Chronology of American History, 4-Volume Set (Facts on File Library of American History)

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME I ★★★

Colonization and Independence Beginnings to 1788

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN HISTORY Volume I Colonization and Independence Beginnings to 1788 Volume II Expansion and Civil War 1789 to 1865 Volume III Industry and Modernity 1866 to 1920 Volume IV Challenges at Home and Abroad 1921 to the Present

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME I ★★★

Colonization and Independence Beginnings to 1788

JOHN C. FREDRIKSEN

Chronology of American History Copyright © 2008 John C. Fredriksen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Â�CataÂ�loging-­in-­Publication Data Fredriksen, John C. â•… Chronology of American history / John C. Fredriksen. â•…â•…â•… v.â•… cm. â•… Includes bibliographical references and indexes. â•… Contents. v. 1.╇ Colonization and inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence, beginnings to Â�1788—v.â•… 2.╇ Expansion and Civil War, to Â�1865—v. 3.╇ Industry and modernity, to Â�1920—v. 4.╇ Challenges at home and abroad, to the present. â•… ISBN 978-­0-­8160-­6800-­5 (set : hc : alk. paper)â•… 1.╇ United Â�States—History— Chronology.â•… 2.╇ United Â�States—Civilization—Chronology.â•… 3.╇ United Â�States— Biography.â•… I.╇ Title. E174.5.F74 2008 973—dc22 2007033964 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-­8800 or (800) 322-­8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at Â�http://╉www╉.factsonfile╉.com Text design by Kerry Casey Cover design by Salvatore Luongo Printed in the United States of America VB BUG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on Â�acid-­free paper and contains 30 percent Â�postconsumer recycled content.

CONTENTS ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ Introduction

vii

Chronology

1

Maps

569

Bibliography

586

Introduction PPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

A

s best as can be discerned, human habitation of North America began around 50,000 years ago when residents of Siberia crossed the Bering Straits to Alaska and began a gradual migration southward. These first Americans eventually spread into Mexico and the South American continent, where arose several splendid and sophisticated civilizations. The inhabitants of North America, however, remained somewhat primitive culturally compared to their neighbors to the south, and � were thus little prepared when the first waves of Eu�ro�pe�ans began descending upon them in the 15th century. About 500 years earlier, the Vikings had also carved out a few communities on Newfoundland, but none of them flourished and all �were abandoned. The discovery of the New World in 1492 by Columbus, however, found the Eu�ro�pe�ans more technically advanced in their ability to navigate across the vast Atlantic, and with larger ships that could carry bigger crews and more supplies. But Spain, France, and En�gland proved far too distracted by events at home for any systematic colonization of the New World, and for many de�cades their attempts also proved sporadic and uniformly failures. Save for the Spanish at St. Augustine, North America remained devoid of Eu�ro�pe�an contact or influence except for an occasional explorer or missionary. The tempo and scope of events � were destined to increase shortly after, however. By the 17th century, episodic Eu�ro�pe�an exploration of North America had evolved into serious and sustained colonization efforts. The major players, En�gland, France, and, to a lesser but still important extent, Sweden and the Netherlands, had established viable outposts dotting the Atlantic coastline, while Spain maintained its lingering presence in Florida and along the Gulf coast. These endeavors, driven more by commercial and religious impulses than imperial ones, remained fraught with peril throughout the nascent days of their existence, either through direct economic and military competition with each other or hostility arising from the Native American communities they encountered. In time there evolved a multiplicity of governmental structures, along with social and ethnic melanges within these various colonies, all of which contributed to the rise of a new civilization vii

viii

Chronology of American History increasingly distinct from the European largesse that spawned them. By dint of military victory in numerous wars, England gradually established itself as the dominant culture, language, and political philosophy of North America, but despite very broad and deep ties to the Old World, the colonies continued evolving in their own way. At length, political, philosophical, and economic confrontation gave rise to a new national entity, the United States of America. This was from the onset a very disparate, multicultural affair that ironically demonstrated that its very jumbled nature was among its greatest assets. People seldom appreciate that the fabric of the American polity, woven from diverse threads, was over a century and a half old by the breaking point of 1775. And what a glorious assortment of colors, hues, and beliefs it was: English, French, Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, with a smattering of Italian, French, and other Mediterranean strains, leavened throughout by enclaves of Africans and Native Americans. Furthermore, viable religious freedom, for all intents and purposes unattainable in Europe, was also in its infancy, with Anglicans, Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, Methodists, and Jews easily rubbing shoulders with each other in peace. Even Massachusetts, that strident bastion of Puritan absolutism, was gradually overtaken by a tide of tolerance. However, wealth, economic opportunity, and personal freedom were far from uniformly distributed among the constituent segments of society, and the ready acceptance of slavery in certain areas is proof that the national construct contained inequities. But, even at this early date, the first cries of abolitionism and social reform were also heard. The United States in 1788 was thus still evolving politically and on the cusp of experimenting with new forms of representative government under the world’s first written constitution. Far from perfect, perhaps, yet a far cry from 1607 and the problematic settlements at Jamestown, Plymouth, and New Amsterdam. America remains a work in progress. This volume is envisioned to provide extensive chronological historical coverage of North America, from the first colonization to the United States under the Articles of Confederation. Chronologies on American history are standard fare in reference collections but, in a major oversight, these tend to stress social and political events at the expense of military affairs; this volume goes to great lengths to address such deficiencies with a more balanced approach. It also affords treatment of numerous and salient topics of interest to researchers, students, and laypersons alike. Even a simple perusing of the text calls to the reader’s eye such wide-ranging concerns as art; business; diplomacy; literature; medical, military, and naval events; politics; publishing; religion; science; slavery; societal developments; and technology in a simple to use and easily accessed format. Space constraints restrict most entries to a single line, but highly important events can command up to a paragraph in coverage. Wherever possible, entries are also assigned an

Introduction ix exact year, month, and day for organizational purposes. The text is further buttressed by inclusion of 100 capsule biographies throughout the text, denoting individuals of singular import to their time. These are uniform in composition and touch upon birth and death dates, background, education, and other facets, in addition to their most obvious concern. The volume is finally rounded out with a 5,000-word bibliography of the very latest scholarship pertaining to most events represented therein, including dissertations and master’s theses, where applicable. Furthermore, the pages are replete with numerous and relevant illustrations that function both as embellishments and visual points of reference. From perusing these pages one may grasp the imposing pageantry of American history and all its threads of continuity and points of departure. Nothing or no one has been overlooked, and, while degrees of coverage may vary in length, the author cast the widest possible net for purposes of inclusion. I am deeply indebted to my editor, Owen Lancer, for suggesting this project to me. It was an arduous, nearly exhausting sojourn at times, but I am a better historian for it. ———John C. Fredriksen

CHRONOLOGY ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ 50,000–8000

B.C.E.

Settlement: Braving cold Ice Age conditions, various waves of humans cross over from Siberia into present-day Alaska and gradually move down into North America proper.

35,000–8000

B.C.E.

Settlement: The Folsom Culture of Colorado is among the earliest known permanent human settlements, with caches of various tools fashioned from stone or bone.

8000

B.C.E.

Settlement: By now the end of Ice Age conditions, coupled with constant hunting by large, sustainable communities of Native Americans, depletes the local megafauna and leads to mass extinction. Woolly mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, giant sloths, and armadillos all disappear from the biosphere.

4000

B.C.E.

Arts: Various groups of people throughout North America begin producing exceptionally fine pottery from fired clay. Many of these display elaborate decorations indicative of significant cultural sophistication.

3000–1000

B.C.E.

Settlement: Native American populations in Mexico and as far north as presentday New Mexico begin the cultivation of maize (corn). People are becoming better fed, more numerous, and less nomadic due to the widespread adaptation of farming.

986 Exploration: Norse navigator Bjarni Herjulfson, while searching for Erik the Red’s settlement on the coast of Greenland, is inadvertently blown off course and driven south. There he observes a large, heretofore unknown land mass, probably the shoreline of North America. 1

  Chronology of American History

1000 Exploration: Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red, sails along the eastern coast of North America and probably establishes a small colony on what he calls Vineland (Newfoundland).

1004 –1008 Exploration: The brothers Thorvald and Thorstein Eriksson push their explo-­ ration farther down the American coastline, possibly reaching and investigating Hudson Bay.

1007 Societal: Snorro, son of Thorfinn and Gudrid Karlsefni, becomes the first white child born in the New World. His parents Â�were part of Leif Eriksson’s expedition to Vineland.

1014 –1015 Exploration: The Greenland Saga recÂ�ords a final expedition to North America led by Erik the Red’s daughter Freydis.

1050 Architecture: The Anasazi people of the old Southwest begin constructing elaborate dwellings, or pueblos, into the overhang of various giant cliffs and mesas. The remains still exude an extremely modern air about them.

1112 Religion: Pope Paschal III appoints Erik Gnupsson to be the first bishop of America, then restricted to Greenland and Vineland (Newfoundland).

1442 Exploration: Portuguese explorers Diogo de Teive and Pedro Vásquez, blown northward while sailing near the Azores, probably end up in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland before returning home.

1480 –1481 Exploration: EnÂ�glish captain Thomas Lloyd sails from Bristol toward the Amer-­ ican coast.

1492 October 12 Exploration: Italian navigator Christopher Columbus, sailing under the flag of Spain, concludes a Â�two-­month sojourn at sea with the three small vessels Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria by sighting the Bahamas. He then lands and christens the island San Salvador. This is the first tangible evidence to EuÂ�roÂ�peÂ�ans that the New World actually exists.

December 25 Exploration: The ship Santa Maria is wrecked off Hispaniola (San Domingo), shortly after which Christopher Columbus founds the colony of La Navidad and prepares to return to Spain.

1000

Chronology â•… 

1493 January 16 Exploration: Christopher Columbus sets sail from Hispaniola for Spain.

May 3–4 Settlement: Pope Alexander VI issues two papal bulls which grant Spain all lands in the New World not already under Christian rule.

June 11 Exploration: Christopher Columbus sets out on his second expedition to the New World from Cádiz, Spain, with 1,200 men on 17 vessels. Over the next three years, he explores the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.

November 28 Settlement: Christopher Columbus, arriving at his tiny outpost at La Navidad, Hispaniola, finds it destroyed by local natives.

1494 January 2 Settlement: Undeterred by his previous failure, Christopher Columbus estab­ lishes a second colony at Isabella, Hispaniola.

June 2 Settlement: The Treaty of Tordesillas, concluded between Portugal and Spain, which establishes the line of demarcation between their colonies in the New World at 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. In this manner, Portugal obtains the right to own and colonize Brazil.

1496 March 10 Business: Spanish settlers introduce sugarcane, cotton, and cattle in San Domingo. Exploration: Christopher Columbus concludes his second voyage to the New World and returns to Spain, leaving his brother Bartolomeo in charge at San Domingo.

1497 May 2–August 6 Exploration: EnÂ�glish explorer John Cabot, enjoying a trade monopoly from King Henry VII, sails to the North American coast between Newfoundland and Maine, and claims it for the EnÂ�glish throne.

1498 May Exploration: En�glish explorer John Cabot embarks on his second expedition to the New World, exploring the coast of North America possibly as far south as Chesapeake Bay.

1498

  Chronology of American History

May 30 Exploration: Christopher Columbus sets out on his third expedition to the New World, this time taking a more southerly route and discovering Trinidad and the South American coast.

August 31 Exploration: Christopher Columbus arrives at San Domingo only to find the port rebellious on account of poor administration. He and his brother are subse-­ quently returned to Spain as prisoners and replaced by a new governor.

1499 June 27 Exploration: Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, sailing under Spanish captain Alonso de Hajeda, (Ojeda) reconnoiters along the coast of South America and the Bahamas before eventually returning home.

1500 Religion: Priests accompanying the expedition of Hernando de Soto baptize the first Indian convert, who takes the Christian name Peter, near the Acmulgee River, Georgia.

1501 March 19 Exploration: King Henry VII grants patents to several En�glish merchants for expeditions to the New World.

May 13 Exploration: Amerigo Vespucci, now in the employ of Portugal, sails again to the coastline of South America and returns convinced that a new continent has been discovered, not Asia.

1502 May 11 Exploration: Christopher Columbus sails on his fourth and final expedition to the New World, this time with a fleet of four ships.

June 15 Exploration: After a brief stop at Martinique, Christopher Columbus explores along the coastline of Â�present-­day Honduras and Panama.

December 9 Exploration: King Henry VII issues a second patent to an Â�Anglo-­Portuguese group called the Company of Adventurers to the New World, who are to launch a small expedition to the New World.

1503 June 25 Exploration: Christopher Columbus is shipwrecked on Jamaica during his final voyage back to Spain.

1499

Chronology

5

1506 General: Christopher Columbus dies in Valladolid, Spain, convinced to the end that the regions he had been exploring were all part of Asia.

1507 April 25 General: The word “America” is inadvertently applied to the New World for the first time by geographer Martin Waldseemuller in his book Cosmographiae Introductio. Apparently he was erroneously informed that Amerigo Vespucci had discovered the new continent.

1513 Exploration: Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and becomes the first European to behold the Pacific Ocean. This discovery disproves Columbus’s assertion that he had discovered Asia and confirms Vespucci’s claim that a new, heretofore unexplored continent lay before them.

April 2–8 Exploration: Spanish explorer Ponce de León lands and explores the region of Florida near St. Augustine, claiming the region for Spain.

1521 General: Spanish explorer Ponce de León sails with a grant from the Crown and a company of 200 men to colonize Florida. He subsequently dies in Cuba of wounds received there at the hands of Native Americans.

1524 March 19 Exploration: Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano, sailing at the behest of Francis I of France, begins exploring the coastline of the Carolinas.

April 17 Exploration: Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano sails northward up the American coast, encountering New York harbor and the Hudson River. He next proceeds easterly towards Narragansett Bay and Nova Scotia before sailing back to France.

1526 Settlement: Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón is empowered by the Spanish Crown to colonize Florida and he takes 500 prospective settlers from Hispaniola. Instead he lands and attempts to establish a settlement near Cape Fear, North Carolina, then abandons it a year later following the death of 350 people.

1527 June 10 Exploration: The English ship Mary Guilford departs Plymouth, England, for a voyage along the coast of Labrador down to Florida, then back to the West Indies. An accompanying vessel, the Samson, is lost at sea.

1527

6

Chronology of American History

1528 April 14 Settlement: Pánfilo de Narváez lands 400 Spanish volunteers at Tampa Bay, Florida, determined to carve out a colony.

September 22 Settlement: A fledgling colony established by Pánfilo de Narváez is abandoned once no gold is found in the vicinity, and its 400 members subsequently set sail for Mexico. Only two men will survive the ensuing shipwreck.

1534 June 10 Exploration: Jacques Cartier, sponsored by Francis I of France, sails to the Strait of Belle Isle, navigates his way southward along the coasts of Prince Edward Island and Gaspé Bay, then safely returns home.

1535 August 9 Exploration: Jacques Cartier again sails to the New World, this time venturing up the St. Lawrence River as far as Quebec, and then by a smaller craft to presentday Montreal. There he winters and returns to France the following year.

1539 May 28–30 Exploration: Hernando de Soto, governor of Cuba, lands in Florida with 600 soldiers and spends the entire winter exploring Florida’s west coast. This is the beginning of a four-year expedition that carries them as far west as Oklahoma.

July 8 Exploration: Francisco de Ulloa sails from Acapulco, Mexico, up through the Gulf of California, around the tip of Baja California, then along the west coast of North America.

1540 General: The Spanish under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado reintroduce horses to North America, where they had been extinct since the Ice Age. The majority escaped and became the progenitors for the wild horses of the American West, which in turn wielded an enormous impact on tribes such as the Apache and Comanche. Abandoning agriculture, these tribes become nomadic raiders.

July 7 Exploration: A column of Spanish soldiers under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado attacks a Zuni Indian village at Hawikuh, western New Mexico, while searching for a legendary city of gold. Finding none there, a small detachment is sent eastward into the Texas Panhandle.

August 25 Exploration: Hernando de Alarcón sails from Acapulco, Mexico, and up through the Gulf of California. There he continues up the Colorado River as far as its junction with the Gila River.

1528

Chronology

7

1541 May 8 Exploration: Marching overland from present-day Alabama, Spanish soldiers under Hernando de Soto are the first Europeans to reach the Mississippi River.

May 26 Exploration: Spanish soldiers under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado depart New Mexico and venture north as far as Kansas before returning to Mexico City empty-handed.

August Exploration: Jacques Cartier conducts his third and final foray to Canada where he subdues the so-called Kingdom of Saguenay. He then returns to France with his coffers filled with fool’s gold and quartz, which he believed were diamonds.

1542 Exploration: João Rodrígues Cabrilho sails up the California coast, lands, and claims the region for Spain.

1543 March 1 Exploration: Bartolomé Ferrelo continues sailing north along the California coast until he reaches present-day Oregon.

1549 Religion: Dominican Fray Luis Cancer de Barbastro is killed by Native Americans in Florida after he arrived to convert them to Christianity.

1559 June 11 Exploration: Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano departs Veracruz, Mexico, with 1,500 settlers and makes for Pensacola, Florida. Unable to found a colony there, the group explores the region of Mobile, Alabama, before returning home.

1561 Settlement: A body of Spanish settlers under Ángel de Villafañe attempts to colonize the region of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, which again proves unsuccessful.

September 23 Settlement: King Philip II of Spain, discouraged by repeated failures to colonize Florida, issues a royal order forbidding any future attempts.

1562 April 30 Settlement: French explorer Jean Ribault arrives Parris Island (Port Royal), South Carolina, with 150 Huguenot settlers, in an unsuccessful attempt to found a French colony.

1562

8

Chronology of American History

1564 Arts: Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues provides some of the earliest renditions of Native Americans in his account of René de Laudonnière’s expedition.

1565 Business: John Hawkins introduces the first smoking tobacco into England, which he obtained from a small French colony in Florida. The Spanish introduce the first European livestock, including cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs, into Florida.

August 28 Settlement: Spain, having reversed itself on its Florida policy, dispatches Pedro Menéndes de Avilés to the vicinity of present-day St. Augustine with 1,500 colonists.

September 8 Settlement: Pedro Menéndes de Avilés establishes St. Augustine, Florida, the first permanent European settlement in North America. The first Catholic parish in what becomes the United States is also founded by his chaplain, Don Martín Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales.

September 10 Military: French forces under Jean Ribault sail from Fort Caroline, Port Royal, South Carolina, to attack the Spanish at St. Augustine, Florida, but the fleet is shipwrecked by a storm.

September 20 Military: Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndes de Avilés attack and capture Fort Caroline, Port Royal, South Carolina, putting the French garrison to the sword. A new fort is then christened San Mateo.

1566 Religion: Governor Pedro Menéndes de Avilés sponsors the first Spanish Jesuit missionaries in a concerted attempt to convert Native Americans.

1568 April 12 Military: A force of three ships and 100 soldiers under Dominique de Gourgues arrives from France and attacks Fort San Mateo, North Carolina, with the help of local Indians. He subsequently seizes two Spanish settlements near the mouth of the St. Johns River, Florida, killing all his prisoners.

1570 August 5 Religion: A group of Spanish Jesuits under Fray Batista Segura arrives at Chesapeake Bay to convert Native Americans there to Christianity.

1571 February 14–18 Religion: Spanish Jesuits under Fray Batista Segura are massacred by Native American tribes living on Chesapeake Bay.

1564

Chronology

9

1576 June Exploration: English explorer Martin Frobisher departs to find the Northwest Passage to Asia, although he ends up on Baffin Island, Frobisher Bay, and the Hudson Strait, Canada.

1577 July Settlement: Spanish settlers under acting governor Pedro Menéndes Marqués (nephew of Menéndes Avilés) rebuilds the fort on Parris Island, South Carolina, after hostile Native Americans force the abandonment of settlements in Florida.

1578 April Military: Spanish troops under acting governor Pedro Menéndes Marqués attack and burn a large Native American village at Copocay, Florida, in retaliation for earlier attacks. This sets a precedent for harsh treatment of Indians by subsequent waves of European immigrants.

June 11 Exploration: The English Crown grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore and colonize parts of North America, although he ultimately lacks the financing to establish a settlement.

1579 June 17 Exploration: Sir Francis Drake, while circumnavigating the globe, sails his ship into San Francisco Bay and claims the area for England. While ashore, the first Protestant services held in the New World are conducted.

1580 July 17 Military: Governor Pedro Menéndez Marqués attacks and defeats a French naval force directed by Gilberto Gil, who is killed. This defeat marks the end of French interference in Florida.

1583 Settlement: Sir Humphrey Gilbert formally claims Newfoundland for the English Crown.

1584 Publishing: Clergyman Richard Hakluyt publishes A Discourse Concerning Western Planting at the behest of Sir Walter Raleigh. It is then proffered to Queen Elizabeth I as a comprehensive outline for colonizing the New World.

1584

10

Chronology of American History

1585 March 25 Settlement: English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh lands on present-day Roanoke Island, Virginia, and makes preparations to colonize it.

July 27 Settlement: An English fleet under Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Ralph Lane land at Roanoke Island, Virginia, to begin an ill-fated colony.

June–July Military: A fleet under Sir Francis Drake attacks and destroys the Spanish settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, then moves on to harass another settlement at Santa Elena.

1587 Religion: At Roanoke, Virginia, Manteo becomes the first Native American converted to Protestant Christianity by settlers under Sir Walter Raleigh.

July 22 Settlement: An English squadron under John White anchors off Roanoke Island, Virginia, yet can find no trace of settlers under Richard Grenville. He nonetheless drops off another group of passengers, then returns to England to gather supplies.

August 18 Societal: Virginia Dare, daughter of Ananias and Ellinor Dare, also John White’s grandchild, becomes the first English child born in America.

1588 Publishing: Thomas Harriot, previously part of Sir Walter Raleigh’s entourage, publishes A Briefe and True Account of the New Found Lande of Virginia. He does so in an attempt to glamorize the New World and stimulate investors and possible participants.

1590 Publishing: Richard Hakluyt, an associate of Sir Walter Raleigh, publishes his threevolume book The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation which greatly stimulates European interest in colonizing the New World.

August 17 Settlement: John White returns to Roanoke Island, Virginia, only to find that the second group of settlers have disappeared without a trace.

1591 Arts: Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues provides art work that is subsequently engraved for a book about the voyages of Theodor de Bry. They are among the earliest to depict Native American dress, life, and behavior for a European audience.

1595 September 23 Religion: The Spanish Crown authorizes an extensive missionary effort, headed by Fray Juan de Silva, to convert Native Americans in the region of present-day

1585

Chronology

11

“The way they built their boats in Virginia,” wrote Thomas Harriot in his report of the new land, “is very wonderful.” Without metal tools, the Indians of Virginia used fire and clam shells to make canoes. A fire was kindled at the roots of a tall tree and carefully tendered until the tree fell. Then the leaves and branches were burned off. Small fires were carefully lit along the length of the trunk to hollow it out. Finally, the charred wood was cleared away with sharpened shells. Engraving by Theodor de Bry, from a watercolor by John White (Library of Congress)

Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. They do so in an attempt to “civilize” the natives and make them more pliable toward conquest.

1599 October 10 Military: Spanish soldiers sortie from St. Augustine, Florida, and attack nearby Native American settlements in retaliation for raids against settlers. The Indians, overwhelmed by Spanish ferocity and technology, agree to peace terms.

1600 Business: Sir Thomas Smith is appointed governor of the newly chartered East India Company. A business partnership is arranged among Pierre Chauvin; François Gravé, sieur de Pontgravé; and Pierre du Gua, sieur de Monts. They next seek a monopoly in the fur trade from the French Crown.

1600

12

Chronology of American History French traders begin arriving along the St. Lawrence River to commence a valuable fur trade with the Indians; an outpost, Tadoussac, is eventually established.

1602 Business: French king Henry IV grants the Company of New France a trading monopoly for lands acquired in North America. Moreover, it is entrusted with transporting and settling 4,000 colonists with a 15-year time span and is also expected to support Catholic missionaries in converting the Native Americans. The Dutch East India Company is chartered in the Netherlands.

March 26 Exploration: Captain Bartholomew Gosnold and the vessel Concord depart Falmouth, England, on a voyage to the New World. He intends exploring the coast of Maine.

May 15 Exploration: Captain Bartholomew Gosnold anchors his vessel Concord off present-day New Bedford, Massachusetts, the first Englishman to step ashore in New England. He names Cape Cod after the prevalent species of fish found there, and Martha’s Vineyard after a daughter who had died recently.

June 16 Exploration: Captain Bartholomew Gosnold abandons his colonizing efforts and departs New England for home.

1603 Business: Pierre du Gua, sieur de Monts, having acquired a 10-year monopoly on the fur trade in Canada from King Henry IV of France, also gains appointment as lieutenant-governor of the forthcoming colony at Acadia. He now serves as a member of Samuel de Champlain’s forthcoming expedition.

March 15 Exploration: French explorer Samuel de Champlain sets sail for the New World. Of the many Indian groups he encounters, the most tractable are in the less fertile northern reaches of North America. Consequently, when French colonies do arise, they become and remain greatly dependent upon Native Americans for fur, food, and other supplies in contrast to the largely self-sufficient English colonies to the south.

1604 June General: Pierre du Gua, sieur de Monts, founds the first French settlement in the New World on Neutral Island in the St. Croix River, Maine. This colony is eventually resettled at Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia), following a harsh winter. There he interacts with Membertou, chief of the Micmac tribe, who trades valuable furs for weapons and other Europe an goods. The Frenchmen also endear themselves to the natives by striving to learn and adopt their language and customs.

1602

Chronology â•… 13

Scenes of the French colonial fishing industry in New England and Canada. Fisherman bring in the catch, then salt and dry the fish before shipping it to Europe.╇ (Library of Congress)

1605 March 5 Exploration: Captain George Weymouth departs En�gland to search for land suitable for a colony of Catholic expatriates. He eventually explores Nantucket Island and the Maine coast and his report of the expedition, once published, foments creation of the London and Plymouth companies for the purposes of settlement and profit.

July 20 Exploration: A French expedition under Samuel de Champlain sails south from Canada and reaches Cape Cod before turning back. He is disillusioned over not having found the luxurious mythic kingdom of Norumbega, reputedly lined with precious metals.

1606 April 10 General: The London and Plymouth Companies, both joint stock ventures, obtain a patent for colonizing the territory designated Virginia from King James I. Each company receives all land within 50 miles of the first settlement and 100 miles into the interior but, to maintain peaceful relations, both are required not to settle closer than 100 miles from each other.

1606

14

Chronology of American History

August 7 Exploration: Sir John Popham, sailing for the Plymouth Company, anchors a vessel off Monhegan, Maine.

August 14 General: Sir John Popham lands settlers on the Sagadahoc River and constructs a fort there.

October 15 Exploration: A vessel under Thomas Hanham and Martin Pring sails from England for the Plymouth Company and makes for the Maine coast. Military: A party of 50 men under Samuel de Champlain explores the New England coast and puts into the village of the Almouchiquois at Chatham, Cape Cod. Despite offering gifts they are ordered back onto their ship; five drunken crewmen who refuse to comply are killed by angry natives.

November 14 Arts: French actors stage Le Theatre de Neptune en la Nouvelle-France, possibly the New World’s earliest staged performance, at Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia).

December 20 General: Three vessels under Captain Christopher Newport, the Discovery, Goodspeed, and Sarah Constant, convey 144 men and boys from England at the behest of the Virginia Company of London. They sail to establish England’s first permanent colony in the New World.

1607 Business: English settlers at Jamestown, having brought with them glass-making technology, create beads and other artifacts for trading with the Indians.

April 26 General: The London Company expedition of three vessels sails into Chesapeake Bay with 105 surviving settlers aboard, 39 having died at sea. The fleet consists of the 100-ton Susan Constant under Captain Christopher Newport, the 40-ton Godspeed under Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, and the 20-ton Discovery under Captain John Ratcliffe. They then proceed up the Powhatan (James) River looking for a suitable spot to disembark.

May 1 Exploration: Captain George Popham and Sir Ferdinando Gorges of the Plymouth Company depart England on board the Gift of God and sail for the coast of Maine.

May 24 General: Captain Christopher Newport anchors his three-ship London Company flotilla off a peninsula in the Powhatan (James) River, Virginia, depositing 105 surviving male settlers ashore. The colony of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, takes root on the left bank of the James River. The province will eventually be called Virginia after Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, who died five years previously. The locale they select is somewhat low and marshy but seems defensible and provides secure anchorage for ocean-going vessels. As a new colony arises on this spot, it is christened James Towne.

1607

Chronology

Powhatan

15

(ca. 1540–1618)

Pamunkey chief Wahunsonacock, better known to the English by his tribal title Powhatan (chief ) was probably born in the Richmond area of Virginia around 1540. Scholars believe that his father was a southern Indian displaced by the Spanish, who relocated to Virginia and organized an alliance of Algonquianspeaking tribes. It is not known at what point Powhatan succeeded him, but he was apparently a successful warrior who conquered and subjugated roughly 40 regional tribes into a major confederacy that controlled all of tidewater Virginia. He apparently ran his domain by placing sons and close relatives at the heads of principal and allied villages, thereby expanding his domain to upwards of 8,000 square miles. In sum, his was most likely the largest and most complex arrangement of Native Americans east of the Appalachians at the time the Europeans arrived at Jamestown in 1607. Powhatan was probably aware of Europeans, since both Spanish and English raiders had combed the coasts of Virginia looking for slaves in recent years. But, despite some initial hostilities from allied tribes in the region, he sought out peaceful relations with the intruders and attempted, in his tried and accepted manner, to incorporate Jamestown into his network of subject villages. He did this on a cultural basis by supplying the starving English with food, expecting compliance in return. The English, completely ignorant of what was happening and smug in their convictions of racial and religious

superiority, interpreted Indian behavior as a sign of subservience. The cultural divide proved insurmountable and intermittent warfare broke out at various times, principally over the English practice of seizing for their own use land already employed by Indians. In December 1607, Powhatan was on the point of executing Captain John Smith when his daughter Pocahontas convinced him to relent. This may in fact have been an Indian ritual to convert Smith into a vassal by sparing him, but English behavior and attitudes toward the natives proved unyielding. Sporadic violence culminated in the first Anglo-Powhatan War (1610–1613), which consumed many lives on both sides. The only time in Powhatan’s reign that suggested peace occurred in 1614, when Pocahontas was kidnapped by the English, experienced conversion to Christianity, and married planter John Rolfe. All this transpired apparently with the blessing of Powhatan, who was by now advanced in age and desired to live in peace with his unpredictable neighbors. Three years later, the chief was badly shaken upon hearing of his daughter’s death from disease in England, and he grew increasingly withdrawn from tribal affairs. He apparently died in April 1618 and was spared from witnessing the destruction of his confederacy at the hands of the English. Within four years the Indians struck back at their antagonists under his brother, Opechancanough, triggering a series of wars that resulted in complete European domination of eastern Virginia.

Unknown at the time, two-thirds of the inhabitants will perish of disease and malnutrition over the course of the first winter. Moreover, the colonists have posited themselves on the territory of Wahunsonacock (popularly known as Powhatan), chief of the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Confederacy dominating tidewater Virginia. Fate selected this individual and his people to face the first concerted wave of European colonization in North America.

1607

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May 26 Military: About 200 warriors under Powhatan (Wahunsonacock) stage the first recorded Indian attack on English settlements by hitting Jamestown, Virginia, on the James River. The natives kill two settlers and wound 14 before being driven back; in retaliation, English ships bombard nearby Indian villages. The affair induces the colonists to construct a triangular-shaped James Fort for enhanced security against future attacks.

June 3 General: In an attempt to bolster their food stocks, the settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, begin the cultivation of oranges, cotton, potatoes, and melons. This is an essential step, as the first relief ship is not due until the spring of 1609.

June 15 General: Settlers at Jamestown, Virginia, commence building more fortifications to defend against hostile Indians and Spanish marauders.

June 22 General: Captain Christopher Newport departs Jamestown on a return voyage to England, bringing back a cargo of what turns out to be fool’s gold (iron pyrite). The colonists are initially so infatuated by this mineral that they neglect the production of crops and other foodstuffs for the winter.

August 7 General: The Plymouth Company expedition under Captain George Popham and Sir Ferdinando Gorges anchors off Monhegan, Maine.

August 18 General: A small settlement is founded at Popham Beach on the Sagadahoc River, Maine, by Captain George Popham of the Plymouth Company.

September Law: Captain John Smith is acquitted in court, having been accused of conspiracy to commit mutiny by a political rival, Edward Maria Wingfield. Military: The first English militia companies in the New World are formed at Jamestown, Virginia, and Captain John Smith is elected their first leader. Henceforth, the fledgling force is required to meet regularly for marching and musketry drill.

September 10 Politics: Edward M. Wingfield, first president of the Jamestown Colony, is voted out of office and replaced by John Ratcliffe.

September 17 Law: John Robinson files the New World’s first suit for slander in Jamestown, Virginia.

September 28 General: Samuel de Champlain returns to France, taking with him settlers from the temporary colony at Port Royal.

December Law: After a conspiracy against the Jamestown council is uncovered, authorities hang George Kendall, a member of the Royal Council governing the colony. Kendall, one of few Catholics in a very Protestant colony, has been accused, tried, and convicted of spying for Spain.

1607

Chronology

Smith, John

17

(ca. 1580–1631)

Adventurer John Smith was born in Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England, about 1580, the son of a farmer. He was apprenticed as a merchant as a teenager but, restless and impulsive, he left and wandered across Europe as a mercenary. Smith acquired military experience fighting in the Netherlands, then shifted his focus to eastern Europe to fight the Turks. He once slew three Ottomans in combat, then was captured and enslaved before escaping through Russia and returning to England in 1604. As an individual, he was apparently rough-hewn, fearless, and much given to self-promotion. These traits held Smith in good stead in 1606 when he was hired as a military adviser with the London Company and joined the colonizing expedition headed toward Virginia. The gruff and domineering Smith made several

John Smith (Library of Congress)

enemies among the colonists, even though he had been secretly appointed to the governing council at Jamestown. In December 1607, he added considerably to the folklore of America by being captured by Chief Powhatan and— according to Smith—nearly executed before being saved by his daughter Pocahontas. However, after returning to Jamestown he was arrested for the death of two compatriots and sentenced to hang, until the timely arrival of Captain Christopher Newport secured his release in the summer of 1608. That year he was also appointed president of the council and imposed near-martial law on the colonists to make them more self-sufficient. He also bullied the nearby Indians into providing the colony with corn and other food, while attacking various small settlements to awe them with the power of his firearms. In actuality, Smith undoubtedly recognized the acute weakness of Jamestown, and his bluster prevented Powhatan from launching an all-out attack that would eliminate them. But Smith’s draconian behavior did little to endear him to fellow settlers and, after he was seriously injured by a gunpowder explosion in 1609 and forced to return home, he was scarcely missed. Still, under his stern leadership, more than 500 colonists successfully weathered their second winter in Virginia. Back in England, Smith took to writing about his experiences in the New World, which did much to spark popular interest in both colonization and himself. The London Company refused to hire him again, but in 1614 he accompanied Sir Ferdinando Gorges of the Plymouth Company on an exploration of the New England coast. In fact, Smith was the first adventurer to coin the phrase New England. He (continues)

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Chronology of American History

(continued) was then captured by pirates in 1615 and released a year later, whereupon he settled in London to write A Description of New England (1616). This tract proved extremely attractive to the Pilgrims living in the Netherlands and played a role in their migration to Plymouth in 1620. Smith by this time had

immersed himself in the comfortable life of an upscale London bachelor, where he continued to publish his own exploits and the attractiveness of colonization. He died in London in June 1631, an accomplished military adventurer and a legend in the annals of American colonization.

December 10 General: Captain John Smith and two colonists are captured by the Indians while foraging along the Chickahominy River. The men accompanying Smith are killed, but Smith is captured and taken before Powhatan, chief of the tribe.

December 29 General: After several weeks of captivity, Powhatan decides to execute Captain John Smith. However, he is spared through the timely intercession of Pocahontas, his 11-year-old daughter, and eventually released. In retrospect, this entire episode was probably an elaborate Indian ceremony in which Smith is symbolically saved for initiation into the Powhatan tribe.

1608 General: Captain John Smith learns how to cultivate maize from nearby Indians. He goes on to sow 40 acres worth the crop, which greatly ameliorates the prevailing food shortage. Women: The Jamestown settlement receives its first European women, Anne Forrest, who is married, and Anne Burras, her 14-year-old maid.

January 2 General: Captain Christopher Newport arrives back at Jamestown, bringing much-needed food and 100 additional colonists. His arrival could not have proved more fortuitous as the colony is in the grip of pestilence and starvation, which killed off two-thirds of the original members—only 34 survive the first winter. Captain John Smith also reappears at that time, and he is arrested and imprisoned until ordered released by Newport.

January 7 General: The fort at Jamestown accidentally burns, leaving the settlers exposed to depredations by Spanish and Indians.

February 6 General: Sir John Popham dies at Popham Beach on the Sagadahoc River, Maine, after which the small settlement he founded is abandoned.

April 9 General: Captain Christopher Newport departs Jamestown a second time for England, taking back a second shipment of fool’s gold (mica).

1608

Chronology

Pocahontas

19

(ca. 1595–1617)

Peacemaker Pocahontas (“Playful One”) was one of many nicknames for Matoaka, daughter of Chief Wahunsonacock (Powhatan). She was only about 12 years of age when the English settlement at Jamestown arose in 1607, and in whose fate she became deeply entwined. According to legend, Captain John Smith was on the verge of being executed by the Indians when she allegedly intervened to save his life. Modern interpretations view this as only a symbolic threat of execution to demonstrate the power of the Indians to the intruders, after which they were expected to submit as vassals. In any event, Pocahontas became a frequent visitor to Jamestown, where she would bring stores of corn to the starving inhabitants and also entice English boys her own age to a game of somersaulting. However, friction between the two cultures proved inevitable, and raids and counterraids along the frontier became the norm. In one recorded instance, Smith had recently taken many Powhatan hostages, and Pocahontas was dispatched as a peace emissary to secure their release. Later, during a breakdown in negotiations over bartering goods for foods, she allegedly warned Smith that an Indian attack on the settlement was pending. In 1613, Captain Samuel Argall lured Pocahontas onboard his vessel and kidnaped her in the hope of securing the freedom of English prisoners. At that time, the Reverend Alexander Whitaker undertook to convert her to Christianity, which was successfully accomplished,

and she was baptized with the new name of Rebecca. In 1614, she met and married John Rolfe, a successful planter who had acquired considerable wealth after experimenting with tobacco. The union was apparently blessed by her father, the chief, in the hope that it would bridge deep-seated cultural divides between their respective peoples. In this both sides were to be gravely disappointed, for very little intermarriage resulted. Rebecca lived at Jamestown for three years, and in 1615 she gave birth to her son, Thomas. By this time she had also achieved considerable notoriety in England, and the Rolfes were summoned back to London as proof of the Virginia Company’s success in the New World. The couple, accompanied by an entourage of Indian attendants, arrived in England in 1616, and Rebecca was hailed at the court as an “Indian princess,” even though no such position existed within her tribe. Records are spotty, and she may or may not have been granted an audience with Queen Anne and King James. Sometime during the revelry Rebecca contracted a malady, usually described as pneumonia or smallpox, and was fatally stricken. Before returning with her husband to Virginia, she died at Gravesend at the mouth of the Thames and was interred with Christian rites at St. George’s Parish. John Rolfe subsequently died in Opechancanough’s attack on Jamestown in March 1622, but Pocahontas’s son returned to the colony and spent his life residing on family property there.

April 13 General: French explorer Samuel de Champlain departs Port Royal, Acadia, and heads for the interior of Canada.

July 3 General: French explorer Samuel de Champlain and his crew of 28 adventurers found Stadacona (Quebec), France’s first permanent settlement in Canada, as an earlier settlement at Hochelaga has disappeared without a trace. In time this grows

1608

20

Chronology of American History into a fortified citadel and functions as the heart of French Canada and an entrepôt for the all-important fur trade. From here he also cements France’s growing and fateful alliance with the Algonquian-speaking tribes of Canada, placing both on a collision course with the powerful, Five Nation Iroquois confederacy farther south.

July 24 General: Captain John Smith departs Jamestown and explores nearby Chesapeake Bay, and the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers.

August Religion: Separatists from the Anglican Church in England depart the country to live at Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

August 13 General: Captain John Smith attempts to stimulate emigration to the Jamestown settlement by having his A True Re-Capitulation of Occurrences in Virginia published in London. The text is well received in England and interest in the colony grows. Ironically, it fails to mention his famous interlude with Pocahontas.

September 10 General: Captain John Smith returns to Jamestown, whereupon he gains election as president of the Jamestown council. Ruling without assistants, he prepares to undertake extraordinary measures to insure the survival of the colony, still dependent on supplies from England to survive.

September 29 Settlement: Captain Christopher Newport arrives back at Jamestown a third time with badly needed supplies and other commodities.

December General: Captain Christopher Newport departs Jamestown, leaving the colonists to face their second bleak winter there. He takes back with him quantities of ash, pitch, glass, soap, tar, lumber and iron ore, all of which serve as the nucleus of the colonial export trade.

1609 Economics: Having observed nearby Indians and experimented on his own, Captain John Smith encourages the cultivation of maize (white corn) as a food staple at Jamestown, Virginia. Military: In the fall, English encroachment and bullying of nearby Indians for foodstuffs results in the first Anglo-Powahatan War, basically a siege of James Fort until the arrival of additional reinforcements to the colony. The English then took to the offensive and carried the war inland to their adversaries. Skirmishing continues for many years thereafter. Societal: Anne Barrows and John Laydon are formally wed in Virginia, the first Europeans united in matrimony in the American colonies.

March 25 Exploration: Henry Hudson, working in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, departs the Netherlands in the ship Half Moon on a quest to find a shorter route from Europe to Asia.

1609

Chronology

21

May 1 Religion: English separatists living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, under John Robinson and William Brewer, settle in the city of Leiden. As a whole the group enjoyed religious freedom but feared that their children were losing contact with their English culture. They are also barred from joining the local guild system and fear continuing persecution once the truce between England and Holland expires in 1621.

May 5 Exploration: The London Company dispatches Captain Sir Samuel Argall from Portsmouth, England, to establish a more direct trade route with colonists in Virginia.

May 23 Business: The London Company receives a new charter from the Crown and assumes the new name Virginia Company with Sir Thomas Smith as treasurer. This also marks its beginning as a joint stock company to attract investors. The company also acquires land and rights of governance heretofore granted solely by the monarch.

June Diplomacy: A deputation of Huron visits Quebec City seeking help from France in their struggle against the powerful Iroquois Confederacy to the south. Samuel de Champlain agrees and accompanies them on several small raids up the Richelieu River and into present-day Lake Champlain.

June 8 General: The Virginia Company manages to attract 800 new settlers and dispatches them to Jamestown onboard nine ships under Deputy-Governor Sir Thomas Gates and Admiral Sir George Somers. This day they sail from Falmouth; of that total only seven vessels arrive safely, while two are shipwrecked in the Bahamas.

July 28 General: A hurricane strikes near the unexplored island of Bermuda, grounding the Virginia Company flagship Sea Venture under Admiral George Somers. Sir Thomas Gates and Sir Thomas Dale, sailing for Jamestown, are now marooned for the next 10 months. Ironically, the episode serves as the inspiration of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest.

July 30 Exploration: Samuel de Champlain sails up the Richelieu River, Canada, and discovers present-day Lake Champlain. He is escorted by a war party of 60 friendly Huron Indians and when the group encounters hostile Iroquois near Crown Point, New York, Champlain fires his harquebus into the throng, killing two chiefs and inducing the others to flee. By this act he gains for France the undying enmity of the Five Nations, who gradually seek out alliances with the Dutch and English.

August Settlement: Jamestown is bolstered by the arrival of seven Virginia Company vessels bearing supplies and 500 additional settlers as reinforcements. Women: An additional 100 women arrive at Jamestown, most of them indentured servants who must work seven years in some capacity to repay their fares. Most simply marry and settle down as domestic housekeepers.

1609

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Chronology of American History

August 28 Exploration: Henry Hudson, looking for a shortcut to Asia from Europe, arrives at Delaware Bay.

September 12 Exploration: Englishman Henry Hudson, acting in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, ventures up the Hudson River as far as present-day Albany, New York. There he establishes preliminary trade arrangements with neighboring Lenape, Wappinger, Manhattan, Hackensack, Munsee, and Mohegan Indians.

October 5 General: An inadvertent powder explosion at Jamestown badly injures Captain John Smith, and he is also removed as leader of the colony. He subsequently returns to England. Religion: The Anglican Church (Church of England) is established by law as Virginia’s official house of worship. However, it remains the only colony to do so until 1693.

December General: The settlement at Jamestown is bolstered by the arrival of 500 new settlers, although the whole suffer another dismal winter. Deprivation proves so severe that the season becomes known as the “starving time,” and most of the settlers perish. Famine drives colonists to such extremes that one man is convicted of killing and partially consuming his wife and is executed.

1610 Medical: Lawrence Bohune is the first trained medical physician to arrive in Virginia, where he eventually rises to surgeon general.

February 28 Politics: In London, the Virginia Company appoints Sir Thomas West, Lord Delaware, to be first lord and captain-general of Jamestown, with near dictatorial powers. As such, he can rule the colony by fiat, without a council. This is done in an attempt to bring greater stability and social cohesion to the floundering settlement to render it a profitable venture.

May 23 General: Captain Christopher Newport, accompanied by Deputy Governor Thomas Gates, departs the Bahamas after being shipwrecked and arrives at the colony of Jamestown.

June 6 Settlement: Governor Thomas De La Warr arrives in Chesapeake Bay with three ships and makes steady progress toward the colony at Jamestown.

June 8 General: A demoralized Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gates departs Jamestown with some equally discouraged settlers and makes for the fishing stations of Newfoundland. En route, on the James River he runs headlong into Sir Thomas De La Warr, who immediately orders Gates to return to the colony.

June 10 Politics: Newly appointed Lord Governor and Captain General Sir Thomas West De La Warr, Lord Delaware, arrives at Jamestown, Virginia, with three ships, addi-

1610

Chronology

23

tional settlers, and new stocks of food. He arrives at the height of the so-called “starving time” in the colony, and set about improving food stocks and importing more supplies from Bermuda. He also orders construction of a fort at Point Comfort to enhance colonial security, a necessity as resentful Powhatan have begun guerrilla activities against the colony.

June 10–14 Military: At the mouth of the Richelieu River, Samuel de Champlain and his Huron allies engage and defeat Iroquois warriors in a protracted skirmish. Around this time, Champlain also initiates a small cultural exchange by directing a young Frenchman, Etienne Brule, to live among the Hurons while the Indians send a young warrior, Sauvignon, to France. It is hoped that Brule will eventually master the Algonquian tongue while Sauvignon will be suitably impressed by the splendor and might of the French court.

June 24 Religion: Chief Membertou and 100 of his Micmac Indians are baptized into the Roman Catholic Church by Jesse Fleche, an overenthusiastic French missionary. However, this ritual is not recognized by the church, as the Indians do not have the slightest inkling of what baptism signifies. Thereafter French missionaries place increasing emphasis on learning local dialects before proffering religious instruction.

August Military: The Jamestown, Virginia, militia is reinforced by roughly 100 army veterans, newly migrated to the colony. Thus augmented, the settlers launch five punitive raids against hostile Indian villages, burning crops and camps.

September 10 Politics: Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gates is ordered back to London by the Virginia Company where he reports favorably on the enterprise. Meanwhile, Governor Thomas De La Warr exhorts his charges to exert greater efforts in crop cultivation, punishing those who fail to comply. By winter, the improved agricultural output helps mitigate another harsh winter.

1611 Military: Three Spanish spies, dispatched by King Philip III, are captured on the James River while reconnoitering the settlement of Jamestown. They are imprisoned there for several years. Religion: Reverend Alexander Whitaker, a Puritan minister, disembarks at Jamestown to found the New World’s first Presbyterian congregation.

March 28 General: Lord Governor Thomas De La Warr, Lord Delaware, is beset by ague, dysentery, and scurvy, so he returns to England. His departure is indicative of the sickly conditions and widespread malnutrition still prevalent at Jamestown.

May Sports: Jamestown colonists play bowling games in the New World, utilizing town streets as throwing alleys.

1611

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Chronology of American History

May 10 Politics: Sir Thomas Dale arrives at Jamestown, Virginia, to replace Thomas De La Warr, Lord Delaware, as governor. He brings with him 300 additional settlers, provisions, and livestock.

May 23 Politics: Sir Thomas Dale assumes control of Jamestown colony as governor. He also imposes near-martial law, known as “The Dale Code,” to promote greater order and cooperation among settlers. This constitutes a last-ditch effort to render the Jamestown colony a profitable venture.

June 28 Exploration: Henry Hudson’s vessel Discovery enters and explores Hudson Bay, only to have his crew mutiny. He, his son, and four loyal sailors are then abandoned in a small boat, in which they all perish.

August 1 Settlement: Sir Thomas Gates returns from England, bringing with him an additional 200 men and 20 women.

September 11 General: The settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, undergoes its first surge of expansion through the founding of the village of Henrico by Sir Thomas Dale, 40 miles to the north. The new settlement includes a church, a stockade, and several warehouses—proof that the Virginia Company’s draconian measures have succeeded in making the colony viable.

1612 Business: The Dutch vessels Tiger and Fortune begin fur trade activities along the Hudson River, especially with Indians on the island of Manhattan. John Rolfe becomes the first planter to successfully harvest tobacco in Virginia, and by 1620 it is the colony’s singular cash crop. The money tobacco generates allows Jamestown to expand in size, creating further conflicts with nearby Indians.

March 22 Politics: The Virginia Company receives its third charter for its colony in Virginia, which further outlines and enlarges powers of the governing members while also placing Bermuda under its control. The latter serves as an important source of food for the struggling colony. However, the Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall promulgated by the company to improve discipline remain strict and oppressive.

July General: The British vessel Plough drops off 60 settlers on the island of Bermuda, initiating a renewed colonization effort.

1613 Business: The first Dutch traders begin arriving on the island of Manhattan, New York. General: The French in Acadia arm Micmac Indians and incite them to attack and destroy the nearby Beothuk tribe of Newfoundland, who had recently killed 37 fishermen.

1612

Chronology

25

Sir Thomas Dale, in the latest expansion of Jamestown, Virginia, founds a new settlement, Bermuda Hundred. Military: Captain Sir Samuel Argall, sailing up from Virginia, attacks and destroys several French colonies situated around the Bay of Fundy, including Saint Sauveur and Port Royal (Annapolis), Canada, and returning with 15 prisoners. This is the first recorded instance of hostility between French and English settlers. April: Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, is kidnapped by Captain Sir Samuel Argall and taken hostage to Jamestown, Virginia. The English then demand that Chief Powhatan surrender all his guns as a condition for her release. While in captivity, Pocahontas also converts to Christianity through the efforts of Alexander Whitaker.

September 1 Military: Samuel de Champlain leads a large Huron war party on an expedition against the Iroquois in present-day New York.

October 10 Military: A Huron war party led by Samuel de Champlain is ambushed by the Onondaga Indians in New York. Champlain is wounded in the fighting and calls off his campaign.

November Captain Sir Samuel Argall, returning from a successful foray in Maine, drops his anchor at the new Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island, forcing them to raise the English flag.

1614 Business: The Dutch found Fort Nassau (Albany, New York) on the west bank of the Hudson River, and in the heart of Mohegan territory, as a trading post. This is the first manifestation of what eventually materializes as New Amsterdam. General: A party of Englishmen under Thomas Hunt kidnap a party of Wampanoags, which they take to Spain for sale as slaves. Among them is a young warrior, Squanto, who converts to Catholicism, makes his way to London, and becomes passably fluent in English. In 1619, he is finally returned to Massachusetts unharmed with many tales to tell. Summer: Captain John Smith leads two vessels to the coast of Maine and begins surveying the coast from Penobscot as far south as Cape Cod. He is the first Englishman to refer to the region as New England.

March Business: The first shipment of Virginia tobacco is dispatched to England from Jamestown on board the Elizabeth.

March 27 Business: The Dutch Estate General adopts the Ordinance of 1614, which creates trade monopolies to encourage exploration and colonization in the New World.

April 14 General: Pocahontas marries planter John Rolfe in Virginia, apparently with the blessing of Chief Powhatan, her father, and takes the Christian name Rebecca. It is hoped that their union will promote peaceful coexistence between two very suspicious communities. She had also converted to Christianity in the previous

1614

26

Chronology of American History year while a hostage, bears a son name Thomas, and eventually departs for England with her family and father.

October 1 Exploration: Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer, arrives in Amsterdam with maps and other information pertaining to the coast of New England and other regions. Block Island, Rhode Island, upon which he stopped briefly, is named in his honor. The information he relays back to company officials further emboldens the Dutch to undertake sizable colonization efforts.

October 11 Business: The United New Netherland Company is chartered for the purpose of facilitating the fur trade among Indians in the Hudson River Valley. They also obtain a three-year monopoly on the fur trade.

1615 Business: In response to the fur trade, the Algonquian-speaking confederation of Indians begins leaving the Atlantic region and migrating down the Saint Lawrence River, in tribal bands of Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa, to the region of presentday Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Eager for the acquisition of European goods and alcohol, they commence hunting fur-bearing animals out of commercial impulse rather than actual need. This eventually leads to depletion of natural resources and a need to expand into regions occupied by other tribes. Religion: Four Franciscan (Recollet) friars begin preaching Christianity to the Indians in Quebec, Canada, the modest beginning of an extensive missionary effort.

July 28 Exploration: Samuel de Champlain, on his seventh voyage to the New World, ventures inland and encounters present-day Lake Huron. This discovery affords an easier inland route for the future fur trade, a staple of the French colony of Quebec.

August 1 Diplomacy: Samuel de Champlain, eager to cement a military alliance with the Huron nation, visits their capital of Huronia as the representative of New France and is enthusiastically welcomed. Over the next three decades an extensive trading network emerges between the two parties, until the fur-producing regions of the Upper Great Lakes grow depleted from overhunting and decline in productivity.

September Exploration: French explorer Étienne Brülé departs the expedition of Samuel de Champlain, sails down the Susquehanna River, and discovers its mouth at Chesapeake Bay.

October 11–12 Military: Samuel de Champlain besieges Onondaga fort near present-day Oswego, New York, with Huron, Algonquian, and Montagnais allies. They are, however, repulsed.

1616 General: Captain John Smith writes and publishes A Description of New England to stimulate immigration; it is the first written use of that name for this region of North America.

1615

Chronology

27

Law: In London, Edward Coke, chief justice of the king’s bench, is force to resign after questioning the authority of King James I. Consequently, his Reports (1600– 15) and Institute on the Laws of England (1628–44), which also peripherally contest royal authority, become standard legal books for generations of Americans studying law. Medical: Smallpox, a contagion spread by European sailors, begins decimating the New England Indians. Within three years they lose up to 90 percent of their population to this and other maladies for which they lack natural immunity. Military: English settlers in Virginia, hard-pressed to produce sufficient foodstuff, try coercing the Chickahominy tribe into paying tribute. When they refuse, the militia attacks the tribe, killing several leaders and forcibly rounding up supplies needed.

January 20 Military: Samuel de Champlain assists Algonquin allies in a battle with hostile Iroquois and is wounded.

May 22 Diplomacy: Samuel de Champlain departs Huronia for Quebec, having demonstrated French resolve to assist Indian nations allied to France. Theirs proves a fateful alliance, with dire consequences for the Indians.

June General: Rebecca (Pochontas) ventures abroad to visit England with husband John Rolfe, where she receives a fond welcome from the court and is introduced to King James I. She carries herself extremely well at the English court and is hailed as an “Indian princess.” Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gale is also on hand to present a favorable report of Jamestown to company officials.

1617 Politics: Sir Samuel Argall gains appointment as deputy governor of Jamestown; his tenure in office will be characterized by arbitrariness, poor governance, and unrest. Societal: The continuing arrival in Jamestown of women of higher social status lays the foundation for sustainable populations and the growth of stable communities.

March 21 General: Pocahontas, now called Rebecca, dies of smallpox in Gravesend, England, at the age of 21 and is buried at St. George’s Church with Christian rites. Tragically, she becomes one of thousands of Native Americans who will succumb to foreign diseases.

March 24 Politics: King James I embraces the notion of Indian churches and schools to convert and “civilize” Native Americans in Virginia and elsewhere. He thereupon instructs the archbishops of York and Canterbury to collect funding for the effort.

April Medical: The Micmac, valuable French allies in Maine and Newfoundland, are stricken by smallpox and die off in large numbers. In general, tribes in the New

1617

28

Chronology of American History England region will lose up to 90 percent of their number to diseases for which they have no immunity.

December 23 General: The English government seeks to establish a penal colony in Virginia for the settlement of criminals and other social outcasts.

1618 Economics: Virginia establishes the practice of headrights, whereby families and immigrating workers receive 50 acres of land per head for workers settling in the colony. It gradually becomes the legal basis for granting land tenure throughout the South and is adopted to attract settlers who would be otherwise uninterested in “sharecropping” larger tracts. Religion: In a move to bolster church attendance, Governor Sir Samuel Argall decrees that failure to attend is punishable by imprisonment for the evening, followed by a week of forced labor. Furthermore, dancing, fiddling, cards, hunting, and fishing, were all forbidden on Sunday. Sports: Puritans are infuriated when King James I issues the Book of Sports, delineating what recreations are permissible on Sundays.

April General: In Virginia, Chief Powhatan dies and is succeeded by his brother, the more militant Opechancanough. He inherits a tribe decimated by disease and increasingly under siege by a steady influx of land-hungry Europeans—and determines to do something about it.

November 18 Education: The colony of Virginia sets aside 10,000 acres of land for the eventual establishment of a college to educate the Indians. Politics: Sir Samuel Argall loses the post as governor of Jamestown due to a gross mishandling of official matters. Foremost of these is his strict enforcement of religious observances, with commensurate punishment for failure to comply. Back in London, a revised charter enacted by the London Company grants new privileges and limited participation in the decision-making process.

1619 Business: The first iron works in the English colonies arises at Falling Creek, Virginia. The House of Burgesses also expands upon the policy of land grants, allowing 100 acres to every settler who arrived before 1616. Improved accessibility to land provides considerable incentive for new arrivals to make the voyage. Law: The House of Burgesses decrees that any settler that trades weapons or powder to the Indians is to be hanged. Societal: Additional shipments of women arrive at Jamestown; prospective husbands must pay 120 pounds of tobacco to have them sent over. A large number of children are also removed from London slums and sent to the colonies as apprentices.

April 19 Politics: Sir George Yeardley arrives at Jamestown, Virginia, as the colony’s new governor, with authority to initiate reforms. He is especially empowered

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Opechancanough (ca. 1545–1646) Pamunkey chief Opechancanough was born in the tidewater district of Virginia around 1545, younger brother of Chief Powhatan of the Pamunkey tribe. This was a large confederation of Algonquian-speaking tribes that controlled the eastern reaches of Chesapeake Bay back into the interior. In 1607, the tribesmen watched as the English established their first settlement at Jamestown. Some skirmishing resulted, but there was no overt hostility until December of that year when Opechancanough commanded a war party that captured Captain John Smith as he explored the Chickahominy River. Smith was subsequently spared and released through the intercession of Pocahontas, and then an uneasy truce set in for many years between the natives and the new arrivals. During this period continual waves of settlers pushed farther and farther inland, displacing the Indians from their traditional hunting grounds. Powhatan did his best to accommodate this influx, but after he died in 1618, his younger brother Opitchapan succeeded him. By this period Opechancanough had emerged as an important adviser to the chief and he argued to push the English into the sea before their numbers became insurmountable. The English were then led into a false sense of security for many years until March 22, 1622, when Opechancanough waged a sudden and relentless attack on their settlements. As many as 500 men, women, and children—one-fourth of the colony—were cut down on that first day of the war, but the Indians failed to storm

Jamestown itself. Apparently the colony had been alerted to the danger by a Christian Indian, and they rebuffed the attackers. The survivors gradually consolidated and counterattacked in a struggle lasting 14 years before Opechancanough was finally forced to sue for peace in 1636. The recent experience of war had done nothing to stifle the English appetite for additional Indian land, and an eight-year impasse ensued as both sides gathered strength to renew the fight. By now Opechancanough was chief and an old man of nearly 90 years, supposedly so lame that he had to be carried around in a litter. Nevertheless, on April 18, 1644, he orchestrated another deadly attack against the English, killing almost 1,000 settlers. However, the Europeans were by now far too numerous to be driven off, and another relentless war of attrition unfolded. The settlers were aided by modern technology such as firearms and cannon that the lightly armed Indians could not successfully counter, and they lost heavily. In April 1646, a raid by colonists managed to capture the aged chief, whom they vindictively paraded through the streets of Jamestown. While confined in prison, Opechancanough was shot and killed by one of his guards. The defeat of his Powhatan confederacy resulted in their complete removal from the tidewater district. Moreover, an important threshold had been crossed for Native Americans, ushering in a pattern of war and displacement that lasted over the next two and a half centuries.

to form a governing council of six members and a general assembly drawn from the planting class, or burgesses. Yeardley’s arrival is a significant turning point in the history of Jamestown, marking its transformation from a companycontrolled plantation colony into a self supporting and self-governing political entity.

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April 28 Business: The more liberal-minded Sir Edwin Sandys assumes control of the Virginia Company in London from Sir Thomas Smith. His first task is to scuttle the harsh social policies of Sir Samuel Argall, which have sown considerable dissent among colonists. Moreover, he favors abolishing feudal tenures altogether and advocates representative government. This gives rise to the Great Charter, which replaces the harsh Lawes, Divine, Morall, and Martiall adopted in 1612 and lays the groundwork for land tenure reform and representative government.

June 19 Religion: English religious dissenters living in Leiden, the Netherlands, obtain a patent in the name of John Wyncop to settle within lands own by the Virginia Company. Sir Edwin Sandys of the Virginia Company also intercedes on their behalf and the English Crown approves the document.

July 30 Politics: Martial law at Jamestown finally passes, and the New World receives its first colonial legislature. Elections are held for 22 seats in the new House of Burgesses, with members drawn exclusively from the planting class. These will convene in Jamestown and represent 11 constituencies within the colony of Virginia.

August Societal: Spirits rise in Jamestown following the arrival of 90 young maidens looking for husbands. Their prospective mates have paid the company 120 pounds in tobacco to facilitate their transit to the New World. This also represents an economic boost to the colony for, with greater numbers of women on hand to fulfill domestic chores, the men are free to work longer hours in the fields.

August 9–14 Politics: The New World’s first representative legislature, the Virginia House of Burgesses, gathers for the first time at Old Church, Jamestown. One of its first acts substitutes English common law for martial law in the colony, although all acts passed must ultimately be approved by company authorities back in London. They also embrace a strict moral code that outlaws gambling, drunkenness, immorality, and idleness. Colonists are also required to attend church masses twice on Sunday while being fully armed with swords and guns. The initial session lasts only a few days but constitutes the beginning of representative political traditions in North America.

August 20 Slavery: Twenty Africans, men and women alike, arrive at Jamestown, after being removed from a Spanish slaver vessel by a Dutch privateer. In the absence of statutory slavery, the newcomers are not treated as chattel but rather as indentured servants, enjoying the same rights and obligations as poorer white immigrants. Nonetheless, their presence heralds the commencement of a long English involvement in the slave trade. The scourge of slavery itself will not be eradicated from North America until 1865.

1620 Business: The export of tobacco leads to an economic boom at Jamestown, Virginia.

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The first meeting of the House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia, the first elected legislative assembly in America (Library of Congress)

Societal: Virginia landowners donate books for a college in Henrico, thereby establishing the first library in the English American colonies.

January 31 Labor: Leaders of Jamestown, Virginia, petition company officials in London for more orphaned apprentices to work as laborers.

February Religion: The Dutch government invites English religious separatists to settle in the Netherlands, but the group under Reverend John Wyncop demurs, awaiting permission from the English government to relocate to Virginia.

February 20 General: English merchants Thomas Weston and John Pierce of London obtain a patent to settle from the Virginia Company and make overtures to the Leiden separatists for them to join their endeavor.

March 3 General: Sir Ferdinando Gorges petitions King James I for a charter granting the Plymouth Company settlement rights in New England, specifically Maine.

June 18 Business: The liberal-minded Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, succeeds Sir Edwin Sandys as treasurer of the London Company. He remains in charge of company affairs until it is disbanded in 1624, which insures the continuation of fair and liberal social policies.

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June 29 Business: The English Crown reaches a trade agreement with the Virginia Company stipulating that tobacco will not be cultivated in England, but the government would receive one shilling duty per pound of the crop raised in Virginia.

July 22 Religion: Thirty-five English separatists living in Leiden, the Netherlands, under William Brewster depart onboard the ship Speedwell and sail back to Plymouth, England. Once there they hope to migrate to new land in North America.

August 5 Settlement: A complement of 35 Puritan separatists under William Bradford and William Brewster, accompanied by 67 Strangers (Anglicans) under Myles Standish, depart Plymouth, England, for the New World. They sail on two vessels, Speedwell and Mayflower, and six days later, when the former proves unseaworthy, the attempt is aborted and they return to port.

September 16 Religion: A party of 101 so-called “Pilgrims,” consisting of Puritans, Calvinists, and some non-Separatists, departs Plymouth, England, on board the vessel Mayflower, and makes for the Virginia colony. This group’s members have distanced themselves from the Anglican Church and evince a Congregationalist doctrine more akin to the teachings of John Calvin. Among their number is Myles Standish, a former soldier, and Dr. Samuel Fuller, one of the New World’s earliest physicians.

November 9 General: The English vessel Mayflower comes in sight of Cape Cod after a voyage of 66 days. Having been blown northward off course by a storm, they decided to disembark even though the region lays outside any jurisdiction of the Virginia Company.

November 11 General: A small but determined band of Pilgrims approaches Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. They had originally intended to land and settle in Virginia but, because of the onset of winter, elect to disembark somewhere along the coastline. But, because this terrain lays outside the Virginia colony, their charter is invalid and many aboard fear that they lack a valid basis of governance. Also, the colonists suffer their first loss when Dorothy Bradford, the future governor’s wife, apparently slips off the boat and drowns in the icy water.

November 13 Business: King James I, at the behest of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, grants the Council for New England (successor to the Plymouth Company) a new charter for land along the New England coast near Maine. This change marks the shift from merchants to aristocrats and changing emphasis from a trading concern to a land company.

November 21 Politics: Weary male colonists onboard the Mayflower, anchored in Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, conclude the “Mayflower Compact,” which establishes

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Bradford, William (1590–1657) Colonial governor William Bradford was baptized at Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, on March 19, 1590. Like many youths of his time he began reading and inculcating the Bible at the age of 12, and as a young man he quit the Church of England to join a small Separatist congregation over the objections of his family. Once King James I began persecuting Separatists, Bradford fled to the Netherlands with many of his congregation in 1608. He lived there, working in the textile industry, for 11 years until the opportunity arose to migrate to Virginia with the backing of a private company, and the Pilgrims, fearful of losing touch with their English language and culture, readily joined him. Accordingly, in 1620 Bradford and 35 Separatists—in concert with 66 other passengers—set sail for America onboard the Mayflower. In December of that year Bradford was a signatory to the so-called “Mayflower Compact,” committing the travelers to observe whatever government eventually evolved on shore. Tragedy then struck on December 7, 1620, when Bradford’s wife fell off the boat within sight of land and drowned. The colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, then arose on December 26, 1620, and when John Carver, the original governor, died in the spring of 1621, Bradford was appointed to serve in his place. Significantly, he was reelected to that office for 30 of the next 35 years, a good indication of his personal popularity and administrative skills. Happily, Bradford also married Alice Carpenter in July 1623, and raised three children.

The pilgrims of Plymouth endured a harsh first winter, although they were eventually assisted by the local Wampanoag Indians under Chief Massasoit. Bradford, realizing the acute weakness of his charge, was quick to strike up friendly relations with the natives, celebrated the first Thanksgiving with them, and scrupulously observed a treaty of friendship. But hardships remained, as the colony’s charter mandated that investors in England would receive all profits accruing from their labors, and it was not until 1627 that Bradford arranged for the settlers to buy out the contract. In this respect he proved a far-sighted benign individual, fairly dividing up all land among settlers whether or not they were Separatists. After 1630, the new influx of religiously stern Puritans, settling at nearby Salem and Boston, also made life more challenging by attempting to annex the Plymouth settlement and behaving disrespectfully toward the aged governor. However, Bradford served capably and honestly in office until his death at Plymouth on May 9, 1657. For more than three decades he oversaw Plymouth through numerous travails, successfully overcame each one, and is largely responsible for the colony’s survival. His success is all the more surprising considering that Bradford was never formally educated. He also made an indelible contribution to scholarship by compiling his History of Plimouth Plantation, 1620–1647, published 200 years after his death, which affords valuable insights and glimpses into religious and social conditions throughout this seminal period.

civic authority for the new colony. This is largely undertaken to placate Strangers (Anglicans) aboard, who are not members of the Separatist church of “Saints” and are unhappy at landing miles from their designated area in Virginia. Under the compact’s terms, the 41 male signatories agree to organize and govern their

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Standish, Myles

(ca. 1584–1656)

Military adventurer Myles Standish was probably born in Lancashire, England, around 1584, and he was attracted to military service while a youth. He fought several years in the Netherlands against Spain as an officer, acquiring skills in the school of war that proved useful later on. At this point he came to the attention of the English Separatist Pilgrims then living in Leiden and hoping to migrate to the New World. They then hired this short, redheaded, fierce-tempered adventurer as their official military adviser. Standish sailed with the Pilgrims onboard the Mayflower in 1620 and conducted several preliminary forays at the tip of Cape Cod before landing at Plymouth. He was also a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and dutifully fulfilled his obligations for the next 32 years. Once ashore, Standish proved instrumental in helping organize the colony’s defenses and instituting early militia drill. The Pilgrims also endured a very harsh first winter that sickened many, but Standish, inured to hardship, remained healthy and catered to the ill. He then assisted Governor William Bradford in his negotiations with the Wampanoag Indians and helped design the treaty between Chief Massasoit and the colony. This document secured peaceful relations between the Indians and the Europeans for nearly half a century. Standish, as the resident military expert, realized the weakness of the colony and the dangers that a massed Indian attack would pose, so he readily learned their language and constantly impressed them with displays of

modern firearms to promote an illusion of great military strength. For many years, this kept more aggressive elements among the Wampanoag at bay. In addition to his military functions, Standish also held down several administrative positions within the colonial government and was a trusted figure. In 1625, he was dispatched back to England to secure supplies and money from the company and, two years later, also accompanied the successful attempt to purchase the company’s charter for stockholders. He also assumed policing functions at the behest of the governor. In 1623, Standish led a group of eight soldiers to the Indian village of Wessagusett, where he assassinated a group of tribal leaders planning to attack the colony. In 1628, Standish led an armed group to Merry Mount (Quincy), arrested Thomas Morton, the leader of an undisciplined group of traders, for licentious behavior, and deported him back to England. It was Morton who coined the derogatory term for the short, ruddy-faced officer, “Captain Shrimp.” He took to the field for the last time in 1645 in anticipation of war with the Narragansetts of Rhode Island, then retired and was made colonial treasurer. In 1624, Standish was also instrumental in founding the settlement of Duxbury, Plymouth’s first expansion, where he also settled with his second wife. He died there on October 3, 1656, an essential figure in the history of Plymouth and the object of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, the Courtship of Myles Standish.

new settlement in consort, to obey laws approved by the voting majority, and to respect the authority of their governor. All laws adopted by the colony must also be agreeable with the laws of England. Its relatively democratic tenor established guidelines for other English settlements in the region, along with the basic American political philosophy of self-governance and majority rule. It is also the

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This painting shows the Pilgrims signing the compact in one of the Mayflower's cabins. (Library of Congress)

first constitution ever written in the New World and guides the Plymouth settlement until its absorption by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Societal: Peregrine White is born on the Mayflower, becoming the first child of English parents in New England.

December Religion: Puritan ministers William Brewster, William Bradford, and Edward Winslow found their own Separatist church once ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

December 8 Military: The landing party from the Mayflower skirmishes with a body of hostile Indians on Cape Cod and drives them off. Eventually, the nearby Wampanoag nation seeks to establish communication and friendly relations.

December 11 General: The Mayflower observes and approaches present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, where preparations are made to disembark after a 63-day voyage. A scouting party sent ashore discerns cornfields and running brooks.

December 26 Politics: Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts, is founded by the Pilgrims under the leadership of Deacon John Carver, who is appointed the first governor. Mary

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Chronology of American History Chilton also becomes the first English woman to disembark at Plymouth Rock, although the bulk of colonists remain aboard the Mayflower rather than commence building habitats in the wintery conditions. Their landing also places them in a region already occupied by members of the Wampanoag, Massachuset, Pawtucket, and Nipmuck nations. Initially, the Indians are far more curious about their new neighbors than hostile.

1621 Law: The first recorded duel in America was fought between two gentlemen at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Military: Nenmattanaw, an important religious leader among the Powhatan of Virginia, informs his people that he possesses a magic salve rendering him invulnerable to the colonialists’ bullets. To prove his point he then kills an Englishman, strolls into his village, and is promptly shot dead. His passing infuriates many of his followers, including Chief Opechancanough, who begin plotting all-out war to rid themselves of the intruders.

January 21 Settlement: After a cold winter aboard the Mayflower, the bulk of colonists disembarks at Plymouth and begins building habitats. They also gather ashore to hold their first preaching service. However, of 18 women who arrived, no less than 14 failed to survive the first winter.

March Diplomacy: The Plymouth settlement receives a distinguished visitor in the form of Samoset, an English-speaking sachem (chief ) of the Pemaquid tribe who apparently learned the language from fishermen arriving off the coast of Maine.

March 21 General: The final group of settlers onboard the Mayflower comes ashore at Plymouth colony, Massachusetts.

March 22 Diplomacy: The Pilgrims of Plymouth colony reach a peace accord between Governor John Carver and Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe. They are assisted in this venture by Squanto (Tisquantum), a former English captive who learned the language during two years of residence in London, 1617–19. Over this first harsh winter, Native Americans proved instrumental in showing the Pilgrims how to grow crops, fish in rivers, and build shelter. Massasoit is probably motivated less by altruism than by his dire need to secure European help against his formidable neighbors to the south, the Narragansett. Significantly, the treaty signed is scrupulously observed by both sides for half a century.

April 5 General: The Mayflower departs Plymouth, Massachusetts, for a return voyage back to England. The Pilgrims must now fend for themselves in their wilderness enclave.

April 21 Politics: Deacon John Carver dies of illness at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and William Bradford replaces him to serve as governor. He occupies that office for 30 years, guiding the colony through its most seminal period.

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Massasoit (ca. 1590–1661) Wampanoag chief Massasoit (“Great Leader”), also known as Ousamequin (“Yellow Feather) was born in southern New England around 1590, a member of the Wampanoag tribal confederation. This was a group of Algonquianspeaking Indians inhabiting the coast of Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. His home town was apparently Pokanocket (present-day Mount Hope, Rhode Island). Nothing is known of his life prior to the events of 1621, when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth and began carving out a colony in the wilderness. At that time, the Wampanoag were distressed by the onset of diseases, undoubtedly transmitted by European sailors, to which the Indians lacked natural immunities. The tribe had thus lost hundreds, possibly thousands, of members, making it a prime candidate for conquest by the more powerful Narragansett tribe farther south. This fact may have weighed heavily on Massasoit’s mind when, in March 1621, he decided to collect a body of warriors and pay the Pilgrims a visit. He found the colonists suffering badly from overexposure and hunger and, after some preliminary bartering, elected to help. In this he was greatly assisted by Squanto, an Indian who had been kidnaped by the English and spent several years in London, learning the language. Governor William Bradford, whose sickly and feeble band could not offer serious resistance if attacked, gladly agreed to enter into a defense alliance with the Wampanoag at Massasoit’s behest. The chief probably entered into this arrangement less for altruistic reasons than a need to find new allies

in his struggle against the Narragansett. In his dealings with the newcomers, Massasoit invariably impressed them as stern and taciturn, but also highly intelligent and diplomatic. The agreement reached between Massasoit and the Pilgrims endured four decades, and both sides were apparently committed to uphold it. Massasoit for his part apparently took a keen interest in his allies’ survival, for in the fall of 1621, when invited to a minor feast called Thanksgiving, he brought along five deer and 90 warriors. The Pilgrims appreciated their benefactor in kind, and in 1623, when the chief fell ill, several Plymouth men traversed miles of woodlands to enter his village and treat him. That year he also alerted the colony that a conspiracy existed among certain Indian tribes beyond his jurisdiction, and these were promptly rounded up and killed by Captain Myles Standish. In 1638 and 1642, the chief reappeared at Salem and Boston to renew his pact with the Pilgrims and was cordially received. By the time Massasoit died in 1661, the New England frontier had been changed from a handful of struggling colonies to a sustainable English population extending ever farther into the interior. His son and successor, Wamsutta (who adopted the name Alexander) likewise tried accommodating their demands with little success until he died of illness. It fell upon Massasoit’s other son, Metacom (Philip), to finally confront the Europeans in a war that decided the fate of Native Americans in New England.

May 12 Societal: Plymouth, Massachusetts, witnesses its first marriage when Susanna White weds Edward Winslow. Significantly, both lost their original spouses over the winter.

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June Settlement: Andrew Weston lands at Plymouth colony with 50 additional settlers and goes on to found a fishing and trading post at nearby Wessagusett, Massachusetts.

June 1 Business: John Peirce of the Council for New England receives a second patent for land in Maine, whereby all land titles are jointly shared by investors and settlers. Furthermore, each settler receives 100 acres in the colony while 1,500 acres are reserved for public use. An agent representing the Pilgrims in London obtains a land grant from the Council of New England since they have apparently settled within its territory.

June 3 Business: The Netherlands States General charters the Dutch West India Company, granting it a monopoly to colonize and trade in the New World below the Tropic of Cancer. Dutch settlers have already begun a lucrative fur trade with Mohawk and Mahican tribes of the Hudson River Valley.

July 24 Politics: In London, the Ordinance and Constitution for the Virginia colony is approved by the Virginia Company.

October Politics: Sir Francis Wyatt arrives at Jamestown as the new governor. He brings with him the new Ordinance and Constitution as promulgated by the Virginia Company.

October 21 Business: The Privy Council orders duties levied on all exports from the colonies once they reach England. The king also declares a monopoly on all Virginia tobacco.

November General: The Plymouth settlers celebrate the first Thanksgiving with local Indians, who are invited. When Massasoit appears with 90 fellow tribesmen, and it is clear that the Pilgrims lack the food to feed everybody, the chief instructs his people to contribute food and they bring five deer. This quintessential American holiday will not be declared official until 1863.

November 10 General: The ship Fortune arrives at Plymouth, Massachusetts, bringing 30 additional settlers but no new supplies.

December 13 General: The ship Fortune departs Plymouth, Massachusetts, for England, laden with a large cargo of timber and furs.

December 25 General: Governor William Bradford, in another attempt to crack down on licentiousness, halts all game-playing on Christmas Day at Plymouth Colony and confiscates sports equipment.

1622 Slavery: Anthony Johnson and his wife, Mary, are acknowledged as the first free African Americans in Virginia. In time they also become owners of African slaves.

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Meanwhile, the House of Burgesses, determined to dampen interracial liaisons and marriage, levies a fine on all offenders.

January Diplomacy: In a test of nerve, the Narragansett dispatch a bundle of arrows wrapped in a snake skin, a portent of war, to Plymouth colony. Governor William Bradford responds by sending back a skin filled with bullets. The message is apparently clear and no violence erupts between the two communities.

March 8 Politics: The Privy Council bans the lottery used by the Virginia Company to raise funds, and it begins going bankrupt.

March 22 Military: On Good Friday morning, Powhatan warriors under Opechancanough approached numerous English settlements on the pretext of trading, then suddenly grabbed colonial weapons and attacked. This proves a well-coordinated affair through which 31 settlements are struck almost simultaneously. The main settlement at Jamestown was alerted to the danger by Chanco, a Christianized Indian and successfully withstood the onslaught. Nevertheless, 347 colonists are slain in one fell swoop, nearly one-third of the population. This act leads to a series of colonial reprisals and a long, drawn-out conflict lasting a decade.

July General: A contingent of Scottish settlers arrives at Nova Scotia at the behest of Sir William Alexander, who holds a grant from King James I.

August Settlement: Thomas Weston is sent by the Plymouth colony to found a settlement at Wessagusett (Weymouth); the inhabitants suffer a harsh first winter there.

August 10 General: Sir John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges receive a grant from the Council for New England for the province of Maine, situated between the Merrimack and Kennebec Rivers.

November 6 Business: The Crown grants the Council of New England a monopoly for trading and fishing in Maine; it also receives the ability to grant licenses for these activities. This is to forestall future conflicts with the Virginia Company.

December 30 Business: Robert Gorges, son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, is appointed lieutenant general of New England by the Council of New England. He also obtains a 10mile strip of land along the coast of Boston Bay, extending inland for 30 miles.

1623 Agriculture: Governor William Bradford orders settlers to cultivate their own maize (corn) to supplement the otherwise meager colonial diet. In this he is advised by Native Americans on how best to grow and harvest the crop. Business: The Virginia assembly instructs all settlers to plant and grow mulberry trees, whose leaves were then used to cultivate silk worms and silk production.

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Chronology of American History Settlement: The Council for New England issues additional grants for settling the regions of Portsmouth and Dover (New Hampshire), and Casco Bay and Saco Bay, Maine. Another grant allows colonists at Dorchester to found a new establishment at Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

April 4 Military: Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag alerts officials at Plymouth colony of a conspiracy by several warrior chiefs to destroy them. He singles out two war captains, Wituwamet and Pecksuot in particular. That same day, 10 heavily armed militiamen under Captain Myles Standish sail from Plymouth for the Indian town of Wessagusett under the pretext of trading there.

April 6 Military: A force of 10 militia men under Captain Myles Standish attacks a body of Massachusett Indians at Wessagusset (Weymouth), Massachusetts, to eliminate any Indians plotting to attack Plymouth colony. Eight alleged conspirators are slain and the head of Chief Wituwamet is severed and placed atop a pole back in Plymouth. In retaliation, the Indians capture several colonists already in their town and execute them.

May 22 Military: Having gradually worn the Powhatan down by incessant fighting, the English invite Opechancanough and several leaders to a peace parley. The Indians accept and are given poisoned wine to drink. The English then shoot and kill several drunken chiefs, but Opechancanough manages to escape, and hostilities resume with a vengeance.

June 29 Business: The Council of New England divides up the New England coast from Rhode Island to Maine for settlement and ownership by 20 patentees.

July Business: The Virginia Company of London, facing bankruptcy, arranges to be managed by the king’s Privy Council. This is the first step in a chain of events leading to royal rule in Virginia.

August Settlement: The colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts, is buttressed by the arrival of additional settlers.

September Business: Sir Robert Gorges, now lieutenant general of New England, attempts revitalizing the moribund fishing and trading outpost at Wessagusett, Massachusetts. It will be abandoned over the winter and eventually forgotten.

September 10 Business: Plymouth colony ships 140 tons of furs and lumber to England onboard the ship Anne under Captain William Pierce.

November 3 General: The Dutch West India Company authorizes the conveyance of 30 families to start a settlement in the New World. Walloons, French-speaking Protestants from what today is Belgium, are chosen.

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December 13 Law: Colonists in Plymouth, Massachusetts, found the practice of trial by a 12man jury in accordance with English civil law. Defendants can be found guilty only through a unanimous verdict.

1624 Military: A resurgent Mohawk nation begins pushing the Mahican tribe across the Hudson River into Connecticut. Religion: The new Virginia legal code requires all settlers to attend church on Sundays or face a fine of one pound of tobacco for failure to do so. Moreover, all residential dwellings must accommodate a place designated especially for worship. Reverend John Lyford, an Anglican clergyman, becomes the first appointed minister to Plymouth colony, Massachusetts. His tenure there is both brief and unhappy; once charged with favoring Anglicanism, he is arrested and expelled to Naukeag (Salem). Slavery: The Dutch West Indies Company begins importing African slaves to work farms of the Hudson River Valley. William Tucker is the first recorded African American born at Jamestown, Virginia.

March Business: Former governor Edward Winslow of Plymouth Colony introduces cattle to New England as a source of meat and dairy products.

March 5 Law: In an early example of class-based legislation, members from the upper class are no longer subject to whipping as punishment.

March 28 Business: The Dutch West India Company adopts the Provision Order outlining a plan of colonial governance. It divides colonists into either private freemen, under contract to remain at least six years, and head farmers, hired to work company farms for a stipulated term. Social behavior is also strictly regulated.

March 30 General: Around 30 Walloon (French-speaking, Protestant) Dutch families depart Amsterdam and sail for the New World under Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who also functions as the first director of the colony.

May Settlement: An advanced party of Dutch settlers under Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey founds Fort Orange near the Fort Nassau trading post (Albany, New York). In time they establish prosperous trade relations with nearby Mohawk and Mahican Indians.

June 16 Politics: Attempts by Governor Sir Edwin Sandys to increase the productivity of Virginia leads to political unrest throughout the colony and complaints at home. Consequently, King James I revokes the company charter and establishes Virginia as a royal colony, subject to closer governmental supervision.

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July Military: English militia from Jamestown, Virginia, raid deep into territory belonging to the Pamunkey tribe, precipitating a fierce, two-day battle with an estimated 800 warriors. The well-armed and armored Europeans ultimately prevail with heavy losses to the Indians.

July 15 Business: A committee of 40 men is appointed by the Privy Council to oversee colonial matters now that the Virginia Company is defunct.

August 24 Politics: King James I appoints Sir Francis Wyatt the first royal governor of Jamestown, Virginia. Wyatt had also served as governor under the Virginia Company and his selection signals a desire by the Crown to achieve political and social stability.

December 21 General: The South Company of Sweden is chartered to form a colony in the New World, although 13 years elapse before that eventuality.

1625 January Settlement: Willem Verhulst is sent out by the Dutch West India Company to serve as a colonial director for its settlements in North America. Having replaced Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, Verhulst is to be assisted by a council of Dutch mariners.

March 27 Politics: King Charles I ascends the throne following the death of James I.

May 13 Politics: King Charles I proclaims Virginia to be a royal colony; henceforth the Crown will appoint all governing officials.

1626 Military: When four Dutch traders choose to support the Mahican Indians during an intertribal conflict, they are defeated in battle by the Mohawks. The four traders are killed. Religion: The first Jesuit missionaries arrive in New France, competing directly with the Recollets (Franciscans) for the hearts and minds of Native America. Their ensuing and impressive success is based upon an enlightened policy of not requiring natives to abandon many aspects of their indigenous religion and culture. Slavery: The first 11 Africans brought to New Netherland as indentured servants arrive, although most eventually gain their freedom and establish a community of free blacks in Manhattan.

March 14 Politics: Sir George Yeardley is appointed by the Crown to succeed Sir Francis Wyatt as royal governor of Virginia.

May 6 General: Dutch immigrants under Director General Peter Minuit anchor the Sea-mew off present-day Manhattan island and found the colony of New

1625

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This print shows New Amsterdam's fine natural harbor, which helped make it a commercial center. (Library of Congress)

Amsterdam. The island is purchased from local Canarsee Indians for 60 Dutch guilders (roughly $24). However, Minuit is forced to spend additional funds to placate the Reckgawawanc (Manhattan), a local tribe claiming hunting rights on the island.

June 14 General: Dutch settlers abandon settlements along the Delaware River and resettle along the Hudson River near New Amsterdam.

November 15 General: The Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth agrees to buy out London stockholders for 1,800 pounds and, in return, receives a monopoly on trade within the region.

1627 Politics: Sir Francis West succeeds Sir George Yeardley as governor of the now royal colony of Virginia. Religion: Thomas Morton, intent upon mocking his pristine Puritan neighbors, erects a pagan Maypole at his Merry Mount Colony (Quincy).

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Chronology of American History Slavery: Carib Indians brought to Virginia to work as slaves escape and join the Powhatan Confederacy. Societal: In their haste to adequately stock the Virginia colony with a viable population and plentiful apprentices, company authorities round up or kidnap 1,500 poor children and ship them abroad.

April 27 Business: The Company of New France (or the Company of One Hundred Associates) is chartered for direct colonization of the New World and to oversee continuing fur trade activities with the Indians. This represents a marked shift in Gallic attitudes towards colonization, and is brought about by Cardinal Richelieu to increase the wealth, prestige, and power of France. Thus situated, and backed by private investors, the company is tasked with settling up to 300 colonists in Canada during 1628 and 4,000 more over the next 15 years.

June 14 Military: Dutch militia abandons Fort Orange on the Delaware River and withdraws the garrison back to New Amsterdam.

July 23 General: Sir George Calvert lands at Newfoundland to develop the grant he first obtained in 1622.

1628 March 19 General: Once the New England Company takes over the defunct Dorchester Company, Reverend John White obtains a patent for land extending three miles north of the Merrimack River and three miles south of the Charles River.

March 26 Politics: After a four-year hiatus, the Virginia House of Burgesses is summoned by Governor Thomas West, Lord Dorchester.

April 7 Religion: The Dutch Reformed Church, a unique blend of Presbyterianism and Calvinism, is established at New Amsterdam under Reverend Jonas Michaelius. They remain under the sway of the parent church in Europe for over a century and a half.

May 1 Military: The Plymouth militia under Myles Standish seizes the English settlement of Merry Mount, Massachusetts, and arrests Thomas Morton. He is charged with selling liquor and gunpowder to the Indians and organizing dances around the defiantly pagan Maypole. Morton is then dispatched back to England to remove his corrupting influence from the colony. Religion: The pagan ritual of May Day is celebrated at Merry Mount (modernday Quincy), Massachusetts, and the accompanying bawdy behavior is summarily condemned by the ever religious-minded Governor William Bradford.

June 20 General: John Endecott sails from England with a small group of colonists.

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Endecott, John

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(ca. 1588–1665)

Colonial governor John Endecott was probably born in Devonshire, England, around 1588, and nothing is known of his early life. He first appears in 1628 as one of six patentees of the Dorchester Company, a group of Puritan settlers who obtained land from the Plymouth Company. The following year he sailed to Massachusetts as leader of a small group of settlers intending to land at Naumkeag (Salem). In doing so, Endecott displaced a small group of Pilgrims already living there under Roger Conant, and he functioned for two years as de facto head of the colony. Endecott was also tasked with preparing the area for the arrival of John Winthrop and the first wave of the “Great Migration.” His tenure was not without controversy, owing to an overweening sense of Puritan morality. In 1629, Endecott ordered a campaign against non-Puritan settlers living at Merry Mount (Quincy) for raising a Maypole and then arrested and deported their leader, Thomas Morton, for such alarming lack of decency. Winthrop finally arrived in June 1630 as anticipated and Endecott graciously stepped aside and proffered his services as an adviser. His intense religiosity notwithstanding, he was also apparently a skilled administrator and became closely associated with the Puritan government and its success at carving out a viable colony in the Massachusetts wilderness. Over the years he served as deputy governor, from 1641 to 1644, and the periods 1650–51, and 1654– 55, as well as stints as governor in 1644–45, 1649–50, 1651–54, and in 1655 until his

death in office. Endecott’s overly pious and sometimes boorish disposition should not disguise the fact that he handled his affairs capably and honestly while enjoying the public’s confidence. He also performed useful work as commander in chief of the militia and president of the United Colonies of New England, a defensive alliance. Endecott’s personal inflexibility did lead to friction on several occasions. Like many contemporaries, he regarded Native Americans as little more than instruments of Satan and did not hesitate to employ force to chastise them. In 1637, he authorized an armed expedition against the Pequot Indians for their alleged murder of two English traders. The ensuing attack upon Block Island, Rhode Island, triggered a retaliatory raid against Saybrook, Connecticut, and precipitated the region’s first large Indian conflict. In 1643, he was censured by the General Court for cutting out the Cross of St. Andrew from the English flag to eliminate what he considered a “Popish” symbol. It was also during his tenure in office that Quaker missionary Mary Dyer was led to the scaffold and strict laws against the Society of Friends enacted. However, he also expressed interest in education, founded a free school in Salem, and served on the governing board of Harvard College. Endecott died in Boston on March 15, 1665, a stern and archetypical Puritan leader of his generation, yet one of a handful of strong individuals largely responsible for the overall success and survival of the colony.

September 6 General: The colony of Naumkeag (Salem), Massachusetts, is founded by John Endecott and 50 colonists. It eventually evolves into the Puritan enclave renowned and reviled as the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Endecott serves as the first governor for two years.

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Chronology of American History

1629 Business: The first brick kiln and the first leather tannery in New England are founded at Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts, respectively. General: The struggling colony at Salem, Massachusetts, is bolstered by the arrival of 420 settlers from England. Military: Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes its first militia company of 100 soldiers at Salem. Religion: Ralph Smith arrives at Plymouth, Massachusetts, as pastor and preaches there until 1636. Slavery: The first African slaves are imported into what will become the Connecticut colony.

March Naval: Thomas and Lewis Kirke, English adventurers and borderline pirates, depart Boston intending to attack the French settlement at Quebec, Canada.

March 4 Business: In order to avoid legal disputes with the Council for New England, the New England Company is transformed into a new entity, the Massachusetts Bay Company. Its goal is to found a colony for religious dissenters, or Puritans.

March 10 Politics: King Charles I dissolves Parliament and rules without it until 1640. Meanwhile the bishop of London begins persecuting Puritans. He also entreats them to migrate en masse for the New World, which is the genesis for a militant new society at odds with imperial rule.

March 19 Politics: The Massachusetts Bay Company becomes a self-governing commonwealth once company officers arrive from England with the charter from King Charles I. This act further bolsters the colony’s streak of independence, since it is organized and run along corporate lines instead of by governmental dictates. Religious activities are also run along Separatist lines with no provision for dissent.

April 24 Diplomacy: France and England sign the Treaty of Susa, restoring peace in the New World.

April 25 General: The Massachusetts Bay Company dispatches its fleet to possessions in the New World.

June 7 General: The Netherlands General Estate grants the Dutch West India Company the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions to encourage greater interest in colonization. They are also authorized to issue aristocratic patroonships to any wealthy individuals willing to transport at least 50 settlers to New Netherland (New York). Titleholders will enjoy feudal rights and privileges on five estates carved out of wilderness regions along the Hudson, Connecticut, and Delaware Rivers by 1630. Curiously, and unlike English colonies, Dutch women are actively involved in the colonial economy and several own businesses and run manors.

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A painting of early New England Puritans going to worship armed (Library of Congress)

June 29 General: John Endecott leads 900 settlers from five ships ashore at Naumkeag (Salem), further bolstering the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

July 10 Religion: Francis Higginson and Samuel Skelton found their own nonseparation Congregationalist church at Salem, Massachusetts.

July 19 Military: Surrounded and outnumbered, Samuel de Champlain surrenders the settlement of Quebec, Canada, to Sir William Alexander and Sir David Kirke. The English have been assisted by French trader Étienne Brülé, who was angered by treatment he received and switched sides. The Montagnais, who had also grown disenchanted with French trading practices, probably lent assistance in this endeavor.

July 20 Military: English forces under Sir William Alexander and Sir David Kirke occupy France’s Quebec, Canada, unaware that a truce has been reached between England and France. Nonetheless, the French inhabitants begin evacuating the post and move downriver to Tadoussac.

August 6 General: The settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, is formally established, replete with its own non-Separatist church under Pastor Francis Higginson. They adopt a Congregationalist type of organization, modeled after the Plymouth Church, which emphasizes self-rule and governance.

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Chronology of American History

August 26 Politics: In England, Twelve members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Company pledge to migrate to the New World if they can transplant the charter with them.

September 5 Politics: The recent disbandment of Parliament induces Puritans residing in England to sign the Cambridge Agreement, whereby 12 wealthy members agreed to migrate to America along with the company charter. Thus situated it becomes a self-governing entity, unfettered by English oversight.

September 10 General: The Dutch West India Company formalizes the patroon system in New Netherland, granting owners near feudal rights over their tenants. Among the first installed is Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a wealthy Amsterdam merchant, who wishes to settle families in the vicinity of Fort Orange (Albany).

October 20 Politics: In London, John Winthrop is appointed the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Winthrop, John

(1588–1649)

Colonial governor John Winthrop was born at Edwardstone, Suffolk, England, on January 12, 1588, the son of an affluent lawyer. He briefly attended Trinity College, Cambridge, as a young man but did not graduate, and eventually stud-

John Winthrop (Library of Congress)

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ied law and was admitted to the bar on his own. Winthrop was also a deeply religious individual and readily embraced the Puritan notion of reforming the Anglican Church before God’s wrath swept over England. As persecution of Puritans increased under the reign of Charles I, Winthrop became increasingly interested in migrating to America, and in 1629 he signed the Cambridge Agreement to settle in Massachusetts if the Puritans obtained a charter they could take with them. He then helped organize the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the purposes of colonizing, and accompanied the first shipload of emigrants that arrived at Salem in March 1630. Prior to departing England that year, Winthrop delivered a famous sermon tasking his fellow travelers with founding “a city upon a hill” that would be a model for the rest of the world. Once ashore Winthrop quickly displaced John Endecott as governor

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November 7 General: The Council for New England gives Sir John Mason an extensive land grant for territory running between the Merrimac and Piscataqua Rivers (New Hampshire).

November 17 Business: The Council for New England proffers a trading grant to Sir John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges for Laconia, those lands extending west to Lake Champlain and north to the St. Lawrence River.

1630 Medical: Tryntje Jonas becomes the first woman to practice medicine in New Amsterdam, specializing in midwifery and nursing. Religion: The First Congregational Church in Boston is built at the behest of clergymen John Wilson, John Winthrop, and Thomas Dudley. It is Puritan in doctrine but non-Separatist by nature. Settlement: Dutch settlers found the patroonship of Rensselaerwyck at the behest of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, director of the Dutch West India Company.

and orchestrated the move from Salem to a new community, Boston, on the Shawmut Peninsula. He proved himself skilled as a governor, winning election to 12 one-year terms, and when not in office usually functioned as deputy governor. In office or not, Winthrop proved himself a constant political and religious presence in the colony and did much to establish its unique theocratic nature. As governor, Winthrop was authoritarian by nature, and he generally frowned upon democratic practices such as a legislative assembly (General Court) and sought to keep power in the hands of a few individuals. However, in 1634 the freemen demanded that he show them the company charter, which revealed that they were given more power than he presently allowed. Winthrop also resisted attempts by the clergy to share authority with duly elected or appointed officers and, consequently, was rebuked by them. He also wielded tremendous influence on religious affairs by demanding church

membership as the basis of political participation, which ruled out any tolerance for nonconformity in doctrine. Thus he made no allowances for outspoken dissidents such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, both of whom were banished by Puritan authorities. But Winthrop took an active interest in the defense of the colony, given the presence of French Catholics in Canada, and in 1643 he was a driving force behind creation of the United Colonies of New England. This was a defensive alliance with Plymouth, New Hampshire, and New Haven in which he served as the first president. He also sought to defeat attempts by Parliament to gain control of the colony in the wake of the English Civil War, 1645–46. Winthrop continued serving intermittently and rigidly as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony until his death in Boston on March 26, 1649. Under his aegis, Massachusetts acquired a unique character that carried through the rest of the 17th century.

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Chronology of American History This area encompasses the region of Albany, New York, and extends for 24 miles in either direction. Another 34 Dutch settlers on the eastern shore of present-day Delaware will disappear within a year without a trace. Societal: The so-called “Great Migration” begins in Massachusetts, which will bring 16,000 settlers by 1640.

January 13 Business: The Council for New England issues a new Plymouth patent to William Bradford, which replaces the old charter; this new document better defines the colony’s boundaries and reaffirms its title to land along the Kennebec River, Maine.

March 29 General: Governor John Winthrop departs Southampton, England, with five vessels and 700 colonists. He also carries the company charter with him. His flagship, the Arabella, is named for Lady Arabella Finnes, then traveling on board with her husband; in contrast with earlier, threadbare colonists, this latest group of settlers is well-heeled and financed.

May 29 General: Governor John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, begin writing his seminal work, The History of New England, chronicling events in detail from 1630 to 1649. The book itself will not be published until 1825, but it serves as an inspiration to Henry Longfellow and other writers.

June 12 General: The first wave of deeply religious Puritan colonists debarks at Salem, Massachusetts, under a new governor, John Winthrop. The sitting leader, John Endecott, steps aside and relocates inland to Charlestown. These are the first settlers sponsored by the new Massachusetts Bay Company, and Winthrop proclaims his expectation to be “A City upon a Hill” for the rest of the world to emulate. Unlike the earlier Pilgrims, the Puritans have no desire to separate themselves from the Anglican Church but want rather to reform it by example. Thus their intention to form an ideal Christian society is based on both piety and good works, through a covenant with God. They are intensely dogmatic and frown upon any in their midst who do not subscribe to the strict rules governing their religious community. In time this theocratic rigidity will apply especially to nearby Indians, whom Reverend Cotton Mather disparages as the “accursed seed of Canaan” and the pawns of Satan.

July 30 Religion: The Puritans found a Congregationalist Church at Charleston settlement.

August 23 Labor: The first session of the court of assistants in Charlestown, Massachusetts, establishes a pay rate of two shillings a day for the building trade. Their action constitutes the first attempt to regulate labor affairs in the colonies. Politics: Governor John Winthrop convenes the first court of assistants at Charlestown to help organize civil authority.

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September 7 General: Governor John Winthrop officially establishes the settlement of Boston, Massachusetts. The Indians know the site as Shawmut, or “Living Fountain,” and the seat of governance eventually transfers there.

September 30 Law: John Billington becomes the first American criminal hanged for murder in Massachusetts.

October 19 Politics: The first meeting of the Massachusetts General Court (assembly) convenes at Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is marred by the presence of over 100 settlers who demand admission as they are freemen within the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Slavery: In a rare fit of benevolence, the General Court of Massachusetts passes a fugitive slave law prohibiting the abuse of slaves by owners. Those who escaped to avoid ill treatment could not be returned until their situation had been remedied.

October 29 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts declares that henceforth governors will be chosen by assistants.

November 9 Transportation: A ferry route on the Charles River is established between Boston and nearby Charlestown. The fare is one penny per passenger or 100 pounds of cargo.

December General: Food shortages ensue through Massachusetts due to a failure to cultivate sufficient crops for the winter; among the victims is Lady Arabella Finnes. Conditions grow so desperate that 120 indentured servants are released from servitude so as to forage on their own.

1631 Religion: The Virginia assembly decrees compulsory religious education for all inhabitants. Moreover, church wardens are required to take monthly oaths that they have been attentive to their duties toward the young.

February 5 Politics: Roger Williams, one of America’s earliest dissenters, arrives at Salem onboard the Lyon and eventually serves as pastor of the Separatist Church in Salem and Plymouth. In this capacity he questions the charter’s validity, along with the legislature’s practice of trying to legislate conscience. He also condemns the practice of illegally expropriating land from the Indians and urges a more honest and even-handed treatment.

February 22 General: The first public thanksgiving, a day of fasting, is officially celebrated throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

April General: The Dutch establish the first European colony in Delaware at Swanendael (present-day Lewes).

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Williams, Roger

(1603–1683)

Religious dissenter Roger Williams was born in London on December 21, 1603, and he graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge Uni-­ versity, in 1627 with a degree in divinity.

Williams was intending to be ordained as an Anglican minister, but he disagreed with church policies and aligned himself with the Separatist, or Puritan, sect. In

Exiled by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his radical religious views, Roger Williams found asylum among the Narragansett Indians in what became the colony of Rhode Island. Shown is Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians, an engraving by J. C. Armytage and A. H. Wray. (Library of Congress)

May 16 Settlement: William Claiborne and other Virginia colonists obtain a royal grant for the fur trade. However, they set up a trading post on Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay, soon to be jointly claimed by the colony of Maryland.

May 18 Politics: The Massachusetts General Court imposes a restrictive suffrage act by requiring Puritan Church membership as a precondition for voting. This is a violation of the company charter but goes unchallenged.

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Chronology

this capacity he befriended John Winthrop, who convinced Williams to emigrate to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He arrived there in 1630, seeking freedom of religious expression, but declined to preach at a Boston church over its refusal to break with the Anglicans. Williams subsequently ministered to a church in Plymouth, from which he criticized the Puritans for their political practices and policy of illegally expropriating land belonging to Native Americans. In 1634, Puritan authorities forbade him from becoming minister of a church in Salem, but he took to the pulpit and continued espousing radical views such as the separation of church and state. Puritan leaders took this as a direct challenge to their authority, and in 1635 they tried Williams for sedition and harboring “dangerous opinions.” He was then excommunicated from Massachusetts and attempted to form his own church at Plymouth, but he was hounded by Puritans and left the colony altogether. Williams spent a difficult winter until he was taken in by friendly Narragansett Indians, and in 1646, he founded the settlement of Provi-­ dence, Rhode Island. He envisioned it as a haven for religious outcasts like himself and opened it to Baptists, Quakers, Jews, and others banned from Massachusetts. He was especially keen to maintain good rela-­ tions with Native Americans and always purchased land he intended to use. One

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of the most notable Christian dissenters, Anne Hutchinson, initially found refuge in his colony, where separation of church and state was a functioning principle. As his religious community gradually swelled and evolved into four distinct set-­ tlements, Williams departed for England in 1643 for a patent to weld them into a single, coherent entity, the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The fol-­ lowing year he obtained his charter (which was not formally signed until 1663), and Williams served as governor from 1654 to 1657. In this capacity he founded the first Baptist church in America, although he eventually left that sect to become a non-­ denominational “Seeker.” While in England he also anonymously published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution (1644) and attacked the political and high-­handed tactics of the Puritans in Massachusetts; this tract was considered so seditious that it was pub-­ licly burned. Based on his familiarity with Indian dialects, he also compiled A Key to the Language of America (1643), one of the earliest linguistic studies of Native American speech. For all his good relations with the Narragansetts, even Williams could not forestall the onset of King Philip’s War in 1675, in which Providence and Warwick were attacked and burned. Williams none-­ theless remained a conspicuous figure in Rhode Island affairs until his death there on April 1, 1684.

May 24 Politics: King Charles I taps Sir Edward Sackville, Lord Dorset, to head a special commission advising him about the state of Virginia colony.

July 4 Business: The 30-­ ton bark Blessing of the Bay, one of the first vessels built in North America, is launched amid grand festivities in Boston, Mas-­ sachusetts. By century’s end Boston is the maritime hub of the En glish colonies.

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Chronology of American History

November 3 Religion: Reverend John Eliot arrives in Boston from England; he becomes the first Protestant clergyman willing to minister to Native Americans.

December 2 Business: Sir Ferdinando Gorges receives a grant of 24,000 acres along the York River in Maine/New Hampshire and begins preparations for settling that region.

1632 Diplomacy: The English manage to conclude a period of truce with warring Pamunkey and Chickahominy tribes in central Virginia, alarmed by incessant encroachment of Europeans on their hunting grounds. Military: The first reported pirate raid in New England occurs when Dixy Bull and 15 English sailors attack and rob the settlement of Bristol, Maine.

February 3 Politics: Residents of Watertown, Massachusetts, vigorously oppose a tax imposed by the court of assistants, in which they have no voice. The notion of opposing “taxation without representation” is launched.

March 19 General: The Council for New England issues a land grant to a group of 11 Puritans intending to settle a tract of land near the mouth of the Connecticut River. Politics: Director Peter Minuit is recalled by the Dutch West India Company for granting excessive privileges to the patroons.

Eliot, John (1604 –1690) Missionary John Eliot was born in Widford, England, into a prosperous family, and he attended Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating in 1622. Eliot then worked as a schoolteacher for several years, fell under the influence of Thomas Hooker, then converted to Puritanism. Owing to the rise of sectarian strife in England, Eliot left the country in 1631 and migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling at Roxbury. He worked as a pastor for several years and, in 1640, assisted by Thomas Weld and Richard Mather, compiled and published the Bay Psalm Book, the first book to emerge in the British colonies. He also served in the examination and trial of Anne Hutchinson, condemning

1632

her beliefs and heresy and approving of her expulsion in 1638. However, the turning point in Eliot’s career came in 1646, when the General Court decreed that Native Americans residing within the colony could no longer practice their traditional religion and required conversion. Eliot, who evinced considerable skill as a linguist, then began studying and familiarizing himself with the Algonquian language. After 1649, his efforts were formally abetted by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, which had been approved by Parliament to convert Indians. Eliot’s efforts crested in 1653 when he compiled and published A Primer or Catechism in the Massachusetts

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March 29 Diplomacy: England and France conclude the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, thereafter agreeing to recognize each other’s holdings in the New World. Acadia and the St. Lawrence River are also restored to the French.

May 9 Politics: Prior resistance to raising revenue convinces the Massachusetts General Court to form a special committee composed of two delegates from each town to advise on tax matters.

May 16 Politics: Isaac de Razilly is appointed governor of French Acadia (Nova Scotia) and begins settlement in earnest.

May 19 Politics: In a major step toward representative government, the Massachusetts General Court acquires the right to elect the governor and assistant governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Salem. Freemen, though restricted by church membership, can also elect assistants and deputies to the General Court.

June 20 Politics: George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore, obtains a charter from King Charles I establishing Maryland as a Catholic proprietary refuge. It grants the proprietor the right to make laws, subject to approval by the freemen, and also

Indian Language, the first serious treatise on Native American dialect. He followed this up in 1661–63 by translating the Bible into Algonquian, which constituted the first Bible printed in North America in any language. Eliot was also active in converting and ministering to the Indians and remained deeply committed to their well-being. Eliot’s concern for his mission resulted in the founding of no less than 14 villages of “praying indians,” whereby some 3,600 Christian Native Americans could live and conduct their own affairs. In this manner he hoped they could preserve their culture and language without outside interference. The most famous of these settlements was at Natick, but virtually all were destroyed and uprooted during King Philip’s War, 1675–76. The converts were viciously and repeatedly

attacked by both hostile Indians and English soldiers, becoming seriously depleted. With his lifework largely destroyed, Eliot began the painful task of reconstruction but he never again enjoyed his previous success or the trust of the Indians. He also dabbled briefly in politics by writing and publishing a tract entitled The Christian Commonwealth (1659) which called for the creation of theocratic government based upon biblical precepts. However, the rise of King Charles II induced the Massachusetts government to ban it and destroy all copies extant; Eliot was also forced to publicly recant his stance and apologize. He spent the rest of his life ministering to the Indians before dying at Roxbury on May 21, 1690. Eliot remains one of the earliest pioneers of amicable English/Indian relations and is regarded as the “apostle to the Indians.”

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Chronology of American History allows religious freedom. The lands granted are taken from the original Virginia grant, so title disputes are inevitable.

October Exploration: Plymouth colony dispatches Edward Winslow into the Connecticut River Valley, a sign that the colonists are getting ready to expand their settlements westward.

October 3 Societal: The Massachusetts General Court outlaws the use of tobacco in public.

December 6 Military: Hostile Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Indians kill 32 Swedish settlers in and around Swanendael, Delaware, after a chief of theirs, having been accused of theft by the Europeans, was executed by other Indians. Vengeful family members then exact vengeance upon the settlers. Rather than retaliate, the Dutch West India Company offers them gifts and promises of trade.

1633 Business: Salem, Massachusetts, introduces the practice of price fixing by limiting the cost of a tavern meal to three shillings per day. Beer is available for consumption, but intoxicating liquors are forbidden, along with merriment associated with games, dancing, and singing. Education: Adam Roelantsen, the first licensed schoolmaster in North America, founds a school for children at New Amsterdam. This is the first such institution in North America and survives today as New York City’s Collegiate School. Medical: A smallpox epidemic hits the New England Indian population severely, ravaging them for two years and killing thousands. One of the first buildings constructed in New Amsterdam is a house for midwifery to be operated by Tryntje Jonas, the colony’s first woman doctor. Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts establishes a policy of land allotment to Native Americans to facilitate English expansion toward the interior and also usurps the right of local governments to conduct Indian affairs. Religion: When the Wampanoags of eastern Massachusetts are ravaged by a smallpox epidemic that kills thousands, Reverend Cotton Mather sermonizes the event as an act of God, clearing the land for eventual use by the Puritans.

January 19 Politics: Thomas Morton and Sir Ferdinando Gorges appeal to the Privy Council in London to have the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s charter revoked for abuses, but it is upheld.

February 1 Business: The Virginia House of Burgesses codifies its tobacco laws, restricting that colony to dependency on a single crop.

May 22 Politics: Samuel de Champlain returns to Canada as a royal governor and initiates a period of expansion and settlement.

June 8 General: A Dutch ship from New Amsterdam sails up the Connecticut River and founds the first settlement in Connecticut, a trading post christened Fort Good

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Hope (present-day Hartford). Local Pequot, angered that the Dutch are trading directly with other tribes and bypassing them as middlemen, attack the fort.

July Exploration: Governor William Bradford of Plymouth joins with Edward Winslow to begin organizing a major colonizing effort westward into the Connecticut River Valley.

July 3 Politics: Virginia’s claims to land presently accorded to the Maryland charter are denied by the Privy Council, although boundary disputes continue for some time.

September General: John Oldham directs the first English settlements to take root in the Connecticut River Valley near Wethersfield and Windsor. Meanwhile, Edward Winslow instructs William Holmes to establish a trading post and fort on the Connecticut River (Hartford).

September 4 Religion: Noted religious leaders John Cotton and Thomas Hooker arrive in New England to spread their unique brand of theology.

October 8 Politics: Dorchester, Massachusetts, organizes the first town government in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

November 22 General: A party of 200 largely Catholic settlers onboard the Ark and Dove, under Governor Leonard Calvert, Lord Baltimore’s brother, sails from England to found the colony of Maryland.

1634 Business: Trois-Rivieres, Canada, is established as a French trading post at the mouth of the Saint Maurice River. This facilitates trade with Indian groups such as the Attikamek, who are reluctant to travel downstream to Quebec City for fear of Iroquois attacks. Exploration: French explorer Jean Nicolet ventures up the Ottawa River as far as Georgian Bay, then paddles toward Sault Ste. Marie and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Once there he begins establishing contact and promoting trade with such powerful tribes as the Winnebago, and strikes a trade agreement with them. Law: Aghast at ostentatious displays, the General Court of Massachusetts outlaws the purchase of clothing adorned by silver or gold lace. Slashes in clothing are also restricted to one per sleeve and one down the back. The restrictions apply to both men and women alike. Medical: Smallpox continues fanning out into the interior of Saint Lawrence Valley, striking down thousands of Huron, Montagnais, and Algonquin Indians. Military: Pequots kill English trader John Stone and eight companions, who have been hunting for Indian slaves on their territory. In return, colonials angrily demand the surrender of Indian land as compensation, and relations between the two groups rapidly deteriorate. Slavery: The first African slaves are imported into Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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Cotton, John

(1585–1652)

Theologian John Cotton was born in Derby, England, on December 4, 1585, the son of an attorney. He passed through Trinity and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, by 1606, intent upon joining the Anglican clergy. However, Cotton had become deeply immersed in Puritanism by this time and very concerned with reforming the Church of England. In 1612, he became pastor of a church in Boston, Lincolnshire, where he remained 12 years. In time his fiery sermons made him popular among England’s growing Puritan community but also attracted the unwelcome attention of Anglican church officials. The rise of Archbishop William Laud, whose disdain for Puritans was intense, brought Cotton’s endeavors under closer scrutiny and in 1632 he was summoned before an ecclesiastical court. He then abandoned his church and hid in disguise for many months before boarding a ship for Massachusetts in September 1633. There he was greeted by his good friend and fellow Puritan John Winthrop, then governor, and within weeks he became “teacher” of Boston’s First (Congregational) Church. He held this position for the next 19 years, wielding considerable influence over the religious and political nature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Like most Puritan leaders, Cotton espoused a conservative view of authoritarian governance, in which leaders are closely bound to the church, and basically discounted all democratic impulses. As such he left a personal and indelible stamp on the first generation of New England Con-

gregationalism, whose theological nuances dominated religious and political debate in Massachusetts for the rest of the century. Cotton also looked askance at any church member with the temerity to challenge or even question the role of the clergy in interpreting scripture, or the primacy of congregational government. Despite his insistence upon orthodoxy, Cotton was drawn into two religious controversies that cut to the very heart of colonial rule. The first crisis happened in 1635, when dissenter Roger Williams began preaching in favor of separation of church and state, which Cotton considered inimical to Puritanism. Cotton and the theocrats accused him of harboring “dangerous opinions,” and he was exiled. The second crisis occurred in 1637 when Anne Hutchinson, heretofore a devoted follower of Cotton, began preaching her own doctrine of salvation through faith instead of works. Cotton initially defended Hutchinson at her trial but, realizing that theocratic rule was imperiled, he turned decidedly against her. Like Williams, she was banished from the colony. The remainder of Cotton’s tenure in Massachusetts proved uneventful and he was variously occupied by preaching and publishing. In 1648, he helped to author the noted Cambridge Platform, which gave Puritan institutions their final form. But, despite his strident, inflexible approach to religion, Cotton remained a well-respected and popular figure in the colony until his death in Boston on December 23, 1652.

February 27 General: A large body of English Catholic and Protestant settlers arrives at Chesapeake Bay prior to establishing the colony of St. Mary’s. There they establish the first Roman Catholic Church in the English colonies; the new province is apparently named after Mary, mother of Jesus, and a reflection of the creed involved.

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Economics: The first American saw mill is established in what becomes presentday Maine.

March 4 General: Boston’s first tavern is opened by Samuel Cole.

March 27 Religion: Maryland, a predominately Catholic colony, arises under the aegis of Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, when 128 settlers disembark on Saint Clement Island. They commemorate the event by holding the first Catholic mass in British North America at Saint Mary’s City. It also becomes the first English colony to embrace religious toleration and is administered by Governor Leonard Calvert, Lord Baltimore’s brother.

April 28 Politics: The privy council establishes a subdivision entitled the Commission for Foreign Plantations, or Laud Commission, in an attempt to exercise closer control over the colonies. It is headed by William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury and is tasked with making laws, regulating religion, and appointing judges. It is ultimately dismissed seven years later without accomplishing much.

May Politics: In London, the Laud Commission insists that the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s charter be revoked on grounds of being illegally obtained. No action is taken.

May 14 Politics: After town deputies insist on reviewing the company charter, the Massachusetts Bay Colony is forced to initiate representative forms of government.

September 4 Politics: Governor Leonard Calvert orders the seizure of Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay, from Virginia settlers. He also orders the arrest of William Claiborne, who has already established a fur trading post there.

September 18 Religion: Anne Hutchinson arrives at Boston, Massachusetts, from England. She will eventually have an indelible and unwelcome impact on that colony’s religious practices.

September 19 Religion: Jesuits select the Huron village of Ihonatiria as the site of their first mission. They aspire to convert Native Americans en masse to Catholicism, and do so by living among them and learning their language and customs.

November 1 Diplomacy: The Pequots of Connecticut, reeling from the effects of smallpox, seek a military alliance with colonists in Massachusetts to offset the power of their traditional adversaries, the Narragansett of Rhode Island. In return the English obtain large amounts of wampum (shell beads) and also receive the killers of trader John Sloan.

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1635 Business: Overhunting of beaver for their pelts depletes them as a natural resource in Huron-­dominated lands of New France, forcing the tribe to hunt on lands claimed by others. Education: The Jesuits found the first Indian school in New France, affording religious instruction in the French, Latin, Huron, and Montagnais languages.

February 3 Settlement: The Council for New England redivides New England among eight patentees; however, only the claim of Sir Ferdinando Gorges is ever recognized by the Crown.

February 26 Politics: Freemen residing in Maryland assemble and pass a legislative code without consulting Lord Baltimore in England. The document is subsequently repudiated by him and never adopted.

Hutchinson, Anne (1591–1643) Religious dissenter

Anne Hutchinson preaching in her house in Boston (Library of Congress)

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Anne Marbury was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1591, the daughter of an unor-­ thodox clergyman. As such, she was well versed in the nuances of religion by her father, and proved herself to be an extremely bright, articulate individual. In 1612, she married merchant William Hutchinson and also became closely associated with Puritan minister John Cotton. At this time, Cotton’s beliefs fell out of fashion with the English government and he emigrated to Massa-­ chusetts Bay Colony in 1633. The following year Hutchinson and her family followed him and she quickly established herself as a community leader by hosting informal meetings at her house to discuss religious matters and Cotton’s latest sermons. But, after a while, Hutchinson’s natural intel-­ lect began asserting itself, and she began offering sermons of her own—behavior far afield from closely prescribed Puritan norms for women. Specifically, Hutchin-­ son expounded a “Covenant of Grace” whereby faith alone was sufficient for sal-­

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April Law: The Virginia House of Burgesses threatens to impeach Governor John Har-­ vey for dissatisfaction with his handling of Indian, land-­grant, and trade policies, but he resigns from office before hearings can be held. Legislators are particu-­ larly angry at him for siding with Lord Baltimore over the issue of Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay (see below).

April 23 Naval: Armed vessels of William Claiborne of Virginia and Governor Leonard Calvert of Maryland clash in a dispute over possession of Kent Island in Chesa-­ peake Bay, which has been assigned to Maryland. This is one of the earliest naval encounters in American history.

June 7 Business: The Council for New England yields its charter to the English Crown.

vation. Hence, the “elect” were able to receive God’s grace without any need for ministers or the Scriptures. This is in direct contravention of Puritan orthodoxy, which mandated a “Covenant of Works,” empha-­ sizing outward behavior instead of inner faith. Cotton, her minister, initially did not contest Hutchinson’s radical assertions, but many Puritan leaders construed her teach-­ ings as a thinly veiled attack upon their theocracy, and she became an object of official derision. The fact that her brother-­ in-­law, the Reverend John Wheelright, was another religious nonconformist, who had been denied the ability to form his own church, only added to her notoriety. Hutchinson’s most outspoken opponent was John Winthrop who, upon becom-­ ing governor in 1637, called her before the court to answer charges of being an Antinomian (not following church leaders). Well versed in religion, Hutchinson ably defended herself throughout her trial, even though John Cotton, a former ally, came to denounce her. She adroitly main-­ tained that the law did not prevent meet-­

ings in private homes, and that if she committed a theological transgression, that was a religious issue and no concern to a civil court. However, the court ultimately found her guilty of sedition and she was banished from Massachusetts, along with her family. Reputedly, the only person to leave the trial at her side and in support was the future Quakeress Mary Dyer. In 1638, Hutchinson and about 80 dissent-­ ing families migrated to Rhode Island, which had been founded by Roger Wil-­ liams on the basis of religious tolerance. Hutchinson remained there until 1642, when her husband died, and she subse-­ quently relocated to Dutch-­held Pelham Bay, Long Island. In 1643, Hutchinson and the remaining members of her family were killed in an Indian attack. Many of her former critics considered her untimely demise as further proof of divine judgment. For the time she was in Massachusetts, Anne Hutchinson proved an unlikely but very serious challenge to Puritan authority, their view of religion, and the role women would play in it.

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July 7 Politics: John Winthrop, Jr., is appointed to lead the English settlement at the mouth of the Connecticut River.

August General: Dutch settlers forcibly evict English fur traders from Fort Nassau on the Delaware River and reoccupy it.

August 17 Religion: Richard Mather, an influential Puritan minister, arrives in Boston.

September 12 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts expels deputies from Salem and only allows them readmittance after they have repudiated Roger Williams. Lately, Williams has advocated separating the Salem church from the establishment.

September 13 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts banishes Roger Williams for dissent, and he makes preparations to spend the winter with local Indians.

October Settlement: The first wave of settlers from Plymouth begin arriving in the Hartford area along the Connecticut River.

October 9 Politics: Roger Williams is formally expelled from Salem by the Massachusetts General Court, for criticizing the company charter and suggesting possible separation of church and state. He subsequently winters with Chiefs Massasoit of the Wampanoag and Canonicus of the Narragansett.

1636 Business: King Augustus Adolphus grants a charter to the New Sweden Company for the purpose of colonizing Delaware. Education: Compulsory education is mandated throughout Massachusetts, and for the remainder of the century it enjoys the highest literacy rate—95 percent—of all English colonies. The Latin grammar school arises in Boston; Puritans prize reading highly for it facilitates religious study. Law: In Massachusetts, Reverend John Cotton unsuccessfully suggests using Moses, His Judicials, a blending of Old Testament and English common law, as a legal code. Slavery: African slaves are introduced into the Delaware colonies.

January Religion: Having fled imprisonment at the hands of Puritan authorities, Roger Williams spends the winter with nearby Indians. In time he is joined by other dissenters, and together they try to locate to Plymouth, but authorities there deny them refuge.

March 3 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts passes the Township Act, extending governmental powers to freemen of towns. They also declare that a majority vote of both assistants and deputies is required for the passage of laws.

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Religion: The General Court of Massachusetts decrees that new churches can be established only with their express consent.

March 13 Politics: The settlement at the mouth of the Connecticut River receives an administrative plan from the General Court of Massachusetts, granting its inhabitants near autonomy. The court also passes the Township Act, which allows a degree of self-governance to all Massachusetts towns.

May 25 Politics: Sir Henry Vane, an aristocratic Puritan, is elected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

May 31 General: Puritan clergyman Thomas Hooker departs Newton, Massachusetts, and sails for Hartford on the Connecticut River with his entourage. He then establishes the first church in the region, which declares itself independent of any authority but God’s.

June Politics: Roger Williams founds Providence, Rhode Island, whose political strictures include democratic governance and separation of church and state. He also insists that all settlers purchase their land from the Narragansett Indians with their permission. Williams is the first colonist to insist upon fairness and honesty in dealing with Native Americans.

July 20 Military: Indians, most likely from the Niantic tribe, kill Captain John Oldham while he is aboard his boat off Block Island, Rhode Island. Another English merchant, John Gallup, had been sailing near the scene when he espied Oldham’s vessel listing out of control with several Indians on board. He boarded the ship, killed 10 Indians, and found Oldham’s body in the hold. Oldham had been previously trading with the Narragansetts, and they become the main suspects in his death. This single act provides a convenient pretext for punitive action by the colonists and the first Indian war in New England ensues.

August 8 Diplomacy: The Massachusetts Bay Colony dispatches three envoys to the Narragansett in Rhode Island to ascertain if that tribe had any role in the murder of trader John Oldham. Chief Canconicus not only emphatically denies any complicity, he offers to help fight the transgressors. Settlement: In his Conditions for Plantations, Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, establishes the formation of 1,000-acre manors in Maryland.

August 24 –25 Military: Recent raids by suspected Pequot Indians upon trading ships induces Governor Henry Vane to dispatch Captain John Endecott of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to gather 150 militiamen and launch a punitive raid upon villages located on Block Island, Rhode Island. That done, he is to sail to the vicinity of Fort Saybrook, Connecticut, and demand of the Pequot those individuals responsible for the deaths of traders John Stone and John Oldham. Endecott’s expedition arrives to find the island deserted and his militia accomplish little beyond destroying Indian fields and property. Removing to Fort

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Chronology of American History Saybrook, Connecticut, they briefly engage in talks with the Indians, then storm ashore looking for a fight, but no enemy can be found. The English then burn some crops and settlements before withdrawing. The Pequot, sensing the futility of negotiating further, begin trying to enlist nearby Narragansett, Mohegan, and Massachusett for the forthcoming fight, but without success.

September Military: A party of five men is sent ashore on Calf Island, Connecticut, to gather hay. They are then attacked by hostile Pequot, who kill one European and then eat him.

October 5 Politics: Given the readily expanding Massachusetts Bay Colony and mounting distances to be surmounted while traveling to the General Court, the Great Fundamentals of Plymouth are expanded to include representative government.

October 7 Military: Given rising tensions with Native Americans, the General Court of Massachusetts orders the colonial militia reorganized into three divisions, North, East, and South. This new scheme is expected to increase effectiveness and organization.

October 28 Education: The General Court of Massachusetts votes to found a college for the education of Puritan clergyman and provides 400 pounds for its support. This is the beginning of Harvard College, the first institution of higher learning in the colonies. It draws its inspiration from the Puritan need to approach religious Scripture dispassionately, through interpretation and discussion, as opposed to ritual or emotion. Law: Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, adopts New England’s first written code of law.

December 13 Military: In light of protracted Indian hostilities, the Massachusetts General Court reorganizes 15 town militia companies into the North, East, and South regiments, with colonels appointed by the court. These quick-reaction forces, forebears of the Minutemen, also elect their own company grade officers, and the units serve as a military model adopted in other colonies. Because four Massachusetts National Guard units can trace their ancestry directly back to these formations, this day is regarded as the birth of the Army National Guard.

1637 Religion: In anticipation of war with the Pequot, Reverend Cotton Mather demonizes Native Americans, turning the ensuing conflict into a Puritan crusade against the devil.

January 20 Religion: Reverend John Wheelwright, brother-in-law to Anne Hutchinson, delivers a sermon in Boston whereby he denounces the closely prescribed Puritan doctrine of works.

February 22 Military: Hostile Pequots attack an English patrol of 10 men near Fort Saybrook, Connecticut, killing four and wounding two.

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March 9 Military: Hostile Pequots besiege Fort Saybrook, Connecticut, in retaliation for an English raid led by Captain John Endecott. They taunt the defenders, yelling “Come out and fight if you dare,” and kill several settlers before being dislodged by arriving militia forces. Religion: Reverend John Wheelwright, brother-in-law to Anne Hutchinson, is arrested and tried for preaching a seditious sermon.

April 18 Military: The Massachusetts Bay Colony decrees the first conscription act in North America, whereby all able-bodied men are liable for military service in the event of emergencies.

April 23 Military: Pequot warriors ambush a party of English colonists at Wethersfield, Connecticut, killing nine and taking two girls hostage. The girls are paraded past nearby Fort Saybrook in canoes to taunt the garrison, although they are subsequently rescued by the Dutch.

May Military: The General Court of Massachusetts drafts its first-ever articles of war to deal with the Pequot insurgency, while Roger Williams uses his influence in Rhode Island to secure an alliance with the powerful Narragansett tribes.

May 1 Military: The towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor vote to raise a complement of 90 men to fight against the Pequots.

May 3 Politics: The King’s Bench in London orders the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s charter revoked. The Privy Council then instructs Sir Ferdinando Gorges to deliver a writ to colony officials to secure the document.

May 15 Military: Captain John Mason, commanding 90 Connecticut militiamen, aided by Uncas and 200 Mohegan warriors, attacks a body of Pequots lying near Fort Saybrook and routs them. The Mohegans demonstrate their loyalty to the English by killing five Pequots in this single action.

May 26 Military: Colonial militia forces under Captains John Mason and John Underhill, commanding companies from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Connecticut, assisted by Narragansett and Mohegan Indian warriors, stage their first-ever joint military expedition. At dawn, the 120 colonial and Indian allies attack a palisaded Pequot village on the Mystic River (Stonington), Connecticut, but are initially driven back in fierce fighting. The village is then torched, and flames kill an estimated 500–1,000 Pequot men, women, and children. Those trying to escape the flames are immediately cut down by English swords. Mason’s losses are estimated at two killed and between 20 and 40 wounded. The Narragansett protest this display of bloodlust by abandoning the field. Afterward, an English rear guard contains a fierce assault by Indian reinforcements, as the main body withdraws back to ships waiting off shore. The victorious English then sailed to Quinnypiag to confront another group of Pequots ensconced in a swamp. Before serious fighting develops, the Indians are

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Chronology of American History convinced to surrender, and 200 captives, mostly old and very young, are taken. About 50 Pequot prisoners are then shipped off to the West Indies as slaves. Furthermore, the sheer extent of the slaughter frightens the Indians, convincing many that resistance is futile.

May 27 Politics: John Winthrop defeats Sir Henry Vane in the election for governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. He does so by relocating the election from the proHutchinson enclave at Boston to the more Puritan-oriented Newbury.

July Religion: The Jesuits begin the first-ever Indian settlement at Sillery, near Quebec, in an attempt to teach the Montagnais how to farm and settle, to facilitate evangelization.

July 13 Military: Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut militia trap a large body of Pequots in a swamp near Fairfield (New London), Connecticut. They allow Pequot women and children safe passage through their lines, but a small force of warriors resists for an entire day before being put to the sword. Chief Sassacus is among those who escape. The survivors then seek refuge among the Mohawks in New York, who promptly kill them. The defeat of the Pequots is significant in that it demonstrates that the balance of power in New England has begun shifting dramatically in favor of the Europeans.

August 30 Religion: A gathering of 25 ministers at Newtown (Cambridge), Massachusetts, codify and define Puritan orthodoxy, thereby squelching religious dissent espoused by Anne Hutchinson.

September 2 Politics: Dutch colonists remove Wouter Van Twiller as director of New Amsterdam and replace him with Willem Kieft, a merchant.

September 13 Military: The Maryland Assembly votes for war against the hostile Susquahannock tribe only to find that the colony’s militia is unprepared for battle. Actual fighting is therefore postponed until the following summer.

November 4 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts banishes Reverend John Wheelwright for defying Puritan orthodoxy and also orders his sister-in-law, Anne Hutchinson, to stand trial for sedition and contempt. Apparently she has been conducting private religious ceremonies in her own home. The prevailing theocracy finds this an intolerable affront to their primacy in all matters religious.

November 7–8 Politics: Anne Hutchinson is tried for sedition in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with Governor John Winthrop acting as prosecutor and judge. Apparently, Puritan elders view her claim of salvation through grace (Antinomianism) rather than works alone as a direct challenge to prevailing orthodoxy. Once convicted, Hutchinson is banished from the colony for sedition and heresy. Among those fleeing religious oppression with her is Mary Dyer, who accompanies her to Rhode Island.

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Sassacus (ca. 1560–1637) Pequot chief Sassacus (“A Fierce Man”) was probably born in eastern Connecticut around 1560, a son of Grand Sachem Wopigwooit. His tribe, the Pequot (“Killers of Men”), was a power-­ ful group of Algonquian-­speaking Indians who had carved out a niche between the Mohawks to the west and the Narragansetts to the east. Thus, they were a regional power to contend with and a potential threat to struggling Dutch and English colonies within their grasp. Sassacus succeeded his father as chief in 1632, when the latter was slain in a conflict with the Dutch. He was apparently well-­regarded as a warrior, and cunning as a diplomat, traits considered essential for tribal leadership and survival. The Pequot were then experiencing a period of decline and transi-­ tion, owing to the onset of diseases brought by European settlers. Internal troubles also were manifested when Sassacus’s son-­in-­law, Uncas, was passed over as head chief and went on to found his own tribe, the Mohe-­ gans. Sassacus was savvy enough to realize he needed time to reconstitute tribal strength, so in 1634 he sent an emissary to Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts to form an alliance, most notably against their powerful Narragansett neighbors. The Puritans were willing to ally themselves to the Pequots, but only on the condition that they become subject clients and cede valuable land in the Connecticut Valley to the colonists. Feeling he had no choice, haughty Sassacus relented and formed an alliance. He apparently hoped this would grant him a badly needed respite to rebuild the Pequot nation.

Unfortunately for Sassacus, events beyond his control led to the destruction of his tribe. In 1636, English trader John Oldham was murdered by unidentified Indians off Block Island, Rhode Island, and Puritan officials suspected Pequot complicity. Sassacus denied his people were involved, but his son-­in-­law, Uncas, then warned the English that the Pequots were readying to make war against them. This information gave the Puritans a convenient pretext to mount a preemptive strike, and Governor John Winthrop author-­ ized a large-­scale raid against Indian settle-­ ments on Block Island and a few villages near Fort Saybrook, Connecticut. Sassacus regarded this aggression as an act of war, and his warriors attacked and burned several English settlements around Fort Saybrook. He also tried to form an anti-­European alli-­ ance with his ancient enemies, the Narragan-­ sett, but was thwarted by the deft diplomacy of Roger Williams. By the spring of 1636, the colonists prepared to unleash a major cam-­ paign against the Indians under Captain John Mason. On May 25, 1637, Mason’s militia, assisted by 500 Narragansett, Niantic, and Mohegan warriors, attacked the main Pequot village of Missitue on the Mystic River. The Indians fought back furiously but in the end were slaughtered by superior numbers and firearms. By day’s end, around 1,000 Pequot had been killed, and Sassacus escaped with his life. He fled to appeal to the Mohawks for help, who then killed him and sent his scalp to Boston. His demise marks the first military triumph of Europeans in New England.

November 15 Education: After debating for several months whether to construct the new col-­ lege at Salem, the General Court of Massachusetts votes to build it at Newtown (Cambridge). They also take steps to implement a Board of Overseers to admin-­ ister it, which consists of six magistrates and six church elders.

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December 12 Slavery: Captain William Peirce of the Salem vessel Desire lands the first shipment of African slaves from Barbados at Boston.

December 31 General: Dutchman Peter Minuit leads a Swedish expedition to the Delaware River under a grant from the New Sweden Company. The colony of New Sweden is established under his aegis on Delaware Bay.

1638 Business: The Virginia assembly passes the first statute for licensing and regulating taverns. Education: Settlers in New Amsterdam establish the first parochial school system, or Dutch Reformed school. Slavery: The Virginia House of Burgesses passes a law requiring all escaped slaves or servants to be branded on the cheek or shoulder with a letter R.

March 13 Military: The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, the colony’s first such unit, is formed in Boston, Massachusetts.

March 24 General: Religious refugees Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington, and John Coggeshall purchase land from the Indians and found the settlement of Pocasset (Portsmouth), Rhode Island. Once established, they sign a civil compact based upon biblical principles with Coddington elected as “judge.”

March 29 General: The New Sweden Company is allowed by Dutch authorities to found settlements at Fort Christiana (Wilmington), Delaware, over the protest of local Dutch inhabitants. In time they emerge as important trading partners for nearby Delaware, Mingo, and Susquehannock Indians.

April 4 Politics: The Commission for Foreign Plantations demands that the Massachusetts Bay Colony surrender its charter; it ignores them. The English Crown rules in favor of Maryland respecting Virginian claims on Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay. This proves a slap that proprietor William Claiborne is not likely to forget.

April 15 Settlement: Without a charter or a grant, Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport establish the settlement of New Haven, Connecticut.

May 2 General: Newtown, Massachusetts, site of the forthcoming college for clergymen, is renamed Cambridge owing to its resemblance to Cambridge and Oxford in England.

May 31 Religion: Reverend Thomas Hooker, arriving at Hartford, Connecticut, with 100 settlers, preaches that authority should rest on the will of the people. This is one of the earliest expression of democratic views in the colonies.

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June Education: Professor Nathaniel Eaton, who has been hired by the Board of Overseers to commence instruction at the new college before it is built in Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducts his first classes in a building near a cow pasture. Naval: Former director general of New Netherland Peter Minuit dies at sea when his ship sinks.

September 14 Education: John Harvard, a young Puritan clergyman, dies in Massachusetts and bequeaths to the new college at Cambridge his extensive library and half his estate. This greatly boosts the struggling institution.

September 21 Diplomacy: A treaty is signed between the English and the Pequot nation which will create the first Indian reservation in North America. Life here will be completely controlled by the Europeans, and the Indians, confined to 1,200 acres of their homeland, cannot sell their lands or entertain other Indians, must refrain from possessing whiskey, guns, and powder, and must also accept Christianity at the expense of native beliefs.

November 14 General: English settlers establish the first Indian reservation, compelling the Quinnipiac (Pequot) of western Connecticut to reside on 1,200 acres reserved for their use. They are also restricted from either leaving or selling their allotment, and are monitored closely by a colonial agent. Previously, the English had promised their Narragansett ally Miantonomo, access to this same land, but it was quickly occupied by the victorious colonists. The angry chief begins circulating among local tribes, urging a united front by all New England tribes to fight the English and drive them out of the region.

December 12 Slavery: John Winthrop notes in his diary that the ship Desire docked at Boston with a cargo of African slaves; this is the one of the earliest documental instances of slavery in New England.

1639 Business: Stephen Daye of Cambridge, Massachusetts, undertakes the first publishing in the English colonies by producing a single sheet, “The Oath of a Free-Man.” Richard Fairbanks becomes the first postmaster of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, receiving a penny for each letter dispatched. Director General Willem Kieft of New Netherland attempts raising revenue for his colony by placing a tax on all Indian goods. Not only do the tribes refuse to pay, the attempt heightens tensions between the two groups. Medical: A severe outbreak of smallpox reduces the Huron population from 20,000 individuals to half that amount and also afflicts neighboring Petun and neutral tribes throughout New France. Religion: Roger Williams establishes the first Baptist church in North America at Providence, Rhode Island; their flourishing clergy inculcates both the notion of religious liberty and separation of church and state.

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Chronology of American History Jesuits construct a major mission at Sainte-Marie, among the Hurons on the shore of Georgian Bay, Huronia. This also serves as a nucleus for evangelizing efforts among the Petun, Nispissing, Ojibway, and Ottawa tribes. The first Ursuline nuns arrive in New France and perform their religious work in Quebec. Slavery: Virginia passes the first of several ordinances forbidding African Americans, free or otherwise, from possessing firearms. Societal: Men’s fashion takes a hit when the General Court of Massachusetts forbids the wearing of overly fancy capes, breeches, and ruffles.

January 14 Politics: Robert Ludlow composes the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which is the first actual constitution framed in the colonies to actually detail functions of governance. It makes allowances for popular consent in governance and, in a complete break with Massachusetts, abolishes religious affiliation as a precondition of citizenship. However, the voting franchise remains restricted to freemen.

January 24 Politics: The Fundamental Orders are readily adopted by the settlements at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, Connecticut, which includes the radical notion that authority is derived from the consent of the governed. The document makes provisions for a general assembly, a governor, and the right to raise taxes. This is also the first constitution adopted by the colonies and it remains the blueprint of governance until 1818.

March 13 Education: Harvard College formally receives that designation in honor of the late Reverend John Harvard, who bequeathed to it half of his personal wealth. However, the abusive nature of Professor Nathaniel Eaton leads to his dismissal and the school stops functioning for nearly a year.

April 3 Business: Sir Ferdinando Gorges is confirmed as proprietor and governor of Maine in a royal charter based upon the original 1635 division.

May 1 General: William Coddington departs Posasset (Portsmouth), Rhode Island, and founds the town of Newport.

May 20 Education: The town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, funds the first public school with local taxes.

June 4 Politics: A vote by 70 freemen of New Haven passes the Fundamental Orders proposed by Reverend John Davenport, and it serves as a de facto constitution.

June 16 Business: Edmund Rawson receives land in Massachusetts to found the first North American gunpowder mill.

July 14 Politics: Massachusetts exile Reverend John Wheelwright and 36 settlers sign the Exeter Compact for administering their new community at Exeter, New

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Hampshire. Its singular characteristic is in allowing family men to mind their own affairs for the time being, until a formalized government can be instituted. This agreement is one of the earliest expressions of independent governance north of Massachusetts.

September 4 Law: The General Court of Massachusetts tries its hand at prohibition by outlawing the drinking of toasts, but the law is repealed by popular demand six years later.

November Politics: Sir Francis Wyatt gains reappointment as governor of Virginia with specific orders to restore the House of Burgesses.

December Societal: The first known divorce in North America transpires when Mrs. James Luxford, having sued her husband for bigamy, receives his property in Massachusetts. Her ex-spouse is also banished from the colony and sent back to England.

1640 Business: Like their Huron adversaries, the Iroquois have depleted their lands of beaver and other fur-bearing animals and begin negotiating with western tribes for access to their hunting grounds. The French prevent any attempt by the Five Nations to reach similar arrangements with tribes residing in New France, forcing them to become increasingly reliant upon the Dutch at Fort Orange (Albany) for supplies and trade. General: The first log cabins are constructed by Swedish colonists along the Delaware River. Originally a Finnish design, by the turn of the century they are the most common style of frontier housing. Publishing: Stephen Daye of Cambridge, Massachusetts, prints The Bay Psalm Book, the first book-length publication ever produced in the English colonies. Religion: The colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River receives its first Lutheran minister. Slavery: Connecticut adopts the first punitive fugitive law to repossess runaway slaves and indentured servants. Massachusetts authorities force a slave trader to return captured Africans taken from the village illegally. In Virginia, two escaped indentured servants are caught and receive moderate punishments. However, John Punch, an African American who escaped with them, is sentenced to lifetime servitude. From here on increasing numbers of black indentured servants are enslaved in order to preserve their status. Women: Margaret Brent, appointed in the will of Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, to act as his executrix, functions as North America’s first defacto female lawyer. This is despite the fact she has never studied law.

March 12 Politics: The settlements of Pocasset and Newport, Rhode Island, are combined.

April Settlement: Governor Peter Hollender Ridder arrives at New Sweden, Delaware, bringing settlers, reinforcements, and the Lutheran clergyman Reorus Torkillus.

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April 17 Religion: Reverend Reorus Torkillus, the first Lutheran pastor in America, arrives at New Sweden (Delaware).

May 9 Military: The Dutch city of New York passes regulations founding the Burger Guard as a military constabulary to maintain order on the streets, especially after dark.

June 2 Business: Samuel Winslow obtains the first patent issued in the colonies for his salt-­making process.

June 25 General: To underscore Maine’s independence from Massachusetts, a provincial court is established at York by Sir Thomas Gorges.

July 19 Politics: In an attempt to attract more settlers and improve business, a new Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions is issued by the Dutch Estate Gen-­ eral and assigned to New Amsterdam. This document reduces the size of patroonships, liberalizes commercial privileges, and makes provisions for self-­governance.

August 6 Education: Newport, Rhode Island, is the first city in that colony to set aside land for public education.

Brent, Margaret (ca. 1601–c. 1671) Colonial landowner Margaret Brent was probably born around 1601 in Gloucester, England, the daugh-­ ter of a powerful Catholic gentry family. As such she apparently received a sound education by contemporary standards and, as events proved, was adept at business. In 1638, Brent migrated with her family to Maryland at a time when Roman Catho-­ lics were persecuted by Puritan authorities. Notably, she and her sister carried a letter from Lord Cecilius Calvert, the colonial proprietor, instructing officials to give them favorable land grants. To the 70 acres Brent originally received, she subsequently added another 1,000 acres deeded by her brother to pay off his debts. This established her as one of the largest landowners in Maryland,

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which was unprecedented for a woman in the colonies. Brent never married, which was another unusual attribute at that time. Nor was she the first female lawyer to prac-­ tice in the colonies, having never formally studied law. But she did display a useful grasp of business and legal practices, and appeared several times as her brother’s legal representative at court. Maryland governor Leonard Calvert, brother of the lord propri-­ etor, was so impressed by her acumen that in 1647 he appointed her executrix of his personal estate—another first. In this capac-­ ity she performed useful services to the colony during a period of rising tension and violence between Protestants and Catho-­ lics. Brent’s most significant contribution

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August 27 Education: Henry Dunster, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, England, is appointed Harvard College’s first president. Prospective students are expected to be thoroughly grounded in Greek and Latin. Ironically, Harvard, founded by Puritans, proved far less ecclesiastical in tenor than the Oxford or Cambridge it was designed to emulate. Unlike many contemporaries, Dunster strove to achieve courses in philosophy and liberal arts that were equally useful to those entering the clergy or one of the professions.

November Settlement: Dutch colonists begin arriving in the Delaware River region, uncomfortably close to Swedish settlers already at Fort Christina.

1641 Military: Huron and other Algonquian-speaking Indians who have been Christianized by the French begin receiving new firearms. This parallels a move by the Dutch, who have likewise armed their Iroquois allies with modern weaponry. Publishing: Thomas Shephard of Cambridge, Massachusetts, publishes The Sincere Convert, one of the earliest colonial best sellers.

March 2 Politics: William Bradford deeds the Plymouth land patent of 1630 to freemen of the colony. It had previously been granted to him by the Council for New England.

to Maryland came in the wake of Ingle’s Rebellion, a two-year uprising that had to be quelled by importing soldiers from Virginia. Afterward, these mercenaries demanded to be paid but the late governor’s estate lacked the funds to do so. Then Brent, with the power of attorney as Calvert’s executrix, ordered some of the proprietor’s cattle sold to pay off the soldiers and they peacefully disbanded. Back in England, the lord proprietor remonstrated loudly against what he deemed the illegal sale of his property, but the Maryland assembly openly thanked her and defended her actions, which helped keep the peace. They also recommended that she continue on as executrix because of her capable performance. In January 1648, Brent went before Governor Thomas Green, who succeeded Leon-

ard Calvert, and sought the right to vote in the assembly. She did this twice on the basis of being a large landowner and also as the proprietor’s attorney. Not surprisingly, she was refused on account of her gender, as well as the implications of the ongoing English civil war, for the assembly did not wish to appear to favor Roman Catholics. Her position in this regard was further compromised by her younger brother Giles, who was an outspoken Jesuit. Brent nonetheless made history as the first American woman who formally demanded suffrage. Angered by the treatment received in Maryland, Brent and her sister relocated to Virginia, where she established a sizable estate called “Peace.” She died there in relative luxury sometime around 1671, a victim of the prevailing gender and religious discrimination.

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May 17 General: The settlement of Ville-Marie (Montreal), New France, is established by Roman Catholic missionaries of the Societé de Notre Dame de Montreal for the purpose of promoting peaceful conversion of the Indians under Governor Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. In time, they construct a church, a school, and a hospital but the location evolves into an important hub for fur trading activities throughout the St. Lawrence River Valley.

June 2 Business: The General Court of Massachusetts empowers towns to regulate commodity prices and wages.

June 14 Politics: The expansionist Massachusetts Bay Company obtains formal jurisdiction over the Dover-Portsmouth, New Hampshire, region, although proprietor’s rights are kept intact. However, no religious requirements for citizenship are imposed.

September 1 Military: A band of Raritan (Hackensack) Indians lands on Staten Island and attacks the Dutch settlement of Swanneken, burning several houses and killing four inhabitants. The tribes refuse to surrender those responsible and, consistent with their custom, offer the survivors wampum. In response, the government of New Amsterdam places a bounty on their scalps.

December 10 General: French explorer Samuel de Champlain founds the settlement at Montreal as a mission, but it quickly evolves into a military outpost within the flourishing fur trade of New France. Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts promulgates a code of 100 laws, the Body of Liberties, which codifies the ecclesiastical sway over political and religious matters. Significantly, the penal codes enacted are drawn more from the Old Testament than from English common law. Women are also protected from physical assault or abuse from their husbands. Through the adoption of the ironically mislabeled Body of Liberties, Massachusetts also becomes the first colony legalizing slavery as an institution in Section 91 of this legislation. The law pertains to both Africans and Native Americans, although neither can be captured or acquired by “unjust violence.”

1642 Business: Joseph Jenks establishes the first iron and brass foundry in Lynn, Massachusetts. Military: The Iroquois, faced with declining fur resources and unable to secure a trade agreement with New France, begin attacking Huron settlements for greater access to beaver territories. Slavery: The Virginia House of Burgesses passes a law that penalizes anyone who hides or assists a fugitive slave in escaping from his owner. Violators are to be fined 20 pounds of tobacco for each night of refuge. Escapees are also to be branded with an R after a second flight.

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January 21 Politics: A deputation of leading Dutch families, The Twelve, meets with Director of New Amsterdam Willem Kieft and convinces him to wage war upon Indians of the Lower Hudson River Valley.

February 18 Politics: Heads of influential Dutch families in New Amsterdam petition authorities for representative governance. Apparently they find the office of director general, under men like Willem Kieft, too arbitrary.

March Military: The Dutch commence a fruitless campaign against Indians living up the Hudson River Valley. After the attempt fails, Jonas Bronck, a heroic individual, arranges a truce between the two.

June 14 Education: Massachusetts colonial law mandates compulsory education for all children and the levying of fines for neglecting to do so. Parents are held accountable for properly instructing their offspring in the nuances of religion.

August 3 Military: Iroquois Indians, eager to corner their share of the burgeoning fur trade, commence raiding Huron and French settlements along the Richelieu River in Canada. The conflict lasts nearly a decade.

August 20 Politics: Civil strife erupts in England when King Charles I declares war on Puritan-oriented Parliamentarians.

September 23 Education: Harvard College holds its first commencement ceremony.

December 11 Politics: The arrival of English settlers at nearby Long Island prompts Director General Willem Kieft to appoint a special English secretary to deal with his potentially hostile neighbors.

1643 Business: Rowley, Massachusetts, becomes the site of the first colonial textile mill. This year the first restaurant also opens in Boston, although it is not permitted to serve wine. Diplomacy: Faced with continuing French and Huron resistance, Mohawks and other members of the Iroquois Five Nations sign a defensive pact with the Dutch of New Netherland. Bolstered by modern weapons, they continue disruptive raids on the trading networks of New France. Education: Wealthy Ann Radcliffe, Lady Mowlson, bequeaths 100 pounds to Harvard College for use as the colonies’ scholarship fund. Ironically, it remains exclusively available to male students for the next two centuries. General: Roger Williams composes his Key into the Language of America, the earliest treatise on Native American languages. Rogers notes how words like succotash and squash have already entered into the local lexicon.

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Chronology of American History Military: Alarmed by the encroachment of English settlers from Maryland on their land, Susquehannock leaders approach the Swedes of Delaware for help and receive arms and ammunition to drive them off. Slavery: The New England Confederation holds that magistrates are authorized to issue certificates in order to convict runaway slaves. This act establishes the legal groundwork for fugitive slave laws found on the books of several states throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Virginia House of Burgesses standardizes the period of African-American indentured servants to four to seven years; white counterparts generally serve half as long. Technology: The first tide-powered gristmill in the New World opens at Hingham, Massachusetts.

February 15 Settlement: Governor Johan Printz of New Sweden arrives with 100 Swedish and Finnish colonists.

February 25–26 Military: Dutch militia, acting on the orders of Director General Willem Kieft, slaughters 80 Wappinger Indians, mostly women and children, living in Pavonia (Jersey City), New Jersey. That same day, Dutch settlers also fall upon an Indian encampment at Corlaer’s Hook, New York, killing an additional 30 tribesmen. The deaths of these refugees from a previous massacre by Mohawks spark outrage and indignation from neighboring tribes, and they undertake reprisals throughout the region. By the time hostilities subside two years later, over 1,600 local Indians will have been slain by Dutch and English militias. The monetary resources of New Netherland are also exhausted in consequence.

March Politics: Roger Williams leaves Rhode Island for England to obtain a charter from the English Crown.

March 2 Politics: The Virginia legislature enacts a law forbidding either the governor or his council from raising taxes without their consent. Nonconformist church ministers are also banished from the colony.

May 19 Military: Because England was presently consumed by a bloody religious and political struggle, its colonies in North America have been basically left on their own for defense. The “United Colonies of New England,” better known as the New England Confederation, is therefore established in Boston by representatives of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Haven, and New Hampshire. Governor John Winthrop of the host colony serves as its first president and, upon his insistence, heretical Rhode Island is deliberately excluded from membership. This represents the first intercolonial attempt at collective defense, whereby scant military resources are pooled in time of crisis and eligible for deployment at any point within the confederation. Each signatory pledged to provide military support to the other three colonies in proportion to its resources. Winthrop is also advised and assisted by a board of eight commissioners, two from each

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colony, who are authorized to declare and wage war as necessary. The commissioners, however, lack coercive powers over the colonies, which is retained by their respective legislatures. Foremost of their concerns is the presence of Dutch settlers moving up the Hudson River Valley, although the expansion of white settlements across the region also led to deteriorating relations with the Indians. Thereafter, the confederation adopted an aggressive Indian policy by actively playing one tribe off against another. Despite useful service, the confederation is ultimately dissolved in 1684.

July 6 General: The settlement of Guildford, Connecticut, is founded as part of New Haven colony.

August General: Religious dissenter and widow Anne Hutchinson and her family are slaughtered by Indians in East Chester, Long Island. Apparently, she settled on a Dutch tract that had been illegally appropriated from local tribesmen.

September Diplomacy: Chief Miantonomo of the Narragansett, angered by continuous land fraud at the hands of English colonists, begins visiting the Mohawk and Montauk tribes to form a confederation to drive the English out of the region. However, while returning he is apprehended by Uncas of the Mohegan tribe, who promptly turn him over to colonial leaders. They order Uncas to execute Mianotomo for violating the Hartford Treaty of 1638. This prompts a war between the Mohegans and Narragansett which lasts two years until the English intervene on behalf of their ally. Military: Director General Willem Kieft of New Netherland convenes a meeting of the Eight to address growing concerns about Indian raids in New York and Long Island.

September 7 Military: The Massachusetts General Court totally overhauls its standing militia forces, which are now decentralized to grant regional leaders authority to mobilize and move with governmental consent. To further reduce reaction time, particularly along the frontiers, the principle is extended down to company-grade officers. Military service, with few exceptions, remains compulsory for all able-bodied men ages 16 to 60. All towns capable of mustering militia companies are required to do so, although officers remain elected, not appointed. Furthermore, all militia companies are required to assemble for drill and training four to six days per year.

September 8 Military: The last of the four New England General Courts ratifies the proposed “United Colonies of New England,” ushering in a period of military cooperation and mutual defense in this otherwise squabbling region. The agreement encompasses all English settlements from Long Island to New Hampshire with the exception of Rhode Island, which the Puritans regard as heretical and exclude from membership.

September 29 Military: A small contingent of Connecticut militia under Captain John Underhill arrives at New Amsterdam for campaigns against hostile Indians.

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October 1 Military: A band of hostile Indians attacks the Dutch settlement of Pavonia (Jersey City), New Jersey, slaughtering the inhabitants and burning it to the ground. Colonists are struck with fear and begin trekking to New Amsterdam for safety.

October 23–27 Politics: Milford, Connecticut, unites with the New Haven colony, joining the towns of Guilford and Stamford. Legislators then draft a constitution, which includes representative government.

November 6 General: The General Court of New Haven, Connecticut, adopts the Frame of Government, a plan for representative governance. The voting franchise remains tied to church membership, and its legal system is based entirely on the Mosaic Decalogue (Ten Commandments). There are also no provisions for trial by jury.

November 24 Business: In London, the so-called “Long Parliament” appoints Sir Robert Rich, earl of Warwick, to head the Commission to Control Plantation Affairs.

1644 Business: The first colonial ironworks arises on the Saugus River in Lynn, Massachusetts. Diplomacy: The Narragansett, fearful of hostility from English colonists, appeal directly to King Charles I for help and protection. They still refuse to submit to colonial demands for ceding additional land. Law: Puritan authorities in Boston hang a young man and a young woman for adultery. Politics: Roger Williams composes and publishes The Boudy Tenent of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience, a diatribe directed against the religious excesses of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He especially singles out theologian John Cotton for his relentless punishment of dissenters. The book is subsequently considered dangerous and is publicly burned in London. Williams, fortunately, never claimed authorship at that time. Settlement: When Lady Deborah Moody is prevented by Governor John Winthrop from returning to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, she founds a settlement near present-day Coney Island, New York, which is dedicated to freedom of thought and expression. Slave: One of the earliest recorded marriages of Africans in America happens at the Boulweire Chapel, New Amsterdam. That year 11 Africans who had been brought to the colony in 1626 also receive their own land grants in present-day Brooklyn.

March Military: Dutch and English militia under Captain John Underhill attack a hostile Indian encampment at Pound Hill, New York, killing 500 Tankiteke, Wiwanoy, and Wappinger inhabitants, for the loss of one European; this lopsided defeat causes Indian unrest in the New Amsterdam area to wane. The intimidated survivors then seek peace terms from the Dutch.

March 7 Politics: Resolution of the legal case Shearman v. Keayne results in the Massachusetts Bay Colony adopting the colonies’s first bicameral legislature.

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March 24 Politics: In London, Roger Williams obtains a charter for the colony of Rhode Island, with authority to convene a general assembly from the four towns of Providence, Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick. Its strictures are similar to those of a royal colony, with the exception of the selection of governors, who will be elected locally.

March 30 Military: Iroquois Indians stage a successful raid upon Montreal, Canada.

April 18 Military: Powhatan, Weyanock, Nansemond, Pamunkey, and Chickahominy warriors under aged Opechancanough stage a second, successful attack against Jamestown colony on this peaceful Sunday morning. Nearly 500 settlers fall in the onslaught, but Governor William Berkeley moves quickly to organize punitive measures. Despite the carnage, there are now simply too many Europeans for the tribes to overcome.

May 20 Labor: The first shipbuilding guild is formed in Massachusetts. This year they are responsible for constructing the Trial, the first vessel both constructed and launched at Boston.

May 29 Politics: In Massachusetts, Governor John Winthrop is defeated in his bid for reelection.

June Military: A vengeful Virginia militia campaigns up the York River and attacks several Pamunkey villages. Meanwhile, colonial elders request military assistance from England.

June 18 Politics: A council of leading Dutch families at New Amsterdam, The Eight, refuses Director Willem Kieft’s request to impose an excise tax to support warfare against local Indians.

November 13 Religion: The Massachusetts General Court summarily banishes all Baptists from the colony.

November 16 General: English settlers occupy Hempstead (Heemstede) within the Dutch sphere of influence on Long Island.

November 29 Religion: Legislation passed by the Massachusetts General Court encourages pastors to learn the dialects of Native Americans to allow for their peaceful conversion to Christianity. Reverend John Eliot is then inspired to learn Indian languages and prepares them for religious instruction.

1645 General: A suspicious fire nearly destroys the Swedish communal dwelling at Gothenburg, Delaware, and was probably set by disgruntled indentured servants.

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80╅ Chronology of American History Slavery: Colonists launch the Rainbowe, the first vessel designed expressly for the slave trade. New En�gland subsequently plays a pivotal role in the spread of slavery in the En�glish colonies, although at this period most slaves are sold in Barbados for quantities of salt, tobacco, sugar, and wine. Slaves are introduced to New Hampshire for the first time.

June Military: In the absence of EnÂ�glish military assistance, the Virginia Colonial Assembly votes to hire a company of Â�full-­time mounted scouts to “range” the frontier. This is the origin of the “ranger” concept in American military history, lightly armed, very mobile forces capable of scouting and ambush fighting.

July 14 Military: The Iroquois reach a temporary truce with the French and their Huron allies.

August 9 Diplomacy: The Iroquois facilitate a peace treaty between Dutch settlers in the Hudson River Valley and hostile tribesmen.

August 12 Military: In an attempt to reduce military reaction time in time of emergency, the United Colonies of New EnÂ�gland authorizes the Bay Colony to assign 30 soldiers in each militia company to be ready under arms within a Â�half-­hour.

August 28 Diplomacy: New EnÂ�gland Confederation commissioners reach a peace treaty with the Narragansett Indians in Â� present-­day Rhode Island. The terms are harsh and include the giving up of land, the surrender of hostages to insure good behavior, and fines for any Pequot found living among them. They also have to endure another spate of fraudulent land purchases over the next three deÂ�cades.

October 19 General: EnÂ�glish settlers occupy Flushing on Â�Dutch-­owned Long Island.

This diagram, which shows a hold literally packed with human beings, gives some idea of conditions aboard a slave ship.â•… (Library of Congress)

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1646 Diplomacy: A treaty between the En�glish and the Powhatan Confederation ends the Second Virginia War. By its terms the En�glish are restrained from further encroachment upon Indian land, while the Indians must become subjects of the Crown and deliver an annual tribute of beaver pelts. Within three years this arrangement breaks down and the tide of Eu�ro�pe�an settlements continues. Education: Virginia passes laws requiring poor children to be educated by as�signing them to work as apprentices in either industrial or agricultural trades. Naval: The first armed American vessel is outfitted at New Haven for the purpose of patrolling Long Island Sound and thwarting possible Dutch aggression. Societal: The Massachusetts General Court limits smoking to travelers on a journey of five miles or more. This is undertaken less for health reasons than to minimize the danger of starting fires.

March Military: A mounted Virginia militia under Governor Sir William Berkeley conducts a preemptive raid that successfully snares aging Chief Opechancanough, now almost a century old, who is brought back to Jamestown and eventually shot in captivity.

March 3 Business: In Massachusetts, Joseph Jenks modifies the design and manufacture of scythe handles, greatly improving their efficiency, and receives a patent.

May 6 Politics: John Winthrop is successfully reelected governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and will occupy that office until his death in 1649. Religion: Dr. Robert Child and six other Presbyterians petition the General Court of Massachusetts for toleration; consequently they are summarily banished from the colony.

July 28 Politics: Willem Kieft is removed as director of New Amsterdam largely on account of his mishandling of Indian affairs.

September 1 Religion: In order to achieve greater theological harmony, the General Court of Massachusetts summons the Cambridge Synod of Congregationalist Churches. The ensuing Cambridge Platform, which outlines the church model, has overtones that are both Congregational and Presbyterian in outlook.

October 18 Religion: Indians kill Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues and his converted Huron assistant Jean Laland.

October 28 Religion: Reverend John Eliot, already fluent in Hebrew and Greek, holds his first sermon for Native Americans at Nonantum, Massachusetts, delivering it in their own Algonquian dialect.

November 4 Law: The Massachusetts General Court approves legislation mandating the death penalty for cases of heresy.

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November 14 Religion: Robert Child denounces the Massachusetts Bay Colony for its intolerance and repression of non-Puritans, which he holds is in contravention to English common law. Consequently, Governor John Winthrop arranges for his banishment.

December Societal: The patroon system, a repressive, near-feudal organization erected by the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland, fails for want of sufficient immigrants. Few Dutch settlers, relatively free in Europe, were willing to submit to conditions of near servitude in the New World.

December 16 General: English settlers occupy Gravesend, Long Island, within Dutch-held territory.

1647 Agriculture: Sir William Berkeley tries and fails to establish rice as a viable crop in Virginia. Law: Rhode Island outlaws common law marriages, a frequent colonial practice, especially among Quakers. Societal: Connecticut adopts laws outlawing smoking in public and social situations, believing that it contributed to drinking and alcoholism. Tobacco use is thereby confined to one’s own dwelling.

May 11 General: Peter Stuyvesant, a garrulous former soldier, arrives at New Amsterdam as director-general and succeeds Willem Kieft. He will be the last Dutchman so appointed.

May 26 Religion: Massachusetts colony bans Roman Catholic priests from its territory; first-time violators are to be summarily deported. Repeat offenders are subject to the death penalty. Alse Young is hanged for witchcraft in Windsor, Connecticut.

May 29–31 Politics: Rhode Island General Assembly adopts a charter guaranteeing freedom of conscience, separation of church and state, town referendums on all laws passed by the assembly, and the ability of towns to initiate laws. At this time, the legislature is composed of delegates from Providence, Newport, Portsmouth, and Warwick.

June 9 Politics: Governor Leonard Calvert of Maryland dies; he had previously appointed Margaret Brent the executor of his will, in effect, making her the de facto interim governor. At this time she uses the power of attorney to sell off some of her client the lord proprietor’s property to raise money for unpaid soldiers from Maryland, then threatening the government with armed rebellion.

September 25 Politics: Director Peter Stuyvesant authorizes an election by Dutch householders to create an advisory body, the Nine, to assist him in legal and political matters.

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November 11 Education: By terms of the “Old Deluder Satan Act,” Massachusetts institutes compulsory primary education. It mandates one teacher to every community of more than 50 families and a grammar school for every community of more than 100 families. Through this expedient, it is expected that all citizens shall be able to read and absorb the Bible.

December Politics: Director General Peter Stuyvesant, an authoritarian leader, jails several members of his own Board of Nine men, a tax advisory group, in a dispute over raising revenues to stave off bankruptcy.

1648 Law: In Massachusetts, the Book of the General Lawes and Libertyes becomes the official colonial law code. It draws heavily from both English common law and biblical precepts. Religion: New England theologian Thomas Hooker, a leading spokesman for the Puritan theocracy, publishes Survey of the Summe of Church Discipline, which enshrines the authority of God in human affairs. Transportation: New Amsterdam acquires its first paved road when wealthy Annettje Lockermans Van Courtland, weary of walking through mud, orders servants to pave the road fronting her home with cobblestone.

January 21 Politics: Margaret Brent, one of Maryland’s wealthiest residents and de facto lieutenant governor since the death of Leonard Calvert, is denied the right to vote on account of her gender.

April 27 Military: Director Peter Stuyvesant orders construction of Fort Beversrede on the Schuylkill River (modern Philadelphia), which prompts Swedish governor Johan Bjornsson Prinz to built fortifications along the opposite bank.

May 13 Politics: Margaret Jones of Charlestown, Massachusetts, is found guilty of witchcraft by the Plymouth Court and sentenced to hang. Between 1647 and 1662, a total of 14 colonists will be executed for witchcraft.

August 6 Politics: William Stone, a Protestant from Virginia, is appointed governor of Maryland by Lord Baltimore.

October 18 Labor: Boston shoemakers are chartered by the Massachusetts General Court, becoming the first recognized labor organization in America.

November Military: Swedish forces attack and burn the Dutch enclave at Fort Beversrede for a second time. Nevertheless, this post is rebuilt and reoccupied until 1651.

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1649 Medical: A law in Massachusetts categorizes midwives in the same medical standing as physicians and surgeons.

January 30 Politics: King Charles I is beheaded in London by Puritan parliamentarians; after-­ ward a large body of his supporters emigrates to Virginia to escape persecution.

March 16 Military: In a preemptive strike, Iroquois warbands attack the Huron capital at Huronia, Georgian Bay, Ontario, killing nearly 1,000 men, women, and children. The Seneca and Mohawk, heavily armed by the Dutch, easily overcome superior numbers of Huron, scattering them and forcing the survivors to flee for Quebec. Others relocate farther west to form the Wyandot nation. Two Jesuit missionaries, Fathers Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant, are also captured and subsequently tortured to death. Most significantly, the Five Nations establish a foothold on pro-­ ductive Â�beaver-­pelt producing territory essential for maintaining trade relations with the Dutch.

April 21 Politics: The Toleration Act, drafted by the Catholic Leonard Calvert, Lord Baltimore, is passed by the MaryÂ�land Legislature at the behest of Deputy Gover-­ nor William Stone, a Protestant. This is another early law protecting freedom of worship, surprising as the joint product of a Catholic proprietor and a Â�PuritanÂ�dominated assembly. Curiously, it is Â�gender-­neutral in tone and applies to men and women equally.

May 19 Politics: Parliament declares itself supreme in all matters pertaining to the colonies.

May 22 Law: The Rhode Island General Assembly passes a fraudulent campaign law for prospective members of that body.

July 19 Religion: In EnÂ�gland, Parliament and Reverend Edward Winslow found the Society for Propagating the Gospel to advance Christianity among Native Ameri-­ cans. This is the first effort to secure Protestant conversions in North America and is highly active and successful in New EnÂ�gland.

October Politics: In Rhode Island, William Coddington departs for EnÂ�gland to obtain a charter for Aquidneck Island. In this capacity he opposes Roger Williams’s plan to unify the towns of Providence, Warwick, Portsmouth, and Newport into a single poÂ�litiÂ�cal entity.

October 10 Politics: The colony of Virginia condemns the execution of King Charles I and declares its allegiance to the �House of Stuart. It also advertises itself as a haven for fleeing Royalists. Such defiance prompts the government to dispatch two armed vessels and bring Virginia back into line; for all these reasons the colony becomes popularly known as Old Dominion.

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October 13 Politics: At New Amsterdam, The Nine, an executive council, complains to the States General in the Netherlands over alleged neglect by Director Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch West India Company. They specifically seek the right of self-governance for each settlement within their jurisdiction, in other words, municipal governments.

October 16 Religion: The government of Maine allows all Christian groups to form their own churches, provided they behave scrupulously.

1650 Business: The invigorated Five Nations, now possessing modern firearms, continue their advance into the Great Lakes region in the quest for new sources of fur. Several smaller tribes are nearly exterminated by the onslaught, while others, such as the Chippewa and Shawnee, are dispossessed and move farther west. Literature: Anne Bradstreet, a leading colonial poetess, publishes her The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America in London. This is the first known work by an American woman, although it was published without her knowledge by a brotherin-law who greatly admired her ability. Slavery: Connecticut passes statutes regulating slavery, thus granting it legal recognition.

April 6 Politics: Lord Baltimore authorizes a bicameral legislature in Maryland, consisting of an upper house of councillors and a lower house of delegates.

May Politics: Connecticut colony codifies its laws using the Massachusetts Body of Liberties as its model.

May 30 Business: The Council of New Netherland orders a crackdown on counterfeit wampum manufacturing in the colonies. These white and purple shell beads hold considerable significance among the Indian tribes for religious rituals and as a form of currency.

May 31 Education: Governor Thomas Dudley signs Harvard College’s first charter; henceforth all families of Massachusetts are expected to contribute a peck of wheat or a shilling every year.

September 23–29 Diplomacy: Dutch director general Peter Stuyvesant concludes the Treaty of Hartford with the New England Confederacy, whereby Long Island’s Dutch and English communities are clearly delineated by boundaries. Dutch property in Hartford, Connecticut, is also to be respected.

October Naval: The new Parliamentarian government in England, responding to Virginia’s declaration of allegiance to the Crown, declares that colony under a naval blockade.

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Bradstreet, Anne

(1612–1672)

Poetess Anne Dudley was probably born in Northampton, England, around 1612, the daughter of a steward to Theophilus Clinton, earl of Lincoln. At this time, England was in a period of religious ferment, and the earl’s home was a center of Puritan learning and activism. The youthful Dudley absorbed these social and religious mores readily, as well as the literary nuances of her day. Around 1628, aged 16 years, she married Simon Bradstreet, a Cambridgeeducated administrator, and settled into an easy-going life as part of the aristocracy. However, their lives were completely transformed in 1629 when King Charles I inherited the throne and began persecuting Puritans and other religious minorities. This stimulated the so-called “Great Migration” of 1630, which brought thousands of Puritans and other Separatists to the wilderness of Massachusetts. Bradstreet and her husband were part of the original group that crossed with John Winthrop onboard the Arabella and helped found the Massachusetts Bay colony at Salem. Compared to her pampered and relatively carefree existence back in England, Bradford was initially shocked by the primitive conditions of her new abode but, considering it God’s will, she readily submitted to it. In this respect she was a typical Puritan woman, deeply religious and strictly beholden to the social conventions thrust upon her. She moved several times before finally relocating to Andover in 1645, and also bore her husband, a future governor of Massachusetts, eight children.

Not long after arriving in America, Bradstreet began writing poetry that touched upon her surroundings, her predicament, and her apparently happy and satisfying relationship with her beloved husband. Her jottings were so well received by family members that in 1647 Reverend John Woodbridge, her brother-in-law, carried a manuscript of her poetry to England without her knowledge and published it anonymously as The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. Here Bradford displayed a surprising gift for rhyme, but also commendable knowledge of history, philosophy, and current affairs. She even composed an elegant poem in praise of Queen Elizabeth I, the strong-willed Protestant monarch. Bradford’s writing proved an immediate hit among literary circles of the day and even stern-faced Governor Cotton Mather pronounced it “statelier than marble.” For her part, Bradstreet continued living the life of a minor wilderness aristocrat, a wife and mother, occasionally drafting poems on earthy subjects not usually associated with the Puritan mindset. She then revised her poems in 1666 and a second edition of collected works appeared in 1678—the first written by a female author in America. These jottings were also widely read and admired, reflecting her development as a writer and a deeply spiritual person. Bradstreet died at her home in Andover on September 16, 1672, the first American poetess. Appearing at the time they did, her writings display considerable intellect and surprising passion, and remain a notable literary achievement.

October 3 Politics: Parliament, determined to punish Virginia, Barbados, Bermuda, and Antigua for their insolence, decrees that they cannot trade with foreign nations.

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October 30 Business: The English Parliament, determined to reduce Dutch advantages in ship-borne commerce, bans foreign ships from trading in the American colonies without a special license. This is the beginning of an extensive series of trade laws known collectively as the Navigation Acts.

1651 Political: Margaret Brent, the colonies’ first female attorney, angered by dissent occasioned by her role as the late Governor Leonard Calvert’s executor, leaves Maryland and resettles in Virginia. Military: Five Nations warriors attack and destroy an Attiwandaronk village, dispersing the inhabitants as part of their continuing campaign to disrupt trade in New France. They then secure trade relations with Algonquian-speaking peoples in the Great Lakes regions to procure sources of fur. Religion: In an attempt to “civilize” Native Americans, Reverend John Eliot founds Natick, Massachusetts, as a community for Christian converts, or “Praying Indians.” In this capacity Eliot becomes revered as the “Apostle to the Indians.”

March Politics: In England, Edward Coddington receives a separate charter for the town of Aquidneck, Rhode Island, enabling him to thwart Roger Williams’s plan to establish the Providence Plantations.

July 18 Religion: Puritan authorities arrest, fine, and banish Baptist ministers John Clarke and Obediah Holmes after sheriffs search for them in a private home. Holmes is then publicly whipped and both are banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Governor John Endecott hopes to have set an example for future dissenters.

July 19 Settlement: Dutch colonists from New Netherland establish a settlement at Fort Casimir (Newcastle), on the Delaware River. This places them within seven miles of the Swedish colony at Fort Christiana.

October 9 Politics: Parliament passes the first Navigation Act excluding foreign vessels from colonial trade, to try to break the Dutch monopoly on shipping. Henceforth, foreigners had to obtain a license to trade with the colonies and only English shippers could engage in the slave trade. Governors of colonies abroad are also entrusted with its actual enforcement. This act was consistent with mercantile principles for creating a powerful, economically self-sufficient British empire. Hereafter, colonial economic needs and sentiments remain strictly subordinated to dictates from the homeland. Moreover, trade frictions arising help trigger the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1652–54.

October 14 Societal: The General Court of Massachusetts forbids people of “mean condition” from wearing outlandish clothes better associated with the upper classes.

November 5 Military: The Dutch outpost of Fort Casimir on the Delaware River is captured by Swedish forces under Governor Johan Classen Rising of New Sweden. The

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Chronology of American History garrison, consisting of seven men, capitulates immediately, and nearby settlers are given a choice of either swearing their allegiance to Sweden or leaving. Most choose to stay behind. The post is then renamed Fort Trinity to commemorate the day it was captured, Trinity Sunday.

November 15 Politics: Departing deputy governor William Stone of Maryland appoints Catholic Royalist Thomas Green to succeed him. However, after Green declares his allegiance to Charles II as the rightful heir to the throne, the Commonwealth government dispatches parliamentary commissioners to investigate. Among them is William Claiborne, who had earlier lost his title to Kent Island to the colony.

December 5 Politics: The Maine provincial government appeals to Parliament for independence from an expanding Massachusetts.

December 25 Law: The General Court of Massachusetts threatens a five-shilling fine for any individual celebrating “Christmas.”

1652 Religion: The Society of Friends, or Quakers, begins forming in England under the auspices of George Fox and Margaret Fell. They are characterized by pacifism and treating women with near-total equality. Slavery: The Dutch West India Company approves the importation of African slaves to New Netherland, but also allows strict laws to prevent them from being physically abused.

March 12 Politics: Erstwhile Royalist governor William Berkeley surrenders Jamestown, Virginia, to two armed British vessels and declares his allegiance to Parliament. He is removed from office for declaring his support for the Stuarts.

March 29 Politics: Catholic commissioners in England remove Lieutenant Governor Thomas Green, a Catholic, from office in Maryland. He is succeeded by William Fuller while Lord Baltimore is also stripped of proprietary powers for the time being.

March 30 Politics: Richard Bennett is selected from among the House of Burgesses to succeed Governor William Berkeley while William Claiborne becomes secretary of state.

April Politics: The Dutch government grants the settlement of New Amsterdam the right to implement a city-style government. Director General Peter Stuyvesant only sullenly complies.

May 18 General: The Rhode Island assembly outlaws slavery, the first such American law enacted. This decision will be reversed in 1700.

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May 31 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts formally annexes the territory of Maine to its possessions.

June 7 Business: The first Anglo-American mint is established in Boston, with John Hull as master, which coins the “Pine Tree Shilling” as currency. This is one of several acts of defiance towards Parliament.

October Politics: Roger Williams arranges to have the English government declare the charter granted to William Coddington null and void. Aquidneck Island eventually becomes part of Newport, Rhode Island. He is accompanied by Massachusetts expatriate Mary Dyer, who over the ensuing five years converts to Quakerism before returning to the colonies.

October 29 Politics: The English Civil War and the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell serve to intensify feelings of independence throughout the American colonies. Massachusetts Bay Colony, long a hotbed of Puritan defiance toward authority, declares itself an independent commonwealth.

November 20 Politics: Massachusetts continues its annexation of Maine when Kittery surrenders to its authority; this is the first town within the Gorges province to submit.

1653 Law: Puritan authorities in Massachusetts arrest 11 women for dressing ostentatiously above their position. Current law forbids a woman from sporting a silk scarf or hood unless her husband has a demonstrated net worth of 200 pounds. Publishing: John Eliot composes his Catechism, the first Indian religious book written in the Algonquian language. Settlement: Virginia provides the first settlers for the Carolinas, who take root by founding Albemarle, north of Albemarle Sound.

February 2 Politics: Director Peter Stuyvesant, under orders from the Dutch government, declares New Amsterdam to be a municipality and appoints the requisite officials. However, he retains the ability to enact laws and pass ordinances.

June 2 Politics: The Massachusetts Bay Colony votes against a New England Confederation attempt to declare war against Dutch settlers in New Netherland.

July Settlement: A slow but steady trickle of settlers from Virginia into the region between the Pasquotank and Chowan Rivers and the new colony of Albemarle begins taking form.

July 5 Military: English militia from Connecticut seize Fort Good Hope, New York, from the Dutch.

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November 5 Diplomacy: The Iroquois, Huron, and French conclude their Â�so-­called “Beaver War” with a formal peace treaty. The Five Nations are victorious and now the dominant military power of the St. Lawrence and eastern Great Lakes region, but they are also overextended. In sum, they seek time to consolidate their gains.

December 10 Politics: Director Peter Stuyvesant summons the first session of the New Nether-­ land assembly, which includes both Dutch and EnÂ�glish representatives from Long Island. The body continues to oppose arbitrary rule by the director and the Dutch West India Company. At one juncture, Stuyvesant lectures them, “We derive our power from God and the Company, not from a few ignorant subjects.”

1654 Business: The first Dutch Â�glass-­making factory is erected by Jan Smede in New Amsterdam. Military: Faced with continuing raids by the Erie Indians, a war party of 700 Seneca warriors attacks and destroys the main Erie town in western Pennsyl-­ vania. Actions like this clear the way for advances into the Â�fur-­rich Ohio River Valley, which the Five Nations covet. Technology: Ironworker Joseph Jenks is contracted to design and build a work-­ ing fire engine in Massachusetts. This is the first such device in America and spurted water from a Â�bucket-­filled cistern.

March 7 General: Plymouth colonist Thomas Prince obtains a grant from Parliament and departs for the Kennebec River, Maine, to or�ga�nize a colony there.

April Military: Â�Dutch-­held Fort Good Hope, Hartford, falls to EnÂ�glish colonial forces.

May Politics: Dutch director general Peter Stuyvesant summons the second ses-­ sion of the New Netherland assembly, this time to deal with rising tensions with nearby EnÂ�glish communities.

May 3 Business: Richard Thurley is licensed by the Massachusetts General Court to construct the first toll bridge in Massachusetts. Its fee applies only to animals and is levied at a rate of two shillings per �horse and cow, half a shilling for hogs, sheep, and goats.

May 31 Military: A force of 30 Swedish soldiers bloodlessly captures Dutch Fort Casimir on the Delaware River.

June Business: In a daring move, a large canoe fleet of Wyandot and Ottawa Indi-­ ans reaches Montreal, bringing a great quantity of furs with them. They are attempting to regain the old lucrative trade with France, since destroyed by the Iroquois. Within two years, this practice brings the wrath of the Iroquois down on them.

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June 20 Diplomacy: News of a peace treaty between England and the Netherlands reaches Boston just as a force of New England militia is about to embark on a campaign against New Netherland.

July 1 Military: Major Robert Sedgwick of Boston seizes Acadia (Nova Scotia) from France; it will eventually be ceded back to them in 1667.

August 22 Religion: Jacob Barsimson, the first Jew to arrive in America, lands at New Amsterdam.

September 7 Religion: Congregation Shearith Israel is founded in New Amsterdam by 23 Sephardic Jews emigrating from Brazil. Saul Brown functions as rabbi and they constitute North America’s earliest Jewish community. Director Peter Stuyvesant nonetheless protests their presence in the colony.

October 30 Politics: The Puritan-dominated assembly of Maryland rescinds the Toleration Act and adopts the new Instrument of Government, which expressly denies Catholics equal protection under the law. Lord Baltimore’s proprietary authority is also revoked at the behest of Governor William Fuller. The ground is now being laid for civil strife.

1655 Slavery: Anthony Johnson, a free African American, receives a 200-acre grant in Virginia after importing five servants to Hampton, Virginia. He is gradually joined by other freedmen, and an African community begins.

January Religion: Massachusetts expatriate Roger Williams composes a letter for the inhabitants of Providence, Rhode Island, outlining his views on religious and political liberties. He is still regarded as a pariah in Puritan-dominated Boston, whose leaders regard his colony as a “moral sewer.”

March 25 Military: Lord Baltimore’s Catholic militia is defeated by Puritan forces at the Battle of Severn River, Maryland. Former governor William Stone, a Protestant, is among the wounded taken captive by the Puritans and imprisoned. Several of his followers are executed.

April 26 Religion: The Dutch West India Company informs Director Peter Stuyvesant that Jews must be allowed to remain in New Amsterdam.

September 15 Military: After Hendrick Van Dyck, a Dutch settler, kills a Lenni Lenape (Delaware) squaw stealing peaches from his orchard, 500 Hackensack warriors attack settlements in New Amsterdam and Staten Island. The Indians kill 16 colonials, including Van Dyck, take 49 more hostage, and later ransom them for 1,400 guilders. However, Indian raids and counterraids continue intermittently for another nine years in this, the so-called “Peach War.”

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September 26 Military: Dutch forces under Governor Peter Stuyvesant successfully recapture Fort Casimir from the colony of New Sweden. They then move up the Delaware River in seven ships and similarly overpower Fort Christina. Success here ends a 15-year campaign to evict the Swedes from Delaware, and New Amsterdam receives additional land along the Delaware River as a reward.

1656 Diplomacy: The General Court of Massachusetts appoints Daniel Gookin as its first superintendent of Indian affairs, the first such post created by the English. In this capacity he is responsible for distributing gifts among “good” Indians, encouraging them to take up farming and convert to Christianity. Military: English settlers in Virginia convince the Pamunkey and Chickahominy tribes to assist them in confronting the Iroquois, who have been pushing southward into Virginia. However, they are defeated, and Pamunkey leader Totopotomoy dies in battle. Politics: To forestall future violence, the Virginia assembly approves various Indian policies to halt encroachment upon native lands, but the regulations are largely ignored by settlers. Science: Harvard College’s curriculum formally abandons Ptolemaic astronomy, which holds Earth as the center of the universe, in favor of the new Copernican theory of planets orbiting around the Sun. This occurs only 23 years after the Catholic Church forced astronomer Galileo Galilei to repudiate it.

January Politics: The English Committee of Trade restores Lord Baltimore’s proprietary authority over the colony of Maryland, contingent upon his agreeing to the appointment of Josias Fendall as governor.

March Politics: William Coddington finally consents to creation of Providence Plantations under Roger Williams.

March 10 Politics: The Virginia House of Burgesses extends suffrage to all freemen regardless of their religious affiliation. They also pass a plan to seize Indian children for religious conversion.

July 1 Religion: The first immigrants of the Quaker sect, Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, arrive at Boston from Barbados and are immediately arrested, abused, and banished back to the West Indies by Puritan authorities.

July 10 Politics: Governor William Fuller of Maryland is succeeded by Josias Fendall, who allows reinstatement of Lord Baltimore as proprietor.

July 23 Politics: New Haven colony adopts the Code of 1656 for governance, notable in denying the right of trial by jury.

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September 6 General: Mohawk leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy ask the Dutch to stop selling alcohol to the Indians.

September 17 Religion: The United Colonies of New England approves of Massachusetts’s harsh treatment of Baptists, Quakers, and other religious minorities.

September 22 Law: A trial at Patuxent, Maryland, includes the first ever all-female jury. Defendant Judith Catchpole stands accused of murdering her unborn child, then is acquitted after proving she has never been pregnant.

October 2 Religion: The Connecticut assembly fines Quakers and banishes them from its territory.

October 24 Religion: The Massachusetts General Court bans Quakers from entering its territory.

1657 Military: The Erie Indians, faced with continuing defeats at the hands of the Five Nations Iroquois, gradually relocate from western Pennsylvania to the Upper Ohio River, where they become known as the Mingo. Religion: Quaker missionary Mary Dyer arrives in Boston and is quickly arrested and deported to Connecticut by the Puritan theocracy. She is warned not to return. Slavery: Quaker leader George Fox encourages his followers to minister to African slaves in the colonies. Sports: Three Dutch men are arrested by the sheriff of Fort Orange, New Netherland, for playing Kolven (golf ) on a Sunday. This is the first mention of that game in America.

April 21 General: Dutch settlers recolonize Fort Casimir, Delaware, and reorganize it as New Amstel with Jacob Alrichs as director.

May 20 Business: Rhode Island defies the British ban against trading with the Dutch.

May 21 General: Governor William Bradford of Massachusetts, who was annually reelected for more than 30 years, dies at Plymouth. He is best remembered for having instituted the practice of town meetings, which evolves into a decidedly New England practice. More than any other individual, he was responsible for putting Plymouth colony on a firm footing.

June 1 Religion: Five adherents to Quakerism, including two women, arrive at New Amsterdam and are quickly arrested by Dutch authorities under Director General Peter Stuyvesant and expelled to Rhode Island.

November 30 Politics: Lord Baltimore’s proprietary control of Maryland is restored by the Puritan government of England.

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Dyer, Mary

(ca. 1610–1660)

Religious martyr Mary Barrett was born in England around 1610, although her birthplace and origins are obscure. In 1633 she married William Dyer and two years later migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Even though the Dyers were admitted to the Puritan Church, they soon struck up cordial relations with Anne Hutchinson and gradually subscribed to her “Antinomian” beliefs. The Puritan theological establishment viewed Hutchinson’s beliefs as heretical and believed that Dyer’s subsequent bearing of a malformed baby was God’s punishment. Her husband was also disenfranchised for his dealings with Hutchinson. Undeterred, when Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts on March 22, 1638, Dyer accompanied her out of the court. The Dyers subsequently relocated to Newport, Rhode Island, and in 1652 the couple accompanied Roger Williams back to England for political reasons. Over the next five years Dyer became a disciple of George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), whose doctrine of Inner Light bore similarities to Hutchinson’s teachings. However, Puritans on either side of the Atlantic considered the sect heretical and began evoking legal means of suppressing it. Dyer, meanwhile, returned to Boston in 1657, where she was quickly arrested by authorities and banished from the colony. Her husband, who was not a Quaker, secured her release, and the following year Dyer tried proselytizing Quakerism in New Haven, Connecticut, until her expulsion in 1658.

Significantly, that same year the General Court of Massachusetts passed a law banishing Quakers from the colony under pain of death. Dyer learned that two Quaker friends, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson, were jailed in Boston and she visited to console and minister to them. She was arrested again and the three were expelled with a warning not to return. Nevertheless, Dyer and her consorts returned to Boston to confront what they considered unjust laws and were arrested. On October 27, 1658, Robinson and Stephenson were hanged, and Dyer was only spared through a last-minute reprieve from Governor John Winthrop. She was then released in the custody of her husband and expelled once again. Dyer, however, remained determined to confront religious intolerance and she returned to Boston a third time and was arrested and condemned to hang. The sentence was carried out on May 31, 1660, despite her husband’s pleas for clemency. Dyer received a final offer to recant her faith on the gallows but refused, preferring to die a martyr’s death. Fellow Quakers also held her as an example of the strength of their beliefs. Dyer’s unflinching resolve in the face of death also convinced many colonists that the death sentence should be repealed against Quakers, and in 1659 it was discarded. In 1959, three centuries later, the Massachusetts General Court (the state legislative) erected a statue in Boston, honoring Dyer’s willingness to confront religious bigotry.

1658 General: The Rappahannock and Morattico Indians are forced into conceding major land grants to ever-expanding white settlements in Virginia.

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Medical: One of America’s earliest hospitals in America is founded in New Amsterdam by a surgeon of the Dutch West India Company. Religion: In a nod to Massachusetts, the New England Confederation summarily expels Quakers from its territory, threatening the death penalty if they return. Quaker missionary Mary Dyer is expelled from New Haven, Connecticut, and warned not to return. Slavery: A revolt by African and Indian slaves is reported near Hartford, Connecticut.

January 25 Law: New Netherland director Peter Stuyvesant outlaws festivities such as tennis during periods of religious activity.

May 26 Politics: Rhode Island completes its political consolidation, forcing Massachusetts to relinquish any claim of jurisdiction over the area.

May 29 Religion: General Court of Massachusetts authorities ban Quakerism and especially outlaw their holding of meetings; in October the death penalty is imposed for those returning to the colony.

July 13 General: The Massachusetts Bay Colony finishes its annexation of Maine by bringing the settlement of Casco Bay (Falmouth) under its control.

August Exploration: Having departed Montreal, fur traders Medard Chouart, sieur des Groseilliers; Pierre Esprit Radisson; and 31 men arrive on the southern shore of Lake Superior and begin pushing inland to explore the Great Plains.

August 12 Law: New Amsterdam institutes its first police force, the ratelwacht, composed of 10 watchmen hired to patrol the city and refrain from swearing, drinking, or fighting.

1659 Education: Dutch settlers establish America’s first classical elementary school at New Amsterdam. Politics: The fall of the English Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell allows the House of Burgesses to take political control of Virginia. Religion: John Eliot composes The Christian Commonwealth, outlining the Puritan symbiosis between church and state.

September 21 Military: A group of Dutch settlers, angered by the continuing threat of conflict with nearby Esopus Indians, ambushes and kills a group drinking near their settlement. The angry tribesmen then attack Wiltwyck (Kingston, New York), killing several settlers.

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September 30 Sports: Director General Peter Stuyvesant forbids the playing of tennis on certain days, particularly Sunday. This is the first mention of the game in America.

October 10 Military: Director general Peter Stuyvesant arrives at the Dutch settlement of Wiltwyck with reinforcements, only to find that the hostile Esopus warriors had departed. Rather than pursue the war further, Stuyvesant arranges a cease-fire through some Mohawk intermediaries.

October 27 Religion: Massachusetts authorities hang William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson on Boston Common, for violating the ban on Quakers returning to the colony. Mary Dyer, after defying her exile and returning to the Bay Colony, is led to the gallows, pardoned at the last second, and once again banished to Rhode Island. There friends try—unsuccessfully—to have her abandon preaching Quakerism.

December Politics: Governor Samuel Mathews of Virginia dies in office, signaling the end of parliamentary control in that colony under the Protectorate. Power is then assumed by local burgesses until politics in England sorts itself out.

1660 Business: Ottawa and Wyandot Indians found a huge fur trading center at Chegnamegon Bay, Lake Superior (present-day Wisconsin), which, within a decade, encompasses no less than 50 villages. Diplomacy: To secure good behavior from nearby Indians, Director General Peter Stuyvesant demands that local tribes surrender children as hostages. When the Esopus refuse the Dutch seize several women and children, then ship them off to the West Indies as slaves. Slaves: The Connecticut legislature prohibits African Americans from serving in the militia. Societal: To shore up the institution of marriage, the Connecticut legislature orders all men to live at home with their wives; any individual delinquent in this capacity for more than three years faces expulsion from the colony.

March 10 Politics: The new Maryland assembly declares itself independent of Lord Baltimore’s proprietary control and also removes Josias Fendall as governor.

March 13 Politics: After a long hiatus, Royalist Sir William Berkeley is restored as governor of Virginia by the general assembly.

March 13 Business: The Virginia assembly passes limits on the taxation of slaves, the first indication that bondage has been institutionalized in the colonies.

March 17 Military: Some Dutch militia under Ensign Dirck Smith attack an Esopus camp near Wiltwyck, New Netherland, killing and capturing several Indians.

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April 4 Military: Ensign Dirck Smith and his militia again ambush Esopus warriors near Wiltwyck, New Netherland, taking several more prisoners.

May Religion: The General Court of Massachusetts outlaws Christmas celebrations, and any transgressors face a five-shilling fine.

May 2–9 Military: In another skirmish over the fur trade, Iroquois warriors attack a 16-man French/Huron party under Adam Dollard, sieur des Ormeaux, at Long Sault on the Ottawa River. After several assaults are violently repelled, the Iroquois wage a seven-day siege until they are massively reinforced and overrun the encampment in a final charge. Only four French are captured, and are taken back to the village for ritual torture. However, the losses incurred by the Indians apparently dissuade them from attacking Montreal that year.

May 29 Politics: The Stuart Restoration sees King Charles II placed on the English throne.

June Business: New Amsterdam passes a regulation forbidding individuals outside of the Indian trade to interfere with Iroquois fur-trading activities at Fort Orange.

June 1 Religion: Massachusetts authorities hang Quaker missionary Mary Dyer for heresy after she again defies her exile and returns to the colony. Her last few words are dedicated to freedom of expression and belief.

July 4 Economics: The Committee for Trade and Plantations (or Lords of Trade) is founded by King Charles II as an advisory body to facilitate better administration of all colonies. It originates as a subsidiary of the Privy Council.

July 15 Diplomacy: Assisted by Mohawk, Wappinger, and Mahican emissaries, Governor General Peter Stuyvesant concludes a peace treaty with the Esopus Indians, forcing them to give up land and surrender all prisoners. The cessation of violence proves temporary.

July 27 Law: Judges Edward Whalley and William Goffe, who had condemned King Charles I to death, flee England and arrive in Boston.

October 1 Business: Parliament passes an expanded Navigation Act mandating the use of English vessels only, and with crews that are three-quarters English, for trading with the colony. It also includes a list of enumerated, or restricted, items, which can be shipped only from the colonies to England. Moreover, colonial vessels engaging in this trade are required to post a bond to ensure that enumerated cargoes were delivered in the realm. These facets constitute a cornerstone of British colonial trade policy; one major effect of this legislation is to spur the growth of New England’s ship-building industry.

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October 18 Politics: The Rhode Island general assembly is the first New England colony to declare its allegiance to newly restored King Charles II.

November Politics: The Maryland assembly appoints Philip Calvert to be the new governor.

December 1 Politics: In London, the Council for Foreign Plantations is established under Sir Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon.

1661 General: The Chickahominy are forced to cede 2,000 acres of land along the Pamunkey River, Virginia, to the English, forcing them to relocate their villages to the Mattaponi River. Military: Susquehannock Indians of Pennsylvania, desiring a part of the lucrative fur trade, begin ambushing Seneca trading parties passing nearby. When the Mohawk of eastern New York wax indifferent to their plight, the unity of the Five Nations is threatened. Religion: King Charles II issues the Clarendon Code to bring England, Ireland, and the colonies in line with the Anglican Church. Reverend John Eliot publishes the New Testament in the Algonquian language, the first Bible published in the English colonies. The Quakers hold their first annual meeting in Rhode Island. Slavery: The Virginia House of Burgesses promulgates the Act on Runaways, mandating that any indentured servant, regardless of color, who assists slaves to escape will be punished by having his period of indenture lengthened. This completes the gradual transformation of African-American indentured servants into black slaves.

March 14 Politics: Connecticut political leaders declare their allegiance to King Charles II.

March 23 Religion: The Virginia assembly imposes strict fines and punishments against Quakers.

March 24 Religion: Massachusetts executes William Leddra for Quakerism after having banished him. He is the last Quaker sect member so dealt with.

June 1 Law: The Massachusetts General Court approves a rule imposing corporal punishment on Quakers and other dissenters.

June 5 Politics: The political establishment in New Haven colony declares in favor of King Charles II.

August 7 Politics: The Massachusetts General Court swears its allegiance to King Charles II.

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September 9 Religion: Governor John Endecott of Massachusetts is ordered by King Charles II to halt the persecution of Quakers and dispatch them to England under the protection of a government agent for trial. Instead, Endecott simply allows them to depart the colony. The order comes at the behest of William Penn, a Quaker and a confidant of the king.

December 7 Religion: Pressured by Parliament, the Massachusetts General Court suspends corporal punishment for Quakers, nonconformists, and other dissenters.

1662 Business: Wealthy Margaret Hardenbrook of New Amsterdam, a savvy exporter of furs and mercantile importer, marries leading merchant Frederick Phillipse. They met on a vessel owned by Hardenbrook, and their union is probably the first business merger in the New World. Diplomacy: Authorities of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, suspecting an Indian uprising, summon Chief Wamsutta to Plymouth for an explanation. When he refuses, troops are dispatched to bring him back at gunpoint. Wamsutta is then harshly interrogated, despite his claims of being ill, and he dies while en route back to his village. His successor is Metacom, a younger brother, who believes that the English poisoned him. Military: An alliance of Wyandot and other Algonquian-speaking tribes defeats the Iroquois in a large engagement near Mackinac (Michigan), gradually forcing them out of the Great Lakes region and allowing for the return of several displaced tribes by 1680. Politics: The English government insists that the Massachusetts Bay Colony charters allow freedom of worship for Anglicans and that all landowners, regardless of church affiliation, possess the right to vote. Religion: The Virginia assembly mandates that any parent failing to have his child properly baptized faces a fine of 2,000 pounds of tobacco. Slavery: In a major divergence from English law, the Virginia House of Burgesses passes its first slave codes, whereby slavery is prescribed for Africans or mixed bloods based on the status of their mother. Slavery thus becomes a formal, hereditary condition for the first time.

March Politics: The Virginia assembly votes to ensure property rights for Indians to ease the threat of possible frontier violence.

March 23 Religion: The Virginia assembly passes strict laws against Quakers.

May 3 Politics: Connecticut becomes a royal colony under Governor John Winthrop, Jr., now encompassing Guilford, Stamford and Milford. The new charter also formally annexes the settlement of New Haven.

October 8 Publishing: The Massachusetts General Court appoints two licensers of printing presses who must approve of everything intended to appear in published form.

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Chronology of American History Religion: The Halfway Covenant is adopted by the General Synod of New England; it stipulates that baptism is now extended to all children of parents who are of good character though non-church members. Through this expedient Congregationalism tries appealing to the vast majority of colonists, although not every congregation accepts it. It is still indicative of radical Puritanism’s decline and the rise of a new, less dogmatic generation.

October 18 Religion: The Massachusetts General Court reverses itself and reimposes corporal punishment on Quakers and other dissenters.

November 4 Politics: Freemen of New Haven vote in opposition to annexation by the Connecticut colony and seek to maintain its independence.

December General: The Virginia assembly passes a law declaring that children of slave women inherit their status.

1663 Business: The Company of New France disbands, and its holdings in New France pass over to the French government as a royal colony. The colonization of Canada now becomes an urgent matter of state to King Louis XIV, who appoints a new royal governor and sends 1,500 soldiers to bolster its defenses. Religion: After 15 years of study, Puritan missionary John Eliot translates the Old Testament into the language of the Massachuset Indians and begins codifying their grammar. Having previously finished the New Testament, this addition provides the first complete Bible published anywhere in the colonies. Slavery: The Maryland assembly passes a law requiring all imported Africans to be regarded as slaves. Moreover, any white woman who takes a black spouse is also held in bondage throughout the life of the husband, and any offspring are likewise enslaved for life. In Carolina, prospective settlers are promised 20 acres of free land for every male African slave they bring into the colony, and 10 for each female.

March 24 Politics: King Charles II authorizes eight aristocratic proprietors to colonize Carolina, a large region located south of Virginia. The new owners are required to pay an annual sum to the Crown but are otherwise granted far-reaching powers, including filling offices, establishing courts, collecting customs and taxes, granting land, and conferring titles. A Palatine Court is created in England with abilities to appoint governors, veto laws, and hear appeals. Thus situated, the proprietors fully intend to resurrect a near-feudal society based on the old English estate system.

April 3 General: The colony of Carolina is formally chartered by King Charles II to eight proprietors.

June 7 Military: Angered by Dutch noncompliance with treaties, Esopus Indians of the Hudson River Valley massacre the inhabitants at Wiltwyck (Kingston), New York, precipitating punitive counterraids and a protracted frontier conflict.

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July 8 Politics: A royal charter grants Rhode Island authority to govern itself and also guarantees religious freedoms. This is done because earlier charters had no sound legal basis.

July 27 Business: The Navigation Acts are appended through passage of the Act of 1663 (“Act for the Encouragement of Trade”), which restricts the import of foreign goods to the colonies. Those commodities allowed must first be transhipped to England for conveyance in English bottoms, while enforcement rests in the hands of colonial governors. Naval officers stationed in the colonies were usually delegated responsibility for actual enforcement, but these were far and few, so smuggling remains prevalent.

September 5 Military: Dutch militia under Martin Cregier surround and attack an Esopus settlement, killing 30 Indians and freeing 23 captives.

September 13 Slavery: Gloucester, Virginia, witnesses the first attempted rebellion by AfricanAmerican slaves and white indentured servants, and it fails after the plot is revealed by a servant. Thereafter, local authorities here and throughout the South begin a careful monitoring of their charges to prevent any potential rise of organized resistance.

1664 Business: The French government contracts with the French West India Company to administer trade with New France and other colonies. Law: Marriage by a justice of the peace instead of a clergyman is allowed by the Duke’s Law in New York. Politics: Carolina proprietors appoint William Drummond to be governor of Albemarle (North Carolina) and also begin compiling a Concessions and Agreements regulation to formalize representative government, freedom of conscience, and a liberal land grant policy. Settlement: Dutch settlers found Corlaer (Schenectady), in upstate New York. Slavery: Maryland passes a law mandating that African slaves who convert to Christianity are nonetheless retained in bondage. This is adopted to negate English laws requiring the manumission of Christian converts once they acquire residence status in the colony. New York and New Jersey pass their first ordinances to regulate slavery, thereby granting that practice legal recognition. Sports: Horse racing becomes America’s first organized sporting event through the efforts of New York governor Richard Nicholls. He also establishes the Newmarket Course at Hempstead Plains, Long Island, and tenders prizes to all winners.

January 29 Politics: John, Lord Berkley, Sir George Carteret, and William Coventry report to the Council for Foreign Plantations on the possibility of seizing New Netherland from the Dutch.

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March 3 Diplomacy: Director General Peter Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam is forced to recognize En�glish control of their settlements on Long island, even those falling within Dutch jurisdiction.

March 22 General: James, duke of York, receives a grant from his brother, King Charles II, for lands situated between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, along with that stretching from Connecticut’s western boundary to the eastern shore of Delaware Bay. This encompasses all of Dutch New Netherland (southeastern New York). He also receives complete authority to govern the area, save for judicial appeals that are reserved for the Crown to decide.

April 2 Military: The duke of York (later James II) appoints Col�o�nel Richard Nicholls to head an expedition intending to conquer New Amsterdam.

April 10 Politics: An assembly of delegates from every corner of New Netherland con-­ venes in New Amsterdam to discuss poÂ�litiÂ�cal matters and prepare defenses against the Indians and EnÂ�glish.

April 21 Business: A committee reports to Parliament that the Netherlands constitutes the greatest single threat to En�glish trade.

May 16 Diplomacy: Director General Peter Stuyvesant and Esopus Indians conclude a peace treaty, in which the Indians cede control of the Esopus River Valley to the Eu�ro�pe�ans.

May 27 Religion: Reverend Increase Mather is appointed minister to Boston’s Second Church.

June 24 Politics: John, Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret receive a proprietary grant for land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers (New Jersey) from the duke of York. The name selected honors Carteret’s serÂ�vice as governor of the Isle of Jersey.

July 23 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel Richard Nicholls and four royal commissioners arrive at Bos-­ ton to orchestrate a campaign to seize New Amsterdam from the Dutch. They are also on hand to investigate the various conduct of colonial governments in New EnÂ�gland. Religion: The Massachusetts Bay Company allows nonchurch members to vote based on the size of their estates but otherwise refuses conditions established by the king’s commissioners.

August 26 Naval: A force of four frigates and 250 soldiers under Col�o�nel Richard Nicholls arrives in New York harbor, vastly outgunning the Dutch garrison under Director

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General Peter Stuyvesant. The governor then dispatches a message to the fleet demanding to know their business in Dutch waters.

August 31 Military: Colonel Richard Nicholls demands the surrender of New Amsterdam, promising liberal terms respecting liberty and property.

September 8 Military: Colonel Richard Nicholls, with 300 British troops, easily captures the settlement of New Amsterdam from the Dutch under Governor Peter Stuyvesant. The colony has been severely depleted by ongoing wars with the Indians, and Stuyvesant, who can only muster 20 cannon and 150 soldiers, declines to resist. He further blames his loss on a lack of support from the colony’s inhabitants, who feel they have little to lose at this juncture by submitting to English rule.

September 20 Military: English military forces under Colonel George Cartwright obtain the surrender of Fort Orange on the Hudson River. It is subsequently rechristened Albany, after a possession of the duke of York. Slavery: The Maryland legislature forbids interracial marriage between English women and African men with the colonies’ first anti-miscegenation law. Such prohibitions remained on the books of many states until the middle of the 20th century.

September 26 Diplomacy: Following the capture of Dutch possessions, the English under Colonel George Cartwright enter into their first strategic trade and defensive alliance with the Five Nations Iroquois. This engenders a close relationship between the tribes and the Crown that will endure over a century.

October Politics: Governor Sir William Berkeley appoints William Drummond as governor of the new Albemarle settlement along the Chowan River, [North] Carolina.

October 4 Military: New Amsterdam is formally renamed New York in honor of its conqueror.

October 8 General: The first English settlement in New Jersey is purchased from the Indians near present-day Elizabeth by Sir Philip Carteret.

October 10 Military: En glish forces under Sir Robert Carr occupy Fort Casimir, Delaware.

October 19 Publishing: The General Court of Massachusetts restricts printing presses to the town of Cambridge.

November 20 Settlement: A royal commission establishes Long Island Sound as Connecticut’s southern boundary.

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December 4 Science: Superstitious inhabitants of New England observe “a great and dreadful comet” in the sky.

1665 Politics: King Charles II dispatches four commissioners to New England to make sure that all colonies are in compliance with royal prerogatives, especially looser restrictions on church membership. Settlement: English colonists from New Haven receive land grants in New Jersey and begin settling in the vicinity of Newark.

January 5 Politics: The New Haven colony accepts subordination to Connecticut and joins the colony.

February 2 Politics: Governor Richard Nicholls allows Dutch municipal officers in newly conquered New York to hold office and appoint their own successors. Such generosity makes for a smoother and more peaceful transition.

February 10 Politics: Sir Philip Carteret is appointed governor of New Jersey, but his authority is disputed by English settlers on land previously granted from Colonel Richard Nicholls of New York.

February 17 Politics: Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, agrees to honor the conditions of the king’s commissioners by swearing allegiance to the Crown and permitting freedom of religion.

February 20 Politics: John, Lord Berkley and Sir Philip Carteret, proprietors of the new colony of New Jersey, sign the Concessions and Agreements, which allows freedom of conscience, generous land grants subject to quitrents, and the right of freeholders to elect deputies to a representative assembly. Executive functions are carried on by a governor and his council.

February 23 Politics: In consequence of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Colonel Richard Nicholls confiscates all property belonging to the Dutch West India Company in New York.

February 28 Law: The Duke’s Law takes effect in New York and combines Dutch burgomaster courts with their English manorial and county equivalents.

March 11 Politics: A gathering of 34 deputies from 13 English and four Dutch towns on Long Island meet at Hempstead to adopt the Duke’s Laws, signifying the transition from Dutch to English civil and legal codes. These contain provisions to organize courts and militia, and to permit freedom of conscience. However, they deny all rights to representation in an assembly. Consequently, New York lacks a legislative body until 1691.

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April 20 Politics: Connecticut submits to conditions set down by the king’s commissioners.

May 3 Politics: Rhode Island agrees to comply with conditions set down by the king’s commissioners and to enforce the Navigation Acts against Dutch trade.

May 13 Religion: The Rhode Island assembly allows freemanship and voting without respect to religion, thereby adding Jews to the franchise.

May 19–24 Politics: The Puritan-ruled Massachusetts Bay Colony refuses to adhere to conditions established by the king’s commissioners, especially freedom of religion. They then recommend to the Crown that the colony’s charter be revoked.

June 12 Politics: As the Duke’s Laws take effect in New York, the English-style municipal offices of alderman, mayor, and sheriff replace Dutch civil offices. Freemen also receive a monopoly on trade.

July 10 General: Amendments to the Carolina charter extend its territory to Spanishheld Florida.

August Politics: Sir Philip Carteret goes ashore at Nova Caesarea (New Jersey) and settles into Elizabethtown as the first governor.

August 22 Politics: The Privy Council declares that King James II’s 1663 patent for Carolina is the only valid one, all others being judged null and void.

August 27 Arts: The first play performed in the colonies, Ye Bare and Ye Cubb, is staged in Accomac, Virginia, and lands three actors in jail for violating laws against frivolous behavior. They are eventually acquitted. Science: John Winthrop, Jr., of Massachusetts, conducts the first astronomical observations in the colonies.

October Politics: In defiance of Massachusetts, king’s commissioners establish an independent government for Maine that will endure through 1668.

October 10 Politics: In New York, Colonel Richard Nicholls orders the property of Dutch inhabitants confiscated if they fail to take an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. This is a wartime expedient wrought by the onset of hostilities between England and Holland.

November 5 General: Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in New York for the first time, commemorating a failed attempt to blow up the En glish House of Lords in 1605. A recently passed law requires clergymen to deliver a sermon about it.

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1666 Diplomacy: Continuing military pressure from the French and Susquehannocks forces the Five Nations to seek peace with the Nispissing, Ottawa, and Mahican tribes so as to consolidate war efforts against the former. Religion: The first Presbyterian church in New Jersey is constructed at Elizabeth.

May 3 Business: To alleviate a glutted market, the Maryland assembly forbids the cultivation of tobacco as a commercial crop for one year.

August 31 Diplomacy: Attempts at peace-making between French settlers and the Iroquois end when the former hang a Mohawk chief for murder.

October Military: French troops sent by King Louis XIV and native allies raid the Iroquois homeland and burn Mohawk villages. This loss convinces the Indians to again seek peace with their antagonists.

October 11 Politics: The Massachusetts Bay Colony flatly refuses to dispatch representatives back to England to answer charges brought against it by royal commissioners sent there. Among their recommendations is annulment of the colonial charter.

October 24 Business: In Maryland, Lord Baltimore disallows an assembly law forbidding the planting of tobacco for one year to drive up prices.

1667 Medicine: Lucas Santomee becomes the first African physician to practice in New Amsterdam and ultimately obtains a land grant for his services. Military: The Susquehannock, armed by the Swedes and English and allied with the Mingo and Shawnee, drive deep into Five Nations territory and send the Cayuga fleeing north of Lake Ontario.

June 5 Naval: Five Dutch warships sail up the James River, Virginia, and capture 18 English merchant vessels.

July 7 Diplomacy: The French and Iroquois sign a peace treaty that concludes their dispute over fur trading in the Great Lakes region.

July 21 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Breda between England and Holland ends the Second Anglo-Dutch war and recognizes British control of New Amsterdam and Fort Orange. The province of Acadia is also returned to France. Henceforth, England enjoys a monopoly on colonization along the Atlantic coast south of Canada, with the exception of Spanish-held Florida. They have also secured a binding alliance with the mighty Six Nations Iroquois, have eliminated the Dutch as competitors, and are well situated to challenge France for supremacy on the continent.

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August 30 Politics: King Charles II dismisses Edward Hyde of the General Council of Foreign Plantations for promoting too much religious freedom in the colonies.

September 23 General: In Virginia, the House of Burgesses passes laws maintaining that converting African slaves to Christianity does not release them from servitude.

November 30 Politics: The Crown recognizes Connecticut claims to all land west of the Connecticut River.

1668 Religion: Jesuits prevail upon several Mohawk and Oneida families to resettle at La Prairie (Montreal) for religious conversion. This village is located at some distance from European communities to keep the Indians from being corrupted by destructive foreign influences. Slavery: The Virginia assembly passes legislation denying equal protection of the law for free African Americans. This act anticipates a movement in many colonies to draw legal distinctions between black and white free men and women.

March 24 Military: New England Governor General Edmund Andros takes personal control of all militia forces within his jurisdiction to quell dissent against centralized rule.

March 25 Sports: Captain Sylvester Salisbury receives a silver bowl wrought by craftsman Pieter van Inburg, which is the first trophy given for an American horse race. The event transpired at Newmarket Course, Hempstead Plains, Long Island.

April 21 Politics: The Duke’s Laws, a judicial code already prevalent in New York, is applied to Delaware. This code insures municipal organization and freedom of conscience.

May 27 Religion: Massachusetts banishes Baptists Thomas Gold, William Turner, and John Farnum from its territory.

June 4 Politics: The general assembly of New Jersey convenes for the first time, pursuant to the Concessions and Agreements signed in February 1665 by Lord John Berkley and Sir George Carteret.

June 5 Exploration: The Eaglet and the Nonsuch, captained by William Stannard and Zachariah Gillam, depart England on an expedition to chart Hudson Bay, Canada. This large and potentially useful region has been neglected by both France and England since its discovery by Henry Hudson 60 years earlier. Ironically, they are guided by two French Canadian fur traders, Pierre Esprit

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Chronology of American History Radisson and Medard Chouart des Groseilliers, who are dissatisfied with their treatment at the hands of authorities in New France.

July 6 Politics: A convention held at York, Maine, votes to formally recognize annexation to Massachusetts and proceeds to elect delegates to the General Court.

1669 Education: The first Sunday school opens at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Slavery: The Virginia assembly approves legislation allowing masters to accidentally kill their slaves during the administration of punishment without reprisal. Sports: Horse racing is institutionalized when New York governor Francis Lovelace arranges a yearly trophy meet at Newmarket Course, Long Island.

March 11 Politics: In England, the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, containing enlightened precepts such as religious freedom, are issued to replace the Concessions and Agreements of 1665. Noted political philosopher John Locke, writing in concert with Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, was the probable author. However, the overall tone of the document is distinctly feudal, with all power and authority based upon proprietary land ownership. The documents are never ratified by the colonial assembly but do weigh heavily upon local religious practices.

May Politics: Three Maine deputies arrive in Boston to serve on the Massachusetts General Court.

October Business: Canadian fur trader Médard Chouart des Groseilliers arrives back in England from Hudson Bay, bringing with him a treasure trove of ermine, lynx, and beaver furs. This convinces King Charles II that Canada is a viable alternative source to the Baltic fur market.

1670 Business: The newly chartered Hudson’s Bay Company receives a major boost when Cree and Ojibway Indians arrive in large numbers to take part in the fur trade. Their activity allows for the founding of new trading posts along the Rupert, Moose, and Albany Rivers. A woman becomes the first known proprietor of a coffeehouse in Boston. Settlement: Over the year, an estimated 2,000 colonists from Barbados move to South Carolina, the first major influx into that region. They also bring their slaves with them, which boosts the African population already residing there. Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature mandates that, for Africans, slavery is determined by the status of the mother.

March Settlement: Joseph West leads the first group of English settlers to Port Royal Sound, Carolina.

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March 1 Politics: The Concessions and Agreements of Carolina are formally supplemented by the Fundamental Constitutions authored by John Locke. These have been slightly altered to make Anglicanism the established colonial creed.

April General: The English settlement at Port Royal Sound is moved by Joseph West to Charles Town, Albemarle Point, along the Ashley River. The majority of settlers come from Barbados and bring African slaves with them.

April 20 Politics: The Virginia assembly votes to halt the English practice of dispatching criminals to the colony to work as indentured servants. This particular ordinance endures until 1717 when it is overturned by Parliament and the shipments resume.

May 2 Business: The Hudson’s Bay Company is chartered for expanding fur trade with Indians in Canada. This new and plentiful source of fur is highly important, as fur is the only commodity tradable for hemp, tar, and other naval supplies from Russia. These are invaluable for maintaining British naval superiority in its colonizing efforts abroad. Moreover, the English are well positioned to offer higher quality goods at lower prices. The Hudson’s Bay Company proves not only highly profitable, it gradually ensures English domination of Canada.

July 18 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Madrid is signed between England and Spain, obliging both to respect each other’s holdings in the Americas. It ultimately serves as the basis of settling the boundary disputes between Florida and Carolina (which included Georgia). Slavery: Virginia further refines its slave code, stripping all recently freed slaves and indentured servants of voting rights. Furthermore, all Africans imported as nonChristians are held for life while Christians arriving by a land route are subject to slavery until the age of 30 if they are children and for a period of 12 years if they are adults.

August 22 Religion: Reverends John Eliot and John Cotton found an Indian church on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, assisted by Hiacoomes and Tackanash, two educated, converted Native Americans. Hiacoomes is also the first ordained Native American, and preaches in the Congregationalist tradition.

September 29 Business: Cree Indians arrive at the mouth of the Rupert River, Hudson Bay, to establish relations with English traders. This encounter marks the commencement of organized trade in the Hudson Bay region.

October 3 Politics: The Virginia assembly affirms that suffrage is restricted to freeholders (landowners).

October 13 Slavery: In Virginia, lifelong bondage is disallowed for Africans who convert to Christianity before arriving in the colony. After some reflection, this provision will be repealed in 1682.

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December 18 Politics: The restored proprietary government of Maryland restricts suffrage to wealthy freeholders.

1671 Diplomacy: The Chippewa of the Great Lakes region sign a treaty with New France at Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. Religion: George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), visits several American colonies as the sect gradually starts to expand. Stephen Mumford founds the first Seventh-Day Adventist church at Newport, Rhode Island. This particular creed maintains that the Sabbath should be observed on the last day of the week (Saturday). Slavery: The Maryland legislature expands a law declaring that conversion of African slaves to Christianity does not change their legal status as slaves. In this manner owners can safely convert their slaves without fear of losing them.

March 4 Politics: Governor William Sayle of Carolina province dies and is replaced by Joseph West.

April 10 Military: Chief Metacom (known to the colonists as King Philip owing to his haughty demeanor) parades his fully armed warriors through the town of Swansea as a warning to the English not to expand their settlements. He is then pressured by colonial authorities to surrender his arms and only makes a token delivery. He is arrested by Puritan authorities, then released, but the experience of detention galvanizes him to prepare his Wampanoags and nearby tribes for eventual war with the English. With this expectation, he begins agitating among the Nipmuc, Narragansett, and Abenaki for a military alliance. Curiously, his cousin, Awashonks, female sachem of the Sogonate band of the Wampanoag, determines to steer a neutral course amid rising tensions between English and Native Americans.

June 14 General: At Sault Ste. Marie, Simon Francois Daumot, sieur de St. Lusson, takes possession of Lakes Huron and Superior in the name of King Louis XIV.

August 25 Politics: The Carolina assembly is summoned for the first time by Governor Joseph West.

December 14 Politics: Sir John Yeamans, the sole landgrave present in the Carolinas, claims to outrank Joseph West and successfully applies for a commission from the English government.

1672 Business: Considering the hardships involved, New York officials hire Indian runners to handle mail traffic between that city and Albany.

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(1638–1676)

Wampanoag chief Metacom, known to the English by his adopted name, Philip, was born in south-­ ern Massachusetts in 1638, a son of Mas-­ sasoit, sachem of the Wampanoag tribe. He matured during a period of harmony between his people and newly arrived English colonists at Plymouth, although the incessant expansion of whites onto Indian land engendered friction. None-­ theless, when Massasoit died in 1661, his eldest son, Wamsutta, (Alexander) tried to maintain the veneer of friendly relations. However, as the Indians grew increasingly aloof and resentful of the neighbors, Puri-­ tan authorities in Massachusetts suspected a conspiracy was afoot. They then hauled Alexander before the General Court and interrogated him for several days, after which he was released and died. Metacom then succeeded him in 1662 and suspected his brother had been poisoned by the English. An uneasy peace prevailed for a decade until the colonists again suspected Indian intentions and ordered Metacom before the court. He dutifully appeared and was ordered to disarm his tribe; the chief did so only sullenly and partially. Worse, by now he felt that English encroach-­ ments were threatening the very existence of his people and he sent runners out to neighboring tribes to form an anti-­English alliance. The fractious nature of Native American cultures militated against such a commonsense expedience, but by 1675 Metacom had forged an alliance of several tribes. This fact apparently came to the attention of John Sassamon, a Christian Indian who alerted the English of impend-­ ing war. When Sassamon was found mur-­ dered in January 1675, the English arrested and executed three Wampanoag they sus-­

pected were responsible. Six months later, in June, Metacom was ready to exact his vengeance. King Philip’s War, 1675–76, proved a searing experience to the inhabitants of New England, English and Native Ameri-­ can alike. Metacom’s warriors, aided by the Nipmuck, Sakonnet, and Pocasset tribes, easily overran and terrorized scattered and isolated communities across the breadth of Massachusetts. The English, after a halt-­ ing start, finally launched a large winter offensive that, in December, crushed the Narragansett under Canonchet, and also began systematically burning Indian vil-­ lages. The ensuing cat and mouse game of (continues)

Wampanoag chief Metacom (Library of Congress)

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(continued) guerrilla war took its toll on both sides, but the Indians suffered more. By the spring of 1676, Captain Benjamin Church had trained a body of Englishmen to employ Indian tactics, and he also hired dissident Indians as scouts. The noose slowly tightened around Metacom and, in May 1676, Church overran his camp, capturing his wife and child who were then sold into slavery. The chief was finally shot and

killed by one of Church’s Indian scouts on August 12, 1676, and his head was displayed at Plymouth for two decades as a warning to other tribes. Metacom’s passing signified that the balance of power in New England had passed irrevocably to the English. A pattern of warfare, displacement, and subjugation was established for Native Americans across North America for the next two centuries.

Religion: Quaker leader George Fox arrives in America and begins touring the colonies in anticipation of large-scale Quaker migration there. He returns home brimming with enthusiasm for creation of a Quaker commonwealth. Slavery: The House of Burgesses passes a bounty on the heads of Maroons, escaped African-American slaves living as fugitives in the forests, swamps, and mountains of the colony. Of late, many have formed bands and attacked towns and communities.

March Military: The Third Anglo-Dutch War begins in Europe, and one of the first Dutch priorities is reconquering their former colony at New Amsterdam.

May 15 Law: John Usher’s The General Laws and Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony receives the first-ever American copyright, granting the author exclusive rights for seven years. The penalty for infringement amounts to three times the manufacturing cost.

September 27 Business: The Royal African Company is chartered as a monopoly by King Charles II and authorized to export slaves to the North American colonies and British holdings in the Caribbean. It becomes a driving force behind the Atlantic slave trade, delivering thousands of helpless blacks to the New World, until the charter expires in 1698.

October 2 Military: Spanish officials in St. Augustine, Florida, commence construction of Castillo de San Marcos which, after Quebec, is one of the most heavily fortified outposts in North America. Work on it continues until 1756.

1673 Business: The Navigation Act of 1673 assesses duties on enumerated products at all ports of clearance to prevent colonial vessels from stopping at European ports en route to England. The act also allows for the appointment of customs officials to collect all duties.

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Military: The Iroquois Five Nations begin to roll back the tide of Susquehannock incursions into their territory, although English supply the latter with firearms in Maryland. Politics: Josiah Winslow becomes the first native-born American to serve as governor by taking office in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Sports: A fencing school opens in Boston, suggesting that Puritans are becoming more tolerant of recreational activities.

January 1 Business: Regular mail service on horseback commences over the Boston Post Road between Boston and New York, with postage costing users nine pence per letter. Although the journey takes three weeks, this road becomes the first significant transportation network in the colonies.

February 25 Politics: King Charles II allows the colony of Virginia to be appropriated by Lords Arlington and Culpepper on a proprietary basis for the next 31 years.

May 17 Exploration: Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet embark from the Mackinac Straits and venture down Lake Michigan.

June 17 Exploration: Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet discover a route to the Mississippi River by way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. They paddle downstream as far as the Arkansas River before returning to Green Bay.

July 17 Exploration: Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet again paddle the Mississippi River as far as present-day Arkansas. They then return to Mackinac, convinced that the “Father of Waters” reached down to the Gulf of Mexico.

August 7 Military: A force of 23 Dutch warships and 1,600 soldiers under Cornelius Evertsen anchor off New York to take back the colony seized by the English. When an offer to surrender is refused by Captain John Manning the ships assume bombardment positions and shell the defenders.

August 8 Military: English defenders of New York surrender to the Dutch under Captain Anthony Clove, newly appointed as governor general.

August 15 Military: Dutch forces sweep up the Hudson River, quickly recapturing Esopus and Albany, New York.

August 17 Politics: Dutch authorities are appointed to administer New Orange (New York) while English settlements in New Jersey and Long Island submit peacefully.

September 11 Exploration: James Needham, an indentured servant, and nine Indians conclude a four-month expedition through the backwoods of the western Virginia frontier (Tennessee), being favorably impressed with the terrain encountered there.

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This engraving shows Marquette and Jolliet exploring the Mississippi River. (Library of Congress)

1674 Education: Harvard College appoints Reverend Increase Mather as a fellow. In this capacity, he stresses the study of science, yet cultivates the school’s traditional ties to Congregationalism.

February 19 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Westminster ends the Third Anglo-Dutch War and restores New York back to the English.

March 18 Settlement: Lord John Berkley transfers his interest in New Jersey to Edward Byllynge and John Fenwick, Quakers.

June 13 Politics: Sir Philip Carteret gains reappointment as governor of New Jersey and attempts collecting back rents due. A rebellion breaks out. This is the first such act of defiance in the colonies. Slavery: Reverend John Eliot, having succeeded with Native Americans, begins agitating for educating African-American slaves and indentured servants throughout America.

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Sports: The government of Plymouth, Massachusetts, outlaws horse racing; violators face either a five-shilling fine or a one-hour stint in the stocks.

June 29 General: The duke of York obtains a patent for all land between the St. Croix and Kennebec Rivers in Maine, as well as that situated between the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers. He also appoints Sir Edmund Andros to be governor general.

July 1 Politics: The duke of York appoints soldier Sir Edmund Andros to be governor of New York.

August 8 Politics: The duke of York grants Sir Philip Carteret a title to lands in New Jersey north of Barnegat Creek on the Atlantic Ocean to Rankokus Kill on the Delaware River. This was formerly owned by Lord John Berkley, who sold his proprietary rights to Quakers.

November 10 Military: Dutch forces in New York formally surrender to Sir Edmund Andros, A deputy to the duke of York who has also been appointed governor of the newlyacquired region.

December Military: John Sassamon, a Christianized, Harvard-educated Indian, warns English leaders at Plymouth that Chief Metacom is preparing to attack them. He is subsequently found in a frozen pond with his neck broken.

December 4 General: Father Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet return to Montreal, New France, after completing an epic, 2,500-mile sojourn into the interior. Among their many accomplishments was building a mission on the site of modern-day Chicago, Illinois.

1675 Business: The duke of York charters a fishing corporation in New York, the first such institution in North America. Diplomacy: The English government appoints a Board of Commissioners and a Secretary of Indian Affairs stationed at Albany, New York. Education: Twelve-year old Cotton Mather becomes the youngest student ever admitted to Harvard College. Law: Connecticut’s sumptuary laws land 38 young women in trouble for allegedly lavish fashions, while 30 young men are arrested for wearing garments made of silk and sporting long hair. Military: The Iroquois Five Nations launch a concerted attempt to drive the Susquehannock tribes out of Pennsylvania and into Maryland and Virginia. They are largely successful, and the displaced Indians begin making trouble for white settlers along the Virginia frontier.

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Chronology of American History Religion: Quakers under the leadership of John Fenwick land at Salem, New Jersey. They will establish their first colonies in the Delaware Valley.

January 19 Military: A war band of hostile Indians attacks the settlement of Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, killing several inhabitants, burning 50 wagonloads of hay and killing 80 horses.

February 14 Politics: William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, and Nicholas Lucas obtain rights to West Jersey from Edward Byllynge. All are Quakers.

May 3 Religion: A Massachusetts law requires church doors to be locked to prevent parishioners from leaving before the sermon has ended.

June Politics: Sir Edmund Andros makes an unwelcome appearance at Saybrook, Connecticut, claiming all of that colony west of the Connecticut River for the duke of York. Settlement: John Fenwick leads newly arrived Quakers ashore at Salem, New Jersey, prior to colonizing the Delaware Valley.

June 8 Diplomacy: Colonial authorities arrest and execute three Indians charged with murdering an Indian informant, John Sassamon. They were convicted by a jury composed of whites and six Christianized “Praying Indians.” The colonists further suspect an Indian conspiracy is afoot, but the Wampanoags are infuriated by the loss of three members, who they maintain are innocent. They are further angered by what they see as English interference in tribal affairs.

June 20–24 Military: Fearing for their lives, the residents of Swansea, Massachusetts, flee for the safety of Plymouth. Wampanoag Indians under Chief Metacom (King Philip) then surround the town in a noisy display until one of their number is shot and killed. They then stage a successful attack upon Swansea, plundering it and ransacking several neighboring settlements.

June 23 Military: A Wampanoag war party comes upon several settlers at Gardner’s Neck (Mattapoiset), Massachusetts, killing eight and displaying their heads at their village of Kickamuit. Other Indians stealthily approached Mile’s Garrison in Swansea, killing three soldiers.

June 28 Military: A Rhode Island militia under Captain Benjamin Church engages a smaller force of Indians near Mount Hope (Taunton), Massachusetts, where Metacom resides, and are rebuffed. This defeat induces Church to contemplate copying Indian ways of warfare.

June 29 Military: Wampanoags under Chief Metacom attack the towns of Rehoboth and Taunton, Massachusetts. Pursuing militia chase and contain them at Pocassett Swamp.

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Church, Benjamin (1639–1718) Militia officer Benjamin Church was born into a Puritan family at Duxbury, Massachusetts, where he worked as a carpenter. In 1675, he helped found a settlement at present-day Little Compton, Rhode Island, which brought him into everyday contact with local Indians. Unlike many contemporaries, Church developed an abiding respect of and friendship for Native Americans. And, being militarily inclined, he closely observed and understood their manner of warfare. When the Wampanoag under Metacom rose in 1676 and initiated King Philip’s War, Church was commissioned a captain of the Plymouth militia. One of his first acts was to boldly stride into the camp of the Sakonnet Indians and persuade Awashonks, a female sachem, to remain neutral. However, he failed to convince Puritan authorities to go after the Indians in the field rather than simply build fortifications, to maintain the initiative. Church then fought in several skirmishes with the Indians, and was wounded twice at the Great Swamp Fight of December 16, 1675, which scattered the Narragansett. In light of his demonstrable prowess, Governor Josiah Winslow appointed Church commander of all Plymouth forces with authority to raise a specially trained European company versed in Indian tactics. He also went to great lengths to recruit Indians who were dissatisfied with Metacom’s leadership and were willing to help the English. Church then raided and burned numerous villages, capturing the chief ’s wife and child on August 1, 1676. Metacom himself was cornered on August 12, 1676, at

present-day Bristol, Rhode Island, and killed by an Indian working for Church. This act effectively ended the war and made Church a hero throughout New England. Church returned to the field as a major during King William’s War (1689–97), and conducted many large raids upon French and Indian settlements in Maine and Nova Scotia, but his mixed English/Indian forces met with mixed results compared with his earlier successes. In 1696, when the General Court of Massachusetts failed to grant what he considered adequate compensation, Church angrily resigned his commission. He subsequently served as a colonel throughout Queen Anne’s War (1702–13) and led a successful raid that captured and burned the town of Les Mines in 1704. However, most of his actions met with mixed results and he was also roundly criticized for allowing a group of French captives to be murdered by allied Indians in 1704. The aged Church, reputedly so corpulent that he could scarcely mount a horse, died in Little Compton on January 17, 1718, when he fell out of his saddle. He was the first American-born war hero and an accomplished Indian fighter at a critical juncture in New England’s military history. More than any other individual, Church facilitated the eventual English victory in King Philip’s War and probably saved the colony from extinction. His unique melding of European and Native American tactics presaged the innovations of the famous Major Robert Rogers by nearly a century.

July Military: In Virginia, bands of Nanticoke and Susquehannock Indians, driven from their homelands by hostile Iroquois, begin harassing English colonial

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Chronology of American History settlements. The plantation owned by Thomas Matthews is particularly hard hit and loses its overseer. These acts prompt Governor William Berkeley to raise militia forces for the protection of frontier settlements, and he also proposes joint actions with nearby Maryland forces.

July 1 Military: Connecticut militia are dispatched to assist in the war against Metacom. However, they are recalled when New York militia occupies a strip of disputed territory in their absence.

July 8 Military: Captain Benjamin Church, impatient with waiting for reinforcements, darts into Pocasset Swamp with 20 volunteers. There they are trapped by 300 Indians and besieged for six hours until rescued by a boat of militiamen.

July 14 Military: Nipmuc tribesmen under Matoonas attack Mendon, Massachusetts, killing six.

July 19 Military: Captain Benjamin Church, now reinforced to 200 men and 50 allied Indians, believes he has Chief Metacom penned in his traditional home on Mount Hope Peninsula, where the European-trained militiamen plunge headlong after him. A stiff fight ensues in the middle of a great cedar swamp, and the English lose eight killed and several wounded.

July 29 Military: Chief Metacom escapes from Pocasset Swamp as New England militia are building a fort nearby. He is pursued by Plymouth troops and allied Mohegan Indians, who withdraw two days later for want of supplies. Once Metacom arrives in allied Nipmuc territory, he begin gathering warriors for an all-out assault.

August 1 Military: English militia led by Captain Daniel Henchman, aided by Mohegan warriors, surprises a group of Wampanoags under Onecas in their village at Nipsachuck (Rhode Island), driving the defenders into a nearby swamp. They escape capture the next day.

August 2–3 Military: Hostile Nipmuc and Wampanoag ambush Connecticut militia under Captains Edward Hutchinson and Thomas Wheeler near Brookfield, Massachusetts, killing eight and wounding five. The Indians then attack and burn the settlement, taking 83 colonial prisoners.

August 4 Military: A combined English-Indian force under Major Simon Willard attacks hostile Indians in the vicinity of Brookfield, Massachusetts, freeing 83 hostages.

August 19 Military: Hostile Indians attack the settlement of Lancaster, Massachusetts.

August 22 Military: A Nashaway war party led by Monoco attacks and burns a house in Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing seven settlers.

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August 24 Military: Indian war parties raid in the vicinity of Springfield, Massachusetts.

August 25 Military: Two militia companies under Captains Richard Beers and Thomas Lothrop engage a body of Nipmuc Indians at Hopewell Swamp, Massachusetts, slaying upwards of 40 warriors for a loss of 10. As the battle rages they receive welcome reinforcements under Captain Samuel Moseley. The engagement also brings tribesmen living in the Connecticut Valley into King Philip’s War.

September Military: In Virginia, a column of 1,000 Virginia and Maryland militia confronts the main settlement of Susquehannock Indians, who deny any role in recent attacks against settlers. They nonetheless hand five chiefs over to the English for execution before the militia suddenly attacks and besieges them anyway. The bulk of warriors manages to escape two days later.

September 1–5 Military: Rampaging Indians attack the Connecticut Valley, burning the towns of Hadley, Deerfield, and Northfield, an act prompting Captain Richard Beers to march his company to Northfield to assist the garrison.

September 4 Military: Captain Richard Beer’s militia company of 36 men is ambushed en route to Northfield, and he is killed, along with most of his men, at Saw Mill Brook. The following day a relief company arrives to find the decapitated remains of the militia.

September 9 Military: Faced with a pressing emergency, the United Colonies Council formally declares war against Metacom and any tribes assisting him. The confederation is then ordered to provide for a 1,000-man army. At this juncture, Governor Josiah Winslow of Plymouth begins arguing for a preemptive attack upon the large and potentially dangerous Narragansett tribe.

September 12 Military: Hostile Indians begin raiding Falmouth, Maine, killing upwards of 80 settlers by December. This day they also launch a second, unsuccessful raid upon Deerfield, Massachusetts.

September 18 Military: A Deerfield militia company under Captain Thomas Lathrop escorts a supply train carrying corn from Pocumtuck (Deerfield) and is ambushed at Bloody Brook while en route to Hadley, Massachusetts. Apparently, the English allowed themselves to be surprised along a narrow defile after failing to post either advance or flank guards. Large numbers of Wampanoags, Nipmucs, and Pocumtucks lurking in the woods then swarmed over the defenders, killing 64 colonials, including Captain Lathrop. The survivors are saved at the last minute by a company of men under Major Robert Treat and Captain Samuel Moseley. This is one of Metacom’s most significant victories over the English, and Increase Mather was moved to pronounce it a “black and terrible day.” It also underscores the superiority of Indian tactics over conventional European ones in a heavily wooded region.

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September 26 Military: A party of hostile Agawam Indians attacks the settlement at Springfield, Massachusetts, burning some houses and a mill before retiring.

September 27 Military: Virginia militia under John Washington and Marylanders under Thomas Trueman fail to destroy a concentration of hostile Susquehannock Indians at Piscataway Creek, Virginia. Their failure emboldens the warriors to commit atrocities across the frontier.

October 2 Military: Spanish forces begin constructing the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, one of the most formidable defensive structures in North America. It will not be fully completed until 1756.

October 5 Military: Hostile Agawam again attack the settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, burning 30 houses, killing three and wounding four. A relief force of 200 men under Captains Samuel Appleton and Joseph Sill make a timely appearance and chase the attackers off.

October 12 Military: Indian warriors stage their final attack upon Springfield, Massachusetts, only to find the settlers alert and barricaded in the houses. They then burn a few buildings, steal some cattle, and withdraw.

October 16 Military: Indians successfully ambush and nearly annihilate a militia company at Salmon Falls (Hatfield) as they marched to aid the defenders of Kittery (Maine).

October 19 Military: A scouting party detached from the company commanded by Captain Samuel Moseley is ambushed by hostile tribesmen at Harfield, Massachusetts, with only two survivors. The Indians under Muttawump then lay siege to the village, which was prepared to receive them, and they withdraw.

November 2 Military: The Massachusetts Bay Colony, convinced that the large Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island has been aiding and abetting Indian hostility, declares war on them. Governor Josiah Winslow of Massachusetts then gathers seven companies of militia under Major Samuel Appleton and marches toward South Kingston, Rhode Island, for a preemptive strike against the Narragansett. En route, they are joined by 158 Plymouth militia under Major William Bradford. As they march, various allied Indian bands join them.

December 15 Military: Indians ambush a small party of militia detached from Captain James Oliver’s company at Smith’s Garrison (Wickford), Rhode Island, killing two.

December 16 Military: Indians attack and burn a fortified house at Bull’s Garrison (Pettaquamscut), Rhode Island, killing several settlers.

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December 19 Military: Assisted by an Indian deserter, Governor Josiah Winslow leads 1,000 colonial militia and 150 allied Mohegans through a blinding snowstorm to attack a large Narragansett enclave at Great Swamp (South Kingston), Rhode Island. Indian resistance is fierce, and several English attempts to entered the palisaded village are repelled, with heavy loss. Winslow then orders the various wigwams to be set on fire to burn the defenders out. Captain Benjamin Church, braving three wounds, then successfully breeches the faltering defenses. Around 600 Indians, including a large number of women and children, are put to the sword, while a further 300 are made captive. English losses are also heavy and include 14 company commanders and 200 wounded. Previously, Church had pleaded with superiors to shelter the wounded in the surviving wigwams, but these were burned as well. Consequently, many soldiers die of exposure as they are transported back to camp, 16 miles distant, in freezing weather. Hereafter Chief Canonchet is firmly in Metacom’s camp and his surviving warriors begin a relentless assault on settlements throughout Rhode Island. The Great Swamp Fight is also the largest encounter of King Philip’s War and the costliest one, in terms of casualties, to either side.

Canonchet

(d. 1676)

Narragansett chief Canonchet was probably born in the late 16th century in southern Rhode Island, a son of Chief Miantonomo. His tribe, the Narragansett, were indigenous to the region and among the first Indians encountered by early European explorers, who commented on their fine physiques and friendly demeanor. In fact, Miantonomo had previously signed a peace treaty with English settlers in Massachusetts, then watched as their settlements expanded onto Indian land, driving the original inhabitants out. This process also continued once Canonchet was made chief sometime in the 1660s. By 1675 tensions with the nearby Wampanoag exploded into bloody hostilities when Chief Metacom initiated what became known as King Philip’s War. For many months into the conflict, the colonists were hard pressed to contain the aggressive warrior bands, and there were fears that if the Narragansett joined the fray, they would be overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Puritan authorities had invited Canonchet to Boston for talks, and on June 15, 1675, he reaffirmed his pledge to remain neutral. As the year wore on and the colonists were still suffering defeats at the hands of Metacom’s warriors, the Puritans demanded that Canonchet surrender any or all Wampanoags living among his people. The chief, who considered this demand a violation of tribal sovereignty, refused. His recalcitrance convinced many colonials that he was secretly in league with Metacom, so that fall, Governor Josiah Winslow organized a 1,000-man expedition into the Narragansett heartland. On December 16, 1676, the Great Swamp Fight was waged whereby the Europeans attacked and slaughtered a large portion of the Narragansett tribe living in a palisaded village. Nearly 1,000 Indians were slain in this effective preemptive strike, (continues)

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(continued) but the surviving Narragansett then joined Metacom’s coalition. Canonchet, who had not been present at Great Swamp, immediately took the offensive against the English. A skilled warrior, he ambushed and annihilated the 40-man company of Captain Michael Pierce on March 26, 1676, near Providence, Rhode Island. This was one of the biggest defeats suffered by the colonists during the entire conflict, as were successful raids upon Warwick and Pawtucket, but the Indians gradually lost momentum as more and more of their villages were torched. At length a mixed company of militia and Indians under Captains James Avery and

George Denison were scouting through the Pawtucket Valley when they surprised and defeated an Indian foraging party. Among those captured was Canonchet, who was immediately taken to English authorities in Stonington, Connecticut, for trial. The tall, imposing chief scoffed at the death sentence pronounced on him and he was handed over to Pequot, Mohegan, and Niantic allies for execution. The destruction of the Narragansett demonstrated that the balance of power in New England had swung irrevocably over to the Europeans, and mighty Canonchet’s demise, in particular, signaled the end of Indian sovereignty throughout that region.

1676 Business: Massachusetts begins regulating the price of shoes based on size. Politics: In an attempt to assert royal authority, Edward Randolph arrives in Boston, Massachusetts, as a special agent for the Crown. He is tasked with evaluating how closely Bay Colony authorities have been enforcing the Navigation Acts, as well as investigating claims of religious intolerance, the refusal to take or administer oaths to the Crown, and denying the right of appeal to the Privy Council Slavery: English Quaker William Edmondson addresses a letter to slaveholders throughout North America, arguing that slavery is inimical to Christianity. He urges that the practice be abolished at once. The Quaker-dominated legislature of West Jersey outlaws the practice of slavery.

January Law: To discourage ostentatious dress among the lower orders, a new Connecticut law mandates that anyone found wearing silk, or gold or silver lace was to be assessed and taxed at a rate of 150 pounds. Military: Vengeful Susquehannocks, still smarting over the execution of five of their chiefs, attack English settlements along the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, killing 36. Political anger is directed at Governor William Berkeley over his failure to adequately protect the frontier. Further resentment arises from Berkeley’s perceived favoritism toward the Indians, having granted the Powhatan Confederacy a large tract of land north of the York River. Newly arriving settlers and established freedmen (former servants) covet this region, desiring to become landowners themselves.

February 5 Military: Despite entreaties by Governor Josiah Winslow, his army of 1,000 colonial militia begins disbanding for the winter.

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February 10 Military: Nipmuc Indians attack and burn the village of Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing all the men and taking women and children hostage. Among them is Mary Rowlandson, wife of a Puritan minister, who later publishes a narrative of her experiences in captivity. Help arrives when Captain Samuel Wadsworth’s company arrives and drives off the natives, but the town is nearly gutted and has to be abandoned six weeks later.

February 21 Military: Hostile Nipmuc and Narragansett Indians attack the settlement of Medford, Massachusetts, defeating the militia company, burning half the town, and killing 20 civilians. Indian depredations come within 10 miles of Boston before being halted.

February 28 Military: The town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is attacked by hostile Nipmucs and Wampanoags under Metacom.

March 12 Military: Despite heavy defeats, Indian raids continue with increasing boldness, and the Puritan stronghold of Plymouth, Massachusetts, is not spared. This day, a force of Wampanoags under Totoson attacked Clark’s Garrison on the Eel River, wiping out the defenders and removing their weapons.

March 13 Military: A raiding party of Nipmuc and Narragansett attack Groton, Massachusetts, burning 65 homes. The survivors are subsequently relocated to Boston.

March 26 Military: Indians attack Captain Michael Pierce’s company of militia along the Pawtuxet River, Rhode Island, killing 42 soldiers. At length, the survivors are reinforced by Captain Andrew Edmunds’s company, who is late on account of attending church.

March 29–30 Military: The town of Providence, Rhode Island, is attacked and burned by hostile Narragansett. This was despite the fact that Roger Williams, an old tribal friend, parleyed with them on the outskirts of town.

April 11 Military: English militia under Captain George Denison, assisted by friendly Pequot, Mohegan, and Niantic, attack and disperse a gathering of Narragansett near Mount Hope (Seekonk, Massachusetts). They kill 50 Indians and capture 40, including Chief Canonchet, who is taken in chains to Hartford, Connecticut.

April 18 Military: Hostile Indians raid Sudbury, Massachusetts, killing 30 colonists.

April 20 Military: A Virginia militia under Nathaniel Bacon, operating without a commission, attacks some Susquehannock at their fort, killing several. They then turn on their Occoneechee allies, killing them as well. The Virginia polity at this time is very upset with the policies of Governor William Berkeley, who has been

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April 21 Military: Chief Metacom leads 900 warriors on a retaliatory raid against Green Hill (Sudbury), Massachusetts, engaging militia reinforcements under Captains Samuel Wadsworth and Samuel Brocklebank in a bloody, inconclusive battle. The Indians withdraw at sunset, having killed at least 30 soldiers.

May 2 Military: English captive Mary Rowlandson is ransomed and freed by the Indians.

May 5 Military: Captain Daniel Henchman, assisted by 40 Christian “Praying Indians,” attacks the Wampanoag settlement at Hassanamassett, Massachusetts, killing 11 warriors.

May 10 Politics: Disgruntled settler Nathaniel Bacon continues illegally taking up arms to fight rampaging Susquehannock along the Virginia frontier. His actions directly challenge the authority of Governor Sir William Berkeley to the delight of small plantation owners angry at the political establishment.

Bacon, Nathaniel (1647–1676) Colonial rebel Nathaniel Bacon was born in Suffolk, England, on January 2, 1647, a cousin of Sir Francis Bacon. Idle and listless as a youth, he attended St. Catherine’s Hall, Cambridge, before withdrawing and being tutored at home. He eventually resumed his study at St. Catherine’s and graduated with a degree in 1668. Shortly afterward, he was involved in an attempt to defraud a man of his inheritance and was sent by his family to Virginia in 1674 to begin anew. Bacon purchased a large tract of land along the James River and was eventually elected to the council of Governor Sir William Berkeley, to whom he was also related. At this time the colony was experiencing mounting unrest owing to

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the oligarchic tendencies of Berkeley, whose policies favored merchants over planters, and who insisted that treaty obligations with nearby Indians be scrupulously observed. As situated, the Indians formed a barrier to ambitious arrivals seeking new land, and their somewhat callous treatment of Native Americans increased frontier friction. Tension peaked in July 1675, when some Doeg Indians killed a settler for failing to pay his debts, and a frontier war began. Settlers in the region demanded action from the government at Jamestown, but all Governor Berkeley was willing to do was build fortifications. Bacon then took it upon himself to organize punitive measures against the Indians without an offi-

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May 12 Military: Wampanoag raiders attack the settlement of Hatfield, Massachusetts, stampeding a large body of cattle into the woods. A nearby force of militia under Captain William Turner arrives on the scene and decides to pursue the intruders.

May 19 Military: Captain William Turner leads 180 Massachusetts mounted troops in a surprise attack on a large body of Wampanoag fishing at Peskeompskut (Connecticut River Falls, Massachusetts), killing around 100 and capturing 50. The English are then ambushed on their return march back to Hadley, losing 38 men along with Captain Turner. However, this is a crushing defeat for the Indians, who can no longer sustain operations in the Connecticut River Valley. It also places a severe strain on Metacom’s alliance, now on the verge of splintering.

May 26 Politics: Governor William Berkeley declares Nathaniel Bacon a rebel for illegally taking up arms to fight the Indians without a royal commission. He also calls for the first legislative elections in many years and Bacon wins the seat from Henrico County.

May 30 Military: A surprise Indian raid upon Hatfield, Massachusetts, results in 12 burned buildings and the loss of considerable livestock.

cial commission, and he attacked and slaughtered members of two friendly tribes. Bacon’s illegal activity against the Indians greatly increased his popularity and he was consequently elected to the House of Burgesses from Henrico County. However, after he arrived at Jamestown to take his seat, Berkeley had him arrested and imprisoned. Bacon then feigned contriteness and was released, whereupon he fled back to the frontier to raise an army. The governor then declared him a rebel, but Bacon marched on Jamestown, driving the administration out before him. Now in de facto control of Virginia, he issued a “Declaration of the People” to the inhabitants to justify his actions, raised new forces, and returned to the frontier to fight the Indians. In his absence Berkeley regrouped and recaptured Jamestown, again

declaring him a rebel. Bacon then marched back and laid siege to Jamestown, forcing Berkeley to flee to the eastern shore again. However, because the governor controlled the waterways with numerous warships, Bacon did not want to be trapped in the city, so he burned it and withdrew back to the interior. This act caused a loss of support for his rebellion, and an impasse ensued, broken only by Bacon’s sudden and unexpected death at Green Spring, Virginia, on October 26, 1676. This should have ended the violence, but Berkeley, once back in control, vindictively arrested several collaborators under an amnesty program and executed them in the spring of 1677. In sum, Bacon’s activities were more those of an ambitious opportunist than a genuine revolutionary, regardless of pretensions to the contrary.

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June Military: Captain Benjamin Church receives from the Council of the United Colonies permission to raise a mixed body of militia and Indians, schooled in the way of frontier fighting. This represents a major boost to colonial fighting capabilities.

June 2 Military: An English force of 440 soldiers and allied Indians under Major John Talcott encounters a force of Pequot at Wabaquasset, north of Norwich, Connecticut, and gives battle. Talcott kills or captures 52 hostiles, then continues marching on to Quabaug.

June 5 Politics: Nathaniel Bacon, newly elected member of the House of Burgesses, is arrested by Governor William Berkeley for illegally taking up arms without a commission. Bacon is contrite, pardoned, and released from prison, then returns to Henrico County to begin raising a body of 500 men. Surprisingly, his ensuing “rebellion” begins receiving wide support among poor whites, indentured servants, and African-American slaves.

June 7 Military: A militia company under Captain Daniel Henchman catches a body of hostile Indians fishing at Washaccum Pond, Massachusetts, and they attack, killing seven and seizing 29.

June 12 Military: Chief Metacom attacks Hadley, Massachusetts, a second time, only to be repulsed by Connecticut Valley militia under John Talcott, assisted by friendly Pequot and Mohegan warriors. The latter crept into the enemy camp during the battle, killing many women and children.

June 23 Military: Nathaniel Bacon marches into Jamestown, Virginia, at the head of 500 militiamen, demanding an official militia commission to fight the Indians. The aristocratic Governor Sir William Berkeley is cowed into acquiescence, and Bacon departs for the frontier. The House of Burgesses is also emboldened into passing democratic legislative reforms.

July 2 Military: Connecticut militia under Major John Talcott attacks and kills 170 Indians in a swamp near Pautucket (Pawtucket), Rhode Island.

July 11 Politics: By terms of the Qunitipartite Deed, the western half of New Jersey is divided into East Jersey under Sir Philip Carteret and West Jersey under the authority of Quakers William Penn and Edward Byllynge.

July 20 Military: Colonial militia disperses a large gathering of hostile Indians at Nipsachuck in northern Rhode Island.

July 25 Military: English militia manage to kill Chief Pomham of the Narragansett and several warriors in an action near Mendon, Massachusetts.

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July 27 Military: A joint Anglo-Indian force under Captain Samuel Harding surprises a party of Narragansett near Dedham, Massachusetts, killing 15 and capturing 34. However, Harding is killed in action.

July 29 Military: Governor Sir William Berkeley, upon further reflection, withdraws Nathaniel Bacon’s militia commission and begins raising militia forces of his own. Furthermore, he again declares Bacon a rebel but not before the latter’s troops have attacked the neutral Pamunkey tribe in Great Dragon Swamp. The enraged Indians begin assembling for war.

August 1 Military: Captain Benjamin Church attacks Chief Metacom’s camp near Taunton River, Massachusetts, seizing his wife and son, who are eventually sold into slavery. A total of 173 Indians are killed that day, including Metacom’s uncle Unkompoin. The wily chief escapes capture again, however.

August 3 Politics: Virginia planters meet and swear their allegiance to Nathaniel Bacon at Middle Plantation.

August 12 Military: Captain Benjamin Church leads a force of 18 soldiers and 22 Indian allies to Bridgewater Swamp (Assowamset Swamp, Bristol, Rhode Island), where Chief Metacom of the Wampanoag is allegedly hiding. He is found with his entourage and attempts to flee but is shot and killed by Alderman, a friendly Indian serving under Church. Vengeful militiamen remove his head, and it is triumphantly paraded through the streets of Plymouth, Massachusetts, then placed on public display for 20 years. His death also signals the conclusion of King Philip’s War, whereby Native Americans failed to overcome smaller numbers of better armed European settlers in a stand-up fight. This sets the pattern of conquest over the next two centuries.

August 14 Military: An Abenaki woman is allowed into the English settlement of Arrowsic, Maine, for the night. She somehow opens the gates and many warriors rush in, killing most of the inhabitants.

August 28 Military: The last remaining Wampanoag Indians formally surrender to the English.

September Military: William Dayves and John Pate orchestrate a brief rebellion against proprietary authorities in Maryland but are crushed and eventually hung. The episode only underscores mounting anti-Catholic sentiments in the colony.

September 6 Military: Major Richard Waldron invites 400 eastern Indians into his fortified stockade at Dover, New Hampshire, for trading purposes, at which point they are surrounded by armed guards, captured, and shipped off to Boston. Once there, half are hung and the rest sold off into slavery. The tribesmen never forgot nor forgave Waldron for his treachery.

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September 11 Military: Captain Benjamin Church captures and executes Annawon, a senior Wampanoag war chief. This is one of the concluding acts of King Philip’s War, the bloodiest conflict in proportion to numbers engaged of American history. In one year, an estimated 600 colonists have been killed, while Indians have lost around 3,000—nearly half their total population. Fifty-two colonial settlements have also been damaged or destroyed, with 1,800 homes, barns, and warehouses burned to the ground. But the power of the New England tribes is forever shattered, and the tempo of European expansion inland continues unabated.

September 13 Military: Captain Nathaniel Bacon returns from the frontier and besieges Governor Sir William Berkeley’s forces at Jamestown. Previously, the House of Burgesses summoned Cockacoeske, wife of Totopotomoy, and now a female sachem of the Pamunkey, and asks for help. Instead, she angrily berates the English for past abuses against her people and only promises to supply 12 warriors.

September 16 Military: Virginia forces under Governor Sir William Berkeley attack the fortified camp of Nathaniel Bacon outside Jamestown, Virginia, and are repulsed,

During Bacon's Rebellion the farmers marched to Jamestown in September 1676, took over the House of Burgesses (shown here), and passed laws for reform. (Library of Congress)

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with the loss of 12 dead. Berkeley’s naval forces in the river also try to bombard Bacon’s main blockhouse, but he surrounds it with a chain of female prisoners to deter such an action.

September 19 Military: Forces loyal to Captain Nathaniel Bacon burn Jamestown; the ensuing loss of popular support enables Loyalist forces to regroup and chase the rebels back to Yorktown.

October Business: John Sparry opens one of Boston’s earliest coffeehouses.

October 18 Military: Nathaniel Bacon dies suddenly in Virginia, and the rebellion he instigated starts petering out. Most of the rebels and their leaders are then offered an amnesty. The main result of “Bacon’s Rebellion” is to lessen the use of white indentured servants in favor of more imported African slaves. It is hoped that the racial divide will unify all elements of the English community, rich and poor alike, in an effort to keep blacks under control.

November 8 Politics: Quaker leader John Fenwick is arrested for illegally assuming governmental powers, fined in New York, and eventually released.

1677 Military: Having dispensed with the Susquehannock, the Five Nations Iroquois seek to control the fur trade by exerting pressure into the Ohio Valley, antagonizing a number of tribes allied to France.

January 29 Politics: Governmental commissioners John Berry and Francis Moryson arrive at Jamestown, Virginia, to investigate and report on the recent disturbances there.

February 10 Politics: Governor William Berkeley nullifies royal pardons granted to rebels of the recent uprising, and 23 of them are executed.

March 13 General: The Lords of Trade will not recognize Massachusetts’s claim on Maine, so colonial agent John Usher purchases the land title from the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. It remains part of the Bay State until 1820. Politics: In Bergen, New Jersey, William Penn drafts the Laws, Concessions, and Agreements for the four proprietors of West Jersey. It provides for freedom of conscience, trial by jury, and no taxation without the consent of the governed. More significantly, it establishes the principle of separation of church and state. East Jersey, meanwhile, continues under the rule of Governor Sir Philip Carteret.

April 27 Politics: Colonel Herbert Jeffreys replaces Sir William Berkeley as governor of Virginia, halts all executions, and restores order.

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May 5 Politics: A disgraced Sir William Berkeley, stripped of political power, sails back to England.

May 6 Politics: Massachusetts Bay Colony buys the rights of Sir Ferdinando Gorges in southern Maine from his heirs.

May 29 Diplomacy: Virginia and several surviving members of the once-powerful Powhatan Confederacy conclude the Treaty of Middle Plantation, guaranteeing that each Indian village will receive land running three miles in each direction. The remaining acreage is to be appropriated by the colonists, and the Indians must also acknowledge colonial laws and courts. The English also grant a medal to Cockacoeske, female sachem of the Pamunkey, who had been instrumental in helping contain Bacon’s rebellion.

June 7 Politics: Royal agent Edward Randolph appears before the Lords of Trade and strongly indicts the Massachusetts Bay Colony for flouting English laws and regulations.

August Military: Sir Edmund Andros constructs a fort at Pemaquid, Maine, to afford protection against the Indians. Settlement: The first wave of Quaker emigrants to West Jersey arrives and establishes the town of Burlington. They bring their Concessions and Agreements with them.

September 9 Military: A hostile band of Mohawks under Ashpelon attacks Hatfield, Massachusetts, killing 12 settlers and taking 17 to Quebec for ransoming.

October 10 Politics: The Massachusetts General Court finally approves legislation intended to enforce the Navigation Acts.

December Exploration: René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, and Father Louis Hennepin encounter Niagara Falls in western New York as they embark on a trip from Canada into the American heartland.

December 3 Politics: John Culpepper leads an antiproprietary uprising in the Albemarle District, Carolina colony, to contest the arbitrary behavior of Governor Thomas Miller. Specifically, Culpepper and others oppose rigorous enforcement of the Navigation Acts and the summary arrest of George Durant, head of the “Popular Party.” Miller is arrested and confined to a log house but subsequently escapes to England and appeals to the Privy Council for reinstatement.

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Science: The Almanack, published by Thomas Brattle, displays a considerable command of astronomy. Having mastered the mathematical precepts of Sir Isaac Newton, he gradually establishes himself as the first colonial astronomer of note.

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April 12 Diplomacy: Sir Edmund Andros signs the Peace of Casco, Maine, with warring tribes, formally concluding King Philip’s War. Henceforth all captives are to be released to their families, and tribesmen are to receive a peck of corn annually for every white family settling in Maine.

May 16 Politics: The Lord of Trade seeks sanctions against the Massachusetts Bay Colony for gross violations of the Navigation Act and English law.

June 3 Politics: New York authorities warn John Fenwick to desist from acting as a governmental authority in West Jersey.

July 10 Politics: In a slap at Massachusetts, the English Crown converts New Hampshire into an independent royal colony.

October 26 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros, fed up with Quaker defiance in West Jersey, appoints his own governmental officials to that colony.

1679 Exploration: Daniel Greysolm, sieur DuLuth, discovers Lake Superior and the upper Mississippi River basin and claims it for France. General: Boston experiences a large, destructive fire that consumes 150 wooden houses. New city ordinances require future dwellings to be constructed of either stone or brick to minimize the danger. The first systematized approach to naming city streets is adopted in Newport, Rhode Island.

April 5 Politics: Governor Edmund Andros enters into a dispute with Governor Philip Carteret of New Jersey by levying a duty on all goods entering New Jersey ports.

June Military: Sir Edmund Andros dispatches militia forces that raid an Indian village in New Hampshire. The Indians retaliate by striking at Cocheo, killing several residents.

August 7 Naval: Robert-René de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, sails the vessel Le Griffon from Fort Niagara to Green Bay, Wisconsin, this being the first full-sized sailing vessel to ply the waters of the upper Great Lakes.

October 10 Business: Virginia enacts laws outlawing the importation of Carolina tobacco, forcing the proprietors there to employ New England vessels to convey their goods to New England prior to being transshipped to England. This is done in violation of the Navigation Acts but is ignored.

December Exploration: French explorer Rene Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, begins exploring through the north-central regions of North America, examining the mouth of the St. Joseph River by canoe.

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1680 Military: The Five Nations Iroquois dispatch 500 warriors into the heart of Illinois country to deal with the Miami, who have been trading with France. They capture two lodges and 3,000 beaver pelts before returning home with several Miami prisoners. However, they are less successful at persuading the Ottawa, who now control two-thirds of the fur trade with New France, into trading with them. Science: In a major accomplishment, Harvard mathematician Thomas Brattle accurately computes the orbit of Newton’s Comet. His discovery affords additional proof of Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of cometary orbits. Settlement: The first wave of Huguenot settlers arrives at Charles Town, Carolina, since designated as the seat of colonial governance. Slavery: The Virginia assembly passes its first slavery statute, mandating that all nonwhite non-Christians obtained by the colony are slaves for life. Furthermore, any conversion to Christianity does not mitigate their circumstances.

January 15 Diplomacy: René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, and Father Louis Hennepin erect Fort Crevecoeur along the Illinois River. There he winters among the Miami Indians and tries persuading them to join an Algonquian-speaking alliance against the Iroquois.

February 4 Politics: New Hampshire is separated from Massachusetts by a royal commission, and a new administration is instituted under Governor John Cutt.

April Military: Carolina militia attacks and defeats the Westo Indians, who had heretofore been their allies.

April 11 Exploration: Hostile Sioux Indians capture Father Louis Hennepin, a Recollet (Franciscan) friar while he explores along the Illinois River. As their prisoner, he was most likely the first European to behold the falls of the Mississippi River, which he christened St. Anthony’s Falls to honor his patron saint.

April 17 Religion: Kateri Tekakwitha, one of the first Mohawk nuns converted to Catholicism, dies at the age of 24 at the mission of Kahnawake. She is celebrated by Jesuits for her devotion to the creed, and in 1980 she will be beatified for possible sainthood.

April 30 Politics: Governor Philip Carteret of New Jersey is kidnapped and tried in New York for illegally exercising executive powers but is acquitted.

May 10 Politics: Sir Thomas Culpeper arrives in Virginia as the new royal governor, under orders to punish individuals responsible for obstructing the king’s 1677 inquiry into Bacon’s rebellion.

June 2 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros usurps the executive power of East Jersey, then dissolves the assembly for failing to recognize his authority.

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August 6 Politics: The duke of York finally validates Quaker proprietors and their claims to West Jersey.

September Politics: A royal commission from the English government separates the territory constituting New Hampshire from Massachusetts. On this basis it becomes a royal colony.

October 31 Slavery: The General Court of Massachusetts mandates that no vessel is to sail from the colony with African Americans on board unless it first secures a permit from the governor.

November 20 Politics: In England, John Culpeper, leader of a rebellion in Carolina, is tried by the Court of the King’s Bench and acquitted. He had been charged with treason by former governor Thomas Miller.

1681 Business: New France adopts a trading license system to better regulate the fur trade. Diplomacy: The Five Nations send emissaries to the Miami nation in the Illinois Territory and invites them to join their confederation, but they are dissuaded from doing so by the presence of René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. Law: In Roxbury, Massachusetts, Maria, slave of Joshua Lamb, is burned at the stake for allegedly setting her master’s house on fire. Slavery: The Maryland legislature passes a law declaring the racially mixed children of European mothers are legally free. This was enacted to counter the practice of colonial planters who encourage white indentured women to marry slaves so that their offspring are also enslaved. Societal: The appearance of a dancing master in Boston outrages Puritan officials, who drive him from the city.

February 1 Politics: Heirs of Sir George Carteret sell his East Jersey rights to William Penn and 11 other Quaker leaders.

March 4 Politics: William Penn receives a proprietary charter from King Charles II that limits his authority over settlers in the region south of New Jersey and east of Delaware. He dubs the region “Sylvania,” Latin for woods. There are provisions for a legislative assembly, and the king retains overriding authority in matters of taxation, legal appeal, and the repeal of statutes. Penn envisions his colony as a “holy experiment,” a refuge for Quakers and other religious dissenters.

April Military: Josias Fendall leads a brief and unsuccessful rebellion against proprietary rule in Maryland; after being defeated, he is simply fined and exiled from the colony. Settlement: William Penn dispatches the first wave of settlers to Pennsylvania under Deputy Governor William Markham.

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Penn, William (1644–1718) Colonial founder William Penn was born in London, England, on October 14, 1644, the son of an admiral. He studied briefly at Oxford but was ejected for espousing Puritan beliefs at a time when they were unpopular. Following a tour of Europe, Penn studied law at Lincoln’s Inn and received his degree in 1665. Two years later, he was administering his father’s estates in Ireland when he fell under the sway of Quakerism, another unpopular sect. Over intervening years, Penn preached and wrote about Quakerism and was arrested, tried, and acquitted in a landmark case that established the precedent for independent juries. In 1670, he also published his most important tract, The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience, which advocated freedom of religion, another radical stance at the time. However, the political climate of England in the wake of the recent civil war convinced Penn that tolerance was not possible at home, so he began to look abroad. When

This painting shows William Penn negotiating a treaty with Native Americans. (Library of Congress)

April 10 Politics: Dutch and Swedish settlers in Pennsylvania territory are informed of the forthcoming proprietary regime of William Penn.

July 11 Business: Governor William Penn, through his Conditions and Concessions, attempts to regulate real estate transactions in the colony of Pennsylvania.

November 15 Law: The earliest recorded use of shorthand appears in a trial held at St. John’s, Maryland.

November 21 Politics: Governor Samuel Jennings summons the first session of the West Jersey legislature in Burlington.

1682 Business: The Hudson’s Bay Company, assisted by Cree consorts, establishes the York Factory at the mouth of the Nelson and Hayes Rivers, along the western shores of Hudson Bay. In time, as many as 500 Indians venture to

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Chronology

his father died in 1670, he inherited a small fortune, then began pressing King James II to repay a large debt the king owed his family. He also became a trustee of the province of West Jersey (New Jersey) acquired by Quakers and, in 1677, compiled the famous “Concessions and Agreements” for purposes of governance. This was a remarkably progressive document requiring freedom of conscience, democratic principles, and fair treatment of Native Americans. But in 1681, rather than pay off his debt, the king granted Penn a large territorial concession that was eventually called Pennsylvania (Penn’s woods). From the onset he envisioned it as a “holy experiment,” in which Christians of every denomination could live in peace. Penn was also sole proprietor of the new colony, and to that end he wrote the “Frame of Government,” which mandated religious freedom, an elected council and assembly, and friendly relations with the Indians. Penn arrived at his colony in 1682 and, true to his beliefs, scrupulously purchased land from the Delaware Indians to acquire

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their friendship. Over the next two years he also directed the founding of a capital called Philadelphia (brotherly love) from which to govern. Penn remained with his charge only two years before sailing back to England to settle a border dispute with the colony of Maryland. However, in 1688 the new regime of King William III viewed him with suspicion and he lost his proprietary powers in 1692. These were restored to him two years later and he returned to Pennsylvania in 1699. However, by this time Penn had lost control of his colony and proved unable to secure the money owed him in quitrents and land sales. He left America for the last time in 1701, disillusioned that his experiment in tolerance had largely failed, and he was also arrested for debt and imprisoned. Penn was on the verge of selling Pennsylvania to the Crown in 1712 when he was felled by a severe stroke that left him helpless. He died at Ruscombe, Berkshire, on July 30, 1718, and, while the colony he founded remained in family hands, it was incompetently administered by various proprietors until 1775.

York Factory each year to trade fur and take Europe an goods back into the interior. General: John Skeene, the first freemason in America, makes his appearance at Burlington, New Jersey. Diplomacy: Due to the efforts of Nanagoucy, a chief of the Mahican, the French are able to assemble a large confederacy at Fort Saint Louis along the Illinois River. Among the tribes represented are the Illinois, Miami, and Shawnee. Military: Governor Joseph Antonine Le Febvre de La Barre of New France leads a large expedition into the heart of Iroquois territory (New York), but his campaign is saddled by ineptitude and withdraws. Publishing: A significant text, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is published, becoming one of the most widely read accounts of King Philip’s War and, after the Bible, the most numerous colonial publication. It is only the first of the “captivity narrative” genre, which enthralls American readers up through the end of the 19th century. William Nuthead establishes the first printing press in Virginia to publish acts by the colonial assembly. Within a year, King Charles II decrees that no press be maintained in Virginia.

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Chronology of American History Slavery: In an attempt to increase the flow of slaves into the colony, the Virginia assembly strikes down its old 1760 ordinance which disallowed lifetime servitude for Christian converts. Henceforth all Africans or African Americans brought into the colony are held in bondage for life, regardless of their religious affiliation. The Free Society of Traders is chartered by the Pennsylvania Assembly; they intend to institute a system of apprenticeship whereby slaves are freed after 14 years of service if they dutifully attend plots allotted to them and surrender twothirds of their annual produce to the society.

February 1 Politics: William Penn obtains the rights to East Jersey from the heirs of Sir George Carteret.

March 1 Politics: John Fenwick deeds his holdings in West Jersey to another noted Quaker, William Penn. He does so in defiance of Sir Edmund Andros.

April Settlement: Surveyor general Thomas Holmes begins laying down streets for the new city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

April 9 Exploration: René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de la Salle, paddles down the Illinois River to the mouth of the Mississippi in a canoe and claims the entire Mississippi Valley for France. He christens the region Louisiana after King Louis XIV.

April 11 Politics: Royal agent Edward Randolph composes a highly critical report of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the Crown. He specifically cites religious intolerance and failure to enforce the Navigation Acts.

May Politics: Angry Virginia farmers in Gloucester, Middlesex, and New Kent Counties, upset over the depressed prices of tobacco, begin destroying their own crops to drive up the price. Deputy Governor Sir Henry Chicheley calls out the militia and arrests a number of ringleaders to restore order.

May 5 Politics: While in England, William Penn promulgates a Frame of Government for the colony that bears his name, Pennsylvania. By contemporary standards, it is a most enlightened document, and allows for freedom of conscience, a governor’s council to initiate and enforce laws and a representative assembly to pass or reject them. The accompanying legal code also forbids corporal punishment, substituting fines instead. Moreover, the governor, the council, and the legislature are all elected by freeholders.

August 7 Politics: Royal agent Edward Randolph writes a second, highly critical evaluation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for English authorities.

August 13 General: The first Welsh community is established near Philadelphia and settles on land purchased from the Indians. They are followed in short order by waves of Germans and Irish.

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August 24 General: James, duke of York, issues a land grant to William Penn for ownership of the colony of Delaware although it accords no rights of government. Neither Penn nor York, however, has a legal title to the land.

September Politics: William Penn, in concert with Surveyor General Thomas Holmes, begins planning his capital of Philadelphia, which he envisions as a “city of brotherly love.”

October 27 Politics: William Penn arrives on the Delaware River to receive territory from the duke of York’s deputy and agent. One of his first acts is to negotiate a peace treaty with the Delaware Indians, agreeing to pay for any land acquired from them.

November 2 Politics: On a visit to the Delaware assembly, William Penn states his intention to allow residents to maintain the Duke’s Laws until they decide to pass another form of governance.

December 4 Politics: The Pennsylvania assembly convenes its first session in Upland (Chester), then proceeds to address adoption of a legislative code and the incorporation of the lower three counties (Delaware) into Pennsylvania proper.

December 17 Politics: The Delaware assembly convenes and passes a declaration of liberty and conscience.

1683 Business: The Shawnee of the Savannah River largely control the trade with South Carolina, and freely exchange furs and Indian slaves for guns. Pennsylvania levies the first excise tax on liquor to help subsidize government expenditures. William Penn initially refunds the proceeds but subsequently failed to convince the legislature to reimpose the tax. Military: Seneca war bands of the Five Nations Iroquois continue driving Susquehannock and Rappahannock tribes deeper into Virginia, where the English ask them to move. The tribe is less successful at Mackinac (Michigan), where they prove unable to storm a French-held fort. Religion: Francis Daniel Pastorius leads a body of Mennonites (Amish) to Germantown, Pennsylvania, where they settle; as a sect they are both pacifistic and antislavery.

February 8 Business: The Dutch West India Company proffers a large tract of land in Delaware to the city of Amsterdam.

March 14 Politics: The claims of 24 Quaker proprietors in East Jersey are validated by the duke of York.

April 2 Politics: William Penn signs and approves a revised version of his Frame of Government for Pennsylvania and Delaware.

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April 12 Politics: The Pennsylvania assembly adopts a new Frame of Government, which reduces the size of the governor’s council and the legislature.

June 13 Politics: Royal agent Edward Randolph departs Boston and sails back to En�gland, extremely incensed over po�liti�cal practices and attitudes he found in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

June 23 Diplomacy: The Pennsylvania government under William Penn reaches an accord with the Delaware Indians by signing a treaty at Shackamaxon, under the Â�so-­called “Treaty Elm.” Penn seeks to cultivate cordial relations with Native Americans and, consistent with his Quaker precepts, insists that land be pur-­ chased from them before colonization be allowed to proceed. The peace lasts for seven deÂ�cades.

August 28 Politics: Col�o�nel Thomas Dongan, Irish Catholic and successor to Sir Edmund Andros, arrives in New York and summons the assembly of delegates to enact the Charter of Liberties, allowing residents greater po�liti�cal participation. Andros is apparently under investigation for corruption and conducting illegal commerce.

October 6 General: Francis Daniel Pastorius and Johann Kelpius lead the first group of Mennonite settlers from Krefeld, Germany, to Philadelphia. They found a settle-­ ment appropriately called Germantown.

October 30 Politics: Delegates from New York, Harlem, Albany, Schenectady, Esopus, Mar-­ tha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Pemaquid, meet in New York and approve the duke’s Charter of Liberties, which calls for a triannual meeting of the legislature to approve of all taxes levied.

1684 Diplomacy: The Ottawa reject Iroquois overtures to join the Five Nations, ignor-­ ing the fact that EnÂ�glish traded goods are less expensive than French equivalents. They fear eventual Iroquois domination of the fur trade.

March Military: Having failed at diplomacy, the Iroquois launch a large expedition against Â�French-­held Fort Saint Louis on the Illinois River. However, they prove unable to dislodge the garrison or its native allies following a costly, Â�six-­day siege. Defeat Â�here concludes tribal efforts to secure control over the northern and western fur trade.

April 14 Politics: In Paris, Â�René-­Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle is appointed gov-­ ernor of Louisiana.

May Politics: Charles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore, returns to En�gland to resolve boundary issues with Virginia and William Penn. Having arrived, he is himself

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charged with harboring pro-Catholicism sentiments and obstructing royal collectors. Curiously, boundary lines between Maryland and Virginia go unresolved until implementation of the Mason-Dixon line in 1784.

June 21 Politics: Acting upon the advice of special agent Edward Randolph, King Charles II annuls the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter for numerous offenses, including failing to enforce the Navigation Acts, executing British subjects for religious dissent, denying right of appeal to the Privy Council, and refusing to administer the oath of allegiance. The government is then made a royal colony, but it nonetheless continues functioning under the old charter for nearly three more decades.

June 24 Settlement: René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, sails from France for Louisiana with the first wave of colonists. His efforts are expected to extend French control of the fur trade up the Mississippi Valley and provide a base for military attacks upon New Spain.

July 30 Diplomacy: Governor Thomas Dongan of New York negotiates a peace treaty, or Covenant Chain, with the Five Nations Iroquois in Albany.

August 14 Politics: William Penn departs Pennsylvania for England to defend his southern border against claims by Lord Baltimore; he remains there until 1699.

September 5 Politics: The New England Confederation holds its final assembly in Hartford, Connecticut, and is disbanded shortly thereafter.

October 29 Politics: The Massachusetts Bay Colony charter is annulled by the High Court of the Chancery for its gratuitous independence from royal authority. This act also terminates church membership as a requisite for voting.

October 31 Politics: Maryland acting governor George Talbot murders Christopher Rousby, a royal customs collector. However, because he is Lord Baltimore’s cousin, though the proprietor is held responsible, he only pays a heavy fine.

