Timeline
March 1 — Under pressure from the New York delegates, the Second Continental Congress appointed General Philip Schuyler as commander of the Northern Department, replacing General Charles Lee. Congress then appointed Lee commander of the Southern Department, which was headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.
AHC Notes
- Charles Lee (1732–1782) — Lee was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He helped defend Charleston during the American victory at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island but fell out of favor with George Washington. Lee was critical of Washington, tried to help the British win the war, and was then relieved of command during the Battle of Monmouth.
- Philip Schuyler (1733–1804) — A wealthy New York patroon and one of the four original major generals of the Continental Army. He played a key role in the American victory in the Battle of Saratoga and in maintaining relations with the Six Nations.
March 1 — An American naval squadron under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins met off the Bahamian island of Abaco and made preparations to launch an attack on the capital of New Providence (present-day Nassau). Although eight ships departed Philadelphia in January 1776, the schooners Fly and Wasp were damaged in a collision and forced to return to Philadelphia.
AHC Notes
- Esek Hopkins (1718–1802) — Hopkins was a Rhode Island sea captain, privateer, and militia officer. During the American Revolutionary War, he was named the first Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy. Congress appointed him to lead the new Navy in 1775, and he led a successful raid on Nassau in 1776. Soon after, his service became controversial after his fleet failed to capture the HMS Glasgow. Congress later censured, suspended, and dismissed him, ending his naval career. His brother, Stephen Hopkins, was a Founding Father and Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
March 2 — General George Washington started to carry out a plan to lure British troops out of Boston and then launch an attack on the city with a surprise amphibious assault. American artillery in Boston provided a nighttime diversion by bombarding the city from Cobble Hill, Lechmere Point, and Roxbury while American troops prepared to occupy Dorchester Heights.
March 2 — The following appeared in the Constitutional Gazette:
A correspondent in London says: Lord Howe is to go first as commissioner, in the new, idle, ridiculous commission that is to be made out, to treat with America. His lordship is not to be, nor to act as commander of any force, but in a civil capacity only.
Discerning men already say this commission scheme will not succeed. America will not treat with those men, nor with any persons (however otherwise respectable) sent by those who advised the late barbarous bloody measures against her.
First remove Lord Mansfield, and the tools of Lord Bute, and then, and not till then, America and England will believe the court are truly desirous of peace.
March 3 — Congress appointed Silas Deane, a Connecticut delegate, as an agent to France and tasked him with purchasing military supplies. Deane was also authorized to contact the Foreign Minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, regarding the possibility of an alliance.
AHC Notes
- Silas Deane (1737–1789) — Deane was a Connecticut-born lawyer, merchant, and Patriot leader who played a key diplomatic role during the American Revolution. As the first U.S. envoy to France, he helped secure critical military supplies and promote the Franco-American Alliance. However, he became entangled in political controversy and accusations of profiteering and treason. Despite his early contributions to the war effort, he died in exile in 1789.
- Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes (1717–1787) — Vergennes was the French Foreign Minister from 1774 to 1787. He directed France’s support for the United States during the American Revolutionary War. Motivated by a desire to weaken Great Britain and restore France’s power, he approved secret aid in 1776, backed formal alliances in 1778, and expanded military assistance that helped secure victory at Yorktown. His policies shaped the course of the war, but the financial strain on France contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution.
March 2 — Battle of the Rice Boats
Savannah, Georgia — James Wright, the Royal Governor of Georgia, attacked Savannah with British naval forces under Commodore Andrew Barkley. The British captured 11 merchant vessels in the harbor in what is known as the “Battle of the Rice Boats.” General Lachlan McIntosh, the American commander, was shorthanded and unable to stop the British. However, the British were driven from their base camp on Hutchinson’s Island by fire ships that were sent in their direction.
AHC Notes
- James Wright (1716–1785) — Wright was the Royal Governor of Georgia and one of the most important Loyalist officials in the Southern Colonies during the American Revolution. Wright worked to enforce the law, maintain order on the frontier, and preserve British authority in Georgia. Wright was forced to leave Georgia in 1776, but returned after the British recaptured Savannah in 1778. Following the war, he lost much of his property and spent his final years in England.
