Bunker Hill and the Birth of the Continental Army
June 1 — A General Fast in Philadelphia
Philadelphia — Holt’s Journal reported, “The synod of New York and Philadelphia, at their late meeting in the former city, appointed the last Thursday in June to be observed by all the congregations under their care, as a day of fasting and prayer, on account of the alarming state of our public affairs. Should the Continental Congress appoint a fast, the synod have directed that to be observed in preference to the day appointed by themselves, provided that it is not more than four weeks distant from the last Thursday of June; if at a greater distance, they have ordered both days to be kept. They also recommend to all the congregations in their charge, to spend the afternoon of the last Thursday in every month in public prayer, during the continuation of our present troubles.”
- John Holt (1721–1784) — Holt was a prominent newspaper publisher from Williamsburg, Virginia. His most famous publication was the New York Journal or General Advertiser, or Holt’s Journal. Holt was a member of the New York Sons of Liberty, who helped support his printing operation. He fled New York City when British forces approached it in 1776. He resumed printing operations in Kingston until British forces attacked and burned the town during Clinton’s Highlands Expedition (1777). He resumed publication at Poughkeepsie and died in 1784.
June 1 — Abraham Ten Eyck and the New Jersey Militia
New Jersey — Rivington’s Gazetteer reported, “The martial spirit which prevails among the inhabitants of Somerset county, in New Jersey, truly merits the attention of the public. We have certain intelligence that they are forming themselves into companies, and daily exercising, to become complete masters of the military discipline; and particularly, that the township of Bridgewater, in said county, met at Rariton, the sixth instant, and chose Mr. Abraham Ten Eyck, captain, under whose command eighty-five volunteers immediately enlisted, to be in readiness at an hour’s warning, to march for the assistance of any neighboring colony, on any emergency. Their pay and other necessaries are provided by said townships. The other counties and townships, it is hoped, will follow their example, as it may be necessary to repel force by force, in order to secure our national rights and privileges.”
June 1 — The Pennsylvania Packet reported, “A Parliamentary youngster opening one day unseasonably, an old sportsman, who sat next him, whispering in his ear, reminded him, that when a young dog was faulty, it was customary to couple him with one better trained, and whose experience might connect his error; true, replied the boy archly, when young dogs run counter, I know it is usual to couple them; but when old dogs run counter, we hang them up.”
June 2 — The Massachusetts Provincial Congress asked the Continental Congress to take over the New England Army of Observation.
June 4 — Peyton Randolph Returns to Williamsburg
Williamsburg — Yesterday morning a detachment of cavalry from the Williamsburg volunteers, in their uniforms, well mounted and equipped, with a wagon containing their baggage and provisions, set out in a regular military procession, to meet the Hon. Peyton Kandolph, Esq., late president of the Grand Continental Congress, on the way from Philadelphia, his presence being requisite at the general assembly now sitting. To-day about noon, the troop of horse met that gentleman at Ruffin’s ferry, accompanied by Colonel Carter Braxton, and escorted them to Williamsburg, after having been joined by a company of infantry, who marched out the distance of two miles for the same purpose. They arrived about sunset, and were attended to the hon. gentleman’s house by the whole body of cavalry and infantry, whose very martial appearance gave great satisfaction to the spectators. The bells began to ring as our worthy delegate entered the city, and the unfeigned joy of the inhabitants, ou this occasion, was visible in every countenance; there were illuminations in the evening, and the volunteers, with many other respectable gentlemen, assembled at the Raleigh, spent an hour or two in harmony and cheerfulness, and drank several patriotic toasts.
- Peyton Randolph (1721–1775) — Randolph was a lawyer, politician, and planter from Virginia who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Randolph served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses and the first President of the Continental Congress in 1774. His leadership was important to the Patriot Cause, earning him the nickname “The Father of Your Country.”
- Carter Braxton (1736–1797) — Braxton was a Founding Father from Virginia. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and played a key role in the Virginia Gunpowder Incident of 1775.
June 5 — In Williamsburg, Virginia, a mob raided the arsenal and removed approximately 400 muskets.
June 6 — Exchange of Prisoners from the Battles of Lexington and Concord
Boston — The following article appeared in the Virginia Gazette on July 1. It provided details on the war’s first formal prisoner exchange.
