoded letter proved otherwise. The Doctor made a statement that he was trying to mislead the British and was only working on the interest of the revolution. Doctor Church was charged with treason and given a military court-martialed not a civilian trail and convicted. General Heath writes in his journal; “October 3d and 4th, General Officers in council, on the supposed treachery of Dr. Church, who was taken into close custody, and afterwards kept in confinement.” General Washington writes Congress (John Hancock) of the evidence on the trail upon the 5th of October. Congress officially acknowledges the transgression of Dr. Church while in session on the 14th of October 1775; “Resolved, That a director general and chief physician of the Hospital in Massachusetts bay, be appointed in the room of Doctr. Church, who is taken into custody for holding a correspondence with the enemy.”
Fortunately for Church, Congress had not yet authorized the hanging of spies. Church was therefore merely imprisoned. He served this sentence in solitary confinement without window, comfort or visitation. In January of 1776 Church wrote to Congress seeking leniency, stating that the severity of his treatment had caused him to suffer from asthma and threatened his life. He was moved to another jail as a result. Church was greatly hated among patriots for his treachery. He was forced to jump from a window of his prison to save himself from a mob which was intent of giving him the hanging Congress had failed to legislate. He was quickly recaptured and returned to prison. His home, too, was raided and his property destroyed. His wife, without so much as a change of clothes or bed to sleep in, eventually was forced to sail to England.
In November 1775 Dr. Church is taken before the Assembly; “The Committee appointed to take into consideration the case of Dr. Church reported. Read and accepted, as follows: Whereas it appears to this House that Dr. Benjamin Church, late a Member thereof, by his past conduct has discovered himself to be inimical to the United American Colonies, and has laid himself open, in their opinion, to a criminal prosecution for his past conduct, in holding a traitorous correspondence with our enemies: And whereas the Court-Martial, in whose custody he now is, from the want of a suitable provision in the Continental Articles of War, may be unable to bring the said Church to condign punishment, and the setting him at liberty may be attended with dangerous consequences to the cause of America: therefore, Resolved, That the honourable the Council of this Colony be, and they hereby are desired to take suitable measures for causing the said Benjamin Church, in case of his being liberated from his present confinement, to be apprehended and secured, that such further measures, with respect to him, may be pursued, as the security of this people loudly demands, and the laws of this Colony will justify.” The last is from General Washington to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut; 11, Nov. 1775 - "Resolved, That Dr. Church be close confined in some secure Jail in the Colony of Connecticut, without the use of pen, ink, and paper; and that no person be allowed to converse with him, except in the presence of a Magistrate, or the Sheriff of the County where he shall be confined.”
Other evidence emerged long after this affair (the release of General Gage personal papers) that proof-positive of the crimes was revealed. In April of 1775, it was discovered; Church sent information to British General Gage of militia activities and hidden military stores. The Massachusetts Committee of Safety was aware of an incident when militia troops not called upon to muster prior to the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, was found to be Church’s doing. John Adams writes to Abigail 29, October 1775 “The Fall of Dr. Ch -- h, has given me many disagreable Reflections, as it places human Nature itself in a Point of bad Light, but the Virtue, the sincerity, the Honour, of Boston and Massachusetts Patriots in a worse. -- What shall We say of a Country which produces such Characters as Hutchinson and Church? -- However to turn my Attention from this detestible Subject to another more agreable. Congress has appointed instead of Church, Dr. Morgan of this City whose Character I will pourtray for your Satisfaction.”
Church was in Norwich prison for the next four years and then in April 1780 Congress ordered Church exiled to the West Indies, not to enter America again upon pain of death. Presumably this was an attempt to be lenient and in response to his apparent ailments. Unfortunately the schooner Welcome commanded by Master James Smithwick with crew and Doctor Benjamin Church never reached their destination of Martinico (Martinique) and was not heard from again, lost at sea.