1685 Diplomacy: Deft negotiating grants English settlers in Carolina considerable influence among the Lower Creek at their main town of Coweta. This brings them in direct conflict with the Spanish in Florida, who also want to exert control over this influential tribe. Education: Increase Mather is appointed acting president of Harvard College. Politics: King James II expands the Dominion of New England to encompass New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania under the administration of Sir Edmund Andros. Publishing: In Philadelphia, William Bradford establishes the first successful printing press outside New England.

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Mather, Increase

(1639–1723)

Theologian Increase Mather was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on June 21, 1639, the son of Puritan minister Richard Mather. He graduated from Harvard in 1656 and subsequently studied religion at Trinity College, Dubin, in 1658. Mather, a strident Congregationalist, remained in England as a minister until 1661, when the Catholic Stuart restoration made his situation uncomfortable. He then returned to Massachusetts and in 1664 gained appointment as teacher of Boston’s Second Church, a position he held for the next 59 years. In 1674 he also became a fellow of Harvard College. Mather not only proved himself a capable pastor, he was also lucid with a pen and published 150 tracts on religion, science, and phi-

Increase Mather (Library of Congress)

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losophy. Theologically, Mather was a hardline Puritan Congregationalist, unlike his father. He strongly opposed the Half-Way Covenant which allowed parents who had yet to experience salvation to have their children baptized. Mather also ceaselessly criticized the inhabitants for their growing laxity toward religion and considered King Philip’s War (1675–76), the Boston fire of 1677, and a smallpox epidemic as proof of God’s displeasure. He also strongly contested the teachings of Northampton’s Solomon Stoddard, who felt that the only way to keep the church relevant was to extend membership to the unsaved. Mather, by dint of his forceful eloquence and theological persuasiveness, convinced the synod of Puritan ministers to also oppose the practice. He then gained appointment as president of Harvard College in 1685, where he reintroduced Greek and Hebrew studies and required all students to reside at the school in Cambridge. However, throughout the unrest of the 1680s he found himself increasingly drawn into politics. In 1686, King James II forged a union of several colonies into the Dominion of New England under the ham-fisted rule of Sir Edmund Andros. As his rule became increasingly unbearable to the Puritan community, Mather was secretly dispatched to London in 1688 to have the colony’s original charter of 1629 restored. When this proved an impossibility, he managed to secure a new, compromise charter from King William III allowing him to appoint Sir William Phips as the first royal governor, and also to annex Plymouth colony to prevent it from being claimed by New York. However, many at home felt betrayed by the new document, whereby governors were no longer elected by church members, and they criticized Mather

Chronology

for it. During the notorious Salem witchcraft trial of 1692 he privately disapproved of the proceedings and then published Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits after-­ ward, which did much to help diffuse the hys-­ teria. Continuing dissatisfaction with royal governors embroiled Mather in a protracted

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political row, and in 1701 he lost his appoint-­ ment to Harvard. Thereafter he constrained himself to religion at the Second Church , where he advocated a return to the pristine Congregationalism of the Puritans. Mather died in Boston on August 23, 1723, a highly influential New England theologian.

Settlement: Missing the mouth of the Mississippi River, René-­Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, founds an unsuccessful colony at Matagorda Bay, Texas, and constructs Fort St. Louis there. Slavery: Virginia passes an ordinance forbidding African American slaves from attending Quaker meetings held for the purposes of educational instruction. The Code Noir (Black Code) is introduced into French Louisiana, whereby slaves are required to receive religious instruction, are allowed to intermarry, and are forbidden from working on Sundays and holidays.

January 20 Exploration: René-­Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, reaches the Gulf of Mexico and establishes his headquarters there.

February 6 Politics: James, duke of York, succeeds his brother and ascends to the English throne as King James II. New York now becomes a royal colony after he disavows his own Duke’s Laws.

May 29 Politics: King James II disavows the Charter of Liberties previously passed by the New York assembly and empowers the royal governor with full legislative and executive powers, assisted by his council.

June 2 Law: Chief Justice Nicholas Moore of Philadelphia is impeached by the Pennsyl-­ vania Assembly for abuse of office, but officials in London refuse to recognize his removal.

September Politics: King James II, eager to secure greater control over the New England colonies, appoints former Massachusetts representative Joseph Dudley to serve as governor of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.

September 20 Politics: Acting upon proprietary orders, Governor Joseph Morton of Carolina province dismisses the assembly to forestall the outbreak of instability arising from Berkeley County’s rejection of the revised Fundamental Constitutions of 1682.

October 17 Politics: Lord Baltimore’s claim to the Delaware territory is invalidated by the Lords of Trade, whereupon it reverts to William Penn.

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October 18 Religion: French king Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes, triggering an exodus of Huguenot refugees to the New World. This triggers an influx of immigration abroad, with many of these skilled laborers ultimately settling in southern Carolina and other colonies.

1686 Exploration: While exploring the Lower Mississippi Valley, Henri de Tonty founds Arkansas Post at the mouth of the Arkansas River. Religion: The first wave of German Pietists (Dunkers) begins reaching Pennsylvania.

May 15 Religion: Reverend Robert Radcliffe arrives at Boston, Massachusetts, under orders from King Charles II. He is tasked with establishing the Church of England to counter the hostile Congregationalism found there.

May 17 Politics: Joseph Dudley, a former Massachusetts magistrate, is appointed president of the new Dominion of New England by King James II. Assisted by a royally appointed council, he is tasked with converting the unruly region into a model of centralized authority, ruled from London. The dominion initially consists of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, but will gradually expand its grasp over time.

May 29 Politics: King James II invalidates the Charter of Liberties ratified by the New York Assembly and several New England states in 1683. The governed thus lose their right to challenge the levying of taxes.

June Politics: The Dominion of New England officially takes form under the direction of President Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts. This is an attempt by King James II to bring the English colonies, especially the fractious, independent-minded region of New England, in line with an expanding imperial economic system.

June 3 Politics: In London, Sir Edmund Andros is commissioned governor-general of the Dominion of New England by King James II. He is to supplant Joseph Dudley as the organization's head once ashore.

August 17 Military: Spanish forces attack and destroy the Scottish settlement at Stuart’s Town, southern Carolina. However, bad weather prevents them from moving on to Charles Town.

December 20 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros, a no-nonsense former soldier, arrives in Boston with orders to centralize authority in the disparate colonies through the Dominion of New England, which he enlarges to include New York and New Jersey. This is a major attempt to consolidate royal control over English holdings in the New World and is also intended to shore up colonial defenses and enhance

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enforcement of the Navigation Acts. The original draft for the dominion intended the governor to rule through a royally appointed council and a popularly elected assembly, but King James II struck down the legislature. Consequently, all representative assemblies are hereby and arbitrarily negated.

December 21 Religion: Governor Edmund Andros promotes the Church of England and demands permission to share Boston’s Old South Meeting House with Congregationalists. His action prompts fear among Puritans that Anglicanism will be declared the official colonial creed.

December 30 Politics: Rhode Island is forced to join the Dominion of New England under Sir Edmund Andros.

1687 Politics: To further enhance royal authority, Governor Sir Edmund Andros dissolves the assembly of New York and incorporates that colony into the Dominion of New England. This move places all political authority in the hands of the new royal governor, Francis Nicholson, who will rule in Andros’s absence. Diplomacy: By terms of the Treaty of Whitehall, France and England agree not to fight over their respective colonial possessions. The arrangement last only two years. Slavery: Eight men, three women, and one child, all of African descent, escape from Georgia in a small boat and land at St. Augustine, Florida. Georgians demand their immediate return but the Spanish governor declines, citing that the refugees have converted to Catholicism.

January 12 Politics: Governor-general Sir Edmund Andros orders the government of Rhode Island colony annulled; henceforth it is run along the lines of an English county.

March 19 Exploration: René-Robert de Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, is murdered by his own men at Fort St. Louis on the Gulf of Mexico.

March 25 Religion: Sir Edmund Andros, royal governor of the Dominion of New England, usurps three Puritan meeting houses for the first Anglican service held in Boston, Massachusetts. A concordance was reached with Congregationalists to share the South Meeting House until King’s Chapel was constructed the following year.

April 4 Religion: Sir Edmund Andros pronounces the Declaration of Indulgence, which promotes liberty of conscience to all subjects in the Dominion of New England. Henceforth, Puritan ministers and schools are no longer funded by taxes from the entire population, a move cutting at the very core of their religious and political beliefs.

April 7 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros expands his authority, becoming governor of an enlarged Dominion of New England, which now includes New York and New Jersey.

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June 17 Military: A large French military expedition consisting of 800 soldiers, 1,100 French Canadians, and 400 Indian allies marches from Montreal under Governor Jacques Rene de Brisay, marquis de Denonville. His objective is to enter territory claimed by the Iroquois Confederacy in central New York and lay it to waste.

June 28 Politics: William Phips of Massachusetts becomes the first American to receive a knighthood from King James II at Windsor Castle. He is rewarded for discovering the sunken Spanish treasure ship Concepcion, which sank 40 years earlier off Hispaniola.

July 13 Military: An expedition by French soldiers and Christian Indians burns three Seneca settlements in western New York.

August 23 Politics: Reverend John Wise organizes political resistance to assessments imposed by Governor Edmund Andros at Ipswich, Massachusetts. He is then arrested and fined.

October 1 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros officially appoints Captain Francis Nicholson to take charge of New York as the new royal governor.

Phips, William (1651–1695) Colonial governor William Phips was born at Pemaquid, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, on February 2, 1651, to parents of modest means. He was trained as a shipwright but left for Boston to pursue wealth and adventure. Phips eventually became a successful ship builder and also married the widow of a prominent businessman. But, impatient for success, he turned to treasure hunting with the help of several wealthy backers in England. His first endeavor, underwritten by King Charles II, failed to uncover anything, but a subsequent expedition in 1686 financed through the duke of Albemarle recovered a sunken Spanish treasure ship off the Haitian coast. Phips then sailed back to England with his cache and received a knighthood; he is the

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first American so honored. King James II also appointed him provost marshal general of Boston. At this time Massachusetts was in political turmoil due to the loss of its 1629 charter and incorporation into the new Dominion of New England. Phips, finding himself largely ignored by Governor General Sir Edmund Andros, sailed to London in 1687 and established ties with dissident theologian Increase Mather. When Andros was overthrown in 1688 both Phips and Mather prevailed upon King William III to provide a new, compromise charter and Phips was appointed the first royal governor. He arrived home at the height of the infamous witch trials in Salem and appointed a special court to handle the proceedings. Like

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October 27 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros convenes the Connecticut assembly in Hartford and informs them he is asserting the authority of the Crown over them. He then demands the colony’s charter, which mysteriously disappears and ends up hidden in a hollow of the so-called “Charter Oak.”

November 1 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros arbitrarily dissolves the Connecticut assembly, and it joins the Dominion of New England. He now effectively controls New York and the adjacent New England colonies.

1688 Diplomacy: The Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga tribes of the Five Nations sign a peace treaty with France at Montreal. Hereafter they embrace neutrality with the English and French but continue struggling with their balance of power along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River. Settlement: A group of French Huguenots, escaping persecution at home, arrives in New York, purchases land, and establishes the town of New Rochelle.

February 14 Politics: The Carolina assembly rebukes attempts by proprietors to nullify the Fundamental Constitution of 1669, setting the stage for civil strife.

February 18 Religion: The Mennonites, a radical German Protestant sect, issue an antislavery declaration in Germantown, Philadelphia, declaring it a violation of Christianity and the

many residents, he eventually disapproved of the numerous executions these entailed and, upon the advice of Reverend Increase Mather, ruled out the use of “spectral” evidence in trials. This stance was enough to bring the sorry process to a close by the spring of 1693. Phips, as governor, was also commanderin-chief of Massachusetts colonial forces. In 1690, he originated the plan for an amphibious campaign against Port Royal, Nova Scotia, which functioned as a home port for French privateers. He then energetically organized, equipped, and commanded the force, which landed at Port Royal in April and captured it the following month. This turned out to be the only English victory of King William’s War. Phips then agreed to a joint operation against the fortified city of Quebec

in concert with New York troops under FitzJohn Winthrop. Accordingly, he led a large expedition down the St. Lawrence River that fall and anchored off the city. However, Winthrop had since cancelled his overland march, which enabled French governor Louis de Buade, comte de Frontenac, to concentrate all his forces at Quebec. When Phips demanded the city’s surrender, Frontenac defiantly refused and the expedition failed. His last three years in office were also largely failures and marked by conflict with various religious, merchant, and customs officials. Phips had estranged so many interests that in 1694, he was summoned back to London to defend himself. He died there on February 18, 1695, a rough-hewn, capable military figure but largely unversed in the nuances of politics.

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146â•… Chronology of American History rights of man. The document was drawn up by their leader, Francis Daniel Pastorius. This is the first instance that a religious body in the colonies openly condemns human bondage and also one of the first acts of nonviolent protest in the New World.

February 19 Politics: Col�o�nel Thomas Dongan closes the Hudson River to vessels from New Jersey and also recommends to the En�glish government that the province be annexed to New York.

March Politics: Governor Sir Edmund Andros invalidates the charters of both East and West Jersey, which are thereby incorporated into the Dominion of New En�gland.

March 17 Politics: Sir Edmund Andros, attempting to squelch dissent toward his central-­ izing policies, restricts New EnÂ�gland town meetings to once a year.

March 24 Military: Sir Edmund Andros places control of all local militia directly under the governors of their respective colonies, who ultimately answer to him.

April 7 Politics: King James II expands the po�liti�cal authority of Sir Edmund Andros, making him governor general of New En�gland, New York, and New Jersey.

July Military: A party of soldiers constructing a fort in North Yarmouth, Maine, is approached by a body of Abenaki Indians. Thinking they �were under attack, the soldiers flee and run headlong into another body of warriors who are holding several white hostages. A fight breaks out with several losses to either side.

August 10 Politics: Reverend Increase Mather, president of Harvard College, incensed by the Â�ham-­fisted tactics of Sir Edmund Andros, slips out of Boston and sails for EnÂ�gland to file grievances before the Lords of Trade. There he will also petition for restoration of the Massachusetts charter.

September Naval: The EnÂ�glish frigates Churchill and Yonge under Admiral William Bond arrive in Hudson Bay to reconquer valuable Â�fur-­trading outposts. PoÂ�litiÂ�cal: The Virginia legislature files a petition of grievances to King James II against its sitting governor, Lord Howard of Effingham.

September 5 Military: Abenaki raiders burn the En�glish settlement of Sheepscot, Maine, although the inhabitants save themselves by fleeing to a nearby fort.

September 15 Military: The French abandon newly erected Fort Niagara, New York, after the nearby Seneca Indians threatened to destroy it.

November 3 Military: The French garrison at Chambly (Quebec) beats off a determined raid by several hundred Iroquois warriors.

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November 24 Politics: The Maryland assembly voices its disapproval of the new governor, Wil-­ liam Joseph, who was dispatched there by Lord Baltimore. They recognize his author-­ ity but their contempt underscores growing uneasiness toward proprietary rule.

December 18 Politics: King James II flees to France upon learning that William of Orange is being courted by English authorities to replace him. The final fall of the Catholic House of Stuart is also known as the Glorious Revolution owing to its lack of violence.

1689 Education: Quakers found the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the colony’s first public school and offers such curricula as science and inventions, but tuition is levied only for those who can afford it. Religion: Reverend Cotton Mather composes his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possession, an incendiary pamphlet which does much to stoke the antiwitch fervor sweeping Massachusetts.

February 13 Politics: The Glorious Revolution concludes with Protestant prince William of Orange and his wife, Mary, proclaimed king and queen of England, issuing a period

Mather, Cotton (1663–1728) Clergyman, scientist Cotton Mather was born in Boston on Febru-­ ary 12, 1663, a son of noted Puritan theolo-­ gian Increase Mather. He was well educated at the Boston Latin School and proved him-­ self a child prodigy by gaining admittance to Harvard College at the age of 12. Mather graduated three years later and in 1685 turned to the ministry by serving at Boston’s Second Church, where he preached for the rest of his life. Like his father, he espoused a strict Puritan outlook on life, although he was more favorably disposed toward the Half-­ Way Covenant which allowed children of the nonelect to be baptized. Mather also dabbled in colonial politics throughout the 1680s by protesting the high-­handed administration of Sir Edmund Andros. When Increase Mather visited London in an attempt to have the colo-­ nial charter restored, his son openly preached against Andros and, once word of England’s Glorious Revolution reached Boston, he

helped overthrow and imprison him. Mather subsequently welcomed the new governor, Sir William Phips, to Boston and baptized him. Despite his religious background, Mather also evinced considerable interest in spirituality and his tract Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Other Possession in 1689 helped spark a period of hysteria throughout Massachusetts. However, he himself did not participate in any of the celebrated witch trials and later condemned their excesses. His book Wonders of the Invisible World provided some detailed narrative and commentary on affairs in Salem throughout this period. He was also active in community work and strove to establish Indian missions and schools for the poor and slaves. Mather proved himself a multitalented individual with varied interests, and he (continues)

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(continued) functioned as one of America’s most accomplished scientists. He was endowed with a great capacity for mathematics and fully embraced the scientific views of Sir Isaac Newton. Mather also wrote and compiled no less than 450 books and essays on various subjects, winning membership in the prestigious Royal Society of London for his efforts. In 1721, he was also an outspoken proponent of smallpox inoculation and championed the efforts of Dr. Zabdeil Boylston to introduce it at Boston. He had a vested interest in this, having lost two children to the disease and, in fact, only two of his 15 offspring survived to adulthood. Mather also proved himself to be a capable historian and his treatise Magnalia

Christi Americana (1702) remains one of the best accounts of colonial Massachusetts. But even in old age, Mather retained his strident Congregationalist morality, ascribed disease and other ailments to sin, and railed loudly against the growing number of dissident churches. And, after teaching at Harvard for 13 years and not being tendered the position as president, he promoted the founding of Yale in Connecticut as a defender of the faith. In 1723, Mather finally succeeded his father as pastor of the Second Church; he died in this capacity on February 13, 1728. He remains one of the most highly regarded scientific writers of his day, second only to Benjamin Franklin.

of Parliamentary authority over the English Crown. Their ascension also marks a turnover in English foreign policy, with Holland replacing France as its major ally. Religion: James Blair, representing the bishop of London in Virginia, embarks on reforming the Anglican Church there and in other colonies.

February 16 Politics: King William III appoints a new Committee of the Privy Council on Trade and Foreign Plantations.

April Military: King William’s War begins with a preemptive English strike against a French trading post, jointly operated by the Abenaki Indians. The residents of Saco, Maine, also take several Indians hostage, an act that triggers retaliatory measures by the Indians.

April 4 Politics: Word of the Glorious Revolution in England arrives at Boston and the Dominion of New England begins losing political coherence.

April 18 Politics: For the past three years, Massachusetts has chafed under royal rule, imposition of quitrents, restrictions upon town meetings, and taxation without consent. Governor-general Edmund Andros is then overthrown by the militia after a sermon by Reverend Cotton Mather accuses him of cultivating a French alliance and plotting with the pope. Former governor Simon Bradstreet is restored to power and the short-lived Dominion of New England comes to an ignominious end.

April 20 Politics: Massachusetts authorities install a “Council for the Safety and Conservation of the Peace” in order to facilitate the return to civilian rule.

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April 26 Politics: Word of Andros’s downfall prompts the counties of Queens, Suffolk, and Westchester, New York, to remove royal authorities and elect their own representatives.

April 27 Politics: The Virginia assembly votes to proclaim the new sovereigns, William and Mary.

May Military: King William III of England declares war against France and the ensuing conflict, the War of the Grand Alliance Augsburg, gradually merges into a colonial conflict called King William’s War.

May 1 Politics: Rhode Island reembraces political governance under its old charter.

May 9 Politics: Connecticut reconstitutes its original charter.

May 24 Politics: With Governor Edmund Andros deposed, Massachusetts reinstates its charter government. Parliament that same day also passes the Toleration Act, which allows for limited freedom of conscience outside the Anglican Church of England.

May 31 Politics: Jacob Leisler leads a rebellion in New York upon hearing of the arrest of Sir Edmund Andros, seeking to establish representative government. The rebels seize Fort James from Governor Francis Nicholson.

Leisler, Jacob

(ca. 1640–1691)

Colonial rebel Jacob Leisler was probably born at Frankfurtam-Main around 1640, and he subsequently joined the Dutch West India Company as a soldier. In this capacity he was assigned to the garrison of New Netherland (New York) in 1660, where he married a wealthy widow and established himself as a successful merchant. He functioned without interruption once the colony was captured by the English in 1660, although he came to resent the power and affluence of the Dutch patroons (landed lords), who had monopolized many facets of trade. The turning point in Leisler’s life occurred in 1688, in the wake of England’s Glorious Revolution, which deposed King James II in favor of King

William III. News of the upheaval led to the arrest and expulsion of Governor General Edmund Andros in Boston while his subordinate, Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson, tried clinging to power in New York. Leisler, who strongly supported King William, took it upon himself to help orchestrate a rebellion to root out James II’s few remaining supporters. On May 31, 1689, soldiers under his control stormed Fort James on Manhattan Island and renamed it Fort William. The rebels determined beforehand to keep possession of the fort until a new governor could be commissioned by the (continues)

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(continued) government. Nicholson tried and failed to regain control of the militia and finally departed for England on June 24, 1689. Shortly afterward, a letter arrived at New York which was addressed to Nicholson—or whoever was in charge of the colony at that time—to preserve the peace and administer His Majesty’s province. Leisler viewed this as authorization to usurp control of the government, and he declared himself lieutenant governor of New York in December 1689. Although many aristocrats questioned the legality of this move, the lower classes, whom Leisler seemed to champion, fully endorsed it. As governor, Leisler energetically moved to prepare the defenses of the colony when King William’s War broke out. He summoned the first intercolonial congress in American history, which met in Albany on May 1, 1690, to map out a strategy for combating the French in Canada. Leisler,

stridently anti-Catholic, proposed several overland expeditions into Quebec, which failed due to supply shortages and inexperienced colonial leadership. However, on January 28, 1691, Major Richard Ingoldsby arrived at New York with two companies of soldiers and demanded that Leisler step down. He was there at the behest of Colonel Henry Sloughter, who had been commissioned governor of New York in September 1689 but had yet to arrive. Leisler, however, refused to surrender his authority and fighting broke out that cost two lives. It was not until Sloughter finally came ashore in March that the change of government transpired, and Leisler was arrested and tried for treason against the king. He and his son-in-law Jacob Milborne were hanged on May 16, 1691. However, a few years later Parliament reversed the sentence, allowing Leisler’s heirs to reclaim their property and receive a large indemnity.

June 6 Politics: Massachusetts elects new delegates to the General Court.

June 11 Military: Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson abandons the city to rebel forces under Jacob Leisler and flees to England. Once the rebels accost the royal customs house, Leisler is declared commander-in-chief.

June 12 Political: A victorious Jacob Leisler invites town and county governments to join his regime in New York. He then quickly consolidates power.

June 22 Politics: New York rebel leader Jacob Leisler swears political allegiance to King William and Queen Mary.

June 27 Military: Two Indian women arrive outside the stockaded home of Major Richard Waldron, who advise him that a body of Indians will appear on the morrow for trading purposes. He allows them to sleep within the confines of his home that night, at which point they unlock the gates and summon nearby warriors, who kill 23 settlers and capture 29. They also kill Waldron, repaying him for his earlier treachery against them.

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English-supported Iroquois Indians raid and devastate French settlements near Quebec while French-leaning Abenaki lead raids into New Hampshire and Maine. They fall upon Cocheco, New Hampshire, killing 23 settlers and capturing 29.

July 20 Politics: Rebel leader Jacob Leisler intercepts a letter addressed to Colonel Francis Nicholson from the English secretary of state, imploring the maintenance of existing law and order, which he misinterprets as applying to himself.

July 25 Politics: An order in council arrives at Boston demanding the extradition of Sir Edmund Andros back to England for trial.

July 27 Politics: John Coode, leading the Protestant Association of Maryland, captures the capital of St. Mary from proprietary forces and Governor William Joseph along with it. He then begins organizing a new government in the name of William and Mary.

July 27–August 15 Politics: New York rebel Jacob Leisler summons the first colonial assembly of representatives to meet in New York.

August 2 –4 Military: Penobscot and Maliseet Indians seize Pemaquid, Maine, burning the village and fort, then carrying off all of the surviving inhabitants.

August 5 Military: A force of 1,500 Iroquois warriors overrun the settlement of Lachine, near Montreal, killing 24 inhabitants and 40 soldiers, and carrying off 90 captives. This is the first large-scale engagement of King William’s War and sets the tone for a series of border raids from both sides.

August 21 Military: French-incited Indians attack English settlements in the vicinity of Fort Charles, Maine, resulting in the death of one farmer and the capture of his two sons. These remained hostages for the next six years.

August 22 Politics: The Maryland assembly convenes and elects Nehemiah Blakiston as its president, then petitions the Crown to void Lord Baltimore’s proprietary regime and convert the province into a royal colony.

September 6 Politics: The rebel administration of Jacob Leisler creates a Committee of Public Safety to maintain order in and around New York.

September 21 Military: Colonial militia and Plymouth Indians under Colonel Benjamin Church arrives at Casco Bay, Maine, intending to raid French-led Indians. Instead, they end up protecting the English settlement at Falmouth (Portland) from attack, skirmishing heavily with enemy forces in nearby Brackett’s Woods. A confused six-hour fight and chase ensues, but at length the 300–400 Indians withdraw and the town is spared from a ravaging.

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October 14 Politics: The political establishment in Albany, New York, declines to join Jacob Leisler’s government in New York City, and elects its own leaders.

October 16 Military: Louis de Baude, comte de Frontenac arrives in Canada with a large contingent of military reinforcements and a strategy for conquering New England.

November 13 Military: Iroquois warriors attack the French settlement of La Chenage, Canada, killing several inhabitants.

December 11 Politics: New York rebel Jacob Leisler extends his political authority over all of New York colony.

December 16 Law: Parliament passes a Declaration of Rights as statute law, anticipating the American Bill of Rights by a century.

1690 Business: Massachusetts authorities authorize a 30-woman consortium to saw lumber and produce potash as fertilizer. English settlers in Carolina commence trading openly with the Cherokee while expanding these endeavors among the Shawnee, Creek, and Yamassee. The latter two tribes, meanwhile, begin raiding Spanish settlements to acquire slaves for the English. German settlers in Pennsylvania establish North America’s first viable paper mill. Education: The New England Primer by Benjamin Harris become the first significant textbook used in colonial grade school; it remains the standard text for the next 50 years. Ultimately, 6 to 8 million copies are printed over the next century and a half. Military: The General Court of Massachusetts, eager to enhance the security of its most distant settlements, orders that the exact location of the frontier be determined and that each town present maintain a garrison of 40 soldiers. Religion: Francis Daniel Pastorius, noted Mennonite minister, publishes the significant pamphlet Four Short Yet Uncommon and Very Useful Tracts in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Slavery: Legislators in Carolina make slaves freeholder’s property except for the purpose of paying debts. In Connecticut, laws arise forbidding either AfriThis engraving depicts an iron mask and collar used can Americans or Native Americans from leaving by some slaveholders to keep field workers from town limits without permission from their masters. running away and to prevent them from eating Transgressors would be considered fugitives and puncrops such as sugarcane. (Library of Congress) ished accordingly.

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January 22 Diplomacy: The Five Nations Iroquois renew their Covenant Chain alliance with the English crown at Onondaga, New York, and offer to help fight the French.

January 28 Military: French and Indian forces under Joseph-François Hertele de la Fresniere depart Trois Rivieres (Quebec), Canada, to attack New England settlements along the border.

February Politics: When Governor James Colleton of Carolina imposes martial law to stop abuses of the Indian trade and collect quitrents, he is overthrown by rebels led by Seth Sothel, who appoints himself governor.

February 1 Politics: King William declares his support for the new Maryland government under the Protestant Association.

February 3 Business: Massachusetts becomes the first colony to issue paper money to pay militia forces serving against Quebec.

February 9 Military: At dawn, a force of 200 French and 150 Indians under Jacques Le Moyne de Sainte-Helene and Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville attacks through a blizzard and destroys Corlaer (Schenectady), New York. The raiders kill 60 settlers and take 30 hostage. The ensuing panic prompts the governor of New York in Albany to surrender his authority to rebel leader Jacob Leisler in New York City.

March 12 Politics: New Hampshire, reflecting upon its relative defenselessness in the face of ongoing Indian attacks, votes to rejoin Massachusetts.

March 18 Military: Attacking French, Canadians, and Abenaki under Joseph-François Hertel de La Fresniere storm the town stockade at Salmon Falls (Portsmouth), New Hampshire, killing 34 settlers and taking 54 prisoners. The raiders then raze the settlement before departing with their booty and prisoners.

April Business: The New York legislature, at the behest of Jacob Leisler, summarily bans colonial merchants from engaging in trade monopolies—all towns are free to engage to trade equally. This is a reflection of the democratic impulse driving his “rebellion.” Leisler also orders the arrest of all Catholics and prepares to thwart a French/Catholic threat to the colony.

May 1 Military: Having been summoned by Jacob Leisler, representatives from Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New York meet at Albany to divine strategy against the French. This is the first intercolonial congress ever held in British North America. The delegates finally approve a plan to invade Canada with land forces from New York and New England under Colonel Fitz-John Winthrop. A large naval force is also to be dispatched up the St. Lawrence River under Sir William

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May 3 Military: Sir William Phips takes 14 ships and 700 Massachusetts militia from Nantasket, Massachusetts, on an expedition against Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia), which serves as a base for French privateers.

May 11 Military: An large expedition under Sir William Phips anchors off Acadia, and prepares to attack the French fort at Port Royal. However, once the winds die down the English are forced to wait a full day before landing troops.

May 16 Military: New England militia under Sir William Phips plunders French settlements at Passamaquoddy, Maine.

May 16–20 Military: A force of 400–500 Indians, Canadians, and French under Pierre Roninau de Portneuf attack and destroy the settlement of Falmouth (Portland), Maine, as part of Frontenac’s overall strategy of reducing New England. After destroying the town of Casco, Maine, the raiding party invests nearby Fort Loyal (present-day Portland). The garrison under Captain Sylvanus Davis resists stoutly for four days, then surrenders under a French guarantee of safety. Indians subsequently massacre over 100 soldiers once they leave the fort, and many women and children are taken to Quebec as hostages. The most celebrated of these, Hannah Swanton, compiles and publishes an engaging captive narrative.

May 19 Military: Port Royal, Acadia, falls to provincial forces under Sir William Phips without a struggle. On the following day the raiders depart for Boston, leaving behind a small garrison. This proves the sole major English victory of King William’s War.

July 22 Naval: French privateers under Pierre Le Picard attack and plunder Block Island, Rhode Island. News of their presence places the defenses of nearby Newport on high alert.

July 30 Naval: Governor John Easton of Rhode Island orders the 10-gun sloop Loyal Stede under Captain Thomas Paine to search for and attack French privateers in the vicinity of Block Island. En route Paine is joined by additional forces under Captain John Godfrey.

July 31 Naval: Colonial sloops under Captains Thomas Paine and John Godfrey engage the French bark commanded by Pierre Le Picard off Block Island, Rhode Island. In the ensuing clash, 14 French are killed, but Picard manages to escape for the open sea.

August 2 Politics: The English attorney general restores Connecticut’s charter, which had been illegally annulled by King James II.

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August 7 Military: Colonial militia numbering 850 men under Fitz-John Winthrop begin advancing up the Champlain River Valley to attack Montreal. However, having marched 100 miles north of Albany, Winthrop fails to receive promised Indian reinforcements and also experiences a shortage of supplies. He thereupon cancels the campaign and marches back to Albany. Meanwhile Captain John Schuyler, 29 militiamen, and 120 Iroquois are left behind with orders to harass communities around Montreal.

August 13 Military: Captain John Schuyler leads a small party of 30 militia and 120 Indians up Lake Champlain and raids the French village at La Prairie. Attacking at dawn, they kill six inhabitants, 19 captives, and 150 livestock after burning down 16 homes and barns. This is the only offensive action mounted by Colonel FitzJohn Winthrop’s army, which is then marched back to Albany, short on supplies and Indian support.

August 19 Military: Sir William Phips departs Massachusetts with 34 ships and 2,300 men for an amphibious descent upon the French-held citadel of Quebec. He does so in concert with a column of infantry supposedly marching up the Champlain River Valley against Montreal.

August 21 Military: The much-ballyhooed column under Colonel Fitz-John Winthrop returns to Albany, New York, whereupon he is unceremoniously removed from command.

September 23 Military: The expedition of Sir William Phips, beset by a lack of trained pilots, works its way up the St. Lawrence River and reaches the French settlement of Tadoussac.

September 25 Journalism: Publick Occurrences is printed in Boston by Benjamin Harris, becoming the first newspaper published in America. However, it is suppressed four days later for failing to secure governmental permission.

September 29 Technology: Printers William Bradford and William Rittenhouse obtain 20 acres to construct the colony’s first paper mill.

October 16 Military: The colonial expedition of Sir William Phips arrives outside the walls of Quebec, then held by 200 men under its indomitable Governor-general Louis de Baude, comte de Frontenac. The following day, Phips sends a message ashore demanding the city’s surrender, but Frontenac stoutly refuses.

October 17 Military: As New England ships bombard Quebec as a diversion, Major John Walley of Plymouth Colony lands 1,300 troops at Beauport to commence land operations. However, their advance becomes bogged down in a frozen swamp, where they linger for two days and nights.

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October 21 Military: A very discouraged Major John Walley embarks his men back onto the English fleet, having accomplished nothing against French defenses at Quebec.

October 22 Military: The combined expedition of Sir William Phips, outgunned at Quebec, withdraws down the St. Lawrence River in defeat. The voyage back to Boston is marked by an outbreak of smallpox among the soldiers, which kills upwards of 200 men.

November 24 Politics: To better coordinate the colonial military response, Colonel Henry Sloughter is appointed governor of New England by the English Lords of Trade.

1691 Religion: A schism erupts among the Society of Friends when George Keith accuses them of becoming too lax and informal. Slavery: Virginia outlaws the practice of manumitting African Americans unless they intend leaving the colony within six months. Owners also bear expenses associated with transporting their charges out of Virginia. Another new law forbids racial intermarriage between Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans.

February 8 Politics: New York rebel Jacob Leisler refuses to surrender power to Major Robert Ingoldesby, who arrives at New York with an English regiment to represent Colonel Henry Sloughter, the new governor appointed by the Lords of Trade.

March 27 Military: Fighting breaks out in New York City between supporters of Jacob Leisler and the newly arrived English governor. Two soldiers are killed, but Major Robert Ingoldesby captures City Hall and Leisler’s supporters begin deserting him.

March 29 Politics: Col o nel Henry Sloughter, the new governor of New En gland, arrives with additional forces and the following day Jacob Leisler surrenders to him.

March 30 Politics: Colonel Henry Sloughter summons a legislative assembly in New York, this time officially sanctioned by the government.

April Politics: Governor William Penn allows the Lower Counties (Delaware) to possess their own government separate from that of Pennsylvania and also appoints William Markham his deputy governor.

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April 10–27 Politics: Jacob Leisler and nine of his followers are tried for treason in New York. He and seven others are convicted and sentenced to death; one man will eventually be pardoned.

May 13 Politics: The New York assembly convenes under the authority of the English Crown and reconstitutes the 1683 Charter of Liberties. This is the beginning of sustained representative government.

May 16 Politics: English authorities hang New York rebels Jacob Leisler and his principal subordinate, Jacob Milbourne, for treason. Both had been denied their right of appeal to the English Crown upon the insistence of leading New York families. Ironically both Leisler and the judge who condemned him are strong supporters of William and Mary.

June 27 Politics: Maryland is made a royal colony by the English Lords of Trade, and Sir Lionel Copley gains appointment as the first royal governor. Lord Baltimore is accordingly stripped of political power, although he is allowed to maintain his property.

August 11 Military: Captain Major Peter Schuyler marches northward against the French village of La Prairie, successfully storming it after defeating a force of 400 French in a difficult fight. However, Schuyler is daunted by French numbers and concludes he ought to retreat. In the act of withdrawing to his canoes, Schuyler encounters another strong French column and defeats them, losing 40 men before retiring back to Albany. Politics: An agreement reached between the proprietors of Carolina colony and the Palatine Court divides the colony into North and South Carolina. Philip Ludlow is named governor of both, with authority to appoint a deputy to oversee Albemarle province to the north.

September Military: Major Benjamin Church returns to active duty and takes 300 militiamen against the Abenaki around Casco, Maine. He manages to destroy several villages.

October 17 Politics: Massachusetts receives a new charter reaffirming its royal status but also incorporating nearby Plymouth colony, Nova Scotia, and Maine. This provides for a governor appointed by the Crown, a council elected by the General Court, and substitution of property for religion as a voting requirement. The new document also allows for freedom of conscience for all except Catholics.

November 8 Politics: The province of Albemarle in the northern part of Carolina is placed under the jurisdiction of the governor’s deputy residing at Charleston. This is the first official reference to a “North” Carolina.

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1692 Business: In their never-ending quest to acquire slaves, traders in South Carolina begin manipulating their various Indian allies to provoke wars among them—the prisoners taken invariably end up in English hands as slaves. Through this expedient, the English begin expanding their contacts with tribes as far west as Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Education: Massachusetts revokes compulsory education laws; henceforth poor children are bound out as apprentices. Military: Connecticut deploys several hundred of its soldiers to western Massachusetts for the protection of frontier communities there. Their presence reflects a growing sense of regional cooperation in military matters. Religion: Increase Mather obtains the first divinity degree ever granted in the colonies from Harvard College. Slavery: The Maryland legislature will punish any European man or woman conceiving children with a slave by seven years of indenture. A new Virginia law promises slave owners that they would receive 4,000 pounds of tobacco in compensation for any slave legally killed. Pennsylvania authorities pass a law that forbids slaves from loitering in unauthorized areas without passes from their owners; transgressors face imprisonment or whipping. Societal: The Massachusetts Assembly allows clergymen to perform marriage ceremonies for the first time. This practice was long reserved for the courts and magistrates alone.

February 6 Military: Joseph Robinau de Villebon, governor of Acadia, urged a combined Penobscot-Kennebec Indian force to attack York, Maine. They do so this day, killing or capturing most of the inhabitants.

February 17 General: Thomas Neale obtains a patent to create an American postal service over the next two decades and he selects Andrew Hamilton to do the actual organizing.

February 29 Religion: The celebrated “Witch Trials” begin in Danvers, Massachusetts, after a group of young girls feigns hysteria and claims that a family slave has bewitched them. Tituba, a slave from Barbados living with the family of Reverend Samuel Parris, a Puritan minister, is accused of placing a spell over the young girls. Tituba subsequently accuses other women of practicing witchcraft, a very real fear in the minds of 17th century colonists, so Puritan authorities gradually round up 150 suspected witches and jail them to await trial in nearby Salem.

March 7 Law: Former Barbados slave Tituba confesses her role in bewitching the daughters of Reverend Samuel Parris and is exiled from the colony. Before departing, she implicates three other “witches,” all of whom are arrested and imprisoned.

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March 18 Politics: Pennsylvania is declared a royal colony at the behest of King William III. William Penn will be thus stripped of all proprietary authority, and a royal governor, Benjamin Fletcher, is appointed to rule in his stead. This action is taken because the Quaker majority refuses to become involved in King William’s War and because Penn was politically close to exiled King James II.

May Law: Newly arrived governor William Phips orders a special Court of Oyer and Terminer convened to deal with witchcraft and dampen down the mounting frenzy surrounding this issue.

May 10 Religion: The Protestant-dominated Maryland legislature establishes the Church of England as the colony’s official creed. However, the Board of Trade and Plantations in London, reacting to complaints by Catholics and Quakers, nullifies this act in 1696.

May 29 Politics: King William III invalidates the Charter of Liberties ratified by the New York assembly and several New England states in 1683. The governed thus lose their right to challenge the levying of taxes.

June 2 Law: In Salem, Massachusetts, a special Court of Oyer and Terminer convenes for the purpose of trying individuals suspected of practicing witchcraft. It is composed of some of the colony’s leading judicial minds, including Bartholomew Gendey, Samuel Sewall, John Richards, William Sergeant, Wait Winthrop, and Nathaniel Saltonstall, and is presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton.

June 8 Law: The General Court of Massachusetts revives an old law requiring the death penalty for anyone convicted of dealing in witchcraft.

June 10 Law: Bridget Bishop is hanged by Puritan authorities in Massachusetts for practicing witchcraft.

June 21 Military: Massachusetts militia successfully repel French-Abenaki attack against Wells, Maine.

June 23 Military: French and Indian forces attack the settlement of Durham, New Hampshire.

July 15 Law: Martha Carrier of Andover, Massachusetts, is accused of practicing witchcraft and arrested until her trial.

July 19 Law: Five women are hanged in Massachusetts for practicing witchcraft.

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August Military: Governor William Phips orders the construction of Fort William Henry, a large stone fortification, at Pemaquid, Maine.

August 13 Politics: New Hampshire again reverts to the status of a royal colony.

August 19 Law: Martha Carrier is hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

August 29 Naval: Captain James Knight of the Hudson Bay Company arrives at Fort York (Ontario) with vessels Royal Hudson’s Bay, Dering, Pery, and Prosperous. He is conveying 213 men as part of the garrison.

September 22 Religion: Five people are hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, after being accused of witchcraft. They could have saved themselves by “confessing” their sins to Puritan authorities but chose to die instead.

October 21 Politics: William and Mary formally strip William Penn of his proprietary powers and appoint Benjamin Fletcher as royal governor of Pennsylvania.

This engraving depicts a Salem witchcraft trial. (Library of Congress)

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October 29 Law: Governor William Phips of Massachusetts dissolves the Court of Oyer and Terminer amid rising complaints and petitions about the witch trials in Salem. Most were upset that citizens were being accused and executed on the grounds of extremely flimsy evidence normally not admissible in court.

December 16 Law: The General Court of Massachusetts orders special sessions of the Superior Court of Judicature to finish adjudicating the remaining witch trials in Salem. Of the more than 200 people suspected of witchcraft, 14 women and five men would face the gallows.

1693 Slavery: King Charles II of Spain proclaims a policy of granting freedom to all British slaves who can reach Florida. His motives are guided less by altruism than an intention to inflict economic harm on British colonies.

January Law: Determined to halt the witch hunt in Salem, Governor William Phips reprieves eight captives accused of witchcraft from gallows and removes several judges from the bench. Religion: In Boston, Reverend Cotton Mather proffers the Rules for the Society of Negroes, the earliest known religious association for African Americans. Slavery: Quakers under George Keith publish an early antislavery tract, An Exhortation & Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes, previously presented at their annual meeting in Philadelphia.

January 28 Military: Nicholas d’Ailleboust de Manthet, commanding a force of Caughnawaga, seizes a Mohawk village in upper New York, and withdraws with 300 captives.

February 8 Education: William and Mary College is chartered in Williamsburg, Virginia, to educate Anglican clergymen and Christianize Native Americans. This is the second-oldest institute of higher learning in the colonies, and James Blair is its first president. Science: John Banister of Virginia composes the first systematic natural history paper on plants in his native colony.

May Law: Governor William Phips pardons the last eight prisoners being held on charges of witchcraft.

June 22 Naval: Admiral Sir Francis Wheler arrives in Boston from Martinique, intending to participate in a northern campaign under Sir William Phips. However, his fleet is in poor shape owing to disease, and the effort is postponed for the time being.

July 2 Naval: Captain James Knight attacks and captures Fort Sainte Anne on James Bay, Ontario, with his three Hudson’s Bay Company vessels.

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August 13 Naval: The squadron of Admiral Sir Francis Wheler departs Boston, still in emaciated condition, and proves unable to mount an attack against the French-held island of Saint Pierre off Newfoundland.

October 4 Military: New York governor Benjamin Fletcher summons colonial delegates to a high-level strategy conference for prosecuting the war against France. Nothing is resolved, and the war effort muddles on.

December 7 Politics: The English attorney general rules that Rhode Island’s charter had been wrongly usurped by King James II, and it is restored.

1694 January 16 Military: A force of 230 Indians led by Jesuits Louis Pierre Thury and Sebastien de Billie attack English settlements along Oyster Bay, Maine. Around 100 colonists are slain.

February 10 Politics: Francis Nicholson gains appointment as royal governor of Maryland.

June 23 Military: French and Indian forces attack English settlements at Durham, New York.

July 18 Military: A force of 300 French-incited Penobscot Indians attacks the settlement of Oyster River (Durham), New Hampshire, killing or capturing over 100 inhabitants.

August 15 Diplomacy: In Albany, New York, the Iroquois sign a peace treaty with colonial representatives from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. This is undertaken to preclude any possibility of a military alliance between the Indians and France.

August 20 Politics: King William III restores William Penn as proprietary governor of Pennsylvania, replacing New York governor Benjamin Fletcher.

August 31 Naval: The English vessels William and Mary engage and defeat seven French warships off Newfoundland.

September 24 Naval: Two French vessels under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville sail to the Hayes River (Hudson Bay), Canada, where they lay siege to the English garrison of York Fort.

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October 14 Military: Governor Thomas Walsh surrenders York Fort, Hayes River (Hudson Bay) to besieging French vessels under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. The post is then rechristened Fort Bourbon.

1695 Business: In Annapolis, Maryland, Diana Nuthead succeeds her deceased husband as head of the family publishing business, becoming the first woman printer in colonial history. Education: Reverend Samuel Thomas establishes a school for the instruction of slave children at Goose Creek, South Carolina. Religion: Parties of New England Congregationalists begin moving into South Carolina. Societal: New York City establishes overseers to administer public relief to the city’s mounting poor. They were authorized to fix the amount of relief needed as well as estimate the poor tax.

1696 Business: Cultivation of rice arises in South Carolina. This is a most laborintensive commodity to produce and, prior to the introduction of cotton, becomes the crop most clearly associated with slavery. Military: A large French expedition under Governor General Louis de Buade de Frontenac marches through the heart of the Five Nations Iroquois land, and devastates the territory of the Oneida and Onondaga nations. Slavery: Once the Royal African Trade Company loses its monopoly on the slave trade, merchants in New England eagerly participate in human trafficking on a large scale. During their annual meeting in Philadelphia, the Quaker leadership admonishes members known to have facilitated the importation of slaves into the colony and threatens to expel them from the Society of Friends. The Carolina legislature mandates that African-American slaves secure written permission before stepping off their masters’ residences. Moreover, slaves who either escaped or attacked their masters were to be punished by whipping, branding, or emasculation.

April 10 Economics: The Navigation Acts are appended to the Act of 1696, which grants customs commissioners in the colonies the same broad powers they enjoy in England, including forcible entry and the ability to collect duties on all colonial commodities being exported. Moreover, all colonial trade is required to post bonds on enumerated items, and any colonial law or regulation in conflict with the act is automatically null and void. A Board of Trade is also instituted by King William III to replace the Lords of Trade with power to rule whether colonial laws are consistent with the empire’s best interests. This legislation marks British efforts to actually enforce the Navigation Acts and begins a long period of commercial friction between England and her colonies. In time the ensuing friction serves as an intellectual underpinning of the American Revolution.

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May 6 Politics: Rhode Island convenes its first bicameral legislature.

May 15 Politics: King William III establishes a Board of Trade, independent of the Privy Council, to succeed the Lords of Trade.

Summer Captain William Allen leads 400 men in a successful attempt to capture Fort Bourbon (formerly York Fort) on Hudson Bay, Canada.

July 14 Naval: Two French frigates under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Captain Simon de Bonventure engage and capture the English frigate HMS Newport off Saint John’s, Newfoundland. They then drive two others off from guarding the mouth of the Saint John River (Portland Point, New Brunswick), thereby lifting the blockade of Acadia.

August 15 Military: Fort William Henry (Pemaquid), Maine, is besieged by a combined French-Indian force under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville that arrived from Quebec. At length, the 96-man garrison under Captain Pascoe Chubb surrenders, and the French successfully restrain the Indians. The fort is then destroyed and the English allowed to proceed to Boston unharmed.

October Naval: Three French warships under Governor Jacques-François de Mombeton de Brouillan of Newfoundland sail to engage English settlements on the northeastern part of the island.

November 1 Military: French forces under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, march overland across Newfoundland to rendezvous with French naval forces at Ferryland. Their goal is the capture and reduction of Saint John’s, an important English coastal fishery.

November 7 Politics: In Pennsylvania, Governor William Markham submits the Third Frame of Government, and it is approved by the assembly.

November 30 Military: French forces under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville capture the English settlement of Saint John’s, Newfoundland, following a brief siege. Meanwhile, other forces under Captain Jacques Testard de Montigny continue mopping up isolated fishing villages along the coast.

1697 General: New York City appoints the first fire wardens, one to each ward, tasked with enforcing local ordinances and fining homeowners with dangerous chimneys and other deficiencies. Law: In light of excesses surrounding the celebrated witchcraft trial, the Massachusetts General Court expresses contrition for family members executed and offers monetary compensation to the families affected. Judge Samuel Sewall is so afflicted by conscience that he atones from a church pew—nine other judges of equal complicity remain aloof.

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Medical: Charleston, South Carolina, is ravaged by a smallpox epidemic that lasts a year. This is followed by an onset of yellow fever that kills an additional 150 settlers. Politics: The Board of Trade establishes the first admiralty courts to oversee and adjudicate disputes arising from commercial matters in the colonies. These also function without juries.

January 15 Politics: Inhabitants of Massachusetts dedicate this day to fasting and repentance for the witch trials of 1692.

February 8 Politics: William Penn, still in England, proposes an intercolonial congress to the Board of Trade to help sort out the muddle of colonial affairs. Penn calls for two delegates from each colony to be presided over by a president appointed by the king. No action is taken.

March 15 Military: French and Indian forces raid the village of Haverhill, Massachusetts, killing 27 settlers and capturing 13. Among the captives are Hannah Duston, her infant child, and her nurse, Mary Neff. At length the Indians kill Duston’s child, and she swears revenge.

March 30 Military: Hannah Duston and two other English captives kill and scalp 10 of their sleeping guards, then escape. The three are hailed as wartime heroes once they trudge back into Haverhill, and Duston collects 25 pounds from the Massachusetts government, which has placed a bounty on Indian scalps. Noted writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau contribute to Duston’s renown by retelling her tale for 19th century readers.

July Naval: A large English naval force under Commodore John Norris arrives from England and anchors off Saint John’s, Newfoundland, intending to recapture numerous and valuable fisheries from France. He is also conveying a force of 2,000 soldiers under General Sir John Gibstone.

August 2 Naval: Commodore John Norris receives information that five French frigates under Vice Admiral Andre, marquis de Nesmond, is deployed in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Norris wished to give battle but is overruled by the civil authorities at Saint John’s, who order him to remain until the settlement’s defenses are rebuilt.

September 4 Naval: In a stunning display of seamanship off the mouth of the Hayes River, Hudson Bay, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, commanding the 44-gun frigate Pelican, engages the 56-gun HMS Hampshire, the 36-gun frigate Dering, and the 32-gun Royal Hudson’s Bay. A four-hour fight ensues, in which the Hampshire strikes a shoal and sinks with all hands, the Royal Hudson’s Bay strikes its colors, and only Dering escapes intact.

September 9 Military: Colonial forces under Major John March repel a French-Indian force along the Damariscotta inlet, Maine, sparing numerous settlements in eastern Maine from the torch and tomahawk.

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Duston, Hannah (1648-ca. 1730) Colonial heroine Hannah Emerson was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1657, daughter of shoemaker John Emerson. Nothing is known of her childhood, but in December 1677, she married Thomas Duston and settled down in Haverhill to raise a family. In time she delivered 12 children, three of whom died in infancy. Her husband also commanded a local militia company. In the course of King William’s War, the French under Louis Baude, comte de Frontenac, initiated a strategy of large-scale Indians raids against New England enclaves to drive them from the region. On March 15, 1697, Captain Duston spied a group of Abenaki heading toward Haverhill and evacuated seven of his children but returned too late to rescue his wife, who was still weak from delivering a two-week-old child. Hannah Duston was captured with her baby and her widowed nurse, Mary Neff, then marched 100 miles north to a small island at the confluence of the Contoocook and Merrimack Rivers (Concord, New Hampshire). En route the Indians killed her baby by dashing its head against a tree. The captives were turned over to an Indian family and there encountered an English boy, Samuel Lennardson, who had been seized eight months earlier from Worcester. When informed by the Indians that they intended to take their captives to Canada to make them run a gauntlet, Duston and Lennardson resolved to escape. Duston then prevailed upon Lennardson to inquire of their captors as to the proper method of

killing and scalping an enemy. The information would be put to good use. On the evening of March 30, 1697, Duston and Lennardson used stolen hatchets to kill 10 Indians, men, women, and children alike, as they slept. Only an elderly squaw and a young child were spared and allowed to escape. With the aging Neff in tow, they then slipped down the river in a canoe, but Duston, wishing to have positive proof of her deed, paddled back to remove nine scalps. The trio then made their way back to Haverhill with these grisly trophies. At that time a bounty was offered on Indian scalps so Duston and her husband appeared before an incredulous General Court of Massachusetts with their proof and received 25 pounds for her effort. Her two compatriots received 12 pounds apiece for their part. The Reverend Cotton Mather also couched her celebrity in distinctly Puritan terms, as she was Protestant and her Indian captors Roman Catholic converts. As word of Duston’s bravery spread throughout New England, she received numerous praise and gifts, one from the governor of Maryland. Thereafter Duston’s life at Haverhill assumed a more routine aspect and she died there sometime around 1736, all but forgotten. However, in 1874 and 1879 she became the object of two monuments at Haverhill and Duston Island, New Hampshire, commemorating her escape. She was an icon of the colonial New England frontier and the first woman in America honored by a statue.

September 13 Naval: A French naval force under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville forces Governor Henry Baley to again surrender Fort York, Hudson Bay.

September 20 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Ryswick concludes fighting in Europe and technically also ends King William’s War but hostilities continue along the frontiers.

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It restores all captured possessions to all parties, save Newfoundland, which is transferred to England. King Louis XIV is also required to recognize William III as legal heir of Great Britain and stop supporting the exiled James II. Overall, the entire conflict seems rather pointless from a colonial viewpoint, considering the loss of lives and money expended. Worse, the Five Nations Iroquois were extremely hard hit throughout the conflict, losing roughly 20 percent of their numbers. English reluctance or unwillingness to provide support or protection along the frontier leaves them predisposed toward neutrality in any future colonial war.

October Religion: The Massachusetts legislature passes harsh laws against blasphemers and atheists; violators could expect to be confined up to six months, whipped, pilloried, or forced to sit at a gallows tied to a hangman’s noose.

1698 Politics: Parliament bans all English settlements on Newfoundland, a law which is generally ignored. Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature changes the tax laws to include Indian, mulatto, and African slaves to be counted as personal property. The Royal African Company’s monopoly on the slave trade expires and it is now officially open to all members of the English colonies so inclined. The most numerous participants are New Englanders, who won the most ships, and all participants are required to pay a 10 percent duty to the company for maintenance of its forts and factories in Africa. This is also the start of the so-called “triangular trade” among Africa, the West Indies, and the American colonies, circulating shipments of slaves, sugar, and molasses between them.

May Politics: Attacks on colonial authorities by settlers angered by proprietary rule commence in East and West Jersey.

May 29 Religion: Construction begins on Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware, one of the more expensive places of worship built to that date.

October 7 Settlement: Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville leads a force of six ships from Brest, France, and heads for the Gulf of Mexico. He intends to find the mouth of the Mississippi River and help begin the settlement of Louisiana.

1699 Business: The Wool Act passed by Parliament prohibits colonial wool from being exported to foreign markets or traded within the intercolonial market. Diplomacy: The recent spate of English and allied Indian raids into Mississippi forces many tribes into an alliance of necessity with France. Choctaw relations with South Carolina also deteriorate because of the willingness of settlers to purchase Choctaw captives as slaves from other tribes. Religion: Holy Trinity in Wilmington, Delaware, becomes the first Lutheran church in North America.

1699

168â•… Chronology of American History French Sulpician missionaries found the Mission de la Sainte Famille at dis-­ tant Cahokia, Illinois Territory. Slavery: The Virginia Â�House of Burgesses imposes a 20-­shilling duty on all slaves entering the colony.

January 7 Military: The Abenaki sign a peace treaty at Casco, Maine, and violence finally subsides 15 months after the Treaty of Ryswick is signed.

February 27 Exploration: French soldier Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville departs Pensacola, Florida, with a team of 48 men in two large rowboats and two birchbark canoes. His mission is to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River.

March 2 General: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, leads French settlers ashore at Louisiana to begin colonization in the area of Baton Rouge. Mean-­ while, his brother Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville is the first EuÂ�roÂ�peÂ�an to dis-­ cover the mouth of the Mississippi River (the North Pass) from the Gulf of Mexico.

May 4 General: Fort Maurepas (Biloxi, Mississippi) is constructed by Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d’Iberville.

June Law: In Boston, Judge Samuel Sewall tries to suppress card playing and gambling only to have his yard decorated one night by several packs of cards.

June 17 Religion: The Massachusetts General Court requires all Roman Catholic priests to depart the colony within three months or face imprisonment and possible execution.

July 6 Law: Captain William Kidd, a notorious pirate, is arrested in Boston and shipped to En�gland for trial. Kidd was a former Royal Navy officer with a distinguished record in fighting against France, but he forsook duty in favor of plunder. He will hang on May 23, 1701.

September 6 Naval: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, leading an expedition of six men in two small boats up the Missis-­ sippi River, encounters Royal Navy captain William Bond 18 miles below New Orleans and convinces him that the region has been claimed by France. Bond then promptly turns around and departs, and the bend of the river has since been known as “EnÂ�glish turn.”

November 30 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, French colonizer of the lower Mississippi River and brother of the sieur d'Iberville

1699

Politics: William Penn concludes a 15-­year stay in EnÂ�gland and once again returns to Pennsylvania as its proprietor.

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1700 General: The population of thriving British colonies in North America is estimated at 275,000—much larger than the struggling French efforts in Canada. Boston and New York are the most heavily populated urban centers, with populations of 7,000 and 5,000, respectively. The slave population is estimated at 28,000—roughly one colonial inhabitant in 10. Law: Parliament approves a Piracy Act to create a special court to try citizens suspected of engaging in such endeavors. Military: The French construct a fort at Mackinac, Michigan Territory, to guard the strategic fur trade routes into the Mississippi River Valley. Music: The first pipe organs are imported by the Episcopal Church and Swedish Lutheran churches of Pennsylvania. Religion: The New York assembly, taking its cue from Massachusetts, summarily bans Catholic priests from the colony. Slavery: The Pennsylvania assembly issues laws regulating the public behavior and morals of African Americans. William Penn also urges his fellow Quakers to provide religious instruction to slaves in the colony. Rhode Island drops its prior prohibition against slavery, rendering it legal again. Judge Samuel Sewall creates the “Boston Committee of 1700,” dedicated to the eradication of slavery. They urge high import duties upon captive Africans entering the colony, feeling that excessive taxes will drive the slave trade out of business.

January 8 Military: French forces under Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville construct a fort below New Orleans on the Mississippi River.

June 24 Slavery: An antislavery tract, The Selling of Joseph by Judge Samuel Sewall, a moral agitator ever since the witch trials, is published in Boston. This is one of the earliest abolitionist tracts and based largely upon biblical precepts.

1701 Business: Following an end to hostilities between France and the Iroquois, the latter enter into negotiations with the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Illinois Confederacy, gaining hunting and trading rights in the Great Lakes region, and reciprocate by allowing interior tribes to visit Albany to trade for English goods. General: A Boston town meeting formally authorizes the systematic naming of city streets. Law: In a major step for women, six are allowed to sit on a jury in Albany, New York. Politics: Delaware is separated from the political and legal jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, although both are jointly headed by a single governor.

March 26 Politics: In London, the Board of Trade suggests to the monarch that all colonial possessions in North America be converted to royal colonies.

May 8 Politics: The General Court of Connecticut opts to hold legislative sessions alternately in Hartford (May) and New Haven (October).

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May 23 Law: Captain William Kidd, a notorious former Royal Navy officer turned pirate, is hanged for piracy and murder in London. His body is then hung in chains on display for several days along the Thames River.

June 16 Religion: King William III issues a charter to Thomas Bray for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. This is an unofficial agency dedicated to spreading the Anglican creed to the Indians of North America and to African slaves, along with English colonists adhering to separatist and nonconformist creeds.

July 24 Military: French forces under Antonie de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, construct Fort Pontchartrain at La Ville d’Etroit (Detroit), Michigan Territory, to secure control of the vital fur trade throughout the northwestern wilderness. Located at the junction of Lakes Erie and Huron, it soon evolves into a major center for commercial activities and guards the strategic route from Canada down the Mississippi River Valley.

August 4 Diplomacy: French and Iroquois emissaries conclude the Grand Settlement, a peace treaty, at Montreal. The Indians are not required to abandon trade relations with the English, but nonetheless remain studiously neutral during the next three conflicts. Meanwhile, to present a united front against continuing English encroachments along the Mohawk River Valley, the tribes adopt a policy whereby a single chief may speak for the entire confederacy, as opposed to five chiefs representing five distinct nations. The Iroquois also try to placate the English by renewing their Covenant Chain with them and offering up conquered lands previously owned by the Huron.

October 16 Education: The Collegiate School (Yale University) is chartered in Saybrook, Connecticut, by devout Congregationalists disillusioned by what they perceived as Harvard’s mounting liberalism. It relocates to New Haven in 1745.

November 8 Politics: William Penn removes most vestiges of proprietary rule in Pennsylvania through passage of its first constitution, the Charter of Privileges. The governor is appointed by the proprietor, but the new unicameral legislature must approve of all laws passed. This is the only one-house legislature in the colonies, and it survives for nearly 80 years until 1776.

November 12 Religion: The Vestry Act is passed by the Anglican-dominated Carolina assembly, which establishes the Church of England in the northern reaches of the colony. It is widely protested by Quakers, Presbyterians, and other dissenters and is eventually revoked in 1703 by the proprietors.

December Education: In a victory for reformists, the ultra-Puritan Reverend Increase Mather departs as president of Harvard College and is replaced by the more

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liberal John Leverett. Leverett intends to adopt a broader-minded curriculum for his students, similar to those found at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England.

1702 Politics: Cotton Mather publishes Magnalia Christi Americana, or The Ecclesiastical History of New England, 1620–1698. This is a carefully crafted paean to the political rule of the Puritan theocracy, then declining in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Religion: The Maryland assembly passes the Act of Establishment, which founds Anglicanism as the colony’s official, state-sponsored religion. Thus, taxes are levied on all freemen, regardless of their religious affiliation, to support and sustain the local Anglican clergy. This legislation is stoutly protested by the Catholic and Quaker communities. Moreover, Catholic rites can no longer be performed in public and must be held in private dwellings—a restriction that lasts up through the Revolutionary War. Slavery: The New Jersey assembly passes statutes granting legal recognition to slavery in that colony. Societal: Reverend Cotton Mather organizes the Society for the Suppression of Disorders to help combat a rising tide of delinquency in Massachusetts. Its purpose was to collect the names of young men committing offensive behavior such as swearing, blasphemy, and visiting houses of ill-repute, which would then be turned over to a committee tasked with warning them.

March 8 Politics: Queen Anne ascends to the English throne following the death of King William III.

April 17 Politics: The royal colony of New Jersey is established by uniting the proprietary halves of East and West Jersey and administered by the governor of New York. Henceforth, the combined colonial assemblies are to meet alternately at Burlington and Perth Amboy. However, their chief executive officer remains the royal governor of New York until 1738.

May 4 Military: The War of the Spanish Succession commences in Europe; it soon spreads to the colonies as Queen Anne’s War.

June 11 Politics: Joseph Dudley, newly appointed royal governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, arrives in Boston.

September 6 Naval: A strong Royal Navy squadron under Commodore John Leake drops anchor in Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, and learns of the presence of various French warships in the area.

September 9 Naval: Commodore John Leake disembarks troops at Trepassy, Newfoundland, which move inland and burn the settlement.

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September 10 Military: The South Carolina assembly authorizes an attack against Spanishheld St. Augustine, Florida, to preclude any chance of French occupation. They also aspire to eliminate the Spanish and their Apalachee allies as competitors in the lucrative deerskin trade. The expedition is to be assisted by allied Chickasaw Indians and English warships.

September 30 Naval: Having burned several French settlements on Newfoundland and captured 51 enemy vessels, the squadron under Commodore John Leake arrives back at St. John’s to rest and refit.

October 7 Naval: Two British warships arrive off the island of Saint Pierre, Newfoundland, and land forces ashore. Governor Sebastien Le Goues, sieur de Sourdeval, makes a brave attempt to resist but is badly outnumbered and surrenders. After plundering the settlement for anything valuable, the English hand over 52 French captives to the governor, then depart.

October 12 Military: A combined expedition of 580 militia and 370 Yamasee warriors under Governor James Moore and Colonel Robert Daniel sails from Port Royal, Carolina, for the Spanish-controlled sections of the Georgia coast.

November 3 Military: The expedition of Governor James Moore and Colonel Robert Daniel steals ashore on Amelia Island, surprises the Spanish garrison, and proceeds to overrun the vicinity. Two days later, Moore takes his fleet to the bastion of St. Augustine, Florida, while Daniel rows his way up the Saint Johns River to the same destination.

November 7 Naval: Colonial vessels under Governor James Moore appear on the horizon off St. Augustine, Florida, as 400 Spanish defenders under Governor Jose de Zuinga prepare to receive them. They then scuttle a frigate to prevent its capture while another vessel, the Gloria, is dispatched to Havana for reinforcements.

November 9 Military: Colonial land forces under Colo nel Robert Daniel are sighted approaching St. Augustine from the north, so Governor Jose de Zuinga orders its 1,500 inhabitants behind the secure walls of San Marcos Castle.

November 10 Military: The combined forces of Governor James Moore and Colonel Robert Daniel, around 500 men, establish a loose siege of St. Augustine, Florida, while Spanish cannon from San Marcos Castle bombard them. Heavily outgunned, Daniel is dispatched to Jamaica to secure heavier ordnance while the rest of his forces begin digging siege lines.

December 19 Military: A quick Spanish sortie against colonial siege lines outside St. Augustine, Florida, inflicts some materiel damages to the besiegers before being driven back. The impasse continues.

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December 24 Naval: Roughly 500 colonial besiegers of St. Augustine, Florida, are heartened by the arrival of a British brigantine and sloop carrying badly needed supplies.

December 26 Naval: The Spanish defenders of St. Augustine, Florida, are succored by the arrival of two frigates and 200 reinforcements dispatched there from Havana. The British are now blockaded within the harbor and forced to scuttle their vessels to prevent capture.

December 29 Military: Governor James Moore ends the siege of St. Augustine, burns his encampment and the local village, then begins marching overland to the Salamoto River for seaborne transportation back to Carolina.

1703 Business: South Carolina votes to pay soldiers campaigning in Florida against Spain with paper money. Military: Because woodland Indians are usually too fast for plodding colonial militia to apprehend, Reverend Solomon Stoddard of Northampton, Massachusetts, suggests that they be hunted with dogs. Religion: A Swedish church in Philadelphia utilizes a church organ for the first time in the colonies. Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature requires slave owners to post a bond to support any slaves they may free, to lessen town expenses in supporting indigents. That colony, along with Connecticut, also forbid blacks, Indians, or mulattos being out at night after nine o’clock without their master’s permission. John Saffin’s Tryall, an early slave narrative, is published in Boston as an antislavery tract. The South Carolina assembly levies an import duty on all African slaves brought into the colony.

March 1 Military: The Massachusetts assembly reorganizes the militia by providing 120 pairs of snowshoes to each of its four militia regiments. Thus outfitted, the soldiers will conduct extended patrols in the winter months to secure the frontiers from attack.

March 28 Religion: Construction begins on St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Burlington, New Jersey. This is an early expression of what became known as the Georgian style.

May Military: Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville orders attacks from Louisiana upon nearby Alabama Indians in retaliation for English-incited raids.

May 12 Politics: After years of haggling, Connecticut and Rhode Island reach agreement on their common boundary line. It is confirmed by the English Crown in 1728.

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June Diplomacy: Abenaki Indians sign a peace treaty with Governor Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts, but within two months, the agreement breaks down and a decadelong period of hostilities commences.

August 10 Military: New England militia raid and burn the home of French trader Jean Vincent de l’Abadie, a half-breed Abenaki nobleman.

August 21 Military: Abenaki warriors, under Captain Alexander Leneuf de La Valliere de Beaubassin, surprise the English settlement at Wells, Maine, killing or capturing 300 colonials. Nearby Fort Loyal at Casco remains defiant under Major John March.

December Military: Governor James Moore assembles a force of 50 whites and 1,500 Creek at Okmulgee and marches overland to attack the Spanish mission at San Marcos de Apalache, Florida.

1704 Education: Elias Neau, a French Anglican and member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, opens the first catechism school for the education of slaves at Trinity Church in New York City. General: Francis Thrasher constructs Boston’s first underground sewer at his own expense, which leads city elders to adopt municipal regulations regarding refuse and garbage disposal. Military: When the small Nansatico tribe of Virginia refuses to hand over four braves accused of killing white settlers, a Virginia militia surrounds and captures their sole remaining village. Four Indians are then hanged for the murders, while the remnant is shipped off to the West Indies as slaves. French soldiers erect Fort Miami, Ohio Territory, at a portage to protect the fur trade from Lake Erie down to the Mississippi River Valley. Politics: In London, the secretary of state for the Southern Colonies is empowered to appoint royal governors. Religion: North Carolina approves the Second Vestry Act, installing Anglicanism as the official state-sponsored church of the colony. Through this measure religious minorities, especially Quakers, are barred from holding public office. Slavery: Abda, a mulatto slave living in Hartford, Connecticut, sues master Thomas Richards for his freedom on account of his being half white and is manumitted by a local court. The sentence is then overturned by the colonial assembly, and Abda is returned to bondage.

January 25 Military: Governor James Moore attacks the Spanish mission of Ayubale with 50 militia and 1,500 Creek Indians. They are initially repelled by defenders under Father Angel de Miranda, who surrenders nine hours later. The Creeks then murder Miranda and butcher the inhabitants. They then remove 84 captives back to South Carolina as slaves.

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January 26 Military: English militia and Creek warriors under Governor James Moore ambush the Spanish relief column of Captain Juan Ruiz Mexia and are driven off. The colonials then withdraw to Carolina with 325 Apalachee captives to be used as slaves.

February 29 Military: At dawn, a combined force of 350 Canadians, Caughnawaga, Abenaki, and French troops under Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville swoop down on the exposed the English settlement at Deerfield, Massachusetts. Aided by the lack of posted sentinels, they storm into the center of town while the surprised occupants fail to muster a sustained defense. Over 50 men, women, and children are massacred while 112 more are marched into captivity. French and Indian losses total around 40–50; the lack of snowshoes prevents English forces from pursuing the raiders effectively.

April 24 Publishing: The Boston News-Letter, the first colonial newspaper to be published regularly, begins under John Campbell, postmaster of Boston.

May 6 Religion: The South Carolina assembly votes to ban all non-Anglicans from holding seats there. The act will be overturned by the English Crown two years later.

June 18 Business: New English currency regulations fix the price of six shillings to a piece of eight.

June 20 Military: Colonel Benjamin Church leads a retaliatory raid in burning numerous settlements at Truro and Chignecto Bay, Nova Scotia.

July Military: South Carolinian militia and Chickasaw Indians enter western Florida, destroying villages belonging to the Apalachee tribe. However, they are stopped from despoiling French territory in Louisiana by the Choctaw.

July 1–28 Military: Colonel Benjamin Church resumes campaigning with 550 militiamen to raid the French settlements of Minas and Beaubassin, Acadia (Nova Scotia). This action eliminates a source of supply for the Abenaki who have been raiding the Maine frontier. However, the garrison at Fort Royal proves intractable and the raiders return empty-handed.

August 18 Military: French and Indian forces attack and destroy the English settlement at Bonavista, Newfoundland.

September 28 Law: Maryland passes a law allowing a minister to separate a husband from his wife if he disapproves of the woman. The penalty for disobedience includes whipping until blood is drawn.

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October General: Sarah Kemble, a schoolmistress from Boston, begins compiling a travel diary, entering detailed observations of people and sights while on a round trip to New York. In 1825 it is published as her Private Journal, an important eyewitness account of colonial society at the beginning of the 18th century.

November 22 Politics: Delaware’s independent assembly meets for the first time at New Castle and under terms established by the Pennsylvania Charter of Liberties. The colony enjoys the right to its own legislature although it is administered by the governor of Pennsylvania.

1705 Business: Parliament expands the list of enumerated items that colonies can export to England, which now includes rice and molasses. Furthermore, the development of naval stores, such as pitch, rosen, hemp, and tar for use by the increasingly important Royal Navy, is likewise encouraged. Education: The Virginia Act mandates book education for school-age children, although the apprentice system remains prevalent throughout the South. Military: French soldiers continue strengthening their chain of fortifications in the wilderness by constructing Fort Vincennes along the Wabash River, in present-day Indiana. Religion: The Anglican-dominated North Carolina assembly passes the Second Vestry Act to establish the Church of England in that colony. Enforcement provokes violent opposition from Quakers and Presbyterians, so that matter is allowed to lapse. Slavery: Virginia codifies the colonies’ first comprehensive slave code, barring all Africans, mulattoes, and Indians from holding public, religious, or military office, bearing arms, or testifying in court. Native Americans are further subdivided into reservation Indians, whose rights are protected, and “off reservation Indians,” whose legal status approximates freed slaves. It also summarily declares Africans held in bondage for life, unless they were originally Christian or freemen from a Christian country. In time, this legislation serves as a template for similar legislation in other slave-owning colonies. The General Court of Massachusetts levies a four-pound duty on all imported slaves. They also pass an antimiscegenation law to keep blacks and whites from intermarriage. It remains on the books until 1843. In an attempt to discourage slaves from trying to escape into Canada, the New York legislature authorizes all fugitives captured beyond 40 miles north of Albany to be put to death. Military: English colonists lead a force of 4,000 Carolina Indians on a foray through hostile Choctaw territory, forcing many survivors to seek refuge at French-held Mobile. In this manner, colonial influence is expanding toward the interior.

January 8 Military: An armed expedition under Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse marches overland from Placentia, Newfoundland, to attack the English settlement at Saint John’s.

1705

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January 31 Military: A French force under Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse approaches to within three miles of Saint John’s, Newfoundland, before being detected by the English. The garrison commanded by Lieutenant John Moody, assisted by artillery, repulses his antagonists and the French settle into a siege.

February 8 Military: An enemy scouting force attacks carelessly guarded Haverhill, Massachusetts, killing all defenders of a garrison house.

March 6 Military: Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse, failing at his second attempt to storm the English settlement at St. John’s, Newfoundland, orders his force withdrawn. Simultaneously, Testard de Montigny leads a small force intending to ravage poorly defended English settlements along Conception and Trinity Bays. By the time Auger concludes his raid, he has destroyed 40 cannon, burned several hundred small boats, and taken 1,200 captives.

October 23 General: The Virginia Assembly passes the Black Codes, to prevent the movement of African-American slaves and outlaw intermarriage. Mulattos and Indians are likewise covered. Moreover, all Africans brought to America who are not Christian shall be enslaved for life. This is the first attempt to segregate and delineate people on the basis of race, with slaves legally regarded as property.

December Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature forbids interracial marriage and any minister privy to such an occurrence faces a 50-pound fine. A four-pound duty is also levied on all slaves brought into the colony, and provisions promised to severely punish any slave who struck an Englishman.

1706 Business: The first colonial customhouse is designated at Yorktown, Virginia, through which all New England merchant vessels are required to pass. However, its inconvenient location occasions much protest and encourages captains to bypass it altogether. Medical: In Boston Dr. Zabdiel Boylston performs the first surgery to remove gallbladder stones (lithotomy) in America. Religion: In Boston, Cotton Mather publishes The Good Old Way, which laments the passing of Puritan dominance in Massachusetts. He also decries increasing lack of respect accorded to clergymen, along with lessening financial support from the community as a whole. Slavery: The New York assembly forbids slaves from testifying against owners or whites in both civil and criminal cases. Sport: Deer hunting is suspended for a season on Long Island, New York, after animal stocks are nearly depleted.

January 17 General: Benjamin Franklin is born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Josiah Franklin, a devout religious nonconformist.

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Boylston, Zabdiel (1680–1766) Physician Zabdiel Boylston was born in Muddy River (Brookline), Massachusetts, on March 9, 1680, the son of a successful physician. Although he never attended medical school, Boylston was apprenticed under his father and Dr. John Cutler, becoming an adept practitioner. By 1700 he was operating an apothecary shop downtown, while also undertaking surgical and medical procedures. The turning point in his career came in April 1721, when an epidemic of smallpox, a dreaded and highly contagious malady at the time, broke out in Boston. On June 6, 1721, Boylston received a letter from the Reverend Cotton Mather, who was extremely interested in science, and mentioned an inoculation technique from his slave Onesimus, which was commonly used in Africa to prevent the disease. He also enclosed an issue of the Philosophical Transactions from the Royal Society of London, which discussed similar procedures observed at Constantinople. Inoculation entailed transferring pus from a person with a mild case of the disease and deliberately infecting a healthy person through a cut in the arm or leg. This invariably resulted in some minor illness but also lifetime immunity to smallpox. Boylston was convinced and, upon Mather’s urging, he successfully inoculated Mather’s six-year-old son, his slave Jack, and Jack’s infant son. None of them contracted a severe form of the disease, but the public outcry against Boylston and Mather was intense, and both their

homes were damaged by rioters. Initially, the religious community strongly opposed the practice, feeling it was ungodly to deliberately infect a person with any known miasma. An intense pamphlet war then ensued between pro- and anti-inoculation forces before Boylston was allowed to continue with the procedure. In this he had the support of six out of 16 town ministers, who sought to limit the sufferings of the general populace by any means possible. Ultimately, of the 246 subjects Boylston infected, only six died. This compares favorably with the 5,889 Boston inhabitants who contracted the illness, leading to 844 deaths. In light of his medical success, Boylston was invited to London in 1725 to lecture before the London medical establishment. The following year he published his methodically prepared Historical Account of the Small-Pox Inoculated in New England, which was well received and resulted in his membership in the Royal Society. Boylston was the first American physician so honored. He returned to Boston in 1727 to resume his medical practice, and when another smallpox epidemic raged in 1730 he successfully performed another spate of inoculations. Boylston finally retired from the profession to raise horses in Brookline, where he also scientifically experimented with plants and animals. He died in Brookline on March 1, 1766, one of the colonies’ earliest and most celebrated medical pioneers.

March Military: An English-incited Chickasaw war party raids a Choctaw village, drawing the nearby French into a frontier war in support of their allies. Religion: The first Presbyterian church in America is formed in Philadelphia under Francis Makemie, subsequently regarded as the father of American Presbyterianism.

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June 10 Politics: The South Carolina policy of excluding all but Anglican adherents in the colonial assembly is voided by the English Crown.

August 30 Military: Indians attack and destroy the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

September 7 Military: A combined French/Spanish expedition under Captain Jacques Lefebvre arrives off Charles Town, Carolina, anchors off Sullivan’s Island, and dispatches a surrender demand ashore. Governor Nathaniel Johnson refuses to comply and begins defensive preparations.

September 9 Military: Spanish troops land upon James Island, South Carolina, but are driven off by Carolina militia and some Indian allies. Another group of Spaniards is surprised in camp by the English, losing 60 prisoners.

September 11 Naval: Colonial defenders under Colonel William Rhett at Charles Town, Carolina, launch numerous fireboats on a combined French/Spanish flotilla offshore, scattering them out to sea. At this juncture, the attackers call it quits and retire to Saint Augustine, Florida, but not before the English capture the newly arrived Brillante and 200 soldiers. All told, Charles Town’s plucky garrison killed 30 Spanish and made another 320 prisoner.

November 30 Religion: The South Carolina assembly establishes the Anglican Church of England as the colony’s official sect.

1707 Labor: In Philadelphia, mechanics protest the use of African-American slaves as competition in the various crafts. Religion: Presbyterian founder Francis Makemie is tried and acquitted in a New York court, signaling the end of prosecuting Protestant minorities in that colony. Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature mandates that free blacks cannot entertain slaves in their homes without the consent of their owners. A five-shilling fine is imposed on any free black who willingly harbors a fugitive slave. Summer: English leaders incite several hundred Talapoosa Indians to attack the Spanish enclave at Pensacola, Florida. They seize everything except the Spanish fort, burning the town and making several captives.

March 6 Politics: Queen Anne endorses the Act of Union, combining England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland into a new entity, the United Kingdom. Consequently, Scottish immigrants can now immigrate to the colonies more rapidly and do so in large number.

May 13 Naval: An expedition of 1,300 Massachusetts men in 23 vessels under Colonel John March sails from Boston for a campaign against Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia).

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May 26 Naval: A force of 23 New England sloops anchors off Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia), and begins landing 750 Rhode Island and Massachusetts militiamen under Colonel John March. The force advances to the very gates of the French fort there, only to timidly retire at the last moment. An embarrassing impasse sets in once outnumbered French troops under Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse begin a series of guerrilla attacks.

June 15 Naval: Colonel John March, having failed to storm French fortifications at Port Royal, Acadia, glumly leads his troops back on board their fleet and sails off to Casco Bay. Governor Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts, when informed of the retreat, angrily orders Colonel John March to try again.

August 13 Military: The plucky French garrison at Port Royal, Acadia, is reinforced by the Intrepide under Captain Pierre Morpain. His arrival coincides with renewed efforts by New Englanders to mount a second campaign against the settlement.

August 20 Military: A force of 1,600 New England militia under Colonel John March makes its second appearance off Port Royal, Acadia, surrounds the French but fails to secure their surrender. The effort then collapses entirely and the New Englanders set sail for New England. The determined Massachusetts governor Joseph Dudley tries again, but only after the expedition is stiffened by British regular troops.

September 21 Military: Abenaki warriors attack Winter Harbor, Maine.

November Military: Spanish-held Pensacola, Florida, is again beset by 1,500 Carolina Indians and English militiamen, but lack of unity among their leaders results in a lack of decisive action. The dispirited attackers begin dispersing toward the interior.

December 8 Military: French reinforcements under Governor Le Moyne de Bienville arrive at Pensacola, Florida, dispersing the few remaining English and Indians.

1708 Science: Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia mathematica is introduced to the colonies by James Logan. Slavery: By 1708, the 2,900 African slaves and 1,100 Indian slaves outnumber South Carolina’s English population. In Connecticut, a law is passed that mandates whipping for any black who strikes a white person. Pennsylvania, responding to complaints from its mechanics and artisans over competition from African- American slaves, summarily restricts their importation into the colony. However, the British government strikes down such limitations. Sport: Kings, Queens, and Suffolk counties, New York, declare a closed season on quail, turkey, and partridge hunting to preserve existing animal stocks.

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January 19 Publishing: The Boston News-Letter prints the first illustration ever used in a colonial newsletter.

July 26 Military: Captains Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville and Jean-Baptiste de SaintOurs Deschaillons march from Montreal at the head of a 200-man French/ Abenaki force and head southward into Massachusetts.

August 29–30 Military: Abenaki warriors suddenly attack Haverhill, Massachusetts, massacring several of the inhabitants. However, they are ambushed while retiring to Canada, losing 10 killed and 19 wounded, along with most of their plunder.

October Slavery: A brief uprising by slaves in Newton, Long Island, kills seven English and leads to the execution of four blacks. New legislation is then passed to curtail possible slave conspiracies.

October 14 Religion: Connecticut church politics diverge sharply from those of Massachusetts through adoption of the general court’s “Saybrook Platform.” This document organizes Congregational churches along the lines of the more centralized Presbyterians, as opposed to the more autonomous Massachusetts variety.

December 21 Military: French and Indian forces besiege the English settlement of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in an attempt to bring the eastern shore under French control.

1709 Arts: Henrietta Johnson of Charleston, South Carolina, becomes America’s first female commercial artist by painting pastel portraits of local notables. She does so to supplement the meager salary of his husband, rector of St. Philip’s Church. Business: Connecticut charters the first colonial copper mine in Simsbury, where all ore extracted is shipped solely to England. Medical: Quakers in Philadelphia found the first private home for the mentally ill. Religion: After decades of oppression, Quakers are finally allowed to construct a meeting house in Boston, Massachusetts, a good indication of how far Puritan mores have dissipated. Slavery: Possession of African or Indian slaves within New France is declared legal by intendant Jacques Raudot.

January 1 Military: The English settlement at St. John’s, Newfoundland, surrenders to a combined French/Indian force under Captain Joseph de Saint Ovide.

May Military: A force of 700 Alibamon warriors attacks Mobile, Alabama, seizing 30 hostages. The attackers were ultimately repulsed by the French garrison, who killed 34 Indians and subsequently burned their village.

July Military: Colonel Francis Nicholson commands a large expedition from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey up the Hudson River in an aborted attempt to

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September 3 General: Swiss and German immigrants from Bern and the Palatine, respectively, begin arriving in the Carolinas. They receive a grant of 13,500 acres from the proprietors, the generous terms of which stimulate further immigration from these regions. Over the next two years, British agents in Germany will encourage the migration of 50,000 settlers for various regions within the American colonies.

October 4 Military: A conference of governors held at Providence, Rhode Island, unanimously agrees to provide men and money for an expedition against Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia). They then seek permission from Queen Anne to undertake the effort.

1710 Business: Parliament passes the Post Office Act which establishes a postmaster general for the American colonies in New York City. Religion: Trinity School is founded in New York by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Settlement: French colonists transplant their colony at Biloxi, Mississippi, to present—day Mobile, Alabama. Slavery: Virginia authorities manumit a slave named Will for his role in revealing a planned slave insurrection. Governor Alexander Spotswood subsequently tries

Hendrick

(ca. 1680–1755)

Mohawk chief Theyanoguin (“The western door is open”), better known to the English as King Hendrick, was probably born in western Massachusetts around 1680, the son of a Mohawk mother and a Mohegan father. Little is known of his youth beyond an association with the Mohawk nation of the Five Nations Iroquois confederation, his early conversion to Protestantism, and activities as an Indian preacher. By the time he became known to English authorities, Hendrick was already a senior sachem and a reputable warrior at Canajoharie, along the Mohawk River. Such was his reputation that in 1710, Hendrick was one of four Indian “Kings” sent to England for an audience with Queen Anne and was widely feted in London. Impressed by his

1710

trip abroad, the chief redoubled his efforts to renew the so-called Covenant Chain, a traditional Iroquois symbol of alliance, with the English. In light of his invaluable work, Hendrick was again sent to London, for an audience with King George II, where he was heralded as “Emperor of the Five Nations” and his full-length portrait rendered. But despite the appearance of good relations, Hendrick, like many Mohawk leaders, grew increasingly dismayed by colonists’ attempts to defraud the Indians of land and their willingness to ply them with alcohol. Tensions crested in 1753, when he angrily declared to Governor George Clinton that the Covenant Chain was broken. This certainly caught the attention of English authorities, fearing

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to discourage further importation of slaves because the inhabitants are uneasy about their growing number—in several communities they outnumber the whites.

April 19 Diplomacy: A delegation of three Mohawk chiefs, headed by King Hendrick and a Mahican, are taken to London by Colonel Peter Schuyler where they are hailed as “Indian Kings.” They gain a meeting with Queen Anne and have their portraits painted before returning home. The chiefs are there to ask the British monarch for additional troops to help drive the French from Canada.

June 21 Law: Newly arrived Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood introduces the right of habeas corpus to colonists residing there.

July 26 Military: Colonel Francis Nicholson returns to Boston after visiting London, bringing with him the large squadron of Commodore George Martin. At length he culls 3,500 New England troops drawn from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island for an intended assault upon Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia). These are piled into 31 transport vessels and prepare to sail.

September 18 Naval: An expedition of 3,500 colonial troops and Royal Marines sails from Boston under the command of Commodore George Martin and Colonel Francis Nicholson. Royal Navy Captain Thomas Mathews also sails the frigate HMS Chester out of Boston, intending to blockade Port Royal, Acadia, ahead of the invasion force.

the onset of a new war with France, and they pledged to address Indian concerns. Hendrick then reversed himself and allowed the Covenant Chain to be reinstated at the Albany Conference in 1754. In an American context, Hendrick is best known for his influence on colonial attitudes toward unity. While at Albany, he constantly belittled the English, calling them women, for their inability to find unity in the face of French aggression, and their unwillingness to fortify frontier posts. One American delegate at Albany, Benjamin Franklin, was sufficiently impressed by the practical aspects of the Five Nations Iroquois concerns to draw up the Albany Plan, the first attempt to promote colonial unity. Hendrick was also influential in having his good friend, Sir William Johnson, reinstated as head of the Indian Department, confident

that Johnson would never betray his Indian friends. In fact, Hendrick was a constant fixture at Johnson’s home and was perpetually introduced to important colonial dignitaries there. After the French and Indian War erupted in 1754, the bulk of the Iroquois were disposed to remain neutral, but Hendrick roused his Mohawk into supporting the English. At the time, he was an old man of about 75, yet still fit enough to campaign in the field. On September 8, 1755, Hendrick and his warriors accompanied Johnson’s advance troops to Lake George, where they were ambushed by French and Indians under Baron Ludwig Diskau. Hendrick was apparently shot off his horse and then killed in action, at which point the remaining Mohawks withdrew from the war. He was the most important Mohawk leader until Joseph Brant, two decades later.

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September 24 Naval: A large expedition under Colonel Francis Nicholson drops anchor off Port Royal, Acadia, with nearly 4,000 New England militiamen and several warships. The French garrison under Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse consists of only 300 men, but he refuses all calls to surrender.

October Settlement: The first of several thousand Palatine Germans take up residence near Livingston Manor in the Hudson River Valley, New York. There they will engage in the production of naval stores for the Royal Navy and maritime concerns.

October 6 Military: New England militia under Colonel Francis Nicholson position siege trenches within 100 yards of Port Royal’s fortifications and construct siege batteries.

October 15 Military: Colonel Francis Nicholson and Sir Charles Hobby, leading 4,000 provincial militiamen backed by guns of an English fleet, accept the surrender of Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia), from Governor Daniel d’Auger de Subercasse. The post is subsequently renamed Annapolis after Queen Anne. Nicholson intends to return to England and obtain additional regular land and naval forces to supplant his somewhat unpredictable militia forces.

1711 Business: The South Sea Company is organized in England for the purpose of importing African slaves into English and American colonies. Diplomacy: A conference is held at Albany between New York officials and Iroquois chiefs, and “Madame Montour” debuts as an interpreter. She is apparently the offspring of a French father and an Indian mother and picked up the ability to speak English fluently. In this capacity, she is a standard fixture at all important Indian conferences for the next three decades. Education: The traditional emphasis on teaching Greek and Latin in Boston public schools seems excessive and draws complaints from certain quarters, duly noted in the town record. Law: The Massachusetts legislature allocates a sum of 578 pounds to victims of the Salem witch trials, some of whom lost both their property and family members. An extremely contrite Judge Samuel Sewall is to manage distribution of the compensation. Religion: Resentment against the Anglican Church’s official status results in the short-lived Cary’s Rebellion. Slavery: The Pennsylvania legislature, reacting to intense pressure from Quaker and Mennonite communities, votes to abolish slavery in that colony, but it is ultimately overruled by the British government. Autumn: Captain Theophilus Hastings leads 1,300 Creek on a campaign through the heart of Choctaw territory in Alabama; 80 Indians are killed and 130 taken prisoner. Their efforts are abetted by 200 Chickasaw under Thomas Welsh, who raid other parts of the southern frontier.

March Politics: Deputy Governor Thomas Cary, an Anglican stalwart, escapes from captivity in North Carolina and vows to return to overthrow the government

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there. Cary had previously been impeached by the General Assembly for abusing his powers while attempting to make the Church of England a state-sponsored creed.

June Military: Colonel Francis Nicholson summons an assembly of New England governors to New London, Connecticut, for high-level strategy discussions. They adopt a scheme for combined thrusts into Canada from the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain against Quebec and Montreal, respectively.

June 19 Naval: Colonel Francis Nicholson arrives back at Boston following another successful voyage to London. Right on his heels are 11 Royal Navy warships and 51 troop transports under Admiral Hovenden Walker. Among the troops dispatched are five veteran regiments under General John Hill, previously attached to the duke of Marlborough’s army.

June 25 Military: Boston bustles with military activity following the arrival of 5,000 troops and 6,000 sailors intended for a major campaign against French Canada.

July 30 Naval: A combined expedition of 5,000 British troops, 2,000 provincials, and 6,000 sailors embarks from Boston under Admiral Hovenden Walker and General John Hill on an ill-fated campaign against French Canada. Simultaneously, Colonel Francis Nicholson is dispatched with a militia force to march up the Hudson River and possibly threaten or capture Montreal.

August 18 Naval: Admiral Hovenden Walker’s large expedition anchors in Gaspé Bay prior to driving up the Saint Lawrence River toward Quebec. Progress is slowed by the lack of pilots familiar with the sometimes treacherous currents.

August 20 Naval: Surrounded by a thick fog, the fleet of Admiral Hovenden Walker enters the Saint Lawrence River, and cautiously gropes for safe anchorage.

August 22 Naval: The large amphibious expedition of Admiral Hovenden Walker is swept by strong currents against the breakers surrounding Ile aux Oeufs with a loss of eight transports and nearly 1,000 lives.

August 25 Naval: Admiral Hovenden Walker and General John Hill meet and discuss what to do next after incurring great losses of equipment and lives in the Saint Lawrence River. They then decide to cancel the entire operation and dispatch a frigate to Boston to recall the army of Colonel Francis Nicholson from his impending march up the Hudson River into Canada. In light of this timidity, both Walker and Hill are eventually cashiered from the service when they return to England.

September 22 Military: The Tuscarora Indians under Chief Hancock, smarting from years of abuse at the hands of colonials, stage surprise attacks against settlements along

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Chronology of American History the Chowan and Roanoke Rivers (New Bern, North Carolina), killing more than 200 colonials—mostly Swiss and Palatine German settlers. A sizable number of African Americans also escapes into the wilderness. A call then goes out for reinforcements from Virginia and South Carolina.

1712 Business: The first sperm whale is killed and towed back into Nantucket Harbor, Massachusetts. Hereafter colonial whalers, previously confined to the coast, begin venturing into deeper water for bigger game. Law: Fines for excessive galloping—America’s first speeding tickets—are levied in Philadelphia against offending horse carriages. Slavery: South Carolina law mandates that no white can be punished for injuring or killing a slave if the latter resists lawful punishment; a fine would be levied instead.

January 12 Military: Colonel John Barnwell and 500 South Carolina militiamen attack the Tuscarora stronghold at Torhunta, reducing it and the defenders in a stiff encounter.

January 30 Military: Colonel John Barnwell is dispatched by the South Carolina government with 33 troops and 500 allied Indians to North Carolina, where he campaigns against hostile Tuscarora at Narhantes on the Neuse River (North Carolina). After killing several Indians and capturing 30, he further engages in a scorched-earth policy, burning anything of use to the tribesmen.

March 6–7 Military: Colonel John Barnwell leads 200 white soldiers and 148 native allies in an attack upon the Tuscarora stronghold of Fort Nohucke (Cotechney Creek, North Carolina). Barnwell loses four killed and 20 wounded in stiff combat, at which point the Indians call for a truce. The two sides then exchange prisoners and Barnwell withdraws.

March 25 Societal: A conspiracy to foment a slave uprising begins in New York City when a handful of newly arrived Africans, under the sway of a free black and practitioner of magic, begins collecting arms.

March 29 Military: Colonel John Barnwell leads a force back to Hancock’s Town but finds it has been greatly strengthened. His men then chase the Tuscaroras into their enclave, but he declines to attack and withdraws to Coree Town.

April 6–7 Slavery: A fire on Maiden Lane, New York, is set by armed African-American slaves, who shoot down nine whites attempting to put the flames out. Governor Robert Hunter then dispatches militia against the alleged transgressors, capturing 70. Twenty-one slave suspects are executed in retaliation; six commit suicide by cutting their own throats rather than face capture. Consequently, the colonial legislature expands the Black Code to include death penalties for conspiracy to murder and destruction of property.

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April 7–17 Military: Colonel John Barnwell surrounds the Tuscarora village at Hancock’s Town and besieges it for several days until King Hancock comes to terms and sues for peace. The Indians then release all hostages and captives and the English withdraw again.

May Military: French troops, backed by numerous Ottawa and Illinois Indians, rout a large village of Fox Indians, killing or capturing 1,000 as they withdraw back to their native Wisconsin. This action precipitates a struggle lasting two decades.

May 7 Diplomacy: A deputation of Chipewyan Indians arrives at York Factory, Hudson Bay, to conclude a treaty with the Hudson’s Bay Company. This act allows the company to establish a new fort at the mouth of the Churchill River to facilitate trade with that distant tribe.

May 9 Politics: The Territory of the Carolinas is finally and formally divided into North and South by its proprietors, each half being run by its own royal governor. The first executive of North Carolina is Edward Hyde.

June 7 Slavery: The importation of slaves is banned by the Pennsylvania representative assembly, making it the first English colony to outlaw that practice.

July 4 Politics: Twelve more slaves are executed in New York City after an attempted revolt is crushed by the militia. Consequently, the Catechism School for Negroes at Trinity Church closes out of fear that education encourages rebellions.

September 14 Business: King Louis XIV grants Antoine Crozat a monopoly of trade in Louisiana for five years.

December Military: Colonel James Moore, commanding 40 English and 800 native allies, attacks the Tuscarora at the Tar River, South Carolina, killing 200 and capturing 800.

1713 Business: The first American-built schooner, a staple of the colonial shipping industry, is launched at Gloucester, Massachusetts, by Captain Andrew Robinson. Diplomacy: A peace treaty is finally reached with warring Tuscarora tribesmen, giving them the choice of either selling off additional land to the English, or migrating northward to join allied tribes there. Not surprisingly, the dispirited survivors gradually migrate northward to New York, becoming the sixth nation of the Iroquois confederation in 1722. General: Massachusetts and Connecticut legislatures come to a mutual agreement on precise boundaries between the two colonies.

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Chronology of American History Religion: King’s Chapel in Boston acquires its first organ; this is in direct contravention to traditional Puritan practices which forbid music in religious service. Less stern denominations usually could not afford such a luxury. Settlement: Large numbers of Palatine Germans depart the Hudson River Valley and relocate under Conrad Wesier to Schoharie Creek, New York.

March 20–23 Military: A force of 1,000 South Carolinian militiamen under Colonel James Moore, assisted by Cherokee and Yamassee warriors, marches into North Carolina against still hostile Tuscarora. They successfully storm Chief Hancock’s fortified town of Nooherooka in a three-day battle, seizing it along with 400 captives, who are eventually sold into slavery. Colonial losses amount to 22 killed and 36 wounded, whereas Indian losses probably exceeded 1,000. This victory effectively ends the war.

March 26 General: Great Britain and Spain conclude the Assiento, a commercial arrangement that allows the British South Sea Company to ship 4,800 slaves per year into the Spanish colonies of North America. Their agreement is to last 30 years.

April 11 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe and Queen Anne’s War. France keeps Cape Breton Island and islands in the St. Lawrence River but cedes Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Hudson Bay to Great Britain. This creates friction with Micmac living in the area, for the British refuse to disperse annual gifts to the Indians as France had done. Generally, French fortunes in the New World begin to wane.

July 28 Diplomacy: The Abenaki sign a peace treaty with Governor Joseph Dudley in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, finally swearing their allegiance to Great Britain.

November 5 Business: The Virginia House of Burgesses adopts a rigid tobacco inspection program to both improve the quality of the product and potentially drive market prices up.

1714 Arts: Robert Hunter, then governor of New York, writes the political satire Androboros, being the first-ever drama composed and published by an American native. Business: Tea is introduced for the first time into the North American colonies, quickly supplanting coffee and hot chocolate as the most popular beverage. Governor Alexander Spotswood encourages German emigrants to build the first iron furnaces along the Rapidan River, Virginia. Science: Clergyman Cotton Mather publicly declares his belief in the Copernican theory of the universe, whereby the Earth rotates around the Sun and not vice

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versa. This contradicts the centuries-old Ptolemaic tradition, which holds the opposite to be true. It also constitutes a significant victory for scientific observation over prevailing religious dogma. Settlement: Louis St. Denis establishes Natchitoches, Louisiana, along the Red River. Slavery: The Rhode Island assembly forbids ferrymen from transporting slaves out of the colony without the written consent of their owners or a public official. The New Hampshire colonial legislature grants legal recognition to slavery.

August 1 Politics: Queen Anne is succeeded by King George I, initiating the House of Hanover. The new monarch, a German native, cannot address his new subjects in their native language.

1715 Business: Only three years after the first sperm whale was killed and towed back to Nantucket, Massachusetts, that town boasts a whaling fleet of six 30-ton sloops capable of cruising far out at sea for up to six weeks. Religion: North Carolina legislators pass the Third Vestry Act to confirm the Anglican Church’s status as the colony’s official creed. The English-based Society for the Propagation of the Gospel proved instrumental in having this act finally pass; two previous attempts were more or less ignored by the Carolina proprietors. Settlement: Defeat of the Jacobite rebellion in Great Britain causes an influx of Scottish immigrants and refugees to North America. Slavery: The North Carolina legislature passes legislation to legalize slavery within its boundaries, and also outlaws racial intermarriage, and denies blacks access to religious meeting houses.

February 11 Diplomacy: The surviving Tuscarora Indians sign a peace treaty with the government of North Carolina, forfeiting most of their lands in that colony.

April 23 Military: Governor Charles Craven of South Carolina is warned by traders William Bray and Samuel Warner that tensions among the Yamasee Indians are about to explode into violence.

April 26 Military: Yamassee, Catawba, and Creek Indians, angered by past abuses at the hands of colonials and encouraged by Spanish officials, suddenly strike English settlements north of Savannah, South Carolina (Georgia), on Good Friday. Over 100 colonials are killed, after which Governor Charles Craven hastily pursues the invaders. Yamassee warriors also strike this day at St. Bartholomew, South Carolina, burning the settlement and taking 100 captives. They are eventually joined by Creek warriors, possibly incited to fight by French traders.

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May Politics: King George I restores the proprietorship of Maryland to Charles Calvert, fourth lord Baltimore, under the Charter of 1632. This act concludes two and a half decades of royal rule in Maryland, during which time Baltimore was enabled to maintain his property in the colony.

June Military: A war band of 400 Indians attacks and massacres inhabitants of the Herne Plantation (Goose Creek), South Carolina. A militia then gathers under Captain Thomas Baker and pursues the intruders, only to be ambushed and defeated with a loss of 26 men.

June 24 Military: A party of Carolina militia under Captain George Chicken attacks and defeats a party of rampaging Yamassee near the Ponds, North Carolina.

July Military: Rampaging Yamassee warriors attack the village of New London, South Carolina, and are repulsed. They subsequently break up into groups and hit various nearby settlements. One of these, Saint Paul’s Parish, loses 20 inhabitants to the tomahawk.

July 19 Military: A Carolina militia commanded by Captain George Chicken surrounds a party of Yamassee warriors at a plantation near Ponds, South Carolina, then attacks and slaughters them. The Indians lose 40 killed and the colonials capture several prisoners and rescue hostages.

1716 Arts: The first permanent theater is constructed at Williamsburg, Virginia; by 1745, this same building will function as the town hall. Exploration: Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood, accompanied by a group called the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, explore down the James River and up across the Blue Ridge Mountains into the fertile Shenandoah Valley. This is one of the first concerted efforts to open up the interior of the colony to settlement. General: The French begin persuading the Micmac still residing on Cape Breton Island to relocate to Jesuit-run missions in Acadia (Nova Scotia) and Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island). Medical: New York begins the practice of licensing midwives. Religion: John Wise, a Congregational minister, publishes A Vindication of the Government of New-England Churches, and defends their somewhat democratic nature against the more centralized tendencies advocated by Increase and Cotton Mather.

June 6 General: The first African slaves are introduced into French Louisiana, belonging to the Company of the West.

August Military: A body of 225 French soldiers and militiamen, backed by 400 native allies, besieges the Fox Indian village at Butte des Mortes (Green Bay, Wisconsin)

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for a month, securing from the survivors a pledge to sell their lands to France and compensate them for the campaign as well.

August 1 Military: Yamassee war bands stage a successful raid near Port Royal, South Carolina, killing four civilians.

September 14 Technology: Boston, Massachusetts, begins operating the first colonial lighthouse on Little Brewster Island.

1717 Business: After the Hudson’s Bay Company constructs a trading post at the mouth of the Churchill River, the neighboring Chipewyan Indians are installed as middlemen for all trade farther west. Colonial vessels are now permitted to visit the French West Indies and bring back cargos of French molasses to New England. This, in turn, is distilled into rum, one of the region’s largest exports. King Louis XVI grants Scottish financier John Law and his Company of the West a virtual monopoly in the Louisiana territory. Diplomacy: England’s victory over the Yamassee convinces Creek Indians of central Georgia and Alabama leaders to pursue a policy of neutrality respecting that power and the Spanish in Florida. The English have also been greatly assisted by the Cherokee, traditional enemies of the Creek. Education: Reverend Cotton Mather establishes the first evening school for African Americans and Indians in Boston, Massachusetts. Reverend Hugh Jones assumes the first professorship in philosophy and mathematics at the College of William and Mary, Virginia. Law: A royal proclamation automatically pardons all pirates who surrender themselves to authorities, and a large group of transgressors, operating out of Providence Island, Bahamas, avail themselves of the offer. Slavery: The British government authorizes the South Sea Company to import Africans slaves to the colonies. The Maryland legislature passes laws to discourage interracial marriage within its boundaries; henceforth, all black spouses become slaves to the white mates. South Carolina colony adopts antimiscegenation laws to prevent interracial marriage.

September 20 Military: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville is appointed commandant general of Louisiana colony and responsible for its overall defense.

November 12 Business: The tobacco inspection act of 1713 is repealed in Virginia.

1718 Business: Scottish financier John Law organizes the Mississippi Company and begins issuing public shares. Despite government regulations, a spate of wild speculating in shares ensues.

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Chronology of American History Law: The British Parliament fixes the terms of indentured service for all criminals dispatched to the colonies, ranging from the usual seven years for minor offenses to lifelong service for serious crimes. Military: Escalating frontier tensions induce South Carolina to begin fortifying Columbia and Port Royal against Indian attacks.

July 30 General: William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, dies.

September 10 Education: The Collegiate School of New Haven, Connecticut, renames itself Yale College after Elihu Yale, a former East India Company governor and now a local merchant who had been a most generous donor.

September 27 Naval: A South Carolina expedition of two vessels under Colonel William Rhet seizes notorious pirate Stede Bonnet after a stiff sea fight.

November Settlement: Montreal-born Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, founds New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River, while the jurisdiction of Louisiana is extended upriver as far as the Illinois Territory. The settlement is named after Philippe, duke of Orleans and regent of France. The future city initially consists of only 68 inhabitants.

November 21 Naval: A ship under Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl engages and defeats the piratical Captain Edward Teach (Blackbeard) off Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. The formidable Blackbeard only falls after receiving 10 wounds, while the Royal Navy sustains 10 killed and 24 injured.

December 10 Law: Stede Bonnet, the notorious “Gentleman pirate,” is hanged in London for murder and piracy in the Caribbean Sea and off the colonial coast.

1719 Business: Potatoes are cultivated for the first time by Scottish immigrants in Londonderry, New Hampshire. General: Fraunces Tavern, site of General George Washington’s noted farewell speech to his officers in 1783, is built at Pearl and Broad Streets in New York City. Journalism: William Brooker founds the Boston Gazette, which, by the time of the American Revolution, has evolved into a colonial mouthpiece. Military: French soldiers further expand their chain of forts in the northwest by erecting Fort Ouiatenon along the Wabash River (Indiana), to guard the fur trade route into the Mississippi River Valley. Politics: Colonists in South Carolina overturn proprietary governance for its failure to prevent Spanish incursions from Florida. Religion: The first German Reform Church arises in Germantown, Pennsylvania, unique in allowing the mass to be conducted by a layman. Slavery: French ships Grand Duc du Maine and Aurora drop anchor off New Orleans, Louisiana, conveying that colony’s first large shipment of African slaves.

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Societal: The New Jersey legislature begin regulating the institution of marriage, forbidding any individual until the age of 21 to wed without parental consent. This measure is undertaken to curtail minors from stumbling into unfortunate unions that society would ultimately have to rectify. Technology: Boston becomes the first American city to install and utilize street lamps for nighttime illumination. The device in question was designed and constructed by Eliakim Hutchinson.

August 6–8 Naval: A Spanish fleet arrives off French-held Pensacola, Florida, takes up bombardment positions, and induces the garrison to surrender without a shot.

September 17 Naval: A French expedition sails into Pensacola and defeats the Spanish defenders after a three-hour exchange, then accepts surrender of the town.

October 12 Military: Colonel John Barnwell organizes a punitive expedition consisting of militia and allied Coosa Indians. This day they strike at Yamassee villages at Pocotaligo (Saint Augustine), Florida, killing several inhabitants. A company of Spanish soldiers attacks the intruders and is driven off with a loss of 14 killed and several made prisoner.

November Politics: The recent Yamassee War had weakened the proprietary regime of Governor Robert Johnson of South Carolina to the point where he is easily removed from power and replaced by the successful military leader James Moore, who reigns as an interim figure.

December Publishing: Thomas Fleet publishes the first edition of Mother Goose’s Melodies for Children, one of the earliest and most memorable collections for youthful readers. Settlement: The French Company of the West begins transporting numerous German farmers fleeing from the war-ravaged Rhineland region, to Louisiana. It is hoped their presence will promote the colony’s agricultural self-sufficiency as it still requires food shipments from France.

December 21 Politics: South Carolina is made a royal colony following a revolt against the proprietors; the latter still retain their land rights. Journalism: James Franklin, elder brother of Benjamin Franklin, begins publishing the Boston Gazette.

December 22 Journalism: Andrew Bradford begins publishing the American Weekly Mercury in Philadelphia; it is Pennsylvania’s first newspaper.

1720 Business: The Chickasaw of Mississippi, drawn to the British because of the high quality and low price of their goods, engender extreme opposition from the French and their nearby Choctaw allies.

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Chronology of American History Education: Virginia establishes the first permanent school for educating Indians at Williamsburg. Military: The French continue their systematic construction of military fortifications throughout the Mississippi River Valley to secure and protect the fur trade. This year, new outposts spring up at the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, on Cape Breton Island (Louisbourg), and on the Niagara frontier. Through such expedients, they hope to protect cooperative Indians from attacks by hostile Iroquois. Religion: The Dunkers, a German religious sect, establish their Ephrata Cloister near Philadelphia. As a group, they are best known for their hymn books, copied and illustrated by women church members, and for choirs singing in multipart harmonies.

May Slavery: A slave insurrection in Charleston, South Carolina, is put down, 23 slaves are arrested and three executed for their role in the conspiracy.

May 29 Politics: The far-ranging Francis Nicholson arrives in South Carolina as its first royal governor.

June Military: Yamassee warriors attack Saint Helena, South Carolina, killing several settlers and taking captives.

August 14 Military: A Spanish/Indian party of 120 men under General Don Pedro de Villasur encamps on the Platte River (Columbus, Nebraska) while making overtures to nearby Pawnee villagers. At dawn the natives, assisted by French traders, attack and overrun the Spanish camp, killing Villasur and most of his men.

October Business: In France, the Mississippi Company of John Law collapses under the weight of a scheme called the “Mississippi Bubble.” Law, a Scottish financier, had originally concocted the scheme to stimulate interest and investment in colonization. However, when his bank, the Company of the West, issued paper money far in excess of securities extant, it collapsed and ruined thousands of investors.

1721 Arts: Gustavius Hesselius receives what is most likely the first public art commission in America, painting the Last Supper for St. Barnabas Church, St. George’s County, Maryland. Business: The Lords of Trade implore King George I to block French expansion in the Ohio backcountry by fortifying Virginia’s western frontier. Education: Jesuits found a college at Kaskaskia, Illinois, whose library contains volumes of the very latest French philosophers. Law: Royal Navy vessels defeat the so-called “Calico Pirates,” taking Anne Bonney and Mary Reed prisoner. The captives are then taken to Jamaica and hanged, save for Bonney, who is pregnant and spared. Politics: The ascent of Robert Walpole, as British chancellor of the Exchequer, ushers in an age of benign neglect toward the colonies, replete with widespread violation of the Navigation Acts.

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Slavery: Delaware colony passes an antimiscegenation ordinance to prevent racial intermarriage. Societal: The French, in an attempt to keep their young men from cavorting with Indian women, begin cleaning out jails and shipping prostitutes to Louisiana as potential wives.

May Law: Connecticut passes an ordinance requiring people to remain in their homes on Sunday, unless they are heading to church or some other vital function.

May 1 Medicine: The first smallpox inoculations in America are performed by Dr. Zabdiel Boylston of Massachusetts after 844 colonists die from that malady. He had been encouraged to experiment by the Reverend Cotton Mather, who was himself informed of this ancient African practice by his slave Onesimus. Science: Reverend Cotton Mather composes his Christian Philosopher, in which he outlines and attempts to explain the fundamentals of Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of physics, first introduced to the colonies in 1708.

May 21 Business: John Copson founds the first colonial marine and fire insurance company on High Street, Philadelphia.

May 29 Politics: South Carolina becomes a royal colony under Governor Francis Nicholson at the behest of King George I.

September 8 Business: The British Board of Trade, always eager to increase business and profits, recommends to the British Crown the practice of intermarriage between white traders and Indians. This is a common occurrence among the French North American colonies, yet rare in British holdings due to an overweening sense of racial superiority to the natives. The board holds intermarriage as perhaps the best and easiest way to insure peaceful relations between the two groups.

1722 Business: Parliament adds copper, beaver, and other furs to the list of enumerated items which the colonies can only ship to Great Britain. A separate act permits the colonies to mint their own copper coins. Diplomacy: Fugitive Tuscarora from North Carolina agree to join the Iroquois confederation, now called the Six Nations. Governor Alexander Spotswood concludes a treaty with the Six Nations Iroquois, mandating that they will not migrate across the Blue Ridge Mountains or below the Potomac River without permission from Virginia authorities. Settlement: Having founded the town of San Antonio, Texas, the Spanish also construct a Franciscan mission known as the Alamo. Slavery: The Pennsylvania assembly passes a law condemning that apparently widespread practice of blacks and whites cohabiting together. Virginia authorities get upwind of a possible slave conspiracy, arrest several alleged perpetrators, and sell them to regions outside the colony.

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January 24 Education: Edward Wigglesworth becomes the first professor of divinity in the colonies by occupying the Thomas Hollis chair at Harvard College.

April 30 Sports: The first mention of billiards in Charleston, Massachusetts, appears in the New England Courant.

June Military: Abenaki warriors incited by Jesuit priest Sebastian Rale suddenly attack English settlements near Brunswick, Maine, taking several captives. This is the opening act of what was generally known as Dummer’s War, which lasts five years.

June 4 General: Two hundred fifty German settlers come ashore at the present site of Mobile, Alabama, then a French possession.

October 23 Religion: Three Connecticut Congregational ministers, Timothy Cutler, Daniel Brown, and Samuel Johnson, embark for England to be ordinated as Anglican priests. This represents a considerable advance for the Church of England in New England, and Cutler emerges as a significant Anglican leader in New England.

1723 Education: The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, founds Brafferton Hall, the first permanent school for Native Americans. The Maryland assembly mandates public schools to be constructed in every county. General: Benjamin Franklin, unhappy over how his brother treats him, departs Boston and relocates to Philadelphia. Religion: Construction begins on Boston’s Old North Church, the earliest expression of Georgian-style church architecture in New England. Five decades later, it will become indelibly associated with the Revolutionary War activities of Paul Revere. The first Dunkard Church is organized at Germantown, Pennsylvania, under Peter Becker. The sect derives its name from the method of baptism, or “dunking.” Settlement: Conrad Weiser leads his fellow Palatine Germans from New York and into Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where they finally take root. Slavery: Rising concern over the rates of interracial marriage prompts a petition filed with the Pennsylvania assembly for remedial action. The Virginia assembly votes to eliminate free African Americans and Native Americans from the voting franchise and forbids them from carrying weapons of any kind.

April 13 Slavery: Governor William Dummer, reporting on a spate of arson in Boston, proclaims that the fires had been started by African Americans.

1724 Business: The cultivation and harvest of rice receives a boost, once systematic irrigation is introduced into the process.

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Franklin, Benjamin (1706–1790) Inventor, diplomat Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706, the son of a candle maker. Poorly educated, he matured into one of the most industrious, multitalented men of this or any other age, an individual whose outward simplicity and friendly demeanor masked a cunning, perceptive mind. By 1746, he found success as publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanac, colonial best sellers that allowed him to retire at the age of 42. Franklin then went on to found numerous civic organizations such as the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, and the College of Philadelphia. To this litany of accomplishments must be added his considerable largesse as a scientist and inventor, whose efforts at developing the

Benjamin Franklin. Portrait by Charles Willson Peale (Library of Congress)

Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and the lightning rod gained him membership in the prestigious Royal Philosophical Society. He also proved a fair hand at politics, winning several terms in the Pennsylvania assembly where he clashed with political conservatives such as John Dickinson. In 1757, Franklin next ventured to London as the colonial agent for Pennsylvania, becoming embroiled in the ongoing dispute over British imperial policies. He testified before Parliament as to the folly of enforcing unpopular tax measures with armed force and cautioned that the king’s ministers “will not find a rebellion; they may indeed make one.” His final act in Great Britain was arranging for radical pamphleteer Thomas Paine to immigrate to Philadelphia. Franklin returned to America in the spring of 1775, firmly committed to the cause of American independence. As a member of the Second Continental Congress, he lent Thomas Jefferson sagacious advice during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and later conferred with his old friend Admiral Richard Howe during an aborted peace commission. In 1777, Franklin undertook his most significant work, as American ambassador to the glittering court of King Louis XVI at Versailles. Bedecked in simple homespun, he proved immensely popular in aristocratic circles and an intellectual match for the wily foreign minister, Charles, comte de Vergennes. After helping to craft the Franco-American alliance, he turned his back on his allies and successfully negotiated a highly favorable peace treaty with (continues)

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(continued) Great Britain behind their backs. Franklin’s smooth personal diplomacy convinced the comte de Vergennes to accept the fait accompli gracefully. Back at home, Franklin served in various capacities throughout the Pennsylvania government, and in 1788, he represented his state at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. As a highly respected elder statesman, he urged fellow

delegates to approve the newly adopted federal constitution unanimously for the effect it would have on ratification. Franklin died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790, receiving the biggest funeral procession ever mounted in the city to that time. America’s original Renaissance man, he made indelible contributions to nationhood, science, and human welfare.

Military: Fort Dummer, built at present-day Brattleboro, Vermont, is constructed to protect New England settlers from Indian raids. Politics: The Rhode Island General Assembly institutes property qualifications as a condition for voting. Religion: The administration of Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville expels all Jews from Louisiana and adjoining territories. Science: Paul Dudley becomes the colonies’ first horticulturist by publishing a treatise on fruit trees in New England. Slavery: Hugh Jones publishes his tract, The Present State of Virginia, and encourages slave owners to have their charges educated and baptized.

March Slavery: Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, implements Louisiana’s Code Noir (Black Code), whose 55 provisions closely regulated the lives and activities of all slaves. It also ordered all Jews to leave the colony immediately.

August 24 Military: Colonel Thomas Westbrook and 200 colonial militiamen attack and massacre the inhabitants of an Abenaki village at Norridgewock (Narantsouak), Maine. Among the slain is a Jesuit missionary, Father Sebastian Rale, a longtime resident of the village, who had incited the Indians to violence and taken up arms in their defense.

1725 Diplomacy: British negotiators in Maine reach an agreement with the Penobscot Indians living there, which removes them from the ongoing Dummer’s War. The Indians agree to cease fighting, release all hostages, recognize British land claims in the region, and acknowledge sovereignty of the king of Great Britain over their lands. The Penobscots received neutrality in return, which they skillfully maintained until 1763. Journalism: The New York Gazette, New York’s first weekly newspaper, is started by William Bradford. Military: The New England militia begins construction on Fort Oswego, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, to counter the recent spate of French military construction at Niagara and elsewhere.

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Religion: African-American slaves in Williamsburg, Virginia, secure the right to acquire their own Baptist church. John Philip Boehm founds the U.S. Reformed Church at Falkner Swamp, Pennsylvania. Science: Nathaniel Ames, a Boston physician, publishes the first edition of his Astronomical Diary and Almanac, which continues up to the Revolutionary War. Slavery: The population of slaves in the Americas is estimated at 75,000. The Pennsylvania assembly, bowing to popular pressure, passes antimiscegenation laws to prevent interracial marriage or relations. In Virginia, the House of Burgesses authorizes construction of the Church of Colored Baptists at Williamsburg. To dissuade slaves from escaping, the South Carolina legislature levies a 200pound fine on any slave owner who transports his slaves beyond the frontier. The fear was that slaves might escape, join the Indians, and raise havoc.

February 20 Military: Captain John Lovewell, a noted frontier fighter, takes 10 Indian scalps at Wakefield, New Hampshire. This is the first recorded instance of colonial soldiers performing this grisly practice, and the British government awards them 100 pounds per scalp.

April 16 Military: Veteran Indian fighter Captain John Lovewell departs Dunstable, Massachusetts, with a company of 47 men and marches toward Pequawket (Fryeburg, Maine) to conduct some raiding.

May 9 Military: Veteran frontier fighter Captain John Lovewell leads a 33-man “snowshoe patrol” on a foray against Pequawket Indians near Saco Lake, Maine. He is wounded in a skirmish and, en route back to camp, the English are ambushed by 80 warriors, and he is killed in the first volley, along with a third of his men. The surviving 21 militiamen assume strong positions behind two fallen pine trees, with a large pond protecting their rear. A 10-hour firefight ensues, and that evening, Ensign Seth Wyman allegedly steals into the enemy’s camp and slays their medicine man. Unable to dislodge the colonials, the Indians then disperse, while the surviving militiamen trudge their way home. Pequawket casualties are not known but presumed equally heavy, and thereafter they are less effective. In this context, Lovewell’s fight is a turning point in the so-called Dummer’s War.

1726 Diplomacy: Emissaries from the Micmac, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy tribes gather at Boston to sign the so-called “Boston Treaty,” which acknowledges British suzerainty over Acadia (Nova Scotia). In exchange, the British promise to uphold tribal hunting and fishing rights. Law: In a large riot, Philadelphia’s poor tear down the pillory and stocks intended for them before authorities could restore order. Publishing: The Compleat Body of Divinity, a folio volume, becomes the largest book ever published in the American colonies.

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Chronology of American History Religion: Presbyterian minister William Tennant founds his Log College at Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, for instructing evangelist preachers. This is also the first college to arise in the mid-Atlantic colonies. Slavery: New York governor William Burnet asks chiefs of the Six Nations Iroquois to surrender any and all fugitive African Americans living among them. None are returned.

September Military: Yamassee warriors attack the home of John Edwards near Port Royal, South Carolina, killing him and absconding with four African slaves.

1727 Education: Isaac Greenwood is appointed the first chair in mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard College. General: Benjamin Franklin establishes his Junto Club, a self-improvement benevolent association composed mostly of artisans. Membership is restricted to highly educated men of letters who invariably pen erudite pamphlets and newspaper essay on topics of public welfare. It is strongly abolitionist in tenor and also serves as the nucleus of the prestigious American Philosophical Society.

February Military: The yearlong Anglo-Spanish war breaks out along the southern frontier, leading to a series of raids and counterraids by militia and Indians of both sides.

June 12 Politics: King George I dies and is succeeded by his son, George II. Like his father, this monarch cannot speak English and seems inordinately interested in events back at his native Hanover. His indifference to English political affairs leads to the rise of Robert Walpole, the nation’s first de facto prime minister.

July 23 Military: A Yamassee war party attacks traders in the Smallwood’s Store near Fort King George, South Carolina, killing several Englishmen. They are then pursued and surrounded by militiamen under Captain John Bull, who kill six natives and an accompanying Spaniard.

August 6 Religion: After nearly a century of service in New France, Ursuline nuns arrive at New Orleans, Louisiana, to establish a hospital, a girls’ school, and an orphanage. They also serve as guardians of “Casket girls” en route to the colony and are tasked with educating the African community. These various endeavors represent the first Catholic charitable institutions in America.

September Military: Yamassee warriors attack the house of Alexander Dawson on French’s Island, South Carolina, killing him and capturing several family members and slaves.

September 19 Journalism: The Maryland Gazette of Annapolis is established as the first newspaper in the southern colonies.

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1728 General: The first “Casket Girls” (they carry a new gown in a small chest) arrive from France to become wives of settlers in Louisiana. Being of a respectable, higher class, they supplant the first wave of women sent from Paris, who were mostly prostitutes released from prison. Music: Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey of New Haven pens the booklet Regular Singing Defended as a way of promoting innovative ways of singing religious hymns. Religion: Having practiced their services in a rented building for a century, Jews in New York construct the colonies’ first synagogue on Mill Street, New York City. Benjamin Franklin’s publication Articles of Faith and Acts of Religion stresses the role of reason in belief and questions the primacy of previously held religious dogma. To him, all religious beliefs must be tempered with common sense and logic. Science: The first botanical garden is established in Philadelphia by John Bartram.

February Military: Colonel John Palmer takes a force of 100 Carolina militia and 200 Indian allies deep on a foray against hostile Yamassee Indians and their Spanish consorts outside Saint Augustine, Florida.

March 9 Military: A column of South Carolina militia under Colonel John Palmer successfully storms a Yamassee village near St. Augustine, Florida, killing 30 and taking 15 captives. Palmer, however, lacks the manpower to storm Castillo de San Marcos so he lingers a few days before retracing his steps back to South Carolina.

March 13 Military: The Column of South Carolina militia and Indian allies under Colonel John Palmer arrive back at Charles Town, having retaliated against Yamassee Indian raids along the frontier.

July Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature forbids Indian, black, or mulatto servants and slaves from buying foodstuffs from country vendors.

August Military: French troops and Indian allies under Constant Le Marchand de Lignery conduct a preemptive sweep through Wisconsin to prevent a possible military alliance between the Fox, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo, Winnebago, and Dakota tribesmen.

1729 Journalism: Benjamin Franklin acquires, edits, and publishes the Pennsylvania Gazette, which emerges as the colonies’ most successful newspaper. One reason for its popularity is that the columns were interspersed with Franklin’s witty advice on a variety of issues. Military: The French begin constructing an extensive chain of fortifications along the Ohio River to block any westward expansion of the English colonies. The response of the British government to this threat is muted.

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Chronology of American History Politics: Rhode Island begins clamping down on foreign immigrants by making them post a 50-pound bond before being allowed to enter. Religion: Joshua Blanchard constructs the Old South Meeting House in Boston, a celebrated fixture in political agitation leading up to the Revolutionary War. The rapid growth of Anglicanism in Boston, heretofore a Puritan stronghold, is evinced by the rise of a third parish attached to Trinity Church. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts changes its name to Dr. Bray’s Associates in honor of Thomas Bray, who had been instructing African-American children since 1701. Science: Harvard professor Isaac Greenwood publishes the first arithmetic textbook in Boston. Slavery: The Rhode Island legislature mandates that each slave owner will post a 100-pound bond per emancipated slave to insure that they do not become a public burden if taken ill or incapacitated. Benjamin Franklin publishes the antislavery tract A Brief Examination of the Practice of the Times by Quaker leader Ralph Sandyford.

February 11 Religion: Reverend Jonathan Edwards succeeds his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, as head of a church in Northampton, Massachusetts. He is soon to be one of the most distinguished American theologians of the 18th century.

March 1 General: St. David’s Day, honoring the patron saint of Wales, is celebrated in Philadelphia. The occasion is further marked by creation of the Society of Ancient Britons and festivities held at a local tavern.

March 15 Religion: Sister St. Stanislaus Hachard becomes the first Roman Catholic nun to undergo the Ceremony of the Profession at the Ursuline Convent, New Orleans.

April 23 General: St. George’s Day is celebrated for the first time in Philadelphia at Tun Tavern.

June Business: Benjamin Franklin publishes A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency in concert with the Junto Club of Philadelphia. This is one of several public-minded pamphlets penned by this extremely fertile mind.

July 25 Politics: After years of complaints lodged against proprietary excesses and poor frontier defenses, Carolina is made a royal colony once its charter is sold to the English Crown by seven of eight proprietors. The province is then formally divided into North Carolina and South Carolina.

August 8 General: The port of Baltimore, Maryland, established in 1692, is formally named after the founder of that colony.

November 28 Military: Natchez Indians under Sun King, smarting from recent indignities, attack Fort Rosalie (Natchez, Mississippi), killing 237 French settlers and soldiers,

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Edwards, Jonathan (1703–1758) Theologian Jonathan Edwards was born in Windsor, Connecticut on October 5, 1703, into a family of prominent church ministers. He proved himself a child prodigy by studying and grasping Isaac Newton’s scientific theories at the age of 12, and two years later he was admitted to Yale College. Reserved and studious, Edwards graduated at the top of his class in 1720 and subsequently ministered to a Presbyterian congregation in New York. In 1724, he returned to Yale as a junior instructor, and in 1726, he was invited to preach at the influential Congregationalist Church in Northampton, Massachusetts, under aegis of his famous grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. Edwards was formally ordained

Jonathan Edwards (Library of Congress)

there on February 22, 1727, and two years later succeeded his grandfather as pastor. After a slow and cautious start, Edwards began showing flashes of intellectual brilliance that marked him as the most important theologian in the colonies. The change occurred in 1731 when, having been called to deliver an oration in Boston, he addressed his flock with an emotional sermon that marked him as a commanding speaker. This was in direct contrast to the staid and stately delivery of most Congregational ministering, and as Edwards’s reputation grew he helped precipitate a wave of renewed religiosity throughout the Connecticut River Valley, the so-called “Little Awakening.” By 1740 his effort dovetailed with the larger “Great Awakening” of George Whitefield, which swept the American colonies throughout the 1740s. As a religious philosopher, Edwards disagreed with the extreme emotionalism of the movement but strongly supported its evangelical ends. In 1741, Edwards delivered his landmark sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which confirmed mankind’s debased nature, the extreme punishment of Hell, and God’s absolute sovereignty over human affairs. Not only was it an electrifying oration, but it also marks Edwards’s attempt to galvanize traditional Puritan teachings and concepts, long in decline. He also openly questioned the more liberal doctrine of the “Half-Way Covenant,” which eased restrictions on church membership and baptism but also denied God’s grace to all but a select community of demonstrable saints. This stance brought him in direct conflict with his own congregation, who (continues)

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(continued) elected to have him removed as minister in 1750. Edwards then retired to the frontier community of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to write and minister to Native Americans. He also took up his pen and published a series of erudite pamphlets and books, especially The Freedom of Will (1754), which attacked creeping Arminianism in the New England church. In 1757, Edwards was invited to serve

as the third president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), which had been founded by a Presbyterian offshoot. He only served a few months in this capacity before dying of a botched smallpox inoculation. In terms of intellectual scope and rhetorical delivery, Edwards was an outstanding spokesman of the Calvinist precept that humans have no influence over God’s divine judgment.

and capturing an additional 300. The tipping point in their relations was when Governor Etienne Perier ordered them to turn over their principal town for use as a plantation. The governor, once seized, is held in such contempt that only a warrior of the very lowest order is willing to execute him.

1730 Architecture: Andrew Hamilton completes plans, drawn in the Georgian style, for the Old State House in Philadelphia. This building is to gain renown as Independence Hall during the Revolutionary War. Construction continues until 1753. Arts: Boston is the scene of the first colonial art exhibition, which showcases the works of John Smibert, whose realistic style of portrait indelibly influences John Singleton Copley and Robert Feke. Business: The Virginia assembly passes the Tobacco Inspection Law, requiring close inspection of all tobacco shipments leaving the colony. New York City constructs its first kiln for firing stoneware and gradually emerges as the leading manufacturer of pottery products in the colonies. Military: The frontier gunsmiths began developing the first examples of the famous Pennsylvania Long Rifle. This is a slow-loading, highly accurate weapon and lethal in the hands of skilled wilderness marksmen. Politics: Former Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood is made assistant postmaster general in New York City. Religion: The hymn book Tunes in Praise and Love of God is published in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin for the Dunkards (German Baptists). Slavery: The Connecticut assembly forbids African Americans, mulattos, or Indians from slander of libeling whites. Violators will receive 40 lashes with a whip. Virginia authorities arrest and execute four African Americans suspected of plotting an armed rebellion. Societal: Daniel Coxe gains appointment as the first grand master of Masons in North America. His jurisdiction applies to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Reed undertake a common-law marriage agreement when the latter cannot legally divorce her missing husband. In this

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(1688 –1751)

Artist John Smibert was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1688, raised a Presbyterian, and apprenticed to a house painter. In this capacity he acquired considerable skill learning to paint designs and decorate plaster ceilings, and began copying the works of earlier artists for sale. Around 1713 Smibert sought to improve his social standing by moving to London as a coach painter, while also studying art at an academy headed by Sir Godfrey Kneller. He worked as a professional portrait artist there and back in Edinburgh, and by 1719, he had accumulated sufficient funding to study art in Italy for the next three years. Smibert subsequently returned to London in 1722 and opened his own studio, where his distinct style won plaudits but no real recognition. The turning point in his career came in 1728, when Dean George Berkeley, an Anglican philosopher, invited him to teach painting at a college he hoped to found in Bermuda. Smibert readily assented and landed at Newport, Rhode Island, with Berkeley as the group awaited funding from Parliament. While there, he painted his best known work, The Bermuda Group, depicting Berkeley and his family. This large painting took two years to complete (1729–31) and it remained in his studio as his most celebrated work. However, when the government failed to provide funds for the college, Berkeley returned to England but Smibert subsequently relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, as a budding portrait artist. He also did innumerable copies of works by European masters with sufficient

skill to warrant numerous commissions. Once established in Boston, Smibert proved fairly successful, and his popular portraits became the rage among the newly emerging merchant elite of that city. He further cemented his ties to that class in July 1730 by marrying the daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Williams of the Boston Latin School. In time, Smibert did portraits of numerous and significant individuals of the Boston community, including General William Pepperrell, Jonathan Edwards, and Governor John Endecott. However, as his eyesight began to fail, Smibert switched over to landscapes, which, however well-executed, failed to enjoy the celebrity and popularity of his earlier work. He also dabbled in architecture and originated the design for Faneuil Hall, Boston’s first public market, and the Harvard chapel. His reputation was such that many budding American artists, such as John Singleton Copley, arrived in town to study under him. Smibert finally retired in 1749 and died in Boston on April 2, 1751. While he lived, he functioned as the first American artist to achieve commercial success, and his relatively realistic portrait style was widely copied by painters in other colonies. For many years following his death, his studio was kept intact as a place of artistic pilgrimage. And while Smibert was eventually eclipsed in style by many former students such as Copley, he was the first artist to make indelible contributions toward the sophistication and popularity of colonial art among Boston’s new elite.

capacity she bears several children and also capably runs Franklin’s various business ventures in his absence. Sport: To facilitate the practice of fox hunting in Maryland, red foxes are imported from Britain and then let loose along the banks of the Chesapeake.

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Chronology of American History Technology: New York City acquires its first stoneware furnace (kiln) and begins a significant pottery business. Mathematician Thomas Godley of Philadelphia perfects the first practical navigating quadrant, the so-called Hadley’s Mariner’s Quadrant.

January 27 Military: French military forces, backed by numerous Choctaw allies, defeat the Natchez Indians, securing several captives.

February Military: French troops, militia, and allied Choctaw attack the former French post of Fort Rosalie, now held by hostile Natchez Indians. After a three-week siege, the defenders manage to slip across the Mississippi River to safety.

August 10 Military: Captain Paul Marin marches a force of 200 French troops and 1,200 native allies from Fort Vincennes, Louisiana, to a nearby Fox Indian stronghold.

August 15 Slavery: South Carolina authorities uncover and defuse a slave conspiracy involving as many as 200 African Americans.

September 9 Military: A body of 900 Fox Indians, besieged in northern Louisiana by French and native allies, escape their fort at night but are ruthlessly pursued. At length 500 are massacred while the survivors are brought back as slaves. Only 60 Fox make it back to Wisconsin, where they lived beside the Sac Indians at Green Bay.

September 30 Diplomacy: A deputation of Cherokee chiefs ventures to London for an audience with King George II to renew their loyalty to the Crown. They then sign the Article of Agreement, whereby both sides pledge to respect each other’s holdings and live in peace. Moreover, the Cherokee are to trade exclusively with the British and assist them in fighting France and its allies.

December Military: French punitive raids into Natchez Indian territory culminate in the capture of the Sun Chief, along with 700 women, children, and warriors. These are summarily sold as slaves.

1731 Military: To guard the approaches to the St. Lawrence River from the south, French soldiers construct Crown Point on Lake Champlain. Slavery: King George II prohibits the imposition of customs duties on slaves imported to the colonies. This is done to preserve the very lucrative nature of the British slave trade, and he wished to maintain it without colonial interference. Technology: Benjamin Franklin, who heads the Union Fire Company of Philadelphia, imports one of the very latest fire engines from England.

January 23 Business: Scottish financier John Law, owner of the French Company of the West, goes bankrupt after the “Mississippi Bubble” bursts, and the Louisiana Territory reverts to the French Crown.

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July 31 General: Benjamin Franklin and members of the Junto Club found the Library Company of Philadelphia, one of the first circulating (public) libraries in North America. Its appearance heralds the relatively high and rising literacy rates in Pennsylvania.

December 30 Music: The first public concert held in the colonies occurs at a private house in Boston. It is orchestrated by Peter Pelham, a local engraver, dancing master, and tobacco seller.

1732 Business: Parliament approves the Hat Act to protect the British clothing industry, already reeling from stiff French competition; this law prohibits the export of hats between colonies and limits the number of people entering the felt trade as apprentices. Under the aegis of former Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood, now deputy postmaster general, the reach of the colonial postal service is extended into the southern colonies. Settlement: French traders found Fort Charles at present-day Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. Consistent with French policy, they strike up easy relations with nearby Cree Indians and cohabit with their women. Slavery: In Virginia, the House of Burgesses levies a 5 percent import duty on all slaves imported into the colony. Societal: Quakers found the first publicly supported almshouse for the poor in Philadelphia. As a rule, the sect is involved in a number of humanitarian-related activities and causes. Sports: New York City acquires a bowling green when a strip of land is leased by the city to leading enthusiasts. The Schuylkill Fishing Company of Philadelphia becomes America’s first sporting organization, and limits its membership to 30. Transportation: One of the first stagecoach lines begins operating between Burlington and Amboy, New Jersey. Connections to either New York or Philadelphia were also available by boat.

January 8 Journalism: Thomas Whitmarsh founds the South Carolina Gazette with backing by Benjamin Franklin.

February 22 General: George Washington is born at Bridges Creek, Virginia, one of 10 children of a fairly prosperous planter.

February 26 Religion: St. Joseph’s, the first and only Roman Catholic church north of Maryland, holds its first mass in Philadelphia.

May 6 Journalism: The Philadelphische Zeitung is founded by Benjamin Franklin, becoming the colonies’ first non-English-language newspaper.

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June 20 General: King George II issues a royal charter to 20 trustees under James Edward Oglethorpe for establishing a new debtor’s colony, comprising lands south of the Savannah River to the Florida border. The document, which is slated to last for 21 years, guarantees freedom of conscience to all except Catholics and restricts land allotments to 500 acres per settler. This is last of the 13 original colonies to arise and is intended to serve as a buffer zone between the Spanish in Florida and settlements in South Carolina. The philanthropically minded Oglethorpe, however, envisions the colony as a haven for imprisoned debtors and Protestant refugees from across Europe. He consequently names it Georgia in honor of his benefactor.

July 25 Politics: In Paris, King Louis XV appoints Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville governor of Louisiana colony.

August Military: Colonel Alexander Glover, reacting to fears of a Creek uprising in the Carolinas, hastily marshals his forces at Palachacola. When the rumor proves false, the men are disbanded and sent home.

September 27 Journalism: James Franklin establishes the Rhode Island Gazette in Newport as that colony’s first newspaper.

December 6 Arts: The New Theater opens on Nassau Street in New York City and stages The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar. This is only the second such building constructed in the colonies.

December 19 Publishing: Benjamin Franklin publishes the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac under the pen name “Richard Saunders.” This is a compilation of meteorological observations and predictions, leavened throughout with homespun wisdom. During the next 25 years, over 10,000 copies were sold per year, making it the first colonial best seller.

1733 Business: Recent German immigrants to Pennsylvania open various kilns and begin manufacturing affordable dishes and tableware that would otherwise be unavailable to most colonists. Medical: New York and Philadelphia are ravaged by the first widespread influenza epidemic to hit the English colonies. Slavery: Governor Robert Johnson of South Carolina offers a 20-pound reward for any individual who apprehends Maroons (fugitive slaves) harassing the colony. Societal: A number of early social organizations, such as the Political Club, are formed by the gentry in New York City.

January 13 Military: James Oglethorpe, Oxford-educated proprietor of the Georgia colony, arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, with an initial batch of 130 colonists. Many

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of these are former convicts or debtors wishing to begin anew. A small contingent of 40 Jews, admitted to the colony by the proprietors, also arrive as prospective settlers.

February 12 Politics: James Oglethorpe founds a colony at Savannah, Georgia, on land procured from the Creek Indians under Chief Tomochichi. Initially, the trustees of the colony have outlawed the importation of slaves, brandy, and rum.

March 3 Politics: Newly appointed Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville arrives at New Orleans, Louisiana. He finds his charge in disarray owing to a very bloody revolt by the Chickasaw Indians.

May 17 Business: The Molasses Act is passed for the protection of British West Indian producers and levies a stiff duty on rum, molasses, and sugar imports from Dutch and French sugar-producing islands in the West Indies. This bill arises in response to heavy lobbying from British West Indian planters, who suffered considerable business losses once colonists were permitted to obtain lower-priced sugar products from foreign sources. It will protect the British planters from French and Dutch competition.

Painting showing dock workers unloading sugar and cotton from the John, a merchant trade vessel, at a busy Salem, Massachusetts, wharf (Library of Congress)

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July 30 General: Boston organizes the first Masonic Lodge in North America. Religion: The first group of 40 Jews is allowed to emigrate to Georgia and settle at Savannah.

November 5 Journalism: John Peter Zenger founds the newspaper New York Weekly Journal in New York with the help of several influential businessmen. With it, he supports the Popular Party and attacks the administration of Governor William Cosby.

1734 Journalism: The editorials of John Peter Zenger’s New York Weekly Journal prove a decisive factor in the victory for the Popular Party in an alderman election. Sports: The South Carolina Jockey Club is formed, an indication of how popular horse racing has become.

August 18 Medical: William Bull of South Carolina is the first native-born American to earn a medical degree abroad by graduating from the University of Leiden, Holland.

November 11 Politics: Publisher John Peter Zenger is arrested and accused of seditious libel for publishing antigovernment essays in his New York Weekly Journal. He is detained by a warrant issued by the executive council of the royal governor, after a grand jury refused an indictment, and he remains behind bars for 10 months until his trial. During his detention, his wife, Anna Maulin Zenger, capably manages the family business.

December Religion: Congregationalist Jonathan Edwards begins preaching a series of fiery sermons at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts, initiating a movement that led to the Great Awakening. This is a religious revival that gains widespread popularity throughout the colonies and is attended by bursts of emotionalism among participants. In this manner, less staid Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians gain thousands of new converts, while rigid Puritanism steadily loses ground in numbers and popularity.

1735 Business: Parliament decrees that Georgia can export rice to countries other than Great Britain, but only to ports south of Cape Finisterre in northern Spain. The Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses Against Fire, possibly the first such organization in the colonies, is founded at Charleston, South Carolina. Military: As a precaution against Spanish and Indian attacks, Governor James Oglethorpe establishes Fort Okfuskee along the Tallapoosa River, Georgia. The fortified trading post of Augusta, so named after the mother of King George III, also arises on the Savannah River. Slavery: John Van Zandt, a Dutch burger from New York, kills a slave for violating a local curfew and is found innocent of any wrongdoing. In fact, the court ascribed the death to “the visitation of God.”

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(1697–1746)

Printer John Peter Zenger was born in the German Palatinate on October 26, 1697, and he migrated with his family to New York in 1710. There he became apprenticed to William Bradford, the city’s only printer, for many years. In 1719, Zenger moved to Maryland to start his own press but failed, returning to New York to work again for Bradford. By 1725, he was ready to strike out on his own and did so by directly competing with Bradford for the city’s small literate market. In this capacity Zenger translated materials from Dutch and also printed religious polemics and Arithmetica, the first colonial mathematics text. However, in 1733 Zenger was apparently approached and financed by James Alexander, the former colonial attorney general, to begin what amounted to America’s first party newspaper, the New York Weekly Journal. Alexander was incensed that Governor William Cosby had arbitrarily dismissed Lewis Morris as New York’s chief justice and placed an ally, James De Lancey, in his place. Alexander and his ally William Smith then began writing and publishing scathing essays about the governor’s patronage and favoritism to inform and appease the members of their faction. Zenger remained aloof and indifferent to the proceedings, he simply printed whatever he was told to. Governor Cosby initially ignored the attacks, then ridiculed them in Bradford’s competing New York Gazette. When this failed to silence his critics, he had issues of the New York Weekly Journal publicly burned, then arrested Zenger for seditious libel—even though he

had not written the articles. It was unlikely that Zenger was seriously engaged in politics at the time, but the governor apparently sought to use him as an example to silence future critics. Zenger’s trial had all the trappings of a politically inspired kangaroo court, since De Lancey was appointed judge and Alexander and Smith, both attorneys, were prevented from representing their client. Moreover, the judge instructed the jury to decide the case strictly on whether or not Zenger had published critical statements about the government. The defense then countered by suddenly and unexpectedly bringing in the distinguished Philadelphia attorney Andrew Hamilton to defend Zenger. Hamilton conducted a brilliant defense, arguing that if whatever Zenger published in his paper were true, no matter how insulting to the government, it could not be considered libel. The jury apparently bought the argument and ignored the judge’s instructions on August 5, 1735, by finding him innocent. The surprising verdict was a victory for both freedom of the press and a wider scope of deliberation by juries. Zenger then capably resumed his printing and journalistic activities without further notoriety. In 1736, he became the public printer for New York, and the following year, New Jersey. He died in New York on July 28, 1746, whereupon his thriving press was carried on by his wife and sons. Zenger, perhaps unwittingly, has since become associated with journalistic rights to openly criticize the government.

February 8 Arts: Charleston, South Carolina, hosts the first operatic performance in the colonies by staging Colley Cibber’s Flora, or Hob in the Well.

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February 13 Arts: The third colonial theater in the colonies opens on Dick Street in Charleston, South Carolina. General: John Adams, a future president, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.

April 6 Religion: The first group of Moravians settles in Savannah, Georgia, at the behest of Governor James Edward Oglethorpe. They are led by Augustus Gootlieb Spangenberg, who establishes a collectivist experimental community near Savannah, Georgia. After setting roots, they prove eager to preach and work among the Indians.

August 4 Law: John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, is acquitted of libel, thanks to his attorney, Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia. He argued that an integral party of liberty was the right to oppose arbitrary power by speaking and printing the truth, and the jury concurred. This is a precedent-setting event for freedom of the press, establishing that truth constitutes an absolute defense against libel. Henceforth, individuals are empowered with implicit ability to criticize the government.

December 10 Religion: Georgia proprietor James Edward Oglethorpe encounters John and Charles Wesley at Oxford University and, impressed by their religiosity, invites them to his colony.

1736 Publishing: Benjamin Franklin starts publishing Indian treaties in Philadelphia in the hope that such books will educate colonists about their wilderness neighbors. Franklin himself is unduly impressed by the Five Nations and their pragmatic notions of confederation. In 1754, they will inspire him to propose a similar arrangement for the colonies. Ann Smith Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s sister-in-law, is appointed official printer for Rhode Island colony in Newport. Science: In an important scientific contribution, Dr. William Douglass of Boston publishes the first clinical diagnosis of scarlet fever. Slavery: William Byrd, an influential Virginia planter, accuses Puritan New England of hypocrisy for condemning the practice of slavery, yet willingly participating in the slave trade as shippers. He comments that so many Africans are being imported into the colony that it “will some time or other be Confirmed by the name of New Guinea.”

January General: A body of 170 Scottish settlers arrive at Savannah, Georgia, and establish an enclave below the city named Darien along the Altamaha River. Subsequent settlement pushes farther into the Spanish borderlands.

February 5 Religion: John and Charles Wesley, the future founders of Methodism, arrive at Savannah, Georgia, at the invitation of Governor James Oglethorpe. Their arrival signals a gradual upsurge in evangelism throughout America.

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Hamilton, Andrew (ca. 1676–1741) Attorney Andrew Hamilton was born and educated in Scotland, most likely at St. Andrews University, but in 1697 he emigrated to America and settled in Maryland. There he lived under the assumed name of Trent and ran a classical school, which suggests he fled home to escape political problems associated with King William III. A few years later, he married a wealthy widow and resumed using his own name again. By this time Hamilton had been studying law, and in 1712, he ventured to Gray’s Inn, London, where he was called to the bar as an attorney. Back home, he served capably in Maryland until accepting Governor William Penn’s invitation to move to Pennsylvania in 1717. There he worked closely with the proprietary government, and received a 153-acre grant in the heart of Philadelphia as a reward for helping to settle a long-standing boundary dispute with Maryland. Over time, Hamilton also held several public offices, such as recorder of the city and protonotary of the supreme court, and his budding interest in politics led to his election as representative and eventually speaker of the assembly. An accomplished draftsman, he then found time to design the Pennsylvania State House, which became known subsequently as Independence Hall. He also gained a reputation as an aggressive and imaginative trial attorney, openly regarded as the best in the colonies. In 1735, Hamilton filled his most famous role by serving as the defense attorney in the trial of New York publisher John Peter Zenger. When Governor William Cosby dis-

missed Chief Justice Lewis Morris in favor of a crony, Zenger published several anonymous essays critical of his high- handed behavior. Zenger was then charged with seditious libel by Cosby, and his two lawyers, James Alexander and William Smith, were disbarred by the royal judges. The prosecution was therefore taken aback when Hamilton was secretly hired as Zenger’s new attorney for no fee and presented his credentials to the court. Throughout the ensuing trial Hamilton argued that as long as what Zenger published about Governor Cosby or any public figure was absolutely true, it cannot be considered libel. He then argued that no individual should be punished for asserting the truth, and that keeping the press free to do so was an essential safeguard of liberty. The jury surprisingly agreed and voted to acquit. Hamilton’s triumph was, in fact, a victory for freedom of the press throughout the colonies. He also received a naval salute, freedom of the city, and a gold box to commemorate his efforts. Hamilton preferred not to bask in the limelight, and in 1737 he gained appointment as a judge on the vice admiralty court. He died in that capacity in Philadelphia on August 4, 1741, the most famous American legal figure of the colonial period. It has been argued by many legal scholars that his famous victory of 1735 wielded an indelible impact on the American polity and presaged trains of thought and political philosophy leading to the Revolutionary War.

March 4 Military: Major Pierre d’Artaquette, commanding Fort Chartres, Illinois, arrives at Prudhomme Bluffs (Memphis, Tennessee) with a force of 150 French soldiers and allied Indians. There he learns that his intended rendezvous with Governor JeanBaptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville of Louisiana is untenable, for the latter will be delayed two months for want of supplies. His Indian consorts nonetheless urge

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Byrd, William (1674 –1744) Colonial writer William Byrd II was born at Westover Plantation, Charles County, Virginia, on March 28, 1674, son of a wealthy planter. His father, William Byrd I, had made a fortune in tobacco and slaves, acquired a domain of 26,000 acres, and held rank among the foremost families of Virginia. Byrd was sent to London, England at the age of seven to receive his education, which, by the dictates of his class and wealth, was among the finest available. Thus he became firmly grounded in commerce, the classics, and various languages, before being admitted to Middle Temple in 1695 to study law. He passed easily and spent several years traveling Europe to enlarge his world view. In time Byrd became renowned for his intellect, charm, and skills as a raconteur, all of which helped him gain membership in the prestigious Royal Society at the age of 22. However, after his father died in 1704, Byrd returned to Virginia to manage his vast inheritance and spent the next decade enlarging it even further. Despite his rather pampered upbringing, Byrd proved himself a skillful administrator, businessman, and politician, and in 1715 he was chosen by the colonial government to represent Virginia’s interests back in London. Byrd successfully discharged his duties for a decade, remarrying into another wealthy family after his wife died, and gaining the reputation as a knowledgeable and observant traveler. He returned to Virginia in 1726 and successfully parleyed his wealth and standing into a successful political career by winning appoint-

ment to the governor’s council, a position he held for many years. Despite the accumulation of 180,000 acres of land, 200 slaves, and impressive wealth, Byrd never failed to distinguish himself as a loyal public servant. Like his father, he held the post of receiver general of Crown revenues, a very lucrative post that further honed his business acumen. In 1728, he gained appointment to lead a team of surveyors tasked with mapping out the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. Not only did he perform capably, Byrd also composed a noted and witty diary, the History of the Dividing Line, which was published posthumously and reveals a sophisticated, satirical mind. Byrd also made detailed observations and comparisons between colonial and Native American mores and customs, concluding that neither “civilized” nor “uncivilized” people had very much advantage over the other. He then constructed a palatial mansion at Westover that housed one of the largest private libraries in the colonies, totaling 4,000 books. Byrd in his later years entered into a political struggle with Governor Alexander Spotswood that culminated in his election as president of the colonial council in 1743. He also purchased and developed land for a settlement called Richmond, which subsequently served as the colonial capital. The urbane, dedicated Byrd, a quintessential Virginia aristocrat, died at Westover on August 26, 1744. His numerous writings still afford readers valuable details about life in Virginia throughout his lifetime.

him to attack the main Chickasaw village of Ogoula Tchetoka to acquire supplies of their own.

March 25 Military: A French force of 140 soldiers and allied Indians under Major Pierre d’Artaquette attacks the main Chickasaw village at Ogoula Tchetoka (Tennessee),

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unaware that they are badly outnumbered by the defenders. The French are consequently severely rebuffed, losing 100 dead and 20 captured, several of whom were burned at the stake. D’Artaguette is among the slain and when his papers are secured by English traders, they alert their Chickasaw allies of another French column advancing from Louisiana.

April 18–19 General: A body of Scottish highlanders from the Darien settlement land on Cumberland Island, off the Georgia coast, and begin building Fort Saint Andrews.

May General: Captain George Hermsdorf leads a body of Georgia militia to begin constructing Fort Saint George on the Saint Johns River dividing Florida and Georgia.

May 26 Military: A French force of 600 soldiers, militia free Africans under their own officers, and allied Indians under Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville attack the Chickasaw village at Ackia, Mississippi. The intruders are badly repulsed with a loss of 25 dead and 52 wounded, and a rout is prevented only by prompt action by Bienville’s Choctaw warriors, who lost 22 men alone. The French then withdraw back to Louisiana, determined to avenge their present humiliation.

1737 Business: The first copper coins in the colonies are minted by John Higley of Simsbury, Connecticut. Education: John Winthrop IV supplants Isaac Greenwood as chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard College. He teaches there 41 years, becoming the second-most important colonial scientist after Benjamin Franklin. General: Massachusetts and New Hampshire are embroiled in a border dispute that lasts 150 years before reaching resolution. Religion: Jonathan Edwards publishes his Narrative of Surprising Conversions, one of the earliest tracts describing the ongoing religious revival known as the Great Awakening. Slavery: Benjamin Franklin publishes an influential antislavery tract, All SlaveKeepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage; Apostates by Quaker writer Benjamin Lay.

March 9 Societal: A gathering in Boston of persons advocating social reform turns to violence, and they begin smashing a house holding prostitutes. The ladies are warned to refrain from displaying themselves in windows on the Sabbath.

March 17 General: The Charitable Irish Society stages America’s first St. Patrick’s Day festivity in Boston, Massachusetts, where heretofore it had been a religious ceremony.

August 25 Diplomacy: An agreement is reached between Governor Thomas Penn and Chief Nutimus of the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Indians, whereby the latter agrees to sell off land located in the Lehigh valley. The Indians denounce the arrangement,

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Winthrop, John (1714 –1779) Scientist John Winthrop IV was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 19, 1714, a descendant of Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts (1588–1649). He proved himself to be a child prodigy and was admit-­ ted to Harvard College in 1726 at the age of 12. Winthrop flourished under a regimen of advanced mathematics and science and, after graduating with honors, was asked to teach there. By the age of 24, Winthrop had become only the second individual to serve as Hollis professor of mathematics and natural science at Harvard. He held this position for the remainder of his long life. In this capacity he demonstrated a unique brilliance for computation, especially as it regards astronomy, and made innumerable scientific observations. And, at a time when science treaded lightly on matters religious, Winthrop demonstrated an independent, open mind and notorious impatience for those whose beliefs were less scientifically inclined. As a scientist, he provided accurate calculations for the transits of Mercury and Venus and lectured on the nature of sun-­ spots and other astronomical phenomena. Winthrop also provided advanced calcula-­ tions on the orbits of comets and accurately predicted the return of several in the skies overhead. In 1761, he also headed Ameri-­ ca’s first scientific expedition, which ven-­ tured to Nova Scotia to observe and record the transit of Venus. As a scientist, Win-­ throp also constructed the first laboratory at Harvard for scientific experimentation and observations and his findings were well received abroad. For this reason Winthrop

was made a fellow in the prestigious Royal Society in London and, closer to home, in the American Philosophical Society, Phila-­ delphia. Benjamin Franklin was one of his greatest admirers and provided the Harvard laboratory with an experimental battery. From 1742 to 1755, Winthrop also kept a highly detailed meteorological diary of events at Cambridge, Massachusetts, replete with useful observations and ruminations. In his long tenure at Harvard, Win-­ throp was repeatedly called upon to serve as president, but he declined the honor to continue scientific research. He did, how-­ ever, serve as acting president in 1769 and 1773, introducing algebra and calculus into the college curriculum to produce fledgling scientists well grounded in requisite com-­ putations. In light of his accomplishments, the University of Edinburgh granted him an honorary doctorate in 1771, and two years later he received the first-­ever honorary doctorate granted by Harvard. He was also extremely outspoken for his day. In 1755, after New England had been soundly rattled by a series of earthquakes, he was quick to dwell on scientific reasons for their occur-­ rence and publicly repudiated all theological notions of divine intervention. To that end he entered into a celebrated duel of words in a city newspaper with an obdurate minister, bringing the science-­versus-­faith issue into the open. Winthrop died in Cambridge on May 3, 1779, the most celebrated and accomplished mathematician of his day. He was America’s first great scientist and the first to receive recognition in Europe.

which is based on a 1686 agreement reached with the tribe under Governor William Penn. Under the terms of the prior documents, the whites were enabled to purchase all the land that a man could walk in a day and a half. The younger Penn then began recruiting three of the fittest runners in the colony.

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December 2 Religion: Methodist minister John Wesley is expelled from Georgia for allegedly defaming a female parishioner.

September 19 Diplomacy: By the terms of the “Walking Purchase,”a treaty between Governor Thomas Penn and the Delaware Indians, the latter promise to cede land to white settlers “as far as a man could go in a day and a half.” Runners are then chosen from among willing colonials, who then cover 65 miles in the time allotted. The tribe protested but were still obliged to surrender 1,200 square miles of territory in the Lehigh Valley and move westward. However, the affair is based on a fraudulent document produced by Penn, suggesting that in 1686 the Indians agreed to sell their land on this basis.

1738 Business: Huguenot immigrant Andrew Duche invents a process for making Chinese-style porcelain out of Georgia clay, then travels to England, sets up an export business, and makes a fortune exporting high-quality pottery to the colonies. Politics: After being conjoined in 1702, New Jersey is finally separated from New York and receives its own royal governor, Lewis Morris. He serves until dying in office in 1746. Religion: Moravians living near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, establish a mission to minister specifically to African-American slaves. Slavery: Authorities in Nantucket, Massachusetts, uncover a plot by nearby Native Americans to attack the town while it sleeps, kill all the Europeans, and free African-American slaves. Spanish authorities found Gracia Real de Santa Theresa, the first community for the settlement of free African Americans in North America. When Florida is ceded to England in 1763, the inhabitants relocate to Matanzas, Cuba. Societal: Abraham Savage receives the first-ever warrant from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to establish a Masonic Lodge.

February 22 General: The funeral of merchant Peter Faneuil in Boston is accompanied by the giving away of 1,000 sets of expensive gloves to mourners. This act violates colonial laws laid down in 1721, for the general court prohibits lavish funeral expenses for fear of its effect on the poor.

May Military: A battalion of the 42nd Highland Regiment, 629 strong, arrives at Savannah, Georgia, in three transports to help defend the new colony.

May 7 Religion: George Whitefield, a distinguished Methodist evangelist, arrives at Savannah, Georgia, the first of seven successful trips to America. His unique brand of emotional sermonizing enthralls listeners and begins attracting a large following throughout the colonies. It further fans the flames of the Great Awakening, America’s first religious revival.

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December 21 Politics: The towns of Augusta and Frederick, Virginia, are founded by the colonial assembly, being among the first such settlements on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

1739 Business: In New Jersey, Caspar Wistar builds a glass factory at Allowaystown and employs skilled German migrants. His factory endures for 41 years and ultimately produces some of the finest examples of American colonial glassware. Science: Teenage Eliza Lucas—the future Eliza Pinckney—begins experimenting with plant hybridization on her South Carolina plantation. Within a few years, she successfully develops a strain of indigo plant that produces a clear blue dye and sells it to English textile manufacturers. Consequently, indigo becomes a staple of the South Carolina export market and establishes Lucas as the colonies’ first agriculturalist. Exploration: Pierre and Paul Mallet of France paddle up the Arkansas River, catching the first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

This illustration shows an entire colonial family working together to prepare flax to be spun into thread for clothing or twine. (Library of Congress)

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Military: Escaped African Americans who settle near St. Augustine, Florida, erect a fort nearby to fend off attacks by any English expeditions seeking to bring them back. Science: Harvard astronomer John Winthrop IV issues a paper on sunspots, the first in a series of erudite observations from the colonies. Slavery: Trustees of the Georgia colony receive conflicting petitions from the inhabitants that both support and oppose the introduction of slavery. They ultimately decide to keep slavery out for the time being.

August 25 Religion: Reverend George Whitefield arrives at Philadelphia from England. He continues playing a pivotal role in stimulating the Great Awakening, America’s first evangelical revival.

September 9–11 Military: A group of 20 slaves under an Angolan named Jemmy breaks into a store at Rantowles (Stono), South Carolina, kills the owner, and acquires arms. The impromptu group then marches south toward Florida, where Spanish authorities have promised all runaway slaves freedom. En route, they murder all whites they encounter, men, women, and children alike, and nearly capture Lieutenant Governor William Bull while traveling up the same road. At length they are crushed by a local militia 50 miles from their destination, whereupon 30 slaves are hanged, disemboweled, and executed. This is the South’s first serious slave uprising and occasions a spate of harsh legislation to forestall future outbreaks. Two other minor outbreaks are also recorded in Berkeley County that year.

October 8 Politics: Governor James Oglethorpe of Georgia is alerted by his government that war with Spain appears imminent and that he is to begin undertaking defensive measures to protect the colony. He then oversees the construction for fortifications on Amelia Island, Cumberland Island, St. Andrews Island and St. Simons Island. These are so situated as to bolster the nascent Georgia colony against Spanish depredations by sea.

October 19 Diplomatic: British sea captain Robert Jenkins arrives in London minus an ear, which he claimed was cut off by the Spanish after they charged him with smuggling. He then displays the detached ear before Parliament, and a public uproar ensues.

October 23 Military: Prime Minister Walpole orders war declared on Spain, precipitating the War of Jenkins’ Ear. The actual cause of the conflict is increasing commercial friction with Spain in the New World.

November 23 Military: Yamassee warriors, incited by Spanish officials, attack and scalp a pair of Scottish highlanders outside Fort Amelia, Georgia, signaling the onset of frontier hostilities.

December 12 Military: A force of 200 militia under Governor James Oglethorpe departs Frederica, Georgia, sails down the coast to the Saint Johns River in Florida, and begins

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Chronology of American History reconnoitering Spanish defenses in the region. After reconnoitering for three weeks, Oglethorpe returns convinced he can capture their main outpost at St. Augustine.

1740 Business: Governor James Oglethorpe authorizes construction of the first brewery in Georgia to supply his far-flung militia with the popular beverage. Politics: Parliament permits the naturalization of immigrants in the colonies following seven years of residence, and their citizenship applies to all 13 colonies. Moreover, Quakers and Jews are exempted from taking the mandatory oath of allegiance. Settlement: An ongoing potato famine in Ireland prompts a surge of Celtic immigration to the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia.

January Slavery: South Carolina authorities convince themselves that another slave rebellion is imminent, and they arrest and execute 50 Africans in Charleston.

January 17 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe leads 180 militiamen out of Fort Saint George and sails up the Saint Johns River, Florida, intending to attack Spanish garrisons at Forts Picolata and San Francisco de Pupo. These lay astride the road to St. Augustine, and a week later he captures both without bloodshed. The victorious British then sail back to Georgia.

March 25 General: The Bethesda Orphanage is built in Savannah, Georgia, at the behest of evangelist George Whitefield. In 1769 it is converted into Bethesda College.

May Slavery: In light of the Stono Rebellion, South Carolina adopts a slave code including the first antiliteracy law of the colonies, which prohibits slaves from learning to read or write. Moreover, slaves are forbidden from owning livestock, and stiff penalties are imposed on those making false claims to the governor that they are illegally held in bondage. This statute wields profound impact on subsequent slave laws throughout the South up through the Civil War, 1861–65. Governor James Oglethorpe prevails on Parliament to keep a ban on slavery in the colony of Georgia.

May 19 Military: Georgia governor James Oglethorpe advances back into Florida from across the Saint Johns River with 100 men and some Cherokee allies under Cowkeeper. He intends to attack the Spanish garrison at nearby Fort Diego after being reinforced.

May 21 Military: A force of 400 Georgia militiamen and British regulars advance upon Fort San Diego (Palm Valley), Florida, under Governor James Oglethorpe. The following day the garrison surrenders after initially repulsing the attackers.

May 27 Military: Skirmishing between Yamassee Indians and colonial militia outside Fort Diego, Florida, leads to the death and beheading of a Georgia ranger. Governor James Oglethorpe personally pursues the instigators for several miles until his own horse is shot from beneath him.

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May 29 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe returns to his camp near the Saint Johns River and receives reinforcements conveyed by Commodore Vincent Pearse’s Royal Navy squadron. He then makes final adjustments in his plan for a combined land/sea assault against Saint Augustine.

June 11 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe marches against St. Augustine, Florida, with 300 regulars, 400 militiamen, and some Indian allies. He then occupies abandoned Fort Mosa, seeking to provoke Governor Manuel de Montiano y Luyando out into the open, but the Spanish refuse to take the bait. Instead the Spanish dispatch some half galleys to bombard British positions on the peninsula opposite the fortress.

June 17 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe is reinforced by a 500-man South Carolina regiment, bringing his total numbers up to 1,500 men. He then begins to distribute his forces in a loose arc around Saint Augustine, Florida, to isolate it.

June 23 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe lands 400 highlanders and sailors on Anastasia Island opposite Saint Augustine, Florida, to cut the Spanish garrison off from the sea.

June 26 Military: A force of 300 Spaniards under Captain Antonio Salgado sorties from Saint Augustine, Florida, and surprises the English garrison at nearby Fort Mosa. Attacking at dawn, they advance on the defenders from three directions and quickly overwhelm them. The English lose 63 killed, including Colonel John Palmer, and several prisoners are marched back in triumph to the city.

July 14 Naval: A storm having blown the covering squadron of Commodore Vincent Pearse out to sea, the garrison of Saint Augustine is greatly heartened by the arrival of a Spanish sloop and 300 reinforcements from Cuba.

July 15 Military: A rather discouraged Governor James Oglethorpe orders the siege of Saint Augustine abandoned, and his men and ships return to Georgia. It has been a costly affair resulting in 122 British killed and 16 captured.

July 30 Technology: Caspar Wistar opens a glass factory in New Jersey, utilizing the talents of Belgian glass-blowers. By specializing in consumer products such as bottles and window panes, it becomes one of the colony’s most successful worker cooperatives.

August 5 Politics: The English Crown confirms the boundaries around Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

October 13 Naval: A large contingent of Virginia militiamen under Lawrence Washington— George’s elder brother—embarks and sails for Jamaica to participate in Admiral

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November 18 General: The Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses Against Fire, one of the earliest such organizations in the colonies, is ironically destroyed by a raging fire in Charleston, South Carolina. The conflagration destroys half the city.

1741 Business: Royal governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts unsuccessfully opposes an attempt by debtor farmers to found a land bank for the issuance of paper currency. It will be struck down by an act of Parliament. Andrew Duche, a Huguenot craftsman in Savannah, Georgia, begins manufacturing the colonies’ first true porcelain. Labor: Ship-caulkers in Boston go on strike when ordered to accept notes as payment. Music: Moravian settlers in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, organize the first-ever symphony orchestra of 14 musicians and accompanying instruments. Trinity Church in New York City employs the first organ constructed in the American colonies. The instrument is designed and built in two years by Johann Gottlieb Klimm of Philadelphia. Politics: The English Crown appoints Benning Wentworth as the first royal governor of New Hampshire; since 1682 this colony was administered by the governor of Massachusetts. Religion: No Cross, No Crown, a Quaker tract written by William Penn during his imprisonment in London in 1669, is published posthumously. Settlement: Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzemdorf leads a new influx of Moravians from central Europe to a new settlement along the Lehigh River at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

January Publishing: Andrew Bradford commences publishing The American Magazine in Philadelphia; it is the first periodical magazine in the American colonies but folds after three issues.

March 29 Military: A Yamassee raiding party attacks Governor James Oglethorpe’s Hermitage Plantation, killing four servants in his absence.

April 17 Military: British forces, badly handled and beset by bouts of yellow fever, withdraw from Cartagena, Columbia. The 3,000-man American contingent is reduced to 600 survivors, including Captain Lawrence Washington of Virginia, elder brother of George Washington.

June 1 Religion: The ongoing Great Awakening causes a schism in the Presbyterian church, dividing them into the Old Side and the New Side, which each organize synods of their own. The two sides are not reconciled until 1758.

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July 8 Religion: Reverend Jonathan Edwards preaches at Enfield, Connecticut, condemning mankind as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Salvation, he maintains, is available only to those who take up a covenant of grace. This becomes one of the most popular sermons in the region, and a high point in the so-called Great Awakening.

July 29 Exploration: Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sails into the Gulf of Alaska and glimpses North America. The body of water separating it from Siberia is subsequently named the Bering Strait in his honor. The Russians also make contact with the Aleuts and attempt to establish a trade in sea otter furs.

August 9 Exploration: Danish explorer Vitus Bering, then in the employ of the Russian czar, dies of scurvy on Commander’s Island, Alaska.

December 31 Slavery: A series of unexplained fires, possibly arson, in New York City stokes fears of a slave insurrection and leads to the hanging of four poor whites and 18 black slaves. A further 11 Africans are publicly burned at the stake while an additional 70 are sold to other colonies.

1742 Diplomacy: Iroquois leaders, possibly bribed by Pennsylvania authorities, “mediate” a land dispute between the colony and the Lenni Lenape (Delaware). At one point Chief Canasatego insults the Delaware delegation, calling them “women” and advises that they leave the disputed land immediately. Journalism: Cornelia Bradford takes over publication of the American Weekly Mercury in Philadelphia following the death of her husband, successfully editing and printing it for several years. Labor: The Carpenter’s Company, an architectural library, is created in Philadelphia by a body of master craftsmen who seek to document, preserve, and pass on elements of their craft. Religion: As the Great Awakening unfolds in New England, the rational sect of Unitarianism arises as a counterweight to overt emotionalism. The Moravian Seminary for Women is founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to provide religious instruction. Today it is known as Moravian College. Science: Benjamin Franklin concocts the Pennsylvania Fireplace, or Franklin Stove, which utilizes specially arranged flues to conduct twice as much heat from one-fourth the fuel of conventional devices.

April 15 Slavery: The General Court of Massachusetts grants divorce to a slave named Boston, after his wife allegedly and adulterously cavorted with a European and gave birth to a mulatto child.

July 2 Naval: A Spanish amphibious expedition of 1,950 men, six large and nine small vessels drops anchor off Cumberland Island, Georgia, in the hope of capturing Savannah. Among their troops is an entire regiment of former African-American

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July 7 Military: British troops fight their away across the straits to Cumberland Island, Georgia, having been intercepted by four Spanish half galleys. Georgia militia and Scottish highlanders commanded by Governor James Oglethorpe defeat 3,000 Spanish troops at the Battle of Bloody Marsh on Saint Simons Island, Georgia. Spanish forces fan out into the countryside on the Island, only to encounter dogged resistance from various English, highlander, and colonial units. Subsequent maneuvering by Scottish highlanders places colonial forces behind the main Spanish force, which is then attacked and routed with the loss of 300 men. This defeat induces them to depart the Georgia coast, leaving Oglethorpe free to concentrate his attention toward Saint Augustine, Florida.

July 9 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe redeploys his forces in and around Saint Simons Island while the large Spanish fleet dallies in the distance.

July 15 Naval: Spanish naval forces conduct a reconnaissance in force of Saint Simons Sound, Georgia, trading fire with numerous English batteries. They then land 1,500 soldiers ashore and Governor James Oglethorpe orders Fort Saint Simons abandoned.

July 25 Naval: Spanish forces embark on their fleet off Saint Simons Island and sail back to Saint Augustine after razing Forts Saint Simons and Prince William.

July 26 Naval: Retiring Spanish forces pause to occupy and burn Fort Saint Andrews on Cumberland Island, Georgia, then dispatch four boats to destroy nearby Fort Prince William.

July 29 Military: The 60-man British garrison of Fort Prince William, Cumberland Island, Georgia, is forewarned of the Spanish approach and deploys several snipers to harass the intruders. Their display convinces the Spanish to forgo the attempt and they continue withdrawing toward Saint Augustine, Florida.

August 6 Naval: Commodore Charles Rye arrives at Saint Simons Island, Georgia, with 1,092 reinforcements to find the enemy gone. He subsequently sails to Charleston, South Carolina, to protect that port from injury.

September 7 Naval: Governor James Oglethorpe reappears off Saint Augustine, Florida, with several Royal Navy and colonial warships and prepares to invest the city.

September 9 Naval: Spanish gunners drive off British warships as they attempt to destroy some half galleys anchored off of Saint Augustine, Florida. The following day,

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Governor James Oglethorpe makes a similar attempt through the Matanzas Inlet, which is likewise rebuffed.

September 11 Naval: A British colonial expedition under Governor James Oglethorpe abandons its attempted water assault upon Saint Augustine, Florida, and sails back to Georgia.

September 24 Architecture: Faneuil Hall, designed by John Smibert and constructed by skilled French Huguenots, opens to the public in Boston. It subsequently serves as a gathering place for political activities.

November 18 Military: A Yamassee war party attacks and kills a five-man Georgian garrison at Mount Venture on the Altamaha River, then flees back to Saint Augustine.

November 25 Religion: Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a Lutheran pastor from Germany, arrives in Philadelphia.

1743 Education: Dr. Bray’s Associates founds a school for poor African-American children and slaves in Charleston, South Carolina. A Mr. Garden also founds a school in the same city for the instruction of poor blacks, receiving considerable support from the community of free blacks and whites. Religion: A publishing war erupts between competing churches in New England during the Great Awakening. Jonathan Edwards composes Some Thoughts Concerning the Recent Revival of Religion in defense of emotionalism while Charles Chauncey counters with his Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England, which opposes the revival meetings. Science: Benjamin Franklin observes a hurricane near Philadelphia, noting how it traveled in the opposite direction from its wind. The cyclonic nature of storms is beginning to be understood. Slavery: In New Jersey, Quaker clergyman John Woolman sermonizes against the evils of slavery and argues for equality among all races. His message is then published and transmitted to several other Quaker meetings across the colonies.

March 15 Military: Governor James Oglethorpe marches a large force of British regulars, colonial rangers, and Creek allies from Cumberland Island, Georgia, on a retaliatory raid into Florida.

March 17 Military: Creek Indians allied with the British ambush a Spanish vessel near Saint Augustine, killing five.

March 22 Military: Creek Indians allied to Governor James Oglethorpe decide to disperse, leaving him with a force of 300 regulars and militia to deal with the Spanish garrison at Saint Augustine, Florida. He then advances toward the city, conceals his forces, and tries to lure the garrison out into the open.

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March 27 Military: A deserter from the highland regiment alerts the Spanish commander at Saint Augustine of where Governor James Oglethorpe’s forces are lurking nearby, forcing the British to withdraw back to their main base along the Saint Johns River.

April 8 Naval: Governor James Oglethorpe appears off Anastasia Island, Florida, intending to attack nearby Saint Augustine, but heavy seas prevent his forces from landing, and at length the British retire back to Georgia.

May 14 Science: Benjamin Franklin and Quaker naturalist John Bartram help to found the American Philosophical Society, the first chartered American society for the promotion of scientific knowledge. It is inspired by and patterned after the famous Royal Society of London, which will eventually induct Franklin as a member. However, after attracting a glittering membership, the society fails, for, in Franklin’s own words, they were “very idle gentlemen.” It nonetheless affords additional proof of the burgeoning colonial intelligentsia. Franklin, meanwhile, has been so successful at publishing and other ventures that he retires at the age of 42 to pursue matters of science and public service.

March 30 Exploration: A lead plate is inscribed and buried at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, by Francois and Louis-Joseph de la Verendrye. By this act they claim the northern plains for France.

September 23 Medical: An outbreak of yellow fever kills 217 colonists in New York.

1744 Education: Samuel Thomas, an Anglican missionary, founds a school for free African Americans in South Carolina. Music: The Moravian community establishes a Collegium Musicum in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the performance of classical music by noted composers such as Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Settlement: George Croghan and Conrad Weiser lead Virginia fur traders westward into the Ohio territory. Slavery: Virginia slightly modifies its 1705 slave code, now allowing Africans, mulattos, and Indians to serve as witnesses in civil cases involving another minority. Societal: Leonard and Daniel Barnetz open up Baltimore’s first brewery at the corner of Baltimore and Hanover Streets.

March Military: A Yamassee war party storms into Captain Mark Carr’s plantation, seizing five marines as prisoners. While withdrawing back to Florida they are overtaken by pursing militia and Yamacraw Indians on the north bank of the Saint Johns River and killed.

March 15 Military: England and France begin waging the War of the Austrian Succession, known in the colonies as King George’s War.

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May 3 Military: Word of war in Europe reaches Governor Jean-Baptiste Louis Le Prevost, governor of French Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island, Canada), who prepares to organize armed forays into nearby enemy territory.

May 23 Military: Military operations in King George’s War begin when French troops under Captain François-Joseph Du Pont Duvivier depart Louisbourg to capture the English fishing village of Canso, Nova Scotia. His 300 men surprise the 87man English garrison under Captain Patrick Heron, and the settlement surrenders a total of 100 captives. The French quickly parole their captives so as not to feed them and then depart.

June 22 Diplomacy: Six Nation Iroquois leaders sign the Treaty of Lancaster with representatives of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, whereby the tribes surrender all claims to land in northern Ohio. In return the Iroquois gain monetary compensation for land loss, rights of passage through Virginia for their warriors, and political preeminence over all other tribes in their region. This treaty opens up settlement of the trans-Appalachian region, but conflict is bound to erupt as this region is also claimed by the French and other tribes.

July 11 Military: A French-led force of 300 Micmac Indians under Jesuit father JeanLouis Le Loutre attacks Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, only to be rebuffed by Lieutenant Governor Paul Mascarene’s garrison of 75 soldiers. The expected support of warships and siege artillery under Governor Jean-Baptiste Louis Duquesnel fails to materialize, and the Indians gradually depart.

July 16 Military: An impasse continues outside the walls of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, until the arrival of the Massachusetts brig Prince of Orange, bearing 70 reinforcements. The large body of Micmac warriors besieging the town then withdraws to Minas.

July 29 Military: After considerable delays, a French expedition under François-Joseph Du Pont Duvivier departs Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, and marches overland for Annapolis, Nova Scotia. His tardy movement has already induced a large body of Micmac Indians at the scene to withdraw.

September 8 Military: A French force of 280 men and 100 Indian allies appears off Annapolis a second time, and surround the augmented garrison of Lieutenant Governor Paul Mascarene. Both sides then await needed reinforcements to tip the balance in their favor.

September 26 Naval: The garrison at Annapolis, Nova Scotia, is reinforced by a sloop and a brigantine under Captain John Gorham, who brings 50 rangers for the garrison. Their arrival induces French and Indian besiegers under François-Joseph Du Pont Duvivier to retreat to Minas.

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October 28 Politics: Governor William Shirley declares war against the Micmac and Malecite tribes for their role in the attacks upon Annapolis Royal.

December 26–28 Military: The 400 Swiss guarding Louisbourg mutiny for want of pay but are gradually placated by the new governor of Cape Breton Island, Louis Du Pont, sieur de Duchambon.

1745 Music: An eight-bell carillion plays for the first time in Christ Church belfry at Boston, Massachusetts. Politics: Essays by the French philosophe Montesquieu are printed in numerous issues of the Boston Gazette. Montiesqieu argues for a series of checks and balances in government, an approach reflected in the American federal constitution of 1789. Settlement: Virginia settlers begin crossing the Appalachian Mountains and settle into the Ohio Territory, an act that pushes local Indians into binding alliances with the French. The crushing of a second and final Jacobite rebellion in England leads to thousands of new Scottish settlers and refugees.

January 9 Political: Governor William Shirley announces to the General Court of Massachusetts that the great fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, is woefully undermanned, and suffering from low morale due to lack of pay. He entreats the legislators to outfit and fund an amphibious expedition from New England before it can be reinforced. It was feared that this outpost, which controls the entrance to St. Lawrence Bay, could be utilized to attack New England and Nova Scotia fisheries. The General Court, however, is unswayed by Shirley’s presentation and they vote down his proposal.

January 25 Po liti cal: The General Court of Massachusetts, having been lobbied by merchants and fishermen at the behest of Governor William Shirley, votes to approve a large amphibious expedition against the massive French outpost of Louisbourg.

March 24 Military: Governor William Shirley orders a force of 2,800 New England troops under Massachusetts lieutenant general William Pepperell onboard Royal Navy vessels for an expedition against Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island.

April 4 Naval: General William Pepperrell’s amphibious expedition sails from Boston on board 51 transports escorted by the Royal Navy.

April 11 Naval: The New England expedition of General William Pepperrell arrives at Canso, Nova Scotia, in driblets, having been scattered by heavy winds. The next few days are spent consolidating the fleet and awaiting the arrival of Commodore Peter Warren’s Royal Navy squadron from the West Indies.

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Shirley, William (1694 –1771) Colonial governor William Shirley was born in Preston, Sussex, England, on December 2, 1694, and he was admitted to the bar in 1720. Following a successful but lackluster legal career, he emigrated to Massachusetts to expand his fortunes there. Shirley proved adept at working his political connections, in 1733 gaining appointment as an admiralty judge, then advocate general the following year. He was also dutifully disposed toward the interests of the Crown, so in 1741, Shirley was made royal governor of Massachusetts. In this capacity he distinguished himself by his drive and determination. He inherited a colony in financial distress and pursued sound-money policies in the face of depreciating paper scrip. An avowed imperialist, Shirley also took a keen interest in military affairs, deemed the French in Canada a potential enemy, and proved instrumental in shoring up the defenses of Boston harbor and constructing numerous forts in Maine, then administered by Massachusetts. Once King George’s War commenced in 1744, Shirley wasted no time drawing up an elaborate scheme for the conquest of Louisbourg, the formidable French fortress on Cape Breton Island. His skill at persuasion and encouraging cooperation was never more apparent than when he convinced the General Court to fund a very large amphibious expedition of 4,000 men and 100 vessels against the French. This expedition departed Boston under the aegis of General William Pepperrell in April 1745 and captured Louisbourg two months

later. Shirley then prevailed on the British government to reimburse Massachusetts for all expenses incurred, and the funding he received finally stabilized the colonial currency. Shirley left the governor’s office in 1749 and ventured to France as part of a boundary commission tasked with delineating the Maine border. He remained there four years, convinced that another, larger conflict with France was in the offing. He was then reappointed governor of Massachusetts in 1753 and immediately set about improving colonial defenses there and in Maine. In 1755, he was also appointed major general and second in command of British forces, under General Edward Braddock, and was entrusted with a large overland expedition against Fort Niagara, New York. Shirley, however, was inexperienced as a general and a logistician, so his campaign only got as far as Oswego before running out of supplies. He also briefly served as commander in chief following the death of Braddock but failed to cooperate with Sir William Johnson and no concrete objectives were secured. Consequently, he was replaced by General John Campbell, earl of Loudon, in 1756 and recalled back to England to answer charges of incompetence. He was cleared and next appointed governor of the Bahamas, 1761–69, which he handled capably. Shirley returned to Massachusetts a final time in 1769 for a final term as governor. He died there on March 24, 1771, overly ambitious politically but possessing great energy and drive.

May 3 Naval: The 32-gun frigate Renommee, unable to reach Louisbourg owing to ice, chases the Rhode Island sloop Tartar off Pope Harbor, then puts back out to sea. Meanwhile, the 40-gun HMS Eltham anchors at Canso, augmenting General William Pepperrell’s expedition.

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Pepperrell, William

(1696–1759)

Militia officer William Pepperrell was born in Kittery, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), on June 27, 1696, the son of a self-made businessman. He joined his father as a full-fledged business partner at the age of 20 and eventually succeeded him as head of their trading firm. In this capacity Pepperrell frequently ventured south to Boston on business, where he rubbed elbows with the city’s economic elites. After marrying the daughter of a prominent politician in 1723, Pepperrell developed an interest in politics and three years later he successfully ran for a seat in the General Court, which he held for 18 years. He also served with the Massachusetts Council, a high-ranking advisory committee, while holding the rank of colonel in the militia. In 1730, Governor Jonathan Belcher, a friend and political ally, appointed him chief justice of the colonial court despite the fact he had never read law. Undaunted, Pepperrell studied hard, worked diligently, and acquired the reputation of a competent jurist. He inherited his father’s vast estate in 1734, becoming at a stroke one of New England’s wealthiest individuals. Considering what he had started with, Pepperrell owed his rise to intelligence, an appetite for work, and a tactful, diplomatic demeanor that encouraged cooperation and made him few significant enemies. In 1744, King George’s War broke out in the colonies between England and France, and Pepperrell proved willing and able to advance his fortunes even further. Governor William Shirley appointed him general of militia and ordered him to capture the

French-held bastion of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. Both men then prevailed upon the General Court for funding to raise and support a force of 4,000 New England troops for the expedition, which included troops from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The British government was sufficiently impressed by the enterprise to assign a large Royal Navy force under Admiral Peter Warren to assist. Pepperrell sailed from Boston on March 24, 1745, and began the siege the following month. The New Englanders, earnest amateurs at best, managed to drive the French from several important posts and established siege batteries to bomb them into submission. On June 16, 1745, Pepperrell and Warren allowed French governor Louis Du Pont Duchambon to surrender with honors of war at a cost of only 130 men. For his efforts Pepperrell sailed to London for an audience with King George II and became the first native-born American to receive a baronetcy. However, his triumph was short-lived, for Louisbourg reverted to French control following the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. After the war Pepperrell resumed his business activities but also kept in touch with military affairs. After the French and Indian War commenced in 1754, he became a major general in 1755 and four years later rose to lieutenant general while orchestrating the defenses of Maine. He died at his home in Kittery on July 6, 1759, an extremely successful military and business figure of the colonial period.

May 4 Naval: The squadron of Admiral Peter Warren reaches Canso with ship of the line Superbe and frigates Launceston and Mermaid. General William Pepperrell, eager to get underway, orders his own warships to sortie against Cape Breton Island and establish a blockade immediately.

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May 7 Naval: The French privateer Saint Jean de Luz darts through the ice floes off Louisbourg, and docks there, giving the garrison its first warning that a major British assault is gathering offshore. Militia companies are then gathered inside the walls to await events.

May 10 Naval: General William Pepperrell leads a formation of 100 sailing from Canso toward Cape Breton Island, setting in motion a fateful siege of Louisbourg.

May 11 Naval: The New England expedition under General William Pepperrell rendezvouses with Admiral Warren’s blockading squadron off Gabarus Bay, Cape Breton Island. The French then make a few halting attempts to prevent the colonials from landing but are driven off. Governor Louis Du Pont Duchambon then orders the city gates closed as the garrison girds for a siege.

May 12 Military: General William Pepperrell comes ashore with the balance of his troops and begins establishing siege positions around Louisbourg. A force of 500 Massachusetts militia under Colonel William Vaughan then reconnoiters inland and discovers the detached Grand Battery abandoned by the French. Two days later, the 30 captured cannon begin bombarding the defenders.

May 18 Military: General William Pepperrell sends a surrender demand to Louisbourg, which is summarily refused. The governor commands a force of 600 regulars and 90 militia and awaits a relief force from France known to be headed his way.

May 29 Naval: Captain Daniel Fones of the Rhode Island sloop Tartar captures a French brigantine and learns of an approaching French relief convoy.

May 30 Naval: The British frigate HMS Mermaid under Captain James Douglas observes the French 64-gun ship of the line Vigilante at sea and lures it toward the main British squadron. The French vessel is then mobbed by six British warships, suffering 35 dead and 26 wounded before striking its colors. The victors then discover 500 soldiers on board, 1,000 barrels of gunpowder, and 40 cannon intended to assist the Louisbourg garrison. This is a devastating blow to the defenders of Louisbourg, who are running low of supplies and ammunition.

June 6–7 Military: A party of 400 New England volunteers attempts to storm Louisbourg’s island battery but they are repulsed with a loss of 60 dead and 166 captured.

June 10 Military: New England troops under General William Pepperrell erect a new artillery position that brings increased firepower to bear upon the defenders of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island.

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June 19 Military: General William Pepperrell informs the French garrison of Louisbourg that the warship Vigilante and the supplies it was conveying have been captured, which greatly disheartens the defenders.

June 26 Military: General William Pepperrell makes preparations for a massive com­ bined assault upon Louisbourg’s defenses when Governor Louis Du Pont Ducham­ bon requests surrender terms.

June 28 Military: The French 1,500-�man garrison at Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, surrenders to colonial forces under General William Pepperrell and a Royal Navy force under Commodore Sir Peter Warren. Besieging forces have fired more than 6,000 cannonballs at the defenders over the past six weeks, losing 101 men. This is a triumph for the New En�gland militia, although diplomacy restores the fort to French control, much to their disgust. Meanwhile, Commodore Warren gains appointment as governor of Cape Breton Island.

October 2 Military: Choctaw warriors attack En�glish traders near their village of Blue Wood, Mississippi, killing two.

November 28–29 Military: A force of 400 French and 200 Indians under Lieutenant Marin de La Malgue attack and burn Saratoga, New York, taking 100 captives and razing the settlement.

1746 General: Trade factionalism within the Choctaw Nation results in civil war when Red Shoes, a Â�pro-Â�EnÂ�glish chief, is assassinated by Â�pro-Â�French elements. Labor: Carpenters in Savannah, Georgia, strike for better working conditions. Medical: Over the fall and winter, the Micmac of Nova Scotia are beset by an onslaught of typhus that kills off Â�one-Â�third of the tribe. Having lost a Â�four-Â�year-Â�old son to smallpox, Benjamin Franklin and his Â�common-Â�law wife, Deborah, have their Â�three-Â�year-Â�old daughter Sarah suc­ cessfully inoculated against the disease. Despite demonstrable success in preserving lives, the practice is viewed with suspicion well into the next century. Military: The New Jersey assembly authorizes ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Hamilton to raise and arm a regiment of free African Americans and Native Americans for serÂ�vice in Canada. Religion: Father Sébastien-Louis Meurin, the last Jesuit missionary dispatched to New France, arrives in the Illinois Territory. Science: John Winthrop IV of Harvard conducts the first laboratory demonstra­ tion of magnetism and electricity.

April Diplomacy: The French make peace overtures to Mohawk chief Theyanoguin (Hendrick) but he declines neutrality and sides with Great Britain.

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April 7 Military: Fort Number 4, New Hampshire, is attacked by a large French and Indian raiding party. The 30-man militia garrison, under Captain Phineas Stevens, dutifully resists several attacks and overtures to surrender for three days. Once the French draw off, Stevens receives a sword for his services.

May 4 Religion: The Moravian community at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, erects a seminary or boarding school for girls to assist in their religious education. Curiously, the institution is open to all individuals interested in learning and not simply church members.

May 28 Politics: The boundary between Rhode Island and Massachusetts is finally approved by Parliament.

August 28 Military: Deerfield, Massachusetts, again feels the weight of the tomahawk as combined French and Indian forces sweep down on its inhabitants. One survivor, the 16-year-old slave Lucy Terry, composes “Bars Fight,” the first poem known to originate from an African-American woman. Ironically, it is recited orally over the years and not written down and published until 1855.

October 22 Education: Presbyterian College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) is chartered in Elizabethtown by a Presbyterian offshoot group. President Jonathan Dickinson gives the first classes in his home.

December Publishing: Benjamin Franklin, taking a break from his usual scientific inquiries, turns to advising the lovelorn in an essay entitles Advice to a Young Man on Choosing a Mistress and Reflections on Courtship and Marriage.

1747 Business: Thomas Lee founds the Virginia-based Ohio Company to acquire western territory for speculation and settlement. Education: Princeton College, Newark, New Jersey, begins classes of instruction. Law: The American Bar Association, the colonies’ first organization for lawyers, is founded in New York City. Religion: Reverend Jonathan Mayhew begins preaching the very liberal doctrine of Arminianism to his congregation at West Church in Boston. This is a more humanistic creed based on free will, tolerance, and the ability of people to work for their salvation and directly questions the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. His stance ultimately sparks a theological confrontation with more conservative theologians such as Jonathan Edwards. Science: Benjamin Franklin uses the terms positive and negative for the first time while describing electricity. He also conducts his famous experiment with kites. Slavery: The South Carolina legislature commends African-Americans slaves for their recent courage in helping repel a Spanish attack on the colony and makes provisions to recruit them in times of military emergency. However, the

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January 23 Military: A force of 300 French, Canadians, and Indians under Captain Antoine Coulon de Villiers departs Beaubassin, Acadia, and marches on snowshoes toward the isolated New England garrison at Grand Pre. It was feared that a sustained British presence there would eventually lead to a loss of communications with Acadians still living at Port Royal (Annapolis).

February 11 Military: A Massachusetts garrison guarding Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, is attacked in an early morning raid by 300 French, Canadian, and Micmac warriors under Captain Antoine Coulon de Villiers. The French, covered by a blizzard, stage 10 separate attacks on buildings housing the sleeping enemy, and use all but one. Colonel Arthur Noble is one of the 130 English killed, while 34 were wounded and 53 captured. The prisoners are then released to travel to Annapolis, putting northern Nova Scotia securely in French hands.

July Military: Coosaponakeesa, a female Creek sachem, raises an army of warriors and marches into Savannah, demanding payment for services rendered to Governor James Oglethorpe. The English then discover her warriors have no real allegiance to her, so Coosaponakeesa is arrested, briefly detained, then released.

September 29 Religion: The German Reformed Church emerges in Pennsylvania as part of the Dutch Reformed Church.

1748 Religion: The French establish a Catholic Sulpician mission on the site of present-day Ogdensburg to garner support among the Iroquois Six Nations. Settlement: Virginia frontiersmen found Draper’s Meadows, the first English settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. Slavery: Through the tenets of the Virginia Militia Act, all African Americans and Native Americans residing in that colony are expressly forbidden from carrying weapons.

May 13 Business: Parliament imposes a duty of six pence per pound of indigo imported from the colonies.

July Military: A New England sloop carrying logs from Honduras runs aground near Cape Florida and is attacked by Indians in canoes, who kill 11 of the crew.

August 26 Religion: The first Lutheran synod in the colonies is conducted at St. Michael’s Church, Philadelphia, led by six ministers under Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.

October 18 Military: King George’s War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-laChapelle. The document causes considerable resentment in New England once

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Louisbourg and Cape Breton Island return to French control. In return, France agrees to stop supporting the exiled Stuart pretenders. Moreover, to allay possible hostility, the government agrees to compensate the colonies 236,000 pounds for the cost of the expedition.

October 20 General: Ohio Company traders Hugh Parker and Thomas Cresap enter the Ohio territory for the first time.

1749 Architecture: King’s Chapel, Boston, designed by Peter Harrison of Newport, Rhode Island, is constructed using granite stone from nearby Quincy. Military: In light of a renewed British push westward, French colonists fortify their settlement at Toronto in present-day Ontario. Settlement: Over the year, 22 vessels bearing 7,000 German Rhineland emigrants drop anchor at Philadelphia, now notorious as a haven for non-English speakers and religious dissenters. Societal: Philadelphia establishes its first Dancing Assembly, wherein young men and women pair up by lot and spend the entire evening as couples doing the latest steps.

January 1 Politics: Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire authorizes a land grant for creating the town of Bennington (Vermont). Long-term border problems arise as New York lays claim to this same region.

March 16 Business: The British Privy Council grants 200,000 acres of land between the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers to the Ohio Company, provided the region is settled and a fort constructed.

May 19 Business: King George II charters the Ohio Company in Virginia for 500,000 additional acres along the upper Ohio River. Endeavors here also promote exploration of the Ohio River Valley.

June Arts: James Wyatt opens the first waxworks museum in New York City. Exploration: A French expedition under Pierre Joseph de Celoron de Blaineville paddles down the Ohio River, determined to claim the region for France and establish good relations with the tribes residing there. They also leave metal plates imbedded in the ground as proof of French ownership. Settlement: Lord Halifax dispatches 2,500 colonists to Nova Scotia, there to found the city and citadel of Halifax.

July Military: The British construct Halifax, Chebutco Bay, Nova Scotia, as a major naval base and citadel, intending to influence nearby Micmac Indians. Instead, this action prompts several Indians attacks.

July 12 Business: Virginia allocates 800,000 acres of land to the Loyal Company of John Lewis and Thomas Walker. The tract is located west of the Virginia–North

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Chronology of American History Carolina boundary, pushing the reach of white colonization ever closer to the Appalachian Mountains.

July 31 General: Sixteen-year old George Washington, being well grounded in mathematics, gains appointment as surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia.

August 22 Arts: The first American repertory company is organized in Philadelphia by Thomas Kean and Walter Murray, and stages Cato, a tragedy by Joseph Addison. However, protests by the city council force them to depart for New York.

October 26 General: Trustees in Georgia reverse the colonial ban on slavery with parliamentary permission and also allow the importation of rum. Slavery now acquires a veneer of legality in that colony while what becomes known as the plantation system also begins in earnest.

November 13 Education: An academy is chartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 24 leading citizens inspired by an educational pamphlet written by Benjamin Franklin. It ultimately evolves into the University of Pennsylvania.

1750 Business: A booming candle-making industry arises in Rhode Island as a spin-off of the whaling industry. The candles employ whale oil, or spermaceti, extracted from dead whales. Economics: Parliament passes the Iron Act to outlaw the manufacture of finished iron products throughout the colonies and thereby prevent competition with English firms, but it encourages the production of pig and bar iron for shipment back to England. Education: Quakers under Anthony Benezet found an evening school for free African Americans in Philadelphia. Medical: Doctors John Bard and Peter Middleton compose the first essay on human dissection, using the cadaver of Hermannus Carrol, a convicted murderer. Slavery: Half-way through the century, African Americans number 236,400 with only 30,000 living north of Maryland. They constitute roughly 20 percent of the British colonies’ overall population. Parliament modifies its slave trade policies to allow individuals, along with companies, to partake of the slave trade. The newcomers are required to pay a duty to the Royal African Company to help maintain its forts and factories in West Africa. Transportation: Colonists in Pennsylvania perfect both the flatboat for river transport and the deep-bellied Conestoga wagon for land movement. Both vehicles prove essential in the rapidly developing westward surge.

January 1 Slavery: The government of Georgia reverses itself and allows the importation of African slaves into the colony after petitions and protests from the inhabitants. Henceforth, all blacks are to be tried by English common law and instructed in the sanctity of marriage, while racial intermarriage is forbidden.

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Benezet, Anthony (1713–1784) Ouaker educator Anthony Benezet was born in Saint Quentin, France, the son of Huguenot parents who fled to England rather than face persecution at home. The family then relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1731, where Benezet initially followed his father’s vocation of merchant. However, he grew disillusioned with business and, after marrying Quakeress Joyce Marriott, he converted to the creed and pursued a life of simplicity, piety, and decency. In 1739, he switched to teaching at the Germantown Academy and succeeded Francis Daniel Pastorius as master. In this capacity he was capable of instructing prospective students in reading, writing, mathematics, Latin, French, and English grammar. Benezet then held down several teaching positions at various institutions in and around Philadelphia over the ensuing decades, and he gradually refined his pedagogical methodology. In this respect he was greatly distinguished from contemporaries by discarding the usual harsh classroom discipline in favor of kindness and gentleness. Nor was he averse to instructing young women, traditionally underrepresented in the classroom, and in the 1750s, he established a free night school for African Americans, regardless of status. He functioned in this capacity for over two decades, working without pay, and among his most distinguished students were Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, who subsequently became distinguished leaders of Philadelphia’s African-American community. In 1770 Benezet’s success and his growing influence among fellow Quak-

ers convinced the Society of Friends to donate space and resources to found a formal “African School” in Philadelphia, the first in the colonies. When not teaching, Benezet functioned as an early social reformer, and his efforts invariably paralleled his closely prescribed Quaker beliefs. He was actively and outspokenly involved in movements for abolishing slavery in the colonies, which, as a Quaker, he regarded as a sin against man. In 1766, he penned an influential tract entitled A Caution and Warning to Great Britain and Her Colonies on the Calamitous State of Enslaved Negroes, which was well received. Extending his opposition to the Society of Friends themselves, in 1776 Benezet proved influential in outlawing Quaker slave owning and successfully insisted that members be expelled for this. He was also a good friend and confidant of Benjamin Franklin, who likewise shared his abolitionist sympathies. In addition to social work, Benezet penned several useful classroom texts, such as primers, spellers, and grammar books, and pioneered a curriculum for the deaf. He also remained committed to societal reform to the end of his life, agitating on behalf of all children regardless of their background, including displaced Acadians, and Native Americans. Benezet left retirement in 1782 to resume teaching at the African school after the schoolmaster resigned. He functioned in this capacity for two years before dying at Philadelphia on May 3, 1784, an early champion of social justice.

January 30 In Boston, Reverend Jonathan Mayhew delivers a sermon entitled Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission, a thinly veiled attack on the divine right of kings.

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March 5 Arts: Thomas Kean and Walter Murray found the first American acting company and stage Shakespeare’s Richard III in their premier performance. They perform in a rented building on Nassau Street to packed houses.

April 13 General: Thomas Walker, while exploring for the Ohio Land Company, happens upon the Cumberland Gap, Kentucky. In time, this serves as a major conduit for western migration for thousands of settlers beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

June 22 Religion: Clergyman Jonathan Edwards is dismissed from his Congregationalist church in Northampton, Massachusetts, for rejecting the liberal Half-Way Covenant to salvation. Edwards, a staunch conservative, subscribed to the unyielding notion of “sanctifying grace.” He thereupon ventures to the western town of Stockbridge and begins missionary work among the Indians there. Edwards also pens treatises called Original Sin and Freedom of the Will.

October 31 Exploration: Virginia frontiersman Christopher Gist surveys the Ohio River Valley as far as Pickawillany. Gist, a neighbor of Daniel Boone, becomes the first European to survey parts of the region known as Kentucky.

1751 Business: Parliament passes the Currency Act, which prohibits chartering of land banks in the colonies along with the use of public bills of credit (paper money) to retire private debts. Benjamin Franklin’s pamphlet “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind and the Peopling of Countries,” characterizes slavery as among the most inefficient forms of production. Education: Benjamin Franklin helps to found the Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia; it subsequently becomes the University of Pennsylvania. General: French Jesuits introduce sugarcane to Louisiana for the first time, using it to make taffia, a strong drink. It also generates the need for additional manpower in the form of slaves. Settlement: German Moravians acquire 100,000 acres along the Yadkin River, North Carolina, for eventual settlement.

March 16 General: James Madison, a future president, is born at Port Conway, Virginia.

April 2 Arts: John Smibert, an early American artist of note, dies in Boston, Massachusetts. His painting “Family of Bishop Berkeley” presently adorns the Dining Hall of Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

1752 Exploration: John Finley, a fur trader, paddles down the Ohio River as far as the site of present-day Louisville, Kentucky, then goes ashore to explore the terrain. General: The colonies discard the old style Julian calender in favor of the newer Gregorian calender.

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Slavery: Maryland becomes the first state to pass legislation allowing slaves to be manumitted (freed) by their owners.

January 1 General: England and its colonies officially adopt the new Gregorian calender.

February 6 Medical: The Pennsylvania Hospital, first general hospital in the colonies, is established in Philadelphia by Thomas Bond. Patients could be admitted on either a paying or charitable basis.

May 11 Business: The Philadelphia Contributorship for the Insurance of Homes is founded and concludes its first board meeting.

June Science: Benjamin Franklin’s celebrated experiments of flying kites in thunderstorms scientifically demonstrate that lightning is composed of electricity. Shortly after, he designs the lightning rod, a tall pole fastened onto buildings to attract and safely conduct lightning bolts into the ground.

June 1 Military: A large raiding party of Fox, Sioux, Sauk, Kickapoo, Powatomie, Winnebago, and Menominee Indians, estimated at between 500 and 1,000 warriors, steal upon a Cahokia and Illinois village on the Mississippi River, north of Fort de Chartes. The Fox have organized the raid to punish the Cahokia and Illinois for their continuing alliance with France. The tribesmen easily overrun the village, having lured out the defenders and ambushed them, taking 80 captives and then withdrawing. The action certainly embarrassed the French, who had summoned the bulk of Illinois warriors to Fort de Chartes for a religious observance.

June 13 Diplomacy: Delaware, Shawnee, and Mingo (Iroquois) conclude the Treaty of Logstown (Ambridge), Pennsylvania, whereby land south of the Ohio River (Kentucky, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania) is ceded to the Ohio Company of Virginia in exchange for an impressive allotment of gifts. The British are then allowed to build a fort in the territory and begin settlement of the area. The Iroquois, usually pensive over land sales, welcome this development for the British have promised to garrison the region against French influence.

June 21 Military: Chief Memeskia of the Miami, disillusioned by a lack of French commodities, founded the village of Pickawillany (Piqua, Ohio) to trade with the British. This prompts French trader Charles-Michel de Langlade to lead 250 Ojibway, Potawatomi, and Ottawa forces against them, killing a British trader and roasting Memeskia to death. This seemingly insignificant action intimidates other tribes and helps consolidate French control of the Ohio Valley.

July Slavery: George Washington acquires 14 slaves upon inheriting the estate at Mount Vernon; this number would eventually grow to 200 over his lifetime. He was never abusive in his relationships with African Americans but was uncertain about granting them their freedom. However, all were manumitted following his death in 1799.

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July 4 Politics: Georgia trustees conclude their final meeting, after which the colony reverts to royal authority. At this time they also legalize slavery in the colony at the behest of the inhabitants.

November Military: George Washington, a 21-year-old Virginian, is commissioned a major in the colonial militia. He serves as one of four district adjutants tasked with training and instructional duties throughout his district.

November 22 Diplomacy: British and Micmac emissaries sign a peace treaty whereby the former promise to deliver an annuity each October as well as respect Indian fishing and hunting rights.

December Arts: A troupe of actors led by Lewis Hallum presents Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice in New York City for the first time.

1753 Business: French traders construct Fort La Corne on the Lower Saskatchewan River to expand trade among the Cree and Assiniboine Indians. Benjamin Franklin and William Hunter gain appointment as joint postmasters general of the North American colonies. Exploration: The vessel Argo, captained by Charles Swaine, leaves Philadelphia to locate the Northwest Passage to the Far East. Instead he ends up exploring Hudson Bay and returns home later in the year. Significantly, this expedition has largely been instigated and financed by Benjamin Franklin. Science: Benjamin Franklin is awarded the Copley Medal from the Royal Society of London for his experiments on electricity and lightning. Settlement: Christopher Gist leads a party of settlers through the wilderness to Red Stone Creek on the Monongahela River, western Pennsylvania, there to found a small outpost.

April Military: The French, determined to strengthen their grip on the Ohio River Valley, begin constructing three outposts in westernmost Pennsylvania: Fort Presque Isle (Erie), Fort LeBoeuf (French Creek), and Fort Verango (at the fork of French Creek and the Allegheny River).

June Diplomacy: The Six Nation Iroquois were frustrated by their inability to peacefully halt a rising tide of white settlement on their land and equally worried over British inability or unwillingness to fortify the western frontier against French expansion. Therefore, Mohawk leader Hendrick declared that the Covenant Chain, the traditional symbol of peace and alliance with Britain, is broken. In light of rising hostilities with France and its Native American allies, the announcement could not have come at a worse time.

August 28 Politics: In Philadelphia, a huge metal bell cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in England finally tolls to convene the Pennsylvania assembly. It had cracked

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upon its first ringing the previous September and had to be repaired locally. In time, this artifact becomes popularly revered as the “Liberty Bell.”

September 10 Diplomacy: The 1752 Treaty of Logstown is revoked by the Indians at the Winchester Conference, at which point the Delaware and Mingo join forces with France in opposing British expansion into the Ohio River Valley.

September 18 Diplomacy: In London, the Board of Trade, anxious to keep the Six Nations Iroquois as an ally during the ongoing difficulties with France, instructs all colonies enjoying a relationship with that confederation to muster delegations for a conference at Albany, New York, the following summer. They are there basically to address Iroquois grievances and trade issues with them.

September 25 Technology: Joshua Hornblower introduces the first steam engine from England; John Schuyler installs it at North Arlington, New Jersey, to pump water from his copper mines.

October 31 Military: Twenty-one-year-old Major George Washington, Virginia militia, is ordered by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie to take eight men and venture across 500 miles of wilderness to French-held Fort Le Boeuf on the southern coast of Lake Erie. He is assisted by Christopher Gist as a guide. There he is to deliver an eviction notice to the French garrison, whose presence constitutes an intrusion on English-claimed land.

November 25–27 Military: Major George Washington encamps near the Allegheny River to confer with local Indian chiefs. While there a French deputation also arrives and Washington learns of new French forts on the Wabash and Mississippi Rivers. Apparently, the French intend to claim the entire Ohio territory and convince the Indians to sign an alliance with France.

December 12 Military: Major George Washington delivers his eviction notice to French captain Legardeur de St. Pierre de Repentigny, commanding Venango, a small post 20 miles south of Lake Erie in western Pennsylvania. He is thereupon rebuffed and told to deliver it to a more senior officer.

December 15 Military: Major George Washington finally reaches Fort Le Boeuf on the Lake Erie shore and delivers his eviction notice. After trying to recruit his Indian escort, the French commander composes a reply for Washington to take back.

December 16 Military: Major George Washington, accompanied only by a single companion, departs Fort Le Boeuf in a snowstorm and embarks on a hazardous, four-week journey back to Williamsburg, Virginia.

1754 Medicine: Lionel Chalmers publishes the first significant medical treatise on tetanus.

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Chronology of American History Religion: The Society of Friends holds its annual meeting in Philadelphia and issues a strident condemnation of slavery and the slave trade. Once again, the Quakers are at the forefront of abolitionist efforts. Settlement: The Susquehanna Company of Connecticut obtains a tract of land on the upper Susquehanna River (present-day Wyoming Valley) from the Six Nations Iroquois. Problems arise later when this land is also claimed by Pennsylvania. Slavery: In Philadelphia, John Woolman publishes Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes, a plea for fellow Quakers to emancipate their slaves on the basis of morality.

January Military: Governor Robert Dinwiddie, mindful of French incursions into western Virginia, dispatches Captain William Trent of the militia to construct a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers.

January 16 Military: Major George Washington, having covered nearly 1,000 miles in three months, arrives back at Williamsburg, Virginia, with the French response. In addressing the entire Virginia council, he suggests erecting a fort at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongohela Rivers, also known as the Forks of the Ohio, from which the entire territory can be controlled. Washington subsequently gains promotion to lieutenant colonel and receives authorization to recruit six companies of militia to evict the French and solidify Virginia control of Ohio.

February Military: A company of Virginia militia under Captain William Trent establishes Fort Prince George at the Forks of the Ohio River, the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

April 2 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George Washington marches from Alexandria, Virginia, with 180 militiamen, and makes for the Ohio frontier.

April 17 Military: French soldiers under Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur seize Fort Prince George, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, from Virginia militiamen under Captain William Trent. They are allowed to depart unharmed and the post is subsequently rechristened Fort Duquesne. This action signals an end to all attempts by colonials to settle the Ohio River Valley until after the French and Indian War.

April 25 Education: The Morning School for Girls is opened by Anthony Benezet in Philadelphia, instructing young women in grammar, reading, and mathematics.

May 9 Journalism: At Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin publishes the first-ever political cartoon in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It depicts a dismembered snake symbolizing colonial disunity during wartime and appeals for unity under the dire threat “Join or Die.”

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May 28 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, commanding 40 militiamen and eight Seneca braves under Tanaghrisson, attacks a party of 30 French and Indians while they encamp at a place known as Great Meadows (Farmington, Pennsylvania). The militia kills 12 Frenchmen, including their commander, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers, sieur de Jomonville, and takes 21 captives, but one man escapes back to Fort Duquesne and alerts the garrison. Washington’s loss is one killed and one wounded. This small affair is the first act of a much larger conflict, the French and Indian War.

May 30 Military: Virginia militiamen under Lieutenant Colonel George Washington construct a small log palisade at Great Meadows, which he christens Fort Necessity. He then begins constructing a military road toward Fort Le Boeuf.

June 19 – July 11 Politics: Delegates from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and all four New England colonies assemble at the Albany Congress, New York, to discuss renewing their Covenant Chain (treaty of alliance) with the Six Nations Iroquois, and possibly coax them out of their policy of neutrality toward New France. Mounting tensions with the French require both to renew their mutual defensive alliance. Hendrick of the Mohawks, serving as the confederation spokesman, has also been invited to give his advice on the possible formation of a colonial union. But the Indians are far more concerned with white encroachment on their land, the importation of too much rum among the tribes, and the apparent unwillingness of Britain to fortify the western interior, the Ohio Valley in particular, against French encroachment. The pleas for unity do little to ameliorate the squabbling nature of intercolonial relations and their oftentimes naked self interest. While negotiations were ongoing, the Pennsylvanians managed to arrange for themselves a large purchase of Indian land in the far west along the Wyoming Valley. But the conference does set important precedents for broaching broader issues such as mutual defense and united administration.

June 24 Politics: At Albany, Benjamin Franklin proposes a “Plan of Union” for the colonies to facilitate greater political unity and mutual defense. The suggested format consists of a president general appointed by the British Crown, and a grand council, elected from individual colonies, that possesses legislative power. Franklin allegedly draws his inspiration from the Grand Council of Iroquois Six Nations and their practical confederation arrangement, although Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts, who has served on several Indian commissions, is also a probable author.

June 26 Military: Major Louis Coulon de Villiers, elder brother to the slain French ensign, arrives at Fort Duquesne with reinforcements for the garrison. He then demands the right of revenge against the colonial forces who killed his brother, which is granted by his commander, Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur. The elder Coulon gathers up 600 soldiers and 100 Indians and marches toward the intruders.

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June 29 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George Washington is alerted to the approach of 700 French troops under Major Louis Coulon de Villiers, the slain ensign’s brother, and he gathers all his men within the problematic confines of Fort Necessity.

July 3 – 4 Military: The French attack Virginia forces defending Fort Necessity in a fourhour battle, killing 31. Low on ammunition and saddled with many wounded, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington acquiesces to the French commander’s truce and offer of terms. Washington signs the surrender papers, unaware that he is accused of murdering a French officer in the May engagement. The following day, the colonial garrison is allowed to withdraw unharmed. French losses total three killed and 17 wounded.

July 10 Education: King’s College is founded in New York City with Dr. Samuel Johnson, an Anglican clergyman, as its first president. After 1784 it becomes known as Columbia College. Politics: Colonial delegates and Iroquois chiefs meeting at the Albany Congress, New York, approve Benjamin Franklin’s proposed Plan of Union, but it finds little support among colonial legislatures. The British government also rejects the scheme, feeling it gives the colonies too much power and independence. Consequently, two decades will elapse before the colonies strive to reach some semblance of political unity. Fortunately, before the proceedings adjourn, the Covenant Chain with the Iroquois Six Nations is renewed. Religion: Noted theologian Jonathan Edwards publishes his influential tract A Careful and Strict Enquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of Freedom of the Will.

August 9 Politics: In response to Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, the British Board of Trade suggests a loose union with a commander in chief for all English colonies and a commissioner for Indian affairs. No action is taken on either side of the Atlantic.

August 17 Politics: The Albany Plan is rejected by the Pennsylvania assembly, the first colonial assembly to do so. Basically, the legislatures are beset by self interest and fear losing their traditional powers such as taxation, and possible infringement by the whole upon vested interests.

August 27 Military: French and Indian raiders attack the settlement of Hoosick, New York, killing 20 and burning numerous homes.

September Military: A body of Shawnee warriors, allied with France, attacks the home of John Guttery at Buffalo Creek, South Carolina, killing 16 settlers and all their livestock. Colonial legislators mistakenly blamed the nearby Cherokee for the atrocity and demanded more fortification to be built along their western frontier. This, in turn, further exacerbated tensions with that tribe.

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October 11 Business: A deputation of Blackfeet meets with Hudson’s Bay Company officials near the Red Deer River to advise them they will not be traveling to Hudson Bay to trade with the British. Instead, they prefer dealing with Cree and Assiniboine middlemen who are much closer. Another reason is that the Blackfeet, as Plains Indians and hunters of buffalo, are not adept at canoe travel.

October 31 Education: King’s College (present-day Columbia University) is chartered in New York by King George II.

December Technology: In Baltimore, Benjamin Banneker, a 22-year-old African-American freeman, is the first black to construct a clock. It runs perfectly over the next two decades, despite the fact he had never viewed one before.

December 18 Education: Moor’s Indian Charity School is established in Lebanon, Connecticut under the aegis of Reverend Eleazar Wheelock. He aspires to a college that will instruct Native Americans for missionary work among their own peoples, so they are classically educated in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. This school subsequently relocates to Hanover, New Hampshire, as part of Dartmouth College.

1755 General: Mary Draper Ingles is taken captive by the Shawnee and taken to their encampment along the Ohio River. She then makes her escape, leaving behind her newborn child, and traverses 700 miles of wilderness back to civilization. Religion: Quakers excuse themselves from the Pennsylvania assembly because, as committed pacifists, they cannot participate in debates concerning the expenditure of colonial funds for frontier defenses. Science: John Winthrop IV’s observations of recent earthquake activity in New England establishes him as an early exponent and founder of the science of seismology. Slavery: The Society of Friends excludes any Quaker working for the slave trade from all of its denominations. The Georgia legislature extends legal recognition to slavery.

February 20 Military: General Edward Braddock, a 59-year-old-Scottish officer of the famed Coldstream Guards, arrives at Hampton Roads, Virginia. He is unquestionably brave but, having spent most of his career as a military administrator, he lacks meaningful combat experience.

March 15 Military: George Washington, having resigned from the militia rather than face demotion to captain, volunteers to serve on the staff of British general Edward Braddock as an unpaid civilian. As such he is free of British military authority and not subordinated to them, By this time, Braddock has amassed a force of two understrength regiments, the 44th and 48th Foot, totaling 1,000 men, and

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Banneker, Benjamin (1731–1806) African-American mathematician Benjamin Banneker was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, on November 9, 1731, the son of an African-American slave and an English indentured servant. Based on the legal status of his mother, Banneker was also declared free. Nonetheless, he lived a hardscrabble existence and never received a formal education save for being taught to read the Bible by his mother. Banneker proved himself to be something of a child prodigy by successfully taking over and managing his parents’ farm at a young age, teaching himself music and, above all dabbling in mathematics. His brilliance first manifested itself in 1761 when he constructed the first wooden clock ever assembled in the colonies, despite the fact he had never seen one previously. Instead, he worked all the mathematical computations in his head and the ensuing device kept accurate time for several decades. Banneker’s success brought him to the attention of the Ellicotts, local Quaker industrialists, who further whetted his appetite for knowledge by giving him books on science, technology, and mathematics, such as existed at the time. Despite the daily hours consumed running his farm, Banneker was particularly drawn to scientific treatises and always studied hard into the night. He gradually became well-grounded in complicated mathematical computations and, in 1791, published Benjamin Banneker’s Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris, a useful compilation of astronomical observations still

regarded as highly accurate. This highly successful publication underwent 28 editions and remained in print through 1802. As word of Banneker’s skill at math spread, he received job offers usually denied to African Americans at the time. In 1790, President George Washington appointed him part of a three-man surveyor team tasked with laying out a new federal capital, the District of Columbia. Here he fulfilled all his tasks admirably and greatly impressed the already experienced mathematicians around him. At one point, when chief architect Pierre L’Enfant was dismissed and took all his detailed blueprints with him, Banneker was able to reconstruct them solely from memory. Banneker, who was also a persuasive author, entered into a polite conversation with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson as to the allegedly inferior mental status of African people. He sent him several copies of his almanac, which Jefferson himself an amateur scientist, was duly impressed by and subsequently forwarded to the secretary of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris with his unqualified endorsement. Through this expedient, Banneker wished to improve the treatment of and educational opportunities for African Americans and to dispel the notion that they were somehow inferior to whites. Banneker, who never married, died at his home in Baltimore County on October 9, 1806, one of the nation’s earliest black abolitionists and a pioneer in challenging the prevailing racial dogma.

is gathering additional strength in the form of provincial troops. However, he is singularly unsuccessful at recruiting Native Americans to serve as scouts, a tactical deficiency with fatal implications.

April 12 Journalism: Connecticut’s first newspaper, The Connecticut Gazette, begins publishing at New Haven.

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April 15 Military: General Edward Braddock arranges a conference of royal governors in Alexandria to promulgate a coordinated offensive strategy against French positions at Crown Point, New York; Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania; Fort Niagara, New York; and Nova Scotia. In another significant move, Braddock also appoints Sir William Johnson as British superintendent of Indian Affairs, Northern Department, where he remains for nearly two decades.

May Diplomacy: South Carolina authorities negotiate an alliance with the powerful Cherokee to fight the French and their Creek allies in exchange for low-cost trade goods. For failing to observe their end of the bargain, the British end up fighting their erstwhile benefactors.

May 10 Military: General Edward Braddock arrives at Fort Cumberland, Pennsylvania, with an army organized into two brigades. The first consists of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Peter Halkett with 700 soldiers of his 44th Foot, plus 230 colonial militiamen. The second is composed of 650 men from Colonel Thomas Dunbar’s 48th Foot, accompanied by 230 rangers and militia. Both brigades are further augmented by 14 cannon and 15 mortars.

May 27 Technology: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, installs the first water pumping system to furnish pipe water to the inhabitants.

June 2 Military: A colonial expedition under Lieutenant Colonels Robert Monckton and John Winslow land 2,000 men at the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, intending to capture Fort Beausejour (present-day Sackville, New Brunswick). His force consists of both British regulars and New En gland provincials. He is opposed by 66 French regulars under Captain Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor, who also assembles a force of 1,200 Acadian militia assisted by Micmac warriors.

June 4 Military: Colonel Robert Monckton deploys 250 men closer to Fort Beausejour, taking fire from French defenders and burning an adjacent town and church. The colonials then begin erecting siege lines to bombard the defenders.

June 6 Military: British artillery commences a bombardment upon the crowded defenders of Fort Beausejour, greatly depressing French morale.

June 6–13 Naval: A Royal Navy squadron under Admiral Edward Boscawen attempts to blockade the coast of Quebec but French reinforcements manage to slip through. Their success induces Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts to delay his forthcoming campaign against Fort Niagara, New York.

June 8 Military: A patrol of British soldiers under Lieutenant Alexander Hay are captured by Micmac warriors near Fort Beausejour and brought in as prisoners.

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June 10 Military: General Edward Braddock departs Fort Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and begins a harrowing woodland trek toward French-held Fort Duquesne. His 2,200-man force consists of two regular British regiments, and a sprinkling of militia companies from Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Among the latter are two obscure teamsters, Daniel Boone and Daniel Morgan, destined for fame in a later war. Progress is slow because the general orders a road build through the wilderness from Fort Cumberland to Monongahela.

June 11 Naval: British ships under Admiral Edward Boscawen capture the French ships of the line Alcide and Lys off the Newfoundland coast. However, the main convoy of 11 transports evades the British and delivers several battalions of infantry under Major General Jean Armand de Dieskau at Quebec.

June 12 Politics: Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts offers fellow colonists a cash bounty for every French or Indian scalp brought in. Adult male scalps fetch 40 pounds apiece while women and children command 20.

June 16 Education: The College, Academy, and Charitable School (present-day University of Pennsylvania), the first colonial nonsectarian institution of higher learning, is chartered in Philadelphia with the help of Benjamin Franklin. It awards its first degrees two years later. Military: A lucky artillery shot kills several French officers at Fort Beausejour and it surrenders to an Anglo-American force under Lieutenant Colonels Robert Monckton and John Winslow. Possession of this post grants the British control of the Chignecto isthmus, connecting Nova Scotia to mainland Canada. This is one of the few early successes in the French and Indian War and the post is subsequently renamed Fort Cumberland by the victorious British. General Edward Braddock’s hard-marching force reaches Little Meadows and temporarily halts. Taking George Washington’s advice, he resumes marching with a 1,200-man advance guard, while 600 additional soldiers are left behind under Colonel Thomas Dunbar to secure the baggage train. The British column also proceeds without Indians for adequate scouting and reconnaissance purposes, a potentially disastrous lapse in judgment.

June 23 Politics: In Paris, Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil is appointed governor general of New France.

June 28 Naval: The English launch a 40-foot schooner on Lake Ontario, their first warship to ply the Great Lakes.

June 30 Naval: The Royal Navy establishes firm control of the Bay of Fundy.

July 8 Military: Major Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur dispatches a force of 250 French regulars and militia, and 650 Indians to contest the British advance

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upon Fort Duquesne. They are commanded by Captain Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie Lienard de Beaujeu. A Shawnee war party raids Draper’s Meadows, (West) Virginia, killing several settlers and losing two of their own. A party of 80 Shawnee under Hokolesqua attacks white settlements at Muddy Creek, (West) Virginia, killing upwards of 50 colonials.

July 9 Military: The ponderous column of General Edward Braddock reaches the Monongahela River, 10 miles from its object, Fort Duquesne. However, during the crossing, French troops and Indians successfully ambush the advance party and move around both flanks of the surviving troops. Chaos ensues as retreating parties of British collide headlong with troops moving up. The remaining troops, now nearly surrounded, are shot down in droves as colonial militia disperse into the woods for cover. Confusion reigns, and after three hours of hard fighting the British lose 60 of 86 officers present, including General Braddock, mortally wounded. Captain George Washington manages to rally the militia and acts as a rear guard, as the soldiers withdraw in disorder. The 462 survivors gradually stagger into the base camp commanded by Colonel Thomas Dunbar, 50 miles away. The British sustain 977 casualties while French losses are relatively light but include Captain de Beaujeu. Naval: The squadron of Admiral Edward Boscawen is withdrawn from blockading duty off Newfoundland on account of raging illness.

July 13 Military: British general Edward Braddock dies of wounds received at the Monongahela River and is buried in an unmarked grave.

August Military: Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts directs an expedition up the Mohawk River in New York with a view to capturing French-held Fort Niagara.

August 15 Naval: The fleet of Admiral Dubois de La Motte slips past British blockaders off the Belle Isle Strait, Canada, and makes for France intact.

September 1 Military: Major General Sir William Johnson departs Albany, New York, at the head of 3,000 Anglo-Americans and 300 Mohawks under Chief Hendrick, in an attack upon Montreal. The French counter by dispatching Baron Jean Armand de Dieskau from Fort Frontenac (Kingston, Ontario) down the Richelieu River with 1,500 soldiers, 1,000 Canadians, and 600 native allies.

September 4 Military: Baron Jean-Armand de Dieskau learns from a prisoner that General William Johnson has advanced troops from his base at Fort Edwards, although this is deliberately misrepresented as only 500 men. Sensing an easy kill, Dieskau mistakenly assumes the bulk of Johnson’s forces are absent from that vital post. He thereupon sends a picked force of 200 French, 600 militia, and 700 Indians to attack.

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Johnson, Sir William

(1715–1774)

Indian agent William Johnson was born in County Meath, Ireland, in 1715, and in 1737 he migrated to New York to manage the estates of his uncle, Admiral Sir Peter Warren. Settling on the frontier, Johnson soon became acquainted with the Mohawk Indians, who were his neighbors, and struck up a close liaison with them. Unlike most settlers, he quickly learned their language and culture, dressed like an Indian and always dealt with them honestly. Consequently, the tribe adopted him an as unofficial adviser and sought his counsel whenever dealing with the colonial government. This cultural rapport also gave Johnson advantages in the fur trade, and he soon accumulated great wealth. When King George’s War erupted in 1744, Johnson’s influence proved instrumental in keeping the Iroquois Six Nations from siding with France and Governor George Clinton subsequently appointed him superintendent of Indian Affairs. He also continued to immerse himself in Native American culture and tribal traditions by marrying Molly Brant, sister of Chief Joseph Brant. The union enhanced his prestige among the Iroquois, many of whom came to see him as a guarantor against continuing white encroachment. When the French and Indian War commenced in 1754, Johnson was personally selected by General Edward Braddock to serve as superintendent of the Indian Department. He then prevailed upon his old friend King Hendrick to side with Britain and also received a major general’s commission. In this capacity, Johnson fought and won the Battle of Lake George

on September 8, 1755, and received a baronetcy from King George II. Back in New York he also assumed command of British forces which attacked and captured Fort Niagara on July 25, 1759. In 1761 an ailing Johnson made a laborious trip to Detroit to confer with Indians who were former allies of France and managed to forestall new hostilities for two years. When Pontiac’s rebellion broke out and was crushed in 1763, Johnson directed the Indian Department to pay closer attention to the needs and attitudes of the tribes. He also personally conferred with Pontiac at Oswego, New York, in 1766 and signed a peace treaty with him. For the rest of his life Johnson worked to keep white squatters and other settlers from illegally expropriating Indian land. Johnson officially achieved that goal with the signing of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, which established firm boundaries between British settlements and Indian territory, although its measures proved impossible to enforce. He also actively supported measures to help educate and Christianize the Indians through missionary work. In the wake of Lord Dunmore’s War with the Shawnee in 1774, he advised the Iroquois to remain neutral, and they did. Johnson died at his palatial estate on July 11, 1774, while attending an Indian conference. His passing marked the end of close and cordial relations that the Mohawk and colonials had enjoyed for nearly four decades. At that time Johnson was also one of the primary landowners in North America.

September 5 Politics: Colonel Charles Lawrence, governor of Nova Scotia, declares that all French inhabitants must take an oath of allegiance to the British Crown or face deportation.

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September 7 Military: When Baron Jean-Armand de Dieskau’s Indian allies refuse to attack the ramparts of Fort Edward, New York, he diverts them to the head of Lake George where a body of British troops is reputedly gathering.

September 8 Military: Sir William Johnson and 4,000 soldiers, provincials, and Mohawk Indians engage 1,400 French under Baron Jean-Armand de Dieskau near Fort Carillion (Lake George, New York). The French initially ambush the British advance guard, killing Colonel Ephraim Williams and 80-year-old Mohawk Chief Hendrick, but the survivors mount a formidable rear guard that trips up Dieskau’s advance. He is forced to spend several minutes sorting his men out while Johnson, with the main body of troops, forms a barricade with his wagons, deploys his artillery, and awaits the French onslaught. At length, Dieskau recovers and advances with his regulars in the center, with Canadians and Indians on either flank. The whole charges bravely but foolishly in a series of frontal assaults and are decisively repelled by Johnson’s cannon and infantry, now sequestered behind an improvised barricade. A final sortie by the New York and New Hampshire troops nearly routs the French, and Dieskau, severely wounded, is captured. Casualties are nearly equal, 331 British and 339 French. The Battle of Lake George is a British tactical victory, but also a strategic defeat as it forces Johnson to abandon his drive into New France. The heavy loss of life incurred by the Iroquois, especially the loss of the notable Hendrick, grieves them, and they withdraw from combat for the next four years. This engagement also marks the debut of Captain Robert Rogers and his adjutant, John Stark. Afterward, the victorious Johnson erects Fort William Henry at the southern end of Lake George to maintain a British presence there.

September 24 Military: Captain Robert Rogers is detailed to scouting missions in the region of Fort William Henry, and in this he proves particularly adept. He will continually monitor French and Indian activities throughout the winter.

October Religion: When a destructive drought eliminates most of the tobacco crop in Virginia, the legislature opts to change the salary of Anglican clergymen and pay them with currency instead. This brings forth protests from the church, and eventually the British government is brought into the dispute. The result is a noted lawsuit involving an obscure frontier lawyer, Patrick Henry.

October 8 Military: The British round up and begin expelling 6,000 French settlers from Acadia for failing to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown. Many villages in and around the Bay of Fundy are also leveled to prevent their being reoccupied. Many of these Acadians are transported to Louisiana, where they settle and are known as Cajuns.

October 24 Military: Governor William Shirley cancels his proposed campaign against Fort Niagara, New York, and instead deposits a garrison of 700 men at Fort Oswego on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

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October 31 Military: Delaware war bands attack Great Cove, Pennsylvania, killing 47 settlers.

November Military: A Moravian village in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is suddenly savaged by Indians.

November 18 General: Boston is rattled by an earthquake, drawing some religious commentary.

November 26 Military: The Pennsylvania legislature votes to spend 60,000 pounds to erect a string of fortifications across the Blue Mountains in the west. Mea�sures of this kind cause intense discomfort among Quaker delegates present, who are sworn to neutrality.

November 27 Religion: Joseph Salvador purchases 100,000 acres for the first Jewish settlement near Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina.

November 30 General: Nearly 900 displaced French Acadians arrive in MaryÂ�land for resettle-­ ment. Previously, 1,200 settlers perished en route when a storm sank two vessels in the Atlantic.

1756 Education: The Winyaw Indigo School, having received a royal charter the year previously, begins granting a free education for poor children along with apprentices. Journalism: Daniel Fowles begins publishing the New Hampshire Gazette at Portsmouth. In time, it emerges as America’s oldest continuing publication. Naval: The British Admiralty establishes the “Rule of 1756,” whereby the shipping of neutral powers cannot carry in warÂ�time what has been heretofore denied them in peacetime. Transportation: A stagecoach route opens between Philadelphia and New York City employing Jersey wagons. These vehicles lack any suspension sys-­ tem, insuring a rough transit for the passengers, and conduct the trip in relays.

January 2 Religion: Isaac Backus, a Congregational minister based at Marlborough, Massachusetts, decides to split from his church and found a Baptist congrega-­ tion of his own. He serves in this capacity for over half a century, emerging as an important voice in the Baptist community and an advocate of separating church and state.

January 9 Politics: In a significant shift, Peter Wraxhall, Sir William Johnson’s secretary, suggests that future purchases of Indian land be made only with the approval of the Indian commissioner. He believes that land fraud is the principal motive behind Indian hostility toward the EnÂ�glish.

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January 16 General: The French and Indian War spreads to EuÂ�rope in the form of the Seven Years’ War, with EnÂ�gland allying itself with Frederick the Great of PrusÂ�sia in anticipation of hostilities with France.

March 27–April 1 Military: Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery takes 360 Canadians and Indi-­ ans on a raid along the southern shore of Lake Ontario to interrupt British com-­ munications between Schenectady and Fort Oswego. To this end, they surround and capture Fort Bull, New York, massacring the garrison of 80 men, and forcing Governor William Shirley to Niagara postpone his offensive from Oswego.

April 18 Military: Indians ambush a patrol of Virginia militia near the Cacapon River, killing a captain and 16 men.

April 29 Science: Benjamin Franklin is elected a member of the prestigious Royal Society in London.

May 17 Diplomacy: Great Britain declares war on France and commences the Seven Years’ War in EuÂ�rope, better known in America as the French and Indian War. However, the act occurred too late for the Royal Navy to intercept a large French convoy headed for Canada with reinforcements under General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Â�Montcalm—an unfortunate occurrence.

May 23 Military: Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts establishes the InÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dent Company of American Rangers in Boston, entrusting it to Captain Robert Rogers. Shirley is singularly impressed by Rogers’s technique for frontier warfare and also raises a force of 50 Stockbridge Indians to support him. Moreover, the new company is paid for by royal funds instead of colonial money. This seminal move formalizes and initiates the light infantry tradition in American military history.

May 31 Military: General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, arrives in Quebec with 1,200 men of the La Sarre and Royal Roussillon Regiments. Among his talented subordinates are Brigadier François-Gaston de Lévis and ColÂ�oÂ�nel Louis-­Antoine de Bougainville, a future world explorer. However, Montcalm enters into a con-­ tentious relationship with his superior, Governor General Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, whom he dislikes intensely. Their ongoing contretemps eventually undermines the French position in Canada.

June Naval: The Royal Navy squadron under Commodore Charles Holmes continues cruising off Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, encountering smaller enemy forces.

July 3 Military: A 300-­man British/colonial relief force under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Bradstreet defeats 700 French and Indians, who ambushed him near Fort Oswego, New York. After three hours of sustained combat, the British and Ameri-­ cans unexpectedly took to cold steel, routing their antagonists.

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Rogers, Robert (1731–1795) Soldier Robert Rogers was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, on November 7, 1731, and raised on the frontier near Concord, New Hampshire. He first experienced military service with the militia during King George’s War, performing well but also displaying a propensity for dishonesty and graft. In 1755, he escaped prosecution for counterfeiting in 1755 only by joining the Royal New Hampshire Regiment and accompanied Sir William Johnson on the expedition to Lake George. Here Rogers distinguished himself on many successful scouting forays, so Governor William Shirley authorized him to raise a select force of light infantry, or rangers. It proved to be one of the most successful units on the English side

and extremely adept at Indian-style warfare: screening, scouting, raids, and ambush. On March 13, 1758, Rogers was himself surprised by superior French and Indian forces but gave a good account of himself at the Battle on Snowshoes and survived. On October 6, 1759, he next accomplished one of the most daunting raids of the war by storming into the Abenaki village at St. Francis, then surviving a 200-mile withdrawal through dense forests. He subsequently fought at the capture of Montreal in 1760 and was assigned the task of occupying Fort Detroit, Michigan, in the name of the British Crown. Three years later, Rogers also performed commendably during Pontiac’s Rebellion,

July 23 Military: General John Campbell, earl of Loudoun, arrives at New York to replace Governor William Shirley as British military commander in chief. He also brings with him the 35th and 42nd Regiments of Foot as reinforcements.

August 3 Military: French and Indian officers under Louis Coulon de Villiers capture and burn Fort Granville, Pennsylvania.

August 4 Military: General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, departs Fort Frontenac (Kingston, Ontario) and sails across Lake Ontario to attack Fort Oswego. Despite its sizable garrison, the post’s wooden walls are known to be unable to withstand heavy artillery.

August 10 Military: In a lightning strike, General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, takes an army of 3,000 men from Fort Frontenac across Lake Ontario, and invests Fort Ontario, Oswego (New York). He there confronts a force of 1,800 provincial troops under Colonel James Mercer and begins siege operations.

August 14 Military: After a brief bombardment that kills Colonel James Mercer, French forces under General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, capture Fort Ontario, Oswego (New York), seizing 1,800 colonial provincials and militia. However, the Indians massacre 30 wounded soldiers before the French can restrain them. After razing the earthworks, Montcalm sails back to Montreal with French control of Lake Ontario undisputed.

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where his daring and frontier skill made him a hero on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the return to peace, however, Rogers reverted to his old ways and strayed from the law. Reckless with money, he was almost arrested for indebtedness and fled to London to publish his journals. He then received command of Fort Mackinac, Michigan, where he sponsored several expeditions to find the fabled Northwest Passage to China, but Rogers proved a poor administrator and was court-martialed on the order of General Thomas Gage. Rogers was eventually acquitted and returned to London, where he finally landed in debtor’s prison. After his brother finally paid off his accounts, he was released and returned to Massachusetts in 1775, when the Revolutionary War was in full swing. Rogers

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initially tendered his services to the United States, but General George Washington suspected him of treachery and had him arrested and turned over to the British. The British also had their doubts about him, but he finally gained an appointment as major of the Queen’s Rangers, another light infantry unit. In this capacity, he failed to distinguish himself in fighting around New York in 1776 and finally lost his command. Rogers sailed back to England for the last time in 1780, dissipated by alcohol. He spent the rest of his days in grinding poverty before dying in London on May 18, 1795, all but forgotten. Rogers never surmounted his personal problems in peacetime, but his accomplishments as a daring, innovative light infantry leader mark him as a central figure in the colonial military experience.

September 8 Military: Colonel John Armstrong, commanding 300 Pennsylvania militia, steals upon a Delaware Indian village at Kittanning, Pennsylvania. He then attacks with cold steel at dawn, routing the inhabitants. The Indians suffer 40 killed and 30 homes burned; 11 colonial prisoners are freed.

November 24 Science: Benjamin Franklin attends his first meeting of the Royal Society in London.

1757 Business: Parliament amends its previous Iron Act by encouraging unlimited and duty-free imports of American pig iron and ingots to England. Cherokee chief Attacullaculla, negotiating a trade agreement with South Carolina authorities, expresses surprise that the Europeans do not include women in their negotiations, a standard Native American practice. Technology: Whale oil street lights, designed by Benjamin Franklin, begin showing up on the street corners of Philadelphia.

February 3 Politics: Benjamin Franklin gains appointment as the Pennsylvania assembly’s agent in dealings with the proprietary government.

March 18–23 Military: A force of 1,500 French and Indians under Governor-general Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil unsuccessfully besieges Fort William Henry on Lake

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256â•… Chronology of American History George, New York. They bombard the 474-­man garrison for four days and then retreat back to Canada.

March 22 Military: The French try unsuccessfully to burn some British vessels anchored on Lake George near Fort William Henry, New York.

May 25 Naval: General John Campbell, earl of Loudoun, leads a force of 3,500 British and colonials from New York on a campaign against Louisbourg. Their first stop is at Halifax, although rumors of French vessels there delay their departure until Admiral Charles Hardy sends several Royal Navy sloops ahead to reconnoiter.

June 5 Naval: Commodore de Bauffremont leads five French ships of the line and a frig-­ ate into Louisbourg harbor, joining two frigates already present under Captain Joseph-François de Noble du Revest.

June 19 Naval: Admiral Dubois de La Motte sails into Louisbourg with 11 warships bearing 7,000 reinforcements for the defense of Canada. He has also amassed a force of 18 ships of the line but remains under orders to avoid a general naval engagement.

June 23 Military: Lieutenant Col�o�nel George Monro dispatches Col�o�nel John Parker and 350 men of the New Jersey and New York Regiments in 22 �whaleboats from Fort William Henry to reconnoiter down Lake George.

June 29 Politics: The inspirational William Pitt supplants Henry Fox as prime minister of En�gland and resolves to commit unlimited resources to defeat France in the New World. This requires the government to raise taxes and borrow inordinate amounts of money to sustain the global war effort, which reaches as far as India. Rather than detach British troops from Eu�rope or the Ca�rib�be�an, he offers to reimburse the colonies for raising provincial soldiers and 21,000 are ultimately raised.

June 30 Military: General John Campbell, earl of Loudoun, assembles a large military and naval force of 11,000 men at Halifax but cancels an impending attack upon Louisbourg after learning of French naval reinforcements arriving there.

July Diplomacy: In an attempt to reduce frontier violence against settlers in western Pennsylvania, the colonial government sought to renew their old acquaintance with the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Indians. This proved no mean task, for the tribe was still angry over land concession arising from the Â�so-­called “Walking Treaty” of 1737. Nonetheless, in July, Governor William Denny, Benjamin Fran-­ klin, and a host of other dignitaries visited Chief Teedyuscung at his main village of Easton on the Delaware River. Despite the usual round of Â�gift-­giving and vows of friendship, no concrete agreement was reached and the colonials returned home Â�empty-­handed.

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Military: French and Indian forces successfully storm Fort Edward, New York, killing the garrison of 32 men in a quick action, then withdraw. English colonists construct Fort Loudoun on the Little Tennessee River to facilitate trade and better relations with the neighboring Cherokee Indians.

July 7 Naval: A troop convoy from Ireland reaches Halifax under the command of Vice Admiral Francis Holburne, who brings reinforcements for the upcoming Louisbourg campaign.

July 23 Military: French, Canadian, and Indian forces ambush a column of 350 New Jersey provincials rowing on Lake George, New York, killing or capturing half. Only 100 make it back to the safety of Fort William Henry.

July 27 General: Benjamin Franklin arrives in London as an agent of the Pennsylvania assembly, remaining there for five years.

August 1–2 Naval: The huge combined expedition of General John Campbell, Lord Loudoun, and Admiral Francis Holburne weigh anchor and sail for their initial objective, Gabarus Bay. En route, they obtain intelligence as to Louisbourg’s strength and defenses and dishearteningly elect to cancel their attack, withdrawing to New York City.

August 3 Military: A force of 6,500 French regulars and militia, backed by 1,500 western Indians, and all under the command of General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, makes its sudden appearance before Fort William Henry, New York. The defenders consist of 2,300 British and colonial troops under Lieutenant Colonel George Monro, a doughty Scots veteran. The French immediately begin planting siege batteries to bombard the defenders into submission, seeing that the fort, though well-manned, is not designed to resist artillery.

August 9 Military: A garrison of 2,300 American provincials and British regulars holding Fort William Henry, New York, under Lieutenant Colonel George Monro surrender to the besieging forces of General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm. Montcalm allows the defenders to surrender with honors of war and depart for Fort Edward. As the defeated troops leave their fortification they are suddenly rushed by Indians, who massacre 30 wounded soldiers before the French can restore order. Another 500 are collared as prisoners and dragged away.

August 15 Military: French forces under General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, raze Fort William Henry to the ground and return to Canada. Beforehand, the remaining British prisoners are provided a military escort down to Fort Edward for their own safety.

August 16 Naval: Royal Navy forces under Admiral Francis Holburne appear off Louisbourg to appraise its defenses and just as suddenly leave when Admiral Dubois de La Motte attempts to sortie.

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September 24 Naval: A British naval force under Admiral Francis Holbourne returns to blockading Louisbourg, where it is heavily damaged by storms. Two warships are sunk, and many more are dismasted. The surviving vessels then limp back to Halifax and England for repairs.

October Publishing: The American Magazine, an early compilation of science, philosophy, and belles lettres, begins publishing in Philadelphia. It will fold in 1758.

October 30 Naval: The French squadron under Admiral Dubois de La Motte leaves Louisbourg, Canada, and escorts a convoy of sick soldiers back to Brest, France.

November 12 Military: A combined French, Canadian, and Indian force under Captain Francois Marie Picote de Beletre sweeps down upon the German-speaking settlement at German Flats on the Mohawk River, New York, burning the village and killing 50 defenders. Around 100 women and children are marched back to Canada as prisoners.

December 24 Military: Major Robert Rogers leads 150 rangers on a raid to the outskirts of Fort Carillion, New York, taking several prisoners and burning several buildings before slipping away unscathed into the night.

December 30 Military: General James Abercrombie arrives in New York to replace General John Campbell, Lord Loudoun, as commander in chief of British and colonial forces.

1758 Education: Reverend Jonathan Edwards is appointed president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University). Religion: In the course of the year the Presbyterian Synods of New York and Philadelphia unite, ending the schism that has afflicted their church since 1741. In Philadelphia, Quaker Anthony Benezet orchestrates yearly meetings for the purpose of devising abolitionist strategies. In April 1775, their efforts culminate in creation of the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. Influential Virginia planter William Byrd founds the Bluestone African Baptist Church on his plantation in Mecklenberg, Virginia.

January Military: Indians scalp an English working party outside Fort Edward, New York.

February 9 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst arrives in North America with additional troops for the belated Louisbourg campaign.

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March 10 Military: At Fort Edward, New York, Colonel William Haviland dispatches a group of 200 rangers under Major Robert Rogers, to scout in the vicinity of French-held Fort Carillion (Ticonderoga).

March 13 Military: Major Robert Rogers leads 200 rangers on a patrol near Fort Carillion, New York, where they prematurely spring an ambush against an advance force of 40 French troops at La Barbue Creek. In short order, however, the remaining 700 under Captain Louis-Philippe Le Desu d’Herecourt counterattacks and drives the English and colonials up to the banks of Lake George. The outnumbered rangers are roughly handled before managing to escape with only 54 survivors. This encounter is also known as the Battle on Snowshoes.

March 22 Naval: Admiral Charles Hardy arrives at Halifax from New York and takes command of the station. Religion: Jonathan Edwards, one of the most influential theologians of colonial America and president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), dies.

April 5 Naval: Admiral Charles Hardy’s flotilla departs Halifax and sails to blockade Louisbourg.

April 28 General: James Monroe, a future president, is born in Monroe’s Creek, Virginia.

May Military: Virginia settlers kill a group of allied Cherokee who were rounding up a herd of wild horses claimed by the settlers. The enraged Indians strike back, slaying 20 settlers, and announce that they are voiding their defensive alliance with Britain. They begin raiding various outposts and settlements in western Virginia, which brings a sharp colonial response in the form of punitive raids.

May 12 Naval: Admiral Edward Boscawen sails into Halifax with reinforcements from Britain and awaits the arrival of additional troops under General Jeffrey Amherst.

May 29 Naval: A British fleet of 157 ships, conveying 13,000 soldiers and 14,000 sailors under Admiral Edward Boscawen and General Jeffrey Amherst departs Halifax and makes for Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. Among Amherst’s subordinates is a sickly, eccentric 31-year-old brigadier, James Wolfe. Simultaneously with this move, another Anglo-American army is scheduled to begin pressing up Lake Champlain under General James Abercrombie while a third force under General John Forbes will advance upon Fort Duquesne.

June 2 Military: The army of General Jeffrey Amherst, 13,000 strong, attempts landing at Gabarus Bay, Cape Breton Island, and about four miles from the massive fort at Louisbourg. However, the onset of poor weather forces him to postpone the

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Chronology of American History maneuver for several days. The French garrison consists of 3,500 regular troops, 24 companies of marines, 4,000 sailors and militia, and 4,000 civilians.

June 8 Military: As British troops under General Jeffrey Amherst come ashore near Louisbourg, they are met on the beaches by 2,000 men of the French garrison under Governor Augustine de Boschenry de Drucour. The first British wave is repelled by musketry, but other boats slip around the defenders and troops spill ashore under General James Wolfe. These hastily scramble ashore unopposed, march inland, and assail the French flank, driving them back into the city. At length, three brigades headed by Generals Charles Lawrence, Edward Whitmore, and Wolfe begin establishing siege positions. Both sides had lost around 100 men each.

June 11 Military: Rough seas off Louisbourg prevent the transportation of heavy artillery ashore, so General Jeffrey Amherst commences bombardment operations with some six-pounder cannon. Meanwhile, three brigades of regulars and provincials continue establishing siege positions around the fort and commence digging trenches.

June 16 Military: Following the onset of good weather, General Jeffrey Amherst directs that his heavy siege guns be transported ashore from the fleet. Meanwhile, Governor Drucour convinces his naval commander, Jean-Antoine Charry Desgouttes, to scuttle several of his ships to block the nearby channel and deny it to the British.

June 19 Military: British siege guns under the direction of General James Wolfe commence firing at the French defenders of Louisbourg.

June 26 Naval: Once British siege guns silence the French Island battery at Louisbourg, Admiral Jean-Antoine Charry Desgouttes realizes that his fleet is vulnerable to an attack by the Royal Navy. He thereupon orders four warships in the channel to obstruct their progress.

July Military: General John Forbes begins his arduous trek from western Virginia to Fort Duquesne by retracing the steps of General Edward Braddock. Colonel John Bradstreet leads 2,500 New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island provincial troops out of Fort William Henry, New York. They begin rowing toward their objective, Fort Frontenac, on the St. Lawrence River.

July 5 Military: General James Abercrombie amasses a force of 15,000 men at Lake George, New York, then advances by water upon French-held Fort Carillion (Ticonderoga). His goal is to open up a route to the St. Lawrence River, from which Montreal can be assailed. His is the largest army ever assembled in America until the Civil War.

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July 6 Military: General James Abercrombie’s advance stalls following the death of his dashing Â�second-­in-­command, General George Augustus Howe, in a minor skirmish with French light troops outside of Fort Carillion. It is a demoralizing blow to the British to lose such a talented officer before the main blow has been struck.

July 7 Military: General François-Gaston de Lévis reinforces General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm at Fort Carillion with 400 soldiers; bringing total French strength up to 3,600. Despite the obvious strength of the French position, General James Abercrombie intends to attack without employing his heavy artillery to blast a path through the various defenses.

July 8 Military: A large force of 15,000 British regulars and American provincials under General James Abercrombie hurls itself against Fort Carillion, New York. The 3,500 French defenders, ably led and motivated by General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, pour a heavy fire of artillery and musketry into the serried British ranks, repulsing them decisively. Even the vaunted 42nd Highlanders, who hack away at the wooden abattis with their claymores, could not penetrate Carillion’s defenses. By seven Â�o’clock that eveÂ�ning Abercrombie finally admits defeat and draws off with 1,944 casualties. French losses are 377.

July 21 Military: At Louisbourg, a lucky shot from a British siege battery strikes the French 74-­gun ship of the line Entreprenant, igniting its magazine. The resulting explosion spreads fire to the nearby 64-­gun Capricieux and Celebre, which are likewise lost.

July 25 Naval: At Louisbourg, British Â�cutting-­out parties storm and carry the French 74Â�gun Prudent and 64-­gun Bienfaisant; the former runs aground and is set on fire. British losses are seven killed and nine wounded while taking 152 prisoners.

July 26 Military: Captain Augustin de Boschenry de Drucour, commanding the French garrison at Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, surrenders to a combined British expedition of 14,000 men under General Jeffrey Amherst and Admiral Edward Boscawen. The fortress is then razed, and 6,000 captives, 340 cannon, and five large warships are taken.

August 14 Military: Lieutenant Col�o�nel John Bradstreet departs Fort Stanwix, New York, with 157 British and 3,000 provincials and marches north toward Fort Oswego. They cover 430 miles over the next 11 days.

August 21 Military: The column under Lieutenant Col�o�nel John Bradstreet reaches Fort Oswego, New York, and pauses to await the arrival of small boats and transports before continuing across Lake Ontario to Fort Frontenac on the St. Lawrence River.

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August 25 Military: Lieutenant Colonel John Bradstreet’s column crosses Lake Ontario and disembarks a few miles west of Fort Frontenac (present-day Kingston), Canada. The following day, siege batteries are established and commence firing. The 110-man garrison under Pierre-Jacques Payen de Noylan et de Chavoy is caught completely unaware, while his small fleet of armed vessels lacks rigging and cannot sail.

August 27 Military: Colonel John Bradstreet and 2,500 colonial troops capture Fort Frontenac on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The French capitulate after a lucky British cannon shot explodes their ammunition magazine. Governor PierreJacques Payen de Noyan is allowed to depart to Montreal with civilians, but his garrison of 50 soldiers and 60 militia are taken into captivity. This victory cuts French communications to the Ohio Valley, impeding their ability to feed their soldiers and secure the loyalty of allied Indians.

August 29 General: New Jersey founds an Indian reservation at Edge Pillock, Burlington County, and sets it aside for 100 surviving Unami Indians.

September Military: General John Forbes continues pressing ahead against French-held Fort Duquesne, western Pennsylvania, with an Anglo-American force of 7,000 men. Among his subordinates is Swiss-born Colonel Henry Bouquet.

September 13 General: General Jeffrey Amherst, conqueror of Louisbourg, receives a thunderous hero’s welcome back at Boston.

September 14 Military: General John Forbes dispatches 850 men under Major James Grant to reconnoiter the vicinity of Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania, but the garrison sorties and attacks his divided force. In a lopsided engagement, Grant is captured and loses 270 men killed, 42 wounded, and 100 taken prisoner.

September 18 Military: Bumbling General James Abercrombie is relieved of command by General Jeffrey Amherst.

September 24 Naval: A British fleet conveying much-needed reinforcements to America is ravaged by a hurricane.

October Diplomacy: The Treaty of Easton, Pennsylvania, is signed between colonial authorities and 500 representatives of the Delaware, Mingo, and Iroquois nations. It had been arranged by Sir William Johnson, commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Governor William Denny of Pennsylvania, partly to thwart the obstructionist tactics of Chief Teedyuscung of the Delaware. The signers agreed that the Allegheny Mountains were to serve as the boundary for white emigration and settlers would be forbidden from migrating there. More significantly, the agreement effectively strips the French of valuable military allies and the British also offer to return some land illegally appropriated from the Indians.

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October 12 Military: A 600-man French-Indian force under Charles-Phillipe d’Aubry attacks a British supply depot at Fort Ligonier (Loyalhannon, Pennsylvania), which is repulsed with the aid of the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment under Colonel James Burd. Victory here places British and colonial forces within 50 miles of their final objective, Fort Duquesne.

October 20 Military: General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, gains promotion to lieutenant general, and now outranks the adversarial governor- General Vaudreuil.

November Military: The British military advance is stalled for the winter before reaching Fort Dusquesne, but General John Forbes then learns from a deserter that the French outpost is dangerously ill and under-garrisoned. He thereupon assigns 2,500 picked men for a brisk overland march to surprise them.

November 24 Military: Colonel Francois Marie Le Marchand de Lignery, commanding the French garrison at Fort Duquesne, is alerted to that fact that General John Forbes is approaching in overwhelming strength. He therefore blows up the breastworks and slips down the Ohio River to Fort Machault and safety.

November 25 Military: British regulars under General John Forbes and American militia under Colonel George Washington advance upon French-held Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania, only to find it evacuated. Forbes then renames the place Fort Pitt in honor of Britain’s prime minister.

November 28 Education: Thomas Bray’s Associates establishes a law school for African Americans under the aegis of Reverend William Sturgeon. Over the next few years it also opens schools for black children in New York City; Newport, Rhode Island; and Williamsburg, Virginia.

December Military: George Washington resigns his militia commission for the second time at Williamsburg, Virginia, apparently disillusioned by building roads and blockhouses on the frontier. He will not don a military uniform again for the next 16 years.

1759 Arts: Francis Hopkinson of Philadelphia, a future signer of the Declaration of Independence, pens lyrics to My Days Have Been so Wondrous Free, the first secular song composed by a native colonialist. Business: The Presbyterian Ministers Fund, quite possibly the first life insurance company in North America, is founded in Philadelphia by Thomas and Richard Penn. Diplomacy: In a move that cements English/Iroquois relations, Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian Affairs, marries Molly Brant, sister of Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant. It turns out to be a happy union that produces nine offspring,

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Chronology of American History and she gains as the hostess of the couple’s palatial estate at Johnston, New York. Military: In London, a vigorous Prime Minister William Pitt promulgates a warwinning strategy for North America by proposing thrusts against Fort Niagara in western New York, an advance against Montreal up the Champlain River Valley, and a campaign against Quebec down the Saint Lawrence River.

January 6 General: George Washington marries 27-year-old Martha Custis, a wealthy widow, making him one of the most respectable gentlemen of Virginia.

February 12 Politics: Benjamin Franklin receives an honorary doctorate of laws from St. Andrews University in Scotland.

April 3 Science: Halley’s Comet makes its reappearance, as predicted.

May 28 Naval: Royal Navy transports land troops on the Ile-aux-Coudres in the St. Lawrence River to facilitate the movement of General James Wolfe upstream.

May 31 Law: In a continuing effort to discourage licentiousness, the Pennsylvania assembly bans stage plays with a 50-pound fine.

June 6 Naval: A Royal Navy squadron under Admiral Sir Charles Saunders departs Louisbourg, carrying General James Wolfe and 8,500 soldiers in 119 transports. Their goal is to invest and capture Quebec, capital of French Canada.

June 16 Naval: Warships of the Royal Navy under Admiral Sir Charles Saunders sail up the St. Lawrence River and anchor off Bic and St. Barnabe.

June 25 Naval: Royal Navy forces sail up the St. Lawrence River as far as Ile d’Orleans, four miles below Quebec.

June 27 Military: General James Wolfe arrives at Ile d’Orleans and prepares offensive operations against Quebec with 8,500 men. The garrison under General LouisJoseph, marquis de Montcalm, totals 5,000 but many of these are poorly trained militiamen. He therefore adopts a passive strategy of wait-and-see, allowing throngs of Indian and Canadian guerrillas to harass the British from behind. Wolfe, meanwhile, begins preliminary operations by dispatching troops under Colonel Robert Monckton to Pointe Levis opposite the city to establish an advanced base and a siege battery there.

June 28 Naval: French forces at Quebec make a failed fireship attack upon the vessels of Admiral Sir Charles Saunders.

July 1 Military: A force of 2,500 British regulars and colonial provincials under Brigadier General John Prideaux, backed by 1,000 Iroquois under Sir William John-

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son, having reoccupied Fort Oswego, embark on small boats and rows along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Their goal is to capture French-held Fort Niagara.

July 6 Military: The army of General John Prideaux lands four miles east of Fort Niagara, New York, and makes preparations to besiege it. The post is presently defended by 600 men under Captain Pierre Pouchot de Maupas, who requests help from the army of Captain Francois Marie Le Marchant de Lignery, presently operating in western Pennsylvania.

July 9 Military: General James Wolfe deploys Brigadier General George Townshend’s troops on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in an attempt to lure the French garrison out into the open. Montcalm, however, refuses to take the bait. He has but 2,000 regulars and 2,500 poorly trained militiamen and waits for the besiegers to make a mistake.

July 18 Naval: Off Quebec, Captain John Rouse manages to slip several large warships and 600 troops past the French garrison to raid downstream.

July 20 Military: Colonel Guy Carleton lands 600 men at Pointe-aux-Trembles; the raid accomplishes little but does demonstrate to General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, that his right flank is vulnerable. Brigadier General John Prideaux is accidentally killed and, after a stormy council of war, Sir John Johnson—a provincial officer—is appointed to succeed him. His election also insures continuing support from the 1,000 Iroquois warriors presently under his command. The appointment proves fortuitous, for Johnson decides to vigorously prosecute the siege of Fort Niagara.

July 21 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst leads a large Anglo-American force out from Lake George, New York, and marches north against Montreal up the Lake Champlain Valley.

July 24 Military: A mixed force of British and Indians under Lieutenant Colonel Eyre Massey engages and defeats a French relief column marching toward Fort Niagara at La Belle Famille, western New York. The French, under Captain Francois Marie Le Marchand, advance confidently down the road to the fort in full view of the British, who are hidden in the nearby wood. At a signal, Massey orders his men to rise out of the tall grass and commence firing at the thick French column, bowling over entire platoons. The Iroquois then charge, routing their opponents, killing around 344 soldiers and Indians, and capturing several officers, including Lignery. British losses are 12 dead and 40 wounded.

July 25 Military: After learning of the defeat of his relief column, Colonel Pierre Pouchot de Maupas surrenders Fort Niagara to British and colonial forces under General Sir William Johnson.

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July 26 Military: As General Jeffrey Amherst’s army approaches Fort Carillon (Ticond-­ eroga), the French garrison demolishes that post and falls back to Crown Point, New York.

July 27 Naval: General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, makes a second failed attempt to burn the British fleet under Admiral Charles Saunders while it is anchored off Quebec. The French launch no less than 72 fireboats at the British fleet between Pointe Levy and Isle d’Orleans, but heroic efforts by British sailors manage to keep their ships undamaged.

July 31 Military: British forces are directed by an impatient General James Wolfe to land below the French main position on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River. French regulars and militia meet them at the water’s edge near Montmorency and force them back with the loss of 450 grenadiers before Wolfe relents. The French sus-­ tained around 70 casualties. Wolfe suffers a near mental collapse from this reversal, angrily blames his subordinates, and convalesces in bed for several weeks.

August 4 Military: French forces blow up Fort Saint Frederic at Crown Point, New York, and withdraw down the Richelieu River as General Jeffery Amherst’s army advances up the Lake Champlain Valley. The British then halt their offensive there for the winter.

August 9 Military: General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, dispatches his best sub-­ ordinate, François-Gaston de Lévis, with 800 men down the St. Lawrence River to check any EnÂ�glish forces advancing from Lake Ontario. This talented officer will be missed in the decisive battle that is coming.

August 10 Politics: The Virginia Act of 1755, which provides Anglican clergy with a sti-­ pend paid for with taxes, is annulled by the British Privy Council.

September Military: The French outpost at Chambly surrenders to British forces under Brigadier General William Haviland.

September 12 Military: Major Robert Rogers leads a large ranger expedition out from Crown Point, New York. His objective is the Indian village of St. Francis on the St. Law-­ rence River, a staging for French attacks. The colonials sail down Lake Cham-­ plain in boats, the first step on a 150-­mile trek. General James Wolfe begins secretly ferrying his troops across the St. Law-­ rence in small boats. Once ashore, ColÂ�oÂ�nel William Howe, the younger brother of the lamented General George Augustus Howe, spearheads an advance up the cliffs to the Plains of Abraham.

September 13 Military: General James Wolfe secretly ferries 4,400 crack troops across the St. Lawrence River and takes up battle formations on the Plains of Abraham

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outside Quebec. Americans are represented in the order of battle by six companies of rangers. General Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm, then sorties from the city with 4,000 men, half regulars and half militia, rather than endure a siege. However, the French advance is compromised by sloppy marching by the militia, which sows confusion in the ranks, at which point Wolfe orders his army to commence firing at 40 paces. Montcalm’s army is cut down in swaths as the British advance with cold steel and put them to flight. French losses are 200 dead and 1,200 wounded to a British tally of 100 killed and roughly 600 injured. The British pursuit is somewhat bungled and the surviving French make it back to Quebec intact, but the fate of New France is sealed after this, the French and Indian War’s only conventional, stand-up engagement. Tragically, both Wolfe and Montcalm are fatally injured and die within hours of each other. At Crown Point, New York, Major Robert Rogers loads 200 rangers and Stockbridge Indians into whaleboats and proceeds up Lake Champlain to Missisquoi Bay (Vermont). His objective is to raid the Indian village at St. Francis. However, two days inland the French discover his boats and burn them, cutting the force off from its supplies. Rogers is undaunted and pens a missive to General Jeffrey Amherst to forward food and supplies to the Connecticut River in New Hampshire.

September 18 Military: Quebec surrenders its garrison of 4,000 soldiers, sailors, and militiamen to the victorious British.

October Military: A Spanish expeditionary force under Colonel Don Diego Ortiz de Pailla marches north from Texas to attack hostile Comanche and Kiowa Indians, assisted by the French. He then raids the Twin Villages and is forced to retreat after a daylong battle.

October 6 Military: A raiding party led by Major Robert Rogers successfully storms into Odanak (St. Francis) at dawn, dispersing the defenders and burning the village. The action results in heavy casualties among the Indians, including warriors, women, and children, while several English women are freed from captivity. The rangers then gather up as much food as they can and hurriedly depart, hotly pursued by vengeful French and Indians. In response to a spate of frontier attacks, Governor William Henry Lyttleton of South Carolina declares his intention to lead an expedition into the heart of Cherokee country.

October 14 Military: Realizing he is being pursued by superior numbers, Major Robert Rogers splits his ranger column into small groups, each one taking a different route back to Wells River. Almost out of food and supplies, the men scavenge as best as they can for the next two weeks.

October 20 Diplomacy: In an attempt to prevent an all-out frontier war, Chief Oconostota of the Cherokee and his entourage arrive at Charles Town, South Carolina, for

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Chronology of American History negotiations. However, they are summarily arrested and forced to march to the frontier with the army of General William Henry Lyttleton. Military: After three weeks of deprivation, Major Robert Rogers leads his surviving rangers to the confluence of the Wells and Connecticut Rivers, but finds no supplies. The major and a handful of volunteers then push on down the river on a raft to secure help.

October 31 Military: Major Robert Rogers and a handful of rangers float into Fort Number 4, New Hampshire, where they arrange food to be sent downstream to the bulk of his survivors.

November 4 Military: Major Robert Rogers, having refitted some rangers at Fort Number 4 in New Hampshire, departs in an attempt to rescue any survivors left in the woods. This concludes the most demanding and celebrated small unit raid of the French and Indian War; the retreat from St. Francis, while successful, cost the elite rangers 49 men.

December 9 Military: Frontier tension between Cherokee and South Carolinians culminates in the First Cherokee War, lasting two years.

December 10 Military: The army of Governor William Henry Lyttleton of South Carolina reaches Fort Prince George on the western frontier, whereupon Oconostota and other remaining Cherokee prisoners are imprisoned to await further developments.

December 13 Arts: Michael Hillegas opens up the first-ever music shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

December 17 Diplomacy: Peace Chief Attakullakulla arrives at Fort Prince George, South Carolina, to negotiate the release of Oconostota and other Cherokee hostages. Governor William Henry Lyttleton relents and releases the war chief, but demands that the Cherokee hand over any Indians guilty of murdering settlers before talks continue further. Twenty-two Indians remain hostages at Fort Prince George as a hedge against Cherokee subterfuge.

December 27 Military: A war band of seven Creek Indians creeps into the settlement of Long Canes, South Carolina, and manages to kill 14 inhabitants before retreating.

December 28 Military: An outbreak of smallpox at Fort Prince George, South Carolina, induces Governor William Henry Lyttleton to withdraw his army back to Charles Town. A small garrison under Lieutenant Richard Coytmore remains behind to guard 22 Cherokee hostages. This withdrawal does not go unnoticed by the Indians.

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269

(ca. 1710–1783)

Cherokee chief Oconostota (Groundhog Sausage) was born in Chota (Monroe County, Tennessee). The Cherokee tribe to which he belonged was among the most numerous and powerful tribes of North America. Oconostota matured into an imposing, brave warrior and, in 1736, he is first recorded as belonging to a pro-French faction of the tribe. By dint of wars and diplomacy, he became the Great Warrior, or war chief, of the entire Cherokee nation by 1753. Their trust in his military acumen was well founded and, after gradually realigning with the British, he conducted several successful forays against Choctaw allied to France in 1755. The following year, he defeated the powerful Creek Confederacy at Taliwa, Georgia, and also attacked numerous French outposts along the lower Ohio and Illinois Rivers, following onset of the French and Indian War. However, in 1759 Governor William Lyttleton of South Carolina invited Oconostota to a peace conference—then kidnapped him. He was released the following spring and promptly went to war with his erstwhile allies. On June 27, 1760, his braves massacred the British garrison of Fort Loudoun, and the following October, he defeated a large British column under Colonel Archibald Montgomery at Etchoe Pass. By 1761, the British were forced to commit large numbers of troops against the Cherokee and Colonel James Grant finally defeated Oconostota in a campaign against his homeland. The chief, realizing that the struggle was hopeless, finally made peace with the British and became an ally once again.

In 1763, Oconostota, true to his word, sided with Great Britain during Pontiac’s abortive uprising, and three years later, both he and peace chief Attakullakulla ventured to New York to confer with Sir William Johnson and sign a peace treaty with the Iroquois. For many years thereafter, his people were frustrated by a continual influx of colonial encroachment onto Indian lands, but the chief remained firmly committed to peaceful relations and overlooked these transgressions. The relative weakness of his tribe had converted the former war chief into a staunch advocate of peaceful coexistence, if only to preserve the Cherokee from annihilation. In 1770, he adamantly refused to join a coalition against the English, and during Lord Dunmore’s War of 1774, he declined to support the Shawnee under Cornstalk. In 1775 Oconostota reluctantly parted with an additional 20 million acres of land in North Carolina rather than lose it by force. However, the onset of the Revolutionary War that year finally gave him sufficient pretext to unleash his warriors against the colonists, and he again sided with the British. The Second Cherokee War, an internecine struggle of ambush, murder, and retaliation was waged across the borders of Georgia and North Carolina before American militia under Colonel John Sevier finally overran Oconostota’s Overhill towns in Tennessee. Aged Oconostota finally made peace with his hated enemies and resigned as chief in July 1782. He died at Chota in the spring of 1783, a legendary warrior but unable to stem the tide of white migration overrunning a continent.

1760 Medical: New York begins regulating the medical profession by requiring all doctors and surgeons to pass a test prior to being licensed to practice.

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Chronology of American History Slavery: Richard Allen, an influential religious leader of the African-American community, is born into slavery at Philadelphia. The Virginia legislature approves a 20 percent import duty on incoming African slaves, but the law is negated by the British Crown, which felt the tax excessive and contrary to mercantile interests engaged in the slave trade. South Carolina bans the import of additional slaves, but Parliament dismisses the mea sure owing to its infringement upon mercantile interests in England.

January 19 Military: Bands of hostile Cherokee attempt to infiltrate Fort Prince George, South Carolina, to free some captive chiefs, held as hostages since the Peace of 1759, but fail. Their failure reignites open warfare between the British and the Cherokee.

February 3 Military: Rampaging Cherokee attack the settlement of Long Canes, South Carolina, just as the inhabitants were in the process of relocating to Augusta for greater protection. At least 56 colonials die and 13 wagons are burned.

February 16 Military: Cherokee try to stage a surprise attack upon Fort Prince George, South Carolina, where several ranking hostages are kept. Oconostota lures Lieutenant Richard Coytmore out of the fort for negotiations, whereupon he is shot from ambush. The enraged garrison promptly puts all 22 Cherokee hostages in their possession to the sword in retaliation. This act further fans the flames of full-scale war with the Cherokee.

February 27 Military: The English garrison at Fort Dobbs, North Carolina, repels a determined Cherokee onslaught. The Indians were fired up about the recent slaughter of Indian hostages at Fort Prince George, but provincial troops under Colonel Hugh Waddell stand their ground, and the Cherokee are repulsed with a loss of 10 warriors.

March 6 Military: Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina, is attacked by Cherokee warriors, but they are defeated by a small militia garrison under Captain James Francis.

March 20 General: A raging fire burns 176 warehouses and leaves one-10th of Boston’s population homeless.

April 1 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst is forced to dispatch reinforcements to assist the beleaguered colonies of North and South Carolina, then in the grip of an Indian war. Accordingly, Colonel Archibald Montgomery arrives at Charles Town with 1,200 soldiers, who then march into the heart of Indian territory.

April 12 Arts: Twenty-one-year-old Benjamin West embarks from Gloucester, Massachusetts, for Italy, where he intends to study painting. He is the first American artist to experience European art firsthand.

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West, Benjamin  (178–180) Artist Benjamin West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, on October 10, 1738, the son of a Quaker inn keeper. He received little formal education and throughout his whole life could hardly spell, but did exhibit artistic talents of a very high order at an early age. West learned as much technique as possible from traveling itiner-­ ant painters passing through the area and soon gained a reputation for portraiture. From 1746 to 1759, he painted portraits in Pennsylvania while attending the College of Philadelphia with the encouragement of its provost, Dr. William Smith. At this time, he also struck up a close acquaint-­ ance with English expatriate painter John Wollaston in Philadelphia, from whom he acquired a technique for making clothing appear to shimmer. West, after secur-­ ing several lucrative commissions in New York City, accumulated enough money to study art in Italy in 1760, becoming the first native-­born American to do so. There he immersed himself in the neoclassical realism then in vogue and further polished his already accomplished style. By the time West finally migrated to London in 1763, he was among the foremost classical art-­ ists of his day and wished to advocate this new genre among English art circles. His 1768 work entitled Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus caused a stir in artistic circles and induced King George III to become West’s official patron. Despite the fact he was a poorly educated colonial and openly sympathetic to the ideals of revolutionary America,

West moved smoothly among England’s political elite and eventually painted two portraits of the monarch that were well received. By 1768, West had befriended the noted Sir Joshua Reynolds and helped to found the Royal Academy of the Arts with him. In 1771, West executed his most famous work, Death of General Wolfe, which was then exhibited at the Royal Academy. Here West not only perfected his subtle use of light and hues, but broke precedent with his insistence on rendering historical scenes with clothing and other accoutre-­ ments from their period. The following year, King George III appointed him his-­ torical painter to the court, making him the only American so honored. And, while he never returned to his native land, West received a steady influx of young artists from America, including John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stu-­ art and John Trumbull, all desirous of learning at the hands of the master. West completed around 400 paintings and por-­ traits in his long career, and for many years he was a dominating influence on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1817, he opened an exhibit in Paris, where his Death on a Pale Horse presages the romantic movement in art by a decade. West died in London on March 11, 1820, and, consistent with his renown, he received a lavish state funeral and lay in state at the Royal Academy. In terms of technique and impact on others, he was the most important American artist of his time.

April 20 Military: General François-­Gaston de Lévis sails from Montreal with 4,000 soldiers and 3,000 Canadian militia. He marches toward Quebec with a view to driving General James Murray from the city.

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April 26 Naval: A French force of six frigates and numerous transports sails from Mon-­ treal and disembarks 7,000 troops at Saint Augustin, Quebec, under the capable General Francois Gaston de Levis.

April 28 Military: General James Murray is defeated outside the walls of Quebec (St. Foy) by resurgent French forces under General Francois Gaston de Levis.

May 9 Naval: British defenders of Quebec are heartened by the arrival of the frigate HMS Lowenstoft on the Saint Lawrence River.

May 16 Military: The arrival of British reinforcements on the St. Lawrence River induces besieging French forces under General François-Gaston de Lévis to withdraw toward Montreal.

June 1 Military: British and colonial forces under Col�o�nel Richard Montgomery march into the Cherokee settlement of Keowee and are heavily ambushed. The British sustain 60 casualties but press on and burn the settlement. They then relieve the garrison holding out at Fort Prince George before proceeding onto the Middle Towns.

June 3 Military: A group of 250 American rangers under Major Robert Rogers leaves Crown Point, New York, with orders to proceed north and destroy the French depots at Saint Jean and Â�Isle-­aux-­Noix.

June 6 Military: A French force of 350 regulars, militia, and Indians attacks 200 Ameri-­ can rangers under Major Robert Rogers near the Chazy River. As the French advance, they are suddenly assailed in the rear by a party of 70 rangers who crept up behind them through a bog, forcing their retreat. French losses are around 40, Rogers loses 14 dead and 10 wounded. The Americans then fall back to Isle La Motte to regroup and await reinforcements.

June 15 Military: Major Robert Rogers, with 200 rangers and now reinforced by a com-­ pany of Stockbridge Indians stealthily approaches his objective at Fort Saint Jean, Canada, then decides the post is too heavily manned and fortified to be attacked with any prospect of success. He then moves his force downriver against a softer target, the stockaded village at Â�Sainte-­Therese.

June 16 Military: American rangers under Major Robert Rogers successfully raid �Sainte�Therese, Canada, seizing 78 prisoners. He then declines to attack nearby Fort Chambly, fearing that the garrison has been forewarned, so the Americans return to Lake Champlain.

June 20 Military: A French force of 800 men briefly tangles with a body of American rangers under Major Robert Rogers on the shore of Missiquoi Bay (Vermont)

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and is repulsed. Rogers then proceeds unmolested back to Crown Point, New York.

June 27 Military: A force of 1,200 British regulars under Colonel Richard Montgomery engages a large body of Cherokee warriors defending their town at Echoe (Franklin, North Carolina). The Indians kill 20 soldiers and wound 76 more before the Europeans withdraw in good order. Native losses are not known but presumed as heavy.

July 8 Naval: Captain John Byron, leading five British warships, chases and captures the French frigate Machault and four cargo vessels off Quebec.

July 14 Military: General James Murray departs Quebec City and marches his 2,500 soldiers down the Saint Lawrence River towards Montreal. Two other columns are also in motion for the same objective: General Jeffrey Amherst is approaching from Oswego while Brigadier General William Haviland leads 3,400 men up the Lake Champlain corridor from Crown Point, New York.

August 8 Military: General James Murray’s army circumvents French artillery at Trois Rivieres and sails unimpeded down the Saint Lawrence River. Hostile Cherokee under Oconostota surround and obtain the surrender of Fort Loudoun (Vonore, Tennessee), allowing the 200-man British garrison under Captain Paul Demere to depart unharmed for Fort Prince George, South Carolina. They then discover that the English had not turned over all their surplus ammunition as promised and, instead, partly buried it.

August 9 Military: Around 700 Cherokee Indians ambush a British column departing Fort Loudoun with their families, killing Captain Raymond Demere and 23 soldiers, along with many women and children hostages.