This being the day agreed on for the exchange of prisoners, between twelve and one o’clock, Dr. Warren and Brigadier-General Putnam, in a phaeton, together with Major Dunbar, and Lieut. Hamilton of the 6th, on horseback, Lieut. Potter, of the marines, in a chaise; John Hilton of the 47th, Alexander Campbell of the 4th, John Tyne, Samuel Marcy, Thomas Perry, and Thomas Sharp of the marines, wounded men in two carts; the whole escorted by the Weathersfield company, under the command of Captain Chester, entered the town of Charlestown, and marching slowly through it, halted at the ferry, where, upon a signal being given.
Major Moncrief landed from the Lively man-of-war in order to receive the prisoners and see his old friend General Putnam. Their meeting was truly cordial and affectionate. The wounded privates were soon sent on board the Lively, but Major Moncrief and the other officers returned with General Putnam and Dr. Warren to the house of Dr. Foster, where an entertainment was provided for them.
About three o’clock a signal was made by the Lively, that they were ready to deliver up our prisoners, upon which General Putnam and Major Moncrief went to the ferry, where they received
- Messrs. Jolin Peck, James Hews, James Brewer, and Daniel Preston, of Boston;
- Messrs. Samuel Frost and Seth Russell, of Cambridge;
- Mr. Joseph Bell, of Danvers;
- Mr. Elijah Seaver, of Roxbury; and
- Caesar Augustus, a negro servant of Mr. Tileston, of Dorchester,
who were conducted to the house of Captain Foster and there refreshed; after which the general and major returned to their company, and spent an hour or two in a very agreeable manner.
Between five and six o’clock Major Moncrief, with the officers that had been delivered to him, were conducted to the ferry, where the Lively’s barge received them, after which General Putnam, with the prisoners that had been delivered to him, returned to Cambridge, escorted in the same manner as before.
The whole was conducted with the utmost decency and good humor, and the Weathersfield company did honor to themselves, their officers, and their country.
The regular officers expressed themselves as highly pleased; those who had been prisoners politely acknowledged the genteel kind treatment they had received from their captors; the privates, who were all wounded men, expressed in the strongest terms their grateful sense of the tenderness which had been shown them in their miserable situation; some of them could do it only by their tears.
It would have been to the honor of the British arms if the prisoners taken from us could with justice have made the same acknowledgment. It cannot be supposed that any officers of rank, or common humanity, were knowing to the repeated cruel insults that were offered them; but it may not be amiss to hint to the upstarts concerned, two truths of which they appear to be wholly ignorant, viz.: That compassion is as essential a part of the character of a truly brave man as daring, and that insult offered to the person completely in the power of the insulter, smells as strong of cowardice as it does of cruelty.
- Virginia Gazette — Three newspapers called The Virginia Gazette were published between 1736 and 1780 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
- AHC Note — Caesar Augustus was the first black American taken as a prisoner by the British. He was captured on the Battle Road, near Charleston Neck (see Patriots of Color at the Battles of Lexington and Concord).
June 6 — In New York City, Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willett and members of the New York Sons of Liberty seized five wagonloads of weapons from British soldiers who were trying to move them out of the city.
- Marinus Willett (1740–1830) — Willett was a veteran of the French and Indian War, who became involved with the Patriot Cause in New York City. Alongside John Lamb, Isaac Sears, and Alexander McDougall, he was a key member of the Sons of Liberty. When the war started, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd New York Regiment. He participated in the Invasion of Canada and the Saratoga Campaign. Afterward, he served in the Northern Department until the end of the war.
June 8 — “Colonel Skeene, governor of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, is at Philadelphia upon his parole of honor, to keep within eight miles of the city between the Delaware and Schuylkill, and not to correspond with any person on political subjects. This gentleman concealed the circumstance of his being an officer, from the captain with whom he came a passenger. But a few days before they made the capes of Delaware, they spoke a New England vessel, who informed them of the taking of Ticonderoga. The Colonel instantly declared he would march with five thousand men from Canada, and retake it; and manifested such warmth on the occasion that the captain of the ship discovered the quality of his passenger, and after reprimanding him for the imposition he had practised upon him, thought it prudent, upon his arrival at Philadelphia, to deliver him up. The Colonel had taken care, however, to destroy his despatches, and now finds how ineffectual is his commission to tamper with the members of the Congress, in the way that an immaculate ministry procure the sanction of an immaculate Parliament.” — Virginia Gazette, July 8.
- Philip Skene (1725–1810) — Skene was a British soldier who fought in the French and Indian War and founded Skenesborough, near Lake Champlain. He was appointed Governor of Crown Point and Ticonderoga and led the local militia.