**********************************************************
Transcript of Dr. Church trail (5 October 1775) http://www.masshist.org/education/resources/blackington/benjamin_church.pdf
“Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 499)
“Writings of George Washington” Vol. 4 (page 10-12)
“Journals of the Continental Congress” Vol 3 (page 294)
“Documents of the American Revolution” Series, 4, Vol. 3 (page 780)
“Memoirs of Major-General William Heath” edited by William Abbatt (page 22)
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0098-0001
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2009/11/dr-benjamin-church-sails-away-at-last.html
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume3/january05/primsource.cfm
http://churchtree.tripod.com/benjchurch.html
http://www.nsa.gov/about/_files/cryptologic_heritage/publications/prewii/Revolutionary_Secrets.pdf
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2007/10/truth-comes-out-about-dr-benjamin.html
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2007/10/godfrey-wainwood-versus-robert.html
http://www.masshist.org/education/resources/blackington/benjamin_church.pdf
http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/tara/
http://archive.org/details/summaryofproceed00pars
http://www.common-place.org/vol-06/no-01/tales/
For more reading
“General Thomas Gage, the Eighteenth-Century Literature if Military Intelligence, and the transition from Peace to Revolutionary War, 1774 to 1775” by John Rowland, Chapter 32 (page 503-521)
“General Gage's Informers” by Allen French
“Loyalist & the Treachery of Benjamin Church Jr.” by Benjamin Thompson
Spy and Traitor to the Liberties of all Americans
Doctor Benjamin Church, Jr.
“But remember my Brethren! When a people have once sold their liberties, it is no act of extraordinary generosity, to throw their lives and properties into the bargain, for they are poor indeed when enjoyed at the mercy of a master..” Benjn, Church Jr. 1773
(There is contention that no one knows what Dr. Church looked like, that Gillet painted only an ‘impression” of the likeness from studying family members.)
Portrait of Benjamin Church, from Mary C. Gillet, The Army Medical Department, 1775-1818. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1981. Courtesy of the Northern Illinois University Libraries.
The Liberty Tree of Boston, Massachusetts
(1646–1775) was a famous elm tree that stood in Boston near the Boston Common at the corners of the cross streets Orange (Washington), Newberry (Boylston) and Essex Streets. This tree had been planted by early settlers in 1646 on a barren site that is now a part of downtown Boston. It is believed by a book from 1722 on elms in the Boston area that the Great Elm could have been 100 feet in height and 18 foot in circumference with a spread of nearly 90 feet. It had become such a towering specimen in its 120 years that it was a local landmark.
A renowned special occasion for the use of the Great Elm came on the 5th of November each year. Many inhabitance of Boston would celebrate Pope’s Day. This holiday is centered on the bomb plot of November 1605, when Guy Fawkes planned to blow up Parliament along with King James I. The conspiracy was linked to the Pope. The Pope, hoped to spark a rebellion and a Catholic monarch on the throne which would return Catholicism in England. This so-called Gunpowder Plot was discovered and Fawkes and others were executed. Protestant Boston, as other colonial cities from 1700’s to 1772 acknowledge the day for remembrance. To Boston, this was a day for brawls and parading with a straw Pope on a pole which would finally be “strung up” on the branches of the elm. The North End and the South End gangs would meet at the commons. Noisy crowds of men and boys would push their carts from place to place shouting his well-known ditty: “Don’t you remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot” Dance with the Pope; Kiss the Devil”! Invariably, the two mobs would meet, leading to mayhem as each side defended its own Pope while attempting to capture the others. After the winning capture, the bloodied men and boys from both mobs would march together, pulling the carts to the Great Elm. There a great bonfire would be set, beer would be consumed and the effigies of the Pope and Fawkes would be hung to songs and merriment.
On the morning of 14, February 1766, Bostonians awoke to discover two effigies of British officials hanging from the lower limbs of the elm with one of them labeled as "The Stamp Officer”. This was the beginning of the wrath by the Sons of Liberty of Boston. They met under the great elm for community public discussions against the policies and attitude of the Crown. This was all triggered by the passage of the Stamp Act in November of 1765 and spurred on my men such as Samuel Adams, James Otis and Joseph Warren.
From that time on to 1774 the Liberty Tree was utilized as a meeting place for public displays of anger and patriotic fervor against the Crown, government authorities and unjust levy of attacks on their common rights. It is said the height and spread of the great elm, with its great canopy was so large that the Bostonians called their meeting area beneath the tree “Liberty Hall.” The great elm was referred to as “The Tree of Liberty or Liberty Tree” by Bostonians and the English press.