August 10 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst’s force of 10,000 men and 100 siege guns departs Oswego, New York, and sails across Lake Ontario in 900 armed galleys and whaleboats.

August 16 Military: The flotilla of General Jeffrey Amherst proceeds eastward down the St. Lawrence River, encountering slight resistance from French forces deployed at La Presentation (Ogdensburg, New York). The 13-gun corvette Outaouaise is captured offshore after a sharp, three-hour contest.

August 20 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst continues sailing down the Saint Lawrence River toward Montreal, pausing only to engage a small French force at Fort Levis (Chimney Island, New York). After a three-day bombardment, the 200-man French garrison under Captain Pierre Bouchot is compelled to surrender.

August 27 Military: The British juggernaut under General Jeffrey Amherst approaches Varennes, east of Montreal, an act that induces many Canadian militia to surrender.

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274  Chronology of American History General François-Gaston de Lévis’s garrison at Montreal is thereby greatly reduced in available manpower. British forces under Brigadier General William Haviland invest French forces at Â�Isle-Â�aux-Â�Noix on the Richelieu River. ColÂ�oÂ�nel Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, commanding only 1,200 men and 12 cannon, manages to slip away at night through a swamp and makes his way toward Montreal 25 miles distant.

September 5 Military: Brigadier General William Haviland’s column reaches the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River across from Montreal.

September 6 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst, traversing Lake Ontario, lands his army at Lachine, Canada, and marches against Montreal with 17,000 men. At this time the French garrison under General François Gaston de Lévis can muster no more than 2,500 soldiers.

September 8 Military: Facing the inevitable, Governor PierreFrançois de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil, surrenders Â�Montreal—and all of Â�Canada—to British forces under King George III. Painting╇ (Library of Congress) General Jeffrey Amherst, for all intents and purposes ending the French and Indian War. Amherst denies his captives honors of war, holding them accountable for the massacre of British prisoners at Fort William Henry in 1757. This act concludes the Â�century-Â�and-Â�a-half-Â�long struggle between France and EnÂ�gland for the domination of North America. Major Robert Rogers and two companies of rangers are dispatched from Montreal and head west to occupy Fort Detroit, Michigan Territory.

October 26 Politics: After the death of King George II, his grandson ascends to the throne as King George III. Significantly, he is the first member of the Hanoverian dynasty fluent in En�glish.

November 3 Diplomacy: A preliminary peace agreement between France and Britain is signed at Fontainebleau.

November 29 Military: Major Robert Rogers and a body of American troops accepts the surrender of Fort Detroit, Michigan Territory, from Captain Â�François-Â�Marie Picote, sieur de Belesre. Indians of the region, previously used to favorable French terms for obtaining guns, ammunition and other supplies, expect the same treatment from the newcomers. However, when the conquerors prove much less generous in doling out such necessities as gunpowder, widespread dissatisfaction arises.

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1761 Literature: Phillis Wheatley, an eight-year-old black slave girl and future poet, arrives at Boston, Massachusetts. Music: Benjamin Franklin perfects the glassychord, a musical instrument consisting of water-filled glasses spun by foot power. Slavery: The Society of Friends votes to expel any Quakers caught working in the slave trade.

February Diplomacy: General Jeffrey Amherst decrees that the French practice of showering the Indians with gifts and goods is too expensive, overindulgent, and effectively ended. Native Americans have come to rely on these commodities to sustain themselves, however, and their resentment peaks two years later in a major frontier uprising led by a heretofore obscure Ottawa chief, Pontiac.

February 24 Politics: Attorney James Otis forcefully denounces Writs of Assistance (general search warrants) issued to customs officials before the Massachusetts Supreme Court, declaring “An act against the Constitution is void.” This marks the beginning of a decade of entrenched colonial intransigence toward British colonial policies.

March 20 Military: A British force of 2,000 soldiers lands at Charles Town, South Carolina, under Colonel James Grant, and proceeds to march into the Cherokee heartland.

May Politics: James Otis, a distinguished attorney, is elected to the Massachusetts General Court, where he becomes one of the first dissenters against British colonial policy.

May 3 Arts: A presentation of Shakespeare’s Othello in Newport, Rhode Island, is given by the David Douglas Histrionic Academy under the guise of a “moral dialogue.” It draws the wrath of Puritan critics, violence from the crowds, and before long, the Rhode Island General Assembly outlaws stage plays with fines of 100 pounds per actor.

May 22 Politics: The British Board of Trade loses its ability to appoint colonial officers.

May 27 Military: Colonel James Grant, commanding 2,000 British regulars, arrives at Fort Prince George on the western South Carolina frontier. There he is hailed by peace chief Attakullakulla, who entreats him to stop hostilities, but Grant refuses, feeling that proper chastisement has yet to be administered.

June 6 Science: John Winthrop and some American astronomers venture to Newfoundland to study the transit of Venus. The groundbreaking expedition is underwritten by Harvard College for the express purposes of gathering additional information as to the sun’s parallax.

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Otis, James

(1725 –1783)

Politician James Otis was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1725, the son of a merchant. He passed through Harvard College in 1743, read law, and was admitted to the Plymouth bar in 1758. Two years later, Otis relocated to Boston where he functioned as king’s advocate general of the vice-admiralty court, a position increasingly politicized by new British customs policies. Otis himself had entered into a grudging dispute with Lieutenant Governor Francis Bernard over the latter’s failure to appoint his father chief justice in 1760, and thereafter his career remained on a collision course with royal authority. His defiance was heightened in 1761 when the admiralty court began issuing writs of assistance that allowed blanket searches and seizures of private property. Otis disagreed with the practice philosophically and thereafter functioned as a defender of merchants. In February 1761, he delivered a riveting, fivehour diatribe against the writs and, while he lost the case, his reputation as an outspoken opponent of British imperial policy was born. Shortly after, he gained a seat in the General Court where he articulated finely tuned arguments against British tax and trade policies. He also embarked on a new career in polemics, and his pamphlets, A Vindication of the Conduct of the House of Representatives (1762) and The Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved (1764), were opening shots in a continuing war of words. In them, he disputed the legality of taxation without representation and artfully condemned Parliament’s right to do

so in the colonies. Passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 only heightened his resistance, and he attended the colonial congress in New York and also chaired the local committee of correspondence in Boston. By this time, he had become the doyen of the Patriot movement and one of the earliest symbols of resistance to British policies. For all his fiery denunciation of British policy, at no time did Otis advocate violence against the Crown or severing ties with Great Britain. In fact, he prided himself on his British citizenship and was gradually moderating his stance as time went by. This placed him at odds with more radical elements the likes of Samuel Adams, who began questioning his devotion to the colonies. Otis usually countered criticism by publishing acerbic ripostes in the Boston Gazette. On September 5, 1769, he confronted customs official John Robinson in a coffeehouse and was struck heavily on the head in a brawl. This began his slow descent toward insanity for, although he returned to the General Court and enjoyed moments of eloquence, his injuries basically ended a promising political career. After briefly fighting at Bunker Hill in April 1775, Otis resigned from politics and took no further part in public discourse. On May 23, 1783, he was killed by lightning while viewing a thunderstorm. Otis’s career was unfortunately cut short before the budding resistance movement in Massachusetts blossomed into full-scale revolution, but his artful arguments provided the intellectual foundation upon which that revolution would be waged.

June 7 Military: Colonel James Grant takes 2,000 British soldiers from Fort Prince George, South Carolina, and marches them in a punitive raid against the Cherokee Middle Towns.

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June 10 Military: An Anglo-American military expedition of 2,600 men under Colonel James Grant fights its way to the Cherokee Lower Towns in Oconee, South Carolina, killing 60 Indians in a six-hour battle and forcing them to retreat for want of ammunition. The British then advance and burn the enclave. Anything of use to the Indians, including orchards, granaries, and cornfields, is likewise destroyed. The British spent the entire month burning villages and crops, forcing about 5,000 Cherokee and their families to flee for the interior. This defeat discourages the Indians from further fighting, and peace chief Attakullakulla begins sending emissaries to Grant.

July 21 Military: Cherokee warriors commence besieging Fort Watauga (Sycamore Shoals, North Carolina) over the next two weeks before being driven off by a relief column under Lieutenant Colonel William Russell.

July 25 Diplomacy: The British sign another peace treaty with Micmac, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy at Halifax, Nova Scotia, ending their participation in the recent conflict.

September 9 Diplomacy: The victorious British hold a large conference with the northwestern Indian tribes at Fort Detroit, declaring their intention not to provide them with ammunition and other goods at the low prices they have been accustomed to under French rule. The ensuing resentment gives rise to Ottawa chief Pontiac’s exhortation for a Native American coalition to drive the English from the Ottawa homeland. Like many contemporaries, Pontiac is under the sway of Neolin, the Delaware Prophet, who calls upon fellow Indians to dramatically reject the white man’s ways.

September 23 Diplomacy: Chief Attakullakulla signs a peace treaty with Lieutenant Governor William Bull in Charles Town, South Carolina, ending the First Cherokee War. In addition to heavy losses sustained in combat, the tribes must also surrender all their holdings in South Carolina and drop any relations with the French.

October 13 Politics: Colonel Henry Bouquet, in an attempt to diffuse frontier tensions arising from white encroachment upon Indian land, summarily forbids any settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. This is done in an attempt to preserve a provision of the 1758 Treaty of Easton, whereby Pennsylvania agreed not to colonize its western holdings. However, the defeat of France unleashes a pent-up wave of immigrants into the region, whom British authorities are ill-equipped to stop.

November 19 Diplomacy: The Cherokee sign a peace treaty with the colony of Virginia, formally concluding the First Cherokee War.

December 2 Politics: Lord Egremont, secretary of state for the Southern Department, directs colonial governors to secure government approval for any future transactions involving Indian land. Henceforth, all must be approved by the Crown.

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December 9 Politics: In a further tightening of the screws, the British government decrees that all colonial judgeships are subject to approval by the Crown.

December 15 Arts: Jupiter Hammond publishes Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries, the first known poetry penned by an African American.

1762 Diplomacy: Commissioner of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson, wishing to compensate still angry Delaware for the loss of lands accruing from the Â�so-­called “Walking Purchase” of 1737, proffers 400 pounds as compensation. Journalism: Wealthy Sarah Updike Goddard helps to finance her son’s paper, the Providence Gazette, and also serves as editor during his absences. She and her coeditor daughter embellish the publication with features on entertainment, which boosts circulation. Politics: James Otis, a distinguished Massachusetts attorney, publishes A Vindication of the Conduct of the Â�House of Representatives. In it he enumerates the legal rights of American colonies as delineated by the EnÂ�glish Constitution. Religion: Neolin, a Lenni Lenape holy man (known to colonists as the Dela-­ ware Prophet), begins agitating among the northwestern tribes to forsake all EuÂ�roÂ�peÂ�an ways and restore Indian traditions. His beliefs gain traction among the Ottawa, Potawatomi, Wyandot, and Ojibway of Â�present-­day Ohio and Michigan, further stoking the flames of resentment against Great Britain. Settlement: The Â�Connecticut-­based Susquehanna Company begins landing set-­ tlers in the region of the Wyoming Valley, ignoring the objections from Pennsylva-­ nia authorities. A violent struggle over land ownÂ�ership gradually unfolds between the two colonies. Slavery: James Derham, destined to be recognized as the first Â�African-­American physician in North America, is born in Philadelphia. Technology: Jared Eliot perfects an indigenous iron smelting technique in Connecticut.

January 2 Diplomatic: Great Britain declares war against Spain, unleashing torrents of American privateers into the Ca�rib�be�an.

April General: Benjamin Franklin is again honored abroad with an honorary doctor-­ ate of civil law from Oxford University. His son William concurrently receives a master of arts degree.

May 3 Music: The St. Cecilia Society, dedicated to the propagation of music, is founded in Charleston, South Carolina.

June 24 Naval: A powerful French squadron of four ships of the line and 800 men under Commodore Charles-Henri-Louis d’Arsac, chevalier de Ternay, unex-­ pectedly drops anchor off Bay Bulls, Newfoundland. The town of Saint John’s,

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Delaware Prophet (fl. 1760s) Delaware spiritual leader The origins of the Delaware Prophet are obscure, as is his denouement. However, while he lived among his people, he exerted a tremendous religious and social impact, with concomitant implications for European settlements along the frontier. For over a century, the Delaware nation (Lenni Lenape) had been pushed off their ancestral lands in Delaware and Pennsylvania by continual white expansion. Worse, from an Indian standpoint, was their gradual abandonment of traditional ways of selfreliance and a growing dependency on tools, clothes, weapons, and gunpowder from their erstwhile adversaries. By the 1760s, tribal life was at the straining point and facing collapse, when the Delaware Prophet suddenly made his appearance and began articulating calls for a strict, nativist revival. He had several contemporaries at the time throughout the Ohio Valley region, but none possessed such a clear and compelling vision. For this reason he was also called “Neolin” (enlightened one’). The Delaware Prophet proved himself to be an eloquent, emotional speaker who invariably wept while addressing his people and relaying a spiritual message that was manifested to him in a dream. He had been contacted by the “Master of Life”—or Great Spirit—who promised to restore the Delaware to their position of greatness if they would only resume their native traditions and renounce all the trappings of white society, especially alcohol and firearms. To underscore the clarity of his message, the Delaware Prophet invari-

ably passed out deerskin maps representing the land the Indians once possessed and what they had lost. He also distributed prayer sticks with an invocation tribal members were to recite every day. Renewed emphasis on moral ethics, family life, and intertribal peace was also stressed. Only in this manner, the Prophet insisted, could the Delaware halt their gradual slide into oblivion. Considering the duress that Native Americans had endured in their contacts with Europeans to date, the Delaware Prophet evoked a powerful message of hope to a willing audience. Those few white missionaries who observed him commented on his tremendous personal presence and widespread following. Foremost among these was the Ottawa chief Pontiac, who fully accepted his call for native renewal— although not at the expense of giving up firearms. Pontiac also differed with the Prophet with respect to the French, who had enjoyed relatively good relations with the Indians and had supplied them with arms and ammunition. Thus the ill-fated Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763 was a direct consequence of the Delaware Prophet’s teachings. After it was bloodily repressed at great cost to the Indians, his message apparently fell out of favor with his people, and he apparently disappears from history at that point. But his call for a nativist revival would indelibly impact leaders in other tribes and gave rise to subsequent leaders such as Handsome Lake of the Seneca and Tenskwatawa of the Shawnee.

garrisoned by only 300 soldiers, hurriedly surrenders, although word of the invasion is promptly dispatched to Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst at Halifax.

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August 10 Naval: Commodore Colville sails from Halifax with four warships and, 1,400 soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst, intending to confront a French squadron situated at Saint John’s, Newfoundland.

August 25 Naval: The French squadron of Commodore Charles-Henri Louis d’Arsac, chevalier de Ternay, is blockaded at Saint John’s, Newfoundland.

September 12 Military: Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst arrives at Newfoundland with 1,400 colonial troops, intending to deal with the small French force occupying Saint John’s.

September 15 Naval: The French squadron of Commodore Charles-Henri Louis d’Arsac, chevalier de Ternay, slips past a British blockading squadron off Saint John’s, Newfoundland, and makes for the open sea.

September 18 Military: The small French garrison of 689 men left behind at Saint John’s, Newfoundland, surrenders to Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst. This eliminates any chance that the town could be used as a bargaining chip in upcoming peace negotiations.

November 1 Politics: Benjamin Franklin arrives, from England, back at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

November 3 Diplomacy: Through the secret treaty of Fontainebleau, France cedes the Isle of Orleans, Louisiana, and all territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain as compensation for recent losses to England.

1763 Medical: Connecticut founds the colonies’ first medical society. Religion: The Moravians issue a collection of hymns written in the Delaware Indian language. In an attempt to deprive French settlers of any potential leadership, the British expel all Jesuit missionaries from the Appalachian region. Settlement: British astronomers Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason commence a four-year project to survey the boundary between Maryland and Virginia, eventually known as the Mason Dixon Line. Technology: Henry Williams, inspired by the steam engines of English inventor James Watt, makes a failed attempt at steam-powered boats on the Conestoga Creek, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

February 10 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Paris is signed in Paris, France, concluding the Seven Years’ War and its New World Corollary, the French and Indian War. Victorious Great Britain acquires all of Canada, in addition to Florida and the Caribbe an islands of Tobago, Dominica, and St. Vincent. Spain, under a

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separate agreement, receives New Orleans and all lands west of the Mississippi River, in addition to Cuba and the Philippines. However, Britain’s fiscal ability to garrison and administer such far-flung gains is compromised by national debts approaching 130 million pounds. It falls upon Chancellor of the Exchequer George Grenville to seek previously untapped revenues and defray the cost of governing these newest acquisitions. Unknown at the time, removal of the French threat to America also triggers a profound reevaluation of colonial perceptions toward Great Britain, from that of protector and benefactor to that of oppressor. Societal: The first large, circulating library in America is founded at Annapolis, Maryland, by William Rind.

February 13 Politics: A group of Pennsylvania frontiersmen, known locally as the “Paxton Boys,” arrives in Philadelphia to present Governor John Penn with a list of grievances. Foremost among them is the inability of the government to protect them from Indian attacks, which are increasing due to renewed efforts by the natives to keep Europeans off their ancestral lands. But monetary expenditures for forts and militia is something that the pacifist, Quaker-dominated legislature in Philadelphia is unwilling to do, and the frontiersmen returned home angry and emptyhanded. Consequently, several Scotch-Irish rowdies begin indiscriminate attacks on local Indians, friendly and hostile alike, which contribute to the escalating spiral of violence and retribution.

April 19 Military: Unidentified arsonists burn tribal cabins built for the Delaware by Quakers at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, killing Chief Teedyuscung, a leading proponent of Indian rights.

April 27 Military: Chief Pontiac convenes a gathering of disaffected Ottawa, Ojibway, and Potawatomi near Detroit, all angered over Britain’s refusal to distribute gifts and other commodities. The ensuing war council decides to form a loose confederation and oppose further English encroachment upon Indian land. The beliefs of many warriors, sparked by the Delaware Prophet, encourage them to try to drive Europeans completely out of their area. The strategy they adopt, a simultaneous assault upon numerous and isolated British outposts, proves surprisingly effective.

May 7 Military: In a preview of what would follow, Ottawa warriors under Pontiac ambush a British boat patrol on Lake Saint Claire, Michigan Territory, killing four and taking eight captive.

May 9 Military: A squaw forewarns Lieutenant Col o nel Henry Gladwyn of an impending Indian uprising at Detroit, Michigan Territory. Therefore, when Chief Pontiac and his warriors appear, demanding to be let in for a conference, they are refused. Pontiac then lays siege to Fort Detroit, killing several nearby settlers in the pro cess, to underscore his determination to the defenders.

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Pontiac

(ca. 1720–1769)

Ottawa chief Pontiac was probably born along the Maumee River, northern Ohio, around 1720, the son of an Ottawa father and a Chippewa mother. He matured into a fine warrior and distinguished himself in fighting alongside the French throughout King George’s War (1744–48). He became head chief of the Ottawa in 1754, when the French and Indian War commenced, and might have been present at the defeat of General Edward Braddock near Fort Duquesne. However, the war ended in 1763 as a complete defeat for France, and the English readily filled the vacuum they left behind. This new reality left the Great Lakes Indians in something of a quandary, for they had previously enjoyed prosperous relations with the French, who lavished supplies and gifts upon them. Moreover, the French were concerned with fur, not land, and the influx of English settlers across the Appalachian Mountains began crowding the Indians off their traditional hunting grounds. But Indian anger was especially stoked once General Jeffrey Amherst decided to end the practice of gift giving altogether, proclaiming it an unnecessary extravagance. These moves also coincided with the rise of Neolin, the Delaware Prophet, who promulgated a nativist revival movement to reclaim the land by driving whites—and their culture—away by force. Pontiac was one of many chieftains swayed by the new religion, and in 1762, he began agitating among nearby tribes for an anti-English coalition. He met with tribal heads in April 1763 and outlined a simple yet effective strategy for simultaneously

striking all English outposts in their reach. In this he had the enthusiastic support of the Potawatomi, Huron, Chippewa, and Ottawa peoples. On May 7, 1763, Pontiac’s rebellion commenced with a failed attempt to capture Fort Detroit from a wary British garrison. Thereafter the Indians struck and carried nearly every British fort west of the Appalachians, as planned. It was not until August 1764 that Colonel John Bradstreet arrived at Detroit with a relief column, at which point the Indian coalition began unraveling. Numerous tribes then began surrendering to the English, but the Ottawa held back and remained hostile for another three years. It was not until 1766 that Pontiac was willing to meet with Sir William Johnson at Oswego, New York, and sign a peace treaty. Thereafter, the British Indian Department was careful to ply the various tribes with gifts and annuities as before. The English government, also eager to circumvent future hostilities, issued the Proclamation of 1763 to restrict white immigration to the land east of the Appalachian Mountains. Pontiac, for his part, simply accepted his gifts and returned to his village on the banks of the Maumee River. He lived in obscurity for several years, but his erstwhile allies were angered over their losses and his apparent indifference to them. On April 20, 1767, while visiting the French settlement of Cahokia, Illinois, on business, Pontiac was struck down and killed by Peoria Indians, thought by many to be in the employ of England.

May 16 Military: Wyandot Indians allied to Chief Pontiac attack and capture Fort Sandusky, Ohio. After the garrison was killed, Ensign Christopher Pauli was taken back to Detroit as a prisoner and adopted by an Indian family.

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May 25 Military: A party of Potawatomi Indians capture the distant trading post of Fort St. Joseph (Niles), Michigan Territory, killing 11 soldiers.

May 27 Military: Indians capture Fort Miami (Fort Wayne), Indiana Territory. A large party of Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo surround Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, then garrisoned by Captain Simon Ecuyer and 358 smallpox-ridden men.

May 28 Military: When a British convoy of 96 men and 11 bateaux under Lieutenant Abraham Cuyler lands at Point Pelee, Michigan, they are suddenly set upon by a mob of hostile warriors and chased back onto Lake Erie. Some captives are taken and subsequently executed.

June 1 Military: The British garrison of Fort Ouiatenon (Lafayette), Indiana, is massacred by hostile Indians.

June 2 Military: Ojibwa Indians allied to Chief Pontiac capture Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan Territory, through a ruse. They stage a lacrosse game outside the fort’s walls and chase the ball into its open doors, overwhelming the defenders under Captain George Etherington. The Indians kill 27 soldiers and take 15 prisoners. The fort is then razed to the ground.

June 4 Military: Indian forces attack Fort Ligonier, Pennsylvania, but the garrison under Lieutenant Archibald Blane stands firm.

June 16 Military: Seneca and Shawnee forces attack and destroy the British garrison at Fort Verango (French Creek), Pennsylvania.

June 18 Military: Fort Le Boeuf is attacked and destroyed by Seneca and Shawnee allied to Chief Pontiac, but the garrison manages to escape intact.

June 20 Military: A large party of Seneca, Ottawa, Huron, and Chippewa attack Fort Presqu ’Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania), massacring the garrison under Ensign John Christie after allowing them to depart.

June 22 Military: Indians launch a surprise attack upon Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, and are repulsed. A siege then commences.

June 23 Naval: The British sloop Michigan, guarding the mouth of the Detroit River, is set upon at night by canoes filled with armed warriors. However, the crew is ready. At a given signal, 54 soldiers spring up on deck and commence firing. The Indians suddenly retreat, leaving behind 14 dead and another 14 more wounded.

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June 24 Military: Two Delaware braves visit Major Simon Ecuyer, commanding Fort Pitt, who advise him of the fall of other forts and urge him to surrender before additional tribes arrive and attack. Ecuyer thanks them for the advice and gives as gifts several blankets taken from smallpox patients in the fort. The disease spreads rapidly among the tribesmen and lifts the siege; this is the first recorded instance of biological warfare.

July 13 Military: General Jeffrey Amherst suggests to Col�o�nel Henry Bouquet that the rampaging Indians might be stopped by the introduction of blankets permeated with smallpox. Bouquet demurs, however, and points out that the stratagem is equally hazardous to En�glish soldiers.

July 29 Military: Captain James Dalyell leads a column of 247 British soldiers from Fort Detroit and marches against Pontiac’s main camp.

July 31 Military: British regulars and American provincials under Captain James Daly-­ ell, approaching the main Indian camp of Pontiac, are ambushed while trying to cross Parent’s Creek, Michigan, and are repulsed. The Indians then charge, killing 23 soldiers and wounding 39. Thereafter the stream is known as Bloody Creek.

August 5–6 Military: Â�Swiss-­born ColÂ�oÂ�nel Henry Bouquet leads a mixed force of 30 scouts and 400 Scottish regulars from the 42nd and 79th Highlanders, and some pro-­ vincials from the Royal Americans into battle at Bushy Run (Pittsburgh), 26 miles from Bouquet’s objective at Fort Pitt. En route, he is ambushed by superior numbers of Mingo, Delaware, Huron, and Shawnee and, in a Â�hard-­fought affair, driven up a hill where he entrenches for the eveÂ�ning. Bouquet then enacts a clever stratagem: After hiding two infantry companies in the woods on his right flank, he feigns a retreat with the rest of his infantry farther up the hill. Predictably, the Indians take the bait and charge after them until the reserves suddenly appear on their flank, fire, and charge. The startled attackers are quickly driven back downhill with a loss of 60 braves and then quit the field. Bouquet, having lost 123 men killed and wounded, resumes his relief expedition to Fort Pitt. The reversal at Bushy Run also causes Pontiac’s Â�loose-­knit confederation to start unraveling.

August 10 Military: The Indian siege of Fort Pitt is broken by the relief column of Col�o�nel Henry Bouquet, victor of Bushy Run.

August 21 Arts: Aspiring artist Benjamin West arrives in London to commence his formal studies.

September 2 Naval: The British vessel Huron, anchored off Fort Detroit, is attacked by 340 Chippewa and Ottawa under Chief Pontiac. They nearly overwhelm the crew of 22 men, killing 15 of them, but retreat after the surviving six threaten to blow up the vessel.

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September 9 Business: The Mississippi Company under George Washington seeks a grant of 2.5 million acres near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This land is intended as bounty payment for veterans of the French and Indian War.

September 14 Military: Hostile Indians ambush and wipe out a British supply convoy passing through a narrow trail in forbidding terrain known as Devil’s Hole, outside of Fort Niagara, New York. As the battle unfolded, two companies of the nearby 8th Regiment of Foot sortied from the fort to assist the soldiers but were attacked and routed in turn. British losses totaled 72 dead and eight wounded.

September 24 Religion: Spanish officials expel French Jesuits from Louisiana and confiscate their property.

October 7 Politics: In a move calculated to forestall future outbreaks of Indian hostility, King George III signs the Proclamation of 1763 into law which, at a stroke, outlaws all colonial settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains, while future land grants and surveying are expressly forbidden in this area. Moreover, all settlers living across the line are expected to remove themselves to British-controlled territory. It is hoped that such measures will preclude future outbreaks of hostility among Native Americans. As a sop to colonial sensitivities, new colonies are created in Quebec and Florida, but many citizens regard this action as an unwarranted intrusion upon western expansion. They come to resent this growing emphasis on imperial interference.

October 12 Military: Several of Chief Pontiac’s Indian allies desert his faltering confederation and make peace with the British.

October 20 Military: A relief force headed for Detroit under Major John Wilkins is ambushed along the Portage Road near Fort Niagara, New York, losing eight men. Undeterred, they press on to Lake Erie.

October 29 Labor: Chimney sweeps, composed mainly of free African Americans, organize a strike in Charleston, South Carolina, until the city grants them a raise in pay.

October 30 Military: Chief Pontiac, abandoned by his allies, lifts the siege of Fort Detroit and withdraws to the Miami River.

November 5 Law: In the Parson’s Cause, a case regarding back pay for Anglican clergymen, attorney Patrick Henry argues before a jury that an unequivocal pact exists between the rulers and the ruled. He argues that the British government was wrong in forcing Reverend James Maury to accept money in lieu of a traditional tobacco allotment.

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Henry, Patrick

(1736–1799)

Politician Patrick Henry was born in Hanover County, Virginia, on May 29, 1736, part of the lesser frontier gentry. A conspicuous failure at business and farming, he finally studied law and found his niche. In 1763 he participated in the famous Parson’s Cause, which established Henry’s reputation as a strident opponent of British imperial policy and interference in colonial affairs. As a new member of the House of Burgesses, he escalated his diatribes after the Stamp Act of 1765 and sponsored several radical resolutions denouncing Parliament. Eventually he emerged as a leader of the opposition to the traditional tidewater elite in Virginia, gaining considerable renown for thundering oration. For this reason Henry was elected

to that colony’s first committee of correspondence in 1774, and subsequently held seats in the First and Second Continental Congresses. He also emerged as a foil to Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, and at one point confronted him with a party of militia and successfully demanded reimbursements for gunpowder seized at Williamsburg. Henry returned to Congress after the Revolutionary War commenced in April 1775, where, curiously, he appeared reticent at the prospects of breaking all ties to Great Britain. This placed him at odds with other radicals like John Adams, so Henry retired from Congress to partake of state affairs. After working several months on a new constitution, he gained appoint-

November 7 Military: A relief boat convoy under Major John Wilkins plies Lake Erie, headed for Detroit, until it is hit by a sudden storm and driven ashore. At least 70 soldiers drown and the rest return to Fort Niagara.

November 16 Military: General Thomas Gage, a distinguished veteran of the French and Indian War, gains appointment as commander in chief of all British forces in North America, with headquarters at New York City.

December Business: To compensate merchant companies who have lost property during the recent Indian war, trader George Croghan organizes the Suffering Traders. This group is the eventual progenitor of the Illinois Company.

December 2 Politics: In a decided shift of policy, the British government instructs colonial governors to first seek approval before giving or designating land grants in or near Indian-held areas. Religion: A group of 20 Sephardic Jews open the new Touro synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, the first major center of Jewish worship in America. Peter Harrison, a noted local architect, designed the building gratis.

December 14 General: A group of armed Scotch-Irish settlers in and around the Pennsylvania frontier settlement of Paxton is whipped up into an anti-Indian frenzy by their Presbyterian minister, John Elder. A group of rough-hewn Indian fighters, the self-

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ment as the first elected governor. Henry proved himself a capable wartime executive and smoothly oversaw Virginia’s contributions to the burgeoning war effort. He also authorized and procured funding for Colonel George Rogers Clark and his conquest of the Old Northwest. Henry won two more terms as governor before finally stepping aside in favor of Thomas Jefferson in 1779. He then remained in the Virginia House of Delegates for another four years. Henry continued to serve as governor and in the legislature after the war ended in 1783. However, continuing dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation led to a movement to replace them with a more centralized federal scheme under the U. S. Constitution. Henry, wary of the onset of tyranny, forcefully spoke against

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its ratification in Virginia for fear of eroding states’ rights. Once the constitution had been approved in 1788, he vigorously campaigned on behalf of adopting 10 amendments that constituted a Bill of Rights. Henry finally retired from public office that year and reconciled himself to a new federal government, although he had estranged himself from his former friends Jefferson and James Madison. In 1799, President George Washington prevailed on him to return to the House of Delegates to oppose the Kentucky and Virginia resolves, but before taking office he died at Red Hill, Virginia, on June 6, 1799. In his long political career Henry gained a welldeserved reputation as a fierce spokesman for liberty, whose forceful delivery kept audiences spellbound.

styled Paxton Boys, then marches under Matthew Smith and James Gibson to the Indian settlement at Conestoga in Lancaster County. Angered by the rumor that known hostile Indians had been seen, the mob massacres six Christian Susquehannock Indians. The 14 survivors hurriedly flee into town and are placed in the local jail for their own protection. Governor John Penn denounces the action and calls for the arrest of the killers, but nobody steps forward to identify them.

December 27 General: The Paxton Boys, angered that local authorities are protecting a group of Christian Indians, attack and slaughter the 14 remaining Susquehannock Indians held for their own protection at the jail in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania assembly consequently threatens the transgressors with arrest and trial, which only stokes their anger further. Seeking to have their grievances addressed directly, the Paxton Boys begin organizing an armed march upon Philadelphia. These rumors prompt Governor John Penn to round up another 125 Christian Indians from nearby Moravian settlements, and bring them into the city for protection.

1764 Business: Ironworks are established in New York and New Jersey by Peter Hasenclever, a former Prussian ironmonger. The second postal district is founded at Charleston, South Carolina for all colonies south of Virginia, including the Bahamas. Education: The College of Rhode Island (Brown University) is founded in Providence, Rhode Island. Its major patrons are the Brown family, wealthy local

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January 26 Education: Fire destroys the extensive Harvard College Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts, although 400 books out on loan are saved.

February Politics: An armed mob of 500 Â�Scotch-­Irish frontiersmen from Paxton, Penn-­ sylvania, marches on the city of Philadelphia, threatening to find and kill every Indian they find there. In a panic the militia is hastily mustered, cannon brought out, and a scratch force is assembled at Germantown to stop the invaders. When the two groups confront each other, Benjamin Franklin approaches them as a negotiator and strikes a deal. Once the ‘Paxton Boys’ demobilize and return home, Franklin will present a list of grievances to the assembly for their consid-­ eration. Surprisingly, their biggest complaint does not involve Indians, but rather the poÂ�litiÂ�cal establishment in Philadelphia. The frontiersmen are upset that the four western counties enjoy considerably less repreÂ�senÂ�taÂ�tion and influence in the legislature than the three eastern ones and redress is sought. A small body of frontiersmen is also conducted into the city to ascertain if Christian Indians sequestered there had been involved in recent attacks on settlements, and left convinced they Â�were not. This diffused the crisis for the present.

February 14 Technology: Having invented a viable spinning and carding machine for the manufacture of textiles, James Davenport founds the Globe Mills in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

February 16 Settlement: A party of 30 Frenchmen headed by Auguste Chouteau founds a settlement in Missouri, soon to be christened St. Louis.

April 4 Societal: The first four displaced French families expelled from Acadia (Nova Scotia) disembark at New Orleans, Louisiana. These are ancestors of today’s Cajuns.

April 5 Politics: Parliament passes the American Revenue Act, also known as the Sugar Act, the first meaÂ�sure undertaken to levy revenues from the American colonies. It doubles existing duties paid on products such as wine, sugar, coffee, textiles, and other imported commodities. This meaÂ�sure is expected to generate 200,000 pounds in additional revenue, to be applied toward maintaining British garrisons across the Â�far-­flung western frontier. And, to improve enforcement of Navigation Acts already on the books, the act authorizes creation of customs agents and duty collection to help thwart incessant smuggling. New admiralty courts, also transfer the prosecution of civil matters to the military, which con-­ ducts its affairs without traditional juries. In sum, the Sugar Act denotes a shift in imperial policy toward the colonies from that of benign neglect to active revenue raising.

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April 10 Law: Virginia attorney Patrick Henry loses the Parson’s Cause case when the Virginia general court rules against the Anglican clergy. Nonetheless, he establishes a precedent for successfully challenging the authority and right of the British government to overturn colonial statutes.

April 12 Diplomacy: Colonel John Bradstreet signs a peace treaty with numerous Great Lakes Indian tribes, although Pontiac’s Ottawa are conspicuously absent from the proceedings.

April 19 Politics: Parliament passes the Currency Act, which forbids colonial governments from printing and issuing paper money. This is enacted to control the inflationary tendencies associated with such tender and also placates the fears of British creditors of being paid off with depreciated script. Henceforth business transactions are to be paid in specie or coin. This places additional hardship on local colonial economies and stirs additional resentment against the government.

May 14 Journalism: The Boston Evening Post publishes its support for colonial opposition to restrictive British trade regulations.

May 24 Politics: In a major political evolution, Massachusetts attorney James Otis argues the illegality of the notion of “Taxation without representation” at a local Boston town meeting. Furthermore, he is among the first to appeal for a unified colonial response to protest the practice.

June 12 Politics: The Massachusetts General Court establishes a committee of correspondence to coordinate grievances over the Sugar Act with other colonies.

July Politics: In a major turn of events, the Pennsylvania assembly votes to declare war on the Delaware and Shawnee tribes harassing frontier settlements, and a bounty is offered for Indian scalps. They also appropriate money for a standing militia—the colony’s first—something they had refused to do even at the height of the French and Indian War. This turn of events signals the end of Quaker political dominance in Pennsylvania politics and greater participation by other groups, each with their own vested interests.

July 10 Business: In London, the Board of Trade approves a plan set forth by Sir William Johnson, George Croghan, and Colonel John Stuart for subdividing northern and southern Indian districts with all trade being supervised by their respective commissioners. The government hopes that better and fairer trade arrangements would pacify the Indians and prevent the outbreak of frontier wars. In the north, Johnson orders that fur trade activities in the Great Lakes occur at either Fort Mackinac or Fort Detroit, a scheme playing directly into the hands of former French traders. However, the plan fails in the South when local governors refuse to crack down on widespread illicit trade.

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July 20 Settlement: An Order in Council awards the region west of the Connecticut River and north of Massachusetts (present-day Vermont) to New York colony. However, New Hampshire continues pressing its claim to the same region and frontier tensions ensue.

July 23 Publishing: Massachusetts attorney James Otis publishes The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, a polemic against the practice of taxation without representation. Furthermore, he urges local merchants to express their discontent through a coordinated boycott of English goods.

August 26 Military: A British column under Colonel John Bradstreet occupies Detroit, Michigan, following a lengthy siege by Indians.

November 9–14 Diplomacy: Colonel Henry Bouquet meets with Pontiac’s Indian allies at the Muskingum River, Ohio, and manages to secure the release of all white hostages.

December 22 Journalism: Rhode Island governor Stephen Hopkins publishes The Rights of the Colonies Examined in the Providence Gazette, principles of which are then approved by the General Assembly.

1765 Arts: Pennsylvania-born artist Benjamin West sets up a studio in London, the first American to do so, and he teaches aspiring American artists who come abroad to study with him. These ultimately include such future luminaries as Charles Wilson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, and Ralph Earl. Business: John Harmon mills the first chocolate made in the English colonies at Dorchester, Massachusetts. Diplomacy: Deh-he-wa-mis, the former Mary Jemison, marries a Seneca Indian leader, and she receives great tribal stature as an English-speaking mediator and interpreter. Colonel John Stuart, Indian commissioner for the Southern District, reaches an accord with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations when both sides agree to mark the boundaries of the Florida colonies. Education: Reverend Samuel Occom, a full-blooded Mohegan, and Reverend Nathaniel Walker visit England for the purpose of raising money for Eleazar Wheelock’s Indian Charity School. They will return with an endowment of 12,000 pounds, the largest sum ever raised for a colonial endeavor. Journalism: John Adams criticizes the Stamp Act in a series of essays published in the Boston Gazette; these are subsequently reedited and published in pamphlet form as A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law. Religion: The North Carolina assembly passes the Establishment Act, confirming Anglicanism as the official colonial creed. Curiously, the English government, which had opposed the Vestry Acts earlier in the century, approves of the decision. Friction ensues, however, once local parishes begin opposing the governor’s right to appoint clergymen.

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Occom, Samson

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(1723–1792)

Native American clergyman Samson Occom was born near New London, Connecticut in 1723, a member of the Mohegan tribe indigenous to the area. His mother, Sarah, was a Christian Indian who converted during the height of the “Great Awakening” and desired that her son receive religious instruction. Occom was then entrusted to Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, who ran a school for Native Americans in Lebanon, Connecticut. Despite cultural barriers and Wheelock’s imperious disposition, Occom flourished as a student of religion, learning the Scriptures and becoming familiar with Greek, Hebrew, and English. He was also conversant in several Indian dialects including Oneida. In 1749, even before his education had concluded, Occom was dispatched to eastern Long Island to minister to the Montauk Indians. A popular preacher, he remained with his charge for a decade and married a Montauk convert, Mary Fowler, in 1751. Occom then fulfilled other teaching assignments successfully and in 1759 he became the first Native American ordained in the Presbyterian Church. Plans were then made to dispatch him as a missionary to the Cherokee in Georgia and Tennessee, but a war with white settlers forced him to minister to the Oneida in New York instead. In 1765, Occom was chosen to tour the colonies with the famous evangelical preacher George Whitefield, and shortly after, Wheelock sent him to England with Reverend Nathaniel Whitaker to raise money

for the Indian Charity School. In two years Occom delivered 300 sermons throughout England, raising 11,000 pounds for Wheelock’s enterprise. However, his hopes were dashed in 1768 when he returned to find that Wheelock moved his Indian school to New Hampshire, where it evolved into Dartmouth College for white students. Thoroughly disgusted, Occom left Wheelock and began ministering directly to Native Americans. After the Revolutionary War he founded the settlement of Brothertown in 1791 on Oneida land, so that Indian converts could live their lives without white interference. The following year, he helped construct the first Presbyterian church on Indian land. Occom was also actively engaged in publishing minor books, sermons, and an autobiography, becoming the first native American to write in English. As an author his style is somewhat simplistic, yet very forceful and eloquent. His most renowned work, A Sermon at the Execution of Moses Paul (1772), called upon whites and fellow Native Americans alike to refrain from the excesses of alcohol. Occom also found time to actively oppose numerous attempts of land speculators to seize Indian lands through fraudulence. He spent his final years among the Stockbridge or “Praying Indians” of the Hudson River Valley, and ended up defending their land claims from the more traditional Oneidas. Occom died in eastern New York on July 14, 1792, the first recognized Native American author, and a conscientious servant of his people.

February 5 Politics: While in London, American agent Benjamin Franklin meets with Prime Minister George Grenville to protest the proposed stamp tax then under consideration in Parliament. He is cordially received but otherwise ignored.

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March 22 Politics: King George III authorizes the Stamp Act, which will be enacted as law come November 1, 1765. This statute imposes fees on such varied but commonplace items as legal documents, newspapers, and almanacs, in addition to dice and playing cards. Henceforth, said items purchased are to bear a stamp indicating that the tax has been paid. As before, the English government is casting about looking for additional money to help defray the costs of maintaining large military garrisons along the western frontier, and projected revenues are expected to cover up to one-third of those expenses. But worse, from a colonial perspective, the Stamp Act also requires violators to appear before juryless admiralty courts. Thus, for the first time in 150 years, Parliament has imposed a direct levy upon the North American colonies. Monies collected at that level will not flow into local coffers but, rather, directly into the British treasury. Unforeseen at the time, significant ramifications of the Stamp Act can alienate a broad spectrum of American society, including merchants, lawyers, publishers, landowners, and shipbuilders. The unified, negative response it engenders is both unexpected and unprecedented.

March 24 Politics: To assist the garrisoning of British troops in New York and elsewhere, General Thomas Gage, commander in chief, requests the colonial government to consider a quartering act to provide money, food, and public housing for His Majesty’s troops. Such a measure is approved this day and mandates that, in the absence of public housing, colonial legislatures must subsidize troop shelter over a two-year period; fixed prices are also stipulated for provisions and other services provided to the troops.

May 3 Medical: The College of Philadelphia is founded by Doctors John Morgan and William Shippen and offers the first medical department for professional instruction in the colonies. It subsequently becomes the College of Physicians and Surgeons within the University of Pennsylvania.

May 29 Politics: In a dramatic and fiery diatribe, Patrick Henry denounces British tax policies in the Virginia House of Burgesses and introduces the Seven Virginia Resolves in protest. The fifth of these unflinching demands: that colonial legislatures alone— not Parliament—have the right to impose taxes on their own citizens. When interrupted by cries of “Treason,” Henry boldly asserts, “If this be treason make the most of it.” Emboldened, the delegates eventually approve the Virginia Resolves to protest the Stamp Act and the notion of taxation without representation. But the following day, once Henry and his supporters had departed, the remaining burgesses rescind the inflammatory fifth resolve. Nevertheless, the resolves and proceedings surrounding them are promptly printed and circulated in other colonies.

June 6 Politics: Attorney James Otis convinces the Massachusetts General Court to compose a letter for circulation through the colonies. Significantly, it calls for convening an intercolonial congress to meet and discuss ways of opposing the Stamp Act. The response is overwhelmingly favorable.

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July 17 Military: The French surrender control of Fort Chartres, Illinois Territory, and subsequently move territorial administrative functions to St. Louis (Missouri).

August Military: A party of Creek warriors raids a Choctaw camp at Mobile, killing several and absconding with hostages.

August 13 Politics: The rising tide of sentiment against British tax policies crested when the office of stamp master (tax collector) Andrew Oliver is gutted by rioters organized by the Sons of Liberty. To underscore their displeasure with the man, he is also hanged in effigy from a tree at the corner of Essex and Washington Streets—at which point Oliver resigns from his position. The tree chosen is subsequently hailed as the “Liberty Tree.” Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson also has a close call when he tries to calm the mob, who stone and chase him. Judging the temper of the times, Governor Francis Bernard also makes a hasty retreat to a Royal Navy warship in Boston harbor.

August 17 Diplomacy: Frontiersman George Croghan meets with Ottawa chief Pontiac at Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory, and broaches the subject of a peace treaty with him. Pontiac, deserted by his erstwhile Indian allies, appears interested. To sweeten the pot, the chief is also offered a pension by the British in exchange for peace—amenities that alienate those who followed him in battle and suffered commensurately.

August 26 Politics: In Boston, the rising tide of antitax violence escalates further when the elegant home of Lieutenant governor Thomas Hutchinson is torched by an angry mob. A party from the Sons of Liberty later sacks a local admiralty court and burns the records.

October 7–21 Politics: The newly assembled Stamp Act Congress convenes in City Hall, New York City, to protest what they consider to be Britain’s arbitrary tax policies. Nine colonies send a total of 28 delegates, who debate and pass 13 resolutions to demand their rights as Englishmen, most particularly the right of trial by jury. They subsequently petition King George III for redress and demand the Stamp Act’s repeal, reiterating their strong belief that only colonial legislatures enjoy the right to levy taxes on them. Failing this, the delegates push for a united boycott on the importation of all English goods as retaliation. By the time the Stamp Act Congress adjourns, it has established a singular political precedent: for the first time in their history, the usually disjointed American colonies have collectively rallied around a single cause. Publishing: Political moderate John Dickinson of Pennsylvania pens and prints his Declaration of Rights and Grievances to protest imposition of the Stamp Act.

October 28 Business: A coterie of influential New York merchants and businessmen agree in principle to support a nonimportation strategy against English goods unless

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Dickinson, John

(1732–1808)

Politician John Dickinson was born in Talbot County, Maryland, on November 13, 1732, the son of a judge. He studied law in Philadelphia before receiving his degree from London’s Middle Temple in 1757. Back home, he relocated to Philadelphia to practice and was also elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. Dickinson was noted for his conservatism, and he clashed with Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Galloway over proposed changes to the proprietary government. However, after the Stamp Act of 1764, he emerged as a leading and articulate spokesman for the colonial opposition. Dickinson was consequently appointed to the Stamp Act Congress in New York, but while he demanded its repeal, he also firmly opposed violence or breaking with Great Britain. In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Duties, and Dickinson responded by publishing his famous Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania in support of nonimportation of English goods, but he once again supported reconciliation over confrontation. In the wake of the Coercive Acts of 1774, Dickinson served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. In this capacity, he condemned parliamentary arbitrariness and urged the colonies to make preparations to defend themselves, yet he clung stubbornly to the notion of better relations with the homeland. To that end he drafted and signed the Olive Branch Petition, addressed to King George III, which pledged continuing allegiance to the Crown and requested that he repeal the Coercive Acts and other

illegal measures. When the king refused, the influence of Dickinson and other moderates waned significantly, especially after he voted against the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. Before leaving Congress to serve as a colonel of militia, Dickinson lent his expertise to writing the new Articles of Confederation as a system of better governance. In 1777, Dickinson departed politics briefly to fight in the militia, taking part at the battle of Brandywine that fall and eventually rising to brigadier general, but he saw no further action. He then returned to Congress in 1779 and resigned two years later to serve as president of the executive council of Delaware. In 1782, Dickinson gained election as president of the Pennsylvania council. He then served as president of the ill-fated Annapolis Convention of 1786 in Maryland and the following year he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. True to his conservative precepts Dickinson unflaggingly advocated adoption of stronger, more centralized governance. But by 1800 he moderated his conservatism to support the DemocraticRepublican candidacy of Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. Dickinson died in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 14, 1808, little remembered for the important political roles he had played. Never as popular as his more radical contemporaries, he exerted a steadying, calming effect on national discourse and, because of his expository skills, was greatly respected as the “Penman of the Revolution.”

the Stamp Act is repealed. As word of their stance spreads, other cities join the boycott.

October 31 Publishing: The London Book Store opens in Boston, Massachusetts, with 1,200 circulating books at its disposal.

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November 1 Politics: The Stamp Act officially goes into effect, which leads to a spate of mob attacks against colonial courts and tax officials in New York. Participants muse how the violence coincides with celebrations surrounding Guy Fawkes Day, a failed 1605 attempt to blow up Parliament with gunpowder.

December 8 General: Eli Whitney, future inventor of the cotton gin and interchangeable parts for weapons, is born this day at Westboro, Massachusetts.

December 9 Politics: Roughly 250 Boston merchants subscribe to a nonimportation strategy against English goods, which is bound to exert a telling effect as the city is the biggest entrepot for trade in the colonies. Once British exports decline, a committee will arise in Parliament to agitate for the Stamp Act’s repeal.

December 13 Politics: Commander in chief General Thomas Gage wades into the local unrest by requesting the New York assembly to raise the necessary revenues as mandated by the Quartering Act.

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An angry mob protests against the Stamp Act by throwing stamped documents onto a bonfire in Boston, August 1764 (Hulton/Archive)

Arts: Southwark Theater, the first permanent American playhouse, is constructed in Philadelphia. Exploration: Benjamin Cutbird, a trader, voyages down the Mississippi River, astride the Kentucky/Tennessee border, before proceeding downstream to New Orleans to sell a shipment of furs. He is the first American to move and sell beyond the established western frontier. Religion: The first colonial Methodist Church is established on John Street, New York City. St. Paul’s Chapel is constructed as a subsidiary of Trinity Church, New York. Science: Benjamin Franklin, allegedly tired of carrying around two sets of glasses for reading and distance, invents the first bifocal spectacles by joining two separate lenses together. Transportation: New Jersey introduces the “Flying Machine,” a special wagon that can cover the bumpy 90-mile trip from Camden to Jersey City in only two days.

January 17 Politics: Once London merchants, reeling from American nonimportation, petition Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, opposition leader William Pitt and other leading Whigs step forward to denounce the practice of taxation without representation.

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February 13 Politics: Benjamin Franklin, agent for Pennsylvania in London, testifies before Parliament about the hardships engendered by the Stamp Act. Ominously, he cautions leaders that any attempt to use the military to enforce the collection of taxes could spark armed resistance.

February 22 Politics: In London, the House of Commons, under intense pressure from the merchant’s lobby, votes to repeal the Stamp Act, 276 to 168. Opposition Whig leader William Pitt then lauds the colonies for opposing any tax levied by a body in which they lack representation.

March Business: The Suffering Traders of George Croghan are reorganized into the Illinois Company.

March 5 Politics: Spanish governor Antonio de Ulloa arrives at New Orleans, Louisiana, and begins the formal transfer of authority from France to Spain.

March 17 Politics: Taking their cue from the House of Commons, and responding to the petitions and grievances of London merchants, the British House of Lords likewise rescinds the Stamp Act. The numerous and vocal representations by influential merchants, hurt by the boycott, proves instrumental in its demise.

March 18 Politics: The colonies enjoyed precious little time to savor the repeal of the Stamp Act. This day, Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, nominally sympathetic to colonial concerns, passes the Declaratory Act through Parliament. More than a face-saving expedient, this legislation unequivocally extends that body’s authority over colonial matters “in all cases whatsoever.” It also mandates that all colonial legislation or acts that question Parliamentary prerogatives are automatically null and void. The new measure is also used to strengthen existing trade laws by authorizing creation of the new American Board of Customs Commissioners. The entire issue of taxation has been diplomatically skirted for the time being, although it will arise again—backed by military force.

April 7 Military: General Guy Carleton, a distinguished military administrator, gains appointment as governor general of Canada. He proves instrumental in placating the French population and winning over their loyalty to Great Britain.

April 26 Politics: The Stamp Act’s repeal occasions wide celebrations in Boston and other places, and nonimportation quickly subsides. Little attention is paid to the Declaratory Act or its implications, however.

July 24 Diplomacy: Pontiac and several other chiefs conclude a peace treaty with Sir William Johnson at Oswego, New York. Johnson promises to continue the previous French practice of annuities. This act ends all hostilities to British settlement of Ohio.

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November 1 Politics: In another political retreat, Parliament withdraws a duty on the import of foreign molasses. However, colonial products intended for northern Europe now must be cleared through British ports in advance.

November 10 Education: Queen’s College (present-day Rutgers University) is chartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, by the Dutch Reformed Church. Like many institutions founded in the wake of the Great Awakening, Queen’s College offers many practical courses in science alongside traditional curricula.

December 6 Politics: The Massachusetts General Court votes monetary compensation for all victims of antitax violence, but all accused offenders also receive pardons.

December 15–19 Politics: In a new round of political defiance toward Great Britain, the New York assembly refuses to provide revenue to support the Quartering Act. Consequently, an angry royal governor, Henry Moore, suspends the legislature until they comply.

1767 Literature: Phillis Wheatley, a 14-year-old slave in Boston, pens A Poem by Phillis, A Negro Girl, on the Death of Reverend Whitefield, subsequently published by the University of Cambridge in 1770. This eventually brings her renown as a prodigy and establishes her among the earliest female and AfricanAmerican poets. Science: David Rittenhouse, a Philadelphia instrument maker, constructs a planetarium, an apparatus for demonstrating the phases and motions of the planets. Eminent scientist John Winthrop of Harvard composes an early study about the density of comets.

February 22 Religion: Quakers hold their annual meeting in Burlington, New Jersey and, of 60 leaders present, no less than 25 are female.

March 15 General: Andrew Jackson, a future president, is born at Cureton’s Pond, North Carolina.

April 24 Arts: Thomas Godfrey’s The Prince of Parthia, the first American play produced in the colonies, is staged at Philadelphia’s Southwark Theater. However, much popular prejudice persists against theaters for the bad morality they allegedly encourage.

David Rittenhouse, a self-educated scientist, designed and constructed clocks and telescopes. Rittenhouse constructed the first working model of the solar system in 1767 and built an observatory to watch the movement of Venus. He succeeded Benjamin Franklin as the president of the American Philosophical Society in 1791. Engraving (Library of Congress)

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Wheatley, Phillis (ca. 1754–1784) African-American poetess Phillis Wheatley was born in present-day Gambia around 1754, kidnapped by slave traders, and brought to Boston in 1761. There she was purchased by John Wheatley, a local tailor, as domestic help for his wife, Susanna. Unlike the majority of slave owners, the Wheatleys treated their new charge lovingly and allowed her to be educated. In this regard, Wheatley proved herself a child prodigy by rapidly becoming fluent in English and also competent in Greek and Latin. Thus disposed, she readily studied and absorbed history, astronomy, and the

writings of Alexander Pope, Milton, Virgil, Homer, and Ovid. She was also raised in a strict Congregationalist environment and became intensely religious. Wheatley published her first poem anonymously at the age of 12 and gained instant notoriety by composing an elegant elegy honoring the famous revival minister George Whitefield, which was published in 1770 and reached London the following year. In this respect she became the first AfricanAmerican female writer to be published in North America. Three years later she

Title page of Phillis Wheatley's most famous work, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) (Library of Congress)

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visited England at the behest of Selna Hastings, countess of Huntington, where she was formally introduced to many colonial personages, including Benjamin Franklin. Wheatley thus became celebrated in literary circles for being not only female but also a slave who composed excellent meter and verse. With the countess’s help she went on to publish her first volume, Poems on various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), which was critically well received at home and abroad. Wheatley returned to Boston in 1774, shortly before the death of Susanna Wheatley, and was manumitted shortly afterward. When the Revolutionary War commenced in April 1775, she wielded her quill on the Patriots’ behalf, penning several elegant lines about General George Washington. This resulted in a friendly missive from the commander in chief and a personal audience with him at his headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in March 1776. Two years later Wheatley

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married a free black, John Peters, with whom she had three children. Unfortunately, none of her offspring survived past infancy and, after her husband abandoned her, she eked out only a marginal existence. Wheatley tried mitigating her circumstances by composing additional volumes of poetry but no Boston-based publisher would consider the jotting of a black authoress. Wheatley died in abject poverty on December 5, 1784, at the age of 31 and was soon forgotten. However, by the 1830s her poetry was rediscovered and published as Memoir of and Poems of Phillis Wheatley (1834) and Letters of Phillis Wheatley, the Negro-slave Poet of Boston (1864). Her works consequently inspired a rising tide of antislavery sentiment in the very city that had once so scorned her. Wheatley’s handicraft was also proffered by abolitionists as proof that the intellectual and creative proclivities of African Americans was in no way inferior to their white counterparts.

June 6 Politics: New York royal governor Henry Moore reconvenes the colonial assembly after a six-month hiatus, once it pledges to approve funding to support the Quartering Act.

June 29 Politics: Charles Townshend, chancellor of the Exchequer, prevails upon Parliament to reopen Pandora’s box and pass the Revenue Act, more popularly reviled as the Townshend Duties. This legislation imposes a tax on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea, all essential commodities imported by the colonies. Four additional admiralty courts are also created in North America for the prosecution of violators. The revenues raised are furthermore allocated to pay the salaries of colonial officials, rendering them independent of local legislatures for an income. In a move signaling a continuing crackdown on smuggling, the act also provides for a new Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston.

July 11 General: John Quincy Adams, a future president, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.

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July 23 General: The British government arranges a lottery for dispensing the land of St. John’s Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, without regard for the Micmac Indians already living there.

August 10 Politics: As the New York assembly debates funding for the Quartering Act, street violence and protests are orchestrated by the local Sons of Liberty. Rowdy groups commence clashing with British troops over the erection of a “Liberty Pole.”

September 4 Politics: Lord Frederick North succeeds Charles Townshend as chancellor of the Exchequer.

September 8 Religion: The Warren Association is founded to bring Baptist churches in New England in to a loose alliance for settling theological disputes and organizing missionary work. It soon becomes an important regional church group.

October Business: Indian superintendent Sir William Johnson begins licensing traders to conduct business matters north of Lake Superior and the Ottawa River.

October 1 Politics: Parliament passes the Suspending Act, which dissolves the New York colonial assembly for refusing to facilitate provisions of the Quartering Act.

October 28 Politics: A Boston town meeting protests imposition of the Townshend Duties by drawing up a list of British luxury items to be boycotted. As before, nonimportation begins spreading to other port cities such as Providence and Newport, Rhode Island.

November 5 Business: In a sign of mounting imperial control over the colonial economy, the first American Board of Customs Commissioners arrives in Boston.

November 20 Politics: The Townshend Duties take effect just three weeks after the first American Board of Customs Commissioners arrived in Boston. As before, the colonial polity is prepared to meet the challenge head on, and broad-based resistance begins congealing. The author of the legislation, Charles Townshend, never lives to see its implementation—or ramifications.

December Exploration: Daniel Boone conducts his first penetration of the Appalachian Mountains and begins exploring the borders of West Virginia and Kentucky.

December 2 Journalism: John Dickinson of Pennsylvania anonymously pens his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies and publishes them in consecutive issue of the Pennsylvania Chronicle. These erudite

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Boone, Daniel (1734 –1820) Frontiersman Daniel Boone was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 1734, the scion of a Quaker family. He relocated with his family to Yadkin County, North Carolina, in 1750 and immersed himself in the nuances of frontier life. When the French and Indian War commenced in 1755, Boone fought under General Edward Braddock and was fortunate enough to survive the slaughter that followed. Afterward, in 1767, he joined the Transylvania Company under Richard Henderson and led a small expedition of pioneers and scouts down the famous Cumberland Gap, through the Allegheny Mountains, and into Kentucky. Eventually, he established one of the first white settlements, Boonesboro, in the region. Native Americans, the Shawnee in particular, resented this intrusion and Boone endured many harrowing gun battles and escapes. Despite the danger, Boone, like many frontiersman, saw the Proclamation of 1763 as an unwarranted intrusion upon their free-ranging lifestyle and he sided with the Patriot movement. He then served as captain of Virginia militia until he was captured by the Shawnee in February 1778 and adopted by Chief Black Fish. He was treated very kindly and fondly attached himself to his new family until learning that an attack upon the Boonesboro settlement was pending. He then escaped the village and traveled 160 miles in five days to alert the garrison, which repelled the attack on September 7, 1777. Boone at this time had also run afoul of Colonel George Rogers Clark, who was determined to politically

undermine all attempts to make Kentucky an independent state. Boone then forsook the frontier for politics in 1781 and gained election to the House of Delegates. That June he was briefly seized in a lightning raid by British cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, then released. Boone’s most celebrated military action occurred on August 19, when a party of Kentucky militia under Colonel John Todd pursued a party of Loyalist and Indian raiders under the notorious Simon Girty. Boone, sensing an ambush at the Blue Licks, warned Todd to wait for reinforcements and cross farther downstream, but he was ignored. The Americans were completely defeated in the debacle that followed, and Boone lost his eldest son, Israel Boone, in the action. After the war, Boone became embroiled in numerous legal disputes regarding his holdings in Kentucky and by 1799 had lost them all. That year he relocated to Missouri, then under Spanish control, where he served as a magistrate. When the United States acquired that region under the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Boone again lost his land titles. It was not until 1814 that Congress restored the elderly scout’s holdings. Boone died in St. Charles County, Missouri, on September 26, 1820, a skilled Indian fighter and an iconic figure of the American frontier. More than any other individual, he captured the public imagination by blazing a wilderness path through Cumberland Gap and helped extend territorial awareness beyond the Allegheny Mountains.

essays oppose the Townshend Duties as unconstitutional, while still acknowledging Parliament’s authority to regulate colonial commerce. He further warns that Britain’s vote to suspend the New York assembly is an implicit threat to all other colonial liberties.

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December 21 Journalism: The Boston Chronicle, a pro- British mouthpiece, begins publication.

1768 Arts: Boston metalsmith Paul Revere casts 92 commemorative silver bowls, one for each member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who protested to King George III about restrictive British trade legislation. Diplomacy: Iroquois emissaries meet with Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian affairs at Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York) and sign the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. This document establishes a new boundary for western settlement that colonists are not to cross, while the Indians cede all their land south of the Ohio River as far as West Virginia and Kentucky in exchange for 10,000 pounds. By and large, the agreement is ignored by settlers, who continue encroaching upon Indian lands. The treaty infuriates the Shawnee, who reside on the land in question and were not privy to the agreement; they determine to resist. Education: Adam Kuhn becomes the first professor of botany by teaching at the College of Philadelphia. Medical: Rioters destroy the homes of two Virginians who allowed themselves to be inoculated against smallpox. This practice, while medically effective, remains suspect among the majority of colonists. Technology: The first foundry for casting printer’s type arises in Boston, Massachusetts.

February 11 Diplomacy: Benjamin Franklin receives appointment as colonial agent for Georgia in London. Politics: In Boston, political agitators Samuel Adams and James Otis compose a circular letter addressed to all colonial assemblies and inform them of Massachusetts’s resolve to resist the Townshend Duties and renew the call for a unified response. The letter acknowledges Parliament’s authority to regulate overseas possessions but denounces its ability to impose taxes without commensurate representation in that body. It also warns that British-paid governors and judges are growing increasingly aloof toward the will of local legislatures.

April 5 Business: The New York Chamber of Commerce is established, with John Cruger serving as its first president.

April 22 Politics: Lord Hillsborough, secretary of state for the colonies, summarily instructs colonial governors to prevent circular letters from being drafted in their respective legislatures. In a major escalation of political tension, he also orders Massachusetts governor Francis Bernard to dissolve the legislature if it fails to retract its own circular letter.

May 8 Publishing: In London, Benjamin Franklin publishes a British edition of John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, which acquires a large readership. He goes on to publish an edition in French.

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Adams, Samuel

303

(1722–1803)

Politician Samuel Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 27, 1722, the son of a prosperous brewer. He passed through Harvard College in 1740 but acquired none of his father’s business acumen and failed in several ventures. From 1756 to 1764, he subsequently served as a tax collector, an unsatisfactory position that left him heavily in debt. It was not until imposition of the Sugar Act in 1764 that Adams found his calling as a provocateur and political agitator. He wrote and published forceful essays criticizing British imperial policy, condemned the practice of taxation without representation, and warned fellow colonials that a conspiracy was afoot to rob them of their rights. He also collaborated with merchant John Hancock in recruiting and orchestrating activities of the Sons of Liberty, whose strong-arm tactics were meant to intimidate Loyalist opponents. The resentment and resistance he stirred throughout Boston in 1765–66 was a major cause in the repeal of the Stamp Act. Over the next decade, Adams relied on his incendiary columns to inflame political passions in Massachusetts against the Parliament, and he also instigated resentment and violence against royal governors Francis Bernard and Thomas Hutchinson. He hit a particularly strident tone following the Boston Massacre of 1770 and was instrumental in forcing an agreement with the government to remove all British troops from Boston proper. In 1772, he proved instrumental in organizing the first committee of correspondence, and its declaration anticipates many facets of

the Declaration of Independence. A series of escalating confrontations over the Tea Act, the Boston Tea Party, and the Coercive Acts elevated Adams to the forefront of the Patriot movement. He was among the earliest of those elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 to endorse the notion of independence. Such was his notoriety that General Thomas Gage deliberately refused to cover him in a blanket political amnesty offered in 1775. Once in Congress, Adams’s popularity and effectiveness began to wane, for fiery demagoguery had given way to thoughtful deliberation. He was particularly eclipsed in this regard by his cousin John Adams. But Adams nonetheless served until 1781, being a signatory to both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He then returned to Massachusetts to help champion a new state constitution penned by his more famous cousin. After the war ended in 1783, Adams gained a seat in the state senate, where he actively supported adoption of the new federal constitution five years later. He did so only reluctantly, fearing the onset of tyranny, but in 1789, he was elected lieutenant governor and, four years later, governor. In this capacity he served capably but without distinction. By 1800, Adams had grown alarmed over the growing authority of the Federalist Party, and in 1800, he championed the cause of Thomas Jefferson for president over John Adams. He died in Boston on October 2, 1803, one of the master polemicists of the American Revolution.

May 16 Politics: The Virginia House of Burgesses composes its own circulating letter advocating joint colonial action to thwart any British attempt to “enslave them.” It further presses for “hearty union” in the face of mounting tyranny.

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May 17 Naval: The 50-gun warship HMS Romney docks at Boston as a symbol of British determination to protect customs officials and enforce parliamentary dictates. It certainly emboldens tax officials to act more forcefully than they have been of late.

June 6 Politics: After much haggling, the New York assembly votes to spend 3,000 pounds to support British troops as requested by General Thomas Gage.

June 10 Politics: John Hancock’s sloop Liberty is seized by Comptroller Benjamin Hallowell and Collector Joseph Harrison for Hancock’s failure to pay duties on a cargo of imported Madeira wine. The vessel is then towed from the dock and anchored alongside the warship HMS Romney in a further gesture of defiance. Consequently, a mob orchestrated by the local Sons of Liberty begins roughing up customs officials on the docks.

June 21 Politics: Consistent with instructions from London, Massachusetts governor Francis Bernard demands that the General Court rescind and retract its circular letter protesting the Townshend Duties.

June 30 Politics: In an act of overt defiance, the General Court of Massachusetts refuses to rescind its circular letter on a vote of 92 to 17. Consequently, an angry Governor Francis Bernard dissolves the legislature until he receives compliance.

July 18 Music: The Liberty Song by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, one of the earliest patriot’s dirges, appears in an issue of the Boston Gazette.

August Education: The Reverend John Witherspoon, a native of Scotland, is appointed president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

August 15 Politics: As Boston merchants embrace a new nonimportation policy against British goods, agitators Samuel Adams and James Otis orchestrate noisy celebrations on the anniversary of riots against tax collector Andrew Oliver and the Stamp Act.

August 19 Settlement: Dr. Alexander Trumbull leads 1,400 Greek colonists from Leghorn and Minorca to New Smyrna, East Florida. This is one of the largest single migrations to the New World, but a rebellion against poor working conditions breaks out, and the colony ultimately fails.

August 27 Politics: In a display of solidarity with Boston, New York merchants agree to nonimportation of British goods until the Townshend Duties are repealed.

September 13 Politics: Delegates from 26 Massachusetts towns are elected to attend a provincial convention to protest the closing of the assembly by Governor Francis

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305

Hancock, John (1737–1793) Politician John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, on January 23, 1737, orphaned at an early age, and adopted by his wealthy uncle. He passed through Harvard College in 1754 and was groomed to take over the family business. As part of the colonial elite, he visited England in 1760 and witnessed the coronation of King George III. Hancock then lived the life of a typical rich Boston merchant until the Stamp Act passed in 1765. He then developed an avid interest in radical politics, usually in concert with Samuel Adams, and became a central figure in political resistance and commercial

smuggling. In 1768, Hancock’s popularity soared after customs officials seized his vessel Liberty, and the following year, he won a seat in the General Court. In this capacity he agitated constantly against British imperial policy and the presence of British troops in the city. By 1770, he was serving on a Boston town committee formed in the wake of the Boston Massacre. In 1774, he became president of the extralegal provincial congress, and his actions were so distasteful to British authorities that General Thomas Gage especially exempted him and Adams from an amnesty offer in 1775. Prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord, both Hancock and Adams were alerted by rider Paul Revere that the British forces were en route to arrest them and they fled. The following May, Hancock took his seat as a delegate in the Second Continental Congress, quickly rising to become president of that body. In this celebrated capacity he was the first member to sign the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, writing in bold script twice the regular size so that King George III would readily recognize his name without glasses. However, Hancock’s aspirations to serve as commander in chief were dashed with the appointment of General George Washington, and in 1777, he stepped down as president of Congress in favor of Henry Laurens. His remaining tenure in Philadelphia was uneventful, and he resigned his seat in 1778, feeling he could make a bigger impact at home. Hancock was made a major general of Massachusetts militia, but he saw little active duty under General John Sullivan in Rhode Island. However, he remained a popular

John Hancock. Engraving (Library of Congress)

(continues)

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(continued) public figure, well-connected politically, and conspicuous in his patronage, so in 1780, Hancock became the first freely elected governor of Massachusetts, having spent several months working on the new state constitution. He then served nine terms, 1780–85 and 1789–93, while also attending the state constitutional convention in 1788. Hancock initially expressed reservations about the new U. S. Con-

stitution, fearing a return to tyranny, but his qualified support proved enough for ratification. Throughout his long career as a public servant, Hancock never displayed any great talent for politics or original thought, but he was nonetheless a committed Patriot who spent lavishly out of his own pocket to both foment and sustain the revolutionary effort. He died at his home in Quincy on October 8, 1793.

Bernard, the Townshend Duties, and the governor’s reluctance to discuss rumors of the pending arrival of British troops in Boston.

September 23–29 Politics: In Boston, a provincial convention, meeting as an extralegal body, outlines its grievances to Governor Francis Bernard. After denouncing the Townshend Duties, the 70 delegates—representing 66 towns and districts—petition the governor to reopen the assembly.

October 1 Military: Two British regiments, the 14th West Yorks and 29th Worcesters, having transferred from the garrison at Halifax, arrive in Boston to ostensibly support customs officials enforcing the law. They are actually there to raise the military profile of imperial authority, and officials anticipate their presence in town will awe the opposition into compliance. A decade earlier the arrival of Redcoats would have been a welcome sight in the American colonies; presently they draw the ire of the populace and are taunted as “Lobsterbacks.”

October 14 Diplomacy: The Indian Commissioner, Colonel John Stuart, concludes the Treaty of Hard Labor with the Cherokee, which establishes the Virginia boundary farther west and also confirms the previous ceding of tribal land to North and South Carolina.

October 26 Military: General Guy Carleton arrives at Quebec to assume duties as governor general of Canada.

October 28 Politics: French rioters chase Spanish governor Antonio de Ulloa out of New Orleans and onto his ship in the Mississippi River. The protesters are enraged by new laws requiring all wine to be imported from Spain.

October 30 Religion: The Wesley Chapel, the first Methodist church in America, is dedicated in New York City.

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November Diplomacy: At Pensacola, Florida, the Creek agree to shift the border of South Carolina westward and also recognize the border of Georgia at the Ogeechee River.

November 3 Business: In Albany, New York, Sir John Johnson arranges the Treaty of Fort Stanwix to purchase 1.8 million acres of Indian land, southeast of the Ohio River, from the Six Nation Iroquois. This area (Kentucky) is destined for the Indian Company of George Croghan, noted frontiersman and speculator.

1769 Arts: Patricia Lovell Wright, the colonies’ first sculptor, creates a bust of Thomas Penn that remains in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Business: St. Charles, Missouri, is founded by French trader Louis Blanchette as a trading post. General: Samuel Wharton helps organize the Grand Ohio Company for the purpose of expropriating and colonizing 20 million frontier acres acquired through the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. Industry: Henry William Stiegel commences an intricate glass-making operation at Mannheim, Pennsylvania, soon acquiring a reputation as a noted colonial manufacturer. Anthracite coal is used for the first time in a forge at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Its use in industrial applications becomes more widespread in the 19th century. Religion: Justus Henry Christian Helmuth, a distinguished Lutheran theologian, arrives at Philadelphia, where he acts as an intermediary between the church in Europe and America. Slavery: A 26-year-old Thomas Jefferson, newly elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, wages an unsuccessful fight to have slavery abolished.

January Settlement: The first En glish settlers begin arriving along the Watauga River, Tennessee. Nearby Indian tribes watch these developments unfold with consternation.

January 2 Societal: In Philadelphia, the moribund American Philosophical Society unites with the Quaker-oriented American Society for Promoting and Propagating Useful Knowledge. The ubiquitous Benjamin Franklin is appointed president but, because he was in England at the time, his position is filled by noted physician Thomas Bond. The new organization is officially known by the torturous title of American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge.

January 10 Business: Regular monthly boats sailing to Suffolk, Virginia, from New York and South Carolina, finally link the northern and southern postal districts.

March 10 Politics: In a sign of mounting discontent with British policy, merchants of Philadelphia lend their support to nonimportation of British goods until the Townshend Duties are repealed.

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March 25 Law: After much legal wrangling, John Hancock’s sloop Liberty, seized for duty violations, is released back to him.

March 30 Politics: The movement toward nonimportation continues moving south, as Maryland merchants join the boycott.

April 20 General: Ottawa chief Pontiac is murdered by Makatchinga, a member of the Peoria tribe, at a trading post in Cahokia, Illinois. Many Indians believe the chief was assassinated by the British for his role in the 1763 uprising. However, the haughty chief had made many enemies by usurping political powers never officially conferred upon him by fellow tribesmen.

May 7 Politics: The Virginia Resolves, a set of nonimportation resolutions, is drafted by George Mason and introduced to the Virginia House of Burgesses by George Washington. Among other things, these reiterate deeply held beliefs that only colonial legislatures may tax their own inhabitants. The resolves are then unanimously adopted while Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee pen a petition to King George III enunciating these same principles.

May 17 Politics: The Virginia House of Burgesses is dissolved after rejecting Parliament’s authority to tax them while withholding representation. Undaunted, the members subsequently convene at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg as an extralegal body. There they enact the Virginia Association to enforce the boycott of English goods in concert with other colonies.

June Business: Samuel Wharton, Thomas Walpole, and other Britons found the Grand Ohio Company for the purpose of acquiring land as per provisions of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. They then petition the British Board of Trade for permission to buy 2.4 million acres of land in western Virginia and eastern Kentucky.

June 7 Exploration: Daniel Boone leads a body of settlers through the Cumberland Gap and into Kan-ta-ke (Kentucky) for the first time. However, the Indian tribes residing there are determined to defend the land they know as the “Great Meadow” and continually raid small groups and settlements.

June 22 Business: Nonimportation of English goods gathers additional support when a convention held at Annapolis, Maryland, lends its support to the movement.

June 31 Politics: Having been petitioned by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, King George III authorizes the removal of Governor Francis Bernard from office for abuse of power. Bernard then sails from Boston this day amid raucous celebrations, while Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson occupies the catbird seat by succeeding him as acting governor.

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Chronology

Hutchinson, Thomas

309

(1711–1780)

Colonial governor Thomas Hutchinson was born in Boston on September 9, 1711, the son of a wealthy merchant. He entered Harvard College at the age of 12 and worked in his father’s counting house three years later. Hutchinson flourished as a successful businessman and then developed an aptitude for politics and public service. In 1737, he won a seat in the General Court and capably represented Massachusetts in boundary disputes with New York and New Hampshire. In 1754, he attended the famous Albany Convention where he strongly supported

Thomas Hutchinson. Engraving (Library of Congress)

Benjamin Franklin’s plan for a colonial union. In light of his talents, Governor Francis Bernard appointed him lieutenant governor in 1758, and two years later, he also assumed the functions of chief justice. This concentration of power in the hands of a single individual alarmed radicals like Samuel Adams and James Otis, who felt that even well-intentioned men like Hutchinson were a menace to personal and economic liberty. Ironically, Hutchinson, while he acknowledged the legality of measures like the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, privately felt they were reckless and provocative. Nonetheless, his seeming support for British imperial policy induced the Sons of Liberty to burn his elaborate mansion on August 13, 1765. Hutchinson endured another spate of unrest following passage of the Townshend Duties of 1767, which he also opposed but refused to repudiate. Fortunately, the act was eventually repealed and calm restored to the polity of Massachusetts—until the next crisis. In 1771, Governor Bernard was recalled to England and Hutchinson replaced him as governor. Meanwhile, radicals like John Hancock expended considerable quantities of ink branding the mild-mannered, soft-spoken executive as a bloody tyrant. His political misfortunes crested in 1773 following the passage of the Tea Act. Hutchinson completely misgauged the depth of resentment against British policy. His own refusal to back down from the issue of taxes resulted in the Boston Tea Party of December 1773, which drove up political hostility on both sides of the Atlantic. Worse still, Benjamin Franklin (continues)

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(continued) absconded with several of Hutchinson’s letters to the British government which implied that harsher measures should be taken to enforce royal authority in that unruly colony. These missives, once published, resulted in a public uproar against Hutchinson, and the legislature petitioned Parliament for his dismissal. He was then formally removed from public office on May 13, 1774, and replaced by General Thomas Gage, who initiated de

facto military rule in Massachusetts. Hutchinson then departed for London where he continued to plead for moderation and reconciliation with his former fellow citizens, again to no avail. He spent the remainder of his life living comfortably on a pension and fully expected to return to America when the Revolutionary War ended. Hutchinson died at Brompton, England, on June 3, 1780, before that eventuality.

July 16 Settlement: Franciscan friar Father Junípero Serra establishes San Diego de Alcala as the first permanent settlement on the West Coast of North America.

August 17 General: Spain formally assumes control of the Louisiana territory from France per terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau—backed by 2,000 soldiers under General Alexander O’Reilly.

November 30 Music: The first recorded notice of amateur musicians playing in professional orchestras appears in the Pennsylvania Gazette.

September 5 Politics: An altercation erupts between attorney James Otis and Tory Commissioner John Robinson over an alleged slight in a Boston coffeehouse. Otis receives head injuries that effectively end his public career as a spokesman against imperial policies. He is still regarded as among the earliest and most forceful of the “Patriots.”

October 12 Politics: Merchants in New Jersey join the still expanding movement for nonimportation of English goods until the Townshend Duties are repealed.

October 28

Junípero Serra (Library of Congress)

1769

Publishing: Loyalist printers John Mein and John Fleeming, whose flyers have impugned the reputation of Samuel Adams and also listed the names of merchants continuing to import English goods, are roughly handled by the Sons of Liberty on King Street, Boston.

Chronology   311

December 13 Education: Eleazar Wheelock founds Dartmouth College as a school for educat-­ ing Native Americans in Lebanon, Connecticut, but within a year it relocates to Hanover, New Hampshire, much to the disgust of his Native American assistant, Reverend Samson Occom, who feels that Indians will be neglected. Dartmouth is a Congregationalist institution and the last of nine such establishments founded prior to the Revolutionary War.

December 16 Publishing: Alexander McDougall, head of the New York Sons of Liberty, anon-­ ymously publishes A Son of Liberty to the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York. It is immediately condemned as an incendiary and seditious document, and steps are taken to secure his arrest.

1770 Architecture: Thomas Jefferson constructs his first home, Monticello, which draws its inspiration from classical Greek and Roman design. He will remain preoccupied with this project for the rest of his life. Medicine: The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds, the first such institution in the colonies, is established at Williamsburg, Virginia. Music: In Boston, William Billings publishes works in The New EnÂ�gland Psalm Singer or American Chorister, marking him as one of the colonies’s most distin-­ guished composers. Population: The population of British North America is estimated at 2,312,000 of which 462,000–20 Â�percent—are Â�African-­American slaves. Settlement: Jesuit missionary Father Sébastien-Louis Meurin founds the first log cabin church in the settlement of St. Louis, Missouri. Slavery: The Rhode Island General Assembly outlaws the further importation of slaves into that colony. George Washington and other prominent Virginians promise not to purchase slaves who had not been in North America for at least a year. They formed part of the Association for the Counteraction of Various Acts of Oppression on the Part of Great Britain, a group designed to cause the British economy economic hardships by not supporting the slave trade.

January 16 Military: British soldiers provocatively hew down the Liberty Pole in New York City and pile its remains in front of a tavern known to be frequented by the Sons of Liberty.

January 19–20 Military: A pitched melee, the Â�so-­called “Battle of Golden Hill,” erupts between British troops and the Sons of Liberty, after the former cuts down the Liberty Pole erected in New York City. One man is killed in the violence and several injured.

January 22 Military: In an attempt to curtail other outbreaks of violence, soldiers in New York City are not allowed to depart their barracks unless accompanied by an officer. This restriction is in direct consequence of to the Â�so-­called “Battle of Golden Hill.”

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January 31 Politics: Lord Frederick North assumes responsibilities as prime minister. Among his first official acts is to lend support to the repeal of the Townshend Duties. Women: A proposed boycott of British tea receives the support of 500 Boston women.

February 8 Law: Alexander McDougall, head of the New York Sons of Liberty, is arrested for publishing a broadside deemed hostile to the colonial assembly. He refuses to either recant his words or post bond, thus remaining incarcerated until his trial. McDougall becomes a very popular political prisoner and is daily visited in jail by many leading dissidents.

The Boston Massacre. Engraving by Paul Revere (Library of Congress)

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March 5 Politics: In Boston, a British soldier strikes a colonial youth taunting him. This causes a mob to form in the street around his guardÂ�house and they start pelting the soldier with snowballs. A British guard under Captain Thomas Preston then hurries to his defense and is likewise attacked. The soldiers then unloose a vol-­ ley in Â�self-­defense, killing five colonials and wounding eight. Among the slain is Crispus Attucks, the first African American to die for his country. This violent clash, soon heralded as the “Boston massacre,” is memorialized by engraver Paul Revere as propaganda for mounting reÂ�sisÂ�tance to British rule.

March 12 Journalism: An inflammatory account of the Boston Massacre appears in the Boston Gazette, replete with pictures of four large coffins.

April 12 Politics: Bombarded by protesting merchants, Parliament hands the colonies another poÂ�litiÂ�cal victory by conceding that the Townshend Duties have failed in their purpose and are finally repealed. The Quartering Act is also allowed to expire without being renewed. This constitutes another major victory for colonial intransigence and, once again, the imposition of nonimportation begins to wane. However, Lord Frederick North wishes to underscore Parliament’s intrinsic abil-­ ity to tax colonies without their consent, and he preserves a minor tax on tea. This seemingly inoffensive act is the catalyst of a major poÂ�litiÂ�cal showdown between Britain and Massachusetts.

May 1 Education: Harvard College suspends the practice of ranking students by the social standing of their families.

June 24 Science: Dr. Benjamin Rush pens the first chemistry textbook in the colonies, A Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Chemistry.

June 28 Slavery: Quaker leader Anthony Benezet spearheads a successful campaign to found a free school for African Americans in Philadelphia, the Binoxide �House.

July 7 Politics: The New York assembly votes to lift nonimportation restriction on all British Â�goods—except tea.

July 21 Religion: Universalist John Murray migrates from En�gland and settles in New Jersey; there he emerges as a radical spokesman for evangelical Protestantism.

July 25 Politics: Newly released Alexander McDougall takes to the streets to lead protests against the suspension of nonimportation mea�sures against Great Britain.

August 7 Journalism: Boston printer Zachariah Fowle, eager to reach an audience tradi-­ tionally uninterested in newspapers, begins publishing his Massachusetts Spy.

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Attucks, Crispus

(ca. 1723–1770)

African-American martyr Crispus Attucks was probably born in Framingham, Massachusetts, around 1723 and is traditionally viewed as being of mixed African and Natick Indian ancestry. He was therefore most likely a slave who escaped from his master in 1750 and found gainful employment as a sailor or whaler. At the time, it was not unusual for African Americans or Native Americans to work at sea where the dangers were balanced by better treatment and higher rates of pay than those on land. In time Attucks matured into a large, imposing individual, over six feet tall and exuded the intimidating mien typical of his profession. He was in Boston on March 5, 1770, when a street disturbance erupted between a crowd and a lone British sentry on King Street. Tensions were running high in Boston over British imperial tax policies and the populace especially resented the presence of British soldiers on the streets, whom they derided as “Lobsterbacks.” The soldier apparently struck a child who was taunting him, and an angry throng threateningly gathered around his guardhouse. Attucks, who was armed with a piece of cordwood, marched with the crowd in the direction of King Street when a British patrol under Captain Thomas Preston arrived to rescue the soldier. Angry words resulted, the soldiers were then pelted with snowballs, and Attucks apparently strode up to Private Hugh White, 29th Foot, and knocked him down. The British then lost all composure and fired into the crowd, instantly killing Attucks and fatally wounding three others.

The affair then passed into the colonial political lexicon as the “Boston Massacre.” It so inflamed public passions against the British that a deputation under radical Samuel Adams prevailed upon the government to remove all soldiers from the city. On March 8, 1770 the remains of Attucks and the others were displayed in state at Faneuil Hall, where an estimated 12,000 people filed by to pay their respects and subsequently escorted the caskets to the Granary burial ground. The death of Attucks and the others resulted in legal action against Captain Preston and his eight men, who were then charged with murder. Between November 27 and December 5, 1770, the soldiers were effectively defended by their American attorneys, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, with six being acquitted and two found guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter. In his arguments, Adams ironically painted Attucks as a provocateur, “a stout fellow whose very looks were enough to frighten any person.” Nonetheless, he enjoys national notoriety as among the first martyrs of the American Revolution and also the first African American to fall for his country. In 1888, the state of Massachusetts erected a memorial to Attucks on the Boston Common that was designed by the celebrated sculptor Augustus SaintGaudens. It is ironic that he died for a society that refused to grant him equal rights and would not extend them to fellow African Americans for nearly another century.

October 18 Diplomacy: Indian Commissioner Colonel John Stuart reaches an accord with the Cherokee by signing the Treaty of Lochaber. This agreement shifts the western boundary of Virginia, adding 9,000 square miles to the colony.

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Chronology

Quincy, Josiah

315

(1744–1775)

Attorney Josiah Quincy was born in Boston, Massa-­ chusetts, on February 23, 1744, the son of a wealthy merchant. Raised in Braintree, his wealth afforded him an excellent education and in 1763 he passed through Harvard College with a master’s degree. Quincy next read law under noted jurist Oxen-­ bridge Thatcher and—at the age of only 24–assumed his legal practice following the latter’s death in 1768. In short order, he distinguished himself as a brilliant attorney and was gradually drawn into a radical coterie led by Samuel Adams and John Hancock. A gifted writer, Quincy com-­ posed erudite essays, newspaper articles, and pamphlets on behalf of his Patriots associates, and usually against the regime of Governor Thomas Hutchinson. He was soon hailed as a rising star among the rap-­ idly evolving anti-­British movement, and much was expected from him. The radicals were therefore somewhat dismayed when he joined fellow attorney John Adams in defending Captain Thomas Preston and eight British troops accused of mur-­ der in the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. Quincy, however, expressed no such qualms and felt that the rights of all individuals, no matter how unpalatable to public opinion, must be protected. A man of principle, he felt strongly it was far more important to do what was right than what was popular. Consequently, when Quincy and Adams managed to acquit the British of murder charges, most Bostonians cel-­ ebrated in their victory in upholding the rule of law.

As relations with Great Britain grew further estranged, Quincy became commen-­ surately more active in political affairs. In 1772, he served on the Boston committee of correspondence and also collaborated with fellow attorney James Otis in distributing political literature throughout the colony. In 1773, he traveled throughout the colonies to improve his health, but to also act as an emissary from Massachusetts to explain and clarify their resistance to British policies. That December, Quincy also lauded the Bos-­ ton Tea Party and reacted strongly against the punitive Coercive Acts with his pointed polemic, Observations on the Act of Parliament Commonly Called the Boston PortBill (1774). In it, he stridently denounced Parliament’s punishment of an entire colony for the handiwork of a few individuals, and also held that armed British soldiers were a potential threat to personal liberties. For this reason, Quincy urged fellow Americans to begin arming themselves and developing close intercolonial relationships for an inevi-­ table struggle. By now his standing among fellow Patriots was such that they secretly dispatched him to England in September 1774 to confer with sympathetic officials there. He met with Lord Frederick North and William Shelburne, among others, but failed to win concessions. Quincy then departed for Boston in March 1775 but contracted tuberculosis en route and died within sight of land on April 26, 1775. Quincy never lived to see the revolution he so passionately tried to foment, yet he made significant contribu-­ tions to its intellectual underpinnings.

October 24–30 Law: In a sensational trial, Captain Thomas Preston, charged with deaths at the Boston Massacre, is acquitted at his trial thanks to a legal defense mounted by his attorneys, John Adams and Josiah Quincy. He nonetheless

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November 27–December 5 Law: In another stunning upset, six British soldiers charged with murder in the Boston Massacre are acquitted, with two convicted of manslaughter. The latter are promptly branded on the thumb, then released to their superiors.

December 7 Exploration: Hudson’s Bay Company employee Samuel Hearne is assisted by Matonabbee, a Christianized Chipewyan Indian, looking for an important copper mine near the Coppermine River.

December 13 Politics: Radical agitator Alexander McDougall is again jailed for contempt by New York authorities.

1771 General: Benjamin Franklin begins writing an autobiography for his son, William Franklin, governor of New Jersey, although the work will never be completed. When eventually published, it provides enormous insights into the workings of a witty, inventive mind. Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature passes a resolution demanding an end to the slave trade in that colony, but it fails to garner the support of Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Connecticut enacts a statute calling for the prohibition of the slave trade within that colony. For the first time in decades, the total number of Africans exported to the colonies declines, a reflection of mounting hostility to the slave trade.

January 15 Politics: The North Carolina assembly passes the so-called Bloody Act, whereby riotous behavior is legally equated with treason. This legislation is aimed at Rebellious settlers, or Regulators, causing havoc along the colony’s westernmost frontier.

March 14 Politics: Thomas Hutchinson is empowered as governor of Massachusetts; he is the last civilian authority to head that unruly colony, and his ultimate removal bodes ill for the future of American-British relations.

March 19 Military: Governor William Tryon of North Carolina, beset by frontier ruffians called Regulators, mobilizes the militia to protect the frontier courts and their proceedings.

April Exploration: A large expedition headed by frontiersman Daniel Boone, having explored the region of the Licking, Kentucky, Cumberland River and Green Valleys, passes back through the Cumberland Gap into North Carolina.

May 9 Military: General Hugh Waddell leads a force of 243 North Carolina militia from Salisbury to rendezvous with Governor William Tryon at Hillsboro. En

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May 11 Military: Governor William Tryon of North Carolina departs New Bern at the head of 1,200 militiamen and several cannon, intending to crush a frontier rebel-­ lion by Regulators.

May 16 Military: Governor William Tryon of North Carolina and his force of 1,200 colonial militiamen encounter 2,000 backwoods rebels known as Regulators at Alamance Creek. The rebels, poorly armed and disciplined, argue among them-­ selves whether to fight or disband, but Tryon forces the issue by advancing upon them in force. After pelting his opponents with cannon fire that could not be returned, he orders a general advance and engages in a firefight lasting two hours. The Regulators, many of whom are crack shots, inflict some casualties among the militia, but they wilt away at the sight of bayonets. Both sides lose approximately 70 men apiece, but Tryon also hangs six prisoners. Afterward, 6,500 settlers throughout the region are required to sign loyalty oaths to the British Crown. By all these meaÂ�sures, Tryon acquires the reputation of an efficient colonial admin-­ istrator but also a harsh enforcer of colonial law.

May 17 Music: In Boston, Josiah Flagg tenders an early classical concert to the public, featuring works by Handel and Bach.

August Settlement: Frontiersmen from Connecticut refuse to budge from land in Pennsyl-­ vania’s Wyoming Valley, despite threats and entreaties from a proprietary force.

1772 Arts: Noted artist Charles Willson Peale paints a Â�full-­length portrait of George Washington in the uniform of a Virginia militia colÂ�oÂ�nel; this is the first of six such works he will eventually complete through his lifetime. Business: The Watauga Association is established by frontiersmen James Rob-­ ertson and John Sevier for the purpose of acquiring and settling territory ceded by the Six Nations Iroquois in Tennessee. Significantly, it is chartered to operate outside the domain of the 13 existing colonies and constitutes the first local inÂ�deÂ� penÂ�dent government in North America. Religion: Reverend Samson Occom, a Â�full-­blooded Mohegan Indian, composes his Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul, the first such tract pub-­ lished in EnÂ�glish by a Native American. Slavery: Chief Justice William Murray, Lord Mansfield, decides the case of Knowles v. Somersett, whereby slavery is abolished in EnÂ�gland. This ruling quick-­ ens the pulse of abolitionist movements in the American colonies, who begin pressing for similar meaÂ�sures. Reverend Isaac Skillman of Boston publishes his Oration upon the Beauties of Liberty, which employed a philosophical defense of the right of slaves to rebel. He also demands an immediate end to slavery in the colonies. The Virginia Â�House of Burgesses approves a large tariff on imported Afri-­ can slaves in order to discourage that practice in the colony. The British Crown

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Peale, Charles Willson (1741–1827) Artist Charles Willson Peale was born in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, on April 15, 1741, and he was apprenticed to a saddler while a young man. Ardently patriotic, he eventually opened up his own business in 1762, but his Loyalist-minded creditors closed him down. Around this time, Peale developed a talent for painting miniature portraits and became so skilled that he was allowed to study under John Hesselius and John Singleton Copley. Business flourished, and several wealthy patrons raised the money for him to visit London in 1767 to study under noted artist Benjamin West. He returned to Maryland two years later, where, in 1772, he painted the first ever portrait of George Washington as a Virginia militia colonel. Peale also became embroiled in the revolutionary politics of his time. These sentiments prompted him to relocate to Philadelphia in 1776, where he painted numerous portraits of leading American politicians and soldiers. In this capacity, he soon gained renown as America’s foremost artist and always sought to incorporate his republican idealism in his work. Peale also dabbled in politics by gaining a seat in the Pennsylvania assembly in 1779, but he resumed active portraiture a year later. Significantly, Washington was his sitter no less than seven times, and from these sessions he created a collection of nearly 60 paintings. John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Nathanael Greene, James Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton were all aptly captured on canvas by his nimble hands. But Peale was no sunshine patriot;

he joined the Continental Army in 1776 and was present in several actions, such as Trenton and Princeton, which he subsequently incorporated in his portraits. Peale also demonstrated a streak of what today would be considered showmanship in his attempt to build a market for public art. To this end he founded his own museum in 1788 to showcase his own talent alongside novelty and natural objects. Foremost among these was his “moving picture” display, which utilized several transparent pieces of art to give an illusion of movement. Such oddities as stuffed rattlesnake skins, buffalo hides, and various animal bones also held center stage. Peale also exhibited considerable interest in natural history, and in 1801, he helped finance the first U.S. scientific expedition, subsequently displaying the first mastodon skeleton to be exhibited publicly. In 1805, he also proved instrumental in helping to found the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to encourage artistic study. Through all these expedients Peale hoped to secure funding for the arts through national endowments and thus break the traditional dependence upon rich patrons. In his spare time, he also displayed considerable talent for taxidermy, shoemaking, carpentry, dentistry, and optometry. Peale died in Philadelphia on February 22, 1827, an accomplished artist and a public benefactor writ large. He also sired an entire generation of artists, as his sons Raphaelle, Rembrandt, and Titian Ramsay Peale all became distinguished painters.

subsequently will strike down the action owing to its negative effect upon mercantile interests in England.

February 28 Politics: Little noticed at the time, a Boston assembly threatens the British Empire with secession unless their traditional rights as Englishmen are respected.

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April 9 Business: The British attorney general forwards to frontier agent George Croghan a copy of the Camden-Yorke opinion of 1757, which stipulates that the purchase of Indian land does not require patents from the English Crown. This triggers a rush on buying by land speculators who seek to acquire more acreage for sale.

June 9 Naval: The British revenue cutter HMS Gaspee, under Lieutenant William Dudingston, runs aground in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, while pursuing suspected smugglers. When word gets back to Providence, eight boatloads of volunteers under Captain Abraham Whipple row out to the stricken craft, capture it, then burn it to the waterline. Dudingston, wounded in the fighting, is then arrested for having illegally seized several colonial vessels and remains behind bars until the admiralty agrees to pay his fine.

June 13 Politics: In a display of defiance, Governor Thomas Hutchinson declares that his salary will accrue from tea tax revenues and not the General Court’s coffers. This singularly decreases the influence that body has over him in office, and similar provisions are enacted for Superior Court justices. This newfound independence of the executive and judiciary branches of government is viewed as a threat to the legislature’s traditional self-rule.

August 14 Business: The large Vandalia land grant is approved by the British Crown, subject to boundary revisions by the Board of Trade. Due to the onset of the Revolutionary War, the title to the land is never issued.

August 20 Law: In London, measures are taken to investigate and prosecute the Gaspee affair by establishing a royal commission, which also will enjoy the power to suspend trial by jury. Moreover, the British Crown authorizes a large reward for information leading to the arrest of perpetrators, but no witnesses come forward.

September 2 Politics: The English government finalizes a commission, consisting of Rhode Island governor Joseph Wanton, the Boston vice admiralty judge, and the chief justices of Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey to investigate the burning of the HMS Gaspee and the arrest of all participants.

November 2 Politics: Boston establishes a 21- member committee of correspondence under the aegis of chairmen James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. They are tasked with coordinating communications between local town governments throughout Massachusetts to better orchestrate re sis tance to official policies. Publishing: The Boston committee of correspondence compiles and publishes the Boston Pamphlet, decrying British attempts to subvert and enslave the colonies with taxes, troops, and suspension of jury trials.

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Warren, Joseph (1741–1775) Physician, general Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on June 11, 1741, a son of farmers. He passed through Harvard College in 1759, then apprenticed himself to Dr. James Lloyd to study medicine. Warren became licensed to practice in 1763 and gained a reputation as a gifted physician. He was among the earliest members of Boston’s medical community to embrace immunization as a way of combating smallpox and, through that group, met John Adams, a patient. Accordingly, Warren’s politics gradually became radicalized, especially after the Stamp Act of 1765, and he befriended a host of budding radicals like Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and James Otis. He soon exhibited a flair for incendiary politics and quickly emerged as one of Boston’s most outspoken opponents of British imperial policy. Warren gained prominence throughout the colony for his fiery commemoration of the second anniversary of the Boston Massacre in 1772, and two years later was a founding member of the famous Boston committee of correspondence. In 1773, he vigorously protested the Tea Act and may have had a hand in orchestrating the notorious Boston Tea Party that December. By 1774, Warren had emerged as the de facto leader of the Patriot movement once Samuel Adams and John Hancock had been driven underground, and that fall, he sponsored the famous “Suffolk Resolves” condemning the Coercive Acts and urging military preparations to resist tyranny. These were then dispatched to the Continental Congress by his favorite express rider, Paul

Revere. On the evening of April 18, 1775, it was Warren that dispatched Revere on his most famous ride: to alert Adams and Hancock that British troops were marching toward Lexington. Warren arrived there himself the next morning to treat wounded soldiers from the Battle of Concord. In the weeks following the outbreak of violence, Warren functioned as president of the Massachusetts provincial congress and moved quickly to consolidate political support from the populace. He even sent an account of the fighting to England two weeks ahead of General Thomas Gage’s official report. Warren also actively assisted General Artemas Ward in collecting and organizing the disparate New England troops massing outside Boston for a siege. In light of his numerous contributions, Warren became a major general of militia as of June 14, 1775. Three days later, he showed up at Bunker Hill, to partake of the bloody fighting there, but refused to relieve General Israel Putnam of command and served as a volunteer soldier. Warren fought well in battle but was killed at the age of 34 when the British finally overran American defenses. He was then buried in an unmarked grave, but his remains were subsequently identified by Revere, who recognized some artificial teeth he had crafted earlier for the doctor. Warren was eventually interred at Forrest Hill Cemetery with military honors in 1855, one of the first and most lamented martyrs of the Revolutionary War.

November 20 Politics: Samuel Adams and Dr. Joseph Warren pen a declaration of rights and a list of grievances against the British government, which is then circulated throughout Massachusetts. They also petition Governor Thomas Hutchinson to reconvene the General Court.

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1773 Education: Scientist and mathematician John Winthrop is recipient of the first honorary L.L.D. degree issued by Harvard College. Literature: African-American poetess Phillis Wheatley publishes Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. This is only the second volume attributed to an American woman of any race and allows her to be manumitted shortly after its publication. Religion: Reverend Samuel Occom, a Christianized Mohegan Indian, obtains a land tract from the Oneida nation with which he intends to form a colony of “Praying Indians” free from European interference. This will not transpire until 1785. The First Negro Baptist Church is founded in Savannah, Georgia, by George Liele and Andrew Bryan, former slaves. A similar effort is achieved at Silver Bluff, South Carolina. Slavery: In Connecticut, Congregationalist minister Samuel Hopkins and Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College, begin promoting the idea of colonization of West Africa for the first time. The movement gains traction in the early 19th century. Noted Philadelphia physician Dr. Benjamin Rush published An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements on the Slavery of the Negroes in America, one of the more eloquent and effective antislavery tracts of the 18th century. Technology: Inventor Oliver Evans conducts his first successful experiments with steam engines employing a cylinder flue boiler.

January 6 Politics: Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson presides over a new session of the General Court and sternly lectures members on the respective roles of Parliament and the colonies. He also announces a new policy, that of dispatching suspected felons directly to England for trial, which eliminates the notion of trial by one’s peers. Slavery: A small group of African-American slaves in Massachusetts petition the General Court for their freedom. Previously, residents of Leicester in that colony had elected representatives sworn to present the assembly with legislation outlawing both slavery and the slave trade.

January 12 Education: The first American museum is officially unveiled in Charleston, South Carolina.

February 9 General: William Henry Harrison, a future president, is born in Berkeley, Virginia.

February 27 Religion: Six years of construction culminates in the opening of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Among the subscribers is George Washington, who purchases a pew for his family and also donates a brass chandelier.

March 12 Politics: The Virginia House of Burgesses authorizes a committee of correspondence consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee to initiate communication with other colonial legislatures. Specifically, they are protesting the Gaspee commission’s ability to revoke trial by jury and to dispatch suspects to England.

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Rush, Benjamin

(1746–1813)

Physician Benjamin Rush was born in Byberry, Pennsylvania, on January 4, 1746, the son of a gunsmith. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1760, then studied medicine for two years at the College of Philadelphia (today’s University of Pennsylvania). While overseas, he met and befriended Benjamin Franklin in London and, through him, acquired an interest in politics. Rush then completed his studies through two years at the University of Edinburgh and established a medical practice at Philadelphia in 1769. Rush was then one of the besteducated physicians in the colonies, and he also gained appointment as the first professor of chemistry at the College of Philadelphia. In this capacity, he published A Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Chemistry, the first such text in America. When the Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia in 1774, Rush was on hand to greet them and befriended men such as Patrick Henry,. John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, although this was done less out of patriotism than to whet his appetite for political intrigue. In June 1776, Rush was himself elected a delegate to Congress where he served on several committees before joining a militia unit to fight at the battle of Princeton in January 1777. In light of his skill, he was made surgeon general of the Continental Army as of April 1777 and published a famous medical tract, Directions for Preserving the Health of Soldiers, which remained a standard text until the War of 1812. But Rush allowed his intrigue to carry him away when he abetted

the Conway Cabal against General George Washington and was forced to resign his post on January 30, 1778. He subsequently joined the teaching staff of the University of Pennsylvania in 1780, where he remained several years and enhanced his professional standing among peers. In addition to his medical interests, Rush was also one of the foremost social reformers of his day. Like his friend Franklin, he was stridently abolitionist and openly urged an end to slavery. Throughout the 1790s, he also pioneered the field of psychiatry and broke new ground by calling for humane treatment of the mentally ill. Rush also advocated better educational opportunities for women, an end to capital punishment, and enlightened prison reform. Rush was actively involved with medical efforts during Philadelphia’s terrible yellow fever epidemic of 1793, and he openly solicited aid from Richard Allen and Absalom Jones of the African-American community. The only controversial blot on Rush’s otherwise meritorious medical career was his adherence to the dated and dangerous practice of bleeding patients in the belief that it could cure a wide range of illnesses. He did so at a time when the practice was under attack by other doctors and becoming discredited. Rush died of typhus in Philadelphia on April 13, 1813, one of the foremost medical figures of his generation. But throughout most of the Revolutionary period, he functioned as a marginal and somewhat disreputable figure.

May 3 General: The Virginia Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge is established and awards its first gold medal to John Hobday for inventing a threshing machine.

May 7 Politics: Rhode Island organizes a committee of correspondence.

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May 10 Politics: Parliament passes the Tea Act, Lord Frederick North’s attempt to rescue the floundering British East India Company from bankruptcy. Because this condition was brought on by colonial boycotts, North seeks to impose a trade monopoly on the importation of tea. British tea is priced more cheaply than foreign teas, so the move will also undercut local merchants and smugglers from the Caribbean. It is an unlikely catalyst for revolution.

May 21 Politics: Connecticut forms a committee of correspondence.

May 27 Politics: New Hampshire forms a committee of correspondence.

May 28 Religion: The Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, holds its first service.

June 1 Diplomacy: In the Treaty of Augusta, both Creek and Cherokee representatives agree to cede 2 million acres of western land to the British.

June 2 Politics: Scandal erupts when private correspondence of Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver to the English government is surreptitiously obtained by the General Court and read aloud. Both leaders are apparently calling upon the government for stricter measures against dissent.

June 25 Politics: The Massachusetts legislature, angered by Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s secret demands for harsher measure to stifle dissent, petitions King George III for his removal from office.

July 7 Politics: Governor Thomas Hutchinson, informed that Postmaster Benjamin Franklin arranged for his private correspondence to fall into the hands of the Massachusetts assembly, demands that he be arrested and prosecuted for treason.

July 8 Politics: South Carolina forms its own committee of correspondence.

July 14 Religion: Methodists conduct their first ever annual conference at St. George’s Church, Philadelphia.

September 10 Politics: Georgia creates a committee of correspondence.

September 27 Journalism: Radical agitator Samuel Adams declares a need to organize a congress of colonies to counter the British threat in the Boston Gazette.

October 14 Politics: In a sign of growing resentment against the Crown, a cargo of British tea is torched by a mob in Annapolis, Maryland.

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October 15 Politics: Maryland adopts its own committee of correspondence.

October 16 Politics: The Pennsylvania legislature forms its own committee of correspondence, adopting resolutions that anyone who imports British tea be declared an “enemy to his country.” Local tea agents are also forced to resign from office.

October 23 Politics: Delaware adopts a committee of correspondence.

November 27 Politics: Tensions in Boston escalate following the arrival of the East India Company tea ship Dartmouth. Governor Thomas Hutchinson is nevertheless unrelenting and insists that the requisite duties must be levied by the colony and paid in full no later than December 16.

November 29 Politics: A mass Boston town meeting elects to defy the governor and orders the Dartmouth back to England with the requisite duties in hand. This move prompts Governor Thomas Hutchinson to order harbor masters to restrain all tea vessels in Boston harbor until they can prove the taxes have been paid.

December 8 Politics: North Carolina creates its own committee of correspondence.

December 16 Politics: Another mass rally at Old South Church draws 8,000 attendees, who are harangued by Samuel Adams and others. That night mounting colonial resistance culminates in the so-called Boston Tea Party, whereby the local Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, board tea ships Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver at Griffith’s Wharf, then dump 342 chests worth of tea overboard. Property losses to the East India Company are 10,000 pounds. This constitutes a direct challenge by colonials to royal authority, and the wanton destruction of private property induces Parliament to weigh harsh measures against Massachusetts.

December 25 Politics: The General Court of Massachusetts again petitions King George III to remove both Governor Thomas Hutchinson and tax agent Andrew Oliver from office based upon their formerly secret correspondence with the government.

1774 Arts: Distinguished American artist John Singleton Copley emigrates from Boston to London, England, in anticipation of the outbreak of violence there. Business: The Illinois and Wabash land companies are formed to acquire, sell, and settle large tracts of the western frontier. Settlement: James Harrod establishes Harrodsburg, the first permanent settlement to arise in the region of Kentucky. Slavery: The Rhode Island General Assembly again rails against the importation of slaves, declaring all arriving African Americans to be free, regardless of their status. However, this does not pertain to slaves already in the colony.

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Copley, John Singleton (1738–1815) Artist John Singleton Copley was born in Boston, Massachusetts, a son of poor Irish immigrants. After Copley’s father died, his mother married Peter Pelham, a noted engraver, from whom he developed an interest in art. He continued in his father’s trade until the age of 18 and then found his avocation, portrait painting. In this specialized art form, Copley showed real genius for capturing the essence of his sitter in the context of material surroundings, such as fancy clothing or expensive furniture in the background. From a visual standpoint, Copley’s work combined attention to detail with an excellent command of light and dark and was extremely true to life for its day. At the time, Boston experienced a great flourishing of wealthy merchant families who were not averse to flaunting their conspicuous position in society, and a Copley portrait became a worthy status symbol. In time he did highly realistic, yet riveting, paintings of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, all of which confirm his reputation as a great artist. Moreover, in 1766 he dispatched a painting entitled The Boy with a Squirrel to London, which captured the admiration of the fastidiously fickle English art world. Consequently, he received invitations from Benjamin West and Sir Joshua Reynolds to study art in Europe. Copley declined for several years and continued painting noted Americans in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, until 1774, when mounting political violence induced him to move abroad. Officially,

he was neutral in the conflict between America and Britain, but his rich family and their allegedly Loyalist sympathies seriously affected his ability to conduct business. That year he toured Italy and France before settling in London and establishing a studio, remaining there for the rest of his life. Once in England, Copley shifted his emphasis from portraits to historical scenes, initially with considerable success. His most notable work in this regard, Watson and the Shark, based on a real incident, encapsulates the struggle between man and nature and also depicts an African American for the first time. In light of his genuine skills, he gained admittance to the Royal Academy of the Arts in 1783. Copley declined to return to the United States once independence had been won and he remained at his London studio, although his later paintings did not elicit the celebrity or popularity of earlier works. Nonetheless, he was visited by John Adams, and then John Quincy Adams who commissioned him for portraits. Copley spent the rest of his life continually losing money and accumulating debts, as his historical works failed to gain the notoriety anticipated, and interest in portraiture was also declining. He died in London on September 9, 1815, secure in his reputation as the first great American painter. His early works in Boston are still regarded as his most significant, and still elicit praise for capturing the confident, buoyant spirit of the newly rich and their position in late colonial life.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, while attending the First Continental Congress, prevail on fellow delegates to pass a measure calling to end the slave trade as of December 1 of that year. This provision subsequently forms part

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Watson and the Shark, by John Singleton Copley, oil on canvas, 1782

of the Articles of Association, which was then adopted by Congress in protest of British policies. Jefferson reiterated this call later that year in A Summary View of the Rights of British America, his first published pamphlet. At their annual meeting in Philadelphia, the Society of Friends votes to prohibit Quakers from buying or selling any additional slaves. Those persons already owning African Americans were encouraged to release them soon or face expulsion from the society. Delegates meeting at New Bern, North Carolina, call for an end to the importation of slaves. A slave revolt in St. Andrews Parish, Georgia, leads to the deaths of four Europeans, while the two slaves convicted of leading the rebellion are burned to death.

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January Publishing: The Royal American Magazine, the first such publication to employ illustrations, begins its brief publication run.

January 20 Politics: New York adopts its own committee of correspondence.

January 25 Politics: In another ominous sign of the times, customs official John Malcolm is publicly tarred and feathered in Boston.

January 27 Politics: When Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s report on the Boston Tea Party reaches Prime Minister Lord Frederick North, he angrily concludes that draconian measures are necessary to bring the errant colony of Massachusetts back into line. Failure to do so now imperils the continuing hegemony of Crown and Parliament over its colonies.

January 30 Politics: Benjamin Franklin, implicated in forwarding Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s private correspondence to the Massachusetts General Court, is dismissed as postmaster general.

February 7 Politics: In light of recent events, the British government ignores a petition by the Massachusetts assembly to dismiss Governor Thomas Hutchinson.

February 8 Politics: New Jersey adopts a committee of correspondence.

March 18 Politics: Prime Minister Lord Frederick North, acting upon ministerial prerogatives, crafts the Boston Port Bill for Parliamentary consideration. This legislation mandates the closing of Boston harbor to all trade until the colony pays compensation to the East India Company. This is the first of the so-called Coercive Acts, better known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts.

March 25 Politics: Parliament unflinchingly passes the Boston Port Bill to punish that city for its role in the Boston Tea Party of last December. The usually bustling port is hereby closed until restitution is paid for the tea destroyed. If, through this action, the English government intends to intimidate the colonies, they sadly miscalculated. Boston now becomes a rallying point, and both legislatures and individuals begin sending food, money, and other supplies in its support.

March 30 Politics: An angry Governor Thomas Hutchinson dissolves the Massachusetts General Court.

April 22 Politics: The New York Sons of Liberty, taking a leaf from their Boston brethren, disguise themselves as Indians, board the English tea ship London, and dump tea into New York harbor.

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Logan

(ca. 1720–1780)

Mingo chief Soyechtowa was born at the Mingo village of Shamokin (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) around 1720, the son of an Oneida chief and a Cayuga woman. The Mingo were actually a part of the Six Nations Iroquois confederacy that lived beyond its traditional homelands in New York. He matured on a frontier where whites and Native Americans easily intermingled and intermarried. His father was also an ally of colonial governor William Penn, and the young man developed an abiding respect for his Quaker secretary James Logan (1674–1751) and adopted his name. Like his father, Logan was favorably disposed toward English settlers and amassed considerable wealth hunting and trapping for them. He never rose to prominence within his own tribe, but Logan’s skill in battle, his fine oratory, and commanding presence made him a significant frontier figure. He supported the English throughout the French and Indian War and again during Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763. By 1770, the influx of new settlements made hunting and trapping impractical for Indians living in western Pennsylvania, so Logan relocated his family to a new settlement along Yellow Creek near present-day Chillicothe, Ohio. Around this time, increasing competition for land led to a breakdown of heretofore friendly frontier relations, and it was not uncommon for bands of lawless ruffians to randomly murder any group of Native Americans they encountered. Naturally, the Indians responded in kind with atrocities

of their own, and the region grew ripe for internecine frontier strife. Sometime during April 1774, a band of frontiersmen under Daniel Greathouse invited a group of Logan’s family to a drinking party and then murdered them all. At a single stroke Logan lost his parents, brothers and sisters, and several children. This wanton act infuriated him and he initiated a one-man war to exact revenge. In time, Logan could boast of taking no less than 30 English scalps, including women and children. Meanwhile, Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, used this outbreak as a pretext to mobilize the militia and attack the neighboring Shawnee. Logan supported Chief Cornstalk in the ensuing struggle, but Indian efforts faltered at the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. The following month, Dunmore concluded a peace treaty at Camp Charlotte, Ohio, but Logan refused to attend. Instead he relayed his feelings to Indian agents, since enshrined as one of the most eloquent examples of Native American elocution. “Who is there to mourn for Logan?” he demanded. “Not one!” Thomas Jefferson at once declared the speech equal to any given in ancient Greece or Rome. Logan for his part supported the British through the Revolutionary War, becoming sullen, addicted to alcohol, and acquiring the reputation of a drunken bully. He was apparently inebriated while on a visit to Detroit in 1780, when he was murdered by a nephew. Years later, a statue was erected to his memory at Auburn, New York.

April 30 Military: A group of frontier ruffians attacks and kills a party of Indians at Logan’s Camp, Virginia, wiping out the entire family of Shawnee chief Logan. This prompts the enraged tribesmen to start a frontier conflict known as Dunmore’s War.

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May Societal: The colonial assembly in Williamsburg, Virginia, issues a strict code of etiquette to guide the behavior of the local community.

May 3 Politics: In another pointed commentary on the state of Anglo-American relations, both Governor Thomas Hutchinson and Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn are burned in effigy at Boston.

May 12 Politics: The Boston committee of commerce, undaunted by recent punitive measures, demands the reinstatement of nonimportation against English goods unless the Boston Port Bill is revoked. A circular letter to that effect is then drawn up and carried to New York by Paul Revere.

May 13 Military: In a major development, General Thomas Gage, commander in chief of British forces in America, arrives at Boston as the new royal governor. While in office he is backed by the bayonets of four additional infantry regiments.

May 15 Military: Shawnee Indians begin raiding settlements along the Ohio River, and Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, begins mobilizing colonial militia to oppose them. A separate column under Colonel Andrew Lewis is expected to rendezvous with the main force on the frontier.

May 17 Politics: The Rhode Island General Assembly passes a motion calling for an intercolonial congress to resist the Coercive Acts. It proves a catalyst for dramatic action on the part of the colonies.

May 20 Politics: King George III signs the next set of the Coercive Acts into law. These are the Massachusetts Government Act, which annuls the colony charter, and the Administration of Justice Act to tighten political and judicial control. Henceforth, all persons accused of capital crimes will have to stand trial in either Britain or a colony other than their own. The government also reserves the right to appoint all colonial officials, and traditional town meetings are expressly forbidden with prior consent of the royal governor.

May 26 Politics: Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, dismisses the Virginia House of Burgesses for overt displays of sympathy with Massachusetts. The legislators promptly reconvene at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg to further enunciate their support for Boston, nonimportation, and an intercolonial congress to address all grievances.

June 1 Politics: The Boston Port Bill goes into effect, and all harbor traffic is closed down, pending the payment of restitution to the East India Company.

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June 2 Politics: In another punitive measure, Parliament revises and reinstitutes the Quartering Act, expanding its provisions to encompass all 13 colonies. Moreover, each colony is required to pay for all expenditures associated with maintaining assigned garrisons.

June 5 Publishing: Dr. Joseph Warren pens the Solemn League and Covenant, an agreement by Boston merchants to support another round of nonimportation of English goods.

June 10 Military: Virginia governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, calls out the militia to deal with a Shawnee uprising along the frontier. The ensuing conflict, known as Dunmore’s War, is viewed by many contemporaries as a way of deflecting political anger away from his administration. Politics: The still dismissed Massachusetts General Court, convening itself in Salem as an extralegal body, approves a resolution calling for an intercolonial congress.

June 14 Politics: Rhode Island becomes the first colony to select delegates to the First Continental Congress; ultimately 11 other colonies follow suit.

June 17 Politics: General Thomas Gage orders the Massachusetts General Court, meeting in Salem, disbanded. Meanwhile, Samuel Adams convenes a Boston town meeting that defiantly vows not to pay damages assessed for the Boston Tea Party.

June 22 Politics: In yet another round of punitive legislation, King George III signs the Quebec Act into law. This establishes a formal government in Quebec and enlarges its boundaries down the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to preclude any further land claims by colonial settlers. At a single stroke, this move eliminates territories long claimed by Massachusetts, Virginia, and Connecticut. Equally important, the act also guarantees religious freedom for Roman Catholics in Canada, raising fears of “popery” among the largely Protestant colonies.

June 28 Politics: At another large gathering in New York City, Alexander McDougall and Alexander Hamilton publicly rail against British tyranny and call for renewed nonimportation.

August 4 Religion: “Mother” Ann Lee, founder of the monastical Shaker movement, arrives in New York from Liverpool, England. She begins her experimental commune at Watervliet, New York, outside Albany.

August 6 Politics: The Virginia Convention extends the Virginia Association and its boycott of all English goods.

August 10 Politics: Georgia votes to become the only colony not sending a deputation to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. They opt instead for a declaration of rights.

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August 17 Publishing: Philadelphia lawyer James Wilson composes his Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament. This item postulates the so-called dominion theory, confirming colonial allegiance to the sovereign while rejecting parliamentary hegemony.

August 26 Military: Parliament orders several units of Massachusetts militia, suspected of disloyalty, to disband. However, 2,000 of them defiantly assemble on the Worcester village common and parade with their weapons.

August 27 Business: Richard Henderson, a North Carolina judge, helps establish the Transylvania Company to begin land speculation in the frontier region of Kentucky.

September 1 Military: In another major escalation, General Thomas Gage orders British forces to seize the militia arsenal at Somerville, six miles from Boston. Lieutenant Colonel George Maddison and 260 soldiers of the 4th Foot are assigned to the task, and they fulfill their assignment by taking 260 barrels of gunpowder without incident. Their deceptively easy success, known locally as the “Powder alarm,” convinces many officials that the colonials will not fight British regulars in the field. In this sense, it ominously portends things to come.

September 4 Military: The recent British raid against Somerville (Charlestown), Massachusetts, goes off without violence, but on their return march the British are greeted by thousands of angry, armed militiamen.

September 5 Military: General Thomas Gage, judging the temper of the times, orders the narrow neck of land connecting Boston to the mainland fortified. For all intents and purposes, Boston is now under siege. Politics: A gathering of 56 delegates from all the colonies except Georgia assembles in Philadelphia’s Carpenter’s Hall as the First Continental Congress. This originated as an intercolonial effort to address grievances arising from British imperial policy, as well as coordinating an effective response. The 55 delegates present wrangle with defining their rights as Englishmen as well as a means of defending them. Moreover, radical factions under men like Samuel Adams seek official protests against a British attempt to “enslave” them and urge the colonies to make military preparations to defend themselves.

September 8 Military: Royal Governor Thomas Gage dispatches troops in boats to the outer reachers of Boston harbor to seize some coastal artillery stationed there in a small fort. The British arrive only to discover that the guns are gone.

September 9 Politics: The Massachusetts convention meeting at Suffolk adopts the so-called Suffolk Resolves at the behest of Dr. Joseph Warren, the author. This philippic denounces recent changes in local governance imposed by the Coercive Acts, and

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September 10 Business: By this date British exports have fallen by 90 percent over the previous year; stark testimony to the effectiveness and widespread support of nonimportation.

September 17 Politics: In its first official action, the Continental Congress adopts the Suffolk Resolves to encourage widespread political resistance against the Coercive Acts. This action marks the emergence of that body as a guiding entity for the colonies in their continuing struggle with the homeland.

September 21 Military: George Washington, chairing a volunteer militia committee, dons the blue and buff uniform of the Fairfax County, Virginia, militia for the first time. This eventually becomes the standard uniform of the Continental army.

September 28 Politics: In Philadelphia, Loyalist delegate Joseph Galloway proposes a pragmatic union of the colonies with Great Britain to forestall an outbreak of hostilities. He suggests creating a grand council drawn from all colonies under a governor general appointed by the Crown. The plan fails only narrowly on a vote of six to five, affording demonstrable proof of how divided the delegates are at the moment.

October 5 Politics: General Thomas Gage again orders the extralegal General Court at Salem, now known as the Provincial Congress, to disband. Instead, President John Hancock authorizes a committee of public safety, which then votes to mobilize the militia and begin procuring weapons and supplies.

October 10 Military: Virginia militia under Colonel Andrew Lewis engage and defeat Shawnee warriors under Chief Cornstalk at Point Pleasant near the mouth of the Kanawha River (West Virginia). The Indians, strongly ensconced across the river, repel two militia columns under Colonels Charles Lewis and William Fleming and then withdraw from the battlefield. The militia loses over 200 men in a very sharp action; Indian losses are unknown but presumed equally heavy. Unable to sustain such attrition against a foe enjoying manpower advantages, Cornstalk sues for peace. This is the concluding event of Dunmore’s War.

October 14 Politics: Delegates in Philadelphia adopt the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, consisting of 14 resolutions carefully drawn from natural law and other

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Galloway, Joseph

333

(ca. 1731–1803)

Loyalist politician Joseph Galloway was born in West River, Maryland, around 1731 and he studied law in Philadelphia. He soon established himself as one of the city’s most eminent attorneys and further enhanced his social standing by marrying into a wealthy family. Galloway gained election to the Pennsylvania assembly in 1756, where he formed a deep and abiding friendship with Benjamin Franklin. The two men further cemented their alliance by challenging the proprietary rule of the Penn family and skirmished constantly with the more conservative John Dickinson. The turning point in Galloway’s career happened in 1765 with the passage of the hated Stamp Act. Now speaker of the assembly, he was shocked by riots against British authority and began articulating views more sympathetic to Parliament’s right to tax its colonies. After the Townshend Duties were passed in 1767, Galloway strongly refuted Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania by reiterating Parliament’s authority to tax the colonies but then argued that legislators must somehow dissuade it from doing so. By strongly proclaiming his Loyalist sympathies, Galloway gained the ire of Franklin and other former allies, but he found favor among the city’s more conservative elements who sent him to the First Continental Congress in 1774. There he gained a measure of notoriety by sponsoring a “Plan of Union” to diffuse the crisis; this mandated creation of an intercolonial legislature headed by a president-general appointed by the king. This was a pragmatic

and effective solution to long-standing colonial grievances, and it was defeated in Congress by only a single vote. However, his old nemesis Dickinson used his influence to have Galloway removed from Congress in October 1774. Galloway remained on the fringes of political debate until July 1776, when the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. This he considered treason and left Philadelphia for New York, where he was a frequent visitor to General William Howe’s headquarters and entreated that leader to attack and capture Philadelphia. Once this was accomplished in October 1777 Galloway was installed as city superintendent and he made life uncomfortable for known Patriots residing there. When the British abandoned Philadelphia in August 1778, Galloway fled with them, a thoroughly detested figure. He next ventured to London to criticize the war effort and assure Parliament of continuing Loyalist support in America. With the end of the war in 1783, Galloway petitioned the Pennsylvania assembly for permission to return, but they refused and confiscated his vast estates. Galloway spent the rest of his life living on a pension in Watford, Hertfordshire, where he died on August 29, 1803. Ironically, his “Plan of Union,” mention of which was expunged from the records of the Continental Congress, anticipated what ultimately emerged as the British Commonwealth a century later.

Enlightenment precepts. It clearly enunciates the litany of complaints by the colonies against the homeland and, most important of all, insists that colonists’ rights as Englishmen have been violated. It specifically mentions the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Acts, and all repressive measures adopted by Britain over the

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Cornstalk (ca. 1720–1777) Shawnee chief Cornstalk (Hokoleskwa) was probably born in western Pennsylvania around 1720, part of the Mekoche division of the Shawnee tribe. He matured into a capable warrior and was active in skirmishes during a period of escalating hostility between Native Americans and English settlers. For this reason his tribe sided with France during the French and Indian War, and Cornstalk also fought with distinction during Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763. When this affair was crushed, he became a formal hostage and was interned at Fort Pitt. Cornstalk subsequently escaped to a new home at Scioto, Ohio, but thereafter he acknowledged the relative weakness of the Shawnee nation and sought peaceful accommodation with whites wherever possible. At this time the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763, which forbade new settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains, but this did little to mitigate continuing white encroachment. In one flurry of hostility, the entire family of Mingo chief Logan was murdered by frontiersmen, and Cornstalk attacked several villages in retaliation. Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, used this outbreak as a pretext to start an even bigger conflict, Lord Dunmore’s War, in 1774. As it began, two columns of Virginia militia were supposed to rendezvous in West Virginia prior to attacking all Indians in the region. When Cornstalk sent his brother Silverheels to inquire if Cornstalk was going to be attacked, he was unceremoniously murdered at Fort Pitt. In the ensuing war,

Cornstalk and Logan managed to ambush the militia of Colonel Andrew Lewis at Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. The Indians came close to victory but were ultimately thwarted with heavy losses to both sides. Cornstalk, unable to withstand such attrition, then signed the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which yielded all Indian land in Kentucky to the British and established a new Indian boundary at the Ohio River. The onset of the Revolutionary War in 1775 did not change Cornstalk’s caution in dealing with whites in a continuing attempt to avert hostilities. In fact, his close proximity to white settlements along the frontier made him conclude that war with the Americans was too hazardous, despite the clamoring of other tribes farther off. For two years he maintained his policy of studious neutrality, even though astute British diplomacy brought many other tribesmen to their side. But in the fall of 1777, the chief felt it proper to visit the Americans at Fort Randolph to ascertain if they intended to make war against him. He and his son, Allanawissica, then ventured to the fort in good faith to air their concerns and were summarily arrested and confined. When angry Shawnee scalped some militia outside the fort, both Cornstalk and his son were murdered in their jail cell as retribution. His passing inflamed the Shawnee against America for the duration of the war and also marked the beginning of an internecine, two-decade-long struggle under Little Turtle and Blue Jacket that did not end until the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

past decade. While skirting the issue of independence, the declaration reaffirms colonial belief that Parliament has no jurisdiction over America except in matters of commerce and defense. This is the first such document drawn up by a majority of colonies and denotes the gradual radicalization of moderates such as John

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Chronology ╅ 335 Adams and John Dickinson. It also anticipates many of the precepts enunciated in the forthcoming Declaration of In�de�pen�dence.

October 19 Politics: In another display of hostility toward British trade policy, the tea vessel Peggy Stewart is burned by an angry mob at Annapolis, Mary�land.

October 20 Arts: The Continental Congress in Philadelphia suspends theater, gaming, cock fighting, and Â�horse racing to cultivate an atmosphere of morality. Politics: The Continental Congress adopts the Continental Association, mod-­ eled after the Virginia Association, to promote Â�colony-­wide enforcement of non-­ importation of EnÂ�glish goods. The slave trade is also abolished. Implicit is a December 1, 1774, deadline for Parliamentary compliance, lest a complete ban on British exports be enacted the following spring.

October 21 Military: The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, an extralegal body, author-­ izes a provincial army to supplant the old colonial militia. Headquarter functions are entrusted to a Committee of Safety while another committee oversees logisti-­ cal concerns. Henceforth, all officers suspected of loyalty to the king are ordered discharged. All companies are ordered to elect new officers, who will then elect a regimental staff. Moreover, each company is to cull 50 men for volunteer “Minuteman” companies, a Â�quick-­reaction force of Â�well-­trained men. Across the colony, the training and equipping of armed forces begin in earnest. Politics: In Philadelphia, John Jay, Robert R. Liv-­ ingston, and Richard Henry Lee draft an address to the people of Great Britain, warning them that if tyr-­ anny remains unchecked it will ultimately take root in Britain.

October 26 Military: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress at Cambridge begins reorÂ�gaÂ�nizÂ�ing the colonial militia into a Â�rapid-­response force, the Minutemen. Politics: The First Continental Congress adjourns, having voted to reconvene in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, if Britain fails to respond to American grievances.

November 17 Military: The Philadelphia Troop of Light Â�Horse, composed of 26 of the city’s young gentlemen, is orÂ�gaÂ� nized as one of the first colonial military units.

November 30 Politics: Thomas Paine, a noted En�glish po�liti�cal agitator, arrives in Philadelphia at the invitation of Benjamin Franklin.

Thomas Paine (National Archives)

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December 1 Slavery: The Fairfax Resolves, authored by George Mason, outlaws the further importation of African slaves into Virginia. Among the signatories is George Washington, who chaired the session.

Mason, George

(1725–1792)

Politician George Mason was born in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1725, the son of a wealthy planter. He inherited great wealth and acquired more through speculation, but viewed public office and the men who held it with disdain. Consequently, despite being well educated and highly knowledgeable in terms of political philosophy, Mason declined to enter public service. But he gradually entered the political arena following the onset of tensions with Great Britain over taxes and imperial policy. Mason then crafted the Virginia Resolves in 1767, which questioned Parliament’s right to tax the colonies without representation. It was subsequently introduced into the House of Burgesses by George Washington, which so angered Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, that he dissolved the legislature. On July 18, 1774, Mason next drew up the famous Fairfax Resolves to protest the Coercive Acts and accused the British government of trying to enslave its colonies. Taken together, his two documents helped to intellectually frame the emerging revolutionary ideology of the United States. In 1775, Mason finally abandoned seclusion and sat with the Virginia Committee of Safety, which, among other things, ousted Lord Dunmore from office. He was then tasked with drawing up a new state constitution to replace the old colonial charter. But Mason’s greatest contribution to American political philosophy came in May 1776 when he originated the Virginia Declaration of Rights. The concepts and wording so moved Thomas Jefferson that he

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freely borrowed its precepts and phrasing in his own Declaration of Independence. Despite Mason’s political celebrity he declined public office and never ventured to Philadelphia. Instead, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates and helped orchestrate financing for the Northwest campaign of Colonel George Rogers Clark. After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Mason simply returned to an anonymous existence back on his plantation. The ensuing political unrest arising from the Articles of Confederation finally prompted him to return to the public arena in 1787, when he served as a delegate at the Constitutional Convention. Mason generally favored centralized governance with proper safeguards but could not support the document espoused by fellow Virginian James Madison until it contained a Bill of Rights. He also railed against the continuation of slavery and the slave trade, which he regarded as anathema to civilized rule. Mason then joined the Virginia Constitutional Convention as an anti-Federalist and, in concert with Patrick Henry, roundly opposed its ratification. However, once the document was adopted in 1788 and a Bill of Rights was approved, Mason dropped his opposition and returned to his life of privacy. He died at Gunston Hall, Virginia, on October 7, 1792. Mason’s contributions during the revolutionary period are not as well known or celebrated as Jefferson’s or Madison’s, but they permeate the very fabric of American political philosophy and life.

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December 9 Military: A cache of British ordnance and supplies is seized by colonials at Newport, Rhode Island, and sequestered at Providence.

December 13 Politics: A copy of the Suffolk Resolves arrives in London and it is denounced in the halls of government as treason.

December 14 Military: In Boston, General Thomas Gage determines to secure another colonial supply dump, this time at Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 50 miles distant. Once the colonial intelligence network catches wind of the scheme, Paul Revere is sent galloping off to warn the local militia. Major John Sullivan then gathers 400 militiamen and leads a preemptive raid against Fort William and Mary to abscond with supplies of gunpowder and can-­ non. He also takes six Redcoats prisoner and, when their officer draws his sword as the British flag is lowered, he is wounded in a scuffle. When Gage’s force arrives the next day, they find the fort sacked and deserted.

1775 Arts: Historian Mercy Warren Otis pens a satirical play, The Group, in which she lampoons Governor Thomas Hutchinson. It was apparently never staged. Medical: Dr. John Jones, whose patients include Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, pens the first surgical textbook written in America, Remarks on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures. Slavery: The Delaware assembly approves a law outlawing the importation of slaves into the colony but it is vetoed by Governor John McKinly. Noted po�liti�cal agitator Thomas Paine composes an antislavery essay for the Pennsylvania Journal, and argues that slavery ought to be abolished and that newly freed slaves should receive land and jobs as compensation.

January 18 Politics: Georgia’s first Provincial Congress, drawn exclusively from five Â�Patriot-­dominated parishes, assembles in Savannah and votes to express solidarity with the inhabitants of Massachusetts. However, members of the seven Â� Loyalist-­dominated parishes thwart any attempt to send delegates to Philadelphia.

January 27 Politics: Secretary of State for the Colonies William Legge, Lord Dartmouth, instructs General Thomas Gage in Boston to take whatÂ�ever meaÂ�sures are nec-­ essary to enforce the Crown’s authority. At that time, he commands a garrison force of nine regiments and five Royal Artillery companies for a total of 4,000 Â�well-­trained troops. Four large warships in the harbor contribute a further 460 Royal Marines under Major John Pitcairn.

February 1 Politics: In Parliament, Whig opposition leaders William Pitt and Edmund Burke make an impassioned plea for Parliament to repeal the Coercive Acts, to

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Warren, Mercy Otis

(1728–1814)

Writer, historian Mercy Otis was born at Barnstable, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1728, a sister of noted attorney James Otis. Consistent with practices of the day, she received little formal education but was allowed to attend private lessons arranged for her brother. Otis, a voracious reader, also enjoyed unlimited access to her uncle’s library and immersed herself in the nuances of literature, history, and politics. In 1754 she married James Warren, a rising politician, and through him became acquainted with local notables John and Abigail Adams, among others. The Warren house thus functioned as a central meeting place for leading Whig politicians and thinkers, and she frequently surprised visitors by her exacting grasp of politics and history. After her brother was seriously injured during a brawl in 1769, Warren replaced him as the family devotee of politics. Commencing in 1772, she also made her mark by publishing biting political satires aimed principally at Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Foremost among them are The Adulateur (1773) and The Group (1775), celebrated for their pointed and biting commentary on British imperial politics. It had also been heretofore unthinkable for a woman of her day to venture an opinion on politics, let alone an erudite one. Warren possessed what John Adams characterized as the best pen of her age. By the end of the Revolution she had authored and published three works of satire and a volume entitled Poems Dramatic and Miscellaneous, all of which were highly regarded by contempo-

raries. Warren’s literary activity establish her as the earliest female exponent of belles lettres, and among the foremost literary minds of her day, gender notwithstanding. After the war the Warren political dynasty fell into disrepute, principally over its suspected sympathy for Shays’s Rebellion of 1787. Warren was, in fact, an unapologetic Democrat-Republican and increasingly critical of Federalist policies. She embraced the natural rights philosophy contained in the Declaration of Independence and the concomitant rise of democracy and egalitarianism, which many found too radical. In 1788, Warren wrote eloquently against adoption of the Federal Constitution, fearing an imposition of tyranny. She also suffered from estranged relations with her former friend John Adams, following publication of her landmark three-volume History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution (1805), in which she accused him of harboring monarchical tendencies. These two leading lights were not personally reconciled until 1812, after not speaking for many years. Nonetheless her history is regarded as a significant contribution to understanding of the period, seeing that she possessed firsthand knowledge of many of the participants and events narrated. Warren died at Plymouth on October 19, 1814, having rarely ventured beyond her town, yet possessing a world view remarkable in its scope and complexity. Like Phillis Wheatley, she was among the first American women to publish under her own name.

remove troops from Boston, and to acknowledge colonial views on the issue of taxation. Their plan is overwhelmingly defeated by the members. Closer to home, the Second Provincial Congress meets again in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren. Together they initiate preparations for the military defense of the colony.

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February 6 Journalism: John Adams pens The Rule of Law and the Rule of Men in the Massachusetts Gazette, insisting on the supreme authority of provincial legislatures over Parliament.

February 9 Politics: King George III, exasperated by what he considers a wanton display of defiance, summarily declares the colony of Massachusetts in a state of rebellion. What began as a dispute over tea and taxes is lurching inexorably toward armed confrontation.

February 20 Military: The Second Provincial Congress reconvenes at Concord, Massachusetts, and takes positive steps to enhance colonial defenses. These include establishment of a military commissary, the recruitment of Stockbridge Indians, rules for military governance, and an appeal to neighboring colonies for reinforcements and supplies.

February 22 Business: The American Manufactory of Woolens, Linens, and Cottons becomes the first joint stock manufacturing company in the colonies.

February 26 Military: In Boston, General Thomas Gage orders a cache of colonial supplies and cannon stored at Salem, Massachusetts, to be seized by force. The 64th Foot, under Colonel Alexander Leslie, then lands at Marblehead, Massachusetts, and proceeds inland. En route Leslie’s path is blocked by irate civilians and militia, who refuse him passage over the drawbridge. Leslie makes preparations to fire on his antagonists when a deputation under Colonel Timothy Pickering agrees to allow the British across, but only on the condition that they examine the building in question, then depart. Leslie, outnumbered and wishing to avoid a fight, complies. The British then cross the bridge, examine the building in question, then retire across the bridge and sail back to Boston. Henceforth the affair is derided by colonials as “Leslie’s Retreat,” which further emboldens them to confront the Redcoats.

February 27 Politics: Prime Minister Lord Frederick North promulgates the Conciliatory Response for Parliamentary consideration. This act abolishes all new taxes on the colonies once the latter assume fiscal responsibility for their own defense. North, however, addresses it to 13 separate colonial governments to deny the Continental Congress any political recognition.

March 6 General: At Boston, Prince Hall and 14 African Americans are inducted into the British Army Masonic Lodge, the first such fraternal organization for blacks. Hall, a minister, had previously requested permission from the Massachusetts Grand Lodge to form an African lodge and was refused.

March 10 Business: Frontiersman Daniel Boone and 30 woodchoppers are dispatched by the Transylvania Company for the express purposes of cutting the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and into Cherokee territory.

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March 15 Diplomacy: The Transylvania Company and the Cherokee agree to the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, whereby the Indians sell a tract of land between the Kentucky River and the Cumberland Valley for 10,000 pounds worth of gifts.

March 22 Politics: In Parliament, Whig opposition leader Edmund Burke rails against the New England Restraining Act being considered in the House of Commons. This legislation would forbid that region from trading with any country other than Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies. He also denounces the practice of taxation without representation and insists that only colonial legislatures are empowered to raise revenues on their own population.

March 23 Military: The extralegal Virginia Convention of Delegates, aroused by recent events in Massachusetts, begins debating defensive measures. At length, outspoken politician Patrick Henry gains appointment as colonel of the 1st Virginia Regiment. He also rails against Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore’s suspension of the assembly and thunders, “Forbid it, Almighty God—I know not what course others may take; but as for me—give me liberty or give me death!”

March 25 Military: The Virginia Convention mandates that each county will raise, equip, and train a company of infantry or cavalry.

March 30 Military: Royal Governor Thomas Gage sends a brigade of 1,200 British soldiers under Colonel Hugh Percy on a foray from Boston and out along the Charles River in a show of strength. Local militia do not contest their movement but assume defensive positions at the river crossings and the Redcoats, seeking to avoid a fight, simply march back into town without incident. Politics: King George III approves the New England Restraining Act, which sharply limits that region’s ability to trade and bans it outright from the Atlantic fisheries. The bill also extends its provisions to any colony participating in the Continental Association and its boycott of English goods.

April Military: Escalating tensions culminate in creation of the Provisional Army by the extralegal Provincial Congress in Massachusetts. This 30,000-man force is to consist of detachments from all six New England states, supplemented by British cannon seized from various forts. Concord, New Hampshire, is selected as the major entrepot for the force.

April 1 Military: The New York assembly requires all males of military age to enlist in the militia. Settlement: Daniel Boone establishes the settlement of Boonesborough on the Kentucky River at the behest of the Transylvania Company.

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April 5 Military: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress adopts 52 articles of war, principally derived from the 1765 British Articles of War, in the event of hostilities. The preamble carefully delineates the colony’s denial of rebellion or treason and reiterates a long list of complaints against the British government.

April 8 Politics: Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina, unable to gain compliance from his colonial assembly, orders that body dissolved. Fearing the worst, Martin also places his family on a ship for New York.

April 14 Military: General Thomas Gage receives positive instructions from Secretary of the Colonies William Legge, Lord Dartmouth, authorizing him to employ military force to secure compliance with the Coercive Acts, including the arrest of colonial leaders. However, Gage’s request for 20,000 reinforcements has been turned down as impractical at that time. Slavery: Philadelphia Quakers, assisted by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush, found the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. This is among the earliest abolitionist societies in America.

April 15 Military: General Thomas Gage, declining to arrest colonial leaders, prepares a picked force of 700 light infantry and grenadiers (flank companies) to make another “powder raid” against Concord and Worcester, Massachusetts. He rejects orders to arrest colonial leaders as impractical and opts instead for a preemptive strike against a military objective. The Redcoats are to be conveyed by long boat across the Charles River in darkness and begin their night march in silence. However, colonial intelligence is tipped off as to their arrival and destination, and numerous riders are sent galloping off to arouse the countryside.

April 16 Military: Dr. Joseph Warren readies dispatch rider Paul Revere to gallop from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British army’s approach. The warning eventually spreads to Worcester, where the local militia successfully relocates all military supplies stored there. Revere also arranges for lanterns to be hung from the steeple of the Old North Church to signal the British route taken: one lamp if by land, two if by sea.

April 18 Military: At night, a British column of 70 picked light troops and grenadiers under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Major John Pitcairn departs Boston, is ferried across the Charles River at Lechmere Point in great secrecy, and begins the overland march toward Concord. The colonists are prepared for such an occurrence, and riders Paul Revere and William Dawes ride off to warn the militia and leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Both men are caught and detained by the British, however, and it falls upon Dr. Samuel Prescott to deliver the actual message.

April 19 Military: The British column under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith trudges along in the darkness from Boston to Concord as church bells peal through the night, denoting their approach. At length, the light infantry is detached ahead

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Revere, Paul

(1735–1818)

Silversmith militia leader Paul Revere was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1735, the son of a silversmith. Endowed with a modest education, he followed into his father’s profession and exhibited genuine skill as an artist, engraver, and metalsmith. Revere served briefly and without distinction in the French and Indian War and afterward he grew increasingly radicalized through his constant association with James Otis and Dr. Joseph Warren. A master propagandist, Revere engraved the famous depiction of the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, which was circulated throughout the colonies and did much to harden attitudes toward Great Britain. In the wake of the Tea Act of 1773, Revere also assumed leadership roles in the evolving Patriot resistance and, as part of the Sons of Liberty, he helped orchestrate the infamous Boston Tea Party of December 1773. He next served as a celebrated messenger and

Paul Revere's ride. Painting (National Archives)

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brought copies of the “Suffolk Resolves,” advocating armed resistance against Great Britain, to the Continental Congress. In December 1774 he was tasked with warning the militia at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that a British raid upon Fort William and Mary was imminent. On April 18, 1775, Revere performed his most celebrated ride by galloping out of Boston to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were en route. He and another rider, William Dawes, were apprehended by soldiers en route, but Revere’s ride was subsequently immortalized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He subsequently made his way to Lexington on foot, secured Hancock’s papers, and witnessed the opening shots of the war at Concord. After fighting commenced, he served on a local committee of correspondence and also established a powder mill in Canton to provide the Continental army with ammunition. Revere then rose to major in the militia, and throughout 1778–79 he commanded the garrison at Castle William in Boston harbor. Revere’s later military career remained somewhat under a cloud. In 1778, he commanded an artillery company in General John Sullivan’s army in Rhode Island, acquired little distinction in battle, yet still managed to wrangle a promotion to lieutenant colonel. In this capacity he next commanded artillery in the ill-fated Penobscot Expedition of July 1779 and was later court-martialed for remaining on ship once his cannon were deployed on shore. Consequently, General Peleg Wadsworth accused him of cowardice and neglect of duty, placing him under house arrest. Revere was eventually acquitted of

Chronology

all charges in February 1782, but his reputation remained tarnished for the remainder of the war. After hostilities ceased in 1783, Revere resumed his metalsmith work, gaining renown as one of America’s foremost craftsmen. He also dabbled in the manufac-

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ture of copper bells and naval wares, and even contributed parts to Robert Fulton’s steam engines. Revere remained a common sight on the streets of Boston, still decked out in his revolutionary uniform, until his death there on May 10, 1818.

of the main force under Major John Pitcairn to scout the village of Lexington, Massachusetts. There they find Captain John Parker’s company of 70 minutemen deployed on the local green off to the side. An angry Pitcairn rides up to them and orders them to disperse at once. To defuse a possible confrontation, Parker is in the act of complying when a musket shot suddenly rings out of nowhere. The tired British, feeling themselves under attack, suddenly open fire on the militia against orders, killing eight and wounding nine. It takes Pitcairn several minutes to restore order in the ranks—but a war has begun. Within the hour, the balance of Colonel Francis Smith’s column arrives at Lexington and proceeds to its main objective at Concord. There his grenadiers search the premises for stored weapons—long removed by that time—and they also set fire to a courthouse and several buildings. Meanwhile, a detachment of light infantry under Captain Walter Laurie, sent to guard the North Bridge, is engaged by colonial militia and driven off, losing three killed and eight wounded. His mission complete, Smith then turns his force around and tramps back to Boston. En route his march is continually intercepted and assailed by throngs of angry militiamen who rake the column with a galling musket fire from behind rocks, trees, and all available cover. The British take fearful losses while Smith is wounded and Pitcairn unhorsed. They are almost overwhelmed when suddenly a column under Colonel Hugh Percy reinforces them at Lexington. Percy then skillfully conducts a withdrawal under fire and at the last minute redirects his escape route toward Charleston instead of Cambridge—a ploy that most likely saved his army. The 1,800 British engaged lose 73 killed, and 201 wounded on this momentous day; of roughly 3,800 Americans present the toll reached 49 dead and 94 injured. The incredible news quickly spreads throughout the colonies, and a violent upheaval against continuing British rule finally congeals. Politics: A secret committee in Charleston, South Carolina, removes mail from the British packet Swallow and finds instructions from the government intent on driving the colonies into submission. The correspondence is then forwarded to the Second Continental Congress.

April 20–30 Military: General Artemas Ward assumes command of the Provincial Army gathering at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His 13,000 men slowly envelop Boston

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Chronology of American History from the land side, unofficially besieging it. In one celebrated ride, General Israel Putnam gallops in from Connecticut, covering 100 miles in only 18 hours.

April 21 Military: New Hampshire militiamen arrive at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the wake of Lexington and Concord. Retaliating against his rebellious legislature, Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, orders Royal Marines to seize colonial stores and supplies held at Williamsburg. Colonial forces begin seizing powder supplies and arms from British depots in Charleston, South Carolina.

April 23 Military: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress in Concord calls for a New England “Army of Observation” so as not to appear excessively hostile against the British Crown. The army has an authorized strength of 30,000 volunteers, including 13,000 local troops under General Artemas Ward, who is then joined by Generals William Heath, John Thomas, Joseph Warren, and John Whitcomb. No time is wasted dispatching messengers to neighboring colonies with a plea for immediate reinforcement. Additional forces begin arriving under Generals Nathaniel Green of Rhode Island and John Stark of New Hampshire. When word of the fighting at Lexington and Concord reaches New York City, a party of militiamen under Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willet storms the public arsenal and seizes weapons stored there.

April 28 Military: Colonel Ethan Allen and a group of the Green Mountain Boys arrive at Castleton (Vermont), to debate seizing the stores and munitions kept at Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

April 29 Military: Major Benedict Arnold of the Connecticut militia marches into Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the head of his militia company. Politics: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress dispatches the schooner Quero to England with word of Lexington and Concord.

May 2 Military: Colonel Patrick Henry directs colonial forces toward Williamsburg, where they recapture powder and other supplies taken from the militia by Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore. The governor is forced to compensate the colony for any property confiscated.

May 3 Military: Connecticut militia officer Benedict Arnold prevails upon the Committee of Safety in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to provide forces for a preemptive strike against Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to secure the valuable cache of cannon and supplies stored there. Arnold, who is then commissioned a colonel in the Massachusetts militia, receives authority to raise 400 men for the expedition, which promises to net 50 cannon and 20 brass pieces for the Patriot cause. Politics: Benjamin Franklin arrives back at Philadelphia, having lived in London as a colonial agent since 1757. He has since dropped his long-standing policy of reconciliation and is fully committed to the American cause and whatever direction it may take.

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Ward, Artemas

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(1727–1800)

General Artemas Ward was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on November 26, 1727, the son of an attorney. He passed through Harvard College before running a general store and also dabbled in tax assessing. Ward joined the militia as a captain during the French and Indian War, rising to colonel in 1763. Afterward he came home to pursue politics while maintaining his militia connections. In the decade leading up to the Revolutionary War, Ward’s politics were increasingly radicalized through his association with men like John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Joseph Warren. His oftentimes blatant support for the Patriots led Governor Francis Bernard to revoke his commission but he consequently gained a seat on the governor’s council. In October 1774, Ward was elected to the provincial congress at Worcester, where he was appointed brigadier general of militia. In April 1775, though ailing with kidney stones, he mounted a horse and painfully rode to Patriot lines outside of Boston to organize a siege. Then Ward, by dint of his popularity with the troops, was made captain general of militia on April 22, 1775, at the head of 13,000 New England militia. This ad hoc force, poorly trained, equipped, and independently minded, threatened to dissolve at any time but Ward, by sheer dint of his stern Congregationalist personality, somehow kept them intact. In June 1776, he learned through spies that the British under General Thomas Gage were planning an offensive against the American

lines. Ward sought to preempt the move by ordering his troops to occupy Bunker Hill overlooking Charlestown Harbor on the 16th, which precipitated a bloody battle on the following day. The British, though victorious, remained bottled up and Ward received a promotion to major general in the Continental Army. Despite Ward’s popularity throughout New England, he was formally succeeded by General George Washington in July 1776 and remained so for the rest of the siege. He greatly resented being subordinated to a Virginian but nonetheless rendered useful service without rancor. On the evening of March 4, 1776, he ordered troops to seize strategic Dorchester Heights and plant artillery there. This move forced the British under General William Howe to evacuate Boston altogether, but Ward, still feeling slighted, finally resigned from the army on March 20, 1777. He then served as president of the state executive council before being elected to the Continental Congress in November 1779. Ward returned home two years later, successfully ran for a seat in the house of representatives, and became speaker as of 1785. He strongly opposed Shays’s Rebellion of 1786 and three years later was sent to the new U. S. Congress as a Federalist. Ward died on his farm in Shrewsbury on October 28, 1800, having briefly served as the new nation’s highest commander. Though not highly regarded by others, he proved instrumental in keeping the New England army, America’s first military force, intact.

May 5 Naval: The 16-gun sloop HMS Falcon under Captain John Linzee captures an American sloop off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. He then anchors at the town of Dartmouth to seize another vessel at dockside, but his presence prompts

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Chronology of American History the townspeople to sail two sloops against him, and both prizes are promptly recaptured. The Falcon escapes but loses 15 prisoners.

May 8 Military: A force of 100 Green Mountain Boys under Colonel Ethan Allen departs Castleton, Vermont, intent upon seizing the cannon and stores held at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. When he meets Benedict Arnold en route, the two headstrong leaders grudgingly agree to coordinate their movements. News of the Battles of Lexington and Concord induces the South Carolina assembly to authorize two infantry regiments and a force of rangers.

May 10 Journalism: The Sons of Liberty, directed by Isaac Sears, wrecks the printing press of Loyalist James Rivington. After fleeing to a Royal Navy warship in the harbor, Rivington gains appointment as a government printer in New York. Military: A colonial force of 83 men under Colonels Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen crosses Lake Champlain in two barges under cover of a rainstorm and surprises the garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. The Americans quickly clamber over the crumbling southern wall and overpower two sentries. When a British officer, Lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham, 26th Foot, demands to know by what authority the American enter His Majesty’s fort, Allen bellows, “Come on out of there, you British sons of whores, or I’ll smoke you out!” The garrison commander, Captain William De la Place, is badly outnumbered and capitulates without resistance. Thus the unlikely pair of Allen and Arnold successfully conclude America’s first offensive operation of the war. Naval: Captain Henry Mowat of the Royal Navy sloop HMS Canceau comes ashore to confer with the inhabitants of Falmouth (Portland), Maine, and is taken prisoner. He escapes soon after but will return in a few months with a vengeance. Politics: When a New York mob threatens Loyalist Dr. Myles Cooper, president of King’s College (now Columbia University), he is rescued by Alexander Hamilton. The Second Continental Congress convenes at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, as they had promised. Peyton Randolph of Virginia is elected president of that body and he begins orchestrating armed resistance to Great Britain. However, there is considerable sympathy for reconciliation with the homeland, if possible.

May 11 Military: A force of Green Mountain Boys under Lieutenant Colonel Seth Warner moves up from Fort Ticonderoga and captures Crown Point, New York, along with another 100 cannon for the Patriot cause. With the southern portion of Lake Champlain in their hands, the Americans are well poised to launch an expedition northward into Canada. Colonial forces storm a royal magazine and confiscate powder supplies in Savannah, Georgia.

May 13 Military: General Artemas Ward, in a calculated show of force, parades his rag-tag “Army of Observation” within gunshot of British lines outside of Boston, eliciting no hostile response. He then provocatively deploys 3,000 men on Char-

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Arnold, Benedict

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(1741–1801)

General, traitor Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741, where he weathered a troubled childhood and deserted his militia unit twice during the French and Indian War. Afterward he set-­ tled down as a merchant at New Haven and was gradually drawn to the Patriot cause. After Lexington and Concord he marched a militia company to Boston and subsequently captured Fort Ticonderoga in concert with forces under Colonel Ethan Allen. He then spearheaded an epic march through the Maine wilderness to partake of the ill-­fated siege of Quebec in December 1775. Badly wounded in the leg, he advanced to briga-­ dier general and next commanded naval forces on Lake Champlain that fought and

Benedict Arnold, with view of Quebec, Canada, in the background. Published by Thos. Hart, 1776, London (Library of Congress)

lost the battle of Valcour Island on Octo-­ ber 11–13, 1776, but caused the British so many delays that they abandoned their invasion of New York. Arnold was made a major general, but with less seniority than others, which deeply angered him and only the intercession of General George Wash-­ ington convinced him to remain in the ser-­ vice. Then, after repulsing a British raid in Connecticut in April 1777, he energetically transferred to the army of General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York. There, in Sep-­ tember and October, he was instrumental in winning the Battles of Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights, which led to the surrender of General John Burgoyne. Injured again and quite lame, Arnold was rewarded with increased seniority and appointed comman-­ dant of the garrison at Philadelphia. While at Philadelphia, Arnold reached a decisive turning point in his career. He had been charged with fiscal impropriety and demanded a formal court-­martial. He also entered into a romantic liaison with Mar-­ garet Shippen, the beguiling daughter of a Philadelphia Loyalist, who was also a highly paid British spy. Once married, she appar-­ ently convinced Arnold to change sides, and he began a clandestine correspondence with British general Henry Clinton in New York in May 1779. He was further incensed when the court-­martial found him guilty of two minor offenses, and he received a relatively mild rebuke from Washington. Infuriated, Arnold wished to turn over plans for the defense of strategic West Point, New York, in return for a general’s commission and a large sum of money. In June 1780, he prevailed upon Washington to appoint him commander of West Point. He met with British agent Major (continues)

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(continued) John André to make final arrangements. However, André was caught and hanged, while Arnold had to escape to the British side. He spent the last three years of the war fighting on their behalf and conducted many destructive raids in Virginia and Connecticut, which further blackened his reputation. After the war, Arnold migrated to

England where he unsuccessfully entered business. He was also scorned as a turncoat in his adopted nation and made few friends there. Arnold died in London on June 14, 1801, having made crucial contributions to the cause of American independence, yet reviled as the greatest traitor in American history.

lestown Heights, astride Boston harbor. Again the British fail to react, so Ward withdraws his men back to the mainland without incident.

May 15 Politics: In light of the present crisis, the Second Continental Congress urges New York and all other colonies to begin placing themselves in a state of military preparedness.

May 16 Politics: The Massachusetts assembly drafts the first state constitution subject to popular approval, although it is ultimately rejected by the voters.

May 17–18 Military: Colonel Benedict Arnold boards a captured schooner at Skeensboro, New York, and sails to Saint-Johns, Quebec, with 50 soldiers. That post and its 15-man garrison quickly succumb, along with the 16-gun sloop HMS George III and four boats. Hastening back to Ticonderoga, Arnold encounters Colonel Ethan Allen and 60 Green Mountain Boys, intent upon occupying the fort. Disregarding Arnold’s warnings, Allen approaches Fort Saint-John’s only to find it hastily reoccupied by 200 British soldiers and six cannon from neighboring Chambly. The Americans are quickly driven off after losing three prisoners. Naval: Captain James Mugford, commanding the sloop Franklin, captures the British transport HMS Hope off Boston harbor. Its cargo of 1,000 barrels of gunpowder and a like number of muskets is hastily forwarded to the “Army of Observation” outside Boston. Politics: The New York colonial assembly having disbanded, a new Provincial Congress is established to assume the powers of governance.

May 18 Politics: North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin informs authorities in London that he is powerless to stop the population from joining the militia or usurping the roles of government.

May 21 Military: To alleviate supply shortages, General Thomas Gage authorizes forage parties to land on various islands in Boston harbor. However, when a party of troops ventures upon Grape Island, many inhabitants gather into three boats and land there to oppose them. The British withdraw before violence flares.

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May 24 Politics: The Continental Congress elects John Hancock of Massachusetts to be its president after Peyton Randolph resigns. Meanwhile, delegates are heartened by the news of Fort Ticonderoga’s fall. Many hope that success Â�here will induce the province of Quebec (Canada) to join the rebellion.

May 25 Military: The British garrison at Boston is reinforced by the arrival of 2,500 men under Generals John Burgoyne, William Howe, and Henry Clinton. General Thomas Gage now commands a highly trained force of 6,500 men, but the addi-­ tion of three generals to his command bespeaks strong government disÂ�pleaÂ�sure over his handling of affairs. Politics: The Continental Congress votes to begin fortifying Kingsbridge, the Hudson Highlands, and Lake George with no less than 3,000 troops.

May 26 Military: General Artemas Ward orders 30 militiamen under ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Nixon to confiscate livestock on Noddle’s and Hog Islands in Boston harbor.

May 27 Military: Admiral Samuel Graves orders a contingent of 40 Royal Marines to Noddle’s Island, Boston harbor, to attack the American detachment foraging there. The schooner HMS Diana under Lieutenant Thomas Â�Graves—the admi-­ ral’s Â�nephew—is also dispatched to cut off the American retreat. Generals Isaac Putnam and Dr. Joseph Warren counter by rushing in 1,000 reinforcements of their own and two cannon. Heavy skirmishing results in the destruction of the Diana after it runs aground, and the British withdraw. The ensuing fracas proves a rather noisy affair, but both sides suffer only four casualties apiece.

May 29 Politics: In Philadelphia, John Jay pens a declaration to the inhabitants of Que-­ bec to join the Americans as the 14th colony. However, the Catholic, Â�FrenchÂ�speaking population residing there fears cultural absorption by their southern neighbors and opts for neutrality.

May 31 Politics: Mayhem erupts in Philadelphia after Congress votes to abandon Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, New York, over strenuous objections by delegates from New York and New EnÂ�gland. At length, they reverse themselves and order the posts held as possible conduits for an invasion of Canada. The local committee from Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, drafts 20 res-­ olutions for its congressional delegates in Philadelphia. These include suspension of royal authority and confirmation of the supremacy of colonial Â�legislatures—they fall just short of declaring inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence. Though drawn up, the Â�so-­called Meck-­ lenberg Declaration is never presented to Congress. Meanwhile, Royal Governor Josiah Martin flees to the British sloop HMS Cruizer on the Cape Fear River to await developments.

June 2 Naval: The British cutter HMS Margaretta drops anchor off Machias, Maine, while escorting two timber sloops, Polly and Unity. Their mission is to secure lum-­ ber supplies for the British army in Boston. Ichabod Jones, a Loyalist Â�merchant,

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Chronology of American History is then rowed ashore to arrange the purchase. He assures the inhabitants that the wood is not going to be used to build fortifications in Boston, but they remain skeptical and uncooperative. Politics: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress formally requests that the Continental Congress assume command and responsibility for the burgeoning New England army outside Boston, as it has been raised for the benefit of all Americans. Congress dithers on the offer but does muster the resolve to authorize a pay department for the nascent Continental Army.

June 5 Journalism: To escape censorship, printer Benjamin Edes leaves Boston with his press and types and reestablishes his Boston Gazette in Watertown, Massachusetts. Military: A mob ransacks the colonial arsenal in Williamsburg, Virginia, making off with 400 muskets.

June 6 Military: Once the British begin evacuating New York, Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willett, backed by the Sons of Liberty, stops and seizes five wagons suspected of smuggling weapons out of the city. The Provincial Congress, feeling this violates a previous agreement with the British, orders the weapons returned but the request is ignored. Naval: A rancorous town meeting held at Machias, Maine, votes to allow Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones to purchase lumber for the British in Boston. To further coax cooperation, Midshipman James Moore maneuvers his four-gun schooner HMS Margaretta into bombardment position offshore.

June 7 Military: American militiamen seize a British magazine at Turtle Bay, New York City, again without authority of the Provincial Congress.

June 8 Political: Virginia governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, flees to the safety of HMS Fowley offshore as violence between Patriots and Loyalists escalates.

June 9 Military: Guy Carleton, governor general of Canada, declares martial law in that province, suspends all administrative provisions of the Quebec Act for the time being, and begins recruiting volunteers to augment his understrength forces. Carleton realizes he lacks the resources to deter a serious invasion attempt from the south.

June 10 Politics: As military options look increasingly inevitable, Congressman John Adams of Massachusetts suggests creation of a Continental Army to expedite the war.

June 11 Naval: Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones again comes ashore at Machias, Maine, to purchase lumber for British troops in Boston. Heated debate continues among the townspeople, who finally agree to sell lumber to Jones. However, when he is suddenly seized and imprisoned by Patriots, Midshipman James Moore anchors the HMS Margaretta offshore and threatens to bombard the town if Jones is hurt

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or his vessel attacked, A mob nevertheless seizes the British transports Unity and Polly and demands that Moore surrender. Instead, he cuts his cable and slips downstream to safety.

June 12 Political: In Boston, General Thomas Gage declares martial law throughout Massachusetts and entreats rebels to lay down their arms and be pardoned. This amnesty is not tendered to either Samuel Adams or John Hancock, who are to stand trial for treason. But Gage’s proclamation, composed by aspiring playwright General John Burgoyne, is overly pompous and elicits ridicule from the populace. Naval: The first naval action of the Revolutionary War occurs when 40 armed lumbermen under Jeremiah O’Brien sail the captured transports Unity and Polly against HMS Margaretta off Machias, Maine. Once adverse winds cripple the latter’s sails, the Americans pull alongside and board, seizing the vessel in a stiff fight. Midshipman James Moore is fatally wounded in the struggle, and the British suffer eight killed and five wounded to an American tally of three killed and two wounded. The Margaretta becomes the first Royal Navy vessel captured by the Americans and its guns are transferred to the Unity, which is renamed Machias Liberty. The state of Rhode Island commissions two armed sloops, the first such vessels approved by public authority.

June 14 Military: General Thomas Gage falls under increasing pressure from subordinates William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton to take some kind of offensive action and secure greater “elbow room” for the Boston garrison. He reluctantly agrees to seize strategic Dorchester Heights, still vacant, before moving on to Roxbury and Charlestown Heights. When that is accomplished, the British will be at liberty to launch an overland assault upon rebel headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Continental Congress votes to raise 10 companies of riflemen, two from Maryland and Virginia, and six from Pennsylvania. These constitute the nucleus of the rapidly forming Continental Army and a committee, including George Washington and Philip Schuyler, is tasked with drawing up regulations to govern it. Congress also assumes direct control of all colonial forces gathered outside of Boston, at the behest of the Provincial Congress. For all these reasons this day is considered the birthday of the U. S. Army.

June 15 Military: The extensive network of colonial spies alerts the Committee of Safety in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that General Thomas Gage intends to seize the high ground on Dorchester Heights outside Boston. They react by ordering General Artemas Ward to preempt the move by occupying Bunker Hill on the Charlestown Peninsula. John Adams of Massachusetts, wishing to cement Virginia to the revolutionary cause, nominates fellow delegate George Washington to serve as “General & Commander in Chief of American forces.” Resplendent in the blue and buff uniform of the Fairfax County militia, the imposing, austere Washington inspires confidence and is one of few senior leaders with actual military experience. Unknown at the

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Recruiting poster for the Continental army (Dover Publications)

time, this proves to be one of the most fortuitous appointments in world military history. Congress also authorizes creation of four major generals and five brigadiers to lead the rapidly forming Continental Army. Naval: In another early encounter, two Rhode Island vessels under Captain Abraham Whipple capture a British tender on the Providence River.

June 16 Military: Throughout the night, Colonel Richard Gridley, the Continental Army’s first engineering officer, directs construction of fortifications on Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston harbor. His men dig furiously, constructing a large redoubt on the hilltop before the British can react, and are subsequently reinforced by 1,200 men under Colonel William Prescott and General Israel Putnam. In the early morning hours, they are joined by small groups of soldiers under Colonel Thomas Knowlton, Colonel John Stark, and General Seth Pomeroy, all fighting as volunteers.

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George Washington accepts the nomination as commander in chief, but declines a salary, asking only for a stipend to cover expenses. Charles Lee, Israel Putnam, Philip J. Schuyler, and Artemas Ward are also commissioned as major generals. Congress concurrently throws itself into formalizing the new Continental Army by establishing unit types and strengths, and authorizing the appointment of an engineer, adjutant general, paymaster, commissary general, and quartermaster.

June 17 Military: At dawn, General Thomas Gage is amazed to behold a complex series of earthwork that have miraculously sprung up overnight at Charlestown, Massachusetts. The danger they pose to the Boston garrison finally rouses him to fight. After further consultation, he resolves that a direct display of British military prowess is necessary to cow the rebels into submission. Gage then authorized 2,200 soldiers under General William Howe to land on the peninsula and drive the rebels off by a frontal assault. Given the low regard that professional British officers hold for their adversaries, no particular difficulty is anticipated. Howe’s force then rows across the harbor in barges, and he draws up his command in full battle array before advancing upon the American line as if on parade. Exercising superb fire control, Colonel John Stark and William Prescott allow the vaunted Redcoats to advance within 60 paces before unleashing a devastating, point-blank volley. The attackers are staggered by heavy losses, especially among company grade officers, and flee back down the slopes. An assault on the American right by General Robert Pigot is likewise rebuffed with many casualties. Stunned by the resistance, Howe rallies the survivors and leads them back up the hill a second time. As before, the precise, closely ordered British line approaches to within a few yards of American lines before being scythed down by torrents of accurate musketry. Howe’s entire staff has been shot down beside him, yet he is miraculously unhurt. He then resolves on a final assault to settle matters with cold steel and orders his men to drop their 80-pound backpacks. He is also reinforced by 400 men under General Henry Clinton and a battalion of Royal Marines under Major John Pitcairn. Once again, the British tramp up the steep slopes of Breed’s Hill in perfect formation—no mean task, considering the steep terrain and intense summer heat—and close with the defenders. By this time the Americans have nearly exhausted their supply of ammunition. Their next volley staggers the attackers but fails to stop them. Howe, sword in hand, then leads them over the parapet and into the redoubt. A vicious hand-to-hand struggle erupts along the line as the American defense collapses under the weight of vengeful bayonets. Clinton, against orders, also pitches into the fray and General Israel Putnam finally orders a retreat back to the mainland. The fighting suddenly ceases and the exhausted British decline to pursue. Howe has lost 226 killed and 828 wounded, an appalling 48 percent of forces engaged. American losses were noted as 140 dead (including Dr. Joseph Warren) and 271 wounded. An additional 30 prisoners, principally wounded, are also taken. General Henry Clinton, surveying the carnage, considered the battle “a dear bought victory, another such would have ruined us.”

June 20 Military: General George Washington conducts America’s first military review by parading several Philadelphia militia companies. He is then ordered north by

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Chronology of American History the Continental Congress to assume command of all American forces gathered outside Boston. Politics: Thomas Jefferson arrives as a delegate to the Continental Congress, having taken the seat of his fellow Virginian, Thomas Peyton, who returned to the House of Burgesses.

June 21 Military: An obscure figure, Nathanael Greene, is appointed brigadier general of Rhode Island militia.

June 22 Military: Daniel Morgan is commissioned captain in one of the new rifle companies recruited in Frederick County, Virginia. They immediately begin their 600mile trek to join the main army outside Boston, Massachusetts. Politics: The Continental Congress authorizes an issue of $2 million in paper money to raise arms and supplies for the army—this being the first Continental currency. Delegates pledge that all bills will be redeemed at face value although the scrip is constantly devalued over the next six years and occasions the derogatory phrase “Not worth a Continental.” After long delays, Georgia finally establishes a committee of safety.

June 23 Military: General George Washington and his retinue depart Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is to assume command of all American forces besieging Boston.

June 25 Military: The Continental Congress appoints General Philip J. Schuyler as commander of the Northern Department in New York. If practicable, they grant him discretionary authority to mount an invasion of Canada and bring that region into the American fold.

June 26 Military: General George Washington, en route to Boston as commander in chief, declares his intention to resign from the military and live as a private citizen once hostilities cease. Politics: A committee tasked with writing A Declaration on Taking up Arms delivers an unsatisfactory first draft; Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson then join the committee, and work resumes.

June 30 Military: Congress approves 69 Articles of War, drawn mostly from existing British regulations, to govern, discipline, and administer the Continental Army. In contrast with British practices, discipline is somewhat moderated with punishments restricted to 39 lashes, fines restricted to two months’ pay, and prison terms restricted to one month of confinement. The death penalty is reserved openly for the most serious crimes, but rank and file are actively encouraged to attend church to promote good behavior and proper morality.

July 3 Military: General George Washington arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in his first order, he hopes “that all distinctions of colonies will be laid aside so that one and the same spirit may animate the whole.” Washington’s first

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task is to replace Artemas Ward as commander of the Continental Army, then 14,000 strong but problematically armed, trained, and fed. He then tries imposing greater semblance of military and logistical order on his unruly mob by dividing the army into three wings under Generals Ward, Israel Putnam, and Charles Lee. He then orders the line of fortifications surrounding Boston extended between Dorchester and the Mystic River to further bottle up the British. Washington also takes remedial disciplinary action to transform his armed amateurs into a respectable military force. A barrage of general orders then instruct the men, to promote discipline, improve hygiene, and refine combat effectiveness. But the greatest challenge confronting Washington is expiring enlistments at the end of the year. He will face the daunting prospect of persuading this rather unruly lot to reenlist and submit to the rigors of routine military life.

July 4 Military: General George Washington issues General Order No. 1, declaring to the troops their subordination to the Continental Congress. Some officers, unhappy over the loss of local control, resign rather than submit.

July 5 Politics: In Philadelphia, moderates under John Dickinson extend the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, which reiterates long-standing grievances yet proffers rapprochement with the government. This carefully worded missive is addressed directly to the monarch rather than Parliament, whose authority the Congress refuses to recognize. Furthermore, the petitioners acknowledge their responsibility to the Crown as loyal subjects and beseech him to halt military hostilities in order to schedule peace negotiations. Radicals scoff at this attempt at moderation, but Dickinson cleverly calculates that its rejection will exert a unifying effect upon even the most disparate elements at Philadelphia. The document is to be conveyed to London by Arthur Lee and William Penn, a noted Loyalist.

July 6 Politics: The Continental Congress takes up the revised Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms, as written by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson. This document not only justifies the outbreak of colonial resistance to British rule, it also declares American intentions “to die free men rather than live as slaves.” The finished draft is then dispatched to be read to the Continental Army outside Boston. Together with the far more conciliatory Olive Branch Petition, the declaration underscores the divided loyalties and sentiments of those present at Philadelphia.

July 8 Military: American forces under Major Benjamin Tupper and Captain John Crane begin probing British defenses by overrunning a small detachment at Boston Neck (Roxbury) and burning a guardhouse.

July 9 Military: At Cambridge, General George Washington convenes a war council to evaluate current affairs. He and his officers decide against fortifying Dorchester Heights for the time being to avoid provoking a sharp military response. Washington feels that his rag-tag ensemble is not up to a stand-up engagement with British regulars in the field, so he settles upon a siege for the time being.

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July 10 Military: General Horatio Gates, as adjutant general, issues orders forbidding free African Americans from serving with the Continental Army. British deserters and youths under 18 are also precluded from the ranks. The Americans capture a British supply vessel with 14,000 pounds of gunpowder at Tybee Island, off the mouth of the Savannah River, Georgia.

July 12 Military: South Carolina militiamen under James Mayson seize Fort Charlotte on the Savannah River, the first military action conducted by troops in that state.

July 13 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints delegates to hold councils with the Iroquois Six Nations in New York to keep them from aligning with the British. Military: In the continuing war of outposts at Boston, General Henry Clinton probes American defenses at Roxbury, totally dispersing them. Clinton subsequently regrets that he lacked sufficient manpower to launch an all-out assault against this ill-prepared assemblage.

July 14 Politics: King George III receives a petition from John Wilkes, lord mayor of London, beseeching him, to cease military operations against the colonies and pursue reconciliation.

July 16 Naval: Jeremiah O’Brien entices the officers of two British schooners, HMS Diligent and Tatamagouche, ashore at Machias, Maine, where they are suddenly seized along with the accompanying vessels.

July 18 Military: General Philip Schuyler arrives at Fort Ticonderoga only to discover it weakly manned and garrisoned by raw troops. Politics: The Continental Congress recommends that colonies pass uniform organizational and equipage standards for their militias, and also to provide armed vessels for the protection of harbors and coasts.

July 20 Societal: The first national day of public humility, fasting, and prayer, adopted by Congress on June 12, 1775, is observed.

July 21 Military: A Massachusetts militia under Major Joseph Vose raids Nantasket Point in Boston harbor and also destroys the lighthouse on Great Brewster Island. The Americans suffer two wounded. Politics: Benjamin Franklin lays his proposal for the Articles of Confederation before Congress. The item is immediately tabled for future consideration, as are recommendations that American ports be opened to trade over the nonexportation measures stipulated by the Continental Association.

July 23 Military: Patriot leader William H. Drayton arrives in the South Carolina backcountry to stir up revolutionary sentiments, but his efforts are thwarted by a

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strong Loyalist presence. He then orders local militia to begin rounding up and detaining Loyalist leaders.

July 24 Military: In New York, General Philip J. Schuyler dispatches a small reconnaissance party under Major John Brown into Canada to gather intelligence about Montreal and ascertain attitudes of the inhabitants.

July 25 Medical: Dr. Benjamin Church gains appointment as the first surgeon general of the Continental Army, over the objections of Paul Revere that he is actually a British spy. Military: The Continental Congress formally assumes the command and control functions of the Continental Army. The first rifle company, commanded by Captain Michael Doudel of York, Pennsylvania, arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts. In time, American riflemen become renowned for both superb marksmanship and unrelenting insubordination toward authority.

July 26 Politics: Having served in a similar capacity with the royal government, Benjamin Franklin is appointed postmaster general of the new Post Office Department.

July 27 Medical: Congress founds the Medical Corps under the supervision of Dr. Benjamin Church, a suspected British sympathizer, who acquires the title of director general and chief of the Hospital Corps. Military: In Dorset, New Hampshire, the Green Mountain Boys nominate Seth Warner to serve as their new lieutenant colonel; the unpopular Ethan Allen is unceremoniously dropped from the roster.

July 29 Business: Congress founds a redemption plan for all printed currency and mandates that individual colonies must assume responsibility for their respective share of payments. Military: Congress establishes chaplains and appoints Colonel William Tudor as judge advocate general of the Continental Army.

July 31 Military: In a sharp skirmish at Nantasket Point, Massachusetts, a militia under Major Benjamin Tupper attacks and disperses a party of Royal Marines, inflicting 12 casualties and taking 33 captives. American losses amount to three. Politics: The Continental Congress formally rejects Lord Frederick North’s reconciliation plan that was approved by Parliament in February. This signals an end to all colony taxes that raise money to support the British military, but Congress continues insisting that colonial legislatures alone must determined how monies raised are spent.

August 1 Politics: The Continental Congress adjourns its fateful session and votes to reconvene in Philadelphia on September 12, 1775. Women: Thomas Paine, editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette, publishes an essay in favor of women’s rights.

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August 3 Military: General George Washington convenes another war council at Cambridge, Massachusetts, to discuss the dilapidated state of American supplies, especially gunpowder, which are improperly stored under damp conditions and are deteriorating rapidly. They resolve to issue a new appeal to the states for fresh supplies.

August 6 Military: The Virginia Convention appoints Patrick Henry colonel of the 1st Regiment of state militia. However, he proves completely unsuited for military life and quickly returns to politics.

August 8 Military: Captain Daniel Morgan’s rifle company ambles into Cambridge, Massachusetts, from Virginia. As a rule, the riflemen are crack shots and notoriously belligerent toward military authority and discipline. Their tenure outside Boston is marked by mutiny and discontent.

August 14 Military: Major John Brown completes a major reconnaissance mission into Canada and reports back to General Philip J. Schuyler at Fort Ticonderoga. Brown declares that the inhabitants are neutral toward the Revolution while the strategic post of Saint-Johns is only lightly garrisoned. Based on this information Schulyer is encouraged is launch an invasion. Thomas Mifflin gains appointment as the first army quartermaster general, and responsible for the camps, transportation, troop movement, and purely logistical matters.

August 23 Politics: In the latest round of rhetorical flourish, King George III declares in his Royal Proclamation of Rebellion that the American colonies are “misled by dangerous and ill designing men.” He then goes on to promise draconian punishment for all public officials deemed guilty of treason, which further reduces the chances of reconciliation.

August 24 Military: Captain John Lamb and 60 men successfully capture the New York City battery and haul the cannon off despite the presence of the 64-gun HMS Asia anchored off shore. When the British send a barge to investigate, they are fired upon and repelled with the loss of a man. The Asia consequently unleashes a broadside against the battery, triggering a mass exodus from the city.

August 26 Military: General John Sullivan dispatches 1,200 men to build fortifications on Ploughed Hill, Boston, from which American artillery can range the harbor. But as Sullivan completes his task, he is in turn bombarded by two British floating batteries. In the exchange that follows, one of the batteries is sunk by American fire while Sullivan incurs three killed and two wounded. Naval: The Rhode Island legislature directs its delegates at the Continental Congress to propose construction of a new Continental Navy.

August 28 Military: Brigadier General Richard Montgomery leads 1,200 men from Fort Ticonderoga, New York, on a fateful campaign into Canada. He does so in the

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absence of his superior, General Philip J. Schuyler, who is incapacitated by illness. Montgomery is especially eager to take advantage of reputed ill-will the inhabitants harbor toward Great Britain. The men then embark at Ile aux Noix and row northward.

August 30 Military: An ailing General Philip J. Schuyler approves General Richard Montgomery’s decision to invade Canada and heads north with an additional 500 men to join him. Naval: HMS Rose bombards Stonington, Connecticut, for repelling a foraging party, killing two citizens.

September 1 Politics: As predicted by author John Dickinson, King George III refuses to receive the Olive Branch Petition sent to him by Congress. This act convinces many congressional delegates that reconciliation is impossible.

September 2 Naval: General George Washington charters the schooner Hannah of Beverly, Massachusetts, to attack British transports and shipping off Boston. This vessel is considered the first American warship.

September 5 Military: American forces under General Philip J. Schuyler assemble at Ile aux Noix, Quebec, before proceeding down the Richelieu River to Saint-Johns. The defenders consist of 200 British soldiers and some Indians under Major Charles Preston. Having debarked near the fort, an American party is ambushed by Indians, suffering eight dead and nine wounded to a British loss of five dead and five wounded. Discouraged, Schuyler withdraws back to Ile aux Noix for the evening. In a major military development, Colonel Benedict Arnold of Connecticut sails from Newburyport, Massachusetts, with 1,054 men and makes for the Kennebec River. Once ashore, he intends to mount an overland campaign through the Maine wilderness that will bring him to the very gates of Quebec City. This mission is undertaken without the prior knowledge or approval of Congress, with a bare minimum of supplies, and inadequate knowledge of the terrain to be surmounted. Unknown at the time, Arnold’s fabled trek will last 45 days and cover 350 miles—twice as long and as far as anticipated. Naval: The captured fishing schooner Hannah, now outfitted with four small cannon, is pressed into service under army officer Captain John Broughton is ordered to blockade British forces in Boston. This is the first warship of the embryonic Continental Navy.

September 10 Military: An ailing General Philip J. Schuyler makes another bungled advance against the British garrison at Saint-Johns, Quebec, this time at night, and the efforts fail when several American columns begin firing at each other in the dark. Schuyler then quits the field, turns operations over to General Richard Montgomery, and departs for New York to convalesce. Disgruntled riflemen in the camp outside Boston mutiny at Prospect Hill when one of their number is arrested. General George Washington orders a battalion of 500 men to surround the rebels and march them back to camp, which

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Chronology of American History is effected peacefully. Thirty-three men are subsequently court-martialed and fined. Naval: HMS Nautilus, grounded off Beverly, Massachusetts, while chasing an American schooner, is subsequently fired on by militia units. The ship eventually frees itself and escapes with several wounded.

September 11 Military: Outside Boston, an increasingly impatient General George Washington convenes another war council to discuss the possibility of carrying the city by coup de main. His officers, weighing the shabby condition of the army, come down against the plan, and it is dropped for the time being.

September 12 Diplomacy: Virginian representatives and Shawnee tribesmen sign the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which formally concludes Lord Dunmore’s War. Through its provisions, the Indians cede their hunting grounds in Kentucky and promise to stay north of the Ohio River.

September 13 Politics: The Second Continental Congress reconvenes at Philadelphia, only this time with representatives from all 13 colonies. Georgia, which had been conspicuously absent during the first gathering, now dispatches Lyman Hall as its representative.

September 15 Military: South Carolina militia seize Fort Johnson in Charleston, bringing control of that strategic bay into American hands. While there they unfurl an early American flag consisting of a dark blue background with a white crescent in the upper left corner and the word “Liberty” emblazoned across the flag in white letters. William Campbell, the royal governor, concludes his position is hopeless and hastily retreats to the safety of HMS Tamar offshore.

September 16 Military: At Ile aux Noix, Quebec, General Richard Montgomery’s army is reinforced by the arrival of Lieutenant Seth Warner’s battalion. The Americans now possess 2,000 weatherbeaten men while the British garrison at Saint-Johns has likewise been brought up to 500 soldiers. Undeterred, Montgomery elects to commence formal siege operations once Schuyler returns to New York. Politics: In the South Carolina backcountry, an agreement is reached between Patriot leader William H. Drayton and his Loyalist counterpart, Colonel Thomas Fletchell, to prevent the outbreak of hostilities. Henceforth, all Loyalists pledge to remain neutral and not join any invading armies while the Patriots are obliged to respect their lives and property.

September 18 Military: General Richard Montgomery works to cut the Richelieu River while besieging the British garrison at Saint-Johns, Quebec. Meanwhile, Major John Brown and 135 Americans ambush a British supply train near Fort Chambly, Quebec. Brown is subsequently reinforced by an additional 500 men under Colonel Timothy Bedel, who helps thwart a British effort to recapture the wagons. Naval: At Boston, Admiral Samuel Graves orders all merchant vessels searched for flint, a quartz stone used as ballast, which, if found, is to be thrown overboard.

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Through this expedient, he hopes to deny any possible source of musket flints to the Americans. Graves also learns that he is to be replaced as commander in North America at the end of the year.

September 19 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints a secret committee under Thomas Willing and Robert Morris, to clandestinely solicit military arms and supplies from abroad. France and Spain are the most logical choices to begin their quest. Military: General Richard Montgomery deploys 350 men on the Richelieu River to interdict HMS Royal Savage from entering Lake Champlain. He then advances his siege of Saint-Johns, Quebec, whose fall will open up the road to Montreal.

September 23 Military: The American expedition under Colonel Benedict Arnold departs Gardiner, Maine, and begins advancing through the wilderness in three divisions, each separated by a one-day interval.

September 24 Politics: Despite certain setbacks, Prime Minister Lord Frederick North vows to prosecute the war in the colonies “with the utmost vigor.”

September 25 Military: General Richard Montgomery dispatches Colonel Ethan Allen to Chambly to recruit Canadian volunteers, but while returning he encounters the force of Major John Brown. Together they decide to launch a two-pronged assault against Montreal with 200 men. However, Governor General Guy Carleton detects the weakness of Allen’s advance and orders 35 soldiers and 200 Canadians under Captain Walter Butler to sortie against them. Allen is overwhelmed and captured along with 40 soldiers in a swift riposte. They suffer a further seven killed to a British total of three slain and two wounded. Allen thus becomes the first significant American captive of the war and he is transported and detained in England under harsh conditions. Politics: The Continental Congress refuses to recognize delegates from the proprietary colony of Transylvania due to a conflict with Virginia, which also claims the land.

September 26 Diplomacy: American representatives convene a meeting with Iroquois Six Nations leaders at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Members of various Ohio tribes and the British Indian department are also represented. After some deliberation the Indians pledge their neutrality while the Americans promise to respect the Ohio River as the boundary between the frontier and new settlements. Military: Lethargic general Thomas Gage, derided by the soldiers of his command as “Granny,” is relieved of command at Boston and ordered back to Britain for “consultations.” He is succeeded by the more aggressive and immensely popular General William “Billy” Howe.

October 3 Naval: Rhode Island delegates at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia formally request the construction and funding of a new Continental Navy.

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October 4 Military: Dr. Benjamin Church, head of the army medical corps, is courtmartialed for treason, having corresponded with the enemy, and dismissed. General George Washington refers the matter of punishment to the Continental Congress. He is replaced by Dr. John Morgan, an enterprising physician who advocates widespread use of inoculation of troops against smallpox. Politics: Congress establishes a committee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Lynch, and Benjamin Harrison to visit General George Washington’s headquarters outside Boston for top-level strategy discussions. There they will also try and convince him to capture Boston by December, if possible.

October 6 Military: The hard-slogging Canadian expedition of Colonel Benedict Arnold reaches Norridgewock Falls on the Kennebec River, whereupon the men have to portage their vessels and equipment overland by hand.

October 7 Naval: Admiral Thomas Graves authorizes British naval vessels to conduct punitive raids along the New England coast to dissuade privateering operations. A small force under Captain James Wallace then arrives off Bristol, Rhode Island, and bombards the town until it agrees to surrender 40 sheep. The British depart without further incident; two civilian are killed in the action.

October 8 Military: A Council of General Officers declares that African Americans, either free or slave, would be allowed to join the Continental Army.

October 13 Naval: In light of the push for increased naval resources, Congress authorizes Colonel John Glover, a former sailor, to convert several transports into armed warships. They also approve construction of two formal warships, the nation’s first such vessels. A marine committee consisting of Silas Deane, Christopher Gadsden, and John Langdon is then created to oversee such matters.

October 17 Military: A force of 625 men, including 350 newly recruited Canadians under Colonels James Livingston and Timothy Bedel, paddles down the St. Lawrence River, bypasses Saint-Johns, and invests Fort Chambly, Quebec. Naval: Royal Navy warships HMS Canceaux and Halifax under Captain Henry Mowat drop anchor off Falmouth (Portsmouth), Maine, demanding the town’s surrender. When the inhabitants refuse, Mowat commences bombarding the town for nine hours while landing parties go ashore to further the destruction. By the time Mowat departs, he has destroyed 400 buildings and 15 vessels. It is sweet revenge to that officer, who had been previously captured and held by the town’s inhabitants until he escaped. The sheer extent of the destruction enrages New Englanders and further fans the flames of resentment against Britain.

October 18 Military: An American naval unit, assisted by Canadian dissenters, captures the town of Chambly, Quebec, along with 88 prisoners from the 7th Foot and several tons of gunpowder. This victory severs the supply line to the strategic

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British post of Saint-Johns, then besieged by forces under General Richard Montgomery. Politics: Governor William Tryon of New York escapes to the safety of HMS Duchess in New York harbor to avoid arrest. This vessel serves as his floating headquarters for almost a year. Slavery: Thomas Paine composes an antislavery tract for the Pennsylvania Journal calling for the Continental Congress to stop the shameful practice of selling African Americans.

October 23 Politics: In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress expressly forbids African Americans from serving in the Continental Army.

October 24–25 Military: British naval forces directed by Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, arrives off Norfolk, Virginia, and demands its surrender. However, several units of American riflemen under Colonel William Woodford ashore drive the vessels off, capturing two which run aground.

October 25 Military: The Canadian expedition of Colonel Benedict Arnold struggles to surmount a flooded countryside and freezing weather in the vicinity of Dead River. He also loses the 300-man division of Colonel Roger Enos when they vote to return home.

October 26 Military: General David Wooster reinforces the siege of Saint-Johns with 325 Connecticut troops and is soon joined by Major Barnabas Tuthill with an additional 225 New Yorkers.

October 27 Naval: A congressional committee recommends the construction or purchase of five frigates of 32 guns, five of 28 guns, and three with 24 guns.

October 28 Military: The expedition of General Benedict Arnold, having endured incredible hardship and a spate of desertions, reaches the divide between the Atlantic and St. Lawrence watersheds. He resolves to press ahead even though his men are reduced to eating dogs and shoe leather. General William Howe issues a proclamation forbidding all Boston inhabitants from leaving the city under penalty of death. Henceforth all men of military age are also required to enroll in the local militia for the city’s defense.

October 30 Military: Governor General Guy Carleton, attempting to lift the siege of Saint-Johns, pushes 800 men and Indians across the St. Lawrence River at Longueuil, Quebec, where they are engaged by the Green Mountain Boys under Lieutenant Colonel Seth Warner. The attack collapses in the face of accurate musketry, and an attempted flanking movement is also thwarted, so Carleton withdraws. The Canadian expedition of Colonel Benedict Arnold reaches Sertigan, Quebec, where supplies are purchased for the hungry, half-frozen soldiers.

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Chronology of American History Naval: After some prodding, Congress authorizes construction of two frigates, of 36 and of 29 guns. The naval committee is also expanded to include John Adams, Joseph Hewes, Stephen Hopkins, and Richard Henry Lee.

November 2 Military: General Richard Montgomery gains a significant victory by capturing the British garrison of Major Charles Preston at Saint-Johns following a grueling siege of 55 days. He seizes 41 cannon and 500 captives, among whom is a youthful Captain John Andre, the celebrated spy. The advance to Montreal is now open but the delays incurred at Saint-Johns wasted two months of good weather and the Americans must conduct future operations in the dead of winter. Naval: The naval committee votes to purchase, arm, and rename eight merchant vessels as the core of the new Continental Navy. They are the Alfred, 24 guns; Columbus, 18 guns; Andrew Doria, 14 guns; Cabot, 14 guns; Providence, 12; Hornet, 10; and Fly, eight.

November 4 – 8 Military: General George Washington, his army about to disband due to expiring enlistments, convinces Congress to extend the period of military service to one year. Congress also sets about reorganizing the Continental Army, decreeing that as of January 1, 1776, it will consist of 26 infantry regiments of eight companies each, for a total complement of 728 rank and file. They also prescribe the first official military uniform, consisting of a brown coat with various regiments denoted by collar and cuff colors. Total strength is theoretically set at 20,372 soldiers, but the Americans will be lucky to maintain half that in the field at any given time.

November 5 Military: Disregarding the onset of winter, General Richard Montgomery hurriedly presses onward from Saint-Johns and marches for Montreal, Quebec. Naval: Congress appoints Esek Hopkins the first commander in chief of the Continental Navy, or commodore. A gruff, imperious, and capable sailor, he apparently received the appointment through the influence of his brother Stephen Hopkins, who sits on the naval committee.

November 7 Military: The Continental Congress amends the Articles of War to include treason as a capital offensive, punishable by death. Politics: The Rhode Island General Assembly votes to remove Governor Joseph Wanton from office. Slavery: Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, declares Virginia under martial law and orders all law-abiding citizens to flock under his standards. He also issues the first ever emancipation proclamation in American history by granting freedom to all African-American slaves who escape and join the British army. In practice, this policy proves counterproductive and hardens attitudes of the influential planting class against Great Britain.

November 8 Diplomacy: Congress directs the secret committee to purchase arms, ammunition, and supplies through the West Indies by trading American products.

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(1718 –1802)

Naval officer Esek Hopkins was born in North Scituate, Rhode Island, on April 26, 1718, a son of farmers. He joined the merchant marine as a youth, worked skillfully, and within a few years commanded a minor fleet of several commercial vessels. Hopkins gained additional wealth as a successful privateer during the French and Indian War, 1754–63, and eventually acquired a 200-acre farm in Providence along with considerable political influence. In October 1775, the Rhode Island legislature appointed him brigadier general of militia while his elder brother, Congressman Stephen Hopkins, headed up the Marine Committee and sought an appointment for him. On December 22, 1775, Hopkins thus became the first commodore of the nascent Continental Navy, then consisting of only eight converted merchant ships. In January 1776, Hopkins led his eight-ship flotilla out of Chesapeake Bay with orders from Congress to drive British warships from the American coast. However, owing to a discretionary clause, he opted instead to attack Nassau in the Bahamas, which he seized on March 3, 1776. This constituted the first American naval offensive and netted several cannon and a large supply of gunpowder. However, on the return visit, Hopkins’s entire squadron attempted to capture the lone frigate HMS Glasgow on April 6, 1776, and was roundly repulsed. For his mishandling of affairs and alleged disobedience of orders, Hopkins was censured in Congress. His squadron was also broken up, never to sail again in strength.

For several years, Hopkins and his ships remained docked at Providence, Rhode Island, being short of manpower, equipment, and money. He was simply unable to attract the necessary skilled sailors as long as privateers offered them better wages and working conditions. Being unable to sail meant that the British navy could routinely bottle him up in Narragansett Bay at their leisure. Meanwhile, other leaders like John Paul Jones and John Barry scored marked successes on their own. Hopkins further compounded his problems by doling out what money he had in miserly fashion, alienating his own captains. Their complaints made their way back to Congress, which initiated an investigation of the gruff commodore. In this respect, Hopkins was his own worse enemy, and he displayed little regard for congressional authority and publicly ridiculed them for ineptitude. The politicians were unduly angered, and in January 1778, they removed Hopkins from command over the objections of John Adams. Hopkins survived the controversy surrounding his removal, and he served in the Rhode Island general assembly from 1779 to 1786. During this period he also functioned as a trustee of Rhode Island College (present-day Brown University). Hopkins died at his farm in Scituate on February 28, 1802, a rough man in a rough profession. Few questioned his abilities for seamanship, but he proved unequal to the task of running the nation’s new navy. This, in retrospect, would have proven a daunting task and challenged the abilities and patience of men far more capable than himself.

November 9 Military: Colonel Benedict Arnold concludes his remarkable, 350-mile wilderness trek by reaching the St. Lawrence River opposite Quebec City. His command is reduced to 675 men.

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Chronology of American History General William Howe is directed by Secretary of the Colonies William Legge, Lord Dartmouth, to consider evacuating Boston to commence offensive operations against New York. Howe, lacking sufficient naval transports to handle both his army and thousands of Loyalists who wish to leave, decides to remain where he is. Riflemen under Colonel William Thompson repulse a 500-man British foraging party at Phipp’s Farm on Lechmere Point, Boston. The British lose two killed for two Americans wounded but manage to steal 10 cows. The Americans subsequently mount a battery at this point.

November 10 Naval: Congress approves creation of two battalions of Continental marines to supplant its embryonic naval force. Captain Samuel Nicholas is appointed the first commissioned officer of the corps. Politics: Lord George Germain is appointed secretary of state for the colonies, less for his talent than his unwavering support for hard-line policies regarding the war in America.

November 11 Military: Governor General Guy Carleton is hotly pursued by American forces at Montreal and hurriedly withdraws down the St. Lawrence River in a small flotilla. Once at the citadel of Quebec, he intends to make a last stand in Canada. Naval: Captain Simon Tuft and the ship Defiance, blockading Hog Point near Charleston, South Carolina, are attacked by the British vessels HMS Tamer and Cherokee. He nonetheless manages to scuttle four hulks in the channel without casualties.

November 12 Military: General George Washington, as commander in chief of the Continental Army, prohibits recruiting officers from enlisting African Americans into the army, be they free or slave.

November 13 Military: American forces vigorously led by General Richard Montgomery advance and receive Montreal’s surrender. Simultaneously, Colonel Benedict Arnold’s Canadian expedition prepares to cross the St. Lawrence River and assemble outside Quebec.

November 14 Military: Loyalist forces under Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, advances from Norfolk to Kemp’s Landing on the Elizabeth River and sweeps aside a smaller force of riflemen under Colonel William Woodford. The Americans withdraw after losing nine killed and 14 wounded.

November 15 Military: A ragged force of 700 men under Colonel Benedict Arnold finally crosses the St. Lawrence River, assembles on the Plains of Abraham where General James Wolfe stood with six times that number in 1759, and tries to bluff the 1,200-man garrison under Lieutenant Colonel Allan MacLean into surrendering. He refuses, and Arnold concludes he needs several cannon and a minimum of 2,000 men to capture the city. The moment of decision is at hand but the Americans have arrived with too little, too late.

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November 16 Military: Colonel Henry Knox is appointed commander of the new Continental Regiment of Artillery, signaling the birth of that army. More significantly, he is dispatched from Boston to Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to retrieve all captured British ordnance stored there. Politics: Whig opposition leader Edmund Burke introduces a bill into Parliament which declares that only colonial legislatures have the authority for raising taxes on their populace. It also lifts all punitive measures against Massachusetts, pardons colonial leaders for their role in recent hostilities and strikes a very conciliatory tone. The bill is overwhelmingly defeated on a vote of 210 to 105.

November 18 Military: Despite attempts at arranging a truce, warfare commences in the South Carolina backwoods when a force of 1,800 Loyalists under Colonel Patrick Cunningham invests the 600 Patriots of Colonel Andrew Williamson at Fort Ninety Six. The contestants spend the next two days pot-shotting each other with few casualties resulting.

November 19 Military: Americans under Colonel Benedict Arnold withdraw 20 miles from Quebec to avoid a possible sortie by Lieutenant Colonel Allan MacLean. He establishes a new camp at Point aux Trembles and awaits developments as MacLean continues strengthening his defenses. The British flotilla under Governor General Guy Carleton retreats down the St. Lawrence River as far as Sorel, where it is suddenly bombarded by American artillery under Colonel John Brown. Many vessels are either sunk or captured, and Carleton himself makes a hairbreadth escape. However, General Richard Prescott and 145 soldiers pass into captivity.

November 20 Journalism: The Sons of Liberty again wreck the printing press of James Rivington in New York City, this time carrying his expensive type press back with them to Connecticut.

November 21 Military: A Patriot militia under Colonel Andrew Williams, having nearly exhausted its gunpowder, concludes a truce with a larger Loyalist force at Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina. Henceforth the Patriots are to destroy their fortification, release all captives, and return to their homes unmolested. A 20-day ceasefire also ensues to permit the leaders of both factions to confer in Charleston. Of little consequence militarily, the “siege” of Fort Ninety Six marks the beginning of a protracted civil war throughout the South.

November 25 Military: Colonel William Woodford and 300 Virginia militiamen are dispatched toward Suffolk to garrison colonial supplies gathered there. This movement induces Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, to march and try to intercept the Americans near Great Bridge on the Elizabeth River. Naval: The Continental Congress authorizes privateering against English shipping and urges creation of an admiralty court to allocate prize money.

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November 27 Naval: Captain John Manley, commanding the armed schooner Lee, captures the British ordnance brig HMS Nancy off Cape Ann, Massachusetts. The vessel is heavily laden with munitions, cannon, and a 2,700-pound mortar, which is dubbed “Congress.” The rich haul is immediately dispatched to the army of General George Washington outside Boston.

November 28 Naval: John Adams directs the Naval Committee to adopt regulations for governing the nascent Continental Navy, in effect formally creating that force. These ordinances prescribe rates of pay, rations, discipline, and division of prize money.

November 29 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress creates the Committee of Secret Correspondence to Conduct Foreign Relations. In effect, it functions as a de facto department of state and is tasked with acquiring loans and military supplies from sympathetic European governments. It is also authorized to dispatch government agents abroad to achieve those same ends. The initial members are Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, John Dickinson, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas Johnson. Military: A body of American riflemen under Colonel William Woodford, apprised that a large British force under Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, is approaching, begins assuming a strong defense position at Great Bridge on a bank of the Elizabeth River. In this manner, Woodford hopes he can thwart possible British capture of Suffolk.

December 1 Military: General Richard Montgomery departs Montreal with a small force of 330 men—all he can spare—and sails down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec. There he intends to join forces with Colonel Benedict Arnold’s depleted force at Point aux Trembles and begin siege operations. Both commanders are under an exacting timetable as expiring enlistments, the onset of winter, and endemic supply shortages are all working against them.

December 3 Naval: Lieutenant John Paul Jones hoists the 13-stripe Grand Union flag over the converted merchant vessel Alfred in Philadelphia. This represents both the first time that an American standard has been raised atop a warship and another sign that the Continental Navy is slowly acquiring shape.

December 6 Politics: When word of King George III’s rejection of the Olive Branch Petition reaches Philadelphia, the Continental Congress responds by renewing its vows of allegiance to the Crown and protesting parliamentary actions. Independence is never mentioned.

December 7 Military: General Richard Montgomery is promoted by the Continental Congress to major general, although he never lives to accept it.

December 8 Diplomacy: In Paris, French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, announces that King Louis XVI has renewed his injunction against loading guns and munitions aboard American vessels anchored in French ports.

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Jones, John Paul (1747–1792) Naval officer John Paul was born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, on July 6, 1747, and he went to sea at an early age. A skilled mariner, he commanded his own vessel at the age of 21, but in 1770 he faced murder charges for flogging a carpenter to death. He was cleared by an admiralty court, but in 1773 he killed another sailor during a mutiny and fled to Virginia under the assumed name of Jones. When the Revolutionary War commenced two years later, he was living in Philadelphia and received a lieutenant’s commission in the Continental Navy. Jones first accompanied Commodore Esek Hopkins on a raid to Nassau in the spring of 1776, on board the Alfred, then received command of his first vessel, the Providence, that same year. He completed several successful cruises aboard a variety of warships, and in June 1777, he hoisted his flag on the new 18-gun sloop Ranger. Jones then cruised the British home waters, seizing the 20-gun sloop HMS Drake in a swift action off the Irish coast. He continued successfully raiding and cruising European waters, until September 1779, when he took control of the former French merchant vessel Bonhomme Richard, so named in honor of Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac. He inherited a worn-down vessel in terrible shape and spent several months making it seaworthy. On September 23, 1779, Jones engaged the new frigate HMS Serapis under Captain Richard Pearson in one of the hardest ship-to-ship encounters ever recorded. The Americans took a pounding throughout most of the nighttime battle,

until Pearson was finally forced to strike his colors. Reputedly, when Pearson demanded that Jones surrender, he defiantly thundered back, “I have not yet begun to fight!” The creaking Bonhomme Richard sank two days later, but Jones, hotly pursued by English warships, skillfully made it back to port in France where he was hailed a hero. Afterward, Jones sailed to America onboard the borrowed warship Ariel and returned to France in 1781 to negotiate claims for his numerous prizes. At that time, King Louis XVI gave him an elaborate sword and made him a chevalier of France. The Continental Congress also struck a gold medal in his honor, Jones being the only Continental Navy officer so honored. Once the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Congress began selling off its warships and Jones was forced to look overseas for employment. In 1788, he tendered his service to Czarina Catherine II of Russia, was made an admiral, and fought several successful actions against the Turks before losing his commission to court intrigue. He subsequently relocated to Paris and retired from active duty. Jones died there in relative obscurity on July 18, 1792, and was interred in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1905 that his remains were identified, and he was reburied in the chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, with the military honors befitting a national hero. Along with Captain John Barry, Jones is considered to be a founding father of the U.S. Navy and bequeathed to that service traditions of aggressive leadership and victory.

However, the law is never seriously enforced, and France remains an indispensable valuable supply source throughout the war. Military: General Richard Montgomery sends a flag to Quebec, demanding the city’s immediate surrender. Governor General Guy Carleton, surveying the rag-tag forces before him, promptly declines the request. British strategy is to

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Chronology of American History allow harsh winter conditions to eviscerate the Americans, while awaiting their own reinforcements from Europe. Colonel Henry Knox departs Fort Ticonderoga, New York, and begins a peril-­ ous, midwinter transit back to Boston. At this time, his artillery train consists of 40 sleds drawn by 80 oxen.

Knox, Henry (1750–1806) General Henry Knox was born in Boston, Massachu-­ setts, on July 25, 1750, the son of a shipwright. His father died while he was still young, and he worked in a bookstore to help support his large family. Knox eventually developed an interest in military affairs, opened his own bookstore in 1771, and catered exclusively to British military officers. He also became politi-­ cally active in the wake of the Boston Mas-­ sacre of December 1770 and joined a local militia group. When the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, Knox volunteered his services to General Artemas Ward dur-­ ing the siege of Boston and was introduced to General George Washington. The two men struck up cordial relations, and Knox was made a colonel of artillery in the Conti-­ nental Army. In this capacity, he performed invaluable service by transporting captured British cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge in the spring of 1776, which forced General William Howe to evacuate Boston. In time, Knox emerged as the army’s foremost authority on artillery, and he fought with distinction at Long Island, Trenton, and Princeton. He was instrumental in orga-­ nizing the crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776 under difficult, freezing conditions, playing a significant role in the decisive American victory there. In 1780, he was part of the jury that condemned English spy Major John Andre to death, and he also helped establish both the famous Springfield Arsenal in Massachusetts and the Artillery Academy at Morristown, Pennsylvania, an

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important precursor to West Point. Knox was then conspicuously engaged throughout the siege of Yorktown in September 1781, where his cannon forced the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis and helped secure the final American victory. When General Wash-­ ington bid his officers farewell at Fraunces Tavern on December 4, 1783, Knox was the first officer to shake his hand. He was also a driving force behind founding the Society of the Cincinnati, a politically oriented veteran’s society for former officers. Knox remained actively engaged in mili-­ tary matters after the Revolution, and in 1785, he succeeded General Benjamin Lin-­ coln as secretary of war under the Articles of Confederation. Once the U.S. Constitution was in effect in 1789, he continued in that role at the behest of President Washington. In this capacity, he helped lay down the foun-­ dation for a new U.S. Navy, administered the small but important U.S. Army, and engaged in numerous treaties with Native Americans. He was also acutely aware of weaknesses in the American militia system and persuaded Congress to enact the Militia Act of 1792 in an attempt to revive it. Knox finally left the administration after a simmering dispute with Alexander Hamilton on December 28, 1794, and retired to private life. He resided several years on his estate at Thomaston, Maine, and died there on October 25, 1806. He was one of the Revolutionary War’s outstanding senior officers and regarded as father of the American artillery service.

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December 9 Military: A British force of 600 Loyalists and 200 regulars under Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, confront Colonel William Woodford’s 300 American riflemen safely ensconced behind Great Bridge on the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Rather than outflank his adversary, Dunmore impatiently orders Captain Samuel Leslie to storm the bridge head on with his grenadier company. Woodford orders his men to lie low as if the position was undefended, and the British rush up only to receive sudden and accurate fire from concealed troops. Heavily repulsed, Dunmore orders a second charge, which is also defeated with a loss of 13 dead and 49 wounded to one American injured. As the British are in the act of withdrawing, Woodford suddenly sorties across the bridge, trapping Dunmore behind some fortifications The British manage to escape under cover of darkness and head with all speed for Norfolk.

December 10 Military: Expiring enlistments induce many Connecticut soldiers to leave Boston, underscoring a problem that vexes the Continental Army throughout the war.

December 13 Military: Colonel William Woodford and his riflemen, flush with success at Great Bridge, occupy Norfolk, Virginia, and force British forces, under Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, to their fleet offshore.

December 14 Naval: Congress creates a marine committee of 13 members, with one seat for each colony, to augment the naval committee. This body is responsible for acquiring and outfitting all warships authorized by the latter.

December 21 Politics: Parliament passes the Confiscation Act for seizing rebel property. If shipping is involved, any crew members so taken are subject to impressment into the Royal Navy.

December 22 Military: A force of 1,400 South Carolina militia under colonels Richard Richardson, Thomas Polk, Alex Martin, and William Thompson gather to help quell a growing Loyalist movement. This force surprises and annihilates a smaller Loyalist detachment at Great Cane Brake on the Reedy River, killing six and taking 130 prisoners. Several of the state’s most wanted Loyalist leaders are among those apprehended. Naval: The Continental Congress authorizes construction of five additional 32gun frigates, five 28-gun frigates, and three 24-gun frigates. The vessels are to be christened Hancock, Randolph, Raleigh, Warren, Washington, Congress, Effingham, Providence, Trumbull, Virginia, Boston, Delaware, and Montgomery. On the balance sheet, this pits a force of 14 vessels and 332 guns against a Royal Navy establishment possessing 89 warships and 2,756 cannon. To provide the Continental Navy with its initial cadre, Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, John B. Hopkins, and Nicholas Biddle are all commissioned captain.

December 23 Politics: By dint of royal proclamation, King George III closes the colonies to all foreign commerce and trade, commencing the following March.

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December 28 Diplomacy: French agent Archard de Bonvouloir makes his appearance before the Committee of Secret Correspondence in Philadelphia and assures them of his government’s sympathy and intention to ignore all covert efforts to raise arms and money by the Americans in France.

December 30 Military: In a desperate gamble, General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold lay out a plan for attacking Quebec, then garrisoned by 1,800 British troops and militia under Governor General Guy Carleton. It is a twopronged affair, with Arnold taking 600 men along the banks of the St. Charles River while Montgomery leads 300 from Cape Diamond down a narrow path south of the city. At a given signal, both columns will simultaneously attack and try to capture the Lower Town, believed to be lightly defended.

December 31 Military: Outnumbered, short on supplies, and faced with expiring enlistments, General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold launch a desperate attack on the 1,800-man garrison of General Guy Carleton during a howling blizzard. Montgomery personally leads the charge against a fortified position and is among the first killed by enemy fire. Arnold’s 600-man column enjoys better success and overruns several enemy positions, but he is wounded in the leg and evacuated. His successor, Major Daniel Morgan, continues attacking the barricades and enjoys minor success but is ultimately surrounded and forced to surrender. The Americans sustain 30 dead, 42 injured, and 425 captured to a British tally of only five killed and 13 wounded. Arnold then gathers up his surviving soldiers and reestablishes a loose siege of the city. Slavery: General George Washington, faced with expiring enlistments in the Continental Army, reverses course and allows recruiting officers to sign up any free African Americans willing to serve. However, he still opposes using slaves as soldiers.

1776 General: Washington, North Carolina, becomes the first town in the United States named after commander in chief George Washington. Religion: At their annual meeting, the Society of Friends votes to encourage Quakers to shun fellow members who refuse to free their slaves. Free African Americans in Williamsburg, Virginia, found their own African Baptist Church. Slavery: Reverend Samuel Hopkins of Newport, Rhode Island, publishes his antislavery tract entitled A Dialogue Concerning the Slavery of the Africans, and forwards several copies to the Continental Congress for their consideration. Delaware’s new state constitution expressly forbids the importation of African slaves.

January 1 Military: General David Wooster arrives in Canada to assume temporary command of American forces from Colonel Benedict Arnold. At Cambridge, Massachusetts, General George Washington unfurls a new flag with 13 alternating red and white stripes and declares the beginning of a “new army.”

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Naval: A fleet of small British warships under Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, anchors off of Norfolk, Virginia, and demands its surrender. When the town refuses, he commences a prolonged bombardment and sends landing parties ashore to complete the destruction. Both sides suffer six killed or wounded.

January 2 Military: By the time fires have been contained, 54 houses are burned by British and Loyalist forces at Norfolk, Virginia. The local committee of safety orders the property of known Loyalists burned as well, and a total of 860 structures is ultimately consumed.

January 3 Military: Secretary of State for the Colonies William Legge, Lord Dartmouth, instructs Royal Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina to begin raising an army of 20,000 Loyalists, especially from among that colony’s large population of Scottish highlanders. This force is to rendezvous at Brunswick no later than February 15 and prepare to cooperate with a British naval expedition being dispatched to the coast.

January 4 Military: British soldiers uncover the remains of General Richard Montgomery, and he is subsequently interred with full military honors at Quebec. His body reposes in Canada until 1818, when it is reburied at St. Paul’s Church, New York. General George Washington writes the Continental Congress and assures them he will attack Boston as soon as the opportunity arises.

January 5 Naval: Commodore Esek Hopkins of the Continental Navy is instructed by the Continental Congress to depart Philadelphia whenever practicable and sweep the Virginia and Carolina coasts of marauding British vessels. However, if this proves impractical, he is given discretionary authority to attack the Bahamas instead. Politics: Delegates meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, vote to become the first American state by discarding the old colonial charter for a new constitution. This makes provisions for a president and a bicameral legislature.

January 6 Military: General William Howe, eager to rid himself of his annoying subordinate, General Henry Clinton, dispatches him on an amphibious expedition from Boston, to Cape Fear, North Carolina, to cooperate with a large Loyalist force under Governor Josiah Martin. Once there, he will be joined by another squadron sailing from Cork, Ireland, under Commodore Sir Peter Parker and General Charles Cornwallis. It is anticipated that their combined presence will spark a Loyalist resurgence throughout the region. In New York, Alexander Hamilton founds the Provincial Company of Artillery of the Colony of New York with himself as colonel. This remains the oldest, most continuous unit of the U.S. Army and survives today as Battery D, 5th Field Artillery.

January 8 Military: A raid by Major Thomas Knowlton of Connecticut against Charlestown, Massachusetts, interrupts a performance of General John Burgoyne’s farce The Blockade of Boston. The audience, assuming this is part of the play, bursts into laughter, but the Americans subsequently take five prisoners and burn several houses.

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January 9 Politics: After a long delay, the Continental Congress finally promotes the welldeserving Benedict Arnold to brigadier general. Their perceived neglect occasions much resentment in this mercurial leader. Publishing: Thomas Paine publishes his seminal pamphlet Common Sense in Philadelphia, whose lofty rhetoric electrifies the American polity and further enhances the drive for independence from Great Britain. “Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation,” he emoted. “The Blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ’tis time to part.” It is aimed squarely at common people and breaks all precedent by referring to King George III, heretofore a remote, benign figure, as the “royal brute.” This tract proves one of the most instrumental publications in history and enjoys a print run of half a million copies—enormous for its day.

January 10 Military: Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina, still on board HMS Scorpion, urges Loyalists to gather at Brunswick, south of Wilmington, and await a large British naval expedition. Both the governor and the British government harbor unrealistic expectations of raising and equipping a 20,000-man force.

January 11 Politics: In Annapolis, the Maryland Convention side with assemblies in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania by rejecting independence in favor of reconciliation and moderation. Delegates at the Continental Congress are likewise instructed to pursue rapprochement with Great Britain and be receptive toward any conciliatory moves from the king or Parliament.

January 12 Naval: British forces under Captain James Wallace engage Rhode Island militia in a three-hour contest for possession of Patience, Hope, and Prudence Islands in Narragansett Bay. The British sustain three losses, then withdraw.

January 15 Naval: Volunteers out of Newbury, Massachusetts, man three whale boats and capture a British provisions ship.

January 16 Politics: Congress lends its approval to General George Washington’s intention to recruit free African Americans into the Continental Army.

January 17 Front page of Thomas Paine's Common Sense (Library of Congress)

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Military: General Philip J. Schuyler and 3,000 New York militiamen advance upon Johnson Hall,

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Political writer Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, on January 19, 1737, the son of a corset maker. He failed continuously at a number of occupations but also developed an interest in political rationalism. In 1774, he had a chance encounter in London with Benjamin Franklin, who then invited him to move to Philadelphia and provided several letters of recommendation. Paine, eager to escape creditors in England, readily complied, and once there he worked capably as editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. Wielding a muscular prose as forceful as it was persuasive, he penned several antislavery tracts that brought him instant notoriety. Given his distaste for England’s political system and his own beliefs in freedom and equality, Paine slipped easily into the radical circles of revolutionary America. But no one could have anticipated the reaction to his small pamphlet entitled Common Sense, which he anonymously published in January 1776. This seminal polemic was a fiery and effective condemnation of kings and aristocracy that took the American polity by storm. It certainly accelerated public sentiments toward the Declaration of Independence that summer. Common Sense sold over 120,000 copies in only three months, rendering Paine an instant political celebrity. He followed up his success with a series of essays called the American Crisis, wherein he informed his fellow Americans that “These are the times that try men’s souls.” General George Washington was so impressed by its appeal that he ordered it read to all soldiers in the field. Paine

was thereafter admitted to the Continental Congress as secretary of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, where he squabbled with several members and resigned in 1779. He also served as a clerk in the Pennsylvania assembly to raise funds and supplies for the Continental Army. After the Revolutionary War ended, Paine ventured back to England on business matters, but his proclivity for radical politics got him in trouble again. Specifically he denounced Edmund Burke’s attack upon the French Revolution with The Rights of Man (1791), which defended republicanism and called for a revolution against the English monarchy. This publication also met with rapid success, selling over 200,000 copies in only a few months, and was translated into French and German. Paine was then charged with sedition. He fled to France and was elected to the National Assembly as a hero. But in time, he grew dismayed by the violent radicalism of the Jacobins and was imprisoned. From his cell he next composed his most controversial tract, Age of Reason (1794), an outright attack upon organized religion. Paine was eventually released through the intercession of James Monroe in 1794 and he returned to the United States in 1802, completely discredited by his seeming atheism. He then further stoked his unpopularity by publishing attacks on President George Washington, dying in New York City on June 10, 1809, all but forgotten. But for the time he lived, Paine was the most effective pamphleteer of two revolutions.

home of Loyalist Sir John Johnson. Johnson has amassed a force of 700 Loyalists and Indians but surrenders without a shot. Schuyler’s quick action eliminates any Loyalist threat emanating from the Albany region.

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Chronology of American History Naval: Commodore Esek Hopkins sails with his eight-ship flotilla for the first time from Philadelphia and down the ice-choked Delaware River, although he is prevented from getting to sea. Captain Samuel Tucker is also commissioned and appointed to command the frigate Franklin. Slavery: The Virginia convention orders all African Americans caught fighting for the British to be resold to the West Indies.

January 19 Military: The Continental Congress votes to send reinforcements to Canada with troops raised from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Colonel Moses Hazen is authorized to raise a regiment of Canadians in Canada. Colonel John Haslet is appointed head of the newly raised Delaware Continentals, one of few American formations to be equipped with bayonets.

January 20 Naval: General Henry Clinton departs Boston with 1,200 men on an amphibious expedition to Cape Fear, North Carolina, to join Royal Governor Josiah Martin and provoke a Loyalist uprising. Once reinforced by the squadron under Commodore Sir Peter Parker and General Charles Cornwallis, his next task is to seize Wilmington as a base of operations.

January 23 Naval: The committee of safety in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, is informed that a British supply vessel, the HMS Blue Mountain Valley, is anchored off the coast. Colonels Williams Alexander and Elias Dayton are then directed to capture the intruder and take four boatloads of volunteers 40 miles out from Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The unsuspecting British, assuming the approaching craft are fishermen, are quickly subdued and brought into port.

January 24 Military: Colonel Henry Knox arduously transports 44 cannon and 16 mortars from Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to American forces at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He accomplishes this remarkable trek across 300 miles of wilderness in the dead of winter, and his arrival decisively tips the military equation at Boston in favor of the Americans. Politics: The Continental Congress authorizes a committee to explore the possibilities of declaring independence from Great Britain and appoints Philadelphia attorney James Wilson as chairman. The recent failure of the Canadian expedition also prompts them to explore ways of better coordinating the war effort, possibly through creation of a board of war.

January 25 Politics: The Continental Congress creates the marine committee, boasting one member from each state, to oversee affairs of the Continental Navy.

January 26 Naval: Admiral Molyneaux Shuldham arrives at Boston to replace the tottering Admiral Samuel Graves. Religion: Father Louis Eustace Lotbiniere becomes the first Catholic chaplain appointed in the Continental Army. He ministers to French Canadians serving with Colonel James Livingston’s regiment.

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Wilson, James (1742–1798) Politician James Wilson was born at Carksendo, Scotland, on September 14, 1742, a son of farmers. He was educated at the University of St. Andrews and the divinity school at the University of Glasgow but dropped out in 1765 and migrated to Pennsylvania. Early on, Wilson developed a mania for rapidly acquiring wealth through land speculation, which he pursued for the rest of his life. He subsequently studied law under John Dickinson in Philadelphia, was admitted to the bar in 1767, and opened up a successful practice at Carlisle. In the period leading up to the break with Great Britain, Wilson also ardently espoused Patriot sentiments and his pamphlet Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament (1775) was subsequently distributed to all members of the First Continental Congress. In it he denounced Parliament’s authority over colonial matters and expressed the Lockean belief that all political legitimacy originates from popular consent. Wilson himself was then a delegate to the second congress, where he exhibited a strong conservative streak, and he engineered a delay in approving the Declaration of Independence, feeling it was premature. However, he finally relented and voted in favor of independence on July 2, 1776. True to his conservative leanings, Wilson waxed cautious over the excess of mob democracy, and he especially opposed the radical band of Pennsylvania politicians whose new constitution discarded the governor’s office and ruled through a unicameral legislature. He

was thus unpopular with the lower orders, and on October 4, 1779, they rioted outside his house. Wilson was also turned out of office that year by his more liberal-leaning constituents. In 1782, a conservative tide sent Wilson back to Congress, and he also helped draft a new state constitution with an executive officer in charge. After the war, he argued continually that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate for governing the country, and in 1787, he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia as a delegate. He then served with the Committee on Details and unsuccessfully pushed for the direct election of senators, but his suggestion for an electoral college to choose a president was adopted. Wilson then championed the cause of ratification in Pennsylvania, which was fulfilled that December. In 1789, he also became the first lecturer of law at the University of Pennsylvania but, ambitious as ever, he broached the issue of being appointed chief justice of the new U. S. Supreme Court to President George Washington. That position was eventually given to John Jay, but Washington allowed Wilson to serve as an associate justice. In 1793, his ruling in Chisholm v. Georgia upheld the principle of federal authority over states’ rights, consistent with his conservative leanings. However, all the while, Wilson continued dabbling in land speculation and finally went bankrupt. He then fled Pennsylvania in 1797 to escape creditors and died at Edenton, North Carolina, on August 21, 1798.

February 4 Military: Continental Army forces arrives at New York under General Henry Lee, just as General Henry Clinton’s amphibious expedition anchors in the harbor.

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February 6 Military: Colonel Robert Howe finishes burning the remaining buildings of Norfolk, Virginia, to deny them to the enemy. This once thriving port has now been reduced to ashes.

February 13 Politics: In Philadelphia, James Wilson submits a 6,000-word draft addressing the touchy issue of independence from Great Britain. However, the recent publication of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense negates the document’s relevance, and it is unceremoniously tabled.

February 15 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacDonald musters 1,400 Loyalist highlanders at Cross Creek, North Carolina, although only one-third possess firearms. He nonetheless begins marching to the coast to join British forces expected there.

February 16 Military: In Cambridge, General George Washington worries over prolonged inactivity and suggests a large-scale attack across the frozen bay with 16,000 men. He then defers to his officers when they suggest that seizing strategic Dorchester Heights and planting Colonel Henry Knox’s newly arrived cannon is more expedient. Such a move is calculated to force British general William Howe to either come out and fight in the open or abandon the city altogether.

February 17 Naval: Commodore Esek Hopkins directs his small armada, consisting of the frigates Alfred and Columbus, the brigs Cabot and Andrew Doria, the sloops Providence and Hornet, and the schooners Fly and Wasp into open waters for the first time. This is the first sortie in strength by the Continental Navy on open water and, although Hopkins has been ordered by Congress to scour the southern coastline for British warships, he uses a discretionary clause in his orders to attack Nassau in the Bahamas instead. Politics: When Congress orders General Charles Lee to succeed General Philip J. Schuyler of New York as head of the northern department, intense resistance erupts from that colony’s delegates.

February 18 Military: A Loyalist force of 1,500 men under Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacDonald, en route to Brunswick, North Carolina, confronts Patriot forces dug in behind Rockfish Creek. The Loyalists then employ boats to cross upstream and continue on their march.

February 23 Military: Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacDonald advance toward Brunswick, North Carolina, but are blocked by Patriot militia under Richard Caswell at Corbit’s Ferry. MacDonald then builds a temporary bridge spanning the Black River and continues on his way. At this juncture the 80-year-old MacDonald is taken ill and replaced by Captain Alexander Macleod.

February 27 Military: The Continental Congress establishes the Northern, Middle, and Southern Departments for the Continental Army.

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An American force of 1,900 Americans under Colonels James Moore, Alexander Lillington, John Ashe, and Richard Caswell confronts 1,500 Loyalist Highlanders under Captain Alexander Macleod at Moore’s Creek Bridge, North Carolina. Inexplicably, Macleod storms the bridge in full view of the defenders, only to discover that the planks have been removed and the poles greased. The attack flounders, Macleod is killed along with 30 soldiers, and 850 prisoners are secured. The Americans suffer one dead and one injured in the three-minute affair. This major defeat forces the British to abandon plans for using nearby Wilmington as a base of operations and also thwarts Governor Josiah Martin’s quest to reestablish royal authority.

February 28 Societal: General George Washington pens a letter of thanks to AfricanAmerican poetess Phillis Wheatley for a poem written in his honor.

February 29 Politics: The Continental Congress deliberates the possibility of entering formal trade agreements with France and Spain—the mere act a sign of de facto independence. The debate sputters on for several hours without resolution.

March 1 Politics: New York delegates pressure the Continental Congress to rescind their appointment of General Henry Lee as head of the Northern Department and restore General Philip J. Schuyler to command. Lee, in turn, gains appointment as commander of the Southern Department, headquartered at Charleston, South Carolina. Naval: The American squadron of Commodore Esek Hopkins rendezvouses off the Bahamian island of Abaco prior to launching a coordinated attack on the capital of New Providence (Nassau). Of the eight vessels that departed Philadelphia in January, the schooners Fly and Wasp have been damaged in a collision and limped home.

March 2 Military: American artillery in Boston provides a nighttime diversion by bombarding the city from Cobble Hill, Lechmere Point, and Roxbury, while troops simultaneously prepare to occupy strategic Dorchester Heights. British counterfire kills six and wounded five.

March 3 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress dispatches Connecticut delegate Silas Deane as agent to France for the purpose of obtaining military supplies. He is also authorized to broach the issue of a military alliance with Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes. Naval: Royal governor James Wright of Georgia attacks Savannah with naval reinforcements under Commodore Andrew Barkley; 11 merchant vessels are seized in the harbor. General Lachlan McIntosh, shorthanded and tasked with defending the city, does nothing to stop these depredations. However, the marauders are subsequently driven from their base camp on Hutchinson’s Island by fire boats drifted in their direction. Both sides sustain six casualties. The American naval squadron under Commodore Esek Hopkins attacks and captures New Providence on Nassau, the Bahamas, with sailors and 200 marines

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Chronology of American History under Captain Samuel Nicholas. Governor Montfort Browne surrenders after a token defense at Fort Montagu and no losses are incurred by either side. Hopkins lingers there two weeks loading 88 cannon, 15 mortars, and quantities of gunpowder. This is the Continental Navy’s first planned offensive, and all goes off smoothly. However, the commodore’s dilatory pace of sailing enabled the governor to ship off 150 casks of gunpowder prior to his arrival.

March 4 Military: Outside Boston, General John Thomas and engineer Colonel Richard Gridley lead 2,000 men on a nighttime foray to seize Dorchester Heights at night, concealed by an intense artillery bombardment which also masks the noise of their digging. The men press on diligently and by daybreak, the British are amazed to behold a complete line of breastworks and artillery emplacements that have literally sprung up overnight. Admiral Molyneux Shuldham, commanding the Royal Navy at Boston, advises General William Howe to either eliminate the threat to his fleet or evacuate the town completely. Howe initially opts for the former and prepares 2,200 men to storm Castle William, but boisterous weather prevents him from moving. Howe then decides his position is no longer tenable and begins preparing to evacuate the city.

March 9 Military: British and American artillery engage in a lengthy duel at Nook’s Hill, Boston, which drives away unsheltered Continental infantry with five dead. Naval: The Maryland warship Defense, assisted by two militia companies, attacks and drives off the HMS Otter from Chariton Creek, Virginia.

March 12 Naval: The British naval expedition under General Henry Clinton arrives off Cape Fear, North Carolina, and awaits promised reinforcements. However, Clinton then learns of the recent Loyalist defeat at Moore’s Creek and begins recalculating his mission.

March 14 Politics: The Continental Congress recommends disarming all Loyalist sympathizers.

March 17 Military: General William Howe concludes an 11-month siege of Boston by evacuating the town, taking 9,000 troops and 1,000 Loyalists onboard 125 ships. He has also reached an understanding with General George Washington not to burn the town, provided his withdrawal is not interfered with. Once the British depart, Boston is reoccupied by American soldiers under General Artemas Ward. Washington, meanwhile, anticipates that Howe will switch his attention toward New York City and begins shifting men and materiel to that theater.

March 19 Naval: The Continental Congress tables a motion by Samuel Chase that would have permitted attacks on British merchant vessels by the Continental Navy. Instead it encourages the practice of privateering.

March 20 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress creates a deputation consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, Charles Carroll, and the Reverend John Carroll

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for the purpose of visiting Canada. There they are to entreat leaders to abandon neutrality and join the revolution. They also wish to assure Canadians that their right to worship, as Roman Catholics, will be preserved. Military: The victorious Continental Army savors its first victory by occupying Boston, Massachusetts, without firing a shot. But the Americans warily observe the British fleet, anchored five miles distant at Nantasket Road, as it pauses to take on fresh water and other supplies.

March 23 Naval: The Continental Congress formally authorizes privateering against all British shipping and begins issuing letters of marque.

March 25 Politics: In light of the British evacuation of Boston, the Continental Congress authorizes a gold medal struck with the likeness of General George Washington.

March 26 Politics: The South Carolina assembly enacts statehood by replacing its colonial charter with a new government headed by John Rutledge as president.

March 27 Naval: The last Royal Navy vessel sails out of sight from Nantasket Roads, five miles below Boston, and heads for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Only a few warships will return to maintain a loose blockade of the port.

April 1 Societal: A group of 1,124 Loyalist refugees arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the first of 40,000 such settlers who emigrate there during the Revolution.

April 2 Military: General David Wooster marches from Montreal to Quebec City with reinforcements and supersedes General Benedict Arnold as commander. Arnold, meanwhile, falls off his horse and is evacuated.

April 4 Naval: Captain Abraham Whipple of the 20-gun frigate Columbus captures the six-gun schooner HMS Hawke off Block Island, Rhode Island. This is the first prize actually taken at sea by an American warship.

April 5 Naval: The frigate Alfred under Commodore Esek Hopkins seizes the British bomb brig HMS Bolton under Lieutenant Edward Sneyd.

April 6 Business: The Continental Congress reacts to Parliament’s Prohibitory Act and throws open its ports to all nations except Great Britain. Henceforth, vessels from Spain, Holland, and France are at leisure to engage in commercial activities with the former colonies. Meanwhile, moderates caution that summarily rejecting the British Navigation Acts constitutes de facto independence. Naval: The American naval squadron under Commodore Esek Hopkins engages Captain Tryingham Howe and the Royal Navy’s 20-gun frigate HMS Glasgow off Block Island, Rhode Island, but fails to capture it after a three-hour running battle. The sloop Cabot is severely damaged in the chase and hauled off as the Alfred

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April 7 Naval: Captain John Barry, cruising with the 16-gun brig Lexington off the Virginia Capes, engages and captures the British sloop HMS Edward in a four-hour battle. The Americans lose two killed and two wounded to one Briton dead and one injured. This is the first enemy warship actually taken in a ship-to-ship encounter.

April 8 Naval: The squadron of Commodore Esek Hopkins concludes its only sortie in strength by anchoring at New London, Connecticut. The force is then broken up and never reconstituted again.

April 9 Naval: The American schooner Wasp seizes the British brig Betsey in Christina Creek, Delaware Bay. Slavery: The Second Continental Congress passes a resolution calling for the eventual end to importing African slaves.

April 12 Politics: The North Carolina Provisional Congress approves the so-called Halifax Resolves, which order, for the first time, its congressional delegates to vote for independence from Great Britain.

April 13 Military: General George Washington arrives in New York City and begins preparing its defenses. He fears that if the city falls to the British, they can disrupt communications between the northern and southern colonies.

April 15 Naval: The warships Warren and Providence are launched and commissioned at Providence, Rhode Island.

April 18 Naval: The vanguard of Commodore Peter Parker’s approaching fleet reaches Cape Fear, North Carolina.

April 20 Politics: Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot is commissioned lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. Naval: HMS Scarborough drops anchor at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and unloads numerous Loyalist refugees, including former royal governor James Wright of Georgia.

April 29 Diplomacy: A congressional delegation consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll arrives at Montreal to encourage Canadians to desert the Crown. The French-speaking Catholic majority there fears assimilation by their southern neighbors and remains aloof to their overtures.

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Barry, John (1745–1803) Naval officer John Barry was born in County Wexford, Ireland, on January 1, 1743, and he took to sea as a cabin boy at the age of 10. After settling in Philadelphia in 1761, he rose to prominence as a sea captain. Once the Revolutionary War erupted in April 1775, he donated his vessel Black Prince to the nascent Continental Navy where it was converted into the armed brig Alfred. Barry himself was commissioned captain in that force in March 1776, commanding the brig Lexington, and with it he secured the tender HMS Edward on April 6, 1776—this was the first combat victory at sea for the United States. He then commanded a succession of vessels, including the frigate Effingham, which he subsequently scuttled to prevent its capture. Barry also found the time to command a gun crew at the Battle of Princeton in January 1777 and subsequently led a boat expedition into Delaware Bay that netted several British supply vessels. In September 1778, Barry embarked on the frigate Raleigh but he was cornered by two British warships and was driven ashore at Penobscot, Maine. He then served admirably while commanding a brig in the Pennsylvania state navy while awaiting a Continental warship. These were in short supply and it was not until February 1780 that his friend General Henry Knox used his influence to obtain the frigate Alliance for him. Barry’s first voyage on the Alliance proved memorable; while conveying diplomats Thomas Paine and John Laurens to France, he captured several privateers

and prizes en route. On the return leg of the journey he was attacked by the British privateers Minera and Mars on April 2, 1780, but through adroit ship handling he captured both. Another stiff fight occurred in calm waters on May 23, 1780, when the British warships Atalanta and Trepassy rowed behind Alliance’s stern and raked it repeatedly. Barry, wounded and tenacious as ever, demanded to be carried topside, the wind then sprang up, and he captured both antagonists. In the fall of 1781, he was selected to convey the marquis de Lafayette to France and then escort a ship back carrying millions of dollars in specie. On March 10, 1783, the Alliance was attacked by three British warships, but Barry outmaneuvered his opponents and badly crippled HMS Sybil, winning the last naval engagement of the war. Afterward he resumed his career with the merchant marine until March 1794, when he was commissioned the senior captain in the new U.S. Navy and was tasked with overseeing construction of the large 44-gun frigate United States. In this capacity he led several cruises of the Caribbean during the Quasi-War with France, and on February 3, 1799, he captured a large French privateer off Martinique. Barry finally resigned from active duty in 1801 on the grounds of declining health and retired at Philadelphia. He died there on September 13, 1803, a harsh yet capable naval leader. Like his great contemporary, John Paul Jones, Barry shares his reputation as “Father of the American Navy.”

May 1 Military: General John Thomas arrives outside Quebec as the new commander in chief of the American forces stationed there. He inherits a force of 1,900 ragged, underfed men and prepares to abandon the siege of that city. Governor General Guy Carleton, meanwhile, bides his time in the city, awaiting reinforcements.

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May 2 Diplomacy: After concluding secret negotiations with Arthur Lee, French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, convinces King Louis XVI to secretly approve 1 million livres in aid to the rebellious colonies. He also receives similar pledges from the Spanish government. Thus emboldened, the king directs Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais to found a dummy company, Roderigue, Hortalez et Cie, for the purpose of funneling clandestine aid to America. Naval: A large fleet of British warships and transports begins ascending the St. Lawrence River for the relief of Quebec. Aboard is a detachment of troops under General John Burgoyne and the first contingent of Hessian mercenaries under General Baron Friedrich von Riedesel.

May 3 Diplomacy: The British government authorizes General William Howe and his elder brother, Admiral Richard Howe, to serve on a forthcoming peace commission. The admiral is also appointed commander in chief of all naval forces in American waters. Meanwhile Lord George Germain insists that fighting will continue until each colony acknowledges the supremacy of Parliament. Naval: The expedition of Commodore Sir Peter Parker and General Charles Cornwallis arrives off Cape Fear, North Carolina, and joins troops already there under General Henry Clinton.

May 4 Politics: The Rhode Island General Assembly expunges all written allegiances to the English monarch from its charter and declares itself independent under the new title State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

May 6 Military: Ships bearing reinforcements under General John Burgoyne anchor off Quebec City, bringing British garrison strength up to 13,000 men. Thus augmented, Governor General Guy Carleton launches a 900-man probe of the American encampment outside the city. These men attack and completely rout a 250-man detachment under General John Thomas, but Carleton declines pursuit at this point in favor of offloading the balance of his soldiers. Politics: The Virginia Convention supersedes the House of Burgesses as the state’s representative assembly.

May 8–9 Naval: Row galleys of the Pennsylvania state navy engage the British warships HMS Roebuck and Liverpool on Christiana Creek near Wilmington, Delaware. A protracted gun duel ensues, and the British are forced back downstream with minor losses to both sides.

May 10 Naval: Lieutenant John Paul Jones steps aboard the 12-gun sloop Providence, his first command. Politics: The Continental Congress passes a resolution encouraging all 13 colonies to form new, independent governments. A committee under John Adams of Massachusetts is tasked with composing a preamble to the resolution.

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May 15 Politics: The Virginia Convention instructs its delegates at the Continental Congress to approve of independence from Britain whenever such a vote manifests. Hot debate also ensues over John Adams and his preamble to the resolution endorsing new state governments, so written as to endorse independence from Britain.

May 16 Military: Major Henry Sherburne leads a column of 150 American soldiers from Montreal to reinforce the small American post at the Cedars, 40 miles distant. It quickly dwindles to 100 men through desertion. Politics: The Philadelphia committee of public safety offers six pence for every pound of lead products turned over for military purposes.

May 17 Military: An ailing General John Thomas assembles his shattered command at Sorel on the St. Lawrence River and decides to retreat toward Chambly, Quebec. Naval: Captain John Mugford of the schooner Franklin attacks and seizes the supply ship HMS Hope, along with schooner of gunpowder and scores of entrenchments tools. That night a British cutting-out expedition of 200 men uses 12 boats to attack the Franklin and privateer Lady Washington near Nantasket Roads, Massachusetts, but is bloodily repulsed. The Americans sustain two killed, including gallant Captain Mugford; the British admit to a loss of seven dead.

May 18 Naval: Captain Nicholas Biddle departs the Delaware capes on board the 14-gun Andrew Doria; over the next four months he will seize 10 prizes.

May 19 Military: The 50 men of Britain’s 8th Foot under Captain George Forster, backed by 200 Indians, attack 400 American militia under Major Isaac Butterfield at the Cedars, halfway between Montreal and Quebec. The militia, abandoned by Colonel Timothy Bedel, initially defends its small wooden post until Forster assures Butterfield that the Indians will not massacre. They then capitulate.

May 20 Military: An American relief force of 100 men under Major Henry Sherburne is ambushed near Vaudreuil, Quebec, by soldiers and Indians under Captain George Forster, 8th Foot. The Americans lose another 28 killed and several wounded before Sherburne surrenders.

May 24 Military: General George Washington arrives at Philadelphia for high-level strategic discussions with the Continental Congress. The latter is particularly worried what will happen should New York City fall to the British. Two new committees are also appointed, one to oversee the ensuing campaign and another to explore the possibility of recruiting Native Americans to the war effort.

May 26 Military: Ever-energetic General Benedict Arnold rapidly marches from Montreal and overtakes Major George Forster’s British and Indians at Quinze Chiens, Canada. Rather than risk a massacre of 487 American prisoners, the two

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Chronology of American History commanders agree to release all American captives now for a similar number of British captives in the future. This affair partially erases the disgrace of the Cedars seven days earlier.

May 31 Naval: Commodore Sir Peter Parker’s fleet finally assembles in full strength off Cape Fear and sails for Charleston, South Carolina, in concert with forces under General Henry Clinton.

June 1 Military: A force of 3,000 Americans under General John Sullivan arrives at Saint-Johns, Quebec, and succeeds the gravely ill General John Thomas as commander. Once further augmented by a Pennsylvania brigade under General William Thompson, Sullivan entertains a second siege of Quebec City. He is completely unaware of the magnitude of British reinforcements before him.

June 2 Military: General John Thomas succumbs to smallpox at Chambly, Quebec.

June 4 Military: General Henry Lee arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, succeeding Colonel William Moultrie as commander. He then enters into a sharp dispute with that officer upon ordering Fort Sullivan in the harbor abandoned. Moultrie, however, prevails and goes on to finish constructing and arming that fortification in time to repulse any British attacks. It is constructed of two walls of palmetto logs separated by 16 feet of beach sand, mounts 31 cannon, and boasts a garrison of 420 men.

June 6 Military: General John Sullivan dispatches General William Thompson and 2,000 Americans from Saint-Johns and down the St. Lawrence River to TroisRivieres (Three Rivers), Quebec. He is detailed there to capture a strategic fort lying halfway between Montreal and Quebec, then garrisoned by 800 men. Thompson takes with him the brigades of Generals Anthony Wayne, Arthur St. Clair, and William Maxwell. Politics: At a meeting convened at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, by George Rogers Clark, Kentucky settlers elect delegates to visit Williamsburg, Virginia, and plead for the assembly to annex their region to the state. Such a move will ensure greater funding for defenses along this very dangerous frontier.

June 7 Naval: The 12-gun American privateer Yankee Hero surrenders to the frigate HMS Medford under Captain John Burr after a gallant two-hour struggle off Newburyport, Massachusetts. The large British amphibious expedition under Commodore Sir Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton appears suddenly off Charleston, South Carolina. They badly outnumber the American defenders but also lack maps and knowledge of the local waters to advance farther. Several days thus elapse before the British can mount offensive operations. Politics: Virginian Richard Henry Lee, outraged over Britain’s employment of foreign mercenaries, sounds the tocsin for American independence. He urges creation of foreign alliances, along with adoption of articles of confederation to

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June 8 Military: In Canada, General William Thompson’s 2,000 Americans land near Â� Trois-Â�Rivières and advance inland toward their objective. En route they are betrayed by their guide and end up in a swamp and spend several hours extricating themselves. They are also spotted by the British vessel HMS Martin and fired upon, which alerts the nearby garrison. Unknown to Thompson, the town is occupied by several thousand newly arrived British regulars under General John Burgoyne. ColÂ�oÂ�nel Anthony Wayne’s column makes first contact with the enemy and initially forces them back, but British reinforcements drive the Americans off. Worse, a detachment of light infantry under General Simon Fraser arrives by boat and lands in the American rear, encircling them. Thompson’s entire command stampedes into the swamp and retreats in confusion.

June 9 Military: Americans under General William Thompson are hotly pursued from Â� Trois-Â�Rivières back to their original debarkation point and are shocked to learn that their boats have deserted them. Thompson, his situation hopeless, surrenders while General Anthony Wayne cuts his way through to freedom and marches back to Sorel with 1,100 men. The entire operation has been a disaster for the Americans, who lose 40 killed and 236 prisoners. British casualties amount to eight killed and nine wounded. Facing insurmountable odds, General Benedict Arnold abandons Montreal and marches 300 men for Saint Johns with dispatch. Beforehand he strips the navy yard of tools and timber, shipping them ahead to Crown Point, New York.

June 10 Diplomacy: King Charles III of Spain offers to clandestinely supply the United States with arms and munitions by advancing 1 million livres to the dummy company of Roderigue, Hortalez et Cie. Politics: The Continental Congress, still fumbling with the issue of in�de�pen�dence from Great Britain, decides to postpone any vote on the subject until July.

June 11 Politics: The Continental Congress appoints a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman to explore drafting a possible declaration of in�de�pen�dence. Two additional committees are appointed to weigh a confederation scheme of government and a plan to negotiate treaties with foreign powers.

June 12 Politics: John Dickinson is appointed chair of a congressional committee tasked with drafting a plan for governance under new articles of confederation. Given the gravity of the subject, he is to be assisted by one delegate from each colony. The new foreign treaty committee, meanwhile, consists of Dickinson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, and Robert Morris. The Virginia Convention at Williamsburg adopts the Declaration of Rights as drafted by George Mason. He incorporates �long-�established En�glish precepts enunciated by the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Rights.

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June 13 Military: General John Sullivan, in light of the deteriorating situation in Canada, prepares to abandon that province and retreat into northern New York. His army, 8,000 strong, is in tatters, poorly fed, and barely disciplined—no match for the 8,000 British and Hessian veterans bearing down on them. Naval: American artillery under General Benjamin Lincoln drives HMS Renown from Boston harbor, finally breaking the British blockade there. Politics: The Continental Congress founds the five-member Board of War and Ordnance, to better oversee administration of the Continental Army, along with the Department of Headquarters.

June 14 Military: Governor general Guy Carleton advances to Trois-Rivieres with 8,000 veteran troops under Generals John Burgoyne and Friedrich von Riedesel. This move prompts General John Sullivan to begin embarking troops, equipment, and supplies at Sorel for an eventual return to Crown Point, New York. It also signals the conclusion of the ill-fated American invasion of Canada.

June 16 Military: General Benedict Arnold conducts a rearguard action at Chambly and continues retreating. General Henry Clinton lands 2,000 men on Long Island in Charleston harbor and orders them to attack the city. The maneuver proves impossible, the route inundated with deep shoals, and it is halted. Naval: Captain Seth Harding, commanding a squadron consisting of the Lee, Franklin, Lynch, Warren, and Defense, captures the British transports HMS George and Arabella in Boston harbor. The George, partly manned by soldiers of the 71st Highlanders, resists stiffly and surrenders only after losing 12 killed and 13 wounded. Among the 170 captives taken is Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell, the future conqueror of Georgia. American losses are nine injured.

June 17 Military: Montreal is reoccupied by British and Hessian forces under Governor general Guy Carleton, who begins preparations for invading northern New York. News of the defeat in Canada prompts the Continental Congress to replace General John Sullivan with General Horatio Gates as commander of northern forces.

June 20 Military: American forces under Colonel Rufus Putnam begin construction of Fort Washington on Manhattan’s northern end. Though spacious, it remains an open earthwork lacking a palisade, barracks, water supply, or bomb-proof magazines. Its sole defensive virtue is its position 230 feet above sea level and astride the Hudson River, from which the defenders hope its cannon can interdict the British passage upstream.

June 21 Politics: The New Jersey Provincial Congress deposes and arrests Royal Governor William Franklin—Benjamin Franklin’s son—and begins drafting a new state constitution. It also dispatches a new delegation to the Continental Congress

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General Horatio Gates was born in Maldon, England, in 1728, the son of a tradesman. He joined the army as an officer in 1749, fought competently throughout the French and Indian War, 1754–63, and struck up cordial relations with Colonel George Washington of the Virginia militia. Gates remained in the army afterward, but his lack of a social pedigree and family connections stunted future promotions, so in 1756 he angrily resigned his commission. In 1772, he relocated to Virginia with Washington’s help, where he developed a plantation and joined the minor gentry. When the Revolutionary War erupted in April 1775, Gates threw his lot in with the Americans and was commissioned a brigadier general. In this capacity, he served as Washington’s adjutant general, being one of few Continental Army officers with bona fide military experience. It was his responsibility to train, equip, and administer the maturing Continental Army, and he fulfilled his duties well. Although Gates served competently as a staff officer, overweening ambition drove him to secure higher rank and a field command of his own. He then gained promotion to major general in May 1777, and the following August he supplanted General Philip J. Schuyler as commander of the Northern Department. His arrival coincided with an invasion by a large British army under General John Burgoyne, which Gates, greatly assisted by the able Benedict Arnold, defeated and captured that October. In fact, while Gates timorously

remained behind at headquarters, Arnold took to the field and distinguished himself in close combat. But, now hailed as the “Hero of Saratoga,” he apparently sought to head the entire Continental Army—by replacing his good friend Washington. His purported attempt to accomplish this, the so-called Conway Cabal, disgraced the conspirators, accomplished nothing, and greatly cooled relations between the two former friends. Gates remained idle for two years after Saratoga, until 1780 when he was appointed commander of the Southern Department. This was done without the consent or knowledge of Washington, who preferred General Nathanael Greene for the task. Gates then took his small, malnourished army into combat at Camden, South Carolina, on August 16, 1780, where he was utterly routed by British veterans under General Charles Cornwallis. Gates then ruined his reputation by riding 120 miles nonstop from the battlefield until he reached Hillsboro, North Carolina. He managed to scrape together a command until December 1780, when Greene unceremoniously replaced him. Gates never again commanded in the field, although he did briefly serve on Washington’s staff as an administrator and retired in semi-disgrace in 1783. He lived on his Virginia plantation until 1790, when he manumitted his slaves and relocated to New York City. He died there on April 10, 1806, one of the Revolution’s most controversial senior officers.

with instructions to support any resolution declaring independence, affirming a confederation, or ratifying treaties with foreign powers.

June 23 Politics: Thomas Jefferson, interrupting his activities in Congress, drafts a proposed state constitution for consideration by the Virginia Convention in Williamsburg.

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June 24 Military: The combined forces of Generals John Sullivan and Benedict Arnold cannot contain an advance by Governor general Guy Carleton at Ile aux Noix and Sorel, Quebec. Sullivan concedes the inevitable and the badly hobbled Americans continue falling back on the perceived safety at Crown Point, New York. His men suffer from hunger, disease, and lack of equipment.

June 28 Naval: After innumerable delays due to crossing a sandbar and unfavorable tidal conditions, British naval forces under Commodore Sir Peter Parker begin an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. They first engage a small garrison under Colonel William Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in the city’s harbor. Parker draws up a double line of eight warships mounting 260 guns and bombards the fort for 10 hours. However, the unique properties of the palmetto logs enable them to simply absorb the British shot with virtually no harm done to the occupants. When a lucky shot brings down the fort’s flagstaff, Sergeant William Jasper bravely mounts the parapet under fire and reraises the standard. Moultrie’s batteries, meanwhile, pour a continual hot fire onto the fleet, completely riddling Parker’s flagship HMS Bristol. This vessel is struck no less than 70 times, its captain killed, and Parker wounded, losing his pants. Worse, when the British attempt to slip three frigates around the fort to enfilade it, they ground in shoal waters. The 20gun HMS Actaeon cannot be refloated and is abandoned and burned by its own crew. By 9 p.m. Parker signals his fleet to withdraw. British losses are 64 killed and 161 wounded to an American total of 17 dead and 20 injured. The former royal governor of South Carolina, William Campbell, is also mortally wounded. Moultrie’s victory makes him a national hero and secures Charleston from British control for another two and a half years. Politics: Thomas Jefferson completes his draft for the Declaration of Independence, with slight alterations by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and proffers it to the Continental Congress for their consideration. The Maryland convention unanimously votes to authorize delegates at the Continental Congress to vote for independence.

June 29 Naval: A huge combined expedition under Admiral Molyneux Shuldham and General William Howe anchors off Sandy Hook, New York, signaling the start of British offensive operations in that quarter. British naval vessels chase the American ship Nancy off Cape May, New Jersey, until it grounds. Captain Lambert Wickes then arrives to assist and orders gunpowder supplies opened and the ship set afire. The crew flees as the British board the burning vessel, which suddenly explodes and kills several sailors. The American militia then gathers and fires upon the survivors, who flee. Politics: The Virginia Convention in Williamsburg throws off remaining colonial shackles by discarding its old charter in favor of a new constitution. Noted orator and attorney Patrick Henry is then elected governor by the legislature.

July Diplomacy: A large gathering of Shawnee, Lenni Lenape (Delaware), Ottawa, Cherokee, and Wyandot meets at Muscle Shoals (Alabama) to discuss how to resist increasing white colonization of their ancestral lands. Chief Cornstalk

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declares his intention to ally himself with the British, and many other tribes decide to follow suit.

July 1 Military: Lingering frontier resentment explodes into hostility as the Second Cherokee War erupts along the frontier of Virginia and the Carolinas. Major Andrew Williams of South Carolina, seconded by Captain Andrew Pickens, begin assembling militia forces to counterattack. Politics: The notion of independence sparks a heated debate in the Continental Congress, at the conclusion of which only nine colonies out of 13 are fully pledged in support. Partisans on both sides of the issue begin intensely lobbying over the next day to secure undecided votes.

July 2 Politics: The Continental Congress finally ratifies the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, 12–0, with delegates from New York abstaining. This seminal document, drafted by Thomas Jefferson with input from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Roger Sherman, becomes the cornerstone of American political philosophy and traditions. Delegate Caesar Rodney rides furiously to Philadelphia from Delaware to attend the proceedings and dramatically arrives splattered with mud—he votes in favor. Women: New Jersey adopts a new state constitution—the first allowing women the right to vote.

July 3 Military: General William Howe begins disembarking 10,000 troops on Staten Island, New York, in preparation for offensive operations against New York.

Delegates to the Continental Congress approve the Declaration of Independence, held by Thomas Jefferson (National Archives)

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July 4 Politics: At Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence is signed by President of Congress John Hancock of the Continental Congress and forwarded to the state assemblies for eventual ratification.

July 5 Military: General Horatio Gates makes for Crown Point, New York, to succeed General John Sullivan as head of the Northern Department.

July 6 Journalism: The Declaration of Independence is printed for the first time by the Pennsylvania Evening Post; it occupies the entire front page.

July 7 Diplomacy: Silas Deane arrives in Paris on a mission to ascertain French sympathies and solicit military and financial support. Military: In Canada, Loyalist John Johnson is authorized by Governor general Guy Carleton to begin raising the King’s Royal Regiment from among fellow refugees. General John Sullivan rows the length of Lake Champlain and finally arrives at Crown Point, New York, with 8,000 exhausted, dispirited men. General Philip J. Schuyler subsequently orders them to fall back an additional 10 miles to the perceived safety of Fort Ticonderoga.

July 8 Military: General Andrew Lewis masses a small force of 10 infantry companies, backed by a battery of 18-pound cannon, in preparation for storming Gywnn Island at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. Since May, this locale has served as the de facto headquarters of Royal Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, from which he has launched numerous raids against the coastline. Dunmore also enjoys the advantage of two small warships, the Dunmore and HMS Otter, in addition to artillery of his own, but his men are wracked by disease and in poor shape, overall. Politics: The first public reading of the Declaration Independence takes place outside Independence Hall, Philadelphia, to much revelry, applause, and bell ringing.

July 9 Military: A Virginia militia under General Andrew Lewis bombards Gwynn Island, headquarters for former royal governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore. American artillery forces several British warships to ground themselves and also silences Dunmore’s battery on the western end of the island, Murray himself is wounded by cannon fire and decides that the position cannot be held, so he flees with his small fleet up the Potomac River at night. He also abandons 30 AfricanAmerican soldiers, former slaves fighting for the British but now too ill to move. The island is occupied the following morning by 200 soldiers without incident. One American officer dies when his defective mortar explodes. Politics: The Declaration of Independence is read before the assembled Continental Army in New York. The Provincial Congress then commences work on a new state constitution, while a large statue of King George III is torn down and melted into 40,000 musket balls.

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July 11 Naval: Captain Lambert Wickes and the brig Reprisal commence a cruise that seizes four British merchantmen by month’s end.

July 12 Military: Colonel Elijah Clarke and a detachment of Georgia militia rout a band of Cherokee at the juncture of the Broad and Savannah Rivers, killing four and losing three killed and four wounded. Naval: Admiral Richard Howe arrives off Staten Island with 150 ships conveying 11,000 additional soldiers for his brother, General William Howe. The frigates HMS Phoenix and Rose are then dispatched up the Hudson River and anchor off Tappan Zee to interdict American communications there. En route, numerous American shore batteries commence firing, killing six and wounding three. Meanwhile, General George Washington arrives back at New York City to confer with Admiral Howe’s peace emissaries; these he briefly, entertains, then politely dismisses.

July 15 Military: An American militia under Major John Downs successfully defends Lindley’s Fort on Rayborn Creek, South Carolina, against marauding Cherokee and Loyalists, the latter being dressed as Indians. Having thwarted their attack, the defenders sortie and scatter their opponents, taking nine captive. Patriot losses are two killed and 13 wounded. Politics: The New York congressional delegation, having previously abstained from voting on the Declaration of Independence, receives permission from the state convention and approves it unanimously.

July 16 Military: Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, temporarily lands at St. George’s Island, Maryland, apparently intending to raid Mount Vernon, Virginia, and capture Martha Washington. However, they are intercepted by local militia and driven off.

July 18 Politics: John Adams frames the so-called “Model Treaty” for anticipated diplomatic relations with other nations.

July 19 Politics: The Continental Congress at Philadelphia votes to have the Declaration of Independence unanimously signed by all 55 delegates.

July 20 Military: Cherokee under Chief Dragging Canoe attack Eaton’s Station on the Holston River, North Carolina, losing 13 killed before withdrawing. The defenders had been alerted in advance by Nancy Ward, the Cherokee war woman. The Indians also unsuccessfully besiege Fort Caswell (Tennessee), but manage to inflict 40 casualties on the defenders.

July 21 Naval: Thoroughly chastised, the squadron of Commodore Sir Peter Parker departs Charleston, South Carolina, and makes for New York.

July 27 Naval: The American brig Reprisal under Captain Lambert Wickes enters St. Pierre Harbor, Martinique, where it is challenged by the British warship HMS

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Chronology of American History Shark, whose captain does not recognize the new Grand Union flag. Wickes then complies with a broadside, and fighting commences between the two vessels, assisted by a nearby French fort. The Shark then withdraws, and the British government subsequently condemns France’s breach of neutrality in this matter.

July 29 Military: General Griffin Rutherford leads an expedition of 2,400 North Carolinians into Cherokee territory, assisted by South Carolina forces under Major Andrew Williamson and Virginians under Colonel William Christiansen.

August 1 Military: Loyalists and Cherokee under Major Alexander Cameron ambush Major Andrew Williamson’s South Carolina militia at Seneca, defeating them and a relief force under Colonel Andrew Pickens. However, the militiamen subsequent rally and counterattack, driving back their antagonists. Among the dead is Francis Salvador, the first Jew to hold elected office in America and the first of his faith to die for his country. Naval: The squadron of Commodore Sir Peter Parker arrives at New York, and adds the soldiers of General Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis to those already present. The total force of 32,000 men under General William Howe is the largest expedition organized in North America to that date and includes the 8,000 Hessians of General Leopold von Heister.

August 2 Politics: The Declaration of Independence is finally signed by all 55 delegates to the Continental Congress.

August 4 Military: An American militia under Major Andrew Williamson attack and burn the Cherokee settlements of Sugar Town, Soconee, and Keowee, South Carolina. Over the next eight days, they reduce eight more villages to ashes.

August 5 Military: General Nathanael Greene advises General George Washington that New York City is probably indefensible and ought to be burned to the ground to deprive the British a very useful entrepot.

August 11 Military: A South Carolina militia under Major Andrew Williamson attacks and defeats Cherokee warriors guarding the settlement of Tamassee, which is then burned.

August 12 Politics: To encourage high desertion rates, the Continental Congress offers British soldiers free land as a bounty.

August 16 Diplomacy: Admiral Richard Howe writes to his old friend Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia and informs him of his authority to conduct peace negotiations on Staten Island. Naval: Repeated attacks by American fire rafts convince British frigates HMS Phoenix to withdraw from Tappan Zee and back down the Hudson River to New York City.

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August 20 Military: The capable General Nathanael Greene falls ill on Long Island and is replaced by General John Sullivan. Publishing: The Continental Congress authorizes copies of the forthcoming Articles of Confederation to be published and distributed.

August 21 Naval: Lieutenant John Paul Jones and the 12-gun sloop Providence depart Delaware, on a cruise that nets 16 prizes over three months.

August 22 Military: General William Howe commences his long-awaited offensive by landing 8,000 crack troops at Gravesend Bay, Long Island, and advances inland. General George Washington counters by deploying six additional regiments along Brooklyn Heights and advising General William Heath, in northern Manhattan, to prepare to march south if necessary.

August 24 Military: In a major change of command, General Israel Putnam suddenly replaces General John Sullivan as commander of American forces on Long Island. The defenders then brace themselves for an anticipated British assault upon Brooklyn Heights, but the newly arrived Putnam, unfortunately, knows very little about the surrounding terrain. Naval: General Benedict Arnold assembles a motley collection of schooners, sloops, and gondolas at Crown Point, New York, and sails down Lake Champlain intending to engage superior British naval forces.

August 25–26 Military: Aware of a gap in American lines, General William Howe sends 10,000 men under General Henry Clinton and Colonel Hugh Percy to turn their left flank via Valley Grove (Jamaica Pass). These troops advance stealthily through the night and by daybreak have positioned themselves to attack.

August 27 Military: The Battle of Long Island commences, as British troops under General James Grant launch a diversionary attack upon the American right wing. Meanwhile, the main column under General Henry Clinton expertly turns the American left at Jamaica Pass and takes the division of General John Sullivan from behind. After capturing Sullivan and routing his men, Clinton continues rolling up the American line, while Hessians under General Leopold von Heister pin down their troops in the center. General William Alexander manages to mount a stout defense until he, too, is taken from behind by Clinton and captured. The surviving Americans hastily scamper back to the fortified position along Brooklyn Heights and brace for the inevitable assault. At this juncture, General William Howe stops the pursuit and prepares to commence siege operations. Nonetheless, the Americans have been badly trounced with a loss of 1,300 men to 377 British and Hessians.

August 28 Military: Major Andrew Williamson and General Griffin Rutherford assemble 2,000 North and South Carolina militiamen and march to engage the Cherokee in the western mountains.

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August 29 Military: General George Washington, desperate not to be pinned in his works along Brooklyn Heights, begins evacuating his army to Manhattan during the night. In this he is capably assisted by a regiment of soldier-sailors under Colonel John Glover of Massachusetts. In six hours, 9,500 men and most of their equipment and guns safely make the transit without detection and conveniently covered by an early morning fog. This is one of the war’s most remarkable escapes and enables the Americans to fight on.

September 2 Diplomacy: Recently paroled General John Sullivan arrives at Philadelphia bearing a letter from Admiral Richard Howe, who seeks to meet with a deputation of private citizens. The Continental Congress agrees to debate an appropriate response to the request.

September 3 Military: The Continental Congress instructs General George Washington not to burn New York City if he must evacuate it, but the actual decision to withdraw remains with him. Naval: Lieutenant John Paul Jones of the 12-gun brig Providence again departs Delaware Bay, this time on a cruise near Bermuda that ultimately seizes 16 prizes.

September 5 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress declines to allow Admiral Richard Howe to confer with a delegation of private citizens, but they will allow an authorized deputation to parley with him. This group consists of Benjamin Franklin, an old acquaintance of the admiral’s, John Adams, and John Rutledge. Naval: Inventor David Bushnell supervises deployment of his experimental submarine Turtle against Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship HMS Eagle. The actual attack is entrusted to Sergeant Ezra Lee who is forced to fight strong currents to bring his vessel alongside. He then makes several unsuccessful attempt to bore into Eagle’s copper sheathed hull to attach an explosive device. Lee abandons the attack at this point and releases his explosive, which detonates harmlessly on the surface. Thus, history’s first submarine attack ends in failure, but it sufficiently unnerved enemy commanders, who condemned the Americans for toying with “infernal devices.”

September 7 Military: Rather than evacuate New York City, General George Washington convenes a war council and elects to garrison it with the divisions of Generals Israel Putnam, Nathaniel Greene, and William Heath.

September 9 Politics: In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress discards the designation “United Colonies” in favor of a new name, “United States of America.”

September 10 Military: Governor General Guy Carleton begins advancing his large army of British and Hessian veterans down the Champlain Valley and into northern New York. There is little that the outnumbered troops of General Philip J. Schuyler can do to oppose them should they obtain control of Lake Champlain.

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Bushnell, David (1742–1824) Inventor David Bushnell was born at Saybrook, Connecticut, on August 30, 1742, the son of farmers. Despite his lack of education he proved mechanically inclined and was admitted to Yale College in 1741. There Bushnell developed a fascination with underwater explosives and, by combining a clock device with a large black powder charge, created the first naval mine. He then set about conceiving a practical delivery system for this unique weapon, and the onset of the Revolutionary War in 1775 lent greater urgency to his endeavors. By that fall, he had designed and assembled the American Turtle (or simply Turtle), a primitive, if ingenious, early submarine. It was so christened on account of looking like two turtle shells lashed together but proved perfectly functional. The raft was propelled by a hand-driven screw propeller and operated a system of water pumps to let in or expel water to control its rise or descent. The pilot sat in a small conning tower on top, with a depth gauge and a compass naturally lit by phosphorus. Its offensive power lay with his clock-mine device, which was bored into the underside of a ship’s hull, then armed and released. The submarine then had one hour to egress before the 150 pounds of gunpowder exploded, sinking its intended victim. The Turtle made its inauspicious debut on September 16, 1776, when Sergeant Ezra Lee, struggling with strong tides, tried attaching the clock mine (“torpedo”) to Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship, HMS Eagle. He was thwarted by that vessel’s copper-covered bottom, which the

screw device could not penetrate, but when the device was released to the surface and exploded, it rattled the entire British squadron. Thus Bushnell’s device initiated the first submarine attack in naval history. The Turtle itself was subsequently lost when the transport carrying it was sunk by British artillery on the Hudson River. As the war ground on, Bushnell also experimented with various types of floating mines that were released en masse against British ships offshore. On August 13, 1777, he released a large mine that drifted in the direction of HMS Cerberus, but the device snared on a smaller vessel and exploded, sinking it and killing several men. On December 1777, another mine intended for a large warship sank a small boat instead, killing three men, and forcing the British ships to shoot up any floating object in their vicinity. The sight of British vessels blasting all unidentified objects in their vicinity event was later satirized by poet Francis Hopkinson in his composition “Battle of the Kegs.” (1778). At this juncture Bushnell departed naval warfare and joined the Continental Army as an engineer, where he served competently for the rest of the war. After his discharge, he briefly visited France to unsuccessfully market his ideas, then eventually resurfaced in Georgia as a schoolteacher. He also practiced medicine at Warrenton, Georgia, until his death there in 1824. Despite his failures, Bushnell is regarded as the father of undersea warfare for ushering in the age of submarines.

September 11 Diplomacy: A three-hour peace conference unfolds on Staten Island, New York, between Admiral Richard Howe and American envoys. However, because the admiral has no authority beyond reporting his findings back to London, nothing of importance transpires. The British are also stymied by the fact that

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Chronology of American History their American counterparts flatly refuse to withdraw their Declaration of Independence.

September 12 Military: In the face of a rapidly deteriorating strategic situation, General George Washington opts to abandon Manhattan and commences ferrying his forces to the mainland. Before they depart, Captain Nathan Hale volunteers to remain behind as a spy.

September 15 Military: General William Howe interrupts the American evacuation of New York City by landing his army at Kip’s Bay on Manhattan’s east side. A total of 4,000 crack troops, covered by five Royal Navy warships, row ashore on flatboats, sweeping aside all militia opposition. General George Washington personally rides up and attempts to stem the tide and is nearly captured before General Israel Putnam arrives to help. The shaken Americans then withdraw inland and reestablish their position on Manhattan’s west side near Harlem Heights. Meanwhile, General Charles Cornwallis wades ashore with another 9,000 men and attempts to cut off Washington’s retreat, but is thwarted by a splendid stand by brigades under Colonels John Glover and William Smallwood. Kip’s Bay is a minor disaster for the Patriots, who lose 367 men and 67 cannon; British losses total half that.

September 16 Military: British forces begin pursuing General George Washington’s forces up Manhattan, derisively blowing horns as if on a fox hunt. However, as they enter a defile near Morningside Heights, Washington suddenly turns on them and pushes additional men into the fray. The British stop, stand, and then begin withdrawing, hotly pursued by the newly reinvigorated Americans. The Battle of Harlem Heights proves that Washington’s raw troops can fight effectively when well led and they are treated to the rare sight of British backsides in the process. American losses are roughly 60 men to a British tally of 160. The defeat also forces General William Howe to postpone his offensive for a month.

September 17 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress considers the “Model Treaty” of John Adams as a method of expediting diplomatic relations with France.

September 18 Military: The Continental Congress standardizes the Continental Army by authorizing 88 battalions of infantry from 13 states, according to their population. They further implore that soldiers enlist for the duration of the war to avoid the burden of expiring enlistments.

September 20 Military: In light of recent military reverses, the Continental Congress modifies the Articles of War to better address endemic problems of discipline, administration, and organization within the still shaky Continental Army.

September 21 General: New York City is swept by a destructive fire, apparently touched off by incendiaries, which destroys nearly 300 buildings. British authorities also arrest and detain Captain Nathan Hale for spying when he is recognized by a Loyalist cousin.

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September 22 Military: Captain Nathan Hale is hanged by the British for espionage. He goes to the gallows calmly, declaring “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Hale thus becomes the nation’s first martyr.

September 24 Diplomacy: After much debate, the Continental Congress approves the Model Treaty of John Adams as the basis of negotiating with foreign governments. It stipulates that “Free ships make free goods,” and affirms the freedom of neutrals to trade noncontraband items. France, in particular, is asked to grant most favored nation status to the United States.

September 26 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress authorizes Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Thomas Jefferson to serve as commissioners to France and secure arms, munitions, and military professionals—especially trained engineers. Arthur Lee subsequently substitutes for Jefferson.

September 28 Politics: Pennsylvania adopts a new state constitution, a unicameral legislature, and a bill of rights.

October 3 Business: The Continental Congress authorizes a loan of $5 million at 4 percent to help finance the war effort; additional funding is expected from France shortly.

October 4 Naval: Governor general Guy Carleton, commanding 13,000 men, orders his fleet of five warships, 20 gunships, and 28 lesser craft down Lake Champlain. General Benedict Arnold’s armada awaits them in the vicinity of Valcour Island.

October 9 Settlement: Spanish missionaries found the settlement of Yerba Buena, California, later to be known as San Francisco.

October 10 Naval: The Continental Congress formally institutes the grade of captain within the Continental Navy and commissions 24 officers in that grade.

October 11 Military: General William Howe, ignoring the protests of subordinates, orders 4,000 men loaded onto transports where they are to pass through Hell’s Gate en route to the Bronx, New York. Once ashore, the men will march rapidly eight miles overland to Kingsbridge to cut off the American escape route from Manhattan. Naval: General Benedict Arnold’s ramshackle flotilla of 15 small vessels is attacked by a large British armada on Lake Champlain near Valcour Island. Arnold sequestered his force in shallow water between the island and the shore, where the prevailing wind blows southerly. The British under Lieutenant Thomas Pringle initially sail past the Americans, then have to beat back against the wind in order to engage them. They then sail directly into Arnold’s defensive arc and are pummeled by cannon fire. The British lose heavily while closing but gradually overpower their opponents, sinking two vessels. Arnold then draws off under

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Chronology of American History the cover of darkness with his remaining 13 craft, having lost 200 men wounded, killed or captured.

October 12 Military: General Charles Cornwallis lands 4,000 troops at Throg’s Neck, New York, in an attempt to outflank American forces still present on Manhattan Island. However, the strip of land chosen is swampy and beset by rising tides. As the British struggle ashore they are attacked by Colonel Edward Hand and his Pennsylvania riflemen, who thwart their attempts to storm across a bridge to the mainland. An additional 1,800 Americans then arrive, bottling up Cornwallis along the beach for the next six days. This action buys General George Washington additional time to evacuate his army from New York City.

October 13 Naval: The British Lake Champlain armada under Lieutenant Thomas Pringle catches up to the fleeing remnants of General Benedict Arnold’s flotilla at Split Rock. The Americans fight a desperate rearguard action but are gradually overwhelmed by numbers. All 13 of Arnold’s vessels are beached and burned while the crews make their way overland to Crown Point. The British have achieved complete control over Lake Champlain but far too late in the season to facilitate military operations.

October 14 Military: General Benedict Arnold abandons Crown Point to the British and walks overland to join the garrison of Fort Ticonderoga. Governor general Guy Carleton, meanwhile, cognizant of the lateness of the season, elects to suspend further operations until after winter has passed. This is one of the most telling decisions of the Revolutionary War, for it grants the tottering American defenses an eight-month respite to strengthen themselves. Thus the recent tactical defeat at Valcour Island is actually a significant American strategic victory.

October 16 Military: General George Washington convenes a war council, recently joined by General Charles Lee. They then elect to evacuate the army from New York and over to White Plains but leave a 2,000-man garrison behind at Fort Washington to obstruct the Hudson River as long as possible. Naval: The Continental Congress censors Commodore Esek Hopkins for disregarding its wishes and attacking New Providence in the Bahamas. This is despite the fact that they had previously granted Hopkins discretionary authority to do so in the first place.

October 18 Military: General William Howe, anxious to end the impasse at New York and catch General George Washington in the act of withdrawing, dispatches Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis around the American flank by landing at Pell’s Point (New Rochelle). Once the British successfully storm ashore, they are met by Colonel John Glover’s veteran brigade of 750 men, stoutly posted behind a succession of stone walls. For several hours, every time the British attempt to close, the Americans rise up from behind their cover and pour in a devastating volley at close range. The Redcoats then fell back in confusion to regroup before pressing ahead. After several hours of combat, Cornwallis finally manages to slip

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Chronology â•… 401 a force around Glover’s flank and threatens his rear. The Americans then fall back in good order to Dobb’s Ferry and rejoin the main army. American losses Â�were negligible while the British admit only to three killed and 20 wounded. The action at Pell’s Point is significant in that it prevented Washington’s force from being attacked while it was evacuating New York City; Glover is subsequently thanked by Washington for this splendid rearguard action against stiff odds.

October 22 Military: The Continental Army under General George Washington completes an orderly withdrawal to White Plains, New York. En route, they abandon the village of Marmaroneck, which is subsequently occupied by the Queen’s Rangers under the celebrated Major Robert Rogers. This induces an American force under ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Haslet to suddenly turn and attack the town in an attempt to capture it. They seize Rogers’s advance guard but prove unable to overwhelm the defenders and withdraw. Losses in this sharp little affair are 15 Americans and 66 Loyalists.

October 26 Diplomacy: Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee depart Philadelphia for France onboard the Reprisal under Captain Lambert Wickes. Their instructions are to secure diplomatic recognition from the Eu�ro�pe�an community at large as well as arrange for the purchase of eight ships of the line.

October 27 Military: On Manhattan, British forces heavily probe the defenses of Fort Wash-­ ington, New York, and are repelled with loss. General William Howe resolves to revisit this post once the main American army has been dispensed with at White Plains.

October 28 Military: General William Howe and 13,500 British and Hessians square off against General George Washington and 14,500 Americans at White Plains, New York. The Americans occupy a Â�three-­mile line behind the shallow Bronx River, arrayed in three divisions. Howe promptly advances upon them, driving the advance guard of General Joseph Spencer before them. The British then parade themselves dauntingly before the defenders, whereupon Washington divines that Chatterton Hill, an eminence off his right flank, is the key to his Â�whole posi-­ tion. He quickly rushes 2,000 infantry and engineers there under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Joseph Reed and Rufus Putnam, who begin entrenching themselves. British troops under General Alexander Leslie try and fail to storm the point, and it is not until ColÂ�oÂ� nel Johann Rall’s Hessians turn the American right that the defenders fall back. Washington, at this juncture, calls the retreat and falls back in good order to strong positions along White Castle Heights. The victorious Howe, meanwhile, is content to simply occupy the battlefield and fails to mount a vigorous pursuit. American losses are in the vicinity of 150 killed, wounded, and captured; the British sustain roughly twice that.

October 30 Naval: The Continental Congress tries improving the prospects of recruitment for the Continental Navy by allowing crewmen to share up to Â�one-­half of all prize money taken. Up until now, most seamen prefer the more lucrative practice of privateering, which affords better living conditions and higher pay.

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October 31 Military: The Continental Army under General George Washington finishes entrenching in and around North Castle Heights, New York. British forces under General William Howe are strangely quiescent and do not advance.

November 1 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones commences an extended cruise aboard the 24-gun sloop Alfred which culminates in the capture of nine prizes off Nova Scotia.

November 2 Military: An American officer deserts to Colonel Hugh Percy on Manhattan, bringing plans that detail the defenses of Fort Washington.

November 4 Military: In one of the Revolutionary War’s most momentous decisions, Governor General Guy Carleton abandons Crown Point, New York, and withdraws his large army back to Canada for the winter. Carleton is rightfully concerned about supply difficulties, but his reversal grants the disorganized Americans a badly needed respite to strengthen their defenses.

November 7 Military: A New England militia under Colonels John Allen and Jonathan Eddy marches from Machias, Maine, over to Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia, to besiege that isolated post. However, the garrison of 200 regulars under Colonel Joseph Goreham proves defiant.

November 8 Military: In New York, General George Washington complains to General Nathaniel Greene over Fort Washington’s inability to stop British traffic along the Hudson River and advises him of the possibility it might have to be abandoned. However, he allows Greene discretionary authority to remain there. Washington then begins ferrying the bulk of his army across the river into New Jersey. However, 5,000 men are to remain in North Castle under General Charles Lee, while an additional 3,200 are deployed to Peekskill under General Edward Heath.

November 12 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones of the 24-gun sloop Alfred captures the British transport Mellish after luring it away from an escorting frigate. Its valuable cargo of 10,000 winter uniforms and other military supplies is hurriedly forwarded to American forces in Pennsylvania.

November 13 Military: General Nathanael Greene prevails on General George Washington to maintain a 2,800-man garrison at Fort Washington, New York, despite mounting doubts that the position can be haled.

November 14 Diplomacy: Captain Isaiah Robinson arrives at the Dutch Island of St. Eustatius, West Indies, and receives the first—if unofficial—salute to an American flag by a foreign government. British envoys vigorously protest the incident to the Dutch government, resulting in the governor’s removal.

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Military: Fort Washington, New York, is attacked by British forces. The 2,800man garrison under Colonel Robert Magaw lacks adequate artillery and an accessible water supply, among other things. General William Howe devises a three-pronged assault that hits the post from two different directions. British troops under General Charles Cornwallis and Colonel Hugh Percy have little difficulty overrunning several satellite fortifications, but General Wilhelm von Knyphausen’s Hessians are forced to traverse rough, wooded terrain amply guarded by Pennsylvania riflemen. The Germans charge and are thrown back five times with significant losses and, in the course of battle, an American woman, Margaret Corbin, takes her dead husband’s place at a cannon until being critically wounded. A final charge by Knyphausen finally stampedes the defenders back inside the already overcrowded fort and Magaw decides to capitulate at 3 p.m. This proves a stinging reverse for the Americans, who lose nearly 3,000 men in killed, wounded, and captives, in addition to stores of supplies and cannon; British and Hessian losses are around 400. New York City is hereafter firmly in British hands until the end of the war; Fort Washington is subsequently renamed Fort Knyphausen in honor of its conqueror.

November 18 Naval: The Continental Congress authorizes construction of the 74-gun ship of the line America and five additional frigates mounting 36 guns apiece. Very few of these will actually be built.

November 19–20 Military: Eager to maintain the initiative, General William Howe dispatches 5,000 infantry on flatboats across the Hudson River under General Charles Cornwallis. Their mission is to pursue and harry the fleeing Americans and capture as many supplies as possible. At the last moment, General Nathanael Greene is alerted to their approach and he hastily abandons Fort Lee without a fight. Consequently, the British seize many valuable supplies such as tents, flour, and cannon without a struggle. Greene subsequently unites with the main force under General George Washington at Hackensack.

November 19 Politics: The North Carolina legislature votes to extend its authority over the frontier settlement of Watauga, Tennessee, and annexes it as Washington County.

November 25 Diplomacy: In New York, Colonel Guy Johnson of the Indian Department informs Lord George Germain that the Mohawk, Seneca, and other nearby tribes are willing to side with England.

November 29 Military: American forces besieging Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia, are driven back by British reinforcements; over 100 prisoners are captured, and these are promptly paroled and sent home. Naval: The Continental brig Reprisal under Captain Lambert Wickes drops anchor at Quiberon Bay, France, with diplomatic envoys Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee onboard. This is the first American warship to ply European waters, and Wickes commences a successful cruise in the Bay of Biscay.

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November 30 Diplomacy: General William Howe, in light of recent military successes, offers to pardon all Americans in arms if they come forward and declare their allegiance to the Crown within the next 60 days. Military: More than 2,000 New Jersey and Maryland militia abandon General George Washington’s army once their terms of enlistment expire. Newly depleted, the Americans continue retiring from the British.

December 3 Military: The remnants of the Continental Army under General George Washington wearily trudge into Trenton, New Jersey, and make preparations to cross the Delaware River into northern Pennsylvania.

December 5 Education: William and Mary College, Virginia, establishes Phi Beta Kappa with five students, becoming the first social fraternity at an American college.

December 6 Military: General William Howe catches up to his advance forces under General Charles Cornwallis at New Brunswick, New Jersey, and begins ordering his troops into their winter quarters. However, Cornwallis is dispatched with light troops toward the Delaware River to scour the banks of any remaining Americans.

December 7 Naval: Newport, Rhode Island, falls to an expedition of 6,000 men commanded by Commodore Sir Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton.

December 11 General: Rumors that General George Washington is going to burn Philadelphia to deny it to the British throws the city into a panic, and General Israel Putnam is dispatched there with troops to restore order.

December 12 Military: The Continental Congress founds the Regiment of Light Dragoons under Colonel Elisha Sheldon, thereby establishing the American mounted arm. Politics: The Continental Congress, threatened by a possible British approach, votes to adjourn and relocate to Baltimore, Maryland, without delay. Before departing, they grant General George Washington near-dictatorial powers to prosecute the war until the present crisis subsides.

December 13 Military: General Charles Lee, having foolishly taken up residence in a tavern three miles from the main American encampment at Morristown, New Jersey, is suddenly captured by a detachment of the 16th Light Dragoons under Lieutenant Colonel Harcourt, his former subordinate. Lee is then succeeded by General John Sullivan.

December 14 Military: General William Howe makes final dispositions of troops for the winter with large detachments at New York; and Amboy, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton, New Jersey. The forwardmost outposts are manned by veteran Hessian troops under Colonel Karl von Donop.

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December 15 Diplomacy: In Paris, British agents approach Benjamin Franklin with offers of reconciliation but stop short of recognizing American independence.

December 19 Publishing: Thomas Paine, then a volunteer aide de camp to General Nathanael Greene, publishes the first of 13 installments to his American Crisis, with its memorable declaration “These are times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country: but he that stands NOW deserves the love and the thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” General George Washington, moved by such lofty prose, orders the tract proclaimed to every unit in his army. His shivering soldiers take heart and are inspired to fight on.

December 20 Military: General John Sullivan crosses 2,000 men across the Delaware River and joins the main American force at Newtown, Pennsylvania. General William Howe writes to Lord George Germain and proposes a spring campaign to capture the American capital of Philadelphia. This constitutes a dramatic shift in British strategic thinking since the start of the war, which previously centered upon separating New England from the rest of the colonies. Politics: The Continental Congress reconvenes at Baltimore, Maryland, while General George Washington assures them that he will use his new powers only to further the war effort.

December 21 Diplomacy: American agents Silas Deane, Arthur Lee, and Benjamin Franklin establish official contacts with representatives of the French government and begin negotiating treaties and loans.

December 24 Military: General George Washington, cognizant that the “game is nearly up,” begins planning for a spectacular coup. He instructs a war council to prepare a midwinter offensive—unheard of at the time—to attack and capture the major Hessian outpost at Trenton. His officers unanimously agree and, to underscore their resolve, “Victory or death” becomes the military password.

December 25 Military: On Christmas night, General George Washington ferries his army across the ice-choked Delaware River in three columns and prepares to attack nearby Trenton. The two supporting columns of General James Ewing and General John Cadwalader are unable to cross, which means that Washington proceeds alone with 2,400 shivering men.

December 26 Military: A ragged force of 2,400 Americans under General George Washington surprises the 1,400-man Hessian garrison of Colonel Johann Rall at Trenton, New Jersey. Advancing under the cover of a terrible ice storm, Washington deploys his men into two columns under Generals Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan to hit the defenders from the north and northeast. Rall, caught completely by surprise, attempts to form a perimeter that is blasted by Colonel Henry Knox’s cannon

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Chronology of American History and outflanked by General Hugh Mercer’s brigade. Rall manages to rally some of his men in an orchard outside of town but is fatally wounded. His men then surrender en masse without further struggle. Hessian losses amount to 1,000 killed, wounded, and captured, while the Americans lose two killed and five wounded. Through this single stroke, brilliantly conceived and masterfully executed, Washington keeps the flagging revolution alive. The victors then hastily escape back across the Delaware River, prisoners and booty in tow.

December 27 Military: General John Cadwalader’s column finally crosses the Delaware River, marches inland toward Burlington, New Jersey, and finds it deserted. He then hastily informs General George Washington in Pennsylvania that the enemy has contracted their lines since Trenton and urges him to recross and return.

December 30 Military: Emboldened by success at Trenton, General George Washington recrosses the Delaware River into New Jersey with 2,000 men and reoccupies the town. There he learns that Generals Charles Cornwallis and James Grant have amassed 8,000 men at Princeton and are readily advancing upon him. Rather than retreat again, Washington orders up General Thomas Mifflin’s 1,600 militiamen from Bordentown, Pennsylvania, and then addresses men whose enlistments have expired, imploring them to remain under arms for at least another six weeks.

December 31 Politics: General George Rogers Clark petitions the Virginia Convention to formally annex the Kentucky settlement and provide directly for its defense. He does so to preempt settlers under Daniel Boone from organizing it as an independent state.

1777 Business: Jeremiah Wilkinson of Cumberland, Rhode Island, invents a new process for the manufacture of nails from cold iron. Slavery: Bucking the tide, the North Carolina legislature reactivates an old colonial law forbidding the manumission of slaves unless their alleged meritorious service was documented and verified by a local magistrate. Societal: New Jersey schools begin separating and segregating students along racial lines.

January 1 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin commissioner to the court of Spain. Military: General James Grant arrives at Princeton, New Jersey, with 1,000 men and posits an additional 600 there to guard supplies. Meanwhile General Charles Cornwallis leads 6,000 Redcoats and Hessians toward Assumpink Creek on the Delaware River, where the Continental Army is reputedly lurking. General George Washington is aware of the British approach, and he dispatches a brigade under Colonel Edward Hand to slow their advance while he entrenches.

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January 2 Military: General Charles Cornwallis advances upon Trenton, New Jersey, seeking to engage the main body of American troops under General George Washington. En route, he encounters the riflemen of Colonel Edward Hand, who tenaciously resist his advance from the woods. It is 5 p.m. before the British reach Assumpink Creek, and Cornwallis, confident he can bag “the Old Fox” on the morrow, calls off his advance. Washington, however, correctly concludes that the British must have stripped the garrisons at Princeton and Brunswick and enacts another bold expedient to attack them. Leaving behind 400 men to stoke campfires throughout the evening, he orders his 5,500-man army to slip quietly around the unsuspecting British in camp and march rapidly under the cover of darkness toward their objectives. The ploy, well-executed, works perfectly, and Cornwallis remains unaware of the ruse until well after daybreak. Naval: Commodore Esek Hopkins learns that the British frigate HMS Diamond has grounded itself in Narragansett Bay, so he resolves to capture it. He then commands the sloop Providence and a battalion of militia, trying unsuccessfully to snare his quarry. When the tide rises, the Diamond floats free and escapes; Hopkins is severely criticized for his mishandling of this matter.

January 3 Military: With General Charles Cornwallis idle before Trenton, the American army under General George Washington surrounds and gradually envelops the British outpost at Princeton, New Jersey. However, his advance troops under General Hugh Mercer and John Cadwalader are roughly handled by the British 17th Foot under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood, and Mercer is killed. Suddenly, Washington appears on the battlefield with the main force and sweeps the British up; Mawhood manages to cut himself free but the bulk of his force is cornered and captured. The victorious Americans then abscond with as many British supplies as possible and march off for the safety of Morristown just as the lead elements of General Charles Cornwallis’s army enters Princeton. The British commander assumes that Washington is off to raid poorly guarded New Brunswick and marches all night in that direction. American losses in this handsome little victory are around 40 killed and wounded; the British lose 400, principally captured.

January 6 Military: General George Washington marches his exhausted but victorious force into the Watchung Mountains and encampment at Morristown, New Jersey, for the winter. This places him menacingly astride British lines of communication, with their advance posts now restricted to Amboy and New Brunswick. General William Howe, seeking to avoid further losses, orders his lines compacted in and around New York City.

January 15 Naval: Captain Lambert Wickes and the 18-gun brig Reprisal commence a cruise along the coasts of France and Spain that ultimately nets five prizes. Wickes’s presence in French waters angers the British government and a diplomatic row ensues to have him removed.

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January 16 Politics: The region of New England known as the New Hampshire Grants declares its independence from both New York and New Hampshire and establishes the “Republic of New Connecticut” (Vermont).

January 18 Military: General William Heath, acting upon orders received from General George Washington, formally invests Fort Independence, New York, with 3,400 men under Generals Benjamin Lincoln, Charles Scott, David Wooster, and Samuel H. Parsons. However, the garrison of 2,000 crack Hessians is less than impressed by this motley melange, and gamely resists. Politics: The Continental Congress finally authorizes that the names of all signers to the Declaration of Independence be made public.

January 25–29 Military: The Hessian garrison at Fort Independence, New York, sorties suddenly and drives off American troops stationed at nearby Lancey’s Mills. This action convinces General William Heath that the post cannot be taken with the forces he has available, so he concludes the siege. He is harshly reprimanded by General George Washington in consequence.

February 7 Naval: Parliament authorizes privateering against American shipping and begins issuing letters of marque.

February 15 Business: The Continental Congress, faced with spiraling inflation due to an onslaught of paper money, adopts a New England recommendation to enforce rigid price controls. Other states are encouraged to follow suit.

February 19 Military: The Continental Congress awards major general’s commissions to William Alexander, Thomas Mifflin, Adam Stephen, Arthur St. Clair, and Benjamin Lincoln. Hard-fighting Brigadier General Benedict Arnold then angrily tenders his resignation for being overlooked again, but a sympathetic General George Washington persuades him to remain in uniform.

February 25 Military: In London, Lord George Germain appoints General John Burgoyne to share a joint command of troops in Canada with Governor general Guy Carleton. At this time, Burgoyne carefully outlines his ambitious strategy for separating New England from the rest of the colonies, thereby ending the rebellion. He intends to march south from Canada with a crack force of 8,000 men and capture Albany, New York. To do so, he will require the services of a second column marching eastward from Oswego and up the Mohawk River. Burgoyne also assumes that independent forces under General William Howe will likewise march up the Hudson River Valley to completely encircle the Americans. It is a viable strategy but one requiring greater cooperation among senior British leadership than they can muster.

March 3 Military: In a potentially fatal move, Lord George Germain approves General John Burgoyne’s three-pronged strategy to win the war. He also grants General

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William Howe discretionary permission to capture Philadelphia but also advises him that only 5,000 reinforcements are forthcoming.

March 12 Politics: With the Continental Congress back in Philadelphia, it is deluged by foreign officers and adventurers seeking commissions in the Continental Army. To stem the tide, they advise American agents in Europe not to consider future applicants unless they speak good En glish and enjoy pristine recommendations.

March 14 Military: The Continental Army at Morristown precipitously dwindles to 3,000 men as desertions, illness, and expiring enlistments thin its ranks. General George Washington, also facing acute supply shortages, has little recourse but to requisition food from civilians.

March 23–24 Military: A British amphibious force of 500 men sails up the Hudson River and seizes the American supply depot at Peekskill, New York. General Alexander McDougall is powerless to halt the attack until reinforced by Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willett, who counterattacks and drives the invaders back to their boats. Nonetheless, General George Washington is sufficiently alarmed by this thrust at his supplies to dispatch General William Heath there with an additional eight regiments.

March 26 Military: Lord George Germain finalizes orders for the upcoming campaign season, instructing Governor general Guy Carleton to turn over the bulk of his forces to General John Burgoyne and assist him in field operations where necessary. Naval: The Continental Congress, angered by Commodore Esek Hopkins and his disparaging remarks about them, takes steps to dismiss him from the Continental Navy. That service will lack a senior commander for the remainder of the war.

April 2 Military: General William Howe advises Lord George Germain that manpower shortages preclude an overland advance against Philadelphia, and he proposes transporting his army by sea. This is a sound tactical expedient, but it also removes any chance of Howe being able to cooperate with the army of General John Burgoyne.

April 10 Military: In Paris, Silas Deane recruits Marie-Joseph du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, and Baron Johann de Kalb into the American service. They depart immediately for the United States.

April 11 Medical: The Continental Congress appoints Dr. William Shippen as the new director general of the Continental Army’s medical services. He has previously submitted a detailed plan for reorganizing the department, which met with congressional approval.

April 13 Military: A quick, unexpected attack by British forces under General Charles Cornwallis routs the American detachment of General Benjamin Lincoln at

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Chronology of American History Bound Brook, New Jersey. Lincoln recovers sufficiently, in time to orchestrate a proper withdrawal, and loses six cannon and 26 men. Thereafter General George Washington redeploys his pickets to place them in mutually supporting distance of one another.

April 14 Military: The Continental Congress establishes a large military magazine at Springfield, Massachusetts, which ultimately evolves into the famous Springfield Arsenal.

April 17 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress reorganizes the Committee of Secret Correspondence into a new Committee for Foreign Affairs, chaired by Thomas Paine.

April 25–28 Miliary: General William Tryon, former governor of New York, lands 1,850 men at Compo Beach, Connecticut, and marches against the American depot at Danbury, Connecticut. Resistance proves fleeting and, after burning the town, Tryon marches back to his ships via Ridgefield. The next day, they are intercepted by a body of militiamen under Generals Benedict Arnold, David Wooster, and Gold S. Silliman. Wooster dies in severe fighting and the British continue marching to their ships. On the third day, Arnold manages to scrape together 3,000 militiamen, and he attacks Tryon at Compo Beach, pressing him back severely, until General William Erskine breaks the Americans with a bayonet charge. Tryon’s raid then concludes with a loss of 200 men without inflicting much harm on the enemy; the American loss is half that.

May 1 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints Arthur Lee to succeed Benjamin Franklin as commissioner to Spain.

May 2 Military: The Continental Congress finally elevates Benedict Arnold to major general but, in another perceived slap, he remains junior in seniority to the five men preceding him.

May 3 Naval: Captain Gustavus Conyngham and the 10-gun lugger Surprise captures the British mail packet Prince of Orange in the English Channel and he tows his prize back to Dunkirk, France. A strong diplomatic protest and threats of retaliation against French shipping result in Conyngham’s arrest.

May 5 Military: General George Washington’s efforts at recruiting generally succeed, and the Continental Army at Morristown, New Jersey, is built up to 9,000 men. Furthermore, the new troops are buoyed by the first infusion of weapons and other military supplies obtained from France. The five divisions present are commanded by Generals Nathanael Green, Adam Stephan, John Sullivan, Benjamin Lincoln, and William Alexander.

May 7 Military: Finding his command growing boisterous, General George Washington issues a general order banning cards, dice, and other forms of avarice.

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May 17 Military: The southern frontier begins acting up when British and Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown and Major James Prevost rout the American detachment of Colonel John Baker at Thomas’s Swamp, Florida. The patriots lose 40 men in a few minutes, and the Indian massacre several more captives before order is restored.

May 20 Diplomacy: Cherokee under Chief Oconostota cede all their lands in South Carolina in exchange for peace. However, younger and more militant Chief Dragging Canoe refuses to accept the terms and heads south to possibly join up with the Creek confederation.

May 28 Military: General George Washington breaks camp at Morristown, New Jersey, and marches south to the Middlebrook Valley in order to watch British movements in and out of New Brunswick. Naval: Captain Lambert Wickes of the 18-gun Reprisal departs Nantes, France, in concert with the 16-gun brig Lexington and the 10-gun cutter Dolphin. They constitute the first American naval squadron in European waters and capture 18 English prizes by June.

June 7 Naval: The American frigates Boston and Hancock under Captains Hector McNeill and John Manley, respectively, engage and capture the 28-gun British frigate HMS Fox in a long-running fight. The prize is subsequently manned and added to the squadron.

June 12 Military: General Arthur St. Clair arrives at Fort Ticonderoga, New York, with 2,500 men in three brigades under Generals Alexis Roche de Fermoy, John Paterson, and Enoch Poor. St. Clair is aghast to find his charge dilapidated and surrounded by nearby hills sufficiently close and high enough for enemy artillery. He erroneously concludes that the largest of these, Mount Defiance, is far too steep and overgrown to be accessible.

June 14 General: The U.S. flag, traditionally attributed to seamstress Betsy Ross, is adopted as the national symbol by the Continental Congress. This consists of 13 alternating red and white stripes with a blue field in the upper corner boasting 13 stars—one for each state. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson designates this date Flag Day.

June 17 Military: In a major turn of events, General John Burgoyne orders his fine army of 7,000 veteran soldiers to march south from Saint-Jean, Quebec, toward Crown Point, New York. Assisting him in this venture are Generals Simon Fraser, William Phillips, and Friedrich von Riedesel, 400 Indians, 139 cannon, and 28 gunboats. En route, Burgoyne unleashes another of his pompous declarations against the inhabitants which elicits contempt and ridicule.

June 20 Military: General Philip J. Schuyler holds a war council at Fort Ticonderoga now that the British are on the move in Canada. His officers agree that the fort

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Ross, Betsy (1752–1836) Seamstress Elizabeth Griscom was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1752, into a Quaker household. While still young, she developed an interest in sewing and honed her skills as a seamstress as she matured. In 1773 she was ejected from the Society of Friends for eloping with John Ross, son of an Episcopalian rector, and together they operated a successful sewing and upholstery shop. After her husband, a militiaman, was killed in a gunpowder explosion in January 1776, she assumed control of the business. According to tradition, her husband’s uncle, Congressman George Ross, was a personal friend of General George Washington and also aware of her skills at working with fabric. Through him, Ross was introduced to Washington and Robert Morris in June 1776, just as the nation was verging on independence. She was then apparently asked to design a new national flag based on a sketch she originally provided Washington. It is not known if this was undertaken as an official act of Congress or simply a private venture. This was a rectangular design consisting of 13 alternating red and white stripes—one for each state—and an upper corner consisting of blue cloth, with 13 stars arrayed in a circle. Legend has it that she also substituted five-pointed stars for the six-pointed ones originally suggested by Washington. Thus Ross is considered the creative force behind the “Stars and Stripes” flag of lore. The flag itself was apparently sewn in Ross’s parlor and she was assisted by two of her daughters. It was publicly displayed for the first time when

the Declaration of Independence was read aloud on July 8, 1776. In 1777, it is well known that Ross was also called upon to make flags for the Pennsylvania state navy and her work here is completely documented. In 1776, Ross married Joseph Ashburn, a sailor who was captured and died at Plymouth prison in 1782. She then married a third time in May 1783 to John Claypoole, and also joined the nonpacifist Society of Free Quakers, or “Fighting Quakers.” The couple lived happily in Philadelphia, where they continued in the upholstery business until his death in 1817. Ross herself then moved in with one of her daughters until her death there on January 30, 1836 at the age of 84. Her famous relationship to the nation’s flag stems from an 1870 meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, wherein her grandson, William J. Canby, presented a paper. In it he asserted that his grandmother declared on her deathbed her meeting with Washington and her role in designing the flag. These circumstances have never been accurately verified and, since as Canby was only 11 years old at the time, his veracity remains suspect. But Ross is otherwise so indelibly associated with the American flag that she remains a national icon. Her remains have since been relocated to the so-called Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, one of that city’s top tourist attractions. Like everything else associated with her reputation, whether or not she actually lived there remains a matter of dispute.

should hold out as long as possible before being abandoned. In that instance, General Arthur St. Clair should evacuate his command by boat to Mount Independence.

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June 23 Military: In New Jersey, General William Howe dismisses General Leopold von Heister as commander of his Hessian contingent. He is replaced by the more tractable and capable Wilhelm von Knyphausen. Colonel Barry St. Leger leads a force of 1,800 British, Loyalists, and Indians from Montreal and across Lake Ontario to Fort Oswego, New York. It is anticipated that St. Leger’s diversion up the Mohawk River Valley will distract American attention from General John Burgoyne’s activities further north. However, having been informed that the only real obstacle in his path, Fort Stanwix, is in a state of disrepair, St. Leger forgoes the inconvenience of lugging heavy siege artillery along.

June 26 Military: The British advance guard under General Simon Fraser decamps from Crown Point, New York; the main body under General John Burgoyne follows close at hand. The American army at Fort Ticonderoga, directly in their path, is bracing for an attack they cannot possibly withstand. In New Jersey, General William Howe concludes an intricate series of feints and maneuvers calculated to lure General George Washington out into the open. Failing in that task, he then pulls his army back to the shoreline and begins embarking them for Staten Island, New York.

June 27 Naval: The American squadron under Captain Lambert Wickes concludes a successful foray into the English Channel and returns to Nantes, France, with 18 prizes. En route to port, Wickes is accosted by the much larger ship of the line HMS Burford, and forced to throw all his cannon overboard to lighten the Reprisal and escape capture.

July Diplomacy: A meeting of the Six Nations Iroquois at Oswego, New York, results in a splitting up of that once mighty confederation. In their deliberations, chiefs such as Red Jacket and Cornplanter urge neutrality and caution. But, under the aegis of Chief Joseph Brant, the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca take up the war hatchet on behalf of England. The Tuscarora and Oneida, however, ally themselves with the Americans, signaling deep divisions in the confederation.

July 2 Slavery: Vermont’s new state constitution expressly abolishes slavery within its boundaries.

July 3 Labor: The Continental Congress, in an attempt to attract qualified and highly skilled shipwrights to the Lake Champlain region, offers to pay them the equivalent of $37 per month and a half pint of rum per diem.

July 4 Military: Having encamped within three miles of Fort Ticonderoga, British forces under General John Burgoyne push American defenders from a series of hills around the fort. General William Phillips then audaciously hauls his cannon up the steep, wooded slopes of Mount Defiance to bombard the defenders into

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Cornplanter

(ca. 1735–1836)

Seneca chief Cornplanter (Gyantwakia) was born around 1735 into the Wolf clan of the Seneca nation, the son of an Indian mother and an English father who abandoned them. But because his uncle was an important chief, Cornplanter matured close to the inner circles of tribal leadership. He established his reputation as a fierce warrior during the French and Indian War and may have participated at Braddock’s defeat in 1755. He rose to prominence within his tribe over the next two decades and by the onset of the American Revolution was a respected leader of consequence. This conflict tore at the very fabric of the Six Nation Iroquois confederation. Militant leaders like Joseph Brant of the Mohawk wanted to side with England and fight the Americans, while Cornplanter and his mystic brother, Handsome Lake, urged his people

Cornplanter. Engraving from a painting by F. Bartoli (Library of Congress)

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not to become embroiled in a squabble between whites. But after 1777, the Seneca also sided with England, and Cornplanter took up his war hatchet against the United States. He distinguished himself in several battles, most notably the August 1777 ambush of New York militia at Oriskany. Afterwards Cornplanter conducted several effective raids against frontier settlements, usually acting in concert with John or Walter Butler, and fought well at bloody engagements at Wyoming and Cherry Valley. However, even a warrior as adroit as Cornplanter could not stop General John Sullivan from ravaging the Iroquois homeland in the summer of 1779, and the Indians had no recourse but to regroup and continue raiding. On August 2, 1780 Cornplanter captured numerous settlers in the Schoharie Valley, New York, his father among them, whom he released. After the war ended in 1783 and Great Britain abandoned its allies at the Treaty of Paris, the loss of Indian land to the United States proved inevitable. Cornplanter, a realist, was willing to consent to land sales in order to prevent the Americans from taking everything. In this he was opposed by the opportunistic Red Jacket, who railed against concessions of any kind to enhance his own standing within the tribe. But between 1784 and 1797, Cornplanter signed five treaties that transferred land to the United States, but also averted the war he adamantly sought to avoid. In 1790, the high-handed behavior of settlers toward the Indians induced Cornplanter to visit Philadelphia and confer with President George Washington, who promised better regulation of Indian affairs. The following year, the president asked the chief to facilitate peace talks with the hostile

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Miami Indians under Little Turtle, but these failed. In 1802, Cornplanter ventured to the new capital at Washington, D. C., to confer with a new president, Thomas Jefferson. By now his history of selling land to avoid strife earned him a reputation as a “good Indian,”

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and in 1792, he received a large land grant in western Pennsylvania as a reward. He also argued with his revivalist brother Handsome Lake, and subsequently welcomed Quaker missionaries. Cornplanter died there on January 17, 1836.

submission. General Arthur St. Clair, recognizing the dangers, prepares to evacuate that post with all haste. Naval: At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Captain John Paul Jones unfurls the new American flag on the Continental warship Ranger for the first time.

July 7 Military: The American garrison under General Arthur St. Clair successfully abandons Fort Ticonderoga and escapes capture by moving by water to Castleton, Vermont. However, his rear guard under Colonel Seth Warner disobeys orders and encamps at Hubbardtown, unaware he has been observed by General Simon Fraser’s British forces. At daybreak on the 7th, Fraser attacks the American encampment, surprising them. The more numerous defenders rally, then begin pressing back the British who are rescued by the sudden appearance of General Friedrich von Riedesel’s Hessians. Though roughly handled, the Americans escape intact, defeating Fraser’s objective. Losses are roughly 350 Americans to 150 British and Germans. Naval: A British squadron consisting of the HMS Rainbow, 44 guns under Commodore George Collier; the Flora, 32 guns; and the Victor 10 guns, gives chase to the American 32-gun frigate Hancock off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Captain John Manley possessed a faster sailing vessel and should have easily outrun his pursuers, but a mishandling of matters leads to the Hancock’s surrender.

July 8 Military: American and British forces skirmish heavily outside Fort Anne, New York, until reinforcements under General William Phillips arrive and drive the defenders out. Naval: General William Howe begins embarking his army onto the British fleet at Staten Island, New York, in preparation for an amphibious descent upon Philadelphia.

July 9 Military: General John Burgoyne arrives with the bulk of his army at Skeensboro, Vermont, although from this point on, his advance is hampered by increasingly wooded terrain. Major William Barton leads a raiding party of 40 men into Newport, Rhode Island, and captures British general Richard Prescott in his bed. Prescott, safely trundled back to Providence at night, will be exchanged for General Charles Lee in captivity. Naval: Captain Gustavus Conyngham departs Dunkirk, France, on the 14-gun sloop Revenge; his ensuing sweep of British home waters nets 20 prizes.

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July 17 Military: John Stark is commissioned a brigadier general of militia by the New Hampshire General Court, and he serves with the understanding that he will summarily ignore any orders given by either the Continental Congress or Continental Army officers. Within a week 1,500 militiamen flock to his colors. Politics: The Vermont Convention convenes in Windsor and approves a state constitution that embraces universal manhood suffrage and also abolishes slavery. Statehood itself, however, is not achieved until 1791.

July 20 Diplomacy: Cherokee and American emissaries conclude the Treaty of Long Island, whereby the tribes are required to cede all their land in western North Carolina east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Nolichucky River.

July 23 Military: Polish cavalry leader Count Kazimierz Pulaski arrives at Marblehead, Massachusetts, with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Naval: The amphibious expedition of General William Howe departs Staten Island, New York, and sails south for the Pennsylvania coast. By doing so, Howe eliminates any chance that his 18,000-man army can cooperate with General John Burgoyne’s offensive in northern New York. As soon as American military intelligence apprises General George Washington of the move, he begins deploying his forces for the defense of the American capital.

July 25 Military: Faced with a British juggernaut, General Philip J. Schuyler, with 2,600 men under brigadiers John Nixon and Arthur St. Clair, decides that Fort Edward cannot be held and withdraws deeper down the Lake Champlain Valley. Politics: The Continental Congress votes Colonel William Barton an elegant sword for his capture of British General Richard Prescott.

July 26 Military: The column of Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, 1,800 strong, begins marching up the Mohawk River Valley from Oswego, New York. His first objective is the American outpost at Fort Stanwix (Rome), New York, reputed to be in a state of bad repair.

July 27 Military: Indians attached to the army of General John Burgoyne capture and murder settler Jane McCrea, fiancée of a Loyalist officer. Her death spurs intense resentment toward the British and boosts patriot recruitment efforts.

July 30 Military: Colonel Nicholas Herkimer is advised by Oneida Indian scouts that a large British force is rapidly approaching up the Mohawk Valley toward Fort Stanwix; he hurriedly starts mobilizing the Tryon County militia and assembling a relief expedition at Fort Dayton, New York.

July 31 Politics: The marquis de Lafayette is commissioned a major general by action of the Continental Congress, but he remains without a command or pay. He

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Chronology ╅ 417 subsequently volunteers his ser�vices to General George Washington as an aide de camp.

August 1 Military: General John Burgoyne’s army reaches the right bank of the Hudson River, New York, having been slowed by woods and felled obstacles to a few miles a day. He then makes preparations to begin ferrying his 7,000 veterans to the other side for a final descent upon Albany. Politics: Baron Johann de Kalb arrives in Philadelphia seeking a commission from the Continental Congress, although that body, besieged by foreigners, wavers on the decision.

August 2 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel Peter Gansevoort, commanding the 3rd New York Infantry at Fort Stanwix, receives timely reinforcements in the form of 200 men under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Marinus Willett. The latter arrives minutes before 1,800 Brit-­ ish, Loyalists, and Indians surround the fort under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Barry St. Leger. The British then demand the fort’s surrender at the risk of an Indian mas-­ sacre, but Gansevoort, noticing the lack of artillery, refuses.

August 4 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel Nicholas Herkimer departs Fort Dayton, New York, in an attempt to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix. However, his movements are keenly observed by Molly Brant, sister of Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, and she dispatches an Indian messenger to warn the British of his approach. Politics: The Continental Congress, anguished by General Philip J. Schuyler’s inability to stop a large British invasion, appoints General Horatio Gates to suc-­ ceed him as head of the Northern Department.

August 6 Military: General Nicholas Herkimer and 800 militiamen are effectively ambushed by Loyalists and Indians under Sir John Johnson, Cornplanter, and Joseph Brant at Oriskany Creek, six miles from Fort Stanwix. The Americans carelessly entered into a defile with high ridges on either side, and Â�were close to panicking. Herkimer, however, is a study in Â�self-­control; despite serious injuries he calmly puffs on his pipe, reorganizes his line, and beats off several determined attacks. After six hours of fighting and heavy losses to both sides, the Indians grow discouraged and withdraw. Oriskany Creek is one of the bloodiest encoun-­ ters of the entire Revolutionary War, with American losses totaling 400, the Indi-­ ans possibly as high as 150. While the battle raged, Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Marinus Willett leads a desperate sortie from Fort Stanwix into the thinly guarded British camp of Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ� nel Barry St. Leger. The Americans overrun the camp, capture five flags, 21 wagons of supplies, and also burn Indian tents without the loss of a man. St. Leger’s native allies, totally discouraged by the day’s events, begin deserting him in droves.

August 10 Military: General Philip J. Schuyler dispatches a second relief column to Fort Stan-­ wix under General Benedict Arnold and Ebenezer Learned. The decision was not without risk, as Burgoyne’s main body hovers only 29 miles distant at Fort Edward.

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Brant, Joseph (ca. 1742–1807) Mohawk chief Thayendanagea was probably born around 1742, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk nation. He spent most of his youth in the household of Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian Affairs, was baptized into the Anglican Church, and received the Christian name Joseph Brant. Brant was then well educated at the Indian school of Reverend Eleazar Wheelock at Lebanon, Connecticut, becoming fluent in English. He first saw military action fighting under Johnson at Lake George in 1755, and in 1763 he also fought for the British throughout Pontiac’s Rebellion. Around this time, Johnson married his sister Molly Brant, further cementing his ties to England. Afterward, Brant assisted the missionary efforts of Reverend John Stewart by translating religious tracts into the Mohawk tongue. The American Revolution then commenced in

Joseph Brant (Library of Congress)

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1775, and Brant ventured to England with Sir Guy Johnson, under whom he served as a personal secretary. Brant was feted at the court of King George III, had his portrait painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and received a commission as captain of Indians. He returned to New York fully committed to the British, but other members of the Six Nations Iroquois under Cornplanter urged caution and neutrality. At length Brant persuaded the majority of the tribes to support England, while the Oneidas and Tuscaroras fought for the United States. In the summer of 1777, Brant commanded Indians as part of Colonel Barry St. Leger’s column and distinguished himself at the Battle of Oriskany that August. Here the Indians ambushed and badly handled American militia under Colonel Nicholas Herkimer, although both sides lost heavily. In the wake of the British defeat at Saratoga in October 1777, their forces had little recourse but to maintain military pressure on American settlements through raiding. Brant personally accompanied or led many such raids, which resulted in the destruction of settlements at Cherry Valley, New York, on November 11, 1778. On July 22, 1779, Brant also cleverly ambushed a pursuing force at Minisink, nearly wiping it out. On August 26, 1781, his Indians also destroyed a detachment of Pennsylvania militia on the banks of the Ohio River. However, the very success of Indian raids sparked a major American counterattack, and throughout the summer of 1779 General John Sullivan’s army ravaged the Iroquois homeland. Brant also had to resist moderates like the Seneca Red Jacket who argued for a separate peace with the United States before all was lost. Brant then resumed his destructive raids

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until the end of the war, which became a time of reckoning for the Six Nations Iroquois. The victorious Americans appropriated most of their land in New York, and Brant was forced to visit London again in 1785 to receive land grants in Upper

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Canada to settle his people. He spent the remainder of his life helping the Mohawks readjust to a new life and also founded the first Anglican Church for the Indians. He died on his estate on November 24, 1807, a noted tribal leader.

August 11 Military: Mounting supply shortages induce General John Burgoyne to detach 800 Hessians and Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum to Bennington, Vermont, to procure horses and supplies. Baum has been assured that the region is friendly to the Crown and that he could expect Loyalist reinforcements to join him there. Unknown to the British, a large body of New Hampshire militia under General John Stark is also headed to the same destination.

August 16 Military: General John Stark, his numbers boosted to 2,000 men following the arrival of Colonel Seth Warner, attacks the Hessian encampment at Bennington, Vermont. He employs an intricate series of double envelopments which strip away Loyalists on the perimeter before driving home on the Hessians’ main defensive works. Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich von Baum, expecting a friendly reception from Loyalists reputedly in the region, is unprepared for the onslaught but nevertheless fights back dutifully. He engages the Americans for two hours until his ammunition gives out, and then, rather than surrender, leads a charge down the hillside with his dismounted dragoons. It is a brave, if futile, gesture, for Baum is killed and the majority of his command captured. For the loss of 30 casualties, Stark kills, wounds, or captures 900 of the enemy, robbing General John Burgoyne of valuable trained manpower when it is needed the most.

August 19 Military: General Horatio Gates arrives at Stillwater, New York, supplanting General Philip J. Schuyler as commander of the Northern Department. He also brings with him reinforcements that boost American strength there to 4,500.

August 22 Military: General George Washington obtains positive intelligence that the British fleet has entered Chesapeake Bay, ostensibly to threaten Philadelphia. He thereupon orders the divisions of Generals John Sullivan and Francis Nash to concentrate at Chester, Pennsylvania, as a precaution.

August 23 Military: General Benedict Arnold’s relief column nears Fort Stanwix, precipitating a panic in Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger’s camp. Previously, Arnold had dispatched the half-witted Hon Yost Schuyler into the Indian camp with tales that the Yankee force approaching them “is more numerous than the leaves on the trees.” After hearing this, the few remaining warriors in camp completely desert their British allies, and St. Leger also makes preparations to flee for Oswego. This

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420  Chronology of American History completely neutralizes the left wing of General John Burgoyne’s offensive and deprives him of needed manpower. Arnold, meanwhile, quickly retraces his steps back to Stillwater with 1,200 men.

August 25 Military: General William Howe debarks 15,000 men at Head of Elk, Mary�land, after spending 32 days at sea. His force is quite emaciated by the experience, so he allows them three days of rest before resuming his drive inland against Philadelphia.

August 31 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel William Sheppard and 42 militiamen at Fort Henry (Wheeling, West Virginia) are suddenly besieged by a large Loyalist/Indian force under noted turncoat Simon Girty. They successfully massacre a detachment attempting to reach the fort but cannot dislodge the defenders inside. At one point Major Samuel McCulloch escapes on Â�horseÂ�back and spurs his mount down a 150-­foot cliff to bring reinforcements. The following day, a relief column of 40 mounted riflemen arrives and drives off the attackers; American losses are 23 killed and injured.

September 3 Military: General William Howe commences his Philadelphia campaign by brushing aside a force of American light infantry at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware. The defenders under General William Maxwell stand their ground effectively until Hessian jaegers (riflemen) turn their position, and they fall back to White Clay Creek. For the United States, this is the first skirmish fought under the new stars and stripes flag.

September 11 Military: General William Howe advances into Pennsylvania and encounters General George Washington’s army of 14,000 men in his path, strongly deployed behind Brandywine Creek. Howe then discovers that the American left flank is not covered, so he dispatches General Charles Cornwallis and 9,000 men to turn it at Chadd’s Ford. Meanwhile, a large Hessian contingent under General Wilhelm von Knyphausen demonstrates before the American center to distract them. As anticipated, Washington does not notice the turning movement until it is nearly too late. He then dispatches a succession of infantry formations from his center to his left in an attempt to stem the flow. No sooner has this position stabilized than Knyphausen launches a Â�full-­scale attack against the weakened center, breaks through, and threatens the entire American force. Washington manages to withdraw from the field in good order, although he loses an entire artillery battery in the proÂ�cess. Howe is once again triumphant, having inflicted 1,200 casualties on the Americans while sustaining 600 of his own. The road to Philadelphia is now open but Washington has again slipped out of the noose and lives to fight another day.

September 12 Military: General Horatio Gates pushes his reinforced army of 6,000 forward to Bemis Heights, New York, only 24 miles north of Albany and 10 miles away from the British encampment of General John Burgoyne. He then orders newly arrived Polish engineer ColÂ�oÂ�nel Tadeusz Kos´ciuszko to construct an intricate line of fortifications and redoubts along the position.

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September 14 Naval: Captain Lambert Wickes is released from imprisonment in France and allowed to depart St. Malo aboard the Reprisal.

September 15 Military: General John Burgoyne, having ferried his men across the Hudson River, advances southward to Fishkill, New York, within five miles of the American position at Bemis Heights. Once in position, he desires to launch a powerful reconnaissance use force to ascertain General Horatio Gates’s defenses and possibly overrun them.

September 17 Politics: For the second time in less than a year, the Continental Congress prepares to flee Philadelphia for fear of a British invasion. Before departing, they again grant General George Washington near-dictatorial powers to prosecute the war.

September 19 Military: General John Burgoyne orders a full-scale advance upon the American lines at Freeman’s Farm, New York. To accomplish this, he draws his army up into three columns: the right flank of 1,800 men under General Simon Fraser, the center of 1,100 men under General James Hamilton, and the right of 1,000 Hessians under General Friedrich von Riedesel. The entire force must traverse rather hilly, heavily forested land in order to reach their objective, a large eminence on the American left for mounting artillery. The attack kicks off but then stalls as Fraser encounters riflemen and light troops under Colonel Daniel Morgan, who fights them to a standstill. The British center then butts up against the brigade of General Enoch Poor, and a seesaw battle of attrition unfolds. General Benedict Arnold, watching from afar, finally prevails upon General Horatio Gates to commit more troops to the center, and General Ebenezer Learned’s brigade charges into the fray. This move forces General William Phillips to march forward with the British reserves and rescue the 62nd Foot from being engulfed. Arnold then disregards Gates’s orders and charges forward with additional troops, threatening to crack Burgoyne’s center. At this juncture, General Friedrich von Riedesel makes a sudden appearance on the American right, causing them to retreat. The Hessian’s quick marching saved the day for Burgoyne, who held the field amid heavy casualties he could scarcely afford. British casualties total more than 500 men, including several regimental commanders deliberately picked off by marksmen. American losses were roughly half that amount. General Fraser, in light of his losses, prevails upon Burgoyne not to renew the attack on the following day. Naval: In an embarrassing upset, the 16-gun American brig Lexington under Captain Henry Johnson is captured by the smaller 10-gun cutter HMS Alert in battle after the former vessel runs out of ammunition off Ushant, France.

September 21 Military: To clear the way to Philadelphia, General William Howe decides to eliminate an American force under General Anthony Wayne that is shadowing his advance. He then selects the highly capable General Charles Grey to attack the enemy encampment at night with cold steel only. Grey expertly steals upon the sleeping Americans and charges them at Paoli, Pennsylvania, routing them. Wayne loses 250 men, mostly bayoneted, for a handful of British casualties. After

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Chronology of American History this sharp and successful night attack, Grey goes by the nickname “No Flint”—a reference to the practice of removing musket flints to prevent accidental discharges at night.

September 23 Military: The British army under General William Howe steals a march on General George Washington by countermarching at night and crossing the Schuylkill River at Flatland’s Ford, thus interposing British troops between Washington and the city of Philadelphia.

September 26 Military: British troops under General Charles Cornwallis reoccupy Philadelphia to the cheers of Loyalist inhabitants. General George Washington, philosophical about the loss, positions his army at Germantown, six miles away, and awaits an opportunity to strike.

September 30 Politics: The Continental Congress, having fled Philadelphia, reconvenes at York, Pennsylvania, which serves as the American capital for the next nine months.

October 1 Naval: The dashing Captain Lambert Wickes is lost at sea when his ship Reprisal flounders and sinks in a storm off Newfoundland.

October 2 Military: With Philadelphia in hand, General William Howe begins scouring the banks of the Delaware River of American fortifications, to use that body of water as a supply route. This day, the famous 42nd Black Watch Highlanders attack and take Billingsport, New Jersey, without a fight. Meanwhile, General George Washington continues watching these developments closely and prepares for a counterattack.

October 3 Military: In New York, General Henry Clinton marches 4,000 men up the Hudson River and into the New York highlands in support of General John Burgoyne. However, this action is intended as a diversion only, and Clinton has no intention of linking up with Burgoyne.

October 4 Military: Judging the moment right, General George Washington masses his army, newly reinforced to 11,000 men, to strike at the dispersed British forces of General William Howe at Germantown. He advances in three columns commanded by Generals John Sullivan, Anthony Wayne, and Nathanael Greene, hoping to surprise and overpower the defenders in camp. The attack, aided by a morning fog, commences well and drives the British back in confusion. Washington then hits an obstacle in the form of the stone house of Loyalist Benjamin Chew, which is garrisoned by the 40th Foot under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Musgrave. The Americans, lacking artillery, waste valuable time trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the defenders, and the brigade of General William Maxwell suffers heavy losses. Washington then decides to bypass the house completely. Additional confusion breaks out when the division of General Adam Stephan marches out of line and mistakenly fires into Anthony Wayne’s forces. Howe, meanwhile, has collected his

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infantry and begins counterattacking across the line. The Americans slowly yield the battleground to the victorious Howe, who came very close to be destroyed in detail. American losses are 900 men (including General Francis Nash killed) to 500 British casualties, but Washington handled his forces adroitly despite his overcomplicated strategy and the Americans retire in good spirits.

October 4 Journalism: James Rivington returns to New York after several months in England and begins a new publication called Rivington’s New-York Loyal Gazette; next month it is shortened to simply Royal Gazette.

October 6 Military: General Henry Clinton’s expedition up the Hudson River captures both Verplanck’s Point and Fort Clinton on either bank. The defenders under General George Clinton fight stubbornly but are finally ejected by a column commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell. Casualties are nearly equal at 250 men apiece, but the British also seize 67 valuable cannon. Naval: The uncompleted American frigates Congress and Montgomery are burned on the Hudson River to prevent their capture.

October 7 Military: General John Burgoyne, outnumbered and running low on supplies, launches another reconnaissance in force against the American right flank at Bemis Heights, New York. The British are drawn up into three columns with their right commanded by General Simon Fraser, the center under General Friedrich von Riedesel, and the left flank held by a single grenadier battalion under Major John Dyke-Acland. All told, Burgoyne possesses only 1,500 men for this perilous operation. As they advance, they are observed by General Horatio Gates who, in a rare moment of initiative, orders a prompt counterattack. General Enoch Poor’s brigade then closes upon DykeAcland’s grenadiers, dispersing them, while Colonel Daniel Morgan routs an assortment of Canadians and Indians protecting the British right. Only in the center, where von Riedesel’s stout Hessians hold their ground against steep odds, does Burgoyne’s strategy appear to be working. The turning point arrived when General Benedict Arnold, acting without orders, leads General Ebenezer Learned’s brigade in a series of successful charges that dislodge the Hessians from several strong points. The gallant General Fraser, valiantly leading the rear guard, is singled out and shot down by rifleman Timothy Murphy, which deprives the British of their best tactician. Arnold, meanwhile, gathers up additional troops and attacks the Hessian redoubts; he is wounded in the leg again but the defenders are routed and flee to the rear. Burgoyne at this moment judges the day lost and orders a retreat, and preparing to make a last stand at his Grand Redoubt. Sir John Burgoyne (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History Fortunately, nightfall terminates the contest. The British losses total near 600 men and 10 cannon while the Americans lose 200 killed and wounded. Burgoyne has little recourse but to withdraw toward Saratoga, pursued now by a force three times his size.

October 8 Military: British forces under General Henry Clinton drive Americans under Generals George and James Clinton from their fortifications on the Hudson River and they fall back upon New Windsor, New York. The British, having occupied Constitution Island, opposite West Point, suddenly halt their successful offensive. General Henry Clinton then writes General John Burgoyne and informs him that he has no authority to unite their respective commands in any capacity and such an order can only come from General William Howe. Daniel Taylor, a Loyalist, is then directed to take the message northward inside a hollowed-out silver bullet.

October 10 Military: In Pennsylvania, British artillery is brought to bear on the American defenders of Fort Mifflin, a muddy-walled position in the middle of the Delaware River. There a garrison of 400 men under Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith has no choice but to endure a tremendous bombardment, but they do so stoically and with great heroism.

October 12 Military: As General John Burgoyne begins entrenching himself in and around Saratoga, New York, he is slowly being engulfed by superior forces under General Horatio Gates. Today General John Stark’s brigade of 1,100 New Hampshire militiamen arrives north of Burgoyne’s camp, completely cutting off his escape route. In Pennsylvania, General Thomas Conway begins surreptitiously writing letters critical of General George Washington to General Horatio Gates, suggesting that he should replace him as commander in chief. This is the start of the socalled Conway Cabal. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith and his 400 men continue defending Fort Mifflin in the Delaware River, although this day a sortie they launch upon the British batteries is repulsed.

October 13 Military: With the British army under General John Burgoyne outnumbered, out of supplies, and completely cut off, a board of officers votes unanimously to commence negotiations for surrender. Meanwhile, the Americans capture Loyalist Daniel Taylor and acquire his hollowed-out silver bullet with a message from General Henry Clinton. He is then hanged as a spy.

October 15 Military: The defenders of Fort Mifflin are further rattled when the warships HMS Roebuck and Valiant slip into point blank range on the Delaware River and add to the iron onslaught. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith continues hunkering down behind his muddy walls and endures.

October 16 Diplomacy: Generals Horatio Gates and John Burgoyne, both Englishmen fighting on opposite sides of the same cause, arrange a convention to discuss surrender terms. By the terms of their “Convention,” they agree that Burgoyne’s army

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will be allowed to march to Boston, embark on ships for England, and never return to America.

October 17 Military: General John Burgoyne surrenders 5,728 men, 5,000 muskets, and 37 cannon to General Horatio Gates under terms of the “Convention of Saratoga.” The staffs of both armies then engage in a bit of fraternization, with mutual toasts to General George Washington and King George III. Such amicability does nothing to disguise the fact that, for the first time in history, an entire British army had been captured. More significantly, victory at Saratoga demonstrates the viability of the American Revolution. It quickly prompts the French government to tender formal diplomatic relations and switch from covert to overt military assistance.

October 22 Military: Col o nel Karl von Donop and his force of 1,800 Hessians cross the Delaware River intending to attack the American post of Fort Mercer, New Jersey. The 1,000-man garrison under Colonel Christopher Greene, having strengthened their works, calmly allows the enemy to approach to within range. Von Donop forms his men into two columns and then charges the northern and southern faces of the fort. They are readily shot down in vast numbers by the defenders, who are also assisted by gunboats operating in the river. The Hessians continue attacking bravely until Von Donop is mortally wounded and they finally withdraw. Hessian losses are nearly 500; Greene loses only 35 men. Politics: General William Howe, sensing that he lacks proper support from the government, tenders his resignation and requests to be relieved of command.

October 23 Naval: Admiral Richard Howe orders a large portion of his fleet to sail up the Delaware River and bombard the still-defiant Fort Mifflin into submission. Six warships comply but they are attacked in turn by 12 armed galleys under Commodore John Hazelwood of the Pennsylvania state navy. The 64-gun HMS Merlin and the 19-gun Augusta both ground and are burned to prevent capture.

October 28 Politics: Captain James Wilkinson, aide de camp to General Horatio Gates, arrives at York, Pennsylvania, to announce the victory of Saratoga to the Continental Congress. At that time, he also broaches a confidential letter of General Thomas Conway to an aide of General William Alexander, which thoroughly denigrates the leadership abilities of General George Washington.

November 1 Politics: The Continental Congress elects Henry Laurens to replace outgoing John Hancock as its president.

November 2 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones sails from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the 18-gun sloop Ranger and makes for France.

November 3 Politics: General William Alexander alerts General George Washington of General Thomas Conway’s possible subterfuge against him.

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Laurens, Henry (1724–1792) Politician, diplomat Henry Laurens was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 24, 1724, the son of a prosperous merchant. After being educated in the colonies, he sailed to England and worked three years at a counting house. Afterward he returned to Charleston to receive his inheritance and gradually became one of the colony’s wealthiest men. Laurens also developed an interest in politics, and he served continuously in the assembly during the period 1764–75. He was politically conservative by nature but sided with fellow Americans during the Stamp Act crisis of 1765. In 1771 he took his sons to London to pursue their education there but returned home three years later, still committed to the Patriot cause. In 1775, he served with the extralegal provincial congress, acting as president, heading the committee of safety, and helping draft a new state constitution. Laurens, a committed conservative, remained fully supportive of property rights for Loyalists, which brought him the ire of more radical factions led by William Henry Drayton and Christopher Gadsden. Nonetheless, he was elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in June 1777, and the following November, succeeded John Hancock as president. Under his tenure several important pieces of legislation, such as the Articles of Confederation and the French Alliance came to pass, although Laurens was continually upset by what he considered the corrupt practices of other delegates. He resigned as president on December 9, 1778, was succeeded

by John Jay, and resumed his congressional seat for another year. In 1780, Laurens accepted a diplomatic position as commissioner to the Netherlands, although his ship was accosted by the Royal Navy and he was interned at the infamous Tower of London for nearly a year. There he was charged with treason, declared a state prisoner, and denied adequate food and medical attention. Lauren’s health declined precipitously and he never fully recovered. Worse, the British recovered his diplomatic pouch, which indicated the extent to which Holland had been assisting the United States, and led to war between those two nations. In April 1782, Laurens was finally exchanged for General Charles Cornwallis and ordered to Paris as a peace commissioner. There, with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay, he negotiated the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War. Laurens then returned to England for two years to settle business accounts and he also served as unofficial American ambassador. He finally came home to Charleston in January 1785 to discover his business fortunes had suffered heavily during the war. Though his health had declined owing to the harshness of imprisonment, in 1788 he mustered the strength to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Laurens died back at Charleston on December 8, 1792, one of South Carolina’s most important figures of the colonial period, and a significant diplomatic figure of the Revolutionary War.

November 6 Military: The Continental Congress appoints General Thomas Mifflin, Colonel Timothy Pickering, and Colonel Robert H. Harrison to the newly created Board of War. Neither Mifflin nor Pickering are ardent admirers of General George Washington.

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November 10 Naval: When the Delaware River inadvertently opens up a new channel, the British rush up floating batteries and additional warships to continue pounding Fort Mifflin into submission. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, commanding the 400man garrison, is seriously wounded and is replaced by Major Simeon Thayer.

November 14 Military: The ever-tenacious defenders of Fort Mifflin are strengthened by the arrival of 450 men under General James M. Varnum. Despite a terrific pounding, their counterfire manages to sink a British floating battery in the Delaware River. Politics: Irish-born Brigadier General Thomas Conway tenders his resignation to the Continental Congress, ostensibly over its refusal to promote him to major general.

November 15 Naval: The Royal Navy slips several large warships to within point-blank range of Fort Mifflin on the Delaware River, dropping 1,000 heavy balls on it every 20 minutes. At this juncture Major Simeon Thayer decides his position is hopeless and orders an evacuation of the post that evening. The gallant American stand has incurred over 300 casualties but delayed the British advance upstream by several weeks.

November 18 Military: General Charles Cornwallis crosses the Delaware River with 6,000 men and begins advancing upon Fort Mercer, New Jersey. General James M. Varnum and Colonel Christopher Greene both decide that position cannot be held and withdraw the garrison intact. Commodore John Hazelwood of the Pennsylvania state navy is also forced to burn several of his armed galleys to prevent their capture.

November 21 Politics: The Continental Congress, alarmed over allegations against Silas Deane in Paris by Arthur Lee, recalls him home to answer the charges.

November 21 Military: In his first independent action, the marquis de Lafayette leads 300 men into a heavy skirmish against a larger Hessian detachment at Gloucester, New Jersey, and defeats them.

November 27 Politics: The Continental Congress recommends that states confiscate the property of all known Loyalists to help finance the war; this act causes a mass exodus to Canada and Europe. Congress also names General Horatio Gates to be president of the Board of War, in concert with Thomas Mifflin and Richard Peters. These men form part of a military clique unfavorably disposed toward General George Washington and are now well situated to discredit him.

November 28 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints John Adams to succeed Silas Deane as commissioner to France.

December 1 Military: Former Prussian officer Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrives at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin.

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December 4 Diplomacy: News of the startling American victory at Saratoga reaches Paris, and Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, is now receptive to a formal military alliance. The effort had been temporarily delayed following the fall of Philadelphia.

December 5 Military: General William Howe marches from Philadelphia to Whitemarsh in an attempt to surprise General George Washington in the field, but his intentions are detected by cavalry under Captain Allan McLane. The Americans have also been forewarned by the heroic actions of spy Lydia Darragh, and the British attack fails in its objective. Politics: After a year and a half of debate, the Continental Congress finally adopts the Articles of Confederation as a means of national governance and dispatches it to the state legislatures for ratification. However, the process proves torturously slow, and the actual government is not implemented until March 1, 1781.

December 7–11 Military: Generals William Howe and George Washington spar inconclusively at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, for several days but the Americans, forewarned by the spy Lydia Darragh, are able to circumvent defeat.

December 12 Diplomacy: In Paris, Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, informs the American commissioners that France’s entry into the war on their behalf is contingent upon Spain’s approval. He requires an additional three weeks to receive a reply from the government in Madrid.

December 13 Politics: The Continental Congress authorizes two inspector generals for the Continental Army who are independent of the commander in chief and answer only to the Board of War.

December 14 Politics: The Board of War ignores General Thomas Conway’s previous resignation and appoints him inspector general of the army—another direct slap at General George Washington.

December 15 Diplomacy: In Paris, the British again broach the subject of reconciliation with Benjamin Franklin but still refuse to recognize American independence.

December 17 Diplomacy: King Louis XVI of France, buoyed by the recent American victory at Saratoga, orders his Council of State to extend full diplomatic recognition to the United States. Moreover, negotiations for a formal treaty of alliance are to begin immediately. Henceforth, American commissioner Benjamin Franklin ignores all future British overtures for a cease-fire. French intervention also constitutes a decisive turning point in the military conduct of the Revolutionary War, soon to be part of a much wider global conflict.

December 19 Military: The 9,000 exhausted men of the Continental Army, driven from Philadelphia, stagger into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Located only

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20 miles from the city, the site affords General George Washington the ability to monitor British movements there closely while also protecting his supply routes. However, a severe trial by deprivation ensues and upwards of 2,500 men—onethird of the force—eventually die from exposure or hunger.

December 23 Politics: General George Washington, wary of recent Congressional probes into military affairs, invites several delegates to his headquarters at Valley Forge to discuss leadership issues. At the heart of concerns is the alleged attempt by General Thomas Conway to have him replaced by General Horatio Gates. In time, fortunately, the so-called Conway Cabal fails to trigger any congressional motions for Washington’s dismissal and the conspirators are ultimately disgraced.

December 27 Politics: The Continental Congress votes to forbid the paroled army of General John Burgoyne to depart Boston until the convention he signed has been ratified by King George III. They also inundate General William Heath with facetious instructions designed to keep the “Convention Army” hostage as long as possible.

1778 Slavery: Quakers in Maryland approve measures mandating the expulsion of all Society of Friends members who retain the use of African-American slaves. Thomas Jefferson prevails upon the Virginia House of Burgesses to approve a statute forbidding the importation of additional slaves into the state.

January 2 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark confers with Virginia governor Patrick Henry about the necessity of seizing the Mississippi-Ohio River Valley from the British. Such a move would thwart the prospects of Shawnee attacks along the frontier and also facilitate land speculation. Clark has previously won support from such state luminaries as Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. The governor acquiesces, and Clark, to disguise his real purpose, declares his intention to protect Kentucky settlements. Naval: Esek Hopkins is finally and formally removed as commodore of the nascent Continental Navy; no successor is ever appointed.

January 5 Naval: American inventor David Bushnell floats numerous mines down the Delaware River, one of which explodes and kills several British sailors. Consequently, the Royal Navy expends a lot or ordnance firing at and detonating mines—and anything else that floats within range. This incident inspires American poet Francis Hopkinson to compose his satirical work, “Battle of the Kegs.”

January 8 Diplomacy: In Paris, Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, declares France’s intention to seek a formal military alliance with the United States, in addition to diplomatic relations. Politics: The Continental Congress accuses General John Burgoyne of failing to abide by the terms of his surrender convention, further delaying the departure of his captive army.

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January 13 Military: His army withering away from exposure and malnutrition at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, General George Washington appeals to the Continental Congress for immediate supplies of food and clothing.

January 20 Military: Cavalry captain Henry Lee, scouting British outposts near Valley Forge, is discovered and attacked in turn by 200 enemy dragoons. He and seven men then seek refuge in Spread Eagle Tavern, noisily trick the British into thinking that American reinforcements are arriving, and they hastily depart. For this quick-witted action, Lee is promoted to major by Congress.

January 22 Politics: Oblivious to the suffering at Valley Forge, the Continental Congress begins contemplating a new expedition into Canada. The Board of War then appoints the youthful marquis de Lafayette to lead the effort, seconded by General Thomas Conway.

January 27 Naval: Captain John P. Rathbun of the Continental sloop Providence recaptures New Providence (Nassau) in the Bahamas and raises the Stars and Stripes over a foreign stronghold for the first time. He also seizes five vessels and releases 20 American captives.

January 28 Politics: The marquis de Lafayette flatly refuses to serve with General Thomas Conway in any capacity and expresses his contempt to president of Congress Henry Laurens. Laurens, a strong ally of Washington, now suspects the entire Board of War of complicity in the so-called Conway Cabal.

February Slavery: To offset long-standing manpower shortages, the Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes recruitment of 300 African-American slaves to serve in a special light infantry battalion. By war’s end the Rhode Island Light Infantry was acknowledged as one of the most outstanding units in the Continental Army.

February 4 Military: Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrives at York, Pennsylvania, still lacking a military commission and volunteers to serve as an unpaid aide to General George Washington.

February 6 Diplomacy: In Paris, four weeks of negotiations by Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee, Silas Deane, and Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, results in a two-part Franco-American entente. This consists of a treaty of amity and commerce , with reciprocal favored-nation status for trade, and a treaty of alliance. All told, the agreement stipulates direct French military intervention in North America should war erupt between France and Great Britain. It further grants the United States a free hand at launching additional campaigns in Canada and Bermuda while the French will do the same throughout the West Indies. This is a decisive moment in the course of the Revolutionary War, which now assumes the dimensions of a global conflict.

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February 7 Military: Noted frontiersman Daniel Boone and 27 other men are captured by hostile Shawnee chief Black Fish along the Lower Blue Licks, Kentucky. Boone is subsequently adopted into the chief ’s family at Chillicothe, Ohio, and treated with great kindness—he leaves them only with reluctance.

February 9 Politics: General George Washington pens an angry missive to General Horatio Gates, rebuking him for his ambiguous posturing throughout the Conway Cabal. This note apparently ends any attempts by Gates and his cohorts to have Washington replaced as commander in chief; the matter subsides quietly.

February 14 Diplomacy: John Adams departs Hough’s Neck, Massachusetts, on board the warship Boston under Captain Samuel Tucker, and sails for Bordeaux, France. Naval: As the Continental warship Ranger under Captain John Paul Jones sails into Quiberon Bay, France, it is saluted by guns of a nearby fort. This is regarded as the first “official” salute from a sovereign nation.

February 16 Politics: Lord George Germain accepts General William Howe’s resignation, although he is ordered to remain on station until a successor is designated.

February 17 Diplomacy: Prime Minister Lord Frederick North, eager to preempt the Americans from entering into a treaty relationship with France, offers to suspend all oppressive acts of Parliament passed since 1763. Whig opposition leaders Charles James Fox and Edmund Burke applaud the decision as too little, too late—then further lampoon the prime minister with news of the recent Franco-American alliance.

February 23 Military: The American encampment at Valley Forge is bolstered by the arrival of former Prussian officer Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who institutes the first systematic training routine in American military history. Steuben, who has misrepresented his credentials and is neither an aristocrat nor a general, proves instrumental in transforming the hobbling Continental Army into a precision military force.

February 26 Politics: The Continental Congress, eager to make up for manpower shortfalls, authorizes the first military draft in American history by allowing states to transfer men from the militia to the Continental Army for nine months.

February 28 Politics: A proposed state constitution for Massachusetts is overwhelmingly rejected by various town meetings. The legislature is then directed ro arrange a special convention for penning a new document.

March 2 Politics: A congressional committee visiting the army encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, makes numerous recommendations to Congress respecting

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Steuben, Friedrich Von

(1730–1794)

General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben was born in Madgeburg, Prussia (Germany), on September 17, 1730, the son of an army officer. He joined the famous Prussian army at the age of 17, fought capably, and rose to the rank of captain before being discharged in 1763. Thereafter he worked for several petty princes in various capacities, especially as a chamberlain. Around this time he began calling himself “baron” and also affixed the aristocratic title of “von” to his last name, despite his common origins. Around 1777, he left Germany and traveled to France, where American agents were known to be hiring experienced military officers. Steuben then presented himself to Benjamin Franklin as a late lieutenant general in the Prussian army, and received a letter of introduction to the Continental Congress from him. This was despite the fact that Steuben, fluent in French and

German, did not speak a word of English. He nonetheless arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in December 1777, presented his credentials to Congress at York, Pennsylvania, and was then dispatched to General George Washington at Valley Forge. Washington was impressed by Steuben’s military mien, and appointed him acting inspector general. In this capacity he became famous for introducing a simplified version of the famous and feared Prussian drill system to the rag-tag Continentals. Acting as drill master—and swearing profusely—Steuben trained a model company by himself, then made its members drill masters with companies of their own. The system was repeated continuously all winter, and by the time the Continental Army emerged from Valley Forge it exhibited a discipline and efficiency heretofore lacking. The fruits and genius of his labors showed at the Battle of Mon-

Baron von Steuben at Valley Forge, 1777 (National Archives)

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mouth in August 1778, when, for the first time in the Revolutionary War, the Americans proved able to withstand their professional British adversaries in the field. Steuben continues performing staff function until November 1780 when, after lobbying hard for a field command, he joined the marquis de Lafayette in Virginia as his subordinate. However, he failed to flourish in the war of outposts waged there and on April 25, 1781, was outmaneuvered at Point of Fork by Lieutenant Colonel John G. Simcoe and duped into abandoning some valuable supplies. Despite his lackluster performance, Steuben commanded one of the

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three American divisions at Yorktown, where the war effectively ended in October 1781. He then served as a military adviser to Washington until his discharge on March 24, 1784. Steuben took up citizenship and resided at New York City, where his extravagant lifestyle drove him into bankruptcy until Congress agreed to pay the old warrior a pension of $2,800 annually. He then purchased a farm in Remsen, New York, and functioned as president of the conservative-oriented Society of the Cincinnati. The self-styled “baron” died at Remsen on November 28, 1794, having provided the American army with its first brush with military professionalism.

the reorganization of administrative procedures. They also appoint a rather reluctant General Nathaniel Greene to serve as quartermaster general of the military.

March 7 Military: After much consideration, Lord George Germain appoints the highly capable but widely disliked General Henry Clinton to serve as commander in chief of British forces in North America. Clinton will serve longer in this capacity than any other officer. Naval: Captain Nicholas Biddle, commanding the 32-gun frigate Randolph, encounters and fights the much larger 64-gun HMS Yarmouth off Barbados. The two vessels close in the darkness and fight fiercely for 20 minutes until the Randolph apparently receives a magazine hit and explodes. Biddle and 311 of his men die; only four survivors are rescued by the British. This constitutes the single largest loss of naval personnel until the sinking of the USS Arizona in December 1941.

March 8 Military: In light of the new French alliance, General Henry Clinton receives permission to begin planning for another amphibious assault against Charleston, South Carolina, decisively shifting the locus of the war southward.

March 9 Naval: In another naval humiliation, Captains Elisha Hinman and Thomas Thompson, leading the large frigates Alfred and Raleigh, respectively, engage the British sloops HMS Ariadne and Ceres in the West Indies. The British should have been immediately overpowered, but the Americans are outmaneuvered in a lengthy contest, and Hinman of the Alfred strikes his colors with 181 captives.

March 12 Politics: Vermont, still not officially a part of the United States until 1791, appoints Thomas Chittenden to serve as its governor.

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March 13 Diplomacy: In London, the French ambassador duly informs the British government of the recent treaty of alliance with the United States. War between the two nations is now widely anticipated, so England recalls its ambassador from Paris. Military: Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown attack Fort Barrington, Georgia, taking 23 captives. The southern frontier will be a hotbed of Loyalist activity for the remainder of the war. Politics: The Continental Congress cancels its much heralded Canadian campaign and also orders the marquis de Lafayette and Baron Johann de Kalb back to their stations within the army.

March 16 Diplomacy: Parliament authorizes Frederick Howard, earl of Carlisle, to head a peace commission with the Americans at Philadelphia. Unlike previous efforts, Carlisle is endowed with broad powers to conduct negotiations and acquiesce to most colonial demands—except independence.

March 18 Military: British light troops under Colonel Charles Mawhood and Major John Graves Simcoe surround and eliminate a militia picket at Quintin’s Bridge, New Jersey, inflicting 40 casualties for a loss of one man. At Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Baron Friedrich von Steuben commences his celebrated training regimen to turn the rough-hewn Continental Army into professional soldiers. He does so by selecting 120 men as a model company, training them thoroughly in his simplified version of the famous Prussian drill, until they are completely proficient. The men are then broken up and redistributed to their own units to serve as drillmasters. The entire process is continuously replicated and by the time the army emerges from its winter quarters it possesses a discipline and precision heretofore conspicuously lacking. Von Steuben’s contribution proves a major factor in the ultimate American victory.

March 20 Diplomacy: In Paris, American commissioners Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee, and Silas Deane are formally received by the glittering court of King Louis XVI. Later, Franklin and the king privately assure each other of their commitment to fulfil treaty obligations.

March 21 Military: British light infantry under Colonel Charles Mawhood and Major John G. Simcoe attacks and eliminates an American militia picket at Judge Hancock’s house, near Hancock’s Bridge, New Jersey. The British eliminate sentries, rush inside, and bayonet all 30 defenders to death, accidently slaying two prominent Loyalists by mistake.

March 26 Politics: Congressmen Francis Dana and Nathaniel Folsom introduce legislation to provide Continental Army officers with half pay for life and their widows with a pension. A furious debate ensues over the next several months.

March 28 Military: The Continental Congress authorizes General Kazimierz Pulaski to raise his own cavalry legion.

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March 31 Diplomacy: Commissioner John Adams, accompanied by his 10-year old son and future president John Quincy Adams, arrives at Bordeaux, France. Naval: In another embarrassing setback for the Continental Navy, the new 28gun frigate Virginia under Captain James Nicholson runs aground in Chesapeake Bay and is set upon by HMS Emerald and Conqueror. Nicholson promptly abandons his vessel, rows to shore, and orders Lieutenant Joshua Barney to surrender the Virginia for him.

April 5 Politics: The Continental Congress votes to allow General John Burgoyne and his staff officers to leave Boston for England, but the bulk of his “convention army” is to remain in captivity.

April 9 Military: The Continental Congress appoints Jeremiah Wadsworth to serve as the new commissary general of purchases to overhaul the inefficient Commissary Department.

April 10 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones departs Brest, France, with the 18-gun sloop Ranger on an extended raid into English home waters.

April 14 Politics: President of Congress Henry Laurens sends a reprimand to General George Washington for questioning recent congressional prerogatives respecting the exchange of prisoners or the treatment of Loyalists. The general, taking the rebuke in stride, simply thanks that august body for its sagacious advice.

April 21 Politics: Elias Boudinot, commissary of prisons, arranges to exchange General Charles Lee for British general Richard Prescott. Once free, Lee’s first action is to visit Congress and complain how other officers have been promoted over him. Lee also personally derogates the leadership of General George Washington in front of Boudinot.

April 22 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress passes a motion branding anyone who accedes to terms established at the forthcoming Carlisle Peace Commission as an enemy of the United States. Naval: Captain John Paul Jones, commanding the 18-gun sloop Ranger, lands 31 men ashore and briefly seizes the English town of Whitehaven. Crew members then spike several cannon in a local fort, burn several vessels, and return to their ship. This act constitutes the first hostile invasion of British soil since 1667.

April 23 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones of the Ranger accosts the small British island of St. Mary’s, intending to kidnap the Earl of Serlkirk as a hostage but finds him absent from his estate. Lady Serlkirk’s family silver is seized instead, but Jones later returns it with an apology.

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April 24 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones and the 18-gun sloop Ranger encounter the 20gun sloop HMS Drake off Carrickfergus, Ireland, and capture it in a sharp action. For a loss of six men killed and wounded, Jones takes 150 prisoners.

April 27 Naval: The Continental Congress votes to purchase 12 additional warships.

April 29 Naval: After much debate, Prime Minister Lord Frederick North elects to reinforce the British fleet of Admiral Richard Howe with 12 additional warships under Admiral John Byron. This is to counter a French fleet known to be approaching America under Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing.

May 1 Military: British light infantry under Colonel Robert Abercrombie and Major John G. Simcoe attacks an American militia outpost under General John Lacey at Crooked Billet, Pennsylvania. Lacey is surprised and nearly surrounded before fighting his way out with a loss of 60 men. The adroitly handled British lose only nine.

May 4 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress ratifies the treaties of alliance and amity with France and by war’s end that nation provides 10.5 million livres in subsidies and 35 million in loans to assist the American war effort.

May 5 Military: The Continental Congress appoints General Friedrich von Steuben inspector general of the Continental Army on the recommendation of General George Washington. In this capacity, he composes the Blue Book, the first American drill manual, which is further refined by his aides Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens.

May 8 Military: General Henry Clinton arrives at New York as the new British commander in chief. Naval: Captain John Paul Jones of the Ranger docks at Brest, France, with the captured Drake and 200 prisoners.

May 12 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark departs the Redstone Settlement on a voyage down the Monongahela River to rendezvous with reinforcements gathering at the Falls of the Ohio River.

May 15 Politics: The Continental Congress authorizes half-pay for Continental Army officers, although the tenure is for seven years, not life—provided that they serve for the duration of the war.

May 19–20 Military: The 20-year-old marquis de Lafayette, on his first independent mission, takes 2,200 men on a reconnaissance mission between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. When General William Howe is informed of the move at Philadelphia, he detaches General James Grant and 5,000 troops to catch the youthful leader at Barren Hill, Pennsylvania. Howe leads the remaining 6,000 men out of

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Shippen, Margaret (1760–1804) Loyalist spy Margaret “Peggy” Shippen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1760, into one of that colony’s foremost merchant families. Her father, among his many responsibilities, also served as chief justice of Pennsylvania. Shippen matured into a bright young maiden, excelling in mathematics, and very adept at bookkeeping, accounting, and real estate. And, despite her reputation as the city’s most beguiling belle, she inherited her father’s strict Loyalist sensibilities. With the advent of Philadelphia’s capture by British forces in the fall of 1777, she apparently entered into a romantic relationship with the dashing Major John André until he was ordered back to New York. As a parting gesture, she acquired a lock of his hair as a memento and maintained—at great personal risk—a steady and secret correspondence. Philadelphia was then reoccupied by American forces under General Benedict Arnold, then military governor, and he too was smitten by his acquaintance with the alluring 19-year-old Shippen. The two courted and were married on April 8, 1779, just as Arnold was being buffeted by allegations of fiscal impropriety. He also resented what he deemed—perhaps justly—any lack of recognition from the Continental Congress for his outstanding contributions to the war effort. Arnold’s anger intensified after being found guilty of two misdemeanors for which he was mildly rebuked by his friend and superior, General George Washington. It was precisely at this junc-

ture that the highly intelligent, well-placed Mrs. Arnold prevailed on her husband to switch sides. In the spring of 1779, Arnold began a secret correspondence with General Henry Clinton in New York, wherein he offered to betray highly sensitive military intelligence about American defenses at West Point, New York, for a large sum of money and a general’s commission. After some hesitation, Major André, now head of British military intelligence and still in contact with Shippen, persuaded Clinton to grant Arnold’s request. Arnold and his wife then concocted a clever scheme to carry the matter off. André eventually met with Arnold behind American lines on September 22, 1780, then was caught, and Arnold had to flee for his life. For her part, Shippen hysterically feigned ignorance of the matter and eventually rejoined her husband in New York, while André was hanged. After the war the couple ventured to England where they were introduced to King George III. At that time, Shippen was rewarded with an annual stipend of 1,000 pounds—making her the highest-paid spy of the Revolutionary War. But Arnold made few, if any, friends and also failed in a number of business ventures that left his family saddled with debt. Once he died in 1801 Shippen dutifully used her business acumen to pay off her husband’s debts while raising their five children. She herself died of cancer in London on August 24, 1804, a devoted Loyalist and a highly successful spy mistress.

the city as a distraction. However, when cavalry scout Allan McLane perceives the British maneuver, he alerts Lafayette of the impending trap before it is sprung. Lafayette, though badly outnumbered, cleverly conceals his men around Barren Hill until Grant approaches in force, then aggressively deploys his men as if ready to attack. Grant is taken aback and assumes defensive positions, during which

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Chronology of American History time the Americans slip out of his grasp and back to the safety of the Schuylkill River. His clever ploy foiled by Grant’s ineptitude, the general retraces his steps back to Philadelphia, empty-handed.

May 20 Military: On the Georgia frontier, General Robert Howe arrives at the Altahama River with 550 men, intending to attack General Augustin Prevost at St. Augustine, but his plans go awry when his militia refuses to follow orders.

May 24 Military: Following two years of capable, if controversial service in America, General William Howe sails back to England.

May 27 Military: The Continental Congress overhauls the organization of the Continental Army while adding a provost corps and three engineering companies.

May 28 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark disembarks at the Falls of the Ohio River to discover that promised reinforcements failed to materialize. He is greeted only by a handful of new volunteers and stops to train his entire force before proceeding further. In a fateful move, General George Washington appoints General Benedict Arnold to serve as future governor and garrison commander of Philadelphia.

May 30 Military: Mohawks under Chief Joseph Brant burn the settlement of Cobbleskill, New York, killing many settlers and capturing others. This attack initiates a long series of frontier raids, which is the only viable British tactic in New York after Saratoga.

June 6 Diplomacy: The Carlisle Commission arrives at Philadelphia, fully empowered to negotiate an end to hostilities with America. They are prepared to offer autonomy to the colonists but refuse to recognize their independence. Had such a sober effort been made prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the turn of events in North America might have been much different. Now it is too late.

June 13 Politics: The Continental Congress debates Lord Frederick North’s conciliatory proposals and insists upon British recognition of American independence. They then draft a proposal declaring their intention to accept peace once King George III has withdrawn his forces.

June 16 Military: General Henry Clinton, fearful that an appearance by the French fleet might cut off his army in Philadelphia, prepares to evacuate that city and return to New York. Two days later he marches 10,000 soldiers northward while a further 3,000 Loyalists embark on Admiral Richard Howe’s fleet. A quick raid by Captain Allan McLane’s cavalry nets 32 British stragglers outside the city.

June 19 Military: General George Washington reacts to the British abandonment of Philadelphia by rousing the Continental Army from its encampment at Valley Forge and maneuvering to intercept General Henry Clinton’s army with 14,500 men.

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General Benedict Arnold arrives at Philadelphia as its garrison commander, and he becomes entirely distracted after meeting Margaret “Peggy” Shippen, the beguiling daughter of a prominent Loyalist.

June 20 Politics: The Continental Congress expresses some anger and disbelief that only three states, New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire, have ratified the new Articles of Confederation. They also reject 22 proposed amendments to the articles as proposed by the states.

June 26 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark shoots the rapids of the Ohio River with 175 men in flatboats and sails west toward the Illinois Territory.

June 27 Politics: The Continental Congress adjourns its final session at York and votes to reconvene back at Philadelphia.

June 28 Military: General George Washington strikes at the withdrawing British army of General Henry Clinton by attacking its rear guard at Monmouth Court House. The American advance forces are carelessly handed by General Charles Lee, who causes a near rout when ordering his men to retreat, and Clinton swiftly counterattacks. The situation is only saved when Washington makes a sudden appearance at the head of his men, rallies them, and deploys the troops defensively. He also confronts Lee and relieves him of command on the field after a blistering dressing-down. At this point the British make several determined attacks but are as often blasted back by the well-trained Americans, who can now fight their professional adversaries on equal terms for the first time in the war. The divisions of Generals Anthony Wayne, Nathanael Greene, and William Alexander hold their ground, while the artillery of General Henry Knox assails the British flanks. It is at this critical juncture that Mary Ludwig Hayes (Molly Pitcher) replaces her husband as part of a gun crew and mans a cannon. Clinton, convinced the battle is a draw, retires from the field in good order and continues marching for New York. Both sides lost roughly 400 men apiece, with many falling in consequence of the intense summer heat. However, Monmouth Court House is the first time that the Americans successfully engaged the British in an open field.

July 2 Military: General Frederick Haldimand replaces General Guy Carleton as governor general of Canada. Politics: The Continental Congress resumes its deliberations back at Philadelphia.

July 3 – 4 Military: A force of Loyalists under Captain Walter Butler and Seneca under Cornplanter attack American settlements in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. When the defenders of Colonel Zebulon sortie and chase after the attackers, they walk right into a devastating ambush. The raiders then promptly charge and rout the militia, killing and scalping 227 men. Butler then goes on to burn eight forts

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McCauley, Mary Ludwig Hays (1754 –1832) Woman soldier Mary Ludwig was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on October 13, 1752, a daughter of German immigrants. After working several years as a domestic houseworker, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, she met and married barber John Hays, who in December 1775 enlisted in the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery Regiment. Consistent with practices of the time, Mary then followed her husband into the field as a camp follower, performing mundane but useful services such as cooking, washing, and nursing the injured. Over the course of the Revolutionary War thousands of women did likewise, with little recognition for their services. On June 28, 1778, both John and Mary Hays were present at the battle of Mon-

mouth, New Jersey, where the former was detached from his regiment to assist other gunners. He deployed his cannon at a crisis period in the battle, when the army of General Henry Clinton was counterattacking and driving the disorganized Americans before him. The day was also extremely hot, with Mary and scores of other women carrying buckets of water to cool the guns and their crews. At some point in the battle, John collapsed from heat exhaustion while servicing a cannon, and Mary threw down her pitcher, picked up his ramrod, and ably serviced his piece for the remainder of the engagement. In the course of battle a cannonball apparently tore through her skirt, but she ignored the

Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth (National Archives)

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danger and continued working. Her bravery under fire caught the attention of General Nathanael Greene, who then arranged her introduction to General George Washington. That leader then congratulated Mary for her courage and promoted her to sergeant. In this manner Mary Hays became universally lauded in American military history as “Molly Pitcher”; this was a common nickname at the time for women accompanying an army. It was nevertheless a stirring performance under fire, which demonstrated the pluck of colonial womanhood when aroused. Mary Hays remained in military service as a washerwoman for eight more years without further notoriety, and after her discharge in 1783, she returned to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as a servant. Her husband John died in 1787 and she married

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another veteran, John McCauley, who was semi-disabled. Mary spent the rest of her life supporting him in near poverty. After he died in 1809 she endured a period of obscurity until 1822, when she petitioned the Pennsylvania general assembly for assistance. It then voted her a $40 annuity in recognition of her military service. Mary Hays, the “Molly Pitcher” of lore, died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832, and was buried with full military honors. During the Revolutionary Centennial of 1876 she was further honored with an elaborate marker placed over her grave. She remains the most popular and best-known woman soldier of the Revolutionary War; her closest competitor was another female artillerist, Mary Corbin, who distinguished herself at the battle of Fort Washington in 1776.

and 1,000 homes and steal 1,000 head of cattle. The Wyoming Valley massacre is one of the war’s biggest frontier atrocities. Colonel George Rogers Clark and his 175 men surround the distant post of Kaskasksia, Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers, and peacefully obtain its surrender. Clark is then careful to inform the French inhabitants of the recent treaty of alliance with that nation and they promptly switch sides and join the Americans.

July 5 Naval: The British army of General Henry Clinton is finally ferried over to New York from Sandy Hook by Admiral Richard Howe’s fleet.

July 8 Education: The appointment of Ezra Stiles as president of Yale College marks a dramatic shift at that institution away from the enthusiasm of the Great Awakening and towards the Enlightenment precepts of rationalism and liberalism. Military: Hot on the heels of the retreating British, General George Washington establishes West Point, New York, as the site of his new military headquarters. From this position, he will orchestrate a loose blockade of New York City for the next three years—the war will be won elsewhere. Naval: The 15-vessel fleet of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, arrives off the Delaware capes, but too late to intercept Admiral Richard Howe’s warships. The French then sail north to New York seeking a confrontation.

July 11 Naval: The 15-ship French squadron under Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, anchors off New York to coax the British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe out into the open.

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Chronology of American History Howe, somewhat outgunned, declines the invitation and positions his vessels around New York harbor so as to heavily rake the French should they elect to enter. Politics: To help further cement a national identity, the Continental Congress orders the term “United States of America” used on all paper currency issued.

July 20 Military: The forces of Colonel George Rogers Clark peacefully occupy the French settlements of Vincennes (Indiana) thanks to the support of a local priest, Father Pierre Gibault.

July 22 Naval: General George Washington confers with French Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, and concludes that the waters of New York harbor are too confined to allow combined operations. Washington then suggests that the French sail to Newport, Rhode Island, and the comte agrees. General John Sullivan is subsequently dispatched there with 1,000 men to begin allied operations.

July 24 Politics: Congressional delegates from Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland declare their states’ intention to oppose ratifying the Articles of Confederation unless all states with western land claims surrender them to the government.

July 28 Politics: Connecticut politician Silas Deane testifies before a congressional committee to justify his behavior as American commissioner in Paris. Specifically, he must refute charges of profligacy and misuse of public funds leveled against him by Richard Lee.

July 29 Naval: The French squadron of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, arrives off Newport, Rhode Island, and confronts the 6,700-man British garrison of General Robert Pigot. There is very little the French can do until the army of General John Sullivan arrives to begin siege operations.

August 2 Diplomacy: France formally declares war against Great Britain.

August 6 Naval: General Henry Clinton, informed of French naval operations off Newport, Rhode Island, orders the fleet of Admiral Richard Howe to engage them. Howe has recently been reinforced by the squadron of Admiral John Byron and now possesses 20 warships to d’Estaing’s 15.

August 12 Naval: As General John Sullivan’s 10,000 men prepare siege positions outside Newport, Rhode Island, the fleets of Admirals Richard Howe and Charles, comte d’Estaing, spar for advantage offshore. Suddenly they are beset by a squall that scatters and heavily damages both.

August 20 Naval: The wind-damaged fleet of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, sails from Newport, Rhode Island, to Boston for repairs, abandoning the army of General John Sullivan to its fate. They take with them a 3,000-man land contingent that had been operating ashore, which further weakens the Americans.

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Clark, George Rogers (1752–1818) Militia officer George Rogers Clark was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on November 19, 1752, the son of a farmer. Largely self-taught, he worked as a surveyor and also led numerous expeditions into the unsettled regions of Kentucky. Clarke was serving as a captain of militia when the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775 and thereafter actively organized frontier defense against hostile Indians. Clark, who enjoyed considerable renown as a frontier figure, then persuaded the Virginia legislature to fund the protection of western settlements, and he gained appointment as colonel. He realized that the British at Detroit were the instigators behind Indian unrest, and in 1777 he prevailed upon Governor Patrick Henry for a campaign against them. Clark was also determined to prevent settlers like Daniel Boone from carving out Kentucky as a separate state and convinced the legislature to annex the region as a Virginia county. In May 1778 he departed with 175 frontiersmen riding flatboats down 120 miles of various rivers, then marched another 120 miles, and captured Kaskaskia, Illinois on July 4, 1778. Having secured the allegiance of French inhabitants living there, Clark pushed on to his final objective, Vincennes, which fell without a shot on July 20. The Americans then departed for home but British governor Henry Hamilton launched an overland campaign to recapture Vincennes on December 17, 1778. This act prompted Clark to organize another midwinter campaign that endured incredible hardships, retaking Vincennes from Hamilton, and cap-

turing him. By this single action Clark again restored American supremacy in the Old Northwest, a fact that the British were forced to acknowledge at the Treaty of Paris in 1783. But despite promises of compensation from the Virginia government, Clark and his men functioned without pay and, as commander, he was forced to advance funds out of his own pocket and incurred great debts. In the final years of the Revolutionary War, Clark mounted several expeditions against the Shawnee in Ohio with good effect. He had campaigned well with scanty resources, but Virginia authorities refused to reimburse him for his expenses, and Clark remained in debt. In 1786, he gained appointment as Indian commissioner and led a final expedition against tribes living along the Wabash River, but then lost his commission through the machinations of General James Wilkinson, a Spanish spy. Destitute, Clark engaged in several aborted western schemes at the behest of the French and Spanish governments, none of which came to fruition. In 1793, he even received a major general’s commission from France in anticipation of their reconquest of the Louisiana territory, but by 1799, Clark returned to Kentucky, disgraced and broke. He died in Louisville on February 13, 1818, a forgotten architect of American frontier expansion. In 1918, the U.S. government erected a $1 million memorial to him at Vincennes, scene of his greatest triumph, and a reminder of his remarkable successes in 1778.

August 26 Diplomacy: George Johnstone, a member of the British Carlisle Commission meeting in Philadelphia, attempts to bribe Congressmen Joseph Reed, Robert Morris, and Francis Dana. He is thereupon ordered home.

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August 29 Military: As the division of General John Sullivan attempts to retreat from Newport, Rhode Island, they are set upon by aggressive General Robert Pigot, commanding the British garrison there. An attack develops at Butt’s Hill when General Francis Smith advances upon the veteran brigade of General John Glover and is handily repulsed. Pigot then directs a large force of Hessians to storm Quaker Hill on his right, but the attack founders in the face of determined resistance by the Rhode Island Light Infantry, composed mainly of African Americans. A prompt counterattack by General Nathanael Greene drives the Germans off. Pigot then suspends the action and Sullivan continues retreating. Both sides lost approximately 300 men apiece in this, the Revolutionary War’s largest battle waged on New England soil.

August 31 Naval: A relief expedition of 5,000 men under General Henry Clinton arrives at Newport, Rhode Island, but too late to influence the outcome of events. Clinton then detaches General Charles Grey to attack and raid Martha’s Vineyard and the Massachusetts coast.

September 4 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty of amity and commerce with the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, an act infuriating the British government.

September 7–16 Military: Shawnee war parties under Chief Black Fish attack the settlement of Boonesborough, Kentucky. Fortunately, they had been warned in advance by Daniel Boone himself, who escaped Indian captivity to relay the news.

September 11 Naval: Admiral James Gambier arrives at New York to replace Admiral Richard Howe as commander of Royal Navy forces in America. His tenure proves brief and uneventful.

September 13 Military: A force of 450 Indians and Loyalists under Chief Joseph Brant and Captain William Caldwell attack and ravage the settlement of German Flats (Herkimer), New York, along the Mohawk River. The 700 settlers are tipped off in advance and seek refuge in nearby forts, but the raiders go on to burn and loot 100 buildings before departing.

September 14 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin minister plenipotentiary to France, replacing the three-man commission.

September 17 Diplomacy: The United States negotiates its first Indian treaty with the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) tribe, at Fort Pitt (modern Pittsburgh), securing their neutrality in exchange for a pledge to allow their territory to enter the union as a 14th state. The government will eventually conclude a total of 370 such agreements with native Americans, very few of which either were adhered to, or were in the Indians’ best interests.

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September 26 Military: The Continental Congress appoints General Benjamin Lincoln to succeed General Robert Howe as commander of the Southern Department. The decision is made without first consulting General George Washington.

September 27 Naval: Captain John Barry, commanding the 32-gun frigate Raleigh, is accosted off the Maine coast by two British warships. Barry fights well for several hours but ultimately grounds his vessel and burns it to prevent capture. He then escapes back to Boston on foot with 85 crewmen while another 135 are taken prisoner.

September 28 Military: General Charles Grey, in a repeat of his effective performance at Paoli, Pennsylvania, in 1777, advances upon a detachment of American soldiers at Old Tappan, New Jersey. The 100 sleeping men of the 3rd Continental Dragoons under Lieutenant Colonel George Baylor are taken completely by surprise and dispersed. The Americans lose 50 men killed and wounded at no cost to the British; Baylor is among those fatally wounded by a bayonet.

October 3 Diplomacy: Thwarted in their dealings with the Continental Congress, the remaining members of the Carlisle Commission in Philadelphia print an offer of reconciliation to the American people, tendering full pardons for all individuals who accept it within the next 40 days.

October 5 Military: A small force of British infantry under Captain Patrick Ferguson attacks an American encampment on Mincock Island, New Jersey, abetted by the lack of sentries. They then surprise a detachment of cavalry under Colonel Kazimierz Pulaski, inflicting 30 casualties before withdrawing with a loss of six.

October 7 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton sets out from Detroit with 225 soldiers, French militia, and some Indians to recapture the distant settlement of Vincennes (Indiana). He is heartened to learn that Colonel George Rogers Clark has since withdrawn most of the garrison.

October 28 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress drafts new instruction for Benjamin Franklin in Paris and also informs John Adams that his mission there is complete. Naval: Major Silas Talbot, commanding the sloop Hawke, carefully approaches the British schooner HMS Pigot on the Sakonnet River, Rhode Island. He had previously mounted a kedging anchor to the bowsprit of his vessel, intending to rip away the Pigot’s antiboarding nets as it passed by. The ploy works perfectly and Talbot boards his adversary so quickly that they are driven below deck without loss. Both the Pigot and 45 captives are taken.

November 4 Military: General Henry Clinton, pursuant to instructions from the government, dispatched General James Grant and 5,800 men from New York to the West Indies. The rapidly expanding war in America is forcing the British to spread their resources thin.

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Chronology of American History Naval: Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, departs Boston with his fleet, neglecting to inform General George Washington of the change. The fledgling FrancoAmerican alliance has achieved little thus far beyond ruffling many feathers.

November 11 Military: A combined Indian/Loyalist force under Chief Joseph Brant and Captain Walter Butler attacks the American settlement at Cherry Valley, New York, under the cover of a rainstorm. The garrison under Colonel Ichabod Allen is totally surprised, and 40 settlers are tomahawked with another 30 captured. The devastation of this single raid prompts General George Washington to mount a large-scale, punitive action against the Indians that summer.

November 20 Politics: New Jersey ratifies the Articles of Confederation; Maryland remains the only holdout.

November 27 Diplomacy: The British Carlisle Commission sails from Philadelphia to England, having singularly failed to reach a negotiated peace settlement. Military: Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell boards 3,500 men onto ships of Commodore Hyde Parker in New York and prepares to sail southward to the Georgia coast. There he intends to link up with British forces under General Augustin Prevost for an attack upon Savannah, Georgia. Naval: Admiral Richard Howe concludes his service in America by sailing home for England; he is briefly succeeded by Admiral John Byron.

December 4 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, as head of the Southern Department. He begins preparations for driving the British out of neighboring Georgia.

December 5 Journalism: A bellicose Silas Deane publishes his political defense and attacks Arthur Lee and other detractors in the Pennsylvania Packet. Politics: The Continental Congress approves the court-martial sentence of General Charles Lee and he is suspended from active duty for a year.

December 9 Politics: The Virginia assembly annexes all territories recently captured by Colonel George Rogers Clark and names them the County of Illinois. Captain John Todd is appointed the first governor.

December 10 Politics: John Jay is elected president of the Continental Congress to replace outgoing Henry Laurens.

December 11 Military: General George Washington directs the winter deployment of the Continental Army at Middlebrook, New Jersey, from which vantage point he can rapidly advance into Delaware to counter any possible thrusts against Philadelphia.

December 17 Military: The combined British/Indian column of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton recaptures the distant settlement of Vincennes (Indiana) from Captain

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Chronology   447 Leonard Helm. Hamilton intends to attack Kaskaskia in the spring and drive away ColÂ�oÂ�nel George Rogers Clark. He then mistakenly dismisses his Indian contingent and allows most of his militia to depart.

December 23 Military: A British squadron under Commodore Hyde Parker lands 3,500 sol-­ diers under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Archibald Campbell on Tybee Island at the mouth of the Savannah River. Meanwhile, General Robert Howe collects 700 soldiers and 150 militiamen at Sunbury and marches to the defense of the city.

December 29 Military: Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Archibald Campbell, informed that American rein-­ forcements under General Benjamin Lincoln are far off in South Carolina, elects to attack Savannah, Georgia, before they arrive. He then leads 3,500 men against General Robert Howe, who has collected 1,200 soldiers along the Giradeau Road. This is a strong position with swamps on either flank and a stream to his front, but Campbell is informed by a local slave of an obscure path around the rear. He then deploys his light infantry down the secret trail while his artillery bombards the camp from the front. They then charge at a given signal and the American position, struck from front, flank, and behind, crumbles. Howe loses nearly 550 killed, wounded, and captured to a British tally of 13. The road to Savannah is now clear and it remains in British hands until the end of the war. Campbell next appoints himself governor of the only colony reconquered by the British.

1779 Education: Thomas Jefferson, nominal head of William and Mary College, ele-­ vates it to a university by creating schools of medicine, law, and modern languages. He does so by discontinuing older departments such as divinity and grammar.

January 1 Politics: The Continental Congress, unswayed by General Henry Clinton’s argu-­ ments that King George III had signed the Saratoga Convention, refuses to abide by its terms. The captured British and Hessians are then marched into captivity from Boston to Virginia. Military: General George Washington warns Congress not to become ensnared in a new campaign in Canada, fearing that France will ultimately gain control of the region.

January 9 Military: A British force under General Augustin Prevost captures Fort Morris, Georgia, from the Americans, along with 220 prisoners. Following the conquest of Savannah, this victory places eastern Georgia completely under British control.

January 10 Diplomacy: Conrad-Alexandre Rayvenal de Gérard, French minister to the United States, seeks assurances that the recent alliance between the two coun-­ tries will be upheld.

January 11 Naval: The Â�American-­built frigate Alliance departs Boston under Captain Pierre Landais and conveys the marquis de Lafayette back to France. This is the only warship jointly commanded by the allies.

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January 14 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress assures the French minister in Philadelphia that the United States remains bound to observe all treaty commitments with France. Foremost among these is a pledge not to seek a separate peace treaty without prior consultation.

January 20 Politics: A Congressional committee is appointed to investigate the matter of Silas Deane and all allegations against him.

January 23 Military: Beset by chronic manpower shortages, the Continental Congress accepts General George Washington’s recommendation and authorizes a $200 bounty to both new recruits and soldiers who reenlist.

January 29 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell marches up the road from Savannah to Augusta, Georgia, where he is ambushed by militia under General Samuel Elbert and Colonel John Twiggs. Campbell brushes aside his antagonists and occupies the town, finding it abandoned. For several months Augusta serves as a rallying point for Loyalists seeking to join the British cause. Moreover, Patriots living throughout the region are forced to take an oath of allegiance or have property confiscated.

February 3 Military: General William Moultrie takes up defensive positions at Port Royal Island, South Carolina, in anticipation of a British attack there. When two companies of British under Major William Gardiner appear and attack, they are easily repulsed with loss. Politics: Joseph Reed, president of the Pennsylvania Council, brings charges of abuse and mismanagement against General Benedict Arnold, who angrily demands an inquiry to clear his name.

February 4 Military: The Continental Congress endows General George Washington with authority to take whatever measures he deems necessary to enhance and improve the Continental Army. He is also allowed to resolve all disputes involving rank below that of brigadier general. Naval: In France, Captain John Paul Jones receives command of a beat-up old French merchant ship, the Duc de Duras, which he promptly renames Bonhomme Richard in honor of Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac. Jones spends the next six months scouring the country for guns and other naval implements to outfit his charge.

February 5 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark, informed of Vincennes’s recapture by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton, hastily collects 127 frontiersmen and sets off from Kaskaskia in midwinter. What unfolds is one of the most grueling displays of endurance in the entire war. Clark also dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Rogers and the armed galley Willig down the Mississippi River to circumvent any British movements there.

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Chronology   449 ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Boyd departs Spartanburg, South Carolina, with a detachment of 600 newly recruited Loyalists and takes up a line of march for Augusta, Geor-­ gia. There he hopes to augment the garrison of Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Archibald Campbell.

February 10 Military: Patriot militia under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Andrew Pickens, John Dooly, and Elijah Clarke besiege a party of Loyalist cavalry at Carr’s Fort, Georgia. They cut the fort’s water supply and are making preparations to burn it down when intelli-­ gence is received of ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Boyd’s column of Loyalists approaching. Pick-­ ens immediately disengages and redeploys to meet the intruders.

February 11–12 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Boyd’s Loyalists attempt crossing the Savannah River into Georgia at Cherokee Ford, only to encounter stiff reÂ�sisÂ�tance from Captain James Little is 47 militiamen at McGowan’s BlockÂ�house. Unable to overcome the defenders, Boyd marches his men five miles downstream, constructs rafts, then crosses at Vann’s Creek. Little’s American militia follows and attempts to obstruct their progress Â�here as well but is defeated with a loss of 32 men.

February 13 Military: Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Archibald Campbell, alarmed by word of General Benjamin Lincoln’s approach, abandons Augusta, Georgia, and marches hur-­ riedly for Savannah. En route he is trailed closely by an American militia under General John Ashe.

February 14 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Boyd’s Loyalists encamp at Kettle Creek for the eveÂ� ning, unaware that the British garrison at Augusta has pulled out. Meanwhile, Patriot militia under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Andrew Pickens and Elijah Clarke quietly surround Boyd’s camp unobserved and deploy to its rear. They suddenly lead 350 men in a concerted attack from three directions. Boyd’s Loyalists fight well initially but are gradually overwhelmed and routed with a loss of 40 killed and 70 captured. Pickens loses only 32 men but declines to occupy Augusta and withdraws back into the interior.

February 15 Diplomacy: To further induce Spain’s entry into the war, French minister Con-­ rad-Alexandre Rayvenal de Gérard advises the Continental Congress to give due consideration to the status of Florida and navigation rights on the Mississippi River when drawing up the eventual peace terms.

February 18 Military: Col�o�nel George Rogers Clark and his weary little band arrive at the Wabash River in midwinter. They repose briefly before pushing across 10 miles of flooded, icy plains before reaching their final objective at Vincennes (Indiana).

February 23 Diplomacy: A congressional committee is tasked with drawing up definite peace terms; it includes Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Burke, John Witherspoon, and Samuel Adams. Among other things, it recommends establishment of minimum fixed boundaries, evacuation of all British forces, retention of fishing rights off

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Chronology of American History Newfoundland, free navigation along the Mississippi River and, above all, British recognition of American independence. Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark’s expedition traverses icy, flooded prairies and arrives at Horseshoe Plain prior to pushing on to Vincennes. There he learns from a prisoner that Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton is unaware of his approach and holds the settlement with a small garrison. Encouraged by this positive intelligence, Clark instructs his men to noisily encircle the fort to give an impression of much greater numbers. To underscore his determination, Clark also executes and scalps four Indians in full view of the garrison. Hamilton refuses to surrender, so the Americans commence peppering the defenders with accurate rifle fire, killing several artillerists.

February 25 Military: The Continental Congress votes to raise five companies of rangers for defense of the Pennsylvania frontier. After a daylong siege by American militia, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton concludes his position is hopeless, and he surrenders 79 men to Colonel George Rogers Clark. This is Clark’s consummate contribution to the Revolutionary War and insures American control of the entire Illinois Territory. By war’s end an estimated 20,000 settlers will have migrated to the region.

February 26 Military: General William Tryon launches another punishing attack by landing 600 troops at Horseneck Landing, Connecticut, and disperses the 150 militiamen under General Israel Putnam. Putnam only escapes by dramatically spurring his horse down a steep hill. Tryon then proceeds to burn a nearby village before withdrawing back to his ships.

March 3 Military: American soldiers and militia under General John Ashe and Colonel Samuel Elbert stop pursuing the British from Augusta, Georgia, and encamp along Briar Creek. They then begin repairing the newly burned bridge and await reinforcements before marching on Savannah. They are unaware that 900 British under Lieutenant Colonel James Prevost have arrived nearby and are quietly deploying around the American rear. At a given signal, Prevost charges and routs 1,200 defenders, who lose 300 men. British losses total 15. The debacle at Briar Creek ends the American reconquest of Georgia for the time being.

March 9 Politics: After considerable delays, the Continental Congress finally approves a $200 bounty for any soldiers joining or reenlisting for the duration of the war. The states are also encouraged to raise 80 battalions of infantry for the Continental Army, either by recruitment or draft, to fulfill their quotas.

March 11 Military: The Continental Congress authorizes creation of a corps of engineers within the Continental Army.

March 13 Naval: A squadron consisting of the Warren, 32 guns, under Captain John B. Hopkins, the Queen of France, 28 guns, under Captain Joseph Onley, and the Ranger, 18 guns, under Captain Thomas Simpson, sails from Boston on a cruise

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of the eastern seaboard. This is one of the largest formations deployed by the Continental Navy in its own home waters.

March 14 Slavery: Colonel Alexander Hamilton writes a letter to President of Congress John Jay extolling the virtues of African Americans and encourages Georgia and the Carolinas to recruit slaves into the army. He also argues that all military service must be rewarded with freedom.

March 29 Slavery: To obviate chronic manpower shortages in the Continental Army in the South, the Continental Congress formally suggests that Georgia and South Carolina recruits 3,000 African-American slaves into the army and emancipate them after the war. As an added incentive, Congress pledges to compensate owners with $1,000 per slave.

April 1 Military: The continuing Cherokee raids by Chief Dragging Canoe prompt a punitive expedition into Tennessee by Colonel Evan Shelby.

April 8 Societal: General Benedict Arnold marries Margaret Shippen, daughter of a leading Philadelphia Loyalist. She is also a highly capable British intelligence agent who undoubtedly encourages him to switch sides.

April 12 Diplomacy: France and Spain conclude the Convention of Aranjuez, formalizing their alliance against Great Britain. Spain, however, declines to recognize the United States at this juncture, viewing it as a potential threat to its holdings in Louisiana and Mexico.

April 23 Military: Governor John Rutledge of South Carolina uses his emergency powers to raise 4,000 militiamen and assist the army of General Benjamin Lincoln. Thus augmented, Lincoln finally crosses the Savannah River and advances upon Augusta.

April 29 Military: General Augustin Prevost launches an offensive by crossing 2,500 men over the Savannah River and advances upon Charleston, South Carolina. This move induces Colonel Alexander McIntosh to abandon Purysburg and withdraw his 220 men to Black Swamp, where he unites with 1,000 soldiers under General William Moultrie. The combined forces then fall back again toward Cossahatchie Bridge.

May 9 Naval: A combined British expedition of 1,800 men under Commodore George Collier and General Edward Mathew anchors off Portsmouth, Virginia, intending to attack Fort Nelson. The 100-man American garrison retreats beforehand and the invaders march unopposed into nearby Gosport and Norfolk, burning both. By the time the raiders withdraw they have sunk 28 vessels and absconded with 1,000 hogsheads of tobacco.

May 10 Military: Philadelphia Loyalist Joseph Stansbury, a prominent merchant, contacts Major John Andre in New York on behalf of General Benedict Arnold.

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Chronology of American History It appears that Arnold is considering switching his allegiance over to the British.

May 11 Military: General William Moultrie force-marches to Charleston, South Carolina, one step ahead of British forces under General Augustin Prévost. Assisted by Governor John Rutledge, Moultrie adds another 600 militiamen to his tally and rejects Prevost’s surrender summons. Suddenly, General Kazimierz Pulaski mounts a cavalry sortie on his own initiative at Haddrels’ Point, unsupported by Moultrie. The Americans are badly repulsed, losing 300 men as casualties or captives. Prevost, however, concludes he is badly outnumbered and withdraws to James Island and thence to Stono Island, which he fortifies against General Benjamin Lincoln’s advancing army.

May 18 Religion: At a conference in Fluvanna County, Virginia, Southern Methodists vote to separate themselves from the Anglican Church of England.

May 21 Business: The Continental Congress appeals to the states to advance $5 million to the national treasury to ameliorate a mounting fiscal crisis.

May 23 Military: To demonstrate his sincerity in defecting, General Benedict Arnold forwards detailed information about American defenses at West Point, New York, to British general Henry Clinton.

May 24 Naval: The amphibious expedition of Commodore George Collier and General Edward Mathew concludes at Portsmouth, Virginia. In a three-week period, they have sunk 150 vessels of various sizes, freed 90 Loyalist prisoners, and liberated 500 African-American slaves.

May 26 Business: Desperate for an influx of cash, the Continental Congress tasks John Dickinson with drafting a new appeal to the states for new taxes to sustain the war effort.

June 1 Military: Generals Henry Clinton and John Vaughan lead 6,000 soldiers up the Hudson River against the American positions at Stoney Point and Verplanck’s Point. The small American garrison hastily flees, leaving the British in control of King’s Ferry, an important choke point on the river, only 12 miles south of strategic West Point. Politics: Thomas Jefferson succeeds Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia.

June 12 Military: General George Washington, alarmed by British incursions 12 miles below his headquarters at West Point, New York, dispatches Major Henry Lee to ascertain their positions. Politics: The Continental Congress receives a strongly worded appeal from army officers endorsing General George Washington’s position of half pay for life after the war.

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June 16 Military: General Augustin Prévost withdraws from Stono Ferry, South Carolina, leaving behind a rear guard of 700 men under Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland. Naval: General Francis McLean sails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, with 700 men to establish a fort on the Bagaduce Peninsula, Maine. From here he will be enabled to secure a steady supply of lumber for the Royal Navy as well as dispatch raiding parties into the neighboring countryside. He is ably assisted by Captain Henry Mowat and three Royal Navy sloops mounting 54 cannon.

June 20 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln leads 1,400 men across Ashley River. He attacks the British rear guard at Stono Ferry, South Carolina, consisting of 900 soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland. Anticipating a coordinated assault in conjunction with General William Moultrie, who never appears, Lincoln pushes forward his left and right wings under General Jethro Sumner and Isaac Huger, who drive back men of the 71st Highlanders. The Americans then encounter an abattis, which they prove unable to cut through, and are further thwarted by fierce Hessian resistance. Lincoln, judging the battle lost, withdraws, briefly pursued by Maitland. It was a humiliating defeat for Lincoln, who loses 300 men to a British tally of 125. The victorious Maitland begins withdrawing toward Beaufort.

June 21 Diplomacy: Spain declares war upon Great Britain after receiving French promises of assistance to regain Florida and Gibraltar. And, while denying the United States diplomatic recognition for the time being, the Spanish regime secretly supplies them with subsidies and loans.

June 23 Military: General John Sullivan begins massing troops in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania prior to launching a massive, punitive expedition against the Iroquois Six Nations heartland. Concurrently, General James Clinton departs Canajoharie, New York, and begins marching toward Otsego Lake, prior to joining Sullivan.

July 1 Politics: Governor Thomas Jefferson orders all Loyalists in Virginia to be processed for immediate deportation.

July 2 Military: Captain Allan McLane ably reconnoiters Stony Point, New York, under a flag of truce, and his report convinces General George Washington that it is vulnerable to a night assault. To facilitate this task, General Anthony Wayne receives command of the elite Light Infantry Regiment. British cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton surprises Colonel Elisha Sheldon and the 2nd Continental Dragoons at Poundridge, New York. The heavily outnumbered Americans manage to extricate themselves with the loss of their flag before the British finally withdraw.

July 5 Military: General William Tryon lands a hand-picked force of 2,500 men in New Haven harbor, Connecticut, pushing aside an American militia under

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Lincoln, Benjamin

(1733–1810)

General Benjamin Lincoln was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1733, the son of farmers. He evinced little interest in politics until the eve of the Revolutionary War, then served in the legislature and the extralegal provincial congress as a delegate. Once fighting commenced in April 1775, Lincoln, who had served in the militia, became a brigadier general of state forces. He met and befriended General George Washington during the siege of Boston and rose to a general of the Continental Army in May 1776. In this capacity Lincoln fought capably at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776, and also in New Jersey that winter. He next advanced to major general in February 1777 and played conspicuous roles in fighting in and around Saratoga in October, which culminated in the surrender of General John Burgoyne. Lincoln, who had been badly wounded, spent several months recuperating, but in September 1778, he gained appointment as head of the Southern Department. This appointment was made with Washington’s consent, and Lincoln, who had never experienced an independent command, proved earnest but inept in that role. On June 29, 1779, he mounted a clumsy attack upon the British rear guard at Stono Ferry, South Carolina, and was badly repulsed. Five months later, Lincoln coordinated efforts with a French expedition under Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, which came to grief during the siege of Savannah, Georgia, on October 9, 1779. Lincoln had no sooner withdrawn to his main base at Charleston, South Carolina, than he was

surrounded by British forces under General Henry Clinton and forced to surrender on May 12, 1780. The loss of 5,500 soldiers was the biggest American setback of the entire war, although Lincoln was subsequently paroled and exchanged a few months later. Lincoln never again held an independent field command and rejoined General Washington as a staff officer. He commanded one of three divisions at the successful siege of Yorktown, Virginia, and when General Charles Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, he accepted the general’s sword from his subordinate. Shortly afterward, Lincoln was tapped to serve as the first secretary of war under the Articles of Confederation and held this position until being replaced by General Henry Knox on March 8, 1785. He returned to civilian life for two years until 1786, when Governor James Bowdoin appointed him commander of Massachusetts militia to put down an armed revolt by Daniel Shays. This he accomplished bloodlessly by January 1787, and the following year, Lincoln became lieutenant governor under John Hancock. He also served as a delegate at the Constitutional Convention in 1788, lending vital support for its eventual ratification. In 1789, President Washington entrusted him with the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of Boston, where he functioned until 1809. Lincoln died at his home on May 8, 1810, hardly an astute military leader, but dependable, loyal, and well liked by contemporaries.

General Andrew Ward. Both sides lose about 50 men apiece, then Tryon orders the town burned before reembarking.

July 6 Military: General George Washington makes a personal reconnaissance of Stony Point, New York, and remains convinced it can be stormed at night.

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July 7 Naval: Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Silas Talbot, commanding the 12-­gun sloop Argo, captures the British privateer Lively after a Â�five-­hour battle. He then bags two merchant vessels shortly afterward.

July 8 Military: General William Tryon lays waste to the coastal community of Fair-­ field, Connecticut, burning 83 Â�houses, 100 barns, and numerous churches and schools.

July 9 Military: The Spanish government authorizes Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana and Florida, to capture British possessions up the Mississippi River and along the Gulf of Mexico. Politics: The Continental Congress, eager to end waste and profligacy in mili-­ tary procurement, urges states to investigate all persons associated with supply departments and to prosecute those guilty of misdeeds at government expense.

July 10 Military: Col�o�nel John Bowman conducts 250 men on a raid against the Shawnee stronghold at Chillicothe, Ohio, burning many homes and despoiling crops. Chief Black Fish, who had adopted Daniel Boone into his family, is among those slain.

July 11 Military: General William Tryon’s forces descend upon Norwalk, Connecticut, burning another 130 homes, 100 barns, and several vessels. Satisfied by this latest round of punitive actions, Tryon boards his ships and returns to New York.

July 15 Military: The British bastion at Stony Point, New York, falls to an ingenious nighttime assault by General Anthony Wayne. The 1,350 Americans attack in two columns under Wayne and ColÂ�oÂ�nel Richard Butler, while a third column under Major Hardy Murfee mounts a diversion. Taking a page from his own bitter experi-­ ence at Paoli, Pennsylvania, Wayne orders his men to remove their musket flints and rely on cold steel throughout the action. A moonless night and the lack of sentries allows the Americans to approach undetected to within the last few yards, once they begin chopping through the abattis. The 600-­man British garrison under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Henry Johnson is then fooled by Murfee’s diversion, and sor-­ ties after him in the dark. This leaves the fort poorly defended and it is successfully stormed by Wayne and Butler in vicious, Â�hand-­to-­hand fighting. Thus Stony Point, hailed by the British as “Little Gibraltar,” falls in only 30 minutes with a loss of the entire garrison. Wayne’s losses amount to 100 men killed and wounded.

July 17 Military: An exultant General George Washington, personally inspecting the defenses of Stony Point, New York, declares it indefensible and orders it stripped and abandoned. General Henry Clinton, meanwhile, is hastily assembling an expedition to retake it.

July 18 Naval: While cruising in a fog off Newfoundland, Commodore Abraham Whip-­ ple’s squadron, consisting of the frigates Providence and Queen of France, and

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Chronology of American History sloop Ranger, stumbles into a 150-ship British convoy. Whipple, masquerading as a British warship, takes several unsuspecting vessels captive, as does Captain John P. Rathbun of the Ranger. The Americans seize a total of 11 ships with cargos totaling $1 million and manage to convey nine of them safely back to Boston.

July 19 Naval: The Massachusetts state government, alarmed by the establishment of a British fort on the Bagaduce Peninsula, Maine, assembles an amphibious expedition to capture it. This consists of 1,600 men, 19 armed vessels, and 24 transports under Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, assisted by Generals Solomon Lovell and Peleg Wadsworth of the state militia. The celebrated rider Colonel Paul Revere is also on hand commanding the artillery. This is the largest expedition of its kind ever mounted by the Americans, employing three Continental vessels and virtually the entire Massachusetts state navy. It is also undertaken as a private venture, without notifying Congress.

July 22 Military: An American militia force pursuing Mohawks and Loyalists under Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, is subsequently ambushed by them while crossing the Delaware River near Minisink (Port Jervis), New York. Of 150 men present, only 30 survive.

July 24 Naval: The American naval expedition under Commodore Dudley Saltonstall arrives off the Penobscot River, Maine, and maneuvers to begin siege operations of nearby Fort George, then a crude dirt fortification. He briefly engages the three-ship squadron of Captain Henry Mowat and concludes that the confined waters of Penobscot Bay will not allow him to maneuver correctly. Thereafter he declines further naval support to the effort until the militia have dealt with Mowat’s vessels.

July 28 Military: An American militia force under General Solomon Lovell lands on the western face of the Bagaduce Peninsula, Maine, and prepares to storm British positions. The ensuing attack is spearheaded by a contingent of Continental Marines, who drive the British up the slopes and back within Fort George. With the high ground secure, the Americans begin digging siege fortifications. Both sides lose 40 men apiece in this sharp little action.

July 30 Military: A force of 240 Kentucky militia under Colonel John Bowman attacks the Indian settlement of Chalahgawtha, Ohio, but is unable to dislodge the 40 or so warriors defending it. As the Americans withdraw, they are pursued by the Indians, who shoot down several stragglers. An exasperated Bowman finally orders a charge upon the snipers, who return to their village after killing 30 militia and wounding 60.

July 31 Military: A war council at Penobscot, Maine, weighs its options and objectives. General Solomon Lovell suggests that the fleet of Commodore Dudley Saltonstall attack and destroy three British sloops in the harbor. However, Saltonstall with-

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holds all naval support until the guns of nearby Fort George are captured. The impasse continues for several days as American morale plummets. In Pennsylvania, General John Sullivan marshals 2,500 crack troops and commences a massive sweep against Indian settlements in central and western New York. He is assisted by Generals William Maxwell and Enoch Poor, and will shortly be joined by a brigade under General James Clinton.

August 3 Diplomacy: French minister Chevalier Anne Cesar de la Luzerne arrives at Boston with John Adams and is lodged in the home of John Hancock. Naval: Commodore George Collier sails from New York with a small fleet and 1,500 men to rescue the garrison of Fort George, Maine. He is gambling that by arriving quickly, he can trap the entire American expedition in Penobscot Bay.

August 5 Military: American cavalry under General John Glover attacks and defeats Loyalists under Oliver De Lancey at Morrisania (Bronx), New York.

August 7 Military: With affairs at Penobscot ground to a halt, and Commodore Dudley Saltonstall and General Solomon Lovell at loggerheads over the issue of cooperation, both men agree to petition authorities in Boston for reinforcements and suggestions. Naval: Lieutenant Colonel Silas Talbot and the 12-gun Argo engage the 14-gun privateer Dragon off Rhode Island. A four-hour battle ensues until the latter loses its mainmast and surrenders. Shortly after, the British privateer Hannah hove into view, which Talbot attacks and likewise captures.

August 9 Military: General James Clinton departs Otsego Lake, New York, and marches for Tioga to join the main American force under General John Sullivan.

August 11 Military: General Solomon Lovell directs 250 Massachusetts militia to occupy an abandoned battery to lure out the British defenders of Fort George. The latter respond by dispatching 55 soldiers, who charge and easily rout the militiamen. Colonel Daniel Brodhead departs Pittsburgh with 600 militiamen and marches up the Allegheny River to attack Indian villages in northern Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, General John Sullivan’s army marches into Tioga to await the arrival of General James Clinton.

August 12 Military: American forces at Penobscot, Maine, receive positive instructions from the Massachusetts War Board in Boston directing Commodore Dudley Saltonstall to attack and sink all British vessels anchored in the harbor. The Americans then prepare to make an all-out assault upon Fort George—but it is too late for them.

August 13 Naval: Commodore George Collier enters Penobscot Bay with 10 vessels and 1,600 soldiers, lifting the American blockade there. This appearance induces Commodore Dudley Saltonstall to sail upriver and unceremoniously burn all his vessels. Over the next three days, Collier’s mere presence lends to the elimination

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458  Chronology of American History of Saltonstall’s entire squadron of 43 ships, with damages estimated at $8 million. This proves the largest American naval defeat of the war. Commodore John Paul Jones, commanding the Bonhomme Richard, departs L’Orient, France, accompanied by French vessels Alliance, Pallas, Vengeance, and Le Cerf. Jones intends to make a destructive raid in British home waters.

August 15 Military: Noted scout Captain Samuel Brady, commanding an advanced detach-­ ment of ColÂ�oÂ�nel Daniel Brodhead’s army, ambushes a party of hostile Indians on the Upper Allegheny River, killing the noted Chief Bald EaÂ�gle and several warriors.

August 16 Naval: An amphibious expedition of 4,000 men under Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, departs Haiti and sails for Savannah, Georgia, to commence siege operations there.

August 17 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress again issues minimum terms for negoti-­ ating peace with Great Britain, demanding inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence, definite boundaries, evacuation of American territory, and navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Military: Bernardo de Gálvez of Louisiana departs New Orleans with several hundred Acadian militia, Â�African-­American volunteers, and Â�pro-­Spanish Choctaw on an expedition against Fort Bute and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

August 19 Military: Major Henry Lee deploys 300 Virginia and Mary�land troops to attack Paulus Hook, the last British outpost in New Jersey. This is defended by 350 British and Hessians under Major William Sutherland. Lee carefully reconnoiters his objective beforehand, with the help of noted scout Captain Allan McLane, and detaches 200 soldiers from his 2nd Partisan Corps to do the task. His men are divided into three groups but, en route, half become lost in the dark and the attack is delayed for four hours. The British sentries are alert and fire upon the approaching columns, but Lee finally manages to get his men over a ditch, through a palisade, and into the fort. The ensuing bayonet attack succeeds in overrunning the garrison, save for 50 Hessians in a block�house who refuse to surrender. Lee then withdraws, prisoners in tow, and closely pursued by Loyalists under Col�o�nel Abraham Van Buskirk. His retreat is endangered when boats expected to ferry them across the Hackensack River fail to materialize, which adds another 14 miles to the march. The Loyalists finally overtake the exhausted Patriots at Liberty Pole Tavern but are in turn driven off by additional forces under General William Alexander. This sharp little action costs the British 200 casualties and captives to an American loss of 12; the Continental Congress subsequently strikes Lee a gold medal in his honor. General James Clinton and his 1,500 men trudge into Tioga to join the main American force under General John Sullivan. Both men have been greatly delayed by endemic supply shortages.

August 25 Naval: Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot drops anchor at New York to succeed Admi-­ ral John Byron as commander of Royal Navy forces. He also brings along 3,000 soldiers as reinforcements for General Henry Clinton.

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August 29 Military: General John Sullivan directs an attack on 1,200 Indians and Loyalists guarding the settlement of Newtown (Elmira), New York. The Americans march directly into an ambush staged by Captain Walter Butler and Chief Joseph Brant, then General Enoch Poor works his brigade behind the defenders, scattering them. The Americans lose 36 men; Indian and Loyalist losses are unknown but probably as large. No quarter is shown by either side.

September 1 Business: In a rare moment of fiscal sobriety, the Continental Congress resolves not to issue $200 million in bills of credit. This move is taken to halt or at the very least slow the spiraling depreciation of paper currency.

September 3 Naval: Commodore John Paul Jones lets his squadron cruise along the east-­ ern coast of EnÂ�gland, intent on raiding the port cities of Leith, Edinburgh, and Â�Newcastle-­upon-­Tyne.

September 4–5 Military: General John Sullivan’s army burns large Indian villages at Catherine’s Town and Kindaia, New York. ReÂ�sisÂ�tance to his overpowering force is scattered at best.

September 5 Military: Major Benjamin Tallmadge and 150 dismounted dragoons embark from Shippan Point, Connecticut, cross Long Island Sound, and surprise 500 Loyalists at Lloyd Neck, New York. The bulk are captured and Talmadge returns to Shippan Point without loss.

September 7 Military: General John Sullivan’s division falls upon the Indian settlement of Kanadaseagea, burning it along with crops. The remote British outpost of Fort Bute (Manchac), Louisiana, falls to a Span-­ ish expedition under Bernardo de Gálvez. This grants him control of the water-­ ways down the Amite River and Lakes Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and Borgne into the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish then press on to their next objective at Baton Rouge.

September 10 Military: The Indian village of Canandaigua falls into the hands of General John Sullivan’s troops, a settlement so large it takes his men two days to burn it.

September 11 Naval: The French fleet of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, consisting of 22 ships of the line, 10 frigates, and 4,000 men, approaches Savannah, Georgia. He begins landing troops at Beaulieu’s Plantation eight miles south of the city, and estab-­ lishes contacts with a group of Americans under General Kazimierz Pulaski.

September 12 Military: Bernardo de Gálvez, with 1,000 men and 13 cannon, surrounds and invests the 300-­man British garrison at Baton Rouge. When ColÂ�oÂ�nel Alexander Dickson refuses to surrender, the Spanish commence bombardment and digging siege trenches.

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September 13 Business: President of Congress John Jay again ask the states to levy additional taxes to fill the nation’s coffers. The plea goes unheeded. Military: Indians and Loyalists under Captain Walter Butler ambush a militia detachment under Lieutenant Thomas Boyd near the village of Geneseo, New York, killing 22 men and torturing two to death. Americans retaliate by capturing the entire village.

September 14 Military: The punitive expedition of General John Sullivan lays waste to the Indian capital of Geneseo, New York, torching 40 Seneca and Cayuga villages in the immediate vicinity. This marks the high tide of Sullivan’s offensive for he fails to press an attack against Fort Niagara, an important Loyalist entrepot and stag-­ ing area for raiding activities. The raiders are thus enabled to regroup at a future date and resume their destructive activities. ColÂ�oÂ�nel Daniel Brodhead concludes his 400-­mile campaign against Indian villages in northern Pennsylvania and returns to Pittsburgh.

September 16 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln marches down from Charleston, South Carolina, and arrives at Savannah, Georgia, with 1,500 troops to assist siege efforts there. Meanwhile, Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, demands the surren-­ der of the city in the name of King Louis XVI but then grants General Augustin Prevost’s request for a 24-­hour truce to consider terms. Prevost uses the interval to rush up 800 reinforcements under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Maitland and oth-­ erwise strengthen his defenses.

September 17 Naval: Lieutenant Col�o�nel Silas Talbot resigns from the Continental Army and is commissioned a captain in the Continental Navy. He is the only army officer in this conflict so disposed.

September 21 Military: Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez captures the remote British post at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, along with 300 prisoners under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Alexan-­ der Dickson. Spanish control does not extend to Natchez and other points along the Mississippi River.

September 22 Naval: Commodore John Paul Jones’s squadron captures two British ships off Flamborough Head, EnÂ�gland, and then espies a large convoy anchored at the mouth of the Humber River.

September 23 Military: As French and American soldiers commence digging trenches outside Savannah, Georgia, their officers begin squabbling among themselves over how to conduct the siege. The onset of hurricane season is at hand and necessitates an early departure by the French fleet. Naval: Commodore John Paul Jones, commanding the 42-­gun Bonhomme Richard while sailing off the British coast near Flamborough Head, encounters a 40-­ship convoy escorted by two British warships: the new, Â�copper-­bottomed 44Â�gun frigate HMS Serapis under Captain Richard Pearson and the 20-­gun sloop

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Chronology   461 Countess of Scarborough. The Americans are assisted by the smaller French ves-­ sels Alliance, Vengeance, Le Cerf, and Pallas. Pearson orders the convoy into port then bravely interposes his vessel between them and the enemy squadron. It is late in the eveÂ�ning before Jones can close with his quarry, and a desperate engagement begins. The creaking Bonhomme Richard and the smartly handled Serapis trade broadsides for several hours in the moonlight, with the Americans getting the worse of it. Suddenly, Pearson loses the headwind while attempting to rake and Jones rams his stern. As the two vessels become snared in each other’s rigging, the fighting continues at close quarters for two more hours. Finally, a grenade is dropped down a hatch on the Serapis by Lieutenant Nathaniel Fan-­ ning, which ignites an ammunition chest and convinces Pearson to strike. The Americans then board and the British colors are struck by Lieutenant Richard Dale. American casualties are 150 out of 237 present; the British suffer 170. The Countess of Scarborough also surrenders to the French 10 minutes later, but Bonhomme Richard is so riddled that it sinks two days later.

September 24 Military: British forces defending Savannah, Georgia, launch a determined sortie against French siege positions, losing 20 men but inflicting at least 70 casualties.

September 27 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress authorizes John Adams to negotiate peace with the British in Paris. John Jay also becomes minister to Spain with authority to negotiate treaties of alliance and commerce.

September 28 Politics: Samuel Huntington is elected to succeed John Jay as president of the Continental Congress.

September 30 Military: General John Sullivan marches his 3,500 men out of Indian territory and back to Fort Sullivan, Pennsylvania. In four months he has torched over 40 Indian settlements along with 160,000 bushels of corn. Moreover, he has dislocated many Iroquois Indians, forcing them to spend the winter months Â�halfÂ�starved and exposed to the elements. Their plight places an enormous logistical burden on the British at Fort Niagara. The remote British garrison at Natchez, Louisiana Territory, falls to Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez.

October 2 Military: The Continental Congress mandates that blue cloth will replace green and buff as the official color of Continental Army uniforms.

October 3 Naval: The victorious squadron of Commodore John Paul Jones reaches Texel, the Netherlands, skillfully evading pursuit by eight British warships.

October 4 Military: Indian and Loyalist forces under Simon Girty ambush Col�o�nel David Rogers at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers, killing 57 men out of 70. They also capture a shipment of 600,000 Spanish dollars destined for New Orleans.

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Chronology of American History French and American leaders reject a truce by General Augustin Prevost so that he can evacuate women and children in Savannah to escape. That same day allied cannons commence a steady but ineffectual bombardment of British defenses.

October 8 Military: The allied siege of Savannah, Georgia, progresses steadily, but Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, grows impatient and wishes to settle the matter quickly by coup de main. General Benjamin Lincoln initially demurs, but eventually plans are drawn up to have militia forces under General Isaac Huger feint across the line while the main allied column of 4,000 men attacks the Spring Hill redoubt. Unfortunately for the allies, General Augustin Prevost has been informed of their plans by a deserter and stationed his best troops there to receive the attack.

October 9 Military: At dawn Franco-American forces under Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing and General Benjamin Lincoln storm the British fieldworks surrounding Savannah, Georgia. However, the expected diversion by militia under General Isaac Huger fails to materialize when they get lost in a swamp, as do three out of four assault columns. The only force to proceed is 1,200 French and Continentals under General Lachlan McIntosh, which charges repeatedly against the Spring Hill redoubt. They are as often repulsed, although Colonel Francis Marion manages to plant his standard on the parapet before being driven off. General Kazimierz Pulaski then leads an ill-advised cavalry charge against British artillery and is mortally wounded. Admiral d’Estaing is himself twice wounded, rallying his men and leading them back into the fray before the effort finally collapses. Combined allied losses are nearly 1,000 while the British sustain only 155 casualties. The French-American alliance, already tenuous, suffers another heavy blow.

October 11 Military: General Henry Clinton orders that the British base at Newport, Rhode Island, be abandoned and its 3,000-man garrison withdrawn to support impending actions in the South.

October 17 Military: General George Washington orders the Continental Army to assume its winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey.

October 19 Naval: The French fleet of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, departs Savannah, Georgia and sails for the West Indies to avoid the hurricane season. General Benjamin Lincoln’s army, now outnumbered, falls back to Charleston, South Carolina.

October 21 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress elects Henry Laurens to serve as agent to the Netherlands and also to negotiate a loan and treaties of amity and commerce.

October 22 Politics: The New York Provincial Congress approves an ordinance authorizing confiscation of Loyalist property and also declares former governors John Murray, Lord Dunmore, and William Tryon public enemies.

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October 23 Naval: The Royal Navy quickly and efficiently removes the 3,000-­man British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island, and transports it back to New York. These troops will bolster upcoming operations against Charleston, South Carolina.

October 26 Military: Celebrated light infantry leader Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel John G. Simcoe of the noted Queen’s Rangers is ambushed and captured at South River Bridge, New Jersey by an American militia. He is exchanged shortly after.

October 28 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln ends the siege of Savannah and begins withdrawing back to Charleston, South Carolina. Naval: The Continental Congress replaces the marine committee with a Â�five-­man Board of the Admiralty and tasks it with overseeing naval matters.

November 7 Military: Â�French-­born ColÂ�oÂ�nel Charles-Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouerie, succeeds the fallen Kazimierz Pulaski as head of the Pulaski Legion. In this capac-­ ity he captures a small Loyalist detachment under Major Mansfield Bearmore at Jefferd’s Neck, New York.

November 12 Slavery: The New Hampshire legislature is petitioned by 20 slaves for the aboli-­ tion of slavery in that state.

November 20 Naval: Commodore Abraham Whipple’s squadron, consisting of the frigates Boston, Providence, and Queen of France, and the sloop Ranger, is ordered south to aide in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina.

November 25 Politics: The administration of Lord Frederick North, strongly criticized for the failures in America, survives a vote of no confidence in Parliament. This is despite that fact that Whig leader Charles James Fox has accused the king of abusing his ministerial authority.

December 1 Military: General George Washington completes deploying 12,000 men in their winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. This proves another harsh season of deprivation, exposure, death, and desertion, and the army is greatly weakened by the time it emerges in the spring.

December 4 Education: George Wythe becomes the nation’s first professor of law at the Col-­ lege of William and Mary, Virginia.

December 23 Military: The Â�court-­martial of General Benedict Arnold convenes in Philadel-­ phia, although he is charged with relatively minor offenses.

December 26 Naval: General Henry Clinton boards 8,700 men onto the fleet of 90 transports under Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot at New York. He is determined to capture Charleston, South Carolina, which eluded him in 1776 and whose fall would

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Chronology of American History decisively alter the balance of power in the South. Clinton also places the 10,000man New York garrison under General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, the first time a foreigner has been entrusted with such an important command.

1780 Slavery: Newport Gardner founds the African Union Society in Newport, Rhode Island, the region’s first mutual benefit organization to assist free African Americans. Technology: Colonel Benjamin Hanks constructs the first town clock in America and installs it in the Old Dutch Church in New York City.

January 1 Military: A mutiny occurs at the West Point, New York, garrison, and 100 members of a Massachusetts regiment are allowed to depart. They are subsequently rounded up by force, pardoned again, and allowed to rejoin the army.

January 2 Military: The Continental Army at Morristown, New Jersey, endures great suffering and deprivation in winter, owing to extremely low temperatures and a lack of blankets, shelter, and clothing.

January 8 Naval: Captain John Barry sails with the 32-gun frigate Alliance on an Atlantic cruise that nets three merchantmen.

January 9 Military: Alarmed for the well being of his troops, General George Washington makes an emergency appeal to states bordering New Jersey to provide his hungry, shivering troops with food and clothing.

January 10 Military: General Charles Lee, having written an offensive letter denouncing the Continental Congress, is summarily dismissed from the service; he retires to his estate and plays no further role in the war.

January 15 Military: Braving frigid weather, General William Alexander marches 2,500 men from Elizabeth Point, New Jersey, across the channel ice on sleighs against Staten Island. The British are alert for such a movement, however, and fall back behind prepared positions that the Americans are unaware of. After a day of plundering and fruitless marching, Alexander returns to New Jersey with 17 captives and little else.

January 25 Military: British forces on Staten Island retaliate for the recent raid by seizing and burning the New Jersey settlements of Newark and Elizabethtown.

January 26 Military: General Benedict Arnold is court-martialed for financial speculation and malfeasance while commanding the garrison at Philadelphia and found guilty of two minor specifications. He is then mildly reprimanded by General George Washington and fumes indignantly over the sentence.

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January 27 Military: To alleviate the suffering of his troops, General George Washington drastically overhauls supply procedures in New Jersey, dividing that state into 11 districts and requisitioning specific food allotments from each. The scheme works well, and the new influx of food and supplies boosts the health and morale of the men.

January 28 Settlement: North Carolina authorizes founding of Fort Nashborough (Nash-­ ville) along the Cumberland River. This expedient is hoped to defend the adjoin-­ ing regions from ongoing and destructive Indian raids.

February 1 Military: A British amphibious force of 14,000 men under Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot and General Henry Clinton arrives at Tybee Island off Savannah, Georgia, for a brief rest and refit. Meanwhile, the Patriot garrison at Charles-­ ton, South Carolina, musters only 3,200 men under General Benjamin Lincoln. He desires to remove his army from danger but is pressured by Governor John Rutledge and city officials to stay put. Politics: New York State votes to cede all its western holdings to the Continen-­ tal Congress.

February 3 Military: A British/Hessian force of 550 men under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Chap-­ ple Norton departs Fort Knyphausen (Fort Washington), New York, and advances against an American outpost at nearby Mt. Pleasant. His target is 450 Continentals of the 10th Massachusetts under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Joseph Thompson, billeted in and around Young’s Â�House. Norton gains their rear and charges, scattering them with a loss of 125 killed, wounded and captured. British losses are 25.

February 9 Military: A Spanish military expedition under Bernardo de Gálvez reaches Mobile Bay, where he disembarks 750 soldiers. Lieutenant Governor Elias Durn-­ ford, meanwhile, elects to defend Fort Charlotte and await reinforcements as the Spanish begin digging siege entrenchments. Politics: The Continental Congress suggests that the states draft an additional 35,000 men for the army, as well as make monthly contributions of $1.2 million to the national treaÂ�sury. But the states are beset by ongoing fiscal crises of their own and are loath to hand over additional resources for the war effort.

February 10 Naval: The very large amphibious expedition of Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot and General Henry Clinton drops anchor off Charleston, South Carolina. Clinton is determined to avenge his 1776 humiliation �here. Slavery: Paul Cuffe, leading a group of seven free African Americans from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, petitioned the Continental Congress not to impose taxes on them without repre�sen�ta�tion as they �were denied the perquisites of citizenship.

February 11 Military: The combined forces of Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot and General Henry Clinton enter the North Edisto Inlet and land troops on John’s Island. This

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February 14 Military: General Henry Clinton occupies Stono Ferry and James Island near Charleston, South Carolina, in order to entrap the American garrison within their works. Again, General Benjamin Lincoln does not interfere and only strengthens his fortifications.

February 23 Military: The soon to be much-feared British Legion under Lieutenant Col�o�nel Banastre Tarleton overruns a patrol of South Carolina militia near Charleston, killing 10 and capturing 14.

February 24 Military: In a swift riposte, American cavalry under ColÂ�oÂ�nel William Wash-­ ington engages and repels the British Legion of Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Banastre Tarleton along the Ashley River, South Carolina. Washington subsequently with-­ draws to Monck’s Corner to await developments.

February 28 Diplomacy: Czarina Catherine II of RusÂ�sia founds the League of Armed Neutral-­ ity in concert with Sweden and Denmark. It aims to protect neutral commerce against all belligerents, a stance that undercuts British efforts to halt international trade with the colonies. The league is ultimately joined by the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire (Austria), PrusÂ�sia, Portugal, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

March 1 Slavery: The Pennsylvania legislature adopts meaÂ�sures calling for the gradual elimination of slavery within state boundaries. This is the first abolitionist ordi-­ nance in America and all Â�African-­American children born after 1780 are consid-­ ered free.

March 3 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the American garrison at Charleston, South Carolina, is reinforced by the arrival of 700 Continental sol-­ diers from North Carolina. However, fearful militiamen continue streaming out of the city with their families.

March 5 Slavery: Governor John Rutledge enlists the labor of 600 slaves to construct earthen defenses at Charleston, South Carolina. Among them is a stonework redoubt dubbed “the Citadel,” the site of a future military academy.

March 14 Military: Bernardo de Gálvez and 1,400 men attack Fort Charlotte (Mobile), the capital of British West Florida. Two days later, the 300-­man garrison under Lieutenant Governor Elias Durnford capitulates when a promised relief column from Pensacola fails to materialize in time. The Spanish have been assisted by the American sloop West Florida under Captain William Pickles.

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March 18 Business: The Continental Congress authorizes the Fort to One Act, through which Continental paper money is to be redeemed at one-40th of its face value. This is a move calculated to bring an end to spiraling inflation.

March 20 Naval: Commodore Abraham Whipple, commanding naval units at Charleston, South Carolina, withdraws his small squadron up the Cooper River and sinks several as hulks to obstruct the passage of British warships. Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot, meanwhile, begins maneuvering his fleet into bombardment positions off the coast by slipping five frigates over the sandbar.

March 22 Military: General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, commanding the New York garrison, leads a small raid against Hackensack, New Jersey, to obtain supplies. He returns without incident and begins to feel that the defenses and morale in that state are rather low.

March 23 Military: In another sprightly encounter, cavalry under Col o nel William Washington and Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton clash indecisively at Pon Pon, South Carolina. The Americans incur 10 casualties, then withdraw unmolested.

March 25 Military: General Henry Clinton’s army at Charleston, South Carolina, is augmented by the arrival of Major Patrick Ferguson, a talented light infantry leader.

March 26 Military: In another head-on encounter, Colonel William Washington bests the British Legion under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Rantowles, South Carolina, taking seven prisoners.

March 29 Military: General Henry Clinton marches 7,000 men across the Ashley River and commences the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. With British forces positioned across the neck of the Charleston peninsula, the American garrison of General Benjamin Lincoln is effectively sealed off.

April 1 Military: The British make good progress in their siege and break a parallel trench within 800 yards of Charleston’s defenses.

April 3 Military: General George Washington, alarmed over developments in the Southern Department, orders the veteran General Johann de Kalb to Charleston, South Carolina, taking with him a small but rugged brigade of Maryland and Delaware Continentals.

April 6 Military: By dint of hard slogging, General William Woodford evades British forces and slips into Charleston, South Carolina, with 750 Virginia Continentals.

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April 8 Naval: Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot runs seven frigates and several troop transports past the guns of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, further tightening the noose around the city.

April 10 Military: Discounting the danger to his army, General Benjamin Lincoln declines escaping from Charleston, South Carolina, by crossing Biggin Bridge over the Cooper River. This day, the first series of parallel trenches is completed and General Henry Clinton calls upon the garrison to surrender; Lincoln refuses.

April 13 Military: British artillery and warships commence a monthlong bombardment of Charleston, South Carolina, as their siege trenches are pushed ever closer to the city.

April 14 Military: Although Charleston, South Carolina, is closely invested, there still remains an obscure, viable escape route across the Cooper River leading to Monck’s Corner, 30 miles distant. It is garrisoned by 500 militia and cavalry under General Isaac Huger, who also guards a large train of supplies intended for the city’s defenders. But this day, a roving column of 1,400 cavalry and mounted infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and Major Patrick Ferguson gallops outside the American camp. Pressing forward, Tarleton surprises American pickets and charges directly into Huger’s camp. Ferguson then follows up with a savage bayonet attack and the defenders, who fail to make a coordinated stand, are routed. Huger and his usually capable second in command, Colonel William Washington, barely escape capture. The American losses are 100 men killed, injured and taken, along with 200 horses and 42 wagons of supplies captured, to three British wounded. Moreover, this victory closes the only remaining communication route out of Charleston, South Carolina.

April 16 Military: A detachment of the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment under Major Thomas L. Byles is captured by 300 Hessians directed by Colonel Johann Du Puy at Paramus, New Jersey. The Americans suffer 50 men seized.

April 18 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, with additional forces, bringing British troop strength up to 10,000.

April 20 Military: With British siege trenches barely 250 yards from the defenses of Charleston, South Carolina, General Benjamin Lincoln summons another war council. His officers ponder capitulation but Lieutenant Governor Christopher Gadsden urges them to fight on, promising a civilian uprising if they try to surrender.

April 21 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln parleys with General Henry Clinton and requests to surrender with honors of war, which is refused.

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April 24 Military: A sortie by 200 Virginia troops storms the first line of British siege works at Charleston, South Carolina, but they withdraw after failing to inflict substantial damage.

April 25 Military: British forces under General Henry Clinton commence a third series of parallel trenches only 30 yards from Patriot defenses at Charleston, South Carolina.

April 28 Military: The marquis de Lafayette returns to Boston after a year’s absence, bearing commissions of lieutenant general and vice admiral for General George Washington.

May 4 Science: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

May 5 Military: In a sign of things to come, American partisans capture 18 British soldiers after a brief skirmish at Wambaw, South Carolina.

May 6 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and 150 troopers of the British Legion pounce on 350 militiamen under Colonel Abraham Buford at Lenud’s Ferry, South Carolina. The Americans were in the act of uniting with a third force under Colonel Anthony White when the British suddenly appear, scattering all three. The Americans lose nearly 100 men captured while Tarleton releases 18 soldiers seized on the previous day.

May 7 Military: Fort Moultrie, guarding the entrance to Charleston, South Carolina, surrenders to the British with a loss of 200 men. Sullivan’s Island is completely occupied the following morning, placing the entire harbor under British control.

May 11 Military: British siege guns are so close to Charleston, South Carolina, that they begin firing hot shot directly into the town. The ferocity of the bombardment finally convinces civilian authorities to ask General Benjamin Lincoln to surrender rather than risk complete destruction.

May 12 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln surrenders 5,400 men, 6,000 muskets, and 400 cannon to General Henry Clinton at Charleston, South Carolina, following a six-week siege. The militia are paroled and allowed to return home but the Continentals pass into captivity. Commodore Abraham Whipple, the frigates Providence, Boston, and the sloop Ranger are also lost. In the course of the siege, Lincoln has sustained only 200 casualties while inflicting 250 on the British. The victorious Clinton, his “southern strategy” off to a victorious start, makes preparations to return to New York while the aggressive General Charles Cornwallis is appointed theater commander in his stead. Charleston is the biggest disaster to befall the United States in the Revolutionary War and also the largest American capitulation until the fall of Bataan in April, 1942.

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Chronology of American History

May 14 Military: Colonel Abraham Buford retreats toward Hillsboro, North Carolina, being the last organized American force left in South Carolina.

May 18 Military: General Charles Cornwallis marches inland with 2,500 veteran troops to stamp out all remaining Patriot resistance in South Carolina.

May 21 Military: Sir John Johnson and Chief Joseph Brant lead a combined Loyalist/ Indian force of 600 men that attacks settlements at Johnstown, New York, killing scores and taking 40 captives.

May 22 Military: Sir John Johnson dispatches half his raiding force of 400 Loyalists and 200 Indians against the village of Caughnawaga, which is burned.

May 23 Military: Having conducted another destructive foray through the Mohawk Valley, Loyalists and Indians under Sir John Johnson attack and burn Johnstown, New York, and then retire unmolested.

May 25 Military: Two Connecticut regiments, subsisting on one-eighth of their assigned rations while also being five months arrears in pay, finally mutiny at Morristown and ignore all appeals by Colonel Return J. Meigs. The rebellion is subsequently quashed by Pennsylvania troops but the incident underscores the widespread deprivation suffered by the army, as well as Congress’s inability to either fund or feed the troops. British captain Henry Bird departs Detroit at the head of 250 French militiamen and Great Lakes Indians to attack the American garrison at the Falls of the Ohio River (Louisville, Kentucky). En route he is joined by an additional 700 warriors.

May 26 General: The noted American poet Philip Freneau is captured at sea when his ship is accosted by HMS Iris. Military: Captain Fernando de Leyba and the 310-man Spanish garrison at St. Louis repulse an attack by 300 British soldiers and 900 Indians under Captain Emanuel Hesse.

May 27 Military: General Charles Cornwallis, unable to overtake fleeing Americans by marching, sends 170 cavalry and 100 mounted infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton ahead of the main column. His orders are to pursue, find, and destroy Colonel Abraham Buford before he reaches the safety of North Carolina. Tarleton drives his men mercilessly over dusty roads under a blazing sun, covering 105 miles in only two days. En route he almost captures Governor John Rutledge, who recently escaped the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina.

May 29 Military: British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton encounter an American force under Colonels Abraham Buford and William Washington at Waxhaws Creek, South Carolina. Buford, with 300 men of his 3rd Virginia Conti-

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nentals, refuses an offer to surrender and draws his men up in a single line while his baggage train and artillery leave the field. Though outnumbered two-to-one, the British commander decides to attack the American left and center frontally while simultaneously turning their right. Buford then erroneously instructs his men to hold their fire until the British horsemen are at 10 paces: this enables Tarleton to reach the single row of infantry intact and crash through it. A wild melee ensues as the troopers begin slashing and sabering the fleeing survivors until Tarleton’s horse is killed under him. Enraged British and Loyalists, thinking he has been killed, begin bayoneting several captives before order is restored. Buford’s unit ceases to exist, with losses of 113 killed, 150 wounded, and 203 captured. The heavy death toll generates accusations of atrocity and the ominous charge of ‘Tarleton’s Quarter’ is born. The British sustain only three killed and 12 wounded, having crushed the last organized resistance in South Carolina.

June 1 Naval: A bloody, drawn battle ensues north of Bermuda between the 28-gun frigate Trumbull under Captain James Nicholson and the 32-gun British privateer Watt under Captain John Coulthard. In one of the most protracted fights of the war, Nicholson batters the British hull with several telling broadsides while Coulthard concentrates on American masts and rigging. Combat ceases after several hours and both vessels limp home to safety. The Americans lose 48 men to a British loss of 92.

June 3 Military: A victorious General Henry Clinton proclaims to the residents of South Carolina that all men of military age must actively declare their allegiance to the Crown and enlist in the local militia or be considered rebels. Naval: The American privateer Pickering under Captain Jonathan Haraden, while cruising off the Spanish island of Bilbao, encounters an unidentified vessel in the darkness. This turns out to be the 22-gun privateer Golden Eagle, which he quickly storms and captures. Upon entering Bilbao harbor, Haraden runs headlong into the larger 42-gun privateer Achilles. However, he cleverly drops anchor near the shoals, forcing his adversary to approach head-on under accurate gun fire. At length Achillies is seriously damaged and retreats while hundreds of milling Spanish laud the victors ashore.

June 6 Military: Encouraged by reports of extreme duress in the American camp at Morristown, General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, commanding the New York garrison, sorties with 6,000 men and advances into New Jersey. He is counting on the alleged dissatisfaction of Continental troops to carry the day.

June 7 Military: Colonel Elias Dayton, commanding the 3rd New Jersey Regiment and some militia, engages 2,500 Hessians and British under General Wilhelm von Knyphausen at Connecticut Farms, New Jersey. The militia perform with surprising audacity this day but are slowly driven back until reinforced by General William Maxwell’s Continental brigade. Knyphausen, taken aback by the sheer numbers of militia flocking to oppose him, assumes he cannot safely cross the Rahway River bridge and withdraws. American losses are 65 men killed and wounded; that of the Hessians is unknown but British general Thomas Sterling is

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Chronology of American History among those slain. Rather than retreat to New York, Knyphausen entrenches at De Hart’s Point to maintain a presence in New Jersey. Politics: Massachusetts enacts the first state constitution ever ratified by a popular vote. It also contains a clearly prescribed bill of rights, which, in time, serves as a legal basis for outlawing slavery.

June 8 Military: Satisfied with the progress of the war in the South, General Henry Clinton sails back to New York. Any further campaigning will be conducted by the talented and aggressive General Charles Cornwallis.

June 9 Military: British captain Henry Bird arrives at the Ohio River with 900 militia and Indians, but his native allies refuse to march further and attack settlements near the falls (Louisville, Kentucky). Instead they persuade him to raid less-heavily defended areas along the Licking River. Naval: The 26-gun Massachusetts frigate Protector under Captain John F. Williams engages and defeats the 32-gun privateer Admiral Duff under Captain Richard Stranger off Newfoundland. Americans losses are one killed and five wounded; only 55 British are saved after the prize suddenly explodes.

June 12 Religion: The Shaftesbury Association is founded by Vermont Baptists as a congress of churches and indicative of the rapid growth that sect has experienced during the war years.

June 13 Military: The Continental Congress appoints General Horatio Gates, victor of Saratoga, as the new head of the Southern Department. Again, this is accomplished without consulting General George Washington. Colonel John Moore begins rallying 1,300 North Carolina Loyalists to support the royal cause at his home near Ramsour’s Mills. He ultimately seeks to join and support the army of General Charles Cornwallis, then in South Carolina.

June 20 Military: Colonel Francis Locke leads 1,200 American militia against a Loyalist force of comparable size under Colonel John Moore at Ramsour’s Mills, North Carolina. The Loyalists deploy along the crest of a nearby ridge, which affords them an excellent field of fire, but the Patriots begin infiltrating the woods around their flanks. A stiff fight then ensues between poorly trained amateurs on both sides and the bloody impasse continues until Locke manages to outflank his opponent. Moore is subsequently routed and flees the field. Both sides suffer 150 casualties apiece in this costly and clumsily managed affair, but the American victory serves to dampen Loyalist enthusiasm for supporting the British.

June 21 Military: General Johann de Kalb arrives at Hillsboro, North Carolina, at the head of 1,400 crack Continentals under Colonels William Smallwood and Mordecai Gist. His appeals for food and supplies from the local populace go ignored.

June 22 Military: A British/Indian expedition under Captain Henry Bird attacks Ruddle’s Station, Kentucky, with 1,000 men, mostly Indians. A few shots from Bird’s

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artillery convince the 300 settlers to surrender but as soon as the gates are opened the warriors rush inside, massacring several. After enduring an exceptionally harsh winter at Morristown, New Jersey, General George Washington moves the Continental Army back into the field.

June 23 Military: A combined British/Hessian expedition under General Wilhelm Knyphausen advances from Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and attacks American positions at Springfield. They immediately encounter stout resistance from the New Jersey militia under General Philemon Dickinson at Galloping Hill Road bridge, which further stiffens upon the arrival of General William Maxwell’s Continental brigade. A determined frontal assault fails to dislodge the defenders, so Knyphausen resorts to an enveloping movement. When this maneuver also recoils, Knyphausen simply brings his superior numbers to bear against the regiment of Colonels Elias Dayton and Israel Angell, forcing them back from Springfield. Simultaneously, another British column hits Americans under Colonel Henry Lee defending a bridge on the Vauxhall Road. Again, British numbers prevail and General Nathanael Greene finally orders his men withdrawn to the safety of Short Hills. But Knyphausen, though victorious, was stunned by the extent of American resistance and he questions the wisdom of continuing further. That evening he orders a retreat to the coast and is harried by New Jersey militia every step of the way until the British and Hessians are ferried back to Staten Island. The defense of Springfield costs the Americans around 60 men; enemy losses are unknown but presumed in the vicinity of 300.

July 11 Military: A 5,500-man French expedition under General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, lands at Newport, Rhode Island, and finds the place nearly deserted. General William Heath eventually arrives from Boston to greet him.

July 12 Military: An American militia force of 90 men under Colonels William Hull and Thomas Neal surprises and annihilates a 115-man detachment of the hated British Legion at Williamson’s Plantation. Loyalist captain Christian Huck, having pitched his camp between two rail fences, is unable to maneuver and his men are cut down. The Patriots inflict 90 killed and wounded for the loss of one dead.

July 13 Military: American militia under Colonels Elijah Clarke and John Thomas wipe out a Loyalist detachment at Cedar Springs, North Carolina, killing 35. American losses are put at four dead and 23 wounded. Naval: A British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves anchors off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to reinforce Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot.

July 16 Military: British and Indian raiders surprise Captain William Philip and his ranger company at Fisher Summit, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. They kill 10 Americans and capture their commander.

July 19 Naval: The British fleet under Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot anchors off Newport, Rhode Island, and blockades French ships and soldiers positioned there.

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July 20 Military: Partisans under Col�o�nel William R. Davie defeat a larger Loyalist force under Major John Carden at Flat Rock, South Carolina.

July 21 Military: General Anthony Wayne is dispatched with 2,000 Pennsylvania Con-­ tinentals to reduce a 70-­man British stockade at Bull’s Ferry, New Jersey. He bombards the enemy with four 6-­pounder cannon, which prove too light to inflict serious damage, then fails to evict the garrison. Word of approaching British reinforcements induces Wayne to cancel the attack and he hastily falls back to Totowa. American casualties in this affair total over 60.

July 25 Military: General Horatio Gates assumes command of the Southern Depart-­ ment at Coxe’s Mill, North Carolina, succeeding General Johann de Kalb. The latter reverts to his nominal position as commander of the Delaware and MaryÂ� land Continentals.

July 27 Military: General Horatio Gates orders an advance against the important Brit-­ ish supply depot at Camden, South Carolina. At the time he has only a brigade of Delaware and MaryÂ�land Continentals under General Johann de Kalb, and the mounted Pulaski Legion under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Charles-Armand Tuffin. Moreover, Gates, against the advice of his officers, deliberately chooses a barren, direct route to Camden over a circuitous approach via Salisbury and Charlotte. This would entail an additional 50 miles of marching but would take the soldiers though a friendlier, Â�well-­stocked region. The path Gates chooses, while shorter, is strongly Loyalist in tenor, barren, and poorly suited for feeding an army already low on supplies.

July 30 Military: A 600-­man militia force under colÂ�oÂ�nels Isaac Shelby, Elijah Clarke, and Charles McDowell convinces ColÂ�oÂ�nel Patrick Moore and the Loyalist gar-­ rison of Thickety Fort (Fort Anderson), South Carolina, to surrender without a fight. The militia seize 93 captives.

August 1 Military: Chief Joseph Brant and his Mohawks raid the settlements at Cana-­ joharie, New York, killing 15, capturing 50, and burning 53 buildings. He then declines to attack Fort Plank, occupied by a regiment under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Peter Gan-­ sevoort, and withdraws with his booty and captives in tow. General Thomas Sumter and 600 militia unsuccessfully besiege a Loyalist outpost at Rocky Mount, South Carolina. Lacking artillery, ColÂ�oÂ�nel Thomas Neal charges but fails to evict 150 defenders under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel George Turn-­ bull. The Americans, completely rebuffed, then withdraw with a loss of 12 men. American militia under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Elijah Clarke engage a force of 210 Loyalists at Green Springs, South Carolina. They have been dispatched there by Major Patrick Ferguson with orders to hunt down Clarke and capture him. Clarke, however, thoroughly routs his adversary in a sharp engagement of 15 minutes. Both sides lose 30 men apiece, but the Loyalist dead are left on the ground. American militia under majors Tristam Thomas and James Gillespie attack a mixed British/Loyalist flotilla under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Ambrose Mills as it floats

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Sumter, Thomas (1734 –1832) Partisan leader Thomas Sumter was born in Hanover County, Virginia, on August 14, 1734, receiving scant education. He fought well in the militia throughout the French and Indian War before being tossed into debtor’s prison. Sumter then relocated to South Carolina and established a frontier trading post and gradually aligned himself with the growing Patriot movement there. During early phases of the Revolutionary War Sumter functioned as lieutenant colonel of the 2nd South Carolina Rifles, and fought in the British attack upon Charleston in June 1776. He then campaigned against the Cherokee on the frontier and against Loyalists in Florida before contracting malaria and resigning his commission in 1778. Sumter distanced himself from military affairs for two years until May 1780, when Charleston was captured by General Henry Clinton. A resurgence of Loyalist activities followed and, after a party of ruffians burned his home, Sumter began recruiting a partisan force. He won an initial skirmish at Williamson’s Plantation on July 12, 1780 and, following the crushing American defeat at Camden the following August, his guerrillas constituted the only organized resistance. His activities grew so annoying to General Charles Cornwallis that he dispatched the fearsome British Legion under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton after him. On August 18, 1780 the Americans were badly routed at Fishing Creek, and Sumter barely escaped, but then he dutifully regrouped and continued raiding. Now a brigadier general of militia, he managed to inflict a heavy

defeat upon Tarleton at Blackstock’s Hill in November 1780, winning the thanks of Congress. The following year he began mopping up operations against isolated British and Loyalist outposts dotting the Carolina interior, winning several notable victories, but also plundering Loyalist property to pay his men. Sumter also sullenly refused to coordinate his efforts with the American army under General Nathanael Greene, preferring to wage his own private war instead. Exhausted by wounds and reprimanded by Greene for insubordination, Sumter was finally relieved of command by Governor John Rutledge in August 1781. Despite his notorious obstinacy, Sumter was a bona fide war hero throughout the South, and his proclivities for fighting won him the nickname “Gamecock.” After serving several terms in the state legislature he attended the Constitutional Convention in 1788 as an anti-Federalist. He subsequently served in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1789–93 and again, 1797–1801, before winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, 1801–10. Sumter then finally retired from public life but remained dogged by debts until the state legislature voted to cancel them in 1827. Sumter died at Statesburg, South Carolina, on June 1, 1832, the oldest living Revolutionary War general. His heavyhanded tactics and uneven battle record remain topics of controversy, but Sumter provided a useful purpose by always taking the fight to the enemy, whatever the odds. Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, is named in his honor.

down the Pee Dee River at Hunt’s Bluff, South Carolina. The Americans also deploy a “Quaker” cannon made from a hollowed log which tricks the enemy into surrendering. A British supply vessel moving upstream is subsequently taken.

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August 2 Military: Chief Joseph Brant, commanding 50 Loyalists and Indians, attacks Fort Plank (Canajoharie), New York, but fails to dislodge the defenders and withdraws.

August 3 Military: General Francis Marion and 20 guerrillas join General Horatio Gates as his army crosses the Pee Dee River en route to Camden, South Carolina. Gates, who has no use for irregulars, promptly sends them off on an extended scouting mission.

August 4 Military: The British expedition of Captain Henry Bird concludes when he arrives back at Detroit with 150 American captives. An equal number have been callously murdered by his Indian allies en route, which leads to retaliatory raids into Shawnee territory.

August 5 Military: General Benedict Arnold lobbies hard to become commander of strategic West Point, New York, and is finally appointed by General George Washington. Unknown to all, Arnold is intending to betray that post to the British. General Richard Caswell and 2,000 North Carolina militia join General Horatio Gates’s army at Lynches Creek, South Carolina. The famished men gorge themselves on green peaches and corn en route, which results in extreme gastronomical distress.

August 6 Military: A militia band under General Thomas Sumter attacks the 500-man Loyalist outpost under Major John Carden at Hanging Rock, South Carolina, in concert with forces under Colonel William R. Davie. The 800 Americans are initially successful on the left and center but then pause to loot the enemy camp. This delay allows Connecticut Loyalist infantry to form a square, supported by two small cannon, and beat back successive attacks. The approach of the British Legion from nearby Rocky Mount induces Sumter to call off the attack and retire. The Americans nonetheless inflict 192 casualties for a loss of 12 killed and 41 wounded. Hanging Rock is subsequently abandoned as an outpost.

August 8 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark and 1,000 men pursue the Shawnee from their main settlement at Chillicothe, Ohio, to the fortified town at Piqua. There he attacks and heavily defeats the Indians, killing 73 in exchange for 20 dead and 40 wounded of his own. Militia commanded by colonels Elijah Clarke and Isaac Shelby are ambushed by Loyalist forces under Major Patrick Ferguson at Cedar Springs, South Carolina. However, the Americans quickly turn the tables on their antagonists, driving them off for a loss of four dead and 23 injured.

August 9 Military: Colonel George Rogers Clark defeats Shawnee warriors on the Little Miami River, Ohio, and torches their village.

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Chronology   477 A British column under General Charles Cornwallis, departs Charleston, South Carolina, and hurriedly marches to reinforce Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon at Camden. He takes with him 2,200 Â�battle-­hardened veterans.

August 11 Military: General Horatio Gates, while crossing Lynches Creek, skirmishes with British light troops under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon. The Americans flank Rawdon’s position by fording the creek downstream, and he withdraws in good order. This places Gates only 15 miles northeast of Camden, South Carolina.

August 14 Military: General Horatio Gates reaches Rugeley’s Mills, South Carolina, where he is reinforced by 800 Virginia militia under General Edward Stevens and con-­ tinues marching toward Camden. He also dispatches 400 men to join the parti-­ sans of General Thomas Sumter, who intends to raid a British supply train.

August 15 Military: General Horatio Gates receives additional reinforcements in the form of 100 MaryÂ�land Continentals and 300 North Carolina militia. However, he errs in issuing molasses rations, which plays havoc on the digestive tracts of his men. Ironically, as the Americans proceed down the road to Camden, they collide head on with General Charles Cornwallis moving up the same path. A skirmish ensues in the Â�pre-­dawn darkness and then both sides establish camps and await daybreak. American militia and Continentals under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Thomas Taylor are detached by General Thomas Sumter to attack Fort Carey (Wateree Ford), South Carolina. Taylor is successful, capturing ColÂ�oÂ�nel Isaac Carey, 30 prisoners, and 36 wagon-­ loads of provisions. They then retire to Sumter’s camp, snaring an additional 70 British and eight wagons en route.

August 16 Military: General Horatio Gates prepares to engage British forces under Gen-­ eral Charles Cornwallis at Camden, South Carolina. The battlefield is an open field surrounded on either flank by swamps and pine forests. Gates has slightly less than 4,000 soldiers, mostly militia but built around a solid nucleus of Dela-­ ware and MaryÂ�land Continentals under General Johann de Kalb. ColÂ�oÂ�nel William Smallwood commands the 1st MaryÂ�land Regiment in reserve while the Pulaski Legion under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Charles-Armand Tuffin cover the left flank. However, Gates errs grievously by placing all his Virginia and North Carolina militia along his center and left flank, where they confront the best regiments in the British army. Cornwallis, true to his EuÂ�roÂ�peÂ�an training, deploys his elite units, such as the crack Royal Welsh Fusiliers, on his right flank, the traditional “post of honor.” His left consists of regulars and Loyalists under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon with the British Legion under Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Banastre Tarleton in reserve. After a brief artillery exchange, the British advance and ColÂ�oÂ�nel Otho H. Williams, sensing some disorder in their approach, suggests an immediate attack on their right. Gates complies, but his raw militiamen receive one volley from the British, then flee the field en masse. North Carolina levies holding the center likewise depart, and in short order only de Kalb’s Continentals hold their posi-­ tion. These troops withstand several attacks but Cornwallis wheels his entire right flank upon the unsuspecting Americans, covered in smoke and unaware

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Chronology of American History they stand alone. By the time de Kalb realizes the danger it is too late, and his Continentals are nearly surrounded. He goes down fighting, fatally injured by 11 wounds as his remaining soldiers break and flee. Gates himself spurs his horse and ignominiously gallops off at the first sign of disaster, not stopping until he reaches Charlotte, 60 miles distant. Only 700 survivors join him there three days later. American losses are around 250 dead and 800 wounded and prisoner; Cornwallis sustains around 300. This severe defeat literally erases all organized American resistance in South Carolina and most of the South. Cornwallis subsequently orders Tarleton’s cavalry to hunt down the partisan band of Thomas Sumter, then operating in the same area.

August 18 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton catches the guerrillas under General Thomas Sumter off guard at Fishing Creek, South Carolina, routing them. Sumter’s force, exhausted by a forced march and laden with wagons and prisoners, is unable to outpace his pursuers. Worse, Sumter inadvertently allows them to encamp and repose at Fishing Creek with minimal safeguards, blissfully ignorant that Tarleton is nearby, watching their movements. The British Legion then suddenly charges into the American camp, coming between the militia and their stacked arms, routing them. For a loss of 16 men, the British kill 150 Americans and capture 300 more. Sumter barely escapes the disaster yet immediately begins rallying the survivors to fight again. In concert with Camden, this defeat eliminates organized resistance to British rule in South Carolina. American militia under Colonels Isaac Shelby, Elijah Clarke, and James Williams are sent to attack a British/Loyalist force under Colonel Alexander Innes encamped near Musgrove Mill, South Carolina. An advance guard of 25 men attacks the camp and entices the enemy to pursue, and they charge headlong into a devastating ambush. The Americans inflict 63 killed, 90 wounded, and 70 captured, with a loss of four dead and eight injured. This is the first American triumph since the defeat at Camden and partially boosts morale.

August 20 Military: General Francis Marion surprises a British detachment under Captain Jonathan Roberts at Great Savannah (Nelson’s Ferry), South Carolina. The British had apparently bivouacked on the plantation of General Thomas Sumter, well-known to the Americans, who soundly defeat Roberts. Marion takes 24 captives and repatriates 150 American prisoners.

September 1 Politics: John Hancock becomes the first popularly elected governor of Massachusetts.

September 3 Diplomacy: Henry Laurens, on a diplomatic assignment to the Netherlands, is captured off the coast of Newfoundland by HMS Vestal and imprisoned at the Tower of London. The British retrieve his official papers, hastily tossed overboard, which reveal the extent to which Holland has clandestinely helped the Americans.

September 4 Military: General Francis Marion, with 50 militiamen, routs a detachment of 250 Loyalists under Major Micajah Ganey at Blue Savannah, South Carolina. He

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allows the enemy to walk into a carefully staged ambush that routs the advance guard, then charges full tilt into their ranks. Such aplomb unnerves Ganey’s men, and the majority drop their weapons and flee into the swamps along Little Pee Dee River. Marion loses three men wounded.

September 9 Military: Defying the orders of his superior, General Charles Cornwallis begins his invasion of North Carolina by advancing upon Charlotte. This constitutes a major departure from the systematic southern strategy outlined by General Henry Clinton and imperils British chances for victory.

September 12 Military: Major Patrick Ferguson, pushing into western North Carolina, engages an American force at Cane Creek. This marks the furthest extent of the British advance.

September 14 –18 Military: A body of 430 American militiamen under Colonel Elijah Clarke and James McCall besiege Loyalists and Indians under Colonel Thomas Brown at Augusta, Georgia. The Americans charge and displace the Indians from several outposts until they run headlong into a fortification called the White House. The Loyalist garrison steadily repels them, inflicting 60 casualties, and the Americans finally withdraw in the face of a relief column marching from Fort Ninety-Six. Brown subsequently hangs 13 wounded Patriots from a staircase for violating their parole.

September 20–22 Military: General George Washington and General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, conduct a preliminary strategy conference at Hartford, Connecticut. Washington strongly suggests attacking New York but the French demur until they have a larger fleet in the area. Rochambeau also favors a campaign in the Chesapeake region, but nearly a year passes before this is manifested.

September 21 Military: General Benedict Arnold decides to betray strategic West Point to the British and secretly meets with Major John André. However, when André’s ship HMS Vulture sails off, Arnold is stranded behind enemy lines and spends the night at the home of a local Loyalist. A force of 150 militia under Colonel William R. Davie surprises a 60-man detachment of the British Legion under Major George Hanger at Wahab’s Plantation, North Carolina. Noting a lack of sentries, Davie sends several marksmen into a nearby building to distract the British. He then leads a mounted charge down a lane traversing the plantation, routing Hanger’s command. The entire detachment is nearly annihilated, losing 12 killed and 47 wounded. Davie sustains one man wounded.

September 23 Military: Major John André dons civilian garb and attempts to pass through American lines. He carries concealed in his boot information about West Point’s defenses provided by General Benedict Arnold. After approaching an American checkpoint, André is apprehended by three militiamen, who uncover the secret documentation in his boot heel. Word of his arrest is then quickly passed to Arnold’s headquarters—at which point his treacherous plot begins unraveling.

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September 25 Military: His perfidy unmasked, General Benedict Arnold flees to the British warship HMS Vulture, anchored in the Hudson River, and formally joins the British side. The captive Major John André is then slated to be tried as a spy.

September 26 Military: A large gathering of “Over the Mountain Men” occurs at Sycamore Shoals (Johnson City, Tennessee) as Colonels Isaac Shelby and John Sevier prepare to confront the Loyalists of Major Patrick Ferguson. In time they are joined by 400 Virginians under Colonel William Campbell, 160 North Carolinians under Colonel Joseph McDowell, and additional soldiers under Colonel Benjamin Cleveland. American militia under Colonel William R. Davie engage the advance guard of General Charles Cornwallis’s army at Charlotte, North Carolina. The British Legion under Major George Hanger trots into town and confronts 20 rmilitiamen behind a stone wall. Davie and his small command, backed by 70 riflemen under Major Joseph Graham, withstand two determined charges. Cornwallis then arrives on the scene, berates his embarrassed troopers, and orders light infantry under Lieutenant Colonel James Webster to turn the American right. Davie then withdraws in good order, losing six killed and 13 wounded; British losses are around 22.

September 27 Military: Major Patrick Ferguson, aware that the western militia is pulling together in strength to oppose him, withdraws from the Catawba River, North Carolina, and marches for the perceived safety of King’s Mountain, South Carolina.

September 29 Military: General Francis Marion and 50 militiamen engage a Loyalist contingent of similar size under Colonel John Ball at Black Mingo Creek, South Carolina. After an initial repulse, Marion rallies his men and routs the enemy, killing and capturing 20 of them. American losses are two killed and eight wounded, while the Loyalists incur 16 casualties. Victorious Marion then withdraws to his enclave in the swamps of eastern South Carolina.

October 1 Military: Colonel William Campbell of Virginia accedes to the command of a large force of western militia gathering at Gilbert Town, North Carolina, to oppose Major Patrick Ferguson’s Loyalists. Campbell is then seconded by Colonels Isaac Shelby and John Sevier.

October 2 Military: Major John André is hanged as a spy at Tappan, New York. Like Nathan Hale, his calmness and stoicism at the gallows impresses the American officers present.

October 3 Military: The Continental Congress reduces the standing establishment of the Continental Army to 58 regiments of infantry, four of artillery, and four of cavalry.

October 5 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress endorses the principles behind the League of Armed Neutrality espoused by Catherine II of Russia. It also initiates an investigation of General Horatio Gates for his shameful behavior at Camden.

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October 7 Military: The Continental Congress, finally acting upon the advice of General George Washington, appoints General Nathanael Greene commander of the Southern Department. Patriot militia forces under Colonels William Campbell, Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Cleveland, and John Sevier entrap a large body of Loyalists under Major Patrick Ferguson at King’s Mountain, South Carolina. Ferguson arrays his King’s American Rangers, 900 strong, along the top of a wooded eminence whose slopes are heavily forested and afford the Patriots cover as they approach. The frontiersmen, numbering 1,100 men, quickly surround Ferguson’s position and begin working their way up the slopes, Indian style. The Loyalists respond with several downhill bayonet charges that roll the attackers back but expose the rangers to highly accurate rifle fire from the front and flanks. Within the hour, Shelby forces his way up the southern crest, pushing Ferguson back upon his main encampment. Surrounded and with men falling fast around him, Ferguson rallies a few mounted men and tries escaping but is pierced by six bullets and killed. The Loyalists then try to surrender but receive a taste of “Tarleton’s Quarter” until the colonels can restore order. Ferguson’s entire force is annihilated, with 157 dead, 163 wounded, and 698 captured. The Americans lost only 28 killed and 64 wounded in this very lopsided encounter. This disaster strips General Charles Cornwallis of his best light infantry, and he consequently suspends his invasion of North Carolina for several months. It also revives American hopes while dashing those of regional Loyalists.

October 9 Naval: The Continental sloop Saratoga under Captain John Young captures three British brigs before vanishing without a trace off the Delaware capes.

October 10 Military: A quick raid by 770 Loyalists and Indians under Major Christopher Carleton nets the entire 75-man garrison of Fort Anne, New York, under Captain Seth Sherwood. Politics: The Continental Congress encourages states to relinquish their western territories to the government in the hope that these will be eventually settled and admitted into the union as new states.

October 11 Military: Loyalists and Indians under Sir John Johnson and Chief Joseph Brant capture Fort George, New York, then raid settlements in the vicinity of southern Lake George.

October 13 Military: The Continental Congress promotes Daniel Morgan of Virginia to brigadier general at Hillsboro, North Carolina. He also receives command of all light troops.

October 14 Military: General Charles Cornwallis, now deprived of light infantry, withdraws to Winnsboro, South Carolina, to rest and refit over the winter.

October 15 Naval: General Alexander Leslie sails with 2,500 men from New York on an extended raid in Virginia to support the efforts of General Charles Cornwallis

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482  Chronology of American History in North Carolina. His orders are to raid the coastline, wreck forts, and capture supplies. General Henry Clinton also weighs the possibility of seizing Portsmouth and establishing it as a permanent base of operations against Richmond and the interior. Bernardo de Gálvez sails from Havana, Cuba, with 3,800 men en route to Pensacola.

October 16 Military: A force of 800 Loyalists and Indian settlers under Sir John Johnson and Chief Joseph Brant attack the Schoharie Valley settlements, New York, burn-­ ing several buildings. However, they are unable to dislodge the 200-­man garrison at Middle Fort. When Major Melancthon L. Woolsey attempts to surrender, he is forced by noted marksman Timothy Murphy and others to fight on.

October 19 Military: Sir John Johnson with a mixed force of 1,000 Loyalists and Indians attack and defeat a body of 130 militiamen under ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Brown at Fort Keyser, New York. They then lay waste to the nearby village of Stone Arabia. However, the militiamen subsequently regroup around reinforcements brought up by General Robert Van Rensselaer, who pursues and counterattacks the raid-­ ers at Klock’s Field. The vengeful Patriots brush aside some Mohawks and Hes-­ sians but cannot dislodge Johnson’s main force, sequestered behind improvised breastworks. The presence of a small Loyalist cannon dissuades Van Rensselaer from attacking further, and Johnson beats a hasty retreat after abandoning his guns and baggage.

October 21 Politics: The Continental Congress, after heated debate, accedes to General George Washington’s petition and grants Â�half-­pay to Continental officers for life.

October 22 Military: Captain Walter Vrooman, leading a 60-­man detachment, pursues the raiding force of Sir John Johnson until he is ambushed at Kanadasaga, New York, losing four dead and 56 captured.

October 25 Military: General Francis Marion and 150 partisans surprise Loyalists under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Samuel Tynes at Tearcourt Swamp, South Carolina. Attacking simulta-­ neously in three columns, they rout their opponents, killing three, wounding 14, and capturing 23 without loss. Marion also seizes 80 Â�horses and many valuable supplies.

November 4 Politics: The Continental Congress again appeals to states to meet their quotas of flour, pork, and hay to support the army. Many states remain fiscally strapped, however, and find it impossible to supply more.

November 8 Military: General Charles Cornwallis dispatches Major James Wemyss of the 63rd Foot from Winnsboro, South Carolina, to hunt down troublesome partisans under General Thomas Sumter. Wemyss commands 210 mounted infantry of his own regiment and 40 additional dragoons from the British Legion.

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November 9 Military: A British raiding column of 250 men of the 63rd Regiment under Major James Wemyss surprises 60 Americans under General Thomas Sumter at Fishdam Ford, South Carolina. The British charge directly into the American camp undetected but, highlighted by campfires, they sustain heavy losses. Sumter is roused from his sleep only moments before a party of British dragoons push into his tent, looking for him. The British overrun the encampment and are on the verge of pushing the Georgia militia into the river, when South Carolina troops under Colonel Thomas Taylor hit them with enfilade fire. After a hard fight the British gradually withdraw with seven dead and 25 captured, including Wemyss. Sumter, lucky to have lost only four killed and 14 wounded, likewise beats a hasty retreat to Hawkins Mill on the Tyger River.

November 15 Military: After a month of fruitless campaign, General Alexander Leslie concludes his Virginia raid and departs Portsmouth for New York. The damage he inflicted is less than hoped for and does little to assist the major British effort farther south. An American militia under General Francis Marion attempts to seize Georgetown, South Carolina, which is defended by an 80-man British garrison recently reinforced by 200 Loyalist militia. The two sides skirmish briefly at White’s Bridge, and Marion concludes he lacks sufficient strength to attack and withdraws. He loses two killed and three wounded but secures 12 British captives.

November 20 Military: Hotly pursued, General Thomas Sumter and Colonel Elijah Clark take 1,000 men and make a determined stand against 400 British dragoons and infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Blackstock’s Plantation, South Carolina. The Patriots are strongly posted with the Tyger River guarding their rear and right flank, while several plantation buildings on a nearby hill form their left. Additional troops lay in the nearby woods and await the British advance. Tarleton first commits the 63rd Foot to a frontal assault that drives the militia up the hill, from which an ambush is sprung on them from the buildings. As this drama unfolds, a body of mounted militia manages to slip around the rear of the British dragoons and delivers a point-blank volley that empties many saddles. Tarleton, his army suddenly crumbling around him, then orders his cavalry forward, and they are badly repulsed. But at this critical juncture Sumter is seriously wounded and disabled. The British withdraw from the field, and the Americans pursue them briefly, returning with several captured horses. Tarleton admits to a loss of 50 men while the Americans sustain three killed and four wounded. Sumter, while victorious, is out of action for several weeks.

November 23 Military: A party of 80 dismounted troopers from the 2nd Continental Dragoons under Major Benjamin Tallmadge embarks at Fairfield, Connecticut, and crosses Long Island Sound at night. At night they storm Fort St. George (Brookhaven), New York, guided by Tallmadge, a native of the town. The Americans kill seven and seize 54 prisoners for one man wounded. They also burn 300 tons of hay intended as forage before falling back.

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Chronology of American History

Marion, Francis (ca. 1723–1795) Guerrilla leader Francis Marion was born in Berkeley County, South Carolina, around 1732. He joined the militia during the First Cherokee War of 1759, acquiring a fine military reputation despite the fact he was sickly and semiliterate. In April 1775 he joined the provincial congress as a delegate but was soon after commissioned a captain in the 2nd South Carolina Infantry. In this capacity he helped capture several British arsenals throughout the state, rising to major. Marion subsequently fought well under General William Moultrie at Sullivan’s Island, June 28, 1776, and he accompanied his regiment throughout the ill-fated siege of Savannah, Georgia. On October 9, 1779, Marion mounted the enemy parapet under fire and planted his colors, but the Americans and French were otherwise badly repulsed. He was then sidelined with a broken ankle and returned home to recuperate, which spared him from being captured with the main American army under General Benjamin Lincoln in May 1780. British forces then swarmed over the state, especially following the brilliant victory of General Charles Cornwallis at Camden that August, at which point organized American resistance collapsed. It fell upon men like Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter, each with a handful of guerrilla followers, to keep the American Revolution alive against steep odds. As a partisan leader, Marion displayed a streak of genius. He usually established his base in the middle of an impassible, thick bog for security, and personally led small-

scale forays against isolated British and Loyalist outposts. He also struck at the rear of the main British army whenever possible and at one point the much feared British Legion under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton chased the Americans for 26 miles without success. “As for this damned old fox the Devil himself could not catch him,” was Tarleton’s remark, and thereafter Marion was universally lauded as the “Swamp Fox.” And, unlike his more flamboyant contemporary Sumter, he was a priggish, strict disciplinarian who dressed modestly, never drank, and forbade his men from plundering Loyalist property. His success crested in 1781 when Governor John Rutledge promoted him to brigadier general of militia, and he formed a close liaison with the army of General Nathanael Greene. Working in tandem with Continental cavalry under Colonels Henry Lee and William Washington, Marion became the bane of British outposts, and he also performed capably in line at the battle of Eutaw Springs in September 1781. Through his efforts the British and Loyalists had been reduced to a handful of strong points along the coast, and he invariably shadowed their retreat, scooping up stragglers. After the war Marion turned to politics in Charleston, where he served in the state senate from 1784 to 1790. He retired that year and received command of Fort Johnson as a sinecure in light of his distinguished service. Marion died in Berkeley County on February 27, 1795, an indispensable partisan fighter.

November 30 Military: Major Henry Lee gains promotion to lieutenant colonel and receives a legion of 300 dragoons and three companies of picked, light infantry. He then drills them into one of the most feared and effective formations in the Continental Army.

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December 3 Military: General Nathanael Greene arrives at Charlotte, North Carolina, assuming command of the Southern Department from General Horatio Gates. With 2,500 continentals and militiamen he boldly initiates offensive operations against superior British forces.

December 4 Military: Colonel William Washington employs a pine log, or “Quaker gun,” to dupe Colonel Henry Rugeley and 155 Loyalists into surrendering at Rugeley’s Mill, South Carolina.

December 8 Military: Colonel John Sevier and 250 North Carolina militiamen heavily defeat the Cherokee at Boyd’s Creek along the French Broad River, losing one man.

December 12 Diplomacy: Great Britain recalls its ambassador from the Netherlands, following revelations gleaned from the captured papers of American diplomat Henry Laurens.

December 17 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress appoints Francis Dana as minister to Russia, despite his unfamiliarity with the language. He will nonetheless strive to lay a foundation for good relations between the two countries.

December 19 Military: Disregarding the risks, General Nathanael Greene daringly splits his forces by sending General Daniel Morgan and 600 light troops on a wide sweep through South Carolina. He is at liberty to attack the rear of General Charles Cornwallis’s army but is also instructed to rejoin Greene at Cheraw if the British move against American forces gathered there.

December 20 Diplomacy: Great Britain, angered by the extent of Dutch help to the rebellious Americans, declares war on the Netherlands.

December 26 Military: The army of General Nathanael Greene establishes a base camp at Cheraw, South Carolina, to gather in local recruits and possibly strike at General Charles Cornwallis’s army should he advance into North Carolina.

December 28 Military: A force of 280 American cavalry and mounted infantry under Colonels William Washington and James McCall routs a body of Loyalists of comparable size under Colonel Thomas Waters at Hammond’s Store (Abbeville), South Carolina, killing or wounding 150 and taking 40 prisoners. The Patriots lose one man and inflict another crippling blow to Loyalist interests. General Charles Cornwallis, angered by the extent of this partisan attrition, prepares to dispatch Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton after the raiders.

December 30 Military: General Benedict Arnold, now fighting for the British, lands at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and commences a lengthy raid up the James River.

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Greene, Nathanael

(1742–1786)

General Nathanael Greene was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, on August 7, 1742, into a Quaker household. Although he worked in his father’s foundry, he developed an inter-­ est in military affairs and was consequently expelled from the Society of Friends. Greene was elected to the general assembly in 1772, where his military background resulted in an appointment as brigadier general of militia. In this capacity he led Rhode Island forces to Boston in the spring of 1775, where he befriended General George Washington. In June 1775, Greene was made a brigadier gen-­ eral in the Continental Army, becoming the youngest field officer. He functioned capably at Boston but fell ill and missed the defeat at Long Island in August 1776. He also gave poor military advice leading to the capture of Fort Washington, New York, the following November. But Greene redeemed his reputa-­ tion by fighting well at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown over the next few months. In March 1778, he unwillingly gained appointment as quartermaster general of the army at a time when supply functions seemed on the verge of collapse. Fortunately he displayed a surprising aptitude for logistics that literally saved the American army from starvation. More significantly, he acquired solid experience in victualing an army in the field, which served him well after he acquired his own independent command. In the fall of 1780, when American hopes for independence seemed at their nadir, Greene became commander of the Southern Department to succeed the

recently disgraced General Horatio Gates. After refitting and reequipping his tattered force, Greene surprisingly took to the offen-­ sive against the smaller but veteran profes-­ sional forces of General Charles Cornwallis. He did so in order to maintain a strategic ini-­ tiative and to keep the British too preoccu-­ pied with chasing him to invade elsewhere. After dodging a close pursuit by British forces across the Dan River to Virginia, and the stunning upset victory of General Daniel Morgan at Cowpens, Greene fought Corn-­ wallis to a bloody draw at Guilford Court-­ house on March 19, 1781. British losses proved so heavy that Cornwallis withdrew into Virginia, leaving Greene a free hand to attack in the Carolinas. At Hobkirk’s Hill and Eutaw Spring in April and September 1781, Greene fought two more veteran British forces, lost each engagement, yet inflicted such heavy losses that the victors were forced to retreat. By December, Greene had reduced British influence in the Carolinas to a handful of enclaves along the coast—a fact he accomplished by losing all his battles! His brilliant success in the South establishes him as, after Washington, America’s most capable military strategist. After the war, he settled at Savannah, Georgia, where he was perpetually grappling with debt, especially after Congress failed to compensate him for money spent out of his own pocket to support the troops of his command. Greene died there on June 19, 1786, aged only 44 years, yet a major force behind America’s ultimate victory in the Revolutionary War.

1781 January 1 Military: A mutiny among the Pennsylvania line erupts at Mount Kemble, New Jersey, over expiring enlistments. Roughly 2,000 men leave camp determined to

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march on Philadelphia and present their grievances to the Continental Congress. General Anthony Wayne, who sympathizes with the soldiers, harangues them to return to camp but is ignored. A British expedition of, 1,800 men under General Benedict Arnold brushes aside 200 American militia near Jamestown, Virginia, and prepares to march on Richmond. Politics: The Continental Congress makes a final issue of $191 million in paper money as the American economy verges on collapse.

January 2 Military: A Spanish expedition consisting of 60 militia and 60 Indians under Captain Eugene Pourre departs St. Louis (Missouri) and marches for the Britishheld outpost of Fort St. Joseph, Michigan.

January 3 Naval: A British expedition of 100 regulars and 500 Indians under Colonel Johann von Hanxleden sails from Pensacola to attack Spanish forces defending Fort Charlotte at Mobile.

January 4 Military: The marquis de Lafayette, Arthur St. Clair, and John Laurens approach mutinous troops at Princeton, New Jersey, but fail to persuade them to ground arms. In New York, General Henry Clinton, now apprised of difficulties in the American camp, also dispatches agent John Mason to solicit their defection.

January 5 Military: General Benedict Arnold and Lieutenant John G. Simcoe scattered 200 Virginia militia guarding Richmond. They then offer to spare the city if the troops are allowed to confiscate tobacco supplies, but Governor Thomas Jefferson refuses. For two days, Arnold’s men plunder and burn several buildings before finally withdrawing unmolested to Portsmouth.

January 6 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress overhauls the Committee on Foreign Affairs and renames it the Executive Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Military: Colonel James Reed, representing the Continental Congress, arrives at Maidenhead, New Jersey, to confer with mutineers at Princeton. British agent John Mason also clandestinely arrives to begin secret negotiations with the soldiers. General Charles Cornwallis, apprised that General Nathanael Greene has split his forces in two, does likewise and orders Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and 1,100 men to pursue the light force commanded by General Daniel Morgan. Specifically, Tarleton is to destroy the Americans before they can reunite with their main force under Greene.

January 7 Military: A 150-man Spanish garrison under Lieutenant Ramon del Castro repulses a determined attack on Mobile by a British raiding force out of Pensacola commanded by Colonel Johann von Hanxleden. Spanish losses are 14 killed and 23 wounded while the attackers sustain 38 casualties.

January 8 Military: Mutinous Pennsylvania soldiers accept Colonel James Reed’s offer of amnesty and his pledge that the Continental Congress will honor all its prior

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Chronology of American History pledges to them. The mutiny then collapses and those soldiers eligible for discharge are allowed to leave. Lieutenant Colonel John G. Simcoe and 40 mounted rangers are dispatched to Westover, Virginia, to disperse 150 American militia gathered at Charles City County House, Virginia. Simcoe surprises his quarry in a well-executed night attack, killing 20 and capturing eight; British losses are one dead and three injured.

January 10 Diplomacy: To better harmonize international relations, the Continental Congress establishes an Office for Foreign Affairs. However, months elapse before the positions are actually filled. Military: A large raiding force under General Benedict Arnold departs Westover, Virginia, on a plundering expedition down the James River.

January 11 Military: British agent John Mason, caught soliciting defections among American mutineers, is hanged as a spy at Princeton, New Jersey.

January 14 Military: A Patriot militia detachment under Colonel Peter Horry fights a confused skirmish with Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel William Campbell of the Queen’s Rangers at Waccamaw Neck, South Carolina. The Americans lose one wounded to a Loyalist tally of three dead and two injured.

January 16 Military: The British Legion of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton steals a march on the light forces of General Daniel Morgan by crossing the Pacolet River at night and advancing rapidly upon his camp. The Americans hastily scamper off, abandoning their breakfast to the enemy, and fall back until reaching a meadow locally known as Hannah’s Cowpens. Morgan does not dare risk crossing the nearby Broad River with enemy troops at his back, so that night he devises a bold plan to defeat the impetuous Tarleton. He ingeniously arrays his men into three distinct lines: the first, composed of Georgia riflemen, is instructed to fire two volleys at the oncoming British, paying particular attention at British officers, then retire. The second line, militiamen from North and South Carolina under General Andrew Pickens, is likewise ordered to fire two volleys then retreat. Morgan’s third and final line consists of redoubtable Delaware and Maryland Continentals under Colonel John E. Howard, who are to stand fast on the hilltop and swap volleys with the enemy while the cavalry under Colonel William Washington strike Tarleton’s flank. It is a perilous prospect, considering that any American withdrawal is cut off by the river at their rear. Morgan, however, was gambling that his adversary’s famed impetuousness would carry the day for him.

January 17 Military: After a dogged chase, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and, 1,100 British troops catch up with General Daniel Morgan’s fleeing forces at Cowpens, South Carolina. As anticipated, he immediately attacks without proper reconnaissance and plunges headlong into the trap laid for him. The first and second lines of Morgan’s force fire two well-aimed volleys apiece, toppling many officers, then quickly withdraw to the rear. The British, though staggered, surge forward

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Morgan, Daniel

489

(ca. 1736–1802)

General Daniel Morgan was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, around 1736 and he was raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. He matured into a hard-drinking, two-fisted frontier brawler, and in 1755, he accompanied the ill-fated expedition of General Edward Braddock. Morgan’s brash personality did not readily submit to discipline, and at one point he received 500 lashes for striking a British officer. When the American Revolution broke out in April 1775, he was commissioned a captain in one of the newly raised rifle regiments and marched to Boston. Morgan subsequently accompanied Colonel Benedict Arnold on his epic trek to Quebec that fall, and on December 31, 1775, he distinguished himself by penetrating the city’s defenses before surrendering. Once exchanged, Morgan joined the army of General Horatio Gates by commanding a rifle battalion. In this capacity he bore a conspicuous part in the victories of Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights, which led to the capture of General John Burgoyne’s army in October 1777. Morgan then transferred back to the army of General George Washington in New Jersey, where he fought well at Monmouth in August 1778. However, he had grown dissatisfied by what he considered lack of rank and retired from the army in July 1779, once Anthony Wayne was made brigadier general in his place. Morgan, who also suffered from severe arthritis, went home to angrily sulk, recuperate, and await the outcome of events.

In September 1780, General Gates, recently savaged at the defeat of Camden, appealed to Morgan to return to the field. He accepted his belated appointment as brigadier general and accepted command of all light infantry forces in the army of General Nathanael Greene. Thus augmented, he harassed the rear of General Charles Cornwallis’s army until confronted by the muchfeared Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens, North Carolina. Morgan brilliantly arrayed his men in three distinct lines to shoot down the oncoming British, then promptly enveloped them as the survivors advanced. Tarleton was completely crushed, with a loss of 1,000 men, and fled; Morgan had sustained 12 killed and 61 wounded in this, the most complete American victory of the war. Afterward, Morgan was again beset by illness and he withdrew for the remainder of the war. In light of his sterling service the Continental Congress made him one of only eight individuals to receive a gold medal. Morgan then settled back on his farm in the Shenandoah until 1794, when he was called back into service to help suppress the so-called Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. He also served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Federalist. Morgan, who went by the moniker of “Old Wagoner,” died at Winchester, Virginia, on July 6, 1802. He was probably the most adept light infantry leader on either side of the Revolutionary War and his decisive victory at Cowpens is considered the tactical masterpiece of that conflict.

to engage the veteran Continentals of Colonel John E. Howard, who suddenly feigns a retreat and gives ground. At a given signal Morgan has his regulars suddenly turn around and deliver a point-blank volley into their disorganized pursuers, stunning them. At that precise moment Colonel William Washington spurs his dragoons forward, charges over the hill and takes Tarleton in the flanks, as

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Chronology of American History does the newly reformed militia on the other side of the ridge. It is a superbly executed double envelopment and the British army literally disintegrates. After trading sword cuts with Washington, Tarleton ignominiously flees the field, once his surviving cavalry refuses to charge. Cowpens is an American tactical masterpiece and a crushing blow to General Charles Cornwallis, who has now lost his remaining light troops. British casualties total 110 killed, 229 wounded, and 600 captured, out 1,100 men. Morgan only lost 12 killed and 61 wounded.

January 19 Military: The raiding expedition of General Benedict Arnold, having plundered Cobham and Smithfield, Virginia, next defeats a militia force gathered at Hood’s landing and takes up winter quarters at Portsmouth to await reinforcements. General Charles Cornwallis, once informed of the disaster at Cowpens, begins arduously pursuing American forces under General Nathanael Greene across the northernmost reaches of North Carolina. By dint of rapid marching he hopes to engage and destroy either Greene or General Daniel Morgan before they can unite.

January 20–27 Military: New Jersey troops at Pompton, New Jersey, mutiny and march out of camp, ignoring their officers’s pleas to negotiate. The men get as far as Chatham when they are finally persuaded to ground arms and return.

January 21 Military: General George Washington dispatches General Robert Howe with 500 soldiers to suppress the rebellious New Jersey soldiers.

January 22 Military: American forces under Lieutenant Colonel William Hull attack a Loyalist outpost at Morrisania (Bronx), New York, under Lieutenant Colonel James De Lancey. The Americans are rebuffed and withdraw after inflicting 100 casualties and prisoners while suffering only 18 of their own.

January 24 Military: Cavalry and partisan forces under Colonel Henry Lee and General Francis Marion raid Georgetown, South Carolina, 60 miles north of Charleston. The attack flounders, but the Americans capture Colonel William Campbell and several ranking officers sleeping in a tavern. But, lacking the manpower to storm a nearby fort, both leaders withdraw.

January 25 Military: In a daring move, General Charles Cornwallis lightens his force by burning his baggage and supplies at Ramsour’s Mill, North Carolina. He then resumes doggedly pursuing American forces under General Nathanael Greene.

January 26 Military: General Robert Howe suppresses the mutiny of New Jersey troops with 600 loyal soldiers; two of the ringleaders are subsequently executed, and the rebellion ends.

January 30 Military: The forces of Generals Nathanael Greene and Daniel Morgan unite along the Catawba River, hotly pursued by the British under General Charles Cornwallis.

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February 1 Military: General Charles Cornwallis, while attempting to cross Cowan’s Ford on the Catawba River, North Carolina, is obstructed by 300 militia under General William L. Davidson on the opposite bank. For a few tense moments, Generals Charles O’Hara and Alexander Leslie are thrown from their horses and nearly drown in the strong current. Fortunately for them, the British find another ford downstream and cross to take the Americans from behind. Meanwhile, the elite Coldstream Guards claws its way onto the bank and charges the defenders from the front. Davidson is killed attempting to rally his men, who scatter. Total American losses are four dead and three injured; the British sustain four killed and 36 wounded. British cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton cross the Catawba River, ride 10 miles to Tarrant’s Tavern, and engage a body of American militia gathered there. Tarleton’s quick approach apparently surprised the militia for, after fighting briefly, they turned and ran. Both sides incur roughly 120 casualties apiece, but the defeat discourages other militiamen from stepping forward. Wilmington, North Carolina, is occupied by 450 British soldiers under Major James Craig, and Loyalists begin rallying to him there.

February 3 Military: General Daniel Morgan, ailing from arthritis, quits the army and returns to Virginia. Command of the light troops then passes to Colonel Otho H. Williams, while the American army continues retreating toward the Dan River.

February 6 Business: The Continental Congress, groping for better control of the national economy, establishes a Department of Finance at the behest of financier Robert Morris, a leading economic authority.

February 7 Military: The Continental Congress replaces the Board of War with the Department of War, but proves unable to find a compromise candidate to serve as secretary. General Alexander MacDougall is also appointed secretary of marine to administer affairs previously handled by the Board of Admiralty. Politics: The Continental Congress determines to create additional executive offices to govern national finance, war, and maritime matters.

February 9 Military: The army of General Nathanael Greene reaches Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, closely pursued by British troops under General Charles Cornwallis. Greene subsequently holds a war council and the majority of officers favor retreating until more militia swell their ranks.

February 12 Military: The 120-man Spanish garrison under Captain Eugene Pourre surrounds the British outpost at Fort St. Joseph, Michigan, and obtains its surrender. They are assisted by the sudden appearance of 200 Potawatomie Indians, eager to share in the spoils of conquest. Pourre departs for St. Louis a day later.

February 13 Military: Colonel Henry Lee and his legion suddenly turn upon pursuing British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Dix’s Ferry, North Carolina, routing them in a swift action and killing 18. American losses are one dead.

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Chronology of American History General Nathanael Greene, hotly chased by General Charles Cornwallis for 200 miles, quickly slips across the Dan River on boats previously placed for his utilization and reaches the safety of Virginia. The British, lacking oars and engineers, finally quit. Cornwallis finally controls all of North Carolina, but his lines of communication back to the coast are perilously stretched and susceptible to roving bands of guerrillas.

February 18 Military: General Charles Cornwallis abandons his chase and trudges back toward Hillsboro, North Carolina. Colo nel Otho H. Williams and Henry Lee immediately recross the Dan River to begin harrying his rear guard and outposts.

February 19 Military: General Thomas Sumter marshals his men for an attack against Fort Granby on the Congaree River, South Carolina. Major Andrew Maxwell and his British garrison of 300 soldiers are prepared for the strike and repulse the Americans, who then begin siege operations. Once Sumter learns that Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon has dispatched a battalion to reinforce the garrison, he immediately withdraws.

February 21 Military: Partisans under General Thomas Sumter attack a British garrison at Belleville, South Carolina. The Americans, lacking artillery, are forced to engage in a sniping contest with the defenders. Sumter, meanwhile, moves off with part of his command to ambush a 20-wagon British supply convoy. However, when word is received of a relief column marching from Camden, Sumter again abandons the effort and withdraws.

February 22 Military: General Charles Cornwallis raises the royal standard and summons regional Loyalists to rally under him at Hillsboro, North Carolina. One of the first units to respond is a 300-man infantry battalion under Colonel John Pyle of Chatham County, who is ordered to rendezvous with the cavalry of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

February 23 Military: General Nathanael Greene, rested, rearmed, and reinforced by 600 Virginia militia, crosses his army over the Dan River into North Carolina and advances upon Hillsboro.

February 25 Military: The marquis de Lafayette departs Peekskill, New York, with 1,200 picked infantry to try to halt British depredations in Virginia. He will be assisted there by an additional 1,200 French infantry who will arrive by sea. American partisans under General Francis Pickens and Colonel Henry Lee unexpectedly encounter a 300-man Loyalist force under Colonel John Pyle at Haw River, North Carolina. Pyle mistakes Lee’s cavalry for Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s British Legion and allows it to approach and intermingle with his men. At a given signal, Pickens, hiding in the nearby woods, opens fire and the American troopers join in the fray. They quickly cut down 93 men and take 200 captive. This defeat has an immediate dampening effect on Loyalist sympathies in the region.

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Lafayette, marquis de (1757–1834) General Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, was born at Chavaniac, France, on September 16, 1757, into one of France’s most distinguished aristocratic families. Orphaned at an early age, he joined the army at 13 and later married into the influential Noailles family. Lafayette was destined to enjoy the life of a wealthy nobleman, but in 1776, he was struck by the idealism of the American Revolution and determined to offer the young nation his services. When his family refused to condone his decision, he chartered a boat for Spain at his own expense and was subsequently declared an outlaw by King Louis XVI. Lafayette then arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1777, accompanied by his friend and faithful mentor Baron Johann de Kalb. Whatever the youthful marquis lacked in meaningful military experience he more than made up in boundless enthusiasm for the American cause, and General George Washington appointed him to his military family. In short order Lafayette proved his worth by fighting valiantly at Brandywine and other severe engagements, sustaining a leg wound. On May 28, 1778, he cleverly outmaneuvered British forces at Barren Hills, Pennsylvania, avoiding a snare set for him by General William Howe. Lafayette then served as a military liaison with the French expedition of Admiral Charles, comte d’Estaing, throughout the ill-fated campaign in Rhode Island. He next returned to France in January 1779, where he was briefly arrested and then released by

the king. Lafayette remained a year in Paris pleading the American cause at the court and rejoined Washington in April 1780, at a time when American military fortunes were at their nadir. Lafayette received an independent command in Virginia in 1781, where he constantly skirmished and maneuvered against the wily General Charles Cornwallis. However, once the British entrenched at Yorktown, he quickly invested them until Washington could arrive with the main army, and subsequently commanded an entire division for the rest of the siege. With independence nearly won, Lafayette sailed back to France in December 1781, imbued with a new sense of republicanism, and he championed social and political reforms. During the French Revolution, he commanded the National Guard but was forced to flee to Austria in 1797 and was arrested. He was freed by Napoleon in 1800 and offered a military position, but Lafayette returned home a private citizen in 1800. He then resumed his crusade for liberty after Napoleon’s downfall in 1815 by serving in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1824, Lafayette returned to tour the United States and was greeted with thunderous applause from a grateful nation. Back home once again, he served as a tireless champion for political freedom until his death in Paris on May 20, 1834. Lafayette, a child of privilege, remains an enduring symbol of friendship between France and the United States; he is, quite appropriately, a hero on two continents.

February 28 Military: General Thomas Sumter frontally assaults strongly held Fort Watson, South Carolina, and is bloodily repelled, with 18 killed and 38 captured. This is his third straight defeat in one month, which undermines the morale of his guerrilla band and encourages desertions.

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Pickens, Andrew

(1737–1817)

Guerrilla leader Andrew Pickens was born in Paxton Town-­ ship, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 1737, and relocated with his family to the Waxhaw District of South Carolina as a boy. He was distinguished as a militia leader throughout the First Cherokee War and subsequently aligned himself with the Patriot faction in the ongoing dispute with Great Britain. He fought successfully in many backwoods skirmishes in the first four years of the war but on February 14, 1779, he scored an important victory by attacking and dispers-­ ing a large force of Loyalists under Colonel John Boyd at Kettle Creek, Georgia. He also fought under General Benjamin Lincoln at the unfortunate repulse of Stono Creek in June 1779. However, the Americans endured a spate of bad luck over the next two years that culminated in the capture of Charle-­ ston in May 1780, at which point Pickens disbanded his men, who melted back into the countryside as citizens. He remained neutral until December 1780, when a band of marauding Loyalists plundered his farm, and he rejoined the Patriots under General Daniel Morgan. Aware of his reputation as a fighter, Morgan appointed him in command of his second line at the battle of Cowpens. In this capacity Pickens fought well at the January 17, 1781 victory at Cowpens, and greatly contributed to the rout of Lieuten-­ ant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s forces. He consequently received a ceremonial sword from Congress and promotion to brigadier general of the South Carolina militia. Over the next three years Pickens continued ply-­

ing his successful guerrilla tactics against British and Loyalist outposts in the Carolina backcountry, usually in concert with cavalry under Colonel Henry Lee. This was the scene of savage, no quarter given, com-­ bat, but Pickens distinguished himself for humane treatment of prisoners and for for-­ bidding his men to plunder. He also fought well in line at the defeat of Eutaw Spring in October 1781, and conducted further cam-­ paigns against the Cherokee before finally laying his musket down in 1782. In light of his stern, unyielding Presbyterian demeanor and his active church membership, he was renowned throughout the South as the “Fighting Elder.” Pickens’s wartime activities rendered him a state hero and he was repeatedly elected to the legislature six times between 1781 and 1793. During the period 1793–95, he also held a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives. Afterward he performed useful service as a surveyor working on the Indian boundary and his former adversaries came to regard him as an honest broker in his dealings with them. Pickens’s popular-­ ity had scarcely declined in 1812 when he was entreated to run for the governorship of South Carolina, but he declined in favor of another term in the legislature. He died at Tomassee, South Carolina, on August 11, 1819. Like his great contemporaries Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter, Pickens and his rag-­tag band of guerrillas kept the Ameri-­ can cause alive at a time when all organized resistance to Great Britain was impossible.

Naval: Previously delayed by a storm, Bernardo de Gálvez again sails from Havana with 1,500 men for Pensacola, East Florida.

March 1 Politics: The Articles of Confederation, submitted to state legislatures four years previously, is finally ratified by Maryland and officially adopted. This

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grants the Confederation Congress authority to weigh more heavily the matters of war, peace, and foreign relations, but still denies it any ability to raise taxes or regulate interstate commerce. It also assumes a new moniker, “The United States in Congress Assembled,” under President Samuel Huntington. This form of governance is to remain in place with little alteration until adoption of a more centralized federal regime in 1789 under the U.S. Constitution.

March 2 Military: Cavalry and mounted infantry under Colonel Henry Lee skirmish with Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Clapp’s Mill, North Carolina. The Americans sustain eight casualties to the British 21.

March 3 Naval: The marquis de Lafayette reaches Head of Elk, Maryland, and embarks on boats for Annapolis. Once there he expects to be reinforced by French troops arriving by sea.

March 6 Military: General George Washington arrives at Newport, Rhode Island, to confer with General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, over strategy. Despite ongoing events in the South, Washington remains transfixed by an all-out assault against New York City. The British advance guard under Lieutenant Col- Front page of the Articles of Confederation onels James Webster and Banastre Tarleton attack (National Archives) an unguarded militia camp under Colonel William Campbell at Wetzell’s Spring, North Carolina. As the Americans withdraw across the stream they are reinforced by cavalry under Colonels Henry Lee and William Washington. The Coldstream Guards then stall while pursuing them under heavy fire, until small parties ford further downstream and strike the American flanks. Campbell again withdraws until reinforced by Continentals under Colonel John E. Howard. At this juncture, Webster disengages and the fighting stops. Both sides suffer roughly 30 casualties each but, more significantly, the light troops of Colonel William H. Williams, shadowing the main British body under General Charles Cornwallis, slip across the Haw River to safety. General Thomas Sumter attacks a party of Loyalists under Major Thomas Fraser at Radcliffe’s Bridge on the Lynches River, South Carolina. The Patriots drive their adversaries hard, backing them into a swamp, then withdraw. Sumter’s losses are 10 killed and around 40 wounded. Partisans under Colonel Francis Marion fight off a mixed British/Loyalist detachment under Lieutenant Colonel John Watson at Wiboo Swamp, South Carolina. The Americans lose six killed and 12 wounded.

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March 8 Naval: A French squadron under Admiral Â� Charles-­René Sochet, chevalier Destouches, leaves Rhode Island conveying 1,300 reinforcements for the mar-­ quis de Lafayette in Virginia. They are subsequently pursued by Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot.

March 9 Naval: Bernardo de Gálvez arrives at Pensacola with an armada of 35 ships and 7,000 men. He there confronts a small but determined garrison of 1,600 under General John Campbell behind stout fortifications.

March 12 Politics: In Philadelphia, Virginia delegate James Madison recommends stronger, more centralized powers to force states to fulfill their quotas to the government.

March 14 Military: General Nathanael Greene, augmented by militia drafts to 4,400 men, assumes a strong defensive position at Guilford CourtÂ�house, North Carolina, and awaits the approaching British. Taking a leaf from General Daniel Morgan at Cowpens, he also posts his army in three distinct lines. The first consists of North Carolina militia behind a rail fence, who are to loose two volleys and then retire. These are further buttressed by the presence of two small cannon in the center of their line. The second line is composed of Virginia militia and riflemen positioned in a dense wood, supported on either flank by cavalry under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Henry Lee and William Washington. Greene’s final line consists of 1,400 veteran MaryÂ�land and Virginia Continentals under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Otho H. Williams and Isaac Huger.

March 15 Military: General Charles Cornwallis finally confronts a larger American force under General Nathanael Greene at Guilford CourtÂ�house. The British, mustering only 1,900 veteran bayonets, march 12 miles to the battlefield and immediately deploy around 1:30 p.m. The right wing consists of two regiments under General Alexander Leslie, the left of two regiments under Lieutenant colÂ�oÂ�nel James Webster, and the Guards and reserves under General Charles Â�O’Hara. The British advance upon Greene’s first line, taking heavy losses but routing them. Sorting themselves out, they proceed next upon the Virginians in the woods, who resist stoutly before being overpowered. The American cavalry on each flank hold firm, however, forc-­ ing Cornwallis to wheel his men left and right to negate their enfilade fire. Â�O’Hara and the Guards are then brought up in the center to clinch the deal. Fighting on the flanks forms two separate actions, as the remaining British march on ahead. Cornwallis, sensing victory in his grasp, enthusiastically advances upon Greene’s veteran Continentals on the hilltop, who respond with crushing vol-­ leys of their own and a bayonet charge. The British are then staggered in their tracks and nearly routed when ColÂ�oÂ�nel Washington’s cavalry assail their flanks. But Cornwallis instantly orders his own artillery to fire grapeshot directly into the struggling mass, killing soldiers on both sides. The antagonists then separate in confusion but the highly disciplined British rally first and resume advanc-­ ing. Greene, rather than risk having his army destroyed signals a withdrawal and the Americans draw off intact. Like Bunker Hill, Guilford CourtÂ�house is a dearly bought British victory; Cornwallis loses 93 killed and 439 Â�wounded—oneÂ�fourth of his manpower. American losses are 78 dead, 185 injured and 2,046

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Chronology   497 Â� missing—mostly militia who deserted at the last minute. The British are unable to sustain such attrition, and Cornwallis abandons his conquest of North Carolina. He spends the next several days tending to his wounded.

March 16 Naval: The Battle of Cape Henry is waged as Admiral Â�Charles-­René Sochet, chevalier Destouches, arrives off Chesapeake Bay with 1,300 reinforcements for the marquis de Lafayette. There he encounters a British fleet under Admi-­ ral Marriot Arbuthnot, whose Â�copper-­bottom ships give them a slight speed advantage and allowed them to arrive first. Both sides possess eight warships apiece, with the British enjoying superiority in the amount of metal thrown. The battle then unfolds in heavy seas as the contestants run past each other trading broadsides. However, British superiority in gunnery is neutralized once rough water compels them to keep their lower gun ports closed. Arbuthnot also fails to signal for close action; consequently his van drifts from the battle line and is roughly handled. But after one hour’s fighting, Destouches timidly with-­ draws from the scene and returns back to Rhode Island with a loss of 72 killed and 120 wounded. Arbuthnot lost 30 killed and 73 wounded, but his rigging is badly cut, and he declines to pursue. Nonetheless, the French surrender control of Chesapeake Bay to the British and fail to reinforce Lafayette. Arbuthnot is thereby able to supply and assist the army of General Benedict Arnold in Vir-­ ginia as needed.

March 19 Military: General Charles Cornwallis, his conquest of North Carolina thwarted by heavy losses, marches his surviving soldiers back to Wilmington, 200 miles distant.

March 20 Military: British General William Phillips arrives at Portsmouth, Virginia, with 2,000 men and orders to take command of forces presently under General Bene-­ dict Arnold. His strategy is to do as much damage as possible to the Â�tobacco-­based Virginia economy to deprive the Americans of a valuable source of income.

March 22 Naval: The main French fleet of Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse, departs Brest with 20 ships of the line, three frigates, and 150 transports carry�ing 5,000 soldiers. He sails immediately for the West Indies.

March 24 Military: ColÂ�oÂ�nels Elijah Clarke and James McCall engage and destroy a band of Loyalists under Major James Dunlap at Beattie’s Mill, South Carolina. The Loyalists lose 35 killed and 40 taken prisoner; Dunlap, a particularly treacherous partisan, is murdered while in captivity.

March 26 Military: The marquis de Lafayette marches from Annapolis to Head of Elk, Mary�land, without his promised reinforcements.

April 1 Military: General Nathanael Greene, reduced by desertion to 1,500 soldiers, breaks camp at Ramsey’s Mills, North Carolina, and resumes offensive operations against Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon, commanding British field forces in

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Chronology of American History North and South Carolina. The British are now scattered throughout the countryside in isolated outposts, and Greene intends to reduce them one by one.

April 2 Naval: Captain John Barry, commanding the 36-gun frigate Alliance, is accosted by British privateers Mars and Minerva off the French coast; he captures both.

April 7 Military: General Charles Cornwallis and 1,425 soldiers wearily trudge into Wilmington, North Carolina, to rest, refit, and be resupplied by the Royal Navy.

April 11 Military: Partisans under Colonel William Harden capture the garrison at Fort Balfour, South Carolina, taking 90 captives.

April 14 Naval: The Confederation Congress votes Captain John Paul Jones and his men its thanks, and he appears in person to accept the accolades.

April 15 Military: American forces under General Francis Marion and Colonel Henry Lee unsuccessfully attack the strong Loyalist garrison at Fort Watson, South Carolina, despite plucky defenders and a lack of artillery. Naval: The 32-gun frigate Confederacy under Captain Seth Harding is cornered by British frigates HMS Orpheus, 32 guns, and Roebuck, 44 guns, off the Delaware capes and surrenders without a fight. The vessel is subsequently taken into British service as HMS Confederate.

April 16 Military: Resurgent American militia under General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Elijah Clark surround and besiege Augusta, Georgia, in the absence of British forces. The Loyalist garrison under Colonel Thomas Brown grimly determines to resist as long as possible.

April 18 Military: General Benedict Arnold sorties from Portsmouth, Virginia, with 2,500 men to continue raiding.

April 19 Military: General Nathanael Greene and 1,550 men occupy the old battlefield of Camden, South Carolina, prior to marching on Charleston.

April 23 Military: Eager to resume offensive operations, General Charles Cornwallis departs Wilmington, North Carolina, and advances into Virginia with 1,500 men. In his absence Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon is appointed commander of remaining British field forces in the Carolinas. General Francis Marion and Colonel Henry Lee continue attacking Fort Watson, South Carolina, despite their lack of artillery. The problem is partially solved when Colonel Hezekiah Marham proposes building a platformed log crib so that riflemen can deliver a plunging fire into the British camp. The garrison then surrenders 144 men while American losses total two killed and six wounded. Thereafter, constructing “Marham towers” becomes a standard American tactic.

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April 24 Military: General Nathanael Greene encamps 1,500 veteran soldiers at Hobkirk’s Hill, South Carolina, two miles south from the main British position at Camden. He fully expects to rest his men a few days before proceeding to attack Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon in a few days.

April 25 Military: General Benedict Arnold, reinforced by 2,000 troops under General William Phillips, attacks 1,000 militia under General John Peter Gabriel Muh-­ lenberg at Petersburg, Virginia. Muhlenberg puts on a good front and deploys his men along Blandford Hill as if inviting a frontal assault. The British, advancing in two columns under ColÂ�oÂ�nel Robert Abercrombie and John G. Simcoe, have little difficulty driving the militia from their position but they withdraw in good order. Both sides loses a total of 10 men apiece. Rather than wait to be attacked, Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon scrapes together 900 men at Camden and advances upon General Nathanael Greene at Hobkirk’s Hill, South Carolina. Rawdon deliberately avoids the roads and takes a line of march through the woods to avoid detection until nearly upon his quarry. The Americans are cooking at the time but assume strong defensive positions as the British/Loyalists force approaches. Seeing that Rawdon is attacking along a very narrow front, Greene orders part of his MaryÂ�land and Virginia Continentals under ColÂ�oÂ�nels Otho H. Williams and Isaac Huger to advance and envelop the British from both flanks. The Americans are making good progress when Rawdon’s second line steps up, extends its own flanks, and ends up outflanking the Americans. At this junc-­ ture, the usually solid 1st MaryÂ�land Regiment under ColÂ�oÂ�nel John Gunby inex-­ plicably bolts, and panic ensues along the American line. As the Continentals fall back to redress their ranks, Rawdon sounds the charge and the Americans scatter. Worse, Greene’s artillery is threatened, and only direct intervention by the general saves it from capture. The sudden appearance of cavalry under ColÂ�oÂ� nel William Washington prevents the withdrawal from becoming a rout, and the Americans depart in good order. Greene’s losses are 19 dead, 115 wounded, and 136 missing; Rawdon losses 38 dead and 220 Â�injured—one fourth of his army. He thereupon declines to pursue and simply holds the field. Bernardo de Gálvez begins a formal siege of Pensacola, West Florida, defended by 1,600 EnÂ�glish and Hessians under General John Campbell.

April 27 Military: General Benedict Arnold scatters American militia at Osborne’s, on the James River, Virginia, and engages the 20-­gun ship Tempest, the 26-­gun Renown, and the 14-­gun Jefferson offshore. A chance shot cripples the Tempest, and when its crew abandons ship, the others do likewise. Arnold ultimately burns 24 small ships collected at Hampton Roads while a large store of tobacco is also confiscated. British forces under General William Phillips destroy Chesterfield Court Â�House, Virginia, burning various buildings and supplies.

April 29 Military: The marquis de Lafayette arrives at Richmond with 1,200 men to reinforce the beleaguered defenders. He succeeds Friedrich von Steuben and is ordered to keep the town from being recaptured.

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April 30 Military: Generals Benedict Arnold and William Phillips, wary of recent American reinforcements, retire back to their main encampment at Portsmouth, Virginia.

May 4 Military: General Thomas Sumter and 50 partisans lay siege to Fort Granby, South Carolina, defended by Major William Maxwell and 300 soldiers. Sumter does so in defiance of orders from General Nathanael Greene, who requests his troops as reinforcements. He subsequently departs with some men on another raid toward Orangeburg, leaving the siege to be conducted by Col�o�nel Thomas Taylor.

May 7 Military: Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon receives 50 reinforcements at Camden, South Carolina, and again takes the offensive against the army of Gen-­ eral Nathanael Greene. The Americans, anticipating the moves, withdraw nine miles back to a strong fortified position that dissuades Rawdon from attacking. The British then retrace their steps back to Camden.

May 8 Military: Partisan forces under General Francis Marion surround the fortified mansion of Rebecca Motte and demand the Loyalist garrison’s surrender. After they refuse, the two sides exchange shots over the next four days.

May 9 Military: Bernardo de Gálvez, commanding 7,000 Spanish troops, captures Pen-­ sacola, West Florida, from General John Campbell after touching off his main powder magazine with a lucky cannon shot. The Spanish are initially repulsed but subsequently occupy part of the ruined fortification, prompting a British sur-­ render. For a cost of 74 dead and 198 wounded, de Gálvez inflicts 105 casualties, secures 1,100 prisoners, and acquires ample supplies of guns and ammunition. He now enjoys undisputed possession of West Florida, which remains in Spanish hands until 1819.

May 10 Military: Lieutenant ColÂ�oÂ�nel Francis Rawdon abandons Camden, South Caro-­ lina, and withdraws toward Charleston. He also orders all British outposts in the interior evacuated, save for Fort Ninety-Six.

May 11 Military: The garrison at Orangeburg, South Carolina, surrenders 15 British and 70 Loyalist prisoners to General Thomas Sumter.

May 12 Military: The British garrison at Fort Motte, South Carolina, under Lieutenant Charles McPherson, surrenders 150 men to ColÂ�oÂ�nel Henry Lee and General Francis Marion following a Â�four-­day siege. To accelerate their capitulation, the Americans assault the fort with Â�fire-­tipped arrows. The elÂ�derÂ�ly widow Rebecca Motte, who owns the mansion, not only agreed to the tactic but also produced the bows and arrows for the attack. The Americans sustain two dead.

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May 13 Military: The talented British general William Phillips dies suddenly of typhoid fever at Petersburg, Virginia, and command of British forces there reverts to General Benedict Arnold.

May 14 Business: The Confederation Congress caves in to Robert Morris’s demands for complete control over national fiscal matters, along with the ability to handpick his subordinates. Among them is Jewish financier Haym Solomon. With these conditions met Morris finally assumes his role as superintendent of finance. Military: A Loyalist raiding party under Colonel James De Lancey surprises an American outpost at Croton River, New York, killing Colonel Christopher Greene and wounding 42 soldiers.

May 15 Military: Colonel Henry Lee captures Fort Granby, South Carolina, and takes 352 British and Hessian prisoners under Major Andrew Maxwell. He first tries coaxing their surrender with generous terms, including full honors of war, but it is his firing of a single cannon shot that convinces the garrison to yield. Moreover, Maxwell, a notorious plunderer, is allowed to carry off two wagonloads of booty. American militia under Colonel Thomas Taylor are so enraged by the terms that at one point they threaten to kill the prisoners.

May 18 General: Loyalist prisoners stage a large breakout from Newgate Prison, Connecticut, the site of an abandoned copper mine.

May 20 Military: General George Washington confers with his French counterpart, General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Both agree upon a joint operation against New York City, hopefully in concert with Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse’s powerful fleet, then cruising the West Indies. Washington also dispatches General Anthony Wayne with 1,000 men to reinforce the marquis de Lafayette in Virginia. General Charles Cornwallis slogs into Petersburg, Virginia, and is strengthened to 7,200 men by detachments under General Benedict Arnold.

May 21 Military: Colonel Henry Lee captures two companies of Loyalists and needed supplies at Fort Galpin, South Carolina, securing 126 prisoners for a loss of one man. Because this outpost serves as a depot for the superintendent of Indian Affairs, many valuable trading goods are also confiscated. Its capture also signals that the noose around Augusta is tightening.

May 22 Military: General Nathanael Greene besieges Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina, one of several large British posts still dotting the interior. However, he is down to less than 1,000 men and lacks heavy artillery, while the 550 Loyalists under Colonel John Cruger remain determined to resist. Worse, Colonel Tadeusz Kos´ciuszko initially digs his trenches too close to the fort and the defenders periodically sortie

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Salomon, Haym (ca. 1740–1785) Financier Haym Salomon was born in Lissa, Poland, around 1740, part of an observant Jewish family. He was well educated and well traveled in Europe, gaining fluency in German, Spanish, and French, before arriving in New York in 1772. He quickly established himself as a successful broker and merchant, with important political connections throughout the city. When the Revolutionary War erupted in April 1775, he sided with the Patriots and became responsible for supplying the army of General Philip J. Schuyler in New York. After New York fell to General William Howe in September 1776, Salomon remained behind as an intelligence asset, was arrested for spying, and then assigned to the staff of General Leopold von Heister on account of his linguistic abilities. In this capacity he continued assisting the Americans by encouraging Hessians to desert, and also helped many captives escape by providing them with money. Salomon was again arrested for these activities in 1778 and condemned to be executed, but he managed to bribe a guard and escaped to Philadelphia. In doing so he abandoned his wife and child, who rejoined him two years later in their new abode. Salomon made repeated requests to the Continental Congress for employment, but to no avail. He then set himself up as a commission merchant, specializing in foreign bills of exchange, where his command of French and Spanish proved most useful. In this capacity he worked closely with General Jean, comte de Rochambeau,

as treasurer of the French expeditionary forces. His efforts were attended by much success, which brought him to the attention of Robert Morris, newly appointed superintendent of the Office of Finance. Specifically, Morris hired Salomon to function as a bill broker to help market foreign bills and raise revenue for the tottering American government. By the fall of 1781, his efforts proved instrumental in providing funds to underwrite the decisive Yorktown Campaign that ended the war. But as the economy gradually worsened in 1782, Salomon became the government’s official broker, authorized to market government bills. In doing so he acquired great wealth and a reputation for generosity, helping to fund Philadelphia’s first synagogue and the Traveler’s Aid Society, America’s first Jewish charity. More significantly, he also invested a large sum of his personal holdings, estimated at $600,000, to keep the government afloat. Salomon’s unflinching investment in the government with rapidly depreciating bills left him nearly destitute by war’s end. In 1784, he purchased a house in New York, intending to move back there, but died of illness in Philadelphia on January 6, 1785. Reputedly, Salomon was so impoverished at the time that his family could not afford a proper headstone, hence his grave remains unmarked. But his skill as a financier, coupled with a willingness to invest his personal fortune in the American cause, mark him as one of America’s earliest and most significant Jewish patriots.

and disrupt them. New trenches are subsequently constructed further back, along with a Maham tower allowing riflemen to shoot into the camp.

May 23 Military: Colonel Henry Lee, assisted by militia under Colonel Elijah Clarke, captures Fort Grierson in Augusta, Georgia, killing or capturing the entire 80-man

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Loyalist garrison. The commander, Colonel James Grierson, a particularly brutal partisan, is also murdered in captivity. Lee then proceeds to besiege nearby Fort Cornwallis.

May 24 Military: General Charles Cornwallis departs Petersburg, Virginia, and marches toward Richmond while General Benedict Arnold is ordered back to New York.

May 26 Business: The Confederation Congress accepts a proposal by Robert Morris to establish a national bank. His efforts to stabilize the national economy are further enhanced by receipt of 6 million French livres. Military: General Anthony Wayne, en route to Virginia from York, Pennsylvania, quells a minor mutiny among his troops by executing seven ringleaders, and proceeds without further delay.

May 28 Military: The approach of General Charles Cornwallis at the head of 7,000 British veterans forces the evacuation of Richmond, Virginia. Naval: The 36-gun frigate Alliance under Captain John Barry, returning from a diplomatic mission to France, is attacked in calm waters by the 16-gun HMS Atalanta and the 14-gun Trepassy. Using sweeps, the British ships row themselves into raking position near Barry’s stern, and he is wounded by grapeshot. He is then carried below deck, seriously injured but, after crewmen mention surrendering, Barry orders them to return him topside. Shortly afterwards, the wind springs up and the Alliance easily outmaneuvers its antagonists, capturing both. The Americans lose eight killed and 19 wounded to a British tally of 12 dead, 29 injured, and 169 captured.

June 1 Military: General Henry Clinton, incensed that General Charles Cornwallis has disobeyed orders and invaded Virginia, now suggests that he either advance into the Delaware region or withdraw by sea back to New York. But Cornwallis, enjoying the political support of Lord George Germain, disobeys again and intends to campaign where he is.

June 3 Military: General Henry Clinton receives intercepted dispatches by General George Washington to Congress, outlining his intention to gather strength and attack New York. Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton takes 180 troopers of his British Legion and 70 men of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers on a raid against Charlottesville, Virginia, in an attempt to snare Governor Thomas Jefferson and his legislature.

June 4 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton attacks Charlottesville, Virginia, after tearing across 70 miles in only 29 hours. His sudden appearance causes Governor Thomas Jefferson and the legislature to flee for their lives, having been warned moments before by militia captain John Jouett. Jefferson himself departs only minutes ahead of Tarleton’s cavalry, which captures military stores and tobacco. They also capture seven tardy legislators, including Daniel Boone. Meanwhile, the assembly relocates to Staunton, 40 miles to the west.

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June 5 Military: Lieutenant John G. Simcoe directs a raid of 400 men against Point of Fork (at the confluence of the Fluvanna and Rivanna Rivers), Virginia, that tricks General Friedrich von Steuben into retreating. The British then double back and capture badly needed supplies along with 30 prisoners. American militia under General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Henry Lee capture Fort Cornwallis outside Augusta, Georgia, after three failed assaults. Lee ordered a Maham tower built, which allows for plunging rifle fire directly into the enemy camp. He then chimes in with a small cannon, at which point the Loyalists lose heart and capitulate. The American inflict 52 killed and take 334 prisoners for a loss of 40 men. They also capture Colonel Thomas Brown, a talented and heartily despised Loyalist partisan leader.

June 6 Military: An American militia detachment under Colonel Isaac Hayne, having seized Loyalist general Andrew Williamson, is then attacked and defeated by Loyalist cavalry under Major Thomas Fraser. The Americans lose 15 casualties and Hayne is captured.

June 8 Military: General Nathanael Greene, besieging Fort Ninety Six, is reinforced by soldiers under General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Henry Lee. Loyalists under Colonel John Cruger sortie the following morning, seizing a cannon and wounding several soldiers. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon is collecting three regiments to form a relief expedition.

June 9 Military: The French army of General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, marches from Newport, Rhode Island, toward New York. A 400-man British raiding force under Lieutenant Colonel John G. Simcoe attacks Seven Islands, Virginia, sacking and burning several tobacco warehouses.

June 10 Military: General Anthony Wayne arrives in Virginia with his brigade of 1,000 men to reinforce the marquis de Lafayette and General Friedrich von Steuben in Virginia. The Americans now possess 4,500 veteran soldiers in the field.

June 11 Diplomacy: The Confederation Congress appoints the United States peace commission, consisting of John Adams, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson is also appointed but he is preoccupied as governor of Virginia and declines to serve.

June 12 Military: The marquis de Lafayette assumes strong defensive positions along Mechunck Creek to forestall a British offensive against Charlottesville. General Charles Cornwallis declines to attack and falls back upon Richmond.

June 15 Diplomacy: The Confederation Congress modifies the 1779 peace instructions and authorizes conditions of independence and sovereignty only; the commissioners are free to pursue other considerations as they see fit. Benjamin Franklin,

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however, adamantly refuses to bargain away navigational rights on the Mississippi River as the price of additional help from Spain.

June 18 Military: Having completed a third parallel, American forces under General Nathanael Greene assault Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina. His objectives are Fort Holmes and its attendant star redoubt. The Americans are initially successful and clear the abattis, but are driven back by a determined Loyalist sortie. Greene, aware of a British relief column headed his way, finally abandons the siege. As Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon marches to the relief of Fort Ninety Six, he is closely shadowed by militiamen under Colonel Charles Myddleton. As soon as the Americans begin to harass his rear guard, the aggressive Rawdon suddenly turns on his antagonists, routing them.

June 19 Military: General Nathanael Greene abandons the siege of Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina, ahead of a British relief column under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon. The Americans sustain 55 killed, 70 wounded, and 20 captured to a Loyalist tally of 27 killed and 58 injured. This is also one of the longest conventional sieges of the war, having commenced May 22.

June 24 Military: General George Washington marches his army to Peekskill, New York, awaiting the arrival of General Jean, comte de Rochambeau.

June 26 Military: A party of 40 American soldiers under Captain Amos Morse is ambushed and captured by British forces at Rahway Meadow, New Jersey. The marquis de Lafayette decides to attack and destroy a British raiding column commanded by noted light infantry leaders Lieutenant Colonel John G. Simcoe and Hessian Major Johann Ewald. The British are surprised in camp at Spencer’s Tavern by a cavalry charge under Major William McPherson, which stuns the defenders, but fails to rout them. British troopers then hit the Americans in the flank, as Ewald deploys his jaegers to meet an oncoming rush by American riflemen. Following an intense exchange of fire between the competing marksmen, the Hessians charge through the woods and force the Americans back. Pressing ahead, Ewald next encounters Continental infantry under Colonel Richard Butler and pauses to regroup. At this juncture Simcoe, sensing he is badly outnumbered, retreats and abandons his wounded on the field. The allies speedily withdraw in good order back to Williamsburg, six miles distant, where the main force under General Charles Cornwallis reposes. An aroused Cornwallis hurriedly sorties in strength back to the battlefield only to find the Americans gone and returns to camp. Lafayette’s gambit failed to destroy Simcoe’s elite force, but both sides conducted themselves admirably through a hard-fought action. American losses are given as nine killed, 14 wounded, and 14 missing; the British admit to 10 killed and 23 wounded.

June 29 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon orders Fort Ninety Six abandoned and withdraws the garrison to the coast.

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July 3 Military: When General Benjamin Lincoln fails to receive French reinforcements at King’s Bridge, New York, he refuses to attack the strong post at Fort Knyphausen. Hessians there under Lieutenant Colonel Ernest von Prueschenck sortie briefly and some skirmishing ensues, but the attackers withdraw to their fortifications. Cavalry under Colonel Armand-Louis, duc de Lauzun, arrives too late to participate and Lincoln retreats with a loss of six killed and 52 wounded.

July 4 Military: General Charles Cornwallis crosses the James River at Jamestown Ford and advances toward Williamsburg, Virginia, with 7,000 men. He anticipates that the youthful marquis de Lafayette will be tempted to interfere with his crossing and makes preparations to surprise him at Green Spring. Several “deserters” are then dispatched to the American camp to inform them that only the British rear guard remains on the north bank. Naval: Admiral Thomas Graves supersedes Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot as commander of the Royal Navy in American waters.

July 5 Military: The marquis de Lafayette, deceived by “deserters” sent into his camp by General Charles Cornwallis, is convinced that the British rear guard is marooned and unsupported on the north bank of the James River at Green Spring, Virginia. He then dispatches General Anthony Wayne and 900 men from his camp at Tyree’s Plantation to investigate—the marquis has also received word that the British army is lurking in the nearby woods and advises caution.

July 6 Military: The armies of Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, unite at Dobbs Ferry, New York. There the highly professional, spitand-polish French regulars look aghast at their scarecrow-like, tattered American allies. General Charles Cornwallis, having lured an American force under General Anthony Wayne into an ambush at Green Spring, Virginia, prepares to spring the trap. He judiciously lures his quarry across the river while the bulk of his own army deploys in the woods surrounding the causeway. Once the attack is signaled, Cornwallis is stunned to find that Wayne has ordered his 900 men to attack the much larger force. For several tense moments the Americans trade volleys with the entire British army before launching a desperate bayonet charge that momentarily halts their opponents. The marquis de Lafayette also shows up with some light infantry at the last possible moment and assists, as Wayne successfully extricates his command. Cornwallis, dismayed to see his quarry slip through his fingers, cancels the action and withdraws across the James. The Americans suffer 28 dead, 99 injured and 12 missing to a British tally of 75.

July 9 Military: Loyalists under John Doxtader attack Currytown, New York, burning houses and taking several prisoners. General Charles Cornwallis dispatches cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton from Cogham, Virginia, on an extended raid into the state’s heartland.

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July 10 Military: American militia under Colonel Marinus Willett attack John Doxtader’s 300 Loyalists at Sharon Springs Swamp, New York. After preliminary skirmishing, he lures Doxtader into a crescent-shaped ambush, routing him and inflicting 40 casualties. Willett loses five killed and nine wounded.

July 17 Military: A British detachment of 600 men under Colonel John Coates, 19th Regiment, is attacked by partisans under General Francis Marion, Colonel Henry Lee, and Thomas Sumter at Quimby’s Bridge, South Carolina. Ignoring the advice of Marion and Lee, Sumter orders Colonel Thomas Taylor to frontally assault a strong position; he is repulsed with heavy losses. Other attacks elicit similar results and, at length, the Americans are obliged to withdraw. They incur 60 casualties while inflicting six dead and 38 injured. Sumter’s mishandling of affairs causes hard feelings among his men, and Taylor swears never to serve under him again.

July 20 Military: General Charles Cornwallis is ordered by General Henry Clinton to department Richmond, Virginia, and march back to Williamsburg on the coast. There he is to establish a strong base from which his army can be supplied and reinforced by sea. Receipt of these instructions is a tipping point in the campaign— and the war. Slavery: A slave uprising near Williamsburg, Virginia, kills one white colonists and burns several buildings.

July 21 Military: Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, reconnoiter the outskirts of New York, concluding that they lack the numbers and equipment necessary for a successful siege. Stalemate in the northern theater continues.

July 24 Military: A hard-riding cavalry column under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, having raided across 400 miles of the Virginia interior, rejoins the main British army at Suffolk. It was a spectacular, dashing endeavor in the spirit of their leader but only inflicts minor damage upon the Americans while wearing out many valuable horses.

July 25 Military: British forces burn the town of Georgetown, South Carolina, just ahead of advancing American forces.

July 26 Military: Engineering general Louis Duportail advises General George Washington that a minimum of 20,000 men is probably necessary to attack New York City with any prospect of success. This represents one-third more manpower than the allies can muster at the time, so the prospects of a southern campaign appear increasingly attractive. The only catalyst required is word from Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse’s French fleet, then cruising the West Indies.

August 1 Military: General Charles Cornwallis arrives at Yorktown at the tip of the Virginia peninsula, astride the York River, and begins entrenching. He also fortifies

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Chronology of American History Gloucester Point on the opposite shore, entrusting its defense to Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. A force of 280 British and 80 Loyalists under Major James Craig marches from Wilmington, North Carolina, on a 75-mile raid against New Bern.

August 4 Military: South Carolina militia officer Isaac Hayne is hanged by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Rawdon for violating his parole. His death sparks an outcry among the people and further hardens attitudes toward the British.

August 6 Military: A force of 60 Loyalists and Indians under Donald McDonald raids Shell’s Bush, New York, but proves unable to pry John Christian Shell, his wife, and six sons from their two-story blockhouse. The Shell family peppers their antagonists with musket fire and McDonald suffers a mortal leg wound while prying a door open. The raiders then sullenly withdraw, losing 11 killed and six wounded.

August 9 Naval: Captain James Nicholson surrenders the 28-gun frigate Trumbull to the 32-gun HMS Iris and 18-gun brig General Monck after three-fourths of his crew, British deserters, refuse to fight. Nicholson, assisted only by Lieutenants Richard Dale and Alexander Murray, and a handful of men, stoutly resist for half an hour before they are overwhelmed. Ironically, the captors are both former American warships, Hancock and General Washington. Nicholson loses five killed and 11 wounded, and 175 prisoners.

August 10 Diplomacy: After weeks of wrangling, the Confederation Congress appoints Robert R. Livingston as the first secretary of foreign affairs.

August 13 Military: A force of 200 partisans under General Francis Marion, having marched 100 miles to join forces with Colonel William Hardin at Parker’s Ferry, South Carolina, sets an ambuscade for 200 British dragoons under Major Thomas Fraser. After deploying his men along a causeway, Marion lures the enemy into attacking and they are repelled by a galling discharge. Fraser rallies and charges two more times before finally withdrawing, losing around 100 men to no American losses.

August 14 Military: Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, receive electrifying news from Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse, of his impending arrival in Chesapeake Bay. His missive occasions a joyous outburst from the nominally taciturn Washington, and he immediately proposes altering allied strategy. Previously fixated upon New York, he now favors rapidly marching to Virginia and entrapping General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown. Rochambeau concurs completely and the allies make preparations to expedite their 400-mile trek in secrecy.

August 19 Military: A British raiding force of 250 soldiers and 80 Loyalists under Major James Craig, marching from Wilmington, arrives at New Bern and torches the town.

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August 21 Military: Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, carefully decamp and head south to Virginia with 6,000 men. They leave 2,500 soldiers behind under General William Heath to deceive General Henry Clinton into thinking that New York is about to be attacked. Furthermore, false orders are written and allowed to fall into enemy hands while the construction of breadbaking ovens in New Jersey gives the impression of a permanent French presence there. Clinton is completely taken in by their subterfuge. Mohawk raiders under Chief Joseph Brant and Simon Girty capture three American scouts on the Great Miami River, Ohio. From them they learn of the approach of 107 Pennsylvania militiamen under Colonel Archibald Lochry. Brant sends runners to Scioto Falls requesting reinforcements as he prepares to ambush the unsuspecting Americans.

August 22 Military: New York militia under Colonel Albert Pawling defeat a large party of Loyalists and Indians under Captain William Caldwell at Warwarsing, Ulster County, New York, inflicting three killed and four wounded.

August 23 Military: General Nathanael Greene, having rested his men after the rigors of Fort Ninety Six, decamps from High Hills along the Santee River and advances upon British forces garrisoned at Eutaw Springs, South Carolina.

August 24 Military: Colonel Archibald Lochry’s detachment of Pennsylvania militia lands on the banks of the Great Miami River, Ohio. Suddenly they are ambushed and destroyed by Indians under Chief Joseph Brant, who kills or captures the entire force. American losses are 36 killed and 55 taken captive. The latter’s fate remains unknown for two years until the survivors are finally paroled at Quebec. Naval: A French squadron carrying 1,000 troops departs Newport, Rhode Island, under Admiral Jacques, comte de Barras, and makes for Chesapeake Bay.

August 27 Naval: Admiral Samuel Hood arrives at Chesapeake Bay with 14 ships of the line, spoiling for a fight, but finding the waters devoid of enemy ships, he sails for New York to join the main fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves.

August 30 Naval: A French fleet of 24 ships of the line under Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse, arrives off the Virginia capes, securing all water approaches to Yorktown, and begins transferring 3,000 crack soldiers to the marquis de Lafayette at Jamestown, Virginia.

August 31 Naval: Admiral Thomas Graves, reinforced by the squadron of Admiral Samuel Hood, departs New York with 19 ships of the line and makes for Chesapeake Bay. He has no idea that a large French fleet is already there awaiting him.

September 2 Military: General Henry Clinton, finally cognizant of American intentions, alerts General Charles Cornwallis of an impending attack in Virginia. Wishing to provide a diversion on his behalf, Clinton orders General Benedict Arnold on

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Chronology of American History an amphibious expedition against New London, Connecticut, to capture military stores gathered there. Arnold then embarks with 1,732 soldiers of the 38th, 40th, and 54th Regiments of Foot, and various Loyalist detachments. The combined forces of Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, file through Philadelphia in an impressive military display. There Washington allows several long-suffering units, their pay months in arrears, to petition the Confederation Congress for redress. Robert Morris then arranges a loan from Rochambeau to comply, and the army resumes its march to Elk Head, Maryland.

September 4 Settlement: Spanish settlers in California establish a colony at Los Angeles.

September 5 Naval: The fleets of Admirals Francois, comte de Grasse, and Thomas Graves clash over control of Chesapeake Bay. The French muster 24 ships of the line (1,788 guns) while the British possess only 19 (1,402 guns). As the battle unfolds, the British hold the weather gauge, but Graves refuses to depart from traditional fighting instructions and maneuvers slowly and cautiously. He further errs by allowing the French to depart the bay singly and form their line of battle instead of defeating them piecemeal as Admiral Samuel Hood suggested. Both fleets then approach in light wind that allows only eight British and 15 French vessels of the van to engage. These warships are pummeled in a stiff two-and-a halfhour struggle that concludes with nightfall. The British van, badly outgunned, is severely cut up as is Graves’s own flagship, HMS London. French losses amount to 220; the British around 300. This erstwhile inconclusive engagement nevertheless exerts strategic significance, for General Charles Cornwallis—still sequestered at Yorktown—has not been relieved.

September 6 Military: General Benedict Arnold leads 1,732 soldiers on a punitive raid against New London, Connecticut. Dividing his force into two columns, the first easily storms an unfinished battery at Fort Trumbull on the west bank of the Thames River. Across the river, Fort Griswold is defended by 158 men under Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard of the militia. The British form up their assault columns and charge uphill under a galling fire, gaining the southern and northeastern walls. However, Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Eyre falls at their heads, along with several ranking officers, for a total of 48 killed and 145 wounded. At this point, Ledyard attempts to surrender but is run through with his own sword by enraged British soldiers, who subsequently bayonet 85 defenders to death. An additional 35 are wounded and 37 captured. After burning 143 buildings in New London and Groton, the raiders embark. The extent of American losses further blackens Arnold’s reputation. Naval: The 24-gun privateer Congress under Captain George Geddes engages the 16-gun sloop HMS Savage under Captain Charles Stirling off Charleston, South Carolina. After a four-hour battle, the British vessel is badly damaged and is boarded by marines under Captain Allan McLane as Stirling strikes his flag.

September 7 Military: Indians surprise and wipe out an American detachment under Lieutenant Solomon Woodworth at Fort Plain, New York. American losses are 26 killed and four wounded.

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September 8 Military: The Franco-American army reaches to Head of Elk, Maryland, and prepares to embark on a sealift provided by the French fleet. George Washington, en route to Williamsburg, stops overnight to sleep at Mount Vernon—his first home visit in six years. As General Nathanael Greene approaches Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, with 2,450 men, he encounters a slightly smaller force of 1,800 under Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart of the 3rd Foot (Irish Buffs). The Americans approach his encampment stealthily, surprising and capturing a party of 40 foragers. Minutes later a party of Loyalist cavalry also goes into the bag, although Major John Coffin escapes and alerts Stewart to the danger. The British are consequently drawn up in battle array when Greene attacks them in three lines. American militia in the first rank fight exceptionally well and loose no less than 17 volleys before yielding to a counterattack. The British then charge directly into Greene’s second line, veteran Virginia and Maryland Continentals under Colonel Jethro Sumner; all fall back in confusion. Greene then orders a counterattack across the line and the Americans surge victoriously through Stewart’s camp. Greene seemed poised to finally win a battle when his soldiers began plundering the campsite. Meanwhile, a picked body of British light infantry and grenadiers under Major John Majoribanks takes defensive positions in a thicket off to the right and defy all American attempts to dislodge them. Colonel William Washington’s cavalry tries and is heavily repelled, with Washington captured. Majoribanks subsequently joins Stewart’s men in a fortified brick house to the rear, from which they continue pouring a heavy fire upon the milling Americans. Gauging the time right, Stewart next orders a charge across the field and the disorganized American give way. The heroic Majoribanks is killed, but Greene, wishing to avert disaster, orders his army to disengage and the British keep the field. Eutaw Springs is one of the hardest-fought actions of the war, producing the highest proportional casualties of any battle. Greene loses 138 killed, 375 wounded, and 41 missing—a loss rate of 42 percent, while Stewart suffers 85 killed, 351 wounded, and 257 missing, or 42 percent. Furthermore, British losses are irreplaceable, so Stewart orders an immediate withdrawal back to Charleston. So Greene has lost his final encounter, but the Carolina interior is now largely free of British influence.

September 10 Naval: A squadron of eight ships of the line and numerous transports under Admiral Jacques, comte de Barras, slips by Admiral Thomas Graves’s British fleet and arrives in Chesapeake Bay, delivering badly needed French siege artillery. His arrival also brings the strength of the French fleet up to 36 ships of the line. Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse, now enjoys uncontested control of the Chesapeake; he also seizes British frigates HMS Iris and Richmond as they try to join Graves.

September 12 Military: A force of 1,000 Loyalists under Colonel David Fanning and Hector McNeill surprise a Patriot detachment at Hillsboro, North Carolina, capturing Governor Thomas Burke and several ranking legislators. However, as the Loyalists withdraw, they are attacked by 400 soldiers under General John Butler at

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Chronology of American History Cane Creek. Fanning drives off assailants but suffers 40 killed and 92 wounded. The Patriots have 40 killed, 210 captured, and 100 injured. Naval: Admiral Thomas Graves, after loitering in the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay for several days, concludes that he is badly outgunned by the French and departs for New York to gather up reinforcements. This singular act forfeits control of the sea to the allies: The army of General Charles Cornwallis is now sealed within its trenches at Yorktown, Virginia, by Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse.

September 14 Military: Advance elements of the combined armies of Generals George Washington and Jean, comte de Rochambeau, reach Williamsburg on French naval vessels. General Charles Cornwallis is assured by General Henry Clinton that an expedition is assembling in New York for his immediate relief and should arrive no later than October 5. This letter, despite the growing allied force before him, dissuades Cornwallis from cutting his way out of the peninsula and escaping into the interior before siege lines are established.

September 15 Military: The allies stage an impressive review of 17,000 men at Williamsburg, Virginia. Present are the divisions of the marquis de Lafayette, Friedrich von Steuben, and Benjamin Lincoln. The French army has likewise assembled seven crack infantry regiments assisted by engineering, cavalry, and artillery units. General Charles Cornwallis at nearby Yorktown can scarcely muster half that total.

September 17 Military: General George Washington, accompanied by General Henry Knox and Louis Duportail, confers with Admiral François, comte de Grasse, on board his flagship Ville de Paris of 110 guns, then the world’s biggest warship. A detailed strategy is finalized whereby the French navy contributes several heavy artillery pieces from the fleet. Ultimately, seven redoubts and six batteries will be brought to bear on the British position. Washington’s return to the army is delayed by adverse winds until September 22.

September 23 Military: Trapped at Yorktown, General Charles Cornwallis contacts General Henry Clinton in New York and prepares him to “hear the worse” if reinforcements are not quickly forthcoming.

September 28 Military: The massed Franco-American army advances from Williamsburg, marches 12 miles, and formally invests British positions at Yorktown, Virginia. In response, General Charles Cornwallis abandons his outer works and retires to fortifications nearer the town. In doing so, he wishes to spare as many of his troops’ lives as possible until General Henry Clinton arrives to relieve him.

September 30 Military: The allies readily occupy the outer ring of General Charles Cornwallis’s defenses at Yorktown, Virginia, which accelerates their timetable for planting siege artillery and digging trenches. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton defends the British toehold at Gloucester, across the bay, from French forces under the comte de Choisy and Colonel Armand-Louis,

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duc de Lauzun. His men surprise and defeat an American reconnaissance party under Colonel Alexander Scammell, who is then mortally wounded while in British custody.

October 1 Military: American batteries planted in the captured British outerworks begin pounding General Charles Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown, Virginia.

October 3 Military: Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and Colonel Armand-Louis, duc de Lauzun, collide at Gloucester, Virginia, across the bay from Yorktown. During the melee, Tarleton seeks to engage Lauzun in a personal duel but is accidentally unhorsed. Lauzun then personally tries to capture the fallen leader but is prevented from doing so by several members of the British Legion. Tarleton escapes unharmed but the French capture his horse and drive the remaining British back to their own lines. A standoff also develops between a portion of the crack 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers and a select Virginia militia battalion under General George Weedon. Fighting eventually peters out, and the British withdraw in good order back to safety. The allies lose five killed and 27 wounded to a British tally of 13 dead and wounded.

October 6 Military: General George Washington symbolically breaks the ground for the first parallel trench at Yorktown, Virginia. Within days, 1,500 sappers and engineers are hard at work digging the first parallel, 2,000 yards long and only 600 yards from the British outer defenses. A quick raid by American partisans on the British depot at Monck’s Corner, South Carolina, nets 80 captives.

October 9 Military: Massed firepower from 100 French and American cannon begins relentlessly pounding British defenses at Yorktown, Virginia, burning the frigate HMS Charon and several transports anchored in the nearby York River.

October 10 Military: Major Lemuel Trescott and 100 men of the 2nd Continental Dragoons capture Fort Slongo (Treadwells Neck), Long Island, along with 21 Loyalist prisoners.

October 12 Military: The initial allied trench at Yorktown is completed and a second one commenced only 300 yards from British defenses. However, because the fatigue parties are under fire from British-held Redoubts Nos. 9 and 10, plans are drawn up to capture them.

October 14 Military: At 8 p.m., a combined assault under Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Guillaume de Deux-Ponts captures redoubts 9 and 10 in Yorktown’s defensive perimeter. Hamilton’s 400 picked troops go forward without flints and use bayonets only. They quickly scramble over the parapet, seizing Redoubt 10 in only 10 minutes. Deux-Ponts has a much rougher go at Redoubt 9, taking 30 minutes and sustaining more casualties. Both positions are subsequently incorporated into allied siege lines, allowing additional cannon to be mounted at even closer range.

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Chronology of American History American losses are nine killed and 31 wounded; the French lose 15 killed and 77 wounded. The British tally is 18 killed and 73 captured.

October 16 Military: General Charles Cornwallis, in a desperate attempt to buy time, launches a sortie by 350 men under Lieutenant Colonel Robert Abercrombie. The British initially overrun a French battery and spike the cannon but are driven back with eight killed and 12 captured. That evening, an attempt by Cornwallis to ferry his entire force across the York River to Gloucester is also foiled by bad weather.

October 17 Military: With no succor in sight, a drummerboy mounts the British parapet and beats for a parley. A British officer is then blindfolded and brought into the headquarters of General George Washington with a request to negotiate terms.

October 18 Military: A military commission under Colonel John Laurens and Viscount Louis-Marie Noailles meets with a British deputation about surrender terms. General George Washington insists on unconditional surrender and adamantly refuses to allow the British honors of war—the exact terms imposed on General Benjamin Lincoln at Charleston in May 1780. The British have no choice but to submit.

October 19 Military: General Charles O’Hara formally surrenders 8,081 officers and men of the Yorktown, Virginia, garrison. General Charles Cornwallis, ashamed by defeat and feigning illness, declines to be present. O’Hara then approaches a group of French officers and attempts to tender Cornwallis’s sword to General Jean, comte de Rochambeau but is curtly redirected to the American side. General George Washington also refuses to accept the sword from a subordinate, and insists that it be handed to his own second in command, General Benjamin Lincoln. The British bands then strike a tune appropriately titled “The World Turned Upside Down,” as the defenders dejectedly file out between the assembled allied armies and stack arms. British combat losses at Yorktown total 156 killed, 326 wounded, and 70 missing. The French lose 60 killed and 197 wounded; the America tally is 23 dead and 56 injured. All senior British officers are subsequently paroled and sent by ship to New York. This capitulation, an even bigger disaster for the British than General John Burgoyne’s at Saratoga in 1777, concludes major military operations. Yorktown also devastates British political will to continue the struggle.

October 20 Diplomacy: After weeks of delay, Robert R. Livingston is finally sworn in as secretary of foreign affairs. It has taken the Confederation Congress nearly 10 months to find a suitable compromise candidate for so sensitive a post.

October 21 Naval: The American privateer Indian captures the British vessel Venus, the first of seven seized on an Atlantic cruise.

October 22 Military: Philadelphia erupts into euphoric celebration as Colonel Tench Tilghman hurriedly arrives with news of the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia.

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October 24 Military: A 750-man Loyalist/Indian force under Major John Ross attacks and burns the settlement at Warrenbush, New York.

October 25 Military: A force of 750 Loyalists and Indians under Major John Ross, then ravaging the Mohawk Valley, is attacked by 400 New York militiamen under Colonel Marinus Willett at Johnstown Hall, New York. Wavering on Willett’s flanks allows the raiders to escape under cover of darkness, but they suffer 65 casualties to an American loss of 35. Willett then vigorously pursues the marauders.

October 27 Naval: A combined amphibious force of 7,000 men under Admiral Thomas Graves and General Henry Clinton makes its belated appearance off Chesapeake Bay, then promptly returns to New York after learning of General Charles Cornwallis’s surrender. However, General George Washington fails to convince either General Jean, comte de Rochambeau, or Admiral François, comte de Grasse, to accompany him back to New York for a proposed attack there.

October 30 Military: Colonel Marinus Willett, heading 400 New York militiamen and 60 Oneida warriors, overtakes a body of Loyalists and Indians at West Canada Creek (Jerseyfield), New York. The Americans then attack and rout the rear guard, killing the hated major Walter Butler and wounding seven more—like so many of his victims, Butler was scalped as he lay wounded. This proves the last hostile incursion in the region.

November 1 Medical: The Massachusetts Medical Society is founded by physician Cotton Tufts.

November 5 Business: The United States obtains a large loan from the Netherlands, although more money will be needed. Naval: The French fleet of Admiral Francois, comte de Grasse, whose presence at Yorktown proved decisive, departs Chesapeake Bay and makes for the West Indies.

November 6 Military: Colonel Elijah Clarke and his militia ambush a party of pro-British Indians in Wilkes County, Georgia, killing 40 and capturing 40.

November 7 Military: A body of 300 Loyalists under William Cunningham massacres a detachment of 30 American militiamen under Captain George Turner at Cloud’s Creek, South Carolina. During surrender negotiations, a young soldier shoots a Loyalist, and slaughter ensues.

November 10 Military: A division of men under General Arthur St. Clair marches down from Yorktown, Virginia, to reinforce General Nathanael Greene in North Carolina.

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November 18 Military: Sensing the change in military fortunes, British forces under Major James Craig evacuate Wilmington, North Carolina, removing all Loyalists who care to depart with them.

November 25 Politics: National dismay arises in England once Parliament learns of the surrender at Yorktown, Virginia. Prime Minister Lord Frederick North reputedly exclaims, “Oh, God, it is all over!”

November 27 Military: American militia under colonels Isaac Shelby and Hezekiah Marham capture Fairlawn, South Carolina, from the British.

December 1 Military: Major John Doyle, commanding 850 men at Fort Dorchester, South Carolina, abandons his post to advancing forces under General Nathanael Greene. Unknown to Doyle at that time, the Americans only number 400.

December 13 Politics: The recent victory at Yorktown, Virginia, induces the Confederation Congress to declare a national day of thanksgiving and prayer.

December 20 Politics: Disregarding appeals from Lords Frederick North and George Germain, King George III stubbornly refuses to end the war.

December 22 Military: His mission to America complete, the marquis de Lafayette embarks at Boston and sails back to France.

December 28–29 Military: Colonel Henry Lee is rebuffed in his attempt to storm Johns Island, South Carolina, then defended by British regulars under Major James H. Craig. Colonel John Laurens is supposed to attack with one column, but a second force under Major James Hamilton fails to cross the Wapoo Creek, and the operation miscarries.

December 31 Business: The Continental Congress charters the Bank of North America in Philadelphia, an organization founded with $400,000 in capitalization to supply the government with funding. They do so upon the urging of Robert Morris, secretary of finance. Naval: Despite a handful of inspiring ship-to-ship victories, the year ends with only two ships of the Continental Navy, frigates Alliance and Deane, still in commission. Politics: The Confederation Congress finally appoints General Benjamin Lincoln as the nation’s first secretary of war.

1782 Literature: John Trumbull finishes publishing M’Fingal, a lively debate on political matters in poetic form, and it is considered one of the finest American poems ever written.

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Morris, Robert (1734 –1806) Financier Robert Morris was born in Liverpool, England, on January 31, 1734, the son of a tobacco exporter. He eventually migrated to Philadelphia and worked capably in a counting house, rising to the level of partner at the age of 20. Highly successful, he modestly supported the goals and aspirations of the mounting Patriot faction in colonial politics, but stopped short of severing ties to England. However, when the Revolutionary War commenced in April 1775, Morris sided firmly with his country and won a seat in the Pennsylvania assembly. That November, he became a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, where he distinguished himself on a number of committees tasked with fiscal and monetary matters. Morris also performed capably at acquiring weapons and materiel for the Continental Army but weathered charges of war profiteering. On July 2, 1776, he absented himself from signing the Declaration of Independence, which he felt was premature, but subsequently signed it in August. However, he remained dogged by allegations of conflict of interest respecting his personal conduct and finally resigned his seat in 1779. Within a year, the nation’s economic condition was critical, and Congress appointed Morris to serve as the first superintendent of finance. He agreed to do so, but only upon the condition of receiving near-dictatorial powers. He then worked wonders reviving the moribund national credit, oversaw economic expansion and trade, and even issued notes on his own signature, backed by his per-

sonal fortune. He also obtained a $100,000 loan from French general Jean, comte de Rochambeau, to found the Bank of North America—the nation’s first credit institution. Morris then proved instrumental in arranging water transport for General George Washington’s army to Yorktown, Virginia, where he forced the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis and for all intents and purposes, won the war. Morris subsequently continued his efforts to strengthen national governance and finance under the Articles of Confederation. When that failed, he was a delegate at both the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to push for more centralized governance. Two years later President Washington tendered him the post of secretary of the treasury, but Morris declined and chose to serve as U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. As a Federalist, he championed the strong money policies of Alexander Hamilton and also brokered the deal whereby Virginia surrendered territory for a new national capital in exchange for assumption of state debts. However, he speculated heavily in land throughout the Old Northwest and lost heavily. By 1798, he accumulated debts approaching $3 million—an unheard-of sum for the day—and spent three years in debtor’s prison. Morris was released and died in poverty in Philadelphia on May 8, 1806, largely forgotten. But during a critical phase of the American Revolution, his financial wizardly rescued the young nation from bankruptcy until victory was assured.

Medical: Harvard College opens its medical school, signaling that the United States is lessening its dependence for European institutions for doctors and physicians. Religion: Robert Aitken of Philadelphia publishes the first English-language Bible in America. He had to wait until the Revolutionary War voided existing British copyright laws.

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Chronology of American History Slavery: The Rhode Island General Assembly frees Quaco Honeyman from bondage in recognition of his services as a spy during the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson convinces the Virginia assembly to legalize manumission of African-American slaves by private citizens.

January 1 Societal: Loyalists begin evacuating the United States in large numbers and make for new homes in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

January 5 Military: British forces begin evacuating Wilmington, North Carolina, and American forces converge on it from the interior.

January 7 Business: The National Bank opens in Philadelphia to help bolster a seriously flagging national economy and help mitigate a monetary crisis.

January 12 Military: The army of General Anthony Wayne, now reinforced by General Arthur St. Clair, crosses the Savannah River and commences marching across Georgia.

January 23 Military: General Anthony Wayne’s army, having crossed the Savannah River into Georgia, is attacked in camp by several hundred Creek warriors under Chief Guristersigo. The Indians are badly repulsed with 18 killed, and Wayne personally slays the chief in combat.

February 11 Politics: A dispirited Sir George Germain tenders his resignation as English secretary of state, although King George III vows to continue the fight for his colonies.

February 25 Military: General Francis Marion of “Swamp Fox” lore, attacks a British force under Colonel Benjamin Thompson at Wambaw Creek Bridge, South Carolina but is repulsed with a loss of 32 men.

February 27 Politics: In another show of resignation, the British House of Commons, stunned by the defeat at Yorktown, implores King George III to accept peace. America, in this singular instance, is referred to as the “former colonies.”

March 4 Military: A raid conducted by Lieutenant Colonel William Hull at Morrisania, New York, nets 52 Loyalist prisoners and suffers 25 casualties. Politics: The House of Commons passes a resolution denouncing any individual seeking to prolong hostilities with America as the enemy of king and country.

March 5 Politics: In London, a dejected House of Lords empowers King George III to conduct peace negotiations with its “former colonies.”

March 7–8 Military: Colonel David Williamson leads a party of vengeful frontier militia who corral and massacre 96 peaceful Delaware Indians residing at the mission

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of Gnadenhutten, Ohio, with blunt instruments. On the following day, additional Moravian Indians are rounded up and similarly dealt with. The Pennsylvania assembly subsequently votes to condemn the act as “disgraceful to Humanity.”

March 19 Military: Colonel Benjamin Logan dispatches 40 horsemen under Captain James Estill from Estill’s Station (Kentucky) in pursuit of Wyandot raiders who have savaged the settlement of Strode’s Station.

March 20 Military: A party of 25 Kentucky cavalry under Captain James Estill surprises a band of Wyandot warriors at Little Mountain, Kentucky. Their initial volley cuts down a chief and several warriors, then a bitterly contested firefight ensues with additional losses to either side. The surviving seven militiamen are then outflanked and withdraw—Estill is among the dead. Monk, an African-American slave who fought with distinction and saved several white comrades, is manumitted for his bravery. Politics: In a major development, Lord Frederick North resigns as prime minister rather than lose a vote of no confidence. Two days later, he is replaced by Charles Watson-Wentworth, marquis of Rockingham, who forms a new government and initiates direct peace negotiations in Paris.

March 24 Naval: A British naval/Loyalist force of 120 men attacks the privateering center at Tom’s River, New Jersey, driving off the local militia company and burning several homes. American losses are seven dead, four injured, and 13 captured to two British killed and two wounded.

March 25 Religion: Dr. Samuel Seabury is elected the first Anglican bishop of the United States at Woodbury, Connecticut, and he is sent to England for his consecration.

April Education: Washington College, an Episcopal institution, is chartered in Chestertown, Maryland.

April 1 Military: General George Washington relocates his military headquarters to Newburgh, New York while his officers and men, their pay several months in arrears, start grumbling about Congressional neglect. Politics: Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, marquis of Rockingham, reappoints General Sir Guy Carleton as governor general of Canada. He is then carefully instructed to avoid offensive operations where possible, prepare to evacuate American territory, and make accommodations for all Loyalists wishing to relocate.

April 8 Naval: Captain Joshua Barney of the sloop Hyder Ally is chased by the brig HMS General Monk and the privateer Fair American into the restricted waters of Delaware Bay. Badly outgunned, Barney quietly orders his helmsman to do the opposite of whatever commands he yells. The British vessel, listening intently,

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Chronology of American History incorrectly shadows his moves until Hyder Ally suddenly crosses their bows, delivering a fatal broadside. The General Monk then surrenders with a loss of 53 men killed and wounded; the victorious Barney loses 15.

April 12 Diplomacy: Peace negotiations between Benjamin Franklin and British representative Richard Oswald begin in Paris. Franklin begins judiciously and doggedly pursuing formal recognition of independence, fishing rights off Newfoundland, and free navigation of the Mississippi River. Military: Captain Joshua Huddy, a New Jersey militia officer captured in March, is hanged by Loyalists for the death of Philip White. General George Washington orders retaliation by selecting a captive British officer, Captain Charles Asgill, to hang as well.

April 19 Diplomacy: John Adams secures diplomatic recognition of the United States from the Netherlands and immediately begins negotiating for another large loan.

April 24 Military: American forces under Captain Ferdinand O’Neal wage a fierce and unsuccessful skirmish with British troops at Dorchester, South Carolina, losing nine men as captives.

May 9 Military: General Guy Carleton arrives at New York and replaces General Henry Clinton as British commander in chief in North America. He then begins orchestrating a complete British withdrawal.

May 22 Military: At Newburgh, New York, General George Washington angrily dismisses a suggestion from Colonel Lewis Nicola that he install himself as king of the newly independent nation. “Banish these thoughts from your mind,” the general insists, “and never communicate as from yourself, or anyone else, a sentiment of the like nature.” Taken aback by the stern rebuke, Nicola proves profusely contrite and writes three letters of apology.

May 25 Military: A party of 480 militia under Colonel William Crawford departs Mingo Town, Pennsylvania, on a raid through the Sandusky region of Ohio.

June 4 –6 Military: A detachment of 480 Pennsylvania militiamen under Colonel William Crawford conducts an ill-fated campaign against Indians on the upper Ohio River Valley. En route they are ambushed at Sandusky by a mixed Indian/Loyalist force under Captain William Caldwell. These manage to scrape together 100 men from Butler’s Rangers, some artillery, and large numbers of Great Lakes Indians and Shawnee under noted scout Simon Girty, whose arrival tips the balance. The fighting lasts two days before the Americans are finally surrounded and defeated. A detachment under Major David Hamilton manages to cut through the encirclement and escape. The Americans nonetheless lose eight killed and 27 wounded outright and several prisoners—including Crawford—are slowly tortured to death over a fire. Loyalist and Indian losses are five killed and 11 wounded.

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June 7 Business: The Netherlands formally approves a $1 million loan to the new United States at the behest of minister John Adams.

June 13 Military: Survivors of the recent expedition to Sandusky arrive back at Mingo Town, Pennsylvania, under Colonel David Williamson. He has survived one of the bloodiest frontier setbacks the Americans will suffer during this war.

June 23 Diplomacy: John Jay arrives in Paris from Madrid to assist in peace negotiations. From the onset he perceived that French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, is maneuvering to place French and Spanish priorities head of treaty obligations with America. He alerts Benjamin Franklin accordingly.

June 24 Military: Former captive Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hamilton is appointed lieutenant governor of Canada.

July 1 Diplomacy: William Petty, earl of Shelburne, succeeds Charles WatsonWentworth as prime minister following the latter’s sudden death. He intends to continue negotiations with America but wishes to extract more from the process than his predecessor.

July 11 Military: British forces commanded by former governor James Wright evacuate 4,000 Loyalists and 5,000 former African-American slaves from Savannah, Georgia, concluding two and a half years of occupation.

July 13 Military: Mohawks under Chief Joseph Brant raid the village of Hannastown, Pennsylvania, but fail to carry the stockade or its defenders.

July 20 Politics: The Confederation Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States, which has been under development since July 1776.

July 29 Military: The mother of captured British officer Captain Charles Asgill, who is scheduled to be executed for the death of an American prisoner in April, visits Paris and pleads with French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, for help is sparing his life. Vergennes, visibly moved, informs King Louis XVI and the queen, who authorize him to appeal to General George Washington for clemency. The Confederation Congress subsequently votes for Asgill’s release.

August 7 Military: At Newburgh, New York, General George Washington institutes the Purple Heart, or Badge of Merit, for distinguished military service to the country. Three soldiers are the initial recipients.

August 8 Naval: A small British garrison at Fort Prince of Wales, Hudson Bay, surrenders to a squadron of three French warships.

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August 14 –17 Military: A mixed Loyalist/Indian raiding party of 340 men under Simon Girty and Captain William Caldwell besieges Bryan’s Station, Kentucky, but is repulsed. A relief column is then roughly handled by the Indians, but 17 troopers manage to reach the defenders inside the fort. The Americans suffer four killed and three wounded. Girty and Caldwell then call off their attack with a loss of five Indians slain and many more wounded and fall back to the ruins of Ruddle’s Station, ransacked the previous year. While withdrawing they also deliberately mark their trail, as if inviting the Americans to follow.

August 18 Military: An American relief column of 182 men under Colonel Hugh McGary departs Bryan’s Station and pursues Simon Girty’s raiding party across the Licking River despite signs of impending ambush. Daniel Boone, the noted scout, is familiar with the area and advises McGary against crossing directly. Instead he proposes dividing the force and sending half to ford the river several miles downstream and catch the raiders from behind. He also implores his commander to await reinforcements under Colonel Benjamin Logan. But McGary, having been accused of cowardice by some for delaying, resolves to attack.

August 19 Military: Colonel Hugh McGary divides his force of 182 mounted Kentuckians into three columns and surges across the Lower Blue Licks. Assembling on the opposite bank, they begin ascending the high ground when Simon Girty’s Indians suddenly rise from cover, fire a devastating volley, then charge. McGary’s right and center quickly collapse, while his leftmost column under Daniel Boone struggles to hold its ground. The surviving Kentuckians then flee across the river in panic, leaving the Indians to scalp and mutilate their dead and wounded. The Americans thus lose 77 men in 15 minutes, while a further seven are taken alive and slowly burned to death. Among the slain is Boone’s youngest son, Israel Boone. Girty reports seven killed and 10 wounded.

August 24 Military: Colonel Benjamin Logan and 470 mounted Kentuckians arrive at the Blue Licks battlefield and spend several hours interring the dead. Colonel Daniel Boone recovers his son’s remains and conveys them back to Boone’s Station for burial.

August 27 Military: General Mordecai Gist leads American light troops into action at Combahee Ferry, South Carolina, being roughly handled by larger numbers of British forces. The Americans sustain a loss of 21 men, including Colonel John Laurens, son of politician Henry Laurens, among the dead. The foragers then return to Charleston unimpeded.

September 2 Naval: In Boston, the Americans turn over the new 74-gun ship of the line America to France as compensation of a similar vessel, the Magnifique, which previously sank in the harbor.

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September 8 Religion: Rationalist James Freeman becomes speaker at King’s Chapel in Boston, marking its gradual emergence as the first Unitarian congregation in the United States.

September 9 Diplomacy: In Paris, John Jay discerns that French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, has dispatched his secretary to London to begin secret negotiations with Great Britain behind America’s back. Benjamin Franklin, once alerted to the ploy, now insists that the British deal with the United States as a single entity, not 13 disparate states.

September 10 Military: General Andrew Pickens leads 316 South Carolina militiamen on a second foray against the Cherokee. He then enters Georgia and is joined by additional militia under Colonel Elijah Clarke.

September 13 Military: Fort Henry, (West) Virginia, is unsuccessfully besieged for three days by 300 Indians and Loyalists. The attackers then try to improvise a cannon out of a hollow log, but it explodes harmlessly. After trying to scale the walls at night and being rebuffed, the attackers draw off.

September 19 Diplomacy: Prime Minister William Petty, Lord Shelburne, acknowledging a fait accompli, authorizes his agents in Paris to negotiate with the United States as a sovereign entity and not a collection of 13 states.

September 20 Military: American militia under Colonel John Sevier defeats the Cherokee of Dragging Canoe at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. This action finally convinces the Indians to seek peace.

September 24 –28 Naval: Captain John Barry and the 32-gun frigate Alliance capture four heavily laden British merchant ships bound for Jamaica.

September 27 Diplomacy: American and British representatives in Paris begin formal peace negotiations.

September 30 Naval: In one of the final actions of the war, six British barges attack the Maryland barge Protector off Tangier Sound, Chesapeake Bay, capturing it and 80 prisoners, along with Commodore Hezekiah Whaley.

October Education: Liberty Hall Academy is founded in Lexington, Virginia, as a Presbyterian institution. In 1865, it is renamed Washington and Lee University.

October 1 Diplomacy: In Paris, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay indicate to their British counterparts their willingness to negotiate and ignore prior pledges to France—in exchange for a better deal.

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October 5 Diplomacy: British and American negotiators in Paris conclude a preliminary draft of peace terms that defines national boundaries, evacuates British forces, grants fishing rights off Newfoundland, and ensures freedom of navigation along the Mississippi River.

October 8 Diplomacy: John Adams finalizes a treaty of friendship and commerce with the Netherlands; he then departs for Paris.

October 15 Education: Washington College is chartered at Chestertown, Maryland, becoming that state’s first institution of higher knowledge.

October 26 Diplomacy: John Adams arrives in Paris to help finalize peace negotiations with Great Britain.

November 1 Diplomacy: American peace commissioners in Paris, ignoring instructions from Congress, engage their British counterparts—without consulting the French per conditions of the their alliance.

November 4 Military: American and British forces wage a final skirmish near Johns Island, South Carolina, which causes the death of Captain William Wilmot, 2nd Maryland Continentals, and four soldiers. Wilmot is the last army officer to fall in this war.

November 5 Diplomacy: Henry Laurens, released from confinement in the Tower of London, joins the American peace delegation then in Paris.

November 10 Military: General George Rogers Clark leads 1,500 mounted riflemen on a punitive expedition against Shawnee villages around present-day Piqua, Ohio, killing 10 Indians and wounding 10. This is most likely the last combat action of the Revolutionary War.

November 30 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Paris is concluded with British negotiators and signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. The document as written completely ignores Spanish protests and claims of lands east of the Mississippi River and also fails to inform France of the proceedings—a direct violation of the 1778 French alliance. However, the treaty is not technically in effect until ongoing conflicts with France and Spain are resolved, and the Confederation Congress will not actually ratify the document until January 14, 1784.

December 5 Arts: John Singleton Copley paints a portrait of Elkanah Watson in London, depicting the first-known artistic rendition of the Stars and Stripes flag on a ship in the harbor. General: Martin Van Buren, a future president, is born in Kinderhook, New York.

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December 14 Military: British general Alexander Leslie evacuates Charleston, South Carolina, taking along 3,800 Loyalists and 5,000 former African-American slaves. The city is then promptly occupied by American troops under General Nathanael Greene.

December 15 Diplomacy: French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, remonstrates against being left out of peace negotiations with Great Britain but a crisis is averted by deft consultations with Benjamin Franklin. To underscore his mastery of statecraft, Franklin also manages to secure a new loan of 6 million livres from the French government.

December 20 Naval: The American 40-gun frigate South Carolina under Captain John Joyner surrenders to the 54-gun HMS Diomede of Captain Thomas L. Frederick and the 40-gun HMS Quebec off the Delaware capes. American losses are six killed and wounded along with 450 prisoners.

December 24 Naval: General Jean-Baptiste, comte de Rochambeau, embarks his army at Boston and sails away for the West Indies. Under his sound leadership, and open willingness to cooperate with General George Washington, the United States was enabled to win its independence.

December 30 Politics: A congressionally appointed court awards possession of the Wyoming Valley to Pennsylvania.

1783 Education: Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is founded by the Presbyterians. Publishing: In Goshen, New York, 25-year-old Noah Webster publishes The American Spelling Book, the first volume of his larger A Grammatical Institute of the English Language. Rapidly, this becomes a standard instructional primer for American orthography and uniform pronunciations. Webster subsequently orchestrates a national movement toward a distinctly American way of spelling English words. Slavery: A Massachusetts court, having heard the appeal of John Cuffe and other free blacks who paid taxes throughout the Revolutionary War, rules that they must receive the right to vote within the state. In a final pamphlet before his death, Philadelphia Quaker Anthony Benezet upbraids his fellow Americans for fighting and winning the Revolutionary War for such lofty principles as liberty—yet failing to extend those same advantages to African-American slaves. The Maryland legislature outlaws all participation in the African slave trade but remains silent on the issue of slavery. John C. Derham purchases his freedom from Dr. Robert Dow in Louisiana and is allowed to open up his own medical practice, becoming the first African American so employed. He had previously served as a medical intern under Drs.

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Chronology of American History John Kearsley and George West, becoming a distinguished physician in his own right. By year’s end, all states north of Maryland have enacted laws banning the importation of Africans for use as slaves.

January 6 Military: General Alexander McDougall, Colonel John Brooks, and Colonel Matthias Ogden petition the Confederation Congress for back pay and other amenities. There is a growing sense among military officers that the Congress cannot discharge its obligations to the army—or the nation.

February 3 Diplomacy: The government of Spain extends belated diplomatic recognition to the United States.

February 4 Diplomacy: A sullen King George III officially declares an end to hostilities with America, something he had been reluctant to do for nearly two years.

February 15 Diplomacy: The United States acquires diplomatic recognition from Portugal.

March 8 Business: Secretary of Finance Robert Morris, faced with a huge national debt and uncooperative state governments, threatens to raise taxes and impose duties using powers implied under the Articles of Confederation.

March 10 Military: The Newburgh Conspiracy unfolds as Major John Armstrong anonymously circulates letters complaining about the Confederation Congress’s failure to honor its promises to the army. His missive demands direct action and implores that all officers convene to discuss the problem on the following day. Naval: Captain John Barry and his 36-gun frigate Alliance have the honor of fighting the last American naval action of the war. En route from France and accompanying the French frigate Duc de Lauzun under Captain John Green, they are set upon by the British frigates HMS Alarm, 32 guns, and Sybil, 28 guns, and the 18-gun sloop Tobago off Florida. Barry coolly closes with the Sybil under Captain James Vashon and withholds firing until within pistol shot. He then unlooses a devastating broadside that cripples the British ship. Sybil is dismasted and helpless but Barry moves off to cover the Duc de Lauzun, then transporting half a million dollars in specie. The Americans lose one killed and nine wounded; British losses are unknown but presumed heavier.

March 11 Military: General George Washington, alarmed by implied threats against the Congress as suggested by the Newburgh Conspiracy, forbids a gathering of officers this day and, instead, summons his men for a general meeting on the 15th.

March 15 Military: At Newburgh, New York, General George Washington harangues his officers about duty and honor, strongly denouncing any threats by the military against lawful authority. He personally promises that all issues will be addressed by that body at the appropriate time. Swayed by his example, the officers vote

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to disavow their actions at Newburgh and reaffirm their loyalty to the American government.

March 24 Naval: The Confederation Congress recalls all armed vessels under the American flag.

April 11 Diplomacy: The Confederation Congress officially declares an end to hostilities with Great Britain.

April 15 Diplomacy: A provisional draft of the Treaty of Paris is ratified by the Confederation Congress, eight years having elapsed since the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain. Congress also orders all naval prisoners released.

April 17 Military: A party of 100 Loyalists and 50 Indians under Captain James Colbert attacks Fort Carlos, Arkansas, seizing 11 captives, but is unable to evict the remaining 40-man garrison under Captain Raymondo Du Breuil.

April 18 Diplomacy: The Confederation Congress suggest paying off the national debt through a revenue system, but the recommendation is defeated by the New York delegation.

April 24 Military: Captain James Colbert abandons the siege of Fort Carlos, Arkansas, and releases his prisoners after hearing of the peace treaty.

April 26 Societal: The last remaining 7,000 Loyalists evacuate New York. To date, more than 100,000 have departed for England or Canada since 1775 and the majority of their properties have been confiscated. The British government subsequently institutes a commission to pay claims damages, and 3.3 million pounds is ultimately dispensed.

May 13 Politics: The Society of the Cincinnati, an influential veteran’s group consisting of conservative- minded officers, is founded at Newburgh, New York. Over 2,000 officers join and George Washington is elected the first president-general.

May 26 Military: The bulk of the Continental Army demobilizes, save for a small formation retained to observe the British evacuation of New York. The soldiers return home without pay but are granted a three-months’s equivalent in promissary notes to be redeemed at a later date.

May 30 Publishing: Benjamin Towne’s Pennsylvania Evening Post begins in Philadelphia as the nation’s first daily newspaper.

June 4 Diplomacy: Robert R. Livingston resigns as secretary of foreign affairs.

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June 13 Military: Disgruntled members of a Pennsylvania regiment protest their lack of pay and threaten to march on Philadelphia to underscore their discontent. Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln appeals to the mob for calm but is ignored.

June 14 Military: Faced with the prospect of confronting angry Pennsylvania troops in Philadelphia, the Confederation Congress votes to adjourn and flees to Princeton, New Jersey. General George Washington, meanwhile, dispatches troops from Newburgh, New York, in their support.

June 15 Politics: The Confederation Congress, beset by ranks of angry soldiers, is allowed to depart Philadelphia by passing through their serried ranks.

June 17 Politics: The Confederation Congress votes to reconvene at Princeton, New Jersey, while mutinous soldiers in Philadelphia disband without further protest.

July 2 Business: The British government closes West Indian ports to American trade unless it is carried in British bottoms.

July 8 Slavery: Slavery is abolished in Massachusetts through the landmark decision of Commonwealth v. Jenninson. The state Supreme Court under Justice William Cushing decided to free the slave Quock Walker, based upon the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, which considered all men “born free and equal.”

July 28 Diplomacy: Francis Dana is recalled from St. Petersburg as American agent to Russia; he has spent two fruitless years attempting to secure diplomatic recognition from Czarina Catherine II but is perpetually handicapped by his inability to speak either French or Russian.

September 3 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Paris is formally concluded between the United States and Great Britain in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War after eight years of strife. America now acquires its independence and controls a huge swath of land east of the Mississippi River up to the Great Lakes Region. The British subsequently sign separate treaties with France and Spain.

September 22 Religion: Lemuel Haynes, the first African-American Congregational minister, is ordained at Litchfield, Connecticut, where he preaches to largely white parishes.

October 7 Slavery: The Virginia legislature passes a law manumitting all African-American slaves who served in Continental Army regiments throughout the Revolutionary War.

October 15 Politics: The Confederation Congress approves an Indian policy for dealing with the Northwest Territory, shifts the national boundary westward, and instructs agents to deal with the tribes individually in order to divide them.

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October 18 Military: General George Washington issues orders to departing soldiers of the Continental Army at Rocky Hill, New Jersey, bidding them an affectionate farewell. He is especially keen to solicit their support for the federal government, whatever form it ultimately assumes.

November 2 Military: General George Washington issues his final orders to the remaining soldiers of the Continental Army, exhorting them to “carry with them into civil society the most conciliating dispositions; and that they should prove themselves not less virtuous and useful as citizens, than they have been persevering and victorious as soldiers.”

November 3 Military: The Continental Army is disbanded by Congressional fiat.

November 11 Politics: Annapolis, Maryland, becomes the new temporary capital of the United States until August 1784.

November 25 Military: The last remaining British soldiers embark on transports in New York and are immediately replaced by American forces under General George Washington. This concludes a seven-year hostile occupation and the sense of relief is immediate.

November 26 Politics: The Confederation Congress convenes its new session at Annapolis, Maryland, and votes to alternate residences with Trenton, New Jersey, until a new capital is constructed.

December 4 Military: British forces are withdrawn from Staten Island, New York. George Washington subsequently takes leave of his officers in a tearful ceremony at the Fraunces Tavern.

December 23 Military: General George Washington, having led his country to victory and independence, and pursuant to the wishes of Congress, resigns as commander in chief at Annapolis, Maryland, and tenders his sword to President Thomas Mifflin. Despite many offers to do so, Washington is the man who will not be king.

1784 Business: A group of Scottish, English, and American merchants meets in Montreal to found the North West Company, a direct competitor to the Hudson’s Bay Company for Native American trade and furs. The new United States is beset by a crippling economic depression, further worsened by a wholesale dumping of

George Washington. Painting by Charles Willson Peale (West Point Museum Collections, United States Military Academy)

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Chronology of American History English products on the American market. The situation is worsened by the inability of Congress to establish firm economic policies acceptable to all 13 state governments. The first shipment of American cotton is unloaded on British docks. General: Chief Joseph Brant of the Mohawks begins evacuating traditional lands in upstate New York in favor of a tract of land set aside by the English government at Grand River (Brantford, Ontario), Canada. Music: The spirit of the times, Connecticut poet Joel Barlow was chosen to “Americanize” the religious hymns of English composer Dr. Isaac Watts. These are among the most popular forms of religious music in the former colonies. Politics: A New Haven town meeting invites former Loyalist sympathizers back to their businesses and positions held prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Publishing: Elizabeth Hunter Holt succeeds her late husband as New York State’s official printer and also goes on to edit and publish the Independent Gazette for a year before turning it over to her daughter and son-in-law. Hannah Adams becomes the first professional woman writer in the United States by publishing An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects, which is a dictionary of religious precepts. Slavery: Legislatures in Connecticut and Rhode Island pass laws abolishing slavery within their borders. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society, dedicated to the eradication of slavery, is founded in Philadelphia. Moreover, the Society of Friends instructs all Quakers owning slaves to immediately manumit them. In Baltimore, a meeting of the Methodist annual conference produces proposals calling on all Methodists holding slaves to either release them immediately or face excommunication. Societal: Irish veterans of the Revolutionary War bind together and found the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York.

January 1 Military: The Continental Army is largely disbanded saved for Jackson’s Regiment, 700 men strong, which is divided between garrisons at West Point, New York, and Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania.

January 14 Diplomacy: The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris at Annapolis, Maryland, formally concluding hostilities with Great Britain; the ratification committee is chaired by Thomas Jefferson. The agreement requires that the territories of Kentucky and Illinois fall under American dominion, and also stipulates that British garrisons throughout the Great Lakes region are to be evacuated. In return, the United States pledges to honor Loyalist land claims and compensate all prewar commercial debts.

January 26 General: Benjamin Franklin, incensed that government officials toy with the idea of adopting the bald eagle as the national symbol, demurs. He castigates the bird for possessing “bad moral character” (it constantly hijacks food from smaller birds) and suggests the turkey instead. Business: The Bank of Massachusetts is chartered in Boston.

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February 20 Business: The state of Georgia authorizes the Tennessee Company to make land grants to settlers in the Tennessee River Valley.

February 22 Business: The ship Empress of China, captained by John Greene and partly underwritten by Robert Morris, sailed from New York en route to Canton, China, via Cape Horn. His will be the first American vessel berthed in the “Middle Kingdom.”

March General: John Jacob Astor, a poor German immigrant and future business giant, arrives in Baltimore with seven flutes.

March 1 Politics: In Congress, a committee chaired by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia proposes a “Report of Government for the Western Territory,” a blueprint for governing territories between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and the Great Lakes until all are eligible for statehood. This is the beginning of the Northwest Territory once Virginia also offers to cede its western holdings to the government. Jefferson’s motion to ban slavery altogether after 1800 is also defeated by the narrow margin of seven to six.

March 2 Societal: Prince Hall, former slave and now a master leather worker in Boston, Massachusetts, petitions the Grand Lodge of England to charter an African Mason’s lodge.

March 15 Business: The Bank of New York is chartered.

March 17 Business: The Massachusetts House of Representatives hangs a wooden codfish from its ceiling, acknowledging its significance to the state economy.

April 1 Arts: The Southwark Theater, Philadelphia reopens under the direction of Lewis Hallam.

April 8 Diplomacy: The British government violates the Treaty of Paris by specifically ordering Governor General Sir Frederick Haldimand of Canada not to withdraw garrisons from land delegated to the United States until conditions requiring payment of prewar debts and compensation for Loyalists are met. This decision is also taken in response to the pleas of Canadian fur traders who wished to sustain their profitable venture as long as possible. Over the decade these outposts will serve as centers of Indian resistance to American expansion in the Old Northwest.

April 15 Military: Major General von Steuben, the army inspector general, tenders his resignation and Congress rewards him with an elaborate ceremonial sword for his services.

April 23 Politics: Congress passes a Land Ordinance authored by Thomas Jefferson to allow western territories to be administered and allowed to join the union as

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Chronology of American History states and equal partners. Basically, a territory became eligible for statehood once its population equaled that of the smallest state, Rhode Island. One possible snag was Jefferson’s notion that the land should be given free to all settlers, which served as a point of contention with land speculators who wanted it sold in large swaths for eventual subdivision by investors. Nonetheless, this document plan serves as a template for the Northwest Ordnance in 1787.

April 30 Business: Congressional delegates from Maryland and Virginia, eager to stabilize and invigorate the moribund American economy, request the right to pass a navigation act. Under the Articles of Confederation, unanimous approval from all 13 states is necessary; the motion fails when legislators in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania fail to comply.

May Publishing: The Gentleman and Ladies Town and Country Magazine is founded in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the first periodical in the colonies directed at a female readership, but it folds after eight issues.

May 7 Business: Congress passes new guidelines for commercial treaties with other nations based on the “Plan of 1776” and existing agreements with France, Holland, and Sweden. A committee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, all in Europe, was also formed to study the question of a treaty with the Barbary powers, preying upon American shipping. Diplomacy: Congress appoints John Jay, then in Europe, to succeed Robert R. Livingston as American secretary of Foreign Affairs.

May 28 Business: Robert Morris, superintendent of finance, proposes his replacement by a Treasury Board of three commissioners. The individuals nominated are Samuel Osgood, Walter Livingston, and Arthur Lee.

June 1 Diplomacy: Creek chief Alexander McGillivray negotiates the Treaty of Pensacola, whereby Spain pledges to protect Indian holdings in Spanish Florida. Provisions also stipulate that the tribes will be provided with sufficient guns and powder necessary to defend themselves. Through this expedient McGillivray determines to keep the newly victorious United States from expanding onto tribal land.

June 2 Politics: New Hampshire adopts a new constitution. North Carolina offers all its western possessions to the government, an act which induces settlers of that region to found the “state” of Franklin under the leadership of John Sevier. Military: The military establishment is reduced again by disbanding Jackson’s regiment of Continentals to a command of 80 men. Captain John Dougherty (now the army’s senior officer) commands the largest contingent of 55 soldiers at West Point while the remaining 25 are garrisoned at Fort Pitt. This is achieved regardless of continuing Indian raids along the frontier and the presence of British forces at Detroit and elsewhere. After second thoughts, Congress establishes

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the 1st U.S. Regiment at a strength of 700 men divided into eight infantry and two artillery companies, both of which enlist for a period of 12 months. Once recruited from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the unit will be scattered across the western frontier in company-sized detachments under the overall command of Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar.

June 9 Religion: John Carroll of Maryland is appointed by the pope to serves as “Superior of the Missions” for helping to organize the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.

June 15 Business: The Light Horse, owned by Elias Derby, departs Salem, Massachusetts, for St. Petersburg, Russia; it is the first ship displaying an American flag in the Baltic Sea.

June 20 Military: General Henry Knox, the nation’s most accomplished artillerist, resigns from active duty and returns to Boston.

June 24 Arts: The Virginia assembly commissions a marble statue of George Washington and requests Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin to suggest a sculptor. Jean Antonine Pelissier is selected. Aviation: Thirteen-year-old Edward Warren of Baltimore, Maryland, becomes the first American to ride aloft in a balloon.

June 26 Diplomacy: The government of Spain, in a direct violation of the Treaty of Paris, forbids the export of American goods to world markets from their port of New Orleans.

July 31 Diplomacy: Thomas Jefferson arrives in Paris to serve with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and secure favorable commercial treaties.

August 12 Military: Distinguished wartime veteran Josiah Harmar gains appointment as lieutenant colonel-commandant of the 1st U.S. Regiment and also assumes the title “Commander of the army.” He then relocates to Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, to join his regiment. His principal activity that winter is to rebuild and regarrison Fort McIntosh on the Ohio River.

August 23 Politics: Settlers in the western reaches of North Carolina gather at Jonesboro under John Sevier to discuss the possibility of organizing a new state tentatively called Franklin.

August 24 Politics: Congress refuses to recognize the state of Franklin, formed from several Tennessee counties that had seceded from North Carolina under John Sevier.

August 30 Business: Captain John Greene drops anchor in Canton, China, Empress of China being the first American ship to do so. He later returns home via Cape

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Chronology of American History Horn with a cargo of silk and spices, enticing other vessels to make the voyage and nets $37,000 in profit—an enormous sum for those days. Diplomacy: France announces limits on American trade with its possessions in the West Indies. Henceforth only ships of 60 tons or less are permitted to import goods, provided they did not compete with similar French products.

September 1 Business: George Washington embarks on a tour of western territories to gauge their potential for future settlement and development.

September 15 Politics: Pennsylvania’s Council of Censors forces the legislature to restore Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley to their holdings, ending a spate of violence raging there since 1783.

September 21 Diplomacy: John Jay formally assumes his responsibilities as secretary of foreign affairs. Journalism: In Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser is founded as the nation’s first successful daily newspaper. Over the next 14 years, it also functions as the nation’s most important business paper.

September 22 General: Russian settlers found colonies at Kodiak Island, Three Saints Bay, Alaska.

September 29 Societal: The English Grand Lodge grants Prince Hall’s request to found an African Masonic lodge in Boston, Massachusetts, although the document does not arrive until 1787.

October 5 Religion: In New York City, Dr. John Henry Livingston is appointed by the Dutch Reformed Church Synod to be professor of theology. This helps establish the first theological Seminary in the United States, which is built in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

October 22

Chief Justice John Jay (Library of Congress)

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Diplomacy: Americans and representatives of the Six Nations Iroquois meet at Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York) to negotiate a peace treaty. This event also marks a pronounced shift in attitudes towards the once-powerful confederation for, whereas the English always negotiated with them as equals, the Americans determined to treat them as a conquered people. Of the Six Nations only the Oneida and Tuscarora, who sided with the United States, were spared from the inevitable land concessions. The ensuing Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix required the four tribes who sided with Great Britain to relinquish claims to all lands west of the Ohio River. The

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sale comes as somewhat of a surprise to Shawnee and Delaware living there, who maintained that the Six Nations had no business selling their land in the first place. Because of this treaty, a loose tribal confederation gradually begins coalescing under Miami Chief Little Turtle to keep settlers out of the Ohio River Valley. However, tribesmen already living there, intact, militarily strong, and untouched by the Revolutionary War, evince no intention of surrendering their domain.

November Education: The Episcopalian Church helps charter St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Politics: The North Carolina assembly, upon further reflection, repeals its cession law and tries to regain control of western lands from the runaway “state” of Franklin.

November 1 Business: Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris resigns, leaving the nation with a surplus of only $21,000. The new nation is not only broke after doling out the army’s demobilization pay, Congress also lacks any authority to levy taxes and remains dependent upon the states for contributions to the national treasury. Diplomacy: Georgia concludes the Treaty of Augusta with the Creek Indians, enlarging its boundaries westward from the Tugaloo to the Oconee River. Dissatisfaction with this arrangement among Indians leads to the selection of half breed Alexander McGillivray as head chief or “king.” He proves to be a staunch adversary of American encroachment and maintains his secret alliance with Spain in Florida. Politics: The Confederation Congress convenes in Trenton, New Jersey, and designates commissioners tasked with planning a federal district on the Delaware River.

November 11 Diplomacy: A committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams reports to Congress that while a treaty with the Barbary states is desirable, it will most likely entail dispersing a large bribe—or “tribute”—and that Congress should establish limits on what it is willing to pay.

November 18 Religion: Samuel Seabury, the first American Protestant bishop, is consecrated as head of Scotland’s Protestant Episcopal Church. This was done by a gathering of Scottish bishops in Aberdeen, apparently against the wishes of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

November 24 General: Zachary Taylor, a future president, is born in Orange County Court House, Virginia.

December 5 General: Phillis Wheatley, the earliest-known African-American poetess, dies in abject poverty at Boston.

December 10 Politics: Congress votes to relocate the seat of governance from Trenton, New Jersey, to New York City until a new Federal district can be organized.

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McGillivray, Alexander (ca. 1759–1793) Creek chief Alexander McGillivray (Hippo-ilk-mico) was born in Little Tassie Village (Montgomery, Alabama), the son of a Scottish trader and a Creek woman of the Wind Clan. Because Creek authority was passed down through the mother’s side, his future in tribal leadership was assured at an early age. McGillivray accompanied his father to Savannah and Charleston to work in his counting houses, where he familiarized himself with business and became fluent in English. Unlike many Native American leaders, McGillivray was equally at ease in either world, which facilitated his dealings with both. The onset of the American Revolution in 1775 disrupted McGillivray’s family life when his Loyalist father was deported back to Scotland and he returned to his mother’s tribe inland. Taking advantage of his family connections and his fine reputation as a warrior, McGillivray soon was appointed as chief. Blatantly proBritish, he was also commissioned a colonel in the army, where he served as commissary officer of Indian Affairs in the South. McGillivray also conducted numerous raids upon American settlements in and around Augusta, Georgia, to halt or at the very least delay, white encroachment. He subsequently rallied 600 Creek warriors for the defense of British-held Pensacola, Florida, and his actions greatly delayed the conquest of that region by Spain. After the war ended in 1783, British influence in the region was greatly diminished, while new waves of American settlers began taking Indian land for their own

use. McGillivray, determined to protect his homeland yet cognizant of his military weakness, drew closer to the Spanish in Florida in 1784 by signing a secret alliance to preserve them as a source of guns and ammunition. He also consolidated his tribal rule by proclaiming himself “emperor” of the Creek, and backed up his authority through a force of Indian “constables” to squelch dissent. Nor was he above playing potential friends and enemies against each other. In 1784 he made friendly overtures to the United States, demanded they respect Indian property, and warned them against Spanish intrigues in the region. When diplomacy failed by 1785, he unleashed his warriors against American settlements across the southern frontier, and the United States, hobbled by the weak confederation government, failed to respond effectively. McGillivray may very well have restored the Indian frontier to its 1773 boundaries, but he was sold out by Spain, which sought to avoid a possible war with America. In 1790, McGillivray was invited to New York to confer with newly elected President George Washington, who sought additional land purchases in exchange for fixed borders. To sweeten the pot, they also offered the chief a brigadier generals’s commission and control over all duty-free trade. McGillivray thanked his hosts and agreed to the treaty, then promptly began negotiating with the Spanish. He died in Pensacola, Florida, sometime in 1793, a wily and capable frontier diplomat.

December 14 Politics: The independent state of Franklin is organized under Governor John Sevier by a convention of settlers. The so-called state occupies the frontier region of North Carolina previously ceded to the Federal government in exchange for passage of the Articles of Confederation.

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December 23 Business: George Washington serves as president of the Potomac Company, intending to construct a canal linking the Ohio Valley with the Potomac River. Politics: Congress votes to establish a new federal district to serve as the nation’s capital, which will be located on the banks of the Delaware River. Meanwhile, New York will function as a temporary capital.

December 24 Politics: The Remonstrances Against Religious Assessments is penned by James Madison in defense of the separation of church and state. Its eloquent and pointed persuasiveness convinces the Virginia House of Delegates to thwart a law designed to support all churches with taxes. In this capacity, Madison emerges as an opponent of Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, who support statesubsidized religion.

December 26 Business: The English Parliament votes to allow the importation of American manufactured goods on favorable terms.

December 27 Religion: At their annual “Christmas Conference,” Methodist ministers elect Francis Asbury to serve as first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, severing all times with the Anglican Church. The Liturgy and discipline of John Wesley is also adopted. This creed, stridently antislavery at first, softens its objections as the church expands and takes root throughout the South.

1785 Arts: American painter John Singleton Copley is commissioned to paint the children of King George III. Business: The Pennsylvania legislature revokes the Bank of North America’s charter, under the impression that the recent economic downturn can be traced to it. This has been the first such institution owned and operated by merchants. Education: In a landmark speech before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of Worcester, Massachusetts, Governor James Bowdoin declares that the low levels of African-American intelligence are not due to racial inferiority, but rather lack of educational opportunities enjoyed by others. Labor: The Association of the Tradesmen and Manufacturers of the Town of Boston, one of the earliest trade associations, is founded by 26 trade representatives in Boston, Massachusetts. Medical: Dr. Benjamin Rush orchestrates the first American dispensary in Philadelphia. Politics: Thomas Jefferson prevails on the Virginia legislature to abolish the practice of primogeniture, through which a family’s holdings automatically pass into the hands of the eldest son. Publishing: John Marrant publishes A Narrative of the Lord’s Wonderful Dealings with J. Marrant, a Black, the first autobiography penned by an African American. Slavery: At Baltimore, the Methodist Conference suspends its 1784 ruling that forces all Methodists to manumit their slaves.

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Chronology of American History The Virginia assembly decrees that all Native Americans who are of at least one-fourth African parentage are to be regarded as Africans and subject to all rules and regulations controlling them. The New York state legislature outlaws slavery. John Jay also serves as the president of the New York Society for Promoting Manumission. The general committee of the Virginia Baptists adopts language in their denomination that characterizes slavery as “contrary to the word of God.” Transportation: Regular stagecoach routes begin between Boston, Albany, New York, and Philadelphia. Virginia authorizes the Little River Turnpike, the nation’s first.

January 1 Diplomacy: Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar concludes a treaty with the western Indians at Fort McIntosh, Ohio. The agreement forces the tribesmen to abandon land south of the Great Lakes in exchange for a stipend, but the Shawnee remain hostile and continue raiding. Journalism: The Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser becomes Maine’s first newspaper.

January 7 Aviation: American inventor Dr. John Jeffries, accompanied by French balloon pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard, sails 20 miles across the English Channel from Dover, England, to France in a hydrogen-filled balloon. To keep their improvised craft afloat over water, both men were obliged to throw most of their clothing overboard to lighten it. This is the first such aerial jaunt conducted over that vaunted body of water.

January 11 Politics: Congress convenes at City Hall, New York, now temporary capital of the nation until a new federal district is completed.

January 15 Education: Davidson Academy (present-day George Peabody College) arises at Nashville in the short-lived state of Franklin.

January 21 Diplomacy: At Fort McIntosh, American pressure induces Wyandot, Chippewa, Delaware, and Ottawa Indians to sell their lands in the Ohio territory. The agreement eventually fails owing to Shawnee resistance.

January 24 Politics: Congress, hamstrung by its inability to rein in state efforts to negotiate commercial treaties independent of each other, establishes a committee under James Madison to recommend altering Article IX of the Articles of Confederation. His plan would allow Congress greater latitude in regulating commerce as Maryland, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina have effected import duties on British goods. The effort ultimately ends in failure.

January 25 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Fort Mackintosh is signed, whereby the Wyandot, Chippewa, Delaware, and Ottawa relinquish all land in Ohio save for a small strip south of Lake Erie.

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January 27 Education: The Franklin College of the Arts and Sciences (now University of Georgia) is chartered by the State of Georgia. This is the first state-supported institute of higher learning in the nation.

February 2 Military: Counterfeit army pay certificates are condemned by Congress, and it offers a $500 reward for offenders.

February 7 Settlement: Georgia designates the land encompassing most of modern-day Alabama and Mississippi as Bourbon County, despite competing Spanish claims on this same territory.

February 24 Diplomacy: John Adams, then in Paris, is appointed minister to England by Congress for the purpose of securing favorable commercial treaties. Given the fractious nature of American governance, with 13 independent state governments vying for favorable terms, Adams is saddled with an impossible task. The British monarch consequently declines to appoint a British minister until this confusion can be sorted out.

February 28 Diplomacy: The British government curtly informs Minister John Adams in London that it is withholding compliance with the Treaty of Paris until all prewar debts are paid and Loyalist refugees adequately compensated. Until such conditions are met, they will maintain armed posts throughout the northwestern lands and Great Lakes region.

March 4 Business: Virginia commissioners including James Madison and George Mason meet with Maryland counterparts in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss issues pertaining to navigation of Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River.

March 8 Military: Congress appoints former general Henry Knox to serve as secretary of war, and his coterie consists of three clerks and a messenger. He accepts responsibility for military and naval matters, Indian relations, and land grants for veterans.

March 10 Diplomacy: Thomas Jefferson succeeds Benjamin Franklin as minister to France, befriending the radical philosophers who oppose the monarchical absolutism of their nation. Franklin, meanwhile, departs for Philadelphia where he will serve in the Executive Council of Pennsylvania.

March 11 Diplomacy: Thomas Barclay is instructed by Congress to reach a negotiated treaty with the Emperor Sidi Mohamet of Morocco.

March 25 Business: Commissioners from Virginia and Maryland meet at Alexandria to resolve disputes arising from joint use of Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. They adjourn and visit Mount Vernon, Virginia.

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March 26 Diplomacy: The British ambassador in Paris informs Thomas Jefferson that his country could not possibly enter into a binding commercial relationship with such a disorganized regime as America under the Articles of Confederation.

March 28 Business: A deputation of commissioners from Virginia and Maryland meet at Mount Vernon, with George Washington as their host, to draft recommendations for adoption of uniform commercial regulations and currency. They also invite Pennsylvania to join a pact intending to establish water communications from Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River. This conference proves that usually querulous states can in fact cooperate on issues of mutual concern. Success here emboldens the Virginians to call for another convention at Annapolis, Maryland, the following year to address similar pressing issues.

April Diplomacy: A British order-in-council decrees that only American livestock, grain, and lumber could be imported into the Canadian maritime provinces, and that these commodities had to be carried in British bottoms. This has the effect of dramatically curtailing American trade with Canada.

April 12 Military: With the 1st U.S. Regiment due to be discharged on account of expiring enlistments, Congress authorizes recruitment of another 700 men, this time for three years. Few volunteers step forward, and the regiment remains understrength.

April 19 Politics: Congress accepts Massachusetts’s cession of all western lands.

May Business: Captain John Green’s vessel Empress of China docks back in New York City, following a 15-month sojourn to China. He brings with him valuable cargo of tea and silk, and other high-quality goods such as ceramic bowls.

May 5 Diplomacy: John Sevier, governor the “state” of Franklin concludes the Treaty of Dumpling Creek with the Cherokee, whereby the latter cede much of their territory in modern-day Tennessee.

May 10 Publishing: Thomas Jefferson pens a seminal historical tract, Notes on the State of Virginia.

May 15 Diplomacy: Spanish minister Don Diego de Gardoqui arrives in the United States, under orders not to grant commercial concessions relative to navigating the Mississippi River.

May 17 Business: The Potomac Company, chartered in both Virginia and Maryland, is organized at Alexandria with George Washington as president. Diplomacy: Thomas Jefferson, American minister to France, is received by the court of King Louis XVI.

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May 20 Politics: Congress passes the Land Ordinance of 1785, which establishes an orderly framework for selling off the public domain. It calls for surveyed, 36square-mile townships, as the basis of settlement and for administrative purposes. The area is further subdivided into 36 equal sections, one of which has to be set aside for a public school. The price is fixed at one dollar per acre. Trouble soon erupts when Shawnee already ensconced refuse to part with lands they own, and squatters, who also claim the land by right of occupancy, have to be evicted by soldiers. Technology: Philadelphia artist Charles Wilson Peale creates an exhibition of moving pictures at his Philadelphia gallery. His device employs special lighting and transparent pictures to create a sense of movement.

June 1 Diplomacy: John Adams, American minister to England, is received by King George III.

June 3 Naval: Congress orders the 36-gun frigate Alliance sold, ridding itself of the final Continental Navy warship. Thereafter, the United States lacks any semblance of a navy for the next nine years.

June 23 Business: The state legislature of Massachusetts forbids the export of American goods on British ships and also doubles the import duties of all commodities not arriving in American vessels. The adoption of tariffs gains momentum as individual states seek to develop and protect native industries—more proof of Congress’s impotence in regulating a national economy.

July Naval: Algerian pirates seize the American vessel Maria and hold the crew for ransom. This act commences a decadelong diplomatic struggle to stop the practice, an impossible stance considering America’s lack of a navy.

July 6 Business: Thomas Jefferson proposes a new, decimal system of coinage for the nation, based on the Spanish milled dollar. The denominations sought are gold pieces worth 10 dollars, silver pieces worth one dollar, 10ths of a dollar in silver, and 100ths of a dollar in copper.

July 11 Politics: The Massachusetts legislature approves a resolution in favor of a convention, held at Annapolis, Maryland, for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. The measure never makes it to Congress but does underscore growing political awareness of the present government’s inability to administer the nation and safeguard its well-being.

July 15 Politics: Congress rejects a second attempt to amend the Articles of Confederation by acquiring powers to regulate commerce.

July 20 Diplomacy: Congress appoints John Jay to negotiate with Don Diego de Gardoqui, the Spanish minister, for possible navigation rights on the Mississippi River.

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Chronology of American History He is instructed to insist that the United States enjoy the right to freely navigate anywhere on the river, whereas Gardoqui was ordered to deny the Americans use of the river without cost.

July 25 Military: The Army Quartermaster Department is abolished by Congress; henceforth civilian contractors will handle the matter of provisioning and clothing soldiers. This grossly corrupt and completely inefficient system nearly hamstrings army efficiency.

July 26 Business: Thomas Jefferson proposes to replace the British-style coinage system with one based on Spanish milled dollars.

August 24 Diplomacy: John Jay and Spanish minister Don Diego de Gardoqui begin contentious discussions over American navigational rights on the Mississippi River. Spain presently forbids the export of American goods from the port of New Orleans. A year of fruitless discussion ensues. Business: Oliver Evans constructs the first automatic flour mill in Maryland. By employing numerous innovations such as primitive elevator and conveyor belt technology, the device reduces labor efforts by half.

September 10 Diplomacy: Minister John Adams concludes its first commercial treaty in Germany by reaching an agreement with the Kingdom of Prussia. Both nations will outlaw privateering and abide by the principle of free ships-free goods. Moreover, both sides agree that noncombatants should receive immunity during wartime and that all prisoners of war must receive humane treatment.

September 14 General: An aged Benjamin Franklin arrives back at Philadelphia after his latest absence of nine years in France.

September 20 Business: The Pennsylvania assembly begins levying tonnage duties on any ship whose parent country does not have a trade treaty with the United States.

October 1 Business: The first city directory is published in Philadelphia by Francis Bailey.

October 10 Diplomacy: Spain orders Georgia to drop all pretensions toward the regions of Alabama and Mississippi, which it annexed as Bourbon County the previous February.

October 15 Religion: A new American Shaker community is organized at New Lebanon, New York.

November Religion: In a weeklong ceremony, Mohegan clergyman Samson Occom opens up Eayam Quittoowauconnuck (Brothertown) on Oneida land in New York. He

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intends it as a haven for Christian Indians to repose and escape the corrupting influence of European culture.

November 28 Diplomacy: The United States government and the Cherokee sign the Treaty of Hopewell, which negates a previous arrangement concerning the state of Franklin reached on May 5 and restores all tribal holdings in 1777. It also arranges for the tribe to come under the “protection” of the United States to preclude foreign interference in matters of trade.

December Arts: The American Company presentation of the opera The Poor Soldier is a runaway hit of sorts, lasting 18 performances. This is something of a record for its host, the John Street Theater.

December 5 Business: The Maryland legislature passes legislation allowing Pennsylvania to adopt the same commercial regulations previously agreed to at the Mount Vernon Conference. They also entreat Delaware to join them.

December 8 Diplomacy: A memorial delivered by John Adams formally demands British evacuation of their posts in the Northwest, including Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, and Mackinac, consistent with terms outlined in the Treaty of Paris. However, the American government’s intrinsic inability to have states honor treaty commitments respecting the rights of Loyalists and the collection of all pre–Revolutionary War debts removes all incentives for British compliance.

1786 Arts: Theaters in New York present America’s first extended theatrical engagements by performing plays over a period of several weeks. Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet also debuts in the United States for the first time at the John Street Theater. Labor: Printers in Philadelphia strike for better wages and win; they obtain $6 a week. This is the first recorded labor action in American history. Literature: Susanna Haswell publishes the novel Victoria, establishing her as one of America’s earliest female fiction writers. She also acts on the stage in Philadelphia and plays a trumpet in Boston. Slavery: The New Jersey legislature outlaws slavery and substitutes gradual emancipation in its place. Societal: The Massachusetts state legislature outlaws the practice of interracial marriage. Sports: Clergyman Henry Purcell founds the first American golf club at Charleston’s Green in Charleston, South Carolina.

January Military: Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar’s 1st U.S. Regiment has withered to 200 enlistees when the states fail to meet their recruitment quotas. Meanwhile, Shawnee under Chief Blue Jacket and Miami under Chief Little Turtle continue raiding American settlements deep in Kentucky.

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January 16 Politics: The Virginia legislature adopts Thomas Jefferson’s Ordinance for Religious Freedom, now introduced by James Madison, which subsequently serves as a template for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It maintains that the government will not establish, support, or endorse any religion, and that all individuals are at complete liberty to follow their conscience in matters of religion. A similar document was first proposed in 1779 but never adopted. The ordinance will reach its highest expression in the provisions of the First Amendment for separation of church and state.

January 21 Politics: Virginia politician James Madison invites all states to send delegates to a convention at Annapolis in the fall, ostensibly to discuss pressing problems of interstate commerce.

January 20 Diplomacy: Congress appoints Major Samuel Shaw to serve as the first U.S. consul at Canton, China.

January 31 Diplomacy: The United States and the Shawnee sign the Treaty of Fort Finney, whereby the latter cedes land west of the Great Miami River.

February 15 Politics: A congressional committee reports on the need for more centralized authority in government, especially in collecting taxes from individual states. Congress, however, takes no action.

February 20 Politics: The New Jersey legislature refuses to pay its share of funds for the national treasury as requested by Congress in 1785. Their defiance further underscores the impotence of the Articles of Confederation.

February 22 Diplomacy: Minister John Adams approaches the Tripolitan ambassador, Abdrahaman, with demands that his nation stop harassing American shipping. In return, he is told that a tribute of 220,000 pounds be paid first.

February 28 Diplomacy: Lord Carmarthen brusquely informs Minister John Adams that Great Britain will not comply with certain provisions of the Treaty of Paris until the Americans do likewise. Specifically they intend to retain military posts around the Great Lakes (Article 7) until all prewar debts have been honored (Article 4). Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, proved unable to secure unanimous permission from the states to do so. Thus the posts at Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, and Michilimackinac remained garrisoned by British troops.

March 1 Business: Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Samuel Parsons, and Manasseh Cutler found the Ohio Company of Associates in Boston for the purpose of obtaining 1.5 million acres of land in the Ohio country at a price of 661⁄2 cents per acre.

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April Education: George Washington and other wealthy benefactors open a free school for poor children in Alexandria, Virginia.

May 28 Politics: Congress accepts Connecticut’s cession of its western lands.

June 8 Business: The first-ever mass-produced ice cream in the United States goes on sale in New York City.

June 17 Transportation: The Charles River toll bridge opens up to traffic between Charlestown and Boston.

June 26 Politics: Congress debates a motion put forward by Charles Pinckney for reorganization of government. Their discussion heightens and underscores awareness of weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

June 28 Politics: Congress authorizes a reorganization of the Indian Department to curb future abuses at the state level and better regulate the traders and settlers already dealing with the body.

July Military: Secretary of War Henry Knox informs Congress that the military establishment is down to 518 rank and file, a perilous situation considering ongoing frontier hostilities.

July 8 Politics: The Massachusetts legislature adjourns without addressing the petitions of debt- ridden farmers to halt the practice of farm and home foreclosures.

July 12 Politics: Delegates in Philadelphia approve a plan to grant proportional representation in the proposed lower house of representatives. However, this is based on the total of white populations in each state, while an African-American slave is counted as three-fifths of a person.

July 16 Politics: At Philadelphia, the “Connecticut Compromise” ensues when delegates approve that each state in the proposed Senate receive an equal vote.

July 17 Diplomacy: Thomas Barclay, representing the United States, concludes a treaty with the Kingdom of Morocco, resulting in the suspension of attacks against its shipping in the Mediterranean. Thereafter, vessels from either nation are protected from seizure by safe conduct passes and trade is to be conducted on the basis of most-favored-nation status. These liberal terms were reached following the onetime delivery of $10,000 worth of gifts to the emperor—a small sum considering the concession gained. However, the piratical Muslim states of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis remain defiant and continue seizing American vessels for ransom, abetted by the new nation’s lack of naval forces to protect its own shipping.

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July 19 Arts: Noted portraitist Charles Willson Peale opens part of his house to the general public to display his artwork and other “natural curiosities.”

July 19–26 Politics: Delegates at Philadelphia debate and vote on 23 “fundamental resolutions” relative to discarding the Articles of Confederation, and the rough draft of a new federal constitution begins to take shape.

July 29 Journalism: The Pittsburgh Gazette is founded, becoming the first American newspaper published west of the Appalachians.

August Business: The severe postwar economic downturn forces the government of Georgia to issue paper money to remain solvent. Its economic woes are compounded by dire predictions from legal authorities that the issuance of script now will become illegal if a new federal constitution ever becomes law.

August 7 Diplomacy: An Indian act is passed by Congress mandating creation of the first two federal Indian reservations, one above the Ohio River and another below it. Each jurisdiction is maintained by a supervisor who reports directly to the secretary of war and is empowered to grant licenses for trading with the tribesmen living there. Politics: Congress is presented with a series of amendments designed to revise and strengthen the Articles of Confederation. These include provisions for a federal court system, congressional control over domestic and international commerce, and authority to raise revenue from the states. A timorous Congress proves unable to reach unanimous agreement for change, as required by the articles, but movement for overhauling the system of national governance gains impetus.

August 8 Business: In another break with England, Congress orders the U.S. currency, presently based on the British system of pounds, shillings, and pence, replaced by a decimal system with dollars, dimes, and pennies. The new system had previously been proposed by Thomas Jefferson in July 1785.

August 15 Politics: Debt-ridden farmers, protesting a wave of farm and home foreclosures, gather in protest at Worcester, Massachusetts, and a wider movement begins to take form.

August 17 General: David Crockett, naturalist, frontier legend, and future congressman, is born in Hawkins County, Tennessee.

August 22–25 Politics: A convention of debt-ridden farmers convenes at Hatfield, Massachusetts, to protest ongoing farm and home foreclosures, lawyer’s fees, and high taxes, and also calls for an issuance of paper money. The crowd is specially angered at the state legislature for adjourning without any consideration for their plight. Pent-up anger begins congealing in the form of action against local courts.

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August 29 Diplomacy: John Jay concludes a less than satisfactory commercial treaty with Spain, which denies the United States navigation rights on the Mississippi River for nearly 30 years. But southern delegates to Congress, angered by such intransigence, refuse to provide the nine votes necessary for passage, and negotiations are suspended. The issue remains unresolved until 1795.

August 31 Politics: An armed mob prevents the court at Northampton from sitting to forestall further foreclosures.

September Military: Vaunted frontier figure General George Rogers Clark prepares to undertake his final campaign against Indians living in the Indiana and Ohio Territories. His plan is to lead a column of 1,200 mounted militia up the Wabash River to attack the Miami settlement, while a second force of 800 soldiers under Colonel Benjamin Logan deals with the Shawnee.

September 2 Politics: Governor James Bowdoin of Massachusetts declares the western section of his state in rebellion and begins mobilizing the militia.

September 5 Politics: An armed mob shuts down the court at Worcester, Massachusetts, in a protest against farm and home foreclosures.

September 9 General: George Washington writes to Robert Morris and declares he wishes to see slavery abolished peacefully and by legislative authority.

September 11–14 Politics: Delegates gather at a conference held in Annapolis, Maryland, for the purpose of exploring the best way of strengthening interstate commerce. John Dickinson, now of Delaware, is chosen president. However, the gathering is beset by a lack of participation, for only 12 delegates from Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are in attendance. Southern and New England states are completely absent. New York delegate Alexander Hamilton consequently offers a motion that representatives from all states should convene at Philadelphia in May 1787, for the purpose of considering both commercial and political reforms. The convention subsequently sends out its report, written mainly by Hamilton, to all members of Congress and state legislatures. In light of the ongoing fiscal and economic crises faced by the young nation, the suggestion to meet the following May was favorably received and set in motion a chain of events that forever altered the course of national governance. In this sense, the failed Annapolis Convention was a direct precursor to the dramatically successful Constitutional Convention.

September 20 Politics: The state legislature in Concord is threatened by an armed mob insisting on the issuance of paper money.

September 25 Art: Philadelphia bans all theater performances. Law: The Rhode Island Supreme Court resolves the case of Trevett v. Weeden, and rules that forcing a creditor to accept paper money is an unconstitutional

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548â•… Chronology of American History violation of property guarantees. This establishes the concept of judicial review on a modest scale; henceforth all laws passed by the legislature that run counter to the state constitution are judged null and void.

September 26 Military: Former army veteran Daniel Shays leads 500 disgruntled farmers in an uprising in western Massachusetts and forces the court in Springfield to adjourn. The rebels are determined to prevent additional foreclosures of farmers’ property. In response, Governor James Bowdoin dispatches militia under General William Shepherd to Springfield to safeguard the state courts there.

October Military: General George Rogers Clark endures a setback in his final foray against the Miami when his force mutinies only two days out of Vincennes, Indi-­ ana Territory. He is forced to turn back, but the column of ColÂ�oÂ�nel Benjamin Logan manages to burn several Shawnee settlements.

October 11 Politics: Congress receives notice of the convention to revise the Articles of Confederation in Philadelphia. Debate continues until the following spring.

October 16 Business: A United States mint is approved by congressional action.

October 20 Military: Faced with intractable Indian hostility on the frontier, Congress increases the size of the military establishment to 1,340 men. The two artillery companies already present in the 1st U.S. Regiment are combined with two new companies to form a battalion under Captain John Doughterty. However, recruit-­ ment remains unenthusiastic and few volunteers step forward. Word of Daniel Shays’s rebellion in Massachusetts and the rebels’ march on the federal arsenal at Springfield prompts Congress to authorize Secretary of War Henry Knox to raise 1,340 men. To placate poÂ�litiÂ�cal opposition to stand-­ ing armies, this is done ostensibly for the purpose of frontier serÂ�vice against the Indians. Science: Professor Samuel Williams of Harvard College leads an astronomical field expedition to Penobscot Bay, Maine, to observe a solar eclipse.

October 23 Politics: Congress makes a second plea to the states for power to authorize navigation acts; again it fails to garner unanimous support.

October 26 Literature: A group of influential poets, the Â�so-­called Connecticut Wits, begins publishing the mock serial epic Anarchiad in the New Haven Gazette. Members include Joel Barlow, David Humphreys, John Trumbull and Lemuel Hopkins.

November 6 Politics: James Madison introduces legislation into the Virginia assembly calling for a delegation to be sent to the forthcoming convention in Philadel-­ phia next May. The nominally pessimistic Madison held high hopes for the upcoming event, conceding “I have some ground for leaning to the side of Hope.”

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Shays, Daniel (1747–1825) Rebel leader Daniel Shays was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, around 1747, although little else is known of his early life. He was most likely a poorly educated rural farmer eking out a marginal existence. However, he enters the history books following the onset of the Revolutionary War in 1775, when he joined the Massachusetts militia and fought with distinction at the battle of Bunker Hill. Shays then transferred to the state Continental infantry, where he was active at Ticonderoga, Saratoga, and Stony Point. His somewhat lowly social status proved no obstacle to advancement in the military, for in 1777 he was commissioned a captain in the 5th Massachusetts Regiment. Shays was apparently a good soldier and received, among other things, an elaborate sword presented to him by the marquis de Lafayette before he mustered out in 1780. He subsequently settled at Pelham, Massachusetts, and held down several public offices for the remainder of the revolution. After 1783, he returned to farming in western Massachusetts, a region in the grips of a severe economic downturn. Like many farmers, Shays had grown dependant upon severely depreciated paper money to pay his debts, and his hardship increased when merchants began demanding hard currency in coins. Many farmers could not make the transition and became subject to imprisonment for debt and foreclosure of property, thanks to the stiff tax-collection policies of Governor James Bowdoin. Shays became so destitute that he was forced to sell off Lafayette's sword in order to survive. Worse,

when the state legislature, located in the more prosperous eastern half of the state, ignored the farmers’ petitions for relief and adjourned their session, Shays and many farmers took the law into their own hands. In the fall of 1786, Shays led a group of angry farmers to prevent the court of common pleas from seizing more property. They then marched on Springfield to stop the state supreme court from doing the same. This act induced Governor Bowdoin to muster the militia under General William Shepard to stop the rebels and possibly negotiate a peaceful end to the uprising. At this time, Shays stepped forward as an unofficial spokesman, and he agreed that the group would disband peacefully once the court suspended all seizures. However, by January 1787 conditions in the western half of the state had worsened, and the farmers under Shays and Luke Day began taking up arms to protect their property. At length, the mob decided to march on Springfield, site of a state arsenal, where they encountered the militia under Shepard. Firing broke out, two rebels were killed, and the rest dispersed while an army under General Benjamin Lincoln marched against them. Shays’s “rebellion” ended soon after, and he fled to New Hampshire. He died in Sparta, New York, on September 29, 1825. However, his activity impressed the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, convincing them that the nation needed stronger central government to suppress uprisings and maintain public order. The U.S. Constitution was the result.

November 18 Diplomacy: The U.S. government and the Cherokee conclude the Treaty of Hopewell, South Carolina, which places them under the former’s protection. The government also agrees to curb white encroachment on their remaining ancestral lands.

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November 30 Military: A Massachusetts militia arrests rebel leader Job Shattuck and rebellion against authority collapses in the eastern half of the state.

December 26 Military: Rebellious Daniel Shays assembles 1,200 “Regulators” (poor farmers) and marches onto Springfield, Massachusetts, with Luke Day to disrupt court proceedings and possibly seize the state arsenal there. This act induces an alarmed Governor James Bowdoin to mobilize 4,400 state militia for a period of 30 days to cope with the emergency.

1787 Business: Following a Democratic-Republic resurgence in the Pennsylvania legislature, the Bank of North America is rechartered. The Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and Useful Acts is founded in Philadelphia for the promotion of protective tariffs, research, and inventions. It also elects to purchase two carding and spinning machines from England for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and linen. John Cabot and Joshua Fisher open up New England’s first cotton factory at Beverly, Massachusetts, and the technology spreads rapidly throughout New England. As textile manufacturers, however, they will grow increasing dependent upon cotton supplies grown in the South by slave labor. Education: The Philadelphia Young Ladies Academy is founded to avail young women of educational opportunities currently lacking in other cities. In time, it acquires students from all the colonies and as far away as the Caribbean. Dr. Benjamin Rush publishes Thoughts on Female Education and argues that educating women exerts a beneficial effect since it encourages educated children. William Samuel Johnson becomes president of Columbia College, New York. He is the second noncleric to hold such a position in any American or English institution of higher knowledge. The Rhode Island General Assembly enacts a statute forbidding the residents of that state from participating in any part of the slave trade. Slavery: In a move anticipating the Underground Railroad of a later day, Philadelphia Quaker Isaac T. Hopper originates a plan to assist slaves escaping from southern states.

January Military: Despite a major recruitment effort, the military establishment remains 840 men below authorized strength. Congress also drops the enlistment period to one year for new enlistees. However, the government lacks the funds to pay its soldiers for the next two years.

January 5 Law: The North Carolina supreme court upholds the principle that state courts may void acts passed by the legislature deemed unconstitutional.

January 18–19 Military: Governor James Bowdoin requests former general Benjamin Lincoln to come out of retirement and help suppress Shays’s Rebellion. Lincoln agrees and rides for Springfield to command militia forces gathering there.

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January 21 Military: A group of 300 rebels under Daniel Shays begins surrounding the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts, with a view to storming it. Another thousand angry farmers take up blocking positions at Palmer to the east, cutting off the approach of any Hampshire County militiamen.

January 25 Military: Under former army captain Daniel Shays, 1,200 rebellious farmers make an ill-fated attempt to storm the government armory under General William Shepherd, at Springfield, Massachusetts, but are driven off by cannon fire after losing three men killed and 20 wounded. Among the rioters was one Moses Sash, an African-American veteran of the Revolutionary War, who is now indicted for stealing firearms.

January 27 Military: A large militia contingent under General Benjamin Lincoln marches into Springfield, Massachusetts, and secures the government arsenal. Meanwhile, Daniel Shays and his band of rebels have scattered into the countryside.

January 28 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln’s militia forces push rebellious farmers toward Amherst, Massachusetts, while rebel leader Luke Day escapes for New Hampshire.

January 30 Politics: Thomas Jefferson writes to James Madison, declaring, “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”

February 3 Military: General Benjamin Lincoln orders a midwinter night march to surprise rebel forces gathered at Petersham under former army captain Daniel Shays.

February 4 Military: A Massachusetts militia under General Benjamin Lincoln surprises rebel forces under Daniel Shays, dispersing them at Petersham and ending the rebellion. Lincoln takes 140 prisoners but Shays escapes across state lines to Vermont. The insurrection failed in its purposes but does convince the legislature to lower court costs, not impose a direct tax, and to exempt household goods and tools from confiscation arising from debt. The entire episode is a powerful reminder of how powerless the states are when left to confront civil violence by themselves. The greatest efficacy of Shays’s “rebellion” is adding greater impetus and urgency for creation of a stronger central government capable of defending itself. This feeling dovetails conveniently with a host of other factors leading to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia that May.

February 21 Politics: Congress endorses the idea of a constitutional convention to gather at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May, “for the sole and express purpose of revising the articles of confederation.” South Carolina cedes a narrow strip of frontier land it claims to the central government.

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March 10 Education: The German Reformed Church charters Franklin College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

April 12 General: The Free African Society is established in Philadelphia by Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and William White as a secular, self-help group. This is among the earliest black social organizations in the United States and tasked with collecting funds to assist the poor, sick, and elderly among the AfricanAmerican community. Its success also stimulates the rise of an independent African-American church.

April 13 Education: The New York legislature mandates creation of a state university governed by a board of regents.

April 16 Arts: Royall Tyler’s comedy The Contrast debuts at the John Street theater in New York City, being the first-ever play featuring an American frontier protagonist. The play lampoons Old World aristocratic virtues.

April 23 Slavery: The Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, and Improving the Condition of the African Race is rechartered in Philadelphia, assisted by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush. Franklin serves as the first honorary president of the society.

May 13 Politics: Former general George Washington arrives at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to officiate over the Constitutional Convention. He is greeted by throngs of well-wishers and escorted by the City Light Dragoons as bells peal and cannons boom in salute.

May 14 Politics: At Philadelphia, only five states send delegates for the proposed convention there and a quorum is thereby impossible. They then await the arrival of delegates pledged from six other states, whereupon all will convene at Independence Hall.

May 25 Politics: George Washington is nominated by Robert Morris to serve as chairman of the Constitutional Convention, with William Jackson as his secretary, and is elected unanimously. A quorum is finally achieved and all states are present save Rhode Island, which ignores the proceedings altogether. Among noted leaders and thinkers present are Elbridge Gerry, James Madison, George Mason, Gouverneur Morris, Roger Sherman, James Wilson, and venerable, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin. The pressing business of reforming the Articles of Confederation nevertheless begins 11 days late, but the Virginian delegation was preparing to suggest that the Articles of Confederation be dispensed with entirely, and a new framework of governance adopted in its place.

May 29 Politics: In Philadelphia, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph unveils the socalled “Virginia Plan,” promulgated by James Madison, for ditching the enfeebled

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Jones, Absalom (1746–1818) African-American clergyman Absalom Jones was born a slave in Sussex, Delaware, on November 6, 1746. He was taken into his master’s house as a child and learned to read and write. Jones subsequently relocated with his master to Philadelphia, where he worked in a store by day and attended Anthony Benezet’s school for African Americans at night. Jones then married a fellow slave in 1770, purchased her freedom so that their children would be free, then bought his own freedom in 1784. Philadelphia at that time had the largest urban concentration of blacks in the United States, and Jones initially made his presence felt in the realm of religion. In concert with fellow lay preacher Richard Allen, he broke from St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church when it insisted that African Americans remain in the balcony. In 1787, they jointly founded the Free African Society, the first self-help and mutual aid society for black Americans in the nation. Its purpose was to help former slaves make the transition to freedom on a moral basis, and discouraged immorality, drunkenness, and gambling. Jones was also outstanding in his denunciation of slavery and government tolerance of the practice. In 1793, Philadelphia was beset by a terrible epidemic of yellow fever, and Jones was quick to organize the African-American community to lend help to Dr. Benjamin Rush as nurses and undertakers. He then resumed his work in religious matters and broke with Allen over the issue of Methodism in 1794 by forming the St. Thomas African Episcopal Church.

More than simply a house of worship, Jones’s church functioned as a community center for social, political, and religious activities and served as a refuge against acute racial hostility. In 1804, Jones became the first African American ordained to the Episcopal priesthood. Like all social activists of his time, Jones assumed the arduous task or helping, educating, and organizing a segment of society that had been systematically downtrodden for over a century. He remained undaunted and energetic in constructing schools for young black people to provide them with the secular and religious tools to survive. These remained private ventures, for there were no state-sponsored educational institutions for African Americans in Pennsylvania at the time. From the pulpit, Jones also continued railing against human bondage and he organized petition drives to both the state legislature and the U.S. Congress to outlaw the practice. Thwarted here, he helped orchestrate a campaign to put fugitive slaves in contact with abolitionist lawyers across the nation. Jones nevertheless felt that African Americans were still required to shoulder their responsibilities to the nation, and during the War of 1812 he helped recruit a city militia outfit, the Black Legion. He also served as grand master of Philadelphia’s black masons. One of his last deeds was to combat the American Colonization Society, which hoped to export free blacks back to Africa. Jones died in Philadelphia on February 13, 1818, a significant social activist.

Articles of Confederation. This proposal suggests creation of a national executive and judiciary, and a bicameral legislature consisting of upper and lower chambers—a republican form of government. It was a nationalist scheme involving new, centralized authority that wielded power at the expense of the states. Moreover, representation in the new congress would be proportional, namely based

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Morris, Gouverneur

(1752–1816)

Politician Gouverneur Morris was born in Morrisania (Bronx), New York, into one of that colony’s most distinguished families. He was well educated at King’s College (now Columbia University) in 1768 and was admitted to the bar at 19. During the approach to the revolution, Morris, like most of his Loyalist family, was reluctant to break from Great Britain on account of the instability it posed to landowners. However, once fighting broke out in April 1775, Morris sided with the Patriots and held a seat in the provincial congress. Here he wielded his facile pen on behalf on a new state constitution, and in 1777, was elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He there signed the Articles of Confederation, though still wary of its repercussions on the landed gentry, and in 1778, he chaired the committee that ultimately rejected Lord Frederick North’s reconciliation proposals. Morris went on to draft diplomatic instructions for Benjamin Franklin in Paris that insisted upon recognition of American independence as a precondition for peace talks. But Morris nonetheless came across as an insufferable aristocrat, and in 1780 he lost his seat. He then relocated to Philadelphia to compose several erudite essays on national finance in the Pennsylvania Packet that brought him to the attention of Robert Morris (no relation), superintendent of finance. Morris was then appointed his assistant and he originated the scheme for a decimal-based national currency subsequently adopted by Thomas Jefferson.

Morris labored in financial matters until 1787, when he represented Pennsylvania in the Constitutional Convention. Here, as an effective and articulate spokesman for centralized governance, he made indelible contributions to the process. Morris delivered more speeches on behalf on the new document than any other delegate, then served as chair of the committee tasked with drafting the final copy. As a conservative he advocated presidents and senators for life, an idea that was rejected, but his notions of an electoral college and checks upon the executive by a two-thirds vote of congress were incorporated. The famous constitutional preamble, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union,” also flowed from his expressive hand. Once the new government was in place Morris ventured to France where he witnessed the outbreak of the French Revolution and served as the de facto American minister. He also formed part of the conspiracy to smuggle King Louis XVI out of the country, and the Jacobin regime demanded and received his removal. Morris then returned to New York as a private citizen, although he served in the U.S. Senate as a Federalist from 1800 to 1803. In 1809, he married the controversial Anne Carey Randolph of Virginia, a woman tainted by scandal and murder accusations, but the union proved a happy one. After serving as chairman of the Erie Canal commission in 1810, Morris withdrew from public life and died at Morrisania on November 6, 1816, a strident aristocrat to the end.

on state population. Small states immediately railed against this approach for it denied them the equal status accorded them under the articles. Randolph also proposes enlarging the powers of the central government to include the power to mint coins and conduct foreign relations. Madison’s vision also forms the intellectual template that framed the ensuing discourse for the next four months.

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May 30 Politics: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia agrees to three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, to institute a series of checks and balances. In effect, the delegates both embrace the broad outlines of the Virginia plan and agree, in principle, to scrap the Articles of Confederation. However, a drawn-out contretemps ensues over the issue of representation in the new national legislature.

May 31 Politics: The Constitutional Convention approves a motion to allow all members of the proposed House of Representation to be elected by popular vote.

June Military: Major John Hamtramck takes three companies of the 1st U.S. Regiment and begins construction of Fort Knox at Vincennes, Indiana Territory.

June 4 Politics: The Constitutional Convention agrees upon a single executive with the power of veto over all legislation; this can only be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the Congress.

June 6 Politics: Delegates in Philadelphia agree that members of the lower house of the national legislature are to be elected by the popular vote.

June 7 Politics: In Philadelphia, John Dickinson seeks a second, upper house to the Congress, whose members are elected by state legislatures, not popular vote. His motion passes.

June 15 Politics: Delegates at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, debate the merits of the Virginia Plan, which allows for proportional representation in a bicameral legislature. This, however, is opposed by the small states, who will enjoy less influence under the new scheme than the larger ones. The New Jersey Plan, or small-state plan, is then proffered by William Paterson; this intends to modestly revise the Articles of Confederation by retaining the unicameral legislature but granting it powers to tax and regulate commerce, foreign, and interstate matters alike. It also proposes a single legislative chamber whereby all states, large and small, maintain their present equal representation. Debate over the issue of representation consumes nearly another month and deep-seated disagreements nearly scuttle the convention.

June 18 Politics: Alexander Hamilton, delegate from New York and unworried by strong central governance, proposes a strong federal system. This would be countered by a popularly elected House of Representatives.

June 19 Politics: After three days of debate, the Virginia Plan of Edmund Randolph is adopted by a vote of 7 states to 3 in Philadelphia. Hereafter debate revolves around proportional versus equal representation in the federal assembly.

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June 21 Politics: After some debate, the Constitutional Convention adopts the notion of a bicameral legislature with one body elected by popular votes.

June 25 Politics: In Philadelphia, the Constitutional Convention approves a minimum age limit of 30 for the future Senate and also empowers state legislatures to elect them.

July 11 Politics: The Constitutional Convention skirts the contentious issue of slavery and instead, as a concession toward securing southern support, entertains a measure to count three-fifths of the African-American population for purposes of taxation and representation.

July 12 Politics: Delegates in Philadelphia approve James Madison’s idea for establishing representation in the House based on population, although nonvoting African-Americans slaves are counted on a three-fifths basis.

July 13 Politics: Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, outlining an official method of organizing and governing lands east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. Subdivided into various territories, when their populations reach specified levels the ordinance facilitates political transformation into viable states. Most important of all, slavery and indenture are expressly forbidden in the new territory. This law supersedes the Ordinance of 1784 that, while passed, was never enacted. Two groups, the Ohio Company of Associates based in Boston, and the Society of the Cincinnati, wish to initiate wholesale colonization of the frontier with a goal of creating three to five new states (present-day Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota).

July 16 Politics: In Philadelphia, the “Great Compromise,” or Connecticut Plan drawn up by Roger Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, and William S. Johnson is approved. This pivotal legislation is a deft compromise between the competing Virginia and New Jersey plans and supports creation of a bicameral legislature with equal representation for states in the proposed upper chamber, or Senate, and representation by population in the lower body, the House of Representatives. The fears of the smaller states are now assuaged; previously their unwillingness to adopt the Virginia plan threatened the entire convention with dissolution. A decisive tipping point had been reached in convention activities—and the future of a young nation.

July 25 Politics: Delegates in Philadelphia determine that the chief executive is to be elected not by popular vote, but rather through a college of electors, with each state contributing electors based on their population.

July 26 Politics: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia finally cobbles together 23 resolutions that serve as the framework of a proposed constitution. Two more months of debate are required before the document reaches its final form.

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July 31 Military: Colonel Josiah Harmar is promoted to brigadier general, the only officer of such rank in military service.

August 6 –10 Politics: Delegates at Philadelphia debate a new draft constitution for national governance. Among the 23 provisions approved are two-year terms in the House of Representatives, six-year terms for the Senate, and four years for the chief executive, or president. Congress is endowed with the ability to regulate commerce, both foreign and domestic, but also prohibited from legislating on slavery over the next 20 years. But African-American slaves remain counted at a rate of three-fifths of their population for purposes of representation. Despite cordial appearances, deep divisions over slavery are already being manifested between North and South.

August 9 Politics: Congress accepts South Carolina’s cession of its western lands.

August 11 Journalism: John Bradford begins publishing the Kentucky Gazette in Lexington, the first newspaper in that region of the frontier West.

August 18 Politics: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia tackles the touchy issue of granting Congress the authority to raise armies and maintain a navy. To many delegates, the notion of standing military establishments are a bane to basic liberties.

August 22 Technology: Inventor John Fitch makes the first public demonstration of a steam-powered vessel on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, but public interest appears to be tepid. His device is powered by oars rather than paddle wheels.

August 23 Politics: The Constitutional Convention votes to empower Congress with the ability to regulate state militias, although states still reserve the right to appoint officers. However, federal laws, where they apply, are also to be the laws of the states.

August 29 Politics: Delegates at the Constitutional Convention grant Congress the power to pass navigation acts but, in another concession to southerners, authorize a fugitive slave clause and forbid interference in the slave trade until 1808.

August 30 Politics: In Philadelphia, constitutional delegates allow amendments to the constitution following approval of two-thirds of all states.

September Business: The ships Columbia and Lady Washington depart Boston, intending to be the first American vessels to trade with the Pacific Northwest. Politics: The first of a series of “Anti-Federalist” essays signed by “Cato” appears in the New York Journal, signaling the beginning of sporadic but determined opposition to the new federal constitution. The Anti-Federalists, as they became known, were basically a group of older politicians such as Patrick Henry and

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Fitch, John

(1743–1798)

Inventor John Fitch was born in Hartford County, Connecticut on January 21, 1743, the son of farmers. His education was limited and he was listless as a youth, abandoning the farm to engage in the merchant marine, clock making, and brass working. Fitch failed conspicuously at all three before marrying in 1767—then abandoning his wife and children. He then relocated to New Jersey, where he spent most of the Revolutionary War doing odd jobs such as button making and clock repair. After serving in the state militia, Fitch relocated to Kentucky to engage in land speculation, lost his money, and was then captured by pro-British Indians. He subsequently endured nine months of imprisonment in Montreal before being released, and he then resettled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There he engaged in another failed land deal after the Confederation Congress declined to validate his claims. For reasons that are still obscure, Fitch suddenly hit upon the idea of steam-powered boats. The technology was not new, having been perfected by British inventor James Watt in the 1770s, but in 1785 Fitch constructed one of his own design. He sought out Philadelphia investors, in concert with watchmaker Henry Voight, and drew up plans for a 45-foot craft fitted with by steampowered oars. Working assiduously, Fitch managed to construct a working model while the Constitutional Convention was in town, and on August 22, 1787, he successfully demonstrated his craft. Several former congressmen, including signers of the Declaration

of Independence, were on hand to witness the maiden voyage, but no interest—private or governmental—resulted. But he did manage to secure a 14-year monopoly for steam operations on inland waters if he ever procured a craft to do so. Undeterred, Fitch began working on an even larger vessel and in 1788 he launched the 60-foot Perseverance, which was propelled by side-mounted paddle wheels. This new craft proved perfectly functional and regularly plied the waters between Trenton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia for a year without mishap. However, the project failed for want of public interest. Fitch also became embroiled in a copyright dispute with inventor James Rumsey, who claimed to have invented a steamboat in 1784, and the ensuing lawsuit ruined both men financially. Their struggle was unique in that it partly inspired passage of the Patent Act of 1790 to possibly preclude future conflicts. Fitch, meanwhile, finally obtained a patent from the American and French governments, built another boat, which sank in a storm in 1791, and lost his investors. Financially destitute, he returned to Bardstown, Kentucky, to live in poverty and finally took his own life on July 2, 1798. As a rule, Fitch was an enterprising spirit, but also an eccentric spendthrift with little regard for economy or efficiency. With his departure, another decade lapsed before Robert Fulton finally demonstrated the commercial viability of steamboat transportation with his famous Clermont in 1807.

Samuel Adams, who feared centralized government for fear of abetting the rise of tyranny. They especially worried that the new document, as proposed, lacked a Bill of Rights to guarantee personal liberties. These sentiments came to the attention of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, who resolved to counter it with a series of erudite essays of their own.

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September 6 Politics: In Philadelphia, delegates establish a four-year term for the president; if a candidate fails to receive the necessary majority in the electoral college, the decision reverts to a popular vote in the House of Representatives.

September 10 Politics: The Convention meeting in Philadelphia finished the final draft of a proposed constitution as the new basis of governance. The document is largely the product of James Madison, assisted by George Mason of Virginia, Gouverneur Morris and James Wilson of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Morris is tasked with providing the final draft.

September 12 General: Prince Hall, a free African American and a Revolutionary War veteran, charters the first Masonic Lodge for blacks, African Lodge No. 459, in Boston. He does so with permission from the Grand Lodge of England.

September 17 Politics: Convention delegates in Philadelphia approves a draft constitution, written by Gouverneur Morris, to upend the existing Articles of Confederation, on a unanimous vote of 10 states to none. The South Carolina deputation was divided while the New Yorkers declined to vote. In some last-minute tinkering, Delegate Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts suggests changing the ratio of people to representatives from 40,000 to 30,000. George Washington, in one of his few speaking roles, then arises and endorses the plan, which is approved on a voice vote. The new document establishes three separate but equal branches of government—executive, legislative, and judiciary—as fundamental checks and balances against acquiring too much power. The new government is also required to share power with the states in a federal arrangement. The final document is finally signed by 39 of 42 delegates, with only Elbridge Gerry, George Mason, and Edmund Randolph dissenting. Business then adjourns, and the matter is forwarded to Congress for their consideration.

September 19 Politics: The new U.S. Constitution appears in print for the first time in the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser in Philadelphia, its first public exposure.

September 20 Politics: A draft of the proposed Constitution arrives at Congress, and intensive debate ensues.

September 24 Slavery: In An Address to Negroes in the State of New York, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon urges blacks to be dutiful toward their masters until deemed worthy of freedom.

September 26–27 Politics: Congressional delegates defeat a censure motion directed against the recent Constitutional Convention held at Philadelphia for ignoring instructions to merely revise the Articles of Confederation.

September 28 Politics: The Confederation Congress votes to send the proposed Constitution to the states for approval by special ratifying conventions. This removes the matter

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Chronology of American History entirely from the hands of state legislatures or the popular vote. Moreover, Article VII of the document stipulates that passage is contingent upon approval by threequarters of all states, a total of nine.

October 3 Military: Shaken by Shays’s “rebellion” and increasing Indian hostility, Congress backtracks and allows recruits to enlist for three years of service. It also stipulates that the army will retain troops already under arms rather than recruit untrained men.

October 5 Military: Former general Arthur St. Clair is appointed governor of the Northwest Territory and also superintendent of Indian affairs for the region. Winthrop Sargent becomes his secretary. He receives authority to raise militia and wage war in order to secure the territory from hostile tribesmen. St. Clair is also responsible for removing squatters from Indian land to preclude expanding hostilities.

October 16 Naval: Congress unanimously votes to present Captain John Paul Jones with a gold medal.

October 17 Education: Prince Hall, an African-American Revolutionary War veteran, petitions the Massachusetts legislature to construct equal school facilities for black children.

October 26 Diplomacy: The government instructs Governor Arthur St. Clair of the Northwest Territory to formally investigate Indian claims of illegal treaties signed in 1785. However, he is not to alter the existing arrangements unless the changes prove beneficial to the United States.

October 27 Business: The Ohio Company contracts with the Treasury Board of Congress for the purchase of millions of acres in Ohio. Politics: The first of the pro-Constitution essays known collectively as the Federalist Papers appears in the New York Independent Journal under the signature “Publius,” a reference to Publius Valerius Publicola, a defender of the Roman Republic. These 85 poignant arguments urge ratification of the new Federal Constitution and originate from the lucid pens of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to counter opposing “Anti-Federalist” responses. The essays continue running through April 1788, at which point they are collected and published as a two-volume collection named The Federalist, a reference to the “federal republic” they advocate. All told, this is a masterful display of political journalism for the purpose of cultivating public opinion.

November 1 Education: The African Free School, among the nation’s first, is established in New York by the Manumission Society. By 1834, it has been joined by seven similar institutions.

November 6 Religion: Dissatisfaction with segregation practices in the Methodist Episcopal Church leads Richard Allen to found the African Methodist Episcopal Church for African Americans in Philadelphia. Allen had previously worshipped at

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Allen, Richard (1760–1831) African-American clergyman Richard Allen was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 14, 1760, into a slave household. Initially, he and his family belonged to Quaker lawyer Benjamin Chew, who subsequently sold them to an individual in Delaware. Around 1777, Allen underwent a religious experience and he irrevocably reoriented his life towards preaching. He managed to purchase his freedom around 1781, and for six years he toured the South as an itinerant preacher within the Methodist Episcopal Church. Despite a lack of formal education, Allen proved himself adept as a clergyman, taught himself how to write persuasively, and proved a charismatic speaker. He also was adept at spreading the Gospel before mixed black and white audiences, and generally found widespread acceptance. Eventually he settle in Philadelphia as part of St. George’s Methodist Church, where his distinct style of preaching attracted increasing numbers of African Americans, both free and slave, to the church. This tendency soon wore out his welcome in the church, particularly when white parishioners refused to allow blacks to worship on the main floor of the church, insisting that they confine themselves to the balcony. Resentment crested in 1794 when Allen was moved to form the nation’s first independent African-American congregation at Bethel Church in an old, converted blacksmith shop, wherein he functioned as head minister. In 1799, Allen was also installed as the nation’s first African-American Methodist deacon by Bishop Francis Asbury,

and he helped orchestrate the affairs of no less than 16 independent congregations. This status in itself represented a problem for the overwhelmingly white Methodist establishment, which insisted that Allen continue in its fold. He refused; a two-decade-long legal battle for control of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) ensued and was not resolved until 1816, when the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled in Allen’s favor. In addition to church functions, Allen helped spearhead numerous self-help and philanthropic institutions to assist African Americans in their day-to-day struggle against slavery and discrimination. He was outspoken in his support for moderate antislavery agitation for several decades and hid fugitive slaves in the cellar of Bethel Church. Allen certainly forgave contemporaries for their overt racism, and in 1793, when Philadelphia was in the grip of a deadly yellow-fever epidemic, he helped organize and encourage members of his community to assist their neighbors. Desiring to lead by example, he was also successful in numerous entrepreneurial ventures and acquired properties throughout the city. Moreover, because he was not allowed to participate in Methodist Conference meetings, Allen subsequently championed nationwide social and religious movements on behalf of African Americans, a move climaxing in 1830 when he became president of the National Negro Convention Movement. Allen died in Philadelphia on March 26, 1831, a significant African-American reformer of his day.

St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church until he defied segregated seating in the balcony—and was physically pulled from his knees while at prayer.

November 13 Politics: Thomas Jefferson, then in Paris, writes that he would not object to a rebellion now and then, as “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

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November 18 Religion: King’s Chapel, the first Unitarian Church in America, is founded with James Freeman as pastor.

December Education: Cokesbury College opens its door in Abingdon, Maryland, being the first Methodist institute of higher learning.

December 3 Technology: James Rumsey demonstrates his version of a steam-powered vessel on the Potomac River, Virginia. This invention is propelled by a jet of water forced rearwards under steam pressure.

December 7 Politics: The Delaware Constitutional Convention becomes the first elected body to ratify the new federal Constitution and does so unanimously. Hereafter it refers to itself as the “First State.”

December 12 Politics: The Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention ratifies adoption by a vote of 46 to 23 after contentious debate.

December 18 Politics: The New Jersey Constitutional Convention unanimously ratifies adoption of a federal constitution.

December 20 Religion: The Shakers (Shaking Quakers) begin a revival movement in New Lebanon, New York, that eventually unleashes religious fervor in Kentucky and other frontier regions.

1788 Arts: Philip Freneau emerges as the nation’s first poet of note with publication of his collection, Miscellaneous Works. Music: The New York Musical Society is founded. Slavery: The Negro Union Society of Newport, Rhode Island, seeks to relocate free African Americans to Africa through emigration. Though disdained at first, the idea of resettlement gains greater credence in the 19th century. The legislatures of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania reaffirm their opposition to allowing citizens to participate in the slave trade. Societal: Positing herself as a “Publick Universal Friend,” Jemima Wilkinson establishes an experimental community of 300 at Seneca Lake in western New York. There they revel in genderless communal roles, faith healing, and close ties to local Native American tribes.

January 2 Politics: Georgia unanimously ratifies the federal Constitution, becoming the fourth state to do so.

January 9 Politics: Connecticut approves the new Constitution by a vote of 128 to 40, being the fifth state to do so.

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January 20 Religion: Reverend Andrew Bryan becomes the first pastor of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia.

February 6 Politics: The Massachusetts convention approves the new Constitution on a relatively close vote of 187 to 168. Leading anti-Federalists like John Hancock and Samuel Adams lend their support only after being assured that a Bill of Rights will be appended at a subsequent date. The convention also suggests numerous amendments, including present-day Article X, which reserves for states all powers not specifically designated for the central government.

February 27 Slavery: African-American activist Prince Hall petitions the Massachusetts legislature to outlaw slavery following an incident in which several free blacks were illegally seized and shipped to the French West Indies as slaves. Governor John Hancock uses his influence to rescue and return the abductees and prevails on the General Court to distribute compensatory damages for any future victims.

March 21 General: New Orleans, Louisiana, is ravaged by a huge fire that destroys a large portion of the city, including most of its old French and Spanish colonial architecture.

March 24 Politics: A Rhode Island popular referendum rejects the new federal Constitution by a vote of 2,945 to 237, largely because the Federalists refuse to participate. The legislature, dominated by rurally based legislators, had defeated attempts by the mercantile-oriented Federalists to schedule a state convention. It is the first and only state to reject ratification until May 1790.

March 26 Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature votes to outlaw slavery and offer monetary compensation to all African Americans who have been kidnapped and sold overseas as slaves.

April 7 Settlement: Rufus Putnam leads a group of Ohio Company of Associates explorers to the mouth of the Muskingum River, Ohio, where they found the settlement of Marietta. This is the first settling of the Northwest Territory, consistent with terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and it serves as the temporary capital. Curiously, they arrive on a barge christened the Mayflower, flagship of the original Pilgrims of 1620.

April 13–14 General: A riot breaks out in New York City when a mob accuses the New York College of Medicine of grave robbing to acquire cadavers for dissection. Three people are killed while Governor George Clinton and Alexander Hamilton are among the injured.

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April 15 Naval: Captain John Paul Jones accepts an admiral’s commission in the Russian navy at the behest of Czarina Catherine the Great.

April 28 Politics: The Maryland Constitutional Convention approves the new document on a vote of 63 to 11, being the seventh state to approve passage.

May Military: In an attempt to stave off white encroachment against Indian land, Creek leader Alexander McGillivray starts a brief internecine frontier war with Georgian settlers.

May 23 Politics: The federal Constitution is approved by South Carolina through a vote of 149 to 73; it is the eighth state to do so.

June 2 Politics: The Virginia convention meets to ponder the new federal Constitution, which is strongly opposed by local anti-Federalist notables such as Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. James Madison leads the proconstitutional faction.

June 13 Law: Former rebel Daniel Shays is pardoned by the state of Massachusetts; he has lived in exile in Vermont since his “rebellion” was crushed.

June 17 Politics: The New York constitutional convention gathers in Poughkeepsie with a large antiFederalist faction under Governor George Clinton. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, seek to delay a vote until news of successful ratification arrives, from New Hampshire and especially Virginia.

June 21 Politics: The New Hampshire convention adopts the new federal Constitution by a vote of 57 to 46, and also recommends 12 amendments. This is the ninth state to vote in the affirmative so, technically speaking, the new government has been approved.

June 25

George Clinton (Library of Congress)

1788

Politics: In Virginia, James Madison overcomes heated opposition to the new federal Constitution from Patrick Henry and George Mason, and the Virginia convention approves of it 89 to 75. George Washington also lobbies Edmund Randolph for passage, and he agrees on the condition that a Bill of

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Rights is added afterward. While redundant from the standpoint of ratification, Virginia’s support was viewed as essential for the long-term success of the new system of governance.

June 26 General: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is the scene of raucous celebrations following ratification of the new federalist Constitution; it was the Granite State that pushed it over the threshold.

July 2 Politics: President of Congress Cyrus Griffin of Virginia declares that the Constitution of the United States has been ratified by nine states and is now in effect.

July 8 Politics: A Congressional committee is appointed to oversee a smooth transition to the new form of government; specifically they deal with rules for electing members to the new House of Representatives and choosing electors for a new chief executive, the president of the United States.

July 15 Settlement: Former Revolutionary War general Arthur St. Clair is installed as governor of the Northwest Territory, with headquarters at Marietta, Ohio.

July 26 Politics: The New York convention, deftly manipulated by Alexander Hamilton, votes to unconditionally approve the new federal Constitution by a vote of 30 to 27. The vote, largely symbolic, is essential for displaying widespread national support for the document. Inclusion of a bill of rights is also mentioned as a recommendation.

July 27 Business: The Scioto Company acquires 1,781,000 acres in the Ohio Country and makes preparations to settle all of it north of territory owned by the Ohio Company.

August 2 Politics: The North Carolina convention votes 184 to 84 to withhold ratification of the federal constitution until a second convention weighs a bill of rights.

August 16 Journalism: The 85th and last installment of The Federalist in published in New York.

August 17 Settlement: John Cleves Symmes leads a group of pioneers from New Jersey to the confluences of the Ohio and Great Miami Rivers.

September Business: Trading vessels Columbia and Lady Washington arrive at Nootka Sound, being the first American ships to contact and trade in the Pacific Northwest.

September 13 Politics: President of Congress Cyrus Griffin selects New York City to serve as the temporary seat of government until a new federal district is constructed. He

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Chronology of American History also approves congressional recommendations for the states to select presidential electors on the first Wednesday of the following January. Actual balloting for the new Congress will begin on the first Wednesday of February, and the Congress will then convene on the first Wednesday of March.

September 25 Politics: Congress dispatches 12 amendments (the Bill of Rights) to the states for ratification.

October Business: After many months of spiraling downward, commodity prices finally stabilize and signs of pre-Revolutionary economic prosperity begin to be manifested.

October 2 Military: The contractor tasked with providing the army with uniforms and other accouterments fails to provide the goods as promised, so soldiers at distant outposts are forced to improvise with on-hand supplies. Congress also fails to provide the military with pay. Politics: The Confederation Congress relocates from New York City’s Federal Hall until the building is renovated to receive the new government.

November 1 Politics: The Confederation Congress finally adjourns until the first week of April 1789. Technically speaking, the United States lacks a central government until March 4, 1789.

November 12 Diplomacy: Chief Alexander McGillivray, defeated in his frontier war against Georgia, signs the Treaty of Galphinton, which forces the tribe to recognize the early treaty of Augusta. He is also forced to cede a strip of coastal land along the Altahamaha River.

November 16 Politics: North Carolina, encouraged by the 12 amendments to the federal Constitution, approves a convention for ratification purposes.

November 21 Politics: The North Carolina convention formally approves the new federal Constitution on a vote of 194 to 77.

December Business: The American national economy, spurred on by a rise in commodity prices, begins a gradual postwar recovery. The immediate beneficiary is the South, whose exports of rice, tobacco, indigo, and naval stores to England and France provide a badly needed influx of cash.

December 1 Diplomacy: Spain allows U.S. exports through the port of New Orleans, but only after collecting a 15 percent duty. They do so to convince westerners to assist General James Wilkinson, now a spy for Spain, to separate the lower Mississippi Valley from the United States and establish a Spanish protectorate. Spanish designs are abetted by genuine discontent arising from the failure of the recent Jay-Gardoqui Treaty to be ratified by Congress.

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December 23 Politics: A 10-square-mile federal district along the Potomac River is suggested by the Maryland government, an area it is willing to cede as the future District of Columbia.

December 28 Settlement: The settlement of Losantiville is founded at the mouth of the Big Miami River, Ohio, by colonists under John Cleves Symmes. Two years later, the settlement is renamed Cincinnati in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, a conservative political interest group organized among Revolutionary War officers.

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B IBLIOGRAPHY ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ Adams, Catherine J. “ ‘What I Did Is Who I Am’: African American Women and Resistance to Slavery in Colonial and Revolutionary New England.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2004. Adams, Gretchen A. “The Specter of Salem in American Culture.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of New Hampshire, 2001. Agostini, Thomas C. ‘Cousins in Arms’: Experience and the Formation of a British-American Identity among Regular and Provincial Soldiers during the Seven Years’ War.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Lehigh University, 2002. Ahearn, Bill. Flintlock Muskets in the American Revolution and Other Colonial Wars. Lincoln, R.I.: Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2005. Alt, William E. Black Soldiers, White Wars: Black Warriors from Antiquity to the Present. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002. Amory, Hugh, and David D. Hall, eds. A History of the Book in America. Vol. 1: The Colonial Book in the Atlantic World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Anderson, Douglas. William Bradford’s Books: “Of Plimouth Plantation” and the Printed Word. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1763. New York: Vintage Books, 2001. Anderson, Fred. The War that Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War. New York: Viking, 2005. Anderson, Virginia D. Creatures of Empire: How Domestic Animals Transformed Early America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Anzilotti, Cara. In the Affairs of the World: Women, Patriarchy, and Power in Colonial South Carolina. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. Atwood, Craig D. Community of the Cross: Moravian Policy in Colonial Bethlehem. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 2004. Aubert, Guillaume. “ ‘Francais, Negres et Sauvages’: Constructing Race in Colonial Louisiana.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Tulane University, 2002. Bach, Rebecca A. Colonial Transformations: The Cultural Production of the New Atlantic World, 1580–1640. New York: Palgrave, 2000. Baker, Jennifer J. Securing the Commonwealth: Debt, Speculation, and Writing in the Making of Early America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

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Chronology of American History Brown, Gillan. The Consent of the Governed: The Lockean Legacy in Early American Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. Brumwell, Stephen. Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755–1763. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Brumwell, Stephen. White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2004. Burgess, Robert S. To Try the Bloody Law: The Story of Mary Dyer. Burnsville, N.C.: Celo Valley, 2000. Burns, William E. Science and Technology in Colonial America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Burton, Helen S. “Family and Economy in Frontier Louisiana: Colonial Natchitoches, 1714–1803.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss, Texas Christian University, 2002. Callo, Joseph F. John Paul Jones: America’s First Sea Warrior. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2006. Calloway, Colin G., and Neal Salisbury, eds. Reinterpreting New England Indians and the Colonial Experience. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2003. Camenzind, Krista. “From the Holy Experiment to the Paxton Boys: Violence, Manhood, and Race in Pennsylvania during the Seven Years’ War.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of California, San Diego, 2002. Carlo, Paula W. “The Huguenots of Colonial New Paltz and New Rochelle: A Social and Religious History.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 2001. Carroll, John M., and Collin F. Baxter. The American Military Tradition: From Colonial Times to the Present. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Carter, Susan B. Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Castillo, Susan, and Ivy Schweitzer, ed. The Literatures of Colonial America: An Anthology. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2001. Cave, Alfred A. The French and Indian War. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Chan, Alexandra A. “The Slaves of Colonial New England: Discourses of Colonialism and Identity at the Isaac Royall House, Medford, Massachusetts, 1732–1775.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss, Boston University, 2003. Chandler, Alfred D., and James W. Cortada, eds. A Nation Transformed by Information: How Information Has Shaped the United States from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Chet, Guy. Conquering the American Wilderness: The Triumph of European Warfare in the Colonial Northeast. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2003. Ciment, James. Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2006. Cinlar, Nuran. “Marriage in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607–1770: A Study in Cultural Adaptation and Reformulation.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2001. Colley, Linda. Captives. New York: Pantheon, 2002. Conrad, Margaret, and Barry Moody, eds. Planter Links: Community and Culture in Colonial Nova Scotia. Fredericton, N.B.: Acadiensis, 2001.

Bibliography Coombs, John C. “Building ‘the Machine’: The Development of Slavery and Slave Society in Early Colonial Virginia.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., College of William and Mary, 2004. Copeland, David A. Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers: Primary Documents on Events of the Period. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. Corbett, Theodore G. A Clash of Cultures on the Warpath of Nations: The Colonial Wars in the Hudson-Champlain Valley. Fleischmanns, N.Y.: Purple Mountain Press, 2002. Cotton, John. The Correspondence of John Cotton. Edited by Sargent Bush, Jr. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Crego, Carl R. Fort Ticonderoga. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2004. Cullon, Joseph F. “Colonial Shipwrights and Their World: Men, Women, and Markets in Early New England.” Unpublished diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2003. Curiel, James A. “The Colonial Function of the Conception of the Primative.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of California, Davis, 2000. Dale, Elizabeth. Debating and Creating Authority: The Failure of a Constitutional Ideal in Massachusetts Bay, 1629–1649. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2001. Davis, David B. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. De Cunzo, La Ann. Unlocking the Past: Celebrating Historical Archaeology in North America. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. Deetz, James, and Particia S. Deetz. The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2000. Derks, Scott, and Tony Smith. The Value of a Dollar: Colonial Era to the Civil War, 1600–1865. Millerton, N.Y.: Grey House, 2005. DeRosa, Robin. “Specters, Scholars, and Sightseers: The Salem Witch Trials and American Memory.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Tufts University, 2002. Diner, Hasla R., and Beryl Lieff Benderly. Her Works Praise Her: A History of Jewish Women in America from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Basic Books, 2002. Donahue, Brian. The Great Meadow: Farmers and the Land in Colonial Concord. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2004. Dunn, Walter S. People of the American Frontier: The Coming of the American Revolution. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005. Einhorn, Robin L. American Taxation, American Slavery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Ekberg, Carl J., Grady W. Kilman, and Pierre Lebeau. Code Noir: The Colonial Slave Laws of French Mid-America. Naperville, Ill.: Center for French Colonial Studies, 2005. Elliott, John H. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006. Fabel, Robin F. A. Colonial Challenges: Britons, Native Americans, and Cribs, 1759–1775. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000. Faggins, Barbara A. “An Afrocentric Analysis of Contacts between Africans and First Americans in Colonial Virginia.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Temple University, 2001.

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Chronology of American History Fatherly, Sarah L. “Gentlewomen and Learned Ladies: Gender and the Creation of an Urban Elite in Colonial Philadelphia.” Unpublished Ph. D diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2000. Ferling, John E. A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Ferro, David L. “Selling Science in the Colonial American Newspaper: How the Middle Colonial American General Periodical Represented Nature, Philosophy, Medicine, and Technology, 1728–1765.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2001. Field, Jonathan B. “The Grounds of Dissent: Heresies and Colonies in New England, 1636–1663.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago Press, 2004. Finch, Martha L. “Corporality and Orthodoxy in Early New England: Plymouth Colony, 1620–1692.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2000. Fingerhut, Eugene R., and Joseph S. Tidemann. The Other New York: The American Revolution beyond New York City, 1763–1787. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005. Fischer, Kirsten. Suspect Relations: Sex, Race, and Resistance in Colonial North Carolina. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2002. Fischer, Kirsten, and Eric Hinderaker, eds. Colonial American History. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2002. Flavell, Julie, and Stephen Conway, eds. Britain and America Go to War: The Impact of War in Anglo-America, 1754–1815. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004. Fleming, Thomas J. Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2005. Flynn, David T. “Credit and the Economy of Colonial New England.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 2001. Fowler, William M. Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754–1763. New York: Walker, 2004. Frasca, Ralph. Benjamin Franklin’s Printing Network: Disseminating Virtue in Early America. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. Fredriksen, John C. America’s Military Adversaries: From Colonial Times to the Present. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-Clio, 2001. Fredriksen, John C. Revolutionary War Almanac. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Gagne, Richard H. “Cultural History Carved in Stone: The Colonial American Frontier Revealed in the Traditional Art of Gershom Bartlett’s Gravestones.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 2004. Geiter, Mark K., and W. A. Speck. Colonial America: From Jamestown to Yorktown. New York: Palgrave, 2003. Gibson, Marion, ed. Witchcraft and Society in England and America, 1550– 1750. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2003. Gilje, Paul A. The Making of the American Republic, 1763–1815. Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Gilmore, R. J. “ ‘Imagined Bodies and Imagined Selves’: Cultural Transgression, ‘Unredeemed’ Captives, and the Development of American Identity

Bibliography in Colonial North America, 1520–1763.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., York University, 2004. Glatthaar, Joseph T. Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Gordon, Elsbeth K. Florida’s Colonial Architectural Heritage. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. Graham, Diane S. “Planting, Planning, and Design: A Comparative Study of English Colonial Cities Founded in India, North America, and the Caribbean, 1660–1710.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., State University of New York, Binghamton, 2001. Greenberg, Martin A. Citizens Defending America: From Colonial Times to the Age of Terrorism. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005. Greene, Jack P., Rosemary Branta-Shute, and Randy Sparks, eds. Money, Trade, and Power: The Evolution of Colonial South Carolina’s Plantation Society. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. Greenspan, Anders. Creating Colonial Williamsburg. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002. Greenwood, John T., and F. Clifton Berry. Medics at War: Military Medicine from Colonial Times to the 21st Century. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2005. Greer, Allan, and Jodi Bilinkoff, eds. Colonial Saints: Discovering the Holy in the Americas, 1500–1800. New York: Routledge, 2003. Grenier, John. The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier, 1607–1814. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Grubb, Farley W. Two Theories of Money Reconciled: The Colonial Puzzle Revisited with New Evidence. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2005. Gwyn, Julian. An Admiral for America: Sir Peter Warren, Vice Admiral of the Red, 1703–1752. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004. Haefeli, Evan, and Kevin Sweeney. Captors and Captives: The 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2003. Hager, Alan, ed. The Age of Milton: An Encyclopedia of Major 17th-Century British and American Authors. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Hall, Joseph M. “Making an Indian People: Creek Formation in the Colonial Southeast, 1590–1735.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2001. Harbury, Katherine E. Colonial Virginia’s Cooking Dynasty. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004. Harris, Brenda L. “Charleston’s Colonial Boat Culture, 1668–1775.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of South Carolina, 2002. Haskell, Alexander B. “The Affections of the People”: Ideology and the Politics of State Building in Colonial Virginia, 1607–1754.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2005. Higginbotham, Don, ed. George Washington Reconsidered. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001. Hodges, Graham R. The Colonial World & The Young Nation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Chronology of American History Hoeveler, J. David. Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics: in the Colonial Colleges. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. Hoffer, Peter C. The Great New York Conspiracy of 1741: Slavery, Crime, and Colonial Law. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003. Hoffer, Peter C. The Brave New World: A History of Early America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Horton, James O. Slavery and the Making of America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Huff, Randall. The Revolutionary War Era. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Jalalsai, Zubeda. “Puritan Imperialisms: The Limits of Identity and the Indian Missions of Massachusetts Bay.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., State University of New York, Buffalo, 2000. James, Sydney V, Sheila L. Skemp, and Bruce C. Daniels, eds. The Colonial Metamorphoses in Rhode Island: A Study of Institutions in Change. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 2000. Johnson, Odai. Absence and Memory in Colonial American Theater: Fiorelli’s Plaster. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Johnson, Odai, and William J. Burling. The American Colonial Stage, 1665– 1774: A Documentary Calender. Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Press, 2001. Johnston, A. J. B. Control and Order in French Colonial Louisbourg, 1713–1758. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001. Jones, Joseph F. John Paul Jones: America’s First Sea Warrior. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2006. Kalter, Susan. Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania, and the First Nations: The Treaties of 1736–62. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Kaaye, Harvey J. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Keen, David J. “Beyond Fur Trade: The Eighteenth Century Colonial Economy of French North Americas as Seen from Fort de Chartes in the Illinois Country.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2002. Kloss, Michelle L. “The Constructed Self in Colonial American Portraiture.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Maryland, College Park, 2000. Kornwolf, James D., and Georgiana W. Kornwolf. Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America. 3 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. Kulikoff, Allan. From British Peasants to Colonial American Farmers. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. Lambert, Frank. James Habersham: Loyalty, Politics, and Commerce in Colonial Georgia. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2005. Lannen, Andrew C. “Liberty and Authority in Colonial Georgia, 1717–1776.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Louisiana State University, 2002. LeMaster, Michelle M. “ ‘Thorough-Paced Girls’ and ‘Cowardly Bad Men’: Gender and Family in Indian-White Relations in the Colonial Southeast, 1660–1783.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2002. Lengal, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. New York: Random House, 2005.

Bibliography Levy, Andrew. The First Emancipator: The Forgotten Story of Robert Carter, the Founding Father Who Freed His Slaves. New York: Random House, 2005. Loescher, Burt G. The History of Roger’s Rangers. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 2001. Logan, Rebecca L. “Witches and Poisoners in the Colonial Chesapeake.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Union Institute, 2001. Lombard, Anne S. Making Manhood: Growing Up Male in Colonial New England. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003. Longaker, Mark G. “Rhet/Comp and Revolution: History, Rhetoric and Pedagogy in Colonial and Contemporary American Higher Education.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003. Lounsbury, Carl R. From Statehouse to Courthouse: An Architectural History of South Carolina’s Colonial Capitol and Charleston County Courthouse. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. Lounsbury, Carl R. Courthouses of Early Virginia: An Architectural History. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005. Lustig, Mary Lou. The Imperial Executive in America: Sir Edmund Andros, 1637–1714. Cranbury, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002. Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle, eds. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. Main, Gloria L. Peoples of a Spacious Land: Families and Cultures in Colonial New England. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. Mancke, Elizabeth, and Carole Shammas. The Creation of the British Atlantic World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Marston, Daniel. The French-Indian War, 1754–1760. New York: Routledge, 2003. Martin, Jonathan D. “Divided Mastery: Slave Hiring in the Colonial and Antebellum American South.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., New York University, 2000. Matson, Cathy D. The Economy of Early America: Historical Perspective and New Directions. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. Mays, Terry M. Historical Dictionary of Revolutionary America. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2005. McClelland-Nugent, Ruth. “Rebels, Heathen, and Heretics: The Problem of Settler Identity in Printed Accounts of English Colonial Crises, with a Particular Focus on Ireland, New England, and Virginia, 1640–1700.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Dalhousie University, 2000. McConville, Brendan. The King’s Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688–1783. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. McDougall, Walter A. Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585–1828. New York: Perennial, 2005. McDowell, Gary, and Jonathan O’Neil, eds. America and Enlightenment Constitutionalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. McGarvie, Mark D. One Nation under Law: America’s Early National Struggles to Separate Church and State. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2005. McGaughty, J. Kent. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: A Portrait of an American Revolutionary. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.

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Chronology of American History McNeel, Steven C. “A Long Indefensible Line of Frontiers: Colonel Henri Bouquet’s North American Apprenticeship.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, Chicago, 2002. McWilliams, James E. “From the Ground Up: Internal Economic Development and Local Commercial Exchange in the Massachusetts Bay Region, 1630– 1705.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2001. Melosi, Martin V. The Sanitary City: Urban Infrastructure in America from Colonial Times to the Present. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. Menard, Russell R. Migrants, Servants, and Slaves: Unfree Labor in Colonial British America. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2001. Mercanti, Jonathan. “Colony in Conflict: South Carolina, 1748–1766.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Emory University, 2000. Messer, Peter C. Stories of Independence: Identity, Ideology, and History in Eighteenth Century America. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2005. Meyers, Debra A. Common Whores, Vertuous Women and Loveing Wives: Free Will Christian Women in Colonial Maryland. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 2003. Meyers, Karen. Colonialism and the Revolutionary Period: Beginnings to 1800. New York: Facts On File, 2005. Miller, Kerby A., et al. Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan: Letters and Memoirs from Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1675–1815. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Monaghan, E. Jennifer. Learning to Read and Write in Colonial America. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2005. Morgan, Edmund S. The Genuine Article: A Historian Looks at Early America. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Mulford, Carla, and David S. Shields. Finding Colonial Americans: Essays Honoring J. A. Leo Lemay. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2001. Nash, Gary B. The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006. Nelson, James L. Benedict Arnold’s Navy: The Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain but Won the American Revolution. Camden, Me.: International Marine/McGraw Hill, 2006. Nelson, John K. A Blessed Company: Parishes, Parsons, and Parishioners in Anglican Virginia, 1690–1776. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Nelson, Louis P. “The Material World: Anglican Visual Culture in Colonial South Carolina.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Delaware, 2001. Nestor, William R. The Great Frontier War: Britain, France, and the Imperial Struggle for North America, 1607–1755. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000. Nestor, William R. The First Global War: Britain, France, and the Fate of North America, 1756–1775. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis, of 1692. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Oatis, Steven J. A Colonial Complex: South Carolina’s Frontiers in the Era of the Yamasee War, 1860–1730. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.

Bibliography Olbrys, Stephen C. “ ‘More Weight’: Social Evil, Civil Rights, and the Commodification of the Salem Witch Trials.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 2003. Olexer, Barbara. The Enslavement of the American Indian in Colonial Times. Columbus, Md.: Joyous, 2005. Oliphant, John. Peace and War on the Anglo-Cherokee Frontier, 1756–1763. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001. Oliver, Sandra L. Food in Colonial and Federal America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Olwell, Robert, and Allan Tully. Cultures and Identities in Colonial British America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. O’Toole, Fintan. White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005. Parrish, Susan S. American Curiosity: Cultures of Natural History in the Colonial British Atlantic World. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Patterson, Thomas E. We the People: A Concise Introduction to American Politics. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Piker, Joshua. Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004. Plane, Ann Marie. Colonial Intimacies: Indian Marriage in Early New England. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000. Powell, Allan. Forgotten Heroes of the Maryland Frontier: Christopher Gist, Evan Shelby, Jr., and Thomas Cresap. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 2001. Proenza-Coles, Christina. “Imagining Communities in Black and White: Social Stratification in Colonial Virginia and Cuba and Its Impact on Nineteenth Century Conceptions of Race and Nation.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., New School University, 2004. Puls, Mark. Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Raphael, Ray. The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord. New York: New Press, 2002. Rassmussen, Birgit B. “Re-Imagining Literary America: Writing and Colonial Frontiers in American Literature.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2003. Read, David. New World, Known World: Shaping Knowledge in Early AngloAmerican Writing. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2005. Reid, John G., et al. The “Conquest” of Acadia, 1710: Imperial, Colonial, and Aboriginal Constructions. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. Reinhardt, Leslie K. “Fabricated Images: Invented Dress in British and Colonial American Portraits.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 2003. Reiss, Oscar. The Jews in Colonial America. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004. Roberts, Cokie. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. New York: Perennial, 2005. Rogers, Robert. The Annotated and Illustrated Journals of Major Robert Rogers. Fleischmanns, N.Y.: Purple Mountain Press, 2002. Roper, L. H. Conceiving Carolina: Proprietors, Planters, and Plots, 1662–1729. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

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Chronology of American History Rose, Alexander. Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring. New York: Bantam Books, 2006. Rothschild, Nan A. Colonial Encounters in a Native Landscape: The Spanish and Dutch in North America. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003. Rowe, Mary E. Bulwark of the Republic: The American Militia in the Antebellum West. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003. Ruckers, Walter C. The River Flows On: Black Resistance, Culture, and Identity Formation in Early America. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006. Rutz-Robbins, Kristi A. “Colonial Commerce: Race, Class, and Gender in a Local Economy, Albemarle, North Carolina, 1663–1729.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss, Michigan State University, 2003. St. George, Robert B., ed. Possible Pasts: Becoming Colonial in Early America. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000. Samford, Patricia M. “Power Runs in Many Channels: Subfloor Pits and West African-based Spiritual Traditions in Colonial Virginia.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2000. Sandage, Scott A. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Sarson, Steven. British America, 1500–1800: Creating Colonies, Imagining an Empire. London: Hodder Arnold, 2005. Schama, Simon. Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution. New York: Ecco, 2006. Shoemaker, Nancy. A Strange Likeness: Becoming Red and White in EighteenthCentury North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Silvia, Diane E. “Indian and French Interaction in Colonial Louisiana during the Early Eighteenth Century.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Tulane University, 2000. Smolenski, John J. “Friends and Strangers: Religion, Diversity, and the Ordering of Public Life in Colonial Pennsylvania, 1681–1764.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2001. Snyder, Holly. “A Sense of Place: Jews, Identity, and Social Status in Colonial British America, 1654–1831.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University, 2000. Spencer, Mark G. David Hume and Eighteenth Century America. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2005. Starbuck, David R. Massacre at Fort William Henry. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 2002. Stevens, Laura M. The Poor Indians: British Missionaries, Native Americans, and Colonial Sensibility. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. Stutz, Linda L. Within Her Power: Propertied Women in Colonial Virginia. New York: Routledge, 2002. Stuyvesant, Peter. Correspondence, 1647–1653. Edited by Charles T. Gehring. Syracuse, N.Y.: University of Syracuse Press, 2001. Suthren, Victor J. H. The Sea Has No End: The Life of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. Toronto: Dundurn Group, 2004.

Bibliography Tabbert, Mark A. American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities. New York: New York University Press, 2005. Taylor, Alan. Writing Early American History. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Taylor, Alan. The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Thompson, Bruce, ed. The Revolutionary Period, 1750–1783. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Thompson, Mark L. “National Subjects in a Contested Colonial Space: Allegiance, Ethnicity, and Authority in the Seventeenth-Century Delaware Valley.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2004. Todish, Timothy J. America’s First World War: The French and Indian War, 1754–1763. Fleischmanns, N.Y.: Purple Mountain Press, 2002. Vetere, Lisa M. “All the Rage at Salem: Witchcraft Tales and the Politics of Domestic Complaints in Early and Antebellum America.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Lehigh University, 2003. Vickers, Daniel, ed. A Companion to Colonial America. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2003. Vigne, Randolph, and Charles Littleton, eds. From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrant Communities in Britain, Ireland, and Colonial America, 1550–1750. Brighton, England: Sussex Academic, 2001. Volo, James M., and Dorothy D. Volo. Family Life in 17th and 18th-Century America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Walters, Wendy S. “A Dramatic Evolution of the Colonial Subject: Imaging Authorship in the Performance of History.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Cornell University, 2000. Ward, Joseph P. Britain and the American South: From Colonialism to Rock and Roll. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003. Ward, Matthew C. Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven Years’ War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754–1763. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh, 2003. Washington, Harriet A. Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Doubleday, 2006. Watts, Edward. In This Remote Country: French Colonial Culture in the AngloAmerican Imagination, 1780–1860. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Weintraub, Stanley. Iron Tears: America’s Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire, 1775–1783. New York: Free Press, 2005. Wertheimer, Eric. Underwriting: The Poetics of Insurance in America, 1722– 1872. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2006. Westover, Jeffrey W. “The Colonial Moment: Discoveries and Settlements in Modern American Poetry.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Boston College, 2000. White, Andrew P. “ ‘Keeping Clear of the Gain of Obsession’: ‘Public Friends’ and the De-mastering of Quaker Race Relations in Late Colonial America.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Washington State University, 2003.

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Chronology of American History Wilheit, Mary C. “Colonial Surveyors in Southern Maryland.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Texas A & M University, 2003. Williams, Glenn F. Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois. Yardley, Pa.:Westholme, 2005. Wilson, Richard G. Re-creating the American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006. Wood, Bradford J. “The Formation of a Region in Colonial North Carolina: The Lower Cape Fear, 1725–1775.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 2000. Wood, Betty. Slavery in Colonial America, 1619–1776. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Wood, Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different. New York: Penguin Press, 2006. Wood, Peter H. Strange New Land: Africans in Colonial America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Wood, Timothy L. “Agents of Wrath, Sowers of Discord: Authority and Dissent in Puritan Massachusetts, 1630–1655.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Marquette University, 2002. Wright, Robert E. The First Wall Street: Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and the Birth of American Finance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Wulf, Karen. Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000. York, Neil L. Turning the World Upside Down: The War of American Independence and the Problem of Empire. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003.

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME II ★★★

Expansion and Civil War 1789 to 1865

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN HISTORY Volume I Colonization and Independence Beginnings to 1788 Volume II Expansion and Civil War 1789 to 1865 Volume III Industry and Modernity 1866 to 1920 Volume IV Challenges at Home and Abroad 1921 to the Present

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME II ★★★

Expansion and Civil War 1789 to 1865

JOHN C. FREDRIKSEN

Chronology of American History Copyright © 2008 John C. Fredriksen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fredriksen, John C. Chronology of American history / John C. Fredriksen. v. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. Contents. v. 1. Colonization and independence, beginnings to 1788— v. 2. Expansion and Civil War, to 1865—v. 3. Industry and modernity, to 1920— v. 4. Challenges at home and abroad, to the present. ISBN 978-0-8160-6800-5 (set : hc : alk. paper) 1. United States—History— Chronology. 2. United States—Civilization—Chronology. 3. United States— Biography. I. Title. E174.5.F74 2008 973—dc22 2007033964 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Kerry Casey Cover design by Salvatore Luongo Printed in the United States of America VB BVC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper and contains 30 percent postconsumer recycled content.

CONTENTS ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ Introduction Chronology

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INTRODUCTION ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ aving secured independence, the nascent United States adopted a new, more centralized system of governance under the Constitution in 1789, and George Washington was sworn in as the nation’s first chief executive. The ensuing seven decades proved a period of unprecedented growth and internal consolidation, although not without intermittent bumps along the way. In a military parlance, the American polity struggled with its acceptance of standing professional forces, army and navy alike, in the many conflicts with Native Americans, Tripolitan pirates, revolutionary France, a second showdown with Great Britain, and a war of conquest against Mexico. The military and political institutions survived this repeated buffeting, which left the United States thriving and on the cusp of becoming a two-ocean power. Concurrent with national expansion was a similar boom in the economic and population sectors, both of which experienced steady growth due to the industrial revolution and unprecedented waves of immigration. Millions of new citizens from a dozen nations added to the patchwork ethnic diversity already extant, contributing to the energy and innovations of a young country on the rise. This period also witnessed the rise of a native intelligentsia, which sought out higher vistas by declaring their cultural independence from Great Britain and crafting a uniquely American strain of philosophy, literature, and art. The nation also witnessed the rise of “Jacksonian democracy,” whereby the common man, freed from the restraints of property qualifications, participated in increasingly larger numbers and thereby shaped both politics and parties. Religion itself likewise underwent a resurgence during the so-called Second Awakening, which, in turn, occasioned the rise of numerous and significant reform movements such as temperance, women’s rights, and abolitionism. In sum, self-determination in all its forms took root and flourished for the vast majority of Americans and ushered in a period of unbridled prosperity and freedom. The decades leading up to 1860 also promulgated escalating sectionalism and stridency over the issue of slavery. Perpetuation of that “peculiar institution,” along with its threatened expansion into newly acquired territories, set the stage for an armed confrontation between North and South, and the

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Chronology of American History ensuing civil war, 1861–65, proved a trial by fire for American institutions. Victory here insured that the high ideals espoused by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Enlightenment products of the previous century, would finally apply to all Americans. The demon of human bondage was only exorcised by force and at great cost in blood and treasure. It was also an epic struggle, one ushering in the age of “total war” toward noncombatants, along with “modern war”—the rise of technologically sophisticated, mass-produced weaponry. For all the carnage and suffering this entailed, however, the United States once again emerged united, tempered by its fiery rite of passage, and ready for its next stage of evolution as a global power. This volume covers the growth and maturation of the United States from the accession of George Washington to the presidency in 1790 to the end of the Civil War in 1865. Chronologies of American history are standard fare in reference collections but, in a major oversight, these tend to stress social and political events at the expense of military affairs; this volume goes to great lengths to address such deficiencies with a more balanced approach. It also affords treatment of numerous and salient topics of interest to researchers, students, and laypersons alike. Even a simple perusing of the text calls to the reader’s eye such wide-ranging concerns as art, business, diplomacy, literature, medicine, military, politics, publishing, religion, science, slavery, society, and technology in a simple to use and easily accessed format. Space constrains restrict most entries to a single line, but highly important events can command up to a paragraph in coverage. Wherever possible, entries are also assigned an exact year, month, and day for organizational purposes. The text is further buttressed by inclusion of 100 capsule biographies throughout the text denoting individuals of singular import to their passage in time. These are uniform in composition and touch upon birth and death dates, background, education, and other facets in addition to their most obvious concern. The volume is finally rounded out with a 5,000-word bibliography of the very latest scholarship pertaining to most events represented therein, including dissertations and master’s theses, where applicable. Furthermore the pages are replete with numerous and relevant illustrations, which function both as embellishments and visual points of reference. From perusing these pages one can hopefully grasp the imposing pageantry of American history, and all its threads of continuity and points of departure. Nothing or no one has been overlooked in making editorial choices and, while degrees of coverage may vary in length, the author cast the widest possible net for purposes of inclusion. I am deeply indebted to my editor, Owen Lancer, for suggesting this project to me. It was an arduous, nearly exhausting sojourn at times, but I am a better historian for it. ———John C. Fredriksen, Ph.D.

CHRONOLOGY ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ 1789 Business: German immigrant John Jacob Astor purchases real estate in New York City’s Bowery, his first step toward creating the nation’s first commercial empire. Literature: William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy; or The Triumph of Nature is the first American novel published. It ponders the consequences of seduction along with the advantages of female education. Publishing: Christopher Colles compiles and publishes A Survey of Roads of the United States of America in New York City, being the nation’s first comprehensive set of road maps. Adam Smith’s seminal book The Wealth of Nations is published in the United States; its laissez-faire approach to economics wields enormous influence on the course of national development. Religion: The Methodist Church establishes the Methodist Book Concern in New York City; this is the first religious publishing house for the advancement of Christian education. Societal: A group of 200 Litchfield, Connecticut, farmers organize the nation’s first temperance group, forswearing any use of alcohol during the farming season.

January Publishing: Bishops Thomas Cooke and Francis Asbury of Philadelphia edit and publish the Arminian Magazine, the nation’s first religious magazine. The Children’s Magazine, the first juvenile publication in the United States, starts publication at Hartford, Connecticut; it survives only three issues.

January 7 Politics: The first presidential electors are elected either by state legislatures or the direct vote of citizens or, as in the case of Massachusetts, by both. Said individuals, once appointed, are free to cast their vote for whomever they like.

January 9 Indian: General Arthur St. Clair, presently governor of the Old Northwest, concludes the Treaty of Fort Harmar with the Indians. This pact reaffirms the previous Treaty of Fort McIntosh. 599

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January 23 Education: The Academy of Georgetown (Georgetown University), the first Catholic institution for higher learning in the United States, is founded by Father John Carroll on the future site of the District of Columbia. It also serves as a seminary for future Catholic clergy.

February 2 Politics: In Virginia, James Madison defeats rival James Monroe for a seat in Congress.

February 4 Politics: All presidential electors cast their ballots, which will not be counted until April 6. Various states then go about electing their senators and representatives.

March 2 Arts: The Pennsylvania state legislature votes to allow the performance of plays, signaling a liberalization of attitudes toward the performing arts along the eastern seaboard.

March 4 Politics: Eight senators and 13 representatives of the first Constitutional Congress convene in New York City, although they are unable to achieve a quorum until more politicians arrive.

April 1 Politics: The House of Representatives is off to an early start by cobbling together 30 members, enough for a quorum, and Frederick A. Mühlenberg of Pennsylvania becomes the first speaker under the Constitution.

April 6 Politics: New Hampshire Senator John Langdon gains appointment as that body’s first presiding officer, although only nine senators are present out of 22. He nonetheless begins tabulating the presidential ballots previously cast in February. Not surprisingly, George Washington is unanimously elected president with 69 votes and John Adams, who receives 39 votes, becomes vice president.

April 8 Politics: The House of Representatives wades into the important issue of raising revenues for the government.

April 14 Politics: George Washington, residing in his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia, is informed by congressional secretary Charles Thomson of his election as president.

April 15 Journalism: John Fenno begins publishing the Gazette of the United States in New York City; it is Federalist in orientation and serves as the government’s de facto mouthpiece. The paper is also backed by Alexander Hamilton.

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Hamilton, Alexander (1757–1804) Politician Alexander Hamilton was born in the West Indies on January 11, 1757, the illegitimate son of a Scottish merchant and a planter’s daughter. He was well-educated locally and sent to a private academy in New Jersey in 1772 to complete his studies. Hamilton subsequently gained entrance into King’s College (Columbia University) to study law when the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. He quickly joined a militia company, fought well at the battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Princeton, where he garnered the attention of General George Washington. Hamilton subsequently became a lieutenant colonel of Washington's staff but yearned for military glory and

Alexander Hamilton. Engraving (Library of Congress)

accepted a command position in the field. He particularly distinguished himself at Yorktown on October 14, 1781, by carrying out a spectacular nighttime charge on the British fortification. Shortly afterward Hamilton married into the wealthy and powerful Schuyler family of New York and parleyed his considerable energy and genius into a viable career in politics. By 1785 Hamilton had opened a law office on Wall Street, helped to found the Bank of New York, and won a seat in the Confederation Congress. In this last capacity he decried the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and, at the ill-fated Annapolis Convention, agitated for a new Constitutional Convention. He then functioned in Philadelphia as a delegate, but his biggest role was in championing the new document. In concert with James Madison, John Jay, and Thomas Jefferson, he helped write the Federalist Papers, an erudite collection of essays favoring more centralized governance. Once the new Constitution had been ratified and George Washington inaugurated as the first president, Hamilton gained appointment as secretary of the treasury. He immediately distinguished himself in various reports to Congress, advocating creation of a national bank, the assumption of state and national debts at face value, and establishing the new nation’s credit abroad. These positions formed the heart of the then emerging Federalist Party, which called for strong central intervention in and regulation of the economy, and were vehemently opposed by Madison and Jefferson of the new Democratic-Republicans. The growing list of personal enemies finally (continues)

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(continued) forced Hamilton from office in 1795. After 1796 Hamilton continued to intrigue against President John Adams, whom he considered as weak and vacillating in the face of the French Revolution. His opposition conse-­ quently split the Federalists, although he lent his political support to Jefferson as president to keep Aaron Burr from winning. In 1804 Hamilton also opposed Burr for his role in

the Essex Junto, which threatened to detach New England from the Union and led to Burr’s loss as governor. Burr then angrily challenged Hamilton to a duel, mortally wounding him. He died on July 12, 1804, one of the most brilliant and accomplished members of the Revolutionary generation, who single-­handedly established the modern economic outlook of the young nation.

April 16 Politics: George Washington departs Mount Vernon, Virginia, and begins his eight-­day journey to New York to be sworn in as president.

April 21 Politics: John Adams, arriving in New York from Braintree, Massachusetts, is sworn in as vice president and then sits as president pro tempore of the Senate.

April 23 Journalism: America’s first Catholic newspaper, the Courrier de Boston, begins publication.

April 30 Politics: Amid much pomp and excitement, a sullen and grim-­faced George Wash-­ ington takes his oath of office from Robert Livingston on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City. Once inaugurated, Washington walks into the Senate chamber and delivers his inaugural address, urging “preservation of the sacred fire of liberty.”

May 7 Politics: The nation’s first inaugural ball, honoring George and Martha Wash-­ ington, is held at New York City. Religion: The Protestant Episcopal Church is organized in Philadelphia from the American branch of the Church of England.

May 12 Politics: The Society of Saint Tammany, an amalgam of anti-­Federalist laborers, tradesmen, and political activists, is founded in New York City under William Mooney, the first grand sachem. They derive their name from the Indian Chief who originally greeted William Penn in Pennsylvania, and they gradually evolve into a powerful political lobby.

June 1 Politics: The first act passed by Congress entails the administering of oaths for public office.

July 4 Business: Congress, eager to generate money for the cash-­strapped government, passes its first Tariff Act. This applies to an enumerated list of imported goods by

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Washington, George (1732–1799) President George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on February 22, 1732, where he pursued surveying. He joined the militia, was forced to surrender Fort Necessity to the French in 1754, and the following year accompanied General Edward Braddock’s ill-fated expedition against Fort Dusquesne. He sided with the Patriots during the approach to the Revolutionary War and on June 15, 1775, Washington was appointed commander in chief of the new Continental Army. After several hard defeats he finally bested the British and Hessians at Princeton and Trenton in the winter of 1776–77 and thereafter managed to keep the war effort alive with increasing skill and determination. After 1778 he was able to take to the field and threatened British armies garrisoning New York, but he lacked the strength to attack them directly. Therefore, Washington greatly benefited from the military alliance with France, and in October 1781 he and French general Comte de Rochambeau captured the British army of General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. This for all intents and purposes ended the Revolutionary War for the United States, a fact confirmed by the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783. In a very real sense Washington was the indispensable man of the revolution, possessing both the strategic grasp and indomitable will to see it through to a successful conclusion. At this juncture several conservatively minded officers on his staff urged him to seize control from Congress and establish himself as king, but

Washington refused. He remained deferential to civilian authority and on December 23, 1783, formally surrendered his sword to Congressional President Thomas Mifflin and retired from the military a private citizen. Washington sought to live the rest of his life in anonymity, but politics and his stature as the nation’s most trusted figure brought him back into the limelight. In 1787 he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and threw his weight behind more centralized governance. When the constitution was finally ratified, Washington was sworn in as America’s first president in February 1789 and was easily reelected three years later. In this capacity he ruled well and moderately, distancing himself from the mounting ideological discord between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. In 1796 he refused to serve a third term and was succeeded by John Adams. Before leaving he bid his fellow citizens to strive for political unanimity, pursue neutrality in international affairs, and avoid entangling alliances with Europe. Washington then resumed his life as a private citizen until the war scare with France in 1798 required him to come out of retirement and serve as commander in chief once again. Washington died of illness on December 14, 1799, and was widely mourned by fellow citizens. His moderation, common sense, and unimpeachable integrity set the tone for the new American government, thereby insuring its ultimate success. In poll after poll Washington still remains the most admired chief executive.

imposing an 8.5 percent protective duty, although imports arriving in American vessels are assessed at a lower rate.

July 14 Diplomacy: American minister to France Thomas Jefferson is on hand in Paris to witness the fall of the Bastille and the opening shots of the French Revolution.

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July 20 Business: To raise additional funding, Congress passes the Tonnage Act, which assesses foreign cargo entering American ports at a rate of 50 cents per ton.

July 27 Diplomacy: The Department of Foreign Affairs is created by Congress and staffed by John Jay, pending the return of Thomas Jefferson. It is eventually renamed the Department of State.

August 7 Military: The War Department is created by Congress with Henry Knox to be appointed secretary of war a month later. The army at this time consisted of less than 1,000 men who guarded public property and garrisoned the Indian frontier.

September 2 Politics: Congress established the Treasury Department with Alexander Hamilton destined for appointment as first secretary of the Treasury.

September 15 Diplomacy: The Department of Foreign Affairs is renamed the Department of State under Thomas Jefferson.

September 22 Politics: Congress founds the office of postmaster general under the Treasury Department with Samuel Osgood slated to become the first postmaster general.

September 24 Law: Congress passes the Federal Judiciary Act, which establishes a six-man Supreme Court, an attorney general, 13 district courts, and three circuit courts. This is undertaken to establish one part of the system of checks and balances between the three branches of government.

September 25 Politics: Congress votes to submit 12 proposed constitutional amendments to the states; the first 10 are approved as the Bill of Rights in 1791. It is hoped that such measures will calm fears about the power of central governance, for the amendments clearly delineate the rights of individuals and states alike.

September 26 Politics: Congress appoints Edmund J. Randolph and John Jay as attorney general and chief justice of the Supreme Court, respectively. Samuel Osgood becomes postmaster general.

September 29 Military: Mindful of the dangers posed to liberty by a standing professional military, Congress fixes the size of the U.S. Army at 1,000 men, which are divided into eight infantry and four artillery companies. This is all that remains of the once impressive Continental Army, which fought and won the American Revolution. Its work completed, Congress votes to adjourn.

October Religion: Members of the Protestant Episcopal Church convene in Philadelphia for the purpose of declaring their independence from the Church of England; they also revise the Book of Common Prayer.

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October 15 Politics: President George Washington begins a successful tour of New England.

November 20 Politics: New Jersey is the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

November 21 Politics: The North Carolina legislature, finally persuaded by the addition of a Bill of Rights, becomes the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on a vote of 184 to 77.

November 26 Politics: Congress establishes the first national Thanksgiving Day, intended to offer thanks for the Constitution. Anti-federalists protest that a national holiday violates states’ rights.

December General: Virginia yields a tract of land along the Potomac River to the government for the purpose of constructing a new federal district and a national capital. Maryland had previously ceded land in the same region.

December 11 Education: The North Carolina legislature charters the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; its first class graduates in 1798.

December 18 Politics: After considerable wrangling, Virginia finally agrees to relinquish its claims to the Kentucky territory.

December 21 Settlement: Three Yazoo land companies arise in Georgia and purchase from the Georgia legislature 25.4 million acres of land along the Yazoo River. They pay $207,580 for the land, despite the fact that it is also claimed by Spain.

December 22 Settlement: The North Carolina legislature deeds all its western holdings to the United States government.

1790 Business: Duncan Phyfe begins manufacturing exquisitely rendered cabinets at his workshop in New York City, establishing industry and artistic standards for their fine workmanship. Publishing: Dobson’s Encyclopedia, an 18-volume American variant of the already famous Encyclopædia Britannica, begins production and continues over the next seven years. With its unique typefaces and engravings, this is considered a landmark national publication. Religion: Matthew Carey publishes the first Catholic Bible in the United States at Philadelphia; he continues on as a major publisher of Catholic texts. Societal: The Society for Alleviating the Miseries of the Public Prisons, spearheaded by Tenche Coxe, William Howard, and Dr. Benjamin Rush, pushes for changes and improvements in the Pennsylvania penal system. Specifically, they help institute changes in clothing, privacy, religious instruction, and better regulation of guards to avoid abuse. These reforms are first instituted at

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Chronology of American History Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Prison and eventually adopted throughout the state. Transportation: The initial part of PhiladelphiaLancaster turnpike begins operating and ultimately stretches for 61 miles. Its success spurs development of similar roadways throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

January 14 Business: Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton delivers his first report of public credit to Congress, announcing foreign debt of $12 million and domestic debts of $40 million. Still, he argues that the United States should assume all debts at face value, even through speculators may profit. Hamilton also maintains that the federal government should absorb all state debts accruing from the Revolutionary War in order to bind their allegiance to the new government. All told, it is a bold and farsighted approach to national finance.

February 11

This detailed rendering of an iron gag is an attack on the cruelty in Pennsylvania’s Eastern Penitentiary, a prison notorious for its abuses and atrocities against prisoners, 1835. (Library of Congress)

Slavery: The Society of Friends presents Congress with the first-ever petition calling for the abolition of slavery.

March

Settlement: A group of French expatriates, driven from home by the revolution, establish a settlement at Gallipolis along the Ohio River. They do so at the behest of Joel Barlow, agent and land speculator for the Scioto Company; when the company subsequently fails, the newcomers are stranded.

March 1 Societal: Congress authorizes the Census Act, which calls for a census of the inhabitants of the United States every 10 years.

March 22 Politics: Thomas Jefferson arrives back in New York to assume his post as secretary of state; John Jay is thus enabled to turn his full attention to matters at the Supreme Court.

March 26 Politics: The Naturalization Act is passed by Congress, requiring prospective citizens to establish residency for at least two years.

March 29 General: John Tyler, 10th president, is born at Greenway, Virginia.

April 10 Business: Congress enacts legislation for the protection of patents. It also empowers a three-man board consisting of the secretaries of state and war and the attorney general to award them.

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April 12 Politics: The House of Representatives defeats a proposal for the assumption of debts as proposed by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

April 17 Societal: Benjamin Franklin, doyen of his age, dies in Philadelphia at the age of 84; three days later his funeral draws 20,000 attendees, then the largest–ever public gathering in America.

May 25 Religion: Universalists gather in Philadelphia at the behest of Reverend Elhanan Winchester and Dr. Benjamin Rush. They then promulgate an anti-Trinitarian doctrine declaring that Jesus was a human intermediary between man and God, not his son.

May 26 Settlement: Congress appoints William Blount to head a government for frontier territory ceded by North Carolina south of the Ohio River (Tennessee). This same region was previously known as the “State of Franklin,” a self-governing entity under John Sevier which lasted from 1785 to 1788.

May 29 Politics: Despite anti-Federalist agitation at home and a boycott by other New England states, Rhode Island becomes the l3th and last state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. They do so by a margin of only two votes.

May 31 Law: Congress, bowing to the lucid agitation of Noah Webster, passes the Copy Right Act for the protection of plays, books, and maps, against infringement. Rights are accorded for 14 years with an option to renew for another 14.

June 20 Politics: Alexander Hamilton strikes a deal with James Madison to secure his support for establishing a national federal capital on the banks of the Potomac River in exchange for passage of the Assumption Act. This enables the federal government to absorb state debts dating back to the Revolutionary War.

July 26 Politics: The House of Representatives passes Alexander Hamilton’s plan for assuming states’ Revolutionary War debts on a vote of 34 to 28.

July 31 Business: The first government patent is issued to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for using potassium carbonate compounds (“pot and pearl ashes”) while manufacturing glass.

August 1 Societal: The government completes the first federal census, which reveals an overall population of 3,929,625; of these, 697,624 are African-American slaves.

August 4 Business: The Funding Act is passed by Congress, which authorizes the Treasury Department to issue bonds at six percent interest in exchange for Revolutionary War bonds to fund the national debt. Moreover, the bonds are funded at face value.

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Webster, Noah (1758–1843) Lexicographer Noah Webster was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, on October 16, 1758, the son of farmers. He enrolled at Yale College in 1774, interrupted his studies briefly to serve in the Continental Army, and finally graduated in 1779. Webster then taught school at Hartford, Litchfield, and Sharon, becoming dissatisfied with the British-style teaching aids of the day. Determined to institute a new and distinctly American form of the English language, Webster compiled and published The American Spelling Book in 1783 and followed up two years later with a grammar book and a reader. These titles were aimed at a juvenile audience but enjoyed amazing success and longevity; by 1830 it is estimated that 15 million copies were in print. Thanks to Webster there are still noticeable differences in spellings between American English and British English to the present day, and the changes were widely embraced by the ardent nationalism then sweeping the nation. In 1782 he also began touring the nation state by state to press for better copyright protection for writers, and in 1790 Congress complied. Webster was also an ardent Federalist, and he became caught up in the political fervor of that decade. He established the shortlived American Magazine in New York City to lessen the dependency on British publications, and also edited American Minerva, the city’s first daily newspaper, and the Herald, a semiweekly. However, Webster

gradually became disillusioned by partisan bickering in the press, and in 1803 he abandoned journalism and retired to New Haven to continue his work on language. In 1806 Webster scored another triumph by introducing A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. This slim volume contained 5,000 words, including vernacular “Americanisms” not found elsewhere, along with standard spellings. Then, over the next two decades, he worked assiduously on his masterpiece, which was released in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language. This landmark publication incorporated both formal words and those used in everyday speech and listed several definitions and etymologies for the user’s enlightenment. At the time it appeared this was the largest dictionary of its kind and listed over 70,000 words. In 1841 a second, enlarged edition was released as Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. These endeavors gained Webster national recognition as an original American lexicographer. Webster was also active in the realm of education, and in 1821 he helped establish Amherst College in addition to writing and publishing books on a wide variety of scientific, political, and moral topics. He died at New Haven on May 28, 1843, renowned for helping establish a national system of grammar and spelling. This information was transmitted to generations of students through his “blue-backed speller” of which 1 million copies were in circulation by 1850.

Naval: The Revenue Marine Service is formally established with the purchase of 10 small boats; it gradually evolves into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915.

August 7 Indian: Secretary of War Henry Knox and Creek Chief Alexander McGillivray sign the Treaty of New York, in which the Creek recognize United States sovereignty over parts of tribal territory. McGillivray is also commissioned a brigadier general but soon after he intrigues with the Spanish to resist American expansion.

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August 10 Business: The ship Columbia under Captain Robert Gray becomes the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe by departing Boston for Canton, China, and returning three years later. The entire voyage covers 42,000 miles. Gray departs with a cargo of furs and returns with a shipment of tea.

August 12 Politics: Philadelphia becomes the temporary national capital of the United States.

August 15 Religion: Father John Carroll is consecrated as the first Roman Catholic bishop of the United States at the behest of Pope Pius VI. Baltimore, Maryland, is chosen as the site of the first American cathedral see while Carroll emerges as an early leader of note in church history.

September 25 Business: The Massachusetts legislature repeals its state excise tax in the wake of federal assumption of Revolutionary War debts.

September 30 Military: General Josiah Harmar leads an expedition of 353 soldiers and 1,100 Kentucky militia out of Fort Washington (Cincinnati), Ohio, on a punitive expedition against hostile Shawnee and Miami Indians.

October 19 Military: Miami and Shawnee under Little Turtle and Blue Jacket defeat an American militia force under General Josiah Harmar near Fort Wayne, Indiana. Harmar had previously dispatched his men into a large Indian village and then marched out in search of the warriors. Little Turtle then attacked, routing the militia from the field and massacring the regulars where they stood.

October 28 Diplomacy: The Nookta Sound Convention between Spain and Great Britain strengthens British claims to the Oregon territory, a fact disputed by the United States.

December 6 Politics: Congress formally shifts from New York to Philadelphia until the new federal district becomes available.

December 14 Business: Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton makes a second appearance before Congress and promulgates his plan for a Bank of the United States. This institution is envisioned as an instrument to fund the assumption of debts and also help establish national credit.

December 16 Politics: Patrick Henry drafts the Virginia Resolutions in opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s debt assumption plan. Henry, like many others, feels that the scheme caters to monied interests, places commercial interests above agriculture, and cannot pass constitutional muster.

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Little Turtle

(ca. 1752–1812)

Miami chief Little Turtle (Michikinikwa) was born near the Eel River in the vicinity of presentday Fort Wayne, Indiana, around 1752. His father was a Miami chief but, because his mother was from the Mahician, tribal custom dictated that he could not inherit a leadership position. Nonetheless, Little Turtle displayed fine qualities as a warrior and he was eventually made a Miami chief by tribal elders. He was also proBritish by nature and in 1780 his warriors attacked a French-Illinois expedition under Colonel Augustin de la Balme. After the Revolutionary War Little Turtle became a leading spokesman for resistance to white encroachment north of the Ohio River and, in concert with noted Shawnee chief Blue Jacket, formed an anti-American coalition. In 1787 Congress assured the tribes that their hunting grounds would be respected, but within three years a rash of illegal settlements precipitated a fierce frontier war. In 1790 the American government dispatched an armed expedition of 1,400 militia under Colonel Josiah Harmar to punish the tribes for their resistance. However, Little Turtle lured the invaders deeper and deeper into Indian land then ambushed and defeated Harmar in October. His success served as a rallying point for other tribes, and soon the Miami and Shawnee were joined by the Pottawatomie and Ojibwas. Little Turtle had become unquestioned leader of the Native American resistance in the Old Northwest, much in the manner that his predecessor, Pontiac, tried to be, and President George Washington ordered that

an even larger military effort be mounted against him. In September 1791 General Arthur St. Clair marched into the Ohio territory with 2,600 soldiers and militia. As the raw Americans advanced, their poorly disciplined force was weakened by desertion and dwindled to around 1,500 men. Little Turtle observed these developments closely and decided to attack the Americans directly in their camp. This was a dangerous tactic, rarely attempted by Native Americans, but under Little Turtle’s excellent leadership the Americans were surprised on November 4, 1791, and completely routed. More than 600 soldiers were killed and 260 wounded, making this the largest defeat ever suffered at the hands of Native Americans. Within three years the Americans had rebuilt their army under the aegis of veteran General Anthony Wayne, who defeated the Indians at Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. Little Turtle had previously cautioned the tribes to make peace with this new invader and was relieved of command, but the following year he submitted to the Treaty of Greenville and thereafter swore his allegiance to the United States. In 1797 he traveled to Washington, D.C., to confer with President Washington, and Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison also built a home for him on the Eel River. When the War of 1812 commenced the aged chief offered to fight on behalf of the United States but he died at the Indian agency at Fort Wayne on July 14, 1812. Little Turtle was one of the most accomplished Indian leaders.

December 21 Technology: Samuel Slater introduces Arkwright spindle mill machinery at his cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He had previously seen such technology in England, then a closely guarded trade secret, came home and

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was able to reproduce the device from memory. Its simplicity of operation allows children as young as 10 to operate it safely and helps stimulate the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Slater also pioneered the practice of breaking down the production process into simple procedures to facilitate manufacturing.

1791 Education: Historian Reverend Jeremy Belknap establishes the Massachusetts Historical Society as an institution dedicated to the collecting and preservation of documents relevant to American history. This is the first and thus oldest such institution in America. Publications: John Adams codifies his aristocratic vision of society by publishing his Discourses on Davalia, which envisions a utopian society ruled by a rich, powerful, and talented elite. It is understandably not well-received by the American public at large and, furthermore, taints him as an elitist. William Bartram publishes his Travels, which describes botanizing expeditions in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. His accounts are highly popular in Europe and stimulate interest in America’s natural landscape. Societal: Andrew Jackson, a hotheaded Tennessee state prosecutor with a penchant for dueling, endures a spate of controversy after marrying Rachel Robards, only to discover that her divorce from husband Lewis Robards has not yet been finalized.

January 1 Politics: George Washington establishes the custom of a presidential reception every New Year’s Day.

January 5 Law: A petition by free African Americans to end the practice of banning blackinitiated lawsuits and refusing to allow blacks to testify in court against whites is rejected by the South Carolina legislature.

January 10 Politics: Vermont, though still not a state, ratifies the U.S. Constitution.

January 28 Business: Secretary of the Trea sury Alexander Hamilton testifies before Congress concerning the organization of a national mint and the coining of money.

February 15 Politics: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson testifies that the bill chartering the Bank of the United States is unconstitutional by the simple explanation that Congress has been delegated no such authority. His dissent ultimately gives rise to a political party based upon strict interpretation of the Constitution, the Democratic-Republicans.

February 23 Politics: Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton goes before Congress insisting that charting the Bank of the United States is fully constitutional, falling under congressional authority to collect taxes and regulate trade. Hamilton’s

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February 25 Business: President George Washington approves legislation chartering the Bank of the United States, lending credence to Alexander Hamilton’s “loose construction” of implied powers in the U.S. Constitution. Hamilton does so to provide the new nation with a steady source of capital to fund new industries and to insure a sound money supply. The bank itself functions as a depository of government funds and is run by a board of 25 directors, with five of these appointed by the president, the rest by the states.

March Music: “The Death Song of an Indian Chief ” is printed in an issue of The Massachusetts Magazine, becoming the first published orchestral score in the United States.

March 3 Business: Congress passes the Whiskey Act at the behest of Alexander Hamilton, which creates 14 revenue districts and fixes an excise tax on distilled liquors. However, it is widely resented in backwoods areas while the legislatures of North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia pass resolutions in protest.

March 4 Politics: Vermont, boasting a population of 85,000, gains admittance into the union as the 14th state. Previously, $30,000 had to be paid to the state of New York for lands it long claimed in Vermont.

March 9 Architecture: French engineer Pierre-Charles L’Enfant arrives in Maryland with preliminary designs for the proposed national capital.

March 30 Politics: President George Washington chooses the site of the new federal district on land along the Potomac River, which straddles the settlements of Georgetown, Maryland, and Alexandria, Virginia. This is a 70-square-mile tract that will house the new White House in 1792 and the United States Capitol in 1793. Transportation: The Knoxville Road, linking Virginia’s Wilderness Road to the frontier community of Knoxville (Tennessee), commences construction. In time it serves as a major conduit for settlement.

April 7 Politics: President George Washington begins a tour of the southern states.

April 23 General: James Buchanan, the 15th president, is born at Cove Gap, Pennsylvania.

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April 26 Indian: The Cherokee sign the Treaty of Holston with the United States, whereby they cede land holdings along the upper Tennessee River in exchange for undisputed control of their remaining lands elsewhere.

May Politics: Continuing disputes over the direction of the U. S. government induces Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to tour New York and New England and help organize anti-Federalist factions within those states. This opposition constitutes the origins of the Democratic-Republican (or Democratic) Party, which favors an agrarian-based society dominated by individual landholders.

June Religion: St. Mary’s, the first Roman Catholic seminary in America, is founded by French Suplicans in Baltimore, Maryland.

June 12 Slavery: African-American slaves in Spanish Louisiana, taking inspiration from recent events in Haiti, stage a brief and unsuccessful revolt of their own; 23 slaves are hanged in consequence.

July 4 Business: The Bank of the United States, newly chartered, starts raising capital through a subscription drive.

July 16 Societal: Benjamin Banneker, an African-American mathematician of note, becomes one of three commissioners directed to survey the new federal district along the Potomac River. He performs exceptionally well in this capacity and also introduces the first edition of his successful almanac.

September 6 Education: The University of Vermont is founded at Burlington.

September 17 Military: General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwestern Territory, commands a large expedition from Fort Washington, Cincinnati, in order to establish a chain of fortifications in and around hostile Indian land. In time these are christened Forts Hamilton, St. Clair, Jefferson, Greenville, and Recovery. His force consists of 320 soldiers and 1,100 poorly trained militia.

September 29 Transportation: A canal linking the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers is chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature.

October Diplomacy: George Hammond, the first British minister to the United States, presents his credentials to the government.

October 31 Journalism: The fires of political partisanship are fueled when poet Philip Freneau edits a pro-Jeffersonian piece in the National Gazette in Philadelphia.

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November 3 Education: The University of Vermont is chartered at Burlington; the first class graduates in 1804.

November 4 Military: General Arthur St. Clair and 1,400 militia and soldiers are disastrously defeated by the Miami under Chief Little Turtle near Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sensing indecision on St. Clair’s part, Little Turtle takes the extraordinary tactic of charging directly into the American camp, scattering the defenders. The Americans withdraw with a loss of 637 dead and 261 wounded in the worse defeat ever suffered at the hands of Native Americans.

November 26 Politics: President George Washington begins the practice of meeting regularly with his inner circle to discuss a variety of military, diplomatic, and political issues. This is the origin of the president’s “cabinet.”

December 5 Politics: Alexander Hamilton lectures Congress on the need for a tariff system to protect the fledgling American industries. He also seeks an agricultural bounty system and direct federal funding for such publicly oriented works as roads and canals to help stimulate the growth of national industry and agriculture.

December 12 Business: The Bank of the United States opens its first branch in Philadelphia and is soon followed by other branches in most major cities. The gold and silver owned by this institution is the bulwark of the American currency system.

December 15 Politics: The Virginia legislature ratifies the Bill of Rights and, having brought the number of states so disposed to 10—three-quarters—allows them to go into effect as part of the U.S. Constitution.

1792 Architecture: Ewel Hale constructs the first wooden truss bridge in America at Bellows Falls, Vermont. It consists of two 175-foot spans joined together at an island in midstream. Arts: American-born Benjamin West becomes president of the Royal Academy of London, which affirms his reputation as among the foremost painters of his day. Journalism: The nation’s first political contretemps erupts between dueling columns in the National Gazette, a supporter of Thomas Jefferson, and the Gazette of the United States, a partisan of Alexander Hamilton. Medical: After a smallpox outbreak, 8,000 inhabitants of Boston volunteer for inoculation. Politics: The Democratic-Republican Party begins coalescing nationally around opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s fiscal policies. They are headed by Thomas Jefferson, the leading democrat of his day. Publishing: Henry Marie Brackenridge publishes Modern Chivalry, a pointed satire on the manners of his contemporaries. A popular work, it is revised several times and is enlarged for a new edition in 1815.

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Robert Bailey Thomas edits and publishes the first edition of The Farmer’s Almanac at Grafton, Massachusetts. It is a useful compendium of dates, facts, information on weather, and is leavened throughout with homespun information about New England life. Science: James Woodhouse establishes the Chemical Society of Philadelphia, one of the earliest scientific societies in the nation. Slavery: Virginia political pundit George Mason spearheads the opposition to slavery in his state, denouncing it as an affront to mankind. Furthermore, he views the “peculiar institution” as a slow-acting poison that will ultimately corrupt future generations of politicians.

January Publishing: Thomas Paine unleashes his controversial Rights of Man (in support of the French Revolution), an unvarnished attack upon monarchy and an endorsement of revolution and democracy. He espouses the seemingly radical view that political power rests solely with the will of the majority.

January 12 Diplomacy: South Carolina Federalist Thomas Pinckney is appointed the first American minister to Great Britain and departs with instructions to secure better terms for American trade. Gouverneur Morris, then in France, also gains appointment as minister to that nation.

February 21 Politics: Congress approves of the Presidential Succession Act, which allows for the president pro tempore of the Senate and then the speaker of the House of Representatives to replace the president and vice president in the event of death or removal. Federalists manage to defeat Thomas Jefferson’s attempt to have the Secretary of State placed in line of succession, although this is eventually adopted in 1886.

March 5 Military: General Arthur St. Clair is replaced by General “Mad Anthony” Wayne as military commander of troops in the Northwest Territory.

April Slavery: Presbyterian clergyman David Rice unsuccessfully tries to have slavery excluded from Kentucky during the constitutional convention there.

April 2 Business: The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, whereby a national mint is founded in Philadelphia and a decimal system is instituted. David Rittenhouse, a noted mathematician, becomes the first director of the mint. This establishes a decimal system of coinage with both silver and gold as legal tender; the ratio of silver to gold coins is set at a ratio of 15 to one.

April 24 Arts: A farce, The Yorker’s Strategem, or Banana’s Wedding, is staged in New York; it is the first production to feature non-stereotyped West Indian (African) characters on the stage.

May 8 Military: Faced with a protracted Indian war and endemic manpower shortages for the U.S. Army, Congress passes the Militia Act, which authorizes states to draft eligible males aged 18 to 45 into state service as needed.

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May 11 Exploration: Captain Robert Gray, completing his second circumnavigation of the globe, discovers the Columbia River in the Washington-Oregon Territory. This 1,214-mile-long waterway remains unexplored until 1805.

May 17 Business: A meeting of 24 brokers at the Merchants Coffee House results in establishment of the New York Stock Exchange. Within months it mounts formidable competition to the nation’s first stock exchange, founded at Philadelphia in 1791.

June 1 Politics: Kentucky enters the Union as the 15th state; its constitution reflects the democratizing influence of the frontier and calls for male suffrage and a bill of rights but also allows slavery. Revolutionary War hero Isaac Shelby is elected the first governor.

July 13 Business: The U.S. Mint begins coining a five-cent silver piece, or “half dime,” one of the earliest American coins.

July 18 Naval: Revolutionary war hero John Paul Jones dies at Paris, France, in relative obscurity. His body lays in an unmarked grave until being rediscovered in 1905.

August 21 Politics: A political convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, gathers to protest imposition of the whiskey excise tax. A committee headed by Swiss émigré Albert Gallatin then drafts a resolution condemning the tax and seeks a legal remedy to circumvent it. Resistance to the measure is exceptionally profound in frontier regions where surplus grain has traditionally been distilled into liquor.

September 29 Politics: President George Washington, cognizant of mounting resistance to the whiskey excise tax, issues a proclamation that the levy will be collected in full compliance with the law and warns against possible avoidance.

October 2 Politics: President George Washington arranges a meeting between Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The chief executive tries unsuccessfully to smooth ruffled feathers arising from differing interpretations of the Constitution. Hamilton, furthermore, bluntly accuses Jefferson of opposing the Washington administration and attempting to undermine the government.

October 11 Religion: The first African-American Catholic sisterhood is founded by Antonine Blanc.

October 12 General: The Society of St. Tammany orchestrates the first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in New York City; it does not become a national holiday until 1892. The first memorial to Columbus also rises on this day in Baltimore, constructed of English brick.

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October 13 Architecture: President George Washington lays the cornerstone for the new chief executive office, or President’s Palace, subsequently known as the White House. This is the first public building constructed in the new federal district and has been designed by architect James Hoban, inspired by the duke of Leinster’s Irish mansion.

November 1 Politics: A general election unfolds to select presidential electors for the second presidential election; incumbents George Washington and John Adams are expected to win handily.

November 5 Politics: The Second Congress reconvenes in Philadelphia for its second session.

December 5 Arts: Sheriffs arrest manager Joseph Harper and Boston’s first theater, The New Exhibition Room, is forced to close. The city still rigidly enforces ordinances against theaters. Politics: George Washington is convincingly reelected to a second term as president of the United States with 132 electoral votes. John Adams is also returned as vice president by 77 votes while anti-Federalist George Clinton of New York amasses 50 votes. Curiously, Washington did not originally intend to seek a second term in office; it was only after the conflict between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson arose, along with current difficulties with France, that he felt obliged to be a stabilizing influence in a sea of discord.

1793 Arts: Noted poet Philip Freneau composes “On the Anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille” in honor of the French Revolution, although the ongoing excesses there have caused support elsewhere to wane. Education: Industrialist Samuel Slater institutes a Sunday school to impart reading, writing, and computational skills to his young factory workers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Journalism: Federalist Noah Webster founds the American Minerva, the nation’s first daily newspaper, in New York City. Law: Town trustees in Lexington, Kentucky, outlaw the practice of horse racing down city thoroughfares for fear of frightening pedestrians. Literature: Elihu Hubbard Smith publishes American Poems, Selected and Original at Litchfield, Connecticut. This work showcases the writings of the so-called Connecticut Wits, including Joel Barlow, Timothy Dwight, Lemuel Hopkins, and John Trumbull, and is a celebration of American literary distinctiveness. Publishing: Jedidiah Morse illustrates and publishes the American Universal Geography, a significant compendium of global geographical information and charts for a curious nation. The first American edition of J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer is published in Philadelphia. This is a collection of poignant and insightful observations on American life by a studious French observer.

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Chronology of American History Societal: Quaker minister John Woolman composes his A Word of Remembrance and Caution to the Rich, a humanitarian tract calling for social reforms, especially abolition of slavery. Transportation: The Middlesex Canal, linking Boston to the Merrimack River, 27 miles away, is constructed.

January 9 Aviation: Frenchman Jean-Pierre François Blanchard conducts the first successful balloon flight in America, rising to 5,800 feet over Philadelphia. His ascent is witnessed by President George Washington.

January 21 Diplomacy: The execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette stuns Europe and forces anti-Federalists in America to reevaluate their sympathy for the ongoing revolution in France.

January 23 Politics: Congress passes a set of resolutions calling on Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to answer charges of corruption and mismanagement in his department.

February 12 Slavery: A Fugitive Slave Act is approved by Congress outlining the rights of slave owners to recover their property. It also forbids harboring fugitive slaves and assisting in their flight.

February 18 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Chisholm v. Georgia, whereby a citizen of one state may sue another state in federal court.

February 22 Education: Williams College is chartered in Massachusetts, distinct in allowing fluency in French to be substituted for traditional Greek and Latin.

February 28 Politics: A motion to censure Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton fails to pass the House of Representatives. His detractors nonetheless maintain he is the pawn of monied interests.

March 4 Politics: George Washington is sworn into office for a second term as president while John Adams begins his second term as vice president. The only change to the cabinet is the appointment of Timothy Pickering as postmaster general.

April 8 Diplomacy: Edmond-Charles-Édouard Genet (“Citizen Genet”), the new French minister to the United States, arrives at Charleston, South Carolina, seeking American aid in the war against Great Britain. There he violates American neutrality by issuing French letters of marque (thus commissioning) to four privateers to raid English shipping in the Caribbean.

April 16 Technology: Eli Whitney publicly demonstrates his cotton gin; in time this device proves instrumental in preserving slavery and making it profitable.

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Whitney, Eli (1765–1825) Inventor Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, on December 8, 1765, into humble circumstances. Mediocre as a student, he displayed great aptitude for tinkering in his father’s workshop, and in 1781 he opened a business for manufacturing nails. Whitney used his profits to attend Yale College, from which he graduated in 1782 and then ventured to Georgia to work as a tutor. There he encountered the widow of General Nathaniel Greene, who introduced him to her plantation manager, Phineas Miller. Whitney also experienced his first encounter with slavery, which he disliked and sought technical ways of ending it. He then observed that it took each slave an entire day to separate shortstaple upland cotton from its seeds, a laborious process that had to be accomplished by hand. In April 1793 Whitney conceived and built the so-called cotton gin, a hand-cranked device that would eliminate seeds from cotton in a matter of minutes. This dramatically improved cotton productivity and, far from eliminating slavery, actually made it profitable. For example, in 1790 cotton production amounted to only 4,000 bales; by 1840 that figure had risen exponentially to 1,347,640. Considering the profits to be made exporting cotton to textile markets like England and France, slavery now became a valuable economic lifeline for the South. Worse for Whitney and Miller, although they received a patent for their invention in 1794, it was never enforced by Southern courts and many counterfeit machines were manufactured and

sold. The inventors were then forced into protracted legal disputes, and it was not until 1807 that Whitney’s claim could be validated after spending roughly $100,000 in legal fees. A potential war with France was also looming in 1798, and that year Whitney assured the government that he could easily manufacture 10,000 muskets in only two years instead of the usual 10. He then received a contract from the War Department and proceeded to construct his own factory outside New Haven, Connecticut (Whitneyville), from the ground up. Always the innovator, Whitney insisted on making his own special tools for the task, as well as employing the first water-powered milling machine used in the United States. He also conceived the ingenious idea of interchangeable parts for his weapons. Prior to this, muskets and rifles were individually manufactured by hand and the parts so fashioned would not fit other weapons, a fact that militated against easy repairs in the field. Under Whitney’s system, identical parts were turned out in quantity and could be interchanged on any individual weapon, quickly and easily. Ultimately, it took him 10 years to fulfill his contract, although the government remained highly pleased with his interchangeable concept. Whitney died in New Haven on January 8, 1825, one of the most significant inventors of American history. His cotton gin and musket factory introduced modern manufacturing to America and laid the foundations for its burgeoning industrial revolution.

April 18 Diplomacy: Citizen Genet departs Charleston, South Carolina, and makes his way north to present his credentials to the government in Philadelphia. He receives an enthusiastic welcome from most Americans. Politics: President George Washington discusses the prospects of declaring neutrality during the ongoing war between France and Great Britain. His

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April 22 Politics: President George Washington declares the neutrality of the United States in the ongoing war between Great Britain and revolutionary France and warns American citizens against involvement. Both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson support Washington’s decision, although the former sympathizes with England and the latter with France.

May 9 Diplomacy: The government of the French republic intends to seize all neutral shipping entering the ports of England, Holland, or the Netherlands. Such a move holds dire implications for the United States which lacks a standing naval force to protect its own commerce.

May 18 Diplomacy: French ambassador Citizen Genet is coolly received by President George Washington, angered by the latter’s unauthorized arming of privateers and other violations of American neutrality.

May 25 Religion: Father Stephen Theodore Badin, a refugee from the French Revolution, becomes the first Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States.

June 5 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson advises French minister Citizen Genet not to transgress upon American neutrality by offering military commissions and arming private vessels as privateers. Genet initially agrees to halt such practices, then promptly arms a fifth vessel and orders it out to sea.

June 8 Diplomacy: Great Britain responds to French depredations at sea by threatening to seize all neutral shipping entering French ports.

July 31 Business: Captain Robert Gray of the ship Columbia reaches Boston after a second circumnavigation of the globe.

August Medical: A yellow fever epidemic strikes Philadelphia, killing more than 4,000 inhabitants. The African-American community, organized by Reverend Absalom Jones and Dr. Benjamin Rush, distinguish themselves in assisting their neighbors.

August 23 Diplomacy: The radical and violent Jacobin regime of France dispatches Joseph Fauchet to the United States as its new minister, and he arrives carrying papers for the arrest of Citizen Genet. Genet then receives political asylum and ultimately marries the daughter of Governor George Clinton of New York.

September 18 Architecture: President George Washington lays the cornerstone for the new United States Capitol (Congress House) in the planned federal district. The new

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structure is designed by William Thornton and James Hoban with distinctly classical overtones.

October 7 Military: General “Mad Anthony” Wayne marches into the Ohio Territory at the head of 2,600 soldiers and militia, determined to crush Indian resistance.

October 28 Business: Inventor Eli Whitney applies for a patent on his new cotton gin. He does so in the mistaken belief that, by making cotton more productive, the new device will make slavery unprofitable; sadly, it has the opposite effect.

November 6 Diplomacy: An Order in Council issued by the government of Great Britain mandates the seizure of any neutral vessels trading with France in the West Indies. Consequently, American crews become subject to seizure and impressment onboard Royal Navy vessels.

November 25 Slavery: Albany, New York, is the scene of a slave uprising and several destructive fires.

December 31 Politics: Thomas Jefferson resigns as secretary of state, feeling that his opinions and council are no longer valued or heeded in the present administration. He then begins agitating for an opposition party to counter the policies of Alexander Hamilton. This is the genesis of the Democratic Republicans, or Democrats.

1794 Architecture: Charles Bullfinch initiates the Classic Revival in American architecture by designing and constructing houses on Tontine Crescent, Boston, in a manner soon designated the Federal style. Arts: Noted painter Charles Willson Peale opens his museum in Philadelphia to promote mass education among the American public. The scientific, historical, and ethnological displays are usually accompanied by a realistically painted background. Music: Supply Belcher publishes The Harmony of Maine, a collection of simple hymns and fugues that were popular among rural audiences on the New England frontier. Societal: Powdering men’s hair is finally passé in all but the stuffiest social circles; henceforth, men’s locks are usually tied with black ribbon into a queue. Transportation: In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia–Lancaster Turnpike, a 61-mile long, macadam-covered roadway, is finished. Its success as a toll road inspires the construction of similar routes elsewhere.

January 2 Politics: Attorney General Edmund Randolph is appointed the new secretary of state by President George Washington. He replaces Thomas Jefferson but is subsequently found to be working against the administration.

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Bullfinch, Charles

(1763–1844)

Architect Charles Bullfinch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 8, 1763, the son of a wealthy physician. He graduated from Harvard in 1781 and four years later ventured to England to study architecture, especially the neoclassical designs of Robert Adams. Bullfinch came home in 1787, married into a wealthy family, then began working as an architect for his native city. His first assignment was to design a new Massachusetts State House, plans for which were completed and approved in 1798. Another early endeavor was the Beacon Street column, a Revolutionary War monument rising 60 feet and topped with a metal eagle that doubled as a weather vane. As a designer, Bullfinch incorporated the classic tenets of Greek and Roman design, although making them heavier and more robust to render them longer lasting. As his reputation spread, he received other commissions elsewhere, such as the Connecticut state house in Hartford. In 1793–94 Bullfinch grew ambitious, designed and built Tontine Crescent, an expensive row of elegantly designed Boston townhouses for an upscale clientele, but when buyers failed to materialize he went bankrupt. He then served as chairman of the city’s board of selectmen and superintendent of police to supplement his income while designing other buildings. He also functioned as Boston’s chief administrator for two decades, which allowed him to influence design decisions, and left his personal stamp on the city through construction of dozens of public buildings and scores of private homes. Having recouped his losses,

Bullfinch entered his most prolific stage by designing significant buildings throughout the state. In this respect, he became the best known of America’s “colonial” or firstgeneration architects. Proof of Bullfinch’s popularity occurred in 1817 when President James Monroe, then touring New England, was highly impressed by his work and invited him to Washington, D.C. There Bullfinch was to complete the design of the U.S. Capitol building using drawings originally crafted by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, another outstanding draftsman. In practice, Bullfinch left the wings of the capitol as drawn, but he modified the dome by making it taller and more impressive. He also took it upon himself to enlarge the original plan for the capital rotunda, much to the satisfaction of those utilizing it. The structure was finally completed in 1830 and remains the best tribute to his classical innovations. Amazingly, Bullfinch also found time to draw up plans for the Federal Penitentiary and the Unitarian Church before returning to Boston and entering retirement. Prior to that he also designed the capitol building at Augusta, Maine, along with a long list of private dwellings. Bullfinch died in Boston on April 4, 1844, the most accomplished draftsman and architect of his generation. Throughout his lengthy career he was content to approach his task like an aristocratic gentleman of taste, rather than a professional artist. In many respects Bullfinch set the architectural tone for his native town and indelibly defined city architecture as no designer before or since.

January 3 Politics: In light of the British orders in council to seize American shipping carrying French West Indian exports, James Madison proposes seven retaliatory measures in the House of Representatives; none of them are passed but the issues of seizure and impressment remain volatile ones.

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January 13 General: Congress mandates the addition of two stripes and two stars to the American flag, signifying the addition of Vermont and Kentucky.

February Arts: Boston finally repeals its 1750 law prohibiting plays, and the new Boston Theater opens under the auspices of Charles Stuart Powell. Diplomacy: Governor-General Sir Guy Carleton of Canada promises Native American tribes living in northwestern Ohio to return their lands taken if they should support Great Britain in a war with the United States.

February 14 Arts: Samuel Arnold’s opera The Castle of Andalusia is the opening performance for the New Theater in Philadelphia, following lengthy delays caused by the yellow fever epidemic of 1793.

February 28 Politics: Federalists in the U.S. Senate erect a residential technicality to keep Swiss-born Jeffersonian Albert Gallatin from taking his elected seat. Gallatin had apparently failed to fulfill the nine-year residency requirement for the Senate; the Federalists also apparently resent his strident opposition to the Whiskey Tax.

March 5 Law: Congress submits the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to the states for ratification. This measure repeals the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chisholm v. Georgia and restricts federal judicial authority over the states.

March 14 Business: A patent is issued to Eli Whitney for his cotton gin.

March 22 Slavery: Congress outlaws the slave trade with other nations, especially Haiti, then in the throes of a major slave uprising. Southern lawmakers fear that the contagion of rebellion may be exported to their own backyard.

March 27 Naval: The Naval Act of 1794 authorizes the construction of four 44-gun frigates and two 36-gun frigates; these vessels form the nucleus of the nascent U.S. Navy. This is undertaken to stop depredations committed against American commerce by the pirates of Algiers.

April 19 Diplomacy: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay gains Senate confirmation as envoy to Great Britain. He is sent there on a mission to secure a favorable commercial treaty.

April 22 Law: The death penalty is abolished by the Pennsylvania legislature for all crimes except murder.

May 1 Labor: The Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) is organized in Philadelphia as America’s first trade union.

May 6 Technology: English mechanic John Hewitt sets up the first steam engine assembled in the United States for the waterworks at Belleville, New Jersey.

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May 8 Politics: Congress creates the Post Office Department.

May 27 Diplomacy: James Monroe is appointed minister to France to replace Gouverneur Morris, whose royalist sympathies have angered the revolutionary French government. John Quincy Adams also gains appointment as minister to the Netherlands.

June 1 Naval: British Admiral Lord Richard Howe attacks a French fleet escorting numerous American cargo ships bound for France. The French are handily defeated in this encounter, celebrated as the “Glorious First of June,” but the American ships escape damage and make landfall.

June 5 Politics: Congress passes the Neutrality Act, forbidding American citizens from joining the army or navy of foreign powers. Foreign vessels are also forbidden from arming or provisioning themselves in American ports. Science: Noted English scientist Joseph Priestley, fearing persecution in Great Britain, arrives at Philadelphia.

June 24 Education: Bowdoin College is chartered at New Brunswick, Maine, under the direction of Congregationalists; its first class graduates in 1806.

June 28 Naval: Congress appoints the first six captains of the new U.S. Navy; John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxton.

June 30 Arts: The drama Slaves in Algiers, written by Susanna Haswell Rowson, is performed at a theater in Philadelphia. Rowson herself is in the audience in this, its opening performance.

July Politics: The Whiskey Rebellion breaks out in the Monongahela Valley of Western Pennsylvania to protest the federal excise tax on liquor and stills. Consequently tax officials have their houses burned while revenue officials are tarred and feathered. Alexander Hamilton is eager to use the rebellion as a test of the power of the federal government. Religion: The first African-American congregation forms in Philadelphia with the opening of the African Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Thomas under the leadership of Reverend Absalom Jones. It is founded because white parishioners badly mistreated blacks attending St. George’s Methodist Church.

August 7 Military: President George Washington issues a proclamation ordering the socalled Whiskey Rebels to return home. He also mobilizes 13,000 militia from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to suppress the uprising.

August 20 Military: General Anthony Wayne and 3,000 well-drilled soldiers and militia crush a 2,000-man Indian coalition under Blue Jacket at the Battle of Fallen Tim-

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bers in northwest Ohio. The battle is fought in an area devastated by tornados and the Americans attack the milling warriors in a well-executed bayonet charge that routs them. Wayne’s losses were 33 killed and 140 wounded; Indian losses are presumed to be lighter but still significant. Previously, Miami chief Little Turtle, who pronounced the energetic Wayne as “the Chief who does not sleep,” urged his fellow tribesmen to seek peace with the Americans, and he was removed from command. This victory clears the way for continued and unobstructed migration into the Old Northwest. The Indians were also embittered that, despite pledges of support, the British did not assist and even locked them out of nearby Fort Miami.

September 10 Education: Blount University (University of Tennessee) is chartered by Presbyterians at Knoxville, Tennessee.

September 24 Military: President George Washington instructs General Henry Lee to march against the tax rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Ultimately 200 rebels are detained, 25 are tried, and two are convicted of treason but subsequently pardoned.

November 1 Arts: Boston lifts its ban on staged plays (in effect since 1750), and the new Boston Theater opens for business.

November 19 Diplomacy: Special envoy John Jay negotiates and signs a commercial treaty with Great Britain, the so-called Jay’s Treaty, which mandates a withdrawal of British forces from the Old Northwest in exchange for payment of pre-Revolutionary War debts. The agreement opens British ports in the British East and West Indies to American shipping while also granting Britain most-favored nation status. Furthermore, joint commissions are to be assembled to resolve the question of illegal seizures at sea, but the question of impressment of American crewmen for service in the Royal Navy is unaddressed.

1795 Architecture: Noted architect Charles Bullfinch designs the Massachusetts State House, hailed as an exemplary example of post-Revolutionary War construction. Education: Judge Nathaniel Chipman of Vermont advocates a view of history that promotes the understanding of social forces rather than military events. Indian: In an attempt to encourage Indian trade and ensure fairer treatment of Native Americans, the Federal government establishes the factory system which will supervise trading activities. Religion: In Philadelphia, Richard Allen is ordained as the first African-American minister in the Methodist Church. Technology: A primitive railroad is first constructed in Boston employing wooden tracks for running up the slopes of Beacon Hill.

January 2 Military: Federalist Timothy Pickering, former postmaster general, replaces Henry Knox as secretary of war.

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Jay, John (1745–1829) Diplomat, Supreme Court justice John Jay was born in New York City on December 12, 1745, the scion of wealthy merchants. As such he was afforded a splendid education and graduated from King’s College (Columbia University) in 1760, with fluency in French, Greek, and Latin. He then clerked several years in a law firm before being admitted to the bar and forming a partnership with his friend Robert R. Livingston. The onset of the Revolution induced Jay to side with the patriots despite his conservative leanings, and in 1774 he served as a delegate at the First Continental Congress. He subsequently sat with the Second Congress before coming home to help author a new state constitution for New York with Gouverneur Morris. After serving as chief justice of New York’s Supreme Court, he returned to Congress in 1778 and was elected president. Then, in 1782, Jay was dispatched as American minister to Spain, where he failed to secure diplomatic recognition for the United States. He then proceeded on to Paris and helped convince ministers John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to seek a peace treaty without French approval. In 1783 he signed the ensuing Peace of Paris and returned home a national hero. Jay was then appointed secretary of state under the Articles of Confederation, but he actively agitated for adoption of more centralized governance. In concert with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, he contributed several essays to the pro-Constitution series The Federalist and proved instrumental in having the new document approved in New York. In light

of his conspicuous contributions to the nation and his reputation as a sound and prudent jurist, President George Washington appointed him the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1789. Jay’s tenure as chief justice proved unremarkable for very few cases of import were brought before him. However, at one point he refused to council Washington and Hamilton on questions of public policy, thereby affirming the separation of powers. His greatest legal contribution came in 1793 when he decided the case of Chisholm v. Georgia. Here he ruled that Georgia could be sued by an individual from another state in federal court, reflecting his Federalist beliefs in strong central governance. Jay’s decision was widely condemned by members of Congress, who passed the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution to curtail what they perceived as an assault upon state’s rights. Jay’s most challenging work fell in the diplomatic arena, however. In 1795 Washington dispatched him as a special envoy to Great Britain to resolve several trade issues. The resulting Jay’s Treaty did secure the removal of British troops from the Old Northwest and partially opened up the British Caribbean to American goods, but it failed to address preservation of American neutrality at sea during the French Revolution, which caused a political firestorm that also gave rise to the new Democratic-Republican faction under Thomas Jefferson. Jay served two terms as governor of New York before retiring from politics and dying on May 17, 1829, an accomplished public servant.

January 7 Business: A corrupt Georgia legislature sells 35 million acres of land along the Yazoo River (Alabama and Mississippi) to four land companies. In return the state receives a nominal sum.

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January 29 Politics: The Naturalization Act passes Congress, mandating a five-year residency to meet the requirements of citizenship. The renunciation of previous allegiances and titles of nobility are also required.

January 31 Politics: Oliver Wolcott succeeds Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the treasury. Hamilton, however, continues on as an unofficial adviser to President George Washington.

February 25 Education: Union College is chartered at Schenectady, New York, by the Presbyterians; the first class graduates in 1800.

March Politics: Word of the Jay Treaty reaches Philadelphia and triggers a fierce national debate between those already favorably disposed toward France or England.

March 3 Settlement: French immigrants living in the Ohio territory, having been falsely lured there by the Scioto Company, finally obtain the title to their lands at Gallipolis.

April Diplomacy: Thomas Pinckney, then minister to Great Britain, is appointed a special commissioner to Spain.

May Law: Two of 200 “Whiskey rebels” captured are convicted of treason and sentenced to hang; both are subsequently pardoned.

May 22 Arts: A play, The Triumphs of Love by John Murdock, features “Sambo,” the first role for an African American, and also debuts the first Quaker characters. For the first time blacks are not being portrayed as comic, shiftless servants.

June 24 Diplomacy: Jay’s Treaty is ratified by the Senate following a rancorous debate. Its passage has been marred by opposition between Federalists and Republicans, both of whom represent their own specific interests. The latter group is outraged that British seizure of American shipping has not been addressed.

July 19 Settlement: The Connecticut Land Company obtains rights to land in the Northwest along the southern bank of Lake Erie. This is the future site of Cleveland, Ohio, named after company director Moses Cleaveland.

July 22 Journalism: Alexander Hamilton, writing under the nom de plume Camillus, waxes eloquently in favor of the Jay Treaty.

August 3 Indian: General Anthony Wayne and numerous chiefs of the Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot, and Miami conclude the Treaty of Greenville, whereby they

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Chronology of American History cede the eastern portion of their lands to the United States in return for a fixed boundary. The Old Northwest is now ready for expanded white settlement.

August 14 Diplomacy: President George Washington signs Jay’s Treaty into law over objections from the House of Representatives, which previously tried to scuttle the agreement by voting against funding for its enforcement. This constitutes an important precedent for executive prerogatives over legislative ones.

August 19 Politics: Secretary of State Edmund Randolph resigns from office, officially for corruption but unofficially under allegations that he was in collusion with France in an attempt to scuttle Jay’s Treaty. He is replaced by Timothy Pickering for the time being.

September 5 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty of peace and amity with the Dey of Algiers. Henceforth the Americans will pay $1 million for the release of 115 captive seamen who had been held for 10 years, followed by an annual series of tribute payments. The lack of naval power makes American shipping vulnerable to such coercion.

October 27 Diplomacy: Thomas Pinckney, commissioner to Spain, concludes the Treaty of San Lorenzo to resolve the western and southern boundaries of the United States. He also obtains free navigational rights on the Mississippi River and the ability to deposit cargo at the port of New Orleans.

November 2 General: James Knox Polk, the 11th president, is born at Pineville, North Carolina.

December 10 Politics: Secretary of War Timothy Pickering resigns from office and succeeds Edmund Randolph as secretary of state; President George Washington’s cabinet now consists solely of Federalists.

December 15 Politics: The Senate scuttles John Rutledge’s nomination to succeed John Jay as chief justice of the supreme court, ostensibly over his recent opposition to Jay’s Treaty.

1796 Arts: Noted painter Gilbert Stuart completes his famous portrait of George Washington as the first president, which consists solely of his face. In this manner viewers were calculated to gauge the tremendous depth and character of the sitter. After being displayed at the Boston Athenaeum, it has been placed on permanent loan to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

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Stuart, Gilbert (1755–1828) Painter Gilbert Stuart was born in North Kingston, Rhode Island, on December 3, 1755, and raised in Newport. There he took an interest in art at an early age and was partly tutored there by the Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander. He subsequently accompanied his instructor to Edinburgh in 1771, where Alexander died the following year, and Stuart was forced to subsist on a sailor’s wages. He managed to return home just as the Revolutionary War was about to commence, and in 1775 he fled with his Loyalist-leaning family to Nova Scotia. Stuart then continued on to London, determined to make his living painting portraits. He eventually came to the attention of the great American expatriate artist Benjamin West, who took him in as an apprentice. Unlike West, however, Stuart evinced no interest in the historically themed paintings of West and remained a strict devotee of portraiture. In this he displayed a demonstrable genius for capturing on canvas the vitality and personality of his sitters with remarkably few colors. Within a few years his work was being compared to British masters such as Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Gainsborough. Stuart was allowed to exhibit his work at the Royal Academy, and in 1782 his noted painting of William Grant entitled “The Skater” garnered him great recognition and secured several lucrative commissions. Stuart, however, was careless with money, lived recklessly, and accumulated great debts. In 1787 he fled to Ireland to escape creditors and continue painting until 1792, when his profligacy forced him to return home

once again. This time he finally emerged as the foremost American portraitist of his day. After a brief stay in New York City, Stuart relocated to Philadelphia and gained national renown painting America’s first generation of leaders. Foremost of these was George Washington, who sat for him three times, and the resulting works, depicting the president as stern, remote, yet dignified, remain the most easy identifiable images of that elder statesman. As Stuart’s reputation grew, he also painted portraits of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, and Horatio Gates, all exquisitely captured on canvas. In 1805 Stuart moved to Boston to continue his work and, by concentrating strictly upon portraits, he ended up executing almost 1,000 works. This sheer volume of work insured that his paintings would be widely seen and admired around the nation for years to come. Stuart, however, squandered his fortune, lived in debt, and was struck by partial paralysis in 1825. He nonetheless continued working up to the time of his death on July 9, 1828, making him one of the most prolific artists of his day. Stuart’s passing was thus greatly lamented in artistic circles because he set the tone and the standards for American portraiture that lasted through the first half of the 19th century. In fact an entire generation of young artists, including Thomas Sully, John Wesley Jarvis, Samuel F. B. Morse, Chester Harding, John Neagle, Ezra Ames, Matthew Jouett, and Mather Brown were all heavily influenced by his effective techniques.

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Chronology of American History William Dunlap and Benjamin Carr write and stage The Archers, or the Mountaineers of Switzerland, an early American opera, in New York City. It is a variation of the William Tell story. Business: Robert Morris, a highly-respected financier, organizes a syndicate for land speculation; when it eventually collapses he will serve three years in debtor’s prison. Law: The Virginia legislature reforms the state criminal code, reducing the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty. This is indicative of a national trend to de-emphasize or eliminate capital punishment. Literature: “Connecticut Wit” Joel Barlow publishes his poem The Hasty Pudding as a mock epic celebrating the virtues of cornmeal mush, a uniquely American dish. Politics: Albert Gallatin leads a successful effort in the House of Representatives to establish the ways and means committee. Publishing: Amelia Simmons publishes American Cookery, the first American cookbook. Technology: Experiments with the use of gas for illumination are orchestrated in Philadelphia.

January Politics: The House of Representatives issues standards that any individual attempting to coerce or influence Congressmen for their personal gain rather than the public good is to be charged with contempt. The ruling stems from the efforts of Robert Randall who was lobbying Congress on behalf of Great Lakes fur traders.

January 1 Politics: Oliver Ellsworth is appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed John Jay.

January 27 Military: Maryland Federalist James McHenry succeeds Timothy Pickering as secretary of war.

February 15 Diplomacy: The French government informs minister James Monroe that the ratification of Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain negates all previous agreements with France.

February 18 Business: The newly elected Georgia legislature voids the Yazoo land sales of 1795.

February 29 Diplomacy: President George Washington announces that the Jay Treaty is officially in effect, a fact that deeply antagonizes France and brings the former allies to the brink of warfare.

March 8 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court settles Hylton v. United States, ruling that a carriage tax imposed in 1794 is an indirect levy and, hence, constitutional. This sets an important precedent as, for the first time, the court had weighed the constitutionality of a congressional act.

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March 15 Diplomacy: The Treaty of San Lorenzo between the United States and Spain is unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate.

April 22 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that all pacts made by the government under the Constitution are, in effect, federal law and supercede all conflicting state laws.

April 30 Diplomacy: Despite heated opposition from the Democratic-Republicans, the Federalist-dominated House of Representatives votes to enforce provisions of Jay’s Treaty.

May 18 Settlement: A new Land Act passed by Congress requires both the surveying of all acreage in the Northwest Territory, and the sale of the same at a public auction for a minimum price of $2 per acre. A credit system is also instituted, allowing prospective purchasers one year to pay. Federal land offices are also established at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to facilitate sales. However, the greatest beneficiary of this new law are land companies and speculators, as most settlers cannot afford the minimum purchasing price.

June 1 Politics: Tennessee is admitted into the Union as the 16th state with Revolutionary War hero John Sevier serving as the first governor. However, Federalists in Congress restrict the number of members sent from Tennessee to the House of Representatives to one until 1800.

July Diplomacy: Revolutionary France declares that it will try to seize all neutral shipping headed for British ports.

July 11 Settlement: British forces evacuate Fort Detroit in accordance with the Jay Treaty, and the post is reoccupied by Captain Moses Porter and a company of soldiers.

August 17 Societal: The Boston African Society is established as a benevolent group for African Americans.

August 22 Diplomacy: The French government informs Minister James Monroe that he will be replaced for failing to adequately explain the recent Jay’s Treaty between the United States and Great Britain.

August 29 Diplomacy: Minister James Monroe, having made conciliatory statements to the French government, is informed by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering that he is being replaced by Charles C. Pinckney.

September 17 Journalism: President George Washington delivers his farewell address to Congress, outlining his decision not to run for a third term in office. In it he warns against entangling alliances with foreign nations, large, standing military forces,

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Chronology of American History the divisiveness of factions (political parties), and he stresses the importance of stable public credit. In reality, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton are the actual authors of the address.

September 30 Settlement: Moses Cleaveland, director of the Connecticut Land Company, purchases 3 million acres of land from the so-called Western Reserve (Ohio) and begins surveying high ground where the nearby Cuyahoga River empties into Lake Erie. This is the site of the future city of Cleveland.

October 29 Business: The ship Otter under Captain Ebenezer Dorr sails into Monterey Bay, marking the first time that an American vessel has skirted the coast of California.

November Politics: Andrew Jackson is selected as Tennessee’s first delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

November 4 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty with the Pasha of Tripoli whereby ongoing capture of American crews and vessels ceases in exchange for ransom and an annual tribute. Similar agreements are already in play with the Barbary states of Algiers and Morocco.

November 15 Diplomacy: The government of revolutionary France declares its suspension of diplomatic relations with the United States over the Jay Treaty and other issues.

December 7 Diplomacy: Charles C. Pinckney, the new American minister to France, presents his credentials to the revolutionary government and is as quickly rejected until French grievances have been addressed. He then returns home. Politics: The third presidential election is decisively and bitterly won by sitting Vice President and Federalist John Adams with 71 electoral votes while Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson secures the post of vice president with 68 votes. Jefferson’s close defeat is indicative of rising national dissatisfaction with the Jay Treaty and the Federalists. Adams is also the last Federalist to hold office. Settlement: British forces evacuate Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan Territory, consistent with the terms of the Jay Treaty.

1797 Architecture: Mexican stonemason Isidoro Aguilar designs and begins construction of the main church at San Juan Capistrano, California, which includes a 120-foot bell tower. This imposing structure is subsequently destroyed by an earthquake in 1812. Art: Noted historical painter John Trumbull finishes his monumental Declaration of Independence in Congress at Independence Hall, which ultimately adorns the halls of Congress itself. Business: The firm O’Hare and Craig founds the first frontier glassworks at Pittsburgh.

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Literature: The novel Alcuin by Charles Brockden explores the notion that men and women have far more in common than they realize and, for that reason, ought to enjoy equal rights. Medical: Samuel Latham Mitchell publishes the Medical Repository in Boston; it is the first American medical publication. Publishing: Dr. James Woodhouse, a noted scientist, publishes the first handbook in experimental chemistry at Philadelphia. Societal: Isabelle Graham and a group of 15 Protestant women found the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children in New York City. Technology: Eli Terry receives the first clock patent for his wooden timekeeping devices. These are sold inexpensively and are rather reliable despite their lack of metal parts. Terry also pioneers the use of waterpower to cut and finish his parts.

January 1 Politics: The seat of New York government relocates from New York City to Albany.

January 23–30 Slavery: Congress receives the first-ever petition by fugitive slaves, four of whom had fled North, to ask for their freedom. However, their plea is rejected following a vigorous debate.

February 8 Technology: The first coal-fired glass-making plant is built at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

February 27 Business: Secretary of State Timothy Pickering reports before Congress on the commercial losses arising from French hostility toward American shipping.

March 4 Politics: John Adams takes the oath of office as the second chief executive of the United States with Thomas Jefferson as his vice president. The cabinet, including Timothy Pickering, Oliver Wolcott, James McHenry, are holdovers from the Washington administration.

May 10 Naval: The new 44-gun frigate USS United States is launched in Philadelphia, becoming the first official warship of the new U.S. Navy. It is also the largest warship of its class in the world and command is awarded to Revolutionary War hero Captain John Barry.

May 15 Politics: President John Adams summons a special session of Congress for the first time to discuss ongoing tensions with France, the recent expulsion of American minister Charles C. Pinckney, projected diplomatic initiatives, and military preparations.

May 31 Diplomacy: In an attempt to avert military confrontation, President John Adams appoints a three-man commission to secure a new treaty of commerce and amity with France. The members are Charles C. Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall.

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Adams, John

(1735–1826)

President John Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, on October 19, 1735, the son of a farmer. An excellent student, he graduated from Harvard College in 1755, studied law, and was accepted to the bar in the wake of the Stamp Act crisis of 1765. Adams became increasing identified with a radical clique of pro-independence politicians. To that end he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and lobbied vociferously and effectively on behalf of the Declaration of Independence, which was signed on July 4, 1776. Adams was then dispatched to Europe where he served as minister to France. After a brief return home in 1779 to help write the new Massachusetts constitution, he returned to France to begin secret peace negotiations with Great Britain. Adams, distrusting the French, prevailed upon John Jay and Benjamin Franklin to disregard Congressional instructions and negotiate with the English without informing their allies. In 1780 he served capably as minister to the Netherlands, securing a large loan for the American government. After independence had been secured, Adams relocated to London as the first American minister to that nation. In this capacity he sought normalized relations with England but was continually vexed by Great Britain’s refusal to honor the terms of the Treaty of Paris until all prewar debts were paid in full. He came home in 1788 and was elected vice president under the newly adopted constitution. Adams’s tenure at the center of executive leadership proved an unhappy one, simply because he determined to be strictly

guided by philosophical principles and remain nonpartisan for the national good. At the time national polity was wracked by growing political discord arising from the monetary and governmental policies of arch-Federalist Alexander Hamilton, but Adams dutifully supported the administration of President George Washington. In 1796 he was himself elected the second president of the United States and endured four years of controversy and rising national acrimony over foreign affairs. The French Revolution became a catalyst for the Democratic-Republic opposition of Thomas Jefferson to emerge, and Adams also had to contend with dissent within his own Federalist party. Despite French provocation and Hamilton’s bellicosity, Adams refused to allow the country to slide into war and sought a diplomatic solution. However, he also signed the Federalist-inspired Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to silence political opposition, which further exacerbated national tensions. He ran again for the presidency in 1800, barely supported by fellow Federalists, and was narrowly defeated by Jefferson. Adams, taking the political upset personally, withdrew from public life altogether and moved back to Braintree, where he engaged in a lucid and furious publishing campaign to defend his term in office. He was not personally reconciled with Jefferson, his ideological adversary, until 1812 but gradually rehabilitated his reputation as an elder statesman. Adams died in Braintree on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

June 1 Politics: Secretary of State Timothy Pickering declares that French warships and privateers have seized 300 American vessels.

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June 24 Military: Congress, anticipating an outbreak of war with France, authorizes recruitment of 80,000 militia as a national contingency.

June 26 Technology: Inventor Charles Newbold of New Jersey patents a cast-iron plow; he had spent his entire fortune developing the device but farmers resist the invention out of a misplaced fear of contaminating the soil.

July 8 Politics: The House of Representatives impeaches Senator William Blount of Tennessee on charges that he was conspiring to instigate the Cherokee to attack both the American and Spanish holdings in the Southwest. The Native Americans would obviously lose such an encounter, along with additional lands ripe for speculators. This is the first instance of the House utilizing its powers to remove an elected official.

August 28 Diplomacy: The United States and the Barbary kingdom of Tunis reach an agreement to cease piratical acts against American shipping in exchange for an annual payment of tribute. However, the terms are deemed so offensive that the treaty is not ratified until January 1800.

September 7 Naval: The 36-gun frigate USS Constellation is launched at Baltimore, Maryland, as the new U.S. Navy begins acquiring real combat capabilities.

October 4–18 Diplomacy: In Paris, the XYZ Affair unfolds as American commissioners Charles C. Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall confront three French negotiators named “X,” “Y,” and “Z,” who rather undiplomatically insist on a $240,000 bribe as a precondition to any treaty negotiations. Pinckney and Marshall eventually depart in a huff while Gerry remains behind to deal with French minister Talleyrand. A naval confrontation is in the offing, the so-called Quasi War.

October 21 Naval: The 44-gun frigate USS Constitution is launched at Boston. This is the second vessel of its class to be acquired by the nascent U.S. Navy and will become America’s most famous and celebrated warship.

1798 Arts: Joseph Hopkinson’s patriotic poem “Hail, Columbia” is published as an indication of anticipated hostilities with France. Business: The 30-ton schooner Jemima is constructed near Rochester, New York, for the trade on Lake Ontario. Literature: Charles Brockden Brown, the nation’s first professional author, publishes his novel Wieland, an early Gothic romance reflecting a strong European influence. Medical: Dr. Valentine Seaman pioneers the first professional instructions in nursing and subsequently publishes them in outline form as an early medical textbook.

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Chronology of American History Settlement: Frontier icon Daniel Boone receives an 850-acre grant from the Spanish government in the Femme Osage District, Louisiana Territory (Missouri). Technology: At New Haven, Connecticut, Eli Whitney introduces his revolutionary concept of interchangeable parts while constructing firearms for the U.S. Army. It greatly facilitates factory production and repairs in the field and is a sign of America’s burgeoning role in the nascent Industrial Revolution. However, Whitney, who has promised the government to construct 10,000 muskets in only two years, lacks a factory and misses his deadline by several years.

January 8 Law: The Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which restricts federal judicial authority over the states, is ratified by the states. Specifically, it forbids lawsuits against a state by citizens of other states or foreign nations.

January 17 Diplomacy: In Paris, American commissioner John Marshall formally rejects French attempts to solicit a bribe as a precondition for treaty negotiations. Marshall gives the French until March 18 to reply satisfactorily, then departs.

March 19 Diplomacy: President John Adams informs Congress that a diplomatic solution to French depredations at sea has failed.

April Arts: John Daly Burk’s powerful play, Female Patriotism, or the Death of Joan d’Arc, is staged at the Park Theater in New York City.

April 3 Politics: Details of the XYZ Affair are released to the public by President John Adams with a corresponding outbreak of indignation and anti-French sentiments nationally. America begins girding for the eventuality of war with France.

April 7 Settlement: Congress creates the Mississippi Territory, carved out of parts of present-day Alabama and Mississippi.

April 30 Naval: To further strengthen the defensive capability of the nation, President John Adams prevails upon Congress to create the Department of the Navy under a Secretary of the Navy. This new entity oversees naval administration previously handled by the Department of War.

May 21 Naval: Benjamin Stoddert is appointed the first Secretary of the Navy, and he oversees a tiny naval establishment hovering on the cusp of war with France.

May 28 Military: Congress passes a bill mandating recruitment of a 10,000-man army for three years. Naval: Congress authorizes President John Adams to order naval commanders to engage any French vessel attempting to seize or interfere with American commerce at sea.

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June 6 Law: In a major step, Congress abolishes the practice of imprisoning debtors.

June 13 Diplomacy: Congress votes to suspend commercial activities with France and its colonies.

June 18 Politics: The Federalist-dominated Congress votes to enhance national security through passage of the first of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which effectively clamps down on political opposition to their policies. The first is an amendment to the Naturalization Act, which increases mandatory residency from five to 14 years.

June 25 Politics: Congress passes the Alien Friends Act, which authorizes the president two years to deport any foreigner deemed sufficiently treasonous or dangerous to national defense to warrant removal.

July 2 Military: Former president George Washington gains appointment as commander of the three-year provisional army; Alexander Hamilton is made his second in command and inspector general. Washington, a thoroughly trusted figure, is the only man that the American polity would be comfortable with while leading such a force.

July 6 Politics: Congress passes the Enemy Alien Act to facilitate the wartime arrest and banishment of any resident formerly associated with an enemy power.

July 7 Diplomatic: Treaties of France dating back to 1788 are repealed by Congress; this is the first time that the United States has abrogated a prior commitment. Naval: Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, commanding the 20-gun sloop USS Delaware, captures the 14-gun French privateer La Croyable off New Jersey; this is the first prize of the Quasi-War and is recommissioned at Philadelphia as the USS Retaliation. This victory also signifies the start of Decatur’s impressive career as a naval officer.

July 11 Naval: The U.S. Marine Corps is established by Congress, an outgrowth of the Continental Marines raised during the Revolutionary War.

July 14 Politics: Congress passes the Sedition Act, which stipulates that the author of any published item deemed seditionist to the president, Congress, or government is subject to arrest, imprisonment, and fines. Intended to curb political dissent, it stimulates membership in the Democratic-Republican opposition and politically damages the Federalists.

July 16 Medical: The Marine Hospital Service is established by Congress; it gradually evolves into the U.S. Public Health Service.

August 8 Naval: The secretary of the Navy forbids the service of African Americans from U.S. Navy warships, reversing a trend in effect since the Revolutionary War.

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September 12 Journalism: Benjamin Franklin Bach, Benjamin Franklin’s grandson, is arrested under the Sedition Act for essays he published in the Philadelphia Aurora “libeling” President John Adams. His detention sparks widespread outrage and protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts.

October 12 Settlement: The newly designated Mississippi Territory receives firm boundaries while its capital is fixed at Natchez.

November 16 Naval: British warships accost the 20-gun American frigate Baltimore on the high seas and remove part of its crew, suspected British deserters, for impressment purposes. Politics: Thomas Jefferson drafts the Kentucky Resolutions protesting the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional, which are then passed by the Kentucky legislature. According to Jefferson, states have a right unto themselves to determine the constitutionality of the acts. This is the origin of the “compact theory” of governance, whereby the United States is a compact between otherwise sovereign states.

November 20 Naval: The schooner USS Retaliation under Lieutenant William Bainbridge is seized by French forces at the Caribbean Island of Guadalupe; the 250-man crew remains in captivity until February 1799.

December 14 Technology: David Wilkinson of Rhode Island receives a patent for his screwthreading machine.

December 24 Politics: The Virginia Resolutions, penned by James Madison, are adopted by the Virginia legislature to oppose the unconstitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts permitting states to declare null and void any illegal Congressional act.

December 31 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Calder v. Bull, ruling that prohibitions against laws enacted after the commission of a crime apply solely to criminal, not civil, law.

1799 Architecture: Benjamin H. Latrobe’s design for the Bank of Pennsylvania anticipates what becomes known as the Greek Revival movement. It incorporates an Ionic-style portico later commonly found on most large public buildings. Arts: Johann Graupner wears blackface for the first time during the performance of Oroonoko, one of the earliest minstrel shows. Business: The Russian American Company receives from the government of Czar Paul I a monopoly of trade in the northern Pacific region, with headquarters at Sitka, Alaska. Education: Child prodigy Timothy Dwight passes through Rhode Island College (Brown University) at the age of 14; reputedly, he could read the Bible at four.

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Journalism: The Baltimore American becomes the first newspaper outside Washington, D.C., to grant regular coverage to congressional reports and debates. Labor: The Federal Society of Cordwainers initiates the nation’s first labor action by striking for nine days until they receive a wage increase. Medical: Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse creates the first viable vaccination against smallpox at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Religion: Seneca wastrel Handsome Lake, recovering from an alcoholic bout, experiences strange visions that lead him to seek purity through a nativist revival.

Handsome Lake

(ca. 1735–1815)

Seneca prophet Handsome Lake (Skaniadariio) was born at the village of Conwagas along the Genessee River (Avon, New York) around 1735, a member of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. The Seneca then constituted part of the powerful Six Nations Iroquois Confederation and he counted among his family and near relatives noted chief Cornplanter and the distinguished orator Red Jacket. Little is known of Handsome Lake’s childhood or early years other than that he was raised among the Turtle Clan. Like many contemporaries he undoubtedly sided with Great Britain during the American Revolution after which the tribe was punished by the United States by appropriating large tracts of land. The formerly far-ranging Seneca then found themselves hemmed into cramped reservations which began playing havoc upon traditional patterns of tribal, family, and individual behavior. Shortly after the death of his daughter, Handsome Lake took to drinking and became severely alcoholic. He continued degenerating mentally and physically until August 7, 1799, when he experienced the first of four spiritual visions. During these spiritual sojourns Handsome Lake was purportedly instructed by various messengers to stop drinking, oppose all forms of witchcraft as

practiced by his people, and embrace traditional tribal lifestyles and values. The “messengers” underscored their lessons with a warning that the Seneca would be visited by destruction if they did not reform their ways. Struck by the intensity of his visions, Handsome Lake cured himself of his addiction, assumed the role of a tribal prophet, and began preaching among his people. Commencing in 1800 Handsome Lake addressed his conflict-ridden tribe with his unique call for nativist renewal. In fact, he did not hesitate to insist that while change was inevitable, the Seneca did not have to sacrifice their identity. After 1801 and further refinement he expounded upon the concept of Gaiwiio or “Good Word” to reject alcohol, embrace spirituality, and also adopt European-style agriculture to enhance the Seneca’s traditional ties to the land. The new creed also featured coopted Christian features such as silent prayer and confession of one’s sins. He found a ready audience willing to listen and absorb his message although his strident insistence on the persecution of suspected witches caused a major disruption in his conversion efforts. Handsome Lake was nevertheless considered (continues)

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(continued) an important tribal figure, and he gained election to the Seneca tribal council. In that capacity he ventured to Washington, D.C., in 1801 to confer with President Thomas Jefferson over the acquisition of additional tribal lands and discontinuing the sale of alcohol to his people. By the time Handsome

Lake died on the Onondaga Reservation on August 10, 1815, he had managed to halt the sad slide of the Seneca and other tribes into debauchery. Moreover, the tenets of his religion were codified by Blacksnake in 1850 and are still practiced in their present form as the “Longhouse Religion.”

January 30 Politics: The Logan Act, which expressly forbids private citizens to engage in unauthorized diplomatic activities, is approved by Congress. This is enacted in response to Dr. George Logan, a Philadelphia Quaker, who sought to venture to Paris as a private citizen in an attempt to avert war with France.

February 7 Politics: John Fries is arrested by Federal marshals in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for leading a revolt against federal property taxes in Bucks and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. He is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for treason but is ultimately pardoned by President John Adams.

February 9 Naval: In a smart action off the island of Nevis, Captain Thomas Truxton of the 38-gun frigate USS Constellation captures the French frigate L’Insurgent ; losses in this lopsided affair are three Americans wounded to 29 French dead and 41 injured. Lieutenant John Rodgers and Midshipman David Porter are subsequently detailed to sail the prize into St. Kitts with 173 prisoners. This is a significant victory for the U.S. Navy during the so-called Quasi-War with France. Politics: Congress forbids trade with France and also stops American vessels from entering French ports.

February 18 Diplomacy: Despite the pro-war urgings of Alexander Hamilton, President John Adams appoints William Vans Murray as the new American minister to France. He does so upon the advice of the French foreign minister, Talleyrand, now receptive to American overtures.

February 23 Medical: Congress passes its first national quarantine act, whereby federal officials will assist state authorities in matters respecting medical quarantines.

February 25 Diplomacy: President John Adams, reacting to pressure from arch-Federalist Alexander Hamilton, appoints William K. Davie and Oliver Ellsworth to accompany William Vans Murray to France as ministers plenipotentiary.

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Patrick Henry had originally been selected but then declined on account of age. The three men are charged with reopening peace negotiations with the French republic.

March 29 Slavery: New York approves an emancipation law for the gradual abolition of slavery.

April 1 Publishing: The American Review and Literary Journal commences publication under the aegis of Charles Brockden Brown.

May Business: The American vessel Franklin under Captain James Devereaux drops anchor at the Dutch-controlled island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbor, Japan. He then barters his cargo of cotton, sugar, tin, pepper, and cloves in exchange for the first Japanese mats, lacquered goods, and pans brought back to the United States.

June 6 General: Revolutionary War icon Patrick Henry dies in Charlotte County, Virginia.

June 15 Politics: New Hampshire’s Federalist-dominated legislature passes the New Hampshire Resolutions to rebut the antigovernment Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

November 9–10 Diplomacy: Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the French Directorate and installs himself as First Consul; obsessed by expansionist ambitions in Europe, he proves much more amenable to diplomacy toward the United States.

November 22 Politics: Thomas Jefferson drafts another Kentucky Resolution, passed by the Kentucky legislature, which repudiates the assertion that the federal judiciary alone can determine the constitutionality of acts passed by Congress. Once again, he insists that states have the right to nullify federal laws.

December 12 Politics: The sixth Congress convenes its first session, being the last to boast a Federalist majority.

December 14 General: The new nation suffers its first major loss when George Washington, the most trusted military and political figure of his times, and a beloved national icon, dies at Mount Vernon. His renown is such that even France and England render honors on his passage.

December 26 Politics: Henry Lee, a distinguished Revolutionary War veteran, delivers a famous eulogy to George Washington and proclaims him as “first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

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1800 Agriculture: John Chapman, a Pennsylvania horticulturist, begins his 50-year career of spreading appleseeds around the region of the Ohio River Valley. For this reason he enters into folklore as Johnny Appleseed. Medical: Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse performs the first cowpox vaccination in America in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Music: Benjamin Carr commences printing his weekly Musical Journal, the first publication devoted to the dissemination of popular music from Europe and the United States. Population: The 1800 census reveals a national population of 5.3 million, including 896,849 African American slaves. Virginia, boasting 900,000 inhabitants, is the most populous state. Publishing: Mason Locke Weems, a Episcopal parson, publishes his celebrated panegyric The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, within months of the president’s death. It is an immediate best seller and endures through 87 printings to 1927. “Parson Weems” is best remembered for including his fictional account of a young Washington cutting down the cherry tree. Isaiah Thomas of Worcester, Massachusetts, is the nation’s foremost publisher, with 400 titles in print since the end of the Revolutionary War. His latest is a rendition of the New Testament in Greek. Religion: The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is organized with Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm as bishops. It is an outgrowth of the Mennonite community in Pennsylvania.

January 2 Slavery: Free African Americans in Philadelphia petition Congress to end slavery, halt the slave trade, and to allow the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 to expire. Not surprisingly, the petition is allowed to die in committee.

January 7 General: Millard Fillmore, the 13th president, is born at Locke (Summerville), New York.

January 10 Diplomacy: Congress ratifies the recent treaty with Tunis, signed the previous August.

February 1 Naval: The American frigate USS Constellation under Captain Thomas Truxton defeats the French frigate La Vengeance off Guadalupe, but the French vessel escapes after Truxton’s ship loses its mainmast.

February 22 Societal: Philadelphia is the scene of a grand parade in honor of George Washington’s birthday; this is the first public observance of what becomes a national holiday.

March 8 Diplomacy: First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte of France cordially receives American commissioners William Vans Murray, Oliver Ellsworth, and William

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R. Davie. Napoleon, who is planning wars of expansion in Europe, wants to settle his matters with the United States beforehand.

April Politics: The nation’s first political party caucuses for presidential and vice presidential candidates take place over the following two months. In time John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney are selected by the Federalists while Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr will represent the Democratic Republicans.

April 3 Business: Congress extends a franking privilege to Martha Washington, in effect to allow mail sent and received by her to be done so for free. It is gradually extended to all Revolutionary War veterans.

April 4 Business: Congress passes the first Federal Bankruptcy Law pertaining to merchants and bankers; its net result is the release from Debtor’s Prison of financier Robert Morris.

April 24 General: The Library of Congress is founded by a congressional act for the purpose of informing and enlightening members of that body.

April 29 Business: A British court rules on the case of the American vessel Polly, establishing the principle of a “Broken voyage.” Henceforth, American vessels can travel from the French West Indies to France if their cargos are landed at an American port and duties paid on them.

May 6 Politics: President John Adams, convinced that Secretary of War James McHenry is working in collusion with Alexander Hamilton for his defeat in the upcoming presidential election, demands and receives McHenry’s resignation.

May 7 Settlement: Congress carves up the Northwest Territory by imposing a boundary between the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers. The area west of this is christened the Indiana Territory under Governor William Henry Harrison, with its capital at Vincennes. The eastern region (Ohio) remains known as the Northwest Territory with a capital at Chillicothe.

May 10 Settlement: The Public Land Act, sponsored by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory, passes Congress. It creates district public land offices, liberal credit terms for purchasing land, and engenders a surge of land speculation throughout the territory. The minimum purchase is 320 acres, usually beyond what the average settler could afford.

May 11 Naval: In a startling action, Lieutenant Isaac Hull and 100 U.S. Marines hide themselves on board the vessel Sally and sail alongside the French privateer Sandwich off Santo Domingo. They quickly sortie and capture that vessel without a loss, then storm ashore and also take a nearby Spanish fort. Hull then triumphantly sails off without loss.

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May 12 Politics: President John Adams dismisses Secretary of State Timothy Pickering out of a belief that he is secretly conspiring against him in the 1800 presidential election.

May 13 Politics: Virginia Federalist John Marshall replaces Timothy Pickering as Secretary of State at the behest of President John Adams.

May 23 Law: In Richmond, Virginia, James T. Callender is tried and convicted of seditious libel and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. This is among the most celebrated cases arising from the Alien and Sedition Acts.

June Politics: The American government begins moving from Philadelphia to the new federalist district recently christened Washington, District of Columbia. This is the first planned capital city in history.

June 12 Politics: Massachusetts Federalist Samuel Dexter is appointed by President John Adams to serve as the new secretary of war.

July 9 Arts: Mount Vernon Gardens, the nation’s first summer theater, opens on Broadway in New York.

August 30 Slavery: A planned rebellion led by African-American slave Gabriel Prosser is revealed to white authorities; Prosser is subsequently hanged along with 36 suspected cohorts.

September 30 Diplomacy: The United States and a new French regime, the Consulate under Napoleon Bonaparte, formalize the Treaty of Morfontaine (or Convention of 1800), which ends the Quasi-War between the two nations while also restoring regular diplomatic relations. The agreement also annuls the alliance of 1778 while leaving the question of compensation for seized American vessels open to future negotiations.

October 1 Diplomacy: France and Spain conclude the secret treaty of San Ildefonso, whereby the colony of Louisiana is transferred back to its former owner, France. Apparently, the ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte, distracted by the outbreak of peace in Europe, now aspires for a revival of French colonial fortunes in North America.

October 12 Naval: The frigate USS Boston under Captain George Little engages and captures the 24-gun frigate Le Berceau off the Massachusetts coast.

October 19 Diplomacy: In an egregious national insult, Captain William Bainbridge is ordered by the Dey of Algiers to convey his emissary to Constantinople aboard the warship USS George Washington. There he is forced to present gifts to the Ottoman government and also fly the Ottoman flag from his masthead.

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November 17 Politics: The seat of government is formally transferred to the new District of Columbia; President John Adams and his wife Abigail occupy the soon-to-benamed White House while Congress convenes its first session there.

December 3 Politics: The presidential election of 1800 pits the Federalist ticket of John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney against Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. It will be decided largely around issues surrounding the Alien and Sedition Act, higher taxes to support a large defense establishment, the reduction of trade with France, and British impressment of American seamen.

1801 Architecture: The first large suspension bridge is erected over Jacob’s Creek, Pennsylvania, to link the settlements of Uniontown and Greensborough. It was inspired by a suspension system pioneered by James Finely of Fayette County in that state. Education: South Carolina College (today’s University of South Carolina) is chartered in Columbia, South Carolina; its first class graduates in 1806. Journalism: The New York Evening Post commences publication as a Federalist mouthpiece. Publishing: Noted Philadelphia publisher Matthew Carey organizes the American Company of Booksellers in New York City, which promotes the latest publications through book fairs. Religion: The second Great Revival commences with the evangelical camp meetings of Presbyterian minister James McGready, who began preaching in Logan County, Kentucky, in 1797. The movement of frontier Protestantism, replete with hellfire and damnation sermons, soon sweeps the upper mid-west. Yale president Timothy Dwight leads a religious revival in Connecticut. Technology: Legendary engraver Paul Revere manufactures the first cold, rolled copper in Boston, Massachusetts.

January 1 Politics: Samuel Dexter is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as secretary of the Treasury.

February 4 Politics: John Jay having refused to hold public office again, President John Adams appoints Virginia Federalist John Marshall as the new chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. This is one of his last official acts in office and, as events prove, among the most influential legal appointments in American history.

February 11 Arts: The play Abaellino, the Great Bandit by William Dunlap commences its amazing 25-year run.

February 11–16 Politics: Once the presidential elector ballots are counted, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tie at 73 votes apiece with John Adams, the first incumbent to be defeated, with 65 votes, while Charles C. Pinckney receives 64 votes. To end the impasse the process reverts to the House of Representatives for the first time, as provided by the Constitution.

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Marshall, John (1755–1835) Supreme court justice John Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, on September 24, 1755, the son of a surveyor. He was imperfectly educated by the time he joined the Continental Army in 1775 as a captain and fought well in several battles. While still in service he enrolled at William and Mary College in 1779, easily mastered law, and was admitted to the bar in 1780. Soon Marshall gained a well-deserved reputation as one of Virginia’s foremost legal authorities. After several terms in the legislature, he served with the state constitutional convention in 1788, lending his support to ratification. In time Marshall, by dint of keen judicial and political insight and a driven personality, emerged as leader of the Federalist party in Virginia. He soon came to the attention of President George Washington, a fellow Virginian, who appointed him a minister to France in 1797. He emerged from the infamous XYZ Affair with a national reputation, and in 1800 President John Adams offered him the position of secretary of war, which Marshall declined. That year Adams was defeated by the Democratic-Republicans of Thomas Jefferson, the first time that one party was about to replace another. Adams, realizing the Federalists had lost control of the government politically, now sought to wield influence over it judicially through the courts. A spate of “midnight appointments” ensued in January 1801 before he left office and Marshall was appointed chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court when John Jay

declined. From the standpoint of shaping the tone of Constitutional law, this proved one of the most significant appointments in American history. As a Federalist, Marshall was determined to preserve strong central governance and check what he viewed as the excesses of democracy. He also wished to render the Supreme Court, heretofore a relatively benign branch of the government, into a first among equals. He had his chance in 1803 by ruling in the famous case Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of “judicial review.” Thanks to Marshall’s brilliant maneuvers, the Supreme Court would unilaterally determine the constitutionality of all laws passed by Congress, dismissing them if they failed to meet constitutional standards. He also strengthened the court by insisting that each ruling be rendered by a single opinion—his—while dissent was removed from the public forum. A series of important cases followed through which Marshall inevitably sided with the federal government over the states. Another significant ruling, McCulloch v. Maryland, upheld the rechartering of the Bank of the United States, thus reaffirming Alexander Hamilton’s policy of implied powers, or “loose construction,” in the Constitution. Marshall closely directed the judicial and constitutional direction of the United States for 35 years before dying in office on July 6, 1835. Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell acquired its celebrated crack while tolling in his memory.

February 17 Politics: The House of Representatives endures an all-night session of 36 deadlocked ballots before Thomas Jefferson is finally elected president and Aaron Burr vice president. Apparently, Alexander Hamilton uses his influence among Federalist delegates to have them cast blank ballots, thereby electing Jefferson. Hamilton sees his old adversary as the “lesser of two evils” when compared to

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the brilliant but erratic Burr. The Federalists also lose control of Congress but now make strident attempts to retain control of the judiciary.

February 27 Politics: The Judiciary Act is passed by Congress; it reduces the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five and also establishes 16 circuit courts nationwide. Administering the federal District of Columbia also becomes a jurisdiction of Congress. Moreover, outgoing President John Adams uses it as a convenient pretext to make several last-minute appointments to the court. Congress this day also assumes control over the District of Columbia.

March 3 Politics: The Judiciary Act enables President John Adams to make several last-minute appointments (midnight judges) to the circuit court, on literally his last day in office, to ensure Federalist domination of the courts. Opposition to these appointments by the Democratic-Republicans under President Thomas Jefferson leads to the landmark judicial ruling in Marbury v. Madison.

March 4 Politics: Thomas Jefferson, the tall, gangling, redheaded philosopher, becomes the first president Aaron Burr (Library of Congress) inaugurated into office in the new national capitol of Washington, D.C. He is also the first DemocraticRepublican to hold high office. In his inaugural address, Jefferson sounds the case for limited government, fiscal frugality, states’ rights, and preserving civil liberties. Aaron Burr is also sworn in as vice president.

March 5 Politics: Revolutionary War hero Henry Dearborn becomes secretary of war while Levi Lincoln is appointed attorney general.

May 2 Diplomacy: James Madison is appointed secretary of state.

May 14 Diplomacy: Pasha Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli, wishing to increase his tribute demands on the United States, threatens war and cuts down the American flag in at the consulate in Tripoli City. President Thomas Jefferson, determined to protect America’s freedom of the seas, authorizes the outfitting of several naval expeditions against the North African pirates. Politics: Swiss born Albert Gallatin becomes the new secretary of the treasury.

June 2 Naval: Commodore Richard Dale leads the first American naval expedition of four vessels and a complement of U.S. Marines from New York against the Barbary pirates.

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Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826) President Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, on April 13, 1743, son of a plantation owner. He proved adept as a student, passed through William and Mary College in 1762, and joined the colonial bar in 1767. Jefferson subsequently devel-­ oped an affinity for politics and public service, so he was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1769, remaining there until 1775. Throughout the period lead-­ ing up to the American Revolution he agitated on behalf of the patriots against Great Britain and served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In this capacity he made indelible contributions to the American cause by drafting the memorable Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4, 1776. He then returned to Virginia to serve with the House of Delegates before becoming governor in 1779. After the war ended in 1783 Jefferson served the government in various capacities, most notably as minis-­ ter to France in 1784, where he witnessed

the outbreak of the French Revolution. He then favored adoption of the new U.S.

Thomas Jefferson. Painting by Thomas Sully (National Archives)

June 10 Diplomacy: The Dey of Tripoli declares war against the United States over its cessation of tribute payments.

July Religion: An early Methodist camp meeting unfolds near the Gaspar River Church in Logan County, Kentucky. Soon this practice becomes a common occurrence along the frontier.

July 17 Naval: The squadron of Commodore Richard Dale arrives off Tripoli and imposes a blockade. Meanwhile, the American consul there, James Cathcart, tries in vain to have Pasha Yusuf Karamanli reduce his new tribute demands of a one-­off pay-­ ment of $250,000 and annual payments of $20,000 thereafter.

August Naval: In France, American inventor Robert Fulton creates his viable submarine Nautilus and offers it to Napoleon, who remains skeptical and uninterested.

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Constitution, but only if it contained a Bill of Rights. President George Washington appointed him secretary of state in 1789, but he was increasingly drawn into an ideological struggle with Alexander Ham-­ ilton and other Federalists as to the nature of American governance. He finally broke with them over the issue of Jay’s Treaty in 1795 and went on to help found an oppo-­ sition party, the Democratic-­Republicans. In this capacity he increasingly criticized President John Adams and the oppressive Alien and Sedition Acts before running for the presidency in 1800. He was elected to the office through the House of Repre-­ sentatives, although this required the help of Hamilton to conclusively defeat Aaron Burr. As chief executive, Jefferson set the government down a new path. He sought to reduce the size and influence of gov-­ ernment so as to assist yeoman farmers and deflect an overly ambitious merchant class. Jefferson, a pacifist by nature, was nonetheless determined to protect the American flag at sea, and in 1801 he sent

several naval expeditions into the Mediter-­ ranean to combat the Tripolitan pirates of North Africa. In 1803 he authorized crea-­ tion of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, to scientifically train the officer corps and secured the Louisiana Purchase from France, which doubled the size of the nation. In 1804 he also dispatched the expedition of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore this vast region. When British warships attacked American ships at sea in 1807 he launched a complete embargo on foreign trade to punish the offenders; in the end this nearly ruined the economy and had to be repealed. Jefferson left office in March 1809 still a popular public figure, and he retired to his estate at Monticello, Virginia, to write and conduct scientific research. He was not personally recon-­ ciled with his former friend John Adams until 1812 and remained a respected elder statesman until his death at Monticello on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of his Declaration of Independence.

August 1 Naval: In an early naval encounter, the brig USS Enterprise under Lieutenant Andrew Sterett engages and captures the 14-­gun North African vessel Tripoli, killing 30 Algerians and taking 30 captive.

August 7 Religion: The Great Revival of the West increases with a Presbyterian camp meeting at Cane Ridge, Kentucky. Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone presides over a gathering estimated at 25,000.

August 21 Science: The first mastodon bones are unearthed in Newburgh, New York, causing a popular sensation.

September Engineering: The Cayuga Bridge, a wooden structure more than a mile long and broad enough for four wagons to traverse abreast, is opened in central New York. It is considered one of the technical marvels of its day.

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October 16 Diplomacy: Robert R. Livingston, newly appointed minister to France, departs for Europe.

October 19 Technology: Benjamin H. Latrobe designs and builds the nation’s first freshwater aqueduct system at Philadelphia, which supplies the city year round.

November 1 Education: Middlebury College is chartered at Middlebury, Vermont; its first class graduates in 1802.

November 16 Journalism: Federalists Alexander Hamilton and John Jay join forces to found and publish the Federalist-oriented New York Evening Post. They do so in response to the recent loss of Federalist Stephen Van Rensselaer in his race for the governorship.

December 7 Politics: The Seventh Congress convenes in Washington, D.C., with the Democratic-Republicans in firm control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time.

December 8 Politics: President Thomas Jefferson, disliking ceremony, renders his first annual message to Congress on paper, a practice that continues until 1913. Camp meetings, such as the one shown here, helped to spread Protestantism to the scattered frontier population. (Library of Congress)

1802

Arts: The New York Academy of Arts is founded in New York City; it is organized and run like a business, with shares of stock bought and sold. Business: Colonel David Humphreys brings back the first shipment of 100 merino sheep from Spain. Soon the fine wool of this animal becomes a staple of the growing textile industry. Sports: New York public law forbids horse racing in public and the sport remains restricted to private organizations, the so-called jockey clubs. Technology: In New York, noted inventor John Stevens develops the first screw (propeller) driven steamboat.

January 7 Education: The American Western University is founded at Athens, Ohio, becoming the first higher education institution in the Northwest Territory. It is also part of the Ohio Company of Associates and is renamed Ohio University in 1804.

January 8 Diplomacy: Consistent with the terms of Jay’s Treaty, a commission determines that the United States owes $2.6 million in pre-Revolutionary war debts, based both on English and Loyalist claims.

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January 15 Education: Jefferson College (today’s Washington and Jefferson College) is chartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

January 29 General: John James Beckley, former clerk of the House of Representatives, is appointed the first Librarian of Congress by President Thomas Jefferson. Politics: President Thomas Jefferson approaches Congress for a repeal of the Judiciary Act, which he regards as nothing more than a partisan legislation by the Federalists to control the courts.

February 6 Diplomacy: Congress authorizes the arming of merchant vessels in light of a declaration of war by the Pasha of Tripoli. The United States is thus preparing to enter a state of limited war without a congressional declaration. Business: Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin begins a new government policy of fiscal retrenchment to reduce the national debt. However, he does propose federal aid for the purpose of national road construction to facilitate commerce and frontier settlement. Gallatin, consistent with President Thomas Jefferson’s wishes, outlines a plan for severe military reductions and the repeal of all internal taxation.

March 8 Politics: The Democratic-Republican dominated Congress repeals the Judicial Act of 1801 at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson.

March 16 Military: A bill authorizing the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, passes Congress. In promoting its creation, President Thomas Jefferson has two goals for this school: to train professional military engineers whose talents in surveying and road building will greatly facilitate frontier settlement, and to afford political indoctrination for an officer class, rendering them favorably disposed toward democratic republicanism. The site had previously been selected by George Washington.

March 27 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Amiens between France, England, the Netherlands, and Spain brings a temporary halt to harassment of American shipping in Europe.

April 6 Business: The Democratic-Republican controlled Congress repeals all excise taxes, including the hated whiskey tax.

April 14 Politics: The Naturalization Act is restored by Congress to mandate a five-year residency requirement for citizenship; this ends the 14-year tenure stipulated under the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1795.

April 24 Business: Georgia requests help in sorting out the legal entanglement caused by the fraudulent Yazoo land sales of 1795 and the state’s 1796 invalidation of the same. The land in question is then ceded to the federal government, for $1.2 million, which ultimately engenders a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1810.

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April 29 Politics: The Judiciary Act of 1801 is amended by Congress to increase the number of Supreme Court justices to the original number of six, while the court will hold one session per year. Moreover, a system of six circuit courts is established, down from 16, each presided over by a Supreme Court justice.

April 30 Settlement: The Enabling Act is passed by Congress that allows any territory organized from the Ordnance of 1787 to strive for statehood. The Northwest Territory (Ohio) subsequently begins electing delegates for a state constitutional convention, a precedent followed by other territories similarly disposed.

May 1 Diplomacy: President Thomas Jefferson is apprised of and alarmed by Spain’s recent sale of the Louisiana Territory to France. He therefore authorizes his minister in Paris, Robert R. Livingston, to negotiate for land on the Mississippi River to use as a port and thereby preserve American navigation rights. Moreover, Livington is to inquire if France would be willing to sell the land in question.

May 3 General: Washington, D.C., is incorporated as a city and the president is authorized to appoint a mayor.

June 19 Business: French refugee Éleuthère Irénée du Pont opens up his first gunpowder factory at Wilmington, Delaware.

July 4 Military: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, is officially opened. This marks the genesis of professionalism in the U.S. Army.

August 11 Diplomacy: Spain and the United States agree to a convention which creates a special commission to settle any claims of one nation’s citizens against the other.

October 2 Business: The U.S. Patent Office becomes a new bureau within the Department of State.

October 16 Diplomacy: In an alarming development, France forbids the United States from depositing cargo at New Orleans, Louisiana, thereby negating an earlier arrangement reached with Spain, the previous owner. President Thomas Jefferson, anxious to preserve American navigation rights along the Mississippi, begins negotiations to purchase New Orleans and West Florida.

November 29 Settlement: At Chillicothe, Ohio, a state convention adopts a new constitution, this being the first step in applying for statehood. This is accomplished over the protests and obstructionism of territorial governor Arthur St. Clair, an aristocratically inclined former soldier. The new document closely mirrors the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and forbids slavery.

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December 6 Politics: President Thomas Jefferson reemphasizes the necessity of balanced governmental economy in his annual message to Congress. He also declares his intention to further reduce the power of the federal government.

1803 Architecture: New York City Hall is designed and built by John McComb; it is considered today one of the nation’s best surviving examples of Georgian style. Diplomacy: The resumption of warfare between France and Great Britain in Europe leads to continuing attacks upon neutral shipping at sea. Both sides prove equally rapacious towards American commerce, but the new spate of impressment of American seaman by the British leads to escalating national anger over the practice. Religion: The Albrights, professing a combination of Methodist and Lutheran doctrines, is formed when Jacob Albright is ordained in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. After 1816 they are known as the Evangelical Association. Societal: The first tax-supported public library is founded in Salisbury, Connecticut.

January Exploration: President Thomas Jefferson, desirous of securing friendly relations with Native American tribes in the interior and expanding the nation’s internal commercial boundaries, prevails on Congress to fund a small western exploratory expedition led by two army officers.

January 11 Diplomacy: President Thomas Jefferson appoints fellow Virginian James Monroe as minister plenipotentiary to France and orders him to Paris to join American minister Robert R. Livingston. Monroe is instructed to offer $2 million for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida—he is authorized to spend upwards of $10 million.

February 4 Arts: William Dunlap, the nation’s first professional playwright, adapts his play The Voice of Nature from a contemporary French work of the same name. This is the earliest example of melodrama for the stage in America, having been pioneered in France, and features starkly drawn villainous and virtuous characters, with the latter usually prevailing.

February 24 Law: The landmark Marbury v. Madison case is dramatically decided by Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court. Henceforth the Court declares its implied power to render null and void any action by Congress which is deemed unconstitutional. This is also the first time that the high Court has voided a congressional act. The process of judicial review is thereby established, making the Supreme Court first among equals in the balance of power among the three branches of government.

March 1 Politics: Ohio enters the union as the 17th state; because it is carved from territory established by the Northwest Ordnance of 1787, slavery was already excluded and is never an issue.

March 3 Settlement: Congress authorizes the sale of all uncommitted land within the Mississippi Territory.

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April Science: Naturalist John James Audubon is the first American to practice banding birds for scientific observation.

April 12 Diplomacy: James Monroe, minister plenipotentiary to France, arrives in Paris to assist American minister Robert R. Livingston in an attempt to purchase New Orleans and West Florida from the First Consulate of Napoleon Bonaparte. By this time, Napoleon’s attention has shifted back to warfare on the European continent and he readily abandons prior notions of resurrecting a French empire in the New World. His foreign minister, Talleyrand, inquires how much the United States would be willing to offer for the entire Louisiana Territory.

April 19 Business: With French prodding, Spain reinstitutes the right to deposit stores at New Orleans, an economic essential for American traders there.

May Technology: Benjamin H. Latrobe gives a less-than glowing assessment of the current state of steam technology in his report to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. This is only four years before Robert Fulton’s spectacularly successful steamboat Clermont.

May 2 Diplomacy: In Paris, James Madison and Robert R. Livingston arrange to purchase the entire Louisiana Territory (828,000 square miles) for $11 million. This purchase literally doubles the size of the United States and encompasses a region that will eventually give rise to the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The Americans also conclude a convention to assume claims by French citizens against the United States worth $3.7 million. Napoleon Bonaparte, eager to embark on a war of conquest in Europe and already saddled with a costly rebellion in Haiti, sells the land at a bargain price in exchange for a quick infusion of cash.

May 23 Naval: Captain Edward Preble, a stern, no-nonsense disciplinarian, is appointed commodore of the Mediterranean Squadron. His aggressive brand of leadership proves infectious to all ranks.

June 7 Diplomacy: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison concludes a treaty with representatives of nine Native American tribes, whereby the latter cede land along the Wabash River. This constitutes the first white intrusion beyond the fixed barriers established by the 1795 Treaty of Greenville and sparks the rise of nativist resistance throughout the Old Northwest.

August 17 Military: Captain John Whistler marches his company of infantry to the site of present-day Chicago, Illinois, and commences construction of Fort Dearborn.

August 31 Exploration: The first government-sponsored exploratory expedition, headed by army captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, departs down the Ohio River. They will not return from their epic voyage for three years, and their

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Lewis, Meriwether (1774–1809) Explorer Meriwether Lewis was born in Albemarle, Virginia, on August 18, 1774, son of a Continental Army officer. He was attracted to military life and in 1794 he joined the militia to help suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Lewis subsequently served with the U.S. Army in 1794 and fought under General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. At that time he also befriended Lieutenant William Clark and the two became lifelong friends. Lewis then completed several tours of duty along the western frontier and served as regimental paymaster at Detroit. However, his fortunes dramatically shifted in 1801 when President Thomas Jefferson invited him to Washington, D.C., to serve as his personal secretary. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Jefferson sought to outfit a small but professional scientific expedition to explore the new region. His goal was to facilitate western migration and also learn more about new furbearing regions to expand trade. He consequently selected Lewis, who was highly adept at astronomy, navigation, and mapmaking, to head the expedition. Once Congress granted approval for the endeavor both Lewis and his friend Clark were commissioned captains in the new “Corps of Discovery.” The two departed St. Louis in May 1804, assisted by the Shoshone woman Sacagawea, and gradually wended their way as far west as Oregon on the Pacific coast. En route they met and befriended numerous tribes of Native Americans who had never heard of the United States. After wintering at Astoria, Oregon, the

party commenced the return leg of its journey, with Lewis and Clark taking separate routes. The expedition finally ended at St. Louis on September 23, 1806, after covering more than 4,000 miles with the loss of only one man through illness. Lewis’s minute observations did much to enhance the geographical, botanical, and scientific knowledge of the region, and President Jefferson appointed him governor of the new Louisiana Territory. Lewis had acquired national renown for his explorations, but temperamentally he was unsuited for political office. Sullen and inflexible, he argued incessantly with local officials and became unpopular with the inhabitants. He was also uncommunicative with superiors back in Washington, D.C., and failed to consult with them in advance about his plans. After only a year and a half in office, Lewis was summoned back to the national capital to explain his boorish behavior to superiors. He was also going east to push for publication of his detailed journals under the aegis of Nicholas Biddle of Philadelphia. Lewis proceeded along the celebrated Natchez Trace—the “Devil’s Backbone”—to a point near Nashville, Tennessee, where he checked into an inn on October 11, 1809. He died there suddenly at the age of 35. It has never been ascertained if Lewis’s death was the result of murder, suicide, or natural causes, and speculation remains rife. Despite a sometimes stormy disposition, his sound leadership proved essential to the conduct of a daring expedition that opened the western frontier to the American nation.

endeavors greatly enhance the scientific and geographical knowledge of the American interior. President Thomas Jefferson, intending to lessen the influence of commercial elites along the east coast, feels that settlement of the frontier will lead to a dominant, agrarian-based, yeoman farmer class, hence the region they inhabit becomes “the bulwark of Liberty.”

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Clark, William

(1770–1838)

Explorer William Clark was born in Caroline County, Virginia, on August 1, 1770, a younger brother of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark. He was raised in Kentucky, exposed to the nuances of frontier life, and also inculcated with the habits and mannerisms of Native American tribes. He joined the U.S. Army as an ensign in 1791 and served under General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, 1794. Around this time he struck up a close acquaintance with fellow officer Ensign Meriwether Lewis, the two becoming fast friends. Clark then returned home in 1796 to manage his plantation in Kentucky, but in 1803 he was contacted by Lewis to join the “Corps of Discovery” established by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the vast reaches of the Louisiana Purchase. In May 1804 Lewis and Clark departed Pittsburgh in keelboats and wended their way westward, greatly assisted by the Shoshone woman Sacajawea. Clark himself was wellversed at dealing with Native Americans, and his tact and diplomacy while encountering numerous tribes insured a peaceful transit. Over the next two years Clark artfully mapped the terrain they covered up as far as the Pacific Northwest and back, which greatly contributed to American knowledge of the interior. Reputedly his draftsmanship was so accurate that the maps required only minor alterations 50 years later. Clark also compiled a military journal of events which was published in 1807, became an instant best seller, and greatly stimulated interest in western migration.

Clark resigned from the military again in February 1807 to become Indian agent of the Louisiana Territory and brigadier general of militia. For the next six years he labored ceaselessly to cultivate better relations with nearby Indians, then stressed by the tide of white encroachment, and conducted several chiefs to Washington, D.C., to confer with President James Madison. He became a familiar fixture at many Indian councils, and they relied upon him for fair and honest advice. Moreover, Clark believed that the best way of promoting good relations between whites and Native Americans was through commerce and feared that unscrupulous traders would incite unrest and violence. When the War of 1812 broke out Clark was tasked with guarding the thinly populated Missouri region from attack, and he was appointed the first territorial governor. Here he was hampered by scanty resources and manpower, but in 1814 he conducted an expedition up the Mississippi River to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, constructed Fort Shelby, and raised the American flag there. After the war Clark was authorized to conclude several peace treaties with the remaining hostile tribes, and in 1821 he lost his sole bid to become governor of Missouri. He then served as superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis for the next 16 years and facilitated their eventual removal to new homelands in the Kansas Territory. Clark died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838, receiving the lavish state funeral usually accorded a national hero.

September 29 Religion: Boston formally dedicates its first Roman Catholic Church.

October 20 Politics: The Senate ratifies the purchase of the Louisiana Territory on a vote of 24 to seven. This had proved something of a thorny issue, ideologically, to the

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Democratic-Republicans, as there was no provision for such an acquisition in the Constitution. President Thomas Jefferson and his followers had no recourse but to backpedal and adopt the Federalist “broad constructionist” interpretation of that document, based on the concept of implied powers.

October 31 Naval: Disaster strikes when the frigate USS Philadelphia under Captain William Bainbridge grounds in Tripoli Harbor while chasing an enemy vessel and is captured; plans are then made by Commodore Edward Preble to destroy the vessel at its berth.

November 12 Naval: The American naval squadron under Commodore Edward Preble establishes a blockade of Tripoli Harbor and warns neutral vessels to steer clear.

December 9 Politics: The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution is passed by Congress; this mandates that candidates for president and vice president must be on separate ballots to avert tie votes, as happened to Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in 1800.

December 19 Business: Congress repeals the Bankruptcy Act of 1800.

December 20 Settlement: President Thomas Jefferson, Mississippi Territory governor William C. Claiborne, and General James Wilkinson attend ceremonies at New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the formal transfer of that territory from France to the United States. This fortuitous acquisition literally doubles the size of the United States and pushes it closer to a two-ocean power.

December 24 Societal: American Elizabeth Patterson, daughter of wealthy businessman William Patterson, marries Jerome Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon, in Baltimore.

1804 Agriculture: The first agricultural fair is held in Washington, D.C., and soon becomes a common sight in rural and frontier communities. Education: Rhode Island College is renamed Brown University in honor of a wealthy benefactor, Nicholas Brown. Law: Despite its incorporation into the United States, the new Louisiana Territory maintains the Code Napoleon as its legal basis, which is subsequently carried on into statehood. This is in direct contrast to the rest of the country, which utilizes English-based common and statutory laws. Publishing: John Marshall publishes the first volume of his Life of George Washington, with the remaining four volumes appearing up through 1807. It remains the most authoritative biography of this seminal figure for half a century. Religion: Charles Bulfinch designs St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Boston; it is also known as the New North Church.

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January 5 Politics: Samuel Chase, a federal associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, is investigated by the House of Representatives for allegedly biased conduct in cases involving publisher James T. Callender for sedition and John Fries for his role in a tax rebellion.

February 15 Slavery: The New Jersey legislature adopts laws mandating the gradual emancipation of African-American slaves.

February 16 Naval: In a stunning naval upset, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur leads a cuttingout expedition that recaptures the 38-gun frigate USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, then burns it under the city’s cannon. Decatur had sailed into the harbor with only 75 sailors on board a captured Tripolitan ketch, pulled alongside, then quickly stormed his objective without loss of life. British Admiral Horatio Nelson declares it the boldest act of his day, and it establishes Decatur as the doyen of the naval officer corps for the next two decades. Politics: Alexander Hamilton publicly slurs Aaron Burr during the New York gubernatorial election, dismissing him as “a dangerous man.”

February 25 Politics: The Democratic-Republicans, holding their first regular party caucus, unanimously nominate Thomas Jefferson for president and George Clinton of New York for vice president.

March 12 Law: The U.S. Senate impeaches John Pickering, a federal district judge from New Hampshire, on the grounds of intoxication, profanity, and other offenses judged detrimental to his performance on the bench. This is the latest manifestation of President Thomas Jefferson’s ongoing strife with the Federalist-dominated courts.

March 26 Settlement: The Land Act of 1804 is passed by Congress to amend the Harrison Land Law of 1800; this lowers the price of public lands to $1.64 an acre and allows the sale of 160 acre units called quarter sections. Credit terms are also liberalized and payments extended for a period of 10 years. Congress establishes the Territory of Orleans in the southern Louisiana Territory, comprising land west the Mississippi River. The remaining land constitutes the new District of Louisiana.

April 25 Politics: Aaron Burr is defeated in his bid for the New York governorship and correctly blames Alexander Hamilton for slandering him in the state press.

April 29 Naval: The Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore Edward Preble captures two Tripolitan warships.

May 14 Exploration: The Lewis and Clark expedition of 33 men departs St. Louis, Missouri Territory, in a keelboat and two pirogue boats, and begins paddling up

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659

(1779–1820)

Naval officer Stephen Decatur was born in Sinepuxent, Maryland, on January 5, 1779, part of a seafaring family. After briefly attending the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the merchant marine at an early age and in 1798 received a midshipman’s commission in the U.S. Navy. Decatur distinguished himself in this capacity throughout the Quasi War with France, 1798–1800, and rose to lieutenant in 1803. That year Decatur accompanied the American squadron dispatched to the Mediterranean to combat the Barbary pirates of North Africa. During the night of February 16, 1804, he led a cutting-out expedition which boarded the captured frigate USS Philadelphia, burned it at its moorings, and safely escaped with the loss of only one man wounded. This singular act captured the American public, established Decatur’s reputation as a daring naval officer, and resulted in his promotion to captain at the age of 24. Until hostilities ceased in 1804, Decatur subsequently distinguished himself in other hand-to-hand actions off Tripoli and furthered his reputation. When the War of 1812 commenced, Decatur was commanding the large, 44-gun frigate USS United States, and on October 12, 1812, he confronted the slightly smaller British 38-gun warship HMS Macedonian. Using superb sailing skills, Decatur expertly devastated his opponent with 70 broadsides, gaining the second surprise victory over the heretofore unbeatable Royal Navy. However, the British fleet soon enveloped the American coastline in a blockade, and Decatur proved unable to get to sea for

two years. On January 15, 1815, he managed to slip the large frigate USS President out of New York harbor but the ship then struck a sandbar during a gale and was badly damaged. He was then set upon by a squadron of British warships, defeated the nearest of these, then surrendered to the remaining two. Defeat did not diminish Decatur’s stature as a national hero, and in the summer of 1815 he commanded a new, nine-ship squadron tasked with stopping Algerian depredations against American shipping. In a short and brilliant campaign he captured two warships and forced the beys of Algiers, Tunisia, and Tripoli to sign peace treaties and pay indemnities. His activity finally ended the scourge of Mediterranean piracy and he sailed home to additional laurels. In November 1815 Decatur won a position on the Board of Navy Commissioners to modernize the administration of that service. He also gained renown by proffering the oft-quoted toast, “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, but right or wrong—our country!” He performed well for six years but entered into a fatal controversy in 1820 by voting to deny Captain James Barron his promotion. Barron had earlier been disgraced by the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard affair and he blamed Decatur for conspiring against him and then challenged Decatur to a duel. Decatur readily accepted the challenge and was fatally wounded near Bladensburg, Maryland, on March 22, 1820. He remains the most accomplished naval officer of his age.

the Missouri River toward the interior of the continent. Among them is the 16year-old Shoshone girl, Sacagawea, who has been hired to act as a guide with her French fur-trader husband.

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Sacagawea (ca. 1790–ca. 1884) Indian woman guide Boinaiv (“Grass Maiden”) was born among the Lehmi band of the Shoshone (Snake) nation in central Idaho around 1790, the daughter of a prominent chief. At the age of 11 she was kidnapped by a band of hostile Hidatsa warriors and taken to their village. There she received the name Sacagawea (“Bird Woman”) and lived among the people, traveling with them. At some time in her journeys, Sacagawea encountered the French trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who bought her from captivity and eventually married her. The couple was residing at a Mandan Indian village in present-day North Dakota when an American expedition headed by captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived to spend the winter of 1805 there. Lewis and Clark, realizing they needed experienced capable guides and translators, hired both Charbonneau and his wife to accompany them on their sojourn to the Pacific coast. Sacagawea’s fluency in the Shoshone dialect was considered essential to this task because the expedition would have to obtain horses and other supplies from that tribe in order to cross the Continental Divide. Prior to departing Sacagawea gave birth to a son named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau on February 11, 1805, although this latest addition to the expedition was simply strapped to her back and she marched on with the others that April. As the journey unfolded, Lewis and Clark came to highly value Sacagawea’s linguistic and navigational skills, along with her skills as a botanist. Invariably, at each

campsite, she would go off into the bushes to procure various kinds of edible roots to supplement the soldiers’ meager rations. This teenage guide was apparently quite fearless and on one occasion she dove into a river to rescue many artifacts that had spilled over when a canoe capsized. At length Sacagawea led the party into the heart of the Shoshone homeland, which she recognized but had not visited for many years. The Native Americans of this region believed that a party of men led by a woman invariably came in peace, and their extended their hospitality to the strangers. At this juncture Lewis and Clark were introduced to Chief Cameahwait, whom Sacagawea instantly recognized as her older brother and a tearful reunion ensued. She then explained the need for horses to her hosts, which were provided, and she remained with the expedition as they wintered at the present location of Astoria in Oregon. Sacagawea subsequently accompanied the expedition back east at which point she disappears from the historical record. Certain accounts place her death at Fort Lisa, Nebraska, on December 20, 1812, while tribal traditions maintain she lived among the Wild River Shoshone in Wyoming until 1884, when she died at the age of around 100 years. Regardless of her fate, the youthful Sacagawea made invaluable contributions to the Lewis and Clark expedition, who valued her presence and wrote favorably of her in their journals. Several statues have been erected in her memory in St. Louis, Portland, and other locations.

May 21 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition arrives at the home of frontier legend Daniel Boone in Missouri.

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July 11–12 Politics: Aaron Burr challenges Alexander Hamilton to a duel for his role in derailing the former’s political aspirations in New York. The two men confront each other at Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton deliberately misfires his gun while Burr takes deliberate aim and fatally wounds his antagonist. This act effectively ends Burr’s political career.

August 3 – 4 Naval: Commodore Edward Preble takes the unprecedented step of arranging his Mediterranean Squadron in bombardment positions and shelling the port city of Tripoli. His nine ships and nine gunboats engage nine Tripolitan shore batteries, yet the Americans manage to sink three gunboats and capture four more at a cost of 54 casualties.

August 13 Diplomacy: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison arranges the purchase of additional land from the Delaware Indians, this time encompassing the region between the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.

August 18–27 Diplomacy: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison signs two treaties at Vincennes for lands north and south of the Ohio River.

September 4 Naval: The captured brig Intrepid, manned by Lieutenant Richard Somers and 13 sailors, explodes in Tripoli Harbor after its cargo of gunpowder is accidentally detonated, killing everyone on board.

September 25 Politics: The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified; hereafter presidential and vice presidential candidates run separately on their own ballots.

October Exploration: A government expedition headed by scientists William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter departs Natchez, Mississippi, and paddles down the Red and Ouachita Rivers into present-day Arkansas.

October 1 Politics: Jeffersonian stalwart William C. Claiborne is appointed governor of the Territory of Orleans, with his seat of government at the city of New Orleans. The United States is finally in control of the mouth of the Mississippi River, which proves to be a major economic conduit for the interior of the country.

November 2 Exploration: The Lewis and Clark expedition winters near the site of present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. They encamp at a village of friendly Mandan Indians along the banks of the Upper Missouri River, having successfully negotiated treacherous waters on the Missouri River and an encounter with hostile Sioux Indians.

November 3 Diplomacy: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison strikes an accord with the Sac and Fox Indians to acquire five million acres in present-day Wisconsin for the United States. The natives retain the right to remain on the land.

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November 29 Education: The New York Historical Society is founded in New York City by John Pintard, Mayor DeWitt Clinton, Judge Egbert Benson, and Dr. David Hosack. This institution is dedicated to the collection and preservation of important documents relating to American history.

December 5 Politics: In the first presidential election under the Twelfth Amendment, Thomas Jefferson decisively outpolls Charles C. Pinckney with 162 votes to 14 while vice president George Clinton eclipses Rufus King by the identical margin. Moreover, the Democratic-Republicans maintain their large majorities in the Congress and thus completely control the political agenda of the nation.

1805 Art: Painter Charles Willson Peale opens America’s second public art gallery, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, in Philadelphia. The first such institution, the New York Academy of Fine Arts, folded the previous year. Business: The first known shipment of ice is carried by merchant captain Frederick Tudor to the French island of Martinique; thereafter it becomes a valuable export to the tropics and other warm climes. Diplomacy: As warfare escalates in Europe, Napoleon issues the Berlin and Milan Decrees and Great Britain invokes the Orders in Council; both have the effect of barring neutral shipping from entering each other’s harbors at the risk of confiscation. However, the continuing British practice of impressing American seamen for service on Royal Navy warships leads to increasing resentment against that nation. Education: Georgetown College, founded in 1789 as the first Catholic institution of higher learning, is transferred to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Exploring: Scientists William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter conclude their exploration down the Red and Ouachita Rivers and return to Natchez, Mississippi. One result of this government-sponsored endeavor is the first glimpse of mineral wells at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Publishing: Female historian Mercy Warren Otis publishes her Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, based on her firsthand knowledge of events and major players. However, her biased treatment of John Adams for aristocratic pretensions leads to a breakdown to their former friendship.

January 11 Settlement: The Michigan Territory is created from a division of the Indiana Territory; William Hull, a distinguished soldier of the Revolutionary War, is appointed the first governor with his seat of government at Detroit.

February 15 Societal: A German-speaking utopian community is created by George Rapp at Harmonie in western Pennsylvania. The 600 inhabitants agree to surrender all their worldly possessions for the betterment of the community.

February 17 Settlement: In Louisiana, New Orleans is incorporated as a city.

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March 1 Law: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, having been impeached by the House of Representatives for inappropriate behavior, is tried and acquitted in the Senate. He then resumes his seat on the bench with a somewhat tarnished reputation, but his survival discourages future administrations from attempting to remove judges for political reasons.

March 3 Settlement: Congress establishes the Louisiana Territory from the Louisiana District and enacts legislation confirming all French and Spanish land grants extant. The capital is then designated at St. Louis.

March 4 Politics: Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated for his second term as president while George Clinton is sworn in as vice president, replacing Aaron Burr. In his address the chief executive notes the passing of internal taxation in favor of consumption taxes on luxury items and also speaks favorably about publicly funded public works such as roads.

March 6 Military: A remarkable and improbable military campaign unfolds as American Consul William Eaton and U.S. Marine Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon march from Alexandria, Egypt, with seven marines and 400 Arab and Greek mercenaries. They are determined to storm the Tripolitan city of Derna on the North African coast.

April 7 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition decamps from its Mandan Indian village and resumes paddling up the Missouri River, assisted by the 16-year-old Shoshone guide, Sacagawea. The Corps of Expedition consists of 26 men in six canoes and two large pirogues.

April 26 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition arrives at the mouth of the Yellowstone River.

April 27 Military: A small American expedition commanded by U.S. Consul William Eaton and Marine Corps Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon captures the port city of Derna from Tripolitan forces, assisted by gunfire from the brigs USS Nautilus, Hornet, and Argus under Captain Isaac Hull. The victors suffer 14 casualties, including one dead Marine. Hamet Karamanli, brother of Pasha Yusuf, is then placed on the throne as an opposition figure. This is the first real victory in the war against the Barbary pirates and also the first time the American flag flies over an enemy fortification.

May 1 Slavery: The Virginia legislature enacts a law ordering all free African Americans to leave the state or face imprisonment.

May 25 Labor: Members of the Federal Society of Cordwainers (shoemakers) are arrested by law enforcement authorities and charged with striking for an increase of wages, a violation of English common law. This marks the first time that the judicial system

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May 26 Exploring; The Lewis and Clark expedition attempts crossing the Rocky Mountains down the Jefferson River but is thwarted. They then elect to proceed on foot through the Lemhi Pass and thence across the continental divide.

June 4 Diplomacy: A peace agreement is reached between the United States and the Barbary state of Tripoli; the Americans pay a one-time $60,000 ransom to release Captain William Bainbridge and 306 sailors of the captured USS Philadelphia, but thereafter commerce is assured free passage throughout the Mediterranean Sea without further tribute.

June 11 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition catches its first glimpse of the Great Falls of the Missouri River. General: The newly acquired settlement of Detroit, Michigan, is nearly destroyed in a fire.

July 1 Settlement: Congress carves the Michigan and Indiana Territories from the remaining Northwest Territory.

July 23 Diplomacy: In a case regarding the American vessel Essex, an English court decides that any neutral ship visiting an enemy port can be subject to seizure unless the captain can demonstrate that his final voyage was to an American port. This action, based on the Rule of 1756, clears the way for additional maritime seizures by British warships plying the French West Indies, where most of the trade occurs.

July 25 Politics: Former vice president Aaron Burr arrives at New Orleans, allegedly to help plot a separatist state with that city as its capital.

July 27 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition reaches the three forks of the Missouri River, at which point the exhausted explorers go ashore to rest.

August 9 Exploring: Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike is ordered by General James Wilkinson to seek out the source of the Mississippi River within territory acquired by the Louisiana Purchase. This day he departs St. Louis with 20 men into the region of present-day Minnesota.

October 1 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition concludes a harsh overland trek through the Bitterroot Mountains and then places its canoes in the waters of the Clearwater River.

October 10 Exploring: Tramping overland from the continental divide, the Lewis and Clark expedition encounters the Snake River, which flows westward. They then paddle downstream and enter the Columbia River a week later.

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Pike, Zebulon M.

665

(1777–1813)

Explorer Zebulon Montgomery Pike was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on January 5, 1777, son of a Continental army officer. He entered his father’s company of the 2nd Infantry at the age of 15 and served with General Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War, 1790–94. Pike’s education to this point had been meager; nonetheless, he possessed considerable drive to excel and studied mathematics, science, and Spanish on his own. Afterward he served in the garrison at Kaskaskia, Illinois, coming to the attention of General James Wilkinson, commanding general of the Louisiana Territory. This huge expanse had been acquired in 1803 and remained largely unexplored. Therefore Wilkinson ordered Pike to outfit a small overland expedition for the purpose of establishing friendly contacts with native Americans living there, invite their chiefs to St. Louis, report on the activities of British traders, identify the source of the Mississippi River, and provide detailed geographic and geological information. Pike departed St. Louis on August 9, 1805 with 20, men and ascended the Mississippi River in a 20foot keelboat. He ventured far upstream and established contacts with the Sioux tribe, wintered on the future site of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and explored the adjacent region on sled. Pike also encountered Leech Lake, which he wrongly believed was the source of the Mississippi. He then warned British traders off American territory before returning to St. Louis on April 30, 1806. Pike covered 5,000 miles in nine months,

contributing greatly to the knowledge of the American interior. In July 1806 Wilkinson ordered Pike on another foray, this time along the southwestern fringes of the Louisiana Purchase to locate the source of the Red River. He was also to gather military intelligence as to the Spanish army in the region. Pike departed, entered the area known as Colorado and identified the 14,000-foot mountain known today as Pike’s Peak. In January 1807 the expedition turned south toward the Red River and accidentally entered Spanish territory, where Pike and his men were arrested by Spanish authorities and brought to Mexico for questioning. He was then released and arrived back at Natchitoches, Louisiana, a hero. There he was apprised of the arrest of Aaron Burr and Wilkinson’s possible complicity in a conspiracy, but Pike was cleared of any participation. Furthermore, his endeavors, along with that of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, made possible the wave of western immigration that followed in subsequent decades. Pike remained in the military, rising to brigadier general by March 1813 and tasked with outfitting an amphibious expedition on Lake Ontario. His objective was to capture the Canadian town of York (Toronto), Ontario, which was successfully stormed on April 27, 1813. However, a British magazine exploded after the town’s surrender, whereby Pike was mortally wounded by a falling rock. He died later that same day, an enterprising officer and accomplished explorer.

November 7 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition arrives at the source of the Columbia River and catches their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean from present-day Astoria, Oregon. They also construct Fort Clatsop over the winter, having covered 4,000 miles in 18 months.

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December 4 Politics: In his annual message to Congress, President Thomas Jefferson strikes a untypically bellicose tone, apparently intending to intimidate the Spanish.

December 9 Politics: The Ninth Congress assembles with the Democratic-Republicans enjoying a clear ascendancy over the Federalists by a margin of 27 to seven in the Senate and 116 to 25 in the House of Representatives.

1806 Architecture: Asher Benjamin designs and builds the Old West Church in Boston as a stirring example of the Federal style. Art: Charles Willson Peale depicts the retrieval of fossilized mastodon bones in a painting called Exhuming the Mastodon, quite possibly the first time paleontology has been displayed as art. When the bones are recovered in New York, they are brought to Philadelphia, assembled, and displayed in Peale’s museum of scientific curiosities. Technology: David Melville designs and builds the first gas-powered streetlamps in Newport, Rhode Island.

January Business: President Thomas Jefferson orders the U.S. Mint to stop issuing silver dollars; production will not resume until 1836. Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition winters at Fort Clatsop (Astoria, Oregon), spending their time organizing copious notes taken and numerous maps drawn during the previous year. The information they have recorded touches upon science, geography, ethnology, and meteorology. Publishing: Noah Webster, grammarian and lexicographer, compiles his Compendius Dictionary of the English Language, intended to impart standardized American English. He has since abandoned earlier attempts to completely “Americanize” the English language and make it distinct from its European counterpart. Still, his retention of such Americanisms as lengthy, sot, spry, gunning, belittle, and caucus are denounced in certain quarters as “wigwam words” and he is charged with coarsening the language. Transportation: Congress votes funding to construct the Natchez Road, running 500 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi.

January 25 Politics: Secretary of State James Madison delivers a blistering condemnation of British harassment of American shipment on the high seas, including the impressment of American seamen. His report stokes the rising tide of anti-English sentiments.

February 12 Politics: The Senate passes a resolution roundly condemning high-handed British behavior on the open seas as a violation of America’s neutral rights. The British ignore the proceedings entirely.

March 29 Transportation: Congress votes to authorize federal funding to construct the Cumberland Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, West Virginia, for

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the economic benefits it will confer. This route ultimately reaches as far west as Vandalia, Illinois.

April Exploring: A 40-man expedition under Captain Richard Sparks and noted astronomer Thomas Freeman depart Natchez, Louisiana Territory, to search for the source of the Red River.

April 5 Business: In Spanish-occupied San Francisco, authorities decide to allow trade relations with new Russian settlements in Alaska. This principally entails the sale of food to keep the settlers from starving over their long winter.

April 18 Business: The Nicholson Act is passed by Congress which forbids the importation of enumerated British products such as brass, hemp, flax, tin, and certain woolen textiles to protect nascent American industries. This is in response to continued harassment of American ships and crews at sea.

April 30 Exploring: The expedition headed by Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike returns to St. Louis after unsuccessfully searching for the source of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota.

May Diplomacy: President Thomas Jefferson instructs William Pinkney to serve as a special envoy to England. Once in London he is to assist American minister James Monroe in seeking a diplomatic end to the British practice of impressment, indemnity for American ships and cargos seized, and a safe resumption of the West Indian trade.

May 19 Education: The Lancastrian system of education, which employs pupil-teachers to instruct less advanced students, debuts in a New York City school. This approach to teaching is considered desirable owing to the lower costs involved in employing students.

May 30 Societal: Andrew Jackson, one-time supreme court justice of Tennessee, enraged over a personal insult, kills lawyer Charles Dickinson in a duel.

June 2 Exploring: Captain Richard Sparks, 2nd U.S. Infantry, departs his camp in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in search of the source of the Red River.

June 5 Sport: In New York City, the horse Yankee is the first animal to trot a mile in two minutes, 59 seconds, breaking the three-minute mile.

June 15 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition ascends the Rocky Mountains to begin its return voyage back to St. Louis. Once across, they divide into three smaller parties to cover and explore as much terrain as possible.

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July 15 Exploring: Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike departs Fort Bellfontaine, Missouri Territory, to explore and chart parts of the Old Southwest (New Mexico and Colorado). He is officially instructed to avoid violating Spanish territory.

July 20 Political: Brilliant and disgruntled politician Aaron Burr meets on Blenderhasset’s Island in the Ohio River with Irish adventurer Harman Blenderhasset. They are prepared to engage in some kind of private military expedition, possibly in the West, for the purpose of establishing an independent republic.

August Religion: The Brethren is founded by five students at Williams College, Massachusetts, as the first American society to conduct missionary work in foreign countries.

August 3 Exploring: Captain William Clark and his small detachment of explorers reaches the Yellowstone River and begins a descent downstream toward the Missouri River. He is joined there by Captain Meriwether Lewis’s detachment three days later.

August 27 Diplomacy: American minister James Monroe and special envoy William Pinkney meet in London with Lord Holland in an attempt to stop the British practice of impressment and arrange indemnity for property seized on the high seas. Failure to reach an accord may result in reimposition of nonimportation, a position that fails to change British attitudes.

September 23 Exploring: The Lewis and Clark expedition reaches its successful conclusion at St. Louis, two years after it commenced. They cover 7,000 miles of rugged wilderness with the loss of only one man to disease. Beyond the scientific bounty reaped, their labors also demonstrate the viability of reaching the Pacific coast by an overland route.

October 21 Military: In light of continuing tensions with Great Britain, Congress authorizes a new organizational and legal framework for the U.S. Army.

November 15 Exploring: Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike sees a large mountain, soaring 14,000 feet in height, in the distance while exploring the Southwest; it is subsequently christened Pike’s Peak in his honor. Shortly afterward he is arrested by Spanish authorities for trespassing, then released. Publishing: The Yale University Literary Cabinet debuts as America’s first college magazine.

November 27 Political: General James Wilkinson, a spy for Spain, reveals to President Thomas Jefferson Aaron Burr’s plan for carving out an independent republic from Spanish territory—he does so without implicating himself. Jefferson responds by warning American citizens not to become involved in any illegal military actions against Spain.

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December 12 Slavery: President Thomas Jefferson asks Congress to approve a ban on all slave imports after January 1, 1808.

December 31 Business: Trappers and fur traders around the upper Great Lakes form the Michilimackinac Company in an attempt to mount better competition against the British-owned North West Company, operating in the same region. Diplomacy: American minister James Monroe and special envoy William Pinkney sign a treaty with Great Britain, securing a negligible compromise of the issue of West Indian trade. Insofar as the pressing issues of impressment and compensation remain unaddressed, their efforts are a significant failure.

1807 General: The Boston Athenaeum is founded as a significant source for promoting scholarship and learning among the subscribers. It merges the functions of a library with a social meeting place for the city’s commercial, professional, and scientific elite.

January 22 Politics: President Thomas Jefferson informs Congress of Aaron Burr’s apparent conspiracy; when Burr is informed that his plot has been revealed he attempts to flee the country.

February 10 Exploring: Congress authorizes a complete survey of the U.S. coastline, which is then delegated to the Coast Survey within the Treasury Department.

February 19 Politics: Aaron Burr is arrested in the Mississippi Territory (Alabama) and charged with conspiring to lead an armed expedition into Spanish territory.

March Diplomacy: When President Thomas Jefferson reviews the newly signed MonroePinckney Treaty, which fails to address either the issue of impressment or indemnifications, he refuses to submit it to the Senate for ratification. As such the effort is a failure for American diplomacy.

March 2 Slavery: Following President Thomas Jefferson’s plea, Congress prohibits the further importation of African slaves into the United States after January 1, 1808.

March 20 Diplomacy: President Thomas Jefferson instructs American minister James Monroe and special envoy William Pinckney to resume negotiations to halt British harassment of American shipborne commerce, using their failed 1806 treaty as a starting point.

March 30 Politics: A captive Aaron Burr appears before a federal circuit court headed by Chief Justice John Marshall.

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June 22 Naval: The 52-gun British warship HMS Leopard under Captain Salisbury P. Humphreys, cruising the American coast in search of British deserters, accosts the smaller 39-gun American frigate USS Chesapeake of Commodore James Barron, three miles off Norfolk, Virginia. The British captain demands the right to search Barron’s vessel for deserters and, when he refuses, the British pour several broadsides into the unprepared Americans. Three American sailors are killed and 18 wounded, while four alleged deserters are removed; one is subsequently hanged. Word of the affair triggers intense anti-British activity nationwide, and Commodore Barron is court-martialed and suspended for five years for failing to order his crew to battle stations.

July Exploring: John Colter enters the Bighorn and Yellowstone basins of the Louisiana Territory (Montana and Wyoming).

July 2 Naval: In light of the Chesapeake-Leopard incident, President Thomas Jefferson orders all Royal Navy warships in American waters to depart immediately. Jefferson still hopes that peaceful coercion will avert war and result in improved British behavior.

August 3–September 14 Politics: Aaron Burr, having been arrested on a misdemeanor, is tried for treason in Richmond, Virginia.

August 17–21 Technology: Inventor Robert Fulton makes a successful passage upon the Hudson River in his steamboat, Clermont. This 150-foot-long vessel is powered by a Watt steam engine driving large paddle wheels on either side and can reach a top speed of five miles per hour. Fulton then successfully completes a 62-hour round-trip voyage from New York City to Albany and back, inaugurating the age of steamboat navigation. Commercial operations begin on September 4.

September 1 Law: Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason at his trial in Richmond, Virginia, principally because presiding Judge John Marshall interprets the law of treason strictly. Burr was not present personally when the alleged treason took place, so he is found innocent by default.

October 1 Literature: The Knickerbocker School of American Literature debuts with the publication of Salmagundi; or the Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Longstuff, Esq., and Others, a collection of satirical jottings by New York writers Washington Irving, William Irving, and James Kirk Paulding. Their writing concentrates on American subject material, rendered in either a realistic or humorous light.

October 17 Diplomacy: The British government announces its decision to enforce even harder its policy to arrest British deserters at sea, even if American seamen are impressed into the Royal Navy.

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671

(1765–1815)

Inventor Robert Fulton was born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 14, 1765, a son of farmers. While growing up he displayed an aptitude for art and mechanical tinkering and as early as 1779 he was employed by gunsmiths. By 1782 Fulton had established himself as a painter in Philadelphia, but he remained fascinated by the world of engineering. He ventured to England in 1786 to study art under noted expatriate Benjamin West but also beheld a nation in the earliest throes of the Industrial Revolution. Fulton was particularly interested in the promise of new forms of inland transportation, particularly canals, and he developed a double incline system of locks to allow boats to pass through uneven land. He also found the time to secure patents for a marble saw, a flax spinner, and a hemp rope maker. In 1796 Fulton gathered national attention by publishing his booklet A Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation and confidently predicted their close integration with another revolutionary transport system, railroads. However, the onset of the French Revolution prompted him to focus on naval matters, and he spent several years perfecting a practical submarine, the Nautilus, in 1800. This innovative device enjoyed successful trial runs in both England and France, and actually sank a large frigate during a test, but the admiralties of neither country expressed any interest in what they considered a dangerous novelty. Fulton returned to the United States around 1802 where he had the good fortune of meeting Robert L. Livingston, minister

to France and a wealthy potential investor. At that time he had formalized his plans to invent a practical steamship for river travel and through English contacts managed to obtain a working steam engine from the firm of Boulton and Watt. This represented state-of-the-art technology and was a closely guarded secret, but Fulton secured his engine and began designing a ship around it. The first steamship had been successfully built and demonstrated by John Fitch in 1787, but he failed to attract public interest. Fulton, backed by Livingston, now possessed money for both perfecting the design and marketing it. In 1807 this vessel, christened the Clermont, made a successful passage up the Hudson River and back in only 62 hours, initiating regular steamboat service in the United States. Because Livington secured a monopoly, the venture proved extremely lucrative for both men. In the War of 1812 Fulton was also called upon to apply steam technology to military use, and in December 1814 he launched the USS Demologos (“Voice of the People”) at New York, a heavily armored, steam-driven catamaran and predecessor to the modern warship. Fulton died in New York on February 24, 1815, and the vessel was promptly rechristened Fulton the First in his honor. He was America’s first civil and military technologist, pioneering both the new ideas and nascent technology of the rapidly industrialized world. He also helped usher in a revolution in transportation systems, which directly facilitated the growth of America’s economic infrastructure.

October 26 Politics: The Tenth Congress assembles in Washington, D.C., with the Democratic-Republicans still in firm control of both chambers; 28 to six Federalists in the Senate, 118 to 24 in the House.

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November 15 Diplomacy: The Non-Importation Act against British goods becomes law until the persistent harassment of American commerce at sea ends. However, the government of Great Britain remains quite willing to endure such commercial measures to successfully prosecute their war against Napoleon in Europe.

December 14 Business: President Thomas Jefferson declares that the Non-Importation Act against England and France is in force.

December 18 Business: President Thomas Jefferson, faced with continuing seizures of Americans boats and cargos by both France and England, requests a complete embargo on all foreign trade. That same day Congress complies with a 22 to 6 vote in the Senate.

December 21 Business: The House of Representatives approves President Thomas Jefferson’s suggested embargo against all foreign trade, 82 to 44. However, this constitutional right of Congress to control and regulate foreign commerce has disastrous consequences for the American economy and is repealed in 1809.

December 22 Business: President Thomas Jefferson signs the Embargo Act into law, through which he sought to economically punish France and England for their harassment of neutral American shipping. In the end, it has little effect on the belligerents, greatly stimulates smuggling between New England and Canada, and causes considerable harm to the American economy. Still, Jefferson preferred it to war.

1808 Arts: New Orleans constructs an opera house costing $100,000, making it the opera capital of the nation. The New York Academy of Fine Arts also opens with former diplomat Robert R. Livingston serving as president. This act also establishes New York City as a leading center for the arts. American painter John Vanderlyn exhibits his painting Marius in France; the Emperor Napoleon I comments on it favorably. Publishing: The American Law Journal, one of the earliest legal magazines in the United States, begins publishing in Baltimore and is edited by Professor John Elihu Hall of the University of Maryland. Religion: Congregationalist Reverence Jedediah Moore founds the Amherst Seminary in Massachusetts to counter Harvard College’s increasing liberalism. Science: Alexander Wilson publishes the first volume of his attractively illustrated American Ornithology, which runs to nine volumes and is finally completed in 1814.

January 1 Slavery: As of this date the importation of African slaves into the United States is banned. Violators risk having their vessel confiscated, but all slaves captured become property of the states involved and put up for sale.

January 9 Business: The existing Embargo Act is expanded by a new, broadened act.

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February 11 Technology: Judge Jesse Fell conducts an early experiment with anthracite coal in his home at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The material is judged too hot for conventional stoves used in the home but might have minor applications in manufacturing and forging.

April 6 Arts: James N. Barker’s play The Indian Princess, or La Belle Sauvage is staged in Philadelphia; this is the first play drawn upon Native American themes and purports to represent incidents in the life of Pocahontas. Business: The New York legislature incorporates John Jacob Astor’s latest enterprise, the American Fur Company, his attempt to pry domination of the fur trade from foreign hands. Within two decades it acquires a near monopoly on the fur trade.

Astor, John Jacob (1763 –1848) Businessman John Jacob Astor was born in Waldorf, Baden (Germany) on July 17, 1763, the son of a butcher. He moved to England at the age of 13 to learn the construction of musical instruments but subsequently migrated to the United States in 1783 and entered the fur trade. A penniless immigrant, Astor clerked for several years in a fur shop in New York, acquired business knowledge firsthand, and slowly tested the lucrative waters of this field. Astor proved so adept at buying and selling furs that by 1786 his business was firmly established and doing a brisk trade in Canada and England. The Jay Treaty of 1794 opened up new venues for trapping in the Old Northwest, and Astor quickly dispatched his agents to acquire furs from American, French, or Canadian trappers, Native Americans, or anyone willing to sell to him. In 1792 he also sponsored the first American commercial vessel to trade with China, where American furs commanded fabulous prices, and brought back the first shipment of Chinese teas, silk, and lacquerware for the burgeoning American market. Astor proved successful in both endeavors and by 1800 he dominated the fur trade throughout North America. In

1808 he capitalized on this by forming the American Fur Company with Ramsey Crooks, through which he aspired to control new fur-bearing lands discovered by Lewis and Clark. In 1811 Astor took the very big risk of establishing a frontier outpost on the Columbia River, Oregon, christened Astoria, in order to monopolize the China fur trade. The following year one of his far west expeditions discovered the South Pass in the Rocky Mountains. Astor subsequently lost Astoria to the British in the War of 1812 but reaped another windfall by offering to finance the war effort by lending the government money at high interest rates. In addition to fur, Astor was one of the first businessmen to recognize the potential in real estate. Early on he parleyed part of his wealth into acquiring hundreds of acres of land in New York City, and by the 1820s he collected an annual sum of $100,000 in rents. He also operated a fleet of eight ships which invariably visited China with furs and brought back valuable and expensive cargos of Oriental exotica, still in demand. By 1834 the fur trade was declining and Astor (continues)

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(continued) sold off his company to a partner and spent the rest of his life attending to real estate matters. By the time he died in New York on March 29, 1848, Astor enjoyed a net worth of $10 million, making him the richest man in America—and allegedly the very individual for which the term millionaire was coined. Shrewd and ruthless in business, he also had a generous streak, and his

will stipulated a specific amount of funding for the Astor Library, which now functions as part of the New York City Public Library system. To this day Astor is still held up as the epitome of the American dream, whereby modest immigrants, through hard work and diligence, can acquire fortunes and happiness deemed unattainable in their native lands.

April 17 Business: The Emperor Napoleon I issues the Bayonne Decree in response to Jefferson’s Embargo Act; this mandates the seizure of all American ships and their cargos in French waters. The resulting losses amount to $10 million.

May 6 Technology: Noted inventor John Steven takes his steam-powered ship Phoenix on the first oceanic cruise for a vessel of this type by sailing from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Philadelphia.

July 12 Journalism: The Missouri Gazette begins circulating in St. Louis, the first newspaper available west of the Mississippi River.

July 16 Business: The Missouri Fur Company is founded by trader Manuel Lisa, Pierre Choteau, and William Clark; this arises as a direct result of the Lewis and Clark expedition and knowledge it revealed of new fur-bearing regions.

October Diplomacy: The British government, in an attempt to smooth over ruffled feathers resulting from the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807, dispatches special envoy George Rose to the United States to discuss the matter of reparation payments. However, the British also insist on retraction of President Thomas Jefferson’s ordering of their warships out of American waters as a precondition.

October 30 General: When Captain Benjamin Ireson of the schooner Betty refuses to assist a sinking vessel out of fear of losing his own, he is tarred, feathered, and run out of Marblehead, Massachusetts, by angry sailors’ wives. In 1857 his plight is recapitulated in a story by John Greenleaf Whitter called “Skipper Ireson’s Ride.”

November 10 Business: John Jacob Astor activates the American Fur Company in New York City, wherein he is the sole stockholder; this is the first step in establishing the nation’s first business empire. His first goal is to compete successfully with the long established North West Company of Canada for the lucrative fur trade.

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Diplomacy: The Osage sign the Osage Treaty with the United States, whereby they cede all lands north of the Arkansas River (present-day Arkansas and Missouri) and will be relocated to a reservation in nearby Oklahoma. This sets a precedent that will subsequently be applied to the Cherokee and tribes in the Southwest. Transportation: Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin reports to Congress on the status of roads and canals.

December 7 Politics: Thomas Jefferson, declining to run for a third term in office, throws his political support behind Secretary of State and fellow Virginian James Madison in his bid for the presidency. However, the Democratic-Republicans are wracked by dissent as James Monroe and Vice President George Clinton also vie for the nomination. The Federalists again nominate their previous candidates, Charles C. Pinckney and Rufus King; Madison wins the contest handily with 122 electoral votes to 47 for Pinckney and six for Clinton. Clinton nevertheless defeats King for the vice presidency, 113 to 47. However, mounting opposition to the Embargo leads to Federalist gains in the House of Representatives and at the state level.

December 12 Religion: The first American Bible Society is founded in Philadelphia by the Reverend William White for promoting the Scriptures.

December 29 General: Andrew Johnson, 17th president, is born in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1809 Art: Charles Willson Peale executes his painting Family Group, made important by his application of careful observation and objective rendering of its subject. This is the first time American art has been rendered through the prism of techniques better associated with science. Aspiring painter Thomas Sully studies in London under celebrated American expatriate Benjamin West. Business: The Boston Crown Glass Company is incorporated, a status freeing it from taxes, and allows its employees exemption from military service. This particular organization has gained renown for producing glass products deemed superior to its European counterparts. Science: William Maclure’s Observations on the Geology of the United States is published and contains the first geological survey map of the nation.

January 9 Business: The Enforcement Act is passed by Congress to halt smuggling and other illegal trade activities, particularly in New York and New England. The new law mandates strict penalties and confiscation of suspected goods, which only further increases the Embargo’s unpopularity.

February 9 Politics: Arch-Federalist Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts seeks a New England convention to nullify the policy of embargo, which is seriously depressing the regional economy based largely on shipping.

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February 12 General: Abraham Lincoln, 16th president, is born in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

February 17 Education: Miami University is chartered at Oxford, Ohio, although classes will not actually begin until 1824.

February 20 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of United States v. Peters; Chief Justice John Marshall sides firmly with federal power and declares that Pennsylvania cannot nullify the results of federal court cases.

February 23 Politics: In his address to the state legislature, Connecticut governor John Trumbull chastises the Embargo as unconstitutional and illegally infringing upon states rights and personal liberties. As more and more New England assemblies question the Embargo’s legality, their governors are emboldened to withhold the use of state militias in its enforcement.

March 1 Business: President Thomas Jefferson, facing mounting criticism of the Embargo Act, finally replaces it with the Non-Intercourse Act. This expedient allows resumption of trade with all nations except France and England, until the latter cease their depredations upon American shipping. The net effect of the Embargo Act is to ruin the American economy and establish smuggling patterns into Canada that flourish during the War of 1812. Settlement: The Territory of Illinois is formed by Congress by dividing the Indiana Territory; the new region encompasses the present-day states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and eastern Minnesota.

March 4 Politics: The diminutive, cerebral James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president, and George Clinton continues on as vice president. Thomas Jefferson, meanwhile, concludes 44 years of public service by retiring to his home at Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. There he immerses himself in science, philosophy, and architecture.

March 6 Politics: Robert Smith replaces James Madison as the new secretary of state.

April 19 Diplomacy: President James Madison suspends the Non-Intercourse Act and allows trade with Great Britain. He does so upon the advice of British minister David M. Erskine, who assures Secretary of State Robert Smith that the hated Orders in Council are going to be repealed in June. This is a goodwill gesture to Madison but, unfortunately, Erskine lacks any authority to make this assertion.

April 29 Settlement: Congress approves territorial status for the Illinois region to facilitate migration and possibly shore up its defenses against British-inspired Indian hostilities.

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Madison, James

(1751–1836)

President James Madison was born at Port Conway, Virginia, on March 16, 1751, son of an affluent planter. Well-­educated at home and possessing a lucid, engaging intellect, he attended the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1771 before being gradually drawn into the revolutionary politics of his day. Madison, short at five feet six inches in height, ironically exuded the persona of someone both spirited and brainy. In 1776 he joined the Virginia convention tasked with drawing up a new state constitution, befriending another keen intellectual, Tho-­ mas Jefferson, in the process. His greatest work here was in disestablishing the Church of England as an official creed, thereby paving the way for complete freedom of religion. In 1779 Madison also gained a seat in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, and after 1781 he began railing against the inherent weakness of the Articles of Confederation. In 1788 Madison became a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to facilitate the quest for more centralized governance. Here he promulgated the so-­called Virginia Plan, which ultimately served as the basis for the new constitution. He joined fellow nation-­ alists John Jay and Alexander Hamilton in penning erudite essays for The Federalist, a collection of pro-­constitutional newspaper articles. He spent the rest of the year argu-­ ing in favor of its adoption and overcoming formidable resistance from such political stalwarts as Patrick Henry. Once the Constitution was adopted, Madison was appointed minister to France by President George Washington in 1794, and he also served as secretary of state under President Jefferson, 1801–09. His tenure here was marred by America’s con-­

tinuing ensnarement in European wars, principally through the British practice of seizing American ships and impressing their crews. In 1808 he was elected to the presi-­ dency himself and watched helplessly as the nation began its four-­year descent toward renewed conflict with Great Britain. Feel-­ ing he had no recourse, Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war in June 1812 to preserve American republicanism and gain respect on the high seas. However, this was undertaken despite the nation’s general unpreparedness for armed conflict. The first year of fighting proved disastrous (continues)

James Madison (Library of Congress)

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(continued) to the United States, but Madison was easily reelected in the fall of 1812, even though the Republican Party was split and Northerners advanced Governor George Clinton of New York to oppose him. Madison then weathered two more years of hardship before the Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. He was finally succeeded by fellow Vir-

ginian James Monroe in 1816, third member of the so-called Virginia Dynasty. Madison then retired to his estate at Montpelier, Virginia, lived quietly with his celebrated wife Dolley Madison, and died there on June 28, 1836. As “father of the Constitution,” Madison was a little man whose political career had great importance for the United States.

May 22 Politics: The 11th Congress assembles in Washington, D.C., with the DemocraticRepublicans still firmly in control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, unease arising from the Embargo Act has doubled the number of Federalists in the House to 48, and they have also made gains at the state level.

May 30 Diplomacy: George Canning, British foreign secretary, disavows the Erskine Agreement of April 19 and orders minister David M. Erskine back to London. The Orders in Council authorizing the seizure of American ships and crews remain in force.

June Religion: Elizabeth Seton, a Roman Catholic nun, forms her own religious charitable order based on the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. This is also the first Catholic order organized in the United States.

June 27 Diplomacy: President James Madison appoints John Quincy Adams to be American minister to the Russian court in St. Petersburg.

July 2 Diplomacy: Shawnee statesman Tecumseh, backed by his religious brother Tenskwatawa, begins an intertribal effort to form a defensive alliance against the United States. He is motivated by a burning desire to stop the sale of Indian land and the inevitable influx of American settlers that follows. No less than 30 million acres have been lost by native Americans in the past seven years alone.

July 5 Religion: The African American Abyssinian Baptist Church is organized in New York City.

August 9 Diplomacy: In the latest turn of events, President James Madison reimposes the Non-Intercourse Act against England following that government’s rescinding of the Erskine Agreement of the previous April.

August 17 Religion: Thomas Campbell, representing a dissident Presbyterian group from Scotland, with a small group of followers founds the Christian Association of

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Tecumseh (ca. 1768 –1813) Shawnee chief Tecumseh (“Shooting Star”), member of the Shawnee Panther clan, was born near Piqua, Ohio, around 1768. His father was apparently killed during Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774 and from that time on Tecumseh expressed his undying hatred for whites. He soon proved himself an able warrior and distinguished himself in fighting against Colonel Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair in 1790–91. Tecumseh was later present at the defeat of Fallen Timbers against General Anthony Wayne in 1794 but refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville and left Ohio for Indiana. After a decade of peace William Henry Harrison was appointed governor of the new Indiana Territory and began forcing Indians to sell their land to the United States. Tecumseh, backed by his religiously inspired brother Tenskwatawa (“The Prophet”), cobbled together a coalition of Native Americans to oppose future sales without the consent of all. Harrison, who conferred with the chief on several occasions, remarked how he was struck by the former’s bearing, eloquence, and dignity. However, relations between the two groups deteriorated, and in November 1811 Harrison defeated the Prophet at Tippecanoe Creek while Tecumseh was recruiting among the Creek. Afterward he felt he had no choice but to solicit aid from the English in Canada, and his repeated trips there were held by American politicians as proof that the British were behind Indian unrest in the Old Northwest. In June 1812 this perception was a major cause of the next

round of military confrontation with Great Britain in the War of 1812. Tecumseh again fought with distinction in several battles, and he joined forces with celebrated General Isaac Brock in the capture of Detroit. However, he usually tried in vain to have his warriors spare the lives of captured Americans. He was particularly angered at British Colonel Henry Procter for failing to protect American captives during the siege of Fort Meigs, a turning point in the war. Shortly after, a large American army under General Harrison began pursuing the British and Indians across Lake Erie and into western Ontario. Unwilling to retreat further, Tecumseh berated Procter for timidity and forced him to make an ill-fated stand along the River Thames. On October 5, 1813, Harrison’s cavalry routed the British and nearly captured Procter but met much stouter opposition from Indians positioned in the woods. Combat proved intense and forced the Kentuckians to dismount and fight on foot, at which point Tecumseh was apparently slain. His body was then spirited off by several warriors and buried in an unmarked grave. For the time he lived, this eloquent Shawnee mounted the most effective resistance to white encroachment since the days of Pontiac, a cause that would not be taken up again until the Black Hawk War of 1832. Tecumseh’s cause ultimately failed, but he remained admired by friends and enemies alike for his bravery, vision, and strength of character.

Washington, Pennsylvania. This movement is the genesis of the Disciples of Christ, which rejects all beliefs and practices not specifically mentioned in the Bible.

September 30 Diplomacy: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison concludes the Treaty of Fort Wayne with Indian tribes of southern Indiana. The United

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Campbell, Thomas (1763–1854) Theologian Thomas Campbell was born in County Down, Ireland, on February 1, 1763. Though raised an Anglican, he joined the “seceder” branch of Presbyterianism, which had strong Congregationalist tendencies. He was then educated at the University of Glasgow and trained for preaching within the Antiburgher faction of the church. Campbell began working in 1798 from the pulpit of the Ahorey Church but was disillusioned by the rampant factionalism he encountered. By 1807 he grew thoroughly discouraged and immigrated to the wilds of Pennsylvania to review and hone his religious precepts. In 1808 he accepted work with the presbytery at Chartiers, where he expressed doubts as to the legitimacy of creeds, confession, fast days, and other facets he ascribed to human authority. Such apostasy resulted in his dismissal from the Presbyterian church that September, but he continued on as an itinerant preacher. After continuing reflection, Campbell founded the Christian Association in Washington, Pennsylvania, which served as the pulpit for his new Restorationist program. Here he formally denounced creeds and confessions as divisive and espoused a primitive form of Christianity basely solely upon New Testament scripture. Campbell further enunciated his principles by publishing A Declaration and an Address (1809), which held that perfect comprehension of the Bible, being the revealed word of God, is within the grasp of any rational person. Furthermore, any church practices not specifically mentioned by the Scriptures are

human and not divine in origin, hence irrelevant. Campbell next took the bold step of proclaiming that the New Testament alone forms the sole basis for uniting all Christians. Doctrinal, creedal, or hierarchical practices unmentioned in Scripture were simply irrelevant at best and un-Godly at worst, he maintained. By 1812 Campbell was joined by his son Alexander, and together they preached and established small academies throughout the Old Northwest. He also published and edited an early religious newsletter, the Christian Baptist, which later gave way to the Millennial Harbinger. Reaction proved mixed: Although the laity responded favorably to calls for unity, the Presbyterian community looked askance at this very notion of Restorationism. In 1812 Campbell enjoyed a brief liaison with the Redstone Baptist Church Association, but he became a pariah for attacking Baptist emotionalism at the expense of rationality and was expelled. Eventually his followers, known as “Campbellites,” merged with dissident Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians under Barton W. Stone to form an entirely new entity, the Disciples of Christ. Campbell continued working closely with his son and successor Alexander until his death at Bethany College, (West) Virginia, on January 4, 1854. His advocacy of unity and rationality among Christians renders him a significant frontier theologian, whose tenets found their greatest expression in the forthcoming Fundamentalist movement.

States now obtains additional land along the Wabash River, a reality underscoring the urgency of Tecumseh’s call for Indian unity in the face of continual white encroachment.

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December 6 Literature: The writer Washington Irving publishes his History of New York, a parody of Dutch New Amsterdam that also lampoons, among others, Thomas Jefferson, Republicans, Yankees, Swedes, and himself. It becomes a best-selling book and elevates Irving to a writer of international repute, both at home and in Europe.

December 25 Medical: At Danville, Kentucky, Dr. Ephraim McDowell successfully removes a 20-pound ovarian tumor from a female patient for the first time.

1810 Architecture: The Newburyport Bridge is designed and built by John Templeman to span the Merrimack River in Massachusetts. At 224 feet in length, it is considered one of the most famous American suspension bridges of the century. It is not rebuilt until 1909. Arts: The Society of American Artists is organized.

This lithograph depicts the first ovariotomy (removal of an ovary) being performed by Dr. Ephraim McDowell in 1809 in Danville, Kentucky. During the operation, McDowell successfully removed a 20-pound tumor from his 45-year- old patient—without anesthesia. (National Library of Medicine)

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The first road companies begin offering a theater season in Lexington, Kentucky, the first such presentations west of the Appalachian Mountains. Aviation: Balloonists A. R. Hawley and Augustus Post complete a 1,117-mile sojourn from St. Louis, Missouri, before landing in Canada. Business: Cornelius Vanderbilt, 16 years old, commences a ferry service between New York City and Staten Island, the humble beginning of a vast transportation empire. Military: King Kamehameha I of Hawaii unites the many surrounding islands into a single kingdom under his reign. He does so with ships and cannon provided by the British. Music: The Boston Philharmonic Society, America’s first resident orchestra, is founded by former Prussian army musician Johann Christian Gottlieb. The 12-member band, including Gottlieb’s wife, plays to the public on Saturdays. Population: The 1810 census reveals the United States with a population of 7,239,881, including Cornelius Vanderbilt (Library of Congress) 1,378,110 African Americans, overwhelmingly held in bondage. The total number of states is 17. Religion: Congregationalists found the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to facilitate the dispatch of religious missionaries abroad, especially to India and Asia. A New York law mandates that all slave children be taught to read the Bible.