June 8 — Hancock Reviews the Philadelphia Battalions
Philadelphia — “This morning the three battalions of the city and liberties of Philadelphia, consisting of fifteen hundred men, the artillery company of one hundred and fifty, (with two twelve and four six-pound brass field-pieces) a Battalions, troop of light horse, several companies of light infantry, rangers, and riflemen, in the whole above two thousand men, marched to the commons, and having joined in brigade, went through the manual exercise, firings and manoeuvres, (with a dexterity scarcely to have been expected from such short practice,) in the presence of the honorable members of the Continental Congress, and several thousand spectators; among whom were a great number of the most respectable inhabitants of this city.”
Rivington’s Gazette reported that John Hancock, a Colonel in the Massachusetts Militia, reviewed the troops and said the following lines.
“While Freedom’s daughters all their aid afford,
And deck the warrior with the gorgeous sword;
Do thou, great Hancock, all their ranks inspire
With patriot virtues, and the hero’s fire.
Form’d by thy blest example — they shall claim
The fair one’s fondness, and the conqueror’s fame”
June 8 — “The New York Provincial Congress have desired the General Assembly of Connecticut to send sufficient force to hold the important fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, until that province can raise troops for the purpose, and they will reimburse the expense, those fortresses being within the limits of that province.” — Rivington’s Gazette, June 8.
June 8 — A Tarring and Feathering in Charleston
Charleston — “This forenoon, Laughlin Martin and John Dealy were carried through the principal streets of Charleston, South Carolina, in complete suits of tar and feathers. The very indecent and daring behavior of the two culprits, in several instances, occasioned their being made public spectacles of. After having been exhibited for about half a hour, and having made many acknowledgments of their crime, they were conducted home, cleaned, and quietly put on board of Captain Lasley’s ship, lying wind bound for Bristol. Upon the intercession of Martin’s friends, and his promises of future good behavior, he is allowed to come on shore and follow his business as usual.” — Gaine’s Mercury, July 3.
- Hugh Gaine (c. 1726–1807) — A New York printer who published the New York Mercury and the New York Royal Gazette. He held a neutral view of the American Revolution, which created conflicts with Loyalists and Patriots. In November 1775, the New York Sons of Liberty threatened to destroy his print shop. During the war, Gaine’s position shifted, depending on who was perceived to be winning.
June 9 — General Guy Carleton declared martial law in Canada, suspended all administrative provisions of the Quebec Act, and started recruiting Canadian volunteers to increase his forces.
- Guy Carleton (1724–1808) — Carleton was a prominent British officer and politician during the 18th Century. He is most famous in America for being the Governor of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War and commanding British forces during the Invasion of Canada (1775–1776).
June 10 — John Adams proposed the organization of an army for the American Colonies.
June 11–12 – Battle of Machias
Machias, Maine — On June 2, three British ships — the Unity, the Polly, and the Margaretta — arrived at Machias to purchase lumber. The Unity was under the command of Captain Ichabod Jones, a Loyalist merchant. Jones went ashore and started to negotiate with the townspeople, insisting the lumber would not be used for the British Garrison in Boston.
By June 6, some of the townspeople found out Jones was misleading them, and the lumber was going to be used to build barracks for British troops.
On Sunday, June 11, the commanding officer of the Margaretta, Midshipman James Moore, was attending church services when some of the townspeople tried to kidnap him. Moore escaped through a window, returned to his ship, and opened fire on the town. The townspeople returned fire from the shore. The Alarm was raised, and men from neighboring towns responded. That night, the men organized a militia company and devised a plan to capture the British ships.
The following day, the militia sailed up to the Margaretta, which sailed a short distance away, and then opened fire on the militia’s boat. The militia sailed to the Margaretta, and a battle ensued, during which Midshipman Moore was mortally wounded. The Americans captured Margaretta and took the crew as prisoners.
June 12 — Gage’s Proclamation of Amnesty
Boston — Governor Thomas Gage proclaimed martial law in Massachusetts and offered pardons to any “rebels” who agreed to lay down their arms and return to their homes, except for Samuel Adams and John Hancock. On June 28, the Pennsylvania Packet reported, “Today General Gage has issued a proclamation, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who will forthwith lay down their arms, and return to their usual occupations. Those who do not accept the mercy he offers, and who give protection to those gentlemen, or assist them in any way, are to be treated as rebels and traitors. Martial law is also declared, ‘for so long a time as the present unhappy occasion shall necessarily require.’ A correspondent says: — ‘The proclamation is replete with consummate impudence, the most abominable lies, and stuffed with daring expressions of tyranny as well as rebellion against the established constitutional authority both of Great Britain and of the American States.”
June 12 — Gage’s Account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord
Boston — “The following paragraph is extracted from some remarks on Gage’s account of the battle at Lexington, which is published in the London Gazette of to-day. The miserable Gazette writer concludes his narrative by informing the public that General Gage says, “that too much praise cannot he given to Lord Percy for his remarkable activity the whole day.” The public will think this a very singular compliment! The preceding part of the narrative has told us a story about the troops marching, or in plainer English, retreating from Lexington. They did not halt, but continued their retreat for fifteen miles. What then are we to understand by the remarkable activity of Lord Percy? His personal bravery is too well known to leave room for suspicion that he would show “remarkable activity” in retreating; yet the account in the Gazette leaves the compliment so ambiguous, that an invidious reader might suppose Lord Percy made it, like the swift-footed Achilles, with a light pair of heels. It is not surprising that Gage should wish to pay his court to Northumberland house, but when he pays another compliment, as he cannot write himself, he should entrust a better hand than the pensioned compiler of the Gazette.” — Constitutional Gazette, August 26.
June 12 — Rhode Island Establishes the first American Navy
Providence — Merchant John Brown outfitted one of his ships, the Katy, with guns, so it could be used to defend American ships and attack British ships. Captain Abraham Whipple commanded the Katy. This was part of the Operations in Narragansett Bay in 1775.
- Operations in Narragansett Bay (1775) — The Operations in Narragansett Bay were a series of military actions that took place on land and sea, on and around the waters and islands of the Province of Rhode Island. The operations took place during the Siege of Boston and contributed to the establishment of both the Rhode Island Navy and the Continental Navy. British threats to towns around Narragansett Bay also helped solidify Rhode Island’s support for independence.
June 14 — Birth of the Continental Army
Philadelphia — Congress authorized companies of riflemen to be raised from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, establishing the Continental Army. A committee was appointed to draw up the rules and regulations for the new army. The committee included George Washington and Philip Schuyler. Congress also agreed to take control of the New England Army of Observation.
June 14 — The Post Office
New England — “A few days ago returned to New York from the eastward, Mr. William Goddard, who has been indefatigable in soliciting the establishment of post-offices on constitutional principles, in which he has at last succeeded. The matter has been taken up by the committees, provincial Congresses, or assemblies, in the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, throughout which, offices, postmasters, riders, and rates of postage have been established and are to be laid before the Continental Congress, there to be approved or altered as shall be thought expedient. It is hoped New York and the other governments will adopt similar measures. The rates of hostage have been continued as before.” — Holt’s Journal, June 15.
June 14 — In Boston, General Gage approved a plan to seize Dorchester Heights. The plan was intended to expand the territory of the Boston Garrison and to potentially launch an attack on American forces at Cambridge.
June 15 — Spies notified the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that the British intended to occupy Dorchester Heights. Congress ordered General Artemas Ward to send troops to occupy Bunker Hill, overlooking the Charlestown Peninsula and Boston Harbor.
June 15 — George Washington Nominated as Commander-in-Chief
Philadelphia — John Adams nominated George Washington as General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. In a unanimous vote, Congress approved the nomination. Congress also authorized the commissioning of two Major Generals, five Brigadier Generals, and various officers for administrative duties. Washington accepted the nomination on June 16.
This was reported by the Pennsylvania Packet:
“The Continental Congress elected Colonel George Washington, a delegate from Virginia, general and commander-in-chief of all the American forces. It was last year reported that Sir Jeffery Amherst had said, that with five thousand English regulars he would engage to march from one end to the other of the continent of North America. This being spoken of publicly in a coffee-house in North America, Colonel Washington, who was present, declared, that with one thousand Virginians he would engage to stop Sir Jeffery Amherst’s march. It is the fashion at St. James to despise the Americans, to call them cowards, poltroons, &c., and the resolution seems to be taken to put their courage to the proof. The very able, spirited, and prudent conduct of this gallant officer when he covered and preserved the remains of the English army after one of their defeats in the last war in North America (*) has endeared him to every brave man, and stamped him with the name of being a most noble officer.”
- Note (*) — The refers to Braddock’s Defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela (July 9, 1755), during the French and Indian War (1754–1763).
June 15 — First Naval Battle in Rhode Island
Rhode Island — Commodore Abraham Whipple, commanding the Katy, engaged and captured a British ship, the Diana, on the Providence River.
- AHC Note — Some accounts identify this engagement as the first naval battle of the war, but the Battle off Fairhaven (May 11, 1775) or the Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) are generally given that distinction. However, the engagement between the Rhode Island Navy and the Diana was the first time a British vessel was captured by an armed American ship in the American Revolutionary War.
June 15 — “It is said that all the men-of-war which were in the harbors near Boston, have been called to that place, and that every method is taken to strengthen the town. The intrenchment at the fortification is now extended quite across the Neck, by which the town is become an island. Some of the transports from Cork have arrived at Boston, and the grenadiers and infantry appear to be in motion. General Gage by his late conduct, seems to be greatly alarmed.” — Virginia Gazette, July 1.
June 16 — American forces built a redoubt on Breed’s Hill on the Charlestown Peninsula. Colonel Richard Gridley oversaw the construction of the fortifications while 1,200 American troops occupied Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill. The troops were led by Colonel William Prescott and General Israel Putnam. When the threat of hostilities increased, Colonel John Stark, Colonel Thomas Knowlton, and General Seth Pomeroy led troops to positions on the peninsula.
June 17 — Artemas Ward was appointed as a Major General and Second-in-Command to Washington. Horatio Gates was appointed Adjutant General with the rank of Brigadier General. Charles Lee was appointed as a Major General and Third-in-Command. Three more Brigadier Generals were authorized to give the command structure more geographical balance. Congress also started formalizing the army by establishing units and troop strengths and authorizing the appointment of an engineer, adjutant general, paymaster, commissary general, and quartermaster.
June 17 — Battle of Bunker Hill
Charlestown Peninsula — The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred. British forces, led by General William Howe and General Robert Pigot, launched a ground assault on the American redoubt on Breed’s Hill. The Americans successfully repulsed two attacks but ran out of ammunition. When a third assault was made, the British overran the redoubt, forcing the Americans to evacuate. As they fled, General Joseph Warren was killed. Despite the victory, the British suffered heavy losses, including the death of Major John Pitcairn. This battle was the first turning point of the war, making it clear the British intended to use military force to end the revolution.
The following account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, also called the Battle of Breed’s Hill, was published in Rivington’s Gazetteer on June 29:
This town was alarmed at break of day, by a firing from the Lively ship-of-war; and a report was immediately spread that the provincials had broke ground, and were raising a battery on the heights of the peninsula of Charlestown, against the town of Boston. They were plainly seen, and in a few hours a battery of six guns played upon their works.
Preparations were instantly made for the landing a body of men; and some companies of grenadiers and light infantry, with some battalions, and field artillery, amounting in the whole to about two thousand men, under the command of Major-General Howe and Brigadier-General Pigot, were embarked with great expedition, and landed on the peninsula without opposition, under cover of some ships-of-war and armed vessels.
The troops formed as soon as landed; the provincials on the heights were perceived to be in great force, and strongly posted. A redoubt thrown up on the 16th at night, with other works full of men, defended with cannon, and a large body posted in the houses of Charlestown, covered their right; and their left was covered by a breastwork, part of it cannon proof, which reached from the left of the redoubt to the Mystic river.
Besides the appearance of the provincials’ strength, large columns were seen pouring in to their assistance, but the king’s troops advanced. The attack began by a cannonade, and notwithstanding various impediments of fences, walls, &c., and the heavy lire they were exposed to, from the vast number of provincials, and their left galled from the houses of Charlestown, the troops made their way to the redoubt, mounted the works and carried it. The provincials were then forced from other strongholds and pursued till they were driven clear of the peninsula, leaving five pieces of cannon behind them. Charlestown was set on fire during the engagement, and most part of it consumed. The loss they sustained must have been considerable, from the vast number they were seen to carry off during the action, exclusive of what they suffered from the shipping. About a hundred were buried the next day after, and thirty found wounded on the field, some of whom are since dead. About one hundred and seventy of the king’s troops were killed and some dead of their wounds; and a great many were wounded.
This action has shown the bravery of the king’s troops, who under every disadvantage, gained a complete victory over three times their number, strongly posted, and covered by breastworks.
June 17 — During the Battle of Bunker Hill, American troops took cover in abandoned homes in Charlestown. From there, they fired on the left wing of the British army as it moved into position to attack the American redoubt on Breed’s Hill. General Howe ordered Admiral Samuel Graves to bombard Charlestown, which set many of the buildings on fire. The Burning of Charlestown drove the Americans from the town.
June 18 — Governor Campbell Arrives in South Carolina
Charleston — “Yesterday evening, his excellency the Right Honorable Lord William Campbell, governor-in-chief of South Carolina, with his lady and family, arrived at Charleston in the Scorpion man-of-war from England. His Lordship was saluted on his arrival by the Tamar man-of-war, by Fort Johnson, and the several forts in town; and about one o’clock today his Lordship landed at Champney’s wharf, where he was received by several gentlemen, and also by the grenadier company and the regiment of militia under arms. From the wharf his Lordship walked in procession, preceded by the grenadier company, to the state-house, where his commission was read and published in the council chamber, in the presence of some of the members of his majesty’s ccouncil From this place he returned the same order to the Exchange, where his commission was again read; after which his Lordship and the whole company repaired to the state-house, where a genteel entertainment was provided.” — Virginia Gazette, July 8.
June 19 — Philip Schuyler was appointed as the 3rd Major General in the Continental Army, and Israel Putnam was appointed as the 4th Major General.
June 20 — General Washington’s First Military Review
Philadelphia — Congress ordered George Washington to go to Boston and take command of the Continental Army. Before leaving Philadelphia, Washington conducted the first military review of American forces when he reviewed the Philadelphia Militia Companies. The Pennsylvania Journal reported, “This morning the three battalions of Philadelphia, and the liberties, together with the artillery company, a troop of lighthorse, several companies of light infantry, rangers, and riflemen, in the whole about two thousand, marched out to the commons, and having joined in brigade, were reviewed by General Washington, who is appointed commander-in-chief of all the North American forces by the honorable Continental Congress. They went through the manual exercise, firings, and manoeuvres with great dexterity and exactness.”
June 20 — Thomas Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia and joined Congress, replacing Peyton Randolph. The Pennsylvania Journal reported, “This evening Thomas Jefferson, Esq., arrived here from Virginia, to attend the Congress, agreeable to his election, in the room of the Hon. Peyton Randolph, Esq. He is attended by Doctor McClurg.”
June 21 — Rhode Island appointed Nathanael Greene to the rank of Brigadier General.
- Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) — Greene was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of George Washington’s most trusted officers and led American forces to a strategic victory in the Southern Campaign.
June 22 — Continental Currency
Philadelphia — Congress authorized $2 million in paper money — the first Continental Currency — to be printed and distributed to help raise arms and supplies for the Continental Army. Congress pledged that all bills of credit would be redeemed, however, the money devalued over the next six years, leading to the slogan, “Not worth a Continental.”
June 22 — New Brigadier Generals for the Continental Army were commissioned: Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathanael Greene.
June 22 — Daniel Morgan was commissioned as a Captain in one of the Virginia Rifle Companies recruited in Frederick County, Virginia. The riflemen started their 600-mile journey to join the Continental Army outside Boston, Massachusetts.
- Daniel Morgan (c. 1735–1802) — Morgan was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded backwoods riflemen during several engagements, including the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Quebec. In 1782, he led American forces to victory at the Battle of Cowpens.
June 22 — “The Provincial Congress of South Carolina broke up, after three weeks of unremitted application. They have requested, by public advertisement, that men of every denomination and persuasion will carry with them to all places of divine worship, loaded fire-arms. This, on Sunday last, was almost generally complied with.” — Rivington’s Gazetteer, June 29.
June 22 — Georgia established a Committee of Safety.
June 23 — “One of the surgeons attending the military hospital at Boston, has written home, that the provincials in the late engagement, had either exhausted their ball, or were determined that every wound should prove fatal. Their muskets were charged with old nails and angular pieces of iron, and from most of the men being wounded in the legs, I am inclined to helieve it was their design, not wishing to kill the men, to leave them as burdens on us, to exhaust the provisions, as well as to intimidate the rest of the soldiery.” — Upcott Collection of Newspaper Extracts, Vol. 4.
- William Upcott Collection of Newspaper Extracts — A collection of newspaper articles from the era, primarily from British printers.
June 23 — General George Washington and his companions, including Philip Schuyler, Charles Lee, and Thomas Mifflin, departed Philadelphia for New York City.
June 25 — Congress appointed General Philip Schuyler as commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army in New York.
June 25 — “This afternoon at four o’clock, General Washington, attended by Generals Lee and Schuyler, and the lighthorse of Philadelphia, on the way for the American camp at Cambridge, landed at Colonel Lispenard’s seat, about a mile above New York, from whence they were conducted into the city, by nine companies of foot, in their uniforms, and a greater number of the principal inhabitants of that city than ever appeared on any occasion before.” — Rivington’s Gazeteer, June 29.
June 25 — The ship Juliana, Captain Montgomery, arrived at Sandy Hook last night, from Loudon, in which vessel his excellency Governor Tryon came passenger. He landed at New York at eight o’clock this evening, and was conducted to the house of the Hon. Hugh Wallace, Esq., by an immense number of the principal people of that city.” — Rivington’s Gazetteer, June 29.
June 26 — General Washington Declares His Intentions
New York City — General George Washington, en route to Boston, declared his intention to resign from the military and live as a private citizen after hostilities ended. The Pennsylvania Journal reported:
Before the general’s departure, the provincial congress of New York presented him with an address, in which, after expressing their gratifcation at his appointment, they say: — “In you, sir, and in the worthy generals under your command, we have the most flattering hopes of success in the glorious struggle for American liberty, and the fullest assurances, that, whenever this important contest shall be decided by that fondest wish of every American soul, an accommodation with our mother country, you will cheerfully resign the important deposit committed into your hands, and reassume the character of our worthiest citizen.”
The general, after declaring his gratitude for the regard shown him, added, “May your warmest wishes be realized in the success of America at this important and interesting period, and be assured that 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 these 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, on 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.”
June 26 — A congressional committee was established to write A Declaration on Taking up Arms. The committee presented its first draft, which was rejected. Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson were added to the committee, and work on the document continued.
- John Dickinson (1732–1808) — John Dickinson was a Founding Father, known as the “Penman of the Revolution” for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. Although he refused to sign the Declaration of Independence, he did sign the United States Constitution.
June 27 — The Pennsylvania Journal reported, “Yesterday afternoon General Washington with his suite, attended by the several New York militia companies, troop of gentlemen of the Philadelphia light horse, Commanded by Captain Markoe, and a number of the inhabitants of New York, set out for the provincial camp at Cambridge, near Boston. Last night he rested at King’s Bridge, and this morning proceeded on his journey.”
June 27 — Congress authorized General Philip Schuyler to invade Canada.
June 29 — “Yesterday, General Wooster, with seven companies of his regiment, and Colonel Waterbury, with his regiment complete, both consisting of about eighteen hundred men, arrived at New York from Connecticut. They appear to be a healthy, hearty body of men and are now encamped about two miles out of town.” — Rivington’s Gazetteer, July 6.
- David Wooster (1711–1777) — Wooster was a Connecticut militia leader who served in King George’s War, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolutionary War. He died in 1777, soon after suffering wounds during the Battle of Ridgefield.
June 29 — A correspondent at Charleston, South Carolina, writes: “Our place has rather the appearance of a garrison than a mart for trade; one company keeps guard all day, and two every night. In our situation we cannot be too watchful and may require much strength, for our negroes have all high notions of their liberty, and we lately learnt by intercepted letters and other ways, that there have been endeavors to set the Indians on us. Mr. Stuart, the superintendent of Indian affairs, is accused of being the person who has forwarded this wicked design, and he has fled for safety.
“The Tories in Georgia are now no more. That province is almost universally on the right side, and is about to choose delegates to send to the Congress.” — New York Gazette, July 24.
June 29 — A Report from Canada
Gaine’s Mercury reported, “The reports from the northward are various; it is thought from the best accounts, that the Canadians will be very reluctant to enter into the service against the colonies, and it is pretty certain that General Carleton has hanged two or three of them for refusing, and speaking discouraging to others; so that it is on the whole believed that through all the stratagems of tyranny, Carleton will dragoon a number of the Canadians and Indians into the service. It is generally believed he is making preparation to come against us, but some think otherwise, and that he is only fortifying at St. John’s to prevent any incursion from us. Doubtless a short time will discover which of those is the truth. ‘We have certain intelligence that Guy Johnson is making all the interest possible to raise the Indians about the Lakes and Oswegatcha against us.’”
June 30 — Congress approved 69 Articles of War for the Continental Army. They were based on the British Articles of War (1765).