During the occupation of Boston by the British Army, the authorities made the Liberty Tree an object of ridicule. British soldiers tarred and feathered a man named Thomas Ditson, and forced him to march in front of the tree. They used the tree to “relieve” themselves. It was common for actions of disdain by the soldiers to the Boston buildings and homes of patriot leaders. Most were ransacked, ruined or destroyed. The Old South Meeting Hall was used as a riding stables, Samuel Adams home used for a feed storage warehouse and finally the Liberty Tree chopped down.
In the late fall of 1775, during the occupation of the city by the British Army, a party of British soldiers and Loyalists (said to be led by Job Williams), chopped down the Liberty Tree. It is reported that the great elm provided fourteen cords of wood and a folkloric story of one British soldier injured in its
The Massachusetts Army coat of 1775
The Massachusetts Army official issued coat of 1775
The Massachusetts “Bounty Coat”
The Third Provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolves to have 13, 000 coats made for the Massachusetts Army, to be delivered by October 1775.
“Made of good plain cloth to be delivered without buttons.”… “Each coat be faced with the same kind of cloth of which it is made; that the coats be made in the common plain way, without lapels, short, and with small folds. Each will have a certificate to be sewed to the inside of each coat, purporting from what town it came, and by whom the coat was made, and if the cloth was manufactured in this country, by whom it was manufactured.” (JPCM page 456)
The Committee of Supplies will have “all coats to be buttoned with pewter buttons, and that the coats for the regiment, respectively, have buttons of the same number on the face of them.” (JPCM page 457)
These resolves give the first description of what the coats will look like: Short coat made of cloth, facing to be the same, with small folds and NO lapels. There is nothing about color, fabric or how many buttons.
The research for this coat was completed, initially, by Henry M. Cooke IV for the Park Service in 1992, with a research paper titled “The Massachusetts Bounty Coat 1775.”
Mr. Cooke states that directly after the Lexington and Concord incident, the provincial government of Massachusetts offered upon enlistment the choice of a coat in lieu of money. The Provincial Congress resolved after the engagement of Bunker’s hill; as many soldiers left their personal articles on the field of battle as they hastily abandon the redoubts. Congress resolved to replace such articles as blankets, shirts and stockings. On 5, July 1775, Congress resolves to provide all the Massachusetts servicemen with a coat. Every soldier was to receive a coat, not at enlistment, but as stated in the resolve; every soldier would receive a coat by the month of October. The official wording of the resolves never calls the coat “Bounty Coat” and when this term was first used seems untraceable in the resolves. However, reference to the term is found in the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors Vol. 7 & Vol. 9. In October and December 1775, soldiers were given the choice of the bounty coat or enlistment money. On February 3rd of 1776 the General Assembly Vol XIX used the term “be entitled to the bounty of a Coat, or money for the same.” Also on 29, June 1776 the term is once again used and after that date nothing more is written about the coat. These are the only references from the Massachusetts Assembly.
Mr. Cooke refers to a letter (circular) sent out by the Committee of Supplies to the town of Stoughtonham, explaining how many coats need to be manufactured by the that community and a description of the coat, with a swatch of colored wool attached. Mr. Cooke was able to examine this swatch and conclude it to be of 20 ounce weight wool and the color suggested by Mr. Cooke is “between” Fawn (Pantone 16-1510) and Tobacco Brown (Pantone 17-1327). The letter and cloth is credited to be within the collections of the Boston Public Library. Each town could buy the cloth somewhere (Trade with England was cutoff) or the cloth needed to be woven and then dyed locally. It would be hard to completely match the desired color and weave with the other thirty plus communities doing the same thing. Mr. Cooke and K&K Historic Fabrics matched today’s colors with the swatch and created a “Woodchuck Brown” (unable to locate this company for a color sample) as a reasonable match to the 1775 swatch color. With lightweight Kersey (wool), a coat was created but for some odd reason, Mr. Cooke, assumed the front of the coat had 5 buttons ( again the original specifications did not give information on how many buttons) and added flaps, lapels, cuffs, pockets and buttons in the back. Another company Kochan & Phillips Historical Textiles has also produced a color called Red-Brown Bounty Cloth. With all his research done, this modern “Bounty” coat is not following the correct original specifications.