March 16 Law: The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall renders an important verdict in Fletcher v. Peck, whereby the Yazoo lands sales orchestrated by the Georgia legislature were subsequently negated by that same body. Marshall rules such a move is unconstitutional according to the law of contracts. This is also the first instance where a state law is judged annulled on constitutional grounds. Consequently the purchasers of Yazoo land under the initial deal are to receive $4 million in federal money for land the government obtained from Georgia in 1802.

March 23 Diplomacy: Napoleon I issues his Rambouillet Decree, which authorizes the additional seizures of American shipping in French ports.

May 1 Diplomacy: The Macon Bill No. 2 passes Congress, which authorizes President James Madison to commence trade with either England or France if American shipping is respected. Failing that, the president is permitted to reimpose nonintercourse upon either nation. French and Royal Navy warships are also forbidden from entering American waters.

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June 23 Business: John Jacob Astor creates the new Pacific Fur Company to exploit the rich and untapped fur-bearing lands of the Pacific Northwest and expand his business empire further west.

July 4 Agriculture: The Agricultural Museum, America’s first farming magazine, debuts at Georgetown, D.C.

July 12 Labor: Members of the Journeymen Cordwainers are tried and found guilty of conspiracy to strike for higher wages in New York City; the violators are then assessed $1 and court costs. This decision reflects the prevailing legal notion that strikes are illegal if supported by a conspiracy, an interpretation that remains in effect until 1842.

August 5 Diplomacy: In a continuing spate of diplomatic subterfuge, the French foreign minister Duc de Cadore informs American minister John Armstrong in Paris that Napoleon’s Milan and Berlin decrees against American shipping will be withdrawn if the United States declares non-intercourse against Great Britain. Napoleon, meanwhile, signs the Trianon Decree to seize any American vessel docked at French ports from May 1809 to May 1810.

September 26 Settlement: American settlers in West Florida rebel against Spain, seize the fort at Baton Rouge, then declare themselves the “Independent Republic of West Florida.” Their ultimate intention is annexation by the United States.

October 1 Societal: Elkanah Watson orchestrates the first Berkshire Cattle Show in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which sets a precedent for country fairs around the nation. It also coincides with his founding of the Berkshire Agricultural Society to promote crop rotation and use of fertilizer.

October 27 Settlement: President James Madison orders the military occupation of Spanish West Florida, which is then annexed to the Territory of Orleans (southern Louisiana). This region falls between the Perdido and Mississippi Rivers with its capital at Baton Rouge.

November 2 Diplomacy: President James Madison, acting upon the devious actions of the Duc de Cadore, reinstates trade with France and imposes non-importation against Great Britain until the Orders in Council are withdrawn. However, the French fully intend to continue seizing American ships and cargos. The net result of this duplicity is to increase diplomatic tensions between the United States and England.

December 10 Sports: Tom Molineaux, a freed African-American slave from Virginia, is the first American heavyweight boxer. On this day he loses a 40-round match in London to England’s Tom Cribb.

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1811 Literature: Eaglesfield Smith’s novel William and Ellen is published, an early American imitation of Sir Walter Scott’s romanticism. Military: In a major armament breakthrough, inventor John H. Hall designs and builds the first American breech-loading carbine with a higher rate of fire than conventional, muzzle-loading muskets. However, the conservatively minded U.S. Army displays little interest in the weapon and only a handful are procured prior to the War of 1812. Transportation: Inventor John Stevens designs and builds the Juliana, the first steamboat ferry to ply the waters between Hoboken, New Jersey, and New York City. However, because Robert Fulton and Robert L. Livingston own a monopoly on steamboat operations in New York State, Stevens is forced to close his operation.

January 10 Slavery: A large revolt by African Americans occurs in Louisiana when 400 slaves kill a plantation owner’s son then march en masse to New Orleans. U.S. Army troops are called in to suppress the uprising, and 75 slaves are killed; their heads are then placed along the road from New Orleans to the plantation as a warning to prospective rebels.

January 15 Settlement: A secret congressional session authorizes the United States to seize Spanish East Florida if either the inhabitants desire annexation or a foreign power attempts to occupy it. The statue is not publicly revealed until 1818.

February 2 Settlement: Russian settlers establish a fort at Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco, California, around which rises an agricultural and fur-trading colony. It is subsequently known as Fort Ross.

February 11 Diplomacy: President James Madison again suspends all trade with Great Britain for failing to halt the harassment of American commerce at sea. This is the third such imposition in four years yet elicits no change in British behavior towards neutral shipping.

February 20 Business: The Democratic-Republican controlled Congress votes to allow the first Bank of the United States to expire, despite pleas by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin to recharter it. The institution is opposed by an influential group of “Old Republicans” who feel it a Federalist imposition on the country, by those alarmed by the fact that two-thirds of the stock is owned by British subjects, and by lobbyists who advocate state-chartered banks. Nonetheless, the vote in the Senate is a tie until broken by Vice President George Clinton.

March 2 Diplomacy: Congress, taken in by the deception of French foreign minister Duc de Cadore, authorizes reimposition of non-intercourse against Great Britain unless it rescinds its Orders in Council against American shipping. The British counter by enacting harsher measures to impress American seamen.

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March 4 Business: The Bank of the United States is allowed to expire, an unwise move considering that the nation is on the cusp of renewed hostilities with Great Britain.

April 2 Diplomacy: President James Madison names his heretofore political competitor, Virginian James Monroe, as the new secretary of state.

April 12 Business: A group of colonists sails aboard the vessel Tonquin and lands at Cape Disappointment, Washington, to establish the fur-trading outpost of Astoria. This is accomplished at the instigation of John Jacob Astor, who seeks to ship furs to the lucrative Chinese market directly from the Columbia River. Astoria is also the first American settlement in the Pacific Northwest region.

May Diplomacy: American minister William Pinkney departs England for home, having failed to mitigate the ongoing impasse between the two nations.

May 1 Naval: The 38-gun British frigate HMS Guerriere accosts the American merchant brig Spitfire off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and impresses an American seaman. A public outcry ensues and prods the government into action.

May 16 Naval: The 44-gun frigate USS President under Captain John Rodgers, cruising off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to protect American commerce from British depredations, encounters an unidentified vessel in the dark. Shots ring out and broadsides are exchanged before his antagonist is identified as the 22-gun corvette HMS Little Belt under Commander Arthur B. Bingham. The British suffer 13 killed and 19 wounded in the one-sided exchange and are allowed to limp off. The action is hailed throughout the nation as revenge for the British attack on the USS Chesapeake in 1807.

July 8 Indian: Shawnee chief Tecumseh travels south to solicit Creek help in his Indian coalition. Before departing he warns his brother, Tenskwatawa, not to seek a fight with the Americans.

July 31 Military: Frontier settlers in the region of Vincennes, Indiana Territory, call upon federal authorities to uproot an Indian community established along Tippecanoe Creek by the Shawnee Prophet, Tenskwatawa.

September 11 Transportation: Robert Fulton’s sidewheeler steamboat New Orleans sails down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until it reaches New Orleans, Louisiana, via the Mississippi River. Thereafter it commences the first regular service on inland waters by steaming between Natchez, Mississippi, and New Orleans.

September 19 Diplomacy: American minister Joel Barlow arrives at Paris, France, demanding clarification of the alleged nullification of the Berlin and Milan decrees. French

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Chronology of American History foreign minister Duc de Bassano shows him the Decree of St. Cloud, supposedly signed by Napoleon and dated April 28, 1810, which has never been published or given to the American embassy.

September 26 Military: Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison leads a force of 1,000 soldiers and militia from Vincennes, Indiana, toward the Indian encampment at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers. He does so taking advantage of the absence of Tecumseh, who has ventured south to solicit Creek membership in his anti-American coalition.

October 20 Transportation: Robert Fulton’s steamboat New Orleans arrives at Louisville, Kentucky, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, having covered 700 miles of treacherous waters in two weeks.

November 1 Diplomacy: In light of the Little Belt Affair of the previous May, the American government notifies British minister Augustus John Foster of the nation’s willingness to offer compensation if Great Britain will stop harassing American shipping and rescind the Orders in Council. The British decline but counter with a offer of compensation for victims of the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair.

November 4 Politics: Elections for the 12th Congress result in a large number of “War Hawks” who seek military confrontation with Great Britain rather than ongoing appeasement. Among their ranks are John C. Calhoun, William Lowndes, Langston Cheves, Peter B. Porter, Richard M. Johnson, Henry Clay, Felix Grundy, and John Sevier. Significantly, while the northern militants agitate for the conquest of Canada, the southerners among them seek annexation of Florida.

November 5 Politics: President James Madison’s annual message to Congress calls for increased spending on national defense and military preparation in the face of French and British predation upon American shipping.

November 7 Military: The Battle of Tippecanoe, Indiana Territory, unfolds as the army of General William Henry Harrison encamps near the makeshift Indian village. At dawn Indians under the Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet—Tecumseh’s brother—storm into the American camp, nearly overrunning it, but are gradually repulsed by accurate musketry. The victorious Americans then occupy and burn Tippecanoe before withdrawing to safety. Harrison’s losses are 39 killed and 151 wounded; Indian losses are unknown but presumed equally heavy.

November 12 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James Monroe accepts the British offer to compensate victims of the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard affair.

November 18 Journalism: The Niles Weekly Register is founded at Baltimore by editor Hezekiah Niles; it soon becomes a recognized national newspaper.

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November 20 Transportation: The Cumberland Road (or Old National Road) commences construction with federal funding; this is one of the earliest and largest public works projects in American history. Ultimately, the road will stretch from Cumberland, Maryland, as far west as Vandalia, Illinois, by 1840 and will serve as a major conduit for western expansion. Parts still exist as modern-day U.S. Route 40.

December 16 General: A huge earthquake rattles New Madrid, Missouri, causing the Mississippi River to flow backward and flooding parts of Tennessee. At its height parts of the river were raised or lowered as by much as 15 feet.

1812 Art: John Vanderlyn exhibits a nude painting, Adriane, which shocks contemporary critics at home and nearly ends his artistic career but is favorably received in Paris. Business: The Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities is the first such institution to employ actuarial tables. Literary: James Kirke Paulding, writing under the pseudonym Hector Bull-us, publishes The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, which excoriates British attitudes and policies. Medical: Dr. Benjamin Rush publishes Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the Diseases of the Mind, the first national treatise to address mental illness, its probable causes, and cures. Science: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is established and attracts a wide public following. Societal: Noted printer Isaiah Thomas founds and endows the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts; it remains dedicated to the collection and preservation of early American manuscripts and historical artifacts. Technology: William Monroe of Concord, Massachusetts, uses native graphite to manufacture the first lead pencils sold in America.

January 12 Transportation: Robert Fulton’s steamship New Orleans sails down the Mississippi River from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and reaches the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The four-month transit is the first of its kind and demonstrates the viability of steam technology on western waters.

January 22 Settlement: Louisiana draws up its first constitution prior to attaining statehood; though a slave state, it still allows French-speaking African Creoles to bear arms and serve in the militia. Many of these are also slave owners.

February 11 Politics: Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts begins the time-honored practice of artfully drawing state election districts to ensure the supremacy of his Democratic-Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives. Because this results in a district somewhat shaped like a salamander, the practice enters the political lexicon as “Gerrymandering.”

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February 15 Exploring: William Hunt, having blazed an overland trail from St. Louis, Missouri Territory, arrives at Astoria, Oregon. His trail closely follows what eventually emerges as the Oregon Trail.

March 3 Diplomacy: Congress passes the nation’s first foreign aid bill by authorizing $50,000 to assist survivors of a severe earthquake in Venezuela.

March 12 Military: Georgia militia under Colonel Lodowick Ashley occupy Amelia Island off the Florida Coast to prevent its occupation by British forces.

March 14 Business: With war clouds gathering, Congress authorizes an $11 million bond issue to finance military preparations outlined by President James Madison in the previous November. Five more bonds are issued over the next two and a half years, but the nation remains fiscally handicapped by the lack of a central banking apparatus.

March 18 Military: U.S. Army troops and militia under Colonel Thomas Adams Smith move down the St. Mary’s River, Florida, and gradually besiege Spanish-held St. Augustine, in a halfhearted attempt to capture that province. The ensuing fiasco, conducted with shoestring forces, is known as the “Patriot War” and ends in failure.

April Military: After their defeat at Tippecanoe the past November, Native Americans in the Old Northwest commence an undeclared border war against American settlements in Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. Both sides fear that a war with Great Britain will lead to all-out conflict in the region.

April 1 Politics: To underscore his dissatisfaction with Great Britain, President James Madison requests a 60-day embargo of British goods. This move is viewed by many of the “War Hawks” as a prelude to armed confrontation.

April 4 Business: Congress approves a 90-day embargo of British goods, while many politicians hope that differences between American and England can be settled peacefully.

April 10 Diplomacy: Great Britain informs the United States that, since Napoleon has failed to retract his Milan and Berlin Decrees, the Orders in Council against neutral shipping remain in effect. Military: In a sign of growing bellicosity, Congress authorizes President James Madison to mobilize up to 100,000 state militia for up to six months. Recruitment goals for the regular U.S. Army, however, remain much more modest as the polity still distrusts standing professional forces.

April 13 Arts: James N. Barker’s play Marmion, adapted from a poem by Sir Walter Scott, is successfully staged in New York City; not surprisingly, its anti-English sentiments resonate with a wartime American audience.

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April 20 General: Vice President George Clinton dies; he is the first vice president to die in office.

April 30 Politics: Louisiana enters the union as the 18th state with its capital at New Orleans and a population of 75,000. Slavery is legal but free, mostly Frenchspeaking citizens of African descent can still bear arms and enlist in the militia. The remaining part of the Louisiana Territory is subsequently renamed the Missouri Territory by Congress.

May 14 Politics: Congress orders the incorporation of the Republic of West Florida into the state of Louisiana.

May 18 Politics: The Democratic-Republican congressional caucus renominates James Madison for the presidency and John Langdon for vice president.

May 26 Education: Presbyterian interests charter Hamilton College in Clinton, New York; its first class graduates in 1814.

May 29 Politics: In Albany, New York, a co ali tion of disgruntled Demo craticRepublicans and Federalists nominates Lieutenant Governor DeWitt Clinton for the presidency. He is distinctly an antiwar candidate.

June 1 Politics: President James Madison dispatches his war message to Congress, citing British intransigence on harassment of trade, impressment of American citizens, blockading of American ports, and agitation of Native Americans—the latter a supposed point deeply angering western politicians.

June 3 Diplomacy: Feeling that war with the United States is inevitable, Governor General Sir George Prevost of Canada arranges a meeting with Shawnee chief Tecumseh at Amherstburg, Ontario.

June 4 Politics: The House of Representatives votes in favor of renewed war with Great Britain, 79 to 49, much to the delight of the “War Hawk” faction.

June 8 Politics: After John Langdon refuses the nomination for vice president, he is replaced by Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry.

June 16 Diplomacy: British Prime Minister Lord Castlereagh suspends the Orders in Council against neutral shipping in order to improve the national economic climate at home. This has also been a prime factor in the American movement toward war, but word arrives too late to alter the outcome of events.

June 18 Naval: The harrowing prospect of war with Great Britain pits the young U.S. Navy of 17 warships, 447 guns, and five thousand men against the veteran and

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Chronology of American History haughty Royal Navy of Great Britain boasting 1,048 vessels, 27,800 guns, and 151,500 men. Politics: The U.S. Senate votes 19 to 13 for renewed war with Great Britain, unaware that England has recently suspended the offending Orders in Council. However, the country is badly split by dissent, with New England largely opposing the conflict, and to dissenters it becomes derided as “Mr. Madison’s War.” The ensuing War of 1812 is also the first declared conflict under the Constitution; a declaration of war against France, which has been equally rapacious toward American shipping, fails by only two votes.

June 19 Politics: President James Madison announces that a state of war exists between the United States and Great Britain.

June 26 Diplomacy: President James Madison instructs American envoy Jonathan Russell to negotiate an armistice only on the basis of suspending the Orders in Council and halting the practice of impressment. Politics: Federal Governor Caleb Strong of Massachusetts strongly denounces the War of 1812 and declares a statewide fast in protest.

June 30 Business: Treasury notes amounting to $5 million are authorized by Congress to help finance the war effort.

July 1 Business: To raise additional capital for the war effort, Congress increases the tariff on imported items. Naval: British and Indian forces in the Detroit River capture a transport carrying General William Hull’s personal papers. These are then forwarded to General Isaac Brock, who now knows the exact strength, composition, and strategy of the American invaders.

July 2 Military: Federalist Governor John Cotton of Connecticut declares his intention not to provide the federal government with militia forces, which removes a relatively well-trained pool of manpower from the war effort.

July 12 Military: A force of 1,500 militia and regulars under General William Hull crosses the Detroit River from Michigan and occupies Sandwich, Ontario. The American are counting on Canadian discontent with Great Britain to produce a large number of deserters, but few are forthcoming.

July 15–17 Naval: The frigate USS Constitution under Captain Isaac Hull endures a harrowing chase by a five-vessel British squadron off New York but, by dint of splendid seamanship, he manages to escape undamaged to New York.

July 17 Military: A surprise British raid by 600 British, Canadians, and Indians under Captain Charles Roberts upon the 61-man American garrison of Lieutenant Porter Hanks at Fort Mackinac, Michigan, results in their surrender. Hanks, unaware that war had been declared, surrendered without a shot. This bloodless victory

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encourages increasing numbers of Native Americans to join the British, and their activity further unnerves General William Hull.

July 19 Naval: Ships of the Canadian Provincial Marine attack the American port of Sackets Harbor, New York, only to be driven off by artillery from the USS Oneida, commanded by Lieutenant Melancthon T. Woolsey. Among his cannon is a 32-howitzer nicknamed “Old Sow,” which fires spent British cannonballs back at the enemy.

July 23 Religion: Pacifistic minister William Ellery Channing gives a sermon opposing the War of 1812 and all attempts to stifle opposition in the name of patriotism.

August 5 Politics: Federalist Governor Caleb Strong of Massachusetts joins Connecticut in declaring its refusal to provide the federal government with militia forces necessary to invade Canada, then declares a day of prayer and fasting. Furthermore, public hostility has been openly directed at Major General Henry Dearborn, tasked with defending Boston and the New England coastline.

August 8 Military: General William Hull, feeling threatened by the approach of British reinforcements under General Isaac Brock, abandons Canada and retreats to Detroit. This surrenders the initiative to Brock, who intends to make effective use of it. Mexican revolutionary Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, assisted by 150 American filibusters (adventurers) under Augustus W. Magee, crosses the Sabine River from Louisiana into Texas, intending to overthrow the Spanish regime.

August 15 Military: A force of 400 Potawatomie Indians massacres the small American garrison of Captain Nathan Heald at Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Illinois Territory, after they are ordered to evacuate that post by General William Hull. The Americans lose 53 soldiers, women, and children, including the noted scout Captain William Wells, who had been raised by Chief Little Turtle. The victorious Indians then burn the fort.

August 16 Military: Convinced he is outnumbered and fearing an Indian massacre, General William Hull timorously surrenders Detroit and 1,200 men to smaller forces under General Isaac Brock and Tecumseh. Victory here gives heart to Native American tribes throughout the region and they begin flocking to the British standard. Brock has also managed to extend British influence and prestige throughout the Great Lakes region. Detroit remains the only American settlement captured by an enemy and its loss shocked the public.

August 17 Politics: A secret Federalist convention in New York City decides to throw its weight behind DeWitt Clinton of New York, a Democratic-Republican.

August 19 Naval: In a startling naval upset off Nova Scotia, the 44-gun American frigate USS Constitution under Captain Isaac Hull defeats the 38-gun frigate HMS

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Chronology of American History Guerriere of Captain James R. Dacres in a half-hour battle. Losses are seven Americans killed and seven wounded to 15 British dead and 64 wounded. The British vessel is so shattered by Constitution’s firepower that it has to be sunk. Hull is the nephew of defeated General William Hull, and his victory does much to restore American morale.

August 23 Military: British General Isaac Brock makes a quick transit from Detroit to Fort George on the Niagara frontier, in preparation for repelling another American invasion. Across the Niagara River, General Stephen Van Rensselaer struggles to assemble a mixed force of untrained soldiers and equally raw militia.

August 29 Diplomacy: Prime Minister Lord Castlereagh declines to accept the peace proposal of American envoy Jonathan Russell, who sought an end to impressment and payment of indemnities for past seizures.

September 11 Military: Native Americans, assisted by escaped African-American slaves, ambush a supply detachment of U.S. Marines at Twelve Mile Creek outside St. Augustine, Florida. Captain John Williams is mortally injured and six of his marines are wounded.

September 17 Military: Former Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison is commissioned a brigadier general and tasked with retaking Detroit, Michigan, at the earliest possible opportunity.

September 21 Diplomacy: Czar Alexander I of Russia offers to mediate the dispute between Great Britain and the United States; he does this in order to strengthen the combined British/Russian effort against Napoleon.

September 30 Diplomacy: Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, commanding at Halifax, Nova Scotia, offers an armistice and peace negotiations to the U.S. government.

October 4 Military: A surprise attack by British forces ousts a small American garrison at Ogdensburg, New York; this removes a threat to British navigation along the St. Lawrence River, the principal British line of communication.

October 9 Naval: Navy Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliot, assisted by army Captain Nathan Towson, attacks and captures the British vessels Detroit and Caledonia as they lay anchored near the Niagara River close to Buffalo, New York.

October 13 Military: The Battle of Queenstown Heights transpires when a mixed force of 1,300 U.S. Army troops and New York militia under General Stephen Van Rensselaer attempt to cross the Niagara River. General Isaac Brock meets the invaders head-on with 1,000 troops and Indians and is killed in action, but the Americans fail to receive promised reinforcements from the New York side. When General Roger Hale Sheaffe arrives with British reinforcements, the invaders under Lieu-

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Scott, Winfield

(1786 –1866)

General Winfield Scott was born in Petersburg, Vir-­ ginia, on June 13, 1786, son of a Revolution-­ ary War veteran. He attended William and Mary College briefly in 1806, then dropped out to study law. The following year Scott enlisted in the U.S. Army as a captain where he proved capable but extremely sensitive toward matters of rank and honor. In 1810 he was court-­martialed for criticizing his superior, General James Wilkinson, and endured a year’s suspension. He passed the time studying European military literature so that when the War of 1812 commenced, he was among the most professional offic-­ ers in his grade. Scott was one of a handful of leaders to garner any recognition, and in July 1814 he joined General Jacob Brown’s Niagara Campaign as a brigadier general. In this capacity he fought well at the bloody battle of Chippewa and Lundy’s Lane, being severely wounded but gaining a national reputation. After the war he remained in service and translated several European drill manuals for army use. By this time his reputation as “Old Fuss and Feathers,” aris-­ ing from his insistence on proper military decorum, was also well-­established. After fighting in the Florida Second Seminole War and helping resolve a tricky border dispute between Maine and Canada, Scott became the army’s senior general in 1841. In this capacity he commanded an army during the War with Mexico and in 1847 conducted one of military history’s most decisive campaigns. Commencing with a large amphibious landing at Veracruz, Scott marched inland, repeatedly defeated larger Mexican forces, and finally occupied the

capital of Mexico City. This act forced the government of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to sue for peace and Scott became a national hero again. Success on the battlefield whetted Scott’s appetite for politics, and in 1852 he sought the Whig Party nomination. However, he lost the general election to Democrat Fran-­ klin Pierce and resumed his military inter-­ ests. Though Southern-­born, Scott proved an ardent nationalist and he unflinchingly sided with the North during the approach (continues)

Winfield Scott (National Archives)

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(continued) of civil war. He was President Abraham Lincoln’s senior military adviser before being replaced by General George B. McClellan in 1861 and as Lincoln’s adviser he promulgated the so-called Anaconda Plan. This was a brilliant strategic expedient calling for a military offensive down the Mississippi River valley to cut the Confederacy in half, while a naval blockade throttled its economy. The plan was initially derided as far too cautious by officers who sought to end the war in a

single decisive blow, despite Scott’s warnings that the newly recruited army was too raw for combat. After the defeat at Bull Run in August 1861, Union strategists gradually came to adopting Scott’s overarching strategy. Scott himself retired from the military in the fall of 1861 and relocated to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. He died there on May 29, 1866, having bequeathed to the U.S. Army tradition of professionalism and the goal of victory it had heretofore lacked.

October 18 Naval: Captain Jacob Jones of the 18-gun sloop USS Wasp engages and captures the 18-gun British brig Frolic with a loss of 10 Americans to 90 Britons. Both vessels are dismasted in combat and subsequently recaptured by the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Poictiers.

October 25 Naval: In the war’s second naval upset, Captain Stephen Decatur and the 44-gun frigate United States capture the 38-gun frigate HMS Macedonian under Captain John S. Carden off the Madeira Islands. The heavier American vessel pounds its adversary into submission in only 30 minutes. Decatur’s losses are five killed and seven wounded to a British tally of 36 dead and 68 injured. The prize is then towed intact to New London, Connecticut, where it enters American service as USS Macedonian and serves until 1828.

October 27 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James Monroe informs Admiral John Borlase Warren at Nova Scotia that the United States will readily enter peace negotiations with Great Britain once it halts the practice of impressment. Naval: Captain David Porter and the 32-gun frigate USS Essex depart the Delaware Capes on a voyage around Cape Horn and into the Pacific. The enterprising Porter is determined to destroy the British whaling fleet operating there.

November Naval: Royal Navy warships begin a blockade of the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay.

November 19–23 Military: General Henry Dearborn leads a force of barely trained U.S. troops and raw militia north form Plattsburg, New York, intending to capture the strategic city of Montreal. Once they reach the Canadian border, Dearborn’s militia refuses to cross, pursuant to their legal rights, and the invasion is canceled. The only fighting occurs when two columns of troops mistake each other for the enemy and open fire, causing several casualties. It is another ignominious display of incompetence.

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November 27 Naval: Buoyed by the surprising string of victories at sea, Congress authorizes construction of six new 44-gun frigates—none of which are completed in time for the war.

December 1 Military: American forces under General Alexander Smyth make a failed attempt to cross the Niagara River and then withdraw. Anger and disorder breaks out in Smyth’s camp in consequence, and he is soon struck from the army rolls.

December 2 Politics: James Madison, despite the disasters and humiliations of the previous summer, is reelected president over fellow Democratic Republican DeWitt Clinton by an electoral vote of 128 to 89. Elbridge Gerry also defeats Jared Ingersoll for the vice presidency, 131 to 86. However, Federalists in the northeast score an impressive election victory, doubling their number in Congress.

December 24 Diplomacy: American minister and former Connecticut poet Joel Barlow dies in Paris, France, ending all American negotiations with Napoleon.

December 26 Naval: The British admiralty declares Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River under a state of blockade; as the war continues, the blockade will extend from Maine to Georgia.

December 29 Education: The University of Maryland is chartered in Baltimore and organized around the College of Medicine of Maryland, which had functioned since 1807. Naval: The Americans score a third naval upset when the 44-gun frigate USS Constitution under Captain William Bainbridge engages and defeats the 38-gun British frigate HMS Java off Brazil. The Americans sustain nine dead and 25 wounded to a British tally of 48 killed and 102 wounded. The Constitution’s hull proves so impervious to British cannonballs that it acquires the nickname “Old Ironsides.”

1813 Journalism: Nathan Hale begins editing the Boston Daily Advertiser, which runs until 1917. Religion: Reverend William Ellery Channing begins editing and publishing the Christian Disciple, a liberal Protestant magazine to counter more conservative publications already extant. Technology: Nathaniel Stevens of Andover, Massachusetts, builds a woolen broadcloth mill and begins manufacturing the first flannels.

January 13 Politics: Disgraced Secretary of War William Eustis is replaced by ambitious John Armstrong, author of the 1783 Newburgh Addresses against Congress and a former minister to France.

January 22–23 Military: The Battle of Frenchtown (or River Raisin), Michigan Territory, occurs when 1,000 Americans, mostly half-frozen Kentucky militia under General James

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Chronology of American History Winchester, are overrun by a similar force of British and Native Americans commanded by Colonel Henry Procter. Winchester’s entire force was captured at a loss of 24 British dead and 158 wounded. The Indians, greatly emboldened by the easy victory, take to drinking and massacre around 60 wounded prisoners. Thereafter, “Remember the Raisin!” becomes the battle cry of the Kentuckians.

February 20 Politics: Brigadier General Lewis Cass becomes governor of the Michigan Territory, serving for nearly two decades.

February 14 Naval: The frigate USS Essex under Captain David Porter rounds Cape Horn at the tip of South America, becoming the first American warship operating in the Pacific Ocean.

February 24 Naval: The 18-gun American sloop USS Hornet under Master Commandant James Lawrence captures the 20-gun British sloop HMS Peacock off Guiana, South America. The Americans lose four killed and four wounded to a British tally of five dead and 33 wounded.

March 4 Politics: James Madison is inaugurated for his second term in office as president while Elbridge Gerry replaces the late George Clinton as vice president.

March 8 Diplomacy: President James Madison appoints Swiss-born Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin and Delaware Senator James A. Bayard to a special peace commission slated to join American minister John Quincy Adams at St. Petersburg, Russia. They are there at the invitation of Czar Alexander I, who wishes to mediate the dispute between England and America. However, the British will reject the czar’s offer of help.

March 11 Diplomacy: President James Madison accepts the Russian offer of mediation to end the current war.

March 15 General: At New Orleans, Governor William C. C. Claiborne of Louisiana places a bounty on the head of French pirate Jean Laffite; the flamboyant buccaneer counters by offering an even larger one for the governor’s.

March 27 Naval: Captain Oliver Hazard Perry arrives at Presque Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania) to oversee construction of an American fleet on Lake Erie. This will ultimately consist of two brigs, a schooner, and three gunboats constructed from nearby woods and materials hauled overland from Pittsburgh. To do so he supercedes Captain Jesse Duncan Elliott, gaining his lasting enmity.

April 15 Military: American forces under General James Wilkinson seize and occupy Mobile, Alabama, displacing the Spanish garrison there. Soon the region between the Pearl and Perdido Rivers are under U.S. control.

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April 27 Military: York, Ontario, (Toronto), the provincial capital of Upper Canada, falls to a combined amphibious force of 1,700 men under Commodore Isaac Chauncey and General Henry Dearborn. The actual fighting is accomplished by General Zebulon M. Pike, the noted explorer, who expels 700 British defenders under General Roger Hale Sheaffe, only to die in a British magazine explosion. American losses are 54 dead and around 200 wounded; the British tally is 62 dead, 34 wounded, and 50 missing. Afterward discipline breaks down and the Americans, assisted by Canadian prisoners, burn and loot the settlement. This is the first joint operation by the respective services.

May 1–9 Military: British and Indian forces under General Henry Procter and Shawnee chief Tecumseh besiege Fort Meigs, (Toledo) Ohio. However, the 1,000-man garrison under General William Henry Harrison is determined to resist.

May 4 –5 Military: General William Henry Harrison, once reinforced by Kentucky militia under General Green Clay, sorties from Fort Meigs, Ohio, and captures the British siege battery. The militia, however, are lured inland by the Indians, who then surround and massacre them. Chief Tecumseh roundly castigates General Henry Procter for failing to stop the atrocities. The siege will be lifted in four days and Procter returns to Upper Canada.

May 24 Politics: The 13th Congress assembles in Washington, D.C., with the Democratic Republicans still in firm control. However, the Federalists have made gains in recent elections as, of 36 new seats granted to the House of Representatives, 32 of them are Federalist.

May 26 Naval: The British Admiralty extends their blockade of the American coast from Chesapeake Bay as far south as the Mississippi River, including the ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. They also begin systematically raiding along the coastline.

May 27 Military: The Battle of Fort George, upper Canada, unfolds when a combined amphibious force under General Henry Dearborn and Commodore Isaac Chauncey attacks and captures the noted post. The British under General John Vincent resist handily but are smothered by American firepower and chased inland by General Winfield Scott until Dearborn erroneously halts the pursuit. Vincent consequently escapes in the direction of Burlington Heights to fight another day.

May 29 Military: The Battle of Sackets Harbor, New York, occurs when GovernorGeneral Sir George Prevost and Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo make a surprise attack on this strategic American port while Commodore Isaac Chauncey is at Fort George. The 1,200 British initially scatter 500 militia commanded by General Jacob Brown, but prove unable to carry the main works garrisoned by 250 regulars. Once Brown rallies the militia in Prevost’s rear, the governor-general is

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Chronology of American History unnerved and sounds the retreat. The British fall back intact to their fleet and sail away, although considerable damage has been inflicted on American naval stores. Prevost’s losses are about 260 men; Brown sustains around 100 casualties, mostly militia. For his role in the victory, he is also commissioned a brigadier general in the regular army.

June 1 Naval: The 38-gun American frigate USS Chesapeake under Captain James Lawrence, with a new and largely inexperienced crew, engages the crack British frigate HMS Shannon under Captain Philip B. V. Broke outside Boston. In spite of great bravery and sacrifice, the Americans are defeated in a bloody, 15minute engagement in which Lawrence is mortally wounded and Broke critically. American losses are 62 killed and 58 injured to a British tally of 33 killed and 42 wounded—making it one of the bloodiest encounters in the Age of Sail. Lawrence’s dying command of “Don’t give up the ship!” subsequently passes into U.S. Navy tradition as a battle cry.

June 6 Military: The Battle of Stoney Creek, Upper Canada, unfolds when 700 British troops under General John Vincent and Colonel John Harvey attack an American force of 2,000 encamped nearby. Both American generals, John Chandler and William H. Winder, are taken prisoner in the darkness but the British are gradually driven off by daylight. Still, this marks the end of the American offensive on the Niagara peninsula and the surviving troops fall back to Fort George. American losses are 17 dead, 30 injured, and 99 missing while the British sustain 23 killed, 136 wounded, and 55 captured.

June 24 Military: An American military expedition of 600 men under Colonel Charles G. Boerstler comes to grief at Beaver Dams, Ontario, when it is surrounded by British light troops and Indians under Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon then convinces Boerstler that he in fact commands 1,700 men, demands his surrender, and the Americans timidly comply.

July 6 Military: On the Niagara frontier, General Henry Dearborn, whose slow movement and lethargic activity bequeathed him the nickname “Granny,” is replaced by the scheming General James Wilkinson. Meanwhile, Wilkinson’s archenemy, General Wade Hampton, assumes command of troops at Plattsburgh, New York.

July 14 Naval: Lieutenant John M. Gamble becomes the first Marine Corps officer to captain a vessel when he takes charge of the captured British whaler Greenwich in the Pacific Ocean.

August 2 Military: General Henry Procter, goaded into attacking Fort Stephenson, Ohio, by Shawnee chief Tecumseh, is roundly repulsed by a smaller garrison under Major George Croghan. Previously the defenders had masked their only cannon, “Old Betsey,” and allowed the British to approach to within point-blank range before firing. Procter’s failure disheartens his Indian allies and he falls back into

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Canada. British losses are 90 killed and wounded to an American tally of one dead and seven injured.

August 4 Naval: The British Lake Erie squadron under Captain Robert H. Barclay momentarily abandons its blockade of Presque Isle (Erie), Pennsylvania. During his absence, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry rapidly disarms his vessels, passes them over the sandbar blocking the harbor, then painstakingly rearms. He then begins cruising Lake Erie in search of the enemy with three brigs and five schooners.

August 9 Military: The town of St. Michaels, Maryland, conducts the first American blackout following the approach of a British squadron at night. By extinguishing all city lights and placing lamps in trees and on the masts of vessels, the British gunners fire too high and miss the town.

August 7–11 Naval: The American Lake Ontario squadron under Commodore Isaac Chauncey engages a British force under Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo in a protracted running fight. However, Chauncey loses two small vessels to stormy weather and another two when they are cut off and captured.

August 14 Naval: The 20-gun American sloop USS Argus under Captain William H. Allen is captured by the 21-gun British brig HMS Pelican under Captain John F. Maples; Allen is mortally wounded in combat. American losses are 10 dead and 14 injured to two dead British and five wounded. Prior to its loss, Argus had captured 27 British vessels in a matter of weeks.

August 18 Military: In Texas, Spanish forces under General Joaquin de Arrendondo attack and scatter a mixed Mexican/American force of 1,300 irregulars at the Medina River. The rebels are quickly pursued back to San Antonio and Spanish control is reasserted over the entire province.

August 30 Military: Disgruntled Upper Creek Indians under Chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle) attack and surprise Fort Mims, Alabama Territory, massacring nearly 500 inhabitants. This is the start of the Creek War which catapults General Andrew Jackson to national fame.

September 4 Religion: John W. Scott begins editing and publishing the Religious Remembrancer in Philadelphia, the nation’s first religious weekly.

September 5 Military: Secretary of War John Armstrong arrives at Sackets Harbor, New York, to confer with General James Wilkinson about his forthcoming St. Lawrence Campaign against Montreal. Noval: The 14-gun brig USS Enterprise under Lieutenant William Burrows defeats the 14-gun British brig HMS Boxer commanded by Captain Samuel Blyth off Portland, Maine. Both Burrows and the British commander are killed

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Chronology of American History in action and are buried in Portland with honors of war. American losses are 13 wounded to a British tally of 28 dead and 14 injured.

September 7 Journalism: The expression “Uncle Sam” to denote the U.S. government first appears in an issue of the Troy Post in New York. It is apparently drawn from the practice of having all government property stamped “U.S.” as well as from the name of a local military supplier, “Uncle Sam” Wilson.

September 10 Naval: The Battle of Lake Erie transpires when an American squadron of 10 vessels under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry seeks out and engages a smaller British force of six warships under Commodore Robert H. Barclay. As Perry closes, his flagship USS Lawrence becomes separated from his main body and bears the brunt of the entire British squadron. At length his ship is forced to strike its colors but Perry then heroically transfers his command to the USS Niagara under fire and resumes the fight. At length Barclay, seriously wounded, is forced to surrender—the first time in history that an entire British squadron is captured. “We have met the enemy,” Perry wrote laconically, “and they are ours.” Casualties in this three-hour slugfest are 27 Americans killed and 96 wounded to 41 British killed and 94 injured. This is one of few decisive encounters in the War of 1812 and leads to an American invasion of Upper Canada.

September 18 Military: General Henry Procter, reacting to the recent loss of Lake Erie to the Americans, orders an evacuation of Detroit, Michigan, and Malden, Ontario. He begins withdrawing his force back to the Niagara frontier over the protests of Chief Tecumseh and his Indian allies.

September 28 Naval: In a second encounter, the Lake Ontario squadron of Commodore Isaac Chauncey gets the better of Commodore James Lucas Yeo’s British force, driving them headlong into Burlington Bay, Ontario, but failing to destroy them.

October 5 Military: The Battle of the Thames unfolds after 3,000 Americans under General William Henry Harrison overtake fleeing British and Indians under General Henry Procter and Tecumseh. Vengeful Kentuckian cavalry easily disperses the 900-man 41st Regiment in a spirited charge, but they have a harder time dislodging 1,000 Indians from nearby woods. In the fight Colonel Richard M. Johnson is toppled from his horse and wounded but Tecumseh is killed and resistance dwindles. Harrison, facing expiring enlistments, then orders his victorious army back to Detroit. Harrison loses only 12 dead and 22 wounded to a British tally of 12 killed, and 600 captured; Indian losses are unknown but presumed heavy.

October 26 Military: The Battle of Châteauguay occurs when a division of 4,000 Americans under General Wade Hampton advances up the Lake Champlain corridor against Montreal and encounters a force of 1,700 entrenched British, Canadians, and Indians under Lieutenant Colonel Charles De Salaberry. The Americans make a halfhearted attempt to flank the defenders through a swamp and suffer a handful

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November 3 Military: A force of 900 Tennessee cavalry under General John Coffee attacks and destroys the Creek Indian village of Tallasahatchee. The victorious Americans kill 186 warriors and take 86 captives at a cost of five killed and 40 wounded. Among the participants is a very young scout named Davy Crockett.

Crockett, Davy (1786 –1836) Frontiersman Davy Crockett was born near Greeneville, Tennessee, on August 17, 1786, the son of a Revolutionary War veteran. He ran away at the age of 12 and ventured to Baltimore, then returned on his own to the frontiers of his native state. Barely educated, he proved unsuited for farming but was a crack shot with a rifle and an expert tracker. Crockett married and was living near the Alabama border when the Creek War erupted in August 1813. He joined the militia and served under General Andrew Jackson in several pitched battles, including the bloody encounter at Tallasahatchee on November 3, 1813. He then marched to Fort Strother and nearly mutinied with the garrison when they were not discharged as promised. Crockett subsequently joined a mounted battalion and campaigned in Florida, thereby miss-­ ing Jackson’s spectacular victory at New Orleans in January 1815. His first wife died, and he hired a substitute to finish out the remainder of his enlistment. After the war Crockett served as a justice of the peace in Giles County, Tennessee, and he gradually developed a taste for frontier politicking. In 1821 he gained a seat in the state legislature, serving several terms. His natural charm and homespun humor held him in good stead with constituents in 1827, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Represent-­ atives as a Jacksonian Democrat. In fact, in an age of increasing sophistication, Crockett

was one of the first politicians to actively flaunt his rural origins and lack of educa-­ tion. Two years later he switched over to the Whigs and was finally defeated in 1831. He returned to Congress two years later and (continues)

David “Davy” Crockett (Library of Congress)

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(continued) toured the Northeast as a frontier celebrity on behalf of other Whig candidates. Crock-­ ett also strongly opposed President Jack-­ son’s Indian removal policy, but enemies in the Democratic Party managed to defeat his bid for reelection in 1835. In fact, Crockett was sadly out of touch with the Tennessee political establishment, which was totally controlled by Jackson and his cronies. Tiring of politics, Crockett found himself drawn to events in the Mexican province of Texas. The American settlers there had declared their independence from General Antonio López de Santa Anna, who then marshaled his troops against them. Crock-­ ett, meanwhile, arrived at Nacogdoches on January 18, 1836, received a hero’s wel-­

come, and took his oath to the Texas pro-­ visional government. He then continued on to San Antonio with 12 other Tennes-­ seeans and joined the garrison defending the old mission known as the Alamo. The Mexican army under Santa Anna deployed nearby and a costly 13-­day siege unfolded. On March 6, 1836, the Mexicans success-­ fully carried the mission, putting the 186 defenders to the sword, including Crockett. Death in no way diminished his stature as a quintessential American hero and, in fact, elevated him to near mythic pro-­ portions. Enshrined in numerous books and motion pictures, Crockett remains an embodiment of the rough-­hewn Tennessee frontiersman.

November 4 Diplomacy: Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh of England writes Secretary of State James Monroe and offers direct negotiations for an end to hostilities. When informed, President James Madison acquiesces and appoints a peace commission consisting of John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell.

November 9 Military: General Andrew Jackson, leading a force of Tennessee militia, attacks and destroys the Indian village of Talladega. The Indians are surrounded and nearly destroyed before they escape through gaps in Jackson’s lines. Creek losses are 299 warriors left dead on the field while the Americans incur 95 killed and wounded. Food shortages then force Jackson back to his main base at Fort Strother.

November 11 Military: The Battle of Crysler’s Farm transpires when General James Wilkinson takes 2,400 men from his St. Lawrence expedition, advances inland, and attacks an 800-­man British force shadowing his advance. Their commander, Colonel Joseph Morrison, proves tactically astute and manages to skillfully repulse several uncoordinated American thrusts against his line. General Leonard Covington is killed before Wilkinson finally calls off the battle and withdraws back to the river to embark. The much-­vaunted American attempt to capture Montreal has ended in defeat and disaster. British losses are 22 dead, 148 wounded, and nine missing to an American tally of 102 killed, 237 wounded, and 100 missing. This concludes operations in Lower Canada, and Wilkinson enters winter quarters.

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November 13 Military: General James Wilkinson lands his chastened force at the Salmon River, New York, where they will spend an uncomfortable winter at French Mills.

November 16 Naval: The British Admiralty extends the blockade northward from Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River up to Long Island. Only the New England ports still conduct commercial activity.

November 19 Naval: In the Pacific, Captain David Porter of the USS Essex claims the Marquesas island chain for the United States, renaming the biggest island Madison Island.

November 29 Military: A detachment of 950 Georgia militia under General John Floyd and 400 allied Creek under Chief William McIntosh engages and defeats a large party of hostile Creek at Autosee, Mississippi Territory. Both sides sustain considerable losses after hard fighting; Floyd suffers 11 killed and 54 wounded to an Indian loss estimated at 200. After burning the nearby village the Americans withdraw back to the Chattahoochee River.

December 9 Politics: President James Madison addresses Congress on the subject of illegal trade with the enemy, especially along the Canadian border with New York and New England. He then requests a war embargo on such activity.

December 10 Military: General George McClure of the New York militia hastily evacuates Fort George, Ontario, in the face of a possible British attack; before doing so he burns the Canadian village of Newark to deny it to the enemy.

December 17 Business: Congress imposes an embargo on all British goods; this measure is apparently aimed at New England merchants who have been supplying British forces in Canada with food.

December 18 Military: British forces under newly arrived General Gordon Drummond surprise and capture Fort Niagara, New York, setting the stage for intense retaliatory action along the American side of the Niagara River. Captain Nathaniel Leonard is captured, and his command suffers 65 dead, 15 wounded, and 350 captured; British losses are negligible with six dead and five wounded.

December 23 Military: A mixed force of militia and army troops under General Ferdinand L. Claiborne attacks and defeats the Creek at Econochaca (Holy Ground), Mississippi Territory. They manage to kill 30 Indians and almost capture Chief William Weatherford, who jumps off a high bluff and into the waters of the Tallapoosa River below. American losses are one killed and 20 wounded.

December 29–30 Military: British and Indian forces under General Phineas Riall systematically burn American settlements along the Niagara River region, including Black

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Chronology of American History Rock and Buffalo, New York. The militia under General Amos Hall are unable to mount effective resistance and flee the battlefield. For a loss of 112 of his men, Riall inflicts 30 dead, 40 wounded, and 69 captured. The entire Niagara frontier is now systematically laid to waste.

December 30 Diplomacy: The British vessel Bramble arrives under a flag of truce at Annapolis, Maryland, bringing peace dispatches from the English government.

1814 Arts: William Rush, the first noted American sculptor, carves a full-length statue of George Washington in wood. He had previously made a name for himself by sculpting realistic wooden figureheads for vessels. Business: At Waltham, Massachusetts, Francis Cabot Lowell establishes the first factory to house powered cotton spinning and weaving machines in the same building, which greatly enhances efficiency and production. Lowell is also known for a paternalistic attitude toward his work force and a nearby city is named after him. Military: Secretary of War John Armstrong initiates badly needed reforms by establishing military districts and purging the senior officer corps of its deadwood. Younger, more energetic officers like Jacob Brown, George Izard, Winfield Scott, and Eleazer W. Ripley are promoted to command positions in an attempt to revive the flagging war effort. Religion: Reverend Richard Allen establishes the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Societal: The first functioning library network west of the Allegheny Mountains emerges in Pittsburgh when several circulating libraries merge. Technology: Francis Cabot Lowell constructs the first American factory capable of processing raw cotton with powered machinery. Lowell had previously observed such equipment functioning in Great Britain, then a closely guarded trade secret, yet managed to smuggle out carefully rendered sketches. The town of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named in his honor.

January 3 Diplomacy: President James Madison receives an invitation from Lord Castlereagh for direct peace negotiations and he accepts.

January 22 Military: Tennessee militia under General Andrew Jackson decides to attack a large Indian encampment at Emuckfau Creek, Alabama Territory. However, the Indians strike first and rout his left flank commanded by General John Coffee. After severe fighting, Jackson extricates his command with a loss of 25 dead and 75 wounded and falls back upon Fort Strother.

January 24 Military: General Andrew Jackson’s rear guard is roughly handled and withdraws in a panic from Enitachopco Creek. American losses are considerable but Jackson manages to keep his command intact. The Tennessee militia are suffering from low morale, food shortages, and the general’s insistence upon rigid discipline.

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January 25 Business: The embargo outlawing trade with the British is modified by Congress when the inhabitants of Nantucket Island off Massachusetts are threatened with famine.

January 27 Military: Congress raises the U.S. Army manpower ceiling to 67,773 men, although only half that amount is ever recruited. However, they defeat a proposal by President James Madison to raise 100,000 men. General John Floyd and 1,300 Georgia and Carolina militia, backed by 400 allied Creeks, encamps at Calabee Creek in the Alabama Territory. That evening they are assailed by Chief William Weatherford, who commands as many as 1,800 braves and the Americans are hard-pressed to maintain their position. The Creeks are finally driven off by artillery fire at dawn; enemy losses are estimated at around 200 while Floyd loses 17 dead and 132 wounded. The extent of losses induce the American to withdraw back to Fort Mitchell, Georgia.

February 9 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Albert Gallatin, en route to Europe for peace talks, is replaced by George W. Campbell.

March 24 Military: Although acquitted by a court-martial, General James Wilkinson is sacked as senior commander along the Northern frontier, and replaced by General George Izard, who assumes command of troops at Plattsburg, New York. Meanwhile, General Jacob Brown is ordered to take charge of affairs along the Niagara frontier.

March 26 Military: Former general William Hull is court-martialed for treason, found guilty, and sentenced to death for his August 1812 surrender of Detroit; in light of his prior service in the Revolutionary War, the sentence is commuted by President James Madison.

March 27 Military: The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Alabama Territory, is won by 2,500 American troops under General Andrew Jackson. Jackson confronts a large Creek force of 1,300 men and women dug in behind the bend of the Tallapoosa River and attacks with the 39th U.S. Infantry. Resistance is fierce and Lieutenant Sam Houston is severely wounded, but the Indians are gradually crushed and driven into the river. This victory decisively ends the Creek War and renders Jackson a national hero. American losses are 47 dead and 159 wounded while allied Creek and Cherokee lose an additional 23 killed and 47 wounded.

March 28 Naval: The 38-gun American frigate USS Essex under Captain David Porter is attacked and defeated by British warships HMS Phoebe and Cherub off Valparaiso, Chile. American losses are 58 dead, 31 drowned, and 66 wounded to five British killed and 10 injured. Prior to this lopsided engagement, Porter was the first American naval officer to scour the Pacific Ocean for British commerce, and he captured or destroyed nearly 40 whaling vessels. One of the battle’s survivors, 13-year-old midshipman David Farragut, subsequently rises to the rank of admiral during the Civil War.

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March 30 Military: General James Wilkinson and 4,000 of his soldiers brave freezing weather to attack the stone fortification at La Colle Mill, Quebec. The small British garrison refuses to budge, and the Americans incur a loss of 254 casualties before Wilkinson calls off the action. This is one of the most demoralizing setbacks of the war and leads directly to Wilkinson’s dismissal.

March 31 Business: President James Madison declares the Embargo and Non-Importation Acts failures and urges their repeal by Congress.

April 1 Diplomacy: The British and American governments agree to the site of Ghent, Belgium, for their upcoming peace negotiations.

April 6 Military: Emperor Napoleon I is overthrown by an allied coalition; his defeat releases 14,000 veteran British soldiers, “Wellington’s Invincibles,” for service in America.

April 14 Business: Congress repeals the Embargo and Non-Importation Acts although, to protect nascent American industries, war duties are imposed on certain imports for two years after peace arrives.

April 25 Naval: Eager to increase economic pressure upon the United States, the British Admiralty extends its blockade to include all of New England. All told, the Royal Navy is a major factor in the near-collapse of the American economy, which finds itself suffering from high inflation, severe shortages, and virtual bankruptcy.

April 29 Naval: The American sloop USS Peacock under Master Commandant Lewis Warrington defeats the British brig HMS Epervier of Captain Richard W. Wales off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The British, then conveying $120,000 in specie, lose eight dead and 15 injured to two American wounded.

May 1 Military: At Plattsburgh, New York, the efficient, spit-and-polish General George Izard assumes command of the Right Division. Izard is unique among American senior field commanders for being the only one to have received professional military instruction in France. He immediately begins reconstructing an army from the demoralized rabble he inherits.

May 6 Naval: A quick raid by British land and naval forces under Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo and General Gordon Drummond captures the American depot at Oswego, New York. The port is stormed with heavy loss, but the British goal, heavy cannon intended for the American fleet at Sackets Harbor, had been previously moved upstream.

May 22 Military: For his outstanding successes in the Creek War, Andrew Jackson is commissioned a major general in the U.S. Army and receives command of all

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June 28 Naval: The 18-­gun sloop USS Wasp under Master Commandant Johnston Blakely engages and defeats the 18-­gun British brig HMS Reindeer under Cap-­ tain William Manners in a 19-­minute action. The Americans sustain five dead and 21 wounded to a British tally of 25 killed and 42 wounded. Reindeer is so badly damaged that it is deliberately sunk by the victors.

July 3 Military: The Left Division under General Jacob Brown crosses the Niagara River and captures Fort Erie, Ontario.

Brown, Jacob J.

(1775–1828)

General Jacob Jennings Brown was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on May 9, 1775, a son of Quaker farmers. He was by turns a teacher, a surveyor, and one-­time secretary of Alexan-­ der Hamilton before moving to upstate New York to farm and serve as a county judge. After President Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo in 1808, Brown took readily to smug-­ gling potash into Canada. However, he also displayed genuine interest in military affairs and in 1809 gained appointment as colonel of the Jefferson Country militia. In this capacity he spent the first months of the War of 1812 guarding a 200-­mile strip of land stretching from Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence River. Brown, unlike many contemporaries, proved himself an active and energetic leader. On October 4, 1812, he assembled his militia and cannon to defeat a British amphibious raid against Ogdensburg, New York. A year later he surmounted a more serious situation when a British fleet under Governor-­General Sir George Prevost made an amphibious attack against Sackets Harbor, New York, home port of the Navy’s Lake Ontario squadron. Brown’s militia were routed in the initial charge but he rallied them further inland and led them back against the British rear. His activity so unnerved Prevost that he ordered

the attack upon the harbor canceled and quickly sailed back to Canada. As a reward for his dramatic victory Brown was commis-­ sioned a brigadier in the U.S. Army effective July 19, 1813. He subsequently accompanied the ill-­fated St. Lawrence expedition of Gen-­ eral James Wilkinson commanding a brigade, handled his affairs competently, and was one of few senior officers to escape disgrace. For this reason Secretary of War John Armstrong promoted him to major general on January 24, 1814, and tasked him with leading an invasion of the Niagara Peninsula that summer. Brown, assisted by noted leaders Winfield Scott and Eleazar W. Ripley, crossed the Niagara River on July 3, 1814, and two days later his forces won the Battle of Chippewa against veteran British forces. However, his offensive stalled when the fleet under Com-­ modore Isaac Chauncey failed to rendez-­ vous as promised, and British reinforcements under General Gordon Drummond arrived to confront the invaders. Brown and Drum-­ mond clashed heavily at Lundy’s Lane on July 25, 1814, in the hardest fought battle of the war, with each side incurring 900 casual-­ ties. Brown was wounded and spent several (continues)

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(continued) weeks recuperating before resuming command at Fort Erie. On September 17, 1814, he orchestrated a surprise sortie that nearly routed Drummond’s besieging army. In light of his good conduct, Brown was one of two major generals retained in active service after the war. In 1821 he was appointed command-

ing general of the Army and acted in concert with a vigorous new secretary of war, John C. Calhoun, to institute badly needed reforms and also advised President James Monroe and John Quincy Adams on military affairs. Brown died in office on February 24, 1828, an important military figure of the early republic.

July 5 Military: The Battle of Chippewa is won by the Americans when British forces under General Phineas Riall attack General Jacob Brown’s encampment behind Chippewa Creek, Ontario. He encounters the crack brigade of General Winfield Scott, who happens to be exercising his men, and a formal engagement unfolds. Riall, noticing that Scott’s men are dressed in gray cloth, assumes they are militia, but the Americans quickly outmaneuver and outflank their veteran adversaries. The Americans lose 60 dead and 235 wounded to a British tally of 148 killed and 321 wounded. This is also the first triumph of American forces over the British on an open field and proof of their growing military professionalism.

July 22 Diplomacy: The United States signs the Treaty of Greenville with representatives of the Miami, Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot Indians, which not only secures the peace but also mandates that they go to war against England.

July 25 Military: The Battle of Lundy’s Lane is fought between the divisions of General Jacob Brown (2,800 men) and General Sir Gordon Drummond (3,200). The engagement commences when the brigade of General Winfield Scott attacks Lundy’s Lane, driving back the force of General Phineas Riall but running afoul of reinforcements brought up by Drummond. The Americans then take a pounding until Brown brings up the rest of his force, the regular brigade of General Eleazar W. Ripley, and militia under General Peter B. Porter. Ripley manages to storm the British battery at the top of the lane and a swirling fight continues around it. At length both sides withdraw with heavy losses although Drummond manages to return in the night and claims the victory. The Americans lose 171 dead, 571 wounded, and 110 missing to a British tally of 84 killed, 559 injured, and 235 captured. Lundy’s Lane is another fine performance by the Americans, but they cannot replace their losses as readily as Drummond. Brown, seriously wounded, orders a withdrawal back to Fort Erie.

August 8 Diplomacy: An American peace commission consisting of John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell arrives at Ghent, Belgium, to negotiate peace with British representatives Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams. Each side changes its demands according to news received from across the ocean.

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August 9 Indian: The defeated Creek nation submits to the Treaty of Fort Jackson, whereby they cede 23 million acres—two-thirds of their territory in south Georgia, southern Alabama, and east Mississippi—to the United States. This effectively removes one of the last obstacles to white colonization of the South.

August 14 Military: British forces under General Gordon Drummond besiege Fort Erie, Ontario. The Americans, commanded by General Edmund P. Gaines, are alert for such a move and decisively repulse the attacking columns. Disaster strikes when a British force storms the fort, then accidentally touches off a magazine, which explodes. British losses are nearly 1,000—the Americans suffer less than 100 killed and wounded.

August 19 Military: A British army of 4,000 men under General Robert Ross lands at Benedict, Maryland, before proceeding overland to Washington, D.C. His first goal is to attack and destroy the gunboat flotilla of Commodore Joshua Barney presently anchored in the Patuxent River.

August 22 Naval: Commodore Joshua Barney blows up his flotilla of gunboats on the Patuxent River, Maryland, to prevent its capture by British forces.

August 24 Military: At the Battle of Bladensburg the Americans under General William H. Winder are disastrously defeated. Winder possesses 7,000 poorly trained and positioned militia which crumple under an assault by 4,000 of General Robert Ross’s veteran troops. Only a small contingent of U.S. Marines under Commodore Joshua Barney makes effective resistance before being overrun. Losses are 160 Americans dead, wounded, and missing, to 249 for the British. The result is so disgraceful that the conflict becomes derided as the “Bladensburg Races,” and the American capitol now lays at the mercy of the invader.

August 25 Military: British forces under General Robert Ross burn all public buildings in Washington, D.C., ostensibly to avenge the destruction of York, Ontario, in April 1813. They then withdraw unmolested to Admiral George Cockburn’s waiting fleet.

August 27 Politics: President James Madison and some of the American government drifts back into the burned-out remains of Washington, D.C. Secretary of War John Armstrong, who is largely blamed for the debacle, is forced from office and replaced by James Monroe.

August 31 Military: Governor-General Sir George Prevost leads 10,000 crack British troops from Canada and down the Lake Champlain Valley. This is the largest military endeavor of the northern frontier, and the Americans are ill-prepared to contain it.

September 1 Military: British forces land and occupy at the mouth of the Castine River, Maine, then march overland to capture Castine and Bangor. They easily brush

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Chronology of American History aside local militia upstream and force Captain Charles Morris to burn the frigate USS Adams to prevent its capture. Naval: The USS Wasp under Captain Johnston Blakely engages and sinks the 18-gun British brig HMS Avon at sea, losing two dead and one wounded. British losses are 10 killed and 12 wounded.

September 11 Military: A force of 1,500 regulars and a similar number of militia under General Alexander Macomb make a gallant stand at Plattsburg, New York, against 10,000 Peninsula veterans under Governor-General Sir George Prevost. The Americans put up fierce resistance but are on the verge of being outflanked when Prevost, informed of his defeat upon Lake Champlain, cancels the attack. Naval: The Battle of Lake Champlain unfolds as a large British squadron under Commander George Downie rounds Plattsburgh Bay and sails directly into a clever ambush set by Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough. Downie is killed early on and Macdonough is twice knocked unconscious by falling debris before he orders his entire force rotated by springs, which brought the undamaged sides of the warships to bear. For the second time in the war an entire British squadron has been captured. American losses are 52 dead and 59 wounded to a British tally of 84 killed and 10 wounded. Downie’s loss is also a considerable strategic victory for the United States in that it forces Governor-General Sir George Prevost to withdraw his large army back into Canada.

September 13–14 Military: The Battle of Baltimore begins as General Robert Ross is shot by snipers while advancing upon the city and the British attack is commanded by Colonel Arthur Brooke. American militia under General John Stricker then make a determined stand at North Point for several hours before being driven into the city’s field works, but the 4,500 British, badly outnumbered by 15,000 defenders under General Samuel Smith, decline to press the attack. Disheartened, Brooke orders his army withdrawn back to their fleet. Music: Francis Scott Key, a lawyer visiting the British fleet to release a prisoner, was so moved by the naval bombardment of Fort McHenry that he composes the “Star Spangled Banner,” a stirring hymn, on the back of an old envelope. It is eventually adopted as the national anthem. Naval: Warships of Admiral Sir George Cockburn’s armada slip into bombardment positions off Baltimore and pour a heavy fire into Fort McHenry, garrisoned by 1,000 troops and militia under Major George Armistead. The attack proves ineffectual, however, and by dawn of the next day the garrison’s huge American flag is seen waving defiantly in the distance. Despite having more than one thousand rounds fired at him, Armistead loses only four killed and 20 wounded.

September 17 Military: The sortie from Fort Erie occurs when General Jacob J. Brown, having recovered from wounds received at Lundy’s Lane, decides to attack the British siege positions. He details several columns of regulars and militia under General Peter B. Porter to move forward under the cover of a rainstorm, and they successfully seize three of four British batteries. General Sir Gordon Drummond then counterattacks and drives the Americans back into the fort, but the damage is done. The British make preparations to abandon their siege.

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September 25–26 Naval: British forces en route to New Orleans decide to attack the American privateer General Armstrong in the neutral Azores. Captain Samuel Chester Reid, however, is well prepared and repulses several boat attacks with heavy losses. Hopelessly outnumbered, Reid scuttles his ship rather than surrender. The damage inflicted detains the British force for several weeks, hindering their offensive against New Orleans.

October 17 Political: The Massachusetts legislature requests a convention of New England delegates to discuss their grievances against the government. They suggest convening at Hartford, Connecticut, on December 15.

October 19 Military: The 900-man brigade of General Daniel Bissell advances down Chippewa River as far as Lyon’s Creek, Ontario, where it is attacked by 750 British commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Myers. Bissell, by dint of adroit maneuvering, forces his opponent back, burns nearby Cook’s Mills, and retires back to Fort Erie. American losses are 12 dead and 55 wounded to a British tally of one dead and 35 injured. Significantly, this is the last clash between regular forces in Canada and a modest American victory.

October 21 General: Thomas Jefferson sells his entire 7,000-volume book collection to the government to replace those lost in the recent burning of the Library of Congress by British forces. Congress pays out $23,950 for the purchase.

October 29 Naval: Robert Fulton launches the USS Demologos (“Voice of the People”), history’s first armored, steam-powered warship, at New York City. It is 153 feet long, 56 feet across the beam, and weighs 2,475 tons. The formidable vessel is actually a catamaran with two hulls and a steam paddle mounted between them. It also mounts 30 32-pound cannon, two 100-pound Columbiads (super-heavy cannon), and is subsequently christened Fulton the First in his honor after he dies the following spring. This visionary vessel remains on the navy list until June 1829, when it is destroyed by a fire.

November 5 Military: General George Izard orders captured Fort Erie, Ontario, blown up and evacuated. This formally signals the end of campaigning in Canada.

November 7 Military: Acting against the wishes of Secretary of War James Monroe, General Andrew Jackson attacks and captures Pensacola, Florida, from Spanish forces. Resistance is timorous and the Americans sustain only five killed and 11 wounded. Jackson’s victory forces British warships in the harbor to immediately put to sea.

November 26 Naval: A British fleet conveying 7,500 Peninsula veterans under General Thomas Pakenham, the Duke of Wellington’s brother-in-law, departs Jamaica for New Orleans, Louisiana. Capturing this city will insure British control of the Mississippi River.

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December 1 Military: American forces under General Andrew Jackson, marching hastily from Pensacola, Florida, arrive at New Orleans, Louisiana, slightly ahead of the British.

December 13 Military: General Andrew Jackson declares martial law in Louisiana upon learning of the British approach through Lake Borgne.

December 14 Naval: Combined British land and naval forces attack a force of six American gunboats under Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones at Lake Borgne, Louisiana, capturing them. The American resist tenaciously but are gradually overwhelmed with a loss of six dead, 35 wounded, and 86 captured. British losses were 17 killed and 77 wounded; moreover the effort further delays the British approach upon New Orleans by nine days.

December 15 Politics: The Hartford Convention assembles at Hartford, Connecticut, with 26 Federalist delegates from all six New England states. The meeting is presided over by two Massachusetts delegates, George Cabot and Harrison Gray Otis.

December 23 Military: An American force of 2,000 regulars and militia under General Andrew Jackson, assisted by the 14-gun schooner USS Carolina, attacks 1,600 British encamped along Villiere’s Plantation at night. The attack is fiercely pressed, but darkness, confusion, and a prompt British response force the Americans back. British General John Keane is nonetheless convinced that he is outnumbered and suspends this advance upon New Orleans until reinforcements can arrive. This respite allows Jackson to perfect his defenses below New Orleans and await their approach. Losses are 215 Americans and 275 British killed, wounded, and captured.

December 24 Diplomacy: American and British commissioners sign the Treaty of Ghent which ends the War of 1812. Henceforth all prisoners are to be released and all territory to be restored, save for West Florida, which remains in American hands. Both sides also pledge themselves to a series of commissions to end border disputes between the United States and Canada and disarmament on the Great Lakes. Heretofore pressing issues such as impressment, indemnity, rights of search, and a neutral Indian buffer state are not addressed. Considering the relative military weakness of the United States, the terms are extremely generous and a reflection of Britain’s preoccupation with threatening events in Europe.

1815 Education: Georgetown College, founded in 1789 by Charles Carroll as an early Catholic institution, is chartered as a university by Congress. Religion: The Boston Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor is founded in Boston to promote Sunday school education. Transportation: The venerable Connestoga Wagon, in service for over half a century and subject to continual refinements, remains the preferred vehicle of

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choice for long trips from the East to regions of the Mid-West. These stout “prairie schooners” are drawn by teams of four to six horses and can carry several tons of cargo in addition to people.

January 1 Military: At New Orleans, British forces under General Sir Edward Pakenham begin probing American defenses under General Andrew Jackson. They are heavily repulsed by accurate artillery fire and then withdraw.

January 5 Politics: The Hartford Convention, meeting at Hartford, Connecticut, approves various states’ rights proposals, then elects to disband. However, the strident Federalist antiwar stance meets with public derision and leads to the eventual demise of that party.

January 8 Military: The Battle of New Orleans unfolds when British forces under General Sir Edward Pakenham attack the entrenched American position under General Andrew Jackson and are bloodily repulsed. Pakenham is killed and 2,000 of his men become casualties in a few minutes while Jackson incredibly suffers only 13 killed, 39 wounded, and 19 missing. This is the largest battle of the War of 1812, although actually transpiring two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent has been signed. The British are allowed to withdraw through the swamps unmolested.

January 13–15 Naval: The 44-gun American frigate USS President under Captain Stephen Decatur is accosted by a British squadron 50 miles off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Previously, Decatur’s ship had been damaged after a storm at sea repeatedly battered it against a sandbar. He nonetheless manages to defeat and damage the HMS Endymion before finally succumbing to three additional warships. Decatur’s losses are 24 dead and 56 wounded; the British sustain 25 casualties.

January 20 Business: President James Madison vetoes a congressional bill intended to recharter the Bank of the United States. He does so less out of ideological concerns than undercapitalization and inadequate powers accorded that institution.

February 6 Transportation: Inventor John Stevens of New Jersey receives the first railroad charter in America, intending to cover the route from Trenton to New Brunswick. However, the project never materializes.

February 7 Naval: A three-man board of naval commissioners is created by Congress to assist the secretary of the Navy in administering his charge.

February 11 Diplomacy: Word of the Treaty of Ghent, signed the previous Christmas eve, finally reaches the United States and causes wild outbursts of celebration.

February 17 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Ghent is formally ratified by the Senate, leaving President James Madison to declare that the War of 1812 is over.

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February 20 Naval: Unaware of peace, the 44-gun American frigate USS Constitution under Captain Charles Stewart engages and artfully defeats and captures the British warships HMS Cyane and Levant off Portugal. American losses are three dead and 12 wounded while the British lose 19 killed and 42 wounded.

February 27 Naval: As part of peacetime entrenchment, Congress orders the U.S. Navy’s gunboat flotilla sold off while all warships on the Great Lakes are docked and placed in storage.

March 3 Business: Congress adopts a policy of trade reciprocity with all nations. Military: President James Madison had previously requested a peacetime establishment of 20,000 men, but Congress only approves a new force half that size, 10,000, under two major generals and four brigadier generals. Still, this is twice the authorized manpower of Thomas Jefferson’s day and signals increased political acceptance of an army. Politics: Congress, angered by depredations against American commerce by the Dey of Algiers, authorizes the use of naval force against that kingdom. Apparently the Dey felt he had not been receiving adequate levels of tribute from the United States and resumed seizing ships and crews.

March 23 Naval: The American sloop USS Hornet under Captain Thomas Biddle attacks and captures the British sloop HMS Penguin off the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Word of peace had yet to reach the combatants. American losses are one dead and one injured to 10 British killed and 28 wounded.

May Publishing: The first issue of the North American Review is published in Boston. It has been founded by William Tudor, Edward T. Channing, and Richard Henry Dana and is intended to raise the scholarly and literary level of American periodicals.

May 10 Naval: Commodore Stephen Decatur assumes control of a 10-ship armada tasked with ending piratical raids by the rulers of Algiers. His mission is to establish peace in the Mediterranean with force, if need be.

June 17 Naval: The American squadron of Commodore Stephen Decatur captures the 44-gun Algerian frigate Mashouda, killing Admiral Hammida in the process.

June 19 Naval: The 22-gun Algerian brig Estido falls prey to the American Mediterranean squadron under Commodore Stephen Decatur.

June 30 Diplomacy: The Dey of Algiers, awed by the aggressive action of Commodore Stephen Decatur, signs an agreement which ends depredations at sea, releases all hostages without ransom, and ceases all tribute payments. Naval: The last action of the War of 1812 unfolds when the 18-gun sloop USS Peacock under Master Commandant Lewis Warrington engages and defeats the 14-gun HMS Nautilus in the Straits of Sunda. However, once Warrington is

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informed that hostilities had ceased he releases the Nautilus; British losses are six killed and eight injured.

July Indian: The United States and Native American tribes sign the Treaty of Portage des Sioux, which finally removes all Indian resistance to American settlement of lands below Lake Michigan. This is the price the Indians pay for siding with Great Britain in the War of 1812.

July 3 Business: The United States and Great Britain sign a commercial convention eliminating discriminatory duties and also allows Americans to trade in the British East Indies.

July 4 Architecture: Construction begins on the mammoth Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., when the first cornerstone is laid. The structure has been designed by Robert Mills and reflects the Greek revival movement then prevalent in American architecture.

July 26 Diplomacy: The Mediterranean Squadron of Commodore Stephen Decatur drops anchor at Tunis Harbor, where he forces the leaders to sign an agreement to stop harassment of American commerce at sea. Tunis is also forced to pay restitution for allowing the British to seize American vessels in its waters during the War of 1812.

August 5 Diplomacy: Commodore Stephen Decatur and his Mediterranean Squadron make a port call at Tripoli and make the leadership sign a treaty which stops attacks on American shipping, frees all hostages without ransom, and ends all tribute payments. Tripoli also pays compensation for vessels it allowed Great Britain to seize in its waters during the War of 1812.

December 4 Politics: The 14th Congress assembles with the Democratic-Republicans still in firm control of both the House and Senate. Ironically, while still championing agrarian and states’ rights positions, the party of Jefferson has co-opted Federalist positions of protective tariffs, national roads, and a national bank. The Federalists, for their part, have begun to embrace heretofore heretical positions such as states’ rights and protection of civil liberties.

December 5 Politics: In his address to Congress, President James Madison reiterates the call for a national public works program and urges that the Bank of the United States be rechartered, the military be strengthened, and a national university be founded. In many respects the Democratic-Republicans have co-opted many programs previously championed by their Federalist opposition.

1816 Politics: The antiwar sermons of Reverend William Ellery Channing inspire the founding of the Peace Society of Massachusetts. Curiously, Channing was not against waging war in self-defense or for defending a moral principle.

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Chronology of American History Publishing: The Vocabulary is published by John Pickering; this is a compilation of 500 words unique to America, including Native Americans terms in use, and is part of the ongoing effort to nationalize the English language. However, American English still remains closely tied to the mother tongue. Religion: The American Bible Society arises in New York City, whose sole purpose is to increase the distribution of holy scripture. It ultimately prints and distributes the Bible in more than 1,000 languages, worldwide. Sports: Jacob Hyer becomes America’s first boxing champion by defeating Tom Beasley in a bare-knuckles brawl moderated by London Prize Ring Rules.

January 1 General: The national debt is calculated at $127,335,000, roughly $15 per citizen. Politics: Columbus replaces Chillicothe as the capital of Ohio.

January 11 Business: Democratic-Republican leaders Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, dropping their prior constitutional opposition to a Bank of the United States, call for a 20-year reconstitution with a $50 million capitalization. They also press the case for a strong and uniform national currency to assist in the postwar economic chaos and depression following the War of 1812. They are roundly opposed by Daniel Webster, who wishes congressional laws against banknotes issued by suspended state banks.

January 15 Settlement: The first American to reach California is Thomas Doak, who settles near Santa Barbara.

March 14 Business: Congress approves the Second Bank of the United States with a capitalization of $35 million, including $7 million contributed by the government. The bank is chartered for a period of 20 years, and President James Madison will select five of the 25 directors. The central office is designated for Philadelphia, and William Jones, former secretary of the Navy, is appointed the first president. Significantly, this is the first debate to feature Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster as active participants.

March 16 Politics: The Democratic-Republican congressional caucus chooses James Monroe to be its presidential candidate, having defeated Georgia senator William C. Crawford by a vote of 65 to 54. New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins is chosen for the vice presidency.

March 20 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, a case originating in a Virginian appellate court. They rule that the Supreme Court is granted the ability to review state court decisions based upon the 1789 Judiciary Act.

April 10 Business: Congress charters the second Bank of the United States with a lease of 20 years; it begins with a capitalization of $35 million, mostly to be sold in $100 shares to stockholders.

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April 11 Religion: The African Methodist Church is created in Philadelphia under the leadership of Reverend Richard Allen, its first bishop. This is the first independent black church in America.

April 27 Business: The Tariff Act of 1816 is passed by Congress, with the urging of Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, to extend protective duties previously imposed during the War of 1812. This legislation is aimed primarily at the nascent textile and iron manufacturing sector and imposes rates of between 15 and 30 percent on foreign imports of cotton, textiles, leather, wool, and pig iron among others. It is also the first duty levied for protection purposes, not simply to raise revenue.

April 29 Naval: Congress passes a naval appropriations bill that authorizes construction of nine 84-gun ships of the line, the first in American naval history, along with 12 44-gun frigates. From a design standpoint, the U.S. Navy has finally reached parity in firepower with Royal Navy warships.

May 10 Military: Soldiers construct Fort Howard at Green Bay, Illinois (Wisconsin) Territory; in time it functions as a major center of the fur trade.

May 20 Politics: The inhabitants of Maine vote to cede from Massachusetts and form their own state, but they are derided by the legislature as “childish and irresponsible.”

June Politics: A constitutional convention meets at Corydon, Indiana Territory, for the purpose of gaining statehood.

June 11 Technology: The Gas Light Company of Baltimore, Maryland, is contracted to light streets through the use of coal gas, becoming the first American city so illuminated.

June 16 Science: A major disruption in the usual weather pattern occurs when 10 inches of snow drops in Vermont, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts. This aberration is attributed to volcanic activity in Indonesia and severely disrupts the agricultural season in New England.

June 22 Societal: DeWitt Clinton becomes grand master of the newly created Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in New York City.

July 9 Indian: The Cherokee reach an agreement with the U.S. government to cede all of their land in northern Alabama.

July 27 Military: American troops and gunboats attack Fort Apalachicola in Spanish East Florida that is garrisoned by fugitive slaves and hostile Seminole Indians. A cannon shot ignites their powder supply, killing 270 defenders.

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August Naval: Commodore Stephen Decatur toasts the United States at a banquet held in his honor by thundering, “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!”

September 14 Indian: The Chickasaws cede all their land south of Tennessee to the United States.

October 22 Politics: Secretary of the Trea�sury Albert Gallatin is appointed minister to France by President James Madison; he is replaced by the current secretary of war, William C. Crawford.

December 4 Politics: Â�DemoÂ�cratic-­Republican James Monroe is elected president over Fed-­ eralist Rufus King by 183 electoral votes to 34, while former New York governor Daniel Tompkins becomes vice president. Federalist poÂ�litiÂ�cal fortunes continue to wane nationally, and they only retain sizable influence in Delaware, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

December 11 Politics: Indiana gains admittance as the 19th state with its new capital at Cory-­ don; slavery is outlawed.

December 13 Business: The Provident Institution for Savings, the first savings bank in Amer-­ ica, opens for business in Boston.

December 20 Business: Congressman John C. Calhoun proposes that $1.5 million paid to the U.S. government by the Bank of the United States be utilized as a public works fund for internal improvements. President James Madison, however, opposes such spending on constitutional grounds.

December 28 Slavery: The American Colonial Society is founded in Washington, D.C., by Presbyterian minister Robert Finley. Its goal is to encourage free African Ameri-­ cans to resettle back in Africa; a direct result of their efforts leads to founding the African republic of Liberia.

1817 Art: After studying in London under Benjamin West, John Trumbull establishes himself as America’s foremost paintÂ�er of historical scenes. His canvas Signing of the Declaration of InÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence presently adorns the U.S. Capitol. Medical: The nation’s first insane asylum is established at Frankfort, Pennsylvania. Religion: The American Tract Society begins delivering religious literature nationally principally through Methodist circuit riders. Technology: Thomas Gilpon manufactures the first Â�machine-­made paper near Wilmington, Delaware.

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Trumbull, John

(1756–1843)

Painter John Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Con-­ necticut, son of a future governor of that state. As a child he demonstrated a con-­ siderable knack for art and briefly studied under John Singleton Copley before attend-­ ing Harvard College. Trumbull graduated in 1773 and worked as a surveyor in western Connecticut, where his ability to draw accu-­ rate maps assisted land claims. However, when the Revolutionary War broke out two years later he enlisted in the Continental Army as an officer, ultimately serving as an aide to generals George Washington and Horatio Gates. Trumbull had risen to a colo-­ nel at the age of 21 by the time he mustered out in 1777, but he subsequently served as a volunteer in the Rhode Island campaign of 1778. That year he also resumed his artistic studies in Boston, and in 1780 Trumbull obtained special permission to visit London to study under noted American expatriate artist Benjamin West. However, once there, Trumbull was seized and charged with trea-­ son, probably in retaliation for the hanging of British Major John André, and suffered imprisonment. He was finally released through the agency of Edmund Burke and sailed to the Netherlands. There he com-­ pleted the first full-­length study of General George Washington, which was engraved and distributed throughout Europe. In 1783 Trumbull returned to the United States but visited London the following year to study with West, who specialized in large his-­ torical depictions. Trumbull thus was ena-­ bled to make his own detailed works like

The Battle of Bunker Hill and The Death of General Montgomery, which established him as a significant painter of American historical events. Trumbull returned to America in 1789, whereupon Thomas Jefferson sought to make him a personal secretary. Trumbull declined and the two men had a serious falling-­out that was never reconciled. He then spent several years painting historical art and individual portraits which, while well-­rendered, failed to sell in the post-­ war depression. Again seeking employment, Trumbull returned to London to work as secretary to Minister John Jay while painting on the side. He remained there until 1804 and then came home, painted for several years waiting for President Jefferson to offer him a lucrative commission which never came, and returned to London in 1808. Trumbull supported himself with portraiture for nearly a decade before coming home in 1816 and establishing a studio in New York. The following year Congress com-­ missioned him to do a series of large-­scale historical paintings for the new rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. He then rendered the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and others which remain on permanent display. His fame now assured, Trumbull returned to New York in 1817, where he founded the American Academy of Fine Arts and served as its president until 1835. He died in New York on November 10, 1843, a noted national artist.

January 7 Business: The reconstituted Bank of the United States opens its doors for busi-­ ness in Philadelphia with William Jones as president. Ultimately it possesses 25 offices to augment its operations. However, Jones, its first president, proves him-­ self to be less than a competent appointment.

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Chronology of American History

February 8 Politics: Congress votes to appropriate $1.5 million from the Bank of the United States to begin public works programs. However, President James Madison opposes the move on constitutional grounds.

February 18 Transportation: Congress approves John C. Calhoun’s suggestion to spend the $1.5 million bonus from the Bank of the United States for federally financed public works projects, especially roads and canals. Such emphasis on “internal improvements” are expected to boost the national economy. As a rule New England Federalists oppose the move, fearing it would accelerate the trend toward Western expansion and diminish the commercial importance of their region.

March 1 Politics: The Mississippi Territory is authorized by Congress to hold a constitutional convention as a preliminary to applying for statehood.

March 3 Politics: President James Madison vetoes the so-called Bonus Bill to expand public works projects; he does so out of a belief that the Constitution does not permit the Federal government to be engaged in public works without a constitutional amendment. This is his last official act in office. Settlement: The Alabama Territory is organized from the eastern portion of the Mississippi Territory, with its capital at Fort St. Stephens (Mobile). Transportation: Henry M. Shreve’s steamboat Washington begins a regularly scheduled commercial route up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers between Louisville, Kentucky, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

March 4 Politics: James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth president while Daniel D. Tompkins becomes vice president. Monroe is the last member of the so-called Virginia Dynasty, which has dominated national politics since 1801. However, in this period the Democratic-Republican Party has co-opted many principles of their Federalist opponents, hence Monroe, in his address, declares his support for adequate military and naval forces and the protection of American manufacturing.

March 15 Transportation: The New York legislature, with enthusiastic support from Governor DeWitt Clinton, votes to construct the landmark Erie Canal that reaches from the Hudson River in Albany all the way to Buffalo in the west. This $7 million investment is expected to produce a windfall of profit by opening up Western markets to the state and negate Canadian trade advantages in the Great Lakes region.

March 24 Education: Allegheny College is chartered at Meadville, Pennsylvania.

April 7 Societal: A large riot by African-American slaves in St. Mary’s Country, Maryland, injures several white passersby until rioters are suppressed by police and militia.

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Monroe, James

(1758–1831)

President James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April 28, 1758, part of the minor gentry. He attended William and Mary College for two years but left to join the Continental Army as a junior officer to fight in the Revolutionary War. He distin-­ guished himself in several sharp battles, was wounded at the Battle of Princeton in 1777, and returned to college to study law under Governor Thomas Jefferson. Monroe then entered politics in 1782 by winning a seat in the state legislature and then served in Congress from 1783 to 1786. The following year he attended the Virginia constitutional convention to oppose adoption of the new government, and in 1788 he was defeated by James Madison for a seat in the new Con-­ gress. In 1790 he was tapped to serve out a term in the U.S. Senate as an anti-­Federalist, but President George Washington neverthe-­ less appointed him minister to France in 1794. His tenure there proved unsuccess-­ ful so he came home to successfully run as governor of Virginia in 1799. Four years later President Thomas Jefferson appointed him minister to France to assist Robert R. Livingston in negotiations that secured the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. He ran for the presidency as a Democratic-­Republican in 1808, lost again to Madison, then was asked to serve as his secretary of state. Monroe held this position for eight years without much distinction, but in the fall of 1814 he replaced the disgraced Secretary of War John Armstrong and performed capably. The Federalist opposition having destroyed themselves by opposing the War of 1812, Monroe had little trouble being elected the fifth president in 1816. As chief executive, Monroe adopted many of the Federalist positions he had previously opposed, like a national bank

and a strong military. He also displayed an uncanny knack for assembling a brilliant circle of politicians in his cabinet, including John C. Calhoun and John Quincy Adams, who remained with him throughout his two terms. Adams was particularly efficient as secretary of state, and in 1819 he arranged for the peaceful acquisition of Florida from Spain. Monroe also enjoyed the luxury of inheriting a nation at peace and basking in the afterglow of newfound nationalism. In fact his eight-­year tenure in office was popularly hailed as the “Era of Good Feel-­ ings.” However, he faced serious challenges in regard to the expansion of slavery and signed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 while doubting its constitutionality. That year Monroe was easily reelected president with all but one electoral vote. In 1823 he (continues)

President James Monroe (Library of Congress)

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(continued) also accepted Secretary of State Adams’s suggestion that the United States formally preclude future Europe an colonization in the Western hemisphere, a policy known as the Monroe Doctrine. Monroe left the White House in 1825 and returned to his native state, where he served as a regent

of the University of Virginia. In 1829 he also served as presiding officer at the Virginia constitutional convention. Monroe, a taciturn individual who wore his hair queued as in the days of the Revolutionary War, died in New York on July 4, 1831.

April 15 Educational: Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was trained at the Paris Institute, founds The American Asylum, the first free public school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut. He is assisted there by Laurett Clerc, who is himself deaf, and the two begin devising a comprehensive sign language for English.

April 28–29 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Richard Rush and British minister Charles Bagot sign the Rush-Bagot Agreement, which limits both sides to possessing eight warships and begins the process of demilitarizing the Great Lakes region. In this manner a very expensive naval arms race is avoided and eventually leads to the world’s longest undefended border.

May Politics: President James Monroe begins a celebrated tour of the Northeast and Middle West; his friendly reception in previously Federalist territory indicates that the “era of Good Feeling” is in full play.

July 4 Transportation: Governor DeWitt Clinton breaks ground for the new Erie Canal at Rome, New York; this massive project is intended to link the Hudson River Valley with the Great Lakes, thereby bringing the Great Lakes trade directly to New York City.

July 12 Journalism: The Boston Columbian Sentinel first proclaims President James Monroe’s administration “The Era of Good Feelings,” a euphemism for the surge of nationalism experienced after the War of 1812. As proof, it points to the popular reception of President Monroe as he toured New England and the Northwest that summer. However, as the decade plays out, the American polity is increasingly polarized by sectional differences.

August 29 Slavery: Abolitionist Charles Osborne begins publication of the Philanthropist, unique in demanding the immediate emancipation of all African-American slaves.

September Literature: William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis” appears in the North American Review and is widely praised by British critics. It pioneered serious reflection on nature and death, spawning an entirely new school of American poetry.

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October 8 Military: Congressman John C. Calhoun is appointed secretary of war; although not considered a prestigious appointment, especially considering the disarray the military establishment finds itself in, Calhoun functions as one of the most effective and efficient secretaries in American history. He performs competently while putting U.S. Army administration back on an even keel.

November 20 Military: The First Seminole War commences as Indian warriors, upset over the loss of life at the destruction of Fort Apalachicola in 1816, begin raiding American settlements along the south Georgia border. Many Americans believe that Spanish authorities have also been inciting the Indians’ hostility.

November 30 Military: Vengeful Seminoles ambush a boatload of U.S. Army troops on the Apalachicola River, Florida, killing 36 soldiers, six women, and four children.

December 1 Politics: The 15th Congress assembles with the Democratic-Republicans firmly controlling both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

December 2 Politics: President James Monroe, in his annual address to Congress, differs from his predecessor by supporting the notion that the U.S. Constitution does, in fact, grant authority to fund public works projects. He goes to great length to assure their constitutionality.

December 10 Politics: Mississippi enters the union as the 20th state; slavery is declared legal.

December 26 Military: General Andrew Jackson supercedes General Edmund P. Gaines as commander of American forces combating hostile Seminoles in northern Florida. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun authorizes him to use whatever force he deems necessary to bring the contest to a speedy conclusion.

1818 Arts: Noted artist and mezzotint engraver Bass Otis renders the first known lithograph, etched on stone, for publication in religious magazines. Painter Washington Allston, having studied in London with Benjamin West, returns to the United States and settles at Boston. Business: Englishman Peter Duran introduces the tin can to the United States as a practical method of preserving food. Military: General Andrew Jackson writes President James Monroe through Tennessee Congressman John Rhea that he is able to capture all of Spanish Florida in only two months if granted permission. When Monroe fails to respond to the missive, Jackson interprets his silence as approval to proceed. Technology: The West Point Foundry, a small forge capable of producing cannonballs and other military ordinance, opens at Cold Spring, New York. By the time of the Civil War it will manufacture more than 1.6 million shells and 3,000 artillery pieces.

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January Transportation: The Black Ball Line, consisting of four steamships, commences regularly scheduled service between New York City and Liverpool, England.

January 1 General: The former executive mansion, burned by the British in August 1814 and rebuilt, formally reopens with a new name: the White House. Publishing: Noted scientist Benjamin Silliman becomes publisher and editor of the American Journal of Science and Arts at New Haven, Connecticut, the first such publication in the United States.

January 5 Transportation: The vessel James Monroe departs New York for Liverpool, England, initiating the Black Ball Line’s transatlantic service.

January 6 Military: General Andrew Jackson, anticipating favorable orders, attacks Seminole Indians in Spanish-held Florida. Previously he had written to President James Monroe that he could secure the area within two months, then proceeds without proper authorization.

January 8 Politics: The first petitions calling for Missouri statehood begin arriving at Congress.

March 18 Politics: The Pension Act is passed by Congress, which provides lifetime pensions for surviving veterans of the Revolutionary War.

March 25 Diplomacy: Henry Clay harangues members of Congress to recognize the emerging revolutionary governments of South America; his resolution for the same is defeated as the government, already embroiled with Spain in a dispute over Florida, does not seek to confuse matters further.

April 4 General: Congress limits the number of red and white stripes added to the American flag at 13; henceforth new states will be signified by additional stars.

April 7 Military: General Andrew Jackson’s first foray against the Seminole Indians at St. Marks, Florida, results in the capture of two English traders, Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister. Jackson has both men tried for arming and inciting the Seminole toward violence.

April 16 Diplomacy: The Rush-Bagot Agreement for demilitarizing the AmericanCanadian border is passed by the Senate.

April 29 Military: British traders Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister are executed by General Andrew Jackson at St. Marks, Florida, for agitating the Seminole into violence against the United States. His harsh treatment triggers a public

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outcry from Great Britain but, in light of his popularity at home, no action is taken to censure him.

May 24 Military: American forces under General Andrew Jackson seize the Spanishheld town of Pensacola, effectively ending the First Seminole War.

May 30 Transportation: Scheduled packet ship service between New York City and Liverpool, England, commences; recent improvements in hull design and other refinements reduce the time spent during an Atlantic transit to 33 days.

June 20 Politics: Connecticut becomes the first state to liberalize its voting franchise by doing away with strict property qualifications.

July 4 Societal: A new U.S. flag is designed with 20 stars, five more than the last revision, although the number of stripes remains fixed at 13.

August 19 Naval: Captain James Biddle of the sloop USS Ontario arrives at Cape Disappointment on the Columbia River and claims the Oregon Territory for the United States.

August 23 Transportation: The 338-ton steamboat Walk in the Water departs Buffalo, New York, and heads for Detroit, Michigan, with 29 passengers. This is the first such vessel on the Great Lakes to afford regularly scheduled service.

September 20 Business: Seth Boyden manufactures the first patent leather in Newark, New Jersey, for use in the production of expensive furniture.

October Military: U.S. troops found Cantonment Martin on the Isle du Vache, Kansas Territory, the first military post in that region.

October 19 Indian: The Chickasaw Indians sign a treaty with the United States whereby they cede all their holdings between the Mississippi River and northern parts of the Tennessee River, a move which opens western Kentucky up to new settlement. In return they receive $300,000 over 15 years.

October 20 Diplomacy: American minister to England Richard Rush and minister to France Albert Gallatin appear in London to conclude the Convention of 1818 with Great Britain. This documents fixes the boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th Parallel as far west as the continental divide, so the region of Oregon remains open to traders and shipping from both nations for a decade. Moreover, the United States retains fishing rights off Labrador and Newfoundland.

November 28 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Quincy Adams explains to the government of Spain that General Andrew Jackson’s recent invasion of Florida was in response to Indian raids and runaway slaves. Moreover, he suggests that if the

1818

726  Chronology of American History spanish are incapable of properly administering the territory they should sell it to the United States.

December 3 Politics: Illinois enters the �union as the 21st state with its capital at Kaskaskia; slavery is prohibited.

1819 Architecture: Engineer Benjamin H. Latrobe designs the building to be used as the second Bank of the United States and is the latest example of the Greek revival in American architecture. Latrobe draws his inspiration directly from the Parthenon by incorporating a Doric portico (entrance). Arts: Chester Harding paints Daniel Boone at his home in St. Charles County, Missouri; this is the only known portrait from life. Business: Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett begin one of the earliest food can-­ ning enterprises by canning fish products in New York City. Literature: Washington Irving publishes his Sketchbook, which proves a best seller and among the most significant American books of the century. This book seals his reputation as the foremost American writer of his day. Military: Former army officer and West Point commandant Alden Partridge estab-­ lishes Norwich University at Northfield, Vermont, as the first private military college in the country. Partridge, fearing that an elite officer corps constituted a danger to democracy, wishes to impart military skill across a broad cross section of American society. This is the origin of Reserve Officer Candidate Training (ROTC).

January Business: The American economy endures its first financial panic owing to con-­ gressional insistence on curtailing credit and requiring payments in hard cur-­ rency. Consequently, throughout the “panic of 1819,” a number of state banks will collapse with numerous foreclosures on large tracts of western real estate.

January 12 Politics: Henry Clay’s report on events in Florida, whereby he condemns General Andrew Jackson’s conduct in the First Seminole War, fails to pass in Congress.

January 26 Politics: The Arkansas Territory is created by Congress by separating it from the Missouri Territory. An attempt to forbid slavery in the region by New York Congressman John W. Taylor is defeated.

February 2 Law: The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall decides the case Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, which reaffirms that a private cor-­ porate charter is a contract and cannot be voided or revised by a state. This is a Federalist, Â�pro-­business decision that stimulates the growth of corporations, free of state control.

February 8 Politics: The �House of Representatives repudiates Speaker Henry Clay and rejects his motion to censure General Andrew Jackson for his role in the First Seminole War on a vote of 107 to 63.

1819

Chronology

Irving, Washington

727

(1783–1859)

Author Washington Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783, the son of a wealthy merchant. Though raised in an affluent atmosphere, he proved uninspired as a student before settling upon a law career. Irving subsequently abandoned this to embark on a six-year tour of Europe after which he began writing genteel satirical pieces for his brother’s newspaper, Morning Chronicle. He then continued experimenting as a writer and contributed many popular and erudite essays to the publication Salmagundi (1808) in concert with James Kirke Paulding. Success here finally prompted Irving to try a book-length work, and in 1809 he published A History of New York under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker. This pretentious parody of New York history was roundly praised for its wit and insights and led to Irving’s appointment as editor of the Analectic Magazine, 1813–14. Following a brief stint in the militia during the War of 1812, Irving then ventured to England in 1815 to confer with noted writer Sir Walter Scott and toured the continent until 1832. There he took various notes of his observations abroad, which were collected into a volume, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, published in London in 1820. This proved to be Irving’s most celebrated endeavor, was widely praised on both sides of the Atlantic, and contains the famous short stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Its success brought Irving recognition as America’s first man of letters, as did a subsequent

volume, Bracebridge Sketch Book (1822). The significance of his work at this juncture was in defining the short story format with an engaging dialogue and interweaving of American folklore into the central theme. In 1826 Irving’s career took a different turn altogether when he gained appointment as U.S. Minister to Spain. There he switched over to writing historical biographies of Christopher Columbus and various books concerning Spanish folklore and his travels within that peninsula. He then came home in 1832 and settled at Tarrytown, New York, before conducting several forays to the western frontier in search of new material. The result was A Tour on the Prairies (1835) and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837) which, while competently executed, lacked the sparkle of earlier works. Irving returned to Spain in 1842 and remained there four more years as minister, where his writing principally revolved around biographies. His most significant effort along these lines was a five-volume set entitled George Washington (1855–59), the first serious biography of the noted leader in five decades. Irving died at Tarrytown on November 28, 1859. Few of his later works enjoyed the celebrity of earlier efforts, but these were unique enough to secure his reputation as the first American writer to garner praise from his English counterparts. In a strictly literary sense, Irving helped pioneer and refine the short descriptive story for the generation of writers following in his wake.

February 13 Politics: The Missouri Bill is introduced into Congress, allowing that territory to apply for statehood. Attempts to outlaw slavery in the region by New York Congressman James Tallmadge are passed in the House but subsequently defeated in the Senate. The reason for this is that Missouri will upset the balance between slave and free states, and constitutes the first, real national divide over the issue.

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February 17 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Sturges v. Crowninshield, which declares that state bankruptcy laws passed after the signing of a contract are in violation of the contract clause of the Constitution.

February 18 Slavery: Representative John W. Taylor of New York introduces an amendment to the House of Representatives which would bar the importation of slaves to Arkansas once it is admitted as a state; the move is rejected.

February 22 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and Spanish minister Luis de Onís conclude the Adams-Onís Treaty in Washington, D.C., whereby Spain cedes East Florida to the United States in return for $2 million. The Americans also renounce any claims to the region of Texas and pledge to pay $5 million in debt owed to Spain by various citizens while a firm boundary is established between American and Spanish territories along the Sabine River.

February 28 Education: Former president Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, and he also designs the first buildings constructed there.

March 2 Immigration: Congress instructs ships’ captains to provide descriptive lists of passengers brought to the United States. This is the first attempt to control and regulate immigration. Settlement: The Arkansas Territory is organized from the Missouri Territory with its capital at Arkansas Post.

March 3 Slavery: Congress passes a law providing a $50 reward per slave for anyone reporting the illegal importation of Africans into the United States. Any such slaves apprehended are to be promptly returned to Africa.

March 6 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall decides the seminal case of McCulloch v. Maryland, ruling that it is patently unconstitutional for any state to impose a tax on an agency of the United States government. This thwarts an attempt by Maryland to tax a branch of the Bank of the United States and also reaffirms the Federalist-generated “implied powers” clause of the Constitution. Religion: In his noted sermon “Unitarian Christianity,” Liberal Protestant preacher William Ellery Channing delineates the basic theological points of Unitarianism—which underscores the schism with more conservative Protestant faiths.

April 2 Publishing: John Stuart Skinner edits and publishes the American Farmer, the first successful agricultural journal in the United States, which remains in print until 1897.

April 23 Journalism: The Missouri Intelligencer takes root at Franklin, Missouri; this is the first newspaper published west of St. Louis.

1819

Chronology

Channing, William Ellery

729

(1780–1842)

theologian William Ellery Channing was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on April 7, 1780, the scion of a prominent New England family. He graduated from Harvard College in 1798 and then served as a household tutor in Virginia for several months. His firsthand experiences with slavery seared him and thereafter he was firmly against continuation of that institution. He did, however, respect slave owners and always sought to engage them, not condemn them. Channing returned to Harvard in 1802 to study theology and in June 1803 he became minister of the Federal Street Congregationalist Church in Boston, a position he held for the rest of his life. At the onset of his career, Channing was regarded as a powerful, persuasive speaker, but a relatively minor religious thinker. At this time the prevailing strains of New England theology fell into two distinct camps. The first was a conservative and very strict Calvinist persuasion that promulgated a jealous God, human depravity, and the absence of free will. The second school of thought, the anti-Calvinists, advocated a merciful deity, potential redemption of all mankind, and absolute free will. Channing, at the inception of his career, leaned toward the more liberal end of the argument and espoused broadly liberal sympathies and a profound understanding of human nature and its frailties. It was not until 1815, however, when the struggle between Calvinists and anti-Calvinists spilled heatedly into the public arena, that he was enabled to refine his religious stance.

The turning point for Channing’s career happened in Baltimore in 1819, at the ordination of Jared Sparks. There he delivered his landmark oration, “Unitarian Christianity,” which crystallized the liberal movement and served as a template for the new Unitarian creed. In 1820 he helped arrange a conference of Unitarian ministers, which led directly to the founding of the American Unitarian Association in 1825. To this end Channing also began editing and publishing the newsletter Christian Disciple, which proffered Unitarianism as a rational system of belief, one catering to human intellect. In sum, this was a unique blend of traditional Christian mysticism with renewed emphasis on and respect for human reasoning. The emerging New England intelligentsia found Channing’s message appealing and counted among its adherents such local luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Outside of theological matters, Channing also paid considerable attention to the state of American literature, commented on it widely in various erudite journals, and entreated prospective writers to establish a national school of writing to distinguish itself from that of much-copied England. Toward the end of his life Channing also increasingly dabbled in politics, being at the forefront of both the abolition and temperance movements, although he always sought national harmony through innate goodness. Channing died in Bennington, Vermont, on October 2, 1842, the reluctant founder of a new religious movement.

April 26 Societal: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows takes root in America following establishment of Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, through the efforts of Englishman Thomas Wildey.

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May 8 Societal: Seventy-one-year-old King Kamehameha, unifier of the Hawaiian islands, dies in his palace. He is succeeded by his son Liliohilo, who is enthroned as Kamehameha II.

May 24 Transportation: The 330-ton vessel Savannah, a sailing ship partially powered by steam propulsion, departs Savannah, Georgia, and wends its way toward Liverpool, England.

June 6 Exploring: Army topographical engineer Major Stephen H. Long is commissioned by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to lead an expedition from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the region south of the Missouri River. The effort lasts two years and thoroughly examines the eastern Rocky Mountains and the area known as the “Great American Desert.”

June 19 Politics: The District of Maine successfully petitions the Massachusetts legislature for statehood.

June 20 Transportation: The steamer Savannah under Captain Moses Rogers crosses the Atlantic and completes the transit from Savannah to Liverpool in only 27 days.

July 23 Naval: Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, dies of yellow fever while on a diplomatic mission to Trinidad.

September 1 Technology: Jethro Wood receives a patent for a plow with interchangeable parts.

September 24 Indian: The United States concludes the Treaty of Saginaw with the Chippewa Indians of Michigan, gaining the land in and around Saginaw Bay.

October 22 Transportation: A steamboat makes its way from the Hudson River to Utica, New York, being the first vessel to employ that waterway.

December 8 Settlement: The Territory of Maine formally petitions Congress for statehood.

December 14 Politics: Alabama gains admittance to the union as the 22nd state with its capital at Huntsville; slavery is permitted.

1820 Literature: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes his first poem, entitled “The Battle of Lovell’s Pond,” in the Portland Gazette. Medical: Lyman Spalding publishes the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the first list of government-approved drugs. Politics: The so-called Relief Party is formed during the panic of 1819 for the assistance of debtors. Henry Clay and his followers in the Democratic-Republican

1820

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731

Party oppose it while Andrew Jackson and his supporters embrace it; their respective factions form the basis for the Whig and Democratic parties. Population: A total of 9,638,453 inhabitants is reported by the fourth U.S. Census. Religion: The general synod of Lutheran churches is established. Slavery: Quaker convert Elihu Embree begins publication of his abolitionist newspaper Emancipator at Jonesboro, Tennessee. Societal: New York and New Hampshire pioneer the first state-supported public libraries.

January 23 Politics: The Maine Bill, granting statehood to that region, passes the House of Representatives, but inasmuch as it is a free state, Maine will upset the delicate balance between free and slave states. The matter is then referred to the Senate for resolution.

January 25 Politics: The Illinois state capital is transferred from Kaskaskia to Vandalia.

February Military: The U.S. Army officially refuses to enlist African Americans.

February 6 Societal: The ship Mayflower of Liberia departs New York with 86 free African Americans on board who have elected to return to Africa. They intend to resettle at the British West African colony of Sierra Leone, a refuge for freed slaves over the past three decades.

February 17 Politics: Rather than upset the balance between slave and free states, the Senate crafts the Missouri Compromise, which allows Maine and Missouri to join the union as free and slave states respectively. An amendment proposed by Senator Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois also prohibits slavery in northwestern portions of the Louisiana Territory.

March 3 Politics: The Missouri Compromise passes both houses of Congress following protracted wrangling over the issue of slavery. Maine and Missouri thus enter the Union as free and slave states respectively, although the latter is not admitted until 1821. Because Southern states lag behind their Northern counterparts in population, therefore with fewer members in the House of Representatives, it is essential to maintain parity of slave and free numbers in the Senate. If this becomes a de facto policy to allow one slave state in the Union for every free state, the balance at present stands at 12 apiece.

March 15 Politics: Maine gains admission to the Union as the 23rd state, with its capital at Portland. The region had been administered by Massachusetts since the 1690s, but the influx of new arrivals stimulates calls for independence. The new constitution extends suffrage and educational rights to all.

March 22 Naval: Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of the War of 1812, dies in a duel with fellow officer Captain James Barron over recriminations dating back to the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair.

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Chronology of American History

March 30 Religion: King Kamehamea II of Hawaii greets a number of New England missionaries who arrive on the vessel Thadeus.

April 24 Settlement: The Public Land Act passes Congress, mandating a reduction of the minimum price per acre from $2.00 to $1.25 and a reduction in the size of minimum purchases from 160 to 80 acres. The use of credit to acquire land is also abolished.

May 15 Politics: The Tenure of Office Act passes in Congress, which limits the time in office for specific appointed offices to four years. Slavery: Congress brands any participation in the slave trade as an act of piracy, and punishments include both confiscation of the vessel and a possible death penalty.

June 6 Exploring: Major Stephen H. Long’s expedition departs Pittsburgh and makes for the Missouri River.

July 14 –15 Exploring: Major Stephen H. Long’s exploring expedition reaches the eastern Rocky Mountains (Colorado), and a team under Edwin James ascends Pike’s Peak for the first time.

July 19 Societal: At St. Louis, the new Missouri Territory constitution bars the presence of free African Americans and mulattos once statehood is achieved.

September 26 General: Daniel Boone, the iconic frontiersman of his generation, dies in St. Charles County, Missouri, aged 85 years.

November 18 Science: The Connecticut sloop Hero under Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer, while on a seal-hunting expedition south of Cape Horn, South America, sights the Antarctic landmass for the first time.

November 27 Arts: Actor Edwin Forrest debuts on stage for the first time at the age of 15; though critics seem singularly underwhelmed by his performance, he is destined to emerge as one of the nation’s first stage idols.

December 6 Politics: James Monroe easily sails to victory in his bid for reelection as president, swamping John Quincy Adams by 231 electoral votes to 1; Daniel D. Tompkins of New York also remains as vice president with 218 votes.

December 26 Settlement: Moses Austin asks Spanish authorities for permission to settle 300 American families in Texas.

1821 Arts: The African Company, consisting solely of African-American actors, begins performing the classics in New York City.

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Literature: James Fenimore Cooper publishes his novel The Spy, which establishes him as a romantic writer specializing in uniquely American themes. It undergoes three printings in its first year. Publishing: The Saturday Evening Post is founded in New York City.

Cooper, James Fenimore

(1789–1851)

Author James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, on September 15, 1789, the son of a successful landowner and developer. He matured at Cooperstown, New York, and in 1802 attended Yale College but three years later was expelled for raucous behavior. Cooper then tried his hand as a seaman, serving with the merchant marine in 1806 and then joining the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1808. He left the service in 1811 to marry a wealthy landowner’s daughter and settled at Cooperstown to live the life of a country gentleman. It was not until 1820 that Cooper evinced any interest in writing, principally through his wife’s dare to compose something better than the British novels of the day. His first attempt, Precaution, basically copied most English literary conventions, but his subsequent effort, The Spy (1821), pioneered a new character, the so-called Cooper Hero, who was invariably a solitary and brave frontier figure. Having found a ready market for his American-oriented novels, Cooper proceeded to compose the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring the archetypical character Natty Bumpo, who was invariably struggling to maintain his love of nature, closeness to Native Americans, and independence in a world of encroaching civilization. In this respect his most famous novel, The Last of the Mohicans (1826), set new standards for establishing the literary connection between Americans and their wilderness heritage. Cooper was the first writer to view nature as a gift from God and therefore to be enjoyed, not plundered. He invariably sought to bal-

ance the needs of society with responsibility toward the environment. Cooper’s success as the first great American novelist led him to tour Europe for many years, where he continued writing and vigorously defended the country’s nascent national literature. However, after returning to Cooperstown in 1833, he was struck by the sweeping change in attitudes brought on by Jacksonian democracy, which he characterized as anarchical. His political treatise, The American Democrat (1838), and his next two novels, Homeward Bound (1838) and Home as Found (1838), which basically reflected his own aristocratic leanings, were badly received by critics and Cooper was roundly abused in the press. He responded with several successful law suits against his detractors, many of which set prevailing standards for libel in the courts, but these only deepened public apathy toward his writings. Nonetheless, Cooper compiled a very useful History of the Navy of the United States (1839) and the final two installments of the Leatherstocking series, The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841), which were better received. Cooper died at Cooperstown on September 14, 1851, the nation’s first significant author of novels. Despite his somewhat condescending attitude toward the lower orders of society, he indelibly established a distinctly novel format, employing both American themes and American environments, which finally set it apart from British contemporaries.

1821

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Chronology of American History Slavery: The American Colonization Society establishes the nation of Liberia for the resettlement of African-American slaves and freed men. Its capital is Monrovia, named after President James Monroe. Sports: A relaxation of limitations on horse racing in New York results in the construction of tracks in Queens County and on Long Island.

January Slavery: Quaker editor Benjamin Lundy begins publication of The Genius of Universal Emancipation, an early abolitionist journal, at Mt. Pleasant, Ohio.

January 17 Settlement: The Spanish government grants lead mine operator Moses Austin a grant to settle 300 American families on a tract along the lower Brazos River, Texas. He dies soon after and his son, Stephen Austin, subsequently assumes control of the colony.

February 6 Education: Columbian College (present George Washington University) is chartered in the District of Columbia sponsored by Baptist interests.

February 19 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Adams-Onís Treaty for the acquisition of Florida.

February 24 Diplomacy: Mexico declares itself independent from Spain.

March 2 Politics: A second Missouri Compromise vote unfolds in Congress as a compromise arranged by House Speaker Henry Clay admits Missouri into the union but only if it does not discriminate against free African Americans there. The new Missouri legislature will have no choice but to adopt this condition.

March 3 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Cohens v. Virginia, which reaffirms the earlier decision in Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, affirming the Court’s right to review state court decisions.

March 5 Politics: President James Monroe and Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins are inaugurated for their second terms in office. This is also the first time that an inauguration day had been rescheduled so as not to fall on a Sunday.

April 15 Military: President James Monroe appoints General Andrew Jackson as governor of the new Florida Territory.

May Education: English Classical School, the first, free, publicly supported secondary school, opens in Boston. It is subsequently dubbed the English High School, denoting the first use of that term in an educational context.

May 31 Religion: The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the nation’s first Catholic cathedral, opens its doors to the faithful in Baltimore, Maryland. It has been under construction since 1806.

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Chronology

735

June 1 Education: The Troy Female Seminary is founded at Troy, New York, by Emma Hart Willard; it serves as America’s first institution of higher education for women. Willard is determined to advance the state of female education, a fact reflected in her curricula of mathematics, history, and philosophy.

July 17 Settlement: General Andrew Jackson, now acting in the capacity of territorial governor, formally receives control of Florida from Spanish authorities.

August 10 Politics: Missouri enters the union as the 24th state with its capital at Jefferson City; its addition brings the total number of slave states to 12, equaling the number of free states.

September 1 Business: A wagon train of goods departs Independence, Missouri, under the command of William Becknell, and threads its way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This venture is the origin of the famous Santa Fe Trail.

September 4 Diplomacy: Czar Alexander I claims the Pacific coast of North America as far south as the 51st Parallel, including the Oregon Territory already jointly claimed by the United States and Great Britain. Furthermore, the waters of Alaska, previously open to American and British whaling, are now restricted.

October 18 Music: A music book published by Lowell Mason, which includes the noted hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” eventually goes through 22 editions and 50,000 copies.

November 1 Transportation: The noted early steam vessel Walk in the Water sinks in a storm on the Great Lakes.

November 10 Politics: The so-called Albany Regency under Martin Van Buren, a radical faction of the Democratic-Republican Party, dominates a constitutional convention in New York. They manage to liberalize voter suffrage by abolishing all property qualifications; however, these provisions are not extended to free African Americans.

December Slavery: The Maryland supreme state court, in Hall v. Mullin, frees an AfricanAmerican slave whose master has bequeathed him property, since slaves, by definition, are not allowed to own property.

December 18 Education: The University of Alabama is chartered at Tuscaloosa, although classes do not commence until 1831.

1822 Business: Full-scale manufacturing of cotton cloth begins at the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, one of America’s earliest industrial centers. The largely female

1822

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Chronology of American History

Becknell, William (ca. 1790–1865) Trader William Becknell was probably born in Amherst County, Virginia, around 1790, and he settled in Saline County, Missouri, just prior to the War of 1812. From his few letters that have survived he was apparently barely literate and obtained a scanty education in his youth. In 1814 he served as an ensign in the U.S. Rangers, then resigned the following year. In September 1821, to help mitigate the effects of a national depression, Becknell and four companions took a small convoy of pack animals from Franklin, Missouri, to Colorado. They originally intended to trade with Comanche tribesmen along the southern Rocky Mountains but, after encountering a group of Mexican soldiers who informed them of Mexico’s newly won independence from Spain, they turned south to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Prior to this, Spanish authorities had rigorously arrested all American traders found trespassing on their territory, so Becknell gladly altered his destination. There he found a ready new market for American goods and resolved to return the following year with even more supplies. The new expedition departed Missouri in August 1822, becoming the first western expedition to utilize wagons. Becknell also employed a new route across the Kansas Plains and then followed the Cimarron River south into New Mexico to avoid the treacherous passes of the Colorado mountains. This route facilitated the transit of large wagons directly into Santa Fe but also imposed great hardships on men and animals owing to its arid climate and lack of water. The Americans nonetheless

profited considerably from their exertions, and this is the first recorded use of what later became known as the Santa Fe Trail. It subsequently served as a major avenue of trade and migration into the Old Southwest, and within a few years hundreds of wagons made the trek. Becknell’s pioneering efforts also stimulated the first major trade arrangements between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, the sheer volume of traffic along the trail prodded the American government to begin using routine military escortsto protect the traders from bands of hostile Indians. These constituted the first American military presence on the southern plains. In 1824 Becknell personally conducted an even larger expedition of 25 wagons and 81 men to Santa Fe, with a considerable profit of $190,000 in gold and furs. He is also known to have explored the region around the Green River Valley, Colorado, but this was to prove his final overland venture. By 1828 he contented himself with operating a small ferry service on the Missouri River, although he subsequently developed a taste for politics and was twice elected to the Missouri state legislature representing Saline County. He briefly served as a captain of Missouri militia during the Black Hawk War. In 1835 he forsook politics to command a ranger company in the Texas War for Independence against Mexico. He eventually settled at Clarksville, Texas, and died there on April 30, 1865. For his success in trading and exploring he remains known as the “Father of the Santa Fe Trail.”

workforce is strictly regulated under paternalistic conditions and receives many benefits missing in more common agrarian settings. John Jacob Astor acquires a near-total monopoly on the fur trade by buying out the few remaining companies still functioning once Congress shuts down the Indian factory system.

1822

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Literature: James Fenimore Cooper’s fourth novel, The Pilot, is an immediate hit with the public. This is also his first attempt to write a maritime novel which surpasses those of Sir Walter Scott. Music: The popular song “The Hunters of Kentucky,” a patriotic paean to the War of 1812, is first sung by Noah Ludlow at New Orleans. Publishing: Noted printer and author Mathew Carey of Philadelphia weighs in on the national economy with his Essays on Political Economy, which stresses the “American System” of high tariffs and internal improvements subsidized by the federal government. Sports: President of Yale Reverend Timothy Dwight outlaws a sports that roughly resembles modern day football; transgressors are to be fined half a dollar.

January Journalism: In a glimpse of things to come, the Nashville Gazette endorses General Andrew Jackson for president.

January 23 Politics: Le Fleur, Mississippi, is renamed Jackson and functions as the new state capital.

March 8 Diplomacy: President James Monroe addresses Congress, imploring them to extend recognition to the new Latin American republics of South America, including La Plata (Argentina), Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and the Federation of Central American States. He delays his decision until the acquisition of Florida has been secured.

March 22 Business: William Henry Ashley, a noted fur trader, places an advertisement in the St. Louis Missouri Republican for 100 volunteers to venture down the Missouri River with him and develop the fur trade; he gets more than 200 applicants. This is the genesis of the successful Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

March 30 Settlement: Congress orders the union of East and West Florida into a single entity, the Florida Territory, led by General Andrew Jackson. This superimposes a territorial organization on the region to replace Jackson’s military arrangements.

April 10 Education: Geneva College (present-day Hobart College) is chartered at Geneva, New York, uniquely offering many nonclassical courses for practical knowledge.

April 27 General: Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president, is born at Point Pleasant, Ohio.

May 4 Diplomacy: Congress appropriates $100,000 to establish diplomatic missions in several new South American nations. Transportation: President James Monroe vetoes the Cumberland Road Toll Bill, which mandates the levying of state tolls in order to finance repairs along that transportation system. The president feels such authority is not found in the Constitution and recommends passing an amendment to that effect.

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Ashley, William Henry (1778–1838) Fur trader William Henry Ashley was born around 1778 in Powhatan County, Virginia, although he migrated to the Louisiana Territory sometime before it was acquired by the United States in 1803. He settled at St. Louis and engaged in the saltpeter and gunpowder manufacturing trade essential for this frontier region. During the War of 1812 Ashley served as a lieutenant colonel of militia, which also did much to enhance his political reputation. Consequently, when Missouri joined the Union in 1820 he served as the first lieutenant governor. The postwar depression afflected his business fortunes severely, however, and Ashley was forced to seek alternative sources of income. He did so by forming the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in concert with fellow investor Andrew Henry. The fur trade was a century-old occupation on the American frontier, but Ashley proved brilliantly innovative in his business techniques. In 1821 he bought out newspaper advertisements eeking “enterprising young men,” and more than 200 responded. From these he selected 100 of the most capable hunters and trappers and occasionally accompanied them into the field on various forays. In this capacity Ashley acquired firsthand knowledge of what his “mountain men” needed in the bush to succeed. He also instituted the celebrated practice of the “rendezvous,” a yearly frontier gathering by frontiersmen to swap tales, fraternize, and conduct business matters. In this manner Ashley was able to dispatch organized teams of trappers, or “brigades,” further and longer into

the most remote corners of the far west. In 1824 a party of his men under Jedediah Strong Smith discovered the South Pass, which subsequently served as an important conduit for frontier migrations to California and Oregon. Ashley himself headed a large expedition which sailed down the Green River for the first time as far as the fort at Henry’s Fork, contributing to the knowledge of that remote region. In all his frontier endeavors Ashley proved highly successful and mounted the only real competition to the Hudson Bay Company in Canada and John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company in New York. In 1826 Ashley, now a very wealthy man, sold his interest in the company to Jedediah Smith to reenter the world of frontier politics. He ran failed campaigns for the governorship and the U.S. Senate in 1824 and 1829, but in 1836 he won a seat in the House of Representatives as a Whig. He was elected three times over continual opposition to the antibusiness Jacksonians in Missouri before declining to run a fourth time in 1837. Following another failed attempt to run for governor, in which his highly probusiness leanings militated against him in this preponderantly agrarian state, Ashley retired from public life to attend to his business ventures. He died near Boonville, Missouri, on March 26, 1838, a frontier legend and a very successful entrepreneur. His farsighted leadership completely changed the direction of the fur trade in America and assisted its subsequent expansion westward.

May 30 Slavery: A planned slave uprising by free African-American Denmark Vesey collapses when the plot is revealed to white authorities. A ship’s carpenter by profession, he had previously won his freedom by winning a lottery. Vesey and 34

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other blacks will hang in consequence, and stricter control of slaves throughout the South results.

June 6 Medical: Dr. William Beaumont makes medical history when he tends Alexis St. Martin, who is wounded by a shotgun blast and has a small hole on the side of his stomach. Beaumont uses this access to study his subject’s stomach fluids and conducts the first ever experiments and observation of the human digestive tract.

June 19 Diplomacy: The United States extends formal recognition to the republic of Gran Columbia (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama) under the leadership of noted liberation hero Simón Bolívar.

July Slavery: The South Carolina legislature adopts regulations restricting the movement of free African Americans in the state; the measure even applies to black seamen on shore leave.

July 2 Slavery: Denmark Vesey, a free African American, is hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, for his role in plotting a slave insurrection.

July 7 Business: Missouri trader William Becknell completes the 800-mile journey to New Mexico and arrives at Santa Fe with three wagons of wares.

July 20 Politics: Andrew Jackson is chosen by the Tennessee state legislature to serve as its presidential nominee for the 1824 election. This action dispenses with the previous method of choosing candidates through a congressional caucus and offers greater popular participation, an indication of the onset of Jacksonian democracy.

July 24 Diplomacy: The United States strongly protests Czar Alexander I’s claim of the Pacific northwest coast and threatens war if the Russians attempt to take control.

September 3 Societal: The Sac and Fox Indians conclude a treaty with the United States which allows them to live and hunt on land ceded to the government in Wisconsin and Illinois.

September 15 Business: The Rocky Mountain Fur Company of William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry commences business operations by employing a select group of “Mountain Men” like Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger to hunt and trap in the northern Rocky Mountains. They remain a lucrative enterprise until John Jacob Astor surpasses them with his American Fur Company.

October 4 General: Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president, is born at Delaware, Ohio.

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October 27 Transportation: The initial 280-mile section of the Erie Canal, linking Albany, New York, to Rochester, is opened.

November 18 Politics: Henry Clay is nominated to run for the presidency by the Kentucky state legislature.

November 29 Politics: Luis Antonio Arguello is appointed the first governor of the new republic of California, now a part of Mexico.

December 12 Diplomacy: The United States extends official recognition to Mexico, headed by former royalist Agustín de Iturbide, who has assumed the title of “emperor.”

December 22 Naval: In an effort to combat a rising tide of piracy in the Caribbean, Congress establishes the West Indies Squadron under Commodore James Biddle. Over the next eight years more than 50 pirate vessels are either captured or destroyed.

1823 Arts: The Hudson River School is formed by a group of American painters who reject classical artistic school of naturalism and embrace the more romantic approach of contemporary Europe. Education: In Vermont, Samuel R. Hall founds the nation’s first school for teachers. Religion: The American Tract Society is founded for the purpose of publishing religion and moral literature. Slavery: The Mississippi legislature approves ordinances which forbid gathering of more than five African Americans in any one place; its also forbids their learning to read and write.

January Business: Nicholas Biddle, a wealthy financier from Philadelphia, gains appointment to head the Bank of the United States. In this capacity he serves with considerable success and the bank prospers until its charter expires in 1836. Publishing: Charles J. Ingersoll rushes to the defense of American culture in his Discourse Concerning the Influence of America on the Mind. He publishes it to silence English critics and maintains that the nation’s greatest contribution is the notion and exercise of self-government. Science: Benjamin Silliman of Yale is the first American scientist to concoct hydrofluoric acid.

January 27 Diplomacy: The United States extends formal recognition to the new nations of Argentina and Chile.

February Law: The Supreme Court, in deciding the case of Green v. Biddle, rules that a contract between two states is as valid as that between two individuals and subject to the same legal standards.

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Biddle, Nicholas

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(1786–1844)

Banker Nicholas Biddle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 8, 1786, a son of Quaker parents. He proved himself a child prodigy by gaining admittance to the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 10, transferring to the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), and graduating as a class valedictorian at 13. Biddle then returned to Philadelphia to study law and in 1804 relocated to France to serve as secretary of American Minister John Armstrong. In 1806 he shifted over to London to serve on the staff of Minister James Monroe and in this capacity absorbed many nuances about national finance and banking. Biddle returned home the following year to resume his legal studies and was admitted to the bar, but he preferred working as editor of the Port Folio, a leading literary magazine. A learned man of letters, Biddle also commenced editing the journals of explorers Lewis and Clark for publication, but in 1814 he won a seat in the state legislature and concentrated on politics. One of his principal endeavors here was defending the first Bank of the United States, which President James Madison allowed to expire with disastrous economic consequences in the War of 1812. The Democratic Republicans soon rechartered the bank after the peace to restore order to the American economy, and in 1819 President Monroe appointed Biddle to its board of directors. He performed capably in this role and in 1822, following the resignation of Langdon Cheves as director, Biddle was appointed

in his place. He held this position for 14 years, longer than any appointee. Biddle proved himself a brilliant financier, and he used the Bank of the United States to orchestrate a flexible money supply that would rise and contract as the economy demanded. Consequently, the American marketplace experienced a period of great stability owing to the pursuit of conservative fiscal policies. Under Biddle’s aegis, the bank also expanded nationally, opening offices in major cities across the nation. The economy thrived, but the notion of central banking and business-oriented policies rankled the new Jacksonian democrats, who attacked it as a bastion of wealth and privilege. Furthermore, Biddle’s aristocratic demeanor and lack of tact in politics played directly into their hands. President Andrew Jackson, who assumed the presidency in 1829, routinely assailed both Biddle and his bank for the elite business clique they represented. Knowing that the bank charter would expire in 1836, Biddle pushed Henry Clay, his ally in Congress, to renew it in 1832, four years ahead of schedule. Jackson, always eager for a political brawl, vetoed the bill and basically terminated the bank. Once the charter expired, Biddle gave it a new lease on life as the Bank of the United States in Pennsylvania and helped restore the American economy during a steep depression, but he finally retired from public life in 1839. The United States thus lacked any central bank until the 20th century. Biddle died in Philadelphia on February 27, 1844.

February 18 Settlement: The Mexican emperor Augustin I reconfirms the Rio Brazos land grant made earlier to Moses Austin, soon to be home to 300 American families led by his son, Stephen Austin.

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March 3 Transportation: Congress authorizes the construction of numerous lighthouses and beacons around the nation’s coastline to facilitate safety and trade.

May Sports: The first competition between racehorses from the North and South is run at the Union Course on Long Island, New York. Northern entry American Eclipse beats out Sir Henry, winning a purse of $20,000 before an audience estimated at 100,000.

May 8 Music: John Howard Payne’s sentimental “Home Sweet Home” became one of the most popular tunes in American history to that date; it is first performed in an obscure play of his. Technology: Gas lighting is employed for the first time at the American theater in New Orleans.

July 14 General: King Kamehameha II dies of measles while onboard a British vessel to visit King George IV in England. He is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Prince Kauikeaouli, but the actual reins of government will be held by Dowager Queen Kaahumanu until he reaches 18.

July 17 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Quincy Adams tells the Russian minister to the United States that North America is no longer subject to colonization by European or other powers. This directly confronts Czar Alexander I’s claims on the Pacific coast, including Alaska and Oregon and the Holy Alliance’s intention to help Spain reconquer its rebellious colonies in Central and South America.

August 20 Diplomacy: George Canning, the British foreign secretary, suggests to American minister in London Richard Rush that their two nations should cooperate militarily if any countries of the Holy Alliance (France, Austria, Prussia, Russia) attempt to reconquer South America for Spain. Rush’s initial response is favorable.

September 4 Politics: Father Gabriel Richard is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a nonvoting delegate from the Michigan Territory; he is the first Catholic priest to serve in Congress.

September 10 Transportation: The Champlain Canal connecting Lake Champlain to the Hudson River, New York, formally opens for business.

September 21 Religion: Eighteen-year-old Joseph Smith apparently has a vision in Palmyra, New York, wherein the angel Moroni appears and tells him where to find a buried religious book made of gold.

November 5 Religion: In a move that must have sent Puritans spinning in their graves, Father William Taylor, a Roman Catholic priest, delivers the prayer invocation during the opening session of the Massachusetts General Court.

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November 7 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Quincy Adams prevails upon President James Monroe to reject any British offers of alliance to counter European intervention in the New World, warning that they would “come in as a cockboat in the wake of a British man-of-war.” Instead, he champions the idea that the United States ought to act alone in that regard and police the Western hemisphere on its own.

December 1 Politics: Recent elections mark the return of Daniel Webster to the House of Representatives, in which Henry Clay continues serving a speaker.

December 2 Diplomacy: In his message to Congress, President James Monroe outlines the Monroe Doctrine, whereby the United States will not tolerate the colonization of the New World by Europe or any other power. Moreover, he pledges not to become involved in any dispute with existing colonies in Latin America and also declines to participate in European wars. This speech becomes the cornerstone of American diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere.

December 23 Arts: The anonymous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (“Twas the Night before Christmas”) appears in the Troy Sentinel, New York. It originates from the lucid pen of Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Greek and Oriental literature.

1824 Indian: The Cherokee educator Sequoyah develops the first written alphabet for a Native American language. The ensuing system has a syllabary of 85 characters reflecting the spoken sounds of the Cherokee dialect. Labor: The first strike involving female factory workers occurs in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, when the owners of textile mills proposes a cut in wages and longer hours.

January 24 Education: The Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church (today’s Kenyon College) is chartered at Gambier, Ohio; the first class graduates in 1829.

February 10 Politics: Congress approves the General Surveys Bill, which empowers the president to authorize surveys for the construction of roads and canals.

February 14 Politics: William H. Crawford of Georgia is nominated for the presidency by the last congressional caucus despite the fact that only 66 of 216 Democratic Republican delegates are present. Other candidates will be nominated by their state legislatures.

February 15 Politics: The Massachusetts legislature nominates John Quincy Adams for the presidency.

March 1 Transportation: Construction begins on the Morris Canal, New Jersey, intending to link New York City with the Delaware River.

1824

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Chronology of American History

Sequoyah (ca. 1770–1843) Cherokee linguist Sequoyah (“Sparrow”) was born in the Cherokee village Taskigi (Fort Loudoun), Tennessee, around 1770, a member of the Paint Clan. His mother, Wurtee, was apparently related to several important chiefs, while his father is suspected to have been American soldier and trader Nathaniel Gist. The two apparently never married, and she relocated with part of her tribe to presentday Willstown, Alabama, where Sequoyah learned to tend cattle and hunt. However, during one hunting foray he apparently sustained a leg injury that left him permanently lame and thus outside of the usual tribal activities. Sequoyah took to drink in consequence and nearly died before embarking on a life of abstinence. He then gained renown as a silversmith, actively traded with white settlers and traders in the region, and developed a fascination with their “talking leaves” (books). Being intellectually inclined, he then envisioned the advantages Cherokee could enjoy if they had their own alphabet and could transmit and preserve important information on paper. He began experimenting with an Indian syllabary around 1809 by using pictorial symbols but abandoned this approach because of the sheer number of symbols required. The Creek War of 1813–14 then interrupted his studies and he joined a noted Cherokee battalion that served under General Andrew Jackson. In 1818 Sequoyah departed Alabama with his family and settled down in present-day Pope County, Arkansas, with the first wave of Cherokee to move westward. Around

this time he resumed his work creating a Cherokee alphabet despite the taunts of fellow tribesmen and accusations that he was engaging in witchcraft. On one occasion his home was burned down but he persevered. By 1821 Sequoyah had finally perfected his system, which utilized 87 characters to represent all the sounds of the Cherokee dialect. He arrived at this solution by closely studying English, Greek, and Hebrew characters depicted in mission schoolbooks. Then he faced a gathering of elders in the tribal assembly and tested his system with his sixyear-old daughter. They were amazed when she answered all written questions perfectly and the Tribal Council authorized adoption of his syllabary. Formal instruction began and within a few months large numbers of Cherokee could communicate over vast distances by the written word. White missionaries also availed themselves of Sequoyah’s system by translating parts of the Bible into Cherokee. Tribal literacy was firmly established in 1828 with the founding of the Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate, the first Native American newspaper, which was written partly in English and partly in the native dialect. For his role in becoming the only person to ever single-handedly invent a viable alphabet, Sequoyah was awarded a silver medal by his tribe and also became the first Native American voted a pension. In 1843 he departed his new home in Oklahoma to search for a missing band of Cherokee supposedly further west and died of dysentery in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

March 2 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall decides the case of Gibbons v. Ogden, which strikes down a New York State monopoly on steamboat navigation between that state and New Jersey. In his latest, Federalist-

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inspired ruling, he declares such enterprises unconstitutional for only the federal government can regulate interstate navigation and commerce.

March 4 Politics: A nominating convention held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, seconds Andrew Jackson for the presidency and also selects John C. Calhoun for vice president.

March 19 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Osborn v. Bank of the United States, and under Chief Justice John Marshall decrees that Ohio, a state, cannot tax the bank of the United States, a federal institution.

March 22 Indian: An all-white jury convicts four men of brutally murdering nine Indians at Fall Creek, Indiana; they are the first whites to suffer the death penalty for crimes against Native Americans.

March 30–31 Business: U.S. House Speaker Henry Clay delivers a noted speech defending the practice of protective tariffs and internal improvements to expand domestic economic growth and trade. He defines such policies outlined in the new Tariff Act of 1824 as tantamount to an “American system.”

April 17 Diplomacy: The United States and the Russian government reach an accord on limiting the extent of Russian expansion in the Pacific northwest and removing all commercial restrictions relative to shipping in those waters. This is an early triumph for the Monroe Doctrine, although the Americans are backed by British sea power.

April 30 Transportation: The General Survey Bill passes Congress, whereby federal surveys for proposed road and canal routes, with military, commercial, and postal application, are paid for by the government. This act follows President James Monroe’s contention that Congress ought to establish its authority in matters pertaining to internal improvements. Among the most notable routes covered is the Great Sauk Trail between Detroit and Chicago.

May 12 Arts: The play Superstition by James N. Barker is successfully staged at the Chestnut Theater, Philadelphia. This is one of the earliest attempts to incorporate American history and themes in theatrical drama, in this instance Indian warfare and witch trials.

May 22 Business: Congress adopts Henry Clay’s much-touted Tariff Act of 1824, which raises existing levies on wool, cotton, and iron to 33 percent in an attempt to protect American industry from European competition. However, the South rails against its application to finished cotton used in slave clothing, which now is at an artificially high price.

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Clay, Henry

(1777–1852)

Politician

Henry Clay (Library of Congress)

Henry Clay was born in Hanover County, Virginia, on April 12, 1777, and raised in a log cabin environment. Poorly educated, he nonetheless clerked for a local lawyer and was admitted to the bar in Lexington. Clay won his first election in 1803 when he gained a seat in the state legislature, and six years later he was chosen to complete an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. In 1810 his constituents sent him back to the U.S. House of Representatives where, by dint of his oratory and political skills, he became speaker. In this capacity Clay, a vocal “War Hawk,” became a driving force behind renewed war with Great Britain in 1812. Two years later he accompanied John Quincy Adams to Ghent, Belgium, to help draw up the peace treaty signed there. He then resumed his role as speaker in 1815 and began promulgating his “American System,” a closely linked policy of high protective tariffs, vast internal improvements, and central banking through a national bank. He

May 24 Business: President James Monroe signs a bill authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build dams, dredge harbors, and engage in other construction with civilian applications.

May 25 Religion: The American Sunday School Union is organized to promote Sunday School across the nation. Settlement: Tallahassee becomes the capital of the Florida Territory.

May 26 Diplomacy: The United States extends recognition to the newly independent nation of Brazil.

May 27 Arts: John Howard Payne’s successful comedy, Charles the Second, or the Merry Monarch, which he wrote with Washington Irving, begins its run in New York City.

June 17 Indian: Congress establishes the Bureau of Indian Affairs and places it under the jurisdiction of the War Department.

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pursued this agenda with varying luck over the next 30 years but was constantly deflected by other pressing issues arising from slavery. In 1819 Clay proved instrumental in crafting the Missouri Compromise of 1820, whereby slavery was not permissible north of a specific latitude. He also ran unsuccessfully for president in 1824, finished fourth, then used his influence in the house to elect John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson. Clay became secretary of state in consequence, and a furious Jackson, who received more popular and electoral votes, accused them of a “corrupt bargain.” Clay strenuously denied any such arrangement, although in 1826 he fought a bloodless duel with John Randolph because of it. The rest of Clay’s career was marked by frustration and rising antagonism with other political leaders. He bitterly opposed Jackson’s decision to veto rechartering of the Second Bank and censured him for withdrawing federal funds and placing them in so-called pet banks. He also denounced

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Jackson’s political adviser and vice president Martin Van Buren’s scheme for independent treasuries but declined to run against him in 1836 owing to Jackson’s overwhelming popularity. However, in 1832 he proved instrumental in helping diffuse the “Nullification Crisis” with South Carolina by adopting a gradual approach to lowered tariffs. In 1840 Clay was eager to run again for the presidency as the Whig candidate and was bitterly disappointed when the nod went to the neophyte William Henry Harrison. He also endured tense relations with Harrison’s successor, John Tyler, who continually vetoed part of Clay’s “American system.” Clay ran again in 1844 and lost to Democrat James K. Polk over the issue of Texas annexation. Clay’s most valuable work was in arranging the “Compromise of 1850,” which allowed slavery to be decided by territorial legislatures, or “popular sovereignty.” Clay died in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 1852, an artful politician widely hailed as the “Great Compromiser.”

June 26 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of the United States v. Planter’s Bank of Georgia, ruling that whenever a bank becomes a party to a business venture it remains liable to a legal suit as a result of that venture.

August 1 Politics: In one of the earliest state-level nominating conventions, New Yorkers gather at Utica to select candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. Here, electors for candidates are chosen directly by popular vote.

August 2 Slavery: The state of Illinois ushers in Emancipation Day to celebrate the anniversary when slavery was abolished within its confines.

August 4 Diplomacy: The United States extends formal diplomatic recognition to the Empire of Brazil under Emperor Dom Pedro.

August 14 General: The aged marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, arrives at New York City to begin a sentimental tour of the nation he helped to found. He is greeted by booming cannon while hundreds of boats lay in the harbor,

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Politics: The Albany Regency, an influential clique of liberal Democrats headed by Martin Van Buren, begins asserting its dominance over state politics. It will dominate New York affairs for 20 years before losing power. Science: Amasa Holcomb begins manufacturing the first American telescopes at Southwick, Massachusetts. Sports: The New York Trotting Club is organized at a race course on Long Island, New York. Technology: Mechanical pressing of glass, the first real innovation in glass production since antiquity, is introduced at several American factories and gains wide acceptance.

January 3 Societal: Scottish industrialist Robert Owen purchases a 20,000-acre estate in Harmony, Indiana, to erect ‘Harmonie,’ one of the earliest utopian communities in America. It will fail two years later, costing him most of his fortune.

January 31 Transportation: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company is established in Maryland.

February Indian: President James Monroe, upon the urging of Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, begins the process of transporting Native Americans across the Mississippi River and resettling them in the west.

February 9 Politics: John Quincy Adams is elected president of the United States by the House of Representatives with 13 votes to Andrew Jackson’s seven and William H. Crawford’s four. Apparently, Henry Clay’s supporters were told to throw their weight behind Adams so that Clay would be considered for the post of Secretary of State. Jackson, who won a majority of popular votes and a plurality of electoral votes, angrily remonstrates against what he considers a “corrupt bargain.” The ensuing schism consequently divides the Democratic Republicans in two with Clay’s faction forming the National Republicans (Whigs) and Jackson’s supporters the Democrats.

February 12 Indian: Creek Chief William McIntosh signs the Treaty of Indian Springs, surrendering all tribal land in Georgia to state authorities; he is subsequently murdered by angry Indians. The treaty is also repudiated by the government.

March 3 Transportation: Congress authorizes a federal survey of the Santa Fe Trail, linking New Mexico to the Missouri River.

March 4 Politics: John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president of the United States, becoming the first son of a prior president to serve as chief executive. His idealistic inaugural address outlines his stance against using political patronage, a stance that will deprive him of valuable allies.

March 7 Diplomacy: Henry Clay gains appointment as secretary of state, and Joel R. Poinsett becomes the first American minister to Mexico. He is best known for introducing a shrub now called the poinsettia.

1825

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Chronology of American History

Adams, John Quincy (1767–1848) President John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1767, the son of attorney John Adams, the future second president. As a youth he accompanied his father abroad, was well-educated at leading schools throughout Europe, and in 1787 he graduated from Harvard College. Adams was subsequently admitted to the Massachusetts bar, but a series of essays defending President George Washington’s neutral policies won him an appointment as minister to the Netherlands in 1794. This was followed by a stint of diplomatic service in Europe, after which he returned home and gained a seat in the U.S. Senate as a Federalist. Like his father, Adams was a dour and strident moralist, completely above partisanship, which gained him the ire of fellow Federalists. Therefore, in 1809 he switched over to the DemocraticRepublicans under Thomas Jefferson and became U.S. Minister to Russia at St. Petersburg. In this capacity he served diligently and in 1814 Adams relocated to Ghent, Belgium, to conduct peace negotiations with Great Britain. With skill and tact he formulated the Treaty of Ghent that December, which ended the War of 1812 and granted no territorial concessions to the English. He came home a hero and was appointed secretary of state under President James Monroe. Adams’s flare for diplomacy was never more apparent when he arranged the Rush-Bagot Agreement with England in 1818, which demilitarized the Great Lakes and drew the U.S. Canadian border along the 49th Parallel.

The following year he concluded the AdamsOnís Treaty, which secured the province of Florida for the United States, but his biggest contribution was in rejecting a British proposal for providing joint security for the New World, in favor of the United States solely assuming such responsibility—the so-called Monroe Doctrine. In 1824 Adams was one of four candidates running for the presidency and, when no one individual was a clear majority, the issue was decided in the House of Representatives. Adams became president with the help of Henry Clay, while the popular Andrew Jackson accused the two men of a “corrupt bargain.” His tenure in office was an extremely unhappy one, vexed by the Jacksonian faction of the party that controlled Congress and defeated all proposals for internal improvements on a lavish scale. In 1828 Adams heavily lost his reelection bid to Jackson, but two years later he made history by becoming the first former executive to win a seat in the House of Representatives. Over the next 17 years Adams gained a reputation as “Old Man Eloquence” for his articulate stances on many divisive issues such as nullification, the tariff, and—above all—slavery. In this capacity he introduced so many abolitionist petitions that the House adopted a gag rule to forbid all debate on the subject. In 1841 Adams found the time to appear before the Supreme Court to help free slaves taken in the celebrated Amistad Case. He died while still serving in Congress on February 23, 1848.

March 24 Settlement: The new Mexican state of Coahuila-Texas announces that American settlers are welcome.

April 10 General: Aged hero the marquis de Lafayette arrives at New Orleans where he is greeted by enthusiastic crowds and showered with gifts.

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July 4 Transportation: Extending the Cumberland Road from Wheeling, (West) Virginia, through Ohio is discussed; from this point forward it is known as the National Road.

June 17 Politics: Daniel Webster’s oration at the Battle of Bunker Hill celebration gains him renown for oratorical brilliance.

July 19 Religion: The liberal wing of the New England Congregational community founds the American Unitarian Association in Boston. Members have been inspired by an oration delivered by William Ellery Channing in 1819.

August 19 Indian: The U.S. government brokers a peace treaty among competing Chippewa, Iowa, Potawatomi, Sioux, Sac, and Fox Indians at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It is hoped that by establishing firmer boundaries between the tribes the frontier violence many be averted.

September 6 Settlement: General Simon Perkins helps to establish the city of Akron, Ohio, an important stop along the projected Ohio and Erie Canal. Its name is Greek for “City on the Hill,” so-called from being located on the highest point of the projected canal system.

October Politics: The Tennessee state legislature again nominates Andrew Jackson as its presidential candidate in the 1828 election—three years hence.

October 26 Transportation: Construction on the Erie Canal is finished, and New York City is now linked to the Great Lakes region via the Hudson River, the Mohawk River, and Lake Oneida. Governor DeWitt Clinton is on hand to symbolically dump two kegs of Lake Erie water into New York Harbor. The final waterway is 550 miles in length at its terminus of Buffalo. The economic importance of the canal cannot be overstated—its reduces travel time into the interior by one-third and shipping costs by nine-tenths of previous rates. Consequently, New York emerges as the major Atlantic port and the principle conduit for New England emigration and settlement out west. For this reason the strategic Middle West is gradually dominated by a Northern culture and political outlook, rather than a Southern one.

November 8 Arts: Samuel F. B. Morse becomes the first president of the New York Drawing Association, founded by dissenters attending the New York Academy of Arts.

November 19 Arts: New York is introduced to grand Italian opera when Il barbiere di Siviglia (“The Barber of Seville”), debuts in all its costumed glory, replete with a cast of several well-known Italian singers.

1825

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December 1 Education: Queen’s College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, is renamed Rutgers College in honor of a benefactor, ColÂ�oÂ�nel Henry Rutgers. It becomes a university in 1924.

December 5 Politics: The 19th Congress assembles in Washington, D.C., with the �Demo�cratic�Republicans still in firm control; the Federalists are no longer a po�liti�cal factor at the national level. However, the ruling party is split into factions both supporting and opposing President John Quincy Adams, who now enjoys tenuous support at best.

December 6 Politics: President John Quincy Adams makes his first annual address to Con-­ gress, a sweeping declaration of his support for continuing internal improve-­ ments, creation of a national university, a national astronomical observatory, and federal support for the arts and sciences. However, this approach wins few friends among states’ rights Southerners in Congress.

December 26 Diplomacy: At the urging of the president, Congress appoints two envoys to attend the Panama Congress proposed by Simón Bolívar to promote a Â�pan-­Latin American confederation. ReÂ�sisÂ�tance to the suggestion is one cause of the growing rivalry between John C. Calhoun and Martin Van Buren.

1826 Journalism: William Cullen Bryant, a noted poet, is appointed editor of the New York EveÂ�ning Post. Music: Noted Italian tenor Manuel del Popolo Vincente Garcia performs for a season at the Park Theater in New York, where he also aspires to orÂ�gaÂ�nize a permanent Italian opera company for the city. Publishing: The National Philanthropist becomes the first journal entirely dedi-­ cated to the promotion of temperance. Religion: Congregationalists found the American Home Missionary Society, which reaches its peak activity during the Civil War years. Science: Joseph Henry begins experiments with electricity, inventing insulated wires, magnets, and other devices essential for the invention of telegraphs. Technology: The first experimental steam locomotive is constructed in Hobo-­ ken, New Jersey, by John Stevens, and is run along a circular track.

January 6 Journalism: The newspaper United States Telegraph, edited by Duff Green, debuts in Washington, D.C., beginning as a stridently Â� anti-­Adams mouthpiece of the Andrew Jackson poÂ�litiÂ�cal clique. Its arrival signifies the growing factionalism that will ultimately tear the Â�DemoÂ�cratic-­Republican party into DemoÂ�crats and Whigs. Law: James Kent, law professor at Columbia College in New York, begins publish-­ ing his Commentaries on American Law, which becomes a standard canon for understanding constitutional and common law.

January 24 Indian: The Creek and the United States sign the Treaty of Washington, whereby the tribe surrenders most of its land in western Georgia, but less than what had

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been previously negotiated in the 1827 Treaty of Indian Springs. They are thus allowed to remain on their lands until January 1, 1827.

February 4 Literature: James Fenimore Cooper publishes The Last of the Mohicans, a phenomenal best seller on both sides of the Atlantic with two million copies ultimately sold.

February 7 Education: Presbyterian and Congregational denominations unite to found Western Reserve University in Hudson, Ohio, with its first class graduating in 1830.

February 13 Societal: The American Society for the Promotion of Temperance (modernday American Temperance Society) is founded in Boston by a mixed group of clergymen and lay people. They have been motivated by the preaching of Lyman Beecher.

February 17 Military: Governor George M. Troup of Georgia, determined to prevent the arrival of federal troops in the western part of his state, calls up the state militia.

March 3 Societal: Radical reformer Fanny Wright establishes her model commune in Nashville, Tennessee, which she christens Nashoba. She quickly gains the ire of locals by allowing blacks and whites to associate closely.

March 9 Education: Lafayette College, named after the Revolutionary War hero and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, is chartered at Easton, Pennsylvania.

March 14 Diplomacy: Congress votes to send only two observers to the projected congress of Latin American republics to be held in Panama in the summer. As it turns out, neither is able to reach the conference in time.

March 30 Politics: John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia, a master of political invective, stridently denounces President John Q. Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay as “The combination of the puritan with the blackleg.” Clay, taking the insult personally, challenges Randolph to a duel.

April 8 Politics: Secretary of State Henry Clay and Jacksonian partisan John Randolph of Roanoke wage a bloodless duel over the latter’s accusation that Clay made a “corrupt bargain” by supporting the candidacy of John Quincy Adams.

April 26 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty of amity and commerce with Denmark. Technology: Samuel Morely of Orford, New Hampshire, receives the first patent for a two-chambered, internal combustion engine.

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May 2 Diplomacy: The United States extends formal recognition to the newly independent nation of Peru.

July 4 General: This day, two preeminent founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, die at Monticello, Virginia, and Braintree, Massachusetts, respectively.

August 2 Politics: Daniel Webster movingly eulogizes both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in a major address at Faneuil Hall, Boston. Their nearly simultaneous passing concludes a seminal period of American history.

August 22 Exploring: Jedidiah Strong Smith departs the Great Salt Lake, Utah, and makes for California through the Cajon Pass of the Rocky Mountains.

September 3 Naval: The frigate USS Vincennes under Captain F. B. Finch sails from New York on a four-year mission to circumnavigate the globe for the first time under the American flag.

September 12 Politics: The Anti-Masonic Party is founded in New York following the alleged abduction and murder of former Freemason William Morgan for revealing the organization’s secrets; this is the first third party in American history.

October 7 Transportation: The Quincy Tramway, America’s first railroad, consisting of steel tracks and horse-drawn wagons, is constructed at Quincy, Massachusetts. It is designed to transport stone from a quarry to the Neoponset River, three miles distant, for transportation to the new Bunker Hill Monument.

October 23 Arts: The Bowery Theater, boasting the largest stage in New York City, opens; it remains a center for vaudeville and minstrel-type performances for nearly a century.

October 26 Religion: Newly ordained Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers his first sermon in Boston, Massachusetts.

November Politics: Congressional midterm elections result in marked gains for the antiAdams, Jacksonian faction of the Democratic-Republicans, who now control both houses of Congress.

November 11 Settlement: A Royal Navy vessel under Captain Frederick Beechey maps San Francisco Bay.

November 27 Exploring: A wagon train headed by Jedidiah Strong Smith arrives at San Diego, California, having utilized the Rocky Mountain Cajon Pass (South Pass) for the first time.

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1827 Literature: Edgar Allan Poe publishes Tamerlane and Other Poems anonymously in Boston; it barely garners attention from the literary world. Publishing: The American Quarterly Review is founded in Philadelphia by Robert Walsh, who counts among his contributors noted writers George Ticknor, George Bancroft, and James Kirke Paulding. The Journal of Commerce begins publishing in New York City under Arthur Tappan. Francis Lieber, a German political philosopher and refugee, begins compiling his Encyclopedia Americana, and organizes it along German lines of research and scholarship. Sarah Josepha Hale publishes her first novel, Northwood, which is also the first antislavery novel.

January 10 Business: The House of Representatives passes a bill calling for imposition of even higher duties than imposed by the Tariff Bill of 1824, which has thus far failed to eliminate British textile competition. A sectional split develops over its passage, with the North favoring it and the South opposing it.

February 2 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Martin v. Mott, ruling that the president alone has the constitutional power to mobilize the state militias. These actions cannot be negated by state authorities.

February 7 Arts: The art of toe dancing (ballet) is introduced by ballet dancer Francisque Hutin at the Bowery Theater, New York. Her scantily clad appearance so shocked American sensibilities that every woman in the lower tier of the theater reputedly left the theater in a huff. The rest responded with calls for an encore.

February 17 Military: U.S. Army troops are dispatched to Creek lands in Georgia to prevent premature surveying of tribal lands, yet Governor George M. Troup mobilizes the state militia to oppose them. The transfer of land stipulated in the Treaty of Washington, signed the previous January, has not yet occurred.

February 28 Politics: The Senate defeats an attempt to impose higher tariffs on textiles, the Woolens Bill, when Vice President John C. Calhoun casts the decisive, tiebreaking vote against it. High tariffs become a matter of increasingly shrill sectional discord in national politics from this point on. Transportation: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is chartered by the state of Maryland; it is the first business of its kind licensed to carry both passengers and freight.

March 13 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Ogden v. Saunders, ruling that any contract signed after the passage of a bankruptcy law is governed by all provisions of the same.

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March 16 Journalism: John Russworm and Samuel Cornish edit and publish Freedom’s Journal, the first newspaper by and for African Americans.

March 29 Societal: The utopian community of New Harmony, Indiana, is disbanded, having cost founder Robert Owen an estimated $125,000 after a tumultuous two years.

May Transportation: The Mauch Chunk railroad, a descending nine-mile track powered by gravity, connects the Carbondale, Pennsylvania, coal mines to the Leigh River.

May 8 Settlement: The site for Cantonment Leavenworth is fixed in the Kansas Territory; this is the future site of Fort Leavenworth, erected to provide protection for commerce along the Santa Fe Trail. It is constructed and named for Colonel Henry H. Leavenworth, a noted War of 1812 soldier who had been dispatched there by Brigadier General Henry Atkinson, another significant frontier administrator.

May 14 Business: The declining price of wool induces farmers and manufacturers to convene in Philadelphia to discuss their options.

July 2 Politics: In an early dispute over economic policy, Thomas Cooper, president of South Carolina College, declares that the high tariff policy of the government favors the industrial North at the expense of the agricultural South. Thanks to this moving presentation, resistance to high tariffs begins to coalesce statewide.

July 4 Slavery: New York formally abolishes slavery, granting freedom to 10,000 former slaves, now new citizens.

July 23 Sports: The first public swimming pool opens in Boston and is frequently attended by 61-year-old John Quincy Adams, who enjoys using the six-foot diving board.

July 26 Indian: The Cherokee Nation, with its capital at New Echota, Georgia, adopts a constitution patterned after the American model.

July 30 Business: Following the failure of congressional action, a convention of 100 delegates from 13 states convenes at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and calls for higher tariffs to protect the wool industry and producers of hemp, flax, and iron products.

August 6 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain renew their 1818 commercial treaty and also resolve to continue joint occupation of the Oregon Territory.

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August 14 Labor: Journeyman tailors in Philadelphia mount a strike.

September 19 General: Legendary frontier figure Jim Bowie kills a sword-armed man in a duel at Vidalia, Louisiana, with a knife purportedly of his own design. Thus the “Bowie Knife” passes into legend.

September 22 Religion: At Palmyra, New York, Joseph Smith claims to have received instructions to dig up a mysterious book with golden pages. He is then assisted in translating its passages, which reveal a story of the lost tribes of Israel.

October 10 Science: Scientist Joseph Henry delivers a paper at the Albany Institute which discusses early experiments with electromagnetism; this is an essential first step in the development of devices such as the telegraph.

October 17 Women: Methodist minister Salome Lincoln becomes the first American woman to conduct a public lecture tour, delivering the first address at her church in Raynham, Massachusetts.

November 15 Indian: The Creek sign an additional treaty with the United States, finally ceding their remaining land in western Georgia.

December 3 Politics: The midterm congressional elections result in additional gains for the anti-Adams, pro-Jacksonian faction of the Democratic-Republican Party, with 26 to 20 Senators and 119 to 94 Representatives. This leaves President John Quincy Adams with fewer friends in Congress.

December 24 Politics: The pro-Jacksonian majority in Congress refuses to endorse the protectionist, high tariff proposals from the memorial of a recent convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1828 Arts: One of the earliest debuts of blackface minstrels occurs in Louisville, Kentucky, in the form of “Jim Crow,” a character invented by white comedian Thomas Dartmouth Rice. In this rapidly flourishing form of entertainment, African Americans are invariably stereotyped as ignorant knaves and perform various song and dance routines. Labor: The first recorded strike by textile workers unfolds in Paterson, New Jersey; the affair lasts 10 days and fails to win participants their desired 10-hour day. Literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne debuts with the publication of his first novel Fanshawe, written anonymously. Politics: William Ladd founds the American Peace Society, and he also edits and publishes its periodical.

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Hawthorne, Nathaniel

(1804 –1864)

Writer

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Library of Congress) Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804, son of a sea captain and descended from several lines

of distinguished Puritans. His father died in Hawthorne’s youth, and he absorbed from his reclusive mother a tendency toward reflective isolation. Hawthorne subsequently attended Bowdoin College in Maine, performing well academically, and counted among his classmates such future luminaries as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce. Thereafter he returned to Salem to work in various odd jobs and city positions while aspiring to be a writer. His first novel Fanshawe (1828) was published anonymously and garnered no favorable notice. Hawthorne enjoyed better success with a collection of short stories, Twice-Told Tales (1837) and Mosses from an Old Manse (1846) before switching over to historical romances. In the interim he was forced to hold down several positions in the local customshouse but in 1850 finally triumphed with the publication of The Scarlet Letter

Publishing: John James Audubon, a noted painter and naturalist, publishes the first volume of his epic Birds of America; this seminal series of five volumes, will be completed in 1838 and artfully depicts 1,065 species in their natural habitats. Sarah Josepha Hale becomes one of the earliest female editors by taking charge of Godey’s Lady’s Book. Sports: A group of famous artists founds the United Bowman of Philadelphia, the nation’s first archery club. Technology: Scientist Joseph Henry invents insulation for copper wire in Albany, New York, an essential step toward the transmission of electricity.

January 12 Diplomacy: The United States and Mexico agree to establish their mutual border along the Sabine River, identical to the terms established for Spain in 1819.

January 24 Education: The Indiana legislature charters Indiana College at Bloomington; it awards its first degrees in 1830.

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(1850), since regarded as an American literary masterpiece. He then demonstrated his mastery of the genre with The House of Seven Gables (1851) and The Blithedale Romance (1852), both of which are representative of Hawthorne’s gift for darkly themed stories and sweeping allegories of good and evil. He was also adept at employing Puritan history as a vehicle for commenting upon contemporary American life. He then backpeddled completely to produce two highly popular children’s titles, A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1852) and Tanglewood Tales for Girls and Boys (1853). Success here finally granted him the financial security so conspicuously missing in his earlier days. Despite his penchant for solitude, Hawthorne associated with the influential writer’s circle of the Transcendentalist Club and enjoyed cordial relations with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Bronson Alcott. However, he remained a marginal figure within that larger body of

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contemporary talent, obsessed by the allure and power of evil to eclipse the greatest optimism. In 1842 Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody of Salem, from one of that city’s most prominent families, yet was so embarrassed over informing his family of the engagement that reputedly none of them attended the wedding. In 1852 Hawthorne’s college friend Pierce ran for the presidency and Hawthorne composed a campaign biography for him. Once Pierce was elected he appointed Hawthorne U.S. Consul in Liverpool, England, and then Italy. Back home at Concord in 1860, he found the time and inspiration to pen The Marble Faun and Our Old Home, his last major works. Hawthorne died in Plymouth, New Hampshire, on May 19, 1864, while en route to visit his friend Pierce. By dint of effective prose and captivating imagery, he had become one of the most accomplished American writers of this or any other age.

January 30 Transportation: In Charleston, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company is chartered to construct what will become known as the Charleston-Hamburg Line.

January 31 Politics: The antiadministration Jacksonians in Congress, determined to embarrass President John Quincy Adams, pass an excessively high tariff bill on several protected items, while repealing those on the New England wool industry. They fully expect the president, who agrees with protectionist legislation, to veto the move.

February 21 Journalism: At Echota, Georgia, Cherokee linguist Sequoyah and editor Elias Boudinot begin publishing the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper written in a Native American language. The paper employs a system of characters, each denoting a unique Cherokee utterance or sound.

March 24 Transportation: The Pennsylvania legislature appropriates funding to construct a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia; this is the first publicly funded venture of its kind in the nation.

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Audubon, John James (1785–1851) Naturalist John James Audubon was born in San Domingo (Haiti) on April 26, 1785, the illegitimate son of a French naval officer. He was raised and well-educated in France and served as a cadet in the French navy, 1796– 1800, before immigrating to the United States in 1803. Audubon initially worked managing an estate at Norristown, Pennsylvania, where proximity to nearby woods piqued his interest in nature. There he first discovered his fascination for wildlife, especially birds. Audubon had always been interested in animal behavior and he became the first individual to scientifically “band” the legs of birds to identify them in their yearly migrations. After marrying a local woman in 1808, he relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, to operate a general store with a business partner and take in the rough, frontier nature of his new abode. His closeness to the natural world inspired him to take up a brush and he began painting birds in their natural habitats. In fact, Audubon had been a gifted artist ever since childhood and his preoccupation with ornithology brought him hours of delight and a source of additional income. In 1810 he moved again to the frontier region of Henderson, Kentucky, selling goods and painting birds until his a business failure forced him back to Louisville. During the Panic (depression) of 1819 he was forced into bankruptcy and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to work as a taxidermist in the Western Museum there. It was at this period that he decided to sever his business connections and paint birds full time.

For six years Audubon and his artist partner Joseph Mason traveled the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers looking for appropriate subjects to capture on canvas and by 1826 had amassed a considerable body of work. He tried publishing his work in America, meeting only with scorn, then ventured to England to find a sponsor. Surprisingly, his labors were enthusiastically received in London and Edinburgh, and so highly regarded were his renditions that he was inducted into the Royal Society. More important, he secured financial support to publish his mammoth series Birds of America over the next 11 years by offering it on a subscription basis to wealthy collectors and naturalists. The final product boasted 435 hand-colored aquatint engravings that depicted 1,065 species of birds. The result was an instant success on both sides of the Atlantic, and Audubon returned to America in 1839 to continue his work. He subsequently wrote the equally impressive five-volume set The Ornithological Biography (1831–39) and an illustrated catalog, Synopsis of Birds of North America (1839). Audubon’s success propelled him to the front rank of famous American naturalists, and all his books have been continually republished. His last work, The Viviparous Quadrapeds of North America (1852–54) dealt with mammals and was partially finished by his son. Audubon died at Hudson, New York, on January 27, 1851, among the earliest and most influential of American naturalists.

April 21 Publishing: At Amherst, Massachusetts, Noah Webster finishes his An American Dictionary of the English Language, a seminal reference book two decades in the making. The final product contains 70,000 entries, more than any other such

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Boudinot, Elias (ca. 1803–1839) Cherokee editor Galagina (Male Buck) was born near Rome, Georgia, around 1803, into the Cherokee nation. He belonged to a prominent tribal family as his father, David Oowatie, was an individual of some repute, and his younger brother, Stand Watie, was a future Confederate general. The Cherokee by this time had been partly acculturated by their exposure to American civilization and Galagina was sent north to attend a missionary school at Cornwall, Connecticut. His benefactor in this regard was the retired New Jersey philanthropist Elias Boudinot and Galagina adopted his name as a token of respect. Boudinot performed well in his studies but incurred a measure of controversy when he fell in love with a local white girl, Harriet Ruggles Gold, and married her over parental objections. This act led to the closing of the Indian school at Cornwall, and Boudinot returned home to his tribe in Georgia. Well-educated by Cherokee standards, he gained appointment as editor of the tribal newspaper Cherokee Phoenix, thereby becoming the first Native American editor of a major publication. The Cherokee at that time were being buffeted by increasing demands by Georgia authorities to sell their lands and migrate west. Boudinot, printing in both English and the Cherokee alphabet developed in 1828 by Sequoyah, argued strenuously against the sale of any tribal holdings. In 1833 he also published a novel entitled Poor Sarah; or, The Indian Woman in the Cherokee language. However, the tribe was increasingly torn by factions both for and against relocating to the west. The

major shift in Boudinot’s career occurred in 1832, after returning from a fund-raising event in Boston, when he switched sides and advocated selling traditional land under the best possible terms before it was seized by whites. This brought him in direct conflict with Chief John Ross, who vigorously condemned the practice of selling land with consent of the entire tribe, and Boudinot was forced out as editor. By 1835 the so-called Treaty Party within the Cherokee nation had evolved and were willing to sell their land to the American government. That year Boudinot, accompanied by John Ridge, Major Ridge, Stand Watie, and others, visited Washington, D.C., and signed the Treaty of New Echota for the tribes’ removal to the Indian Territory. This was accomplished without the consent of Ross and other senior chiefs, but on May 23, 1836, the treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate by a single vote. This act set in motion the notorious “Trail of Tears,” whereby one-fourth of the Cherokee died in transit to new homes out west. Boudinot established himself there in September 1837 and resumed his publishing activities, principally through the translation of the New Testament and other religious tracts into Cherokee. However, tribal loyalists never forgave him for his role in signing the relocation treaty, and on June 22, 1839, Boudinot, the Ridges, and others associated with it were assassinated at Park Hill, Arkansas. His fate is indicative of the cultural conflict of tribes caught between two worlds.

dictionary, and includes many immigrant and Native American words specific to the New World and the United States. Curiously, he completed it while living in Cambridge, England, where most of the research was performed.

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April 28 Diplomacy: The U.S. Senate ratifies the agreement with Mexico to fix their mutual boundary along the Sabine River.

May 19 Politics: President John Quincy Adams, not to be outwitted by Jacksonian adversaries in Congress, slyly signs the so-called Tariff of Abominations into law. New Englanders in Congress, against whom the bill was aimed, also strongly support it for the protection of American industry it affords. This proves a major Machiavellian triumph for the beleaguered executive.

May 24 Business: The Reciprocity Act passes Congress, whereby discriminatory duties are abolished on trade with favorable, reciprocating nations.

July 4 Transportation: Aged Charles Carroll, the only surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, assists in groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Baltimore and Ohio Railway. The first operational section of track will be utilized by horse-drawn trains, but by 1830 the conversion to steam will be complete.

July 14 Exploring: A small expedition headed by noted scout Jedediah Smith comes to grief near the Sacramento River, California, when hostile Indians attack and kill 18 men.

July 21 Journalism: The Mechanic’s Free Paper gives exclusive coverage to the first strike by textile workers in Paterson, New Jersey—and the ensuing use of militia to end it.

August 11 Labor: A group of small businessmen form the first labor-oriented party in Philadelphia by gaining temporary control of the city council; in this capacity they agitate for a 10-hour working day, abolishing debtor’s prison, and universal education. Their success establishes a trend, and similar organizations rise in New York and Boston.

October 16 Transportation: The Delaware and Hudson Canal, running from Honesdale, Pennsylvania, to Kingston, New York, opens for business. Its primary function is to permit shipments of anthracite coal from Pennsylvania coalfields to industrial centers in the Northeast.

December 3 Politics: A blistering presidential campaign concludes with Andrew Jackson defeating John Quincy Adams by a vote of 178 electoral votes to 83; John C. Calhoun remains in office as vice president after defeating Richard Rush by similar margins. Jackson won the crucial state of New York thanks to the adept machinations of Martin Van Buren.

December 12 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty of peace and navigation with Brazil.

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December 19 Politics: The recently passed “Tariff of Abominations” is condemned by the South Carolina legislature as unconstitutional, unjust, and oppressive. Vice President John C. Calhoun also contributes an anonymous essay entitled “South Carolina Exposition and Protest” extolling state sovereignty and nullification by a single state. This is the genesis of what becomes known as the “Nullification Crisis,” and a precursor to the events of 1861.

December 20 Indian: The Georgia legislature passes a bill which declares all laws passed by the Cherokee nation null and void after June 1, 1830.

December 30 Politics: The Georgia legislature condemns the new Tariff of 1828.

1829 Labor: The Fellenberg Manual Labor Institution is established at Greenfield, Massachusetts; this is the first official labor school in the nation. Publishing: German philosopher and refugee Francis Lieber published the first volume of his seminal Encyclopedia Americana, which runs 13 volumes and is finished in 1833. This is the first reference work to be erudite, yet written for a general audience. Religion: Political agitation against Roman Catholics and immigrants, resulting in street violence and several blatantly anti-Catholic publications eventually give rise to the Native American Party, better known as the “Know-Nothings.”

January 9 Settlement: The House of Representatives defeats a bill mandating construction of a military fort in the Oregon Territory and establishment of a territorial government there.

February 4 –5 Politics: The Virginia and Mississippi legislatures denounce the “Tariff of Abominations” on constitutional grounds.

February 24 Politics: The Virginia legislature votes to find the new Tariff of 1828 unconstitutional.

March 2 Societal: Dr. John Dix Fisher founds the New England Asylum for the Blind in Boston; this is the nation’s first such institution.

March 4 Politics: Andrew Jackson is inaugurated seventh president of the United States. His inaugural address mentions frugal governance, support of states’ rights, a fair Indian policy, and reorganizing the federal civil service. The pressing issues of tariffs, the Bank of the United States, and public works go unaddressed. He also introduces the so-called spoils system (political patronage) on a larger scale than previously practiced. Moreover, the ensuing boisterous celebrations by rough-hewn frontiersmen and onlookers suggest that Jacksonian “democracy” has arrived with a vengeance.

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Jackson, Andrew (1767–1845) President

Andrew Jackson (National Archives)

Andrew Jackson was born in the Waxhaw settlement, South Carolina, on March 15, 1767. Though young, Jackson served in the American Revolution and was slashed by a British officer for refusing to polish his boots. Thereafter he expressed an inveterate hatred of England. Afterward he studied law in North Carolina, was admitted to the bar, and relocated to Tennessee to commence his practice. In 1796 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the state’s sole congressional member, and the following year gained appointment to the U.S. Senate. He returned home soon after and served many years on the state supreme court, gaining the reputation as a tough, single-minded individual. When the Creek War erupted in August 1813, Jackson was commissioned a major general of militia and he commenced a series of successful battles against the Indians. In March 1814 he crushed the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, then proceeded to Pensacola and captured it from the Spanish for

March 23 Indian: President Andrew Jackson writes to the Creek and orders them to either conform to the laws of Alabama or remove themselves across the Mississippi River.

April 15 Politics: Once in office, President Andrew Jackson comes to rely exclusively on his unofficial “kitchen cabinet” consisting of lawyers Amos B. Kendall and William B. Lewis and editor Duff Green.

May 17 General: John Jay, revolutionary diplomat and first chief justice of the Supreme Court, dies in Bedford, New York.

May 29 Transportation: Construction begins on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at Georgetown.

June 4 Naval: The USS Demologos, the world’s first steam warship, better known as Fulton the First, catches fire and burns in New York Harbor. So strong was the

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aiding the Indians. At that time Great Britain was launching a major invasion against New Orleans to take control of the Mississippi River, but Jackson reached the city ahead of them and entrenched. On January 8, 1815, he bloodily repelled them in the largest land battle of the War of 1812, ironically fought two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed. Now a national hero, he was next tasked with subduing hostile Seminole Indians in 1818, invaded Spanish-held Florida, and executed two English traders found assisting them. Though widely criticized in political circles, Jackson’s actions proved popular with the public and he was not officially castigated. Budget cuts forced him from the army in 1821, and he parleyed his immense popularity into national politics. Jackson ran for the presidency in 1824, winning the most popular and electoral votes, but the election went to John Quincy Adams thanks to Henry Clay’s activity in the House of Representatives. He angrily remonstrated against what he considered a “corrupt bargain” and ran again in 1828.

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That year he handily defeated Adams and was sworn in as the seventh president. His ascent heralded the trend toward “Jacksonian democracy” in which the plight of the common man was widely addressed. Jackson came down hard on South Carolina for its nullification of high tariffs and also allowed the charter of the Bank of the United States to expire. To a man of his frontier sensibilities, the bank represented a bastion of elite commercial interest at the expense of average citizens. Jackson also agitated for the removal of the Cherokee and other native Americans to designated area beyond the Mississippi to acquire their land. Jackson was roundly reelected in 1832, at which point he authorized the withdrawal of all federal money from the Bank of the United States and its redistribution among state institutions. Jackson left office in March 1837 a highly popular and successful executive who did much to expand the power and prestige of the presidency. He died at his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee, on June 8, 1845, a singularly willful leader.

prejudice against steam power in the sail-dominated U.S. Navy that for many years the vessel performed only minor service as a receiving ship.

July 23 Technology: William Austin Burt of Detroit, Michigan, receives the first patent for a mechanical typewriter; this proves a somewhat crude device, quickly supplanted by machines featuring a keyboard.

July 29 Indian: A treaty signed between the United States and the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi results in the loss of Indian land in the Michigan Territory.

August Sports: John Stuart Skinner founds the first sports periodical, American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, in Baltimore, Maryland.

August 8 Transportation: The Stourbridge Lion, America’s first steam locomotive, runs on tracks owned by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. This Britishbuilt device runs at 10 miles per hour for the entire distance between Carbondale to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. However, at seven tons, it is considered far too

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Chronology of American History heavy for tracks designed to be used with horses, and the entire route must be reinforced.

August 25 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Martin Van Buren instructs American minister to Mexico Joel R. Poinsett to purchase the states of Texas and Coahuila from that government. However, the Mexicans spurn President Andrew Jackson’s offer to purchase these territories, home to several thousand American settlers and squatters.

September 15 Slavery: The Republic of Mexico, through its Guerrero Decree, abolishes slavery throughout the country, including Texas.

October 16 Business: The Tremont Hotel in Boston becomes America’s first luxury hotel and pioneers such innovations as private bedrooms with locks, soap and a pitcher of water in every room, indoor water closets (toilets), clerks and bellboys. Its success inspires many imitators across the nation. Diplomacy: The Mexican government dismisses Joel R. Poinsett, the American minister, and he is called back to Washington, D.C.

October 17 Diplomacy: Anthony Butler becomes chargé d’affaires in Mexico and is instructed to continue with negotiations for purchasing land. Transportation: The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, a 14-mile artificial waterway funded by a combination of private investors, the federal government, and state governments, opens between Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River.

November 7 Labor: Ebenezer Ford, president of the New York City Carpenter’s Union, wins a seat to the New York State Assembly; he is the first labor union member to hold public office.

November 13 Sports: Diver Sam Patch is killed when he attempts to dive 125 feet headfirst into the Genesee River, New York.

December 2 Slavery: Perhaps as a sop to prospective American settlers, Mexican President Guerrero exempts Texas from a national antislavery decree.

December 8 Politics: In his first message to Congress, President Andrew Jackson broaches the issue of sharing surplus federal revenue with the states. He also questions the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, probably a result of learning that the institution worked actively against his election.

December 22 Transportation: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad commences service along the 13-mile strip of track from the main city to Ellicott’s Mills. However, the initial cars are pulled by horses, not locomotives, although they reach and sustain speeds of up to 12 miles an hour along metal tracks.

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December 29 Settlement: Senator Samuel A. Foot of Connecticut authors a resolution calling for a moratorium on public land sales out west.

1830 Business: Lowell, Massachusetts, is the site of a new woolen mill operated along the lines of the Waltham system. This entails women living in closely managed dormitories and attracts the daughters of rural farmers. Education: Francis Wayland, president of Brown University, becomes head of the American Institute of Instruction, the nation’s oldest educational association. Population: The latest U.S. Census records a population of 12,866,020. Publishing: In Philadelphia, Ladies’ Magazine, published by John Lauris Blake, is becoming the first successful woman’s magazine in America. It is eventually edited by Sarah Josepha Hale, one of the earliest and most successful women editors. By concentrating on features of interest to women such as fashion and morality, it eventually builds a readership Woman and girl in fashionable clothing, of 150,000. 1862 (Library of Congress) Religion: Alexander Campbell and his followers establish the Disciples of Christ, which rejects all creeds and confessions in favor of New Testament beliefs and practices. They are also known as “Campbellites.” Settlement: Plans are drawn up for the city of Chicago; it rises on the site of old Fort Dearborn, which has been an army post for 27 years. Transportation: The relatively slow start of railroads can be gauged by the fact that this year only 73 miles of track exist as opposed to 1,277 miles of canals. However, this ratio will dramatically reverse itself as railroad technology, particularly as it relates to the design and construction of tracks, is perfected.

January 17 Politics: Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri accuses the author of the Foot Resolution as opposing the continuing political and economic growth of the West, a charge he then levels at the northeastern political establishment. However, the issue of land sales is soon lost over the bigger issue of the nature of the American government under the Constitution.

January 19–27 Politics: Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina engages Daniel Webster of Massachusetts in a debate over what appears on the surface to be land sales in the west but actually touches upon the more serious issue of states’ rights versus federal power—especially in regard to nullification. This debate ominously arrays Northerners and Southerners against one another, and Webster delivers one of

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Hale, Sarah (1788–1879) Editor Sarah Josepha Buell was born in Newport, New Hampshire, on October 24, 1788, into a modest household. At this time girls were denied the educational opportunities afforded boys, but she was carefully tutored by her parents and brother, a student at Dartmouth. In 1813 she married attorney David Hale, raised a family, and received additional education and encouragement from her husband. Hale had previously dabbled in publishing poems and various short pieces in regional newspapers, but after her husband died in 1822 she took to publishing as a vocation. This was an unusual career decision for a woman at the time, but Hale was well-trained and motivated. Her first novel, Northwood, a Tale of New England, received critical acclaim in 1827, and the following year she accepted publisher John Lauris Blake’s invitation to serve as editor of his Ladies’ Magazine. In this capacity, Hale quickly distinguished herself as a first-rate editor with keen insights as to the female reading audience. Completely devoted to enhancing female education, Hale insisted that the magazine be enlightening and entertaining in equal measure. She also resisted commercial pressures to include elaborate plates of the latest fashion in favor of erudite discussions of politics, domestic practices, morality, and history. Moreover, at a time when most American magazines simply reprinted materials from their British counterparts, Hale actively cultivated original pieces from such noted women writers such as Lydia Sigourney, Sarah Whitman, and Maria Fuller. She was also acutely interested

in dispensing advice for the rearing of children, and in 1830 her book Poems for Our Children contained the endearing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Interestingly, Hale distanced herself from the feminism and insisted that men and women exist in different spheres and ought to confine their respective talents to the same. She also favored the colonization of African Americans rather than abolition and assimilation. The panic of 1837 forced the Ladies’ Magazine into receivership and it was acquired by Philadelphia publisher Louis Godey. A new publication, Godey’s Lady’s Book, was the result, and he invited Hale to continue on as editor from Boston. Here she was forced to accept the inclusion of fashion-orientated materials which she considered superfluous but continued lacing her issues with useful and informative columns. Hale remained in Boston until 1841, when she moved her entire operation to Philadelphia. She continued functioning capably in this capacity until 1877, at which time the publication enjoyed a circulation of 150,000—the nation’s largest. She also found the time to pen numerous books on cooking and household management, mastery of which she considered a moral imperative for all women as housewives and mothers. Hale finally retired from the editor’s desk at the age of 89 and she died at Philadelphia on April 30, 1879. She enjoyed a remarkable 50-year stint as one of the nation’s most successful editors, an accomplished writer, and the first domestic diva.

the great speeches of American history by declaring, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!” The original issue of public land sales is entirely overlooked in this struggle to define the Federal union.

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Chronology   769

Webster, Daniel

(1782–1852)

Politician Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, on January 18, 1782, the son of an impoverished Revolutionary War veteran. He attended the noted Phillips Exeter Acad-­ emy and subsequently graduated from Dart-­ mouth College in 1801 before studying law and opening a successful practice. In 1813 he gained election to the U.S. House of Repre-­ sentatives as a Federalist and in this capacity roundly opposed the War of 1812. Webster then quit Congress in 1816 to practice law in Boston, gaining national renown for argu-­ ing before the U.S. Supreme Court on three occasions. In 1819 he won the celebrated Dartmouth College v. Woodward when the Court under Chief Justice John Marshall upheld the nature of contract law. That year Webster also helped win McCulloch v. Maryland on behalf of the Second Bank of the United States, and in 1824 he successfully argued the case of Gibbons v. Ogden in favor of unfettered interstate commerce. He then was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massa-­ chusetts as a northern Whig and functioned as an exemplary spokesman. In 1830 he par-­ ticularly distinguished himself in a constitu-­ tional debate with Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, declaring “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.” Two years later he sided with President Andrew Jack-­ son in the Nullification Crisis, despite his strong affiliation with the anti-­Jacksonian Whig Party. He then opposed the president over his refusal to recharter the Second Bank of the United States. Webster apparently felt that Jackson’s removal of federal deposits to “pet banks” could be an issue propelling him to the White House. In 1836 Webster was one of several Whig candidates to seek the party nomination, but in the end they split the vote and Democrat

Martin Van Buren won. Webster functioned several more years in the opposition until 1840, when he became a strong supporter of a new Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison. After Harrison won he appointed Webster sec-­ retary of state and continued in that position after John Tyler succeeded Harrison a month later. In this capacity Webster negotiated the Webster-­Ashburton Treaty of 1843 to settle a boundary dispute with Canada then resigned to run for the Senate when Tyler vetoed a new national bank. In 1844 Webster failed to receive the Whig nomination for president, so he campaigned on behalf of Henry Clay, who then lost to James K. Polk. Afterward Web-­ ster stridently opposed the war with Mexico, (continues)

Daniel Webster (Library of Congress)

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(continued) the expansion of slavery into the new territories, and supported the Wilmot Proviso. However, in March 1850 he outraged his constituents by defending the Fugitive Slave Act as essential for the Union at that point. In July 1850 he served again as secretary of state under President Millard Fillmore and two years later was bitterly disappointed

when he was again passed over for the Whig nomination in favor of General Winfield Scott. Webster died at Marshfield, Massachusetts, on October 24, 1852, an outstanding orator and the major spokesman for the North during a period of rising sectional tensions. He, along with Clay and John C. Calhoun, helped define the national agenda.

February 4 Transportation: The Camden and Amboy Railroad, New Jersey’s first such business, is chartered.

March 12 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court settles the case of Craig v. Missouri, ruling that state loan certificates, intended for circulation, are bills of credit and patently unconstitutional.

March 15 Politics: The Louisiana legislature votes to endorse the Tariff of 1812.

March 28 Diplomacy: The United States and Denmark conclude a treaty for the adjustment of indemnity claims.

March 31 Politics: The Pennsylvania legislature endorses Andrew Jackson for the presidency.

April 6 Diplomacy: A postrevolutionary government in Mexico adopts laws to halt American immigration into Texas and also prohibits the importation of AfricanAmerican slaves. American settlers living there under prior arrangements consider this a violation of their “rights.” Religion: Joseph Smith founds the Church of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) at Fayette, New York; he draws inspiration from religious visions and translations of messages on golden tablets. These were reputedly revealed to him by the angel Moroni. He then goes on to publish his influential The Book of Mormon, setting the stage for one of America’s most powerful religious sects. Mormonism is a uniquely American creed which holds that the country was colonized by a lost tribe of Israel, and that God has special message—and mission—for the United States.

April 10 Business: A covered wagon train departs Missouri for the Rocky Mountains under the leadership of Jedediah Strong Smith and William Sublette. This year they also sell their holdings to what emerges as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

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Smith, Joseph (1804 –1844) Mormon prophet Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Ver-­ mont, on December 23, 1805, a son of poor farmers. He endured a hardscrabble existence while maturing along the fron-­ tiers of western New York, and around 1820 Smith began experiencing a series of religious visions. Here both God and Jesus Christ appeared to him and revealed the location of several golden plates buried in the ground and allegedly deposited by the Indian descendants of lost Hebrew tribes. Smith was then enabled to decipher the plates through magic and published his treatise, The Book of Mormon, in 1830. This is the genesis of a uniquely American sect, the Mormons, who derive their name from a supposed American prophet. Smith began preaching to his neighbors, winning many converts. He then formally organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­day Saints on April 6, 1830, which was distinguished by its insistence of church ownership of all property, placing all political power in the church, and recognition of Smith as the sole prophet. As the Mormon community grew it experienced friction with more traditionally minded Christians, and in 1838 Smith relo-­ cated his church and its followers to western Missouri. This led to further strife with other communities and an outbreak of violence in which Smith was arrested and detained for several months. Ultimately, he was forced to relocate church and followers alike to a new abode in Illinois, christened Nau-­ voo. Though viewed with suspicion, Smith gained respectability among state politicians for his ability to deliver 12,000 Mormon votes to whomever he pleased. He was thus able to achieve considerable autonomy in running church affairs, and also recruited, trained, and equipped his own militia force, the Nauvoo Legion.

While at Nauvoo, Smith continually updated and refined church doctrine and his role as prophet. In 1844 he pronounced his community as independent of the United States while church elders crowned him king of this kingdom of God on Earth. Smith also began harboring political aspirations and at one point proffered himself as a presidential candidate on a platform of establishing a “theodemocracy” and the abolition of slav-­ ery. A breaking point occurred around this time when he apparently also introduced the practice of multiple wives, or polygamy, among church leaders. This struck dissi-­ dents within the Mormon ranks as antithe-­ tical to proper religion and also outraged (continues)

Joseph Smith, Jr. (Library of Congress)

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(continued) more traditional Protestant communities that practiced monogamy. The final break occurred when a breakaway newspaper, The Nauvoo Expositor, openly criticized Smith for polygamy and exposed him as a false prophet. Church loyalists then attacked and destroyed the press upon Smith’s orders, at which point he was arrested and charged

with disorderly conduct. He was then lodged in the Carthage jail for his own safety, but a mob stormed in, killing Smith and his brother. Smith was only 38 years old at the time, but his reputation as one of the 19th century’s most charismatic religious figures was assured. He was replaced by a new leader, Brigham Young.

April 13 Politics: In a sign of continuing political and sectional tension, President Andrew Jackson toasts a dinner held in honor of Thomas Jefferson by thundering, “Our Federal Union—it must be preserved!” Vice President John C. Calhoun then offered a Southern riposte, declaring, “The Union—next to our liberty, the most dear.”

May 7 Diplomacy: The United States and Turkey conclude a treaty of commerce which opens up the Black Sea region to American commerce.

May 20 Business: Import duties on tea, coffee, salt, and molasses are reduced by Congress.

May 21 Politics: The Foot Resolution, calling for restrictions on western land sales, is tabled in the Senate.

May 24 Transportation: The first 13-mile section of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad opens between Baltimore and Ellicott’s Mills.

May 27 Transportation: The Maysville Road Bill, which would have funded construction of a 60-mile road in Kentucky, is vetoed by President Andrew Jackson—his first use of executive authority in that regard. He opposes federal subsidies for public works projects that are confined to one state and not part of a larger system of overall national improvement.

May 28 Indian: The Indian Removal Act is signed by President Andrew Jackson, mandating the forced relocation of several Eastern Indian tribes to reservations located across the Mississippi River. Through this expedient, the government can acquire thousands of square miles of pristine Indian land east of the river. In return the tribes receive $500,000 in compensation and an annuity. Debate over the bill is marked by intense acrimony, with opponents insisting it is the best alternative to gradual annihilation and by detractors insisting it is both cruel and inhumane.

1830

Chronology   773

Calhoun, John C. (1782–1850) Politician John Caldwell Calhoun was born in Abbe-­ ville District, South Carolina, the son of an affluent judge and slave owner. He gradu-­ ated from Yale in 1804, began a successful law practice, and in 1808 commenced a long career in politics by winning a seat in the state legislature. Calhoun, intense, reserved, and profound, successfully stood for a seat in the U.S. House of Repre-­ sentatives in 1811 where he functioned as a prominent “War Hawk” agitating for war with England. As such he voted for an increased military establishment and became closely associated with Henry Clay. Afterward Calhoun’s political career bore all the trappings of an ardent nationalist through his vocal support for a strong mili-­ tary, internal improvements, and protective tariffs to assist industry. In 1817 President James Monroe appointed him secretary of war, a disgraced office since the disasters of the recent conflict, yet he applied himself with such energy, diligence, and foresight in this capacity that in 1824 he was enabled to run for the vice presidency with John Quincy Adams. His name was frequently mentioned as a possible presidential contender, but in 1828 he deferred to Andrew Jackson and once served as his vice president. His ten-­ ure with Jackson proved unhappy, owing to conflicting personalities, Calhoun’s prior criticism of Jackson’s behavior during the First Seminole War in Florida, and the ris-­ ing tide of sectionalism occasioned by high tariffs. The breaking point occurred in 1832 when South Carolina threatened to “nullify” high tariffs and Calhoun penned an anon-­ ymous pamphlet defending the practice. When Jackson threatened military force to collect the tariff, Calhoun broke precedence by resigning from office and he was replaced by Martin Van Buren. He then gained elec-­

tion to the U.S. Senate from his home state and spent nearly two decades as the South’s leading political intellect and spokesman. The remainder of Calhoun’s career was buffeted by the rise of strident abolitionism in the North, which called for an immedi-­ ate end to slavery. He was quick to defend that “peculiar institution” and argued that the Congress had no constitutional ability to thwart its continued existence anywhere in the nation. To this end he supported the annexation of Texas as a slave state but also opposed the war with Mexico as an unnecessary evil. He particularly railed against the Wilmot Proviso on constitutional grounds for outlawing slavery in territory acquired from Mexico. Calhoun subse-­ quently found himself working both with (continues)

John C. Calhoun (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History

(continued) and against two other fine minds, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, in a failed attempt to accommodate rising national hostility over sectionalism and secession. His health failing, Calhoun nonetheless remained a strident Southern nationalist to the end and

opposed the Compromise of 1850 for failing to ensure the continued existence of slavery. He died in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 1850, having been spared from witnessing the very civil war that would destroy his beloved South.

May 29 Settlement: Congress passes the Preemption Act to protect squatters from land speculators and claim jumpers; henceforth any settler established on public land in the past year is entitled to purchase up to 160 acres at $1.25 an acre. Duties on molasses and salt are also reduced.

May 31 Transportation: President Andrew Jackson vetoes federal subscription to stock in the Washington Turnpike Company, considering it a local and state project.

June 5 Naval: The frigate USS Vincennes under Captain F. B. Finch returns to New York, being the first U.S. warship to successfully circumnavigate the globe.

July 15 Indian: The United States and representatives from the Sac, Fox, and Sioux conclude a treaty that cedes all Indian land encompassing present-day Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota. This transpires over the objections of a principal chief, Black Hawk.

August 4 Settlement: Civil engineer James Thompson begins laying out the town of Chicago, Illinois.

August 28 Transportation: The Tom Thumb, the first steam-powered locomotive made in America, successfully runs along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills. Prior to this, American steam trains had been acquired from the English.

September 11 Politics: The Anti-Masonic Party demonstrates its political viability by holding its first convention in Philadelphia, attracting numerous delegates.

September 15 Indian: The Choctaw and the United States conclude the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, whereby the tribe transfers eight million acres of land east of the Mississippi to the government. They are then entitled to resettle on land set aside for them in present-day Oklahoma.

September 16 Literature: In an attempt to prevent the aged frigate USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” from being sold and broken up, Oliver Wendell Holmes writes and pub-

1830

Chronology

775

lishes the poem “Old Ironsides” in the Boston Daily Advertiser. His effort proves so popular that the Navy Department rescinds its order to mothball the vessel.

September 18 Transportation: On its return leg of a trip to Baltimore, the locomotive Tom Thumb races a horse and loses owing to mechanical failure.

September 27 Indian: The United States and the Choctaw nation conclude the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, whereby the tribe’s remaining land east of the Mississippi is ceded in exchange for new homes in the designated Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

September 30 Politics: The Kentucky legislature nominates Henry Clay as its presidential candidate.

October 5 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Martin Van Buren discusses opening trade with the West Indies with British minister Sir Charles Vaughan. General: Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president, is born at Fairfield, Vermont.

November 2 Transportation: Another early locomotive, the Best Friend of Charleston, completes its first sojourn down the Charleston-Hamburg Railroad; its becomes the first train to complete regularly scheduled runs.

November 26 Technology: During a visit to England, Robert Stevens invents the improved “T-rail” rail track, which is still employed to present times.

December Slavery: Once the American schooner Comet is wrecked on the Bahamas, British authorities declare that the slaves it was carrying are now free. Women: Robert Dale Owen publishes Moral Physiology, the first American manual to touch upon the sensitive issue of birth control. Most newspapers refuse to carry advertisements promoting it, but the book nonetheless sells 25,000 copies.

December 6 Politics: President Andrew Jackson delivers his annual address to Congress, reiterating his opposition to the Bank of the United States and proposing internal improvements financed by distributing federal surpluses back to the states.

December 7 Journalism: Supporters of President Andrew Jackson choose Francis P. Blair to edit a pro-administration newspaper, the Washington Globe, as a semiofficial mouthpiece. Jackson relies on this new paper as his old ally, Duff Green of the U.S. Telegraph, has become a supporter of Henry Clay.

1831 Arts: Yale University establishes the Trumbull Gallery in honor of alumnus and artist John Trumbull. Medical: Dr. James Guthrie successfully synthesizes chloroform, an early and effective anesthetic, in his laboratory at Sackets Harbor, New York.

1831

776

Chronology of American History Slavery: A resolution in the Georgia senate offers a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction in a state court of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Technology: Inventor Joseph Henry creates the first practical electric bell using primitive magnets and copper wire; it becomes one of the first electrical devices with domestic applications. Transportation: The steamboat Yellowstone of the American Fur Company is the first such vessel to ascend the Missouri River.

January Religion: To escape violence and persecution, Joseph Smith and 70 Mormon followers relocate from New York to Kirtland, Ohio. This is the site of what they hope will be New Zion. Slavery: Free African Americans in the Washington, D.C., area are arrested and whipped for owning copies of William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper The Liberator.

January 1 Slavery: William Lloyd Garrison, radical abolitionist, begins publication of his newspaper The Liberator in Boston, vowing “I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard.” He also intends to remain in print until the last of African Americans is released from bondage; Garrison keeps his word and does not fold until 1865.

January 15 Transportation: The steam locomotive Best Friend of Charleston becomes the first American train to actually haul passengers, in this instance on a run between Charleston and Hamburg, South Carolina, as part of the South Carolina Railroad. Soon Isaac Dripps invents the trademark grill eventually seen on all locomotives, nicknamed the “Cowcatcher.”

February 2 Politics: Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a nominal Jacksonian ally, frames the debate on the National Bank by attacking it as “too great and powerful to be tolerated in a Government of free and equal laws.”

February 3 Business: Congress passes a new Copyright Act which extends the rights and benefits of the original 1790 act from 14 to 28 years. An additional 14 years is permitted if asked for by the author’s wife or children.

February 15 Politics: In a move indicative of the breech between President Andrew Jackson and Vice President John C. Calhoun, the latter publishes letters critical of the president’s behavior during the First Seminole War of 1818. In consequence, an angry Jackson chooses New York’s Martin Van Buren as his running mate.

March 4 Politics: Former president John Quincy Adams, whom many believed was ruined as a political figure, becomes the first former executive to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Plymouth, Massachusetts.

March 5 Transportation: The West Point, the first locomotive utilizing a four-wheeled truck, debuts on the South Carolina Railroad.

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March 18 Indian: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case Cherokee v. Georgia, ruling that the Cherokee are not a sovereign nation but rather a “domestic dependent” and cannot sue in federal court. The Indians were trying to stop Georgia from applying its laws on their land, where gold had recently been discovered.

April 5 Diplomacy: The United States and Mexico conclude a commercial treaty.

April 7 Politics: Secretary of War John H. Eaton resigns from the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson to protest the snubbing of his wife, Peggy O’Neale, a former barmaid, whom administration wives consider unacceptable. This act leads to a spate of resignations and by a day later all cabinet officials have either left or been replaced.

April 18 Education: The University of the City of New York is chartered; it becomes New York University after 1896.

April 26 Law: The New York legislature decriminalizes indebtedness and abolishes prison terms for it.

May 26 Education: The Methodists charter Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, becoming the oldest institution of higher learning associated with that sect.

June 11 Societal: The Annual Convention of People of Color, the first large gathering of free African Americans, convenes at the Wesleyan Church in Philadelphia. There they approve measures to study the conditions of blacks in America overall, weigh the possibility of resettling in Canada, and oppose efforts of the American Colonization Society.

June 27–30 Indian: Black Hawk, head chief of the Sac and Fox and a distinguished warrior from the War of 1812, reluctantly agrees with General Edmund P. Gaines to move his people from their traditional homeland in Illinois across the Mississippi River and into new lands in Iowa. They nearly starve there over the winter, which occasions an unexpected return to their former abodes.

July 4 Diplomacy: American minister in Paris William C. Rives presses damage claims against France dating back to the Napoleonic Wars. The French have been dragging their feet, citing counterclaims by their own citizens. Ultimately France pays out $5 million in claims, the Americans $300,000. General: Former President James Monroe dies in New York City at the age of 73. Music: The song “America,” written to the traditional British tune “God Save the King,” is arranged and played by Dr. Samuel Francis Smith for the first time in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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Black Hawk (ca. 1767–1838) Sac and Fox chief Black Hawk (Makataimeshekikiak) was born near Rock Island, Illinois, around 1767, into the Thunder Clan of the Sac and Fox Indian nation. He matured into an outstanding warrior and by 1788 was functioning as a minor chief. By this time the tribe had established friendly relations with the United States, although these soured after 1804 when efforts accelerated to have the Indians sell their traditional hunting grounds. Black Hawk, in particular, refused to move from his village at Saukenuk and continually declined Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison’s offers of compensation. When the War of 1812 erupted, Black Hawk readily joined Tecumseh’s pan-Indian coalition against the United States, defeating American troops in several actions. His most successful battle occurred in September 1814 when his braves attacked Major (and future president) Zachary Taylor’s small force on the Rock River, Illinois, forcing them to retreat. It was not until 1816, a year after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, that Black Hawk finally and sullenly made peace with his hated adversaries. An uneasy truce prevailed for the next two decades, but in 1829 the Illinois state government under Governor John Reynolds began pressing Black Hawk’s tribe to migrate west across the Mississippi River. The old chief refused and in 1831 the local militia was assembled to evict them by force. Black Hawk, wishing to avoid hostilities, then slipped quietly across the river into Iowa, which seemed to diffuse the emergency for the moment.

The Sac and Fox spent a desperate winter in Iowa, nearly starving to death. To circumvent further suffering, on April 5, 1832, Black Hawk ordered his 1,400 tribesmen back across the Mississippi to reoccupy their old homeland. A party of two Indians was sent ahead under a white flag to assure the whites they meant no harm, but when militiamen killed the messengers, Black Hawk went to war. Several costly skirmishes ensued over the intervening weeks while General Henry Atkinson collected a force of militia and soldiers to deal with the intruders. On May 12, 1832, the Indians were soundly defeated by Atkinson at the Battle of Bad Ax, principally by the armed steamboat Warrior. Black Hawk’s band scattered and he was eventually captured and taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, by Lieutenant Jefferson Davis. He was also introduced to President Andrew Jackson before being released into the custody of Keokuk, a rival chief far more amicably disposed toward Americans. While in captivity Black Hawk dictated his memoirs to Indian agent Antonine LeClaire, which were published in 1833 and became a best seller. In them the old chief excoriates the whites for their injustice against Native Americans, and he carefully recounts his many victories over them in the field. Black Hawk continued to live quietly at Keokuk’s village in Iowa until his death on October 3, 1838. Significantly, the so-called Black Hawk War to which his name is indelibly associated was the last act of Native American resistance east of the Mississippi River.

July 20 Politics: President Andrew Jackson appoints Roger B. Taney of Maryland to serve as attorney general.

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779

July 26 Politics: Vice President John C. Calhoun elaborates on the doctrine of nullification in his “Fort Hill Letter,” reiterating that states possess the right to both accept and reject actions taken by the federal government at their own discretion.

August Religion: Mormon founder Joseph Smith selects Independence, Missouri, to serve as his Holy City of Zion. William Miller, a Baptist preacher, founds the Seventh-Day Adventist movement in American Protestantism and predicts the imminent return of Jesus Christ between 1843 and 1844 based on his interpretation of the books of Daniel and Revelation.

August 1 Politics: Lewis Cass of Ohio gains appointment as the new secretary of war.

August 8 Politics: Louis McLane of Delaware becomes the new secretary of the treasury.

August 9 Politics: A political gathering in New York City nominates John C. Calhoun for the presidency. Transportation: New York’s first steam locomotive, the De Witt Clinton, initiates service on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad.

August 10 General: The first reference to the U.S. Flag as “Old Glory” occurs in a toast by sea captain William Driver of Salem, Massachusetts. The expression gains widespread use by the middle of the century.

August 13–23 Slavery: Reverend Nat Turner, a radical slave preacher, leads a bloody rebellion in Southampton, Virginia, killing 70 whites. The rebellion is then speedily crushed by local militia and Turner is captured. He and 12 others are hanged for their participation, while an additional 100 slaves are killed in fighting.

August 28 Naval: In response to the attacks by Sumatran pirates on American shipping in the Far East, President Andrew Jackson orders Captain John Downes of the frigate USS Potomac to undertake punitive actions against them.

September 26 Arts: Robert Montgomery Bird’s abolitionist play The Gladiator, set in Roman times during the days of Spartacus, begins a successful run in New York City. It stars noted actor Edwin Forrest in one of his earliest roles as a romantic hero. Politics: The Anti-Masonic Party, which appeared suddenly as the third national party and now has chapters in 13 states, holds its first national convention. Attorney William Wirt of Maryland is nominated as its presidential candidate with Amos Ellmaker of Pennsylvania as vice president.

September 30 Politics: A gathering of free trade advocates in Philadelphia drafts a message to Congress, written by Albert Gallatin.

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Cartoon illustrating Nat Turner’s uprising against southern whites╇ (Library of Congress)

October 13 Societal: Riots break out at the Park Theater in New York City when En�glish actor Joshua R. Anderson, who publicly criticized Americans, emerged on the stage.

October 26 Politics: Advocates of protective tariffs gather at a convention in New York City.

November 11 Slavery: Radical preacher Nat Turner is hanged at Jerusalem, Virginia, for his role in the violent slave uprising of the previous August.

November 12 Transportation: John Bull, an Â�EnÂ�glish-­built locomotive, begins clacking down the tracks on the Camden and Amboy Railroad, New Jersey.

November 19 General: James A. Garfield, 20th president, is born at Orange Township, Cleve-­ land, Ohio.

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December 5 Politics: National elections keep the Democrats in control of Congress. John Quincy Adams is elected to the House of Representatives from Massachusetts; he is the first former chief executive returned to Congress.

December 12 Politics: The new National Republican Party convenes its first nominating convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and selects Henry Clay for president and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania for vice president. The party platform attacks President Andrew Jackson for patronage and abuses of veto power, supports Clay’s “American system” and seeks to recharter the Bank of the United States. Slavery: Former president John Quincy Adams, now holding a seat in the House of Representatives, presents 15 Pennsylvania petitions calling for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.

December 26 General: Stephen Girard, one of the nation’s wealthiest men, dies and leaves his fortune to the founding of Girard College, dedicated to the education of poor, white male orphans.

1832 Arts: Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play Pizarro is staged in Columbus, Georgia, with genuine Creek Indians playing the role of Native Americans and performing authentic Indian dances to an amazed audience. Education: The Perkins Institute, the first school dedicated to teaching the deaf, is opened in Boston by Samuel Gridley Howe. Literature: The collected poems of William Cullen Bryant are published and hailed by the North American Review as the best American verse to have been written. Medical: New Orleans is ravaged by epidemics of cholera and yellow fever which kill 5,000 inhabitants. Music: The Boston Academy of Music opens, being the first American institution to offer advanced musical instruction. Publishing: William A. Alcott authors The Young Man’s Guide as a directory of proper manners and morality in a variety of social settings and situations. It is widely read and accepted. Religion: Evangelical preacher Charles G. Finney establishes the Second Presbyterian Church in New York City. Science: The pseudoscience of phrenology is brought to America by Austrian Johann Kaspar Spurnzhiem; it holds that the moral character and intellectual capacity of an individual can be gauged by the shape of his skull. Societal: Oranges and lemons begin arriving in large shipments from Sicily and gain popularity as part of the national diet; previously, such delicacies were reserved for the very wealthy. Sports: William Trotter becomes the nation’s first sportswriter by contributing a column to the newspaper The Traveler.

January 6 Slavery: The New England Anti-Slavery Society is founded in Boston; it strongly opposes the resettlement of African Americans in Africa.

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Finney, Charles G. (1792–1875) Theologian Charles Grandison Finney was born in Warren, Connecticut, on August 29, 1792, the son of farmers. He matured on the frontier of Jefferson County, New York, where he studied law with a view toward opening a practice. However, 1820 marked the beginning of the Second Great Awakening, a profound religious revival movement among frontier communities, and Finney found himself increasingly drawn into biblical studies. The turning point in his life occurred in October 1821 when he underwent a dramatic conversion experience and committed his life to Christ as an evangelical minister. Finney was particularly gifted in this capacity, being flamboyant, physically imposing, and—thanks to his legal training—a fine orator. He began attending and preaching at frontier revival meetings through western New York and in 1824 was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. His fiery sermons, in which he challenged parishioners to step forward and accept Jesus as their personal savior, gained in popularity and won thousands of converts. Finney even took his message to the factories of the northeast by visiting Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, where a newly emergent middle class readily accepted his message of salvation. In 1832 he established the Second Presbyterian Church in New York, again with considerable success. The secret to Finney’s persuasiveness was his insistence that all people are sinners, that hell was very real, and that only a personal relationship with God through direct prayer could save them

from eternal damnation. However, strict adherents of Calvinism, who insisted that most people are preordained for hell, found his message heretical and he was forced from the Presbyterian assembly. Undaunted, Finney established the Broadway Tabernacle in 1836 and then associated himself with the Congregationalist Church. In 1835 he also accepted the position of teacher of theology at Oberlin College, Ohio, and he alternated between the two positions. In 1837 Finney relocated to Ohio as pastor of the First Congregational Church in Oberlin, where he continued to teach and preach with little interruption. In 1849–50 and 1859–60 he carried his message of hope to England, and he also served as president of Oberlin College after 1851. In this capacity he championed social causes such as temperance and urged abstention from alcohol, tobacco, and other stimulants. Furthermore, as an evangelical Christian, Finney stridently opposed slavery as a sin. He was upset with President Abraham Lincoln’s moderate accommodation of it during the early period of the Civil War and criticized him for failing to pursue the matter of civil rights for African Americans. Finney continued successfully preaching at Oberlin well past his retirement, and he died there on August 16, 1875. He is a significant figure of the Second Great Awakening for his emotional innovations in preaching, which have since become hallmarks of mainstream evangelical Protestantism in America.

January 9 Business: Congress begins agitating to extend the Bank of the United States’ charter three years ahead of its expiration date. This is despite heavy political criticism from westerners and others who view it as a symbol of aristocracy and corporate privilege.

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January 21 Politics: President Andrew Jackson enacts a “reform” program by rewarding numerous governmental positions to his circle of political friends. New York Democrat William Marcy summarizes the practice when he declares “To the victor go the spoils of the enemy.” Slavery: Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of the former president, presses the Virginia legislature to adopt his grandfather’s plan for the gradual abolition of slavery.

February 2 Education: Denison Literary and Theological Institution (Denison University) is chartered in Granville, Ohio, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1840.

February 6 Naval: Captain John Downes of the USS Potomac launches a landing party against pirates at Qualla Battoo, Sumatra. The Americans destroy four forts, kill 150 pirates, along with Rajah Po Mohamoet, their leader, suffering only two killed and 11 wounded. The surviving Malays agree not to harass American vessels. Transportation: An essay in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, newspaper Emigrant is the first to suggest the possibility of a transcontinental railroad.

February 10 Business: Henry Clay, seeking to embarrass President Andrew Jackson with a useful campaign issue, convinces Nicholas Biddle, director of the Bank of the United States, to press for rechartering four years before the original grant expires.

March 3 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Worcester v. Georgia, ruling that the federal government enjoys jurisdiction over Indian affairs in a state. For this reason, Georgia laws have no relevance on Indian land. The state legislature, appreciably upset, refuses to acknowledge the court’s decision. Moreover, President Andrew Jackson, a firm states’ right supporter, bellows, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!”

March 19 Societal: Mrs. Francis Trollope publishes her book, The Domestic Manners of the Americans, which excoriates them as a bunch of unsophisticated bumpkins. Not surprisingly, her work is itself savagely lampooned throughout the country as an example of British upper-class snobbery.

March 24 Indian: The Creek sign a treaty with the United States which cedes that last of their territory east of the Mississippi. Shortly after they are to be relocated to new lands in present-day Oklahoma.

April 6 Military: Chief Black Hawk suddenly moves his Sac and Fox tribe back across the Mississippi River to traditional hunting grounds in Illinois. Frightened farmers then fire on a group of Indians bearing a white flag and Black Hawk orders them killed. The so-called Black Hawk War ensues, and among those called to serve in this brief conflict are Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

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April 7 Education: Pennsylvania College is chartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, under Lutheran auspices; its first class graduates in 1834.

May 1 Settlement: Army captain Benjamin Bonneville leads a large wagon train from Fort Osage, Missouri, as far as the Columbia River, Oregon. He then goes off on his own to explore the West for an additional three years.

May 9 Indian: Seminole chiefs conclude the Treaty of Payne’s Landing with the United States, which cedes their land in exchange for new homes west of the Mississippi River. However, many chiefs are angry over the settlement and begin coalescing around Osceola, a quasi-religious figure.

May 16 Diplomacy: The United States and Chile conclude a treaty of peace and commerce.

May 21–22 Politics: The new Democratic Party convenes its first national convention at Baltimore, Maryland. In a newly adopted rule that endures until 1936, candidates Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren need two-thirds of the delegates to win the party nomination but both are chosen unanimously. Van Buren also replaces John C. Calhoun, who intends to run for a senate seat in South Carolina.

May 23 Business: John Quincy Adams reports a tariff bill to lower rates from the Tariff of 1828 but still retains some protectionist features.

June Medical: A cholera epidemic sweeps through New York City, killing 4,000 inhabitants.

June 11 Business: A bill to recharter the Bank of the United States passes through the Senate 28 to 20.

June 26 Military: A skirmish between Mexicans and Texans in the Battle of Velasco results in the first bloodshed between the opposing groups.

June 28 Medical: The first appearance of Asiatic cholera in the United States occurs in New York, leading to 2,225 deaths in that city alone. It is eventually spread by human contact to the frontiers and has a devastating impact on many Indian tribes.

July 3 Business: The National Bank bill passes the House of Representatives on a vote of 107 to 85.

July 9 Religion: Henry Clay’s proposal for a National Fast Day is defeated in the U.S. Senate after a bitter debate. He makes his plea for divine assistance to help combat an ongoing cholera epidemic.

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July 10 Business: With great relish, President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill intending to recharter the Bank of the United States. He does so to oppose the conservative policies of its chief officer, Nicholas Biddle, which apparently favor corporations and the wealthy. He is also alarmed that the largest group of stock owners are also foreigners. Jackson thereby accepts Henry Clay’s challenge to use the institution as a campaign issue in the upcoming contest.

July 13 Exploring: Henry R. Schoolcraft, leading an exploration party, discovers that Lake Itasca, in Minnesota, is the source of the Mississippi River. Politics: As anticipated, the U.S. Senate fails to muster the two-thirds vote necessary to override President Andrew Jackson’s veto of the Bank of the United States. This sets the stage for its second disbandment in 1836.

July 14 Business: The Tariff Act of 1832 is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson; while it lowers duties, many Southerners still view it as favoring the rapidly industrializing North at their expense.

August 2 Military: General Henry Atkinson, assisted by a fleet of steamships, decisively defeats the Sac and Fox Indians under Chief Black Hawk at the Battle of Bad Axe, Michigan. This engagement concludes the final episode of Native Indian resistance east of the Mississippi River.

September 21 Indian: After Chief Black Hawk surrenders himself to American authorities, the surviving Sac and Fox Indians under Chief Keokuk sign a treaty obliging them to remain on land west of the Mississippi River. This reaffirms a treaty first signed in 1804, since denounced by Black Hawk as fraudulent.

October Arts: Painter George Catlin, determined to capture on canvas the rapidly vanishing Indian way of life, continues painting various chiefs and tribes along his 2,000-mile sojourn up the Missouri River.

October 14 Indian: In light of recent events, the Chickasaw agree to cede all their land east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

October 26 Politics: A new state constitution adopted by Mississippi allows many state officials to be elected, not appointed.

November 14 General: Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies in Baltimore at the age of 95.

November 19–24 Politics: In a major escalation of political tension, a special convention in South Carolina adopts an ordinance which nullifies the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832. They also declare their right to secede from the Union if state authority is challenged

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Atkinson, Henry

(1782–1842)

General Henry Atkinson was born in North Carolina in 1782, and in 1808 he joined the U.S. Army as a captain in the Third Infantry. He served in various capacities throughout the War of 1812, rising to colonel of the Sixth Infantry by 1815. Atkinson remained at Plattsburgh, New York, until 1819, when Secretary of War John C. Calhoun ordered him on an expedition to the Great Plains for the purpose of impressing Native Americans living there with the power of the United States. This was the first military expedition outfitted with new steamboats and much was expected of it. In July of that year Atkinson shepherded nearly 1,000 men up the Missouri River from St. Louis, but mechanical difficulties forced him to stop for the winter at Council Bluffs, Nebraska. He nonetheless received command of the Ninth Military district, headquartered at St. Louis, from which he helped orchestrate the construction of roads and forts to facilitate frontier exploration and migration. In 1820 Atkinson dispatched Major Stephen H. Long on his noted exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains and across the great “American desert.” In 1825 he advanced to brigadier general and conducted a second foray to the mouth of the Yellowstone River (Wyoming), there to conclude the first treaties with several tribes inhabiting that region. In this manner trade relations and exploration were greatly facilitated. That same year Atkinson chose the site for the celebrated Jefferson’s Barracks in St. Louis, the army’s only school for infantry. In 1827

he next dispatched Colonel Henry Leavenworth into the Kansas Territory to establish a post there, which later evolved into Fort Leavenworth, another important frontier post. The western frontier at this time could be a violent, dangerous place, and in 1827 Atkinson was required to accompany troops in Wisconsin to contain a revolt by the Winnebago Indians. Affairs became more violent in 1832 when a dissident band of Sac and Fox Indians under Chief Black Hawk abrogated an earlier agreement to relocate across the Mississippi River and returned to their homelands in Illinois. Atkinson then formed an army out of state militia and army troops pursued and then engaged Black Hawk at the Battle of Bad Axe on August 2, 1832. The Americans vigorously pursued the fleeing Indians to the banks of the Mississippi and used the steamship Warrior to bombard them. The tribesmen were completely defeated in this, the last gasp of Native American resistance east of the Mississippi River, with Black Hawk captured and his tribesmen forcefully relocated. President Andrew Jackson was thus empowered to accelerate his timetable for Indian removal. In 1837 and 1840 Atkinson was tasked with removing the Potawatomi and Winnebago tribes, respectively, to new homes before dying at Jefferson Barracks on June 14, 1842. He was an important military and administrative figure throughout the middle plains region, and Fort Atkinson, Iowa, is named in his honor.

by Federal force. Once the South Carolina legislature passes the ordinance, the state is on an eventual collision course with the federal government.

November 26 Transportation: New York City begins employing the first horse-drawn street cars operated by the New York & Harlem Railroad.

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Mathias Baldwin’s new locomotive Old Ironsides makes its debut run in Philadelphia.

November 27 Politics: The South Carolina legislature unhesitatingly adopts the nullification ordinance, even if it provokes a military response from the federal government. President Andrew Jackson places Federal troops in Charleston Harbor on the alert.

December 4 Politics: President Andrew Jackson makes his annual address to Congress, calling for tariff rates to be lowered. To many it appears he is trying to mollify radical elements in South Carolina.

December 5 Politics: In his bid for reelection Andrew Jackson overwhelmingly defeats Henry Clay, accruing 219 electoral votes to 49. A major factor in Jackson’s victory is his continuing opposition to rechartering the national bank, which secure him scores of votes from the frontier and farmlands of America. Meanwhile, Vice President John C. Calhoun is successfully elected to the Senate from South Carolina and resigns from office. His native state casts 11 electoral votes for John Floyd of Virginia rather than give them to Jackson.

December 10 Politics: President Andrew Jackson, having ordered federal forts in Charleston, South Carolina, reinforced, sternly warns that no state will be allowed to secede and “disunion by armed force is treason.” He determines to fiercely suppress any attempt to leave the Union—by force, if necessary.

December 12 Politics: Henry Clay introduces a bill to distribute surplus federal revenue accruing from federal lands back to the states; the measure is vetoed by President Andrew Jackson.

December 13 Politics: Robert Y. Hayne, a strident defender of states’ rights, is elected governor of South Carolina.

December 18 Diplomacy: The United States and Russia conclude a commercial treaty.

December 20 Politics: Governor Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina issues a declaration defying President Andrew Jackson’s opposition to nullification and secession. Throwing down the gauntlet here incites Jackson to invoke whatever means are necessary to preserve the Union.

December 27 Politics: Gulian Verplanck of New York introduces a measure to further reduce tariffs into Congress.

December 28 Education: St. Louis College University is chartered in Missouri; it is the only Roman Catholic institution of higher learning west of the Appalachian Mountains.

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1833 Arts: Swiss painter Karl Bodmer accompanies Prince Maximilian of Germany on an extended tour of the Missouri River region and begins painting numerous Indian tribes and chiefs in great detail. For many now extinct tribes such as the Mandan, this is the only record of their daily existence. Curiously, the explorers are guided by maps first drawn in 1804 by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Education: The Haverford School Association (Haverford College) is founded at Haverford, Pennsylvania as the first Quaker institute for higher learning. Labor: The General Trades Union is formed by all the trade unions in New York City while their president, Ely Moore, is elected to Congress. Literature: Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “MS Found in a Bottle” wins a $50 prize sponsored by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor. John Pendleton Kennedy subsequently arranges for Poe to publish additional works as editor of the new Southern Literary Messenger. Music: Lowell Mason founds the Boston Academy of Music to educate children and music instructors. Politics: The 18-year-old Kauikeouli is crowned king of Hawaii under the name Kamehameha III. Religion: The Congregational Church is disestablished in Massachusetts, finally severing the final connection between church and state. Slavery: Former president James Madison becomes president of the American Colonization Society to convince free African Americans to migrate back to the Dark Continent. Societal: Peterborough, New Hampshire, founds the nation’s first tax-supported public library at the behest of Reverend Abiel Abbot. This is the oldest public library in the United States, save for the Library of Congress, which was founded in 1800. Transportation: The vessel Ann McKim is launched at Baltimore; this is the first of the long, slim “clipper ships” that are designed for speed rather than cargo. This class of ships establishes many world speed records that are not broken until long after the Civil War period. However, as a class it remains subject to continual refinement in design and reaches its highest expression of beauty and efficiency in the ships of Donald McKay of Boston.

January 1 Publishing: The Knickerbocker Magazine debuts in New York City; within a few years it will be the nation’s most popular and influential literary magazine.

January 16 Politics: The South Carolina state convention denounces President Andrew Jackson as “King Andrew” for his stance against nullification and begins raising volunteers to defend the state by force if need be. Jackson, determined to keep South Carolina in the fold, asks Congress for a “Force Bill” to enforce compliance of the tariff law.

February 5 Education: Newark College (University of Delaware) is chartered in Newark, Delaware, by Presbyterians; it graduates its first class in 1836.

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February 12 Politics: Henry Clay, ever a moderating influence, introduces a bill that gradually lowers tariffs over a 10-year period to 20 percent. This move mollifies most Southern states and leaves South Carolina out on a limb.

February 15–16 Politics: President Andrew Jackson, having asked Congress for a “Force Bill” to enforce the Tariff Acts of 1828 and 1832, is criticized in the Senate by John C. Calhoun.

February 16 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Barron v. Baltimore, ruling that state governments are not subject to the Bill of Rights, as this is a strictly federal jurisdiction.

February 20 Politics: The Senate passes both President Andrew Jackson’s “Force Bill” and Henry Clay’s Compromise Tariff Bill, both of which the president signs. Only John Tyler of Virginia opposed the former. This ends the nullification crisis and confrontation is averted.

February 25 Technology: Samuel Colt successfully patents his six-shot revolving pistol, the first marketable rapid-fire weapon in history. It is also the first gun to be handled effectively while on horseback and wields an indelible impact on events along the western frontier.

March 2 Business: A resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives approves continuing use of the Bank of the United States, but President Andrew Jackson demands that all funds be withdrawn and redistributed to state institutions. This move causes considerable dissent in the president’s cabinet. Politics: The Nullification Crisis continues as President Andrew Jackson signs the “Force Bill” to authorize military use to collect tariffs in South Carolina. He also signs Henry Clay’s compromise tariff, which gradually reduces the rates imposed.

March 4 Politics: Andrew Jackson is inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States and Martin Van Buren is sworn in as vice president, replacing John C. Calhoun, who has resigned from office to successfully stand for a Senate seat in his home state.

March 15 Politics: Aware that Andrew Jackson follows through on his threats to use force, the South Carolina state convention rescinds its Ordinance of Nullification in light of Henry Clay’s Compromise Bill; however, three days later it defiantly votes to nullify the now superfluous “Force Bill.”

March 19 Politics: President Andrew Jackson decides to remove all government deposits from the Bank of the United States; considerable debate ensues within his own cabinet as to the legality and expedience of the move.

1833

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Chronology of American History

Colt, Samuel (1814 –1862) Manufacturer Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of a textile mill owner. He worked in his father’s mill in Ware, Massachusetts, until 1830, and then went to sea. There, on a voyage to India, Colt conceived the idea of a rapid-fire handgun utilizing a revolving cylinder that stored the bullets. Firing the device would advance the cylinder, placing the next loaded chamber in line with the hammer and barrel. Thus configured, such a weapon could load and discharge at much higher rates of fire than the muzzle-loading ordnance extant. After touring the country to raise money while demonstrating “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide), Colt built several functioning prototypes and applied for a patent. He then established the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company in Paterson, New Jersey, and commenced production on his new Colt “revolver,” but the military was uninterested. He was then forced to liquidate his assets and spent several years tinkering with underwater mines and telegraph cables. Fortunately for Colt, the United States declared war on Mexico in 1846 and the army finally realized the military potential of his weapon. To this end General Zachary Taylor dispatched Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Walker to confer with Colt and further refine the weapons. The resulting “Walker Colt” was the first real production model, which became a standard sidearm throughout this conflict. However, insomuch as Colt no longer owned a factory, he forged a partnership with Eli Whitney, Jr., to manufacture the guns in Whitneyville, Connecticut.

Over the next few years Colt continually refined his weapon, selling more than 200,000 to civilians and military personnel alike. In combat the Colt handgun’s good accuracy and rapid fire proved instrumental in allowing frontiersmen and armed groups like the Texas Rangers to defeat and subdue fierce nomadic tribes like the Comanche. Mass production also brought the price down so that even lowly settlers, alone and wandering the frontiers, could effectively defend themselves. By 1856 Colt had established a new manufacturing plant at Hartford which employed the very latest assembly techniques, interchangeable parts, and a highly skilled and educated work force. He also pioneered the use of new, precision lathes, specialized cutting and stamping machines, and gas-fed lighting. In 1860, when the Civil War seemed imminent, Colt received and fulfilled an order for 200,000 of the New Model Army Pistols for the U.S. Army. Colt, a multimillionaire, died at Hartford on January 10, 1862 at the age of 47; he was estimated to have a net worth of $10 million. Having become the most important arms manufacturer in American history, his efforts also wielded an enormous impact on the field of early mass production techniques. It was his simple, deadly Colt .45 pistol, however, that made the biggest impact of all, becoming an iconic symbol of the rough and tumble Wild West. His efficient manufacturing, coupled with low pricing, made it possible for the average settler to afford the luxury of selfdefense.

March 20 Diplomacy: The United States and the Kingdom of Siam conclude a treaty of commerce; this is the first agreement reached between America and an Oriental nation.

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April 1 Business: U.S. Attorney General Roger B. Taney upholds the legality of removing federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

April 1–13 Settlement: At San Felipe de Austin, American settlers living in Texas assemble and vote to separate Texas from Mexico. They are angry over the government’s refusal to recognize their “right” to own slaves.

May Education: Oberlin College, Ohio, becomes the first coeducational college by enrolling both men and women; two years later it is the first higher learning institution to matriculate African Americans.

June 1 Politics: Continuing dissent over the issue of withdrawing funds from the Bank of the United States and redistributing them to the states forces President Andrew Jackson to reorganize his cabinet. Secretary of the Treasury Louis McLane is reappointed Secretary of State while William J. Duane occupies the former office.

June 6 Politics: President Andrew Jackson begins a tour of the states, starting in Virginia and proceeding up to New Hampshire.

August Labor: The General Trades Union of New York begins agitation for a National Trade Union, a general labor federation incorporating all crafts. Ely Moore, a New York printer, is elected the first president and is subsequently sent to Congress. Politics: John Quincy Adams declines to confer a honorary degree upon President Andrew Jackson from Harvard College, decrying the chief executive as an “illiterate barbarian.”

August 1 Labor: Shoemakers in Geneva, New York, successfully strike for a wage increase.

August 20 General: Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president, is born in North Bend, Ohio.

August 28 Slavery: Great Britain outlaws slavery in its empire leaving the United States increasingly isolated regarding its perpetuation.

September 1 Journalism: Benjamin H. Day edits the New York Sun, the country’s first penny newspaper; its smaller size and lower price is expected to attract a wider readership. It foregoes the usual discussion of politics in favor of human-interest stories, outlandish crimes, and police court news. The tabloid press had arrived.

September 10 Politics: President Andrew Jackson declares that the government will no longer deposit money with the Bank of the United States, but Secretary of the Treasury William J. Duane hotly contests such a move.

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Chronology of American History

September 18 Politics: President Andrew Jackson has Attorney General Roger B. Taney submit a brief to his cabinet regarding the legality of removing funds from the Bank of the United States. In it he signals that the role of the presidential cabinet is as his personal organ.

September 21 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a commercial treaty with the Sultan of Muscat (Oman).

September 23 Politics: After Secretary of the Treasury William J. Duane refuses to remove government funds from the Bank of the United States, he is sacked and replaced by Roger B. Taney of Maryland.

September 26–October 1 Business: The so-called “Bank War” begins once Secretary of the Treasury Roger B. Taney orders federal money withdrawn from the Bank of the United States as per President Andrew Jackson’s executive order. The funds are then transferred to 23 state institutions, soon derogated as “pet banks.”

November 15 Politics: Massachusetts Democrat and future Civil War general Benjamin F. Butler gains appointment as attorney general.

November 13 Science: The inhabitants of Alabama are treated to a spectacular astronomical display as Earth passes through the Leonid Shower, resulting in 10,000 streaking lights per hour.

November 16 Music: The Italian Opera House opens its door at Leonard and Church Streets in New York City. It caters to the city’s cultural elite, and season boxes are available for as much as $6,000.

December Slavery: The Female Anti-Slavery Society is organized in Philadelphia under the aegis of Lucretia C. Mott, seeing that the male-dominated American Anti-Slavery Society will not allow women.

December 3 Politics: In his annual address to Congress, President Andrew Jackson defends his decision to withdraw federal funds from the Bank of the United States. He justifies his action by declaring that the bank took a partisan stance against him during the 1832 election.

December 6 Slavery: The American Anti-Slavery Society is organized in Philadelphia by Theodore Weld, an abolitionist minister, and Arthur and Lewis Tappan, wealthy New York merchants.

December 11 Politics: The Senate demands to see a copy of the papers presented by then Attorney General Roger B. Taney to the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson in September, but Jackson refuses, citing the executive branch’s independence of the legislature.

1833

Chronology

Mott, Lucretia Coffin

793

(1793–1880)

Reformer Lucretia Coffin was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on January 3, 1793, the daughter of a whaling captain. During her father’s absences she was raised and educated by her mother, who instilled in her a sense of selfsufficiency and discipline. Her family then converted to Quakerism, a sect that generally granted women equal rights and responsibilities, and she subsequently attended a Quaker school in Poughkeepsie, New York. She taught there many years and eventually married James Mott, a fellow teacher, in 1811. In 1827 she and her husband sided with the more liberal Hicksite faction of the Society of Friends and both became more actively involved in the nascent abolitionist movement upon relocating to Philadelphia. Women at this time were discouraged from voicing their opinions publically but Mott, never one to be silenced, organized the Female Anti-Slavery Society of Philadelphia. Five years later she expanded her efforts to help establish the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. While acting in this capacity she was frequently harassed and her meeting halls were sometimes burned by angry mobs, but, for this reason, Mott became known for her calmness and grace under duress, as well as her engaging delivery. In 1840 she ventured to London with William Lloyd Garrison to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention, where she and other female delegates were turned aside. However, there she also encountered a young and impressionable Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another pioneering feminist, who

became a protégée. At this time they began planning a national conference to address the gross inequities suffered by women at the hands of society. In 1848 Mott, assisted by Stanton and others, orchestrated the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York. This was the genesis of the women’s rights movement in the United States and a springboard for the careers of many young feminists in attendance. Mott, however, felt that the convention’s resolution for immediate suffrage rights was far in advance of public opinion at that time. Mott followed up this success in 1850 with her publication Discourses on Women, which portrayed female subordination as artificial and based more on laws, customs, and lack of education than biological necessity. In the decade approaching the Civil War Mott and her husband became actively involved in the Underground Railroad and opened their house up to fugitive slaves. Deeply pacifistic, she was disillusioned by conflict when it erupted in April 1861 but found solace in the fact that the abolition of slavery was now inevitable. After 1865 Mott became active in the antiwar movement as well as her usual commitments to the Society of Friends. She remained a familiar speaker at many such events until her death in Philadelphia on November 11, 1880. In an age of growing stridency and militance among the feminist movement, Mott invariably came across as a kindly mother figure, a calculated image which belied her otherwise steely resolve.

December 26 Politics: Henry Clay introduces motions to censure President Andrew Jackson and Secretary of the Treasury Roger B. Taney for their role in removing funds from the Bank of the United States.

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794  Chronology of American History

December 31 Technology: Obed Hussey patents the first success-­ ful, Â�horse-­drawn grain reaper; this makes him a direct competitor with Cyrus H. McCormick, who has also invented a similar device.

1834 Education: The Wabash Manual Labor College is founded at Crawfordsville, Indiana, by the Presbyte-­ rians; its first class graduates in 1838. Publishing: Historian George Bancroft writes and publishes the first volume of his seminal History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent; the final volume appears 40 years later in 1874. The Southern Literary Messenger, a significant regional journal, begins publication in Richmond, Vir-­ ginia, with Edgar Allan Poe as its foremost editor. Religion: Â�Anti-­Catholic protesters burn an Ursuline Convent in Boston, Massachusetts. Societal: The Adelphi Club is founded in Philadel-­ phia, Pennsylvania; this is the oldest association for gentlemen in the country and subsequently renames itself the Philadelphia Club.

January 3 Settlement: When Stephen F. Austin ventures to Mexico City with a petition from American settlers requesting inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence from Mexico, he is arrested and imprisoned for eight months by General Antonio Shown Â�here is The Â�Anti-­Slavery Almanac, López de Santa Anna. This act leads to continuing published yearly by the American Â�Anti-­Slavery deterioration of Â�Mexican-­American relations. Society.╇ (Library of Congress) Technology: Thomas Davenport of Vermont con-­ structs the world’s first electric motor, which incor-­ porates the basic design still utilized today. He died in 1851 without ever finding a practical application for his device.

January 29 Labor: When Irish laborers working on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal riot, President Andrew Jackson orders Secretary of War Lewis Cass to contain the violence with army troops. This is the first instance when federal forces intervene in a labor dispute.

February 14 Diplomacy: The United States and Spain sign the Van Ness Convention in Madrid to settle any continuing claims between them.

March 28 Politics: The Senate votes 26 to 20 to pass Henry Clay’s censure of President Andrew Jackson and Secretary of the TreaÂ�sury Roger B. Taney for removing fed-­

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Chronology

795

eral funds from the Bank of the United States. This move is ultimately expunged from the records on January 16, 1837.

April 4 Politics: The House of Representatives passes four resolutions in favor of General Andrew Jackson’s banking policies.

April 14 Politics: The evolving National Republican Party adopts the new name of Whigs (an English political term), while Henry Clay and Daniel Webster serve as its most prominent members. They are extremely anti-Jacksonian in tenor and outlook.

April 15 Politics: President Andrew Jackson protests the motion to censure in the Senate and claims he has not been given an opportunity to defend himself, despite the fact that he is charged with an impeachable offense.

May 7 Politics: An angry Senate votes 27 to 16 to not include President Andrew Jackson’s remarks in their official record.

June 15 Settlement: Fur trader Nathaniel J. Wyeth founds Fort Hall on the Snake River, Idaho, soon a major stopover along the Oregon Trail.

June 20 Indian: An act of Congress denotes all land west of the Mississippi River, minus populated regions of Missouri, Louisiana, and Arkansas, as “Indian Country.”

June 21 Technology: Cyrus McCormick secures a patent for his first horse-drawn mower and reaper, an invention soon to revolutionize agricultural production. This device cuts grain and it moves along then gathers it in sufficient quantities for a sheaf to be quickly tied. This device not only increases production, but its also lowers a farmer’s dependency on high-priced seasonal labor for harvesting purposes.

June 24 Politics: In their latest political confrontation with President Andrew Jackson, the U.S. Senate refuses to confirm Roger B. Taney as his secretary of the treasury.

June 28 Business: The Second Coinage Act increases the ratio of silver to gold coins by 16 to 1, which undervalues silver coins and drives them from circulation on account of hoarding. Transportation: In New York, the Harlem Railroad’s first engine explodes shortly after completing a run; many view its destruction as divine intervention against this new technology.

June 30 Indian: The Department of Indian Affairs is established by Congress to administer Native American policies west of the Mississippi River. It also sets aside

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McCormick, Cyrus H. (1809–1884) Inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick was born in Rock-­ bridge County, Virginia, on February 15, 1809, the son of stern Presbyterian farmers. He was imperfectly educated but always dis-­ played a talent for tinkering and inventing, particularly as it related to agriculture. In 1831 McCormick created a hillside plow that allowed cultivation of uneven ground and then went on to develop his famous horse-­ drawn mechanical reaper. This device was pulled across an area full of ripened wheat and then would cut it and automatically bundle it for harvesting. As interest devel-­ oped in his device, McCormick acquired the Cotopaxi Iron Works to begin mass produc-­ tion although the panic of 1837 soon drove him into bankruptcy. McCormick was also engaged in a bitter lawsuit with Obed Hus-­ sey, who had invented a similar machine and, ultimately, the patent for McCormick’s reaper entered into the public domain. By 1843 he realized that the small-­scale farms of Virginia and New England did not rep-­ resent the best market for his product, so he licensed production of the device to factories in New York and Ohio. When these prod-­ ucts proved of inferior design and construc-­ tion to his own, McCormick relocated his thriving business to Chicago in 1847, much closer to a region heralded as the “bread-­ basket of the nation.” In time he adopted modern, mass-­production techniques and stocked his workplaces with the latest time-­ saving technology. His 1,500-­man workforce was also among the most educated and

highly paid in the nation, but with his patent in the public domain, McCormick faced stiff competition from other firms and he decided to counter them by possessing the best orga-­ nization available. By 1860 McCormick was building and selling 5,000 reapers annually, and his busi-­ ness endeavors were enhanced by a scheme of centralized regional offices to handle pro-­ motion, sales, and repairs efficiently. His company was also unique in offering gener-­ ous credit arrangements for customers and offered one of the first money-­back guaran-­ tees in business history. The presence of an estimated 80,000–90,000 of his reapers in Northern fields throughout the Civil War also paid dividends by ensuring that the Union and its armies enjoyed a readily available sur-­ plus of food, in contrast with the slowly starv-­ ing South. In sum, the McCormick reaper was also a significant but frequently over-­ looked contributor to the ultimate Union victory. McCormick himself took an interest in politics and in 1864 he ran for Congress on the Peace Ticket and lost handily. He was also closely involved with doctrinal matters within the Presbyterian Church and helped found and finance the McCormick Theologi-­ cal Seminary of Chicago. McCormick him-­ self largely personified the strict Calvinistic approach to life, being hardworking, pious, and abstentious toward smoking and drink-­ ing. He died in Chicago on May 13, 1884, one of the most successful and farsighted entrepre-­ neurs of American history.

the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) as a reservation for tribes displaced from tribal lands in the East.

July 4 Slavery: In Philadelphia, the Annual Convention of People of Color adopts a reso-­ lution making July 4 a day of prayer and contemplation for all African Americans. Abolitionists and pro-­slavery crowds riot in New York City.

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797

July 4 –12 Slavery: The Chatham Street Chapel in New York City is the scene of an eightday riot between pro- and anti-slavery advocates. Several adjoining homes and churches are destroyed or damaged in the process.

August 1 Slavery: The British Empire under Queen Victoria formally abolishes slavery.

August 11 Religion: An anti-Catholic riot at Charlestown, Massachusetts, results in the destruction of an Ursuline Convent; nobody was injured in the attack.

October Slavery: Pro-slavery advocates riot in Philadelphia, damaging or destroying 40 African-American homes and two churches.

October 14 Technology: Henry Blair receives a patent for his corn harvester; he is also the first African American so rewarded.

October 28 Indian: The United States government insists that the Treaty of Payne’s Landing be observed by all Seminole Indians living in Florida, with many tribal leaders under Chief Osceola refusing to comply.

November 1 Transportation: A new railroad is completed between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey.

December 1 Politics: Abraham Lincoln, a little-known frontier lawyer, is seated for the first time in the Illinois House of Representatives.

December 2 Diplomacy: Three years after France signed the spoliation treaty with the United States, agreeing to pay restitution for abuses during the Napoleonic wars, no payments have been made. President Andrew Jackson, in his annual message to Congress, suggests seizing French property in retaliation. He also mentions that the national debt will be paid off by New Years’ Day.

1835 Labor: A New York court decides the case of The People v. Fisher, whereby labor strikes for higher wages are judged conspiratorial, hence illegal. Literature: A noted compilation, The Collected Works of James Kirke Paulding, is published and well-received. Publishing: French political observer Alexis de Tocqueville publishes his Democracy in America in Belgium; it is soon translated into English to become a classic analysis of national politics. As a whole, the author is favorably impressed by the American quest to secure both liberty and equality and is pleased with the balance struck thus far. Catherine Martha Sedgwick, soon to be one of the most popular female authors in America, publishes her first novel, The Linwoods, a romantic piece set in the waning days of the American Revolution.

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Chronology of American History Slavery: Influential Unitarian leader William Ellery Channing begins publishing antislavery pamphlets with his first title, simply called Slavery. Technology: Gas lighting for guests and hallway lighting debuts at the American House in Boston.

January Politics: The Whig Party of Massachusetts elects Daniel Webster to be its presidential candidate while those in Tennessee nominate Hugh L. White. The Whigs hope to deny the Democrats a majority of electors and thus force the election into the House of Representatives. The national debt is finally paid off, leading to political bickering as to how surplus revenue is to be allocated and spent. Societal: Lucius Manlius Sargent begins publishing his stories about temperance, and he becomes the most popular writer on the subject over the next 25 years. Technology: Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates an early version of his new communications device, the telegraph. It is initially limited to a range of 40 feet but improves with continual refinement.

January 30 Crime: President Andrew Jackson survives an assassination attempt when house painter Richard Lawrence fires two pistols at him which misfire. The transgressor is subsequently found insane and committed to an asylum.

February 14 Education: Marietta College is founded at Marietta, Ohio, by the Congregationalists; its first class graduates in 1838.

March 3 Business: Congress establishes branches of the U.S. Mint in New Orleans, Louisiana, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlonega, Georgia.

March 17 Settlement: The town of Milwaukee, long used as a gathering point for regional Native Americans, is formally incorporated as a town within the Michigan Territory.

April 25 Diplomacy: France finally begins payments on American spoliation claims but also demands that President Andrew Jackson apologize for calling for reprisals; Jackson angrily refuses.

May 6 Journalism: The New York Herald begins as a penny paper, edited by James Gordon Bennett; it is pro-slavery and also a mouthpiece for the Tammany Hall Democratic machine.

May 1–June 29 Politics: A constitutional convention meeting in Detroit adopts guidelines that specifically outlaw slavery.

May 20 Politics: The Democratic National Convention, meeting at Baltimore, nominates Martin Van Buren of New York for the presidency and Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky for the vice presidency.

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June 5 Slavery: A National Negro Convention in Philadelphia objects to the use of “African” or “Colored” and seeks to remove them from the black vernacular.

June 30 Settlement: The attempts at greater centralization by Mexican dictator Santa Anna leads to increasing friction between that ruler and American settlers in Texas. Col�o�nel William B. Travis and a group of armed colonists take control of a Mexican fort at Anahuac in protest while other Texans skirmish with Mexican cavalry near Gonzales.

July Diplomacy: President Andrew Jackson wishes to purchase the region known as Texas, but Mexican president Santa Anna refuses.

July 6 General: John Marshall, the influential chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dies in Philadelphia. President Andrew Jackson then nominates his friend Roger B. Taney to succeed him. Two days later the famous Liberty Bell in Philadel-­ phia develops its celebrated crack while tolling for Marshall. Taney, meanwhile, weathers a storm of criticism in the Senate and will not be confirmed until 1836.

July 29 Slavery: A mob in Charleston, South Carolina, burns antislavery literature sent there by abolitionists in New York. The city postmaster, Alfred Huger, requests the postmaster general to forbid such materials to be mailed to the state.

August Slavery: The American Â�Anti-­Slavery Society mails 75,000 tracts to inhabitants throughout the South, excoriating slave ownÂ�ers.

August 10 Societal: A crowd of Â� antiblack citizens in Canaan, Connecticut, attacks and burns the Noyes Academy after it enrolls a number of Â�African-­American children.

August 26 Journalism: The Demo�crats publish their first party platform in the Washington Globe.

October 2 Military: A party of Texas volunteers defeats a detachment of Mexican cavalry near the Guadalupe River in central Texas; this is the opening round of the Texas Revolution.

October 21 Slavery: A Â�pro-­slavery mob drags abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison through the streets of Boston with a rope around his neck to protest his Â�views—he spends the night at the city jail for his own safety. His assailants apparently became dis-­ traught when he declared that “all men are created equal.” Another mob heckles and interrupts EnÂ�glish abolitionist George Thompson as he addresses the Female Â�Anti-­Slavery Society in Boston.

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Garrison, William Lloyd (1805–1879) Abolitionist

William Lloyd Garrison (Library of Congress)

William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1805, the son of a poor family. He worked as a printer’s apprentice at 13 to help his family and subsequently entered the profession of journalism. Garrison, who inherited from his mother an intense religiousness, next became coeditor of the National Philanthropist, a temperance newspaper, at 21 and began circulating within various reform movements. Foremost among these was the abolitionists headed by Quaker publisher Benjamin Lundy, who convinced Garrison to edit his paper Genius of Universal Emancipation in 1828. However, Garrison’s views gradually became radicalized and he broke with Lundy over the latter’s demand for forced repatriation back to Africa. Thereafter he vociferously insisted on immediate emancipation of all African-American slaves without compensation to their owners. Such a stance established Garrison on the radical fringes

October 29 Politics: An extreme wing of Jacksonian Democrats, known locally as the Equal Rights Party, meets at Tammany Hall, New York, to oppose the mainstream candidates chosen by their party. The radicals then acquire the nickname “Loco Focos” after the newly developed friction matches used to light candles once the gaslights had been turned off to silence them.

November 1 Indian: Large portions of the Seminole tribe under Chief Osceola steadfastly refuse to be relocated from Florida and threaten to resist by force; this defiance precipitates the Second Seminole War.

November 23 Technology: Henry Burden of Troy, New York, receives a patent for his horseshoe-making machine; this device can churn out horseshoes at the rate of 60 a minute. Much later it functions as a major source of horseshoes for Union cavalry during the Civil War.

November 24 Law: In an attempt to enforce order along its frontiers, the Texas Provincial Government establishes a new mounted constabulary, the Texas Rangers.

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Chronology

of abolitionism, elevated him to leadership within the movement, and in 1831 he began publishing his own newspaper, The Liberator. “On this subject I do not wish to think, speak, or write with moderation,” he declared in the first issue, “I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I WILL BE HEARD.” His uncompromising stance against slavery coincided with a rising tide of abolitionism in the Northeast, and in 1833 Garrison established the American Anti-Slavery Society. Beyond his radical stance, this was unique in allowing women to participate fully, along with African Americans. In fact, Garrison became an outspoken advocate of women’s suffrage, temperance, and other social causes. Garrison’s strident radicalism soon caused a rift within his own organization. He openly condemned Christianity and the U.S. Constitution for their toleration of slavery, which lost him many supporters. He also steadfastly refused to work within the political system for change, calling instead

801

for pacifism and moral suasion to achieve an end to slavery. Garrison’s strident agitation led to confrontation with pro-slavery mobs, and in 1835 he was dragged through the streets and nearly killed before being rescued by police. By 1840 his tactics caused the American Anti-Slavery Society to break into warring factions, but he remained true to his own precepts. Garrison was sympathetic toward radicals like John Brown but completely disagreed with their methods. It was not until the advent of the Civil War in April 1861 that he finally accepted the notion that war can sometimes be used for the eradication of evil, and he finally abandoned his pacifism. Following adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865, which abolished slavery, Garrison finally folded his tent, ceased publication of the Liberator, and withdrew from public life altogether. He died at Roxbury, Massachusetts, on May 24, 1879, a driving force behind abolitionism—if at times its own worst enemy.

November 30 General: Samuel Clemens, better known by his pseudonym Mark Twain, is born as Halley’s Comet makes its scheduled appearance; ironically he dies in 1910 during the comet’s return.

December Transportation: The Carrollton Railroad opens for business in New Orleans, replacing its horse-drawn passenger cars with steam engines.

December 2 Politics: In his message to Congress, President Andrew Jackson, cognizant of antiabolitionist violence in Charleston, South Carolina, recommends that the U.S. Mail be forbidden from distributing antislavery publications there.

December 7 Politics: The 24th Congress convenes with a strong Whig presence—they hold 25 seats to 27 Democrats, and James K. Polk is voted the new speaker of the House of Representatives.

December 8–9 Military: Texan forces drive a Mexican force under General Martin Perfecto Cos out of San Antonio after three days and nights of intense fighting.

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Chronology of American History

December 15 Settlement: American settlers in Texas, determined to resist Mexican president Santa Anna’s new centralized government—including its sweeping antislavery regulations—declare their intention to secede from Mexico rather than abandon their “right” to own slaves.

December 16 Politics: A gathering of Whigs and Anti-Masons at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, nominates William Henry Harrison to run for the presidency. They also select Francis Granger of New York for the vice presidency.

December 16–18 General: New York City is ravaged by a huge fire that damages more than 600 buildings and inflicts $20 million in damages.

December 21 Education: Oglethorpe College is chartered at Milledgeville, Georgia, by the Presbyterians; its first class graduates in 1839.

December 28 Military: In opening skirmishes of the Second Seminole War, Indian Agent Wiley Thompson is murdered at Fort King, Florida, by a war party headed by Chief Osceola while Major Francis L. Dade is ambushed outside Fort Brooke, losing 110 men.

December 29 Indians: The Cherokee sign another treaty at New Echota, ceding all their lands east of the Mississippi River for $5 million, for new homes in the newly designated Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Osceola (ca. 1804 –1838) Seminole chief Osceola was probably born around 1804 along the Tallapoosa River on the Georgia-Alabama border, a part of the Lower Creek Nation. This group had been under duress in the face of white encroachment and parts had relocated to Florida in concert with escaped AfricanAmerican slaves and became part of the related Seminole nation. Little is known of his youth, but Osceola’s name is most likely a corruption of the phrase asi yohola or “black drink crier,” a term with religious connotations. He apparently matured into a fine warrior with a commanding presence and around 1832 was noted as a tustenugge, or war chief. In this capacity Osceola railed against the continuing loss of land to the United States. Two years

1835

earlier Congress approved the Indian Removal Bill, which mandated the forced relocation of Native Americans across the Mississippi River to new homes in Arkansas. However, this was done in violation of an earlier treaty signed in 1823, which granted the Indians the right to existing lands until 1832. Moreover, that year the government forced tribal elders to conclude the Treaty of Payne’s Landing, whereby the Seminole were to surrender all their holdings in Florida and move to Arkansas. It also stipulated the surrender of all African-American refugees who had since been absorbed into the tribe. Because one of Osceola’s two wives was a mulatto he refused to comply. In 1833 Indian Agent Wiley Thompson arrived in Florida with

Chronology

803

1836 Arts: James N. Baker’s play Court Of Love, adapted in 1817 from a French play, is staged at the Arch Street Theater in Philadelphia to popular reviews. Education: William Holmes McGuffey publishes the First Reader and Second Reader, which become widespread and standard schoolbook texts. These booklets imparted literature, morality, and selected writings from famous English-language authors. Educational reformer William A. Alcott publishes The Young Woman’s Guide and the Young Mother, which proffers practical advice and upholds traditional norms of morality. Journalism: No less than 500 abolitionist societies are functioning throughout the North as the movement gains momentum. Literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes a book entitled Nature, the first example of a literary and philosophical movement known as Transcendentalism. In it he expresses a profound regard for the natural world and the attitude that spirituality and self-awareness are essential for proper living. He also proffers it to counter the tenants of Unitarianism, which he regards as a religious orthodoxy. Medical: German immigrant Constantine Hering is licensed to found the North American Academy of the Homeopathic Healing Art in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This is the first such institution in the world. Religion: Noted Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing publishes The Abolitionist, a stinging indictment on the moral implications of slavery. Slavery: The Massachusetts Supreme Court declares that any slave brought within state borders is declared free.

the Treaty of Fort Gibson, intending to enforce earlier agreements, but Osceola reputedly drew his knife and defiantly stabbed the parchment in front of the Americans. He was then arrested and held in shackles for several days until, feigning a change of heart, Osceola was released. Once free Osceola made immediate preparations to go to war. On December 28, 1835, he attacked the Indian Agency at Fort King, killing Thompson, while other Seminoles massacred the army patrol of Major Francis L. Dade near Wahoo Swamp. This violence precipitated the Second Seminole War, one of the costliest guerrilla conflicts ever waged by the United States. For seven years America dispatched hundreds of troops and militia, waged several skirmishes, large and small, but failed to awe the Indians into surrendering. Osceola,

for his part, was tricked into a parley by General Thomas S. Jesup and then treacherously captured on October 21, 1837. He was transported to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, where he was interned and had his portrait painted by George Catlin. Despite public outrage over the manner in which the chief was taken, Osceola remained behind bars and died there of illness on January 30, 1838. He was buried with full military honors but his Seminole compatriots waged an incessant partisan war until 1842, when a truce was signed. At that time the exhausted tribesmen decided to allow the government to deport 3,000 members to new homes in Arkansas, but at least 300 holdouts, inspired by Osceola’s example, defiantly refused. The fact that Seminole still reside in Florida to this day is his greatest legacy.

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Chronology of American History

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

(1803–1882)

Philosopher

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Library of Congress)

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 25, 1803, the son of a Unitarian minister. His father died during his infancy and he endured a hardscrabble existence but still won admission to Harvard College at the age of 14. Emerson proved himself adept intellectually, and after graduating he enrolled at the college’s divinity school to study theology. He began his career as a Unitarian minister in 1826 at Boston’s famous Second Church and also served on the Boston School Committee. Emerson also fell deeply in love with and married Ellen Tucker in 1829, but when she suddenly died a year and a half later he underwent a period of personal crisis. He then dejectedly left the ministry and went to Europe to reevaluate his life. There Emerson encountered noted British philosopher Thomas Carlyle, whose ideas prompted a new perspective on spirituality. He then returned to Concord intending to serve as a lecturer and essayist, remaining there the rest of

Transportation: Work starts on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, designed to connect Chicago with the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Women: Ernestine L. Rose submits to the New York legislature the first petition for married women to own their own property.

January Slavery: Radical abolitionist James G. Birney publishes the first issue of his journal Philanthropist in New Richmond, Ohio.

January 4 Politics: A convention gathers at Little Rock, Arkansas Territory, and draws up a constitution for approaching statehood; in accordance with the Missouri Compromise, slavery is accorded legal status.

January 9 Education: Spring Hill College arises at Spring Hill, Alabama, under Roman Catholic auspices; the first class graduates in 1837. This is also the first Catholic institute of higher learning in the Deep South.

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Chronology

his life. His efforts coincided with the rising popularity of the public lyceums, or lecturing circuit, which gave him an immediate and well-heeled audience eager for his ideas. It was through this medium that Emerson established himself as the nation’s foremost transcendentalist philosopher, a school of thought and spirituality which opposed formal religion, materialism, and slavery—hallmarks of American life in the 1840s. His two publications, Nature (1836) and Essays (1844), are considered brilliant examples of the genre, and in 1840 he also lent his writing skills to the new publication The Dial, edited by Margaret Fuller. In 1837 Emerson gained national notoriety for delivering an address called “The American Scholar,” which called for breaking all intellectual ties with Europe in pursuit of a new, nativist philosophy. Emerson was by nature rather detached and cerebral, but the onset of Civil War brought him fully into the abolitionist movement. He lectured widely and effectively against the evils of slavery, arguing

805

that the system must be destroyed. In addition to excoriating Southerners, he also castigated Northerners for their complicity for tolerating the system as long as they had. For this reason he hailed the notorious raid of John Brown and welcomed the onset of hostilities to expunge servitude from American society. When the Civil War erupted in April 1861 Emerson evinced little faith in President Abraham Lincoln, who had campaigned on the basis of containing slavery—not eliminating it—but he gradually came over to the president’s side. Emerson publicly rejoiced at the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 and openly hailed Lincoln as a national martyr following his assassination. After the war Emerson resumed writing several erudite booklets such as Society and Solitude (1870) and Letters and Social Aims (1876) while continually combating the onset of senility. He died in Concord on April 27, 1882, one of the most original transcendental thinkers, essayists, and lecturers in American history, and certainly the most influential.

January 11 Slavery: Petitions are presented to Congress by Senator James Buchanan for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; these are immediately denounced by Senator John C. Calhoun as slanderous toward the South.

January 15 Diplomacy: President Andrew Jackson reiterates his demand for reprisals against France for failing to make payments on spoliation claims; behind the bluster he also delivers a conciliatory message to the French government, which stops short of the apology they demanded.

January 20 Diplomacy: The United States and Venezuela conclude a treaty of peace, amity, and commerce.

January 27 Diplomacy: The government of Great Britain offers to mediate the spoliation dispute between the United States and France.

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January 30 Education: The Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute (today’s Franklin College) is founded in Franklin, Indiana.

February 18 Business: The Bank of the United States, whose charter expired and was not renewed by Congress, receives a state charter to be reinstated as the Bank of the United States of Pennsylvania.

February 23–March 6 Military: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna leads a force of 3,000 soldiers against a motley garrison of 187 Texans under Colonel William B. Travis at the Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas.

March 1 Business: The now defunct Bank of the United States is brought back with a state charter as the Bank of the United States of Pennsylvania.

March 2– 4 Politics: Texan settlers convene in Washington, Texas, to draw up and pass a declaration of independence from Mexico; they also appoint Sam Houston to command their tiny army. However, when their agents George Childress and Robert Hamilton are dispatched to Washington, D.C., they are considered persona non grata because the American government declines to grant Texas recognition. March 2 is henceforth celebrated as Texas Independence Day.

March 6 Military: In a final rush, Mexicans under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna capture the American outpost at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas. Among the defenders is the noted frontiersman Davy Crockett, who was apparently taken alive then executed by firing squad. Instead of cowing Texan resistance, the martyrdom of the Alamo further galvanized resistance.

March 9 Slavery: In the Senate, John C. Calhoun moves that abolitionist petitions be barred from presentation; his effort is defeated.

March 11 Slavery: Senator James Buchanan’s motion that the Senate both consider and then reject abolitionist petitions easily passes.

March 13 Military: Alamo survivor Susanna Dickinson is released by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and she returns to Gonzalez, Texas, with a message that further resistance “is hopeless.”

March 15 Politics: Roger B. Taney is confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by the Senate.

March 16 Politics: A new constitution is adopted by Texas delegates at Washington, Texas; thus is born the Independent Republic of Texas; slavery is formally legalized.

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807

Taney, Roger B. (1777–1864) Supreme court justice Roger Brooke Taney was born in Calvert County, Maryland, on March 17, 1777, into a slave-owning family associated with the minor gentry. Tutored at home, he entered Dickinson College at the age of 15 and graduated with honors in 1795. He then pursued law successfully and gained admission to the state bar in 1799. Politically, Taney was a Federalist although he broke with his party over the War of 1812 and subsequently realigned himself with the Democratic-Republicans. In 1816 he was elected to the state senate, where he served five years, and in 1827 accepted the position as state attorney general. Taney was widely regarded as an outstanding lawyer and legal scholar, and also outspoken in his support for the Democratic Party under Andrew Jackson. As such he came to the president’s attention through party officials and in 1831 he joined Jackson’s cabinet as the new attorney general. In this capacity he always upheld the president’s political agenda as a strict loyalist. In 1832 Taney authored the legal reasoning behind the president’s veto of extending the charter of the Second Bank of the United States. The following year he supported the constitutionality of Jackson’s decision to withdraw federal money from the Second Bank of the United States and was ultimately appointed Secretary of the Treasury when no other individual was willing to perform the task. As a Southerner, Taney also upheld the notion of AfricanAmerican slavery, supporting South Carolina’s decision to legally forbid free blacks from entering that state. Despite his pre-

dictable opinion about blacks, which was consistent with a man of his breeding and background, Taney still enjoyed a reputation for possessing one of the country’s best legal minds. The biggest turn in Taney’s career came on December 28, 1835, when President Jackson appointed him U.S. Supreme Court justice to succeed the late John Marshall. His succession changed the overall tenor of the court from Marshall’s consistent profederal government outlook and replaced it with one more favorably disposed toward states’ rights. Proof of this was manifested in the landmark case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, which Taney decided in favor of the state of Massachusetts over a company enjoying monopoly rights. His refusal to recognize the doctrine of implied contract allowed states greater latitude in matters of public interest. However, Taney’s most notorious decision came with Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857, which determined that slaves were property and could be moved across state lines with impunity. This had the effect of not only negating the Missouri Compromise, which restricted slavery from northern area of the nation, but also called for increased enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. The negative reaction to Taney’s reasoning soured opinions of him, and during the Civil War he functioned far less effectively. He died in Washington, D.C., on October 12, 1864, reviled by contemporaries as a pro-slavery judge, but subsequently regarded as one of the most effective chief justices of American history.

March 17 Politics: American settlers meeting in Washington, Texas, adopt a new constitution; slavery is officially adopted.

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March 23 Technology: A steam-powered press designed by inventor Franklin Beale produces its first coins for the U.S. Mint.

March 27 Military: Mexican forces under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna capture a detachment of 350 Americans under Captain James W. Fannin, then massacre them. The Mexicans continue devastating American settlements on their march to Galveston Bay.

April 20 Settlement: The Wisconsin Territory is carved out of the western Michigan Territory by Congress; frontier figure Henry Dodge is appointed as the first governor.

April 21 Military: A Texan force of 900 men under General Sam Houston attacks and routs the 1,300-strong Mexican army under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. A surprise attack catches the Mexicans off guard and the Texans completely overrun their camp to the fierce battle cry of “Remember the Alamo!” Santa Anna is captured and he suffers 630 killed and

Houston, Sam

(1793–1863)

Politician Sam Houston was born near Lexington, Virginia, on March 2, 1793, and he matured

Sam Houston (Library of Congress)

1836

on the Tennessee frontier. Possessing little formal education, he ran away to escape farm life and spent several years among the nearby Cherokee Indians. When the Creek War erupted in 1813 he joined the U.S. Army as an ensign in the 39th Infantry, fought with distinction at General Andrew Jackson’s bloody victory of Horseshoe Bend on March 28, 1814, and was severely wounded. Thereafter Houston functioned as an government agent to the Cherokee nation and assisted their removal to the Indian Territory set aside for them across the Mississippi River (Oklahoma). He finally resigned from the military in 1818 and returned to Tennessee to study law. Houston then embarked upon a successful political career, winning several terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and also winning the governorship. He also served as a major general of militia until an unexplained separation from his wife in 1829 prompted his resignation.

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730 captured. Texan losses are nine dead and 30 injured. This startling upset virtually assures Texas independence from Mexico.

April 27–28 Slavery: The nation’s first antislavery convention transpires outside of Granville, Ohio, and is attended by 192 delegates.

May 10 Diplomacy: Having been assisted by Viscount Palmerston, the British foreign secretary, President Andrew Jackson declares that the last of four spoliation payments has been received from France.

May 11 Journalism: The Dubuque Visitor becomes the first newspaper printed in the Wisconsin Territory.

May 14 Diplomacy: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna signs two Treaties at Velasco, Texas, both recognizing the Independent Republic of Texas and withdrawing all Mexican forces beyond the Rio Grande River; the Mexican Congress subsequently repudiates them.

Houston then withdrew from polite society altogether, and he moved back among the Cherokee, where he took a Native American wife and was inducted into the tribe. Thereafter Houston acted constantly for the Cherokee and made several trips to Washington, D.C., on their behalf. In 1832 President Jackson dispatched him to the Mexican province of Texas to negotiate with the Comanche for the safe conduct of American goods. This trip proved a major turning point in his career. While in Texas, Houston became caught up in the emerging war for independence and in 1833 attended the San Felipe Convention that outlined statehood and promulgated a constitution. This act brought upon them the wrath of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who marched north from Mexico City to crush the insurgents in the spring of 1836. By this time Houston had been appointed commander in chief of all Texas forces, and he withdrew in the face of superior Mexican numbers until reaching San Jacinto. There,

on April 21, 1836, he launched a surprise counterattack that routed Santa Anna’s army and captured him. With Texas independence now assured, Houston was elected the first president of the republic as of September 1836, serving two years. He then fulfilled two terms in the Texas legislature before becoming president again in 1841–44. After the war with Mexico, 1846–48, Texas was formally annexed to the United States and Houston served as a U.S. Senator for the next 14 years. Though Southern-born, he was an ardent nationalist and always voted as a pro-Union Democrat. In this capacity he railed against the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which made slavery legal in the new territories, and his pro-Union stance finally led to his defeat in 1859. Houston then served another term as Texas governor. He roundly condemned secession and was finally forced from office in March 1861. He died at Huntsville, Texas, on July 26, 1836, out of touch with his now Confederate constituents but still acknowledged as the “Father of Texas.”

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May 25 Diplomacy: John Quincy Adams hoping to prevent war with Mexico opposes the possible annexation of Texas. The entire issue has set anti-slave Northerners against pro-slave Southerners. Furthermore, hereafter the House ponders “gag rules” to table any or all slavery-related petitions for the remainder of the session.

May 26 Politics: Pro-slavery Southerners in the House of Representatives enact a “gag” rule to prevent the discussion of abolitionist petitions presented before Congress; the new measure prevents the issue of slavery from being discussed on the floor. Another resolution states that Congress has no business debating slavery or interfering with it in the District of Columbia. John Quincy Adams, dubbed “Old Man Eloquence” because of his doggedness, bitterly condemns the rule.

May 31 Business: Tycoon John Jacob Astor opens up the luxurious Astor Hotel in New York City. It sets new standards for high-fashion accommodations and rapidly becomes the most fashionable meeting place in town.

June 15 Politics: Arkansas joins the Union as the 25th state; it also legalizes slavery. Its statehood bill had been introduced three years earlier but it took three years to gain admission until a free state, Michigan, also joined.

June 23 Business: Congress passes the Deposit Act, whereby specified banks in each state will hold public deposits. It also requires all surplus government revenue over $5 million to be distributed as a loan to the states based on their population.

June 28 General: James Madison, founding father, author of the U.S. Constitution, and fourth president of the United States, dies at his estate at Montpelier, Virginia.

July 1 Diplomacy: Even through Congress votes in favor of recognizing the Texas Territory, President Andrew Jackson, seeking to avoid war with Mexico, declines all moves toward annexation and maintains a strict policy of neutrality.

July 2 Politics: Congress votes to punish any postmaster who deliberately withholds the delivery of mail; this negates any attempts to keep abolitionist materials from being sent to the South by post. The Post Office is also directed to accept newspapers and pamphlets as deliverable items.

July 11 Business: To halt skyrocketing inflation accompanying an onslaught of paper money then in circulation, President Andrew Jackson imposes a Specie Circular which requires all sales involving federal land be conducted with gold and silver. The legislation also intends to deprive speculators of financial power but

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Chronology   811 actually places all the credit in their hands, a major cause of the ensuing panic of 1837.

July 12 Journalism: A Â�pro-­slavery mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, destroys a factory which man-­ ufactures the type used by James Birney’s abolitionist newspaper Philanthropist.

September Politics: The inhabitants of newly in�de�pen�dent Texas petition the United States government for annexation.

September 1 Women: A wagon train full of missionaries advances through the South Pass and arrives at Walla Walla, Washington, with Protestant missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and H. H. Spaulding. They also include Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spaulding, who become the first American women to cross the Rocky Mountains and settle in Oregon. The party has been dispatched there by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

September 16 Diplomacy: The United States and Morocco conclude a treaty of peace and friendship.

September 19 Literature: Boston’s noted Transcendental Club begins its first unofficial and loosely structured meetings. It acts as a magnet for such Â�like-­minded writers and phiÂ�losÂ�oÂ�phers as Emerson, William Ellery Channing, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and others.

October 22 Politics: Sam Houston becomes the first president of the new Republic of Texas, having defeated Stephen F. Austin; Mirabeau B. Lamar becomes vice president. A colorful frontier character, Houston is known as “The Raven.”

November Literature: Noted satirist Washington Irving complains about the apparent obsession with materialism among his fellow Americans, coining the phrase “the almighty dollar.”

November 30 Diplomacy: The United States signs a commercial treaty with the Â�Peru-­Bolivian Confederation.

December 5 Politics: In his annual message to Congress, President Andrew Jackson reiter-­ ates his reasons for issuing the Specie Circular.

December 7 Politics: Martin Van Buren defeats Whig candidate William Henry Harrison by a vote of 170 electoral votes to 73; competing Whig candidates Daniel Webster and Hugh L. White fared even poorer. However, when none of the four vice presidential candidates garner a majority, the issue is referred to the Senate for resolution.

December 10 Education: Emory College is chartered in Oxford, Georgia, by the Methodists; the first class graduates in 1841.

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December 12 Politics: Senate Whigs issue a resolution calling for the repeal of the Specie Circular.

December 27 General: Stephen F. Austin, a founder of both the American colony in Texas and the Independent Republic established there, dies at the age of 43 at Columbia, Texas.

1837 Arts: Painter Thomas Cole produces a landmark work of the Hudson River school of landscape artists entitled “In the Catskills,” which incorporates visually romantic themes in a rural setting. Business: John Deere starts his company at Grand Detour, Illinois, and manufactures steel-faced plows; in time they trigger an agricultural revolution as “the plow that broke the plains.” Literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes his second volume, Twice-Told Tales, which chronicles historical nuggets drawn from New England’s colorful past and presents several as moral allegories. Medical: Dr. William W. Gerard of Philadelphia performs the first clinical tests of typhus and typhoid fever, scientifically concluding that they are entirely different ailments. Politics: The American Peace Society condemns war and all warlike activities. Religion: The Quaker-dominated American Moral Reform Society is founded in Philadelphia; among its tenets are to refrain from wearing mourning clothes for the dead and restricting elaborate funeral services as this imposes hardships upon the less fortunate. Societal: Norwegian immigrant Ole Rynning publishes True Account of America for the Information and Help of Peasant and Commoner, which triggers a wave of Scandinavian immigration over the next two years.

January 1 Economics: The Distribution Bill, designed to relieve the federal government of all surplus monies, is enacted. Henceforth, governmental books are to be balanced, $5 million is to be set aside as working capital, and all remaining funds are to be redistributed to the states.

January 25 Journalism: The New Orleans Picayune is founded; its takes its name from the small coin, or “picayune,” that each issue costs.

January 26 Politics: Michigan joins the union as the 26th state; slavery is outlawed to balance off the admission of Arkansas. Prior to this a long-standing border dispute with Ohio also required resolution, and the new state acquires the 470-squaremile area known as the Toledo Strip in consequence.

February Law: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the case of New York v. Miln, whereby a state court requires all ship captains to keep lists of immigrants coming into the country.

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Chronology   813

Deere, John (1804 –1886) Inventor John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 7, 1804, and he received scanty education. He was nevertheless appren-­ ticed to a blacksmith at 17 and acquired a reputation for high-­quality metalwork. Deere subsequently owned his own black-­ smith shop but lost it in the panic of 1837 and migrated to Grand Detour, Illinois, to start anew. Here he encountered farming conditions radically different from those in New England and envisioned a self-­cleaning plow that would facilitate work in the sticky soil conditions. That year Deere designed a new plow that worked far more efficiently in the clays and sods of the mid-­west. This device was made of the finest stainless steel and was distinctly wedge-­shaped for better cutting power. Sales proved slow at first, but by 1848 Deere was among the leading manufacturers in Illinois. He established his factory at Moline, Illinois, to be adjacent to the Mississippi River and enjoy easier access to larger markets. Further refinements led to better plows and a wider variety of designs, and by 1857 the John Deere Company was making and selling 13,000 plows a year. Moreover, his constant flow of tech-­ nical innovations to assist farmers greatly enhanced agricultural output through his region, with commensurate profits to farm-­ ers and their attendant markets. The “plow that broke the plain” was born. In addition to improving farm tech-­ nology, Deere also pioneered aggressive marketing and advertising techniques. He continually built up a surplus of inventory

while dispatching an army of company rep-­ resentatives through the countryside and Canada to actively hawk his wares, rather than wait for orders. Deere products were thus a common sight at country fairs nation-­ wide, and he also advertised heavily in pub-­ lications like the Prairie Farmer to reach as wide a consumer base as possible. By 1860 he was experimenting with metal plows that featured interchangeable parts, seed drills, and steam-­powered tractors. The onset of the Civil War in 1861 afforded Deere additional outlets for business through the construc-­ tion of thousands of wagons, carriages, and harnesses for army use. His steady supply of steel plows to innumerable farmers also insured that the North had a considerable abundance of food supplies to fuel the war effort. By 1868 his company was incorpo-­ rated as Deere & Company, although actual leadership had been handed down to his son. Deere, freed from administrative con-­ cerns, poured his energy and talents into the development of new agricultural equipment. By the time he died in Moline on April 16, 1886, his firm was the unquestioned leader with respect to sales, distribution, market-­ ing, and service organizations nationwide. By enabling farmers to greatly enhance food production at relatively little cost, Deere made indelible contributions to the growth and maturation of the American agricultural sector. His innovative devices also allowed the first wave of migrants to the mid-­west to successfully populate and thrive in their new environment.

Congress is petitioned by 56 British authors requesting that national copyright protection be extended to their works.

February 6 Slavery: The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution denying slaves the right to petition Congress.

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February 8 Politics: The Senate elects Democratic Richard M. Johnson to serve a second term as vice president.

February 11 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Briscoe v. Bank of Commonwealth of Kentucky, ruling that all banks owned by states can issue bills of credit for public circulation.

February 12 Labor: A mob of unemployed workers, demonstrating against the high costs of rent and food in New York City, ransacks a flour warehouse.

February 14 Business: The Supreme Court decides the case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, ruling that one company cannot claim a monopoly on transportation routes. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney rules that the interests of the community outweigh those of a single corporation, a complete reversal of perspective from the Marshall Court.

March Business: As proof of an impending economic downturn, the Herman Briggs Company of New Orleans, a major cotton firm, goes bankrupt. The price of cotton has plunged to nearly half its former value.

March 1 Business: Congress adopts a bill to rescind President Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular of July 11, 1836, mandating the purchase of public land with gold and silver; the president kills it with a pocket veto.

March 3 Diplomacy: On his last day in office, President Andrew Jackson finally recognizes the independence of the Republic of Texas and appoints Alcee La Branche as chargé d’affaires. Law: A congressional bill increases the number of Supreme Court Justices from seven to nine.

March 4 Politics: Democrat Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth president and Richard M. Johnson is also sworn in as his vice president. Van Buren is also the first chief executive born after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Outgoing Andrew Jackson, meanwhile, publishes his Farewell Address, implores fellow citizens to place loyalty to the union above all else, and attacks the practices of speculation, monopolies, and paper currency.

March 17 General: Andrew Jackson departs the political limelight of Washington, D.C., and heads for his home in Tennessee, reputedly with only $90 in his pocket. He leaves behind the legacy of an expanded voting franchise, but deep divisions between the business community, farmers, and laborers.

March 18 Education: The University of Michigan is chartered at Ann Arbor, Michigan; its first class graduates in 1841.

1837

Chronology   815

Van Buren, Martin

(1782–1862)

President Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, on December 5, 1782, the son of a tavern keeper. Though poorly educated, he clerked at a law office while young and was admitted to the bar in 1803. Van Buren was a vivacious character, and in 1813 he gained election to the state senate as a Democratic-­Republican and opposed Governor DeWitt Clinton’s canal policy. He spent several years in and out of political office before establishing a political clique called the “Albany Regency” and was then appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1821. In this capacity Van Buren opposed the Federalist policies of President John Quincy Adams and threw his support behind a new con-­ tender, Andrew Jackson, while also oppos-­ ing internal improvements. After Jackson became president in 1828, Van Buren quit the governorship of New York to serve in his cabinet as secretary of state. Van Buren achieved several positive accomplishments by opening American trade with the British West Indies and acquiring French compen-­ sation for abuses during the Napoleonic wars. He then resigned from the cabinet at Jackson’s request to serve as minister to England, although the vote was blocked in the Senate by John C. Calhoun. In 1832 he was tapped to run as Jackson’s vice presi-­ dent and loyally supported his anti-­bank, hard money policies over the next four years. Though a Northerner, Van Buren was also vocal in his support of the rights of slaveholding states. In 1836 he was nominated as Jackson’s heir apparent, faced down a badly divided Whig opposition, and won the presidency by reaching out to both Northern and Southern Democrats. His ability to cobble together such an alignment earned Van Buren a reputation as “The Magician.”

Van Buren had no sooner taken power than the hard currency policies of his prede-­ cessor resulted in the panic of 1837, a very deep and prolonged economic depression. The best Van Buren was willing to do to counter this malaise was creation of an independent treasury to deposit the federal funds that had been withdrawn from the now defunct Bank of the United States. His popularity was also diminished by the out-­ break of a civil war in Canada and tensions along the Maine border with the province of New Brunswick. Van Buren lost much of his southern support by failing to support the annexation of Texas, which he feared would cause a war with Mexico. By 1840 the Whigs had united behind William Henry Harrison, and Van Buren was soundly defeated in the celebrated “Log Cabin Campaign” in which (continues)

President Martin Van Buren (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History

(continued) he was successfully portrayed as a wealthy elitist. In 1844 Van Buren sought the Democratic party nomination, but his wavering over Texas allowed the expansionist James K. Polk to win it instead. Feeling betrayed by Southerners, he ran as a third-party candidate in 1848, which

allowed Whig Zachary Taylor to win New York and the White House at the expense of Lewis Cass. Van Buren remained interested in national politics while in retirement, and he died at Kinderhook on July 24, 1862, both admired and reviled as “The Old Fox.”

General: Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president, is born at Caldwell, New Jersey.

March–May Business: The supply of credit shrinks nationally, ushering in the panic of 1837. This is one of the largest economic disruptions in American history.

April 20 Education: Horace Mann, a determined reformer, is appointed the first secretary of the newly created Massachusetts Board of Education, and he serves until 1848. He subsequently wields an indelible influence in terms of modernizing curricula and opening public education to all American children.

May 10 Business: New York banks stop making specie payments, triggering the panic of 1837, in which 618 banks fail nationwide. This is on account of President Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular, mandating the sale of federal land in gold and silver, which drained the valuable metals to the West. The ensuing inflation

This engraving shows a white teacher barring African-American children from entering a school. (Library of Congress)

1837

Chronology   817

Mann, Horace (1796 –1859) Educator Horace Mann was born in Franklin, Massa-­ chusetts, on May 4, 1796, the son of farmers. Disliking farm work, he was well-­educated by private tutors and gained admittance to Brown University in 1816, graduating with honors three years later. Mann joined the Massachusetts bar in 1823 and won a seat in the state legislature. In Boston he encoun-­ tered noted reformer Dorothea L. Dix. They cooperated on creating the state’s first men-­ tal hospital, penal reforms, and other social matters, and Mann developed an abiding interest in education. At that time public education was practically nonexistent and affluent families generally sent their chil-­ dren through private academies. In 1837 Mann advanced legislation creating the Massachusetts School Board of Education, from which he resigned his legislative seat to serve as secretary. He always believed that common schools could be a great equal-­ izer for all classes, especially in imparting morality and social mobility. Mann thereby successfully pushed for creation of three normal schools specifically designed to train teachers, and he was also the first educa-­ tor to stress the need for personal hygien-­ ics and physical fitness. He also compiled and published the first annual education reports that statistically reflected progress and anticipated problems statewide. Most important of all, Mann extended the school year to six months and made attendance compulsory for all Massachusetts children. No mere bureaucrat, he also toured educa-­ tional facilities throughout his charge and also founded the Common School Journal,

among the earliest educational magazines, and served as its editor for a decade. Dur-­ ing his tenure, no less than 50 new schools were constructed statewide, replete with new textbooks and school libraries. In all these capacities, Mann single-­handedly revolutionized both the concept and qual-­ ity of public education, with dramatic and sustainable results. His methods were then exported to other states and countries, granting him considerable renown. In 1848 Mann resigned from the educa-­ tional board to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig. In this capacity he proved a vocal opponent to the exten-­ sion of slavery into the territories, although the animosity he encountered induced him to abandon politics after 1852. That year he made an unsuccessful bid to become governor of Massachusetts as the Free-­Soil Party candidate and quit politics altogether. Mann subsequently accepted the position as president of Antioch College, Ohio, where he proved instrumental in updating the curricula and also created a teaching program. He also further distinguished himself by insisting on equal treatment for female students. How-­ ever, the college ultimately failed and was sold. Mann died of exhaustion in Ohio on August 2, 1858, only two weeks after exhort-­ ing Antioch’s graduating class to win “some kind of victory for humanity.” His strong belief in the virtues of public education, coupled with an unyielding determination to enhance it for the benefit of all citizens, establishes him as one of the leading Ameri-­ can social reformers of the 19th century.

and speculation were major causes of the depression that followed and lasted until 1841.

June 10 Business: The Connecticut legislature adopts the first general incorporation law.

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July 4 Literature: On the 62nd anniversary of the Battle of Concord in 1775, Reverend Ralph Waldo Emerson first pens the lines to a poem that includes the phrase, “The shot heard round the world.”

August Medical: The outbreak of smallpox in North Dakota claims 1,500 Native Americans of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes.

August 4 Politics: The newly inde pen dent Republic of Texas petitions Congress for immediate annexation as a slave state; the move is supported by Southerners and opposed by Northerners. In the end the issue of slavery prevents any action on the request.

August 25 Politics: The U.S. government formally notifies the Republic of Texas that their request for annexation has been denied. The move was defeated in the U.S. Senate by the Whigs, who oppose admission of another slave state; the vote of 35 to 16 is short of the necessary two-thirds majority.

August 31 Education: Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers his landmark “American Scholar” speech for the Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Society. In it he calls for a philosophical basis to create and perpetuate uniquely American schools of art, literature, and thought.

September 4 Technology: Inventor Samuel F. B. Morse files for a patent to cover his newly invented device, the telegraph, before seeking government and private investment to allow production.

September 5 Politics: President Martin Van Buren addresses a special session of Congress to promote specie currency and he also criticizes state-chartered banks. He feels it necessary to have federal funds kept in depositories which are independent of state banks.

September 12 Military: Mexican forces invade the province of New Mexico and brutally crush a rebellion against authority there.

October 2 Business: The succession of bank failures leads to a suspension of paying surplus federal revenues to the states.

October 12 Business: Congress, eager to ameliorate the panic of 1837, authorizes the use of short-term treasury notes, not to exceed $10 million. This major economic contraction follows a decade of unprecedented economic growth and speculation.

October 14 Politics: A bill to secure the annexation of the Republic of Texas, having passed the Senate, is tabled by the House of Representatives.

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Chronology

819

October 21 Military: American forces under General Thomas S. Jesup treacherously seize Seminole Chief Osceola under a flag of truce in Florida.

October 31 Business: William Procter and James Gamble begin their famous firm with an initial investment of $7,102.

November 7 Slavery: Abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy is killed by a mob in Alton, Illinois; now a martyr, his death causes an outcry and a resurgence in the antislavery movement nationwide.

November 8 Education: Mary Lyon opens Mount Holyoke Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, to afford women educational benefits similar to those received by men at college. It initially enrolled 80 students and within a year had to turn down 800 applicants for want of living space. The first class graduates in 1838.

December 4 Politics: In the face of renewed attempts to introduce antislavery petitions into Congress, Northern and Southern Democrats impose an even more stringent “gag rule” to squelch the endeavor. The move is roundly criticized by former president John Quincy Adams.

December 8 Slavery: Wendell Phillips, an outstanding orator, publicly eulogizes the murdered editor Elijah Lovejoy; this is his first abolitionist speech, “The Murder of Lovejoy,” and commences a distinguished career as an agitator.

December 19 Politics: The U.S. House of Representative adopts a strengthened “gag rule” requiring all petitions or papers concerning slavery to be automatically tabled without discussion.

December 25 Military: A force of 1,000 soldiers and militia under General Zachary Taylor attack and defeat Seminoles at Okeechobee Swamp, Florida. An intense threehour struggle ensues in knee-deep water and the Americans suffer 26 dead and 112 wounded before the Indians finally quit. Seminole losses are lighter but they cannot afford such attrition and revert back to guerrilla warfare.

December 29 Politics: A group of Canadians, angered by American support for rebels under William Lyon Mackenzie, attacks and burns the American steamer Caroline on the American side of the Niagara River. Apparently the vessel had been chartered by Canadian rebels to run arms and ammunition to Navy Island in the Niagara River. The death of American Amos Durfee triggers an outbreak of anti-British sentiments nationwide. Technology: Hiram Avery and John Avery Pitts of Winthrope, Maine, receive a patent for a combination thresher/fanning mill they had invented. It becomes the most popular brand of machine for nearly half a century.

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1838 Music: Lowell Mason becomes the nation’s first superintendent of music instruction in a public school system thanks to the Boston School Committee. Publishing: James Fenimore Cooper, recently arrived from an extended stay in Europe, publishes his nonfiction work The American Democrat, which criticizes the excesses of democracy from a purely aristocratic perspective. The book is unfavorably reviewed and diminishes the author’s once stellar popularity with the reading public. Religion: Unitarian leader William Ellery Channing, intent upon promulgating a creed of self improvement, publishes his philosophical tract Self Culture. He proffers it as an alternative to strict Calvinist theology. Slavery: The so-called Underground Railroad is started by abolitionists to provide runaway African-American slaves with an escape route to the North. Abolitionist Robert Purvis of Philadelphia becomes its unofficial president. Technology: Standardized brass clocks are created by John and Lyman Hollingsworth of South Braintree, Massachusetts; they sell for only $2.00 as opposed to $40 for a wooden version.

January 3–12 Slavery: John C. Calhoun introduces a resolution that legitimizes slavery in the district of Columbia. The motion passes but the Senate declines to annex any slaveholding regions and expand the potential number of slave states.

January 5 Politics: President Martin Van Buren issues a neutrality proclamation and warns American citizens not to become embroiled in the ongoing Canadian revolution, especially by assisting the rebels fighting Great Britain. He also orders General Winfield Scott to command troops and militia along the northern border to stop arms-smuggling to the rebels.

January 26 Law: Tennessee posts the first prohibition law outlawing the sale of alcohol in taverns and stores.

February 14 Slavery: John Quincy Adams introduces 350 antislavery petitions into the House of Representatives to protest the new “gag rule,” and all the petitions are promptly tabled.

February 16 Women: The Kentucky legislature extends suffrage to widows whose children are of school age.

March 26 Business: The Senate passes legislation to create an independent treasury so that the government may administer its own monies.

March 31 Business: The first commercial silk mill opens at South Manchester, Connecticut.

April 19 Societal: The Massachusetts legislature, eager to bring alcohol consumption under control, mandates that hard liquor can be sold only in lots of 15 gallons or more.

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April 23 Transportation: Transatlantic steamship ser vice commences at New York when the British steamship Sirus docks in the harbor after a transit of only 17 days. That same day the large, 1,340-ton American steamship Great Western begins plying the Atlantic on regularly scheduled voyages between New York and Bristol, England; it reaches New York in only 15 days. British engineers are concurrently developing new techniques of converting wood-powered steam engines to far hotter coal-generated devices, but the eclipse of the speedy, beautiful clipper ship, in which the Americans enjoy a decided edge, is still not at hand.

April 25 Technology: The peril of new technology is underscored when the steamer Moselle explodes on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, killing 100.

May 17 Slavery: A pro-slavery mob burns Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Hall to the ground after it has been extensively used by the Female Anti-Slavery Society for abolitionist meetings. Quaker leader Lucretia Mott is undeterred by the violence and presses ahead with her agenda.

May 18 Exploring: Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, a capable, hot-tempered martinet, receives command of the U.S. Exploring Expedition in Washington, D.C. This is the first government-funded attempt to acquire scientific knowledge around the globe.

May 21 Business: President Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular of July 11, 1836, now largely blamed for the panic of 1837, is revoked by Congress.

May 29 Politics: Americans outraged by the Canadian burning of the steamship Caroline in American waters attack and burn the Canadian vessel Sir Robert Peel in the St. Lawrence River. Anti-British sentiment also flares in the form of secret “Hunter’s Lodges” to assist rebels trying to overthrow the Canadian government.

June 12 Settlement: The Iowa Territory is separated from the Wisconsin Territory by Congress; it includes much of the Dakotas and Minnesota.

June 14 Technology: At least 140 people are killed when the steamer Pulaski explodes off the North Carolina coast.

June 25 Business: The House of Representatives defeats an attempt to create an independent treasury due to a split between Democrats; the “Loco-Focos” agree with President Martin Van Buren about the move but more conservative elements side with the Whigs in opposing it.

July 4 Settlement: Congress establishes the Territory of Iowa with Robert Lucas as the first governor.

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July 7 Transportation: The rapidly expanding railroad network is designated by Congress as a postal route.

August 13 Business: Banks in New York are finally able to resume payment in gold and silver specie.

August 18 Exploration: U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes leads a six-ship exploring expedition from Hampden Roads, Virginia, into the Pacific and Antarctic oceans. This is a large and impressive four-year endeavor and the first scientific expedition funded entirely by the federal government. The numerous scientists and specialists on board will make reports on hydrography, geology, botany, geography and related fields.

September 3 Slavery: Using the identity papers of an African-American sailor, Frederick Douglass slips out of bondage in Baltimore, Maryland, and embarks on his career as an outspoken abolitionist.

Douglass, Frederick (ca. 1817–1895) African-American abolitionist Frederick Augustus Bailey was born a slave in Tuckahoe, Maryland, around 1817; he never knew his father and scarcely saw his mother. At the age of eight he was sent to Baltimore to work as a domestic, where he learned to read and write from his mistress until her husband stopped her. As a young man Bailey was sent to a plantation in the countryside and made several escape attempts. In 1838 he borrowed a free African-American sailor’s papers and sailed to New York and freedom. Bailey eventually settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he married and adopted the surname Douglass, but found his new abode only slightly less hostile. He had no recourse but to work as a low-paid laborer until 1841, when he was asked to speak at an abolitionist meeting at Nantucket. Douglass, with power and eloquence, transfixed the crowd, many of whom began to doubt that he was ever a slave. He countered by writing and publishing The

1838

Frederick Douglass (National Archives)

Chronology   823

October Indian: U.S. soldiers under General John E. Wool rounds up and begins relocat-­ ing the few remaining Cherokees from their tribal homes in Georgia; this exodus becomes known in Indian lore as the “Trail of Tears.”

October 12 Politics: The Republic of Texas, having failed to be annexed by the United States, elects Mirabeau B. Lamar president to succeed Sam Houston. Thereafter Texas pursues an independent foreign policy and establishes diplomatic relations with various European countries.

October 30 Education: Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, becomes the first institution of higher learning to admit women as full-­fledged students. Religion: Governor Lilburn Boggs decrees that Mormons living in Missouri are to be treated as enemies and mobs attack them, killing 17 members. This violence triggers a mass migration to Illinois under Brigham Young; prophet Joseph Smith is imprisoned at the time.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845, at the instigation of students from Har-­ vard College. The book proved an immediate best seller and made Douglass a celebrity in abolitionist circles, but, as a former slave, he also feared being recaptured and sailed to England for two years. In 1847 he resettled at Rochester, New York, where he published and edited the newspaper North Star for many years. A year later he also declared his support for women’s rights and was a featured speaker at the Seneca Falls convention. Doug-­ lass by this point had befriended many white abolitionists, but he gradually broke with Wil-­ liam Lloyd Garrison over the latter’s refusal to become engaged in active politics. In 1858 Douglass was also approached by radical abo-­ litionist John Brown for help in his planned attack on Harper’s Ferry, but Douglass diplo-­ matically declined, citing the plan’s futility. The onset of the Civil War in 1861 gave Douglass a new platform upon which he could advocate emancipation and equal rights. He met twice with President Abraham Lincoln

and pressed hard for him to allow the wide-­ spread use of African-­American volunteers in the army as combat soldiers. Lincoln, fearing a white backlash, did so only reluctantly but after 1863 black regiments were commonly raised and deployed. Ultimately, half a mil-­ lion African Americans served in the army and navy, acquitting themselves with distinc-­ tion. After the war, Douglass was the only African-­American leader with any national stature, and he remained a ceaseless spokes-­ man for civil rights and an end to violence against former slaves during the Reconstruc-­ tion period. A staunch Republican, he sup-­ ported the administration of Ulysses S. Grant and became consul-­general to the Republic of Haiti. In 1870 he began publishing The New National Era, and two years later President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him U.S. Mar-­ shal for the District of Columbia. Douglass, a man of great intelligence, integrity, and purpose, died in Washington, D.C., on Feb-­ ruary 20, 1895. He was the leading African-­ American spokesman of his day.

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November Politics: In midterm congressional elections, the Whigs wrest control of Congress away from the Democrats, leaving President Martin Van Buren unsupported in the national legislature.

November 7 Politics: Noted Whig William H. Seward is elected governor of New York.

November 21 Politics: President Martin Van Buren issues a second proclamation warning American citizens not to assist rebels in Canada under the pain of severe penalties.

November 26 Diplomacy: The United States and the Kingdom of Sardinia conclude a treaty of commerce.

December Indian: Escorted by U.S. troops under generals Winfield Scott and John E. Wool, the last of 14,000 Cherokee are forcibly relocated from their tribal homelands in Georgia and marched overland to Oklahoma. Around 4,000 Indians die en route, and the ensuing hardship and struggle come to be known as the “Trail of Tears.”

December 3 Slavery: Whig Joshua Giddings becomes the first avowed abolitionist member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

December 11 Politics: The new “Atherton Gag” rule, promulgated by Representative Charles G. Atherton of New Hampshire, is adopted by the House of Representatives to preclude any discussion of slavery. The measure is adopted by every new session until 1844.

December 26 Education: Wake Forest College is chartered at Wake Forest, North Carolina, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1839.

December 28 Education: The Greensborough Female College is chartered by Methodists at Greensborough, North Carolina.

1839 Business: In New York, Hunts’ Merchant Magazine becomes the nation’s first business periodical. Education: Horace Mann, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, institutes the first public normal schools for all children; attendance is mandatory. Jared Sparks is installed at Harvard as the nation’s first professor of American history. Literature: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes Voices of the Night, his first volume of poems; however, his work languishes without public or critical recognition until 1847. Religion: Mormon leader Brigham Young moves his adherents to Nauvoo, Illinois, where they establish a town. Previously, they had been violently ejected from the settlements in Missouri while leader Joseph Smith was imprisoned.

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Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

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(1807–1882)

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, on February 27, 1807, into an established New England family. He was well-educated at the Portland Academy before attending Bowdoin College in 1821, where Nathaniel Hawthorne was his classmate. Longfellow proved himself adept as a student and enjoyed a facility for foreign languages, so upon graduating in 1825 the college trustees took the unusual step of proffering their young charge a teaching position. Longfellow, who determined early on to work as a writer, readily accepted, although he was required to travel to Europe for additional study. He came home in 1829, was happily married to Mary Storer Potter, and in 1833 published his first picturesque travel sketches, Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea. The book was well-received and the following year Longfellow accepted a teaching position at Harvard. He also undertook another extensive literary tour of Europe, although his life was tempered by tragedy when his wife suddenly died. Longfellow consoled himself by becoming engrossed with moody and mystical German romanticism, which left its mark on his subsequent writings. In 1839 he wrote both his first romantic novel, Hyperion, and his first volume of poetry, Voices of the Night. The latter established him as an American original and sold 43,000 copies. He then furthered his national reputation with the publication of Evangeline (1847), a sentimental narrative poem concerning the French exodus from Acadia.

By 1854 Longfellow was financially secure enough to resign from Harvard and pursue writing full time. A year later he produced The Song of Hiawatha, an epic narrative poem about an Indian chief that was partly inspired by a Finnish epic. In 1858 he scored another popular work with The Courtship of Miles Standish, another historically oriented epic poem. However, the death of his second wife in a fire in 1861 profoundly affected Longfellow and he turned to translating European works to console himself. His treatment of Dante’s Divine Comedy appeared in three volumes, 1865–67, and is regarded as a definitive translation. By this time Longfellow basked in an international reputation as America’s most adept poet, and in 1868 he received honorary degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford. However, he shunned publicity and preferred to work in solitude in his home at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Longfellow remained extremely active in his final years, producing such varied and well-regarded works as The Christus: A Mystery (1872), which examined Christianity at various points in its evolution as a creed. Longfellow died in Cambridge on March 24, 1882, long heralded an American sage. His poetry closely mirrored his own life, exhibiting sweetness, gentleness, and romanticism, yet unmistakably tinged with melancholy. In homage to his renown, a memorial bust was placed in his honor at the Poet’s Corner of Westminister Abbey; Longfellow was the first American writer so honored.

Settlement: Sacramento, California, is founded as a Swiss settlement by John Sutter. Slavery: Abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld publishes a book entitled American Slavery as It Is, a scathing expose gathered from eyewitness accounts and other sources. One avid reader, Harriet Beecher Stowe, is so moved by its sordid tale of woe that she is inspired to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

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Chronology of American History Technology: Inventor Charles Goodyear discovers the vulcanizing process for creating rubber when he accidentally drops a mixture of rubber and sulfur on a hot surface. Women: Mississippi is the first state to allow women to control their own property without legal guardians.

January Politics: Governor John Fairfield of Maine empowers land agent Rufus McIntire to expel Canadian loggers from land claimed by his state.

January 1–2 Naval: A landing force from the warships USS Columbia and John Adams attacks pirate forts on Quallah Battoo, Sumatra, in retaliation for new attacks on American commerce. The survivors pay reparations and promise to halt all harassment.

January 7 Business: The Washington Silver Mine, the nation’s first, is chartered in Lexington, North Carolina.

January 12 Technology: Anthracite coal is used to smelt iron for the first time in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania.

January 19 Diplomacy: The United States and the Netherlands conclude a treaty of commerce and navigation.

February 7 Slavery: Henry Clay, intent upon running for the presidency as a Whig, condemns abolitionism and declares its adherents have no constitutional right to interfere with slavery where it is already extant. In doing so he is appealing to conservatives in both the North and South and declares, “I had rather be right than be president.”

February 11 Education: The University of the State of Missouri (today’s University of Missouri) is chartered at Columbia, Missouri; the first class graduates in 1843.

February 12 Diplomacy: Canadians logging in the disputed Aroostook region of Maine refuse to leave the disputed area and arrest land agent Rufus McIntire when he tries to expel them. Maine and New Brunswick then begin mobilizing for war, but the situation is diffused by General Winfield Scott, who is ordered to arrange a truce until a boundary commission can work out a defined border.

February 20 Societal: Dueling in the District of Columbia is outlawed by Congress.

March 3 Agriculture: Congress grants $1,000 to the Patent Office to promote seed distribution, statistical research, and experimentation in the name of advancing national agriculture. Military: In light of heightened tensions along the Maine–New Brunswick border, Congress passes an act authorizing the recruitment of 50,000 volunteers.

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March 23–25 Diplomacy: War of 1812 veterans General Winfield Scott and Lieutenant Governor John Harvey of New Brunswick, who last met at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane in 1814, agree not to introduce military force into the disputed Aroostook region of Maine. This agreement lays the basis for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

April 11 Diplomacy: The United States and Mexico sign a treaty calling for the arbitration of claims made by Americans.

May 10 Religion: The Mormons under Joseph Smith formally establish their new headquarters in Illinois following their violent expulsion from Missouri.

June Naval: The Texas navy obtains the steamship Zavala, among the first warships of its kind.

August 26 Slavery: African slaves commandeer the Spanish slave ship Amistad and sail it into Connecticut. There it is impounded despite calls by the Spanish government for its return. The Americans, however, take the issue to the courts and in March 1841 the Africans are released.

September 25 Diplomacy: France signs a treaty with the Republic of Texas, the first European nation to confer recognition.

November 13 Politics: A gathering of moderate abolitionists constituting the Liberty Party nominates James G. Birney of Kentucky as the abolitionist candidate for the presidency, with Pennsylvanian Thomas Earle for vice president.

December Technology: In New York, Samuel F. B. Morse imports the first camera, or Daguerre, into the United States from France and also begins taking the first photographs, known as daguerreotypes. The process involves exposing copper plates, coated with silver, to iodine fumes while behind a lens.

December 4 Politics: A convention of Whigs at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, nominates William Henry Harrison over Henry Clay for the presidency. The outspoken Clay has numerous enemies from his many years in office, and he withdraws after the first ballot to promote party unity. States rights advocate John Tyler also becomes a vice presidential candidate. The problem with the Whigs at this juncture is that they lack a viable platform to run on and are simply organized around their common opposition to the Democrats.

1840 Labor: The Beacon, an antireligious, pro-labor publication, begins publishing in New York City. Literature: In Boston, the intellectual circle known as the Transcendentalists begins publishing their own journal, The Dial, with Margaret Fuller at the helm,

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Chronology of American History one of the earliest female editors. It features works by such noted writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Theodore Parker, among others. Noted writer Richard Henry Dana publishes his Two Years Before the Mast, which draws upon the author’s experiences in the U.S. Navy. He is especially appalled by the practice of flogging and subsequently crusades to have it abolished. James Fenimore Cooper returns to public favor with the publication of his French and Indian War novel, The Pathfinder. This is the latest installment of his ongoing Leatherstocking Series. Edgar Allan Poe publishes his Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, which includes his classic story “The Fall of the House of Usher”; it is critically wellreceived but the author fails to acquire a wide readership. Medical: Dr. Willard Parker initiates the first clinic attached to a medical college at the Philadelphia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Chapin Aaron Harris founds the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in Baltimore, Maryland; it is subsequently incorporated into the University of Maryland. Intent upon making dentistry a recognized profession, Dr. Horace A. Hayden founds the American Society of Dental Surgeons in New York City. Military: Captain Gabriel J. Rains, campaigning against the Seminole Indians in Florida, hits upon the idea of buried explosive charges triggered by a passerby; this is the origin of antipersonnel weapons or land mines. Population: The latest census reveals a population of slightly more than 17 million inhabitants, reflecting a 30 percent growth over the previous decade. Publishing: In his pamphlet An Essay on a Congress of Nations, William Lash calls on Congress to establish guidelines and principles for international law and an international court. Religion: Joseph Smith ventures to England and addresses 4,000 potential Mormon converts who gradually immigrate to his colony at Nauvoo, Illinois. Science: William Cranch Boyd constructs an astronomical observatory at Harvard College to replace the device he previously used at his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. John William Draper of New York University takes the first crude photograph of the moon, thereby initiating the nation’s pioneering role in astronomical photography.

January 8 Slavery: The House of Representatives reaffirms its gag rule against introducing antislavery petitions; however, the margin in favor is dwindling with a final vote of only 114 to 108

January 12 Business: The Senate again passes legislation to found an independent treasury; passage in the House is now required.

January 13 General: The steamship Lexington burns and sinks near Eaton’s Neck, New York, killing 140 passengers.

January 19 Exploring: The exploring expedition under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes catches a glimpse of the southern continent Antarctica, which is promptly dubbed “Wilkes Land.” Settlement: Austin is chosen as the new capital of the Republic of Texas.

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March 2 Education: Bethany College is chartered in Bethany, Virginia (West Virginia), by the Disciples of Christ; the first class graduates in 1844.

March 4 Education: Richmond College (today’s University of Richmond) is chartered in Richmond, Virginia, by various Baptist groups; its first class graduates in 1849.

March 31 Labor: A 10-hour workday is established for federal employees engaged in public works by President Martin Van Buren.

April 1 Politics: The abolitionist Liberty Party holds its first national convention in Albany, New York, intending to draw upon the 150,000 members of abolitionist societies across America in the upcoming election. James G. Birney of Kentucky again receives the nod to run for president with Thomas Earle running as vice president.

May 5–6 Politics: The Democratic Party convenes at Baltimore, Maryland, for their national convention; they renominate Martin Van Buren for the presidency and also make the first ever national stance on slavery by declaring their opposition to any congressional attempts to interfere with the “peculiar institution.” Their platform also espouses a strict constructionist doctrine of the Constitution and opposes a national bank and federal money for internal improvements. Significantly, this is the last Democratic convention before the Civil War to embrace principles found in the Declaration of Independence.

May 6 Settlement: The town of St. Paul is founded in present-day Minneapolis by a group of Swiss immigrants.

June 12 Women: A meeting of the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England, convenes but excludes women delegates from its proceedings. Among the Americans snubbed are Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, who are denied seating despite the pleas of fiery abolitionist Wendell Phillips. Rejection here induces Stanton and Mott to hold a women’s conference in New York at a subsequent date.

June 30 Business: The House of Representatives approves the Independent Treasury Act over continuing opposition from the Whigs.

July 4 Business: President Martin Van Buren signs the Independent Treasury Act into law, whereby the government acquires exclusive rights to manage its own monies and also creates specific depositories to hold all funds. Such institutions, or subtreasuries, are established at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Charleston, St. Louis, and New Orleans. This is the first instance in many years whereby Northern and Southern Democrats momentarily unite to overcome bitter Whig opposition.

August 26 Diplomacy: The United States and Portugal conclude a treaty of commerce and navigation.

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November Diplomacy: Canadian deputy sheriff Alexander McLeod, charged with the murder of American Amos Durfee when the schooner Caroline was burned, is arrested and charged with murder in New York.

November 13 Diplomacy: Great Britain recognizes the Republic of Texas and also concludes a commercial treaty.

December 2 Politics: William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren for the presidency with 234 electoral votes to 60 while John Tyler becomes vice president. The Whigs also take control of Congress; this is the first complete loss of political power by a party since 1800. This is also the first modern campaign in the sense that the Whigs pioneer the use of slogans, placards, songs, floats, and transportable log cabins to emphasize Harrison’s unique frontier nature over Van Buren’s aristocratic nature. “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” had become the Whig campaign mantra.

December 13 Diplomacy: Henry Stephen Fox, British minister to the United States, demands that the Americans release Canadian deputy sheriff Alexander McLeod from jail in New York.

December 26 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Forsyth refuses an English demand to release Canadian deputy sheriff Alexander McLeod, charged with murder, from jail in New York. British minister Henry Stephen Fox is informed that the state of New York enjoys exclusive jurisdiction over the case.

1841 Indian: Frontier artist George Catlin publishes his two-volume Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indian, which includes 300 of his engravings. He is disturbed that many Indian cultures are on the verge of disappearing. Literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson writes and publishes his first series of transcendentalist Essays, confirming him as a noted thinker and writer. James Fenimore Cooper publishes The Deerslayer, the last installment of his Leatherstocking Tales. This concludes a classic series of frontier novels featuring Natty Bumpo, also known as Hawkeye, a garrulous frontier figure who is far more in tune with nature than civilization. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes Ballads and Other Poems, and his spirited narrative technique establishes him as a noted writer. Military: The moniker “Old Fuss and Feathers” is first applied to General Winfield Scott, long renowned for his attention toward military dress and decorum. Settlement: A party of 48 wagons traverses the Oregon Trail, the Humbolt River, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, to arrive safely at Sacramento, California. Societal: A group of Transcendentalists under George Ripley establish a utopian farming community, the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education, nine miles from Boston. Members pursue a balanced life of simple living combined with high intellectual pursuits.

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Chronology

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Catlin, George (1796–1872) Painter George Catlin was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1796, the son of a lawyer. He studied law in Connecticut and began a successful practice at home in 1819, but Catlin had always exhibited a fascination with Native Americans. By this time he had also displayed a genuine talent for painting portraits. In 1823 he stopped his legal work and decided to parley his artistic infatuation into a viable career by doing portraiture in Philadelphia and observing Native American delegations as they occasionally appeared in the city. To raise money he ventured to Albany, New York, in 1828 to paint Governor DeWitt Clinton, a wealthy sponsor, and also met Clara Bartlett Gregory, whom he eventually married. That same year he ventured to Buffalo to paint the noted Seneca orator Red Jacket and also commenced formal ethnological studies of Native Americans. In time Catlin expressed a fervent desire not only to capture Native Americans on canvas but also to help preserve their rapidly vanishing way of life. By 1830 he had amassed sufficient money to relocate to St. Louis and study Indians in detail. In this capacity he met and befriended General William Clark, governor of the new Indian Territory, who invited him along on various trips up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Catlin was thus able to encounter more remote tribes such as the Blackfeet, Crow, Cree, Mandan, and Sioux, all of which he carefully documented. By 1836 Catlin had executed more than 500 superbly rendered paintings and portraits of various tribes and individuals,

foremost among them the aged Shawnee Prophet Tenskwatawa, brother of Tecumseh. The following year he established “Catlin’s Indian Gallery” in New York City, whose vivacious art whetted the public’s appetite for knowledge about Indians and was a great commercial success. For the rest of the decade Catlin relocated to Europe with his wide-ranging collection and enjoyed considerable success displaying it there. As a body of work, the art is significant for preserving Indian village life, games, war dances, ceremonies, and other activities long forgotten. Catlin then returned home on a national tour but enjoyed considerably less success in Philadelphia, Boston, or an encore performance in New York. To bolster his income he next took to publishing, and his Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians (1841) which, while well received, did not produce the windfall anticipated. He then tried to sell his body of work to Congress without success and later used the whole as collateral, losing them. Catlin subsequently lived in Europe from 1852 to 1857 and was commissioned by noted explorer Baron Wilhelm von Humbolt to undertake a painting expedition to South America. He returned to New York in 1870 and spent several years publishing works about his experiences among Native Americans and appealing for better treatment of them. Catlin died in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 23, 1872, a pioneering artist and cultural anthropologist.

In Massachusetts, reformer Dorothea L. Dix begins her personal crusade to improve living conditions and treatment of the mentally ill. Sports: The nation’s first unofficial boxing championship unfolds with Tom Hyer defeating challenger John McCluster.

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Chronology of American History

Dix, Dorothea (1802–1887) Reformer Dorothea Lynde Dix was born in Hampden, Maine, on April 4, 1802, the daughter of a Methodist preacher. Despite an unhappy childhood and a life of grinding poverty, she matured into a dutiful young woman with an iron will and a strict sense of morality. Dix served as headmistress of a Boston “Dame School” for young girls, but so energetically that in 1836 she was forced to visit England to recoup her health. There she encountered numerous social reformers, which inspired her to carry on similar work in the United States. To this end she began teaching at the House of Correction in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1841 and three years later composed a report for the state legislature about the abuses heaped upon the mentally ill. Dix then capitalized on this success by launching a nationwide crusade to afford better treatment of insane men and women. Due to her efforts, the number of mental institution increased from 32 in 1843 to 123 by 1880. In 1845 she also collaborated with educator Horace Mann on a book entitled Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States, whose humane and farsighted suggestions were eventually adopted by penologists. However, in 1854 President Franklin Pierce vetoed legislation mandating federal involvement in mental health matters, and Dix suffered a near collapse. She then went abroad for her health while supervising reform efforts in Scotland, the Channel Islands, France, Russia, and Turkey. Dix came home in 1856 and continued her usual investigat-

ing, publishing, and lobbying on behalf of the mentally ill. Dix was arguably one of the nation’s most famous women by the advent of Civil War in April 1861, and she tendered her services to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Accordingly she gained appointment as chief of nurses for the Union Army and drew upon her organizational and institutional experience to recruit thousands of nurses for the war effort. She also imparted high ethical standards on prospective candidates and required them to be at least 30 years old and plain looking to weed out adventurers. However, Dix’s own religious prejudices were so marked that she forbade Catholic nuns or any other religious order which she found offensive from joining. Her strident morality and despotic behavior also garnered her a reputation as “Dragon Dix,” but largely through her efforts the Nurse Corps was one of the resounding success stories of the Civil War and closely paralleled the efforts of Englishwoman Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War. As an indication of her personal commitment to her charge, Dix labored the entire war without pay. Afterward, she took up the cause of caring for orphans and the blind at a national level. Dix left public life in 1881 and retired to one of the hospitals she had founded in Trenton, New Jersey, some 35 years earlier. She died there on July 17, 1887, somewhat imperious and opinionated but also a sincere champion for the ill and disadvantaged.

January 3 Literature: Aspiring writer Herman Melville joins the whaler Acushnet at Fairhaven, England, bound for the South Seas. His experiences greatly influence his writings and ultimately inspire Moby-Dick, his most celebrated novel.

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March 4 Politics: William Henry Harrison is sworn in as the ninth president of the United States and the first Whig chief executive. Daniel Webster is also appointed the new Secretary of State after Henry Clay declines the post.

March 9 Slavery: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of the 53 Africans seized when the Spanish slaver Amistad sailed into American waters, and they are released and allowed to return to Africa.

March 17 Diplomacy: The United States and Peru sign a claims convention.

April Publishing: Graham’s Magazine commences publication in Philadelphia with Edgar Allan Poe as associate editor, who also publishes his “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” the first detective story.

April 4 Politics: William Henry Harrison dies in office of pneumonia, becoming the first chief executive to be succeeded by his vice president.

April 9 Politics: President John Tyler gives his inaugural address, stressing fiscal sobriety. However, many observers question if he is simply an acting president as the Constitution makes no clear provisions for succession in office. Tyler ultimately prevails on a congressional vote to install him as president. A Democrat and a devout believer in states’ rights, he is nonetheless at odds with the Whig majority over many touchstone issues.

April 10 Journalism: Horace Greeley begins publishing the New York Tribune, a Whigoriented penny paper. He gradually emerges as one of the nation’s most influential writers and a major force behind the future Republican Party.

May Business: Sam Houston opens the port of Houston, Texas, to stimulate trade and commerce. Settlement: The first covered-wagon train departs Sapling Grove, Kansas, and makes for California via the Stanislaus River.

May 19 Religion: Theodore Parker, a noted Unitarian preacher, delivers his landmark address “On the Transient and Permanent in Christianity” in South Boston. He takes the extraordinary stance that Jesus Christ was not supernatural in nature and that the Scriptures deserve no special reverence.

June 19 Military: A group of Texas irregulars and military adventurers embarks on a campaign to capture Santa Fe, New Mexico, from the Mexican Republic.

June 20 Technology: Samuel F. B. Morse receives a patent for his new telegraph.

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Harrison, William Henry (1773–1841) President William Henry Harrison was born in Charles City, Virginia, on February 9, 1773, son of a leading colonial politician. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Pennsylvania before being commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1792. Harrison fought well under General Anthony Wayne and retired from the military in 1795 as a captain. He then functioned as secretary of the Northwest Territory before being elected to Congress in 1799. The following year President John Adams appointed Harrison territorial governor of the Indiana Territory, which he remained for the next 12 years. His tenure was marked by aggressive acquisition of Native American land, resentment of which gave rise to Tecumseh’s anti-American coalition. In 1811 he won a narrow victory over the Shawnee Prophet Tenskwatawa at Tippecanoe, and in the War of 1812 he gained a major general’s commission in the U.S. Army. In this capacity he withstood British and Indian forces during the siege of

William Henry Harrison (Library of Congress)

July 7 Politics: Henry Clay initiates his own fiscal proposals in the Senate to repeal the Independent Treasury Act, increase tariffs, establish a new national bank, raise higher tariff revenues, and return money accruing from federal land sales to the states. These programs are hallmarks of the Whig ideology. However, President John Tyler considers Clay’s maneuver an attempt to usurp his role as nominal party leader.

July 28 Politics: The Senate passes Henry Clay’s Fiscal Bank Bill to establish a new Bank of the United States (called the Fiscal Bank) in the District of Columbia.

August 6 Business: Whig majorities in both houses of Congress pass a bill resurrecting a new institution, the Fiscal Bank of the United States.

August 9 General: The steamship Erie catches fire and sinks in Lake Erie, killing 175 passengers.

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Chronology

Fort Meigs, Ohio, in May 1813, forcing them back into Canada. Harrison subsequently took to the offensive, chased the fleeing British into western Ontario, and on October 5, 1813, he fought and won the Battle of the Thames, Ontario, where Tecumseh was killed and his confederation shattered. He then served briefly in New York before a disagreement with Secretary of War John Armstrong prompted his resignation. Harrison’s status as a national war hero was nonetheless assured and in 1818 he received a congressional gold medal. In 1815 he also helped negotiate the Spring Wells Treaty with various Indian tribes, securing additional lands. In 1816 Harrison was elected again to the House of Representatives from Ohio, and in 1825 the state legislature appointed him to the U.S. Senate. In 1828 President John Quincy Adams appointed him the first American minister to Colombia, but he clashed with President Simón Bolívar and was recalled by President Andrew Jackson the following year. Harrison returned to private life in 1829 but

835

he resumed active campaigning following the rise of the Whig Party in 1834 and two years later he was one of several party presidential nominees, easily the most popular because of his military reputation. He subsequently lost the election to Democrat Martin Van Buren in 1836 but began planning to resume the struggle in 1840. In this he was greatly assisted by the onset of the Panic (depression) of 1837 that greatly eroded popular support for the Democrats. That year the Whigs adopted the so-called Log Cabin strategy that posited Harrison as a frontier war hero and featured campaign songs, catchy slogans, and all the trappings of the very Jacksonian democracy that Van Buren failed to take advantage of. Once coupled with John Tyler as vice president, the two men successfully campaigned under the national slogan of “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too,” defeating the incumbent. In March 1841 Harrison was sworn in as the first Whig president. However, he died a month later of illness on April 4, 1841, the first chief executive to perish in office.

August 13 Business: The Independent Treasury Act is repealed by Congress at the behest of Henry Clay, and the Secretary of the Treasury resumes his responsibilities for public funds and the use of state banks for depositing funds. This measure is a necessary precondition for establishing a new national bank.

August 16 Politics: President John Tyler, who regards Henry Clay’s Fiscal Bank Bill as unconstitutional, vetoes it. The Senate then fails to muster sufficient votes for an override. The Whigs are generally enraged by Tyler’s conduct, believing that he had previously agreed to sign such legislation.

August 19 Politics: Congress implements a uniform system of bankruptcy so that individuals can declare bankruptcy; it endures three years and allows 33,730 individuals to claim bankruptcy.

August 29 Societal: Cincinnati, Ohio is the scene of a violent anti-black street rioting which lasts for five days.

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Tyler, John

(1790–1862)

President John Tyler was born in Charles City County, Virginia, on March 29, 1790, the son of wealthy planters. He graduated from William and Mary College in 1807, studied law, and was admitted to the bar two years later. Tyler took an interest in politics and from 1811 to 1815 he served in the state legislature before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1816 as a DemocraticRepublican. In 1827 he served two terms as governor before standing for a seat in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat. Politically, Tyler was an outspoken advocate of states’ rights, and he also opposed both internal improvements and a second national bank as unconstitutional. In 1828 he supported the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency but then railed against his threatened use of force during the nullification crisis of 1831. He was also highly critical of the way Jackson arbitrarily withdrew government deposits from the Bank of the United States. Tyler thus found himself

President John Tyler (Library of Congress)

September 3 Politics: Both houses of Congress adopt a second bank bill which addresses President John Tyler’s constitutional concerns.

September 4 Settlement: Congress passes the Distribution-Preemption Act which allows settlers to purchase for a minimum price land they have illegally settled on. This ends a long-running dispute as to whether public land policy should focus on revenues or settlement. However, the distribution of profits to the states is rescinded should tariff rates rise beyond 20 percent.

September 9 Politics: Unswayed by political compromises, President John Tyler again vetoes the bill reestablishing a national bank.

September 11 Politics: President John Tyler’s cabinet, angered by his recent veto of the bank bill, resigns from office save for Secretary of State Daniel Webster. Tyler then appoints new members for the South, thereby increasing that region’s influence upon presidential decisions.

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in a curious alignment with Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and other politicians of the new Whig party. However, in February 1836, the Democratic Virginia legislature ordered Tyler to remove Clay’s Senate censure resolution against Jackson, and, rather than submit, Tyler resigned his seat, quit the party, and formally joined the Whigs. In this capacity he was tapped as William Henry Harrison’s vice presidential running mate in the 1840 election. He provided a measure of geographical balance to the ticket even while having very little in common with Harrison. As vice president, Tyler was envisioned as an obstacle to the Whig platform as long as Harrison was in charge. However, after only a month in power, Harrison suddenly died of illness and Tyler became the first vice president to succeed the chief executive. First he had to weather a period of political questioning of whether he was simply acting president or really president. Tyler then established the precedent that he had, in fact, been constitutionally mandated to succeed to the presidency

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with all the powers of that office. Despite the fact that the Whigs now controlled the government, Tyler refused to fall in line behind Clay, who was the de facto head of the party. He thus twice vetoed the rechartering of the Bank of the United States, then also rejected a revised tariff and Clay’s plan to distribute revenue from land sales back to the states. This cost him the continuing allegiance of Whig members in his own cabinet, for they all resigned with the exception of Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who remained in office only long enough to conclude the famous Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Tyler then replaced his cabinet with Southerners while pushing for the annexation of Texas to appease them. When it was rejected by the Senate, the administration acquired it through a joint resolution of Congress. In 1844 Tyler threw his support behind Democrat James K. Polk, and in 1860 he attended the Washington Peace Convention to circumvent civil war. Tyler subsequently joined the Confederate House of Representatives but died on January 18, 1862 before taking his seat.

October 4 Politics: In Rhode Island, where only 4,000 adult males and their eldest sons can vote out of a population exceeding 100,000, disenfranchised men gather at an unauthorized convention to demand to be enfranchised. The ensuing People’s Party under Thomas Dorr seeks to update the state constitution, which was approved in 1663 by King Charles II.

October 12 Politics: A New York court acquits Canadian sheriff Alexander McLeod of murdering Amos Durfee during the burning of the American steamship Caroline. This removes a major point of contention between the United States and Canada.

October 27 Slavery: A group of slaves being transported to New Orleans seizes control of the vessel Creole, sails to the British port of Nassau in the Bahamas, and is declared free. They summarily ignore all American attempts to recover them.

October 29 Education: In New York City, Catholic Bishop John Joseph Hughes urges public funding for parochial schools.

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November Settlement: John Bidwell leads the first organized wagon train across the Rocky Mountains, along the Oregon Trail and into Sacramento, California. They had previously departed Sapling Grove, Kansas, with 69 adults and children.

December 16 Settlement: A bill is introduced by Missouri Senator Lewis Linn to facilitate expanded migration to the Oregon Territory by providing military escorts and land grants to males of voting age. It is not passed but heightens British awareness of American ambitions in that region.

December 27–29 Politics: A majority of voters approve the so-called People’s Constitution to enlarge the voter franchise in Rhode Island.

1842 Labor: The Massachusetts state supreme court decides the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt ruling that trade unions are lawful organizations, they are not responsible for illegal acts by individuals, and that strikes which close shops are legal. This marks a reversal of traditional judicial hostility toward organized labor. Naval: Pistol manufacturer Samuel Colt begins experimenting with a submarine battery (underwater mines). Settlement: Dr. Elijah White, newly appointed Indian agent for the Oregon Territory, conducts a party of 130 people and 18 wagons overland there from Independence, Missouri. Slavery: When fugitive slave George Lattimer is seized by authorities in Boston, local abolitionists insist that he be allowed to purchase freedom from his master in Virginia. Societal: The Sons of Temperance is founded in New York and draws heavily upon Masonic rights and rituals. For this reason it is criticized by the competing American Temperance Union for excluding its members at their meetings. Technology: Samuel F. B. Morse successfully lays the first underwater telegraph cable between Castle Garden and Governor’s Island, New York.

January 1 Societal: Exhibitor par excellence Phineas T. Barnum, a former newspaper editor, opens the American Museum in New York City. He employs hoaxes and extravagant, sensationalized advertising to lure an unsuspecting public inside.

January 2 Engineering: The first wire suspension bridge is opened across the Schuylkill River, at Fairmount, Pennsylvania.

January 24 Politics: Citizens from Haverhill, Massachusetts, petition Congress to allow the Union to be peacefully disbanded; it is presented by former president John Quincy Adams.

March 1 Slavery: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Prigg v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ruling that state law forbidding the seizure of fugitive slaves is

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Barnum, P. T.

839

(1810–1891)

Showman Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, on July 5, 1810, and he went to work at the age of 15 when his father died. By turns a shop owner, director of lotteries, and a newspaper editor, he once spent several weeks in jail for libel and relocated to Philadelphia in search of gainful employment, There he encountered Joice Heth, an elderly African American, whom a small town huckster promoted as President George Washington’s original nurse. In a flash Barnum saw an opportunity so he acquired the rights to exhibit Heth, backed by an outlandish publicity campaign, and made his reputation as a showman. In 1840 he ventured to New York and acquired John Scudder’s American Museum, which he transformed from a collection of curiosities into a showcase for the bizarre. Barnum stuffed his displays with unusual and usually contrived objects, physically deformed people, and novelties such as jugglers and automated displays, backed by outlandish claims and promotions. The public, paying 25 cents a head, readily attended and apparently enjoyed such imaginative deceptions, particularly the exhibit marked “egress”—leading to the exit. For two decades Barnum cemented his reputation as “America’s greatest showman” through the likes of celebrities such as 25-inch-tall “General Tom Thumb” and gained formal introduction to many heads of state, including President Abraham Lincoln, King Louis Philippe of France, and Queen Victoria of England. For all his skill at hucksterism, Barnum was a shrewd businessman and a good judge of popular

taste. For that reason he invited soprano Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale,” on a successful nationwide tour that also netted him a large fortune. His autobiography, first published in 1855 and repeatedly updated and reprinted, sold nearly a million copies—at least according to him. Advancing age did nothing to inhibit Barnum’s sense of adventurism and fun. He acquired a small traveling circus, expanded the routine with the usual exotic acts and claims, then successfully toured the nation touting “the Greatest Show on Earth.” The public responded in droves, and in 1881 Barnum joined forces with a younger competitor, James A. Bailey, to found the famous “Barnum & Bailey’s Three Ring Circus,” which became a staple of family entertainment for over a century. When not engaged in his usual moneymaking schemes, Barnum turned to politics and served several terms in the Connecticut legislature. He continued pursuing his traveling circus with great energy, imagination, and personal delight until 1891, when his health began to fail. Ever the showman, when near death he reputedly asked a local newspaper to print his obituary in advance so that he could read it. The vivacious Barnum died in Philadelphia on April 7, 1891, just hours after inquiring about the daily box office receipts. Beyond being America’s premier entertainer and a fine judge of public psychology, he raised the level of mass entertainment to new levels, anticipating by decades the huge response to the new motion picture industry.

unconstitutional. However, the court maintains that the actual capture of such fugitives rests entirely with the federal government and state officials need not concern themselves.

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March 3 Labor: Massachusetts approves the first law restricting children in factories under the age of 12 to 10 hours of work per day.

March 4 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Dobbins v. Commissioners, ruling that states cannot tax the salary of Federal officials.

March 7 Education: Ohio Wesleyan University is chartered in Delaware, Ohio, by the Methodists; the first class graduates in 1846.

March 21–23 Slavery: Abolitionist representative Joshua Giddings champions the seizure of slaves by England in the Creole case and is censured by Southerners in the House. Giddings then resigns from Congress, only to be reelected in the following May.

March 30 Business: The Tariff Act of 1842, a piece of highly protective legislation, is passed by Congress and raises tariffs to the levels authorized by the Tariff Act of 1832. Medical: The first recorded use of ether during surgery is made by Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia.

March 31 Politics: Henry Clay, disgusted by the Whig Party’s inability to formulate programs, resigns from Congress. He intends to spend the next several years rebuilding his party from the ground up before returning to the Senate in 1849.

April 4 Diplomacy: British minister Alexander Baring, Baron Ashburton, presents his credentials in Washington, D.C. He is authorized to commence wide-ranging negotiations with Secretary of State Daniel Webster in a bid to head off future border disputes between America and Canada.

April 12 Business: The Mutual Life Insurance Company is chartered in New York, being the first company of its kind.

April 18 Politics: Dissident and disenfranchised males in Rhode Island elect Thomas W. Dorr to serve as governor while the political establishment reelects Samuel W. King to the same office. Both sides then appeal to President John Tyler for assistance.

April 25 Societal: Noted British writer Charles Dickens becomes the toast of New York City when he arrives, is feted by literary circles, and raises money for the relief of London slums. He also denounces slavery and seeks international copyright laws to protect authors everywhere.

May 2 Exploring: Col o nel John C. Frémont begins his four- year exploration of the Rocky Mountains and Wyoming; success here will make him a national figure.

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Chronology

Frémont, John C.

841

(1813–1890)

Explorer John C. Frémont was born in Savannah, Georgia, on January 21, 1813, the illegitimate son of a French emigrant and an upper class Southern woman. He was raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and briefly attended Charleston College in 1831, where he excelled at mathematics before being expelled. After holding down several minor posts, Frémont came to the attention of politician Joel R. Poinsett, who arranged for Frémont to receive his lieutenant’s commission in the U.S. Army. In this capacity he accompanied French scientist Joseph N. Nicollet on a two-year expedition through the Iowa territory and finally found his calling. In 1841 he also met and married the daughter of influential Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and now possessed a powerful sponsor. Consequently, between 1842 and 1849 Frémont conducted four famous expeditions throughout the American West, contesting the notions of Major Stephen H. Long that the region was entirely desert and uninhabitable. Among his many achievements was thoroughly mapping the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, which subsequently served as an important conduit for western migration to the Pacific coast. In 1843 Frémont teamed up with noted scout Kit Carson and covered another 6,500 miles from the Great Salt lake, Utah, over the Sierra Nevada desert and into California and back. He also gained fame by publishing his reports to Congress, which became an immediate best seller and stimulated settlement. Frémont was in California when the Mexican War broke out in 1846. He

helped arrange the Bear Flag revolt in California and gained appointment as governor through Commodore Robert F. Stockton but was subsequently arrested by General Stephen W. Kearny for insubordination. He still remained popularly regarded as “The Pathfinder.” Frémont was cleared of all charges at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but he nonetheless resigned his commission in a huff. He then gained appointment as the first U.S. senator from California. Frémont, despite his Southern roots, was an avowed abolitionist, and in 1856 he became the first candidate to run for the presidency with the new Republican Party. Aged but 43 years, he was also the youngest ever to run for such high office. Frémont, however, was badly drubbed by Democrat James Buchanan and returned to private life. When the Civil War erupted in April 1861, he was commissioned a brigadier general by President Abraham Lincoln and placed in charge of the sensitive region of Missouri. However, Frémont angered Lincoln and slaveholding Northerners alike through his unauthorized emancipation efforts of 1861 and was removed from the post. He subsequently transferred east to serve in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where he was badly defeated by General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson at Cross Keys in 1862. Fremont was talked out of running for the presidency in 1864 and subsequently served as territorial governor of Arizona, 1878–81. He died in New York on July 12, 1890, a celebrated frontier figure.

May 3 Politics: Thomas W. Dorr, elected governor of Rhode Island under the new “People’s Constitution,” is sworn into office over the objections of the previous executive, Samuel W. King.

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May 18 Military: The so-called Dorr’s War breaks out in Rhode Island when disenfranchised male supporters of Thomas W. Dorr try and fail to seize the local arsenal. He flees the state but subsequently returns and is arrested.

May 20 Sports: The Union Course on Long Island, New York, is the scene of a huge racing event between Boston, a horse from the North, and Fashion, a horse from the South. Fashion wins the event by running a four-mile course in seven minutes and 32 seconds, a new record. An estimated 50,000 racing fans are on hand to view the proceedings.

June 10 Exploring: Lieutenant Charles Wilkes returns to New York City after sailing 90,000 miles around the Pacific and Antarctica. This concludes the ambitious United States Exploring Expedition, although work on the published report continues until 1844 and runs to five volumes.

June 25 Politics: Congress passes the Reapportionment Act, requiring that Congressmen be elected by district.

June 29 Politics: President John Tyler vetoes a revenue bill that would maintain tariffs above the 20 percent level as per the Compromise Tariff of 1833. The legislation also mandates that the government suspend distribution of revenue surpluses from federal land sales to the states.

August 9 Business: President John Tyler vetoes a second tariff bill combining higher duties with continuing distribution of surplus revenue to the states. Diplomacy: The Webster-Ashburton Treaty is concluded between Secretary of State Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton to mitigate boundary disputes and other issues. Among other things, the Maine/New Brunswick border is finalized, the United States obtains navigation rights on the St. John River, Great Britain grants America all territory from Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods (Minnesota), and the British government officially apologizes for the Caroline affairs. This marks a turning point in previously stiff and formal relations between the two nations.

August 20 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Webster-Ashburton Treaty by a wide margin of 39 to nine.

August 26 Business: July 1 is defined by Congress as the start of the new fiscal year.

August 30 Business: President John Tyler signs a third Tariff Act which raises the level of duties to the levels of 1832 and also ends the distribution of surplus federal revenues when tariffs rise above a specific level.

September 11 Military: In a spate of ongoing border hostility, Mexican soldiers invade and capture San Antonio from the Republic of Texas.

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October 3 Settlement: Marcus Whitman, determined to draw attention to the Oregon Territory, journeys to Washington and Boston in the middle of winter.

October 13 Naval: Commodore Lawrence Kearney and his East India Squadron begins arriving at Chinese ports to commence diplomatic and trade negotiations with Manchu dynasty officials.

October 20–21 Naval: Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones, commanding the East Pacific Squadron, mistakenly seizes the Mexican settlement of Monterrey, California, having been falsely informed that the United States and Mexico are at war. When correctly informed by the American consul, Thomas O. Larkin, he apologizes for the mistake and departs.

October 21 Military: In Texas, Mexican troops attack and kill a number of Texans in the so-called Dawson Massacre.

December Societal: Dr. Charles Frederick Ernest Minnegerode, a German political exile, sets up the first Christmas tree in the United States.

December 1 Naval: The only instance of mutiny aboard a U.S. Naval warship occurs when Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie hangs three individuals for allegedly plotting aboard the USS Somers. One individual, Midshipman Philip Spencer, is son of the present secretary of war.

December 30 Settlement: President John Tyler, at the behest of Secretary of State Daniel Webster, declares that the Hawaiian islands are off-limits to any prospective colonial powers.

1843 Arts: Hiram Powers finishes sculpting his noted work, “Greek Slave.” Business: Benjamin T. Babbitt introduces powdered soap and markets his new product with free samples; it is tremendously successful and eventually known throughout the country. Diplomacy: George Brown, American minister to the Hawaiian Islands, refuses to support attempts by France and England to secure the region’s independence. Literature: Edgar Allan Poe furthers his reputation as a master of the macabre with the publication of his minor masterpiece The Tell-Tale Heart, a first-person narrative about psychotic delusions. Medical: Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes publishes a highly respected essay, “The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever,” in the New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine. A yellow fever epidemic strikes hard throughout the Mississippi Valley, killing 13,000 inhabitants. Music: Daniel Decatur Emmet, composer of the song “Dixie,” leads the Virginia Minstrels, first known minstrel troupe to perform in New York City. His use of blackface singers sets the precedent for minstrel acts that follow.

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Chronology of American History Publishing: Historian William Hickling Prescott publishes The Conquest of Mexico, a compelling and highly accurate narrative that sells thousands of copies. Religion: German Jews living in New York City found the B’nai B’rith. Science: The world’s largest telescope is mounted at the Harvard Astronomical Observatory. The device was obtained through private subscription and marks the founding of American astronomy. Slavery: The Vermont legislature votes to void the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.

January Societal: Reformer Dorothea Lyn Dix testifies before the Massachusetts legislature on behalf of better treatment of the insane and mentally ill. Her address, “Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts,” excoriates long accepted practices of abuse and leads to reforms. The Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in New York City, an umbrella organization of many diverse charities and social groups, is founded in New York City. Its success leads to similar agencies in Brooklyn, Boston, and elsewhere.

Engraving showing underground lodgings of the poor, Greenwich Street, New York City (Library of Congress)

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January 29 General: William McKinley, the 25th president, is born at Niles, Ohio.

February 3 Settlement: The Oregon Bill of Missouri Senator Lewis Linn, intended to stimulate migration there, is approved by the Senate. This authorizes the construction of military posts to protect settlers and also land grants to prospective settlers.

February 25 Diplomacy: British warships raise their flags over the Hawaiian Islands.

March 3 Business: Congress repeals the Bankruptcy Law of 1841.

April Politics: The Rhode Island political establishment, shaken by the outbreak of Dorr’s War, writes a new constitution that incorporates an expanded voting franchise.

May Exploration: Colonel John C. Frémont commences his second exploring expedition across the Rocky Mountains, down the Snake and Columbia Rivers, and into the San Joaquin Valley of California.

May 2 Settlement: Settlers convene at Champoeg, Oregon Territory, for the purpose of establishing their own government. They eventually adopt a constitution drawn from the Iowa model.

May 8 Politics: Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigns from office, ostensibly over President John Tyler’s intention to annex Texas; he is replaced by Abel P. Upshur.

May 22 Settlement: A wagon train with 1,000 prospective settlers departs Independence, Missouri, for the purpose of settling in the Oregon Territory. All arrive safely in October.

May 29 Exploring: Colonel John C. Frémont departs Kansas City, Missouri, accompanied by noted scout Kit Carson, on a march to explore the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast. His endeavors yield a highly accurate migration route to Oregon.

June Politics: The American Republic Party, an anti-Catholic, nativist organization, is founded in New York City. They intend to deny the right to vote or hold office to anybody not born in the United States. Within two years the group evolves into the Native American Party. Several American delegates attend the World Peace Conference in London, England.

June 1 Slavery: Self-styled Sojourner Truth (Isabella Bomefree, later Baumfree, also Isabella Hardenbergh Van Wagenen), towering at six feet in height, commences

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Chronology of American History her career as a spellbinding abolitionist speaker in Brooklyn, New York.

June 15 Diplomacy: Mexico and the Republic of Texas agree to a truce in fighting.

June 17 Politics: Daniel Webster attends the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, Massachusetts, delivering one of his most memorable orations; President John Tyler is in attendance.

July 5 Settlement: Settlers meeting at Champeog, Oregon Territory, construct a constitution based on that of the Iowa Territory; it functions as a provisional government until the federal government accepts jurisdiction over the region.

July 12 Religion: Mormon prophet Joseph Smith announces a divine revelation sanctioning the practice of multiple wives, or polygamy. This practice causes a rift in the Mormon rank and file and further stirs antagonism from more traditional sects in the vicinity of Nauvoo, Illinois. Sojourner Truth (Library of Congress)

July 26

Diplomacy: Royal Navy warships under Admiral Richard Thomas remove the dictatorial Lord George Paulet from Hawaii, who had illegally claimed the islands for Britain, and restore King Kamehameha III to his throne.

August 14 Military: Florida’s Second Seminole War ends; it was the most protracted and expensive Indian conflict of United States history.

August 22 Slavery: At the annual National Convention of Colored Men in Buffalo, New York, speaker Henry Highland Garnett raises eyebrows by calling for a national slave insurrection.

August 23 Diplomacy: Mexican dictator General Antonio López de Santa Anna warns the United States not to annex the Republic of Texas—such a move would be regarded as an act of war. In light of the republic’s increasing ties with European nations, the U.S. government is forced to pay more attention to the region.

August 30–31 Politics: The Liberty Party convenes in Buffalo, New York, and nominates abolitionist James G. Birney of Michigan for the presidency and Thomas Morris of Ohio for the vice presidency. Their platform denounces the expansion of slavery.

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Chronology

Truth, Sojourner

847

(ca. 1797–1883)

African-American abolitionist Isabella Bomefee (later, Baumfree) was born a slave in Ulster County, New York, around 1797, where most of her 12 brothers and sisters were sold off. She then worked for her master, married, and watched in horror as most of her own offspring were taken and sold. In 1826 Baumfree escaped from her plantation and moved in with the Van Wagenen family, taking their name and working as a domestic until slavery was abolished the following year. Concurrently, she began experiencing religious visions and departed for New York City. There she took up residence with the family of preacher, Elijah Pierson, and commenced her own evangelical work by saving prostitutes. Around 1833 she began a close association with a religious fringe group called Kingdom of Matthias in Ossining, New York, and subsequently returned to New York in 1843. That year, while traveling and preaching on Long island, she experienced another religious conversion and began calling herself Sojourner Truth. This marked the beginning of her celebrated career as a charismatic evangelical speaker in her own right for Truth, over six feet tall and powerfully vocal, began a personal crusade on behalf of love, brotherhood, and temperance. She relocated to a communal village in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1843, and there befriended abolitionists Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and early feminist writer Olive Gilbert. In 1850 Gilbert wrote and published The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, which became a best seller and made the author a national

celebrity. The next year Truth attended and addressed a woman’s convention at Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her moving and poignant “Ain’t I a woman?” speech that captivated her audience. Truth by this time had also added abolitionism to her litany of personal crusades and she vocally supported both the Civil War and the raising of African-American regiments to wage it. She also continually addressed feminist gatherings and raised money for black soldiers through her busy lecturing schedule. In fact, one of her own sons served as a private in the famous 54th Massachusetts Infantry. In 1864 she was invited to the White House to meet with President Abraham Lincoln and also joined the National Freedmen’s Bureau to help assist newly liberated slaves assimilate into society. Noted abolitionist writer Harriet Beecher Stowe lauded her as the “Libyan Sybil” for her unceasing efforts to eliminate slavery. After the war Truth actively agitated for Congress to grant free land to former slaves out west, but she was ignored. She also took issue with her former friend Douglass and opposed the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Constitutional Amendments because women’s rights were still not addressed. Truth continued preaching religion and championing suffrage well into her advanced years until illness and infirmity forced her to retire to a sanatorium at Battle Creek, Michigan. She died there on November 26, 1883, receiving the largest funeral ever accorded an African-American woman.

September 29 Indians: Texas representatives Edward Terrant and George Terrell sign a peace accord with representatives of nine Indian tribes at Bird’s Fort, North Texas.

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October 16 Settlement: Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur informs Texas minister Isaac Van Zandt that the United States is interested in annexing the republic. When informed of the move, President Sam Houston declines for the time being, not wishing to be rejected in the senate by antislavery Northerners. He also desires to maintain Great Britain’s diplomatic and economic support.

November 9 Diplomacy: The United States and France conclude an extradition convention.

December 5 Naval: The USS Michigan, which is both the first all-iron and prefabricated warship, is assembled in sections at Erie, Pennsylvania. The vessel was constructed at Pittsburgh and transported overland to Lake Erie.

December 30 Education: Cumberland University is chartered at Lebanon, Tennessee, by the Presbyterians; the first class graduates this same year.

1844 Arts: Mathew Brady establishes his first daguerrotype studio in New York City, becoming the world’s first celebrated photographer. Literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes his second series of Transcendentalist Essays, which prove popular and confirm his position as a noted writer and philosopher. Medical: The American Journal of Psychiatry begins publication as the first specialized medical publication. The Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (today’s American Psychiatric Association) is also founded. Publishing: The Transcendentalist publication The Dial is suspended after 16 issues; it is nonetheless a landmark publication for printing works by noted writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Religion: The Baptist Church splits into northern and southern denominations over the issue of slavery. Amos Bronson Alcott, father of noted writer Louisa May Alcott, establishes a utopian community near Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Societal: The New York Prison Association arises to assist newly discharged prisoners in need because of their destitute condition.

January 15 Education: The University of Notre Dame is chartered at South Bend, Indiana, by Roman Catholics; its first class graduates in 1849.

January 16 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur assures Texas President Sam Houston that any treaty annexing Texas will pass by the necessary two-thirds vote.

February 15 Politics: At Nauvoo, Illinois, Mormon prophet Joseph Smith declares his candidacy for the presidency and prepares for a nationwide speaking tour.

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February 23 Education: The University of Mississippi is chartered by the state legislature at Oxford, Mississippi; its first class graduates in 1851.

February 28 Naval: An accidental cannon burst on the steam frigate USS Princeton kills Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer among others.

March Exploring: Colonel John C. Frémont shepherds his expedition through the Sierra Nevada Mountains toward Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento, California.

March 6 Politics: John C. Calhoun is affirmed as the new secretary of state, replacing the recently deceased Abel P. Upshur.

March 21 Religion: Christ fails to reappear on this day as predicted by Adventist William Miller, so he revises his date to October 22.

March 22 Journalism: A letter by Andrew Jackson favoring annexation of Texas is published in the Richmond Enquirer.

March 27 Journalism: Samuel Bowles begins editing the Springfield Republican in Springfield, Massachusetts.

March 29 Naval: Uriah Philips Levy is the first person of Jewish extraction appointed a captain in the navy.

April Societal: German immigrants living at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, brew the first lager beer, a drink that gains in popularity throughout the region.

April 4 Religion: The agrarian/utopian Fouirerists sect meets in New York and elects George Ripley as their president.

April 12 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John C. Calhoun negotiates a treaty of annexation with the Texas minister in Washington, D.C. Once approved, it allows Texas to enter the Union as a territory, not a state.

April 18 Slavery: Secretary of State John C. Calhoun writes a letter to British minister Sir Richard Pakenham, strongly defending the institution of slavery.

April 22 Politics: A bill for the annexation of Texas, drawn up by Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, is submitted by President John Tyler to the Senate for ratification. It provides for the assumption of $10 million in Texas debts by the United States. He also warns of the risk of abolition should Great Britain be allowed to interfere with the process and seeks speedy passage.

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Chronology of American History

April 25 Medical: Dr. John Sappington publishes his Theory and Treatment of Fevers, being the first medical text to advocate the use of quinine for treating malaria.

April 27 Journalism: Presidential aspirants Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay publish letters opposing the contemplated annexation of Texas in the Washington Globe and the National Intelligencer, respectively, with negative effects for both. Van Buren’s stance induces Andrew Jackson to endorse James K. Polk, while Clay is branded as an opportunist for subsequently stating he would support annexation if it could be accomplished without a war.

May 1 Politics: Henry Clay becomes the Whig nominee for the presidency while Theodore Frelinghuysen of New Jersey get the vice presidential nod. The party platform remains silent as to the issues of the annexation of Texas and a national bank.

May 6–July 8 Religion: Violent clashes between Protestants and Catholic immigrants in Philadelphia result in 20 deaths and around 100 injured. This affair indicates the growing strength of the nativist movement in eastern cities.

May 24 Communications: Samuel F. B. Morse sends the first message “What hath God wrought!” over telegraph wires from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. Instantaneous communication over large areas is now technically feasible.

May 25 Technology: Stuart Perry of Newport, Rhode Island, receives a patent for one of the earliest gasoline-powered motors.

May 27–29 Politics: The Democratic nomination convention in Baltimore selects James K. Polk of Tennessee to run for the presidency and George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania for vice president after nine ballots. They run on a militant platform of annexing Texas and adopt the slogan “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight,” a reference to the proposed boundary of the Oregon Territory—even at the expense of war with Great Britain. Sitting president John Tyler is also nominated by a faction within the party, but his chances of winning are virtually nil.

June 8 Politics: The Texas Annexation Bill fails in the Senate on a vote of 35 to 16 for fear that creation of another slave state entails a political showdown between North and South. Many Northerners also view the document as a “slaveholder’s conspiracy.” President John Tyler now realizes he will never muster the necessary two-thirds vote in this polarized body, so he begins pushing for a joint congressional resolution which requires only a simple majority.

June 20 Business: Samuel F. B. Morse obtains a patent for his new telegraph.

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Chronology

Morse, Samuel F. B.

851

(1791–1872)

Inventor Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 27, 1791, son of a Calvinist minister. He studied at the elite Phillips Academy in Andover before being admitted to Yale College. Here he displayed great talent as a portrait artist before marrying and settling in New York, where Morse helped establish the National Academy of Design in 1826. Previously, Morse had impressed noted artist Washington Allston, who invited him to study at his studio in England. He then visited that country repeatedly, and Morse was touring there in 1829 when he had a chance encounter with inventor Charles Thomas Jackson, who convinced him of the practicality of sending messages with electrical impulses—a notion that subsequently dominated Morse’s life. He then found work teaching art at New York University, plowing all his spare money and time into making electromagnetic communication a reality. After teaming with investors Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale in 1837, Morse finally invented a viable scheme for sending signals over a wire through a transmitter and a receiver. The mechanism also employed an ingenious series of dots and dashes, combinations of which represented numbers or letters, making it possible to decipher a message quickly. This system eventually became known as the Morse Code. All told it was a relatively simple solution to a very complex task, and it held immediate implications for the nation at large.

Morse’s device had many practical applications yet it was greeted with scepticism and generated very little enthusiasm. He initially proffered it to the government in 1837, but it displayed no interest. It was not until 1844 that Congress finally appropriated $30,000—a huge sum in those days—to string up a 40-mile telegraph line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1844, Morse typed out the cryptic message, “What hath God wrought?” and a communications revolution began. In fact, the telegraph indelibly impacted the course of American history as it accompanied the railroads west and, through the instantaneous delivery of messages, helped conquer vast distances. For the first time in history a network of wires could connect even the most remote frontier settlement with large urban centers on the East Coast, promoting a greater sense of national unity. Telegraphs were also extensively utilized by both sides in the Civil War, proving useful in communications and intelligence work. Morse went on to found the Magnetic Telegraph Company in 1845, although the company struggled and ultimately merged with the Western Union Corporation in 1856. Within a few years this relatively simple device was being employed throughout the world. Morse eventually retired to his home in Poughkeepsie, New York, to reap a fortune in licensing fees. He died there on April 2, 1872, having ushered in a revolution in global communications.

June 25 Politics: Rhode Island rebel leader Thomas W. Dorr is tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason; he is paroled a year later.

June 26 Societal: President John Tyler marries Julia Gardner in New York City; he is the first chief executive to exchange vows while in office.

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June 27 Religion: Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum are killed by a mob in the Carthage, Illinois, jail after being arrested for destroying the press of a dissident Mormon.

July 1 Politics: Henry Clay attempts straddling the fence over Texas annexation to attract Southern votes; the ploy costs him Northern votes instead.

July 3 Diplomacy: The United States concludes the Treaty of Wang Hiya with China, which opens five ports to trading and grants extraterritoriality rights to Americans working and living there.

July 29 Sports: The New York Yacht Club, the nation’s oldest, is founded in New York with steamboat magnate John Cox Stevens serving as its first commodore.

Young, Brigham

(1801–1877)

Mormon leader Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vermont, on June 1, 1801, into poverty. His family of devout Methodists subsequently relocated to New York, where he worked as a house painter. In 1832 the already religious Young encountered Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, and converted to his church. Three years later he was elevated to number three in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, an indication of the trust Smith and other church elders placed in him. At this time Mormon communities were constantly on the move owing to overt hostility from other sects, and in 1835, when Smith was jailed and the church expelled from Missouri, it was Young who helped orchestrate the mass relocation to Nauvoo, Illinois. He also functioned as a charismatic recruiter for the church, so in 1839 Smith dispatched him to England where he met with considerable success. Young returned to Illinois two years later to gain appointment as the church’s fiscal agent and in 1844 had accepted Smith’s

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Brigham Young (Library of Congress)

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August 7 Exploring: Colonel John C. Frémont’s expedition reaches St. Louis, Missouri, after a lengthy trek from South Pass to the Great Salt Lake, the Oregon Country, and back home across the Sierra Nevada desert.

August 8 Religion: Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois, elect Brigham Young to serve as their new church leader to replace the murdered Joseph Smith.

August 13 Women: A newly adopted constitution in New Jersey drops property qualifications to expand the franchise and also allows direct election of the governor. However, it also deprives women of their right to vote.

August 20 Politics: President John Tyler, although nominated by a faction within the Democratic Party, removes himself from the presidential race. His refusal to press for Texas annexation forces him to become the first chief executive not to seek a second term.

new emphasis on polygamy for church leaders, taking three wives. That year Smith also decided to run for the presidency and began touring the country. He was murdered by a mob at Carthage, Illinois, in July that year and Young hurried back from Boston to find the Mormon Church virtually leaderless and in a state of panic. Because he was such a well-known and trusted person, Young easily defeated several contenders to become the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Days Saints. Young’s first priority as president was to assure the safety of his followers, and he began canvassing western explorers for possible new venues of settlement. In 1846 he decided to move the entire Mormon community to the Great Salt Lake Basin (present-day Utah) and the following spring led a small group of pioneers to explore and lay the groundwork for the new state of Deseret (“Land of the Honeybee”). Young handled his charge capably and within a year 12,000 Mormon adherents had settled into their new theocracy. To these were

eventually added another 70,000 converts from Europe who ultimately established 357 churches throughout the region. After the Mexican War, in which the Mormons contributed a battalion of infantry, the U.S. government began organizing the territories, and the Mormons fell into the new jurisdiction of Utah. President Franklin Pierce recognized Young’s authority and appointed him territorial governor, but his successor, James Buchanan, did not agree, and he appointed non-Mormon authorities. This led to a brief outbreak of hostilities and army troops were dispatched to restore order in 1857–58. Young went into hiding but eventually accepted federal authorities. He then continued administering church matters with great success and in 1850 established the University of Deseret (today’s University of Utah). Young died in Salt Lake City on August 29, 1877, one of the wealthiest and most accomplished leaders in church history and recognized for conducting one of the great mass migrations of American history.

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September 19 General: William A. Burt, a government surveyor, was working on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior when he noticed that his compass readings were inexplicably off by 87 degrees. Subsequent investigation discovers the Marquette iron range, one of the nation’s largest.

October 22 Religion: Much to the disappointment of Adventist William Miller, Christ fails to make his reappearance a second time, as predicted.

November 1 Politics: A convention meeting in Iowa City, Iowa, adopts a new constitution to facilitate statehood.

December 3 Politics: By a vote of 108–80, John Quincy Adams prevails upon the House of Representatives to rescind the gag rule forbidding discussion of antislavery petitions. President John Tyler also addresses Congress this day and formally requests the annexation of Texas through a joint resolution rather than a treaty. This maneuver requires a simple majority in both houses instead of two-thirds of the Senate.

December 4 Politics: James K. Polk, campaigning under the bellicose slogan “54–40 or Fight,” defeats Henry Clay for the presidency, winning largely on his expansionist appeals for the annexation of Texas, Oregon, and California. He is also the first dark-horse candidate to win the White House, having defeated the obvious frontrunner, Martin Van Buren who opposed annexation. Clay lost New York, and hence his best chance for the White House, due to the strong showing of James G. Birney’s abolitionist Liberty Party.

December 12 Politics: Sam Houston steps down as president of the Republic of Texas and is succeeded by Anson Jones.

1845 Arts: Social satire on the stage unfolds with Anna Cora Mowatt’s play Fashion, which deals with the social aspirations of a newly affluent family. Education: The Boston school system is the first to pioneer the practice of written examinations. Labor: George Henry Evans begins editing the Workingman’s Advocate, an early newspaper devoted to labor issues. The Industrial Congress of the United States, a pioneering labor organization, is founded in New York City. Although well-intentioned, initially, it is eventually dominated by Tammany politics and corrupted. Publishing: Colonel John C. Frémont writes and publishes The Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842 and to Oregon and Northern California in the Years 1843–44, which makes him a national hero and elevates interest in the West. Moreover, the maps he incorporates in the text will guide a generation of settlers out West.

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This engraving shows Irish emigrants getting ready to leave famine-stricken Ireland for the United States. (Library of Congress)

Religion: The Methodist Episcopal Church splits into Northern and Southern conferences over the issue of slavery. Science: Alfred Beach establishes the periodical Scientific American, which continues today as a preeminent outlet for publication of scientific investigations. Societal: The Great Potato Famine begins in Ireland leading to a mass influx of 1.5 million. immigrants over the next few years. The Temple of Honor, a combination temperance society and Protestant fraternal order, is founded in New York City to promote abstinence and good moral behavior. Their ceremonies are marked by secret passwords and colorful costumes. Sports: The Knickerbockers, an early baseball team, is formed using modern rules established by Alexander J. Cartwright.

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Chronology of American History Transportation: The Rainbow, another of the sleek and beautiful American clipper ships, is launched at New York by John W. Griffiths. Their speed and efficiency in conveying cargo is establishing the United States as a major maritime power. Women: Pioneer feminist and transcendentalist Margaret Fuller publishes her landmark tome Woman in the Nineteenth Century, which urges members of her gender to be more independent.

January 23 Politics: Congress imposes a national election day for all presidential contests; they choose the first Tuesday of November in an election year.

January 25 Politics: The House of Representatives approves the annexation of Texas by a vote of 120 to 98.

January 29 Literature: In New York, Edgar Allan Poe publishes his collection The Raven and Other Poems, which garners him instant recognition as a unique and original writer.

February 1 Education: The Congress of the Republic of Texas grants a charter to the Texas Baptist Educational Society to establish a college at Independence (modern-day Baylor University).

February 3 Settlement: The House of Representatives approves a bill establishing a government in the Oregon Territory, including the disputed border region with Great

Poe, Edgar Allan

(1809–1849)

Writer Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, the son of impoverished actors. His mother died during his infancy and his father abandoned his family, so he was raised by John Allan of Richmond, a wealthy benefactor. Poe briefly attended the University of Virginia in 1826 and dropped out on account of gambling. He then ventured to Boston in search of work and also published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which garnered no attention. Poe then joined the U.S. Army as an artillery private, rising in this capacity to the rank of sergeant. Following the death of his foster mother in 1829, he quit the army and returned to Virginia and was again supported by his benefactor Allan. In 1830

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he gained admission at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, but had apparently lost interest in military life and was expelled for bad behavior. Listless Poe then drifted to Baltimore where his short story “MS. Found in a Bottle” won a competition sponsored by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor. He subsequently returned to Richmond to serve as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, which profited through inclusion of short stories, poetry, and his notorious, scathing book reviews. In 1835 Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm and began drinking heavily. He then lost his editorship and ventured back to New York in 1837 to publish short stories and edit various magazines. Here Poe composed

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Britain. However, it makes no provisions for the legal protection of slavery, which kills its chances for passage in the Senate.

February 20 Politics: President John Tyler vetoes a congressional bill to prevent the Treasury from paying for ships ordered by the administration.

February 27 Politics: The Senate approves a bill for the annexation of Texas, 27–25, with minor modifications by Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

February 28 Politics: Both houses of Congress pass a joint resolution for the annexation of Texas by a simple majority, a ploy which nullifies the Senate requirement of a two-thirds vote.

March 2 Settlement: President John Tyler signs the congressional joint resolution to allow the annexation of Texas, the first instance of this device used for acquiring new territory. Henceforth, Texas is to be admitted as a state, not a territory, and up to four new states can be carved from the general area.

March 3 Business: Congress passes the Postal Act, which reduces postage to five cents per half ounce for 300 miles and also confers subsidies to steamships carrying mail. Politics: Florida enters the union as the 27th state; slavery is lawful, to counterbalance Iowa, a free state.

several significant pieces, including “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which marked him as a distinct, if disturbing, writer. By 1841 he had advanced to the editorship of Graham’s Magazine and wrote “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which was the first detective story. This was followed by another macabre tale, “The Masque of the Red Death,” after which he resumed drinking and was fired. After several more failed attempts at writing and editing, Poe composed his most famous poem, “The Raven,” which brought him instant recognition as an accomplished writer. He subsequently held down editorial positions with the New York Evening Mirror, the Broadway Journal, and Godey’s Lady’s Book, in which he wrote excoriating reviews of contemporary writers and

became highly unpopular with many literary circles. Poe himself sank deeper in depression and alcoholism following the death of his young wife in 1847, all the while penning several noteworthy poems including “Ulalume,” “El Dorado,” and others. However, financial and emotional security continued to elude him and he drank heavily. He was found lying on a Baltimore street, was taken to a hospital in a stupor, and died there on October 7, 1849. Given the misery associated with his life, Poe demonstrated a fascination for and a mastery of conveying disturbing, dreamlike images in his writing. His melancholy attracted French poet Charles Baudelaire, who carefully translated Poe’s work after his death and rendered him the first American writer to be admired in that country.

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Polk, James K. (1795–1849) President James Knox Polk was born in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, on November 2, 1795, and raised in Tennessee. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with honors in 1818 and commenced a legal practice two years later. By this time Polk had established his credentials as an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson, and in 1825 he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat. As a politician, he was also disciplined and focused on issues he considered important, never wavering in pursuit of them. Polk thus flourished as a party leader over the next 14 years, and by 1835 he had risen to house speaker. In this capacity he strongly embraced Jackson’s fiscal policies and helped him attack the Bank of the United States. In 1839 he left Congress at the behest of the party and was elected governor of Tennessee, serving one term. Polk subsequently lost two gubernatorial races, then turned his attention back to national politics. Here he was a vocal proponent of the acquisition of the

President James K. Polk (Library of Congress)

Both houses of Congress override President John Tyler’s veto of a bill prohibiting the payment of naval vessels; this is also the first executive veto to be dispensed with in such manner.

March 4 Politics: James Knox Polk is inaugurated as the 11th president; his address proclaims the “clear and unquestionable” title to the Oregon Territory, and annexation of Texas remains strictly an American prerogative. George M. Dallas is also sworn in as vice president.

March 6 Diplomacy: General Juan Almonte, Mexican minister in Washington, D.C., is angered by President James K. Polk’s inaugural address relative to Texas and removes himself from the capitol.

March 10 Naval: Historian George Bancroft is appointed secretary of the navy by President James K. Polk.

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Oregon Territory and the annexation of Texas, positions he used to his advantage after President Martin Van Buren made known his opposition to the latter. Van Buren greatly angered Jackson and most of the Democrats, so in 1844 they made Polk the first dark horse candidate to win the party election at his expense. Polk went on to defeat the Whig candidate Henry Clay, whose last-minute endorsement of Texas annexation cost him thousands of antislavery votes in the North. He was now both the 11th president and, aged 49 years, also the youngest man to hold that office to date. Polk came to office with four major goals in mind: the annexation of Texas, the acquisition of Oregon, the possible purchase of California from Mexico, and a lowering of tariffs. After some intense saber-rattling and a campaign slogan of “Fifty Four Forty—or Fight!” he reached a compromise with Great Britain and peacefully divided the territory along the 49th parallel. He also accepted the annexation

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of Texas to the United States, which led to a break in diplomatic relations with Mexico. Polk then dispatched troops under General Zachary Taylor into the disputed region between the Nueces and Rio Grande River in Texas, the Mexicans attacked an American cavalry patrol, and war was declared on May 13, 1846. The ensuing conflict proved a rout, and by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States paid Mexico $15 million for California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Previously, he also pushed the Walker Tariff Act through Congress in 1846, which lowered rates significantly. However, Polk’s very success cost him political support, for the acquisition of new territory revitalized the issue of slavery expansion and heightened abolitionist cries. Polk, a tireless worker, departed Washington, D.C., in 1849, in broken health. He died at Nashville, Tennessee, three months later on June 15, 1849, a highly effective chief executive but one whose very success in expansionism laid the groundwork for the Civil War.

March 28 Diplomacy: The government of Mexico severs relations with the United States upon learning of the congressional resolution for annexing Texas, and American minister Wilson Shannon is also ordered home.

May Exploring: Colonel John C. Frémont initiates his third expedition in the West with 60 armed men. This time he is to survey the central Rocky Mountains and the Great Salt Lake, but Frémont quickly becomes embroiled in California politics during the ensuing Mexican War.

May 14 Politics: A new constitution adopted by a state convention in Louisiana drops property qualifications for voting and also allows for direct election of the governor.

May 28 Military: President James K. Polk dispatches American forces under General Zachary Taylor into southwestern Texas to preclude any Mexican invasions. This

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Chronology of American History is despite the fact that, by the tenets of international law, the region remains Mexican territory. This provocative act is setting the stage for armed conflict.

June 4 Arts: Leonora, penned by William Henry Fry, becomes America’s first grand opera and is staged at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia at the author’s expense. Fry is also the first American to promote opera to the general public.

June 8 General: Andrew Jackson, War of 1812 hero and a very popular president, dies near Nashville, Tennessee.

June 15 Politics: Secretary of State James Buchanan assures the government of Texas of military protection once it agrees to the terms of annexation. To underscore this point, General Zachary Taylor is ordered to move his small army of 1,500 men to a point “on or near the Rio Grande” River.

June 23 Settlement: In a special session, the Texas Congress approves the move of annexation to the United States.

June 27 Politics: Rhode Island rebel Thomas W. Dorr, serving a life sentence for treason, is granted an amnesty by the state legislature.

July Political: As a sign of the times, John L. O’Sullivan, editor of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, coins the term manifest destiny, denoting America’s apparent God-given right to control the destiny of North America.

July 1 Literature: Henry David Thoreau commences his celebrated and solitary sojourn at Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Through his writing it subsequently becomes the most celebrated communing with nature ever recorded.

July 4 Settlement: A Texas political convention held at San Philipe de Austin approves annexation terms; specifically, that Texas will not be divided into more than four new states and would also acquire statehood immediately with a transitional period from territorial status.

July 5–7 Politics: The first gathering of the Native American Party meets in Philadelphia with a handful of delegates from New York and Pennsylvania. As a rule they are anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant.

July 12 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James Buchanan seeks to end the Oregon Territory dispute by offering to settle on a boundary running along the 49th parallel. Sir Richard Pakenham, the British minister in Washington, D.C., declines to accept without first mentioning the offer to his government.

July 19 General: New York City suffers from another huge fire that destroys $6 million in property.

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July 31 Military: Bolstered to a strength of 3,500 men, General Zachary Taylor marches his army to the Nueces River and assumes defensive positions near Corpus Christi.

August 28 Slavery: Frederick Douglass, fearful of being kidnapped from the north and returned to his master in Maryland, emigrates to England where he will confer with English abolitionists.

September 23 Sports: In New York, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club is founded.

August Societal: Martial law is declared in Delaware County, New York, after antipatroon rioting claims the life of a local sheriff.

October 10 Naval: Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft initiates the formal opening of the Naval School (U.S. Naval Academy after 1850) at Annapolis, Maryland. Captain James Buchanan, a vigorous, no-nonsense disciplinarian, is appointed its first superintendent, and he effectively lays the groundwork of the first graduating class in 1854.

October 13 Politics: Voters in Texas approve both annexation to the United States and a new state constitution.

October 17 Diplomacy: Thomas O. Larkin gains appointment as U.S. consul in Monterey, California. He is instructed by President James K. Polk to entice Californians into favoring annexation to preclude any chance of intervention by a foreign power. American minister John Black reports from Mexico City that the Mexican government would be willing to discuss the matter of Texas once American naval vessels are withdrawn from the Veracruz region.

November 10 Diplomacy: John Slidell is authorized to purchase Texas, New Mexico, and California from Mexico for up to $36 million. He also is to try to fix the Texas boundary at the Rio Grande River. The United States and Belgium conclude a treaty of commerce and navigation.

December 2 Politics: In his first address to Congress, President James K. Polk declares that all of North America, especially the Oregon Territory, is off-limits to European colonization. He also calls for an end to the joint occupation of that region, apparently intending to claim the entire region. His heightened version of the Monroe Doctrine becomes popularly regarded as the “Polk Doctrine.” Domestically, the president calls for tariff revision and an new independent treasury system.

December 16 Diplomacy: The Mexican government of President José Joaquin Herrera refuses to recognize special American minister John Slidell; Herrera is then overthrown by the Mexican military under Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga.

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December 27 Diplomacy: British minister Sir Richard Pakenham requests that the Americans reiterate their offer to establish the Oregon boundary along the 49th Parallel.

December 29 Politics: Texas is admitted to the Union as the 28th state; slavery is legal. The stage is now set for war with Mexico.

1846 Literature: Herman Melville acquires a literary reputation following publica-­ tion of his novel Typee, based upon his own experiences on exotic Pacific isles. However, the author never acquires a large following during his own lifetime, and he is not recognized for his literary genius until the 20th Century. Margaret Fuller, America’s foremost female editor and critic, publishes her Papers on Literature and Art. Politics: To discourage further outbreaks of anti-­rent rioting in New York, a new liberal constitution is adopted that substitutes perpetual leases with fee simple ones. Science: Swiss scientist Louis Agassiz, a leading authority on zoology and geology, arrives at Boston and eventually acquires a teaching position at Harvard College. Technology: The Eastern Exchange Hotel opens in Boston, being the first such public building heated by steam.

Melville, Herman

(1819–1891)

Writer Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1, 1819, the son of a well-­ to-­do merchant. His father died bankrupt in 1832, forcing young Melville to quit the Albany Academy he was attending and work to support his family. Listless and unhappy as a youth, he served as a crew member on board a Liverpool-­bound packet ship in 1837, and in 1841 he slipped on board a whaling ship and headed for the South Seas. There he deserted his vessel during a port call at Nuka Hive in the Pacific and lived three years among the natives with a shipmate. He experienced several adven-­ tures on other ships and among cannibals, but in 1843 he sailed to Hawaii and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a seaman. Melville then

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returned home on board the frigate USS United States in 1844. Once ashore he set-­ tled in at Lansingburg, New York, to take up writing. At first he drew upon his own expe-­ riences in the South Seas and used them as the background for his first two romantic novels, Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847), both of which were well received. His next maritime endeavor, Redburn (1849) was much more ambitious, using techniques of allegory while discussing political and religious issues, and it was a commercial failure. He followed up with a straightfor-­ ward adventure, White-Jacket (1850), an exposé of harsh and draconian life onboard an American man of war, again, based upon the author’s own experiences. The following

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Erastus Brigham Bigelow develops power looms capable of manufacturing intricate tapestries and carpets at his factory in Clinton, Massachusetts. Richard M. Hoe develops the first rotary printing press, capable of printing 8,000 newspapers an hour.

January Business: Statistician James DeBow edits and publishes The Commercial Review of the South and Southwest, or DeBow’s Review, which contains revealing insights as to the economic life of this region. It enjoys the largest circulation of any magazine in the South.

January 5 Politics: The House of Representatives adopts a resolution for ending joint Anglo-American occupation of the Oregon Territory.

January 12 Diplomacy: American envoy John Slidell’s report of his unsuccessful attempt to purchase territory from Mexico reaches President James K. Polk.

January 13 Military: President James K. Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to increase military pressure on the Mexican government by shifting his 3,500-man “Army of Observation” further south from the Nueces River to the left bank of the Rio Grande. This move is calculated to either induce negotiations or spark an armed conflict.

year Melville wrote what was to become his signature work, Moby-Dick (1851). This was another allegorical novel set against the background of whaling, and whose dark and foreboding themes are regarded as a psychological counterpoint to the open and cheerily optimistic of historical romantic jottings of the day. The book was not critically well-received at the time, owning to its complex and radically different nature, but it has since been accepted as an American masterpiece. Melville subsequently raised the ire of readers with his next novel, Pierre, another dark and disturbing tale with a violent ending. He tried to recoup his finances by contributing various short pieces to leading periodicals of the day, including Putnam’s Magazine. He then resorted to his usual

themes with a black comedy entitled The Confidence Man (1857), a set of stories narrating human gullibility and extortion, which failed to sell. Melville then withdrew from the commercial marketplace for contemplation and several European pilgrimages, in which he took inspiration from architecture and painting. In 1866 he accepted the position of inspector at the New York Customshouse, while he dabbled unsuccessfully in poetry. He was then deeply affected by the deaths of both his sons, quit the customshouse in 1885, and began work on a new maritime novel, Billy Budd. This was a tragedy whereby a single sailor is sacrificed for the benefit of all, but it was not published until 1924. Melville, a dark and disturbing genius, died in New York on September 28, 1891.

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January 27 Exploring: Colonel John C. Frémont reaches Monterey, California, with a small body of soldiers. This time, however, his “expedition” is not tasked with exploring but, rather, preparing the region for annexation.

February 3 Military: General Zachary Taylor receives orders to advance his army, now risen to 3,500 men, to the banks of the Rio Grande.

February 5 Education: The University of Lewisburg (today’s Bucknell University) is chartered at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1851.

February 6 Diplomacy: In Mexico City, American minister John Slidell reports to superiors that the Mexican government under General Mariano Paredes is resolving to fight the United States out of the belief that Great Britain will also declare war over Oregon.

February 10 Religion: A mass migration of 12,000 Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Council Bluffs on the Missouri River begins in earnest. The exodus is conducted by Brigham Young, successor to the murdered Joseph Smith.

February 19 Politics: The Texas state government assembles in Austin for the first time, whereupon it officially transfers authority from itself to the U.S. government.

February 26 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James Buchanan informs U.S. Minister in London Alan McLane that he is to discuss the Oregon matter with his British opposites should they raise the issue of joint occupation.

March 3 Military: Mexican General José Castro, commanding at Monterey, California, orders the small force of Colonel John C. Frémont out of the region.

March 12 Diplomacy: General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga, the new president of Mexico, also refuses to receive American envoy John Slidell, at which point he returns to Washington, D.C.

March 26 Education: Madison University (today’s Colgate University) is chartered in Hamilton, New York, by the Baptists.

March 27 Settlement: A bill to allow free homesteading is introduced by Representative Andre Johnson of Tennessee, but the measure is defeated.

March 28 Military: General Zachary Taylor occupies the left bank of the Rio Grande River, internationally recognized as Mexican territory, while Mexican forces at Matamoros directly across from them also commence building fortifications.

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April 10 Education: St. John’s College (Fordham University) is chartered in the Bronx, New York, by Roman Catholics; its first class graduates in 1846.

April 12 Military: Mexican General Pedro de Ampudia issues an ultimatum to General Zachary Taylor, insisting that he withdraw his forces back beyond the Nueces River lest a general engagement result.

April 13 Transportation: The Pennsylvania Railroad Company is created for the purpose of joining an existing track from Lancaster to Harrisburg as far west as Pittsburgh.

April 23 Diplomacy: The joint Anglo-American occupation of Oregon is ended by Congress, although provisions are made for a possible compromise.

April 25 Military: A force of 1,600 Mexican cavalry ambush a small American mounted patrol near the Rio Grande, killing 11 men, wounding five, and capturing 63. When informed, President James K. Polk uses the skirmish as a convenient pretext for war. Politics: Anticipating the worst, President James K. Polk begins writing his war message to Congress, citing Mexico’s refusal to receive envoy John Slidell and the government’s refusal to pay of claims by American citizens.

April 26 Military: General Zachary Taylor, in light of open hostility between Mexican and American forces, informs the government that “hostilities may now be considered as commenced.”

April 27 Diplomacy: A congressional resolution to end joint Anglo-American occupation of Oregon is signed by President James K. Polk. Moreover, the president now insists that a boundary be fixed along the 49th Parallel. Music: The high-powered Christy Minstrels open at Palmo’s Opera House in New York City; they are credited with bringing minstrelsy to its highest form as an entertainment art.

April 30 Military: A large Mexican army surges across the Rio Grande River, forcing American troops under General Zachary Taylor to fall back 10 miles to Point Isabel. From here Taylor intends to protect his base and lines of supply.

May Naval: President James K. Polk declares the coastline of Mexico, along both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, under a state of blockade.

May 3 Military: In a major escalation of military tensions, Mexican units bombard American-held Fort Taylor, directly opposite Matamoros, along the Rio Grande.

May 4 Law: The Michigan legislature abolishes capital punishment for the first time in American history.

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May 8 Military: The Battle of Palo Alto ensues when 2,000 American troops under General Zachary Taylor engage 4,000 Mexicans commanded by General Mariano Arista. Taylor clearly prevails in what develops into a protracted artillery duel lasting three hours and Arista withdraws to better positions at Resaca de la Palma. American losses are nine dead and 47 wounded to a Mexican tally of 320 killed and 380 wounded. Among the dead was the celebrated artillerist Major Samuel Ringgold, one of the earliest heroes of the Mexican War.

May 9 Military: The Battle of Resaca de la Palma is fought when General Zachary Taylor’s force of 2,000 Americans attacks a larger Mexican force in a combined cavalry and infantry assault. In a celebrated charge, Captain Charles May of the dragoons seizes both a Mexican battery and General Romulo Diaz la Vega. General Arista’s right flank gives way and the retreating Mexicans are then enfiladed by American artillery. Taylor’s losses are 33 killed and 89 injured to a Mexican tally of around 547 dead or wounded. Politics: When word of the April 25 skirmish between Mexican and American troops arrives in Washington, D. C., the cabinet of President James K. Polk votes unanimously to go to war.

May 11 Politics: In his war message to Congress, President James K. Polk accuses the Mexicans of invading to “shed American blood on American soil.” The House then votes 174 to 14 in favor of war.

May 12 Military: The Senate approves a declaration of war against Mexico, 40 to 2, and authorizes $10 million and up to 50,000 soldiers to fight it. However, its proves to be a divisive issue nationally, with Southerners supporting the conflict to gain additional slave states and Northerners opposing it.

May 13 Politics: The declaration of war against Mexico is signed by President James K. Polk. However, the decision is unpopular with many leading politicians; John Quincy Adams denounces it as “a most unrighteous war,” while John C. Calhoun, deploring a war of aggression, abstains from voting.

May 17–18 Military: American forces under General Zachary Taylor cross the Rio Grande River and occupy Matamoros.

May 21 Diplomacy: President James K. Polk gives the government of Great Britain one year’s notice for ending the joint occupation of the Oregon Territory.

June 3 Military: Colonel Stephen W. Kearny departs Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, on an expedition against Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then California. There he is to be supported by naval forces under Commodore John D. Sloat, then stationed off the western coast of Mexico.

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Kearny, Stephen W.

(1794–1848)

General Stephen Watts Kearny was born in Newark, New Jersey, on August 30, 1794, and in 1810 he passed through Columbia College in New York. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 13th Infantry shortly before the War of 1812 broke out, fighting bravely at the Bat-­ tle of Queenstown Heights. Wounded and captured, Kearny was exchanged in a few months but saw no additional combat. After the war he transferred over to the 2nd Infan-­ try and performed several years of garrison duty in Missouri. In 1819 Kearny accom-­ panied General Henry Atkinson on his famous steamboat foray up the Yellowstone River, initiating a 30-­year frontier career. In 1823 he advanced to major, helped direct the Second Yellowstone Expedition, and constructed the famous Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis in 1826. He then served at various posts in Wisconsin and the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) before becoming lieu-­ tenant colonel of the newly raised 1st Dra-­ goon Regiment in 1833. In this capacity he accompanied Colonel Henry Leavenworth on his ill-­fated Pawnee expedition of 1834 and assumed command when Leavenworth died of illness en route. Kearny rose to full colonel in 1836 and also penned an impor-­ tant tract, Carbine Manual, or Rules for the Exercise and Maneuvers of the U. S. Dragoons (1837). He then rose to command the Third Military District, a region encompass-­ ing most of the Great Plains, and in 1845 he shepherded a major expedition along the Oregon Trail to South Pass, securing it as a major conduit for western migration. His final peacetime activity was establishing Fort Kearney, Nebraska, in 1846. When the Mexican War commenced in 1846 Kearney rose to brigadier general in command of the so-­called Army of the West.

He was then tasked with conquering New Mexico and installing an American govern-­ ment there. This he accomplished on August 10, 1846, and then departed for California with 300 dragoons. En route he encoun-­ tered the noted scout Kit Carson, whom he ordered along, and learned that California had already been subdued by forces under Commodore Robert F. Stockton. Kearny then dismissed 200 of his men and pro-­ ceeded westward with only 100 dragoons. However, he arrived at Los Angeles to find the city up in arms against the invaders, and on December 2, 1846, his small force was nearly defeated by a larger force of Mexican lancers at the Battle of San Pascual. Kearny was severely wounded but eventually teamed (continues)

Stephen Watts Kearny (Library of Congress)

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(continued) up with Stockton to finally subdue the unruly inhabitants. After the victory, Kearny was directed by the government to establish a government, although Stockton had already done so on his own authority and appointed Colonel John C. Frémont as governor. When Frémont refused to step down Kearny had

him arrested and marched back to Fort Leavenworth to face charges of insubordination. Consequently, Frémont’s father-in-law, U.S. Senator Jesse Hart Benton, blocked Kearny’s well-deserved promotion to major general. He died suddenly of illness on October 31, 1848, a noted frontier figure.

June 6 Politics: To gather additional support for his war with Mexico, President James K. Polk submits a British treaty to the Senate for a speedy resolution of the Oregon issue. This delineates the border along the 40th Parallel to Puget Sound and thence through the Juan de Fuca Strait. In return, Polk agrees to lower the tariff on certain items.

June 10 Diplomacy: The United States and the German kingdom of Hanover conclude a treaty of commerce and navigation.

June 14 Settlement: American settlers under William B. Ide proclaim the Republic of California at Sonoma, assisted by a small group of soldiers under Colonel John C. Frémont. Because the design of their new flag incorporates a bear, this event becomes known as the Bear Flag Revolt.

June 15 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James Buchanan and British minister Sir Richard Pakenham sign an accord ending the dispute over Oregon. The 49th Parallel becomes the official boundary between the United States and Canada with some minor adjustments still to be made along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and southern Vancouver Island. This is a major diplomatic breakthrough that calms the ruffled waters between the two nations.

June 17 Education: Iowa College (today’s Grinnell College) is chartered in Davenport, Iowa, by Congregationalists; its first class graduates in 1854. Journalism: James Russell Lowell, a vocal opponent of the Mexican War, publishes his “Bigelow Papers” in the Boston Courier in protest.

June 18 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Oregon Territory Treaty with Great Britain.

June 19 Sports: The first matched baseball game unfolds at Hoboken, New Jersey, when a club known simply as the New York Nine routs the Knickerbockers, 23 to 1. The rules had previously been established by Alexander J. Cartwright of the defeated team.

June 26 Business: English repeal of the Corn Laws leads to increased imports of American grain.

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July 5 Politics: Americans living in Sonoma, California, proclaim army explorer John C. Frémont as leader of the new “Republic of California.”

July 7–9 Naval: Commodore John D. Sloat captures Monterey, hoists the American flag, and claims California for the United States. Commander John B. Montgomery subsequently takes control of San Francisco.

July 20 Diplomacy: Commodore James Biddle arrives at Yedo (Tokyo) Bay and unsuccessfully tries to coax the Tokugawa shogunate into establishing diplomatic relations. This constitutes the first visit of American warships to the Land of the Rising Sun.

July 22–25 Military: Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, commanding the Army of the West, marches from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, to Bent’s Fort where the Santa Fe Trail and the Arkansas River meet.

July 23 Naval: Commodore Robert F. Stockton supersedes Commodore John D. Sloat as commander of American naval forces off the California coast.

July 24 Military: At Sonora, Colonel John C. Frémont accepts command of the California Battalion.

July 31 Business: President James K. Polk signs the Walker Tariff Bill, which lowers duties on several luxury goods.

August 2 Military: Colonel Stephen W. Kearny marches his Army of the West from Bent’s Fort into the deserts of New Mexico.

August 6 Business: Congress approves the In de pen dent Trea sury Act, recreating government-run subtreasuries across the nation. Settlement: A Wisconsin state government meets the approval of Congress.

August 8 Politics: Pennsylvania Representative David Wilmot appends the “Wilmot Proviso” to a $2 million appropriations bill for financing the war with Mexico. Drawing upon the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, this measure forbids the importation of slavery into any prospective territory acquired from Mexico. Its net effect is to pit Northern and Southern politicians against each other over this highly divisive issue.

August 10 General: The Smithsonian Institution is chartered in Washington, D.C., by Congress in honor of English scientist James Smithson, who left the institution $500,000 in 1829 for the dissemination of knowledge to society. American physicist Joseph Henry is appointed secretary general. It continues growing and supporting a number of scientific endeavors to present times.

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Chronology of American History Politics: Congress adjourns without passing the “Two Million Bill” and its attendant Wilmot Proviso. Slavery is thus permissible in new territories acquired from Mexico.

August 13 Naval: Commodore David F. Stockton joins forces with Colonel John C. Frémont in a campaign to seize Los Angeles.

August 17 Journalism: The first West Coast newspaper, the California, begins publishing at Monterey. Military: The Army of the West under Colonel Stephen W. Kearny occupies Las Vegas, New Mexico, and declares that region part of the United States. In his march Kearny has covered 1,000 miles of searing desert without the loss of a man or a single shot being fired.

August 16 Diplomacy: General Antonio López de Santa Anna, having reached an agreement with President James K. Polk for peace negotiations, is allowed to pass through the U.S. Navy blockade and lands at Veracruz.

August 17 Politics: Commodore Robert F. Stockton claims California for the United States—then declares himself acting governor.

August 18 Settlement: Having covered 800 miles of desert in an epic trek, Colonel Stephen W. Kearny occupies Santa Fe, New Mexico, and sets up a provisional government there.

August 19 Military: The American army under General Zachary Taylor departs Matamoros and marches for Monterrey, capital of Nuevo Leon state. He also declares an eight-week armistice.

September 10 Technology: A patent is issued to Elias Howe for the first sewing machine to employ an eye-point needle.

September 14 Military: Formerly disgraced General Antonio López de Santa Anna is appointed Mexican commander in chief.

September 20–25 Military: The Battle of Monterrey erupts as the 6,640-man army of General Zachary Taylor attacks 5,000 Mexican troops under General Pedro de Ampudia garrisoning the city. Intense house-to-house fighting is required before the Americans flush the defenders, including the heavily fortified Bishop’s Palace, at which point Ampudia requests and receives an armistice in exchange for departing the city. American losses are 120 dead and 33 injured to an estimated Mexican loss of 430, killed and wounded.

September 22–23 Politics: Colonel Stephen W. Kearny issues a law code for New Mexico and also appoints Charles Bent to serve as governor.

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Mexicans under Captain José Maria Flores revolt against American rule, seizing control of San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles. Flores is then appointed acting governor.

September 25 Military: A column of American troops under Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan is detached from the Army of the West by Colonel Stephen W. Kearney and marches southward to join an army under General John E. Wool. Kearny himself then departs Santa Fe, New Mexico, and heads for California with 300 men.

October 6 Military: Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, en route to California, encounters noted scout Kit Carson, who informs him about the conquest of California. This news encourages Kearny to send 200 of his men back to Santa Fe, New Mexico, while he continues ahead with the remaining 100.

October 8 Military: At San Luis Potosi, Mexico, General Antonio López de Santa Anna drops his “understanding” with President James K. Polk regarding peace talks and begins rallying his dispirited forces to attack the American invaders.

October 13 Military: The War Department informs General Zachary Taylor that his suggested eight-week armistice has been disapproved.

October 16 Medical: Dr. William Thomas Morton, a Boston dentist, uses ether for the first time while performing dental surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. The promise of painless surgery subsequently garners much national attention for anesthesia.

November 5 Politics: Commodore David Stockton receives orders from the Navy Department to recognize Colonel Stephen W. Kearny as governor of California, as well as commander in chief of American forces there.

November 15 Naval: American warships under Commodore David Connor attack and seize the Mexican city of Tampico on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

November 16 Military: Saltillo, capital of Coahuilla, Mexico, is occupied by American forces under General Zachary Taylor without a shot being fired.

November 19 Politics: President James K. Polk, wary that General Zachary Taylor, a Whig, does not support his policies, wishes to deflate the latter’s political capital by consenting to an amphibious expedition against Veracruz by General Winfield Scott.

November 22 Military: General Zachary Taylor is informed by the government that the truce with Mexico is negated.

November 23 Military: General Winfield Scott is appointed commander of a large amphibious expedition intending to land on the Mexican coast and march overland to the capital of Mexico City.

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November 25 Military: An small American column under Colonel Stephen W. Kearny advances from New Mexico into California.

December Politics: Rather than pay taxes for what he considers an unjust war, poet Henry David Thoreau is arrested and spends a night in jail at Concord, Massachusetts.

December 6–10 Military: The Battle of San Pascual is waged between a force of 50 dragoons commanded by General Stephen W. Kearny and 200 lancers under Major Andreas Pico. The Americans rashly charge superior numbers and are handily repelled, although Pico does not use his manpower to any advantage. At length the Mexicans attack and withdraw several times until reinforcements arrive and the Americans keep the field with 30 percent losses.

December 12 Diplomacy: The United States and New Granada (Colombia) sign a treaty that affords the Americans transit rights across the Isthmus of Panama. New Granada is also assured of its sovereignty over the area. Military: American forces under Colonel Stephen W. Kearny occupy San Diego, California, then march northward toward Los Angeles.

December 14 Military: Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan and 1,000 volunteers from the Army of the West depart Santa Fe, New Mexico, and march south to Chihuahua to rendezvous with General John E. Wool.

December 25 Military: A column of American volunteers under Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan defeats 1,200 Mexican cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Ponce de Léon at the Battle of Las Cruces, securing New Mexico for the United States.

December 27 Military: American forces under Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan defeat Mexican forces at El Brazito, then occupy the town of El Paso.

December 28 Politics: Iowa joins the Union as the 29th state with its capital at Iowa City; slavery is outlawed. Its admission balances off the previous addition of Florida, a slave state.

December 29 Military: General Zachary Taylor’s army occupies Victoria, capital of Tamaulipas state, Mexico.

1847 Arts: Robert Ball Hughes casts the first life-size bronze statute in America, a likeness of mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch, which is then placed over his grave in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Astor Place Opera House, with a seating capacity of 1,500, opens in New York City. It is the largest such building in America and hosts Verdi’s Ernani as its opening show.

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Business: Cyrus McCormick opens a new factory in Chicago to mass-produce his highly successful grain reapers. Labor: The New Hampshire legislature restricts the working day to 10 hours. Literature: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes and publishes Evangeline, a romantic, narrative poem of French settlers expelled from Acadia. Music: Noted songwriter Stephen Foster pens a catchy tune entitled “Oh, Susannah,” based upon African-American music he encountered at church meetings. Women: The cause of women’s rights advances slightly when the Vermont legislature allows them to keep full ownership of their property at the time of marriage; however, wives still require a husband’s permission in order to transfer ownership of their property.

January Military: A battalion of 300 Mormons, recently recruited in Utah, arrives in California to bolster the American garrison but does not see any fighting.

January 3 Military: General Winfield Scott, preparing for a major amphibious assault against Veracruz, Mexico, commandeers 9,000 soldiers from the army of General Zachary Taylor at Carmago in northern Mexico. Taylor, whose forces now consist of raw and unreliable volunteers, is then ordered to remain on the defensive at Monterrey.

January 8 Military: A force of sailors, U.S. Marines, and U.S. Dragoons under Commodore Robert F. Stockton and General Stephen W. Kearny engage a larger Mexican force of infantry and lancers at San Gabriel, California. The Americans form a square and beat back repeated cavalry attacks, then advance up nearby heights and drive off the enemy infantry.

January 10 Military: Newly promoted General Stephen W. Kearny captures Los Angeles from insurgents, ending active resistance to American rule.

January 13 Diplomacy: Mexican forces under Major Andreas Pico conclude the Treaty of Cahuenga with Colonel John C. Frémont, which formally brings fighting in California to an end. This concludes 25 years of Mexican rule and ushers in a period of American dominance.

January 14 Military: General Zachary Taylor receives new instructions from the War Department ordering him to maintain defensive positions while 9,000 of his best soldiers are siphoned off for a forthcoming amphibious expedition. He correctly deduces that Democrat President James K. Polk is determined to deflect his political mettle as a Whig presidential candidate.

January 16 Politics: Commodore Robert F. Stockton, still believing that he enjoys civil authority in California, appoints Colonel John C. Frémont as governor. This sets both men on a collision course with General Stephen W. Kearny, who also has orders making him governor.

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Chronology of American History The House of Representatives passes a bill authorizing a territorial government for Oregon, which also excludes slavery.

January 18 Education: Fort Wayne Female College (Taylor University) is chartered at Fort Wayne, Indiana, by the Methodists.

January 19 Military: Governor Charles Bent is killed at Taos, New Mexico, by insurgents.

January 22 Politics: General Zachary Taylor, a presidential aspirant, fears he is being unfavorably manipulated by President James K. Polk and criticizes the commander in chief in the New York Morning Express. Five days later he is reprimanded by Secretary of War William L. Marcy.

February 1 Publishing: Noah Webster’s Speller is the first title ever published in the Oregon Territory.

February 4 Military: Missouri troops under Colonel Sterling Price recapture Taos, New Mexico, from Mexican rebels.

February 5 Military: Defying the orders of both the government and General Winfield Scott, General Zachary Taylor marches west from Monterrey and toward Saltillo. His army then consists mostly of 5,000 raw volunteers stiffened by a handful of regular troops under General John E. Wool.

February 8 Politics: Supporters of President James K. Polk in the House of Representatives introduce a bill for $3 million for the possible acquisition of territory from Mexico. The final bill has a “Wilmot Proviso” outlawing slavery attached.

February 13 Politics: General Stephen W. Kearny receives orders to establish a government in Monterey, California, while Colonel John C. Frémont still considers himself governor at Los Angeles.

February 16 Education: The University of Louisiana (Tulane University) is founded as a state institution at New Orleans, Louisiana, and absorbs the Medical College of Louisiana.

February 18 Military: At Tampico, Mexico, General Winfield Scott establishes a civil administration for occupied territory and leaves most political matters in the hands of local officials. This is the first such system practiced by the United States.

February 19 General: A relief expedition finally rescues the Donner party, stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains all winter. Accusations of cannibalism emerge. Slavery: The Senate adopts the wartime appropriations bill—minus the Wilmot Proviso to exclude slavery from any territory acquired from Mexico. When the House subsequently approves the bill as written, the issue of slavery in the territo-

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ries remains unaddressed. However, John C. Calhoun introduces four resolutions to protect slavery as an institution no matter where it may be instituted—unofficially negating the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Moreover, Calhoun insists that the government has no business making laws which deprive states of their rights under the Constitution. His argument subsequently serves as the basis for secession in 1861.

February 22–23 Military: The Battle of Buena Vista is waged when 15,000 Mexican troops under General Antonio López de Santa Anna attack General Zachary Taylor’s force of 5,000 men, strongly arrayed on good defensive terrain. The enemy, exhausted after a 250-mile march through the desert, makes several strong but uncoordinated attacks upon Taylor’s lines and is beaten back piecemeal by the adroit tactics of General John E. Wool. A desperate charge by Colonel Jefferson Davis of the Mississippi Rifles also saves some American cannon from imminent capture. After two days of fighting, the demoralized Mexicans retreat to Mexico. This is Taylor’s finest hour; he suffers 264 dead and 450 wounded to a Mexican toll estimated at 2,000.

February 25 Education: The State University of Iowa (University of Iowa) is chartered by the state’s first general assembly; its first class graduates in 1858.

February 28 Military: The expedition of Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan defeats a Mexican force at Rio Sacramento and then occupies the city of Chihuahua.

March 1 Politics: The Senate accepts the “Three Million Bill” for the war with Mexico, although it drops the Wilmot Proviso; this version then passes the House on a vote of 115 to 81.

March 3 Business: The first adhesive-style postage stamps are approved by Congress; previously postage was paid in cash upon receipt of the mail. Settlement: The Senate tables the House version of the Oregon Bill, excluding slavery from the region. Technology: Congress approves funding to provide gas lighting of the Capitol grounds.

March 9 Military: The Battle of Veracruz unfolds when the army of General Winfield Scott, covered by American warships under Commodore David Conner, storms ashore at nearby Collado Beach with 10,000 men. Once a lodgement is secure, the American advance begins siege preparations to convince the large garrison of Castle San Juan de Ulua to surrender.

March 27 Military: The fortified city of Veracruz under General Juan José Landero surrenders 3,000 troops to American forces under General Winfield Scott, who has sustained a loss of only 13 dead and 55 wounded. The city subsequently serves as a vital supply base throughout the ensuing drive against Mexico City.

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April Military: With Veracruz to their rear, General Winfield Scott’s army of 9,000 men commence marching down the National Road toward Mexico City. The Americans depart hurriedly to beat the oncoming yellow fever season. Meanwhile General Antonio López de Santa Anna, desperate to save his capitol, musters every available soldier to stop the Americans.

April 15 Diplomacy: President James K. Polk appoints State Department veteran Nicholas P. Trist to negotiate a peaceful end to the Mexican War.

April 16 Religion: Brigham Young departs Council Bluffs on the Missouri River and marches with a small group of Mormons into the west, looking for a suitable place to settle.

April 17–18 Military: General Winfield Scott wins the Battle of Cerro Gordo by attacking 14,000 Mexican soldiers under General Antonio López de Santa Anna. In a series of slashing maneuvers the Americans inflict 1,100 casualties and seize 3,000 prisoners and 40 cannon at a cost of 64 dead and 350 wounded. The advance upon Mexico City resumes in earnest.

April 19 Medical: In Poughkeepsie, New York, James Smith invents and markets the first cough drops.

April 26 Communications: Samuel F. B. Morse founds the Magnetic Telegraph Company to commence telegraph service between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Politics: The Mexican War is denounced as “wanton, unjust, and unconstitutional” by the Massachusetts legislature.

May 1 Science: Princeton Physicist Joseph Henry is appointed first director/secretary of the newly opened Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

May 7 Medical: The American Medical Association is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under Dr. Nathan Smith Davis.

May 31 Politics: General Stephen W. Kearny arrests Colonel John C. Frémont when he disobeys a direct order to step down as governor of California. Kearny then appoints Colonel Richard B. Mason to serve in his place before transporting the unruly Frémont back to Washington, D.C., to face a court martial.

June 6 Diplomacy: Nicholas P. Trist, chief clerk of the Department of State, begins peace negotiations with Mexico through British minister Charles Bankhead.

July 1 Business: The U.S. Post Office Department issues its first stamps in five- and tencent denominations with the likenesses of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, respectively. These are also the first stamps to employ an adhesive backing.

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July 21–24 Settlement: Brigham Young and a small group of Mormon followers reach the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah after an arduous trek from Council Bluffs, Iowa. The first wave consists of 143 men, three women, and two children. Young subsequently founds the state of Deseret with himself as governor.

July 26 Technology: A miniature electric train is built by Moses Gerrish of Dover, New Hampshire; this consists of two cars, one with the motor and batteries and one for passengers.

August 6 Military: General Winfield Scott’s army is reinforced at Puebla by troops under General Franklin Pierce. Thus augmented, the Americans launch their final drive against the Mexican capital.

August 19–20 Military: The army of General Winfield Scott edges closer to Mexico City by defeating General Antonio López de Santa Anna at Contreras and Churubusco. The Mexican position was very strong and included Irish-American deserters of the San Patricio Battalion. A stiff fight ensues for the deserters realize that capture means execution by hanging, but at length the Americans force the Mexican position. Scott’s losses are around 1,000 while Santa Anna sustains 3,000 killed and wounded. The advance upon Mexico City continues.

August 24 Diplomacy: Mexican and American armies observe the Armistice of Tacubaya while Nicholas P. Trist, chief clerk of the Department of State, engages Mexican officials in peace negotiations.

August 27 Diplomacy: Mexican and American emissaries begin peace negotiations but are slated for failure.

September Politics: The Native American Party convenes in Philadelphia and nominates General Zachary Taylor for the presidency and Henry A. S. Dearborn of Massachusetts to become vice president.

September 6 Diplomacy: The Armistice of Tacubaya fails after Mexican officials reject American peace proposals, which included the ceding of all land north of the Rio Grande River.

September 8 Military: The Battle of Molino del Rey unfolds as General Winfield Scott’s 8,000 troops attack and carry strong Mexican positions manned by 10,000 soldiers with artillery and cavalry. The initial charge by General William J. Worth is bloodily repulsed, but the Americans regroup and gradually force the defenders back. General Antonio López de Santa Anna suffers more than 2,000 casualties and 685 captured while Scott suffers 117 dead, 653 wounded, and 18 missing. Among the first American officers to enter the captured town is Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant.

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September 11 Arts: The Thespian is the first theater to open in the Hawaiian Islands.

September 12–13 Military: The Battle of Chapultepec is waged as 8,000 men under General Winfield Scott attack a like number of Mexicans directed by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Among the defenders are 60 military cadets, many who lose their lives and are enshrined as national heroes. The American carry the city after stiff fighting and lose 450 men killed and wounded; Mexican losses are around 1,800.

September 14 Military: The victorious army of General Winfield Scott occupies Mexico City after a brilliant campaign of maneuver. In England, the famous Duke of Wellington pronounces Scott “the greatest living soldier.”

September 16 Military: General Winfield Scott promulgates General Order No. 20, which establishes military rule through occupied Mexico. He eventually assesses Mexico $3 million to support the occupation. Politics: General Antonio López de Santa Anna resigns as president of Mexico and makes preparations to leave the country. His tenure in that capacity has proven disastrous to the nation.

October 1 Science: In Nantucket, Massachusetts, Maria Mitchell, a librarian and amateur astronomer, discovers a new comet. She is subsequently rewarded by a gold medal from the king of Denmark and membership within the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

November Politics: Members of the abolitionist-minded Liberty Party convene in New York and nominate John P. Hale of New Hampshire for president and Leicester King of Ohio for vice president.

November 16 Diplomacy: Peace commissioner Nicholas P. Trist is ordered back to Washington, D.C.

November 19 General: Steamboats Talisman and Tempest collide on the Ohio River, killing 100 passengers.

November 22 Diplomacy: American envoy Nicholas P. Trist learns that the new government of Mexico under Manuel de la Pena is ready to negotiate peace terms. General Antonio López de Santa Anna has since been dismissed as head of Mexican forces and fled. He also ignores the order for his recall. General: The steamship Phoenix catches fire and sinks on Lake Michigan, killing 200 Dutch immigrants.

November 26 Military: General Zachary Taylor leaves northern Mexico for the United States.

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November 29 Military: Marcus Whitman and 13 settlers are killed by Cayuse Indians at their mission in the Oregon Territory.

December 3 Journalism: Former slave Frederick Douglass begins editing and publishing the abolitionist newspaper North Star. Military: General Zachary Taylor arrives at New Orleans to thunderous applause. Rumors also abound that the conquering hero intends to parley his national popularity into a political career.

December 5 Religion: Brigham Young is formally elected president of the Mormon Church at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Young, who is savvy at both business and politics, proves a fortuitous choice to replace the murdered Joseph Smith.

December 6 Politics: An obscure frontier lawyer named Abraham Lincoln takes his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

December 12 Diplomacy: The government of New Granada (Colombia) agrees to a treaty with the United States to guarantee the neutrality of the Panamanian isthmus. Both sides are fearful that a European power might seize the isthmus for their own use and build a canal.

December 14 Slavery: The notion of “popular sovereignty,” the ability of territorial legislatures to decide the question of slavery on their own, is introduced by Senator D. S. Dickinson of New York.

December 22 Politics: Abraham Lincoln, in his first address to the House of Representatives, denounces the outbreak and objectives of the Mexican War.

December 29 Politics: Presidential aspirant Lewis Cass of Michigan endorses the concept of “popular sovereignty” to allow territorial legislatures to decide whether or not to allow slavery. This approach allows skittish politicians to sidestep the emotional issue altogether.

1848 Labor: The first Chinese laborers to reach America, three men, disembark at San Francisco, California. Settlement: President James K. Polk offers to purchase Cuba from Spain for $100 million; he is politely refused. Slavery: The Vermont legislature passes a resolution that calls for outlawing slavery in the new territories and abolishing it in Washington, D.C. Societal: The Revolution of 1848 in Germany leads to a mass influx of German immigrants and political refugees into the United States. Women: In a major boost to women’s rights, the New York legislature grants women equal property rights.

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January 2 Diplomacy: Despite the fact that he has been ordered home, peace commissioner Nicholas P. Trist initiates peace negotiations with Mexican officials.

January 3 Education: Girard College is founded by financier Stephen Girard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who stipulates that only white orphaned males may enroll there.

January 10 Slavery: Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduces a resolution forbidding the introduction of slavery into the Oregon Territory until such a time that the local legislature deems otherwise.

January 24 Settlement: James W. Marshall, then building a sawmill in the American River near Sutter’s Fort, California, unearths a gold nugget. Word of his discovery triggers a wild stampede into the region by those seeking an easy fortune, better known as the “Gold Rush.”

January 31 Military: Colonel John C. Frémont is court-martialed for disobedience by General Stephen W. Kearny, found guilty, and cashiered from the military. President James K. Polk approves of the sentence but eventually restores him to duty. Upon further reflection, Frémont resigns his commission anyway to prospect for gold out West.

February 2 Diplomacy: American peace commissioner Nicholas P. Trist and Mexican officials conclude the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War. The Americans secure 500,000 square miles of new territory encompassing the new states of Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. In return the Mexicans receive $15 million in compensation and an addition $3.2 million in damage claims. The burgeoning republic is now a transcontinental world power stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, although heated conflict over the issue of slavery accelerates.

February 15 Arts: The play A Glance at New York by Benjamin Baker sets off a rage for theater productions depicting city life.

February 18 Military: General Winfield Scott retires as commander of American forces in Mexico.

March 1 Societal: John Humphreys Noyes establishes a utopian farming community called “Perfectionist” in Oneida, New York.

March 10 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with a vote of 38 to 14 and also approves the wartime appropriations bill, minus the divisive Wilmot Proviso. Education: Augustinian College (Villanova University) is chartered at Villanova, Pennsylvania, by the Augustinian Fathers.

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March 15 Journalism: News of the discovery of gold in California first breaks in a San Francisco newspaper, but initially few readers actually notice.

March 23 Politics: Former president John Quincy Adams dies in the U.S. House of Representatives.

March 29 General: John Jacob Astor, one of America’s first entrepreneurs, dies in New York at the age of 84. At this time he has a net worth of $20 million and is the nation’s richest individual.

April Business: The Pacific Mail Steamship Company is formed to handle the increased traffic in mail to the West Coast.

April 24 Business: The Chicago Board of Trade becomes the nation’s first such institution to facilitate trade in agricultural products.

May Journalism: A group of six New York newspapers headed by Moses Beach agree to subsidize the cost of relaying foreign news by telegraph from Boston, the first port of call for most transatlantic vessels; this is the genesis of the Associated Press. Previously they had experimented with carrier pigeons to scoop competitors.

May 22–26 Politics: The Democrats’ national convention convenes in Baltimore to select Lewis Cass of Michigan as their candidate for the presidency and William O. Butler of Kentucky for the vice presidency. The party platform militates against any attempt to debate the slavery question in Congress.

May 29 Politics: Wisconsin joins the Union as the 30th state; slavery is outlawed.

May 31 General: The papers of former president James Madison are purchased for the Library of Congress.

June 2 Politics: The abolitionist Liberty League gathers in Rochester, New York, to nominate Gerrit Smith of that state for the presidency and Charles E. Foot of Michigan for the vice presidency.

June 3 Diplomacy: The United States concludes a treaty with the Republic of New Granada whereby the United States gains right of way to cross the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for guaranteeing the region’s neutrality.

June 7–9 Politics: The Whig Party convenes in Philadelphia to select General Zachary Taylor as its presidential candidate and Millard Fillmore of New York as vice president. Taylor’s success in the recent Mexican conflict and his reputation as “Old Rough and Ready” makes him a genuine national hero.

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June 12 Military: The American army ends its successful occupation of Mexico City.

June 13 Politics: Various labor organizations meet in Philadelphia and nominate Ger-­ rit Smith of New York and William S. Waitt of Illinois to serve as candidates for president and vice president, respectively.

June 22 Politics: A group of progressive, antislavery former DemoÂ�crats known as “Barn-­ burners” convenes at Utica, New York, selecting Martin Van Buren for president and Henry Dodge of Wisconsin for vice president.

June 27 Slavery: When Indiana Senator John D. Bright issues an amendment to the Oregon Bill that extends the line drawn for the Missouri Compromise through to the Pacific, it is immediately opposed by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. He insists that neither Congress nor territorial legislatures can deny the constitu-­ tional right to own slaves. Technology: The first public use of air conditioning occurs at the Broadway Theater in New York City. This device, invented by J. E. Coffee, is powered by steam and pushes 3,000 feet of cool air per minute.

July 4 Architecture: The cornerstone for the Washington Monument is laid in Wash-­ ington, D.C.

July 18–19 Women: Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton orÂ�gaÂ�nize the first women’s rights convention at Wesleyan Methodist Church, Seneca Falls, New York. Reso-­ lutions are passed stipulating that women should enjoy equal rights, should be educated in the laws, and should be able to vote and speak in public without suffering indignities.

July 26 Education: The University of Wisconsin is chartered in Madison, Wisconsin, as a state institution; its first class graduates in 1854.

August 9 Politics: Diverse antislavery groups meeting in Buffalo, New York, form the new Free-Soil Party. They then nominate Martin Van Buren for the presidency with Charles Francis Adams of Massachusetts as vice president. As a group they are uniformly opposed to slavery or its expansion into new territory, and support internal improvements and free homesteads to settlers. Their slogan: “free soil, free speech, free labor, free men.”

August 10 Military: In New York, explosive bullets are patented by Walter Hunt.

August 14 Politics: A bill orÂ�gaÂ�nizÂ�ing the Oregon Â�Territory—without Â�slavery—is signed by President James K. Polk with the support of Southern legislators, apparently with the understanding that other regions may include the “peculiar institution.”

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Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (1815–1902) Feminist leader Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York, on November 12, 1815, the daughter of a successful attorney and judge. Atten-­ tive as a child, she became distraught upon hearing her father repeatedly tell female clients that they had no rights to their own property or even their own children in the event of divorce. Early on she resolved to change this. Cady was well-­educated by con-­ temporary standards, having taught herself Greek and Latin, and subsequently attended Emma Willard’s Female Seminary in Troy, New York. As she matured she became increasingly drawn into social causes such as temperance and abolitionism. In 1839 she married abolitionist leader Henry Stanton, but only after insisting he strike the word obey from the traditional wedding vows. The following year the couple visited the World Anti-­Slavery Convention in London as delegates, and Stanton was furious when she was not allowed in on account of her gender. However, there she encountered the noted Quaker activist Lucretia Mott, and the two resolved to sponsor a convention for women’s rights once they returned to the United States. Stanton, fully preoccupied with raising several children, was unable to orchestrate such a gathering until 1848, when it met in her hometown of Seneca, New York. Forceful and determined, she penned the “Declaration of Sentiments” calling for women’s suffrage—the right to vote. This seminal event is considered the birth of American feminism which gathered greater momentum toward the end of the century. Stanton, an excellent writer and speaker, then lobbied New York legislators for reforms that would benefit women, and in 1860 women were granted guardianship of children and property in divorce cases.

The onset of the Civil War deepened Stanton’s resolve to support abolition, although she decried President Abraham Lincoln as too accommodating toward slavery. Afterward she stridently insisted that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend-­ ments to the U.S. Constitution, which extended freedom and voting rights to former African-­American slaves, also be extended to women. Stanton, however, had underestimated resistance to female suffrage and equal rights, especially in light of the Reconstruction period’s emphasis on black emancipation. Her unrelenting stance caused a split in the feminist movement with the more conservative-­minded Ameri-­ can Woman Suffrage Association declining (continues)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Library of Congress)

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(continued) to uphold the principle of equal rights. Yet Stanton, strongly supported by her friend and associate Susan B. Anthony, insisted on both, and in 1869 they founded the more radical National Woman Suffrage Association. The ensuing schism split the feminist movement for more than two decades, and it was not until 1890 that the breech was

mended. That year Stanton was elected president of the combined organizations, and she also found time to work on the Women’s Bible, which was edited to remove all derogatory references to women. Stanton died in New York on October 26, 1902, one of the most talented female leaders of her generation.

August 19 Journalism: The discovery of gold in California is first reported in the New York Herald, triggering a literal stampede to the West by hordes of ambitious fortune seekers.

August 24 General: More than 200 Americans die when the ship Ocean Monarch catches fire off Caernarvonshire, Wales.

September Science: Science in the United States receives a major boost through founding of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, jointly sponsored by a group of American and Canadian scientists.

November 1 Education: Reformer Samuel Gregory opens the Boston Female Medical School as the nation’s first medical institute for women; there are 12 students in the first class.

November 7 Politics: Whig candidate Zachary Taylor wins the presidential election with Millard Fillmore as his vice president, defeating their Democratic opposites Lewis Cass and William O. Butler. Taylor, though Southern-born and a slave owner himself, is not especially committed to the expansion of slavery into other areas. Furthermore, his quest has been facilitated by Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren, who received 291,263 votes at the Democrats’ expense. This is also the first election simultaneously held in every state.

December 5 Societal: President James K. Polk authenticates the recent discovery of gold deposits in California, which further fans the flames of western migration in search of easy gains.

December 15 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain conclude a postal treaty in London.

December 22 Politics: Southern congressmen caucus in Congress on the issue of slavery and how best to protect it as an institution.

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1849 Arts: New York City hosts the Great Chinese Museum, depicting various aspects of everyday life in the Middle Kingdom. Business: The American Horologe Company, the first factory to build watches in America, is founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Medical: In Geneva, New York, Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female college student to receive a degree in medicine anywhere in the world. Publishing: Henry David Thoreau publishes his essay “Civil Disobedience” to justify his refusal to pay taxes to support the Mexican War. He also advocates an activist citizenry to protest government misbehavior. Transportation: The Pacific Railroad, intending to link St. Louis to Kansas City, is chartered. Stagecoach service commences between Independence, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

January Politics: A gathering of 69 Southern congressmen meets again in Washington, D.C., to discuss their grievances against the North and plan strategy. Publishing: The Lily, the first women’s rights journal, is published under the aegis of Amelia Bloomer. She also pioneers a loose set of clothing known as “Bloomers” to promote better health and movement, but they fail to catch on.

January 22 Politics: John C. Calhoun pens the “Address of Southern Delegates,” signed by 47 Southerners, which rails against Northern transgressions against the South with respect to the preservation of slavery.

February 7 Law: The Supreme Court disallows New York and Massachusetts from levying a tax upon newly entered aliens. Sports: Tom Hyer, the de facto American heavyweight boxing champion, defeats Englishman Yankee Sullivan by knocking him out. He then retires from the ring undefeated for want of a challenger.

February 13 Education: Otterbein University is chartered in Westerville, Ohio, by the United Brethren; its first class graduates in 1857.

February 27 Education: William Jewel College is chartered in Liberty, Missouri, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1855.

February 28 Societal: The vessel California drops anchor in San Francisco harbor, and the first wave of gold seekers clambers ashore. Others arrive from China and Australia, and by years’s end they are joined by 100,000 like-minded fortune hunters.

March 3 Business: Congress authorizes issuance of the gold dollar and the $20 Double Eagle coin. Politics: The Home Department is established by Congress for the purpose of establishing Indian policy, sale of public land, and assisting those who wish

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This 1849 print, The Way They Go to California, lampoons the rush to California by gold seekers, many of whom went to outlandish lengths to get there and stake a claim before the next person. (Library of Congress)

to develop their holdings out West. It eventually becomes known as the U. S. Department of the Interior.

March 4 Settlement: An act establishing the Minnesota Territory is signed by President James K. Polk.

March 5 Politics: Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as the second and final Whig president; Millard Fillmore is sworn in as vice president.

March 10 Slavery: The Missouri legislature votes in favor of “popular sovereignty” to decide the issue of slavery in the new territories.

April 12 Business: The first mail service from the Atlantic, overland across Panama, and then up the Pacific coast is achieved.

May 10 Arts: A riot ensues at the Astor Place Opera House in New York when British actor George Macready impugns his American audience for rudeness; 22 people die and 36 are wounded before the militia restores order.

May 17 General: More than 400 buildings and 27 steamships are destroyed or damaged by a fire in St. Louis, Missouri.

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Chronology   887

Taylor, Zachary (1784 –1850) Soldier, president Zachary Taylor was born in Montebello, Vir-­ ginia, on November 24, 1784, son of an army officer. He was raised on a plantation in Kentucky, joined the army in 1808, and distinguished himself in the War of 1812 at Fort Harrison and other occasions. He resigned briefly in 1815 but won reappoint-­ ment through President James Madison and served the next 21 years on the western fron-­ tier. In 1832 Taylor fought as a colonel in the Black Hawk War and five years later marched to Florida to fight against the Seminole. On December 25, 1837, he soundly defeated them at Okeechobee Swamp, winning pro-­ motion to brigadier general. By this time he had also acquired the colorful but appropriate nickname of “Old Rough and Ready.” In 1846 President James K. Polk ordered Taylor’s army to occupy part of Texas in anticipation of war with Mexico, and in 1846 he defeated Mexi-­ can armies in three successive battles at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey. Tay-­ lor suspected that Polk and other Democrats were trying to derail his political ambitions when they stripped his army of soldiers for a new invasion by General Winfield Scott. Tay-­ lor then disregarded orders to remain on the defensive, advanced southward, and defeated a Mexican force four times his size at Buena Vista in February 1847. This victory made him a national hero and he began receiving serious consideration as a potential Whig candidate in the upcoming presidential election. Taylor, a slave-­owning nationalist, had never voted in a presidential election before and knew relatively little about politics, yet was viewed as potentially attractive to voters in both the North and South. The party convention that year confirmed this belief when he edged out better known contenders such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Winfield Scott to win the nomination.

Fortunately for Taylor and the Whigs, the Democratic opposition had split into two warring factions with party regulars backing Lewis Cass while dissidents favored Martin Van Buren of the Free Soil Party. This feud allowed Taylor to win the essential state of New York and, with it, the White House. The garrulous old general was somewhat tactless in office and determined to remain aloof from partisanship and above politics. However, the nation was being riven by the prospect of extending slavery into territo-­ ries acquired from Mexico. Taylor, Southern himself and a slave owner, firmly opposed this and wished to allow California into the Union as a free state. Fellow Southerners dis-­ sented for it would upset the delicate balance (continues)

Zachary Taylor (Library of Congress)

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(continued) of power between free and slave states in the Senate, but whenever they mentioned secession Taylor threatened to hang anyone attempting it. He only reluctantly agreed to the “Compromise of 1850” allowing territorial legislatures to decide if they were to

permit slavery or not. His administration also oversaw the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Great Britain, for joint control of any canal built in Panama. Taylor died suddenly of illness in office on July 9, 1850, before his effectiveness was fully established.

June 15 General: Former president James K. Polk dies suddenly in Nashville, Tennessee.

July Slavery: Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland and becomes an active member of the slowly forming “underground railroad.”

August 11 Politics: President Zachary Taylor forbids American citizens from participating in armed incursions, or filibusters, against Cuba.

September 1–October 13 Settlement: A constitutional convention meets at Monterey, California, at the behest of General Bennett Riley, and an antislavery provision is adopted.

November 4 Medical: Elizabeth Blackwell, who is blind in one eye, becomes the first female graduate of Geneva College, New York, with a medical degree.

November 13 Politics: A new constitution is approved by a constitutional convention in Monterey, California, and a formal application for statehood is made.

November 14 Engineering: The world’s longest suspension bridge opens for traffic across the Ohio River at Wheeling (West Virginia), Virginia.

November 22 Education: Austin College is chartered in Huntsville, Texas, by the Presbyterians; its first class graduates in 1850.

December 4 Politics: President Zachary Taylor asks Congress to allow California in as a new state. However, Southerners are riled at the prospect of creating another free state which will leave them in the minority. When Senator John C. Calhoun begins floating the idea of secession, Taylor warns any such attempt will be crushed even if he has to command troops in person.

December 22 Politics: As a sign of growing regionalism and partisan division, Georgian Howell Cobb is finally voted speaker of the House of Representatives after three weeks of turmoil and 63 ballots.

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December 20 Diplomacy: The United States and the kingdom of Hawaii conclude a treaty of friendship, navigation, and trade.

1850 Agriculture: In an attempt to control caterpillars, New York City imports eight pairs of EnÂ�glish sparrows which prove highly successful. Arts: Emanuel Leutze, an American expatriate artist living in Germany, renders his famous painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” It is currently dis-­ played on the wall of the west staircase in the U.S. Â�House of Representatives. Business: At Â�mid-­century, the textile industry is the first manufacturing sector to achieve relatively large scale, nationally. The North boasts 564 factories, prin-­ cipally in New EnÂ�gland, while the South possesses 166. Moreover, the Northern establishments rely heavily upon a mostly female workforce. Journalism: The Weekly Oregonian (Portland) and the Deseret News (Salt Lake City) are the first newspapers published in the far west. Literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The Scarlet Letter, and it becomes an immediate best seller for touching upon the long suppressed subject of adul-­ tery. More than 4,000 copies sell in the first 10 days. Herman Melville publishes White-Jacket, which graphically describes the harsh treatment endured by sailors onboard U.S. warships. Music: American composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk tours France and Switzerland with positive reviews. Politics: Tammany Hall, long a force in New York City politics, reaches new heights of influence under the aegis of Fernando Wood. He institutes charitable serÂ�vices for poor immigrants who then support this growing poÂ�litiÂ�cal machine. Population: The new census reveals a population of 23.2 million residents. Publishing: Harper’s Monthly Magazine begins publishing in New York City, intending to bring condensed versions of great literary masterpieces to its Ameri-­ can readership. Photographer Mathew Brady breaks new artistic ground by publishing his compilation Illustrious Americans. Societal: Â�Anti-­Catholic biases manifest in the newly founded Supreme Order of the Star Spangled Banner, which subsequently serves as a progenitor of the Â�antiÂ�immigrant Â�Know-­Nothing Party. Technology: John E. Heath invents the first agricultural binder for tying grain. Transportation: The first federal land grant specifically granted for railroad construction is awarded to a proposed line running from Chicago, Illinois, to Mobile, Alabama. The American clipper ship Stag Hound, designed by noted shipwright Donald McKay, sets a speed record of 13 days from Boston to the equator. McKay goes on to build some of the fastest vessels of his age.

January 2 Diplomacy: The United States concludes its first commercial treaty with El Salvador.

January 29 Politics: Henry Clay, still striving to preserve the Â�Union from secession and armed conflict, returns to the Senate after a Â�seven-­year hiatus. He then issues a

1850

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Chronology of American History

McKay, Donald

(1810–1880)

Shipwright Donald McKay was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, on September 4, 1810, the son of farmers. In 1827 he relocated to study the art of shipbuilding in New York and worked as an apprentice shipwright at the firm of Isaac Webb. His good performance attracted the attention of another shipbuilder, William Currier, who induced McKay to move to Wiscasset, Maine, and Newburyport, Massachusetts, and ply his trade. He did so in 1841 and proved so successful that he was able to form a partnership with William Pickett to construct packet ships. His designs proved both beautiful and functional, so in 1845 he was invited by noted merchant Enoch Train to move again to East Boston and construct vessels for his forthcoming Boston-to-Liverpool packet line. Bewteen 1845 and 1853 McKay designed and constructed no less than 49 packet ships for Train and other maritime concerns. His ships universally won plaudits for their handsome lines, rugged construction, and speeds that were usually higher than rival designs. However, the discovery of gold in California and Australia, combined with the opening of new markets in Japan and China, required a new class of vessels that were both larger and faster than the contemporary packets. This new emphasis on speed gave rise to an entirely new school of design, the magnificent clipper ship, which would dominate seaborne commerce for several decades. In time McKay proved himself to be the world’s greatest designer of clippers. He constructed his first vessel, the Stag Hound,

in 1850, and it was a radical departure from commercial vessels extant. Long, low, with raking lines, it sported very tall masts and very wide canvass sails by contemporary standards. Stag Hound was thus not only larger than its competitors but also much faster even when fully loaded. McKay’s most famous design, the Flying Cloud, was another beautiful example of the shipwright’s art. Huge at 1,800 tons, it was nonetheless the fastest clipper ever built and established a world speed record of only 89 days between New York, around Cape Horn, and thence to San Francisco. His follow-on design, Sovereign of the Seas, was not as speedy but much larger at 2,421 tons and mounting masts 93 feet high that carried 12,000 square feet of canvas. McKay’s masterpiece, the Great Republic, was larger still, displacing 4,500 tons and boasting four huge masts. However, this vessel caught fire and burned while under construction and McKay incurred great financial loss. The emergence of new steamships meant that the heyday of clipper ships had ended, and he visited England in order to study steam propulsion. There he became convinced of the superiority of ironclad, steam driven warships and came home to construct several for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. McKay died at Hamilton, Massachusetts, on September 20, 1880, having constructed some of the most lovely, legendary vessels in maritime history. The last sailing ship he constructed, Glory of the Seas, remained in active service until 1923.

series of resolutions known as the Compromise of 1850. Through them California is admitted into the Union as a free state, based on the free will of the population, although with the understanding that all territory acquired from Mexico is subject to the same conditions.

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February 5–6 Politics: Deliberation intensifies over Henry Clay’s proposed Compromise of 1850, with an ailing John C. Calhoun insisting that the North “cease agitation of the slavery question.” Clay, meanwhile, warns the South not to seek secession as a solution to their problems.

February 22 General: The Library of Congress purchases the manuscript of George Washington’s Farewell Address.

March 4 Politics: In his final appearance in the U.S. Senate, ailing John C. Calhoun is too weak to read an address so it is presented by a colleague. In it he attacks Henry Clay’s recent compromise for failing to provide the South with guarantees. Societal: The home of Wisconsin politician John B. Smith is destroyed by a mob angered by his legislation taxing whiskey and beer.

March 7 Politics: Daniel Webster, a longtime opponent of Clay and a strident opponent of slavery, agrees that to preserve the Union, Northerners must accept that “peculiar institution” for the time being. This causes a decided downturn in his popularity and occasions some righteous indignation from noted poet John Greenleaf Whittier.

March 11 Education: The Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first such institution designated for females, is incorporated in Philadelphia.

March 12 Politics: California formally applies for statehood.

March 31 Politics: John C. Calhoun, the “Cast Iron Man” of South Carolina and a formidable spokesman-philosopher of the South, dies at 69.

April 19 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain conclude the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, pledging that any canal across Panama will be neutral, no attempt will be made to control Central American countries, and both countries are sworn to help defend it.

April 27 Transportation: The Collins Line, an American concern, embarks on head-tohead competition with the famous British Cunard Line with the launching of its new steamship liner Atlantic.

May 8 Politics: After much haggling, Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850 becomes two compromise bills; the first covers the territories while the second outlaws the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

May 25 Settlement: The inhabitants of New Mexico begin forming their own state government, which does not include provisions for slavery, despite Congressional nonaction.

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Chronology of American History

June 3 Indian: Settlers in Oregon hang five Cayuse Indians accused of perpetrating the massacre of the Whitman party; this is the first use of capital punishment in the territory.

June 3–12 Slavery: Southern leaders convene in Nashville, Tennessee, for a conference on slavery and state’s rights. Secession is openly advocated by some delegates, but in the end the moderates prevail and only modest resolutions are passed. Among them is the suggestion that slavery be continued as far as the Pacific along lines established by the Missouri Compromise.

June 17 General: The steamship Griffith catches fire on Lake Erie, killing 300 passengers.

July 1 Business: Monthly overland mail service is initiated between Independence, Missouri, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

July 8 Religion: The Mormon colony on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, crowns James Jesse Starng as its king; continuing tension with mainlanders in 1856 leads to the colony’s disbandment. Settlement: To date 42,300 immigrants have passed through Fort Laramie, Wyoming, en route to California in search of easy fortune.

July 9–10 General: President Zachary Taylor dies of cholera and is succeeded by Millard Fillmore.

July 25 Settlement: The discovery of gold along the Rogue River, Oregon, provides impetus to a new wave of fortune seekers.

May 22 Exploring: Lieutenant Edwin Jesse De Haven takes the ships Advancer and Rescue from New York on an Arctic expedition to locate the lost British explorer Sir John Franklin, missing since 1845. The effort is underwritten by Henry Grinnell, a wealthy New York merchant and philanthropist.

August 21 Transportation: The Collin Line transport steamer Atlantic sets a new transatlantic record by reaching Liverpool in only 10 days, four and a half hours.

September Politics: A Whig convention held at Syracuse, New York, is divided over the Compromise of 1850, which leads Francis Granger and his conservative element to gradually take control.

September 6–17 Politics: Congress passes five bills largely inspired by Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850; California gains admittance as a free state, slavery in Utah and New Mexico remains unrestricted, Texas is reimbursed $10 million for land lost to New Mexico, the slave trade is abolished in the District of Columbia, and a strengthened Fugitive Slave Act is adopted. All five bills are signed into law by

1850

Chronology   893

Fillmore, Millard

(1800–1874)

President Millard Fillmore was born in Cayuga, New York, on January 7, 1800, the son of impoverished farmers. While helping on the family farm he studied law and was admitted to the state bar in 1823. In this capacity Fillmore befriended influential editor Thurlow Weed and joined the Anti-­ Masonic Party in 1828, gaining election to the state legislature. His most notable accomplishment there was abolition of imprisonment for debt. In 1833 Fillmore was elected to the first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served intermittently until 1843. He also left the Anti-­Masonic Party and joined the new Whigs to counter the policies of President Andrew Jackson. In this capacity he became a close ally of Speaker Henry Clay, although in 1844 Fillmore lost the presidential party nomination along with a race for the New York governorship. Undaunted, he employed Clay’s support to become the Whig vice-­presidential candi-­ date with Zachary Taylor in the victorious 1848 election. The following spring he was sworn into office and, while largely margin-­ alized by Taylor, made clear his opposition to Taylor’s rigid stance against extending slavery into the territories. However, fur-­ ther disagreement between the two leaders ended following Taylor’s death in office on July 9, 1850, and Fillmore took his oath as the 13th president. Thus situated, he broke ranks with the radical abolitionist Whigs such as Weed and New York Senator Wil-­ liam H. Seward and joined forces with moderates such as Daniel Webster, whom he appointed secretary of state. The Fillmore administration was a marked departure in policy from that of his predecessor, James K. Polk. Whereas Polk was strongly expansionist, Fillmore

sought to avoid conflict and placed a pre-­ mium on cooperation and preservation of the Union. To this end he readily agreed to sign Clay’s Omnibus Bill—the “Compromise of 1850”—which included the notorious Fugitive Slave Act. For this he was roundly condemned by Whigs and Northerners, but his strong enforcement placated Southern-­ ers at a critical juncture of national history. Fillmore, while he did not approve of slav-­ ery, felt it was a necessary evil and had to be enforced to gain Southern compliance on other pressing issues. Perhaps his most significant accomplishment was the dis-­ patching of a naval squadron under Com-­ modore Matthew C. Perry in 1854 which opened up the cloistered government of Japan for the first time in nearly 300 years. However, Fillmore’s decision to strongly (continues)

Millard Fillmore (Library of Congress)

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(continued) enforce the Fugitive Slave Act created anger in the North and cost him the party nomination in 1856. He therefore ran for re-election with the nativist Know-Nothing Party, appealed for national unity, and finished third behind James Buchanan and John C.

Frémont. Fillmore then returned to Buffalo, New York, where he helped found the University of Buffalo, an academy of arts, and a historical society. He died there on March 8, 1874, still defending his attempts to keep the country intact despite the row over slavery.

President Millard Fillmore. The Fugitive Slave Act , in particular, rapidly escalates the bitterness and acrimony between slave owners and abolitionists.

September 12 Arts: In a major coup for promoter P. T. Barnum, noted soprano Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale,” successfully debuts at the Castle Garden in New York City. Barnum is charging up to $1,000 for tickets and has booked Lind for 150 sold-out shows.

September 20 Transportation: Senator Stephen A. Douglas successfully lobbies for a federal land grant to build a rail line from Chicago, Illinois, to Mobile, Alabama. This is the first land grant of its kind.

September 27 Arts: Edwin Booth, a great American actor of the 19th century, debuts in New York at the age of 16; his brother John Wilkes Booth, gains notoriety as President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.

September 28 Naval: Flogging is banned from the U.S. Navy and merchant marine as a form of punishment. However, corporal punishment is still routinely administered in schools to keep students in line. Politics: President Millard Fillmore appoints Mormon leader Brigham Young to serve as territorial governor of Utah.

October 21 Slavery: In Chicago, Illinois, a city council refuses to endorse the new Fugitive Slave Act.

October 23–24 Women: The first national women’s rights convention is held in Worcester, Massachusetts (the first women’s convention of any kind was held at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848). More than 1,000 delegates from 11 states are in attendance, and they approve plans to create political and educational committees.

November 11–18 Politics: Southern politicians meet again in Nashville, Tennessee, where secession from the Union is openly discussed. However, moderate states like Georgia seek to remain in the Union provided the recent compromise is not violated.

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895

December 13–14 Politics: A Georgia state convention declares its willingness to remain in the Union but will, in fact, secede if Northern states do not honor the Compromise of 1850.

December 21 Diplomacy: Chargé d’affaires Chevalier Hulseman writes a letter to Secretary of State Daniel Webster protesting American aid being sent to rebels in Hungary during the 1848 uprising against Austria and Russia. Webster responds that the United States has a vested interest in European revolutions, particularly those invoking the same principles upon which America was founded.

1851 Architecture: Designer Thomas W. Walter is commissioned to enlarge the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and he adds new wings in the Greek revival style, even through it has run its course and is considered passé. Journalism: Horace Greeley publishes Karl Marx’s Revolution and Counter Revolution as a serial in the New York Tribune. John B. L. Soule, editor of the Terre Haute Express, prints an editorial entitled “Go West Young Man.” When Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, prints the column in full, he becomes indelibly associated with the slogan. However, as he always insisted, it originated with Soule. Literature: Herman Melville publishes his novel Moby-Dick, a quintessential American masterpiece relating the struggle of man against nature, good against evil. It remains one of literature’s greatest accomplishments. However, it is little understood by contemporaries and fares badly at the hands of reviewers. Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The House of Seven Gables, which centers around a curse leveled against a house during the Salem witch trials. Music: Stephen Foster’s catchy song “Old Folks at Home” (Swanee River) becomes a sentimental favorite in America and Europe. Politics: Sixty American delegates attend a Europe an peace conference in London. American concert pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk tours Spain giving performances and is favorably received. Publishing: Historian Francis Parkman publishes the first installment of his epic work on the French and Indian War, The Conspiracy of Pontiac. Religion: The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in Cleveland, Ohio, the outgrowth of informal Bible meetings by groups of young men. Slavery: The Supreme Court decides the case of Strader v. Graham, ruling that slaves returning to Kentucky via Ohio are still subject to Kentucky laws. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass splits with William Lloyd Garrison over the strategy to deal with slavery; Douglass wants to preserve the Union and end slavery directly while Garrison wishes to dissolve the Union and have free states distance themselves from slave-owning ones. Societal: The Asylum for Friendless Boys is founded in New York to provide care for abused, neglected, or exploited children; this is the first serious challenge to a father’s supremacy in determining child welfare. The ongoing potato famine leads to a record 250,000 Irish immigrants to America.

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Greeley, Horace

(1811–1872)

Journalist Horace Greeley was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, on February 3, 1811, into a poor household. His education proved scanty, but early on he developed what became a lifelong passion for journalism and in 1826 Greeley served as an printer’s apprentice. He relocated to New York City in 1831 seeking full-time work, functioned capably as a journalist, and by 1834 was able to found his own publication, the New York. He also became politically active and in 1838 began contributing essays and editorials to the Daily Whig. Greeley acquired the reputation as an effective, opinionated, and hard-hitting editor, so in 1840 Thurlow Weed appointed him editor in chief of the Log Cabin, a successful political newspaper that did much to promote the presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison. A year later Greeley founded his most important paper, the New York Tribune, with himself as editor in chief. In it he filled the pages with a zeal for social, moral, and political reform on a variety of contemporary issues. Foremost among these was abolition, for which he excoriated North and South alike for their complicity in perpetuating what he considered pure evil. Greeley, however, proved not so selective in the stances he championed, and he invariably allowed free space for the socialist-oriented Fourierists and even regularly corresponded with German revolutionary Karl Marx. Nonetheless, the New York Tribune set new and high standards for journalism, principally through such talented

writers as Charles A. Dana and woman’s suffrage champion Margaret Fuller. With the approach of the Civil War, Greeley waxed highly indignant over political expedients such as the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. He also championed the free soil movement along the frontier, and his slogan “Go West young man” epitomized his belief in the democraticizing opportunities of that region. In 1854 Greeley finally broke with the dying Whigs and was a charter member of the new Republican Party with their uncompromising stand against slavery. However, Greeley proved lukewarm in his endorsement of Abraham Lincoln for president, owing to the latter’s intention to restrict slavery, not end it, and in 1864 he only supported the president’s reelection at the last minute. That year he also conducted a one-man peace mission to the Confederate capital in an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement. Greeley’s postwar stances on a variety of issues also proved controversial and cost him many readers. In 1867 he sought to promote national reconciliation by signing a bail bond for imprisoned Confederate president Jefferson Davis and he also advocated a full civil rights agenda for newly freed African Americans. In 1872 he also ran for the presidency as a Democrat and was soundly trounced by Ulysses S. Grant. Greeley died at Pleasantville, New York, on November 29, 1872, the most effective journalist and newspaper editor of his generation.

Technology: Dr. William P. Channing and Moses Gerrish install the first American electric fire alarm in Boston

January 23 Settlement: The name Portland, Oregon, is chosen for a newly incorporated city on the basis of a coin toss; the other contending name was Boston.

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January 28 Education: North Western University (Northwestern University) is chartered in Evanston, Illinois, by the Methodists; the first class enters in 1855.

January 29 Education: Brockway College (modern Ripon College) is chartered in Ripon, Wisconsin, by Congregationalists and Presbyterians; the first class graduates in 1867.

February 1 Diplomacy: France drops demands that the Hawaiian Islands pay homage to France once the latter submits to American protection.

February 13 Education: The University of Minnesota is chartered by the territorial legislature, but classes will not commence until 1869. Heidelberg College is chartered in Tiffin, Ohio, by the German Reformed Church; the first class graduates in 1854.

February 15 Slavery: A mob of angry African Americans rescues Shadrack, an escaped slave, from a Boston jail in defiance of the new Fugitive Slave Act. The new law is the source of much bitterness in the North and widens the growing rift with the South.

February 18 Education: Westminister College is chartered in Fulton, Missouri, by Presbyterians; its first class graduates in 1855. Slavery: President Millard Fillmore cautions citizens of the North to obey the new Fugitive Slave Law, even though emotions and resistance are running high.

March 3 Business: Congress drops the postage rates to three cents for a half-ounce carried up to 300 miles. The coining of three-cent silver pieces is authorized by Congress.

March 25 Exploring: Major James Savage, while pursing a band of renegade Indians, stumbles onto the Yosemite Valley, California.

April 25 Politics: President Millard Fillmore, angered by the presence of Southerners in armed filibusters against Spanish-held Cuba, speaks of “palpable violations” of American neutrality and warns citizens to not to participate.

May 3 General: San Francisco suffers from a major fire which consumes 2,500 buildings and inflicts damage estimated at $12 million. Publishing: Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, the nation’s first illustrated weekly, debuts in New York City.

May 6 Technology: Dr. John Gorrie receives a patent for one of the earliest ice-making machines, although he dies of exhaustion four years later while attempting to raise money to manufacture it. The device is originally intended to cool the rooms for patients suffering from fever.

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May 15 Transportation: The Erie Railroad, connecting Pierpont and Dunkirk, New York, opens for business. It is 483 miles long, making it the world’s longest railroad line.

May 19 Transportation: In a significant milestone, the first train to complete all 483 miles of the Erie Railroad stops at Dunkirk, New York, from New York City. This signifies that New York and the Great Lakes are linked by rail.

May 29 Women: The second Women’s Rights Convention convenes at Akron, Ohio; delegates are entranced by the tall, gaunt figure of Sojourner Truth, who is a charismatic speaker.

June 2 Societal: The Maine legislature forbids the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors throughout the state.

June 3 Sports: The New York Knickerbockers become the first baseball team in history to wear uniforms, in this instance, straw hats, white shirts, and blue trousers.

June 5 Journalism: In Washington, D.C., Harriet Beecher Stowe’s antislavery story Uncle Tom’s Cabin begins as a serial in the abolitionist paper National Era.

June 9 Law: A crime wave hits burgeoning San Francisco, California, so leading citizens encourage fellow citizens to band together and enforce the laws—by force.

July 10 Education: California Wesleyan College (The College of the Pacific) is chartered in Santa Clara, California, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1858.

July 23 Indian: The United States and the Sioux nation conclude the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, whereby the tribe surrenders all land in Iowa and most of the holdings in Minnesota.

August 11–12 Military: Cuban refugee Narcisco López leads a force of American filibusters to commence a revolt against the island’s Spanish rulers. This is in direct violation of President Millard Fillmore’s declaration against such activities.

August 12 Technology: Isaac Merritt Singer receives a patent for his revolutionary sewing machine, which employs a continuous stitching action. He is then promptly sued by Elias Howe, who earlier produced a similar device.

August 16 Military: Spanish authorities capture and execute 51 American filibusters found assisting Cuban rebels; a further 80 are imprisoned until Congress agrees to pay Spain $80,000 for their release.

August 21 Politics: Riots break out in New Orleans and the Spanish consulate is sacked after word of the execution of 51 Southern filibusters arrives.

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August 22 Sports: The United States yacht America under Commodore John C. Stevens defeats 14 British competitors and wins a prestigious race sponsored by the Royal Yacht Club of England. Such racing prowess confirms a growing national reputation for designing and constructing world-class vessels. The trophy, taken back to the United States, becomes known as the America’s Cup and is successfully defended until the Australians take it in 1984.

August 31 Transportation: Donald McKay’s beautiful 225-foot clipper ship, Flying Cloud, sets a record sailing from New York to San Francisco in 89 days and eight hours; the record for this class of vessel is never bettered.

September 18 Journalism: The New York Daily Times (New York Times after 1857) debuts in New York City with Henry Jarvis Raymond as its editor.

October 8 Transportation: The Hudson Railroad, connecting New York City with Albany, formally opens.

October 22 Politics: For a third time, President Millard Fillmore warns fellow Americans not to become embroiled in filibustering expeditions, in this instance against Mexico.

December Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides Cooley v. Board of Wardens of the Port of Philadelphia, ruling that states may regulate their own local commerce.

December 1 Politics: Unionist candidates, buoyed by the compromise of 1850, win several Congressional seats in Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina. The South is not yet ready for secession, but radical abolitionists score a coup with the selection of Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.

December 5 General: Failed Hungarian revolutionary Louis Kossuth arrives in New York City, receiving tumultuous applause.

December 16 Technology: Hiram Hayden of Waterbury, Connecticut, receives a patent for a process designed to shape brass bowls.

December 24 General: A huge fire guts the Library of Congress, destroying two-thirds of its collection of 35,000 volumes, including many volumes sold by Thomas Jefferson in 1815.

December 29 Arts: In New York City, notorious Irish beauty and adventurer Lola Montez (Marie Gilbert) wows an American audience in the play Betley, the Tyrolean.

1852 Education: The Massachusetts legislature passes the nation’s first compulsory school attendance law; students between eight and 14 are required to attend at

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Chronology of American History least 12 weeks of school per year. Many of the bill’s supporters also oppose children laboring in the textile mills. Journalism: A new western newspaper, the Missouri Democrat, is founded and calls for the abolition of slavery. Labor: The National Typographical Union is founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. Publishing: Godey’s Lady’s Book under Sarah Josepha Hale begins publishing articles about women in the workforce, especially in the heretofore maledominated world of business and industry. Slavery: To counter a rising tide of abolitionist literature, pro-slavery advocates publish The Pro Slavery Argument in defense of their position. Societal: Massachusetts, Vermont, and Louisiana, expressing alarm over alcoholic consumption, pass prohibition ordinances. Technology: Alexander Bonner Latta designs and constructs the first truly effective steam fire engine for the fire department in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its highly efficient boiler can shoot as many as six jets of water. Transportation: The Pennsylvania Railroad is completed, linking Pittsburgh and Philadelphia by rail. However, it employs a different track gauge from the competing Erie Railroad of New York to prevent its expansion through Pennsylvania to Ohio.

January Diplomacy: President Millard Fillmore agrees to dispatch Commodore Matthew C. Perry and a squadron of modern warships to the closed nation of Japan to open diplomatic relations. This is no mean feat as the ruling Tokugawa shogunate has sealed Japan off from the world since the 17th century. Politics: A new Democratic splinter group, “Young America,” gradually appears with its own mouthpiece, the Democratic Review. They espouse nationalist, expansionist viewpoints and are openly sympathetic to European and South American revolutionaries.

January 5 Diplomacy: President Millard Fillmore announces the release of several Americans captured by Spain in Cuba, and he urges Congress to pay reparations for damages inflicted upon the Spanish consulate at New Orleans by irate citizens. Business: A large gathering of Southern businessmen from 11 states convenes at New Orleans to review economic conditions throughout their region.

January 15 Medical: The Jew’s Hospital is founded in New York City by Simon Sampson; it is subsequently known as Mt. Sinai Hospital.

January 28 Slavery: Radical abolitionist Wendell Phillips declares that “Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty” while addressing the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.

February 6 Law: The Supreme Court decides the case of Pennsylvania v. Wheeling Bridge, ruling that Virginia does not have a right to bridge a stream or river within another state’s boundaries.

February 20 Transportation: The Michigan Southern Railroad is completed, enabling train service between the east and Chicago, Illinois.

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Phillips, Wendell

(1811–1884)

Abolitionist Wendell Phillips was born in Boston, Mas-­ sachusetts, on November 29, 1811, the scion of one of that state’s most distin-­ guished families. Well educated at the Bos-­ ton Latin School, Phillips was admitted to Harvard where he received his law degree in 1833. By dint of his patrician lineage and background, he was expected to enjoy an accomplished career in law and public ser-­ vice. However, Phillips reached a turning point in 1835 when he witnessed a mob accost radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and drag him through the street by a rope. He was so outraged by the event that thereafter he dedicated himself to the cause of civil liberties and social justice. Two years later, following the murder of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy in Illinois, Phil-­ lips issued the first of his stirring orations in Lovejoy’s memory, gaining instant rec-­ ognition as a leading abolitionist spokes-­ man. This position was further reinforced in 1837 when he married the wealthy Ann Terry Greene, who induced him to abandon his law practice and become a full-­time abolitionist. Within a few years he gained national renown as one of the movement’s most impassioned speakers after Garrison. He also started to champion the rights of Irish Catholics, whom he viewed as another exploited class. Phillips was quickly sought after as a speaker and earned considerable fees for each engagement. By dint of his acerbic wit and thunderous delivery, he found his niche as the nation’s most sought after political agitator. Phillips also spoke on a number of nonpolitical, cultural issues, and one speech, “The Lost Arts,” was pub-­

licly rendered more than 2,000 times. He took the unusual position of urging that the Union be dissolved rather than compromise its moral integrity by being associated with slave states. The onset of Civil War in April 1861 only further enhanced Phillips’s reputa-­ tion as a radical abolitionist. He openly attacked the U.S. Constitution for its toler-­ ance of slavery and refused to support Pres-­ ident Abraham Lincoln for his measured approach to the problem. In fact, Phillips condemned the president for what he per-­ ceived as Lincoln’s political accommoda-­ tion of that “peculiar institution.” After 1865 Phillips ended his long association with Garrison, who withdrew from politics, and replaced him as head of the American Anti-­Slavery Society, now dedicated to civil rights for newly freed African Ameri-­ cans. He also used his high public visibility to push for women’s suffrage and other social issues. Even at this late date, Phillips captivated and entertained his audiences through clever use of invective, which simultaneously demonized and insulted the opposition. He also relied heavily on his wife Ann’s advice, freely admitting that she was usually ahead of him with respect to social issues. Toward the end of his long career, Phillips began espousing labor rights, especially an eight-­hour workday. He also rushed to the defense of newly arrived Chinese immigrants to stop their exploitation and abuse. Phillips died in Boston on February 2, 1884, one of the most memorable orators in American his-­ tory and a strident advocate for change.

March 13 Publishing: America’s first comic publication, Diogenes, His Lantern, debuts in New York.

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This illustration idealizes slavery; the reality was that picking cotton for long hours, six days a week, was grueling work. (Library of Congress)

March 19 Labor: Ohio is the first state to protect women and children working in factories, restricting both to 10-hour workdays.

March 20 Publishing: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, is published in Boston and sells 1.2 million copies in 16 months. This critical rendition of slavery arouses intense feelings in both the North and South, although it is denounced in some quarters as inaccurate. She subsequently compiles a Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin to demonstrate her veracity.

May 9 Religion: The Cathedral in Baltimore, Maryland, is the site of the first Roman Catholic Church Council held in America.

June 1–6 Politics: The Democratic National Convention meets in Baltimore and nominates Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire for the presidency after 49 ballots, along with William R. King of Alabama for the vice presidency. Their platform opposes further congressional discussion of the slavery issue and posits the Compromise of 1850 as the best possible solution.

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Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1811–1896) Writer Harriet Elizabeth Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on June 14, 1811, into a prominent Calvinist family. From her preacher father she inherited a strict Calvin-­ ist sense of intellect, piety, and morality that characterized her subsequent life. Beecher was well educated by attending the Litch-­ field academy and subsequently studied and taught at her sister’s school in Hartford. In 1832 she accompanied her family to Cincin-­ nati, where her father functioned as presi-­ dent of Lane Theological Seminary, and taught at the Western Female Institute. In 1936 she married fellow teacher Calvin E. Stowe and also began writing short stories for several magazines. Her first collection, The Mayflower, appeared in 1843 and, with her husband’s encouragement, she contin-­ ued refining her style. Around this time Stowe had an opportunity to visit the South, where she was repulsed by the institution of slavery and dedicated herself to abolition-­ ism. The Stowes found the newly passed Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 equally repug-­ nant. Her experiences thus moved her to compose a serial story initially published in the abolitionist newspaper National Era in 1851, and the following year it was published as a book entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This novel, released in two volumes, proved a national sensation and was an immediate best seller. It sold 1.2 million cop-­ ies within a year with even larger numbers sold in England and Europe. Stowe’s story focused on the harshness of slavery and equally condemned North and South for their complicity in its perpetuation. Not unexpectedly, Southern reviewers reviled the book and in some regions it became positively dangerous to own a copy. Stowe’s moving epic provided a badly needed jolt to the fractured abolitionist movement, which

saw her as their new literary champion. In 1856 Stowe wrote and published another antislavery novel, Dred, which also sold in large numbers. In 1853 Stowe, an international celeb-­ rity, ventured to England on a speaking tour and received an antislavery petition signed by half a million women. Back home, and despite her antislavery sentiments, however, she never firmly aligned herself with aboli-­ tionists, whom she regarded as too extreme, and sought abolition through moral suasion, as per her Calvinist background. To con-­ front the rising tide of Southern criticism toward her work Stowe also complied and (continues)

Harriet Beecher Stowe (Library of Congress)

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904  Chronology of American History

(continued) published A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin to document the abuses mentioned. President Abraham Lincoln, upon meeting the author in 1862, reputedly exclaimed, “So this is the little lady who started our big war!” After the Civil War ended, Stowe resumed writing and changed her topic matter to nostalgia and New England life. In 1869 she visited

England again and endured a spate of contro-­ versy by suggesting that the celebrated poet Lord Byron had committed adultery with his half sister—an assertion now believed as true—which cost her much of her European readership. Stowe died in Hartford on July 1, 1896, indelibly associated with the most famous novel of the century.

June 16–21 Politics: The Whig Party convenes at Baltimore and finally nominates General Winfield Scott for the presidency after 49 ballots. William A. Graham of North Carolina is also selected for vice president while their platform reaffirms the Compromise of 1850 states’ rights, and internal improvements.

June 29 General: Henry Clay, a leading national figure for nearly half a century, dies in Washington, D.C., of tuberculosis.

July 3 Business: Congress establishes a branch of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco, reflecting the tremendous growth that region has experienced since 1848.

July 4 Slavery: At Rochester, New York, noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass addresses an audience and questions if it is appropriate for African Americans to celebrate the Fourth of July, since many are held in bondage throughout the South.

August 2 Sports: The first-­ever intercollegiate contest is held between competing rowing teams from Yale and Harvard at Lake Winnepesaukee, New Hampshire; hard-­ rowing Harvard wins by four lengths.

August 11 Politics: The Free-­Soil Party meets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and nominates John P. Hale of New Hampshire for the presidency and George W. Julian of Indiana for vice president. Their party platform condemns both slavery and the Compromise of 1850, while also supporting free homesteads and fewer restrictions on immigration.

September 22 Arts: Actor and playwright George L. Aiken does a stage adaptation of Har-­ riet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Troy, New York, and dramatically recreates the brutality and injustice of slavery, furthering hardening Northern attitudes against it. The play runs for 100 consecutive nights.

October Religion: In New York, Reverend Thomas Gallaudet founds St. Ann’s Church to minister to the deaf.

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October 24 General: Daniel Webster, a great poÂ�litiÂ�cal figure of the century, dies at Mans-­ field, Massachusetts.

October 26 Politics: Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumter aggressively denounces the Fugi-­ tive Slave Act in a Â�four-­hour diatribe and then submits a resolution against it.

November 2 Politics: DemoÂ�crat Franklin Pierce defeats Whig General Winfield Scott for the presidency by a count of 254 electoral votes to 54. Whig power has been diluted poÂ�litiÂ�cally as Â�Union-­oriented Southerners have shifted their allegiance over to the DemoÂ�crats. Free Soil candidate John P. Hale also receives a paltry 156,000 votes, a good indication of his own party’s decline.

November 5 Technology: The American Society of Civil Engineers is founded in New York City.

November 21 Education: �Union Institute (Duke University) is chartered in Randolph County, North Carolina, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1853.

December Politics: With the Whigs and Free-Soilers in irreversible decline, the new Ameri-­ can, or Nativist, Party is gaining strength and popularity. It is somewhat secre-­ tive originally and acquires the nickname “Know Nothing” Party as members profess to know nothing about its machinations. It is also Â�anti-­Catholic and Â�antiÂ�immigrant in persuasion.

1853 Architecture: The 1853 exhibition in New York City is Â�housed in the brand new Crystal Palace, constructed entirely from cast iron and glass, and features the largest dome in the United States. Law: The police force in New York becomes the first in the nation to don blue uniforms. Medical: New Orleans is stricken by a yellow fever epidemic that kills 11,000 inhabitants. Music: Henry Steinway (Heinrich Steinweg) opens his piano factory in New York City. Publishing: Sara Payson Willis, writing under the nom de plume Fanny Fern, publishes a volume of sentimental verse entitled Fern Leaves from Fanny’s Portfolio, which sells 70,000 copies in one year. Religion: The Norwegian Evangelical Church of America is founded in Wiscon-­ sin by immigrants. The Kong Chow Temple of San Francisco becomes America’s first Buddhist temple. Sports: A local sports rivalry commences when the Â�all-­New York baseball team beats the Â�all-­Brooklyn team in a series Â�play-­off, winning two games to one. Transportation: The New York Central Railroad is formed following the merger of 10 smaller railroad lines.

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Chronology of American History Women: Amos Bronson Alcott and his wife present a petition to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention requesting that the voting franchise be extended to women.

January 8 Arts: The first bronze equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson is unveiled in New Orleans, Louisiana, to commemorate the 38th anniversary of his victory over the British. The artist, Clark Mills, does a masterful job balancing the horse on its rear legs, and Congress ultimately paid him $32,000.

January 12 Education: Willamette University is chartered at Salem, Oregon, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1859. It is also the first institution of higher learning west of the Rocky Mountains.

February Publishing: Una, a woman’s suffrage magazine, is published by Pauline Wright Davis and Caroline H. Dall in Washington, D.C.

February 11 Music: The 24-year-old concert pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk debuts at Niblo’s Garden in New York City to rave reviews. He is rapidly becoming the nation’s first musical celebrity.

February 12 Education: Illinois Wesleyan University is chartered in Bloomington, Illinois, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1853.

February 21 Business: The Coinage Act of 1833 is passed by Congress, reducing the amount of silver used in coins smaller than one dollar. $3 gold pieces are also put in circulation.

February 22 Education: Eliot Seminary (Washington University) is chartered in St. Louis, Missouri, by the Unitarians; its first class graduates in 1862.

February 25 Settlement: Voters choose Sacramento to serve as the new capital of California.

March 2 Settlement: Congress divides the Oregon Territory by creating the new Washington Territory.

March 4 Military: The Army Appropriation Act passed by Congress contains $150,000 for a national survey of the best transcontinental railroad routes; it is incumbent upon the War Department to select the most viable one. Politics: Democrat Franklin Pierce becomes the 14th president of the United States and the fourth Democrat. He is the first executive to deliver his inaugural address from memory and pledges to uphold the Compromise of 1850. Vice President William R. King is administered the vice presidential oath in Cuba, an island Pierce aspires to seize.

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Chronology

Pierce, Franklin

907

(1804 –1869)

President Franklin Pierce was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1804, the son of a prominent Democratic politician who served as state governor. After passing through Bowdoin College in 1827, Pierce studied law, was admitted to the state bar three years later, and successfully stood for a seat in the state legislature. In 1833 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, served two terms, and won appointment to the Senate. He then left national politics to return home and serve as the attorney general of New Hampshire while also remaining active in local Democratic politics. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846 Pierce was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers and campaigned with General Winfield Scott at the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Mexico City. Despite years of public service, Pierce was relatively unknown to most Americans, a factor which stood him in good stead as the 1852 presidential election approached. Because leading candidates Lewis Cass, James Buchanan, and Stephen A. Douglas were national figures and unpalatable to large sections of the nation due to their stand on slavery and other controversial issues, Pierce won the party nomination as a compromise candidate. That year he defeated Whig candidate General Scott for the presidency by only 50,000 votes, becoming the 14th president. Once in power, Pierce sought to function as a nationalist and brought a number of talented Northerners and Southerners into his cabinet, including William L. Marcy

of New York and Jefferson C. Davis of Mississippi. He also sought to enforce provisions of the so-called Compromise of 1850, especially the Fugitive Slave Law, to placate the South and possibly end all further debate on the topic. This stance, however, only further roiled the political waters and gave greater impetus to the rising tide of abolitionism. Pierce enjoyed greater success in terms of territory and in 1853 he orchestrated the Gadsden’s Purchase from Mexico, which finished the outline of the continental United States. His sought after domestic tranquility, but received a major jolt with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which he readily signed, despite the fact that it negated the earlier Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed slavery to expand into the territories. This resulted in a small-scale but de facto civil war in Kansas, and various attempts to establish a legal government there ended farcically. In 1854 his administration was further embarrassed by the Ostend Declaration issued by James Buchanan in Europe, which declared that if Spain did not sell Cuba to the United States it might be seized by force. By this time Pierce was viewed as politically inept and in 1856 he lost the Democratic nomination to Buchanan. He then retired to New Hampshire to defend his record, and throughout the Civil War he attacked the policies of Abraham Lincoln until his death in Concord on October 8, 1869. The wellintentioned Pierce is regarded as one of the least effective presidents of American history.

March 7 Military: After resigning his senate seat in protest of the Compromise of 1850, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi is appointed the new secretary of war by President Franklin Pierce. He proves surprisingly effective in this role.

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March 15 Arts: A stage adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin opens at Purdy’s Theater in New York City, with provisions for “respectable” African Americans to attend in separate seating.

March 31 Education: The Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy (Louisiana State University) is chartered in Alexandria, Louisiana; its first class graduates in 1869.

April 1 Education: Ohio Wesleyan Female College is chartered in Delaware, Ohio.

April 13 Education: Loyola College is chartered in Baltimore, Maryland, by Roman Catholics; the first degrees are awarded this year.

April 18 General: Vice President William R. King dies of tuberculosis in office; President Franklin Pierce continues to function without a vice president for most of his term in office.

May Technology: Gail Borden obtains a patent for a process he developed which creates evaporated milk in a vacuum. This ensures a steady and safe supply of milk to city-dwelling children.

May 19 Diplomacy: President Franklin Pierce instructs special envoy James Gadsden to negotiate with Mexico for the purchase of additional land from Mexico, suitable for railroad passage from Texas to California. This is done at the behest of Southern interests, eager to have a train route to the Pacific coast.

May 31 Science: Dr. Elisha Kent Kane conducts the Second Grinnell Arctic Expedition from New York City onboard the brig Advance, still searching for the lost party of Sir John Franklin. The party becomes icebound in Kane Basin two years later and finally makes its way overland to Upernivik, Greenland, in 1855.

June Diplomacy: To better project the image of the United States as a democracy, Secretary of State William Marcy orders all American diplomats abroad to dress modestly.

June 3 Education: Central College is chartered in Pella, Iowa, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1861.

June 8 Diplomacy: The expedition of Commodore Matthew C. Perry enters Yedo (Tokyo) Bay, Japan. The United States is anxious to open regular commercial and diplomatic relations as well as secure coaling and repairing rights. They also seek to end the cruel practice of either killing or abusing shipwrecked sailors who wash up on Japanese soil. The xenophobic Japanese distrust the Americans but are impressed by their steam-powered warships.

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Chronology

909

Perry, Matthew C. (1794–1858) Naval officer Matthew Calbraith Perry was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, on April 10, 1794, a younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry, victor of the Battle of Lake Erie. He joined the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and saw some active duty in the War of 1812 under Captains John Rodgers and Stephen Decatur. Over the next three decades Perry fulfilled numerous positions at sea and ashore which established him as one of the foremost naval officers of his generation. The Czar of Russia was reputedly so impressed by his commanding demeanor that he was tendered a commission in the Russian navy. He rose to captain in 1837 and assumed command of the USS Fulton, the navy’s first side-paddle steamship. This assignment convinced Perry of the need to modernize the fleet, and thereafter he pushed superiors into the wholesale adoption of steam technology. In 1839 Perry assumed command of the navy’s first gunnery school off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, handled his responsibilities adroitly, and rose to commodore in June 1841. In this capacity he served as commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and oversaw construction of two superb steam frigates, the USS Missouri and Mississippi, which further demonstrated his mastery of this technology. During the War with Mexico, Perry next replaced Commander David F. Conner as commander of the Gulf Coast Squadron and directly assisted the landing of General Winfield Scott’s army at Veracruz. He then sailed back to New York in 1848 before accepting one of the most

dramatic and significant diplomatic missions in American history. In 1853 President Millard Fillmore ordered Perry to take a squadron of the latest steam warships across the Pacific to establish diplomatic relations with Japan. That nation had been hermetically sealed off from the world by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1630 and isolated for nearly 250 years. Perry’s orders were to establish friendly relations, open several cities to American trade, and have the Japanese stop cruelly treating shipwrecked American sailors washing up on their shores. Perry’s four vessels appeared suddenly in Edo Bay (Tokyo) on July 8, 1853, and the awestruck Japanese christened them the “Black Ships” because of their color. The commodore, a tall, dignified figure, then met with panic-stricken Japanese couriers, handed them a letter from President Fillmore, and then departed, promising to return in several months. The Americans then sailed back to Edo in February 1854, and found Japanese officials willing to negotiate with these technologically advanced strangers. Perry was painfully polite to his new hosts and even showered them with numerous gifts, including a miniaturized steam locomotive, won them over, and laid the groundwork for the Treaty of Kanagawa to commence trade and diplomatic relations. Perry then came home to a hero’s greeting to serve on the navy’s efficiency board. He died at New York City on March 4, 1858, one of the most accomplished naval diplomats and officers in American history.

July 4 Women: Women’s rights crusader Amelia Bloomer creates a sensation in Hartford, Connecticut, by wearing her Turkish style pants called “Bloomers.” A political and fashion statement, they fail to catch on.

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July 6 Societal: The National Council of Colored People is founded at Rochester, New York, and votes to encourage vocational training for African Americans.

July 14 Diplomacy: In Japan, Commodore Matthew Perry presents the Tokugawa shogunate with a letter from President Millard Fillmore, inviting them to open diplomatic relations. He then departs, granting them several months to deliberate and reply.

August 29 Music: Dazzling French orchestra conductor Louis-Antoine Jullien employs a giant drum in his concerts at Castle Garden in New York City.

September Education: Nonsectarian Antioch College, Ohio, headed by former education supervisor Horace Mann, opens its doors to both male and female students.

September 10 Indian: In Oregon, settlers conclude the Treaty of Table Rock with nearby Indians to obtain land in exchange for $60,000; the sum is never paid.

September 15 Societal: Charles Jewett, librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, oversees the nation’s first librarians’ convention in New York City, which convenes at the City College of New York.

October 15 Sports: Englishman Yankee Sullivan is declared heavyweight boxing champion on a technicality when his opponent, John C. Morrissey, departs the ring for a few moments to confront spectators who heckled him.

November 3 Military: A group of American filibusters under former attorney William Walker capture the Mexican town of La Paz, Lower California, which he proclaims as an independent republic. Officials at San Francisco repudiate his actions and refuse to send him supplies as requested.

December 24 General: The steamship San Francisco catches fire and sinks off the California coast, killing 240 out of 700 passengers.

December 30 Diplomacy: Special envoy James Gadsden concludes a treaty with the Mexican government for the purchase of 29,640 square miles of desert along southern Arizona and New Mexico at a cost of $15 million. The terrain in question is flat and ideal for a railroad to the Pacific. This is also the final territorial acquisition by the continental United States, or Lower 48, and the border remains fixed today.

1854 Education: Farmer’s High School of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania State College) is chartered at University Park, Pennsylvania, by the state legislature. It is the first Pennsylvania state school. Literature: Henry David Thoreau publishes his famous memoir entitled Walden, which holds that freedom is only possible once man rediscovers him-

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Thoreau, Henry David

(1817–1862)

Philosopher Henry David Thoreau was born in Con-­ cord, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1817, to very modest circumstances. After passing through the Concord Academy he attended Harvard College on a scholarship. Ironi-­ cally, he graduated the same week that noted writer Ralph Waldo Emerson gave his landmark “American Scholar” address, although their lives would not intersect for some time. Thoreau originally taught at his brother’s school, where he pioneered what became a personal trademark—long field trips through the woods to study nature. He quit after two years to work in his father’s pencil factory but finally became acquainted with Emerson by attending the Transcen-­ dentalist Club and began writing and edit-­ ing for the group’s magazine, The Dial. In 1843 Thoreau departed for Staten Island, New York, to serve as a tutor at the home of Emerson’s brother, but he soon lost interest and returned to Concord. After working in his father’s factory he saved enough money to conduct a personal sojourn at nearby Walden Pond, where he lived for two years in relative isolation. This experience indel-­ ibly impacted Thoreau and helped crystal-­ lize his emerging philosophy. Whereas most Transcendentalists remained somewhat indifferent to a relationship to God and nature, Thoreau immersed himself in nature, proffering it as a panacea for living in a mod-­ ern world corrupted, as he saw it, by materi-­ alism and greed. Hereafter he saw nature not simply as an object of beauty to behold but also as a means of discovering one’s self, and the inner peace this would convey. He had tried selling publishers on this radical notion through titles like A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) and Walden (1854), both of which he ended up printing himself. At the time these and other publica-­

tions gathered very little attention for either the author or his philosophy. In addition to ruminating about nature, Thoreau was also becoming drawn into the world of politics. A profound abolitionist, in 1846 he refused to pay a poll tax levied to support the Mexican War and spent a night in jail for it. His subsequent essay (continues)

Title page of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (Library of Congress)

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(continued) “Resistance to Civil Government” became a classic study of political resistance and inspired such diverse admirers as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. In 1859 Thoreau also broke with his usual placidity to strongly defend and laud radical abolitionist John Brown for his failed attempt to seize Harper’s Ferry and incite a slave rebellion. For the most part, however, Thoreau was content to live simply in his single room to expound upon nature and the utter necessity

of making peace with it. He continued writing and publishing philosophical tracts and essays about the harmonizing effect of nature until his death at Concord on May 6, 1862. While he lived Thoreau never gained, or even sought, recognition for his immensely original philosophical thinking. That celebrity arrived later in the 20th century, when he was hailed as one of America’s most vital and influential intellectuals, an exponent of freedom through personal awareness.

self through simplicity and nature and should not be obsessed by material pursuits. Music: Noted composer Stephen Foster scores another popular hit with the sentimental “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.” Publishing: Mary Jane Holmes, soon to be America’s most widely read novelist, publishes Tempest and Sunshine, or, Life in Kentucky. By 1905 she has written 39 books with a total of two million copies sold. Societal: Both the Boston Public Library and the Astor Library, New York City, open their doors to the public. The Children’s Aid Society constructs a lodging house in New York City for boys. They offer an integrated program including work in an industrial school coupled with religious training. Technology: In Boston, the firm of Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson invents a hand gun with a faster mechanism for rotating the cylinder which holds the bullets. They also try to fashion ammunition that utilizes brass cartridges instead of paper ones.

January 1 Education: Ashmun University (Lincoln University) is chartered at Chester, Pennsylvania, as the first free college for African Americans.

January 4 Slavery: Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas seeks to divide the central plains region into the Kansas and Nebraska territories. Moreover, he embraces the notion of “popular sovereignty” to allow either one to settle the issue of allowing slavery or forbidding it on their own. However, this arrangement negates the 1819 Missouri Compromise as both territories lie above the antislavery line adopted by that act. The ensuing debate invigorates and stokes both pro- and anti-slavery sentiments in Congress. Douglas earnestly believes in self-governance but also seeks to cement Southern support for his political ambitions.

January 13 Education: Tualatin Academy and Pacific University (today’s Pacific University) is chartered in Forest Grove, Oregon, by Presbyterian and Congregationalist groups; its first class graduates in 1863.

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Douglas, Stephen A. (1813–1861) Politician Stephen Arnold Douglas was born in Brandon, Vermont, on April 23, 1813, the son of a doctor. Well educated but restless, he studied law briefly then drifted west in 1833, finally settling down in Jacksonville, Illinois, where he gained admission to the local bar. Douglas, a decidedly short but highly energetic individual, found his calling in politics and became a moving force behind the state Democratic Party. After holding down several state and federal positions, Douglas was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, where he proved an outstanding proponent of Manifest Destiny, national expansion, Texas annexation, and war with Mexico. In 1846 he was especially critical of President James K. Polk for not pressing the boundary of Oregon to the 54th parallel, and instead settling with Great Britain for a new border along the 49th. Though not a slaveholder himself, Douglas was willing to tolerate the “peculiar institution” to keep Northern and Southern factions of the party acting in harmony. After the successful war with Mexico, 1846–48, of which Douglas was a vocal proponent, the new territory kindled a national debate over whether or not slavery should be allowed to expand there. Because Douglas had been elected to the U.S. Senate in 1847 and now chaired the Committee on Territories, his various decisions were at the very center of the controversy. Douglas sought out an intelligent compromise about slavery that would satisfy both Northern and Southern Democrats. He helped put through the Compromise of 1850 to win Southern support for his

much-touted Illinois Central Railroad Act, which in turn allowed the issue to be resolved on the basis of “popular sovereignty,” or the territorial legislature. This bought the nation a few years of peace on the subject, but in 1854 Douglas helped promulgate the Kansas Nebraska Act, which expanded the potential for slavery previously excluded by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Douglas, despite his best efforts to placate both sides, now opened a Pandora’s box of national acrimony, particularly over the admittance of Kansas as a slave state. Still, in 1852 and 1856 he was a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination but lost twice. In 1857 he broke politically with fellow Democrat James Buchanan over the illegally adopted Lecompton Constitution, which legalized slavery, and whose stance cost him his Southern base. In 1858 he engaged Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln to a series of celebrated debates over the issue of slavery; although Douglas, long hailed as the “Little Giant,” was reelected by the state legislature, Lincoln garnered national attention for his uncompromising position on slavery. Douglas became the Democratic nominee in 1860, although he had lost Southern support within his party which went to Kentucky’s John C. Breckinridge. Lincoln won the election and, after the Civil War began, Douglas roundly condemned Southern secession and sought to keep the Union intact. He died in Chicago on June 3, 1861, a skillful party operator.

January 16–17 Slavery: Senators Archibald Dixon of Kentucky and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts sponsor competing resolutions intending to repeal and reaffirm the 1819 Missouri Compromise, respectively.

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January 18 Diplomacy: American filibusterer William Walker sets himself up as president of the new republic of Sonora, crafted from uniting the existing Mexican states of Sonora and Baja, California.

January 24 Politics: A group of Democrats come out against the impending KansasNebraska Act, which they condemn as a “slaveholder’s plot.” They also publish an appeal that helps organize the new Republican Party.

February Education: The Iowa Conference Seminary (Cornell College) is chartered at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1858.

February 13 Naval: The squadron of Commodore Matthew C. Perry anchors off Yokohama, Japan, and awaits the Emperor’s reply toward establishing trade and diplomatic relations with the United States. The Tokugawa shogunate’s inability to effectively deal with foreign “barbarians” in this instance will lead to its ultimate downfall in 1868.

February 28 Diplomacy: Spanish officials in Havana, Cuba, seize the American vessel Black Warrior and levy a fine for an error in the ship’s papers. The United States, eager to acquire that island, begins using the episode as a convenient pretext for war. Politics: Various antislavery groups assemble at Ripon, Wisconsin, to discuss the creation of a new political organization to replace the by-now defunct Whigs. Thereafter, the new Republican Party begins emerging in various northern states.

March 31 Diplomacy: Commodore Matthew C. Perry concludes the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, whereby the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate are opened to American trade. American seamen shipwrecked in Japanese waters are also afforded protection. Perry then impresses his hosts with several examples of advanced Western technology, including a miniature steam railway engine, which are given as gifts.

April 4 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William Marcy inquires of David Gregg, American envoy in Hawaii, if King Kamehameha III is receptive to annexation by the United States.

April 26 Settlement: In response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Eli Thayer begins the Emigrant Aid Society to encourage abolitionists to settle in Kansas and allow it to become a free state. Its success triggers formation of various other secret societies to ensure that Kansas enters the Union as a slave state.

May 6 Business: Cyrus W. Field receives a company charter and a 50-year monopoly to lay a transatlantic cable; the device will not actually be laid until 1866.

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Burns, Anthony (1829–1862) Fugitive slave Anthony Burns was most likely born in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1829, the son of African-American slaves. As such he was denied all formal education but managed to acquire some literacy from playing with white children. He subsequently converted to the Baptist Church and served as an itinerant preacher among fellow slaves. However, at one point he injured his right hand and was incapable of hard labor. Burns, then fearing deportation into the Deep South, escaped with the aid of a white sailor and made his way to Boston in March 1854. There, on May 24, 1854, he was arrested by federal authorities at the behest of his former master and under terms of the controversial Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This act reaffirmed slaves as rightful property, mandated prompt return to their owners, and carried stiff penalties for failing to do so. However, word of Burns’s arrest and his impending deportation thoroughly aroused the abolitionistminded inhabitants of Boston who staged a mass protest outside of Faneuil Hall. The crowd was being addressed by Wendell Philips when a riot broke out in an attempt to free Burns from captivity and a sheriff was killed. During court proceedings, Burns was represented by noted attorney Richard Henry Dana, who called vigorously but futilely for his release. Crowds still thronged the courthouse so the militia had to be called out to escort the prisoner from his cell. On May 26, 1854, Burns was escorted by armed troops to a Boston dock, where he boarded a vessel and was shipped back to Virginia. The

entire episode is estimated to have cost the federal government $15,000—an enormous sum at the time—for the return of this one fugitive slave. Burns was imprisoned for five months following his return and was also sold by his original owner to David McDaniel, a speculator. McDaniel had meanwhile been contacted by a group of Bostonians who offered to purchase the man’s freedom for $1,500. His owner agreed and Burns returned North in March 1855 as a free man, publicly hailed as the “Lion of Boston.” Continuing donations allowed Burns to attend the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, where he studied theology and was formally ordained a Baptist preacher. Burns preached briefly at Indianapolis, Indiana, before the climate of racial hostility forced him to relocate to St. Catherine’s, Ontario, as pastor of the fugitive slave community there. He died in that capacity on July 27, 1862, without further notice. Burns’s notoriety may have been brief but also decisive; in the wake of his ordeal, no other fugitive slaves were forcibly repatriated from the North. Moreover, the entire episode added greater moral and political impetus to the rising tide of abolitionism. No less than eight northern states subsequently passed “personal liberty laws” to further infringe upon compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act. In turn, Southerners pointed to the episode as proof that there was a Northern conspiracy to deny them the right to slavery, an issue that would be settled by civil war.

May 26 Politics: After a contentious session, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passes through Congress. The bill creates two new territories with “popular sovereignty” to decide the issue of slavery. Many Northerners openly denounce the act and threaten to ignore the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as it applies to the territories.

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Chronology of American History Slavery: In Boston an abolitionist mob led by Wendell Phillips attacks a Federal courthouse where fugitive slave Anthony Burns is imprisoned. They subsequently arrange for Burns to purchase his freedom.

May 31 Diplomacy: President Franklin Pierce again entreats fellow Americans to refrain from fighting in illegal filibustering expeditions, such as has happened in Mexico.

June 5 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain conclude the Reciprocity Treaty which allows American vessels the right to fish along the Atlantic coast of Canada while Canadian ships can do the same as far south as the 36th Parallel. Duty-free entry for crops and other goods are also allowed.

June 29 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the so-called Gadsden Purchase between the United States and Mexico, although at the reduced price of $10 million.

July Settlement: A federal land office opens in the Kansas Territory to sell property to competing pro- and anti-slavery factions vying for political control.

July 6–13 Politics: A group of antislavery politicians, including former Whigs, Free Soilers, and abolitionist Democrats, convene in Jackson, Michigan, and officially found the new Republican Party. Its platform unequivocally denounces both the KansasNebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law, demands their repeal, and supports the end of slavery within the District of Columbia.

July 19 Slavery: In Wisconsin the state supreme court rules that the Fugitive Slave Act is unconstitutional and frees a citizen accused of assisting a runaway.

August 3 Settlement: Congress passes the Graduation Act to sell off remaining public lands at reduced prices ranging from 12 cents to $1 per acre.

September 15 Journalism: The Kansas Weekly Herald begins publishing at Leavenworth as the first newspaper in the Kansas Territory.

October 4 Politics: Abraham Lincoln, a little-known congressman, delivers a major address at Springfield, Illinois, wherein he condemns the Kansas-Nebraska Act, supports gradual emancipation of African slaves, and also acknowledges the political rights of Southerners. In light of the heightened awareness of the issue of slavery, Lincoln begins garnering greater national attention from those who oppose it.

October 7 Politics: Pennsylvania Democrat Andrew H. Reeder is appointed territorial governor of Kansas by President Franklin Pierce.

October 16 Slavery: In Peoria, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln denounces the Kansas-Nebraska Act and demands the eventual emancipation of African Americans held in bondage. “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent,” he insists.

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October 18 Diplomacy: American ministers to Spain, Great Britain, and France confer in Ostend, Belgium, and issue the so-called Ostend Manifesto. This declaration demands that Spain sell Cuba to the United States before the latter simply seizes it. It is indicative of President Franklin Pierce’s expansionist tendencies and causes renewed dissension among antislavery Northerners.

November Politics: Members of the Protestant-oriented Know-Nothing Party gather at Cincinnati, Ohio, for their national convention. There they design a platform calling for the exclusion of Roman Catholics and immigrants from public office, along with a 21-year residency requirement for citizenship.

November 13 General: The emigrant ship New Era is shipwrecked off the New Jersey coast, killing 300 passengers.

November 29 Politics: J. W. Whitfield of Kansas is elected to the House of Representatives after 1,500 pro-slavery border ruffians from Missouri cross the state line to vote for him.

December 30 Business: The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company of New Haven, Connecticut, becomes America’s first oil corporation.

1855 Education: The Elmira Female College opens its doors at Elmira, New York, as one of the earliest institutions of higher education to grant college degrees to women. The American Journal of Education commences publishing with Henry Barnard as its first editor; this is the first magazine dedicated to the teaching profession. Journalism: The Daily News, a mouthpiece for New York City’s Tammany machine, begins publishing. Literature: Herman Melville’s latest novel, Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile, tells the tale of an American Revolutionary War veteran. Its naval aspects are vividly rendered in highly dramatic style. Walt Whitman debuts by self-publishing his first collection of poems, Leaves of Grass, which is almost completely ignored. However, Ralph Waldo Emerson is favorably impressed and congratulates the author “at the beginning of a great career.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes his epic poem The Song of Hiawatha; overall this is part of a larger literary trend seeking to portray Native Americans as noble savages. Publishing: Former slave and abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass publishes his autobiography, My Bondage, My Freedom, in response to charges that a man exhibiting his eloquence could never have been raised a slave. Josiah Bartlett edits and publishes the first edition of his Famous Quotations, updated versions of which remain standard library reference books to the present day. The publishing firm D. Appleton & Company obtains the rights and plates to Noah Webster’s A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, more commonly known to generations of school children as the Blue-back Speller. This

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Whitman, Walt (1819–1892) Poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island (New York), on May 31, 1819, the son of poor farmers. After complet-­ ing his primary education he worked as a printer’s devil at the age of 12 with various newspapers in and around the city. Whit-­ man also taught school for added income while contributing minor literary pieces to leading magazines such as Brother Jonathan, American Review, and Democratic Review. Whitman advanced to editor of the newspaper Brooklyn Eagle in 1846, then lost his job two years later because of his overtly “Free-­Soil” sympathies. He then drifted to New Orleans to work briefly for the New Orleans Crescent, returned to New York, and sold real estate with his father to make a living. However, Whit-­ man was indelibly touched by what he saw while traveling and it inspired him to experiment with poetry constructed from radically differing verse forms. In this sense he had been influenced by writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, and he began writ-­

Walt Whitman (Library of Congress) ing about and celebrating robust individu-­ alism in his youthful democratic nation.

change of ownership does nothing to reduce the primer’s immense popularity; over the next 40 years it sells one million copies annually. Religion: In Utah, Mormon leader Brigham Young declares that so much as a single drop of African blood is sufficient grounds for denying men to serve in the church priesthood. Slavery: Salmon P. Chase, a committed abolitionist, is elected governor of Ohio. Societal: Point Loma, San Diego, California, constructs the first lighthouse employed on the Pacific coast. Transportation: A noted suspension bridge is built over the Niagara River by John Augustus Roebling. Women: Sarah Josepha Hale begins a long campaign to eliminate the word female when referring to women in public life.

January 9 Diplomacy: The United States is awarded $119,330 in compensation from Great Britain for its role in emancipating African-­American slaves from the shipwrecked Creole in 1841.

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Chronology

All told, Whitman’s writing “style” was distinctly rambling and almost disjointed— he was never beholden to conventional norms of rhythm and rhyme. In 1855 he collected 12 poems and published them at his own expense under the title Leaves of Grass. The book was a critical failure but did gather a favorable and congratulatory response from Emerson. Whitman published a failed second edition in 1856, despite the fact that Emerson’s praise was engraved on the cover. This was followed by a third edition in 1860, by which time Whitman’s unique and experimental forms with free verse had begun attracting critical notice abroad, particularly in England. The Civil War represented a turning point in Whitman’s fortunes, for in 1862 he departed for Virginia to search out his wounded brother and subsequently took up residence in Washington, D.C. There he worked incessantly as a male nurse and invariably brought small gifts to dying soldiers, regardless of whether they were Union or Confederate. The experience of

919

war and death seared Whitman emotionally, and in 1865 he published a significant body of poems entitled Drum Taps which included, among other things, a touching eulogy to the late president Abraham Lincoln. From that point on Whitman held down several administrative posts with the government, being fired from several on account of some of his more scandalous, sexually-charged poems. In 1873 he suffered a stroke and departed from Camden, New Jersey, to live with a brother. In 1892 he published his final and definitive version of Leaves of Grass, which finally sold well, along with two significant prose works, Democratic Vistas (1871) and Specimen Days (1882). Whitman died at Camden on March 26, 1892, an undefinable commodity in his day, but a hero and inspiration to the “beat” generation of poets during the later half of the 20th century. He also enjoyed considerable popularity throughout Europe, where his poems were translated into several languages.

January 16 Politics: The first Nebraska territorial legislature convenes in Omaha City.

January 25 Education: Iowa Wesleyan College is chartered at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, by the Methodists; its first class graduates in 1856.

February 6 Education: Eureka College is chartered in Eureka, Illinois, by the Disciples of Christ; its first class graduates in 1860. Slavery: Ralph Waldo Emerson addresses the Anti-Slavery Society in New York City, suggesting that $200 million would be sufficient money to purchase slaves from their owners.

February 10 Education: Kalamazoo College is chartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by the Baptists; its first class graduates in 1855. Societal: Congress extends citizenship to children born in the United States, and to foreign-born women who marry U.S. citizens.

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February 24 Law: President Franklin Pierce signs a bill creating the first U.S. Court of Claims, thereby eliminating the prior method of petitioning Congress for claims against the government.

March 3 Diplomacy: The inflammatory Ostend Manifesto, threatening to annex Cuba to the United States, is published and a public uproar ensues. Secretary of State William Marcy declines to support its assertions in any way. Military: Secretary of War Jefferson Davis suggests that Congress appropriate money for the importation of 333 camels as an experiment for traversing the deserts of the Old Southwest; total cost for the effort is $30,000.

March 30 Politics: The Kansas territorial legislature is marred by pro-slavery candidates when 5,000 Missouri border ruffians cross over state lines to vote on their behalf; they thus win the election. Newly appointed governor Andrew H. Reeder remains wary of an outbreak of violence.

April 28 Education: Santa Clara College (the University of Santa Clara) is chartered at Santa Clara, California, by Roman Catholics; its first class graduates in 1857. Societal: Boston outlaws racial segregation in all public schools.

April 30 Education: The College of California is chartered at Oakland, California, by Congregationalists and Presbyterians; its first class graduates in 1864. This is also the first West Coast institution to offer a large and varied curriculum based on colleges in the East.

May 9 Slavery: John Mercer Langston, the first African American elected to public office, addresses a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society in Brownhelm County, Ohio.

May 21 Slavery: The Massachusetts legislature enacts a personal liberty law to circumvent enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act.

June 5 Politics: The anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Native American Party (or KnowNothing Party) renames itself the American Party during its national convention in Philadelphia.

July 2 Politics: The pro-slavery Kansas territorial legislature, convening in Pawnee, passes extremely pro-slavery ordinances and then expels all abolitionist legislators from that body.

July 31 Politics: President Millard Fillmore removes Governor Andrew H. Reeder as territorial governor of Kansas for illegal land speculation and appoints Wilson Shannon of Ohio in his stead.

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August Slavery: In Kansas, newly arrived John Brown and his son join the antislavery militia.

August 4 Diplomacy: President Franklin Pierce appoints Townshend Harris to serve as the first American consul to Japan. Politics: Abolitionist politicians and supporters meet at Lawrence, Kansas, to hold their own constitutional convention and to protest the fraudulently elected legislature in Pawnee.

August 6 Societal: Nativist violence flares in Louisville, Kentucky, as mobs attack and kill 20 Irish and German immigrants at the behest of the local Know-Nothing Party.

September 3 Diplomacy: Notorious American filibuster William Walker establishes himself as dictator of Nicaragua in Central America.

September 5 Politics: Antislavery societies convene at Big Springs, Kansas, and ask Congress to admit the territory as a free state. They also declare the existing territorial legislature illegal, and therefore null and void. This move coincides with the arrival of numerous arms shipments to the territory, whereby an antislavery militia, the Free State Forces, begins to coalesce.

September 17 Societal: The Boston Public Library, the first such institution in Massachusetts, formally opens its doors to the public. In addition to its valuable book collection, the library has since become famous as a depository for important historical manuscripts.

September 28 Societal: Many Chinese flee the vicinity of Seattle, Washington, after the AntiChinese Congress convenes in Puget.

October 1 Politics: With the help of “border ruffians,” the pro-slavery Kansan J. W. Whitfield is again returned to the House of Representatives.

October 9 Politics: Not to be outdone, antislavery settlers in Kansas elect Andrew W. Reeder, the former governor, to serve as their congressman. Technology: Joshua C. Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts, receives a patent for a steam calliope.

October 17 Religion: Reform Rabbi Isidor Kalisch convenes the first conference of Jewish rabbis at the Medical College in Cleveland, Ohio.

October 23 Slavery: Free-Soilers gather at Topeka, Kansas, and adopt a constitution which is not only antislavery but forbids African Americans from entering the territory altogether. Battle lines are now starkly drawn between pro-slavery and abolitionist factions, and an undeclared guerrilla war erupts across the frontier.

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November 3 Societal: A white mob led by the mayor, the sheriff, and other elected officials attacks the Chinese district of Tacoma, Washington, and violently evicts the residents.

November 9 Military: U.S. Army troops arrive at Tacoma, Washington, and arrest many of those involved in anti-Chinese violence.

November 26 – December 7 Politics: The so-called Wakarusa War erupts when 1,500 “border ruffians” from Missouri cross into Kansas intending to attack the abolitionist settlement at Lawrence. However, after appraising the town’s strong defenses, manned by Free State forces, they balk and withdraw.

December 8 Diplomacy: President Franklin Pierce officially denounces William Walker’s filibustering efforts in Nicaragua.

December 15 Politics: Free-Soilers in Kansas ratify the so-called Topeka Constitution which outlaws slavery.

December 29 Military: Resentful Seminoles under Chief Billy Bowlegs attack the army patrol of Lieutenant George Hartstuff at Big Cyprus Swamp, Florida, killing several soldiers and precipitating the Third Seminole War.

1856 Business: After a four-year hiatus, the whaling vessel E. L. B. Jenny returns to New Bedford, Massachusetts, with 2,500 barrels of spermaceti in its hold. This voyage marks the beginning of a resurgent whaling industry based in New England. Economic editor and author Freeman Hunt publishes Wealth and Worth, which posits that business is a significant enough activity to be considered part of the national culture. He therefore predicts that business education will one day rival similar programs already established for medicine and law. Communications: The Western Union Telegraph Company is founded and begins stringing up an extensive network of telegraph wires around the country. Thanks to the inventiveness of Samuel F. B. Morse, large segments of the nation will soon be capable of instantaneous communication. Education: A German language kindergarten opens in Watertown, Wisconsin, the first such facility in the United States. At this time progressive German educator Friedrich Froebel wields increasing influence on the course of American education. Literature: John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “The Barefoot Boy” is published, becoming one of his most endearing and enduring compositions. Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Dred, A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp to highlight the economic and moral evils of slavery; it sells well but fails to achieve the notoriety of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes his English Traits, a bemusing collection of character and personality sketches drawn while he visited England in 1833 and 1847.

1856

Chronology

923

The romantic novel Lena Rivers by Mary Jane Holmes sells one million copies in a single year, affirming her position as America’s best-selling authoress. Publishing: Commodore Matthew C. Perry publishes his Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Sea and Japan Performed in the Years 1852, 1853, and 1854, which contributes to growing awareness of the Far East and its potential as a market. Slavery: Governor James H. Adams of South Carolina, fearing that his farmers lack sufficient numbers of slaves, proposes suspending the 1807 law prohibiting the slave trade. Technology: Swedish expatriate John Ericsson invents the caloric engine, driven by hot air; large and heavy, it is too cumbersome for applications beyond factory work. Transportation: The Illinois Central Railroad is completed and commences running from Galena and Chicago to Cairo, making it the longest continuous route in the nation. It also has the economically valuable effect of linking Lake Michigan to the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

January 15 Politics: In Kansas, Free-Soilers elect their own governor, Charles Robinson, along with their own legislature.

January 24 Politics: President Franklin Pierce denounces the efforts of free soil Kansans to elect their own governor and legislature as the existing territorial governor, Wilson Shannon, has already certified the pro-slavery legislature. Slavery: Georgia Senator Robert A. Toombs ventures to Boston, Massachusetts, and gives a speech at the Tremont Temple defending slavery.

February 2 Politics: As Congress becomes more polarized over the issue of slavery it is becoming harder to find consensus candidates to serve in leadership positions; after a two-month fracas Democrat Nathaniel Banks is finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives.

February 11 Politics: President Franklin Pierce orders pro-and antislavery elements in the Kansas Territory to stop fighting.

February 22 Indians: In the Oregon Territory, Yakima Indians kill members of the Geisel family and hold several others hostage. Politics: The American Party (formerly the Know-Nothings) convenes and nominates Millard Fillmore for the presidency and Andrew J. Donelson of Tennessee as vice president. Their platform retains its anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant stances. The new Republican Party holds its first national convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and there decides to convene a presidential nominating convention the following June.

February 22 Transportation: The first California railroad is built and runs from Sacramento to Folsom.

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924  Chronology of American History

March 1 Music: American composer George F. Bristow debuts his Second Symphony in D Minor with the New York Philharmonic. This is one of a handful of scores written by Â�native-­born composers.

March 4 Politics: Congress is petitioned by the antislavery government in Topeka, Kan-­ sas, for statehood; Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas subsequently submits a bill that would admit the state only after a new constitutional convention.

March 26 Transportation: Â�Steam-­powered street trains run for the first time between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

April 1 Communication: Western �Union Telegraph is established to handle telegraphic business in the far West.

April 3 Education: St. Lawrence University is chartered at Canton, New York, by the Universalists; its first class graduates in 1863.

April 21 Transportation: The first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River is con-­ structed between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.

April 29 Military: The first shipment of camels arrives in Texas as part of a U.S. Army experiment in desert travel.

May Music: Boston is the scene of a very large music festival featuring a chorus of 600 and a full symphony orchestra.

May 1 General: Â�Pro-­slavery border ruffians attack and burn underground railroad sta-­ tions in Lawrence, Kansas, killing one man. This inflames abolitionist passions and incites radicals to violence.

May 21–25 General: After Â�pro-­slavery elements attack and kill a Free-Soiler at Lawrence, Kan-­ sas, radical abolitionists under John Brown murder five Â�pro-­slavery men at Pottawato-­ mie Creek. This initiates a period in territorial history known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

May 22 Politics: In response to a heated diatribe delivered in the Senate against Andrew P. Butler of South Carolina, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts is accosted and caned by Congressman Preston Brooks for insulting his uncle. The attack results in serious injuries for Sumner and renders him an abolitionist martyr throughout the North.

June 2–5 Politics: The DemoÂ�cratic National Convention meets in Cincinnati, Ohio, and nominates James Buchanan to be their presidential candidate while John C. Bre-­ ckinridge of Kentucky emerges as the vice presidential nominee. The party plat-­ form again endorses the Compromise of 1850 as the most rational way of dealing with the slavery issue.

1856

Chronology

925

June 2 Politics: The antislavery wing of the American Party (Know-Nothings) nominates John C. Frémont for the presidency and W. F. Johnson of Pennsylvania for vice president.

June 17–19 Politics: The Republican Party convenes its first presidential convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and chooses John C. Frémont as its standard bearer with William L. Dayton for vice president. Their platform opposes “popular sovereignty,” insists that Congress has authority to regulate slavery, favors admitting Kansas as a free state, and favors construction of a railroad that would reach the Pacific coast.

July 3 Politics: The House of Representatives votes to admit Kansas as a free state, but the bill dies in the Senate, and the issue remains unresolved until after the general election.

July 4 Arts: Henry Kirke Brown’s equestrian statue of George Washington is unveiled at Union Square, New York City; money for this impressive sculpture was gathered from subscriptions. Military: U.S. Army troops, dispatched from Fort Leavenworth, force the Free State Legislature in Topeka to disband.

July 17 General: A Sunday school outing near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ends in a railroad disaster that takes the lives of 66 children.

July 20 Religion: The so-called Handcart Migration begins as a mass migration of Mormons from Nebraska to Salt Lake, Utah.

August Business: In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Joseph Schlitz takes control of the August Krug Brewery, renames it after himself, and begins catering to the large German populace there.

August 1 Politics: In light of the turmoil in “Bleeding Kansas,” the U.S. House of Representatives refuses to seat delegates from either pro-slavery or abolitionist factions.

August 10 General: Hurricane winds and tides lash Last Island, Louisiana, killing 400 people.

August 18 Politics: When Governor Shannon of Kansas resigns from office, John W. Geary is appointed by President Franklin Pierce to succeed him.

August 30 Military: A band of 300 pro-slavery militia arrack John Brown’s abolitionists in the town of Osawatomie, Kansas, and are repulsed. Politics: Congress adjourns without resolving the issue of “Bleeding Kansas,” which the Republicans intend to make a campaign issue.

1856

926

Chronology of American History

September 15 Military: Newly appointed Kansas territorial governor John W. Geary calls upon U.S. Army troops to prevent 2,500 “border ruffians” from Missouri from invading his charge.

September 17 Politics: Remnants of the Whig Party gather in Baltimore and endorse the American Party candidates Millard Fillmore and Andrew P. Donelson for president and vice president, respectively. Their platform also cautions against the increasingly strident and sectionalized nature of national politics.

September 21 Transportation: The newly completed Illinois Central Railroad commences running trains between Chicago and Cairo, Illinois; at 700 miles it is the longest stretch of track in the nation. Construction of the system consumed the energies of 10,000 workmen.

October 7 Technology: Cyrus Chambers of Pennsylvania invents the first functional device able to fold book and newspaper sheets; it also proves an excellent device for folding the heavy gauge paper associated with almanacs of the day.

November 4 Politics: Democrat James Buchanan defeats Republican John C. Frémont for the presidency in a contest decided largely along regional lines, North against South. The vote in the electoral college is 174 to 111; former president Millard Fillmore, now running as the candidate of the American and Whig parties, captures only a single state. Hereafter the Whigs cease exerting political influence at the national level.

December 20 Education: Newberry College is chartered in Newberry, South Carolina, by the Lutherans; its first class graduates in 1866.

December 28 General: Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president, is born in Staunton, Virginia.

1857

1857

Business: The Pennsylvania Railroad obtains a transportation monopoly in that state by purchasing the main canal system there. The John Deere Factory in Moline, Illinois, is producing and selling 10,000 steel plows a year. Education: Peter Cooper founds Cooper Union in New York City to provide education for the working class. Politics: Irish expatriate John O’Mahoney forms the secret Fenian Movement in New York City. They function as revolutionaries dedicated to removing British rule from Ireland and Canada. Publishing: Hinton Rowman publishes The Impending Crisis in the South, which postulates that slavery has impoverished great numbers of whites in the region; it is immediately banned throughout the South. The influential journals Atlantic Monthly under James Russell and Harper’s Weekly under George William Curtis make their debut. Societal: The Mardi Gras celebrations held at New Orleans feature large, decorative floats for the first time.

Chronology

927

Sports: The America’s Cup, won in an English boating race, is installed in the New York Yacht Club by the crew of the winning vessel America under Commodore John C. Stevens. The rules of baseball are further refined in Chicago, Illinois, with games now restricted to nine innings. Technology: The first passenger elevator is employed at the Haughwout Department Store in New York City. Transportation: New York and St. Louis are finally connected by rail once the last length of track is laid.

January 12–15 Politics: Kansas territorial governor John W. Geary vetoes a bill passed by the pro-slavery legislature calling for a census and a constitutional convention. He remains determined to establish fair and impartial elections.

January 15 Slavery: Radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison calls for dismemberment of the United States to preclude any association, political or otherwise, with slave states. The slogan for the Disunion Convention meeting at Worcester, Massachusetts, is “No Union With Slaveholder.”

February 21 Business: Congress invalidates foreign coins as legal tender.

March 3 Business: The Tariff Act of 1857 passes through Congress, which mandates a lowering of duties by 20 percent and also expands the list of duty-free imports. Communications: Congress appropriates $70,000 for Cyrus Field to lay the first transatlantic cable from Newfoundland to Ireland. After several mishaps, the project is finally completed on August 5, 1858.

March 4 Politics: James Buchanan is sworn in as the 15th president of the United States and the fifth Democrat. His inaugural speech reflects familiar themes of popular sovereignty and noninterference with slavery, although he condemns the outbreak of violence in Kansas. John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky also takes his oath as vice president.

March 6 Law: The Supreme Court decides the seminal case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. In this case the slave Dred Scott, who had been taken by his master from Missouri to Illinois—a free state—and then back, sued for his freedom. However, the Court, under Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, rules that Scott, as a slave, was at no time a citizen and, hence, lacks the legal ability to sue. This decision enforces the precedent that Congress cannot interfere with people’s property, including slaves, anywhere in the United States. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 is thus negated and the Court’s ruling sparks a new wave of outrage in the North.

May Societal: The plight of poverty-stricken women in Boston, Massachusetts, is partly alleviated with the opening of Channing House, under the aegis of Harriet Ryan Albee.

May 1 Politics: Massachusetts adopts a literacy test as a requirement for voting.

1857

928

Chronology of American History

Buchanan, James (1791–1868) President James Buchanan was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1791, a son of farmers. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1809, studied law, and in 1814 he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Federalist. He switched over to the new Democratic Party after 1828 and in 1834 was elected to the U.S. Senate. Buchanan was a masterful politician, gaining reelection three times, and in 1846 his name was frequently mentioned as a presidential candidate. However, that year he lost out to James K. Polk, who appointed him secretary of state. In this capacity Buchanan agreed perfectly with Polk’s expansionist sentiments, and he negotiated a treaty with England for the acquisition of Oregon along the 49th Parallel without a war. He also opposed the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican War, 1846–48, in preference to annexing even larger swaths of territory. Buchanan, a Southern sympathizer and essentially pro-slavery, also

James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States (Library of Congress)

May 21 Diplomacy: In Nicaragua, William Walker’s regime is overthrown by forces working for Cornelius Vanderbilt.

May 26 Politics: Robert J. Walker of Mississippi succeeds John W. Geary as governor of the Kansas Territory, and he pledges to have any new constitution proffered by a convention ratified by a fair, popular vote. Dred Scott, the slave at the epicenter of a recent Supreme Court ruling, is freed by his owner.

June 2 Technology: James Ethan Allen Gibbs of Mill Point, Virginia, receives a patent for his twisted-loop, rotary hook sewing machine.

June 16 Military: Camels imported to Texas for the U.S. Army are ridden overland to California as a test of their viability as livestock. The soldiers find them smelly and ill-tempered.

1857

Chronology

pushed Spain hard to sell the island of Cuba, which would then be brought in as a slave state. He maintained his presidential aspirations in 1848 and 1852, although he was passed over twice, and President Franklin Pierce appointed him ambassador to England. In this capacity he helped craft the Ostend Manifesto of 1856, which basically declared that if Spain did not sell Cuba to the United States it might be annexed by force. His obvious pro-Southern stances endeared him to Southern Democrats, and in 1856 they helped him secure the party nomination. Buchanan handily defeated John C. Frémont, the first Republican candidate, and was sworn in as the 15th chief executive. Once in power, the Buchanan administration was immediately buffeted by mounting national discord over the issue of slavery. On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court handed down its infamous Dred Scott decision, which nationalized slavery and outraged many Northerners. Buchanan hoped that this ruling would settle the slavery issue once and for

929

all, but it escalated the rhetoric and sectional antagonism instead. He then compounded his problems by assuming a pro-slavery stance over the issue of Kansas, its pro-slavery constitution, and whether or not it must gain admittance into the Union as a slave state. Here he ran afoul of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the most powerful Democratic senator, who denounced his decision as against popular sovereignty. By 1858 he was dealing with a hostile, Republican-dominated Congress, who were dead set against the expansion of slavery into new territory. Buchanan’s final crisis was in the fall of 1860, following the victory of Abraham Lincoln as president, which induced South Carolina to secede from the Union. He roundly condemned the decision but took no strenuous actions against the rebels and left the White House a thoroughly discredited man. Buchanan spent the rest of his life defending his administration before his death at Lancaster on June 1, 1868. His politically indecisive nature proved a major cause behind the civil strife he sought so earnestly to avoid.

June 18 Diplomacy: The United States and Japan reach an accord whereby American vessels are allowed to trade at the port of Nagasaki, which has hosted Dutch merchants for two hundred years.

June 23 Technology: William Kelley receives a patent for his process of steel manufacturing, which entails blowing cold air through molten iron. Ironically, Henry Bessemer of England also arrived at the same process independently. Steel, which is much harder than the iron it replaces and rust resistant, marks an important advance as a building block of a modern technological base and infrastructure.

June 27 Science: In the first conservationist discourse, an essay in Scientific American warns that the population of whales is seriously declining owing to the insatiable appetite for whale oil to light lamps.

July 31 Settlement: Alfred Cumming arrives in Utah to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor; his arrival sparks dissent and the brief “Mormon War.”

1857

930  Chronology of American History

August 14 Communication: British and American ships anchor at Valentia Bay, Ireland, to begin to lay down the first transatlantic cable.

August 24 Business: The panic of 1857 begins after a New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company fails, the first of 4,932 firms to go under this year. Â�Over-­speculating in railway securities and real estate are the cause of the crash.

September 11 Religion: After President James Buchanan orders Brigham Young removed as governor of the Utah Territory, Mormon fanatic John D. Lee encourages nearby Indians to murder 120 California settlers in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

September 15 General: William Howard Taft, the 27th president, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

October 4 Military: In Utah, Mormons of the Nauvoo Legion attack a U.S. Army supply train, inflicting no losses but burning several wagons.

October 5 Politics: Governor Robert Walker of the Kansas Territory authorizes strictly monitored elections within his charge. Several thousand fraudulent ballots are discarded in consequence, and the Free State Party wins control of the legislature.

October 6 Sports: The American Chess Association is orÂ�gaÂ�nized in New York City during the first American Chess Congress. There, 20-­year-­old Paul C. Morphy of New Orleans, Louisiana, easily wins the American Championship. He subsequently tours EuÂ�rope, defeating all players opposing him, and reigns as the nation’s first international chess master.

October 19–November 8 Politics: Â�Pro-­slavery delegates meeting in Lecompton, Kansas, adopt a new constitution which legalizes slaves as property. When Governor Robert Walker objects, President James Buchanan approves of the convention to promote DemoÂ� cratic Party unity.

November Diplomacy: Notorious filibuster William Walker tries returning to Nicaragua but is arrested by the U.S. Navy en route and sent back to the United States.

December 8 Politics: In his first address to Congress, President James Buchanan seeks to employ U.S. Army troops to restore order in Utah and also voices his support for the new Â�pro-­slavery constitution in Kansas.

December 9 Politics: DemoÂ�crat Stephen A. Douglas, a presidential aspirant, denounces the Kansas Â�pro-­slavery constitution in the Senate, which places him at odds with President James Buchanan.

1857

Chronology   931

December 21 Politics: The Â�pro-­slavery constitution is approved by voters once the Free State Party members boycott the convention.

1858 Architecture: Frederick Law Olmstead begins designing Central Park in New York City. Work begins on St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City; this is an expression of Gothic revival style as interpreted by architect James Renwick. Arts: Pioneering photographer Matthew Brady establishes studios in New York and Washington, D.C. Business: The Panic of 1857 continues into the new year with another 4,222 businesses failing. The first Macy’s store opens for business in New York City, which pioneers a fixed price policy, now an established retail custom. Education: John Gorham Palfrey, formerly editor of the North American Review, publishes his History of New EnÂ�gland; it establishes new critical standards in historiography. Publishing: Lowell Mason’s musical compilation, Carmina Sacra, first pub-­ lished in 1841, has sold 500,000 copies to date and is the most popÂ�uÂ�lar music text in America. Religion: A religious revival begins in New York and Philadelphia this year and begins sweeping the nation. It is characterized by daily prayer meetings and is probably brought on by hardships occasioned by the panic of 1857. Science: The first dinosaur skeleton, a Â�plant-­eating Hadrosaur, is unearthed in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Societal: Birth control, heretofore a taboo subject publicly, is openly discussed in H. C. Wright’s book The Unwelcomed Child; of the Crime of an Undesigned and Undesired Maternity. Sports: The National Association of Baseball Players convenes its first-ever meeting and adopts rules pioneered by the New York Knickerbockers. Technology: Richard Esterbrook manufactures steel pens for the first time in his factory at Philadelphia. Transportation: George M. Pullman designs and builds the first sleeper cars; these are initially used on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Women: The Ladies Christian Association is founded in New York.

January 4 Politics: The Â�pro-­slavery constitution comes up for a second vote in Lecompton, Kansas, and this time is defeated by the majority of Free State Party members.

January 6 Education: The University of the South is chartered in Sewanee, Tennessee, by the Episcopalians; its first class graduates in 1873.

February 2 Politics: President James Buchanan asks Congress to admit Kansas into the Â� Union as a slave state, even though the majority of convention members have rejected the Â�pro-­slavery Lecompton constitution.

1858

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Chronology of American History

February 3 Politics: Illinois Demo cratic senator Stephen A. Douglas leads a revolt by Northern Democrats against President James Buchanan over the latter’s stance on Kansas as a pro-slavery state; he regards it as a violation of popular sovereignty.

March 23 Politics: The Senate votes to allow Kansas into the Union as a slave state. This is despite the dubious legality of the Lecompton constitution, which had already been rejected by the voters there.

March 27 Indian: The Second Seminole War ends when Chief Billy Bowlegs visits Washington, D.C., and signs a peace treaty authorizing the removal of his band from Florida to Oklahoma.

April 1 Politics: The House of Representatives adds a provision to the Kansas bill whereby the Lecompton constitution is to be submitted to a new popular vote.

April 6 Politics: In an angry message, President James Buchanan insists that Mormons are defying federal law and “Levying war against the United States.”

April 12 Sports: Fireman’s Hall, Detroit, is the scene of the first U.S. billiards championship, when Michael J. Phelan defeats John Seereiter in a grueling, nine-hour match. Among the “genteel” audience in attendance were several ladies.

May 4 Politics: In a compromise move, moderate Democrat William B. English of Indiana proposes to allow Kansas into the Union if the pro-slavery constitution is ratified by the inhabitants.

May 11 Military: A force of 100 Texas rangers under Rip Ford surprise and attack a hostile Comanche village in Oklahoma, routing the defenders and killing several braves along with Chief Iron Jacket. Politics: Minnesota enters the Union as the 32nd state; slavery is outlawed.

May 17 Military: U.S. soldiers are defeated in an engagement with Nez Perce Indians at Rosalia, Washington Territory.

June 13 General: The steamship Pennsylvania explodes on the Mississippi River, killing 160 passengers.

June 16 Politics: The Illinois Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln to challenge Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas for his seat in the U.S. Senate. Douglas has angered many on both sides of the slavery debate by straddling the issue, but Lincoln’s stance is refreshingly unequivocal: “A house divided against itself cannot stand . . . . I believe that this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free.”

1858

Chronology

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June 18 Diplomacy: The United States and China conclude a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce.

June 26 Military: A column of U.S. Army troops under no-nonsense Colonel Albert S. Johnston occupies Salt Lake City, Utah, finding it largely deserted by the Mormons.

July 20 Sports: A showdown between baseball teams from New York and Brooklyn is also the first baseball game for which an admission fee—50 cents—is charged. Onlookers throng the Fashion Race Course on Long Island to watch Brooklyn lose, 22–18.

July 29 Diplomacy: American consul to Japan Townsend Harris finalizes a sweeping treaty with the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which opens additional ports to trade, grants resident rights to Americans, and formalizes diplomatic representation in both nations.

August 2 Politics: Voters in Kansas reject the Lecompton pro-slavery constitution for a third time and, with it, their bid for statehood. The entire issue has split the Democratic Party, encouraged Southern extremists, and handed the Republicans a significant campaign issue.

August 16 Communication: President James Buchanan exchanges salutations with Queen Victoria of England over the new transatlantic cable.

August 21– October 15 Politics: The gaunt, gangly Abraham Lincoln takes on shorter, stouter Stephen A. Douglas, the “Little Giant,” in a series of seven energetic debates. Lincoln castigates slavery outright while Douglas, if not exactly defending that “peculiar institution,” reiterates that all Americans living in territories have the right to vote their preference. In the end Lincoln wins the popular vote but Douglas is subsequently reelected by the Democratically controlled legislature. Lincoln nevertheless emerges as a national spokesman for the antislavery movement.

September Politics: A professor and several students from Oberlin College, Ohio, rescue a fugitive slave named John and convey him safely to Canada.

September 2 Communication: The much vaunted transatlantic cable, 3,000 miles long, breaks down after only 28 days of operation owing to faulty insulation.

September 24 Indian: In the Oregon Territory, the Yakima War ends with a treaty signed between Colonel George Wright and several tribal representatives.

October 7 Transportation: A stagecoach belonging to the Overland Mail Company arrives in Los Angeles, California, from St. Louis, Missouri, covering 2,600 barren miles of deserts and plains in only 24 days.

1858

934

Chronology of American History

October 16 Literature: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish” is published. This fictitious account of the love triangle between Standish, his friend John Alden, and Priscilla proves a best seller in England, selling 10,000 copies in a single day. To date Longfellow has sold an estimated 300,000 volumes, making him of one the most popular poets of his generation.

October 25 Politics: New York senator William H. Seward, a presidential aspirant, delivers an important address at Rochester, presciently predicting armed conflict over the issue of slavery.

October 27 General: Theodore Roosevelt, the future 26th president, is born in New York City.

December 6 Politics: In his annual message, President James Buchanan implores Congress to grant him the authority to purchase Cuba and also place northern Mexico under a “temporary protectorate.”

1859 Arts: A group sculpture called “Slave Auction” is dramatically rendered by artist John Rodgers. Business: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) has its origins in a general store that opens on Vesey Street in New York City. Education: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Journalism: The Democrat, published at Sioux Falls, becomes South Dakota’s first newspaper. Medical: Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper founds the first medical college on the West Coast as part of the University of the Pacific. Societal: George Washington’s former home at Mount Vernon, Virginia, is declared a national monument. Technology: The Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City, boasts the first hotel passenger elevator installed in America.

January 5 Politics: The Illinois state senate reelects Stephen A. Douglas to the U.S. Senate, although Abraham Lincoln’s performance in the race has captured national attention.

February 14 Politics: Oregon joins the Union as the 33rd state; slavery is outlawed.

March 7 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a verdict by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court in the case of Ableman v. Booth, involving Sherman Booth, an abolitionist editor jailed for violating provisions of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The state court, viewing the act as manifestly unconstitutional, freed Booth, but the Supreme Court, noting that states cannot negate federal laws, orders him imprisoned again. The Wisconsin legislature then passes a resolution defending its state sovereignty.

1859

Chronology

935

March 26 Music: American composer George F. Bristow performs his Third Symphony in F with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; he is emerging as the most notable of native-born classical composers.

April 4 Music: Dan D. Emmett’s infectious air Dixie is performed for the first time by Bryant’s Minstrels at Mechanics Hall, New York City. As events unfold this seemingly innocuous song becomes the de facto—if unofficial—national anthem of the Confederate States of America.

April 9 Literature: Samuel Clemens (the future Mark Twain) begins working on the Mississippi River as a steamboat pilot.

April 23 Journalism: The Rocky Mountain News begins publication at Auraia (Denver) as Colorado’s first newspaper; it sells for 25 cents in either coin or gold dust.

May 9–19 Business: The annual Southern commercial convention meets in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and passes several resolutions demanding the repeal of all government restrictions upon slavery, in effect reopening the slave trade. The delegates feel that it is incumbent upon the federal government to protect private property, no matter what its form.

May 12 Women: In New York City, the Ninth Annual Women’s Rights Convention is addressed by Susan B. Anthony, who denounces the power of white males over women and African Americans.

June Business: The Comstock Lode, a huge deposit of silver, is uncovered near present-day Virginia City, Nevada, and precipitates another stampede of fortune seekers throughout the region. Over the next two decades $300 million in gold and silver is extracted.

June 30 Sports: French daredevil Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope for the first time, observed by 25,000 spectators. Subsequent stunts of his include crossing while blindfolded, with a wheelbarrow, with a man on his back, and on stilts.

July 1 Sports: Students from Williams College and Amherst College, Massachusetts, square off in the first intercollegiate baseball game in nearby Pittsfield. Amherst stomps the competition, 66–32.

July 5–29 Politics: Another constitutional convention unfolds at Wyandotte, Kansas, and a new document is drafted which specifically prohibits slavery.

July 26 Sports: A rowing team from Harvard prevails in the first intercollegiate regatta held at Lake Quinsigamond, Massachusetts, by defeating contenders from Yale and Brown universities.

1859

936  Chronology of American History

August 27 Business: Oil is struck near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin L. Drake, who goes on to erect the nation’s first oil Â�well—and the rise of a vital industry. Drake’s initial output is only 20 barrels per day, but within three years 128 million gallons have been extracted. The kerosene derived from oil quickly replaces Â�whale oil as a fuel for lamps.

September Business: Farmers in need of better ways of rapidly shipping their grain stocks to markets back east form the Merchants Grain Forwarding Association in Chicago.

September 1 Transportation: The first modern sleeping car is built and operated by George M. Pullman.

October 3 Sports: The United States loses an international cricket match to an En�glish team at Hoboken, New Jersey; the contest lasts three days before a winner is declared.

October 4 Politics: The antislavery Wyandotte Constitution is approved by voters in Kan-­ sas by a Â�two-­to-­one margin.

Engraving of the Harper’s Ferry (as it was then known) insurrection depicting the U.S. Marines storming the engine Â�house while John Brown and his followers fire through holes in the doors.╇ (Library of Congress)

1859

Chronology   937

October 16–18 Slavery: Radical abolitionist John Brown leads a mixed group of blacks and whites who seize the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in a failed attempt to establish a separate “country” for African Americans in the Appala-­ chian Mountains. However, their quixotic quest dies when a detachment of U.S. Marines under Army Colonel Robert E. Lee storms their position and forces their surrender.

November 24 Music: Adelina Patti, a European-­born, American-­trained coloratura soprano, debuts in New York City. She subsequently becomes one of Europe’s most highly regarded singers, and one of the most highly paid entertainers of her day.

Brown, John

(1800–1859)

Abolitionist John Brown was born in Torrington, Con-­ necticut, on May 9, 1800, the son of a tanner. He matured in a very religious household and embraced his parent’s stri-­ dent abolitionist views toward slavery. Despite his religious fervor, Brown proved something of a misfit in the business world, continually failing at driving cattle, tanning, farming, and selling wool. This inability to secure gainful employment meant that his 20 children from two marriages always endured a hardscrabble existence. However, by 1849, Brown found his calling as part of the rising abolitionist movement in the northeast. After living in a community estab-­ lished for free African Americans in North Elba, New York, he relocated his family to Ohio, where he served as a conductor with the “Underground Railroad.” Brown, fired by intense religiosity, always expressed the belief that the demon of slavery could only be exorcized by bloodshed—and he gradu-­ ally believed he was chosen as the instru-­ ment of God’s wrath. As such, in the wake of the Kansas-­Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed the issue of slavery to be settled by “popular sovereignty,” Brown moved once

again to Kansas to combat the pro-­slavery factions moving into the territory. He was (continues)

Issued in the North during the Civil War, this melodramatic portrayal of John Brown meeting a slave mother and her child on his way to execution was symbolic and used for propaganda purposes. (Library of Congress)

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(continued) an active participant in violence between the two groups, and in May 1856 he and his sons murdered five settlers suspected of proslavery beliefs. Over the next three years, he also became transfixed by a scheme to instigate an armed slave uprising throughout the south and repeatedly traveled back east to seek financial support to establish a guerrilla base in the mountains of modern-day West Virginia. On October 17, 1859, Brown and a group of 21 followers, including several free African Americans, attacked and captured the U.S. Government arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Several men were killed in the process, and the guerrillas took several hostages while waiting for the insurrection to foment. Instead, the raiders were surrounded and attacked by a company of U.S. Marines commanded by Colonel Robert E. Lee. In the fighting that followed, 10 of Brown’s party were killed and he was cap-

tured along with six others. The following November he was tried at Charles Town on charges of murder, conspiracy, and treason, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Brown seemed to welcome his fate, realizing that his sacrifice would transform him from a violent religious zealot into an abolitionist martyr. He was executed on December 2, 1859, having roiled the national polity into fury over his actions, both pro and con. Northerners came to see him as a selfless hero sacrificing himself in a noble cause while Southerners castigated him as proof of a Yankee plot intended to end slavery. Within two years, Brown fulfilled his wish with the advent of the Civil War, through which slavery was finally expunged through blood and fire. In light of his role in precipitating the crisis, he was immortalized in the North through the popular song “John Brown’s Body,” a hymn frequently sung by Union armies marching south.

December Business: A new gold rush in the vicinity of Pike’s Peak, Colorado, brings an estimated 100,000 prospectors into the region.

December 2 Slavery: Radical abolitionist John Brown, convicted of criminal conspiracy and treason, is publicly hung at Charles Town, Virginia. Southerners note with alarm how many Northerners, while disagreeing with his tactics, approve his goals. Brown, moreover, waxes philosophical over his defeat; having failed to incite an insurrection, he hopes that his execution and martyrdom will ignite a civil war that will kill off slavery as an institution. As writer Henry David Thoreau presciently and prophetically observed, “This is sowing the wind to reap the whirlwind, which will soon come.”

December 5 Politics: As an indication of mounting and rampant sectionalism, the U.S. House of Representatives spends two months trying to select a compromise speaker and finally settles upon William Pennington of New Jersey. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts resumes his seat in the U.S. Senate after his caning by Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina.

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December 14 Slavery: The Georgia legislature, eager to preserve its slave population at present levels, enacts a new law which forbids deeds or wills from manumitting slaves after the death of their owner.

December 17 Slavery: The Georgia legislature votes to have any African American indicted on vagrancy be sold into bondage.

December 19 Slavery: President James Buchanan, in his message to Congress, rails against the foreign slave trade, yet pledges to protect American vessels from searches at sea by ships of the Royal Navy.

1860 Education: In Boston, educator Elizabeth Peabody opens an experimental English-speaking kindergarten based on the successful German model. Literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The Marble Faun, his last romantic novel. Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes his essay The Conduct of Life, which touches upon science, culture, faith, and morality. Medical: Dr. Abraham Jacobi becomes the first physician of children’s diseases at New York Medical College. Population: The latest census reveals a population of 31 million inhabitants, including 4 million slaves. Religion: Olympia Brown becomes the first woman admitted to a theological school when she matriculates at St. Lawrence University, New York. Sports: San Francisco sponsors its first baseball games.

February 1 Politics: After 44 ballots, Demo crat William F. Pennington emerges as speaker and takes his chair in the U.S. House of Representatives. He does so only after the withdrawal of fellow Democrat John Sherman, whose own candidacy was hobbled by his prior endorsement of an antislavery tract. The contest highlights growing factionalism within the Democrats over that “peculiar institution.”

February 2 Politics: Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis introduces extreme resolutions defending the legality of slavery in both slave states and the territories that guarantee the return of fugitive slaves to rightful owners.

February 15 Education: The Illinois Institute (Wheaton College) is founded in Wheaton, Illinois, by the Methodists.

February 22 Labor: A successful work stoppage by 22,000 shoe workers in Lynn and Natick, Massachusetts, leads to higher wages. The strike is the most significant of the period and also notable in that it involved large number of women workers.

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February 23 Politics: The Kansas Territorial Legislature Â�re-­adopts the antislavery Wyandotte Constitution over the veto of Governor Samuel Medary.

February 27 Arts: Presidential aspirant Abraham Lincoln poses for photographer Mathew Brady in New York City; Lincoln later attributes his election victory to this effec-­ tive portrait. Politics: Illinois attorney Abraham Lincoln speaks at New York’s Cooper Â�Union, delivering his first memorable address in the East. Â�Here he strongly denounces the extremism of “popÂ�uÂ�lar sovereignty” and remains conciliatory toward the South. However, he remains adamantly opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories.

March 6 Labor: Hundreds of Massachusetts shoemakers, including scores of women, march out from their workplaces in protest. At nearby New Haven, Connecticut, candidate Abraham Lincoln expresses his support for the strikers.

March 9 Diplomacy: Niimi Masaoki, the first Japa�nese ambassador dispatched abroad, arrives at San Francisco onboard the warship USS Powhatan.

March 19 Women: Suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton testifies before the New York State legislature in Albany to obtain her right to vote.

March 20 Education: St. Stephen’s College is chartered in Annandale, New York, by the Episcopalian Church; its first class graduates in 1861.

April 3–13 Communication: The first deliver of the noted “Pony Express” mail serÂ�vice com-­ mences a year ahead of the first transcontinental telegraph; riders need only 11 days to traverse the 157 separate stations, each seven miles apart, between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. In this instance Tom Hamilton arrives with a satchel stuffed with 49 letters and three newspapers.

April 23–May 3 Politics: In the face of a mounting sectional schism, the DemoÂ�cratic Party holds its nominating convention at Charleston, South Carolina. However, when the majority fails to approve a territorial slave code, representatives from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina withdraw in protest on April 30. The remaining participants, unable to muster a Â�two-­thirds majority behind any one candidate, vote instead to adjourn and reassemble on June 18.

April 30 Slavery: The American warship USS Mohawk seizes the Spanish slave trader Wildfire off the coast of Florida.

May 9–10 Politics: Baltimore, MaryÂ�land, is the site of the Constitutional Whig Party nominating convention; this entity is drawn from remnant of the American and

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Brady, Mathew B.

(ca. 1823–1896)

Photographer Mathew B. Brady was born in Warren County, New York, around 1823, the son of Irish immigrants. By 1839 he had become infatuated with portraiture and ventured to New York City to study under noted art-­ ist Samuel F. B. Morse. Morse, however, had recently returned from France, and he brought back samples of the new technology known as “daguerreotype,” a primitive form of photography employing silver-­coated copper plates. Brady took readily to the new medium and opened up his own studio in 1844. In practice, he proved himself a visual virtuoso by pioneering new techniques of lighting, composition, and use of makeup on his subjects. Brady gained renown as one of the nation’s foremost portrait artists and acquired a loyal and well-­heeled clientele. In 1845 he also commenced a personal project entitled Illustrious Americans, a compilation of 24 noted citizens artfully photographed which he finally published in 1850. The title was particularly well-­ received in England, earning him a medal. Success here led to collaboration with other noted photographers, especially Alexander Gardner, who introduced Brady to the new “wet plate” process. This innovation cre-­ ated a negative on glass, allowing an endless number of reproductions to be printed from the original. Such was Brady’s renown that in 1860 presidential aspirant Abraham Lin-­ coln sat for him in New York City; Lincoln considered the resulting photo so flattering that he attributed his election victory to it. In time Lincoln became one of Brady’s most frequently covered subjects, who masterfully captured both his profound intellect and intense sadness on film. The onset of the Civil War in 1861 prompted Brady to expand his reputation

by become history’s first combat photog-­ rapher. He outfitted a specially darkened wagon that followed the Union army in the field, and he shot thousands of photographs covering generals, landscapes, troop forma-­ tions, and battlefield dead. He also hired noted photographers such as Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan, but was not above claiming credit for their own excellent work. (continues)

Mathew B. Brady (Library of Congress)

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(continued) Still, the thousands of haunting images captured on glass by Brady constitute the first modern photograph coverage of a major conflict and part of the nation’s historical record. Unfortunately, Brady’s quest for coverage proved his own undoing, and by war’s end he was seriously in debt. He was forced to sell his entire collection of 6,176 negatives for a paltry $2,840—a fraction of his original investment. In 1875 the government paid him an additional $25,000 for exclusive rights to the photos, most of

which ended up in either the Library of Congress or the National Archives. Brady, however, remained a ruined man and took to drinking. He managed to maintain a small studio in New York, a mere shadow of his former business, and died in poverty on January 15, 1896. Still, he made indelible contributions to the advancement and aesthetics of photography through his pioneering techniques, and his reputation as America’s most famous photographer endures.

Whig parties. They then chose John Bell of Tennessee as their candidate for the presidency with Edward Everett of Massachusetts as his vice president. They also strongly denounce sectionalism and secessionism.

May 16 Politics: The Republican Party convenes its nominating convention in Chicago, Illinois. The leading candidate, William H. Seward, is regarded as too radical on the issue of abolitionism, so he succumbs on the third ballot to Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine is then chosen as vice president. Lincoln triumphs by positing himself as a moderate on the subject of slavery; he opposes its expansion into the territories but pledges not to interfere where it already exists.

May 24 – 25 Politics: The U.S. Senate, controlled 36–24 by the Democrats, adopts Senator Jefferson Davis’s pro-slavery resolutions. However, the acrimony this engenders only widens rift between Northern and Southern delegates, particularly within the Democratic Party.

June 9 Publishing: Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter by Ann Sophie Stevens debuts in New York City as the first of the Irwin P. Beadle “Dime Novel” series. These prove immensely popular in their day.

June 11 Politics: Southern Democrats who abandoned the party convention in Charleston, South Carolina, assemble in Richmond, Virginia, in a strategy session. They vote to reconvene again in Baltimore on the 28th.

June 18–23 Politics: The Democratic Party reconvenes its nominating convention in Baltimore, Maryland, in the absence of many Southern delegates. They nonetheless nominate Stephen A. Douglas for president with Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia as his vice presidential running mate. Their platform endorses the notion of “popular sovereignty” in the territories.

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June 20 Politics: President James Buchanan vetoes the Homestead Bill, believing that Congress lacks the constitutional authority to grant land to individuals.

June 28 Politics: Southern delegates, who had previously absented themselves from the Democratic Party convention, convene in Baltimore, Maryland, as the National Democratic Party. They nominate former vice president John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky as their standard bearer with Joseph Lane of Oregon as vice president, while the party platform unequivocally supports the expansion of slavery into the territories.

August 6 Military: American filibusters under William Walker attack and seize Trujillo, Honduras, storming a customhouse whose revenues are property of the British government. Walker is soon after compelled to surrender to a British warship and is taken captive.

August 31 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Lewis Cass, alarmed by a major French incursion into Mexico, warns the government of Napoleon III that a military occupation of that country is unacceptable to the United States.

September 8 General: The steamer Lady Elgin collides with the lumber vessel Augusta on Lake Michigan and sinks; 300 passengers are killed.

September 12 General: Notorious filibuster William Walker is turned over to Honduran authorities by the British, tried, and executed by firing squad.

September 17 General: The large steam vessel Commonwealth is destroyed by fire at Groton, Connecticut.

November 6 Politics: Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin win the presidential contest by carrying 18 free states with 1,866,452 popular votes and 180 electoral votes— none of them from southern states. The Northern Democratic ticket of Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson registers second with 1,376,957 votes and 120 electoral votes while the competing National Democratic ticket of John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane are third with 11 slave states, 849,781 votes, and 72 electoral votes. Finishing fourth is the Constitutional Unionist ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett with 588,879 popular votes and 39 electoral votes. Lincoln’s triumph proves short-lived and precipitates secessionist tremors throughout the South.

November 7 Politics: Defiant authorities in Charleston, South Carolina, take umbrage over Abraham Lincoln’s recent victory; they raise the traditional palmetto flag over city hall and detain a federal army officer caught in the act of transferring military supplies from the Charleston arsenal to Fort Moultrie.

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November 8 Music: Noted minstrel writer Stephen C. Foster copyrights the song “Old Black Joe,” which differs from previous compositions by not using African-American dialects in the lyrics and expressing genuine sentimentality.

November 9 Politics: President James Buchanan summons a very divided cabinet to discuss the mounting secession crisis. Northerners Lewis Cass, Jeremiah S. Black, and Joseph Holt strongly favor preserving the federal union by force if necessary, while Southerners Howell Cobb, Jacob Thompson, and John B. Floyd oppose military intervention of any kind. Military: Partisans in Charleston, South Carolina, attempt to seize federal arms stored at Fort Moultrie.

November 10 Politics: The South Carolina legislature reacts to Abraham Lincoln’s victory by authorizing a convention to contemplate secession from the Union. In Washington, D.C., South Carolina senators James Chestnut and James H. Hammond also resign their seats and return home.

November 13 Politics: The South Carolina legislature authorizes raising 10,000 volunteers to defend the state from a possible Northern invasion.

November 14 Politics: Georgia congressman Alexander H. Stephens addresses the state legislature at Milledgeville and implores members to oppose secession and uphold constitutional law.

November 15 Military: Major Robert Anderson, U.S. Army, himself a slave-owning Southerner, is ordered to take command of the federal garrison at Fort Moultrie in Charleston harbor, South Carolina. Naval: Lieutenant Thomas A. Craven, commanding the naval installation at Key West, Florida, orders landing parties to secure nearby Forts Taylor and Jefferson against possible seizure by “Bands of lawless men.”

November 18 Politics: The Georgia legislature, following South Carolina’s lead, procures $1 million to purchase arms and begin training troops.

November 19 Arts: Adelina Patti, soon touted as the nation’s foremost opera star, debuts at the French Opera House in New Orleans, Louisiana.

November 20 Politics: President James Buchanan is advised by Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black of his obligation to protect public property from illegal seizure, but also of the necessity of refraining from use of military force unless violence is first instigated by the secessionists. He is further counseled not to wage offensive warfare against rebellious states, but rather to rely upon the courts to uphold the law.

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November 23 Military: Major Robert Anderson reports on the defensive weaknesses of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, and suggests transferring his garrison to nearby Fort Sumter, offshore.

November 30 Politics: The Mississippi state legislature begins drawing up articles of secession.

December 1 Politics: The Florida legislature convenes to ponder and debate the growing secession crisis.

December 3 Politics: The 36th Congress convenes its second session in Washington, D.C. Slavery: A public memorial to abolitionist John Brown, organized in Boston, Massachusetts, by Frederick Douglass, is disrupted by pro-slavery agitators.

December 4 Politics: President James Buchanan delivers his final State of the Union address to Congress, noting with trepidation that different sections of the country were “now arrayed against each other.” He attributes the mounting secession crisis to the machinations of free states and questions the constitutionality of using military force to interfere with that process. Buchanan nonetheless opposes secession despite his strong sympathies for the South.

December 5 Politics: President-elect Abraham Lincoln strongly disputes the conclusions of President James Buchanan’s recent State of the Union address.

December 6 Politics: The House of Representatives appoints the Committee of Thirty-Three, with one member from each state, to discuss the present crisis and suggest possible solutions.

December 8 Politics: Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb, a Georgian, feels that is inevitable at this juncture and tenders his resignation. He is briefly succeeded by Philip F. Thomas of Maryland. President-elect Abraham Lincoln approaches his political rival William H. Seward and asks him to serve as secretary of state in his new administration. Seward readily agrees, although less out of altruism than a sense than the “incompetent” Lincoln needs an experienced politician to serve as his de facto “prime minister.”

December 10 Politics: A delegation of South Carolinians meets with President James Buchanan in Washington, D.C., assuring him that federal troops and installations will not be disturbed in the event of secession. The president remains unconvinced and begins mobilizing military resources for action. Furthermore, Buchanan continues wrestling with the issue of eventually dispatching reinforcements to the South. The South Carolina legislature endorses a secession convention, set to convene in Columbia on December 17.

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December 11 Military: Major Don Carlos Buell arrives at Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, with instructions from the War Department for Major Robert Anderson. Apparently, Secretary of War John B. Floyd, a Virginian, refuses to dispatch reinforcements there to avoid provoking a confrontation.

December 12 Politics: Secretary of state Lewis Cass, furious over President James Buchanan’s unwillingness to forward military reinforcements to protect military installations in Charleston, South Carolina, resigns from office in protest. The Committee of the Thirty-three, meeting in the U.S. House of Representatives, offers more than 30 well-intentioned suggestions for avoiding civil war and secession—none of them viable.

December 13 Politics: President James Buchanan finally decides not to send reinforcements to Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, despite the urging of several cabinet members. In Washington, D.C., seven senators and 23 representatives from across the South sign a manifesto encouraging secession from the Union.

December 14 Politics: The Georgia state legislature entreats Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina to appoint delegates to a forthcoming secession convention. All willingly comply.

December 17 Politics: The Secession Convention convenes in Columbia, South Carolina. Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black, a close confidant of President James Buchanan, is temporarily appointed secretary of state to succeed Lewis Cass. However, even Black cannot prevail upon Buchanan to reinforce military posts; the president is convinced that the South will be more pliable if troops are withheld.

December 18 Politics: In an attempt to stave off violence and conciliate Southerners, Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky promulgates the “Crittenden Compromise,” which restricts slavery to the boundaries of the old Missouri Compromise (1819) and also extends that line across the continent. Slavery is thus precluded from Northern territories but otherwise left intact. Significantly, President-elect Abraham Lincoln opposes the measure.

December 19 Politics: Delegates to the South Carolina Convention declare that no Federal soldiers can be sent to the forts in Charleston harbor.

December 20 Politics: In light of the mounting sectional crisis, the U.S. Senate appoints the Committee of Thirteen to investigate state affairs and seek possible solutions to avert civil war. Democrat Edward M. Stanton is appointed attorney general to replace Jeremiah S. Black. The South Carolina state convention meeting at Charleston votes 169 to 0—unanimously—to secede from the United States, declaring all prior associations

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with that entity null and void. This single act sets in motion a chain of events culminating in a mammoth military confrontation between North and South. Charleston’s inhabitants nonetheless slip into near-delirious celebrations.

December 22 Politics: The South Carolina state convention demands that the federal government yield control of Forts Moultrie and Sumter, along with the U.S. Arsenal in Charleston, to state authorities. Three commissioners are then dispatched to Washington, D.C., to present those demands.

December 24 Politics: Governor Francis W. Perkins of South Carolina declares his state free and independent of the United States, consistent with the “Declaration of Immediate Causes” issued by the convention. In Washington, D.C., Senator William J. Seward proffers a last-minute constitutional amendment mandating that Congress must not interfere with slavery as it exists in the states. He also seeks jury trials for any fugitive slaves apprehended in free states.

December 26 Military: Major Robert Anderson, commanding the Union garrison at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, remains cognizant of the dangers facing his command. Henceforth, under the cover of darkness and upon his own initiative, he surreptitiously transfers his soldiers from the mainland to the more defensible post of Fort Sumter in nearby Charleston harbor.

December 27 Military: South Carolina state forces occupy Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney in Charleston harbor. This constitutes the first act of overt military aggression against the U.S. government. Naval: South Carolina forces seize the U.S. revenue cutter William Aiken in Charleston harbor. Politics: President James Buchanan expresses his surprise and regrets to southern congressmen that the garrison in Charleston slipped away to Fort Sumter, but he refuses ordering them back to the mainland.

December 28 Politics: A South Carolina delegation arrives in Washington, D.C., demanding that President James Buchanan removes all Federal troops from Charleston. He receives the delegates only as private citizens and again declines all demands for removing U.S. troops. Meanwhile, General in Chief Winfield Scott opposes abandoning the fort and urges Secretary of War John B. Floyd to dispatch immediate supplies and reinforcements.

December 29 Politics: President James Buchanan requests and receives the resignation of Secretary of War John B. Floyd after he insists on removing Federal forces from Charleston, South Carolina.

December 30 Military: The U.S. Arsenal at Charleston, South Carolina, is seized by state forces. They also occupy all remaining Federal property in the city save for Fort Sumter in the harbor.

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Chronology of American History Politics: The continuing seizure of Federal property by South Carolina authorities prompts threats of additional resignations among President James Buchanan’s cabinet if he fails to take more forceful action.

December 31 Politics: Postmaster general Joseph Holt is appointed acting secretary of war following the resignation of John B. Floyd. President James Buchanan also refuses another demand by Southern Commissioners to withdraw Federal troops from Charleston. Finally, upon the repeated insistence of Secretary of State Jeremiah S. Black, he reluctantly orders the Army and Navy Departments to mobilize troops and ships for the relief of Fort Sumter. Lines are being inexorably drawn in the sand and must be crossed soon by one side or the other. In the U.S. Senate, the Committee of Thirteen fails to reach accord on any possible political solutions, including the so-called “Crittenden Compromise.”

1861 Arts: The play East Lynne by English authoress Mrs. Henry Wood enjoys great success as a stage play and a novel, despite its reputation for rather crude melodrama. Antonio Pastor debuts on Broadway with his new format of “Vaudeville” shows, which are fast-paced yet suitable for the entire family. By the turn of the century, Vaudeville is the leading form of popular entertainment. Business: The U.S. Postal Service begins delivering goods along with letters for the first time. Education: Yale University becomes the first institute of higher learning to establish doctorates of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees along the German model. Sports: The New York Clipper, a local newspaper, offers the first baseball trophy. Deerfoot, a Seneca tribal runner, handily defeats all opponents in running matches staged throughout Great Britain.

January 2 Military: The defense of Washington, D.C., is entrusted to Colonel Charles P. Stone, who begins organizing the District of Columbia militia. Politics: President James Buchanan refuses a letter from the South Carolina commissioners. The nominally sympathetic chief executive then orders preparations to get underway for reinforcing the garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. General Winfield Scott prevails upon the president to employ a civilian steamer, rather than a military transport, which would arrive quicker and draw less attention.

January 3 Military: Fort Pulaski, near the mouth of the Savannah River, is peacefully occupied by Georgia state forces upon the orders of Governor Joseph E. Brown. Politics: The War Department summarily cancels instructions from former Secretary of War John B. Floyd to transfer heavy cannon from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to various points throughout the South. The South Carolina commission departs Washington, D.C., deeming its mission a failure. The Delaware legislature, although permitting slavery, votes unanimously to remain with the Union.

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Florida’s State Convention assembles in Tallahassee to weigh the matter of secession.

January 4 Military: The U.S. Arsenal at Mount Vernon, Mobile, is peacefully occupied by Alabama state forces under orders from Governor Andrew B. Moore.

January 5 Naval: The supply vessel Star of the West departs New York for Fort Sumter, South Carolina, carrying food supplies and soldiers as reinforcements. The warship USS Brooklyn, originally intended for the mission, is not used by General Winfield Scott, who feels that a civilian vessel will appear less provocative. Politics: Senators from seven Southern states, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, confer in Washington, D.C., over the possibility of secession. They ultimately urge slave states to leave the Union and establish a confederacy of their own.

January 6 Politics: Governor Thomas H. Hicks of Maryland, despite being governor of a slave state, endorses the Union and wades in heavily against secession.

January 7 Politics: The U.S. House of Representatives approves Major Robert Anderson’s recent and unauthorized transfer of Federal forces to Fort Sumter, South Carolina. State conventions in Mississippi and Alabama begin debating secession from the Union.

January 8 Politics: President James Buchanan urges Congress to consider adopting the “Crittenden Compromise.” Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson, the last remaining Southerner in President James Buchanan’s cabinet, tenders his resignation over the Star of the West’s departure. Before leaving Washington, D.C., he cables authorities in Charleston, South Carolina, of that vessel’s departure.

January 9 Military: Artillery manned by South Carolina state forces at Fort Moultrie and Morris Island fires upon the transport Star of the West as it approaches Charleston harbor. No damage is inflicted and it retires back to New York unscathed. Technically speaking, these are the first hostile shots of the Civil War, and Major Robert Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter’s garrison, protests the action to Governor Francis W. Pickens. However, Anderson orders his men to stand down and make no attempt to interfere. Politics: The Mississippi State Convention meeting in Jackson votes to secede on a vote of 84 to 15—becoming the second state to depart.

January 10 Military: Federal troops under Lieutenant Adams J. Slemmer, garrisoning at Fort Barancas at Pensacola, Florida, spike their cannon and retire offshore to Fort Pickens on nearby Santa Rosa Island. Local forces soon confiscate the navy yard, but Fort Pickens remains in Union hands for the duration of hostilities.

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Chronology of American History The U.S. Arsenal and Barracks at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are confiscated by state forces under Braxton Bragg under the orders of Governor Thomas O. Moore. Politics: Senator Jefferson Davis addresses the U.S. Senate, requesting immediate action on and approval of Southern demands. However, he decries using force and seeks to resolve the crisis through constitutional means. William H. Seward gains appointment as secretary of state. Florida’s state convention adopts secession on a 62 to 7 vote, becoming the third state to secede.

January 11 Military: South Carolina governor Francis W. Pickens demands the surrender of Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor; Major Robert Anderson politely yet curtly declines. Politics: The Mississippi delegation to the U.S. House of Representative walks out of Congress. The New York legislature underscores its determination to uphold the Union by passing several government resolutions in its favor. The Alabama State Convention approves secession on a 61 to 39 vote, becoming the fourth state to leave the Union.

January 12 Politics: The Ohio legislature votes overwhelmingly to support continuation of the Union.

January 13 Military: An unofficial truce emerges between South Carolina authorities and the garrison at Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor. Politics: President James Buchanan entertains an envoy dispatched from South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens and declares that Fort Sumter will not be surrendered to state authorities. The president also receives a communiqué from Major Robert Anderson, who alerts him of his worsening situation.

January 14 Politics: The House of Representatives Committee of Thirty-Three fails to agree upon any compromise solution to stave off civil war. Chairman Thomas Corwin next proposes a constitutional amendment to protect slavery where it exists; it passes but is never ratified by any state. The South Carolina legislature summarily declares that any Union attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter is tantamount to war.

January 15 Military: Major Robert Anderson receives a second summons to surrender Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor; again he politely refuses.

January 16 Politics: The U.S. Senate effectively defeats the “Crittenden Compromise,” insisting that the U.S. Constitution must be obeyed, not amended.

January 18 Education: Vassar Female College is founded in Poughkeepsie, New York, to offer women an education comparable to that received by men. Military: South Carolina officials make their third demand for the surrender of Major Robert Anderson and Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, which is again respectfully declined.

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Politics: Former postmaster general Joseph Holt becomes secretary of war to replace Virginian John B. Floyd. The Massachusetts legislature votes to offer the Federal government men, money, and matériel in its struggle to preserve the Union.

January 19 Politics: The Georgia State Convention in Milledgeville approves secession on a 208 to 89 vote, becoming the fifth state to secede from the Union. The Virginia General Assembly entreats all states to send delegates to a National Peace Convention in Washington, D.C.

January 21 Politics: Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, accompanied by Clement C. Lay and Benjamin Fitzpatrick of Alabama, and Stephen R. Mallory and David L. Yulee of Florida, make dramatic farewell addresses in the U.S. Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., then depart for home. Davis in particular is deeply troubled by the course of events and is said to pray for peace that evening. The New York legislature votes to uphold the Union by force, if necessary. Rabid abolitionist Wendell Phillips hails the decision of slave states to secede, feeling that their continued presence is detrimental to the remaining free states.

January 22 Politics: New York Governor Edwin Morgan orders all weapons and gunpowder supplies previously sold to Georgia impounded. This prompts a sharp rebuke from Governor Joseph E. Brown, who seizes several Northern vessels in retaliation. The Wisconsin legislature votes to concur with New York’s stand on preserving the Union.

January 23 Naval: Commander John A. B. Dahlgren removes cannon and ammunition from the Washington Navy Yard in the event of a possible attack, storing much of the latter in the attic of a building. Politics: The Massachusetts legislature votes in agreement with New York’s pledge to uphold the Union.

January 26 Politics: At Baton Rouge, the Louisiana State Convention approves secession on a vote of 113 to 17, becoming the sixth state to secede.

January 29 Politics: Following a congressional vote, Kansas joins the Union as its 34th state; significantly, its constitution explicitly outlaws slavery.

January 31 Military: Louisiana officials orchestrate the seizure of the U.S. Branch Mint and Customs House at New Orleans, along with the U.S. Revenue schooner Washington.

February Literature: South Carolina poet Henry Timrod publishes his ode “Ethnogenesis,” which calls for a distinctly Southern civilization. For this and subsequent war poems he is lauded as the “Laureate of the Confederacy.”

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February 1 Politics: The Texas State Convention, convening in Austin, votes 166 to 7 in favor of secession, becoming the seventh state to secede. A public referendum is also scheduled to approve the measure.

February 3 Politics: Louisiana senators Judah P. Benjamin and John Slidell withdraw from the U.S. Senate and return home.

February 4 Politics: The Peace Convention, summoned by Virginia, assembles in Washington, D.C., under former president John Tyler. It consists of 131 members from 21 states, but none of the seceded states are represented. Representatives from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina assemble in Montgomery, Alabama, and form a Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America with Howell Cobb of Georgia functioning as president.

February 5 Politics: President James Buchanan reiterates to South Carolina officials his determination that Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, will not be yielded to state authorities. The Peace Conference in Washington, D.C., votes to earnestly resolve the outbreak of sectional violence both diplomatically and constitutionally.

February 7 Indian: The Choctaw Nation declares its allegiance with the Confederate States of America. Politics: The Secession Convention at Montgomery, Alabama, begins formally drafting plans for a provisional government in the form of a confederacy of states.

February 8 Politics: President James Buchanan authorizes a $25 million loan for current expenditures and redemption of treasury notes. Southern delegates at Montgomery, Alabama, proffer and unanimously approve the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States of America—thereby founding the Confederacy. This document, while quite similar to its U.S. equivalent, explicitly declares and protects the right to own slaves. While the importation of slaves remains banned, the existing Fugitive Slave Law is strengthened.

February 9 Politics: Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, who is absent from the constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama, is unanimously elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America. Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia becomes provisional vice president. Moreover, the Provisional Confederate Congress pledges that all laws extant under the U.S. Constitution, which do not conflict with its Confederate counterpart, will be upheld. Voters in Tennessee roundly defeat a move to convene a secession convention, 68,282 to 59,449.

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February 10 Politics: A rather surprised Jefferson Davis is alerted by telegram of his election to the Confederate presidency. He had been anticipating a military commission of some kind but nonetheless agrees to the appointment.

February 11 Politics: President-­elect Abraham Lincoln departs Springfield, Illinois, and wends his way toward Washington, D.C. He will not return alive.

Davis, Jefferson (1808–1889) President, Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky, on June 3, 1808, and raised in Mississippi. After briefly attending Transylvania University he applied to the U.S. Military Academy in 1825 and gradu-­ ated four years later in the middle of his class. As a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Infantry, he fought briefly in the Black Hawk War of 1832 under General Zachary Taylor and conducted Sauk Chief Black Hawk into confinement at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. In May 1834 he married the daughter of General Taylor, but withdrew from society for a decade following her untimely death. It was not until 1844 that Davis emerged to successfully run for a seat in Congress. He resigned two years later to fight in the Mexican war he had so strenuously advo-­ cated, and successfully commanded the 1st Mississippi Rifle Regiment at the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista. Davis returned to Mississippi a hero and subsequently won appointment to complete an unfinished term in the U.S. Senate in 1853, until Presi-­ dent Franklin Pierce appointed him secre-­ tary of war. In this capacity, Davis displayed considerable foresight and innovation. In the spring of 1857 Davis was easily ree-­ lected to the Senate, where he continually and eloquently championed states rights and slavery. On January 21, 1861, he deliv-­ ered an anguish-­ridden farewell speech to

the Senate before departing to tender his ser-­ vices to the emerging Confederate States of America. Once home Davis fully expected to become a major general of state forces, (continues)

Jefferson Davis (National Archives)

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(continued) but on February 9, 1861, he was genuinely surprised to learn that the secessionist congress, meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, nominated him to serve as president. Davis was inaugurated in the spring of 1861 at Montgomery, then transferred the seat of Confederate government to Richmond, Virginia, to shore up support from that state. In this capacity the problems Davis encountered as Confederate commander proved insurmountable. He clashed repeatedly with talented yet headstrong leaders like Pierre G. T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston, periodically relieving them at inopportune times. As Confederate fortunes waned, Davis lacked the authority to decisively shift manpower from one

theater to the next owing to resistance from state governments. He was thus forced to invoke measures like conscription, taxation, and confiscation to strengthen the overall Confederate position. When he and his entourage were seized by General James H. Wilson’s cavalry at Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, 1865, the Confederate States of America had reached its denouement. Davis, who never applied for a pardon and never renewed his citizenship, died in poverty at Beauvoir, Mississippi, on December 6, 1889. For many decades thereafter, in the minds of many fellow Southerners, he remained the embodiment and symbol of the Confederacy’s proud and defiant “Lost Cause.”

Jefferson Davis travels from his plantation in Brierfield, Mississippi, to attend inauguration ceremonies at Montgomery, Alabama.

February 12 Politics: The Provisional Congress of the Confederacy at Montgomery, Alabama, votes to establish a Peace Commission to the United States.

February 13 Military: A detachment of U.S. Army troops under Colonel Bernard J. Dowling defeats a band of Chiricahua Apache at Apache Pass, Arizona; in July 1894 he receives the Congressional Medal of Honor for this action. Politics: The electoral college counts the requisite votes and declares Abraham Lincoln the new chief executive.

February 16 Politics: Confederate president-elect Jefferson Davis arrives at Montgomery, Alabama, amid thunderous applause.

February 18 Military: In an act widely condemned as treasonous, General David E. Twiggs surrenders all U.S. Army installations in Texas. Politics: Jefferson Davis of Mississippi is inaugurated as provisional president of the Confederate States of America, declaring, “Obstacles may retard, but they can not long prevent the progress of a movement sanctified by its justice and sustained by a virtuous people.” Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, who initially opposed secession, becomes vice president. The glittering assembly is then serenaded by military bands that strike up the catchy air popularly known as “Dixie,” which becomes the unofficial national anthem of the Confederacy.

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February 19 Politics: The Confederate Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, elects Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana as attorney general, Christopher G. Memminger of South Carolina as secretary of the treasury, John H. Reagan of Texas as postmaster general, Robert Toombs of Georgia as secretary of state, and Leroy P. Walker of Alabama as secretary of war.

February 20 Politics: The Provisional Confederate Congress declares the Mississippi River open to navigation and commerce. They also pass legislation creating a Confederate Department of the Navy.

February 21 Naval: Stephen R. Mallory, the former U.S. senator from Florida, is chosen as the Confederate secretary of the navy. Politics: President Jefferson Davis receives a missive from South Carolina governor Francis W. Pickens requesting immediate action on Fort Sumter. Pickens regards the continuing presence of the Federal garrison as an affront to “honor and safety.”

February 22 Politics: Passing through Baltimore, Maryland, president-elect Abraham Lincoln is warned of a possible attempt upon his life and finishes his journey to Washington, D.C., on board a secret train.

February 23 Politics: President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C., amid a sense of mounting national consternation and foreboding over the fate of the nation. Texas voters affirm secession by a three-to-one margin.

February 25 Politics: Judah P. Benjamin takes his oath as Confederate attorney general; this multitalented individual will hold several positions within the new government, excelling in all.

February 27 Naval: Congress authorizes the Navy Department’s request for seven heavilyarmed steam sloops to augment existing naval strength. Politics: As a continuing gesture of averting hostilities, President Jefferson Davis appoints three commissioners for possible peace negotiations with Washington, D.C. The Peace Commission meeting in Washington, D.C., proposes no less than six constitutional amendments to forestall the outbreak of cession and violence. None of them prove viable.

February 28 Politics: The House of Representatives adopts an amendment proposed by Thomas Corwin which reaffirms slavery’s status where it already exists. Presidentelect Abraham Lincoln fully concurs with the legislation. Calls for a state convention to weigh the possibility of secession are narrowly defeated by a popular vote in North Carolina. The Confederate Congress agrees to a $15 million domestic loan. The Colorado Territory is formed from the western half of the Kansas Territory, and William Gilpin gains appointment as governor.

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March 1 Military: Pierre G. T. Beauregard is commissioned brigadier general, C.S.A. Major Robert Anderson alerts the government that the garrison at Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, must be either supplied and reinforced or evacuated without further delay. His provisions dwindle rapidly and he will soon have to capitulate by default. Politics: President-elect Abraham Lincoln appoints Pennsylvania politician Simon Cameron to be his new secretary of war. The Provisional Confederate States of America assumes formal control of events at Charleston, South Carolina.

March 2 Business: Congress passes the Morrill Tariff Act, which raises duties from five to 10 percent to protect American manufacturers. Politics: The U.S. Senate refuses compromise solutions advanced by the Peace Convention in Washington, D.C., over the objections of Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden. This ends all attempts at political accommodation.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865) President Abraham Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, the son of a backwoods family. He endured childhood poverty while living on the frontiers of Indiana, becoming essentially selftaught. Lincoln eventually settled upon a career in law in Springfield, Illinois, and served as a militia captain during the brief Black Hawk War of 1832. The future commander in chief saw no combat save for, in his own words, “many bloody battles with mosquitoes.” Lincoln subsequently acquired a taste for politics, joined the Whig Party, and in 1847 won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this capacity he stridently opposed both the Mexican War and the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories. In 1858 Lincoln ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and he captured national attention through a series of lively debates. Consequently, the gaunt and gangly attorney saw his political capital

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Abraham Lincoln (Library of Congress) soar and in 1860 he handily won the party’s nomination for the presidency. He ran—and

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President James Buchanan admits the new territories of Nevada and Dakota.

March 3 Military: President Jefferson Davis appoints General Pierre G. T. Beauregard as commander of Confederate forces in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina. He is instructed to prepare for military action against the Federal garrison marooned at Fort Sumter in the harbor. Politics: President-elect Abraham Lincoln dines with his cabinet for the first time and tours the Senate. Meanwhile, General Winfield Scott, commanding general of the U.S. Army, dourly informs Secretary of State William H. Seward that mounting a relief expedition to recuse Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, appears impractical.

March 4 Naval: The Navy Department, which currently operates 42 warships, recalls all but three from foreign stations to assist in the impending crisis. Politics: Abraham Lincoln is formally inaugurated as the 16th president of a less-than-united United States and is sworn in by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

won—on a platform dedicated to halting the expansion of slavery, not its abolition. However, Lincoln’s ascension was construed as a direct threat to the South’s “peculiar institution,” and in December 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union. This defiance induced other Southern states to follow and a new entity, the Confederate States of America, was already extant by the time Lincoln took his oath of office. No newly sworn-in chief executive ever confronted a more daunting, dangerous situation than did Lincoln in the spring of 1861, with a small standing army and the Southern third of the nation up in arms against the Federal government. Despite his prior lack of military training, Lincoln displayed an astonishing grasp of strategy based on the North’s overwhelming preponderance in terms of manpower and industry. Commencing at Bull Run, the Federal war effort remained beset by a secession of hesitant, if not outright blundering, leaders. Generals George B.

McClellan, John Pope, Ambrose E. Burnside, and Joseph Hooker all tried and failed to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. It was not until the spring and early summer of 1864 that the redoubtable General Ulysses S. Grant pinned Lee’s army within its works at Richmond, while General William T. Sherman advanced upon him from behind. Lee then surrendered to Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, effectively ending military operations in the East. All the while Lincoln took to the podium and pleaded for lenience toward the former Confederates and national reunification without vindictiveness. The president never lived to see the country reunited as on April 14, 1865, he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln, the awkward, intensely sadlooking leader who had labored so intently and successfully at keeping the nation whole, became the first chief executive assassinated in office.

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Chronology of American History His first address declares that the Union is “perpetual” and cannot be undone by secession. Moreover, he reiterates his belief that slavery cannot be allowed in the territories but is willing to leave it intact where it already exists. He remains conciliatory, assures the South it will not be attacked, and appeals to “the better angels of our nature.” Hannibal Hamlin of Maine also becomes vice president, with William H. Seward as secretary of state, Salmon P. Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Edward Bates as attorney general. The Confederate Convention, assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, officially adopts the “Stars and Bars” flag of seven stars and three stripes as its official symbol.

March 5 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln discusses the plight of Major Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The major telegraphs him that his supplies are due to run out within four to six weeks, after which he will have little recourse but surrender. Furthermore, both Anderson and General Winfield Scott concur that the post cannot be successfully held by less than 20,000 troops. Time is running out for a peaceful resolution, but Lincoln continues to try to deal with the delicate situation in a nuanced way.

March 6 Politics: The Confederate Congress authorizes recruitment of 100,000 volunteers for 12 months. President Jefferson Davis appoints Martin J. Crawford, John Forsyth, and A. B. Roman as special commissioners to deal with Republican officeholders in Washington, D.C., seeing that President Abraham Lincoln refuses to acknowledge their credentials.

March 7 Naval: Gideon Welles, a former Connecticut newspaper editor, is sworn in as the 24th secretary of the navy. Politics: The Missouri State Convention displays a strong pro-Union streak and votes against secession, yet also considers the “Crittenden Compromise” a possible avenue for averting war.

March 9 Politics: At Montgomery, Alabama, the Confederate Convention authorizes the raising of military forces. They also pass a coinage bill and issuance of treasury notes in denominations ranging from $50 to $1 million.

March 11 Politics: The Constitution of the Confederacy is unanimously adopted by the Confederate Convention at Montgomery, Alabama, and passed along to constituent states for ratification. It is based primarily upon the existing U.S. Constitution but differs in explicitly condoning the practice of slavery.

March 13 Military: Captain Nathaniel Lyon, a pugnacious, aggressive officer by nature, is appointed commander of the U.S. Arsenal at St. Louis, Missouri. Politics: Despite pressure from within his own cabinet, President Abraham Lincoln directly orders Secretary of States William H. Seward not to receive Confederate peace emissaries. Through this expedient he avoids any appearance of legitimizing the Confederate government in Montgomery. He also dispatches

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former navy officer Gustavus V. Fox on a mission to Fort Sumter, South Carolina, to evaluate the possibility of succoring the garrison.

March 15 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln inquires of his cabinet whether or not a relief attempt ought to be mounted to resupply the garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The majority, especially Secretary of State William H. Seward, deems such a move as provocative and advises against it. The Confederate Congress thanks the state of Louisiana for enriching its coffers with $536,000 appropriated from the U.S. Mint at New Orleans.

March 16 Diplomacy: President Jefferson Davis appoints three special ministers, William L. Yancey, Pierre A. Yost, and Dudley Mann, to visit Europe in the quest for diplomatic recognition. They are instructed to use cotton as economic leverage, whenever possible, for securing such support. Politics: The Arizona (Territory) State Convention at Mesilla votes in favor of secession.

March 18 Diplomacy: President Abraham Lincoln appoints Charles Francis Adams as minister to Great Britain. Politics: The Arkansas State Convention defeats a motion to secede on a vote of 39 to 35, then schedules a public referendum on the issue that summer. Governor Sam Houston of Texas, having refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, is forced to retire from office.

March 21 Naval: Former navy officer Gustavus V. Fox, pursuant to orders from President Abraham Lincoln, reconnoiters Fort Sumter and Charleston harbor, South Carolina, with a view toward relieving the garrison there.

March 22 Politics: Governor Claiborne F. Jackson of Missouri fails to convince his constituents to join the Confederacy, after which the state’s citizens sharply divide into pro- and anti-Federal camps.

March 28 Politics: To break the impasse, President Abraham Lincoln resolves to mount a seaborne expedition to succor the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, and orders it dispatched no later than April 6, 1861. His cabinet also divides on the matter, three to two in favor with Secretary of War Simon Cameron abstaining. In effect, the wily Illinois attorney is subtly maneuvering his Southern counterpart into firing the first shot.

March 31 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln orders a second relief expedition, this time to assist the federal garrison at Fort Pickens, Florida, which guards the entrance to Pensacola harbor.

April 1 Politics: Secretary of State William H. Seward strongly recommends that President Abraham Lincoln abandon Fort Sumter, South Carolina, while more defensible posts along the Gulf of Mexico be fortified. He further suggests that a war

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Chronology of American History with Europe would serve as a “panacea” to unify the North. Lincoln courteously thanks the secretary for his sage advice—then declares he intends to run his own administration.

April 3 Naval: Confederate artillery on Morris Island, Charleston harbor, opens fire on the Union vessel Rhoda H. Shannon in the second instance of hostile shots being fired.

April 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves the strategy outlined by Gustavus V. Fox and informs Major Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter, Charleston, of an impending relief expedition. However, he still grants that officer discretionary authority to respond to any attack the Southerners may launch. The Virginia State Convention in Richmond rejects an ordinance of secession, 89 to 45.

April 6 Politics: South Carolina governor Francis W. Pickens is advised by President Abraham Lincoln that an expedition is underway to supply—not reinforce—the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor. Moreover, if no resistance is mounted he pledges that no additional soldiers will be dispatched.

April 7 Military: To increase pressure upon Major Robert Anderson, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard forbids any further communication between Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, and the shore.

April 8 Military: In response to the relief expedition dispatched toward Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, Confederate authorities begin undertaking military preparations and planting artillery batteries.

April 10 Naval: The steamer Baltic departs New York in a second attempt to relieve the garrison at Fort Sumter, Charleston, with naval agent Gustavus V. Fox on board. En route it is joined by the USS Pawnee off Hampton Roads, Virginia. Lieutenant John L. Worden arrives at Pensacola, Florida, on official business and receives permission from General Braxton Bragg to visit Fort Pickens.

April 11 Military: As a sovereign state, the South cannot tolerate the impending approach of a Union supply vessel to victual Fort Sumter; assist constitutes an egregious affront to their self-proclaimed independence. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard is therefore ordered by Confederate authorities to demand the immediate capitulation of Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor. Anderson again flatly refuses their request but, as a sop to Southern sensitivities, he informs Beauregard that he is nearly out of supplies and must yield the palm by April 15 regardless. The Confederates nevertheless give Anderson 24 hours to strike his colors or they will commence bombarding. Politics: Three Confederate peace emissaries depart Washington, D.C., having failed to reach an acceptable solution with Secretary of State William H. Seward. Meanwhile, Federal troops are ordered into the nation’s capital, seeing that it is completely surrounded by potentially hostile territory.

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April 12 Military: The Civil War, a monumental struggle in military history and a defining moment for the United States, is about to unfold. At 4:30 a.m. the shoreline of Charleston harbor erupts in flame as 18 mortars and 30 heavy cannon, backed by 7,000 troops, commence a withering bombardment on Fort Sumter. Major Robert Anderson, commanding only 85 men, 43 civilian engineers, and 48 cannon, weathers the storm of shells and waits until daybreak before responding with six cannon of his own. To Captain Abner Doubleday goes the honor of firing the first Union shot of the war. Naval: The USS Pawnee, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane, and the steamer Baltic, commanded by Gustavus V. Fox, arrive in Charleston harbor with food supplies for Fort Sumter. Having arrived too late to assist the garrison, they remain passive spectators while the bombardment continues.

April 13 Military: After 34 hours of continuous shelling, a lucky Confederate shot slices through Fort Sumter’s flagstaff at 12:48 p.m. and Major Robert Anderson decides that the wiser course is to surrender. He therefore raises the white flag at 2:30 p.m. and the firing ceases while surrender ceremonies are planned for the following day. Curiously the garrison is unhurt despite being hit by an estimated 4,000 shells. However, the affair is perceived as an overt act of Southern aggression, helps galvanize the heretofore tepid sentiments throughout the North, and grants President Abraham Lincoln the moral authority necessary for waging war against his countrymen. Naval: Relief ships under Gustavus V. Fox continue loitering outside Charleston harbor, South Carolina, unwilling to approach closer in the face of hostile fire. His mission completed, Lieutenant John L. Worden returns to Washington, D.C., from Fort Pickens, Florida. En route he is arrested by Confederate authorities near Montgomery, Alabama, and imprisoned.

April 14 Military: Major Robert Anderson formally capitulates at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, to Confederate authorities. The only casualties he sustains in 24 hours of fighting are two killed and four wounded, who ironically fall when a pile of ordnance accidently ignites during a 100-gun salute to the American flag. The captives are then rowed ashore and subsequently entertained by the cream of Charleston society before departing with Gustavus V. Fox and his ad hoc squadron. “We have met them and we have conquered,” Governor Francis W. Pickens crows as the first act in a long and bloody drama concludes. Settlement: Mormons found Franklin, the first permanent settlement of the Oregon Territory; prior attempts have wilted in the face of harsh Native American resistance.

April 15 Politics: In a move designed to deny the Confederacy diplomatic recognition, President Abraham Lincoln declares not war but rather a state of insurrection in the South and calls for 75,000 three-month volunteers to suppress it. However, service by African Americans is declined. Lincoln also requests a special meeting of Congress to convene on July 4—Independence Day. Not surprisingly, the call to arms is denounced and ignored by the governments of North Carolina, Kentucky,

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Interior view of Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861, after its evacuation. (National Archives) and Virginia. By contrast, the New York legislature militantly endorses the Union causes and votes $3 million to support war efforts.

April 16 Politics: Virginia governor John Letcher informs President Abraham Lincoln that his state will not furnish troops for what he considers the “subjugation” of the South.

April 17 Naval: The USS Powhatan under Lieutenant David D. Porter arrives at Fort Pickens, Florida, and debarks an additional 600 troops to bolster the sailors and marines already there. Thus the best harbor of the Gulf of Mexico is retained by the Union for the remainder of the war. Politics: Secessionists gather at Baltimore in large numbers. The Virginia State Convention, reacting strongly to President Abraham Lincoln’s call to arms, votes 88 to 55 for secession. The proposal is then forwarded to the public for ratification. President Jefferson Davis begins soliciting applications for Confederate letters of marque and reprisal, in effect establishing a force of Southern privateers. The governments of Missouri and Tennessee refuse to raise the requested number of militia forces.

April 18 Military: The 6th Massachusetts Infantry rides the rails from New York to Baltimore, Maryland, en route to Washington, D.C.

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Colonel Robert E. Lee declines an offer from President Abraham Lincoln to command all Union forces. Lieutenant Roger Jones orders his command of 50 men to burn the U.S. Armory at Harper’s Ferry, western Virginia, thereby preventing its tooling facilities from falling into enemy hands. Fire destroys the buildings along with 15,000 rifled muskets, but the local population extinguishes the flames before the valuable factory tools, dies, and equipment are destroyed.

April 19 Military: The 6th Massachusetts, transferring between railroad stations in Baltimore, Maryland, is violently attacked by pro-Southern rioters. Shots are exchanged, resulting in four soldiers killed and 36 wounded. These are the first Union casualties, while 11 civilians are also slain. Seething secessionists also begin cutting rail and telegraph lines leading toward the capital. For several anxious days Washington, D.C., remains temporarily cut off from the rest of the Union. Naval: To interrupt any flow of food or war materiels from abroad, President Abraham Lincoln declares a naval blockade of the Confederate coastline. This effort encompasses all the ports of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas and so overwhelms the relatively small U.S. Navy that its implementation is gradual. In time the blockade intensifies to stranglehold proportions and emerges as a major factor in the economic collapse of the Confederacy.

April 20 Aviation: Balloonist Thaddeus S. C. Lowe makes a record flight of more than 90 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, to the coast of South Carolina in only nine hours. Military: Colonel Robert E. Lee tenders his resignation from the U.S. Army. To obstruct the passage of Federal troops to Washington, D.C., secessionist mobs burn several raillines out of Baltimore. This requires reinforcements to arrive by water and then rebuild the tracks as they proceed on foot, slowing their progress. Naval: Captain Charles S. McCauley hurriedly and prematurely orders the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, burned and evacuated. The resulting destruction is less-than complete and the dry docks become operative again in a few weeks. The Confederates also retrieve no less than 1,200 heavy naval cannon which they implant at fortifications as far west as Vicksburg, Mississippi. McCauley’s badly botched withdrawal from Norfolk proves an embarrassing windfall for the Confederacy. The venerable USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides” of War of 1812 fame, is towed to safety from Annapolis, Maryland, by a steamship. The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis is abandoned and transferred north to Newport, Rhode Island, for the duration of the war while the campus buildings serve as barracks for Union troops.

April 21 Naval: Confederate forces reoccupy Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia, and salvage the old steam frigate USS Merrimack; in a few months this vessel is reincarnated as the ironclad CSS Virginia. Politics: Rioting and civil disorder continue in Baltimore, Maryland, including sabotage of nearby railroad lines.

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Chronology of American History Pro-Union delegates meeting in Monongahela County in western Virginia discuss a secession movement of their own from the Confederacy. Slavery: The USS Saratoga captures the cargo vessel Nightingale, which is found laden with 961 African slaves. The U.S. government has officially banned trafficking in human cargo since 1808.

April 22 Naval: Captain Franklin Buchanan, commanding the Washington Navy Yard, tenders his resignation in anticipation of Maryland’s apparent impending secession—he is not reinstated once his state remains loyal and he ultimately joins the Confederacy. Buchanan is succeeded by Captain John A. B. Dahlgren, another distinguished officer.

April 23 Military: General Robert E. Lee becomes commander of the Virginia state forces. Politics: President Jefferson Davis offers aid to Confederate sympathizers in Missouri if they would attack and seize the U.S. Arsenal in St. Louis. An assembly of free African Americans in Boston, Massachusetts, demands that Federal laws preventing their enrollment in the state militia be repealed.

April 25 Military: The 8th Massachusetts under General Benjamin F. Butler defiantly parades through Washington, D.C., following its lengthy march around Baltimore, Maryland. In a daring raid, Union Captain James H. Stokes arrives at St. Louis, Missouri, by steamer, where he removes 12,000 rifled muskets from the U.S. arsenal there. The weapons are then deposited at Alton, Illinois, for militia use, which proves a critical blow to Confederate sympathizers gathering in the region.

April 26 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston arrives and receives command of Confederate forces in Virginia then guarding the capital of Richmond. Politics: Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown orders all debts owned to Northern firms repudiated.

April 27 Naval: President Abraham Lincoln extends the Union blockade to encompass the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina following their secession. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles also authorizes the interdiction of Confederate privateers at sea. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes suspension of writs of habeas corpus for security matters between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. General Winfield Scott is entrusted with adjudicating all incidents arising from this crackdown. The Virginia Convention proffers its capital of Richmond as an alternative to Montgomery, Alabama.

April 29 Politics: The Maryland House of Delegates decisively votes down secession by a margin of 53 to 13. The Provisional Confederate Congress convenes its 2nd session at Montgomery, Alabama, granting President Jefferson Davis war powers and authority

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to raise volunteers, make loans, issue letters of marque, and command land and naval forces. This is done in direct reaction to President Abraham Lincoln’s insurrection declaration and his call for volunteers. Women: Elizabeth Blackwell, the nation’s first female doctor, establishes the Women’s Central Association for Relief to better coordinate the myriad of smaller war-relief groups arising. Her organization serves as the precursor for the much larger U.S. Sanitation Commission.

April 30 Military: Colonel William H. Emory evacuates Fort Washita in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and heads north towards Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His withdrawal renders the nearby Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Cree, Choctaw, and Seminole) vulnerable to Confederate influence.

May 1 Military: Soldiers killed in the Baltimore riots are interred with full military honors in Boston, Massachusetts. General Robert E. Lee orders additional Confederate forces concentrated in the vicinity of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, presently commanded by Colonel Thomas J. Jackson. Governor Samuel W. Black of the Nebraska Territory calls out volunteer forces to assist the Union.

May 3 Military: President Abraham Lincoln issues a call for 42,000 three-year volunteers, with 10 new regiments for the U.S. Army and an additional 18,000 personnel for the navy. This brings existing manpower ceilings to 156,000 soldiers and 25,000 sailors. General Winfield Scott, the senior American commander, unveils his socalled Anaconda Plan for defeating the Southern rebellion to President Abraham Lincoln. Basically, it entails a gunboats’ support drive down the Mississippi River by 60,000 troops, which commences at Cairo, Illinois, and ends at New Orleans, Louisiana. Concurrently, the U.S. Navy will tightly blockade the Confederate coast to strangle all trade with Europe. Derided at the time by younger officers favoring a swift and decisive military campaign, Scott’s strategy is not formally enacted until 1864, and then in slightly modified form. Lincoln spends the next three years looking for a general to execute it forcefully.

May 6 Military: The Confederate-leaning Missouri State Guard under General Daniel M. Frost establishes a training camp near St. Louis at the behest of Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. Meanwhile, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, commanding the Federal garrison at St. Louis, refuses all demands to remove his troops from the city. Naval: The Confederate Congress mandates the issuance of letters of marque and reprisals to privateers. Politics: President Jefferson Davis signs a bill passed by the Confederate Congress declaring a state of war with the United States. The state legislature in Arkansas approves a secession ordinance by 69 to 1, becoming the ninth state to depart while the Tennessee legislature votes 66–25 to become the 10th. The latter also authorizes a public referendum on the issue, before the decision is finalized.

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May 7 Military: President Abraham Lincoln appoints newly repatriated Major Robert Anderson to recruiting duties in his native state of Kentucky. Naval: The U.S. Naval Academy staff, students, and supplies finally board the steamer Baltic and the venerable frigate USS Constitution, prior to locating to a new venue at Newport, Rhode Island. Politics: Once the Tennessee legislature formally endorses secession, riots erupt between pro- and anti-Union sympathizers in Knoxville. The eastern half of the state remains a strong Unionist enclave throughout the war and a region of concern to the Confederacy.

May 9 Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory orders Commander James D. Bulloch to England as the Confederacy’s naval agent. There he engages in a battle of wits with American minister Charles Francis Adams while clandestinely acquiring ships, guns, and ammunition. Politics: President Jefferson Davis authorizes enlisting upwards of 400,000 volunteers for three years or the duration of the war. The quotas are enthusiastically met at first.

May 10 Military: General Robert E. Lee is made commander of all Confederate forces in Virginia, along with states’ forces. Violence erupts in St. Louis, Missouri, between Southern sympathizers and U.S. Army troops backed by a large German-speaking population. Around two dozen civilians and two soldiers die in fighting as Captain Nathaniel Lyon energetically rounds up General Daniel Frost and 625 Missouri State Guard troops at Camp Jackson. However, his rashness drives many undecided civilians into the enemy’s ranks and an additional 30 are killed in subsequent rioting. Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory alerts the Committee of Naval Affairs in Congress that the acquisition of a heavily armored stem vessel is “a matter of the first necessity.”

May 11 Military: Continuing secessionist unrest in St. Louis, Missouri, results in seven additional civilian deaths at the hands of the 5th Reserve Regiment. Colonel William S. Harney also arrives back in town and succeeds Captain Nathaniel Lyon as garrison commander.

May 13 Diplomacy: In a move which antagonizes the Lincoln administration, the government of Great Britain recognizes both North and South as belligerents. This is a discrete nod in terms of recognizing the Confederacy as an equal partner in the upcoming struggle, but Queen Victoria’s adherence to strict neutrality otherwise dashes Southern hopes for immediate recognition and military intervention on their behalf. Military: Baltimore is secured by Federal forces under General Benjamin F. Butler, who both occupies Federal Hill and imposes martial law without prior authorization. General George B. McClellan is appointed commander of the Department of the Ohio.

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Politics: Virginia delegates from the western portion of the state, who disagree with secession, convene a convention of their own in Wheeling and discuss joining the Union as a new state.

May 14 Diplomacy: U.S. Minister Charles F. Adams arrives in London, England, where it is expected that his pristine abolitionist credentials will resonate favorably at the Court of St. James. Military: John C. Frémont, a popular explorer and one-time presidential candidate, becomes a major general in the U.S. Army. Irvin McDowell and Montgomery C. Meigs are appointed brigadier generals. General Benjamin F. Butler consolidates his grip upon Baltimore, Maryland, and arrests noted secessionists including Ross Winans, who had previously invented a steam cannon. Governor Thomas H. Hicks also issues calls for four regiments to defend both the city and the national capital. Major Robert Anderson is instructed by President Abraham Lincoln to assist Kentucky Unionists wherever possible, despite that state’s avowed neutrality.

May 15 Military: Major Robert Anderson, defender of Fort Sumter and the first Northern war hero, is promoted several ranks to brigadier general, U.S. Army. Union General Benjamin F. Butler relinquishes command of the Department of Annapolis and arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he gains promotion to major general of volunteers. He is succeeded by General George Cadwalader. Colonel William S. Harney, commanding St. Louis, Missouri, implores citizens to ignore secessionist attempts to raise militia. However, he takes no steps to interfere with secessionist activities.

May 16 Politics: Tennessee is formally admitted into the Confederacy under Governor Isham Harris.

May 17 Indian: Chief John Ross declares neutrality for Cherokee throughout the Indian Territory, although the tribe continues splintering into pro- and anti-secessionist factions. Politics: President Jefferson Davis agrees to a $50 million loan to the Confederate government along with the distribution of treasury notes. He also signs legislation admitting North Carolina into the Confederacy.

May 18 Politics: Arkansas formally joins the Confederate States of America. Politician Francis P. Blair contacts President Abraham Lincoln concerning his suspicions about Colonel William S. Harney, commanding officer at St. Louis.

May 20 Politics: The Provisional Confederate Congress elects to relocate itself from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, where it will remain until 1865. This move is calculated to shore up the Old Dominion’s ties to the Confederacy, but it also shifts the strategic locus of the war northward. At the behest of Governor Beriah Magoffin, the legislature of the strategic state of Kentucky declares neutrality in the upcoming struggle.

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Chronology of American History The North Carolina State Convention in Raleigh votes to become the 10th state to secede and also ratifies the Confederate Constitution.

May 21 Diplomacy: A bellicose Secretary of State William H. Seward issues Dispatch No. 10 for Minister Charles F. Adams in London, which threatens war with England. In light of prevailing military and political realities, Adams simply ignores it. Military: Colonel William S. Harney, commanding Federal forces in Missouri, enters into a convention with Missouri State Guard commander General Sterling Price. Harney agrees not to introduce Federal troops into the state if the Southerners can maintain order. Both Francis P. Blair and Captain Nathaniel Lyon condemn the agreement, regarding it as treasonous.

May 23 Politics: A popular vote for secession in Virginia is 97,750 in favor and 32,134 against. However, efforts continue on the 50 western counties of the state to remain with the Union. Slavery: General Benjamin F. Butler, commanding Fortress Monroe, Virginia, refuses to hand over three runaway slaves to their owners by declaring them “contraband of war.” This establishes an important precedent for allowing thousands of slaves to escape to Union lines and freedom.

May 24 Military: General Samuel P. Heintzelman’s 13,000 Federal soldiers occupy Alexandria and Arlington Heights, Virginia, bolstering the defenses of Washington, D.C. However, when 24-year-old Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth of the 11th New York Regiment (Fire Zouaves) removes a Confederate flag from a hotel in Alexandria, he is shot by innkeeper James T. Jackson, who is then himself killed. Ellsworth enjoys the melancholy distinction of becoming the North’s first officer fatality.

May 25 Law: Secessionist John Merryman is imprisoned by Union authorities in Baltimore, Maryland, for recruiting Confederate troops and sabotaging railroad lines and bridges. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, acting in the capacity of a Federal circuit court judge, issues a writ of habeas corpus on Merryman’s behalf to release him, but the local commanding officer recognizes no authority other than the commander in chief ’s. Taney subsequently writes that only Congress possesses the power to suspend habeas corpus. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln attends the funeral of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth after his remains lay in state at the White House. “So much of promised usefulness to one’s country, and of bright hopes for one’s self and friends,” a somber Lincoln writes, “have rarely been so suddenly dashed, as in his fall.”

May 26 Communication: U.S. Postmaster General Francis P. Blair announces the suspension of all mail service to the Confederate states. Military: General George B. McClellan orders three columns of Union forces to advance on Grafton in western Virginia in order to secure the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. This rail line constitutes the strategic link between the capital and the western states.

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May 27 Politics: Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney again declares the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus unconstitutional, which President Abraham Lincoln promptly ignores in light of circumstances.

May 28 Military: General Irvin McDowell is appointed commander of the Department of Northwestern Virginia, including newly acquired Alexandria. Politics: The American Peace Society fails to achieve a quorum at its annual meeting, proof that it message is completely out of touch with prevailing sentiments.

May 29 Women: Dorothea L. Dix approaches Secretary of War Simon Cameron and offers to assist organizing hospital services for Federal forces.

May 30 Slavery: Secretary of War Simon Cameron instructs General Benjamin F. Butler at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, that fugitive slaves crossing into Union lines are not to be returned but, rather, fed and given work around military installations.

May 31 Military: General John C. Frémont supercedes General William S. Harney as Union commander in Missouri. The latter’s agreement with General Sterling Price over the introduction of Federal troops in the region is also abrogated.

June 1 Diplomacy: In a major defeat for Confederate privateering, the government of Great Britain forbids armed vessels of either side from bringing prizes into English ports. However, this stance does not prevent British shipyards from clandestinely constructing warships for use by the Confederate Navy.

June 3 Military: Indiana troops under General Thomas A. Morris surprise and easily defeat a Confederate detachment under Colonel George A. Porterfield at Philippi in western Virginia. This “victory,” greatly exaggerated in the press as the “Philippi Races,” clears the Kanawha Valley of Southerners and provides greater impetus for breaking with the Confederacy altogether. Politics: Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the “Little Giant” who defeated Abraham Lincoln in his bid for the Senate, dies in Chicago at the age of 48. The North loses one of its most eloquent and forceful spokesmen.

June 8 Politics: Tennessee voters approve a secession ordinance by 109,913 votes to 47,238, and they join the Confederacy as the 11th and final state to do so. However, the eastern counties remain active in the Union cause.

June 9 Military: General Benjamin F. Butler decides to dislodge Confederate forces gathered at Big Bethel, Virginia, only eight miles from his main position at Hampton. The transit, however, goes badly with many units becoming lost. Worse, the 5th New York Infantry (Zouaves), resplendent in their gray uniforms, are mistaken for Confederates and fired upon, sustaining 21 casualties. Politics: The Sanitary Commission is organized to provide nursing, sanitation, and other support functions for Union forces.

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June 10 Military: Federal troops under General Ebenezer Pierce number 4,400, attack 1,500 Confederates led by General John B. Magruder at Big Bethel, Virginia. The green, inexperienced Union soldiers are committed piecemeal against enemy entrenchments by their commander; then are beaten back, principally by the welltrained 1st North Carolina under Colonel Daniel H. Hill. Federal Captain Nathaniel Lyon, reappointed to command the St. Louis garrison, storms out of negotiations with pro-Southern governor Claiborne F. Jackson and Missouri State Guard commander General Sterling Price. He then “declares war” on the state of Missouri and prepares to deal with his opponents by force. Naval: Confederate Lieutenant John M. Brooke, a gifted naval engineer, receives orders to convert the former steam frigate USS Merrimack into the ironclad CSS Virginia. Women: Dorothea L. Dix becomes Superintendent of Woman Nurses to help supervise medical services within the U.S. Army.

June 11 Military: Colonel William W. Loring resigns his commission as commander of the New Mexico Territory and is succeeded by Colonel Edward R. S. Canby. Politics: Pro-Union delegates meeting at Wheeling, Virginia, form an alternate government in the western-most reaches of that state and elect Francis H. Pierpont as governor, along with two U.S. Senators.

June 13 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln lends officials to the U.S. Sanitation Commission to assist sick and injured soldiers, as well as render assistance to their families.

June 14 Military: Robert E. Lee is promoted to full general, C.S.A.

June 15 Military: Federal troops under Captain Nathaniel Lyon forcibly occupy the capital of Jefferson City, Missouri, while 1,500 poorly armed and trained Confederate sympathizers under Governor Claiborne F. Jackson encamp at nearby Booneville.

June 16 Communication: Congress passes the Pacific Telegraph Act which authorizes construction of a new telegraph line reaching from Missouri to California. Military: Confederate forces under General Robert S. Garnett seize Laurel Hill in western Virginia and subsequently occupy strong positions at Rich Mountain. Badly outnumbered by troops of the nearby Department of the Ohio under General George B. McClellan, he initiates a series of raids to keep larger Union forces off balance.

June 17 Aviation: President Abraham Lincoln is treated to a demonstration of new balloon technology by Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. Military observers present appreciate the potential use of such craft as battlefield reconnaissance platforms. Diplomacy: The government of Spain declares its neutrality but, taking England’s lead, recognizes the Confederacy as a belligerent power.

1861

Chronology â•… 971 Military: General Nathaniel Lyon and 1,700 Federal troops aggressively pursue up the Missouri River retreating Missouri State Guard forces under Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. After a 20-­minute stand they flee to the southwestern corner of the state. More importantly, Â�Union forces now control the lower Missouri River, and Lyon warns all inhabitants in the region of stern punishment for pos-­ sible acts of treason. Politics: Â�Union delegates meeting in Wheeling, Virginia, unanimously declare their inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence from the Confederacy. Pro-­Union inhabitants of Greeneville, Tennessee, rally to keep their region of the state out of Southern hands.

June 19 Indian: Cherokee Chief John Ross repeats his stance of neutrality and reminds fellow tribesmen of previous obligations to the United States. Politics: Â�Pro-­Union delegates gathered at Wheeling, Virginia, elect Francis H. Pierpont to be provisional governor of the western portion of that state.

June 20 Politics: The governor of Kansas calls upon citizens to orÂ�gaÂ�nize and repel any Â�pro-­secessionist attacks emanating from Missouri.

June 22 Politics: Â�Pro-­Union sympathizers gather in Greenville, Tennessee, vote to for-­ mally declare their allegiance to the United States.

June 23 Aviation: Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe rises in his balloon to observe Confed-­ erate deployments at Falls Church, Virginia. This is one of the earliest American reconnaissance flights. Naval: Armored conversion of the CSS Virginia (née USS Merrimack) continues apace at Norfolk, Virginia, under the direction of John Mercer Brooke. Publishing: Congress founds the U.S. Government Printing Office in Washing-­ ton, D.C.; today it is the largest printing concern in the world.

June 27 Naval: A major strategy session unfolds in Washington, D.C., with representa-­ tives of the army, navy, and coast survey in attendance. The newly created Block-­ ade Strategy Board includes Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, Commander Charles H. Davis, and other military notables, and it becomes a key planning body whose policies remain in effect throughout the war. Confederates repel an attempt to land forces at Mathias Point, Virginia, by gunboats USS Pawnee and Thomas Freeborn. Commander James H. Ward, a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, dies in action, becoming the Navy’s first officer fatality.

June 28 Business: To facilitate construction of a transcontinental railway, the Central Pacific Railroad Company is incorporated at Sacramento, California. Naval: The Blockade Strategy Board resolves to seize a port in South Carolina or Georgia to serve as a coaling station and help sustain the blockade effort offshore.

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June 29 Military: Amid mounting war fever, President Abraham Lincoln is briefed on military strategy by generals Winfield Scott and Irvin McDowell. However, Scott protests against committing raw soldiers to combat at this stage of the conflict and argues—unsuccessfully—against seeking victory in a single, decisive battle.

June 30 Naval: Captain Raphael Semmes, commanding the CSS Sumter, evades the USS Brooklyn off New Orleans, Louisiana, and commences his celebrated career as a commerce raider.

July Arts: Matthew Brady is commissioned to make a carefully documented photographic record of the Civil War, backed by a team of 20 talented associates. This is the first war so documented and the results are truly impressive, but it ultimately leads to his financial ruin.

July 1 Politics: The War Department decrees that military volunteers will be recruited from both Kentucky and Tennessee, despite the former’s neutrality and the latter’s secession.

July 2 Politics: The new pro-Union legislature of western Virginia convenes at Wheeling. President Abraham Lincoln confers with General John C. Frémont over strategy in the vital and sensitive region of Missouri, which is wracked by secessionist unrest.

July 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln addresses a special session of the 37th Congress and pleads for $4 million and an additional 400,000 men. Having exhausted all avenues for a peaceful settlement, he makes clear his intention of waging war solely against the Confederate government—and not the South itself. He also explains and justifies his recent suspension of habeas corpus as strictly a wartime expedient.

July 5 Military: Colonel Franz Sigel, leading a detachment of 1,100 German-speaking volunteers, advances upon a larger force of 4,000 Missouri militia under Governor Claiborne F. Jackson near Carthage. The Confederates decide to attack Union lines, which are posted upon a hilltop, at which point Sigel, badly outnumbered, falls back.

July 6 Military: General George B. McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, prepares to order an Indiana brigade under General Thomas A. Morris to advance upon Confederate troops gathered at Laurel Hill in western Virginia. He intends to simultaneously lead the main body of three brigades in a similar movement against enemy forces at nearby Rich Mountain. Naval: Confederate raider CSS Sumter under Captain Raphael Semmes docks at Havana, Cuba, with six Northern prizes in tow.

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July 7 Military: General Nathaniel Lyon, commanding Union forces at Springfield, Missouri, is reinforced by troops under Major Samuel D. Sturgis. He now possesses 7,000 men, but remains outnumbered two-to-one by the recently invigorated Confederates.

July 8 Naval: While cruising the Potomac River, the screw tug Resolute espies and retrieves two mysterious looking objects—which turn out to be the first confederate “torpedoes” (mines) encountered in the war.

July 9 Politics: The U.S. House of Representatives resolves not to oblige Union soldiers to return fugitive slaves.

July 10 Indian: The Creek Nation concludes a peace treaty with agent Colonel Albert Pike of the Confederacy. Military: Having reconnoitered enemy positions, General George B. McClellan commences his offensive in western Virginia by dispatching General William S. Rosecrans to dislodge enemy troops from Rich Mountain, while another force under General Thomas A. Morris advances upon Confederates gathered at Laurel Hill. Politics: General Abraham Lincoln assures General Simon B. Buckner, head of the Kentucky militia, that Union forces will not violates his state’s neutrality.

July 11 Military: General William S. Rosecrans and 2,000 Union troops defeat Colonel John Pegram’s 1,300 Confederates at Rich Mountain in western Virginia, after marching all night through a heavy downpour. Victory here places Union forces astride General Robert S. Garnett’s lines of communication, and he begins withdrawing from Laurel Hill while pursued by the main force under General George B. McClellan. Politics: The U.S. Senate formally expels absent members from Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. One senator from Tennessee is also ejected but Andrew Johnson, a loyalist from the eastern region of that state is allowed to retain his seat.

July 12 Indian: Colonel Albert Pike arranges treaties between the Confederacy and the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes residing in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Military: Colonel John Pegram surrenders 555 Confederates to General William S. Rosecrans at Beverly, western Virginia, which is subsequently occupied by the main Union force under General George B. McClellan. Southerners under General Robert S. Garnett, anxious to escape a closing pincer movement, hurriedly march from Kaler’s Ford on the Cheat River to nearby Corrick’s Ford.

July 13 Military: General Robert S. Garnett’s Confederates are defeated at Corrick’s Ford (Carricksford) in western Virginia, by General Thomas A. Morris’s Indiana brigade. Union losses are variously reported as from 10 to 53 in number, while

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Chronology of American History the Confederates admit to 20. Significantly, Garnett is the first general officer on either side killed in action. Politics: The House of Representatives expels Missouri member John Clark on a vote of 94 to 45.

July 14 Military: Command of Southern forces in western Virginia reverts to General Henry R. Jackson. Meanwhile, a Union push under General Robert Patterson stalls south of Harper’s Ferry after encountering a stiff defense by General Joseph E. Johnston. Patterson’s timidity and hesitancy to fight occasions him the unflattering nickname of “Granny” from his troops.

July 16 Military: Anxious to maintain the strategic initiative on the heels of good progress in western Virginia, General Irvin McDowell orders his 32,000 men toward Manassas Junction. “On to Richmond!” becomes the national mantra—despite the fact that McDowell’s recruits only cover six miles to Fairfax Court House. Another two days are required to reach Centreville, 22 miles distant from the capital, and his dilatoriness grants Confederate forces under General Pierre G. T. Beauregard a badly needed respite to collect and reposition themselves to meet him. Naval: In a reversal of fortunes, the Confederate prize crew aboard the captured S. J. Waring is overpowered by its crew—led by William Tilghman, an AfricanAmerican sailor. The ship subsequently arrives in New York six days later.

July 17 Military: President Jefferson Davis orders General Joseph E. Johnston to reinforce General Pierre G. T. Beauregard in Virginia. For this first time in military history large numbers of troops are strategically shuttled from one front to another by train, bringing Confederate numbers at Manassas Junction to nearly match Union strength.

July 18 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward instructs American ministers in England and France to endorse the previously rejected 1856 Declaration of Paris, which outlawed privateering. However, this move is scuttled when the government of neither European nation will apply it to the Confederacy. Military: General Irvin McDowell dispatches a reconnaissance in force under General Daniel Tyler toward Confederate forces collected at Centreville, Virginia. These soldiers skirmish with Southerners posted across a creek for an hour before the 12th New York makes an ill-advised charge and is blasted back by heavy rifle fire emanating from the dense woods.

July 19 Military: Newly arrived General John Pope warns the inhabitants of northern Missouri that treasonable activity would be punished promptly, “without awaiting a civil process.” Naval: The Captain-General of Cuba orders all the Northern prizes brought into Havana by Captain Raphael Semmes of the CSS Sumter released.

July 20 Journalism: The New York Tribune is the first newspaper to adopt the political pejorative “Copperhead” (a poisonous snake found in the South) for any Northern politician opposing the war effort.

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Military: General Joseph E. Johnston arrives at Manassas Junction, Virginia, with reinforcements and succeeds General Pierre G. T. Beauregard as senior commander, although he allows the latter to retain overall command. General Irvin McDowell, meanwhile, decides that the Confederate right is too strong to assail frontally and seeks an unguarded crossing point nearer to Beauregard’s left flank. All told, McDowell conceives a viable enough battle plan but entrusts it to men and officers too inexperienced to execute it properly. Politics: The third session of the 1st Provisional Confederate Congress convenes in Richmond, Virginia, for the first time. President Jefferson Davis declares that Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia have allied themselves to the Confederacy and that the new capital is now permanently established at Richmond.

July 21 Military: A momentous day unfolds with the predawn movement of General Daniel Tyler’s division, which begins groping through the darkness at 2:00 a.m. Four hours later his cannon begin lobbing shells on Confederate positions behind the stone bridge across Bull Run. After two hours of heavy fighting the Southerners give way in confusion and the Federals resume advancing in the direction of Henry House Hill. A brigade of five Virginia regiments under General Thomas J. Jackson deploys in their path, assisted by several batteries, and ferociously resists a Union onslaught by 18,000 men. Jackson’s aggressive defense greatly inspires the Southerners and, sensing victory and the exhausted state of their antagonists, Beauregard orders a sudden advance across the entire line with the trademark “Rebel yell.” McDowell’s tired, demoralized soldiers withdraw in confusion and headlong into a well-dressed throng of civilians gathered by the roadside to witness their anticipated “victory.” The first major engagement of the Civil War ends in a tactical triumph for the Confederacy with Southern losses of 1,982 to a Union tally of 2,896. Naval: The U.S. Marine Corps receives its baptism of fire when a battalion commanded by Major John Reynolds loses nine killed, 19 wounded, and 16 missing.

July 22 Military: The three-month enlistment of many Union volunteers begins expiring, allowing many of them to be discharged. President Abraham Lincoln counters by signing two bills authorizing one million three-year volunteers. General George B. McClelland is ordered to succeed the now-disgraced General Irvin McDowell. Politics: Consistent with the “Crittenden Compromise,” the House of Representatives votes for war to preserve government under the Constitution and save the Union, while preserving the status quo over slavery. The measure is likewise taken up for consideration by the Senate. The Missouri State Convention, meeting at Jefferson City, votes overwhelmingly in favor of the Union and also relocates the capital to St. Louis. Secessionist governor Claiborne F. Jackson, however, declares himself the only legitimate political authority in that state.

July 24 Military: General Jacob D. Cox engages and disperses Southerners under General Henry A. Wise at Tyler Mountain in western Virginia. The town of Charleston is

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Chronology of American History subsequently evacuated in the face of mounting Union pressure and the Kanawha Valley is soon free of Confederates. Politics: Congress authorizes the position of assistant secretary of the Navy, along with legislation “for the temporary increase in the navy.”

July 25 Politics: Congress authorizes the recruitment of volunteers, offering those serving two years a $100 bonus. Tennesseean senator Andrew Johnson moves to adopt the “Crittenden Compromise” in the U.S. Senate and it passes 30 to five. This mandates and reaffirms that the war is being waged to preserve both the Constitution and the Union, and not to abolish slavery. Confederate Secretary of State Robert Toombs, having resigned to join the military, is replaced by Robert T. Hunter.

July 27 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln confers with newly arrived General George B. McClellan in Washington, D.C. The chief executive urges a strategic offensive with advances into Tennessee by way of Virginia and Kentucky. McClellan, who is not as easily stampeded into action as his predecessor, respectfully demurs.

July 28 Military: In light of the deteriorating situation in western Virginia and the death of General Robert Garnett at Carricksford, the little-known General Robert E. Lee is ordered to take command of Confederate forces there.

July 29 Politics: Horace Greeley, previously the hawkish editor of the New York Tribune, writes to President Abraham Lincoln and suggests peace negotiations to end the fighting.

July 30 Politics: The Missouri State Convention votes 56–25 to declare the gubernatorial seat open, thereby deposing Confederate-leaning Claiborne F. Jackson as chief executive. Slavery: General Benjamin F. Butler seeks clarification in his orders from the War Department as to policies respecting the great number of escaped African Americans in his camp.

July 31 Military: President Abraham Lincoln elevates a heretofore obscure army officer, Ulysses S. Grant, to brigadier general of volunteers in Illinois. This turns out to be one of the most decisive military appointments of the war and a harbinger of victory in the war. Politics: Pro-Union forces in Missouri are bolstered by the election of Hamilton R. Gamble as governor.

August 1 Military: President Jefferson Davis urges General Joseph E. Johnston to maintain the strategic initiative with further offensive actions against Union forces still in Virginia. Naval: Gustavus V. Fox, a former naval officer, gains appointment as assistant secretary of the Navy.

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August 2 Military: Union forces under General Nathaniel Lyon and Confederates under General Ben McCulloch clash at Dug Springs, Missouri. Lyon, badly outnumbered, orders his men back to Springfield to regroup. Politics: Congress approves virtually all President Abraham Lincoln’s acts and appropriations deemed necessary to pursue the war effort, along with issuances of bonds and tariff increases to raise revenue. To better fund the war effort, Congress also passes its first-ever national income tax of 3 percent on incomes over $800.

August 3 Aviation: In another early application of aerial reconnaissance, John LaMountain lifts off the deck of the USS Fanny in a balloon while anchored off Hampton Roads, Virginia, and observes Confederate gun positions at Sewell’s Point. Naval: Congress directs the Department of the Navy to design and construct three ironclad prototypes. They also institute an “Ironclad Board” to study and recommend the acquisition and deployment of ironclad warships. Politics: Governor Isham G. Harris of Tennessee seeks to visit with authorities in Richmond, Virginia, and discuss ways of shoring up tenuous Confederate authority in his state.

August 5 Business: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation authorizing the first national income tax of three percent on all incomes over $800. Politics: The first session, 37th Congress, concludes its monumental, 34-day special session and adjourns.

August 6 Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln signs the First Confiscation Act, which emancipates all African-American slaves found in the employ of Confederate armed forces, either as laborers or soldiers.

August 7 Naval: The U.S. government authorizes construction of seven ironclad gunboats under engineer James B. Eads of St. Louis, Missouri, for riverine service: USS Cairo, Carondelet, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. These vessels gradually emerge as the nucleus of Union naval power along strategic western water routes.

August 8 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant takes command of Union forces at Ironton, Missouri. Slavery: Secretary of War Simon Cameron declares that citizens are not obliged to obey the Fugitive Slave Law as it pertains to secessionists. He further orders General Benjamin F. Butler not to return escaped slaves to their Confederate owners.

August 9 Military: A force of 12,000 Confederates under generals Ben McCulloch and Sterling Price converge upon Springfield, Missouri, and encamp near Wilson’s Creek, 10 miles to the southwest. The aggressive General Nathaniel Lyon, rather than abandon the town without a fight, musters his 4,200 Federals and prepares to launch a preemptive strike of his own.

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August 10 Military: Union General Nathaniel Lyon initiates the Battle of Wilson’s Creek by storming Confederate campsites at 5:30 a.m. General Franz Sigel, meanwhile, stealthily advances upon the Southern camp from below and rousts Confederate cavalry deployed there. General Ben McCulloch, however, reacts quickly to this threat and dispatches troops that drive Sigel off, securing the Confederate rear area. Lyon, unaware of Sigel’s debacle, holds his ground as Price commits two frontal assaults in superior force and he is killed. The Federals consequently draw off in orderly fashion. Losses at Wilson’s Creek proved nearly equal with the Union suffering 1,317 casualties to a Southern tally of 1,230.

August 11 Journalism: Citing aid and comfort to the enemy, the government suspends postal privileges to the New York Daily News for the next 18 months. This is the first of five Northern newspapers silenced for alleged Confederate views.

August 14 Military: General Charles C. Frémont declares martial law in St. Louis, Missouri, and begins confiscating the property of suspected Confederate sympathizers.

August 15 Military: General Robert Anderson, formerly commander at Fort Sumter, assumes control of the Department of the Cumberland (Tennessee and Kentucky). However, his health is compromised by bouts of nervous exhaustion attributed to his recent ordeal and he retires from active duty soon afterward. In view of Confederate successes in Missouri, General John C. Frémont pleads with the War Department for immediate reinforcements. President Abraham Lincoln, cognizant of the threat to this vital border state, authorizes an immediate transfer of troops. Politics: President Jefferson Davis orders all remaining Northerners out of Confederate territory within 40 days.

August 16 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln reiterates that the South remains in a state of insurrection and declares all commercial intercourse between loyalist and rebellious states prohibited.

August 17 Military: Henry W. Halleck is promoted to major general, U.S. Army.

August 18 Journalism: New York newspapers Journal of Commerce, Daily News, Day Book, and Freeman’s Journal are summarily banned from publishing for alleged disloyalty.

August 19 Journalism: The Southern-leaning editor of the Essex County Democrat (Massachusetts) is accosted by a mob, tarred, and feathered. Newspaper offices in Easton and West Chester, Pennsylvania, are also accosted by pro-Union mobs over their suspected Southern sympathies. Politics: Pro-slavery expatriates from Missouri petition for their state to join the Confederacy even while driven from office.

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August 20 Military: General George B. McClellan formally assumes control of the newly constituted Department and Army of the Potomac. This vaunted force becomes a permanent fixture in the struggle for Virginia over the next four years.

August 24 Diplomacy: President Jefferson Davis appoints James M. Mason of Virginia to be special commissioner to Great Britain, John Slidell of Louisiana as special commissioner to France, and Pierre A. Rost of Louisiana as special commissioner to Spain. Each man is specifically instructed to seek diplomatic recognition for the Confederacy and, with it, the ability to acquire arms and ammunition. Naval: A combined Union expedition assembles at Hampton Roads, Virginia, under Commodore Silas H. Stringham. This powerful force mounts 143 rifled cannon while Stringham, a capable veteran of many years with the Mediterranean Squadron, is well-versed in the latest fort-reducing tactics perfected during the Crimean War. Captain Andrew H. Foote is appointed to replace Captain John Rodgers as commander of the gunboat flotilla on the western waters. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln informs Governor Beriah Magofin of Kentucky of his refusal to withdraw Union troops already in Kentucky, regardless of its professed neutrality.

August 27 Naval: The naval expedition under Commodore Silas Stringham anchors off Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, and prepares to attack and land troops to storm nearby forts Clark and Hatteras. These are garrisoned by 350 men of the 7th North Carolina under Colonel William F. Mountain and are poorly situated to resist such a powerful force.

August 28 Naval: To seal off Pamlico Sound, an important blockade-running route, a combined expedition of eight warships and two transports under Commodore Silas Stringham takes up bombardment positions off Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Around 10 a.m. he forms his vessels into a fast moving circle offshore which continuously bombards Confederate positions with a heavy, plunging fire.

August 29 Military: General Benjamin F. Butler lands 900 soldiers and occupies Forts Hatteras and Clark at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. The Union thus secures its first toehold in Southern territory, and the inlet performs useful service throughout the war as a coaling and resupply station for the blockading squadron offshore.

August 30 Military: Without prior authorization, General John C. Frémont proclaims a conditional emancipation declaration in Missouri and frees all slaves belonging to Confederate sympathizers. President Abraham Lincoln, after learning of his actions, declares them dictatorial and potentially alienating for slave-owning Unionists in the region.

August 31 Military: General William S. Rosecrans takes three brigades of Ohio troops, 6,000 strong, and marches south from Clarksburgh, western Virginia, intending to attack Confederates under General John B. Floyd at Carnifex Ferry. Naval: The Navy Department abolishes the daily rum ration for sailors.

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September 1 Education: Mary Chase, an African-American freedwoman, starts the first school for contrabands (escaped slaves) in Alexandria, Virginia. Military: General Ulysses S. Grant arrives at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and takes nominal command of Union forces throughout southeastern Missouri.

September 2 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, eager to placate slaveholding border states, instructs General Charles Frémont in Missouri to “modify” his emancipation proclamation—in effect, countermand it.

September 3 Military: In a major development, General Leonidas K. Polk orders Confederate forces to violate Kentucky neutrality and preempt any possible Union advances there. General Gideon Pillow responds by occupying Hickham, Clark Cliffs, and Columbus, establishing a continuous war front now stretching from Missouri to the Atlantic Ocean.

September 5 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant prepares his forces gathered at Cairo, Illinois, for an immediate occupation of Paducah, Kentucky, at the strategic confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers. The mouth of the Cumberland River is also nearby. Naval: Captain Andrew H. Foote reports for duty at St. Louis, Missouri, replacing Commander John Rodgers.

September 6 Diplomacy: The U.S. Consul in London is alerted of the purchase of steamers Bermuda, Adelaide, and Victoria by Confederate agents. Military: Federal troops under General Ulysses S. Grant advance south from Cairo, Illinois, to Paducah, Kentucky, at the mouth of the Tennessee River, to forestall its capture by Confederates. Grant then appoints General Charles F. Smith to assume command of all Union forces in western Kentucky after he hastens back to Cairo. Naval: Gunboats USS Tyler and Lexington under Commander John Rodgers provide useful support during General Ulysses S. Grant’s occupation of Paducah, Kentucky, which places the mouth of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers under Union control.

September 9 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln is advised by his cabinet to relieve the erratic but popular General John C. Frémont from command in Missouri. The president nonetheless relents for the time being and instructs General David Hunter to convey additional troops there as reinforcements.

September 10 Military: General Albert S. Johnston is appointed commander of all Confederate forces in the West. General William S. Rosecrans and 6,000 Union troops attack 2,000 Confederates under General John B. Floyd at Carnifex Ferry in western Virginia. The Federals press forward into a stretch of the Gauley River and clear a heavily wooded area, capturing many Southern supplies. Floyd hastily shuttles his com-

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mand across the river under the cover of darkness and destroys the nearby ferry to avoid a pursuit. In western Virginia, General Robert E. Lee prepares his command to pass over to the offensive. He formulates a complicated plan to isolate and storm the Union outpost atop Cheat Mountain, for its possession would sever Northern communications along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.

September 11 Military: General Robert E. Lee and 15,000 Confederates launch an overly complex and unsuccessful attack upon General J. J. Reynolds and his 2,000 Union troops at Cheat Mountain and Elkwater, western Virginia. The assailants are hampered from the onset by rough terrain and heavy rainfall, and then are misled by prisoners into thinking that they are outnumbered. Lee, alarmed by the supposed approach of Union reinforcements, then calls off the attack and unceremoniously withdraws, an inauspicious debut for the Confederacy’s premier soldier. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln orders the emancipation declaration of General John C. Frémont modified to conform with existing acts of Congress, which are far less strident on the issue of freeing slaves. The Kentucky legislature, angered by Confederate violation of its neutrality, demands the immediate removal of all Southern forces from its territory. A similar call applying to Federal troops is defeated by pro-Unionists.

September 12 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln dispatches a personal emissary to St. Louis and again instructs General John C. Frémont to modify his emancipation proclamation—which he considers a potential threat to Kentucky’s allegiance. He also orders Federal troops to arrest of 31 members of the Maryland legislature suspected of collusion.

September 13 Military: President Jefferson Davis and General Joseph E. Johnston heatedly argue over the Confederate seniority systems respecting generals; this initiates a permanent estrangement between the two men. General Sterling Price, seeking to maintain the strategic initiative, marches from Wilson’s Creek and besieges Lexington, Missouri—midway between Kansas City and St. Louis—with 7,000 state guards.

September 14 Naval: Lieutenant John H. Russell fights the first pitched naval engagement of the Civil War at Pensacola, Florida, by sailing the frigate USS Colorado past Confederate batteries at night, then leading 100 sailors and marines on a cutting-out expedition that nets several vessels.

September 15 Military: General Robert E. Lee, bested at Cheat Mountain, directs the Confederate evacuation form Virginia’s westernmost counties. Consequently, he earns the unflattering sobriquet of “Granny.” Recent operations reflect badly upon Lee as a military leader, and plans are afoot to transfer him to a quiet sector in South Carolina. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln confers with his Cabinet about the necessity of removing the erratic General John C. Frémont as commander of Missouri.

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Chronology of American History General John C. Frémont has politician Frank P. Blair, his most vocal critic, arrested in St. Louis, Missouri.

September 16 Military: Confederate general Sterling Price is reinforced and tightens his grip around Lexington, Missouri, while Union defenders under Colonel James A. Mulligan, 23rd Illinois, await promised assistance from St. Louis. Unbeknownst to him, General John C. Frémont fails to assist the beleaguered garrison. Naval: The Ironclad Board recommends to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles the construction of three new ironclad warships—Monitor, Galena, and New Ironsides. The former is a revolutionary new turreted design promoted by Swedish émigré engineer John Ericsson.

September 18 Military: General Sterling Price’s Confederates fiercely assail the Union perimeter at Lexington, Missouri, and cut the garrison off from their water supply. At day’s end, with few losses to either side, Price calls off the attack and allows the intense heat to do its work. Politics: The Kentucky legislature authorizes the use of force to expel Confederate forces from its territory.

September 19 Military: Advancing Confederates under General Felix Zollicoffer attack and drive Union troops from Barboursville, Kentucky. The Southerners then commence erecting strong defensive positions across Cumberland Gap, Bowling Green, and Columbus. Naval: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough is ordered to commence operating off the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia.

September 20 Military: Colonel James Mulligan, 23rd Illinois, surrenders 2,800 Union troops at Lexington, Missouri, to General Sterling Price after a nine-day siege. Price’s men ingeniously employed dampened bales of hemp as movable breastworks, which they rolled ahead of their advance. General John C. Frémont’s unwillingness or inability to lift the siege causes many in St. Louis and Washington, D.C., to question his competence.

September 25 Military: President Jefferson Davis and General Joseph E. Johnston engage in another heated contretemps, this time over Southern strategy and the allocation of resources. Slavery: The Navy Department authorizes employment of African-American “contrabands” onboard naval vessels. They will begin drawing pay at the rank of “boy,” $10 per month and one ration per day.

September 27 Military: President Abraham Lincoln and General George B. McClellan engage in protracted debate as to resuming offensive operations in Virginia. The general feels that his Army of the Potomac is not yet ready for field operations whereas Lincoln is taking political heat over its perceived inactivity.

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Ericsson, John

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(1803–1889)

Shipwright John Ericsson was born in Langsbansbytten, Sweden, and he joined the corps of mechanical engineers as a cadet at the age of 14. He then served in the Swedish army as a lieutenant of topographical engineers, where he remained until emigrating to England in 1827. Ericsson was a confirmed tinkerer, and in 1829 he designed and built the experimental locomotive Novelty for his English hosts. This device was capable of reaching then unheard of speeds of 30 miles per hours. Ericsson also dabbled in marine engineering, designing a viable screw propeller for steam warships to replace the clumsy side paddles. The conservative British admiralty expressed no interest in the device, but Ericsson had a chance encounter with U.S. Navy Captain Robert F. Stockton, who convinced him to move to America. Stockton subsequently used his political influence to have Ericsson design and build the navy’s first steam frigate, the USS Princeton, and in 1844 this became the world’s earliest propeller-driven warship. Beyond propulsion, its many innovations included placement of the engines below the waterline to avoid hostile fire, and two new 12-inch diameter cannons, one designed by Stockton and one by Ericsson, on the deck. After an unfortunate explosion killed Secretary of the Navy Abel P. Upshur, Ericsson found himself blacklisted and was unable to find work with the Navy for the next 15 years. He simply turned his attention to applying the new steam technology to domestic merchant vessels.

It was not until the advent of the Civil War in April 1861 that Ericsson found favor with the Navy Department again. The government was concerned that the Confederates were building new classes of iron warships and accepted bids for Union ironclads to counter them. Ericsson trumped the competition by submitting designs for a radical new warship, the USS Monitor, which was a low-lying vessel with a single revolving turret housing two cannon. Though often derided as looking like a “cheese box on a raft,” this ship was the world’s first modern warship. On March 9, 1862, the Monitor, under Lieutenant John L. Worden, successfully confronted the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia off Hampton Roads, Virginia, fighting the larger vessel to a draw and preserving the Union blockade of Norfolk. The success of Ericsson’s design led to several new classes of warships, hereafter known generally as monitors, for the U.S. Navy, and they became the focus of American ship construction. Ericsson, for his part, patriotically turned over his unpatented plans to other engineering firms to facilitate rapid construction. By war’s end ships of his design proved instrumental in blockading the South, leading to its ultimate demise. After the war Ericsson continued designing new warships for the navy, including the high speed Destroyer of 1878. He died in New York on March 8, 1889, one of the most influential shipwrights of history. At the behest of the Swedish government, his remains were returned home, carried there on a monitor-class vessel he helped pioneer.

October 1 Aviation: Inventor and balloonist Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe is appointed head of the Union Army’s nascent aeronautical section. Military: President Abraham Lincoln appoints General Benjamin F. Butler to command the Department of New England, created largely for the purposes of

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Chronology of American History raising and training new troops for future operations. He also requests action on a large naval expedition to the South Atlantic coast to carve out a coaling station. At Centreville, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis and generals Joseph E. Johnston and Pierre G. T. Beauregard continue arguing over strategy. At length they agree to consolidate their positions and restrain from launching offensive operations into Northern territory until at least the following spring. Naval: Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles opposes issuing letters of marque and reprisal against the South as it inadvertently implies recognition of national sovereignty.

October 2 Politics: Governor Andrew B. Moore of Alabama warns tradesmen against charging exorbitant prices for their goods and services.

October 3 Diplomacy: Louisiana Governor Thomas O. Moore summarily bans cotton exports in a move to force England and France to recognize Confederate independence. Military: General Joseph J. Reynolds advances from Cheat Mountain with 5,000 men to dislodge a Confederate force gathered at Camp Bartow, along the southern fork of the Greenbrier River, western Virginia. Unable to turn their flank, Reynolds simply withdraws back to Cheat Mountain and an impasse settles in over the region.

October 4 Indian: The Confederacy concludes a treaty with the Shawnee, Seneca, and Cherokee in the Indian Territory. Naval: President Abraham Lincoln approves a contract for constructing the U.S. Navy’s first ironclad warships; among them is John Ericsson’s revolutionary USS Monitor.

October 7 Naval: The steam-powered ironclad CSS Virginia (née USS Merimack), completely armored and redesigned by Confederate naval engineer John M. Brooke, makes its brief but ominous debut off Hampton Roads, Virginia. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln dispatches Secretary of War Simon Cameron with a letter to General Samuel R. Curtis and inquires if General John C. Frémont should be replaced as commanding officer in Missouri.

October 9 Military: General Braxton Bragg orders 1,000 Confederates under General Richard H. Anderson across Pensacola Bay to attack Union-held Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. The attack stalls and a quick sweep by the Federal garrison nets several stragglers as the Southerners withdraw.

October 10 Slavery: President Jefferson Davis, writing to General Gustavus W. Smith, briefly ponders the use of African-American slaves as laborers for the Confederate army.

October 12 Naval: Newly launched Confederate ram CSS Manassas under Commodore George N. Hollis departs New Orleans, Louisiana, and ventures down the Mississippi River accompanied by the armed steamers Ivy and James L. Day. A stiff

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Sailors relaxing on the deck of the USS Monitor. (Library of Congress)

engagement develops in which Hollis rams the USS Richmond and Vincennes, running them aground.

October 14 Law: To discourage treasonable activity, President Abraham Lincoln orders General Winfield Scott to suspend writs of habeas corpus anywhere in the region from Washington, D.C., to Maine. Slavery: Secretary of War Simon Cameron orders General Thomas W. Sherman to organize and arm fugitive slaves into military squads at Port Royal, South Carolina.

October 16 Politics: President Jefferson Davis denies requests by Confederates to return home and serve in their state militia in lieu of regular army service.

October 17 Naval: After some deliberation, Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont informs Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles that Port Royal, South Carolina, is an inviting target and would constitute an important asset to the blockading effort.

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October 18 Political: President Abraham Lincoln meets with his Cabinet over continuing dissatisfaction with General in Chief Winfield Scott and his probable retirement. He also experiences problems prying troops from the armies of generals William T. Sherman and George B. McClellan for the upcoming Port Royal expedition.

October 20 Military: General George B. McClellan, eager to test Confederate responses and pressured by radical Republicans to resume the offensive, orders politicianturned-soldier Colonel Charles P. Stone to dispatch troops from Poolesville, Maryland, and demonstrate along enemy lines near Leesburg, Virginia.

October 21 Military: Acting upon faulty intelligence, Colonel Edward D. Baker ferries 1,700 men of his brigade across the Potomac River at Ball’s Bluff, Virginia, beneath a 100-foot-high ledge overlooking that waterway. He does so without proper reconnaissance and remains unaware strong Confederate forces under Colonel Nathan G. Evans are posted in the woods above him. An unequal battles ensues for three and a half hours until Baker is killed and his command succumbs to panic. The Federals lose nearly 1,000 men, mostly drowned or captured.

October 22 Military: General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson is ordered to lead Confederate forces into the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia.

October 23 Naval: Crew members of the captured Confederate privateer Savannah are tried in New York on charges of piracy and threatened with execution. Though convicted, their sentences are never carried out.

October 24 Communication: The vaunted “Pony Express” is finally disbanded after being made obsolete by the first transcontinental telegraph service. It nonetheless provided valuable service by informing the far western states of recent political and military events back East. The new telegraph is something of a technological marvel, having taken the past 16 months to span 3,000 miles between Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln relieves General John C. Frémont of command in Missouri and replaces him with General David Hunter. He also attends funeral services for Colonel Edward D. Baker, a close friend, recently killed at Ball’s Bluff, Virginia.

October 25 Naval: Swedish inventor and engineer John Ericsson begins constructing his revolutionary, one-turret warship USS Monitor at Greenpoint, New York.

October 28 Military: General Albert S. Johnston arrives and relieves General Simon B. Buckner as commander of the Confederate Army Corps of Kentucky at Bowling Green.

October 29 Naval: A huge combined expedition of 17 warships, 25 supply vessels, and 25 transports under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont, conveying General Thomas

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W. Sherman and 13,000 Federal troops, departs Hampton Roads, Virginia. This force, the largest American armada assembled to date, is intending to capture Port Royal, South Carolina, and make a Union lodgment midway between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia.

October 30 Military: President Jefferson Davis complains to General Pierre G. T. Beauregard about publishing excerpts from his report on the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run) “to exalt yourself at my expense.” The two leaders are never reconciled.

October 31 Military: The ailing, 75-year-old General in Chief Winfield Scott, once the premier officer of his era, voluntarily resigns as head of Union forces. He then retires in virtual isolation to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, for the remainder of the war. Politics: Secessionist-leaning Missouri legislators meet at Neosho and again vote to join the Confederacy. Thus the state remains simultaneously claimed by both belligerents.

November 1 Military: Thirty-four-year-old General George B. McClellan gains appointment as the new general in chief to succeeded the ailing Winfield Scott. In light of his youth, dash, and reputation, much is expected of him. General Ulysses S. Grant arrives at Cairo, Illinois, to take charge of the District of Southeast Missouri. Rumpled and nondescript in appearance, he proves himself aggressively disposed and begins formulating plans to evict Confederate forces from their strong point along the bluffs at Columbus, Kentucky.

November 2 Military: Incorrigible General John C. Frémont is relieved of command of the Department of the West at Springfield, Missouri, and is temporarily replaced by General David Hunter.

November 4 Naval: The huge naval expedition of Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont anchors off Port Royal, South Carolina. Meanwhile, Confederate vessels under Commodore Josiah Tattnall fire upon the Coast Survey ship Vixen and USS Ottawa as they reconnoiter the two-mile-wide channel entrance. Politics: President Jefferson Davis, frustrated in his inability to reach an agreement with General Pierre G. T. Beauregard over strategy, solicits advice from senior generals Samuel Cooper and Robert E. Lee. He is also increasingly aware of rumors accusing him of political ineptitude.

November 5 Military: General Robert E. Lee assumes responsibilities as head of the newly constituted Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida. General John C. Frémont, still commanding the Department of the West, orders General Ulysses S. Grant on a diversionary attack against Columbus, Kentucky. He anticipates this maneuver will keep Confederate forces occupied and unable to cross the Mississippi River into Missouri.

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November 6 Politics: President Jefferson Davis is formally reelected chief executive of the Confederate States of America and slated to serve a six-year term. Vice President Alexander H. Stephens likewise remains in office, as do members of the first permanent Confederate Congress.

November 7 Military: Approximately 3,000 Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant debark at Hunter’s Farm, three miles above his objective at Belmont, Missouri. His opponent, General Gideon Pillow, commands 2,500 men and Grant’s enthusiastic soldiers storm into their camp. Despite entreaties from Grant and other officers, order breaks down and they embark on a headlong plundering spree, which allows Pillow to be reinforced by Confederates under General Leonidas K. Polk. Grant has little choice but to cut his way through enemy lines to the riverbank and escape, but the affair demonstrates his willingness to undertake offensive missions. Naval: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron of 77 vessels under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont debarks the 16,000 Federal troops of General Thomas W. Sherman off Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, halfway between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia. The Union thus acquires a second lodging on the Confederate coastline; in time Port Royal/Hilton Head emerges as a major supply center for the blockading squadron.

November 8 Naval: The screw sloop USS San Jacinto under Captain Charles Wilkes boards the British mail packet Trent in Old Bahama Channel and forcibly removes Southern envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell. This is an egregious violation of international law and threatens to embroil the United States in a new war with Great Britain.

November 9 Military: Federal troops under General Thomas W. Sherman, assisted by gunboats, advance from Port Royal, South Carolina, and capture the city of Beaufort on the Broad River. Confederate department commander General Robert E. Lee expresses concern to superiors in Richmond over the Union’s ability to land troops anywhere, at will. In a major shake-up of command, General Henry W. Halleck becomes head of Federal troops in the newly designated Department of Missouri (Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and western Kentucky), while General Don Carlos Buell replaces General William T. Sherman as head of the Department of the Cumberland.

November 11 Aviation: Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, Union chief of army aeronautics, rides an observation balloon launched from the gunboat G. W. Custis while anchored in Chesapeake Bay. Meanwhile, a torchlight parade unfolds in Washington, D.C., in honor of General George B. McClellan, now hailed as the savior of the Republic. Military: General George B. Crittenden assumes command of Confederate troops in the District of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. His chief subordinate, General Felix K. Zollicoffer, is assigned to hold southeastern Kentucky but also not to expose his men by remaining south of the Cumberland River.

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November 12 Naval: The British-built steamer Fingal arrives at Savannah, Georgia, with a store of military supplies. The vessel is subsequently taken into Confederate service as the CSS Atlanta.

November 13 Politics: George B. McClellan contemptuously snubs President Abraham Lincoln, when the latter calls upon his headquarters, by retiring to bed. Henceforth, the general will be summoned to the White House when consultations become necessary.

November 15 Indian: A mixed force of 1,400 Texans under Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and allied Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Indians arrive at Canadian Creek, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), intending to fight the 1,000 Union-leading Creeks gathered there under Chief Opothleyahola. However, they discover that the enemy has slipped away, so Cooper orders a pursuit toward nearby Round Mountain. Military: President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet begin focusing their attention upon the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Confederacy’s second largest city and a port of strategic significance. In choosing an experienced leader to spearhead an amphibious expedition and capture it, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles selects Captain David G. Farragut, a 60-year-old Tennesseean known for his aggressive tactics. Naval: The USS San Jacinto under Captain Charles Wilkes arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, with captured Confederate emissaries James M. Mason and John Slidell. This is the government’s first inkling of what had transpired at sea, and Wilkes is hailed in the press as a hero. Religion: The U.S. Christian Commission is organized as a wartime extension of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). They are designated to forward supplies and other forms of assistance to Union troops.

November 16 Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory accepts bids for four heavily armed ironclad vessels. Politics: To preclude a potentially ruinous war with Great Britain, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair and Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts urge the immediate release of Confederate envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell.

November 18 Indian: A detachment of the 9th Texas under Colonel Douglas H. Cooper, assisted by allied Indians, skirmish with Creek warriors under Opothleyahola at Round Mountain, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The Federal Indians are driven off yet skillfully extricate themselves and retire. Naval: Commodore David D. Porter is tasked with acquiring and supplying numerous gunboats for the long anticipated campaign against New Orleans, Louisiana. Politics: Confederate Kentuckians gather at Russellville and adopt a secession ordinance. Like Missouri, this state has separate legislatures in both Northern and Southern camps. A convention of North Carolina loyalists meets at Hatteras to both denounce secession and reaffirm their allegiance to the Union. Marble Nash Taylor is then elected provisional governor of captured portions of the state.

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November 20 Military: General George B. McClellan, a superb organizer and disciplinarian, reviews 70,000 men of the Army of the Potomac near Washington, D.C. In contrast to the amateurish forces hastily gathered the previous summer, visitors favorably comment on the military deportment and martial ardor of all ranks. Slavery: General Henry W. Halleck, newly arrived at the Department of Missouri in St. Louis, declares General Order No. 3, which excludes all African Americans from army camps within his jurisdiction.

November 21 Military: Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman becomes commander of strategic Forts Henry and Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively. These are lynchpins of Confederate defense in the central theater and their retention is critical to the Southern war effort. Politics: The Confederate Cabinet is reorganized with Judah P. Benjamin succeeding LeRoy P. Walker as secretary of war.

November 24 Military: Confederate Colonel Nathan B. Forrest mounts a prolonged cavalry raid against Caseyville and Eddyville, Kentucky, initiating what becomes a spectacular career. Naval: The USS San Jacinto under Captain Charles Wilkes drops anchor in Boston, Massachusetts, whereupon captured Confederate envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are imprisoned at Fort Warren.

November 25 Military: Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin orders pro-Union guerrillas captured in Tennessee to be tried and executed if found guilty of burning bridges.

November 26 Naval: A banquet honoring Captain Charles Wilkes is held in Boston as diplomats begin weighing the international ramifications of his actions. Politics: A constituent convention gathers at Wheeling, Virginia, and adopts a resolution of secession against Virginia to establish an independent state.

November 27 Diplomacy: National indignation runs high in Great Britain once word of the Trent Affair circulates. Signs and editorials declaring an “outrage on the British flag” appear as war with America seems in the offing.

November 28 Politics: The Confederate Congress inducts Missouri as the 12th Confederate state.

November 29 General: In an act of defiance, farmers in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, burn their cotton crops rather than see them confiscated by Union forces.

November 30 Diplomacy: The British cabinet headed by Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell, greatly incensed by the Trent Affair, demands both a formal apology and the immediate release of Confederates James M. Mason and John Slidell. The British

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minister to the United States, Lord Lyons, is also instructed to depart Washington, D.C., if a satisfactory response is not forthcoming in one week.

December 1 Diplomacy: The British cabinet prepares for war with the United States by dispatching 6,000 troops to Canada and sending Admiral Sir Alexander Milne to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with 40 vessels mounting 1,273 cannon. Politics: Secretary of War Simon Cameron reports to President Abraham Lincoln as to what should be done about the thousands of African-American slaves flocking into Union lines. Lincoln agrees with the report but, desperate to maintain the allegiance of slave-owning border states like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, orders all mention of emancipation or military service removed. He prefers to have Congress address both issues.

December 2 Law: General Henry W. Halleck is authorized to suspend writs of habeas corpus within the Department of Missouri. Military: Secretary of War Simon Cameron reveals that U.S. forces comprise 20,334 soldiers and 640,637 volunteers.

December 3 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, in his message to Congress, suggests that slaves appropriated from Southern owners be allowed to emigrate northward. He also reiterates his belief that the Union must be preserved by every means at the government’s disposal.

December 4 Diplomacy: Queen Victoria of England forbids all exports to the United States, especially materials capable of being used for armaments. Military: From his headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, General Henry W. Halleck condones and authorizes all punitive measures against Confederate sympathizers within his jurisdiction. These include the death penalty for any citizen caught assisting rebel guerrillas. Politics: The U.S. Senate expels former vice president John C. Breckinridge from its ranks on a vote of 36 to 0. Since the previous November Breckinridge has been serving as a Confederate major general. Religion: Southern Presbyterians gather in Augusta, Georgia, to separate themselves from their Northern brethren. They then found the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America.

December 5 Politics: Congress entertains petitions and bills intended to abolish slavery throughout the land.

December 6 Journalism: Pro-Union newspaper editor William G. Brownlow is arrested by Confederate authorities on charges of treason in Knoxville, Tennessee.

December 7 Naval: The USS Santiago de Cuba under Commander Daniel B. Ridgley accosts the British ship Eugenia Smith at sea and removes Confederate purchasing agent J. W. Zacharie of New Orleans, Louisiana. Coming on the heels of the Trent affair, this act exacerbates tensions between the two nations.

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December 8 Indian: Pro-Union Creek leader Opothleyahola and 1,000 warriors arrive at Bird Creek (Chusto-Talasah), Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and assume defensive positions. The chief then dispatches a messenger to the hostile tribes indicating that he does not wish to spill blood, but his determination to fight unsettles many of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper’s Indians and they begin deserting him. Religion: The American Bible Society begins distributing up to 7,000 Bibles a day to Union soldiers and sailors.

December 9 Indian: Pro-Confederate Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw, assisted by the 9th Texas under Colonel Douglas H. Cooper, attack Pro-Union Creek under Opothleyahola at Bird Creek (Chusto-Takasah) in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Resistance is fierce initially, but gradually the Creek flanks retreat and Opothleyahola’s center also falls back. However, the Confederates remain dogged by supply shortages and prove unable to pursue the fleeing Creek. Politics: In light of recent military disasters at Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff, Congress votes 33 to three to establish an oversight committee to monitor military events. This becomes infamously known as the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and proves to be the bane of many senior Union leaders.

December 10 Politics: The Confederate Congress admits the expatriate “government” of Kentucky into the Confederacy as its 13th state. It thus joins Missouri as having representatives in both belligerent camps.

December 11 General: Charleston, South Carolina, is ravaged by a destructive fire that consumes half of the city.

December 13 Military: Newly appointed General Robert H. Milroy elects to attack Confederate positions atop nearby Allegheny Mountain in western Virginia. Laboring up the heavily wooded slopes he is handily repulsed, at which point the rebels counterattack downhill and scatter their Union antagonists.

December 14 Military: General Henry H. Sibley assumes control of Confederate forces along the Upper Rio Grande River, along with the New Mexico and Arizona Territories. He begins military preparations for an offensive to secure the region.

December 16 Politics: Congressman Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, soon vilified as a “Copperhead,” introduces a resolution commending Captain Charles Wilkes for his role in the Trent affair.

December 17 Diplomacy: Armed forces of Great Britain, France, and Spain attack and occupy Veracruz, Mexico, ostensibly seeking reparations for unpaid debts. However, once Napoleon III begins maneuvering to seize political control of that nation, the two other belligerents remove their troops. The French emperor seeks to take advantage of America’s preoccupation with civil war for his own gain.

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Religion: Commodore Henry H. Foote institutes regular Sunday services on board his fleet of gunboats on the Cumberland River.

December 19 Diplomacy: Lord Lyons, British minister to the United States, informally alerts Secretary of State William H. Seward of his instructions, namely, that the Americans must unconditionally release Southern commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell, who have been illegally removed from the British vessel Trent. The American government has one week to respond satisfactorily, after which time Great Britain is withdrawing its ambassador in anticipation of war.

December 20 Politics: The influential Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is formally instituted in the U.S. Congress following the disastrous rout at Ball’s Bluff in the previous October. It is comprised mainly of Radical Republicans like Benjamin F. Wade and Zachariah Chandler of Michigan, and tasked with closely scrutinizing the conduct of the president and his senior commanders throughout the war.

December 21 Politics: The U.S. Congress institutes the Navy Medal of Honor as the nation’s highest military award granted to that service. Initially it is intended for enlisted ranks, and officers are not eligible to receive it until 1915.

December 22 Military: General Henry W. Halleck reiterates orders that any individuals found sabotaging Union railroads or telegraph lines will be immediately shot without civil trial.

December 23 Diplomacy: British ambassador Lord Lyons formally presents Secretary of State William H. Seward his ultimatum for the release of the two imprisoned Confederate commissioners.

December 24 Education: Waco University is established in Waco, Texas, by the Baptists.

December 25 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln celebrates Christmas with his family and later that day confers with legal authorities over the disposition of the imprisoned Confederate envoys. Slavery: General Ulysses S. Grant orders the expulsion of fugitive African Americans from Fort Holt, Kentucky.

December 26 Diplomacy: An international crisis is averted when President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet concurs that the seizure of James M. Mason and John Slidell is illegal and that the two captives should be released and allowed to continue on to Europe. Secretary of State William H. Seward then orders their release from confinement at Fort Warren, Boston, blaming the entire matter on a “misunderstanding” by Captain Charles Wilkes.

December 27 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward alerts House and Senate Foreign Relations Committees as to President Abraham Lincoln’s decision to free

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Chronology of American History Confederate agents James M. Mason and John Slidell from detention at Fort Warren, Boston. He also provides British minister Lord Lyon with a lengthy diplomatic note—not an apology—explaining the American response.

December 28 Military: Colonel Nathan B. Forrest leads a detachment of 300 Confederate cavalry toward Sacramento, Kentucky. En route he encounters a smaller force of 168 Union troopers under Major Eli Murray. The Federals charge headlong into twice their number of Southerners, then are assailed on both flanks and scattered. Triumphant in the first of his many scrapes, the future “Wizard of the Saddle” returns to Greeneville, hotly pursued by 500 cavalry under Union Colonel James Jackson, 3rd Kentucky Cavalry.

December 31 Military: Noting the inactivity of Union forces in the East, a despondent President Abraham Lincoln anxiously cables General Henry W. Halleck in St. Louis, Missouri, and hopes to hear of offensive operations in that theater at least. “Are you and General Buell in concert?” he inquires.

1862 Architecture: Alexander T. Stewart builds the nation’s largest retail store in New York City, eight stories tall and constructed from steel and stone. Education: The State College of Agriculture and Mechanics (today’s University of Maine) is founded at Orono, Maine. Journalism: A little-known writer, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, begins working as a journalist in Virginia City, Nevada, under the nom de plume Mark Twain. The Golden Age of Lewiston becomes the first newspaper published in the Idaho Territory. Medical: Dr. Louis Elsberg opens the first public clinic for throat diseases at the Medical College of New York. Publishing: Noted painter and artist Winslow Homer accompanies Union armies into the field, creating many notable illustrations for Harper’s Weekly magazine. William G. Brownlow publishes his anti-Southern diatribe, The Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession, which sells 100,000 copies in the North. He had previously been imprisoned by Confederate authorities in Knoxville, Tennessee, for displaying overt Unionist sympathies. Sports: The first fully enclosed baseball fields are constructed at Union Grounds, Brooklyn, New York.

January 1 Diplomacy: Confederate agents James M. Mason and John Slidell board the HMS Rinaldo off Provincetown, Massachusetts, and sail for Great Britain via Halifax. Military: General in Chief George B. McClellan remains sidelined by illness as President Abraham Lincoln frets over his continuing military inactivity. General Thomas J. Jackson, eager to secure the lightly defended town of Romney, western Virginia, orders 8,500 Confederates under General William W. Loring, from their winter quarters at Winchester. However, no sooner do they depart than temperatures plunge to freezing and the men, lacking heavy overcoats, suffer severely.

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January 6 Military: President Abraham Lincoln ignores cries by Radical Republicans to replace General George B. McClellan, then ill with typhoid fever, over allegations of military inactivity. Lincoln also continues urging General Don Carlos Buell, commanding the Army of the Ohio in Kentucky, to assume an offensive posture. Naval: In response to critical shortages of trained manpower, Commodore Andrew H. Foote suggests drafting soldiers to serve on the gunboat fleet. The army proves reluctant to comply, and General Ulysses S. Grant suggests that guardhouses be emptied to assist the navy.

January 8 Politics: President Jefferson Davis contacts fugitive Missouri governor Claiborne F. Jackson and assures him that his state is not being neglected by the Confederate government. He also presses the governor to raise additional troops to offset Union advantages in manpower.

January 9 Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut of the USS Hartford formally takes charge of the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron. Thus situated, he is tasked with orchestrating the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana, an essential aspect of overall Union strategy. Farragut, cognizant of the dire necessity for utmost secrecy, instructs his wife to burn any correspondence she receives from him.

January 10 Military: President Abraham Lincoln expresses alarm to Secretary of War Simon Cameron over the apparent lack of military activity in the West. Believing themselves heavily outnumbered, Union forces abandon strategic Romney, western Virginia, to advancing Confederates under General William W. Loring. That leader also enters into a bitter contretemps with General William L. Loring over charges he abused his soldiers by marching them during bitterly cold weather. Politics: Confederate-leaning Missourians Waldo P. Johnson and Trusten Polk are expelled from the U.S. Senate.

January 11 Politics: Secretary of War Simon Cameron resigns from office amid charges of corruption and mismanagement. President Abraham Lincoln subsequently nominates former attorney general Edwin M. Stanton, a confidant of General George B. McClellan, as his successor. The appointment proves fortuitous as Stanton infuses military administration with energy and efficiency. Naval: Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough assembles a large naval expedition of 100 vessels off Hampton Roads, Virginia.

January 12 Naval: The naval expedition of Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough sails from Hampton Roads, Virginia, in preparation for an attack upon strategic Roanoke Island, North Carolina. He is also conveying 15,000 Union troops under General Ambrose Burnside.

January 13 Military: President Abraham Lincoln again urges generals Henry W. Halleck and Don Carlos Buell to initiate offensive operations in the western theater.

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Chronology of American History General George B. McClellan refuses to consult with either the president or other officials as to his impending plan of operations. Moreover, he disagrees with the president’s strategy of attacking along a broad front. Naval: Lieutenant John L. Worden, still convalescing from months of Confederate captivity, is appointed commander of the revolutionary new vessel USS Monitor, then under construction on Long Island, New York. Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough and his 100-ship expedition arrive off Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Once on station he reiterates orders that gunners must be completely trained and familiar with the new Bormann fuses fitted to 9-inch shrapnel shells.

January 16 Military: General Felix K. Zollicoffer disobeys orders from General George B. Crittenden by positioning Confederate troops north of the Cumberland River, Kentucky, where they must fight with a river at their backs. Shortly after Crittenden arrives with reinforcements, he concludes that the water is running too high to safely recross. He thus intends to make the most of his subordinate’s mistake by attacking an oncoming Union column at Logan’s Cross Roads.

January 17 Naval: Federal gunboats USS Conestoga and Lexington conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the Tennessee River past Confederate-held Fort Henry. The detailed information they convey helps formulate plans for its capture.

January 18 General: Former president John Tyler dies in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 62. Military: General George H. Thomas, having enticed Confederate troops north of the Cumberland River to attack him, encamps 4,000 Union troops at Mill Springs, Kentucky. Reconnaissance parties dispatched toward the river confirm that General George B. Crittenden’s Confederates are approaching and will strike the Federals at dawn.

January 19 Military: A force of 4,000 Confederates under General Felix K. Zollicoffer and William H. Carroll attack the Union encampment at Logan’s Cross Roads, Kentucky. Braving heavy rain and mud, the Southerners overrun the Union pickets at daybreak and drive them headlong into the main defensive line commanded by General George H. Thomas. The Confederates charge one more time but Thomas, expecting the move, stations the newly arrived brigade of General Samuel P. Carter obliquely, and his men catch the Southerners in a deadly enfilade. Zollicoffer then mistakenly gallops toward the Union position in a fog and is shot dead from the saddle. Crittenden’s men then break and flee back to Beech Grove with Thomas in pursuit. Confederate losses are 125 killed, 309 wounded, and 99 missing to 40 Union dead, 207 wounded, and 15 missing.

January 20 Naval: At the behest of Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, the Union Gulf Blockading Squadron is reorganized into two distinct formations: the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, with the latter

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commanded by Commodore David G. Farragut. His fleet consists of 17 steam warship and 19 mortar boats under his foster brother, Commander David D. Porter.

January 23 Military: As General Thomas J. Jackson leads his Stonewall brigade out from Romney, western Virginia, General William W. Loring feels that his own command has been deliberately left in an exposed position only 20 miles from Union lines. Loring and other officers then violate the chain of command by petitioning friends in the Confederate Congress for a change in orders.

January 26 Military: General Pierre G. T. Beauregard transfers from the Eastern Theater to the West, where he is subordinate to General Albert S. Johnston. Meanwhile, command in Virginia remains with General Joseph E. Johnston.

January 27 Diplomacy: Emperor Napoleon III of France declares that the American conflict infringes upon trade relations with France, but that he will observe a policy of strict neutrality. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, exasperated by the lack of initiative displayed by Union commanders, issues General Order No. 1. This mandates a general offensive against the Confederacy from various points along the line. February 22—George Washington’s birthday—is selected as the deadline to commence combined operations by both army and navy forces.

January 28 Naval: Commodore Andrew H. Foote advises General Henry W. Halleck to begin riverine operations against Forts Henry and Donelson soon before the water levels of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers begin subsiding.

January 30 Diplomacy: Recently released Confederate envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell arrive at Southampton, England, and are cordially received. Military: General Henry W. Halleck, at St. Louis, Missouri, finally authorizes combined operations against Confederate strong points at Forts Henry and Donelson. General Ulysses S. Grant, eager to assume the offensive, brooks no delay putting his command in motion. Naval: John Ericsson’s revolutionary ironclad USS Monitor, derided by many onlookers as “a cheese box on a raft,” is launched at Greenpoint, Long Island, amid thunderous applause. Trial runs begin immediately.

January 31 Diplomacy: Queen Victoria of England further dampens Southern hopes by reiterating her stance of observing strict neutrality in matters of war. Nonetheless, the British advise Confederate agents of their displeasure over having Southern ports blocked by obstacles. Military: Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin orders General Thomas J. Jackson to relocate those portions of his command from Romney, western Virginia, to Winchester. Jackson, now aware that General William W. Loring has violated the chain of command behind his back, sullenly complies—then resigns

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Chronology of American History from the army. Fortunately for the Confederacy, President Jefferson Davis refuses to accept it and, assisted by Virginia governor John Lechter, he persuades Jackson to remain in uniform. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln finally issues his Special War Order No. 1, which requires an advance on Manassas Junction, Virginia, by the Army of the Potomac, no later than February 22, 1862. General George B. McClellan, however, simply ignores the directive and continues training his recruits to a fine edge. Slavery: Radical Republicans demand that General George B. McClellan attack Southern positions immediately, along with deliberately freeing slaves and enlisting them in the army. The general, however, steadfastly declines to turn a war to save the Union into a social crusade to free African Americans held in bondage. Transportation: Congress passes the Railways and Telegraph Act, empowering the president to commandeer any rail facility deemed essential for the war effort.

February 1 Military: Confederate forces under General Henry H. Sibley advance from El Paso, Texas, into New Mexico, intending to conquer that region for the South.

February 2 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant departs Cairo, Illinois, on his campaign against Confederate-held Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. He embarks 17,000 troops on river transports, accompanied by Commodore Andrew H. Foote’s gunboats. Grant intends to land near Panther Creek west of the fort and cut the garrison’s escape.

February 3 Military: President Abraham Lincoln and General George B. McClellan continue at loggerheads over an exact timetable for resuming offensive operations into Virginia. They also differ on strategy, with the president leaning toward a direct, overland campaign while the general wishes to sidestep Confederate defenses by landing on the enemy’s coast. Naval: The Federal government resolves to treat Confederate privateersmen as prisoners of war rather than prosecute them as pirates. This forestalls any chance that Union naval personnel might be hanged in retaliation.

February 4 Naval: The gunboat squadron of Commodore Henry H. Foote begins sounding out Confederate defenses at Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. Several moored mines (“torpedoes”) have also been worked free by the fast current and are examined closely by naval personnel. Slavery: Members of the Confederate Congress at Richmond, Virginia, debate the virtues and vices of utilizing free African Americans for service in the Confederate army. Such a commonsense remedy to address endemic manpower shortages is never seriously entertained, however.

February 5 Diplomacy: Queen Victoria lifts all restrictions against transporting guns, ammunition, and other military stores to Southern ports. Music: The poem “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe debuts in an issue of Atlantic Monthly. It is subsequently arranged to the popular tune “John Brown’s Body.”

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Howe, Julia Ward (1819–1910) Author Julia Ward was born in New York City on May 27, 1819, the daughter of a wealthy banker. Family affluence enabled her to receive an excellent education, including the Classics, languages, geometry, history, and literature. Consequently, she always exhib-­ ited a scholarly streak, and in 1839 she vis-­ ited Boston on her own to confer with noted female author Margaret Fuller. She then mar-­ ried Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, a noted phi-­ lanthropist, in 1843, and settled in Boston. In addition to raising her family, she actively edited her husband’s abolitionist newspaper, The Commonwealth, for many years. She also began dabbling in fiction and poetry against her husband’s wishes. After her first volume, Passion Flowers, was published in 1854, the couple separated. Howe nonetheless continued writing and publishing and also became active in abolitionist and woman suffrage issues. Though pacifist by nature, she strongly supported President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. In 1862, after vis-­ iting troops in the field, she reputedly wrote her most famous composition, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” while sleeping in a tent. It was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862, then the poem was set to the tradi-­ tional tune of “John Brown’s Body,” becom-­ ing in time the unofficial anthem of the Union Army. This celebrated composition rendered her national recognition as one of the coun-­ try’s most talented female writers. After the war, Howe parleyed her talents and energies into the woman suffrage move-­

ment. In 1868 she founded the New England Woman’s Club in Boston which evolved into the larger American Woman Suffrage Associ-­ ation. While Howe supported women’s rights, she frowned upon the gender-­exclusive femi-­ nists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who maintained that men were an obstacle to progress, and also delved into other social issues at hand. Howe, by con-­ trast, welcomed male participation in her organization and restricted her activities to women’s rights. In the end her conserva-­ tive strategy triumphed with the founding of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, when the competing schools of thought merged and were reconciled. Howe was also ardently pacifistic and she was horrified by the carnage associated with the Franco-­Prussian War of 1870–71. She pub-­ lished an international appeal to women in 1870 and the following year presided over the new Woman’s International Peace Associa-­ tion. Howe also found the time to continue writing poetry, fiction, and a biography of her heroine Margaret Fuller. Advancing age notwithstanding, Howe reached her peak of social activism in 1888 when she conducted a lengthy speaking tour of the West Coast. She retained her recognition as one of America’s most influential women and in 1908 was the first female inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was also made its president. She died while serving in this capacity in Newport, Rhode Island, on October 17, 1910.

February 6 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant commences his strategic flanking move-­ ment with a concerted drive against Confederate-­held Fort Henry on the Tennes-­ see River. Meanwhile, Southern general Lloyd Tilghman hurriedly evacuates his 3,400-­man garrison to Fort Donelson, 10 miles distant on the Cumberland River, before his escape is blocked.

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Chronology of American History Naval: Commodore Andrew H. Foote leads a flotilla of four ironclads and three wooden gunboats against Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, and opens fire at a range of 1,700 yards. General Lloyd Tilghman remains behind with 100 artillerists and 17 cannon to mount an “honorable defense” while his garrison escapes intact.

February 7 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, having secured Fort Henry, maps out his strategy for attacking Fort Donelson, Tennessee, on the Cumberland River. Unlike Fort Henry, this is a spacious, well-sited position encompassing 100 acres within its outer works, being both amply garrisoned and armed with heavy cannon. Naval: A large naval expedition under Union captain Louis M. Goldsborough departs its anchorage at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, steams into Croatan Sound, and attacks Roanoke Island. Inexplicably, this strategic point is undermanned and poorly situated to receive an attack of this magnitude.

February 8 Military: Three Union brigades under generals Jesse Reno, John G. Parke, and John G. Foster, totaling 10,000 men, advance upon Confederate defensive works on the northern end of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Southern positions crumble under the onslaught and surrender. Moreover, possession of Roanoke Island impedes communications with Norfolk, Virginia, leading to its eventual abandonment. The recent fall of Fort Henry, Tennessee, prompts General Albert S. Johnston to order Confederate forces under General William J. Hardee to depart the south bank of the Tennessee River and march for Nashville. Politics: In light of the Roanoke disaster, the Confederate Congress tasks an investigative committee to explore the behavior of General Henry A. Wise along with allegations of incompetence against General Benjamin Huger, overall theater commander. Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin is slated for some scrutiny. Moreover, as the administration of President Jefferson Davis reels from the fall of Fort Henry, a pervasive sense of gloom settles upon the Confederacy.

February 9 West: General Gideon J. Pillow supercedes generals Bushrod J. Johnson and Simon B. Buckner as commander of Confederate-held Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

February 10 Naval: Captain Franklin Buchanan complains that he still lacks the necessary trained crewmen to render his nearly completed steam ram CSS Virginia operational. West: Union general Samuel R. Curtis, commanding the 12,000-man Army of the Southwest, departs Rolla, Missouri, and marches against the Missouri Home Guard under General Sterling Price. He intends to drive them into Arkansas to preclude any interference with the main Union thrust underway down the Mississippi River.

February 11 Military: Union forces under generals John A. McClernand and Charles F. Smith begin marching 15,000 men overland from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, Tennessee, despite heavy rains. The fort’s garrison, meanwhile, receives a new commander, General John B. Floyd.

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Transportation: The U.S. Military Rail Roads are established by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. These are adopted to insure the safe and efficient coordination of military transport along thousands of miles of rail line, nationwide. Consequently, rail-borne Union logistics achieve a degree of effectiveness unmatched by its Southern counterpart.

February 12 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant directs 15,000 Union troops marching overland to invest Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, Tennessee, now defended by 21,000 Confederates under General John B. Floyd. The Federals are directed to begin siege operations under the watchful eyes of generals John A. McClernand and Charles F. Smith, in concert with various gunboats offshore.

February 14 Naval: At 3:00 p.m. Commodore Andrew H. Foote’s gunboat flotilla commences bombarding Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, Tennessee, at one point closing to within 400 yards. However, the Confederate guns, situated on a 150foot-high bluff overlooking the river, are well served and subject the Union fleet to a plunging fire. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln seeks to pardon all political prisoners consenting to take a loyalty oath.

February 15 Military: At 6:00 a.m., Confederate defenders under generals John B. Floyd and Gideon J. Pillow suddenly sortie from Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in a bid to escape. Their attack penetrates the division of General John A. McClernand, but then stalls as the Confederate leaders argue among themselves what to do next. Meanwhile, General Ulysses S. Grant, who is on the river conferring with Commodore Henry H. Foote, hastily repairs back to camp and organizes a sharp counterattack that drives the Southerners back into their post. General Albert S. Johnston arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, to coordinate the rapidly crumbling Confederate line. As a precaution, Governor Isham Harris removes all his state papers and flees south. A Confederate column of 3,000 men under General Henry H. Sibley march from Mesilla, New Mexico Territory, and against Union-held Fort Craig. That post is presently garrisoned by 1,000 regulars under Colonel Edward R. S. Canby.

February 16 Military: The Confederate bastion of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant. Previously, generals John B. Floyd and Gideon J. Pillow abandon their command and ignominiously flee, leaving General Simon B. Buckner to capitulate. The victorious Grant takes 15,000 Southerners captive, along with 20,000 stands of arms, 48 field pieces, 57 heavy cannon, and considerable supplies. For winning the first significant land action of the West, he is lionized in the newspapers as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant and subsequently gains promotion to major general. The Confederate column of General Henry H. Sibley arrives outside Fort Craig, New Mexico Territory. Sibley, however, considers it too strong to attack directly and decides to bypass it, possibly luring the garrison out into the open on nearby floodplains.

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February 17 Naval: The formidable ironclad ram CSS Virginia is commissioned—with the equally redoubtable Captain Franklin Buchanan at the helm.

February 18 Politics: The first-ever elected Confederate Congress convenes in Richmond, Virginia.

February 19 Military: The Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia, orders the release of 2,000 Federal prisoners. Union troops under General Charles F. Smith seize and occupy Clarksville, Tennessee, along with nearby Fort Defiance. General Henry H. Sibley orders his Confederate column of 3,000 men across the Rio Grande River at Valverde Ford, five miles north of Union-held Fort Craig, New Mexico. As anticipated, Colonel Edward R. S. Canby sorties his own 2,000man garrison—mostly untrained New Mexico volunteers, and marches hard to prevent the Southerners from crossing. Naval: Commodore Andrew H. Foote’s gunboats assist in the capture of Fort Defiant and Clarksville, Tennessee, which Confederates hastily evacuate upon his approach. The commodore then urges General William F. Smith to advance quickly upon Nashville while the Cumberland River is running high.

February 20 General: President Abraham Lincoln’s 12-year-old son William Wallace (“Willie”) Lincoln dies at the White House of typhoid fever. Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut arrives at Ship Island, Mississippi, and prepares to launch what Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles has deemed, “the most important operation of the war,”—the expedition against New Orleans, Louisiana. In light of the twin disasters of Forts Henry and Donelson, the Confederate government sanctions an evacuation of Southern troops from Columbus, Kentucky. Tennessee governor Isham Harris relocates the Confederate state capital to Memphis once Nashville is threatened by advancing Union forces.

February 21 Military: Union troops under Colonel Edward R. S. Canby engage General Henry H. Sibley’s marauding Confederates at Valverde, New Mexico Territory, five miles north of strategic Fort Craig. After a stout but indecisive fight, Canby disengages and marches back to the fort, which is still a menace to Confederate lines of communication. Politics: Colonel Charles P. Stone is removed from command and arrested on orders from the Committee on the Conduct of the War. He is blamed with betraying troops defeated at Ball’s Bluff, Virginia, the previous October and is imprisoned 189 days without trial. Slavery: Nathaniel Gordon, a convicted slave trader, is hanged in New York City; this is the first application of capital punishment for the outlawed practice.

February 22 Politics: In Richmond, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the first elected head of state of the Confederate States of America. His presidential

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address places blame for the present hostilities squarely on the North and considers their stance against states’ rights in violation of principles established by the American Revolution. Alexander H. Stephens continues on as his vice president. From this point on, the Southerners consider their constitution and government as permanent, not provisional.

February 23 Military: General Benjamin F. Butler is tapped to serve as commander of the new Department of the Gulf. General Albert S. Johnston takes command of the Confederate Central Army at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and begins marshaling his forces. General John Pope becomes commander of the Army of the Mississippi at Commerce, Missouri. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln appoints Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee to serve as military governor of the pro-Union eastern portion of his state.

February 24 Naval: Captain Franklin Buchanan of the CSS Virginia is ordered by Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory to sortie his James River Squadron against Union vessels anchored off Hampton Roads, Virginia, as soon as practicable.

February 25 Business: The Legal Tender Act is approved by President Abraham Lincoln. This is the nation’s first government-sponsored paper money system. The new currency, known popularly as greenbacks, is intended only as a wartime expedient to allow the Treasury Department to pay its bills. Ultimately, $400 million are in circulation by war’s end. Communication: The War Department is authorized to commandeer all telegraph lines and services to facilitate and prioritize military communications. Military: Union General William Nelson, assisted by the gunboat USS Cairo, bloodlessly occupies Nashville, Tennessee. This is the first Southern state capital and a significant industrial center captured by the North. Thereafter it serves as a base of operations and supply center for the Army of the Ohio under Don Carlos Buell. Naval: The new Union ironclad USS Monitor is commissioned at Long Island, New York, with Lieutenant John L. Worden commanding. It is a revolutionary design featuring a single, rotating turret housing two 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon. Being mostly underwater, it also employs a forced draft ventilation system for the crew.

February 27 Politics: Like his northern counterpart, President Jefferson Davis finds it necessary to suspend writs of habeas corpus as a wartime expedient. He then declares martial law in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, as Union forces begin approaching in force.

February 28 Politics: An anxious President Jefferson Davis advises General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding Confederate forces in Virginia, to formulate contingency plans for evacuating men and materiel to safety, if necessary.

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March 1 Military: Confederate General Pierre G. T. Beauregard begins distributing troops along an arc stretching from Columbus, Kentucky, past Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River, and Fort Pillow, Tennessee, as far south as Corinth, Mississippi. General Albert S. Johnston also starts moving his command from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, toward an eventual rendezvous with Beauregard at Corinth.

March 2 Military: Confederate forces under General Leonidas K. Polk finally abandon their strong point at Columbus, Kentucky, and withdraw south. The garrison and its 140 cannon are subsequently relocated across the Mississippi River to New Madrid, Missouri, and Island No. 10, under General John P. McCown.

March 3 Naval: A naval expedition under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont attacks and captures Cumberland Island and Sound, Georgia, along with Fernandina and Amelia Islands, Florida. Fort Clinch, seized by a crew from the USS Ottawa, is the first Federal installation retaken during the war.

March 4 Politics: The U.S. Senate confirms Senator Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee with a rank of brigadier general. Military: General Earl Van Dorn marches 16,000 men from the Boston Mountains, Arkansas, toward the Missouri border. He is determined to engage the smaller Union army of General Samuel R. Curtis somewhere in the extreme northwest corner of Arkansas.

March 6 Military: General Samuel R. Curtis and 10,000 Union troops entrench along Sugar Creek, near Pea Ridge and Elkhorn Tavern, Arkansas, in anticipation of a major Confederate assault. General Earl Van Dorn then arrives and begins testing the Northern position, finding it too strong to be assailed frontally. He then orders his men on a night march around Curtis to cut him off from Missouri and attack from behind. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln urges Congress to offer monetary compensation to any state which willingly abolishes slavery. The measure is roundly rejected by several state legislatures. The Confederate Congress allows military authorities to destroy any cotton, tobacco, or other stores deemed of use to the enemy if they cannot be safely relocated.

March 7 Military: Confederate forces under General Earl Van Dorn conduct a complicated night march around Pea Ridge, Arkansas, to catch the Union Army of the Southwest from behind. However, General Samuel R. Curtis quickly perceives the danger and simply orders his entire command to perform an “about face.” This move immediately negates whatever advantage Van Dorn’s wearying maneuver sought to achieve. The action commences across the line when General Sterling Price’s Missourians launch two desperate charges and are heavily repelled. A final assault at sunset pushes the Union line back 800 yards but fails to break it.

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March 8 Military: Fighting resumes at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, once Confederate artillery bombards the position of General Samuel R. Curtis, who then constricts and consolidates his line. Curtis then deduces that the Southerners are nearly out of ammunition and attacks, driving Van Dorn’s force off in confusion. Pea Ridge is the first major Union victory in the far West and thwarts Confederate hopes of invading Missouri for two years. Naval: The ironclad ram CSS Virginia under Captain Franklin Buchanan sorties from Norfolk, Virginia, and engages wooden vessels of the Union blockading squadron off Hampton Roads. Buchanan slams into the sloop USS Cumberland, then riddles the Congress at close range with heavy gunfire. A third ship, the Minnesota, grounds itself in anticipation of being attacked. Buchanan, who is wounded by gunfire from the shore, then breaks off the action. The USS Monitor under Lieutenant John L. Worden, having survived a perilous transit from New York, arrives off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in the evening. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln issues General Order No. 2, which reorganizes the Army of the Potomac into four corps. It also stipulates that one of these corps be detached for the purpose of defending Washington, D.C., and the assignment falls upon General Irvin McDowell’s command.

March 9 Naval: Around 9:00 a.m. Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones takes the ironclad ram CSS Virginia out of Norfolk, intending to finish off the grounded USS Minnesota off Hampton Roads. Approaching his quarry, he is startled to see the low-lying and strange-looking Monitor sail directly in his path. Over the next four hours the iron giants duel at close range before thousands of spectators. Both vessels, heavily armored, fire repeatedly yet fail to inflict serious damage on each other before the contest subsides. This dramatic but inconclusive engagement heralds the dawn of iron warships in naval warfare and the passing of wooden vessels.

March 10 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln pays a bedside visit to Lieutenant John L. Worden, wounded in the eye during the clash between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.

March 11 Military: General Henry W. Halleck is appointed commander of all Union forces in the West through an amalgamation of the Departments of Kansas, the Missouri, and the Ohio into a new Department of the Mississippi. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, disillusioned by General George B. McClellan’s lack of aggressiveness, issues War Order No. 3. This removes the reluctant leader as general in chief, although he retains command of the Army of the Potomac. Henceforth, all generals are to report directly to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. President Jefferson Davis refuses to accept the reports of generals John B. Floyd and Gideon J. Pillow concerning the fall of Fort Donelson, and he unceremoniously removes both from command.

March 13 Military: General George B. McClellan convenes a war conference at Fairfax Court House, Virginia, and finalizes his strategy against Richmond. Rather than

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Buchanan, Franklin (1800–1874) Confederate admiral Franklin Buchanan was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 17, 1800, and in January 1815 he commenced his naval career by becoming a midshipman. He completed several Mediterranean cruises, handled his affairs competently, and by 1841 had risen to the rank of commander. That year he took command of the new steam frigate USS Mississippi until 1844, when Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft tasked him with drafting plans for a proposed naval academy. Buchanan complied and his scheme so impressed Bancroft that when the academy opened at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1845, Buchanan gained appointment as its first superintendent. In this capacity he proved himself a tough, no-nonsense administrator that placed the fledgling school on a firm footing. Buchanan then sought a combat command, and in 1846 he received command of the sloop USS Germantown for use in the Mexican War. Seven years later he commanded the steam frigate USS Susquehanna, Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s flagship, on the expedition to open Japan. Buchanan made captain in 1855 and spent the next several years commanding the Washington Navy Yard. However, in April 1861, fearing that his native state of Maryland would secede and join the Confederacy, he tendered his resignation. That state remained loyal to the Union, however, but when Buchanan applied for reinstatement the Navy Department refused. He dithered for months pondering his fate before finally visiting Richmond, Virginia, and tender-

ing his service to the Confederate States of America. In September 1862 Buchanan became a captain in Confederate service and was posted as chief of the Bureau of Orders and Details. He performed well as always but chafed in an administrative role and sought out a more active command. Then, in February 1862, he took charge of the Chesapeake Squadron and spent several weeks converting the captured Union steam frigate USS Merrimac into the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia. On March 8, 1862, Buchanan made history by sailing down to Hampton Roads and sinking several wooden warships belonging to the Union blockading squadron. The age of modern naval warfare had dawned, but Buchanan exposed himself recklessly, was wounded, and consequently missed the dramatic engagement with the Union ironclad USS Monitor on the following day. After several months of convalescence, Buchanan assumed command of Confederate naval forces at Mobile, Alabama, including the giant ironclad CSS Tennessee. On August 5, 1864, he bravely waged a losing battle with Admiral David G. Farragut and was captured. Buchanan was subsequently exchanged a few weeks later but saw no more active duty. Afterward he served as president of Maryland Agricultural College before dying at his home in Talbot County on May 11, 1874. Aggressive and hard-hitting, Buchanan was the ideal candidate to usher in the age of modern, heavily armored warships.

campaign overland from Urbana on the Rappahannock River, he elects to shift his Army of the Potomac by boat up the York and James Rivers to outflank strong Confederate defenses. General Ambrose E. Burnside lands three brigades of 12,000 Union troops at Slocum’s Creek on the Neuse River, North Carolina, supported by 13 gun-

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boats. His objective is New Bern, the state’s second-largest city and an important railhead. A heavy bombardment from General John Pope’s siege guns at Point Pleasant, Missouri, induces Confederate forces under General John P. McCown to evacuate their base at New Madrid for Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River. He abandons tons of valuable supplies in the process. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves of plans of operation along the Virginia coast by General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. He urges that leader, “at all events, move such remainder of the army at once in pursuit of the enemy.” Slavery: New army regulations forbid officers from returning fugitive African-American slaves to their owners. Failure to comply is punishable by court-martial.

March 14 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside leads 12,000 Union troops through mud and rain on an advance toward New Bern, North Carolina, the former colonial capital. Confederate defenders under General Lawrence O. Branch resist doggedly for several hours until a militia unit in his center suddenly flees. New Bern is then occupied by Burnside’s victorious Federals that afternoon. The loss in matériel to the Confederacy proves significant, and the Union gains another base for projecting military strength further inland.

March 15 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant is exonerated of misconduct by General Henry W. Halleck, and he resumes command of Union forces in Tennessee. Naval: Commodore Andrew H. Foote’s flotilla of six gunboats and 121 mortar boats unleashes a preliminary bombardment of Confederate defenses on Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River.

March 16 Military: Federal troops under General John Pope, in concert with Commodore Henry H. Foote’s gunboat flotilla, initiate combined operations against Confederate positions on Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River. This post, well sited and heavily armed, presents a formidable obstacle to all river navigation.

March 17 Military: The Army of the Potomac—105,000 strong—begins embarking at Alexandria, Virginia, for an amphibious transit to Fortress Monroe on the York and James Rivers. Through this maneuver General George B. McClellan hopes to outflank strong Confederate defenses guarding the capital of Richmond. Naval: The CSS Nashville slips past blockading vessels USS Cambridge and Gemsbock off Beaufort, North Carolina. The Navy Department is quite embarrassed by its failure to stop the raider, and Assistant Secretary Gustavus V. Fox pronounces it “a Bull Run for the Navy.”

March 18 Politics: President Jefferson Davis appoints Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin as his new secretary of state to replace outgoing Robert M. T. Hunter, who has been elected to the Senate in Richmond.

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March 20 Military: General Benjamin F. Butler assumes command of the Department of the Gulf at Ship Island, Mississippi, prior to operations against New Orleans, Louisiana.

March 21 Military: Colonel Turner Ashby alerts General Thomas J. Jackson that General Nathaniel P. Banks is withdrawing two divisions of Union troops from Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson, fearing that these soldiers are en route to reinforce the Army of the Potomac’s drive against Richmond, determines to lure them back.

March 22 Military: General Manfield Lovell, commanding the Confederate garrison at New Orleans, Louisiana, reports that he has six steamers available for the city’s defenses, but the inhabitants are dismayed once the bulk of Confederate naval assets are deployed upriver. Confederate cavalry under Colonel Turner Ashby mistakenly report to General Thomas J. Jackson that Union strength at Kernstown, western Virginia, is about 4,000 strong, the same as his own. In fact General James Shields commands at least twice as many men, with most of them hidden in nearby copses. Naval: The future CSS Florida, presently disguised as the British steamer Oreto, departs Liverpool for Nassau. There the vessel is to be renamed and outfitted with four 7-inch cannon. This is the first such English vessel constructed for the Confederate navy, and it is clandestinely secured through the efforts of naval agent James D. Bulloch.

March 23 Military: General Thomas J. Jackson concludes an impressive two-day march by covering 41 miles in two days and then attacks at Kernstown, Virginia. However, Union General Nathan Kimball continuously feeds more men into the fray and fights the Southerners to a draw. Once increasing numbers of Federals surge forward, Jackson’s entire line falls back in semi-confusion out of town. Kernstown, while a Confederate tactical defeat, harbors immense strategic implications, for President Abraham Lincoln orders General Irvin McDowell’s I Corps detained at Washington, D.C., thereby depriving the Army of the Potomac of their services in the upcoming Peninsula Campaign. It also heralds the start of Jackson’s sizzling Shenandoah Valley Campaign, one of the Civil War’s most legendary undertakings, which affirms his reputation for tactical wizardry. Union soldiers commence digging a 12-mile long, 50-foot wide canal astride the Mississippi River to allow Union gunboats to bypass strong Confederate defenses on Island No. 10.

March 24 Slavery: The continuing unpopularity of emancipation is underscored in Cincinnati, Ohio, when radical abolitionist Wendell Phillips is pelted by eggs.

March 25 Military: Major John M. Chivington of the 1st Colorado Volunteers is ordered to attack a Confederate force lodged near Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory. He arrives at the far end of Glorietta Pass that evening, capturing several sentinels, and prepares to storm the enemy camp at dawn.

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Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory orders Commodore Josiah Tattnall to replace the wounded Captain Franklin Buchanan at Norfolk, Virginia.

March 26 Military: In an early morning raid, Colonel John M. Chivington, 1st Colorado Volunteers, advances through Glorietta Pass, New Mexico Territory, and attacks Confederates under Major Charles L. Pryon encamped at Johnson’s Ranch. A last minute charge by Union cavalry against the Southern rear guard nets several prisoners, then Chivington orders his men back to Kozlowski’s Ranch to regroup.

March 27 Military: Colonel William R. Scurry’s 4th Texas arrives at Johnson’s Ranch, New Mexico Territory, to reinforce a Confederate detachment under Major Charles L. Pryon. The Southerners then brace themselves for an anticipated Union attack and, once it fails to materialize, Scurry resumes the offensive by marching through Glorietta Pass. Naval: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton informs naval engineer Charles Ellet to commence building numerous steam rams at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cincinnati, Ohio, capable of thwarting the new Confederate ironclad known to be under construction at Memphis, Tennessee.

March 28 Military: Union troops at Johnson’s Ranch near Glorietta Pass, New Mexico, are reinforced by a detachment under Colonel John P. Slough. Major John M. Chivington, 1st Colorado Volunteers, then leads his force back through Glorietta Pass and happens upon the lightly guarded Confederate baggage train at Johnson’s Ranch, which is captured. This spells the end of General Henry H. Sibley’s Confederate offensive and he withdraws back to Texas.

March 29 Military: General Albert S. Johnston assembles his Army of Mississippi at Corinth, Mississippi, by amalgamating the armies of Kentucky and Mississippi into a single structure with General Pierre G. T. Beauregard as his second in command, and generals Leonidas K. Polk (I Corps), Braxton Bragg (II Corps), William J. Hardee (III Corps), and George B. Crittenden (Reserve). Confederate General William W. Mackall arrives and replaces the disgraced General John P. McCown as commander of New Madrid, Missouri, and Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River.

April 2 Military: Confederate spy Rose Greenhow is expelled from Washington, D.C., by Federal authorities. Skirmishing continues between opposing pickets around Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, as General Pierre G. T. Beauregard conceives an overly complex order of battle that places all three Confederate corps in three distinct waves of attacks, a tactic exacerbating mass confusion in the swirl of battle.

April 3 Military: President Abraham Lincoln remonstrates General George B. McClellan over his failure to assign a corps of 20,000 men to man the defenses of

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Chronology of American History Washington, D.C. He reiterates his demand that the I Corps of General Irvin McDowell be assigned the task of defending the national capital. General George B. McClellan makes final preparations to direct his massive Army of the Potomac on its drive against Richmond, Virginia. A talented disciplinarian and organizer, he commands 112,000 well-trained men. Massed Confederate forces under General Albert S. Johnston decamp from Corinth, Mississippi, and begin groping toward Union positions at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. Their movement is dogged by driving rain and poor marching discipline that many commanders feel might alert the defenders of their approach. Slavery: The U.S. Senate abolishes slavery in the District of Columbia on a 29 to 14 vote.

April 4 Military: With his army of 112,000 men assembled on the York Peninsula, Virginia, General George B. McClellan finally begins his long-awaited campaign against Richmond. In contrast to the slapdash Union forces of the previous year, the Army of the Potomac is well-trained, well-led, and eager to prove its mettle in combat. Naval: Covered by darkness and rain, the ironclad USS Carondelet under Commander Henry Walke dashes past Confederate batteries on Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River. The Southerners are now cut off from reinforcements from downstream while Union forces under General John Pope can safely cross the Mississippi River to the Tennessee shore.

April 5 Military: The Army of the Potomac begins marching in the direction of Yorktown, Virginia, then defended by 15,000 Confederates under General John B. Magruder. Magruder conducts elaborate ruses like erecting false “Quaker guns” along his line while continually marching his men around to give an impression of greater numbers. General George B. McClellan is completely taken in by the deception and pauses to commence siege operations. Massed Confederates under General Albert S. Johnston prepare to strike Union positions at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. Despite entreaties from General Pierre G. T. Beauregard and others to relent, Johnston determines to hit the invaders hard next day, declaring “I would fight them if they were a million.” Politics: General Andrew Johnson, military governor of his home state of Tennessee, suspends several city officials in Nashville when they refuse to take an oath of allegiance to the Union.

April 6 Military: On this momentous day the Battle of Shiloh erupts at dawn as 44,000 Confederates under General Albert S. Johnston surprise 39,900 Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant is then at his headquarters in nearby Savannah, Tennessee, seven miles distant, and actual leadership devolves on General William T. Sherman. However, General Johnston is fatally injured while directing combat from his saddle. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard then assumes tactical control of events and orders up 62 cannon to blast Federal defenders in the so-called Hornet’s Nest. Meanwhile Grant returns to camp once fighting commences and begins organizing a coherent defense, backed by gunboats on

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the Tennessee River. Beauregard briefly tests Grant’s new position, judges it to be too well defended to be carried by his exhausted soldiers, and the fighting ceases. Naval: Throughout the bloody fighting at Shiloh, heavy and accurate gunfire from Federal gunboats USS Tyler and Lexington assist the last-ditch Union defenses.

April 7 Military: General Ormsby M. Mitchel recruits Union spy James J. Andrews for a clandestine raid behind enemy lines to sabotage railroad lines between Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Andrews then solicits 22 volunteers from General Joshua W. Sill’s Ohio brigade and gradually infiltrates them by small teams into Marietta, Georgia, where the scheme is to commence. The struggle at Shiloh resumes at 7:30 a.m. as Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant, newly reinforced, mount a spirited counterattack to regain ground lost in the previous day’s fighting. The Confederates under General Pierre G. T. Beauregard resist gamely but slowly yield to superior numbers. Casualties at Shiloh stun both North and South alike due to their sheer enormity. Grant, with 65,000 men engaged, loses 13,047 while the 44,000 Confederates sustain losses of 10,694. The reality of modern warfare has tellingly hit the contestants. Naval: The Federal gunboat USS Pittsburgh slips past Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River and joins the Carondelet in covering General John Pope’s army as it is ferried to the Tennessee shore. The noose is tightening around the Confederate defenders. Slavery: The U.S. government concludes a new agreement with Great Britain for a more aggressive suppression of the slave trade.

April 8 Military: General William W. Mackall surrenders 4,500 Confederates on Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River to General John Pope. Considering the difficult terrain and tricky currents to be surmounted, Pope performed well. Moreover, his victory constitutes the latest in a series of disasters for the Confederacy in the West. President Abraham Lincoln subsequently assigns Pope to command the newly organized Army of Virginia. Federal troops under General Ulysses S. Grant advance from Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, in pursuit of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard’s withdrawing Confederates. General William T. Sherman engages them briefly but is capably contained by the rear guard directed by Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest. Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut runs the last of his West Gulf Blockading Squadron vessels over the Southwest Pass bar and into the Mississippi River. He then assembles his 24 warships, mounting 200 large-caliber cannon, along with 19 mortar ships under Commander David D. Porter, and makes for Head of Passes. Politics: President Jefferson Davis proclaims martial law in East Tennessee to suppress the activities of pro-Union inhabitants.

April 9 Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory, convinced that the biggest threat to New Orleans, Louisiana, is the Mississippi River Squadron of Commodore Andrew H. Foote, refuses to allow Confederate vessels at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, to shift southward.

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Chronology of American History Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, frustrated by General George B. McClellan’s lack of aggressiveness, confers with Cabinet members over what to do. The chief executive then suggests several lines of attack for the Army of the Potomac and entreats McClellan to attack immediately, insisting, “But you must act.” The Confederate Congress approves a conscription measure over the protest of many politicians who feel this is a violation of the states’ rights and personal liberties.

April 10 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of Confederate forces in the Peninsula district of Virginia, and reinforcements gradually raise Southern manpower to 34,000. Johnston nevertheless waxes pessimistic about resisting the Army of the Potomac, thrice his size, for long. After weeks of methodical preparation, Union artillery commanded by Captain Quincy A. Gillmore commences shelling Fort Pulaski on Cockspur island, Savannah harbor. His highly accurate, rifled Parrott cannons fire penetrating shells that systematically decimate the fort’s defenses. The engagement is a test for the Union’s new ordnance against traditional masonry fortifications. Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln signs a joint congressional resolution stipulating gradual emancipation of African-American slaves. It is aimed primarily at the border states and grants “pecuniary aid” in exchange for voluntary compliance.

April 11 Military: Fort Pulaski, Georgia, surrenders to Union Captain Quincy A. Gillmore following a heavy bombardment of 5,725 shells from nearby Tybee Island. This battle also marks the first employment of long-range, rifled ordnance with impressive results against older, masonry defenses. General Henry W. Halleck replaces General Ulysses S. Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, over allegations of Grant’s drunkenness, although he remains in charge of the District of West Tennessee. Command of the Army of the Tennessee temporarily reverts to General George H. Thomas. Slavery: Following the Senate’s cue, the House of Representatives votes 93 to 39 to gradually abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.

April 12 Military: Major James J. Andrews and 22 Union volunteers steal the Confederate locomotive named General and three freight cars at Big Shanty, Georgia, then head northward toward Chattanooga, Tennessee. Their mission is to destroy railroad bridges leading to the city but the plan is thwarted by rainy weather. Once the General finally runs out of steam and is abandoned, the spies flee into the woods where the majority are captured. Andrews and seven volunteers are executed as spies on June 7, 1862, but eight men eventually escape captivity and the rest are exchanged. The raiders become the U.S. Army’s first recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor in March 1863. The episode has entered Civil War folklore as the “Great Locomotive Chase.”

April 13 Slavery: General David Hunter, commanding the vicinity of Fort Pulaski, Georgia, declares his region free of slavery and begins unilaterally manumitting all African Americans under his jurisdiction.

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April 14 Military: A high-level war meeting convenes in Richmond, Virginia, where General Joseph E. Johnston pleads with superiors to abandon the Yorktown– Warwick River line before General George B. McClellan attacks in overpowering strength. However, President Jefferson Davis and his chief military adviser, General Robert E. Lee, balk at the suggestion, observing that it necessitates the abandonment of Norfolk. Naval: Federal mortar boats under Commodore Andrew H. Foote commence bombarding Fort Pillow, Tennessee, astride the Mississippi River. This fortification lays 60 miles south of Island No. 10 and guards the northern approaches to Memphis. The exchange of fire is intermittent over the next seven weeks.

April 15 Military: At a special war council held in Richmond, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis breaks the strategic impasse by ordering General Joseph E. Johnston to move his army to Yorktown on the Peninsula and reinforce General John B. Magruder’s troops holding the line there.

April 16 Military: With Union forces only 10 miles from his capital and an endless stream of bad news from the West, President Jefferson Davis authorizes conscription to maintain existing Confederate manpower levels. Consequently, all white males aged 18 to 35 become eligible for three years of service. This is also the first coercive military conscription in American history. Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut begins massing the 17 warships of his West Gulf Blockading Squadron, including the gunboats of Commodore David D. Porter, below Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Louisiana. These aged structures, one on either side of the Mississippi River, are situated 12 miles above Head of Passes, mount 90 cannon, and are further backed up by a “mosquito squadron” of small warships under Captain George N. Hollis. Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill outlawing slavery in the District of Columbia on a compensatory basis—$300 per slave. However, African Americans escaping from masters still loyal to the Union remain subject to the existing Fugitive Slave Act and must be returned.

April 17 Military: Confederate reinforcements bring the strength of General Joseph E. Johnston’s force along the Yorktown–Warwick River line up to 53,000 men. He nonetheless remains largely outumbered by the Army of the Potomac, which fields roughly twice that number.

April 18 Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut dispatches Commander David D. Porter with 20 mortar boats to bombard Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River. Porter, convinced he can neutralize these positions through firepower alone, begins pelting them with 200-pound mortar for the next five days.

April 21 Military: To offset manpower advantages enjoyed by the North, the Confederate government authorizes creation of special guerrilla formations by passing the Partisan Ranger Act, then adjourns its first session.

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Farragut, David (1801–1870) Admiral David Farragut was born in Campbell’s Station, Tennessee, on July 5, 1801, the son of a U.S. Naval officer. He was orphaned at New Orleans and adopted into the family of Captain David Porter, a noted American sailor. Farragut accompanied his stepfather on the frigate USS Essex as a midshipman during its heroic sortie around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean, where it decimated the British whaling fleet. He subsequently survived Porter’s defeat in February 1814 at the hands of British warships HMS Phoebe and Cherub and returned to the United States on board a cartel (exchange) vessel. Over the next 45 years he functioned capably in various grades and capacities, rising to captain in 1855. In this capacity he served in California constructing naval facilities at Mare Island in San Francisco Harbor. Farragut was residing with his family in Norfolk, Virginia, when the Civil War erupted in April 1861, forcing him to relocate to New York City. However, on account of his

David G. Farragut (National Archives)

April 24 Naval: Commodore David G. Farragut, impatient for success and concluding that the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip has been ineffectual, determines to run his entire fleet past them in the dark. At 2:00 a.m. in the predawn darkness, his 17 vessels steam by the forts in three divisions. Confederate defenders under General Johnson K. Duncan unleash a heavy cannonade but inflict very little damage. With Porter’s single, decisive stroke, the fate of New Orleans, Louisiana, is decided.

April 25 Military: Federal artillery under General John G. Parke commence bombarding Fort Macon on Bogue Banks Island off Beaufort, South Carolina. At length Colonel Moses J. White surrenders, and his garrison of 300 Confederates pass into captivity. Naval: The Union flotilla under Commodore David G. Farragut captures the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, following a brief exchange with Confederate gunners at English Turn. The Mississippi River is running high at the time and enables the fleet to point its cannon directly over the levee and toward the city. The Confederacy thus loses its largest and wealthiest seaport, while the North acquires a splendid base for operations farther upstream.

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Southern origins, he was not entirely trusted by the Navy Department and was restricted to supervising a retirement board. It took the intercession of his stepbrother, Captain David Dixon Porter, to secure command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in January 1862. In this capacity Farragut successfully ran Confederate defenses at Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River on the night of April 24, 1862, then sailed on and forced the important Confederate city of New Orleans to surrender. This decisive victory placed Union forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River and allowed for armed forays directly into the Confederate heartland. Farragut subsequently ran numerous Southern defenses on the Mississippi River, bombarded Vicksburg, Mississippi, but was unable to capture it with army troops. After additional good service back in the Gulf of Mexico, Farragut was worn out and he returned home to New York to recuperate, receiving a hero’s welcome. On August 5, 1864, he confronted his greatest naval chal-

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lenge by attacking heavily guarded Mobile, Alabama, the last remaining gulf port of the Confederacy. To accomplish this his fleet had to run a gauntlet of minefields, took some losses, then exclaimed, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” This advance brought him into contact with the large Southern ironclad CSS Nashville under Admiral James Buchanan, which he subdued after an intense battle. When Mobile finally surrendered on August 23, 1864, Farragut gained promotion as the first vice admiral in U.S. history. Failing health precluded his participation at the capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, and he spent the rest of the Civil War performing blockade duty on the James River. In 1866 Farragut advanced to full admiral, another distinction, and commanded the European Squadron on an extended goodwill tour from 1867 to 1868. Farragut died while inspecting the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Navy Yard, on August 14, 1870. He is distinct in becoming America’s first admiral and among the most effective combat officers of naval history.

April 26 Diplomacy: President Abraham Lincoln pays a courtesy call upon the French warship Gassendi, anchored at the Washington Navy Yard.

April 27 Naval: U.S. Naval forces accept the surrender of Fort Livingston on Bastian Bay, Louisiana, and crewmen from the USS Kittatinny hoist the Stars and Stripes over its ramparts. Nearby forts Quitman, Pike, and Wood also capitulate later that afternoon.

April 28 Military: The Confederate garrisons of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi River, mutiny against General Johnson K. Duncan and surrender 900 prisoners to Union forces under Commander David D. Porter. Naval: The British steamer Oreto anchors at Nassau, the Bahamas, and waits to be manned by Confederate sailors. It is eventually impressed into Southern service as the CSS Florida.

April 29 Military: In Virginia, a skittish General Joseph E. Johnston, painfully cognizant of the vast array of Union siege artillery before him along the Yorktown–Warwick

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Chronology of American History River line informs superiors that he is withdrawing inland as soon as practicable. He does so rather than be bombarded into submission. Politics: In Louisiana, city officials formally surrender New Orleans to Federal authorities. However, raising the American flag over the customs house occasions outbursts of anger and indignation from the populace.

April 30 Military: Confederate forces under General Thomas J. Jackson advance from Elk Run, western Virginia, toward Staunton in driving rain. This proves one of the war’s most impressive forced marches and bequeaths to troops involved the sobriquet “Jackson’s foot cavalry.” General Henry W. Halleck finalizes his reorganization of the Armies of the Mississippi with General Ulysses S. Grant as second in command, George H. Thomas and the Army of the Tennessee (right wing), John Pope and the Army of the Mississippi (left wing), John A. McClernand (reserve wing), and Don Carlos Buell and the Army of the Ohio acting independently.

May Aviation: Pioneering balloonist Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe becomes the first man to make military reconnaissance photographs while flying above Confederate lines near Richmond, Virginia. He takes no less than 64 overlapping pictures and is also the first man to transmit military intelligence by telegraph while airborne.

May 3 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston begins withdrawing 55,000 Confederates from Yorktown, Virginia, before heavy Union siege ordnance can commence firing. The Army of the Potomac, stalled a month while planting siege guns, can now begin moving up the Peninsula in pursuit.

May 4 Military: General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac occupies the Yorktown–Warwick River line recently abandoned by Confederate forces. As the Southerners under General Joseph E. Johnston funnel through Williamsburg in retreat, McClellan advances after them in pursuit and in great number, but also cautiously. Movement on either side is hampered by continual downpours that turn the roads to mud. Confederate forces evacuate Tucson, New Mexico Territory, ahead of the “California column” of Colonel James H. Carleton. Meanwhile, the main Southern army under General Henry H. Sibley straggles into El Paso, Texas, following their arduous campaign in the West.

May 5 Agriculture: Congress authorizes creation of the Department of Agriculture, headed by a commissioner. As such, it will not be accorded cabinet rank until 1889. Military: A Union force of 41,000 men commanded by General Edwin V. Sumner confronts a determined Confederate rear guard numbering 32,000 at Williamsburg, Virginia. The Southerners are posted at Fort Magruder under General James Longstreet, in the center of their line, and they rebuff an attack by General Joseph Hooker’s division. On the Confederate left, General Winfield

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S. Hancock’s Union brigade suddenly appears behind enemy lines around 3:00 p.m. and begins shelling the surprised Southerners with cannon fire. Confederate brigades under generals Jubal A. Early and Daniel H. Hill try to outflank the intruders and are repelled in turn. Sumner fails to take advantage of the situation and an impasse settles across the battlefield. Williamsburg, the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, proves both indecisive and characterized by heavy casualties: Union losses are 2,239 while the Confederates sustain 1,703. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton board the steamer Miami and sail to Hampton Roads, Virginia, to prod General George B. McClellan to greater efforts.

May 7 Military: Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson nudges his footsore host from Staunton, western Virginia, toward the outskirts of McDowell. As the 10,000 Confederates deploy to engage the next morning, Union reinforcement arrives in the form of General Robert C. Schenk’s brigade, giving the defenders 6,000 rank and file. Naval: President Abraham Lincoln tours the ironclad USS Monitor off Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

May 8 Military: At 4:30 p.m., General Thomas J. Jackson leads 10,000 Confederates in an attack against 6,000 Federals under General Robert H. Milroy at McDowell in western Virginia. Union troops nonetheless charge up the heavily wooded hill, firing into an open copse where the Southerners had deployed, and inflict heavy losses. Confederate General Edward Johnson and his Army of the Northwest grimly repulse every attack as Jackson labors to rush up additional troops. At length Milroy orders a retreat while Confederate troopers under Colonel Turner Ashby pursue and round up numerous stragglers.

May 9 Military: President Abraham Lincoln diplomatically admonishes General George B. McClellan for not moving more vigorously upon the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, seemingly within his grasp. Naval: The ailing Confederate commodore Andrew H. Foote, wounded at the capture of Fort Donelson, is relieved by Captain Charles H. Davis above Fort Pillow, Tennessee. Slavery: General David Hunter declares that all African-American slaves in his newly created Department of the South (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina) are emancipated. Willing slaves are also welcomed to be armed and incorporated into the army.

May 10 Military: The Gosport Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia, is occupied by Union forces under General John E. Wool, whose movements are partially directed from offshore by President Abraham Lincoln. The mighty steam ram CSS Virginia is now deprived of a berth as it draws too much water to be concealed further up the James River. Naval: The scratch-built Confederate River Defense Fleet of eight converted steam rams under Captain James E. Montgomery bravely sorties at Plum Run Bend on the Mississippi River, just north of Fort Pillow, Tennessee. He fiercely engages seven U.S. Ironclads under Commodore Charles H. Davis in one of the

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Chronology of American History few squadron actions of the Civil War. Once the formidable USS Carondelet moves into firing range it punishes the Confederates with rifled cannon fire and Montgomery withdraws to the safety of Fort Pillow.

May 11 Naval: Because the large ironclad ram CSS Virginia draws too much water to operate further up the James River, Commodore Josiah Tattnall unceremoniously scuttles it off Craney Island, Virginia, to prevent capture. The Northern Blockading Squadron now enjoys unfettered access up the James as far as Drewry’s Bluff.

May 12 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan advances to White House, Virginia, looming to within 22 miles of the Confederate capital Richmond. Naval: Crewmen of the former CSS Virginia gather under Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones at Drewry’s Bluff on the James River, where they man an artillery battery. This is a formidable position rising 100 feet above the river and is only seven miles from Richmond, Virginia, so its defense is imperative. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln declares the captured ports of Beaufort, North Carolina, Port Royal, South Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana, open to trade. He hopes that the resumption of commercial life will encourage and strengthen their political bonds to the North. Pro-Union sympathizers hold a convention in Nashville, Tennessee, under the watchful gaze of Federal troops.

May 13 Slavery: Harbor pilot Robert Smalls and eight African-American coconspirators abscond with the Confederate steamer Planter, sail from Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and surrender to the USS Onward offshore. Societal: The seemingly inexorable approach of the Army of the Potomac places the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, in a panic. President Jefferson Davis sends his wife Varina out of the city for safety.

May 15 Naval: Commodore John Rodgers leads the ironclads USS Monitor, Galena, and Nauguatuck up the James River until they encounter the formidable Confederate defenses along Drewy’s Bluff, seven miles below Richmond, Virginia. The ensuing battle is one-sided as the Union ships, outgunned and unable to circumvent obstacles in their path, take a pounding. Rodgers then limps back to Norfolk, and Richmond is saved. Politics: Rude behavior by New Orleans women toward Union occupiers prompts an angry General Benjamin F. Butler to issue his infamous General Order No. 28, the so-called Woman Order. This stipulates that any female disrespectfully disposed toward Federal troops will be arrested and treated as a prostitute. The act offends Southern sensibilities and triggers indignation across the Confederacy.

May 17 Military: Union troops under General Jacob D. Cox commence moving across the Flat Top Mountains of western Virginia, with a view toward severing the

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Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. To prevent this General Humphrey Marshall plans to attack from the east on the following day while General Henry Heath’s division is ordered to strike from the south. Cox, fearing himself out numbered, withdraws completely. Naval: The USS Sebago and Currituck escort troop transport Seth Low several miles down the Pamunkey River, Virginia, forcing Confederates to burn or scuttle 17 vessels to prevent capture. However, the river at this point is so narrow that the vessels are obliged to run backwards for several miles before turning their bows around.

May 18 Naval: Commander Stephen D. Lee demands the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, but Confederate General Martin L. Smith refuses. A year will elapse before the “Gibraltar of the West” succumbs to Union forces.

May 19 Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln countermands General David Hunter’s unauthorized emancipation order as it relates to his Department of the South (South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida).

May 20 Military: Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson’s rapidly moving command swells to 17,000 men with the arrival of General Richard S. Ewell’s contingent in the Luray Valley, western Virginia. Jackson is determined to prevent General Nathaniel P. Banks from reinforcing the Army of the Potomac. Settlement: Congress passes the Homestead Act, which insures settlers 160 acres of land if they remain on the land for five years and cultivate their plots. Southerners heretofore opposed the measure, fearing that it would attract overwhelming numbers of abolitionist homesteaders to the territories. Three million acres is ultimately distributed among 25,000 citizens by war’s end, which facilitates the coming tide of western settlement.

May 21 Military: Stalled eight miles from the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, and ignoring his numerical superiority over the Confederates, General George B. McClellan calls for reinforcements. To that end, the I Corps of General Irvin McDowell prepares to march overland from Washington, D.C., to join him. Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson move northward in the Luray Valley via passes in the Massanutten Mountains and approach the isolated Union outpost at Front Royal. His movements are effectively masked by cavalry under Colonel Turner Ashby, who completely confounds Union General Nathaniel P. Banks.

May 23 Military: A force of 23,000 Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson bursts upon a rather surprised Union garrison at Front Royal, Virginia. En route General Richard Taylor is hailed by notorious spy Belle Boyd, who relays useful intelligence as to Union dispositions about the town. Thus informed, Jackson pushes forward men of his 1st Maryland, C.S.A., to clear Front Royal and prevent Union forces from burning two valuable bridges. Front Royal quickly succumbs to the Southern onslaught and the Federals retreat.

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May 24 Military: Pursuing Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson maneuver to intercept retreating Federals under General Nathaniel P. Banks at Newtown, western Virginia, but are slowed by the delaying actions of cavalry commanded by General John P. Hatch. Jackson’s alarming progress, however, induces President Abraham Lincoln to order General Irvin McDowell’s I Corps halted at Fredericksburg and redirected back into the Shenandoah Valley. Politics: The defeat at Front Royal stings Union authorities into action, and President Abraham Lincoln orders General John C. Frémont to gather up his forces and drive the Confederates from the Shenandoah Valley. He also advises General George B. McClellan that promised reinforcements are not forthcoming at this time.

May 25 Military: President Abraham Lincoln, chafing over the stalled Union offensive outside Richmond, Virginia, again urges General George B. McClellan to resume his advance. “I think the time is near when you must either attack Richmond or give up the job and come to the defense of Washington,” he declares. The Army of the Potomac, reduced to a crawl before Richmond, Virginia, becomes divided by the Chickahominy River, with three Union corps lodged on its north bank and two below. This situation prompts General Joseph E. Johnston to contemplate an offensive stroke against the commands of generals Edwin V. Sumner, William B. Franklin, and Fitz John Porter, and possibly defeat them. Having prevailed over Union forces below Winchester, General Thomas J. Jackson hurriedly marches his weary men toward another engagement in that town. General Richard S. Ewell’s division advances against General Nathaniel Banks’s troops on the right, while the Louisiana Brigade of General Richard Taylor simultaneously strikes their right. Banks’s tactical ineptitude costs him 2,019 casualties while the Southerners sustain barely 400. Over the past three days Jackson’s command has netted 3,030 prisoners, 9,000 firearms, and such a trove of quartermaster stores that the Confederates jocularly refer to their defeated adversary as “Commissary Banks.” General Pierre G. T. Beauregard decides to abandon Corinth, Mississippi, to superior Union forces and preserve his own army of 50,000 men. He then concocts a number of clever stratagems to convince General Henry W. Halleck that the Confederates are actually being reinforced and intend to fight. Politics: President Jefferson Davis expresses disappointment that General Joseph E. Johnston has not commenced his offensive battle against the much larger Army of the Potomac. Nonetheless, he insists “We are steadily developing for a great battle, and under God’s favor I trust for a decisive victory.”

May 28 Military: Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart arrives at Richmond, Virginia, with intelligence that the much-feared approach of General Irvin McDowell’s I Corps from Fredericksburg will not transpire. This development further prods General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding Confederate forces in Virginia, to cancel his impending lunge at three Union corps north of the Chickahominy River in favor of attacking the remaining two corps on the south bank. Roughly 50,000 Union troops under generals Irvin McDowell, John C. Frémont, and Nathaniel P. Banks begin concentrating in the vicinity of Harper’s

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Ferry, western Virginia, to cut off and possibly annihilate marauding Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson. All are encouraged by an anxious President Abraham Lincoln, who urges them “Put in all the speed you can.”

May 30 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston makes a close reconnaissance of Union forces looming within 10 miles of Richmond, Virginia, and observes how they are physically divided by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River. He elects to concentrate 51,000 men against the combined III and IV Corps of General Samuel P. Heintzelman and Erasmus D. Keyes, unsupported on the south bank. However, Johnston’s execution is compromised by overreliance on verbal commands, which further complicates matters for his inexperienced officers and men. Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson withdraw from Winchester, Virginia, to avoid encirclement by three converging Union columns. General Turner Ashby’s cavalry is left behind to constitute a rear guard, and the town is subsequently secured by Federal troops under General James Shield. Union forces under General Henry W. Halleck secure 2,000 Confederates prisoners at Corinth, Mississippi, following the withdrawal of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. Halleck thus secures a vital transportation link and severs the vital Memphis & Charleston, and Mobile & Ohio Railroads but is nonetheless criticized for his dilatory pace. In truth, it has taken the glacial Halleck 30 days to cover only 22 miles from Pittsburg Landing.

May 31 Military: Federal troops under General George B. McClellan continue their glacial advance upon Richmond, Virginia, but topography requires him to further split his forces along either bank of the rain-swollen Chickahominy Creek. This deployment prompts General Joseph E. Johnston to destroy the isolated III and IV corps under generals Samuel P. Heintzelman and Eramus D. Keyes at Fair Oaks on the south bank. The impending Confederate onslaught, though wellplanned, is hobbled from the onset from poor staff work and overreliance on verbal orders. Hard fighting manages to oust the division of General Silas Casey from its position and captures several batteries, but the Federals promptly re-form and establish new lines to the rear. Johnston’s secondary attack at nearby Seven Pines fares little better. Union troops under redoubtable Phil Kearny fiercely resist General W. H. C. Whiting’s advance and repulse him. A second attack mounted by Whiting also falters, at which point General Joseph E. Johnston arrives to personally supervise matters. Johnston is then seriously wounded by a ball in the shoulder and succeeded by a dithering General Gustavus W. Smith, who orders his remaining forces from the field.

June 1 Military: Confederate forces resume their offensive by striking the Army of the Potomac at Seven Pines, Virginia. The Southerners deliver their charges fiercely, but in piecemeal fashion, and they are driven off in disarray. At length General Robert E. Lee gallops up from Richmond to succeed General Gustavus W. Smith and he orders the fighting stopped at 1 p.m. The Confederates, who did most of the attacking, lose 6,134 men to a Union tally of 5,031. President Jefferson Davis next assigns Lee to succeed the tottering Smith as field commander. Unknown at

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Chronology of American History the time, a corner had been turned in the military course of events—and a brilliant new chapter was about to unfold. Politics: An anxious President Abraham Lincoln telegrams and implores Gen-­ eral George B. McClellan to “Hold all your ground, or yield any inch by inch in good order.”

June 3 Naval: Prolonged bombardment by Federal gunboats on the Mississippi River convinces Confederate defenders to abandon Fort Pillow, Tennessee. The nearby city of Memphis is likewise poorly garrisoned, save for a weak naval squadron.

June 5 Politics: In another deft blow against slavery, the United States recognizes the largely black nations of Liberia and Haiti; President Abraham Lincoln formalizes the process by appointing diplomatic ministers to both nations.

June 6 Naval: At 4:20 a.m. Union gunboats under Commander Charles H. Davis weigh anchor off Island No. 45, two miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, and make

Lee, Robert E.

(1807–1870)

General

Robert E. Lee (National Archives)

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Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on Janu-­ ary 19, 1807, a son of famed Revolutionary War hero “Light Horse Harry” Lee. He entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1825 and graduated four years later second in his class—without a single demerit. Lee then received his second lieutenant’s commission in the elite Corps of Engineers and joined the staff of General Winfield Scott dur-­ ing the Mexican War, 1846–48. He ended the war as a brevet lieutenant colonel and between 1852 and 1855 also served as superintendent of cadets at West Point. Lee next served in Texas until 1859 and then, during a furlough at home, commanded a detachment of U.S. Marines that captured abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. In 1860 the gathering war clouds induced General-­in-­Chief Scott to tender Lee a ranking position within the Fed-­ eral army, but he respectfully declined and joined the Confederacy. By March 1862 Lee

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directly for the city. A small Confederate squadron of steam rams under Captain James E. Montgomery sorties to confront them as thousands of spectators line the riverbanks to observe. Davis feigns a retreat and Montgomery pursues until he is surprised in midstream by Union rams sailing four abreast. Confederate losses in the ensuing rout total around 100 with another 100 captured. Davis, having dispensed with his adversary, brooks no delay in making Memphis his prize. All western Tennessee is not firmly in Union hands, and this latest acquisition, the Confederacy’s fifth largest city, subsequently functions as a vital staging area for operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi.

June 8 Military: The main portion of the Army of the Valley under General Thomas J. Jackson camps at Port Republic, western Virginia, prior to advancing against Union forces commanded by General James Shields. Seven miles away General Richard S. Ewell’s force of 5,000 men assumes defensive positions at Cross Keys, anticipating a major thrust there by General John C. Frémont’s forces. At length Frémont approaches Ewell’s position with 12,000 men but, before serious fight-

was at Richmond acting as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. He then launched an audacious series of hard, pounding attacks on General George B. McClellan—the Seven Days’ Battles—which drove him back from the gates of Richmond. Lee then audaciously gambled upon an invasion of Union territory, carried the war directly into Maryland, and waged another hard-fought clash with McClellan at Antietam on September 17, 1862, which nearly proved disastrous until Lee was rescued by the sudden appearance of General Ambrose P. Hill’s division. Shortly afterward, the Army of the Potomac attacked Lee as he sat entrenched behind strong field fortifications at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. The result was a lopsided slaughter with 13,000 Federal losses to a Confederate tally of 5,300. In the spring of 1863, General Joseph Hooker led a reconstituted Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan River but Lee’s ensuing attack brilliantly crushed Hooker’s flank and induced him to retreat. In the summer

of 1863 Lee sought to maintain the strategic initiative by reinvading Northern territory. His plan quickly went awry when General J. E. B. Stuart led his cavalry on a spectacular ride into Pennsylvania—which deprived the Army of Northern Virginia of its reconnaissance capabilities. Consequently, when Lee collided with Union forces under General George G. Meade at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1–3, 1863, Lee’s bloody defeat marked the high tide of Confederate military fortunes. His next contest of strength occurred in the late spring of 1864 against General Ulysses S. Grant, conqueror of Vicksburg. Over the next year Grant pinned Lee within his fortifications at Richmond while another Army under General William T. Sherman advanced upon him from Georgia. Lee, having fought magnificently, finally surrendered on April 9, 1865. After the war he spurned lucrative offers of employment to serve as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Lee died at Lexington on October 12, 1870, an iconic figure of the Civil War.

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Chronology of American History ing can develop, he suddenly disengages and falls back down the Keezletown Road.

June 9 Military: Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson cross a narrow wagon bridge over the North River to attack General Erasmus B. Tyler’s brigade at Port Republic, western Virginia. Tyler arrays his 3,000 men in a line anchored by a sevengun battery, and Jackson orders General Richard Taylor’s Louisiana brigade against the Union left to storm it. By 11:00 a.m. Tyler, heavily outnumbered, orders a withdrawal which degenerates into a rout. Union losses amount to 1,108, including 558 prisoners, while the Southerners incur roughly 800 casualties, dead and wounded. Port Republic is the sixth and final rout of Jackson’s remarkable Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Since the previous March his famous “foot cavalry,” whose strength peaked at 17,000 men, have slogged 676 miles, won four pitched battles and several skirmishes while defying all attempts by 60,000 Federals to snare them. Most importantly, Jackson’s endeavors repeatedly siphoned off valuable Union manpower that might have been better employed before Richmond. “God has been our shield,” Jackson modestly concludes, “and to His name be all glory.”

June 10 Military: General Henry W. Halleck authorizes General Ulysses S. Grant, John Pope, and Don Carlos Buell to resume independent command of their respective armies. Grant, as the senior officer present, acts again as theater commander, and the tempo of events in the West once again escalates.

June 11 Diplomatic: In a sternly worded missive to Minister Charles F. Adams in London, British prime minister Lord Palmerston protests the behavior of General William F. Butler toward civilians at New Orleans.

June 12 Military: At 2:00 a.m. General J. E. B. Stuart bursts into his headquarters, declaring “Gentlemen, in ten minutes every man must be in the saddle.” His 1,200 Virginian troopers then commence their dramatic and celebrated ride from Richmond, Virginia, and around the Army of the Potomac. Stuart is tasked with verifying rumors that General George B. McClellan’s right flank is “up in the air” to facilitate a new offensive envisioned by new commander General Robert E. Lee.

June 13 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry reaches a threshold after filing through Old Church, Virginia, on the right flank of General George B. McClellan’s army. No Confederate unit had ever penetrated Union lines this far but, rather than retrace his steps, Stuart boldly plunges ahead and begins his circular ride to fame.

June 14 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry destroys the bridge over the Chickahominy River at Forge Site to prevent a Union pursuit and completes its ride around the Army of the Potomac’s left flank. Previously, the Confederates had been pursued by Federal cavalry under Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, Stuart’s father-in-law.

June 15 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart gallops into Richmond, Virginia, ahead of his troopers, with important military intelligence about the Army of the Potomac.

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His 100-mile jaunt brings General Robert E. Lee welcome information about the dispositions of the Union V Corps under General Fitz John Porter, presently unsupported on the north bank of the river. Lee, eager to break the impasse near Richmond, begins concocting a plan for Porter’s defeat. Politics: With amazing perspicacity, President Abraham Lincoln informs a worried General John C. Frémont that Confederate reinforcements, seemingly headed for the Shenandoah Valley, are most likely a ruse to mask General Thomas J. Jackson’s transfer to Richmond, Virginia.

June 16 Military: At 2:00 a.m. Union general Henry W. Benham rouses the divisions of generals Horatio Wright and Isaac I. Stevens and orders them to attack Confederate emplacements at nearby Secessionville, South Carolina. The local Southern commander, Colonel Thomas G. Lamar of the 1st South Carolina Artillery, is apprised of Benham’s intentions and prepares a two-mile-long position, crowned by heavy cannon, to receive him. The ensuing battle is a minor disaster for the Federals, and Benham loses 107 killed, 487 wounded, and 80 captured to a Confederate tally of 52 killed, 144 injured, and 8 missing.

June 17 Military: General Braxton Bragg, a close friend and confidant of President Jefferson Davis, succeeds the ailing General Pierre G. T. Davis as commander of the Confederate Western Department. Bragg is a capable strategist and an accomplished logistician, but his garrulous disposition and fits of indecision alienate all but the most faithful subordinates.

June 19 Naval: Commander Matthew F. Maury reports to Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory on mining operations along the James River. He also broaches the use of galvanic batteries and the CSS Teaser, the first naval vessel to be outfitted as a minelayer; it also carries the first Confederate observation balloon. Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation outlawing slavery in all the territories.

June 23 Military: General Robert E. Lee assembles his commanders at the Dabb’s House near Richmond, Virginia, and outlines his offensive against the Army of the Potomac’s right wing under General Fitz-John Porter. He plans to concentrate no less than 55,000 men against Porter’s 30,000-strong V Corps by throwing the combined weight of generals Thomas J. Jackson, James Longstreet, Daniel H. Hill, and Ambrose P. Hill in a single, coordinated strike. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, disillusioned by General George B. McClellan’s fabled cautiousness, ventures to West Point, New York, to confer with former general in chief Winfield Scott.

June 25 Military: The Army of the Potomac edges to within six miles of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, the closest Union forces will approach in three years. General George B. McClellan, desiring to place heavy cannon on the city’s outskirts to bombard it, orders Oak Grove, a section of swampy wooded terrain

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Chronology of American History to his front, wrested from the enemy. Union forces acquire Oak Grove at the cost of 626 men while the Confederates suffer 441 casualties, but no one could have anticipated that the strategic initiative is passing suddenly and irretrievably over to the South.

June 26 Military: Throughout the morning three Confederate divisions under generals James Longstreet, Daniel H. Hill, and Ambrose P. Hill march and concentrate 47,000 men in the vicinity of Mechanicsville, Virginia. Opposing them were 30,000 Federal troops of General Fitz-John Porter’s V Corps, strongly entrenched behind Beaver Dam Creek. The aggressive General A. P. Hill orders a frontal assault against Porter but his well-positioned soldiers have little difficulty blasting back the enthusiastic Confederates. Lee’s battle plan misfires spectacularly and with a loss of 1,484 Confederates to 361 Federals. His sudden pugnaciousness perplexes and unnerves General George B. McClellan, who orders Porter to abandon his strong position. McClellan also begins shifting his base of operations from the Pamunkey River to Harrison’s Landing on the James River. This is the first stirring of what many participants on either side ridicule as the “Great Skedaddle.”

June 27 Military: The Union V Corps under General Fitz-John Porter retires four miles southeast from Mechanicsville, Virginia, and establishes a new defensive perimeter along a swampy plateau near Gaines’s Mill. Confederates under General Robert E. Lee pursue smartly, and he determines to make another concerted attack on the new position. The charge is spearheaded by 4,000 fresh troops, but fighting is intense and bloody before Union forces finally abandon their strong plateau. Porter then withdraws in good order toward Chickahominy Creek and closer to General George B. McClellan’s main force. Gaines’s Mill is the most costly of the so-called Seven Days’ Battles, with Confederate losses of 7,993 to a Union tally of 6,837. General Braxton Bragg directs 3,000 men of General John P. McCown’s division to transit by rail from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to join the army of General Edmund Kirby-Smith. The movement takes six days and proceeds smoothly, which convinces Bragg that larger transfers of men and supplies could be shuttled there before Union forces can respond effectively. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln formally accepts the resignation of the controversial explorer, soldier, and politician John C. Frémont.

June 28 Military: General George B. McClellan withdraws from Richmond, Virginia, and bitterly concludes he is losing the campaign for want of promised reinforcements. General Robert E. Lee, meanwhile, having analyzed McClellan’s temperament, orders his army on an intricate move down four different roads in an attempt to surround and possibly cripple his timid opponent. Naval: At 2:00 a. m., Admiral David G. Farragut and Commander David D. Porter slip their respective squadrons past heavy Confederate gun emplacements at Vicksburg, Mississippi, suffering 15 killed and 30 wounded—trifling considering the amount of ordnance poured upon them.

June 29 Military: General John B. Magruder, advancing east from Williamsburg, Virginia, with 11,000 men, cautiously probes the region for Union forces. Contact

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with the Federals is finally established at Allen’s Farm around 9:00 a.m., although Magruder suddenly finds himself confronting the entire II Corps of 26,000 men under General Edwin V. Sumner, backed by 40 cannon. Thus far Magruder’s “pursuit” availed him little beyond 626 casualties. Sumner’s mishandling of affairs cost him 919 men and he also abandons 2,500 sick and injured soldiers. Overnight the II Corps withdraws to new positions at White Oak Swamp and Glendale.

June 30 Military: General Robert E. Lee, intent upon destroying at least a portion of General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, issues another set of complicated attack plans to catch the fleeing Federals in a pincer at Glendale. By 4:00 p.m. that afternoon an exasperated Lee can only count on 19,000 men of generals James Longstreet and Ambrose P. Hill, and they charge the center of the Union line, then strongly posted behind White Oak Swamp Creek. General George A. McCall is captured, but before the Southerners can exploit their breakthrough and seize vital crossroads, they are evicted by savage, hand-to-hand fighting and the combat draws down with nightfall. Lee’s losses at White Oak are 3,673 while McClellan sustains 3,797.

July 1 Military: Having failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac at White Oak Swamp the previous day, General Robert E. Lee maneuvers to deliver one last and possibly crushing blow against them at Malvern Hill, a 150-foot-high rise flanked by swamps and other obstacles, and ably manned by General Fitz-John Porter’s V Corps. Porter’s secure flanks promise to funnel any Confederate attack directly up the center of his waiting line, which is crowned by 100 pieces of field artillery. Lee nevertheless commits his army to several costly and futile assaults and then relents after suffering 5,650 casualties to a Union tally of 3,007. The Seven Days’ Campaign reaches its bloody conclusion with Union forces pushed far from the Southern capital of Richmond, Virginia. The Confederacy is thus preserved for another three-and-a-half years at a cost of 20,141 casualties. The Army of the Potomac, which handled itself well under excruciating circumstances, loses 15,849. Most important of all, the campaign defines General Robert E. Lee as an assertive and offensive-minded battle captain, much given to calculated risks. Warfare in the Eastern Theater now largely revolves around him. Union forces under Colonel Philip H. Sheridan engage a large force of 4,700 Confederates under General James R. Chalmers at Booneville, Mississippi, 20 miles south of Corinth. Chambers presses hard against Sheridan’s pickets, who are carrying the latest Colt revolving rifles, and is repelled. Sheridan’s aggressive handling of troops also catches the eye of General Henry W. Halleck, who arranges his promotion to brigadier general. Naval: The Western Flotilla under Commodore Charles H. Davis unites with the naval expedition of Admiral David G. Farragut above Vicksburg, Mississippi. This commingling of fresh and saltwater squadrons represents an impressive effort by both. Politics: To meet mounting wartime expenditures, President Abraham Lincoln raises the federal income tax to three percent on all incomes over $600 per annum. (The first income tax passed in 1861 was never enforced.) The Bureau of Internal Revenue is founded to collect all monies.

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Chronology of American History Religion: An anti-polygamy act, aimed at Mormons of the Utah Territory, is passed by Congress. Transportation: Congress passes the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad. This will be accomplished by the Union Pacific Railroad laying down a track from Nebraska to Utah, where it will meet another line constructed from California by the Central Pacific Railroad.

July 2 Education: President Abraham Lincoln signs the Land-Grant College Act (or Morrill Act), which transfers 30,000 acres of public land to educational institutions throughout the North, for the purpose of promoting studies relating to agriculture, engineering, and military science. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes the “ironclad test oath” to extract loyalty from all Federal employees, and it is eventually extended to include government contractors, attorneys, jurors, and passport applicants. Furthermore, citizens in Federal-occupied regions of the South are likewise required to pledge their allegiance.

July 7 Military: President Abraham Lincoln visits General George B. McClellan at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, to discuss recent events. The general blames his recent setback upon a lack of promised reinforcements, and he also urges the president to adopt a more conservative approach to strategy—and abolition.

Photograph showing a construction train on the Union Pacific Railroad (Library of Congress)

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July 10 Military: The newly designated Army of Virginia under General John Pope positions itself in the Shenandoah Valley and reminds inhabitants of their obligation to assist Union efforts. He also promises swift justice for any treasonable or harmful deeds against military personnel.

July 12 Military: The Congressional Medal of Honor, established in 1861 to honor naval personnel, is expanded to include soldiers. Naval: Faced with falling water levels on the Yazoo River, the large Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas under Lieutenant Isaac N. Brown sorties into the Mississippi River and heads south toward Vicksburg, Mississippi.

July 13 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln seeks congressional action to compensate states willing to voluntarily abolish slavery. He also informs Secretary of State William H. Seward and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles of his intention to draft an initial “emancipation proclamation” for the Cabinet to examine.

July 14 Military: General John Pope exhorts his Army of Virginia by declaring that “The strongest position a soldier should desire to occupy is one from which he can most easily advance against the enemy.” He then deploys his men between Washington, D.C., and Confederate forces to draw their attention away from General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves legislation for a Federal pension system to assist all widows and children of Union soldiers killed in the war. Meanwhile, 20 representatives from border states announce their opposition to the president’s compensated emancipation plan.

July 15 Military: Apaches under Mangas Coloradas and Cochise engage California troops under Colonel James H. Carleton at the Battle of Apache Pass, New Mexico Territory (Arizona). Naval: Union vessels under Commodore Charles H. Davis attack the newly built Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas under Lieutenant Isaac N. Brown as it churns down the Mississippi River. Both sides sustain damage but the Arkansas escapes intact and remains a menace to Union shipping throughout the region.

July 16 Naval: David G. Farragut is formally appointed rear admiral by Congress, the first officer in the U.S. Navy to hold such rank. President Abraham Lincoln also signs legislation conferring promotions to all serving flag officers.

July 17 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves the Second Confiscation Act, which mandates freedom for any African-American slaves reaching Union lines. Those wishing to emigrate outside the United States will also receive assistance. Various kinds of property useful to the Confederate war effort are also subject to seizure. However, escaped slaves in loyal border states remain subject to return under the Fugitive Slave Act.

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July 19 Politics: Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, composes a letter to President Abraham Lincoln and calls upon him to free the slaves as a means of weakening the Confederacy.

July 21 Arts: James Sloan Gibbons publishes his noted poem “We Are Coming Father Abraham” in the New York Evening Post; it is subsequently set to music by Stephen Foster and Luther O. Emerson. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln discusses with his cabinet the possible employment of African-American soldiers, but no action is taken at this time.

July 22 Military: Colonel Nathan B. Forrest and 1,000 Confederate cavalry capture Murfreesboro, Tennessee, defeating a Union garrison of 1,200 men. He does so by overrunning the camps of the 9th Michigan and 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, then bluffing the still intact 3rd Minnesota to surrender. Confederate raiders under Colonel John H. Morgan return to Livingston, Tennessee, after a spectacular raid through Kentucky. The Federals also learn that a Confederate operative working for Morgan had tapped into their telegraph lines and intercepted army dispatches for the past 12 days. Naval: The USS Essex under Captain William B. Porter, accompanied by the ram Queen of the West, resumes attacking the Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas off Vicksburg, Mississippi. Both Union vessels are driven off without seriously damaging their opponent, which defiantly steams past Vicksburg’s batteries and challenges the Federals to fight. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln unveils a draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet, which frees all African Americans held in bondage throughout the South. However, he heeds Secretary of State William H. Seward’s suggestion to postpone its unveiling until after a significant military victory by the North. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton then announces that the army can appropriate personal property for military purposes and also employ freed African Americans as paid laborers. Federal and Confederate officials reach an agreement on a method for exchanging prisoners of war. It functions effectively until the fall of 1863, when Union complaints over the treatment of African Americans results in its cancellation.

July 23 Military: General Henry W. Halleck, newly arrived general in chief in Washington, D.C., discusses the possibility of joint operations between generals George B. McClellan and John Pope. Union cavalry under Colonel Hugh J. Kilpatrick, advancing from Fredericksburg, Virginia, raids Confederate supplies gathered at Carmel Church until driven off by General J. E. B. Stuart. General John Pope tightens restrictions upon the inhabitants of the Shenandoah region by insisting that all military-age males take an oath of allegiance or face deportation to the South. General Braxton Bragg begins skillfully transferring 31,000 Confederate troops from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Chattanooga, Tennessee—a distance of 776

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miles—in one of the largest Southern rail movements of the war. However, Bragg leaves behind two independent and feuding leaders: generals Sterling Price at Tupelo and Earl Van Dorn at Vicksburg, each commanding 16,000 men.

July 24 Naval: Falling water levels on the Mississippi River and rising sickness induce Admiral David G. Farragut to remove his squadron from below Vicksburg, Mississippi, to New Orleans, Louisiana, following a two-month hiatus. Moreover, his experience outside Vicksburg convinces him that the city will never be taken by naval forces alone. Politics: Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, dies in Kinderhook, New York.

July 29 Military: Federal authorities arrest Confederate spy mistress Belle Boyd at Warrenton, Virginia, and she is sent to the Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C. The first elements of the Confederate Army of Mississippi arrive at Chattanooga, Tennessee, concluding a strategic transfer of resources from the Deep South back to the center. General Braxton Bragg skillfully cobbles together a force of 30,000 men for an impending offensive into Kentucky. Naval: Ship “209,” christened Enrica, departs Liverpool, England, ostensibly for sea trials. It actually heads for Nassau, the Bahamas, for service with the Confederate navy as the infamous commerce raider CSS Alabama.

July 31 Diplomacy: U.S. Minister Charles F. Adams badgers Foreign Secretary Lord Russell not to allow the newly launched Enrica (the future CSS Alabama) to leave port. The British government dithers five days before Lord Russell issues the requisite orders, but beforehand Confederate agents slip aboard and sail it away, ostensibly for conducting sea trials. Ultimately, this vessel accounts for the destruction of 60 Union merchant ships. Military: Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby-Smith confer at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and hammer out a strategy for the upcoming Kentucky campaign. The former, while senior, fails to exert his authority over Kirby-Smith, who insists upon a virtually independent command. Politics: President Jefferson Davis directs that any Union officer captured from General John Pope’s Army of Virginia is to be treated like a felon. This is in retaliation for any Southern citizens shot for treason under Pope’s draconian administration of the Shenendoah Valley.

August 2 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward orders American Minister to England Charles F. Adams to ignore any British offers of mediation between North and South.

August 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln issues a call for 300,000 drafted militia to serve nine months; this levy is never enacted. Yet, despite persistent manpower shortages, he declines the services of two African-American regiments from Indiana, suggesting instead that they be employed as laborers.

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August 5 Military: General John C. Breckinridge is ordered by General Earl Van Dorn to attack the Union enclave at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his 2,600 Confederates and accompanied offshore by the ironclad CSS Arkansas. The Union garrison of 2,500 soldiers under General Thomas Williams deploys to receive him, and a sharp action erupts in very dense fog around 4:30 p.m. Fighting finally subsides around six hours later when Breckinridge concedes defeat and orders his command back to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Naval: The large Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas under Lieutenant Henry K. Stevens steams down the Mississippi River to assist the expedition against Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His mission is to neutralize Union gunboats, but his craft sustains a broken propeller shaft en route and proves unable to effectively support the military effort ashore.

August 6 Indian: A starving band of Mdewkanton Santee (Sioux) Indians arrives at the Lower Agency, Minnesota, where Chief Little Crow (Taoyateduta) pleads with agent Andrew F. Myrick for promised foodstuffs. However, war activities delay the arrival of treaty payments from Washington, D.C., and local authorities refuse to give Little Crow the credit necessary to feed his people. Despite desperate entreaties for help, Myrick rebuffs the Indians, declaring “So far as I am concerned, if they are hungry, let them eat grass.” The chief and his entourage angrily depart, incensed at white indifference to their plight. Naval: A Federal naval flotilla under Commander David D. Porter of the USS Essex attacks and further damages the large ironclad CSS Arkansas near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That vessel has a broken propeller shaft and, when it runs aground, Lieutenant Henry K. Stevens orders it scuttled to prevent capture.

August 7 Military: A force of 24,000 Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson decamps from Gordonsville, Virginia, and marches north to Orange Court House. However, because General Ambrose P. Hill completely misinterprets his orders and fails to leave camp, the usually hard-marching Confederates cover only eight miles.

August 8 Law: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton suspends writs of habeas corpus throughout the country to facilitate cases against treason and draft evasion. Military: Federal authorities again release and parole Confederate spy Belle Boyd from Old Capitol Prison, in Washington, D.C., citing lack of evidence to detain her further.

August 9 Military: Aware that Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson are converging upon his position near Cedar Mountain, Virginia, General Nathaniel P. Banks deploys 9,000 Federal troops at its base to confront Jackson, who then attacks without proper reconnaissance with two divisions, but at 4:30 p.m. Banks commits his entire reserves to battle, which outflank the Confederates and threaten to roll up their line. However, Jackson is rescued in timely fashion as the first elements of General A. P. Hill’s division come trudging up the road and his line is stabilized. Banks then withdraws his men and the Southerners retain

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Chronology

Little Crow

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(ca. 1820–1863)

Sioux chief Little Crow (Taoyateduta) was born into the Mdewkanton (Santee) band of the Sioux nation around 1820, near present-day St. Paul, Minnesota. His father was a hereditary chief and around 1834 Little Crow assumed control of the band. Contact with white settlers in this remote region was increasing, but the chief seems to have been amicably disposed toward them. In 1846, after he was injured in an altercation with his brothers over the use of alcohol, Little Crow approached the Indian agency at nearby Fort Snelling about sending missionaries among the Indians to promote temperance. In 1851 he was a signatory to the Treaty of Mendota, whereby the Santee ceded most of their territory to settlers and moved onto reservations. Resentful Indians perpetuated the Spirit Lake Massacre in 1857, at which point Little Crow volunteered to help pursue those responsible. The following year he ventured to Washington, D.C., with a tribal delegation to further negotiations and secure an annuity of goods and food to assist his people. However, by 1861, the government was absorbed by the Civil War and the Indian Department neglected its responsibilities of feeding the Indians as promised. By the summer of 1862 the Santee were reduced to eating their own horses to survive, and when Little Crow angrily remonstrated to agent Andrew Myrick that stockpiled supplies were deliberately being withheld, Myrick told him and his people to eat grass. Tensions then flared when angry Santee braves murdered five white settlers and Little Crow, sensing the

inevitability of conflict, began orchestrating an armed uprising. On August 18, 1862, armed Sioux swooped down on unsuspecting white settlements, killing upwards of 400 men, women, and children. The defiant Myrick was among those slain, and his mouth was then stuffed with grass. The Indians continued on a rampage until a force under General Henry H. Sibley could organize itself and counterattack. The Sioux were then decisively beaten at Wild Lake on September 23, 1862, and many prisoners were seized. President Abraham Lincoln spared most of them from the hangman’s noose, but on December 26, 1862, 38 braves went to the scaffold in the largest mass execution in American history. For his part, Little Crow escaped capture and made his way to Canada, but British authorities refused to help. He then returned to Minnesota the following year with a small band of warriors and resumed depredations against settlements. However, on July 3, 1863, he was shot and killed by farmers while picking berries. Little Crow’s remains were then flung upon a garbage heap, where they remained for several months, although his skeleton eventually made its way into the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. In 1971 the bones were turned over to his descendants and interred at a Sioux burial ground in South Dakota. For the time it was fought, Little Crow’s uprising was one of the bloodiest Indian conflicts in American history and initiated removal of the Sioux from their ancestral homelands.

possession of the field. Jackson loses 1,334 men to a Union tally of 2,353, which leads participants to dub the engagement “Slaughter Mountain.”

August 13 Military: General Robert E. Lee begins advancing his Army of Northern Virginia from the Peninsula and toward Gordonsville, Virginia. He begins by dispatching

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Chronology of American History 30,000 men under General James Longstreet by rail, where they are scheduled to link up with the corps of General Thomas J. Jackson.

August 14 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln confers with a delegation of free African Americans at the White House and suggests Central America as a possible venue for colonization. The suggestion is badly received by many black leaders, especially Frederick Douglass, who accuses the president of “contempt for Negroes.”

August 16 Military: General Edmund Kirby-Smith departs Knoxville, Tennessee, with 10,000 men and plunges headlong through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky. This action initiates a concerted Southern effort to reclaim that state for the Confederacy.

August 17 Indian: Half-starved Sioux tribesmen stage an uprising in southwest Minnesota by killing five settlers on their farm in Acton Township. Chief Little Crow, when informed of the action, realizes that war with the whites is unavoidable and takes to the warpath. The result is a savage, six-week conflict claiming upwards of 600 lives.

August 18 Indian: Rampaging Sioux warriors attack the Upper and Lower Indian Agencies, Minnesota, killing 20 people including Agent Andrew J. Myrick, whose mouth is then stuffed with the very grass he told the Indians to eat. A detachment of 46 soldiers under Captain John Marsh, 5th Minnesota, advancing to rescue the settlers is then ambushed at Redwood Ferry and nearly annihilated with the loss of 24 soldiers. Politics: President Jefferson Davis, addressing the newly convened second session of the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia, excoriates the behavior of General Benjamin F. Butler at New Orleans, Louisiana.

August 20 Indian: A large gathering of Mdewkanton Santee (Sioux) warriors under Chief Little Crow attack Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, and are repulsed by 180 soldiers and three cannon under Lieutenant Timothy Sheehan. The garrison loses six killed and 20 wounded while Santee casualties are considerably heavier. The Indians draw back but continue the siege while awaiting reinforcements. Journalism: New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley pens his “Prayer of Twenty Millions” in an unabashed plea for the abolition of slavery.

August 21 Politics: Confederate military authorities issue a directive to execute any Northern officers found commanding African-American troops. Generals David Hunter and John W. Phelps, in particular, are likewise to be treated as felons if captured for their roles in arming slaves to fight in the Union army.

August 22 Indian: Chief Little Crow of the Mdewkanton Santee (Sioux) is joined by another 400 warriors of the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands, for a total of nearly 800. These then make another aborted attack upon the 180-man garrison of Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, and are again repulsed with 100 casualties. Federal troops sustain three killed and 13 wounded.

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Journalism: President Abraham Lincoln responds to New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley and candidly admits he intends to neither preserve nor destroy that “peculiar institution.” Lincoln is in a bind to keep slave-owning border states loyal to the North out of military considerations. “My paramount objective is to save the Union,” he insists.

August 23 Indian: The town of New Ulm, Minnesota, is attacked by 400 rampaging Mdewkanton Santee (Sioux) under Chief Little Crow. The town, stoutly defended by civilians under Judge Charles Flandreau, is nearly consumed by fire but the Indians are repulsed and withdraw. The whites lose 36 dead and 23 wounded; Sioux losses are unknown but presumed to be as heavy. Military: General J. E. B. Stuart attacks Catlett’s Station, Virginia, headquarters of General John Pope. He thus seizes 300 captives, Pope’s personal baggage and uniform, along with his military correspondence. General Robert E. Lee is thereby informed of Union strategy to unite Pope’s 51,000-man Army of Virginia with the 100,000-strong Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan. Lee begins formulating a plan to crush Pope before the two forces can merge.

August 24 Military: In a stunningly bold maneuver, General Robert E. Lee divides the Army of Northern Virginia by detaching 25,000 men under General Thomas J. Jackson’s corps on a rapid march to destroy the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, thereby cutting General John Pope’s supply line. Meanwhile, his remaining 30,000 men under General James Longstreet remain in place until Pope takes the bait. Naval: Having received its armament, CSS Alabama is commissioned into Confederate service off Terceria, Azores, under celebrated raider Raphael Semmes.

August 25 Military: General Thomas J. Jackson’s corps detaches itself from the Army of Northern Virginia and advances to the Rappahannock River. By dint of hard slogging the Southerners cover 56 miles in only two days—one of the most impressive performances of the entire war—and arrive behind General John Pope’s Army of Virginia. Jackson also manages to interpose himself between Pope and the Union capital at Washington, D.C. Politics: To placate Radical Republicans and alleviate manpower shortages, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton authorizes the recruitment of up to 5,000 African-American soldiers. Orders are then cut for General Rufus Saxton, military governor of the South Carolina Sea Islands, to raise five regiments of black troops for military service in the field. Much is anticipated from this pilot program.

August 26 Military: In a surprise move, Confederate forces led by General Isaac Trimble storm into Manassas Junction, Virginia, capturing General John Pope’s main supply base. The malnourished Confederates of General Thomas J. Jackson, looking more like scarecrows than soldiers, gleefully gorge themselves. Naval: Captain Franklin Buchanan is promoted to rear admiral for his conduct on the CSS Virginia on March 8, 1862, the first Confederate naval officer so honored.

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August 27 Indian: A relief column of 1,400 soldiers under Colonel Henry H. Sibley arrives at Fort Sibley, Minnesota, from distant Fort Snelling. Meanwhile, a detachment of troopers under Major Joseph R. Brown is ambushed at Birch Coulee, losing 16 killed and 44 wounded. Military: General John Pope, stung by the capture of his supply base at Manassas Junction, hurriedly marches from behind the Rappahannock River in search of Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson. Jackson, meanwhile, is staying along the Warrenton Turnpike to await the arrival of General James Longstreet’s corps. The most perilous part of General Robert E. Lee’s gambit is about to be launched.

August 28 Military: Generals Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet force a passage through Thoroughfare Gap, Virginia, to engage the main Union army. In the process they encounter and brush aside a division under General James B. Ricketts and cavalry forces commanded by General John Buford. Two Confederate divisions of General Thomas J. Jackson surprise and attack a force of 2,800 Union troops under General Rufus King at Groveton, Virginia. However, as the heady Southerners advance anticipating an easy victory they charge headlong into the “Black Hat” brigade of General John Gibbon at Brawner’s Farm. A fierce fight of two hours ensues before both sides withdraw exhausted and depleted. Jackson loses 1,200 men out of 4,500 committed while Union forces sustain 1,100 casualties out of 2,800 present. General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Mississippi, soon to be redesignated the Army of Tennessee, proceeds northward from Chattanooga and into Kentucky proper, several days behind a second column under General Edmund Kirby-Smith. Politics: Congress founds the Department of Engraving and Printing with five employees.

August 29 Military: General Thomas J. Jackson assumes defensive positions along an unfinished railroad berm near Groveton, Virginia, as Union forces under General John Pope mass 65,000 men for an attack. The Second Battle of Manassas begins as generals Franz Sigel and Joseph Hooker assail Jackson’s line while the V Corps under General Fitz-John Porter detects the approach of General James Longstreet’s 30,000 Confederates on Pope’s left flank. Porter immediately notifies his superior as to the danger confronting his army, but Pope nonetheless orders him to attack Jackson’s position at once. Porter disobeys and prepares to face Longstreet; his insubordination costs him his career but probably spared the Army of Virginia from annihilation.

August 30 Military: The Second Battle of Manassas resumes as Union troops, ordered by General John Pope to pursue supposedly defeated Confederates, find them still occupying string defensive position instead. Regardless, General Fitz-John Porter’s V Corps surges forward and assails Jackson’s right, and waves of blue-coated infantry surge forward. Suddenly a massed charge, spearheaded by General John B. Hood’s Texan Brigade, begins rolling up the Union left. Jackson, seeing his

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Federal opponents suddenly waver, orders his own men forward in front and Pope’s army dissolves. Losses at Second Manassas are severe with Pope reporting 16,054 men lost while Lee sustained 9,197. Moreover, the Southerners are in no position to take the war northward into Maryland. General Mahlon D. Manson, bolstered by the arrival of troops under General Charles Cruft, pours 6,500 Federal soldiers—mostly new recruits—into defensive positions six miles below Richmond, Kentucky. General Patrick R. Cleburne’s Confederates then attack and dislodge the defenders, who fall back in confusion through the streets of Richmond. Southern losses are 98 killed, 492 wounded, and 10 missing while Manson suffers 206 killed, 844 wounded, and 4,303 captured. The Southern invasion of Kentucky is off to a productive start.

August 31 Military: The Union Army of Virginia under General John Pope regroups and rallies at Centreville, Virginia, as General Robert E. Lee dispatches the fast moving command of General Thomas J. Jackson on a forced march around the Union left to possibly cut their retreat from Washington, D.C.

September 1 Military: Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson, resting around Ox Hill and Chantilly, Virginia, are suddenly accosted by Union forces from General Joseph Hooker’s division. Fighting commences around 4:00 p.m. when additional Federals under General Isaac I. Stevens, IX Corps, advance down Warrenton Pike and charge. These are then bolstered by the appearance of General Philip Kearny’s brigade, which laces into advancing Confederates and closes a gap in Union lines. However, Kearny, while conducting a personal reconnaissance ahead of his troops, stumbles into Confederate pickets and is shot dead. Losses in this brief but intense encounters are estimated at 500 Confederates and 700 Federals.

September 2 Indian: A detachment of soldiers is attacked in camp at Birch Coulee, Minnesota, by Santee warriors under Big Eagle (Wambdi Tanka). They manage to keep their attackers at bay for the next 31 hours. Military: President Abraham Lincoln, ignoring the advice of his Cabinet, restores General George B. McClellan as head of the Army of the Potomac, a decision widely hailed by soldiers in the ranks. The bumbling and recently disgraced General John Pope, meanwhile, continues on without an official command.

September 3 Military: General John Pope complains to General in Chief Henry W. Halleck that his recent debacle is due to General Fitz-John Porter’s refusal to obey orders and General George B. McClellan’s inability to provide timely support. Politics: Kentuckian Joseph Holt is appointed judge advocate general of the United States.

September 4 Military: The Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee moves 40,000 men across the Potomac River at White’s Ford, Virginia, and filters into Maryland. The invasion of the North commences. Naval: The CSS Florida under Lieutenant Joseph N. Maffit plunges past Union vessels and enters Mobile Bay, Alabama. His success results in an official rebuke

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Chronology of American History for local Union commanders and demands for better management of the blockade effort.

September 5 Military: General John Pope is formally relieved of command and ordered back to Washington, D.C., for reassignment. General in Chief Henry W. Halleck then orders that his Army of Virginia is to be consolidated within the Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan.

September 6 Military: General John Pope accepts the military equivalent of Siberian exile by assuming command of the Department of the Northwest (Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Nebraska and Dakota Territories). There he is primarily concerned with ending a deadly Sioux uprising.

September 7 Military: The Union capital at Washington, D.C., panics as Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee occupy Frederick, Maryland—within striking distance. General George B. McClellan, newly reappointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac, sallies forth from the capital to engage them.

September 8 Military: General Robert E. Lee issues a proclamation to the inhabitants of Maryland, assuring them that “We know no enemies among you, and will protect all, of every opinion.” Regardless, public attitude toward the invaders remains tepid. Naval: Commodore John Wilkes assembles the West India Squadron (a mobile or “flying” squadron) and is tasked with halting depredations by Confederate raiders CSS Alabama and Florida.

September 9 Military: As the Army of Northern Virginia passes through Frederick, Maryland, General Robert E. Lee expresses concern about the sizable Union garrison holding Harper’s Ferry, as it could threaten his rear. He therefore issues Special Order No, 191 which detaches the corps of General Thomas J. Jackson back into the Shenandoah Valley to capture that strategic post while General James Longstreet’s corps advances toward Hagerstown. Lee has again daringly—and dangerously—split his army in two.

September 10 Military: The Confederate corps of General Thomas J. Jackson, accompanied by the divisions of generals Lafayette McLaws and John G. Walker, depart their cantonment near Frederick, Maryland, and execute a converging movement against Harper’s Ferry in western Virginia. Meanwhile, General James Longstreet continues marching toward Hagerstown, leaving the Army of Northern Virginia badly dispersed and subject to defeat.

September 13 Military: Private Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana accidently finds a copy of General Robert E. Lee’s Special Order No. 191 wrapped around a discarded cigar. Once informed, General George B. McClellan suddenly realizes that the Southerners are scattered and subject to defeat. Inexplicably, he waits 16 hours before putting the army in motion while his golden opportunity ebbs.

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Harper’s Ferry in western Virginia is being enveloped by a three-pronged Confederate maneuver. General Lafayette McLaws’ division occupies neighboring Maryland Heights across the river while General John G. Walker positions his force on nearby Loudoun Heights. The 12,000-man Union garrison under Colonel Dixon S. Miles is thus speedily trapped by 23,000 Confederates now enjoying superiority in both numbers and position.

September 14 Military: General George B. McClellan sorties his entire Army of the Potomac, intending to catch the dispersed Confederates of General Robert E. Lee before they can regroup. He orders the IX Corps under General Jesse L. Reno and the I Corps of General Joseph Hooker to march their respective ways through Fox and Turner’s Gaps near South Mountain, but they encounter General James Longstreet’s command. Longstreet then feeds the brigades of generals Robert Rodes and John B. Hood into the fray, and they slowly give ground. The Federals clear South Mountain by 10 p.m., with 28,500 men pushing back 17,850 Confederates. Losses in this severe engagement amount to 2,325 Union to 2,685 Confederate. The Federal noose is slowly drawing shut. Cognizant of General Robert E. Lee’s dispersed Army of Northern Virginia, General George B. McClellan dispatches the VI Corps of General William B. Franklin to advance with all haste through Crampton’s Gap, Maryland. They encounter a smaller Confederate force yet their two divisions of 12,800 men take nearly all day to batter their way up the hillside and flush the defenders from the heavily wooded slopes. By 6:00 p.m. the exhausted Southerners begin streaming down the mountainside in confusion and Franklin is finally positioned to pitch full force into General Lafayette McLaws’ division at Harper’s Ferry. However, he overestimates the size of Confederate forces opposing him and encamps for the night. Confederate artillery ringing Harper’s Ferry, western Virginia, begins bombarding Union positions to force the garrison of Colonel Dixon S. Miles into submission. The shelling is intense and intimidating, but relatively few injuries result. Worse, in light of the Battle of South Mountain, Jackson must seize the town no later than the next morning, lest General Robert E. Lee be forced to cancel his invasion of Maryland. General Sterling Price occupies Iuka, Mississippi, with 15,000 soldiers prior to uniting with General Braxton Bragg in Kentucky. General Ulysses S. Grant, however, sees a opportunity to trap and destroy the exposed Confederates. He therefore orders columns under generals William S. Rosecrans and Edward O. Ord to approach Iuka from different directions and catch the defenders in a pincer movement.

September 15 Military: General Robert E. Lee instructs his Army of Northern Virginia, presently strung out along the hills of Sharpsburg, Maryland, to begin consolidating to thwart a possible attack by superior Union forces. He also recalls the army of General Thomas J. Jackson from the Shenandoah Valley immediately. After a prolonged bombardment in which Colonel Dixon A. Miles is mortally wounded, General Julius White surrenders the Union garrison at Harper’s Ferry, western Virginia, to General Thomas J. Jackson. For a loss of 39 dead

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Chronology of American History and 247 injured, the Southerners kill 44, wound 173, and seize 12,520 prisoners, a like number of small arms, 73 cannon, tons of supplies and equipment, and innumerable livestock. This is the largest Federal capitulation of the Civil War; Jackson quickly rounds up his prize and proceeds back to Antietam, Maryland, with alacrity.

September 16 Military: General Robert E. Lee, buoyed by the recent seizure of Harper’s Ferry, western Virginia, determines not to leave Maryland without a fight and positions his army along a series of low hills at Sharpsburg (Antietam), He initially musters only 18,000 troops, but lethargic movements by the Army of the Potomac allow two divisions of General Thomas J. Jackson’s corps to arrive and deploy on the Confederate left. Jackson’s final division under General Ambrose P. Hill is still at Harper’s Ferry, 17 miles distant, and under orders to join the main body at once.

September 17 Military: The Battle of Antietam commences at 5:30 a.m. when 12,000 soldiers of General Joseph Hooker’s I Corps advance against the Confederate left under General Thomas J. Jackson. Hooker makes good progress against the first row of defenders in a cornfield until General John B. Hood’s Texas brigade bursts onto the scene and drives him back. Jackson then counterattacks across the line and is himself heavily repulsed in turn. In the Confederate center General Daniel H. Hill leads 5,000 men slung along the length of a sunken road which acts as a trench. Heavily pressed, Hill is forced to retire though a deadly enfilade dropping men in clumps and bequeaths his position a nickname of “Bloody Lane.” The locus of combat then shifts over to the Confederate right where General Ambrose Burnside’s men make repeated and ineffectual attempts to cross the stone bridge over Antietam Creek. He finally succeeds at 3:00 p.m. and advances, but Burnside’s own left is suddenly assailed by General Ambrose P. Hill’s “Light Division,” and the Federals are driven back to their starting point. McClellan, with 75,000 present (although 25,000 were not engaged), suffers 12,410 casualties while Lee, who could ill-afford such attrition, loses 11,172. The combined total of 3,500 dead and 17,100 wounded renders this the single bloodiest day in American military history. General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates capture 4,000 Union troops under Colonel John T. Wilder at Munsford, Kentucky, but only after a curious play of chivalry unfolds. Wilder, an amateur soldier, arrives at General Simon B. Buckner’s headquarters under a flag of truce and seeks his advice as a gentleman. The general willingly obliges his visitor by taking him on a tour of Confederate lines to highlight their superiority in numbers. Wilder, finally convinced, agrees to lay down his arms. Slavery: The failure of General Robert E. Lee at Antietam grants President Abraham Lincoln the military pretext he sought to announce his Emancipation Proclamation.

September 18 Military: General Robert E. Lee disengages and begins ferrying the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River at Blackford’s Ferry, Maryland, and back into Virginia. He departs having sustained thousands of casualties, but superior forces under General George B. McClellan fail to intervene or even actively pursue.

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September 19 Military: Union columns of 9,000 men each under generals William S. Rosecrans and Edward O. C. Ord march west and south of Iuka, Mississippi, attempting to crush 15,000 Confederates under General Sterling Price between them. However, Price’s cavalry alerts him of their approach and he prepares to attack Rosecrans before the two forces can unite. General Henry Little’s division then spearheads the Southern assault, which crumples the Union left and seizes nine cannon of the 11th Ohio battery. Price abandons his tactic by nightfall and elects to join up with Confederate forces under General Earl Van Dorn, who is himself planning an attack upon Corinth. Casualties are 86 Southerners killed, 408 wounded, and 200 captured to a Union tally of 141 men dead, 613 injured, and 36 missing.

September 20 Military: A Confederate division under General Ambrose P. Hill advances against two Union brigades crossing Boetler’s Ford into Virginia. As he deploys to attack, his men come under severe fire from 70 Union field pieces posted across the river. The Confederates nonetheless advance and drive the Federals back across the stream into Maryland. Naval: Admiral Samuel F. du Pont warns Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox of the perils facing any contemplated attack upon Charleston, South Carolina. “It is a cul-de-sac,” he declares, “and resembles a porcupine’s hide turned outside in than anything else, with no outlet—you go into the bag—no running forts as at New Orleans.” His warnings go unheeded by the Navy Department.

September 22 Slavery: The Emancipation Proclamation is unveiled by President Abraham Lincoln and which promises freedom for all African Americans currently held as slaves in secessionist states. However, it carefully skirts the issue as it pertains to liberating blacks in northern border states. Public reaction is decidedly mixed and ranges from euphoria in New England to angry protest elsewhere, but Lincoln’s stance also lessens chances that either England or France will intervene on the Confederacy’s behalf and shed blood to preserve the institution of slavery, long banned in Europe.

September 23 Indian: As Little Crow’s band of 800 Mdewkanton Santee (Sioux) warriors flee up the Minnesota Valley, they are pursued by 1,600 volunteers and troops under Colonel Henry H. Sibley. Sibley then encamps for the evening at Lone Tree Lake (reported as Wood Lake) and Little Wolf suddenly turns and springs on his pursuers, attacking at dawn. Fortunately for Sibley, when several of his men try to desert they run headlong into the Indians and the entire camp is thus alerted. The Santee are subsequently repulsed by artillery; Chief Mankato and 30 warriors are killed. Sibley then presses ahead and the bulk of the Santee surrender en masse. The soldiers then rescue 269 white hostages while taking 2,000 Native Americans prisoner, many of whom are slated for execution for their earlier atrocities against settlers. Journalism: President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation appears in the Northern press for the first time; reactions are mixed and range between antipathy and admiration.

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September 24 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes suspension of all writs of habeas corpus as sought by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Furthermore, military trials are now required for all persons suspected of dodging the draft or encouraging disloyal practices. A three-day conference of Union governors convenes in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at the behest of Governor Andrew G. Curtin. They gather to pledge continuing support for the president and sound out new ideas as to how best prosecute the war. The Confederate Congress adopts the seal of the Confederacy.

September 27 Politics: The Second Confederate Conscription Act is enacted, mandating that all males between 35 and 45 years of age be subject to military service. It also makes allowances for religious-based conscientious objectors, provided they pay a $500 exemption tax. Slavery: The first regiment of former African-American slaves, the Chasseurs d’Afrique, musters into Union service at New Orleans, Louisiana, at the behest of General Benjamin F. Butler.

September 28 Military: The armies of Confederate generals Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn unite at Ripley, Tennessee, prior to launching offensive operations against the vital railroad junction at Corinth, Mississippi. Van Dorn, who enjoys seniority over the resentful Price, is regarded as nominal commander.

September 30 Military: A strong detachment of 4,500 Union and territorial troops under General Edward Salomon skirmishes with a small Confederate detachment at Newtonia, Missouri. Newly arrived Southerners under Colonel Douglas H. Cooper are roughly handled by Cooper’s men and are only rescued by the timely appearance of Colonel Joseph O. Shelby’s 5th Missouri cavalry, accompanied by several mounted battalions of Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw. Salomon consequently orders a retreat in the direction of Sarcoxie, accomplished under close pursuit.

October 1 Military: The 50,000-man Army of the Ohio under General Don Carlos Buell departs Louisville, Kentucky, in four columns; three of these will concentrate at Perryville while a fourth is ordered to move toward Confederate-held Frankfort. Their movements are complicated by incessant heat and shortages of water. In a fateful move, General John C. Pemberton arrives at Vicksburg, Mississippi, superceding General Earl Van Dorn as commander of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. Naval: All army vessels of the Western Gunboat Fleet are formally transferred from the U.S. War Department to the Navy Department. Command of the newly designated Mississippi Squadron now devolves upon Captain David D. Porter, who replaces less aggressive Commodore Charles H. Davis.

October 2 Politics: In a less-than subtle hint, President Abraham Lincoln sets up his tent right next to General George B. McClellan’s headquarters in an attempt to spur that officer to greater efforts.

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October 3 Military: Confederate forces numbering 22,000 troops under generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price Attack 23,000 Union troops commanded by General William S. Rosecrans at Corinth, Mississippi. The latter deploys his men in several, mutually supporting lines of defense with all intervals between them covered by carefully sited cannon. The impetuous Van Dorn encounters the first line of Union earthworks around 9:30 a.m., after which the Confederates, with great gallantry and heavy losses, grind the defenders back toward their second line of entrenchments. That night Van Dorn redeploys his army in a semicircle around the town and its chain of five lunettes (batteries).

October 4 Military: At 4:00 a.m., confederates under General Earl Van Dorn resume attacking General William S. Rosecrans’s defensive works at Corinth, Mississippi. By dint of hard fighting and heavy sacrifice, part of General Martin E. Green’s division storms and seizes the Robinson lunette (battery) while his remaining brigades actually force their way into the town. Van Dorn finally concedes defeat around 1:00 p.m. and orders a withdrawal to Ripley. Federal casualties are put at 2,520 while Van Dorn sustains 4,233—losses the Confederacy can ill afford in this theater. Politics: In the Confederate-held capital of Frankfort, Kentucky, Governor Richard Haws takes his oath of office with General Braxton Bragg in attendance. However, the attendant festivities are suddenly canceled when word arrives of 20,000 approaching Union troops.

October 5 Diplomacy: British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston and Foreign Secretary Lord Russell have up to this point leaned in favor of recognizing the Confederacy, a position facilitated by embarrassing Union defeats of the spring and summer. Their plans are derailed by word of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation for the British government would never condone fighting to preserve the institution of slavery. Military: General Earl Van Dorn’s Confederates retreat from Corinth, Mississippi, and onto Holly Springs and are intercepted by Union troops under General Edward O. C. Ord along the Hatchie River, Tennessee. An intense but indecisive clash erupts and the Southerners continue retreating.

October 6 Military: A frustrated President Abraham Lincoln orders General Henry W. Halleck to prod dithering General George B. McClellan into action. “The President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south,” Halleck’s telegram read, “Your army must move now while the roads are good.” McClellan, true to character, largely ignores the directive.

October 7 Military: The III Corps of General Charles C. Gilbert, Army of the Ohio, trudges down the Springfield Road near Perryville, Kentucky, and his arrival prompts the Confederate Army of Mississippi under General Braxton Bragg to begin massing its 16,000 men for an attack. However, due to poor cavalry reconnaissance, he is unaware that two more corps under General Don Carlos Buell arrive that evening, raising Federal totals to 25,000.

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October 8 Military: General Don Carlos Buell arranges his 25,000 men for battle near Perryville, Kentucky. At 10:00 a.m., General Braxton Bragg arrives at the front and orders the Confederates forward against the Union left. General William J. Hardee is also directed to mass his troops along the center to keep Union forces at bay. At 2:00 p.m., General Leonidas K. Polk’s command, infiltrating through an unguarded ravine, suddenly turns the Union left and violently drives it back. In the reformed center, the Union III Corps handily repels a Southern attack by Colonel Samuel Powell’s brigade, and troops under General Philip H. Sheridan begin pressing their lines. Fighting rages on until darkness and Bragg, while he had won a tactical victory, finally perceives he is badly outnumbered and withdraws in good order back to Harrodsburg. The Battle of Perryville proves a costly encounter for both sides: Buell records 4,211 casualties while Bragg sustains 3,405.

October 10 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart leads his force of 1,800 Confederate troopers out of Darkesville, Virginia, and fords the Potomac River near Black Creek, Maryland. His orders are to destroy the Cumberland Valley railroad bridge near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a major supply artery for the Army of the Potomac. Politics: President Jefferson Davis encourages the Confederate Congress to draft 4,500 African Americans for the purpose of constructing fortifications in and around Richmond, Virginia.

October 11 Naval: Confederate raider CSS Alabama under Captain Raphael Semmes captures and burns the Union vessel Manchester. Semmes learns from reading captured New York newspapers the dispositions of several U.S. Navy warships looking for him. Politics: President Jefferson Davis modifies the draft law to exempt all persons owning 20 or more slaves. This rule serves to heighten a pervasive sense of class conflict, and many Southerners accuse Davis of waging “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”

October 12 Naval: Confederate commander and noted oceanographer Matthew F. Maury pilots the Herald past the Union blockade off Charleston, South Carolina, then sails for England to purchase additional warships for the South.

October 13 Military: President Abraham Lincoln again urges General George B. McClellan to resume offensive operations. “Are you not being over-cautious when you assume that you can not do what the enemy is constantly doing?” he pointedly inquires. McClellan nevertheless refuses to budge and spends several days reorganizing and resting the Army of the Potomac. Defeated Confederates under General Braxton Bragg and Edmund KirbySmith filter back through the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee. Their heralded invasion of Kentucky, representing the high tide of Confederate fortunes in the center region, dismally fails.

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October 14 Politics: Elections held in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana result in Democratic Party gains. The new members largely oppose emancipation and favor peaceful accommodation with the Confederacy.

October 16 Military: The Department of the Tennessee is resurrected with General Ulysses S. Grant as commander. He begins marshaling men and resources for an immediate campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi.

October 17 Military: Colonel John H. Morgan takes 1,800 cavalry and departs from his Confederate camp, 25 miles southeast of Richmond, Kentucky, on his second major raid of the war. He the gallops for the lightly defended town of Lexington, intending to take it by storm.

October 20 Military: President Abraham Lincoln instructs former politician-turned-general John A. McClernand to command the newly formed Army of the Mississippi, then mount an expedition with troops from Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, against Vicksburg, Mississippi. This action complicates and infringes upon efforts already underway by General Ulysses S. Grant.

October 21 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln urges elections in Tennessee for new state and congressional officials. President Jefferson Davis advises General Theophilus H. Holmes of Confederate plans for an offensive to clear Tennessee and Arkansas of Federal forces.

October 24 Military: General Don Carlos Buell is sacked as commander of the Army of the Ohio for failing to aggressively pursue General Braxton Bragg’s defeated army, now safely resting at Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

October 25 Military: President Abraham Lincoln again urges General George B. McClellan to commit the Army of the Potomac to offensive operations in Virginia. When McClellan informs the president of his fatigued horses, an angry chief cables back, “Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigue anything?”

October 26 Military: After continual prodding, General George B. McClellan finally crosses the Potomac River back into Virginia, but so cautiously that General Robert E. Lee’s Confederates easily interpose themselves between the invaders and Richmond. President Abraham Lincoln is nonetheless “rejoiced” at the news. The Union Army of the Mississippi under General John A. McClernand is disbanded and reassigned, largely through the machinations of General Ulysses S. Grant.

October 29 Politics: The steady stream of bad news from the West convinces President Jefferson Davis that the Confederacy lacks the manpower and arms to defend

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Chronology of American History everything. “Our only alternatives are to abandon important points,” he cautions, “or to use our limited resources as effectively as circumstances will permit.”

October 30 Diplomacy: The Emperor Napoleon III suggests that France, Russia, and Great Britain conduct a joint mediation effort to end the American war. Failing that, he recommends recognizing the Confederacy. Navy: The U.S. Navy Department announces a $500,000 reward for the capture of Confederate raider “290” (CSS Alabama). A dozen warships, better employed elsewhere, are unnecessarily sent off in pursuit.

October 31 Naval: To compensate for its lack of warships, the Confederate Congress authorizes a Torpedo Bureau under General Gabriel J. Rains and an embryonic Naval Submarine Battery Service headed by Lieutenant Hunter Davidson. The numerous devices they test and deploy prove menacing to Union vessels at sea, in harbors, and especially on rivers—ultimately sinking 40 ships.

November 1 Slavery: General Benjamin F. Butler, commanding the garrison at New Orleans, Louisiana, imposes new restrictions on movement in and out of the city. In another controversial move, he also emancipates all African-American slaves from non-loyal owners.

November 4 Politics: Northern Democrats win significant elections in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Wisconsin, but Republican victories in California and Michigan offset these losses and the party retains control of the House of Representatives. Technology: In Indianapolis, Indiana, Richard J. Gatling receives a government patient for his revolutionary, multibarreled, rapid-fire Gatling gun, a precursor to modern machine guns. Functional models are developed by the end of the war but are rarely committed to combat operations.

November 5 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, exasperated by General George B. McClellan’s dilatoriness, finally orders him replaced as head of the Army of the Potomac by General Ambrose E. Burnside.

November 8 Military: After a stormy and controversial tenure commanding the Department of the Gulf at New Orleans, Louisiana, General Benjamin F. Butler is replaced by General Nathaniel P. Banks. To preempt any celebrations by the populace, Butler peremptorily closes all breweries and distilleries within his jurisdiction.

November 9 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside assumes command of the Army of the Potomac, a position he never sought and tried twice to refuse. Acting upon his instructions, Union cavalry under Colonel Ulric Dahlgren dashes spectacularly through Confederate positions at Fredericksburg, Virginia, taking 54 prisoners. This feat proves that the town’s defenses are weak, and Burnside plans for an offensive there.

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November 10 Military: General Joseph Hooker replaces General Fitz-John Porter as V Corps commander in the Army of the Potomac. Porter is slated to undergo court-martial proceedings for his role in the Second Battle of Manassas.

November 14 Military: Newly installed General Ambrose E. Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac, effects a major reorganization of his charge by placing generals Joseph Hooker, Edwin V. Sumner, and William B. Franklin as Commanders of the new Right, Central, and Left Grand Divisions, respectively. These new formations consist of two corps apiece.

November 15 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside initiates an advance upon Falmouth, Virginia, by first feinting toward Warrenton. An excellent organizer, his troops cover 40 miles in two days of hard slogging and arrive opposite the town of Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River. Burnside’s alacrity also left the Confederate high command perplexed as to his location and intentions. Naval: President Abraham Lincoln and several Cabinet members narrowly escape injury when an experimental Hyde rocket accidentally explodes during a demonstration at the Washington Navy Yard.

November 17 Military: The Union Right Grand Division under General Edwin V. Sumner deploys at Falmouth, Virginia, directly across from Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River. This concludes an impressive, 40-mile march by the usually plodding Army of the Potomac, orchestrated by General Ambrose E. Burnside. This maneuver proves so stealthy that General Robert E. Lee temporarily loses contact with his adversary.

November 18 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside continues occupying Falmouth, Virginia, behind the Rappahannock River and directly opposite the heights of Fredericksburg. However, the general takes no offensive actions over the next three weeks, allowing Confederates under General James Longstreet to arrive.

November 21 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside demands that the mayor of Fredericksburg, Virginia, surrender. When he refuses, Burnside advises him to evacuate women and children from the town.

November 22 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside reverses himself and assures the mayor of Fredericksburg, Virginia, that he will not fire into the town. In exchange, he expects no hostile actions on behalf of its inhabitants. Politics: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton releases the majority of political prisoners still in army custody.

November 24 Military: President Jefferson Davis elevates General Joseph E. Johnston to commander of Confederate troops in the west, succeeding generals John C. Pemberton

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Chronology of American History and Braxton Bragg. He is specifically tasked with guiding Pemberton in the defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

November 26 Military: President Abraham Lincoln confers with General Ambrose E. Burnside at Aquia Creek, Virginia, over his prospective assault upon Fredericksburg. The general seeks a direct attack while the president argues for a multipronged approach. At length the general’s view prevails.

November 28 Military: In a preemptive strike, Union General James G. Blunt and 5,000 men attack 2,000 Confederate cavalry under General John S. Marmaduke at Cane Hill, Arkansas. The Southerners are driven into the Boston Mountains, but Blunt declines to pursue for fear of becoming surrounded. However, his presence induces General Thomas C. Hindman to attack his isolated column anyway.

November 29 Military: General John B. Magruder arrives to take charge of the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He makes recapturing the port city of Galveston an immediate Confederate priority and begins marshaling the requisite men and ships necessary for a surprise attack. Naval: General John B. Magruder orders the Confederate steamers Bayou City and Neptune outfitted with bales of cotton “armor” and transformed into “cotton-clads.” They will figure prominently in the upcoming attack upon Galveston, Texas.

November 30 Military: After incessant delays, pontoons and other bridging equipment requested three weeks earlier by General Ambrose E. Burnside arrive at Falmouth, Virginia. The Army of the Potomac is now enabled to cross the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, but during this interval General Robert E. Lee rushes 35,000 men under General James Longstreet to fortify the heights above the city.

December 1 Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln proffers a plan for compensated emancipation to the 37th Congress, but it elicits little enthusiasm. “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free,” he insists. Lincoln also promises to assist those willing to be colonized elsewhere.

December 3 Military: General Thomas C. Hindman marches his Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi, 11,000 strong, from Van Buren, Arkansas, in bitter, winter weather. His goal is to strike and destroy the outnumbered Union division of General James G. Blunt at Cane Hill. However, Blunt is alert to the danger and appeals to General Francis J. Herron at Springfield, Missouri, for immediate assistance. General Joseph E. Johnston arrives to coordinate military operations of General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and General Braxton Bragg at Nashville, Tennessee. This additional level of authority, however, further complicates an already Byzantine command structure.

December 5 Indian: President Abraham Lincoln pardons the bulk of 303 Santee (Sioux) warriors slated for execution for their role in a bloody uprising. The final number condemned to be hanged is 38.

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December 6 Military: In one of the most amazing forced marches of the entire Civil War, two Union divisions from the Army of the Frontier under General Francis J. Herron slog 100 miles from Springfield, Missouri, and miraculously arrive at Fayetteville, Arkansas, to reinforce General James G. Blunt at Cane Hill. This is a remarkable accomplishment that preserves the Union war effort in Arkansas.

December 7 Military: General John H. Morgan and 2,400 Confederate cavalry surprise and capture Hartsville, Tennessee, along with 1,800 Union soldiers under Colonel Absalom B. Moore. General Thomas C. Hindman commences the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, by advancing upon the footsore host of General Francis J. Herron, eight miles from Fayetteville. He possesses 11,000 men and outnumbers his opponent but, having achieved strategic surprise, Hindman inexplicably assumes defensive positions. Fighting commences around 9:30 a.m., when the aggressive Herron attacks what he perceives to be a small Confederate force. He is badly repelled in a series of charges while subsequent Confederate advances are likewise driven back by superior Union artillery. General James G. Blunt then hurriedly marches to Prairie Grove with his own fresh troops, and fighting continues until nightfall. Union forces totaling 8,000 men sustain 1,251 casualties while 11,000 Confederates endure 1,317. Hindman, short on supplies, has little option but to withdraw.

December 8 Arts: Augustin Daly debuts his production of the German play “Leah” the Forsaken by S. H. Von Mosenthal; he subsequently produces scores of plays translated from German, French, and other languages. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln recommends Captain John L. Worden for a vote of thanks from the U.S. Congress over his role in commanding the USS Monitor at Hampton Roads.

December 10 Politics: The U.S. House of Representatives approves a bill creating the new state of West Virginia on a vote of 96 to 55.

December 11 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside begins bridging its way across the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, Virginia. However, as the fog lifts his engineers receive heavy sniper fire from General William Barksdale’s Mississippi brigade. Burnside then orders his artillery to bombard Fredericksburg in retaliation, which inflicts considerable damage but fails to dislodge the snipers. At length seven boatloads of volunteers row themselves across the river under fire and finally flush the Southerners from the town.

Ambrose E. Burnside (National Archives)

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1050  Chronology of American History Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest rides with 2,500 troopers out of Columbia, Tennessee, intending to harass Â�Union lines of communication. His goal is to wreck portions of the Mississippi Central and Mobile & Ohio Railroads. Forrest’s first objective, however, is the nearby town of Lexington.

December 12 Military: While vengeful troops of the Army of the Potomac are preoccupied with a looting binge at Fredericksburg, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee hastily summons the corps of General Thomas J. Jackson from positions further down-­ stream and he occupies the right flank of Lee’s line. By nightfall General Ambrose E. Burnside has finished crossing the Rappahannock River and deploys 112,000 men below Confederate positions. Naval: The Federal ironclad USS Cairo under Commander Thomas O. Selfridge strikes a Confederate “torpedo” (mine) on the Yazoo River, Mississippi, and sinks. This is the first of 40 Â�Union vessels lost to new, submerged Confederate ordnance.

December 13 Military: The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, commences at 10:00 a.m. A dense fog suddenly lifts and reveals to Southerners under General Robert E. Lee an Â�awe-­inspiring sight of serried ranks of Â�blue-­coated infantry advancing up the slopes toward them. The first thrust is committed against Lee’s right when

Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 13, 1862. Lithograph by Currier & Ives╇ (Library of Congress)

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General William B. Franklin commits generals George G. Meade and John Gibbon to strike General Thomas J. Jackson’s corps. Despite an early breakthrough, Jackson’s riposte proves decisive: he dispatches the divisions of Jubal A. Early and Daniel H. Hill to slash at both Union flanks and they chase the Federals back down the slope with loss. Burnside’s main attack then unfolds against the Southern center, up a steep hill called Marye’s Heights, ably manned and defended by General James Longstreet. General Edwin V. Sumner’s Grand Division, assisted by part of General Joseph Hooker’s command, 60,000 men in all, bravely charge Confederate positions uphill and are mowed down with great slaughter. Fighting eases by nightfall after Burnside sustains 12,653 casualties while the wellprotected Confederates endure 5,377. Lee aptly remarks “It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.”

December 14 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside begins withdrawing back across the Rappahannock River as Confederates under General Robert E. Lee continue strengthening their defenses. Lee summarily ignores General Thomas J. Jackson’s suggestion to counterattack across the line and possibly destroy the entire Union force.

December 15 Military: The Army of the Potomac completes withdrawing across the Rappahannock River, covered by darkness and heavy rainfall. Prior to retreating, General Ambrose E. Burnside sent a flag to General Robert E. Lee requesting a temporary truce to retrieve the Union dead—and those still alive after two days of exposure to the cold. Lee magnanimously grants his request.

December 16 Military: The Army of the Potomac reoccupies Falmouth, Virginia, where General Ambrose E. Burnside issues a directive accepting full responsibility for the disaster at Fredericksburg.

December 17 Politics: Radical Republicans precipitate a cabinet crisis for President Abraham Lincoln by demanding the resignation of Secretary of State William H. Seward and replacing him with Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase. Highly insulted, Seward tenders his resignation to the president, who summarily refuses to accept. Religion: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling the Jews from his theater of operations. “The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, and also department orders,” it read, “are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.” In a few weeks Grant is ordered to rescind the directive.

December 18 Military: General Nathan B. Forrest and 2,500 Confederates attack a Union cavalry detachment under Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll that is defending the town of Lexington, Tennessee. Forrest’s men clatter across an unburned bridge on the Lower Road, flanking a portion of the defenders. Ingersoll manages to repel three headlong charges by the Confederates but is eventually overrun and surrenders.

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December 20 Military: The XIII Corps, consisting of 32,000 Union troops in four divisions under General William T. Sherman, embarks on transports at Memphis, Tennessee, and sails down the Mississippi River. Sherman intends to flank Confederate defenses at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and pin down reinforcements at Grenada to prevent them from reaching the city. In a spectacularly effective move, Confederate cavalry under General Earl Van Dorn captures a primary Union stockpile at Holly Springs, Mississippi, netting $1.5 million worth of supplies and 1,500 prisoners. He does do by utilizing superb marching discipline, which keeps Union forces unsure as to his intentions and objective. Van Dorn then orders the bulk of supplies burned, tracks torn up, and telegraph wires cut. Holly Springs is one of the most devastating cavalry raids of the war and has dire consequences for General Ulysses S. Grant.

December 21 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, having lost his main supply base at Holly Springs, Mississippi, to rampaging Confederate cavalry under General Earl Van Dorn, evacuates Oxford and marches back to Memphis, Tennessee. This withdrawal terminates his first attempt to attack the Confederate citadel at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

December 23 Politics: President Jefferson Davis excoriates Union General Benjamin F. Butler for his treatment of civilians in New Orleans, Louisiana, and threatens to hang him if caught.

December 26 Indian: Federal authorities at Mankato, Minnesota, simultaneously hang 38 Santee (Sioux) Indians for their complicity in a bloody uprising. This remains the largest mass execution in American history. Military: The 43,000 Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans begins advancing from Nashville, Tennessee, and toward General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates at Murfreesboro. However, the advance is dogged by cold, wet weather and effective resistance by Southern troopers under General Joseph Wheeler. The XIII Corps under General William T. Sherman disembarks 32,000 men at Johnson’s Plantation near the mouth of the Yazoo River. This places Union forces on the northern outskirts of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and only six miles from the city. However, the 6,000 defenders already present are speedily being reinforced by troops from nearby Grenada to a total strength of 14,000. Naval: The Federal gunboat under Commodore David D. Porter, having escorted General William T. Sherman’s expedition up the Yazoo River, begins shelling the Confederate defenses on nearby Hayne’s Bluff to cover the landing of troops.

December 27 Military: Confederate cavalry under General John H. Logan captures 600 Union prisoners in a surprise attack upon Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He then begins uprooting tracks and trestles belonging to the Louisville & Nashville railroad, a vital supply line.

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Union forces under General William T. Sherman encounter increasing Confederate resistance north of Vicksburg, Mississippi. They still press southward, traversing nearly impassible terrain, bayous, and swampland before reaching their objective at Chickasaw Bluffs. Sherman gradually discovers only four practical approaches to the bluffs, all of which are amply covered by well-sited Confederate batteries.

December 28 Military: A column of Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart successfully tangles with Federal cavalry near Selectman’s Fort on Occoquan Creek, taking 100 captives. He then gallops off for Burke’s Station, only 12 miles from Washington, D.C., and telegraphs a humorous message to Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs as to the poor quality of Union mules. General Earl Van Dorn, commanding 3,500 Confederate cavalry, safely slips through Union lines, crosses the Tallahatchie River, and arrives safely back at Grenada, Mississippi. His spectacularly successful raid covers 500 miles in two weeks and completely cripples the impending Federal attack upon Vicksburg. Outside Chickasaw Bluffs, Mississippi, General Frederick Steele’s 4th Division makes a preliminary probe of Confederate defenses near Blake’s Levee but is halted by heavy artillery fire and defensive works erected in his path. General William T. Sherman remains determined to attack in force but is still uninformed of the Union disaster at Holly Springs, which allowed Southern troop strength to rise to 14,000 men. Politics: In an attempt to diffuse rising class tensions, the Confederate Congress strikes a clause in its Conscription Act which allows draftees to hire substitutes to take their place.

December 29 Military: The 32,000 Union troops of XIII Corps under General William T. Sherman attack prepared Confederate defenses along Chickasaw Bluffs, six miles north of Vicksburg, Mississippi. They withstand a maelstrom of Southern rifle and artillery fire from the heights and are bloodily repelled. Further attack serves only to lengthen the casualty lists so Sherman suspends the action at nightfall. Union losses in this lopsided affair total 1,776 to a Confederate tally of 207. The defeat also ends the first Federal attempt to capture Vicksburg.

December 30 Military: General William S. Rosecrans and 43,000 men of his Army of the Cumberland trudge into Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from Nashville, having taken three days to cover 30 miles in bad weather. He then establishes his line running roughly running north to south behind Stone’s River, across which sat 37,000 Confederates of the Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg. Both leaders intend to attack the following day by hitting their opponent’s right flank.

December 31 Military: At 6:00 a.m., the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg launches an all-out assault against the Union Army of the Cumberland along Stone’s River near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Fleeing Federals withdraw nearly three miles before General Alexander McCook organizes new defensive lines. General William S. Rosecrans then energetically visits all threatened points

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Chronology of American History along his line, brings up new units, and consolidates his defenses. Bragg, meanwhile, remains far behind at headquarters, relying solely on reports to stay abreast of battlefield developments and, hence, the fresh division of General John C. Breckinridge remains uncommitted. This proves a grave mistake for, had they been deployed earlier, they might have tipped the balance in favor of the South. Bragg is nonetheless convinced that he has won the contest and telegraphs word of his “victory” to authorities in Richmond, Virginia. Moreover, he fully expects to find the Federals gone and in full flight from their positions by daybreak. General Nathan B. Forrest and 1,200 Confederate cavalry engage the 2nd Union Brigade under Colonel Cyrus L. Dunham at Parker’s Cross Roads, Tennessee. However, Forrest’s plans are suddenly overturned by the sudden and unexpected appearance of John W. Fuller’s 3rd Brigade, which surprises the Confederates from behind. In the ensuing confusion, Forrest orders his men to charge through Union lines and cut themselves an avenue of escape. Parker’s Cross Roads proves a rare setback for Forrest, and his sheer survival adds further luster to his reputation. Naval: The famous ironclad USS Monitor, en route from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Beaufort, North Carolina, sinks in a gale off Cape Hatteras while under tow. Sixteen crewmen perish and 47 are rescued by the USS Rhode Island. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves an act establishing West Virginia as the 35th state.

1863 Arts: The painting The White Girl by artist James McNeill Whistler causes a sensation in Paris art circles. Business: John D. Rockefeller founds his first petroleum refinery in Cleveland, Ohio. The Travelers Insurance Company, which offers the first such coverage to travelers, is founded by James G. Batterson. Ebenezer Butterick begins offering stylish clothing patterns cut from paper templates by children, and they prove an immediate success with homemakers. Labor: The Brotherhood of Railway Locomotive Engineers forms. Fincher’s Trades Review, an influential trade paper, begins publishing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Literature: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes his Tales of a Wayside Inn, a collection of six narrative tales.

January Religion: In a letter to the commanding general of Missouri, President Abraham Lincoln announces that all Southern Churches behind Federal lines are to be exempted from any kind of interference. Sports: Roller-skating becomes all the rage in many Northern cities. The fourwheeled device had been invented by James L. Plimpton. A new rule in the still evolving game of baseball mandates that both balls and strikes are to be called.

January 1 Military: Combat at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is suspended as both sides redress ranks and attend to their wounded. At daybreak General Braxton Bragg is flum-

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moxed to find that the Union Army of the Cumberland stands its ground defiantly before him. Both sides then gird themselves for renewed combat next day. A surprise attack is mounted by General John B. Magruder upon Galveston, Texas. In the predawn darkness he quickly moves 1,500 men and several cannon onto Galveston Island and attacks a Union garrison consisting of 250 men of Colonel Isaac Burrell’s 42nd Massachusetts. The Confederates prevail in stiff fighting and the garrison surrenders. Naval: A sortie by Confederate “cotton-clads” Bayou City and Neptune under Major Leon Smith pitches into the Union blockading squadron under Commander William B. Renshaw off Galveston, Texas. Both sides lose men and vessels but Renshaw, perceiving the battle lost, orders his squadron into deeper water. He and 12 other Union sailors perish when demolition charges explode prematurely. Galveston remains a Southern enclave for the rest of the war. Politics: “I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within designated states, and parts of states, are, and henceforth shall be free,” President Abraham Lincoln declares. His Emancipation Proclamation becomes law, although it liberates only African Americans in Confederate territory. Slaves in Union-held area strategic border states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri are exempt

Thomas Nast’s engraving celebrates the emancipation of the Southern slaves with the end of the Civil War. (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History and remain in bondage for the time being. As anticipated, Lincoln’s Proclamation appeals to the governments of France and England, further diminishing European sympathy for the South, and with it the likelihood of military intervention on their behalf.

January 2 Military: General Braxton Bragg, after surveying the new line held by General William S. Rosecrans along Stones River, Tennessee, decides to renew the struggle. He then commits his remaining intact formation, the Kentucky division under General John C. Breckinridge, to strike the Union left flank partially anchored along the river. Breckinridge moves forward, charges directly into the teeth of massed Union artillery posted across the river, and is bloodily repelled with 1,700 casualties. His defeat signals the end of the battle and many senior Confederate leaders, including General Leonidas K. Polk, implore Bragg to retreat. Rosecrans holds the field and claims a narrow tactical victory, but at the horrendous cost of 13,249 casualties among 41,000 men present. Confederate losses of 10,266 out of 34,739 engaged, while smaller numerically, are proportionately larger and represent attrition that the Confederacy cannot sustain in this theater.

January 4 Religion: General in chief Henry W. Halleck orders General Ulysses S. Grant to rescind his controversial Order No. 11, which expelled all Jews from his jurisdiction.

January 7 Journalism: An editorial in the Richmond Inquirer denounces the Emancipation Proclamation as “the most startling political crime, the most stupid political blunder, yet known in American history.” Politics: The Democratically controlled Illinois State Legislature roundly condemns President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and excoriates the chief executive for turning the war from a conflict to save the Union into a crusade to liberate African Americans.

January 10 Military: In a celebrated court-martial, General Fitz-John Porter is cashiered and dropped from the army list for disobeying orders at the Battle of Second Manassas. Not only does this action deprive the Union army of a highly capable leader but the verdict itself remains in contention until finally being overturned in 1879.

January 11 Military: A force of 32,000 Union troops under General John A. McClernand and Admiral David D. Porter attack and capture Confederate Fort Hindman (Arkansas Post) under General Thomas J. Churchill. Churchill realizes the hopelessness of his position and capitulates that evening. McClernand captures 4,791 Confederates, who also lose two dead and 81 wounded, along with 17 cannon, thousands of weapons, and tons of ammunition. Naval: The paddle steamer USS Hatteras, cruising 30 miles off Galveston, Texas, is approached at night by a mysterious vessel. It turns out to be the Confederate raider CSS Alabama under Captain Raphael Semmes, which sinks the Hatteras in a fierce engagement of only 13 minutes. Semmes rescues the entire crew whereupon Union vessels redouble their efforts to track down this elusive foe.

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Federal gunboats under Admiral David D. Porter effectively shell the strong Confederate works of Fort Hindman (Arkansas Post) on the Arkansas River. Naval fire proves devastatingly effective at reducing both batteries and fortifications, and Porter notes, “No fort ever received a worse battering, and the highest compliment I can pay to those engaged is to repeat what the rebels said, “You can’t expect men to stand up against the fire of those gunboats.”

January 12 Politics: The 3rd Session of the 1st Confederate Congress convenes at Richmond, Virginia, where President Jefferson Davis addresses them, still hoping for eventual European recognition. Davis also sharply criticizes the Union’s recent Emancipation Proclamation.

January 13 Slavery: In South Carolina, Union Colonel Thomas W. Higginson begins recruiting former African-American slaves for his 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry.

January 17 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation allowing for the immediate payment of military personnel. He also asks Congress for currency reforms to halt mounting inflation throughout the North.

January 18 Military: Acting upon the orders of General Henry Heth, the 64th North Carolina under Colonel James A. Keith sweeps through Shelton Laurel, western North Carolina, looking for Northern sympathizers. At length he nets 15 male captives, most of whom are not involved in bushwhacking operations; these are subsequently executed and buried in shallow graves. Southerners are outraged by the atrocity, and an investigation ensues.

January 20 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside begins its infamous “mud march.” No sooner does his turning maneuver commence than inclement weather begins and troops, supplies, and the all-important pontoon bridges bog down on muddy roads.

January 21 Military: The march of the Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside is stymied by heavy rain and inclement conditions during its attempted flank march to the Rappahannock River, Virginia. His columns are bedeviled by roads so choked with mud that supply wagons sink up to their axles. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln endorses revocation of the infamous “Jew Order” of General Ulysses S. Grant because it “proscribed an entire religious class, some of whom are fighting in our ranks.”

January 22 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside’s offensive across the Rappahannock River into Virginia stumbles and finally ends on account of heavy rains and impassible mud. After heated consultation with subordinates, Burnside cancels his “master stroke” and orders the men back into camp at Falmouth, Virginia.

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January 23 Military: A demoralized—and rather soggy—Army of the Potomac settles back into winter quarters at Falmouth, Virginia, directly across from Fredericksburg. General Ambrose E. Burnside, agitated by the performance of subordinates, issues General Order No. 8, which peremptorily strips generals Joseph Hooker, Edwin V. Sumner, and William B. Franklin of their respective commands.

January 25 Military: General Ambrose E. Burnside is removed as commander of the Army of the Potomac and replaced by boisterous General “Fighting Joe” Hooker, one of his loudest critics. Generals Edwin V. Sumner and William B. Franklin, however, remain relieved of duties pending a court of inquiry. Politics: Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew authorizes recruitment of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, composed entirely of African Americans and led by white officers.

January 27 Indian: In response to Shoshone attacks upon settlers and miners in the Great Basin region, Colonel Patrick E. Connor of the 1st California Cavalry leads 300 soldiers on an expedition against the encampment of Chief Bear Hunter on the Bear River, Idaho Territory. After a raging conflict of several hours, Bear Hunter and 224 Indians are slain, with an additional 124 women and children taken prisoner. Federal losses are 21 dead and 46 wounded. Journalism: Philadelphia journalist A. D. Boileau is arrested for allegedly publishing anti-Union editorials in his Journal. Naval: The ironclad monitor USS Montauk under Captain John L. Worden spearheads a Federal assault upon Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River, Georgia. Admiral Samuel F. du Pont, who orders the attack, is disappointed by the results, especially the inaccuracy and slow rate of fire of his vessels. “If one ironclad cannot take eight guns,” he reasons, “how are five to take 147 guns in Charleston Harbor.” Again, the Navy Department ignores his warning.

January 28 Politics: President Jefferson Davis warns General Theophilus Holmes of the dangers confronting his Trans-Mississippi Department. “The loss of either of the two positions—Vicksburg or Port Hudson—would destroy communication with the Trans-Mississippi Department,” he writes, “and inflict upon the Confederacy an injury which I am sure you have not failed to appreciate.”

January 29 Politics: The Confederate Congress authorizes a loan of $15 million from French financiers. A pensive President Jefferson Davis inquires of General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, Mississippi, “Has anything or can anything be done to obstruct the navigation from the Yazoo Pass down?”

January 30 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, officially placed in charge of western operations at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana, begins formulating a new strategic campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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Naval: Admiral David D. Porter’s squadron begins sweeping the Yazoo River for supplies of cotton to deprive the Confederacy of this valuable commodity. Captured bales are also employed as additional “armor” on his ships.

January 31 Naval: Obscured by a thick haze, the Confederate steam rams CSS Palmetto State and Chicora, under commanders Duncan R. Ingraham and John R. Tucker briefly sortie against the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, South Carolina. The Confederate vessels then withdraw to Charleston after a stiff fight, having dented—but not broken—the Union blockade.

February 1 Business: By this period of the war inflation erodes the Confederate dollar to where it has the purchasing power of 20 cents. Naval: The ironclad USS Montauk under Captain John L. Worden, assisted by Seneca, Wissahickon, Dawn, and mortar boat C. P. Williams, again attack Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River, Georgia. Montauk sustains 48 hits in the fourhour exchange, none of them critical. However, little damage is inflicted on the enemy.

February 2 Agriculture: Congress appropriates $3,000 to distribute cotton and tobacco seed throughout the Union.

February 3 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward receives an offer through the French embassy in Washington, D.C., to mediate the war. His response will be forthcoming. Politics: The U.S. Congress votes Captain John L. Worden its thanks for services rendered as captain of the USS Monitor at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862.

February 5 Diplomacy: Queen Victoria outlines her reasons to Parliament for refusing to get involved with mediation efforts between the North and South, namely because the South’s prospects for success are dwindling. Military: General Joseph Hooker reorganizes the Army of the Potomac and dispenses with his predecessor’s “grand divisions” scheme. A new nine-corps structure is then imposed under generals John F. Reynolds (I), Darius N. Couch (II), Daniel E. Sickles (III), George G. Meade (V), John Sedgwick (VI), William F. Smith (IX), Franz Sigel (XI), Henry W. Slocum (XII), and George Stoneman (U.S. Cavalry Corps).

February 6 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward unilaterally rejects a French offer to mediate hostilities.

February 8 Journalism: Alleged disloyal statements lead the Chicago Times to be temporarily suspended from publication.

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February 10 General: Despite the ongoing drama of Civil War, promoter P. T. Barnum manages to grab headlines by arranging the marriage between the diminutive “General Tom Thumb” (Charles S. Stratton, only two feet, five inches tall) to the equally tiny Mercy Lavinia Warren at Grace Church, New York. The wedding is Â�well-­attended.

February 11 Diplomacy: In London, Confederate agent James M. Mason addresses the Lord Mayor’s banquet over the desirability of recognizing the Confederacy.

February 16 Politics: The U.S. Congress authorizes the Conscription Act, affecting all men aged between 20 and 45, to address the inadequacies of voluntary enlistment. However, substitutes can still be hired for $300.

February 17 Journalism: The order suspending publication of the Chicago Times is rescinded by General Ulysses S. Grant.

February 18 Politics: Â�Union troops break up and disperse a convention by DemoÂ�crats in Frankfort, Kentucky, whose activities they construe as Â�pro-­Confederate.

February 19 Journalism: Federal troops convalescing in a hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, angered by antiwar sentiments expressed in the local newspaper Constitution, hobble over and ransack the news office. Politics: President Jefferson Davis contacts General Joseph E. Johnston, noting anxiously how little confidence General Braxton Bragg solicits from his seÂ�nior subordinates. “It is scarcely possible in that state of the case for him to possess the requisite confidence of the troops,” Davis notes. However, the president is not disposed toward removing his old friend and confidant from command, a reluctance with fatal consequences for the South.

February 23 Diplomacy: Pennsylvanian Simon Cameron, former secretary of war, resigns his post as minister to Rus�sia.

February 24 Naval: Confederate vessels CSS William H. Webb and Beatty, assisted by the newly captured Queen of the West, attack and repeatedly ram the ironclad USS Indianola below Warrenton, Mississippi. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the faster craft, Indianola sustains serious damage and Commander George Brown surrenders.

February 25 Naval: The USS Vanderbilt captures the British merchant vessel Peterhoff off St. Thomas in the Ca�rib�be�an, sparking a diplomatic row over the disposition of mail found onboard. Eventually, President Abraham Lincoln orders the craft and all confiscated mail returned to their rightful own�ers. Politics: The U.S. Congress approves a national banking system drawn up by Secretary of the Trea�sury Salmon P. Case, whereby participating institutions

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reserve up to one-third of their capital in U.S. securities. These, in turn, serve as a basis for issuing national bank notes (currency) to the public to facilitate long-term financing of the war effort. This system lasts with little change until the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913. The Confederacy, which operates without such fiscal safeguards, is forced to issue more than $1 billion in paper money and endures crippling inflation.

February 26 Indian: Upon further reflection, the National Council of Cherokee Indians abolishes slavery, renounces its prior affinity for the Confederacy, and rejoins the Union.

March 2 Military: Congress authorizes four new major generals and nine new brigadiers for the U.S. Army, with an additional 40 major generals and 200 brigadiers for the volunteers. Conversely, 33 senior military officers are dismissed from the service for a variety of reasons. Transportation: Congress establishes the standard railroad gauge (width) at four feet, eight and one half inches; this has since become a world standard for most railways.

March 3 Business: Jay Cooke is named Federal agent tasked with promoting the sale of war bonds. Diplomacy: Congress passes a resolution condemning offers of mediation as “Foreign intervention.” Indian: Congress agrees to subsidize the removal of all Native Americans from Kansas. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs the Enrollment or Federal Draft Act, whereby all able-bodied males from 20 to 46 years of age are eligible for military service. This is the first such legislation enacted by the government. Congress approves a loan of $300 million for the year 1863. It also formally and finally suspends writs of habeas corpus as a wartime expedient. Science: The National Academy of Sciences, a private, nonprofit organization, is founded for the purpose of promoting science and research. Settlement: The Idaho Territory is formed by Congress, culled from parts of the adjoining Washington and Dakota Territories, and incorporating present-day Montana and Wyoming.

March 5 Journalism: In Columbus, Ohio, rampaging Union troops gut the editorial offices of the newspaper Crisis for allegedly printing pro-Southern editorials. Military: General Earl Van Dorn advances with 6,000 Confederates against the Union position at Thompson’s Station, Tennessee. The defenders consist of 2,857 Federal soldiers and cavalry, supported by six cannon, under Colonel John Coburn. A final charge by Colonel Nathan B. Forrest breaks Union resistance and Coburn surrenders.

March 8 Military: A sudden raid by Captain John S. Mosby and his Confederate rangers captures General Edwin H. Stoughton in his headquarters at Fairfax County

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Chronology of American History Court House, Virginia, along with 32 prisoners and 58 horses. The general was then asleep in his bed only to be rudely awakened by a slap to his backside— delivered by Mosby himself.

March 10 Law: In the Prize Cases, the Supreme Court approves the legality of the Union naval blockade on a 5–4 vote. They do so by legitimizing the blockade of a sovereign state while simultaneously denying that the Confederate States of America actually exists as a nation. The Court also rules that while only Congress has the authority to declare war, Lincoln, as commander in chief, has the authority to suppress a rebellion through military means. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs a general amnesty for all soldiers, presently absent without leave (AWOL), to rejoin their units by April 1, 1863.

March 14 Military: General Nathaniel P. Banks advances 30,000 men of his Army of the Gulf upon Port Hudson, Louisiana. It is now painfully apparent to Union authorities that this position, second in strength only to Vicksburg, Mississippi, itself, must be reduced by assault in the near future. Naval: Admiral David G. Farragut’s squadron of seven ships runs past Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana, at 11:00 p.m. His flagship, the USS Hartford, is lashed alongside the Albatross, weathers a storm of shot and shells, and makes the final passage intact, but accompanying vessels Monongahela and Richmond are turned back, thus Farragut is cut off from part of his force for several weeks. Union Admiral David D. Porter pushes his gunboats, mortar boats, and four tugs up the Yazoo River to secure Steele’s Bayou above Vicksburg, Mississippi.

March 16 Naval: Federal gunboats of the Yazoo River Expedition engage Fort Pemberton at Greenwood, Mississippi, whereupon the ironclad USS Chillicothe receives eight direct hits, suffers 22 casualties, and drifts helplessly. Failure here terminates General Ulysses S. Grant’s second attempt to circumvent the northern defenses of Vicksburg.

March 17 South: A force of 2,100 Union cavalry and six guns under General William W. Averell advance from Morrisville, Virginia, then cross the Rappahannock River intending to surprise Confederate cavalry stationed at Kelly’s Ford. The startled Southerners then advance to meet the intruders with 800 men. Averell lines up his five regiments abreast behind a stone wall, lets the Confederates gallop to within close range, then rakes them with intense artillery and carbine fire. Charges and countercharges ensue throughout the afternoon before Averell ends the contest and withdraws across the river in good order. Though indecisive, Kelly’s Ford alerts Southern horsemen to the growing proficiency of their Northern counterparts. The youthful Southern gunner John “Gallant Pelham” is also mortally wounded.

March 18 Politics: The Democratically controlled state legislature of New Jersey passes a number of peace resolutions condemning all aspects of the war effort and demanding a negotiated ending. This prompts a sharp rebuke from state regi-

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ments in the field, who pass resolutions of their own condemning the legislature’s activities as “wicked” and “cowardly.”

March 21 Military: General William T. Sherman’s expedition to Steele’s Bayou gropes along the tree-choked riverbanks, much harassed by snipers and man-made obstacles in its path. Progress remains slow but determined as they proceed to rescue Admiral David D. Porter’s gunboat squadron, then trapped at Deer Creek.

March 25 Military: General Nathan B. Forrest and his Confederate cavalry column attack Union troops at Brentwood, Tennessee, consisting of 520 men of the 22nd Wisconsin under Colonel Edward Bloodgood and 230 men of the 19th Michigan posted south of the town. Both Federal detachments surrender but, as the Southern marauders withdraw, they are set upon by a third force of Union cavalry under Colonel Green C. Smith and lose some wagons and supplies.

March 26 Politics: The Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia, approves the Impressment Act, authorizing government agents to seize slaves and foodstuffs to supply the military establishment. Waste and abuse in its enforcement lead several state governments to condemn this practice. Slavery: Voters in the new state of West Virginia approve the gradual emancipation of all African Americans.

March 27 Indian: President Abraham Lincoln entertains numerous Native American leaders at the White House and implores them to take up agriculture. “I can see no way in which your race is to become as numerous and prosperous as the white race,” he lectured, “except by living as they do, by the cultivation of the earth.”

March 30 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln announces that April 30, 1863, will be designated a national day of fasting and prayer.

April 1 Naval: The USS Tuscumbia under Admiral David D. Porter hosts Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman on a grand reconnaissance of the Yazoo River as far as Hayne’s Bluff. The nature of the terrain and other imposing natural obstacles convince Grant to turn his attention to operations below the city.

April 2 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant meets with Admiral David D. Porter to promulgate a final plan of operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi. They decide that while forces under General William T. Sherman mount a large-scale diversion along Hayne’s Bluff to the north, the bulk of the army under Grant will march south down the west bank of the Mississippi River. There they will embark and be carried across to the Confederate shore by Porter’s fleet. Politics: Richmond, Virginia, is the scene of an infamous “bread riot.” That morning a small crowd of women and boys announce that they are marching from the capitol square to obtain bread. Numerous onlookers gradually swell the procession’s ranks to 1,300 people, who grow unruly and demand action. Full-scale rioting and looting then erupt, with many businesses being ransacked.

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April 4 Diplomacy: American minister Charles F. Adams loudly protests the impending departure of the vessel Alexandria, destined for eventual serÂ�vice with the Con-­ federate navy.

April 5 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln meets with General Joseph Hooker at Fre-­ dericksburg, Virginia, to discuss strategy. At that time both leaders concur that the object of future military operations should center upon the destruction of General Robert E. Lee’s army, with Richmond, Virginia, a secondary concern.

April 6 Diplomacy: The British government seizes the newly completed vessel Alexandria to placate the U.S. government. However, it is eventually released by the courts to the Confederacy.

April 7 Naval: Admiral Samuel F. du Pont’s ironclad squadron launches its long antici-­ pated attack against Charleston, South Carolina. His slow firing monitors are only able to loose 139 rounds while 77 Â�well-­handled Confederate cannon pour in 2,000 shells upon them. Consequently, all nine vessels are struck repeatedly with the USS Keokuk suffering 90 hits near or below the waterline, which renders it nearly uncontrollable. Du Pont, who had anticipated much worse, suspends the action at nightfall, thankful that the day was “a failure instead of a disaster,” although defeat Â�here will cost him his command.

April 8 Naval: The badly battered ironclad USS Keokuk sinks outside of Charleston, South Carolina. However, its signal book is eventually recovered by the Confeder-­ ates, who can now decipher the squadron’s communications.

April 10 Politics: President Jefferson Davis exhorts his countrymen to forego the planting of cotton and tobacco in favor of foodstuffs desperately needed by Confederate forces. “Let fields be devoted exclusively to the production of corn, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and other food for man and beast,” he lectures, “and all your efforts be directed to the prompt supply of these articles in the districts where our armies are operating.”

April 12 Military: President Abraham Lincoln is informed by General Joseph Hooker that he wishes to swing around General Robert E. Lee’s flank and threaten Rich-­ mond, Virginia. The president reminds the general that the destruction of Lee’s army remains a paramount objective. The XIX Corps of Union General Nathaniel P. Banks, numbering 16,000 men in three divisions, marches up the Teche River toward Irish Bend on Bayou Teche, Louisiana, to capture Fort Bisland. Banks moves two divisions overland while directing the 4,500 men of General Curvier Grover’s division to land north and cut their retreat.

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April 13 Military: At Irish Bend, Louisiana, Confederate forces gird themselves to deliver an early morning strike against superior forces under General Nathaniel P. Banks. General Richard Taylor, rather than be crushed between Banks and General Curvier Grover, determines to attack at dawn and allow the fort’s garrison to escape. His men carefully skirt Union positions along the riverbank, assume an offensive posture, and prepare to strike the Federals at dawn to allow the garrison to escape.

April 14 Military: Confederates under General Richard Taylor abandon Fort Bisland, Louisiana, and then attack the Union encampment of General Curvier Grover. The Southerners get the best of it and manage to escape while Grover remains in camp and his force sustains 600 casualties. Taylor then withdraws to safety, although he is forced to scuttle the recently recaptured CSS Diana. Fort Bisland, meanwhile, is occupied by General Nathaniel P. Banks.

April 15 Military: Union General John G. Foster sails down the Pamlico River, North Carolina, to relieve the siege of New Bern, forcing Confederates under General Daniel H. Hill to withdraw. General Ulysses S. Grant masses 45,000 troops at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana, 10 miles north of the Confederate bastion of Vicksburg, Mississippi. He then orders General James B. McPherson’s corps down the west bank of the river to New Carthage, while additional forces under General William T. Sherman begin forming before Chickasaw Bluff. Naval: Confederate raider CSS Alabama under Captain Raphael Semmes captures and burns the Union whalers Kate Cory and Lafayette off Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.

April 16 Military: Union forces under General John G. Foster advance inland from Washington, North Carolina, and tangle with the rear guard of General Daniel H. Hill at nearby Kinston. Naval: A gala ball held at Vicksburg, Mississippi, is rudely interrupted by the river squadron of Admiral David D. Porter, who passes 12 transports past Confederate batteries posted on nearby bluffs. The action lasts two and a half hours but, despite a withering cannonade, Porter succeeds brilliantly. Most of his vessels sustain light damage but the steamer Henry Clay is sunk and the gunboat Forest Queen is disabled. The squadron then berths off New Carthage, Mississippi, and prepares to transport the army of General Ulysses S. Grant over to the Confederate shore. Politics: President Jefferson Davis signs legislation permitting minors under 18 to hold military commissions.

April 17 Military: Union Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson embarks on an ambitious, 16day diversionary raid from La Grange, Tennessee, down through the heart of Mississippi and thence to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. To complete this 600-mile sojourn, he takes with him 1,700 troopers of the 6th and 7th Illinois Cavalry, the 2nd Iowa, and a horse battery.

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April 18 Military: The Federal gunboat USS Stepping Stones under Lieutenant William B. Cushing, carrying 270 soldiers, suddenly raids Confederate-held Fort Huger on the Nansemond River, Virginia. Before the garrison can react, the Federal forces charge into the fort, seizing 137 prisoners and five cannon, then depart. Politics: The Confederate Congress authorizes a volunteer navy to encourage the outfitting of privateers at private expense.

April 20 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln declares that the new state of West Virginia be established from the westernmost counties of Virginia as of June 20, 1863.

April 21 Military: Union cavalry under Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson skirmishes with Confederates at Palo Alto, Mississippi. Grierson, hotly pursued by Southerners, cleverly splits his column by sending Colonel Edward Hatch and the 2nd Iowa off to threaten the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. The Confederates, as anticipated, take the bait and mistakenly chase after Hatch, leaving Grierson to complete his raid through Mississippi almost unopposed. Naval: A convoy of additional Union army transports passes the batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi, at night and under fire. These then join the main fleet at New Carthage and prepare to transport the army of General Ulysses S. Grant across the river en masse. This feat proves one of the most decisive improvisations of the war.

April 24 Business: To combat spiraling inflation, the Confederate Congress levies a 10 percent “tax in kind” on all produce harvested throughout the South. This move is greatly resented by the agrarian sector, which is already subject to requisition by the Confederate commissary and quartermaster offices. Military: The combined Army of the Tennessee under General Ulysses S. Grant reaches Hard Times Plantation, Louisiana, on the left bank of the Mississippi River. There he immediately orders the troops ferried on transports directly across to Bruinsville, Mississippi, on the Confederate shore. Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson’s Union cavalry storms into Newton Station, Mississippi, seizing a newly arrived ammunition train and tearing up miles of valuable track belonging to the Southern Mississippi Railroad. This places the raiders only 100 miles east of the Confederate bastion of Vicksburg, and General John C. Pemberton orders his reserve force of five infantry and artillery regiments from Jackson to intercept them. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes General Order No. 100, the so-called Liber Code, an early attempt to codify and standardize laws pertaining to the conduct of war.

April 27 Military: At Falmouth, Virginia, the 134,000-man Army of the Potomac is put into motion by General Joseph Hooker. Hooker takes 75,000 men down the banks of the Rappahannock River, intending to deploy them in the region known as the Wilderness, 10 miles behind Confederate lines. No previous Union com-

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mander has enjoyed such a numerical preponderance over General Robert E. Lee before.

April 29 Military: General John Stoneman’s Union cavalry division crosses the Rappahannock River into Virginia and commences a major raid. However, not only does this endeavor prove largely ineffectual, it also strips the Army of the Potomac of its cavalry and, with it, the ability to scout and reconnoiter densely wooded terrain. Naval: Admiral David D. Porter’s gunboat squadron bombards Confederate batteries on the Mississippi River at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. After five hours of continuous combat, Porter’s army transports skirt the remaining batteries without incident as Federal forces bypass Grand Gulf altogether.

April 30 Military: The Army of the Potomac under General Joseph Hooker marches 309 miles down the banks of the Rappahannock River and crosses 10 miles behind General Robert E. Lee’s position at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Considering the size and complexity of the operation, Hooker executes it brilliantly and catches the Southerners off guard. General Ulysses S. Grant ferries the XIII Corps of General John A. McClernand and the XVII Corps of General James B. McPherson (23,000 men in all) across the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, Mississippi. At a stroke Grant bypasses strong Confederate defenses and carves out a lodgement on the east bank of the river, only 35 miles below the bastion at Vicksburg. Naval: The gunboat squadron and transports of Admiral David D. Porter cover and ferry the army of General Ulysses S. Grant across the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, 10 miles below Grand Gulf. Confederate defenses at Vicksburg are laid bare and Grant is now capable of attacking that erstwhile impregnable bastion from the rear.

May 1 Medical: The New York Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled Children is dedicated in New York. Politics: Peace Democrat Clement L. Vallandigham gives a speech in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in which he denounces “this wicked, cruel, and unnecessary war.” Such speech marks him for eventual arrest. Military: Elements of the Army of Northern Virginia under General Thomas J. Jackson arrive near Chancellorsville, Virginia, and tangle with advanced Union pickets nearby. However, this aggressive display by the Confederates unnerves General Joseph Hooker, who inexplicably orders his Army of the Potomac into the woody morass known as the Wilderness. Meanwhile, Southern cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart skillfully discern that the Union right flank is “up in the air” and subject to be turned. General Robert E. Lee, sizing up his adversary, next orders Jackson to take 30,000 men—the bulk of his army—on a circuitous, 14-mile end run around Hooker’s exposed right. He is hoping for a decisive attack that will cripple his more numerous adversary. Advancing inland from Bruinsburg, Mississippi, General Ulysses S. Grant masses 23,000 men and attacks 8,000 Confederates under General John S. Bowen

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The Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1– 4, 1863. Lithograph by Currier & Ives (Library of Congress)

at Port Gibson. Stout fighting ensues but Union numbers prevail and the Southerners are forced from the field. With his bridgehead now secure, Grant’s offensive begins to gather momentum. He also takes the bold and risky expedient of cutting his own supply line, carrying all essential impedimenta on the backs of his soldiers and foraging off the land. Slavery: The Confederate Congress authorizes military tribunals to execute any white Union officers caught commanding African-American soldiers. Black soldiers seized in uniform, if not killed outright, are to be promptly sold as slaves.

May 2 Military: Proceeding all night with speed and great marching discipline, 30,000 Confederates under General Thomas J. Jackson steal their way around the Army of the Potomac’s right flank at Chancellorsville, Virginia. At 6:00 p.m. his men slash into the unsuspecting Federals with a vengeance while they are preparing dinner. They crumble under the Southern onslaught, reeling back two miles. Jackson, ignoring the mounting confusion around him, rides forward on a personal reconnaissance and is accidentally shot by men of the 18th North Carolina. Federal forces under General Ulysses S. Grant bridge Bayou Pierre outside Port Gibson, Mississippi, and begin fanning out across the countryside. He next

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intends to seize the town of Edwards Station, 16 miles east of Vicksburg, to cut the Vicksburg & Jackson Railroad and isolate the garrison. Union cavalry under Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson fight their final skirmish with Confederate forces at Robert’s Ford on the Comite River, Louisiana, before clattering into Baton Rouge and safety. He concludes his spectacular raid with a loss of only three dead, seven injured, and nine missing; five ailing soldiers have also been left behind for treatment. Confederate losses are estimated at 100 dead, 500 captured, 2,000 weapons taken, and more than 50 miles of railroad track and telegraph lines destroyed.

May 3 Military: At first light the struggle around Chancellorsville, Virginia, renews. General J. E. B. Stuart mounts 50 cannon atop Hazel Grove and bombards the Union forces of General Joseph Hooker. Hooker, though still outnumbering his opponents two-to-one, clings to his defensive posture and, suddenly stunned by a falling column, he orders the Army of the Potomac to retreat back to the Rappahannock River. This act convinces General Robert E. Lee that Union forces lack the stomach to attack, and he unhesitatingly divides his force again and marches off with General Richard A. Anderson’s division to meet a new Union threat developing in his rear. Combat at Chancellorsville occasions very heavy losses to both sides: Hooker suffers 17,287 casualties while Lee sustains 12,463. Moreover, Lee and the South are now deprived of General “Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, who dies of his wounds shortly afterward. This loss irreparably shatters the most outstanding tactical duo of the Civil War, and Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, while formidable, is never quite as devastatingly effective. General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps, numbering 19,000 men, is ordered by General Joseph Hooker to storm the heights of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Resistance proves stout, and on his third charge Sedgwick orders his men to settle the issue with cold steel alone and the Confederates are ejected from their works. The VI Corps then proceeds west towards Chancellorsville until it collides with General Cadmus M. Wilcox’s brigade on a high ridge, upon which sits Salem Church. Heavy fighting ensues; Sedgwick suffers 1,523 casualties to a Southern tally of 674. Colonel Abel D. Streight surrenders 1,500 men of his “Mule Brigade” to General Nathan B. Forrest at Cedar Bluff, Alabama. Forrest, possessing only 600 troopers, surrounds his opponent and, by constantly parading them and a single battery, gives the impression of a far larger force. Naval: The gunboat squadron of Admiral David D. Porter moves to engage Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, Mississippi, and finds that the defenders have fled beforehand. “The Navy holds the door to Vicksburg,” he writes to General Ulysses S. Grant.

May 4 Military: The Battle of Salem Church, Virginia, continues as General John Sedgwick keeps attacking Confederate positions. However, General Robert E. Lee, having boldly divided his army again, dispatches General Richard H. Anderson’s division to assist the defenders. Outnumbered and nearly outflanked, the Federals skillfully withdraw toward the Rappahannock River and entrench. Total

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Chronology of American History Union casualties for the day number 4,700; Confederate losses are unknown but presumed lighter.

May 5 Politics: Having denounced the war as “wicked and cruel,” Clement L. Vallandigham, a Northern Democrat or “Copperhead,” is arrested at his home by Union solders. As he is removed to the headquarters of General Ambrose E. Burnside at Cincinnati, Ohio, riots ensue and culminate in the burning of several pro-administration newspaper offices. Sports: In Charleston, Maryland, Joe Coburn becomes the new national heavyweight boxing champion by knocking down Mike McCoole after 63 rounds.

May 8 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln declares that all foreigners wishing to become citizens remain eligible for military service under the draft.

May 9 Politics: To oversee the new national bank, Congress appoints Hugh McCulloch to be Comptroller of Currency.

May 10 Military: The incomparable General Thomas J. Jackson, publicly renowned as “Stonewall” and admired by soldiers on both sides, dies of pneumonia at Guiney’s Station, Virginia. His passing proves an irreparable loss to General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate war effort.

May 11 Politics: Testy Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, having been disapproved on an appointment, angrily tenders his resignation to President Abraham Lincoln; it is not accepted.

May 12 Military: At 9:00 a.m., General John A. Logan’s 3rd Division of General James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps advances upon Raymond, Mississippi, encountering strong resistance from General John Gregg’s Confederates. McPherson then commits his entire corps, 12,000 strong, and cracks the Southern right wing. Gregg subsequently disengages and falls back in good order toward Jackson. General Ulysses S. Grant then alters his strategy toward Vicksburg; rather than be caught between the two fires of General John C. Pemberton to the west and General Joseph E. Johnston to the east, he intends to seek each out individually and defeat them piecemeal.

May 13 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston arrives at Jackson, Mississippi, to find a small garrison of 6,000 men under General John Gregg, and declares “I am too late.” He realizes two full Union Corps are presently marching up toward the city and gives orders to evacuate troops and other supplies immediately. He also instructs General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg to take his 22,000 men and catch the Federals between the two forces.

May 14 Military: General Robert E. Lee attends a high-level strategy conference in Richmond, Virginia, where he advocates a risky but potentially rewarding scheme for invading Pennsylvania and defeating Federal forces on their own soil. Such a

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move would further discredit the Republican Party and possibly secure European intervention on the Confederacy’s behalf. Around 9:00 a.m., the advance guard of General James B. McPherson’s XVII’s Corps makes contact with Confederate outposts around Jackson, Mississippi. General William T. Sherman also sends his men forward and seizes several poorly guarded cannon. Confederates under General John Gregg then disengage and escape north from the city. General Ulysses S. Grant now obtains a strategic railroad junction east of Vicksburg.

May 15 Journalism: Angry Federal troops storm the offices of the newspaper Jeffersonian in Richmond, Indiana, and ransack it on account of its supposedly proSouthern sentiments.

May 16 Military: General John C. Pemberton places his 22,000 men along a commanding position known locally as Champion’s Hill, Mississippi, roughly halfway between Jackson and Vicksburg. The 32,000-man army of General Ulysses S. Grant then arrives and deploys the XIII Corps of General John A. McClernand on his right and the XVII Corps of General James B. McPherson on his left. By 5:30 p.m., Pemberton’s battered force is in full flight across Baker’s creek, burning the bridge behind them. Grant, by dint of rapid marching, prevents two disparate Confederate forces from uniting against him and defeats both decisively. Union losses are 1,838 to a Southern tally of 3,840.

May 17 Military: General John C. Pemberton, routed at Champion Hill the day previously, prepares to defend a bridgehead along the west bank of the Big Black River, 12 miles east of strategic Vicksburg, Mississippi. At 5:00 a.m., the first elements of General John A. McClerand’s XIII Corps encounters Confederate pickets, and by 10:00 a.m. Southern forces are streaming across the Big Black in defeat. Pemberton manages to fire the remaining bridge over the river but his men do not stop running until they reach the outskirts of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Big Black River is another debacle for the South, which loses 1,751 killed, wounded, and missing, along with 18 artillery pieces. Union casualties come to 279.

May 18 Diplomacy: In yet another blow to Confederate aspirations, Foreign Secretary Lord Russell declares to the House of Commons that Great Britain has no intention of intervening in the American conflict. Military: Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant cross the Big Black River and take up storming positions outside the Confederate bastion of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Southern defenses appear outwardly hopeless, but General John C. Pemberton declares his intention to fight to the last. That same day General Joseph E. Johnston frantically wires the general and warns him not to become trapped within the city.

May 19 Military: A preliminary attack by General Ulysses S. Grant upon Vicksburg, Mississippi, is repelled with heavy loss. Politics: To end divisive sentiments arising from the arrest and detainment of Ohio Peace Democrat Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham, Secretary

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Chronology of American History of War Edwin M. Stanton orders him released and deported to Confederate lines.

May 22 Military: President Jefferson Davis implores General Braxton Bragg in Tennessee to come to the aid of Vicksburg, Mississippi, if possible. General Ulysses S. Grant again launches a frontal assault upon the defenses of Vicksburg, Mississippi, hitting a three-mile stretch of entrenched positions after a continuous and heavy bombardment. Of the 45,000 Union troops committed, 3,199 become casualties. Confederate losses appear to be less than 500. Grant then resigns himself to commencing the formal siege operations he sought to avoid, although food shortages, intense summer heat, and civilian discomfort all take their toll on the defenders. Politics: The U.S. War Department establishes the Bureau of Colored Troops to better coordinate recruitment of African Americans from all regions of the country.

May 23 Politics: Confederate Secretary of War John A. Seddon strongly suggests to President Jefferson Davis that their forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department mount an offensive to help relieve the pressure on Vicksburg, Mississippi. Specifically, he cites the capture of Helena, Arkansas, as a possible objective.

May 27 Military: At 6:00 a.m., General Nathaniel P. Banks launches his long-anticipated attack upon Confederate-held Port Hudson, Louisiana. The combined assaults on the northern breastworks by generals Christopher Auger and Godfrey Wetzel become separated in rough terrain and are defeated piecemeal. A subsequent advance by General Thomas W. Sherman is also repelled, and Banks finally suspends the attack. Union losses are 1,995 while the Confederates record 235 casualties. Port Hudson also witnesses the first large-scale employment of African-American troops, who acquit themselves well.

May 28 Military: The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, composed entirely of African- American soldiers and white officers, parades through Boston under Colonel Robert G. Shaw, a wealthy Boston Brahmin and devoted abolitionist. The unit then ships out for Hilton Head, South Carolina, to serve in the siege of Charleston.

May 30

Flag of the 22nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops depicting an African-American soldier bayoneting a fallen Confederate soldier. (Library of Congress)

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Military: General Robert E. Lee reorganizes his Army of Northern Virginia into four corps: General James Longstreet (I), General Richard S. Ewell (II), General Ambrose P. Hill (III) and General J. E. B. Stuart (Cavalry Corps.

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May 31 Military: In a high-level strategy session at Richmond, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis openly expresses to General Robert E. Lee his disdain for General Joseph E. Johnston’s handling of affairs outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

June 1 Journalism: General Ambrose E. Burnside again closes the offices of the Chicago Times over their allegedly disloyal comments, creating another public uproar and a political headache for President Abraham Lincoln.

June 2 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln orders Peace Democrat Clement L. Vallandigham transported to Wilmington, North Carolina, for detention as an enemy alien. Slavery: Harriet Tubman, guiding a force of Union troops up the Combahee River, South Carolina, helps burn a plantation and free 800 African-American slaves. She does so with the blessing of her commander, General David Hunter.

Tubman, Harriet (ca. 1820–1913) African-American abolitionist Aramita Tubman was born into slavery on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, around 1820. She eventually adopted her mother’s name of Harriet and worked many years as a domestic, and at the age of 13 she was struck violently in the head as punishment, suffering periodic seizures thereafter. In 1844 she married a free black named John but feared that her family might be broken up and sold. She thereupon fled with her brothers to Philadelphia and was rescued by Quakers working in the abolitionist movement. Rather than enjoy her newfound freedom, Tubman chose to return repeatedly to the South incognito, eventually rescuing her aged parents from enslavement. She received no help from her husband, who remarried and remained in Maryland, but over the next decade Tubman was responsible for rescuing 300 African Americans and conducting them northward to freedom along the celebrated “underground railway.” This was in spite of the fact that the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 meted out stiff punishment to any person

caught aiding an escaping slave. So notorious did Tubman become that her former owners offered a $40,000 reward for her capture. She also strongly supported radical abolitionist John Brown in his attempt to foment a slave insurrection and was deeply disappointed when it failed. When the Civil War commenced in April 1861, Tubman unflinchingly offered her service to the Union army as a nurse, a scout, and a spy. She proved especially useful to abolitionist-minded General David Hunter in South Carolina, and received a travel pass usually reserved for important dignitaries. Tubman enjoyed considerable celebrity among plantation slaves throughout the war, who assisted her, fed her, and sheltered her throughout her many dangerous forays into the Confederacy. After the war Tubman continued her activities assisting the freedmen while also caring for her elderly parents and numerous orphans. Her gallant wartime efforts (continues)

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(continued) notwithstanding, the government refused to grant her the same pension usually allotted to white nurses–$20 a month–until the 1890s. Undaunted, Tubman became closely associated with civil rights and woman’s suffrage, frequently being engaged as a public speaker at political events. She was also essential for establishing the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in upstate New York. Tubman labored in both obscurity and poverty until 1869 when Sarah Bradford published Harriet Tubman, The Moses of Her People, which brought

in additional funds. She used the money to found the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged Negroes, which has since become a national landmark. Tubman contracted pneumonia and died on March 10, 1913, and a memorial plaque was dedicated in the town of Auburn, New York, by noted civil rights leader Booker T. Washington. On August 28, 2003, New York Governor George Pataki declared that March 10 would be celebrated as Harriet Tubman Day in honor of her selfless achievements and sacrifice.

June 3 Military: General Robert E. Lee begins his second invasion of the North by moving 75,000 men of his Army of Northern Virginia from Fredericksburg, Virginia, toward the Shenandoah Valley. General Ambrose P. Hill’s corps is temporarily detained near Fredericksburg until needed.

June 4 Journalism: President Abraham Lincoln orders Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to revoke General Ambrose E. Burnside’s suspension of the Chicago Times.

June 5 Military: Fighting erupts at Franklin’s Crossing on the Rappahannock River as troops of General Ambrose P. Hill’s command skirmish with the Union VI Corps under General John Sedgwick. The stiff resistance encountered convinces Sedgwick that the Southerners are still present in force and he reports his findings to General Joseph Hooker. That leader, unconvinced, next orders several cavalry forays to ascertain enemy intentions.

June 6 Military: At Brandy Station, Virginia, General J. E. B. Stuart holds a grand review of 8,000 Confederate cavalry for a large crowd of political dignitaries and spectators gathered onto railroad cars.

June 7 Diplomacy: French military forces occupy Mexico City at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Military: At 5:30 a.m., General Henry E. McCulloch leads 1,500 Confederates in an attack against 1,061 Federals at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana, and withdraws after three hours of heavy fighting. African-American soldiers, who suffer disproportionately high casualties, murder several captured Southerners after learning that they had killed black captives in their custody. Union losses in this affair

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tally 101 dead, 285 injured, and 266 missing while the Confederates sustain 44 killed, 131 wounded, and 10 missing.

June 8 Military: The Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee arrives at Culpepper Court House, Virginia, where General J. E. B. Stuart stages another elaborate cavalry review. Stuart, a jaunty, supremely confident gamecock, delights in displaying his finely honed troopers, but he is nonetheless slated to receive some rather unexpected—and unwelcome—visitors. At Falmouth, Virginia, General Alfred Pleasonton musters his Union cavalry corps, two infantry brigades, and six light batteries, 11,000 men in all, to reconnoiter across the Rappahannock River. His mission is to locate the main body of Confederates and ascertain if they are moving north onto Union territory.

June 9 Military: At 4:00 a.m., General John Buford’s brigade of Union cavalry splashes across the Rappahannock River at Beverly, Virginia, while, four miles downstream, General David M. Gregg’s force crosses at Kelly’s Ford. General Alfred Pleasonton has thrown two columns against the known headquarters of General J. E. B. Stuart in an attempt to catch the wily trooper in a coordinated pincer movement. Stuart, with 9,500 troopers scattered over a wide area, immediately dispatches riders out to assemble the command at Brandy Station while he organizes defenses along Fleetwood Hill. Stiff and indecisive fighting erupts before Pleasonton, perceiving dust clouds on the horizon, assumes that columns of Confederate infantry are approaching. He then signals his men to withdraw and the fighting ceases. Brandy Station is the largest mounted action of the war and a tactical victory for the Confederates, who hold the field and inflict 936 Union casualties for a loss of 523 men. However, the 10-hour struggle underscores in bold relief the excellent progress Union cavalry has achieved under capable leadership. Naval: Union mortar boats resume their protracted bombardment of Vicksburg, Mississippi, designed to cut off resupply efforts and undermine civilian morale. On average, they hurl 175 heavy explosive shells into the city every day while its inhabitants cower in nearby caves.

June 11 Politics: In an act of defiance by Ohio Peace Democrats, they nominate Clement L. Vallandigham as their gubernatorial candidate, despite the fact the Confederate government has shipped him off to Canada.

June 12 Military: General Richard S. Ewell, advancing along the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia, detaches General Richard E. Rodes’ division and a cavalry brigade of General Albert G. Jenkins toward the town of Berryville to drive out an 1,800-man Union garrison under Colonel Andrew T. McReynolds.

June 14 Military: At 4:00 a.m., General Nathaniel P. Banks hurls another assault against Confederate defenses at Port Hudson, Louisiana. This time the infantry division of General Halbert E. Payne charges the strong entrenchments at Priest Cap and, despite heroic efforts, is repelled with 1,805 casualties. The well-protected Confederate defenders lose only 22 killed and 25 wounded.

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Chronology of American History The Confederate II Corps under General Richard S. Ewell engages a Federal force under General Robert H. Milroy at Winchester, western Virginia. Milroy initially believes that the enemy to his front are simply a large foraging party, but by the time he realizes that the entire Army of Northern Virginia is bearing down on him, it is too late. The general hastily convenes a war council that elects to spike its artillery, burn its baggage trains, and evacuate Winchester under the cover of darkness. However, Ewell has anticipated such a move and he instructs General Edward Johnson to position his men along Martinburg Turnpike at Stevenson’s Depot and cut off Milroy’s retreat. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln anxiously goads General Joseph Hooker into some kind of action to oppose this latest Confederate incursion. “If the head of Lee’s army is at Martinsburg and the tail of it on the Plank Road between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the animal must be very slim somewhere. Could you not break him?”

June 15 Military: Confederates under General Edward Johnson successfully ambush retiring forces under General Robert H. Milroy at Stevenson’s Depot, four miles north of Winchester, Virginia. Among the huge haul they capture is 2,500 prisoners, 300 wagons, 300 horses, and 23 cannon. Union combat losses add another 905 dead and 305 wounded to the tally while Johnson suffers 47 killed, 219 wounded, and three missing. This victory clears Federal forces from the Shenandoah Valley and facilitates General Robert E. Lee’s impending invasion of Pennsylvania. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston again wires General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, Mississippi, that his position is hopeless and that he must evacuate the city immediately and save his army. However, Pemberton never receives the message owing to cut telegraph wires, and he remains trapped within his works by Federal forces under General Ulysses S. Grant. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln calls for 100,000 militia to muster in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia, to thwart recent Confederate advances northward. The approach of the Army of Northern Virginia toward Pennsylvania soil causes outbreaks of excitement and panic at Baltimore, Maryland.

June 16 Military: The new Confederate offensive leads to a furious spate of telegrams between General in Chief Henry W. Halleck and General Joseph Hooker as to General Robert E. Lee’s intentions. Hooker wants to rush troops north and confront Lee above Washington, D.C., while Halleck insists that he follow the Southerners and relieve the garrison at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, en route.

June 17 Military: As the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee advances north into Maryland, General J. E. B. Stuart is ordered to screen his right flank from prying Federal eyes. His Union opposite, General Alfred Pleasonton, is determined to uncover Confederate intentions and come to grips with his gray-coated adversaries. Colonel Thomas Munford, 5th Virginia Cavalry, is also scouting in the vicinity of Aldie, Virginia, when he brushes up against Union troopers under General Hugh J. Kilpatrick. Fighting is intense but dies down for

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the evening; Union losses for the day total around 300 to a Confederate tally of 100. Naval: The ironclad USS Weehawken under Captain John Rodgers, assisted by the Nahant, engage Commander William A. Webb and the formidable steam ram CSS Atlanta in Wassaw Sound, Georgia. Atlanta grounds in the channel during its approach and is subsequently worked free, but its rudder is damaged and the ship steers erratically. Rodgers’ vessels then slip quickly into point-blank range and pound their adversary into submission after a 15-minute struggle, another serious loss for the struggling Confederate navy.

June 18 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant summarily relieves General John A. McClernand from command of the XIII Corps for insubordination and replaces him with General Edward O. C. Ord. The final straw came when McClernand issues unauthorized, laudatory statements to his men which praise them for their role in the failed assault upon Vicksburg, Mississippi, while denigrating the performance of other units.

June 20 Business: Jay Cooke oversees creation of the first National Bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also spearheads the drive for Union war bonds. These endeavors result in the first uniform national currency for many states once banks begin issuing national bank notes. Military: Union cavalry under General Alfred Pleasonton increases pressure on the mounted screen of General J. E. B. Stuart, now left unsupported east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He orders General David M. Gregg’s division to attack General Wade Hampton’s Confederates at Goose Creek, Virginia, while another force under General John Buford threatens to outflank them. Politics: West Virginia joins the Union as the 35th state and a stalwart Union ally. Moreover, its constitution mandates the gradual emancipation of all AfricanAmerican slaves.

June 22 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart receives discretionary and somewhat vague instructions from General Robert E. Lee, ordering him to alternately raid Union supply lines while guarding the army’s right flank when it advances northward into Pennsylvania.

June 23 Military: The Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee nears Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, with several disparate Union columns groping along in pursuit.

June 24 Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren is relieved of duties at the Washington Navy Yard, D.C., and ordered to succeed Admiral Samuel F. du Pont as the new commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

June 25 Military: General J. E. B. Stuart leads three cavalry brigades north from Salem Depot, Virginia, to join the main Confederate army north of the Potomac River. However, Stuart’s interpretation of his otherwise discretionary orders ultimately

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Chronology of American History draws him away from the main theater of operations, hindering Confederate intelligence-gathering abilities at a time when the whereabouts of pursuing Union forces are unknown.

June 26 Naval: Admiral Andrew H. Foote dies in New York City of wounds received in the siege of Fort Donelson in February 1862. Confederate schooner CSS Archer under Lieutenant Charles W. Read boldly attacks and sinks the U.S. revenue cutter Caleb Cushing at Portland, Maine, but subsequently surrenders to the USS Forest City after expending his last ammunition. This concludes the dashing career of Read who, in the span of only 19 days, captures 22 vessels despite 47 Union craft on the lookout for him.

June 27 Military: President Abraham Lincoln appoints General George G. Meade to replace General Joseph Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart clashes with Union forces at Fairfax Court House, Virginia, taking some prisoners. He then approaches the town, eager to secure supplies abandoned by General Joseph Hooker, but is surprised and nearly captured in a sudden charge by 86 troopers of the 11th New York Cavalry. Fortunately, Stuart and his retinue are rescued in time by the 1st North Carolina Cavalry under Colonel Laurence S. Baker, who abruptly pushes the attackers back. The dashing leader is apparently so pleased that he intends to continue raiding the Union rear, instead of joining the Army of Northern Virginia as planned.

June 28 Military: General Robert E. Lee is startled to find strong Union forces gathering at Frederick, Maryland, and threatening his rear. Their exact intentions remain hazy as all of Lee’s cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart has departed on a deep raid through Union territory. Then Lee, as a precaution, orders his dispersed command to concentrate in the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, an important road junction. General John C. Pemberton, defending the vital Confederate bastion at Vicksburg, Mississippi, is petitioned by his soldiers to surrender rather than see the entire force starve to death. After a seven-week siege, the final curtain is about to fall.

June 30 Military: General John F. Reynolds is ordered by General George Gordon Meade to occupy the vital road junction at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The town is then occupied by a cavalry division under General John Buford who, cognizant of its value, prepares his command to defend it. He briefly skirmishes with part of General Henry Heth’s division, sent to Gettysburg to forage for shoes, but when the latter informs General Ambrose P. Hill of the presence of Federal troops at the junction, Hill blithely dismisses the notion. Marauding Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart skirmishes with Union troopers under General Elon Farnsworth at Hanover, Pennsylvania. An inconclusive fight unfolds as Union reinforcements arrive under generals Hugh J. Kilpatrick and George Custer, while the Confederates receive General Fitzhugh

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Lee. Rather than rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia, then concentrating at Gettysburg, Stuart now takes his command on an even wider detour around pursuing Union forces. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln ignores continuing pressure to reappoint General George B. McClellan as head of the Army of the Potomac.

July 1 Military: Early this morning the Confederate division of General Henry Heth forages for shoes in the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, when they unexpectedly encounter dismounted Union cavalry under General John Buford. Sharp fighting commences as the Southerners impulsively charge and are repelled by rapid firing Spencer carbines. Combat then intensifies as generals Oliver O. Howard and Abner Doubleday arrive with the Union XI and III Corps, respectively, as does the entire Confederate II Corps under General Richard S. Ewell. Quick maneuvering allows the rebels to roll up Howard’s line and soon his troops are streaming through Gettysburg in confusion. Disaster is only averted when General Winfield S. Hancock comes galloping up at the head of his II Corps and occupies the high ground along Cemetery Hill. This act allows the Army of the Potomac to occupy excellent defensive terrain around Gettysburg that evening. Casualties for the day amount to 9,000 Federals and 6,800 Confederates. A Confederate staff officer finally locates the elusive cavalry of General J. E. B. Stuart and orders him to repair to the main army under General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg with all haste. General William S. Rosencrans climaxes his successful Tullahoma Campaign by bloodlessly occupying Chattanooga, Tennessee, as Confederates under General Braxton Bragg withdraw. This is one of the most outstanding instances of strategic maneuvering during the entire Civil War. Politics: The Missouri State Convention votes to end slavery on July 4, 1870.

July 2 Military: At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 75,000 Confederates confront 85,000 Federals, whose defensive line resembles a fishhook with its right anchored on Culp’s Hill to the north, then running the length along Cemetery Ridge to a large hill called Little Round Top on its extreme left. Lee determines to defeat the enemy where he finds him, over objections by General James Longstreet, and orders strong attacks on both Union flanks. At one point the Southern advance nearly carries them through the Union line, but a sharp countercharge by General Winfield S. Hancock pushes them back downhill. A crisis develops on the extreme Union left at Little Round Top as a tremendous firefight unfolds between Colonel Joshua Chambers’ 20th Maine and an Alabama brigade sent to dislodge him. His ammunition failed, Chambers decides the issue with a sudden bayonet charge down the slope that routs his adversaries and saves the Union left. Meade then correctly predicts that Lee, foiled on either flank, will direct the bulk of his efforts at the Union center the next day. Late in the afternoon, General J. E. B. Stuart stumbles into the headquarters of General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. An exasperated Lee, who entered the fight without accurate information for lack of mounted reconnaissance, curtly declares, “Well, General Stuart, you are here at last.”

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Chronology of American History Politics: Confederate vice president Alexander H. Stephens writes to President Abraham Lincoln about prisoner exchanges and potential discussions to end the war. Lincoln responds that he is not interested.

July 3 Military: At 1:00 p.m., General Alexander E. Porter’s 140 cannon commence bombarding the Union line at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Federals respond in kind with 100 cannon of their own, initiating the largest artillery duel in American history. At 3:00 p.m., Confederates from the divisions of generals George E. Pickett, Johnston Pettigrew, and Isaac Trimble advance from the nearby woods and into what amounts to a killing ground, for Union batteries are carefully sited for interlocking fields of fire. Only a handful of surviving Confederates penetrate Meade’s defense but are quickly swallowed by the Union reserves. Eventually thousands of wounded and stunned survivors stream back across the field toward Seminary Ridge in abject defeat. General Robert E. Lee, surveying the carnage around him, is heard to murmur “It is all my fault, my fault.” Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart, conspicuously absent during the first two days of fighting, is now ordered to seek out and assail the Union rear. En route he encounters Union cavalry under General David M. Gregg, who fights the Southerners to a standstill in one of the biggest mounted clashes of the war. The overworked brigade of General George A. Custer particularly distinguishes itself with repeated, headlong charges which induce Stuart to relinquish the field. The debacle at Gettysburg represents the turning of the tide of Confederate military fortunes. Three days of ferocious combat with a determined adversary enjoying stark terrain advantages depletes the Army of Northern Virginia by an estimated 20,451 men. The actual loss may have been as high as 28,000—a horrific toll of irreplaceable, trained manpower. The Army of the Potomac is equally savaged with losses of 23,049. Generals John C. Pemberton and Ulysses S. Grant arrange an armistice to confer about surrender terms at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant bluntly informs his opposite: “You will be allowed to march out, the officers taking with them their side arms and clothing, and the field, staff, and cavalry officers one horse each. The rank and file will be allowed all their clothing but no other property.” Naval: The onset of surrender negotiations at Vicksburg, Mississippi, signals an end to the ongoing naval bombardment of the city by Admiral David D. Porter’s Mississippi River Squadron. Naval personnel had fired 16,000 rounds from a variety of ships, gunboats, and mortar craft, in addition to 13 naval guns hauled ashore.

July 4 Diplomacy: Confederate vice president Alexander H. Stephens rides the CSS Torpedo down the James River under a flag of truce and steams to Hampton Roads, Virginia. There he hopes to confer with Union officials in an attempt to spur dialogue between the two governments, but Federal authorities turn him back. Indian: Chief Little Crow, who initiated the Santee (Sioux) uprising in Minnesota almost a year earlier, is shot dead by farmers while picking berries. Military: Despite pleas and entreaties from President Abraham Lincoln, General George G. Meade declines to pursue or hound the fleeing Confed-

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erates. In light of horrific casualties recently sustained by his Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, and the disorganization this entails, his reluctance is understandable. The Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee withdraws in good order from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and marches for Williamsport, Maryland, to recross the Potomac River into Virginia. Progress is slow owing to incessant rain and a wagon train of wounded stretching 17 miles. The Confederate citadel of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant after a brutal, seven-week siege. Union losses for the entire campaign come to 800 killed, 3,900 wounded, and 200 missing out of 77,000 committed. The Southerners lost 900 dead, 2,500 wounded, 200 missing, and 29,491 captured. The Confederacy is now completely cut in two along the Mississippi River. “Grant is my man,” an ebullient President Abraham Lincoln beams, “and I am his the rest of the war.” Union forces defending Helena, Arkansas, under General Benjamin M. Prentiss withstand a determined Confederate attack from generals Theophilus H. Holmes and Sterling Price. Unable to make any headway and unwilling to withstand a withering cannonade, the Southerners concede defeat and withdraw after losing 380 dead, 1,100 wounded, and 1,100 captured out of 7,600 present. The Federals sustain only 239 killed, wounded, and missing.

July 5 Military: General William T. Sherman marches from Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the head of 40,000 troops divided among the corps of generals Frederick Steele, Edward O. C. Ord, and John G. Parke. His missions is to recapture Jackson by driving General Joseph E. Johnston out from behind the Big Black River.

July 6 Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren relieves Admiral Samuel F. du Pont as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Port Royal, South Carolina. Du Pont’s removal is as much about friction with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles as it is his failure before Charleston.

July 8 Military: General John H. Morgan crosses the Ohio River at Cumming’s Ferry, Kentucky, and begins raiding Indian and Southern Ohio. His appearance stimulates some anxiety over the rekindling of pro-Confederate “Copperhead” activities throughout that region.

July 9 Military: Confederate General Franklin Gardner surrenders Port Hudson, Louisiana, to the Army of the Gulf under General Nathaniel P. Banks. The Southerners lost roughly 146 killed, 447 wounded, and 6,400 captured while Union casualties topped 708 dead, 3,336 injured, and 319 missing. Victory here removes the last Confederate obstacle on the Mississippi River, now freely navigable as far as St. Louis, Missouri, for the first time in two years.

July 10 Military: The siege of Charleston, South Carolina, begins as General Quincy A. Gilmore lands 3,700 Federal troops of General George C. Strong’s brigade on Morris Island, overpowering Confederate forces stationed there. Gilmore next

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Chronology of American History begins preparing to overrun Battery Wagner commanded by General William B. Taliafero. Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren initiates a second naval siege of Charleston, South Carolina, by bombarding Confederate positions on Morris Island. The ironclads USS Nahant, Weehawken, Catskill, and Montauk are subsequently damaged by Confederate shore batteries, none seriously.

July 11 Diplomacy: American minister to England Charles F. Adams denounces the British practice of building ironclads and outfitting blockade runners for use by the Confederacy. He makes it clear to Foreign Secretary Earl John Russell that American patience with such transgressions is running out. Military: A determined Union assault upon Battery Wagner, Charleston harbor, South Carolina, is launched by General Quincy A. Gilmore. However, Gilmore is unaware that the garrison has been recently enlarged to 1,200 men and his attack is easily rebuffed with losses of 49 killed, 123 wounded, and 167 missing. The Southerners sustain only six dead and six wounded.

July 12 Military: Troops under generals William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston spar in the vicinity of Clinton, Mississippi. Union forces unleash a prolonged bombardment of Confederate positions when suddenly a brigade commanded by Colonel Isaac Pugh attacks Southern redoubts defended by General John C. Breckinridge. Pugh, his advance unsupported, loses 500 men out of 800.

July 13 Journalism: President Abraham Lincoln admonishes General John M. Schofield, commanding in Missouri, for his arrest of William McKee, editor of the St. Louis Democrat, for alleged antiwar activity. Societal: Violent antidraft riots erupt in New York City shortly after the first names are read for induction. At length a seething mob of 50,000 Irish émigrés attacks the draft office, burning it to the ground. Over the next four days violence escalates until Federal troops arrive to restore order. More than 1,000 people, principally African Americans targeted by the mob, are either killed or injured.

July 14 Military: The Army of Northern Virginia steadily evacuates Williamsport, Maryland, behind two divisions under General Henry Heth that act as a rear guard. However, General George A. Custer’s cavalry brigade sweeps into nearby Falling Waters, rounding up several stragglers. General John Buford’s division is also approaching but General Hugh J. Kilpatrick simply orders two companies of the 6th Michigan Cavalry to charge the Confederates. The Federals capture 719 prisoners, three battle flags, and two cannon, but Southern losses would have been even greater had Kilpatrick waited until he had his entire force. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, disillusioned by General George G. Meade’s lax pursuit of retreating Confederates, indelicately informs him, “Your golden opportunity is gone and I am distressed immeasurably because of it.”

July 15 Military: After the Arkansas River becomes fordable, Union General James G. Blunt assembles 3,000 men (mostly Native Americans and African Americans)

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and two batteries for a preemptive strike against 6,000 Confederates gathering at Elk Creek, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). He intends to disperse General Douglas H. Cooper’s command before he is reinforced by an additional 3,000 Confederates under General William L. Cabell. Politics: Stricken by news of Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Port Hudson, a somber President Jefferson Davis intones, “The clouds are truly dark over us.”

July 16 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston begins a nighttime evacuation of Jackson, Mississippi, rather than face envelopment by General William T. Sherman. He accordingly falls back across the Pearl River covered by darkness and withdraws 30 miles eastward.

July 17 Indian: General James G. Blunt, leading 3,000 Union troops, attacks 6,000 Confederate Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Texans under General Douglas H. Cooper at Honey Springs, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The aggressive Blunt outflanks Douglas twice before his Indians mount a whooping counterattack that grants him time to cross the Elk River to safety. Blunt’s prompt action saves the Indian Territory for the Union. This is also the first time that Native Americans confront and fight large numbers of African Americans.

July 18 Military: A second Federal assault upon Battery Wagner, Charleston harbor, South Carolina, is courageously spearheaded by Col onel Robert G. Shaw’s 54th Massachusetts Infantry, recruited entirely from African Americans, which clambers up the fort’s parapet and plants its flag despite heavy fire. Consequently, Sergeant William H. Carney becomes the first black soldier to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, despite a bloody repulse. Union casualties total 1,515 while the Confederates sustain 36 dead, 133 injured, and five missing. Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren’s ironclad squadron lends heavy supporting fire during the failed assault against Battery Wagner, Charleston harbor. His vessels close to within 300 yards of Confederate works, but the moment they cease fire to allow the Union infantry assault, the defenders suddenly emerge to repel them.

July 22 Business: The New York Chamber of Commerce releases figures stating Union losses at sea to Confederate raiders at 150 vessels worth $12 million. This is stark testimony to the effectiveness of oceanic raiders like CSS Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

July 26 Military: After a continuous running fight of several days, Confederate General John H. Morgan and his

Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren standing by a Dahlgren gun on the deck of the USS Pawnee. (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History remaining 364 troopers surrender at Salineville, Ohio. Morgan is slated for confinement at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. Politics: Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden, author of the “Crittenden Compromise” of 1860, dies at Frankfort, Kentucky. Former Texas governor Sam Houston, who refused to take an oath to the Confederacy and was driven from office because of it, dies at his ranch at the age of 70.

July 29 Diplomacy: Queen Victoria informs Parliament that she sees “No reason to depart from the strict neutrality which Her Majesty has Observed from the beginning of the contest.” This is the latest blow against Confederate hopes for recognition and direct military assistance.

July 30 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln threatens to execute captured Confederate officers and subject Southern soldiers to hard labor if captured Union officers are harmed in any manner for leading African-American troops, or if former slaves now wearing a Federal uniform are sold back into bondage.

August 1 Military: Noted Confederate spy Belle Boyd is again arrested at Martinsburg, West Virginia, and sent to Washington, D.C., for internment. Naval: Admiral David D. Porter formally succeeds Admiral David G. Farragut as commander of all naval forces and operations along the Mississippi River. Farragut, worn out and ailing, is preparing to go on extended leave to recover his health. Politics: To ameliorate mounting desertion problems, President Jefferson Davis offers an amnesty to all ranks presently without leave, warning them that they have no choice but “victory, or subjugation, slavery, and utter ruin of yourselves, your families, and your country.” To that end he announces a pardon to all Confederate army deserters who rejoin their units within the next 20 days. A throng of an estimated 3,000 Democrats at Mattoon, Illinois, gathers to hear Peace Democrat John R. Eden denounce the administration of President Abraham Lincoln. Cole County remains a hotbed of antiwar agitation for the rest of the struggle.

August 3 Politics: To discourage continuing violence, New York Governor Horatio Seymour asks President Abraham Lincoln to suspend conscription in his state. The president flatly refuses.

August 6 Politics: President Jefferson Davis assures a jittery Governor Milledge L. Bonham of South Carolina of his continuing support for the defense of Charleston “which we pray will never be polluted by the footsteps of a lustful, relentless, inhuman foe.”

August 8 Military: General Robert E. Lee tenders his resignation to President Jefferson Davis over his recent failure at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but Davis refuses to accept it.

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August 10 Politics: At a meeting with President Abraham Lincoln, abolitionist Frederick Douglass stridently protests the inequity of pay between black and white soldiers, despite assurances from recruiters that they would be paid the same.

August 12 Naval: The experimental submarine CSS Hunley arrives at Charleston, South Carolina. This novelty consists of an iron steam boiler that has been waterproofed and fitted with tapered bow and stern sections. The Hunley is 40 feet long and only 3.5 feet in diameter, being propelled by five men operating a crankshaft-driven propeller. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commanding the city’s defenses, is intrigued by the device and seeks to impress it into active service as soon as testing is completed.

August 16 Military: After considerable prodding from the government, General William S. Rosecrans pushes his Army of the Cumberland out of Chattanooga and toward the Georgia border. Due to mountainous terrain before him, he plans to spread out into three widely spaced columns to cover all three passes, a risky ploy that endangers his command with utter defeat.

August 18 Technology: Intrigued by new weapons, President Abraham Lincoln test fires a new, rapid-fire Spencer carbine at Treasury Park, Washington, D.C. This weapon gives Federal cavalry units a decided edge in firepower over Confederate units still armed with muzzle-loading rifles.

August 20 Indian: Colonel Kit Carson commences his “scorched earth” policy against the Navajo in the New Mexico Territory, being further assisted by Ute, Zuni, and Mescalero Apache tribesmen. All captives taken are then transferred to a new reservation at Bosque Rendondo for resettlement.

August 21 Military: William C. Quantrill and 450 Confederate irregulars and partisans storm into Lawrence, Kansas, a noted abolitionist center and hotbed for Union “jayhawker” activities. Over the next four hours they systematically round up and execute 180 men and boys, then set fire to 185 buildings. It is the largest single atrocity of the Civil War.

August 25 Military: General Thomas Ewing, commanding the Union Border District in Missouri, issues General Order No. 11. This controversial measure forces 20,000 residents of Bates, Cass, Jackson, and parts of Vernon Counties, long suspected of collaborating with Confederate guerrillas, to abandon their homes. These structures are then peremptorily burned in retaliation for the Lawrence massacre.

August 26 Military: Union cavalry under General William W. