George Washington's General Orders, 9 July 1776:
The Honorable the Continental Congress, impelled by the dictates of duty, policy and necessity, having been pleased to dissolve the Connection which subsisted between this Country, and Great Britain, and to declare the United Colonies of North America, free and independent STATES: The several brigades are to be drawn up this evening on their respective Parades, at six OClock, when the declaration of Congress, shewing the grounds & reasons of this measure, is to be read with an audible voice.
The General hopes this important Event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer, and soldier, to act with Fidelity and Courage, as knowing that now the peace and safety of his Country depends (under God) solely on the success of our arms: And that he is now in the service of a State, possessed of sufficient power to reward his merit, and advance him to the highest Honors of a free Country.
The Brigade Majors are to receive, at the Adjutant Generals Office, several of the Declarations to be delivered to the Brigadiers General, and the Colonels of regiments.
This was cause for some fun at the combination Independence Party/Ammo Manufacturing Bee:
Numerous citizens came out for the reading as well, which sparked a celebration through the streets. Led by Isaac Sears, one of New York's leading patriots, the crowd, including many soldiers, rushed to the Bowling Green where a large equestrian statue of King George III stood. The 4,000 pound lead statue was torn down and the head cut off. The iron fence surrounding the Green had posts topped with little crowns, all of which were sawed off as well. The horse statue was cut in pieces and shipped to Connecticut to get it away from the British, who could melt it down for bullets.
The statue ended up at the home of General Oliver Wolcott, where it was melted down and cast into 42,088 bullets. Curiously though, this amount of metal should have produced twice as many bullets. For many years, the reason for so few bullets was not known, but over the decades, pieces of the statue began to appear, especially buried in the yards of homes owned by Tories during the war and near to General Wolcott's home. It is believed that Tories were spiriting off bits of the statue as they could to prevent them from being cast into bullets to be used against the British.
Recall for a moment that the Declaration was "unanimously" adopted, but New York was compelled to abstain from the vote. Oddly enough, on that very same day Washington ordered the document to be read to his troops, the state's Convention finally got around to approving that very same Declaration:
WHITE PLAINS, July 9, 1776.
In CONVENTION of the REPRESENTATIVES of the STATE OF NEW YORK.
RESOLVED, Unanimously, That the Reasons assigned by the Continental Congress, for declaring the United Colonies FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES, are cogent and conclusive, and that while we lament the cruel Necessity which has rendered the Measure unavoidable, we approve the same, and will, at the Risque of our Lives and Fortunes, join with the other Colonies in supporting it.
Welcome to the party, you slackers. Now, shifting our gaze southward, we find Commodore Sir Peter Parker (no relation) writing to Philip Stephens, First Secretary to the Admiralty, also on that very same day:
June 28th ½ past Nine informed General Clinton by Signal, that I shou'd go on the Attack Half an Hour after Ten, I made the Signal to Weigh, and about a Quarter after Eleven, the Ships brought up against the Fort...The Sphynx, Actaeon, and Syren were to have been to the Westward, to prevent Fireships or other Vessels from annoying the Ships Engaged, to Enfilade the Works, and when, the Rebels were driven from Them, to cut of[f] Their Retreat if possible ー
This last Service was not performed, owing to the ignorance of the Pilots, who Run the Three Frigates aground; The Sphynx and Syren got off in a few Hours, but the Actaeon remained fast, 'til the next Morning when the Captain and Officers thought proper to Scuttle, and Set Her on Fire; I ordered a CourtMartial on the Captain, Officers, and Company, and They have been Honourably acquitted...
During the Time of Our being abreast of the Fort, which was near Ten Hours, a Brisk Fire was kept up by the Ships, with Intervals, and We had the satisfaction, after being engaged Two Hours, to oblige the Rebels to slacken Their Fire very much; We drove large Parties several Times out of the Fort, which were replaced by others from the Main; About half an Hour after Three, a considerable Reinforcement from Mount Pleasant Hung a Man on a Tree, at the back of the Fort, and We imagine that the same Party ran away about an Hour after, for the Fort was then, totally silenced, and evacuated for near One Hour and a Half, but the Rebels finding that Our Army cou'd not take Possession, about Six O'Clock a considerable Body of People reentered the Fort, and renewed the Firing from Two or Three Guns, the rest being I suppose dismounted.
About Nine o'Clock, it being very Dark, great part of our Ammunition Expended, the People fatigued, the Tide of Ebb almost done, no prospect from the Eastward, and no possibility of our being of any further Service, I ordered the Ships to withdraw to Their former Moorings...
And that's the scene during the Battle of Sullivan's Island in South Carolina, "the first decisive patriot victory over the British Royal Navy." While we're in the neighborhood, let's fast forward 4 score and 7 years to see what's going on with Capt Shaw of the 54th Mass:
Stono River, S.C.
July 9,1863 (James’ Island)My Darling Annie,
Just after closing my last, on the envelope of which I said we were ordered away from St. Helena’s Island, we embarked on board the “Chasseur.” [ed. note: that's 18th-century French Huguenot] We sailed at about 3 P.M., without anything but India-rubber blankets and a little hardbread, and arrived off Stono Inlet, near Charleston Harbour, at about one o’clock this morning. We lay off the bar until i P.M. waiting for the flood-tide. The sea was running very high all the time, so that the men were very sea-sick, and we had a decidedly uncomfortable day.
In the night it rained hard, and we all got a good soaking, as it was too hot to stay below. At about 2 P.M. we came to an anchor at the southern point of Folly Island, and Colonel Montgomery reported to General Terry. We then steamed up the Stono River, in company with the Monitor “Nantucket,” the gunboat “Pawnee,” two other little gunboats, and seven transports containing General Terry’s Division.
We now lie off the place where General Hunter’s troops landed last year in the attack on Charleston. The sail up the river was beautiful, the sun just sinking as we reached our anchorage.
We'll hear more from Shaw and his brave troops later this week, but we can stick around South Carolina a few more years before calling it a day:
July 18, 1868
To the Senate of the United States:I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 9th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating a copy of a paper received by me on the 18th instant, purporting to be a resolution of the senate and house of representatives of the State of South Carolina, ratifying the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States known as Article XIV.
ANDREW JOHNSON
And with that, despite some shenanigans, the Secretary of State was able to declare:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the second section of the act of Congress approved the twentieth of April eighteen hundred and eighteen, herein before cited, do hereby certify that if the resolutions of the legislatures of Ohio and New Jersey ratifying the aforesaid amendment are to be deemed as remaining of full force and effect, notwithstanding the subsequent resolutions of the legislatures of those States, which purport to withdraw the consent of said States from such ratification, then the aforesaid amendment has been ratified in the manner hereinbefore mentioned, and so has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution of the United States.
Several days later Seward proclaimed, "did I stutter?" just to make sure everybody got it, thus enshrining BLM in our Constitution. What a long strange trip it's been...
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