The Boston Public Library has found the letter and swatch in their collection and forward a digital picture of the letter and cloth swatch. It is a darker color then Mr. Cooke’s “Woodchuck brown” and a site showed a group of reenactors with the woodchuck color and called the coat Bounty Coat. However, very close match to the color can be found at Kochan & Phillips Historical Textiles which features a Red-Brown Bounty in their collection.
Also another important question is buttons; as in how many buttons? Would there be 5, 6 or 7 buttons down the front? Nowhere in the Journal of the Provincial Congress is that made clear. As indicated by Congress, the buttons will be cast with the regimental number. Mr. Cooke Bounty coat has 5 buttons in the front and 4 buttons in the back, which again doesn’t follow the original specifications. For an historical note on Massachusetts buttons; button casting for the New Army of Massachusetts would have small dots surrounding the number of the designated regiment. But again, having the small dots on the button is not recorded in the Journals of the Provincial Congress either.
It is down to the facts again.
The coat will be of made in the common way which is short, without lapels and with small folds. It will be made from good plain cloth. The buttons will be made of pewter and have numbers of the regiment stamped upon them. The indicate color of the cloth is not given in print how many buttons. Again there definitely weren’t pockets nor flaps, lapels, collar, cuffs and no buttons in the back.
Note: The Lexington Minutemen Reenacting Group (see Link) has a description for the “Bounty coat” to be worn in their unit that reflects Mr. Cooke’s opinion of the design but not to the original speciation or color.
“Bounty Coat: A bounty would have been issued to Lexington men serving at the Siege of Boston with Captain John Wood‟s Company, Colonel Baldwin‟s Regiment in October, 1775. The coat was a tobacco brown laborer‟s jacket and would be cut much like a sleeved waistcoat with a collar and cuffs. The buttons, stamped with the regimental number “38”, would generally be larger than 5/8-inch diameter and, therefore, spaced further apart. The bounty coat would have pockets and pocket flaps without buttons on the flaps. Acceptable material is wool.8 Bounty coats cannot be worn at events recreating an engagement prior to October 1, 1775.”
Note: There is nothing in the American Archives (Documents of the American Revolution 1774 – 1776) concerning “bounty coats”. (At this time)
LINKS:
*The Massachusetts Bounty Coat of 1775 by Henry M. Cooke IV http://arnoldsmarch.com/Bounty%20Coats.pdf
*Journal of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts (JPCM)
https://archive.org/details/journalsofeachpr00massuoft
*Acts and Resolves Province of Massachusetts General Assembly 1775 – 1776 Vol. XIX
https://archive.org/details/actsresolvespass7576mass
*Rare Books & Manuscripts Division, Boston Public Library
http://www.bpl.org/research/rb/
*Massachusetts Grand Army 1775 Buttons
http://www.najecki.com/repro/buttons/Cont/MGA.html
*Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume 7 (Bounty Coats pages 481, 866)
https://archive.org/details/massachusettssolhhixmass
*Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume 9 (Bounty Coat pages 533, 864)
https://archive.org/details/massachusettssolklsumass
*Kochan & Phillips Historical Textiles Red-Brown Bounty, Drab - color match of the 1775 Bounty Coat cloth from a swatch attached to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress Circular Letter. Available in Broadcloth
http://www.najecki.com/repro/Wool.html
*Lexington Minutemen Reenacting Group
http://www.lexingtonminutemen.com/ltb-clothing-guidelines.html
Pictures:
A drawing of a short coat with 5 button front and without lapels, cuffs, pockets
The Cooke’s “Bounty” coat in woodchuck brown with pockets, flaps, lapels, collar, cuffs and buttons in the back
Colonial-style short jacket made of wool and 9 button front (jas Townsend & son)
Colonial-style short jacket made of linen and 5 button front
Third Provincial Congress resolve for the making of the Massachusetts coat 5, July 1775
General Court of Massachusetts 3 February 1776
General Court of Massachusetts 29, June 1776
The color Fawn
The color Tobacco
The color Red-Brown Bounty
Buttons of Massachusetts 1775
Picture: The letters and swatch of cloth of Mr. Cooke’s research paper of 1992
Picture: The letters and swatch of cloth of Mr. Cooke’s research paper of 1992
Final note:
I sent a request to the Boston Public Library for verification of Mr. Cooke’s reference to the letter and swatch of cloth concerning the Massachusetts Army coat of 1775 in his research paper. After two days of searching, and the first note that it wasn’t there; the swatch of cloth and letter were found. I give my heartfelt thanks to Kimberly Reynolds who is the Curator of Manuscripts at Boston Public Library for her time and efforts in retrieving the items.