- Lachlan McIntosh (1725–1806) — McIntosh was a Georgia Patriot and Continental Army officer during the American Revolution. He helped defend Georgia from British attack, led operations against Loyalists in East Florida, served under General George Washington at Valley Forge, commanded the Western Department, and later fought in the Siege of Charleston. McIntosh became involved in political struggles in Georgia, where rivals accused him of disloyalty, but the Continental Congress cleared him of all charges.
March 3 — Raid on Nassau
New Providence, Bahamas — Commodore Hopkins attacked New Providence, forcing Governor Montforte Browne to surrender. The operation included sailors and 200 Continental Marines under the command of Captain Samuel Nicholas. Hopkins remained for two weeks loading 88 cannon, 15 mortars, and gunpowder. This was the Continental Navy’s first planned offensive, and it was a success. Despite this, Governor Browne safely removed 150 casks of gunpowder before the Americans arrived.
March 4 — Fortification of Dorchester Heights
Boston, Massachusetts — On the night of March 4, General John Thomas and Colonel Richard Gridley led roughly 2,000 men to Dorchester Heights, where they intended to build an artillery battery overlooking the British ships anchored in Boston Harbor. They marched quietly, muffling the sound of their wagon wheels with straw. They moved artillery, tools, and prefabricated fortifications to the top of the heights. By the next morning, they had built the fortifications and had the cannons pointed at ships. They also placed artillery at Nook’s Hill and Castle William.
Admiral Molyneux Shuldham insisted that General William Howe take action against the American batteries, which threatened his ships, or he would have to evacuate Boston Harbor.
Howe prepared 2,200 men to attack Castle William on the night of March 5. When Washington learned of this, he sent more troops to Dorchester Heights. Howe was forced to abandon the plan when a snowstorm prevented his troops from deploying.
This article appeared in the Pennsylvania Journal on March 20.
Last Saturday night, the artillery at the fortresses of Cobble Hill and Lechmere’s Point, below Cambridge, and at Lamb’s dam in Roxbury, bombarded and cannonaded the town. The following night, the same was continued with great briskness, and the whole of Monday night, the artillery from all the above fortresses played incessantly.
The shot and shells were heard to make a great crashing in the town, but we have not learnt any of the particulars of the execution done thereby. The regulars returned the fire from their batteries at West Boston and from their lines on the Neck, very vigorously. They threw many shells into the battery at Lechmere’s Point, one into the fort on Prospect Hill, and one or two as far as fort “number two,” within a quarter of a mile of the College.
The grand object of the Americans was to draw off the attention of the British from Dorchester Heights until they could take possession of that position on Monday night. This was accomplished by three thousand men under General Thomas. The men worked with such alertness that by morning, they were in a condition to sustain any attack of the enemy.
On Tuesday, the whole army was assembled at their proper posts to act as circumstances required. It was expected and hoped that General Howe would send out such a force as he thought competent to dislodge the Americans from Dorchester Hill; that being the case, they were prepared to push into Boston from Cambridge, with four thousand men.
We are since informed that Lord Percy was detached, with three thousand men in transports, to the castle, in order to land on Wednesday from that quarter.
On Tuesday night there was such a high gale of wind, which continued part of next day, that, glad of a plea for not attacking, they returned to Boston, and have been busy ever since, in carrying off their best effects from Boston on board their ships; and by their movements, which we can plainly discover, they are now busy in dismantling their fortifications and in getting ready to go off.
This is confirmed by the captain of one of their transport vessels, who escaped from them the night before last, with all his crew. He says, on Tuesday morning, our works being discovered from the shipping, the Admiral immediately sent word of it to General Howe, informing him at the same time, that unless he could dispossess the Americans of that post, there was no safety for the fleet, and he should immediately fall down to Narragansett Road. We longed for nothing so much as their coming, but they are too prudent.
It is reduced to the greatest moral certainty that they are now preparing with all dispatch to abandon the town. This does not slacken, but rather increases the ardor of our troops to push on their works on Dorchester Hill, so that by the middle of the week, we may expect to have constructed such a battery there, as will command both the town and shipping, and if they don’t leave it before, will oblige them to hasten their departure, and, we hope, compel them to abandon many valuable articles they wish to take off with them.
AHC Notes
- John Thomas (1724–1776) — Thomas was an officer in the Massachusetts Militia and the Continental Army during the first year of the American Revolutionary War. Thomas is most well-known for securing Dorchester Heights in Boston, forcing the British to evacuate the city in 1776.
- Richard Gridley (1711–1796) — Gridley was a Massachusetts surveyor and engineer who played an important role in both the French and Indian War and the early years of the American Revolutionary War. Gridley built fortifications, directed siege works, and was an artillery officer. He is best known as the first chief engineer in the Continental Army and for his work during the Siege of Boston at Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights.
- William Howe (1729–1814) — Howe succeeded Thomas Gage as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America in 1775. He held overall command of forces during the New York Campaign, the New Jersey Campaign, and most of the Philadelphia Campaign, before being replaced by General Henry Clinton. Although he captured Philadelphia in 1777, his cautious strategy and failure to coordinate with General John Burgoyne during the Saratoga Campaign contributed to the survival of General George Washington’s Army and the American war effort.
March 7 — General Howe decided to evacuate Boston.
March 9 — British and American artillery batteries engaged in an extended exchange at Nook’s Hill. The barrage forced the exposed Continental troops to withdraw.
March 9 — The Maryland warship Defense, supported by two militia companies, attacked the HMS Otter at Chariton Creek, Virginia. The Otter was forced to fall back.
March 12 — Washington’s Life Guards
Cambridge, Massachusetts — General Washington established the “General’s Guard,” which consisted of four men selected from each of the Continental regiments. Commonly known as “Washington’s Life Guards,” they were tasked with protecting Washington.
March 12 — A British naval expedition commanded by General Henry Clinton arrived off Cape Fear, North Carolina, and awaited the arrival of a second expedition, led by Commodore Peter Parker and General Charles Cornwallis, which was on its way from Ireland. The plan was for these expeditions to unite with a Loyalist Army to subdue the Southern Colonies. However, the Loyalists were defeated at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, forcing Clinton to alter his plans and target Charleston, South Carolina.
AHC Notes
- Henry Clinton (1730–1795) — Clinton was a British soldier and General during the American Revolutionary War. He was placed in command of British forces in 1778. Despite early success, he was unable to defeat American forces, which led to the Surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.
- Charles Cornwallis (1738–1805) — Cornwallis was a British officer during the American Revolutionary War who led several successful campaigns but ultimately surrendered to American and French forces at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, effectively ending major fighting. Despite this defeat, Cornwallis maintained political influence and later served as the Governor General of India and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
- Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge (February 27, 1776) — Fought between the United Colonies and Great Britain, near Wilmington, North Carolina, during the American Revolution. It was the first battle of the war that took place in North Carolina, and also the first battlefield victory for American forces in the war.
March 13 — In Philadelphia, the Marine Committee bought the brigantine Wild Duck, which was renamed Lexington after the opening battle of the war.
March 14 — Congress recommended disarming all Loyalists.
March 14 — Plundering of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts — The common topic of conversation, since last Friday, has been the evacuation of the town of Boston by King George’s plundering, murdering army, under General Howe. On that day, a paper was brought out by a flag of truce, to which was aiflxed the names of sundry inhabitants, among which were some of the selectmen, advising that they were permitted by General Howe, in behalf of the town, to notify our army, that if the firing into the place was discontinued, the British troops would leave the same in three or four days, without destroying it. Though the enemy might really be preparing to leave the town, this paper was thought worthy of little attention, as being nothing more than a mere finesse to induce a relaxation in our proceedings. Sundry persons, since the above paper came out, have escaped from the town, and inform that the enemy are very busy in shipping their effects on board the transports, and that there is a great appearance of their going off very speedily. Yesterday, it was reported that they were plundering the town, breaking and destroying everything they could not carry away. — Constitutional Gazette (March 23, 1776).
March 16 — Governor Tryon’s Appeal
New York City, New York — On March 16, William Tryon, the Royal Governor of New York, issued an appeal to New Yorkers and called on them to maintain loyalty to Britain. The text was printed in the Constitutional Gazette on March 20, 1776.
This day, Governor Tryon, now on board the ship Duchess of Gordon, lying in the North River, sent the following message to the inhabitants of the colony of New York:
Notwithstandmg prejudice, delusion, and faction, have hitherto, among too many, usurped the seat of reason and reflection, and every exhortation I have oifered to the inhabitants of this province (in whose affection I have been taught to be happy) has been reviled and treated with neglect, yet as my wishes for their prosperity, and feelings for their calamities, cannot easily be suppressed even towards the disobedient, I cannot but repeat my endeavors to recall those who have revolted from their allegiance to a sense of their duty, and to comfort those who have been the objects of oppression, for their zealous attachment to our happy constitution, and their steady obedience to the sovereignty of the British empire.
It is in the clemency and authority of Great Britain only, under God, that we can look for happiness, peace, and protection, and I have it in command, from the king, to encourage by every means in my power, the expectations in his Majesty’s well-disposed subjects in this government, of every assistance and protection the state of Great Britain will enable his Majesty to afford them, and to cherish every appearance of a disposition, on their part, to withstand the tyranny and misrule which accompany the acts of those who have but too well hitherto succeeded in the total subversion of legal government. Under such assurances, therefore, I exhort all the friends to good order and our justly admired constitution, still to preserve that constancy of mind, which is inherent in the breasts of virtuous and loyal citizens, and I trust a very few months will relieve them from their present oppressed, injured, and insulted condition.
England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales have united to place their whole strength, power, and confidence in his Majesty’s hands. The numerous addresses from all parts of the king’s dominions in Europe speak the loyalty and zeal with which his subjects there engage to support his Majesty, in asserting and maintaining the just sovereignty of the British empire over all its members.
The British state moves not by sudden and violent sallies, nor wantonly oppresses. She has lenity for her basis, and is distinguished for moderation and forbearance; but when her just indignation is roused, the experience of other nations can testify her weight and force. It cannot be sufficiently lamented that the conduct of this country has called for so severe a rod. May a timely and dutiful submission avert its stroke.
I have the satisfaction to inform you, that a door is still open to such honest, but deluded, people as will avail themselves of the justice and benevolence which the supreme legislature has held out to them, of being restored to the king’s grace and peace, and that proper steps have been taken for passing a commission for that purpose, under the great seal of Great Britain, in conformity to a provision in a late act of Parliament, the Commissioners, thereby to be appointed, having also power to inquire into the state and condition of the colonies for effecting a restoration of the public tranquillity.
AHC Notes
- William Tryon (1729–1788) — Tryon served as the Royal Governor of North Carolina and then New York during the American Revolution. Despite personally opposing Parliament’s policy of Taxation Without Representation, he still enforced British measures. Tryon was also an officer in the British Army and defeated the Regulators at Alamance in 1771. During the American Revolutionary War, he organized Loyalist forces and led destructive raids in Connecticut. He returned to England in 1780.
March 16 — Forrester’s Adventure
This article appeared in the New York Packet on April 11, 1776.
A few days ago, a sloop, bound from Hispaniola to Philadelphia, the property of Mr. Beveridge, a merchant in that city, and Commanded by Captain Forrester, was taken by a tender belonging to the Roebuck man-of-war; and one Roger, a midshipman, with five seamen, was put on board to conduct her to Norfolk, Virginia, at the same time taking out all the hands, except the mate and a boy.
On her voyage there, one of the casks of wine in the hold, by some accident becoming leaky, the midshipman and his party went down to stop the leak, when the mate and boy, with great heroism, shut down the hatches and secured the prisoners, and then pushed for the Eastern shore with the vessel and cargo, the latter worth at least four thousand pounds sterling.
Captain Hammond, on hearing of this affair, ordered Captain Forrester, who was on board the Roebuck, up to the prison ship at Norfolk, in a pilot boat, under the escort of a midshipman and six hands; but the vessel running aground on an oyster bank two miles below Dunmore’s ship, the midshipman ordered one of the seamen into a canoe to do something for the relief of the vessel, when Captain Forrester, seizing the opportunity and leaping into the canoe, cut the painter with a jack leg knife, on which he swung off with the tide; then turning to the seaman, swore he would cut his throat if he offered to obstruct his escape. His menace quieted the fellow till Captain Forrester had paddled about one hundred yards, when finding his escape practicable, he pulled with his might, and both got safely ashore, amidst a cloud of curses and imprecations from the midshipman and sailors. The captain and his comrade, whom he has taken, have gone to Accomack to look after the vessel and to dispose of the cargo to the best advantage.
Captain Forrester says that the Kingfisher has gone round to Boston to bring a number of ships-of-war up the Delaware River, to prevent the Philadelphians from making any further preparations for the defense of their city; it being determined upon, it seems, that the grand attack shall be made upon Philadelphia as soon as the fleet and troops arrive from England, but we hope will prove equally abortive with the rest of the cursed ministerial schemes to enslave America.
March 16 — The Petticoat Army
Stratford, Connecticut — The following odd affair happened at Stratford, in Connecticut, a few days ago: A child of Mr. Edwards, of that place, was baptized…and named Thomas Gage. This alarmed the neighborhood, and one hundred and seventy young ladies formed themselves into a battalion, and with solemn ceremony appointed a general and the other officers to lead them on. The petticoat army then marched in the greatest good order to pay their compliments to Thomas Gage, and present his mother with a suit of tar and feathers; but Thomas’s sire, having intelligence of their expedition,…kept them from entering his house, so that the female soldiers returned to headquarters without effecting what they intended, and disbanded themselves. — New England Gazette (May 30, 1776).
March 17 — Evacuation of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts — The Siege of Boston ended after 11 months as General Howe, 9,000 British troops, and 1,000 Loyalists departed on a fleet of 125 ships. Washington and Howe agreed there would be no hostilities, as long as the British did not burn the city. After the British left, Boston was reoccupied by American troops led by General Artemas Ward. Afterward, Washington turned his attention to the defense of New York City, which he believed Howe intended to attack. The British fleet sailed to Nantasket Roads.
March 17 — Commodore Hopkins left New Providence and sailed for Philadelphia.
March 19 — Congress tabled a motion by Samuel Chase that would have permitted attacks on British merchant vessels by the Continental Navy. Instead, Congress encouraged privateering.
AHC Notes
- Privateering — The government‑authorized use of privately owned, armed ships to attack enemy trade during wartime. It served as an important naval substitute for the United States during the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812, provided income for maritime communities, and allowed nations without large navies to disrupt enemy commerce. The practice declined as steam power reshaped naval warfare and was eventually outlawed in the 19th Century.
March 20 — Congress established a commission to visit Canada and encourage the inhabitants to join the Patriot Cause. The members of the commission were Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, Charles Carroll, and the Reverend John Carroll. Congress instructed the commissioners to make it clear that the Canadians would be able to continue to worship as Roman Catholics.
March 22 — Tryon’s Effigy in New York City
New York City, New York — Yesterday, about noon, an effigy was exhibited through the principal parts of New York City, attended by a great concourse of the inhabitants, and others, with the following labels:
William Tryon, late Governor of this province, but now a professed rebel and traitor to its dearest rights and privileges, as well as to his native country, who, in order to extinguish every spark of American liberty, and recommend himself to the favor of a brutal tyrant, and an insidious court, did illegally, unjustly, and cruelly, shed the blood of an innocent and worthy citizen, when he had the command in North Carolina. For which, and his numberless traitorous practices against the liberties of this country, he is to suffer the just demerits of his atrocious villainy, as a warning to all others…
Secondly — Behold the bloody tool of a sanguinary despot, who is using his utmost efforts to enslave you!
Thirdly — Tories take care!!!
After it had been sufliciently exposed, it was hung on a gallows, which had been prepared in the middle of the parade, where, after having received the contempt of an oppressed, insulted, and incensed people, it was cut down and destroyed, the whole being conducted without any manner of injury to any person whatever, unless it was the person who kept the sign of Tryon’s Arms, which were taken down by some of the procession. In one hand of the effigy was placed Tryon’s late address to the inhabitants of this province. — Constitutional Gazette (March 23, 1776).
March 22 — Informers in Virginia
This article appeared in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on April 2, 1776.
Lord Dunmore has made an excellent use of Mr. Holt’s press, which he moved by violence out of Norfolk on board his ship, publishing a weekly paper in two half sheets which he calls the Virginia Gazette, and sends to such tools as he would choose to work with him; and this is done at the expense of the crown!
His behavior shows how necessary it is to put a stop to all communication with him; and from the quick intelligence his lordship has of every intelligence in this city, it becomes highly so to endeavor to discover who are the spies amongst us.
It may not be amiss to warn such persons of their danger, and to remind them how severe a punishment may be inflicted on them by the law of nature and nations. They will not be held up to contempt, which was the punishment that was adapted to offences before the war broke out; but death, inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial, or by the just indignation of our enraged people, is the punishment due to their crimes.
AHC Notes
- John Murray, Lord Dunmore (1732–1809) — John Murray, the fourth Earl of Dunmore, served as the Royal Governor of New York and then Virginia. Dunmore governed Virginia through the hostilities with Native American Indians in 1774 (Lord Dunmore’s War) and then clashed with Patriot leaders and militia in the early days of the American Revolutionary War. He was forced to flee Virginia in 1775 and never returned.
- Virginia Gazette — Three different newspapers called The Virginia Gazette were published between 1736 and 1780 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
- 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. He also established a print shop in Norfolk, Virginia, where his associates published the Virginia Gazette. 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, and Lord Dunmore seized his printing press in Norfolk. Hold resumed printing operations in Kingston, New York, until British forces attacked and burned the town during Clinton’s Highlands Expedition (1777). He resumed publication at Poughkeepsie and died in 1784.
March 22 — Promotion for Ethan Allen’s Captor
This article appeared in the Middlesex Journal on April 2, 1776.
His Majesty has been pleased to present Mr. Peter Johnson, son of the late Sir W. Johnson, Bart., to a pair of colors in the twenty-sixth regiment. This young gentleman distinguished himself greatly during the late campaign in Canada, particularly in an action with a party of rebels, commanded by Colonel Ethan Allen, in the neighborhood of Montreal.
The latter had formed a design to surprise and take possession of that city; on which a party of the Loyalists and some Indians went out and attacked them. In the engagement, Major John Carden, a brave veteran, late of the sixtieth regiment, was mortally wounded by Allen.
Presently, an encounter happened between him and the above-mentioned Mr. Johnson. Allen fired at him without effect; on which, the latter marched up with his fuzee presented, and demanded of Allen to surrender, who instantly complied, by laying down his arms, exclaiming, “that his piece had never before failed him.”
The Lidians, presently finding Mr. Johnson had taken this famous leader, proposed sacrificing him to the manes of Major Garden, but Mr. Johnson humanely interposed, and with much difficulty saved Allen’s life; since he had already generously given him quarter.
AHC Notes
- Ethan Allen (1738–1789) — Allen was a revolutionary leader who helped establish Vermont and commanded the Green Mountain Boys. In 1775, he and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga, providing artillery for the Continental Army. Captured during a failed raid on Montreal, Allen was imprisoned for two years. After his release, he promoted Vermont’s statehood and authored works on liberty and deism.
March 22 — Criticism of North Carolina Loyalists
The Tory General McDonald, lately taken prisoner at the defeat of the Tories in North Carolina, was in rebellion in the year 1745, against his lawful sovereign, and headed many of the same clan and name, who are now his followers.
These emigrants, from the charity and benevolence of the assembly of North Carolina, received large pecuniary contributions; and, to encourage them in making their settlements, were exempted from the payment of taxes for several years.
It is a fact that numbers of that ungrateful people, who have been lately in arms, when they arrived in Carolina, were without the necessaries of life, their passages even paid by the charitable contributions of the inhabitants.
They have since, under every encouragement that the province of North Carolina could afford them, acquired fortunes very rapidly, and thus they requite their benefactors. — Constitutional Gazette (March 30, 1776).
March 22 — Treatment of Ethan Allen
Notwithstanding the various reports of the fate of Colonel Allen, who was taken and sent to England in irons by General Prescott, we are assured that he has been seen in England, confined in a loathsome jail, and suffering under a heavy load of irons.
How different the situation of Allen and [Richard] Prescott: the first, taken fighting for life, liberty, and property, is treated as a villain; while the other, taken fighting to support the cruel edicts of a tyrannical ministry, whose aim is to rob and enslave, is lodged at a first-rate tavern in Philadelphia, and fed with the best the markets afford.
Oh! George! Who are the savages? After this, can any man blame the Americans, should they retaliate?
A correspondent, upon hearing that the real errand of the commissioners coming from England was to grant pardons from the king, asked, “whether it would be featherable for a man to be detected with one of them in his pocket.” — New England Gazette (April 4, 1776).
AHC Notes
- Prescott was taken prisoner by American forces near the mouth of the Sorel, in Canada, a short time after Allen was sent to England. Later, Prescott was exchanged for General John Sullivan, who was captured during the Battle of Long Island (August 27, 1776).
March 23 — Congress formally authorized privateering against all British shipping and started issuing Letters of Marque.
AHC Notes
- Letters of Marque — Paperwork authorizing a ship to operate as a Privateer on behalf of a nation.
March 25 — Due to the victory at Boston, Congress authorized a gold medal to be made to honor Washington.
March 26 — The South Carolina General Assembly replaced the Royal Government with a new government and named John Rutledge as President.
AHC Notes
- John Rutledge (1739–1800) — Rutledge was a South Carolina lawyer, planter, Patriot leader, Governor, and Judge who played an important role in the American Revolution and the Early Republic. He served in the Stamp Act Congress, the Continental Congress, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He led South Carolina troops during the American Revolutionary War and supported partisan resistance after the British captured Charleston in 1781. Following the war, he was appointed to the first U.S. Supreme Court.
March 27 — The last British ships left Nantasket Roads and sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. A few remaining warships maintained a loose blockade of the city.
March 28 — Boston’s Thursday Lecture Resumes
Boston — This day, the Thursday lecture, which was established and has been observed from the first settlement of Boston, without interruption, until within these few months past, was opened by the Rev. Dr. Eliot.
His Excellency Gen. Washington, and the other general officers and their suites, having been previously invited, met in the council chamber, from whence, preceded by the sheriff with his wand, attended by the members of the council, who have had the small-pox, the committee of the House of Representatives, the selectmen, the clergy, and many other gentlemen, they repaired to the old brick meeting-honse, where an excellent and well-adapted discourse was delivered from those words in the 33d chap, of Isaiah and 20th verse.
After divine service was ended, his Excellency, attended and accompanied as before, returned to the council chamber, from whence they proceeded to the Bunch of Grapes tavern, where an elegant dinner was provided at the public expense; after which many proper and pertinent toasts were drunk. Joy and gratitude sat in every countenance and smiled in every eye. — Pennsylvania Evening Post (April 9, 1776).
March 29 — There is a report that General Clinton has arrived at Cape Fear, North Carolina, with the troops he brought with him from Boston, and that he has been since joined by twelve or fifteen hundred from England, or the West Indies. We likewise hear that the Provincial troops are in motion, and marching from all quarters to attack him, so that we may soon expect to hear of another battle in that province, which we hope will prove equally glorious to the American arms as that which was, but a few weeks ago, so successfully fought by the brave Colonel Caswell, at Moore’s Creek. — Pennsylvania Journal (April 10, 1776).