Thank you to Henry Cooke IV for his research paper and the finding of the Stoughtonham Letter. Without his initial research, the cloth swatch would not have come into the public’s eye.
Thank you to JL. BELL for his contribution of the rediscovery of the letter.
Citizen David, Chairman Committee of Correspondence
Lt.-General George Washington rides to Boston 1775
22, June 2014
The next 11 days there will be postings of General Washington’s journey to Massachusetts to take command of the army that is forming there. The research involved with this has different versions of the General itinerary. Each provides nearly the same accounts but timing and dates for some locations are different. In fact; the first of July is missing and some accounts and 30th of June to the 2nd of July has several different stories. Local folkloric tales and facts have a tendency to encounter each other and pride of defending a hometown historical site will come into play. Here are the sources for the next 11 day postings, which will give evidence and speculation.
“Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3
“Colonel Henshaw’s Orderly Book June 30 – July 4, 1775”
“Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 301)
“The Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 305)
“Correspondence of George Washington” by Jarred Sparks Part II, Vol. III (page 10)
“Connecticut historical collections” by J. Barber (page 175-176) http://archive.org/details/connecticuthisto00inbarb
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/revolution/martha.html
http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~hsb41/Washington_Elm/orderly.ht
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMG3P6_George_Washington_Memorial_Highway_Springfield_MA
June 23 - Philadelphia
June 24 – New Brunswick
June 25 – Newark
June 26 – New York City
June 27 – Kings Bridge
June 28 – New Haven
June 29 – Wethersfield
June 30 – Springfield or Brookfield
July 1 – Watertown
July 2 – Cambridge or Watertown
July 3 - Cambridge
23, June 1775 (Friday)
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania
General Washington leaves Philadelphia for Boston.
On the way, a post rider from Massachusetts is met and word of the battle at Bunker’s hill was relayed. The entourage arrives at New Brunswick, New Jersey.
23, June 1775
Philadelphia
General Washington with his entourage leaves Philadelphia and rides towards Boston. In a letter to Mrs. Washington dated the 23rd …“Phila. June 23d 1775. My dearest, As I am within a few Minutes of leaving this City, I could not think of departing from it without dropping you a line; especially as I do not know whether it may be in my power to write again till I get to the Camp at Boston …” He leaves Philadelphia with 6 aid-de-camps, personal servant, an escort of Pennsylvania militia cavalry.
The Writings of George Washington, Vol 3 (page 301)
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/revolution/martha.html
24, June 1775 (Saturday)
New Brunswick, New Jersey
General Washington leaves New Brunswick and travels to Newark.
24, June 1775
New Jersey
General Washington entourage has entered New Jersey and he writes to the President of Congress in the evening; “The Rain on Friday Afternoon and Saturday the Advice of several Gentlemen of the Jerseys' and this City, by no Means to cross Hudson River at the lower Ferry and some other Occurrences too trivial to mention (which happened on the Road) prevented my arrival at this place until the Afternoon of this day. In the morning, after giving General Schuyler such Orders, as, from the result of my Inquiry into matters here, appear necessary, I shall set out on my Journey to the Camp at Boston and shall proceed with all the dispatch in my Power.” NOTE: A footnote written in this exert states; “Lee; Schuyler; Joseph Reed, his military secretary; Thomas Mifflin, his aide-de-camp; and Samuel Griffin, aide to Lee, accompanied the General. The General’s route bought him to Trenton. He will continue on through New Brunswick, Newark, Hoboken, New York City, Kings Bridge, New Rochelle, N.Y.; New Haven, Hartford, Wethersfield, Conn.; Springfield, Worcester, Watertown and Head-Quarters at Cambridge”
“Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 301)
25, June 1775 (Sunday)
Newark, New Jersey
General Washington leaves Newark and crossed the Hudson River at Hoboken and landed near Greenwich and enters New York City. The General receives more news on the battle at Bunker’s hill.
25, June 1775 (Sunday)
New York City, New York
New York City at 5 o’clock P.M.
General Washington writes to the President of Congress
“Sir: Upon my Arrival here this Afternoon I was inform'd that an Express was in Town from the provincial Camp in Massachusetts Bay, and having seen among other papers in his possession a Letter directed to you as president of Congress I have taken the Liberty to open it. I was induced to take that Liberty by several Gentlemen of New York who were anxious to know the particulars of the Affair of the 17th Inst and agreeable to the Orders of many members of the Congress who judged it necessary that I should avail myself of the best Information in the Course of my Journey.”
“The Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 305)
“Correspondence of George Washington” by Jarred Sparks Part II, Vol. III (page 10)
26, June 1775 (Monday)
New York City, New York
General Washington reviews troops and continued as far as Kingsbridge.
26, June 1775
New York City
General Washington letter to the New York legislature:
“Gentlemen: At the same time that with you I deplore the unhappy necessity of such an Appointment, as that with which I am now honored, I cannot but feel sentiments of the highest gratitude for this affecting Instance of distinction and Regard. May your every wish be realized in the success of America, at this important and interesting Period; and be assured that the every exertion of my worthy Colleagues and myself will be equally extended to the re-establishment of Peace and Harmony between the Mother Country and the Colonies, as to the fatal, but necessary, operations of War. When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in that happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country. I am etc.”
“Writings of George Washington” Vol. 3 (page 306)
27, June 1775 (Tuesday)
Kingsbridge, New York
General Washington and his entourage stops at New Rochelle, where General Schuyler remains. The routine continues to New Haven, Connecticut and stays at Isaac Beers Tavern.
27, June 1775
New York
General Washington and his entourage, traveling by coach, are on the Old Post Road heading north to New Rochelle, where General David Wooster, waited upon the General’s. It is report that the evening was spent at Isaac Beer’s Tavern. These days are filled with hard-solid traveling and the General doesn’t reflect on his journey within his papers until the 3rd of July.
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by JL BELL (page 80)
28, June 1775 (Wednesday)
New Haven, Connecticut
General Washington reviews the Yale student military company and then continued the journey to Wethersfield.
28, June 1775
Connecticut
General Washington’s entourage continues into Connecticut and arrives in New Haven, as reported the Connecticut Journal, “They were escorted out of town by two companies dressed in their uniform, and by a company of young gentlemen belonging to the Seminary in this place who made a handsome appearance, and whose expertness in the military exercises gained them the approbation of the Generals.”.
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3 (page 80)
“Connecticut historical collections” by J. Barber (page 175-176) http://archive.org/details/connecticuthisto00inbarb
Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker (page 7)
http://ordinarynewhaven.com/history.php
29, June 1775 (Thursday)
Wethersfield, Connecticut
General Washington and his entourage spent the night at Silas Deane home. The General continued north and enter Massachusetts and onto Springfield.
29, June 1775
Wethersfield, Connecticut
General Washington and his entourage will stay at the house Silas Deane was lodging at, the “Webb House.” The evening was filled with introductions, also entertainment with refreshments.
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3 (page 81)
“Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker (page 7)
http://www.webb-deane-stevens.org/press_room.html
30, June 1775 (Friday)
Springfield, Massachusetts or Brookfield
General Washington is met by a committee from the Provincial Congress. The routine continues to Watertown.
30, June 1775
Springfield, Massachusetts
General Washington and his entourage arrive in Massachusetts. He is met by Dr. Benjamin Church and Mr. Moses Gill, the two representatives of the Provincial Congress. After a grand reception the group heads to Watertown, stopping at Brookfield for the night. NOTE: Brookfield seems to be unaware of this. A notation in a diary by a Mr. Gill states; “I am Now Accompanying Genl. Washington and Lee from Springfield to the Camp. We Meet them at Spring, lodged last Night at Brookfield and are now under the Escort of the Troop of Horse which is to Continue till we arrive at Worcester where we are to be received by an Other Troop which is to Escort us to Morelborogh—where we are to be received by a other Troop of Horse which is to Land the General at the Camp.” NOTE: Connecticut history and the D.A.R. indicate the General stayed at Hartford which is impossible, for his arrival is confirmed for Springfield on the 30th.
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3 (page 81-82)
Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker (page 8)
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMG3P6_George_Washington_Memorial_Highway_Springfield_MA
1, July 1775 (Saturday)
Watertown, Massachusetts
General Washington and General Lee received a welcome and congratulation letters from the Provincial Congress.
1, July 1775 (Saturday)
Watertown, Massachusetts
General Washington and his entourage arrive at Watertown late afternoon. After numerous reviewing of militia and scores of citizens along the way, travel was slow. The General is lodged at the President of Harvard, Samuel Langdon’s home. The General receives a letter from the Provincial Congress of their sincere wish to accommodate his authority and assures the General the fidelity of the Massachusetts Army and its need for the Command-in-Chief. “While we applaud the attention to the public good, manifested in your appointment, we equally admire that disinterested virtue, and distinguished patriotism, which alone could call you from those enjoyments of domestic life, which a sublime and manly taste, joined with a most affluent fortune can afford, to hazard your life, and to endure the fatigues of war, in the defence of the rights of mankind and the good of your country.” The General returns the compliment with a letter that he thanks the Provincial Congress and he will look at their army before commenting. “The short space of time which has elapsed since my arrival does not permit me to decide upon the state of the army.”
http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~hsb41/Washington_Elm/mapc_letters.html
Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3
2, July 1775 (Sunday)
Watertown, Massachusetts
General Washington and routine leaves for Cambridge by mid-afternoon. At Cambridge the General meets with General’s Ward, Thomas and Heath, and then inspects the positions at Winter hill and Dorchester neck. The General’s and staff will have dinner at the widow Dorothy Coolidge’s Tavern. The General stays at the Hasting House.
2, July 1775
Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts
The exact historical story is confused and has become muddled with the years. Reports have Genera Washington just arriving at Watertown and another has him arriving in Cambridge. There is the letters from the Provincial Congress for the 1st of July and yet there are sources that claim it was on Sunday the 2nd. By the best of research, it is likely the General was already taking command of the Hasting House headquarters of General Ward and meeting the Massachusetts Army command. It is also noted that on the 2nd, Widow Coolidge Tavern (Cambridge) has the General visit for the evening.
“Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3
“Journals of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts” William Lincoln (page 38, 39, 40)
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:7d278v012
3, June 1775 (Monday)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
At 9AM, General Washington the Commander-in-Chief of the American Continental Army takes command of the Massachusetts Army; which includes troops incorporated into the Massachusetts Army; from Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut, with troops arriving from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York.
3, July 1775
Cambridge
The Commander-in-Chief of the United Colonies Continental Army, General George Washington, takes command. Folkloric history gives the story of his acceptance while under the Elm Tree, but scholars have discovered evidence that the Elm wasn’t there and the grand parade didn’t happen. There are of other sources which indicate a inspection parade occur. Heedless of the versions, General Washington was in command and issued the first Orders-of-the-Day from HeadQuarters, Cambridge.
“Itinerary of General Washington” by William Baker
“George Washington’s Headquarters and Home” by J.L. Bell, Chapter 3
“Colonel Henshaw’s Orderly Book June 30 – July 4, 1775” http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~hsb41/Washington_Elm/orderly.ht
3, July 1775
Cambridge, Massachusetts
The Hasting House the home of Johnathan Hasting.
Headquarters for General Ward and off ice for the Committee of Safety.
Historical Guide to Cambridge by the DAR Hannah Winthrop Chapter (page 159)
http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Hastings%20House.html
*****************
The Rebellion of the colonies now becomes a Revolution.
On the 4th of July 1775, the Continental Congress places all troops under one command and that all the colonies soldiers as Troops of the United Provinces of North America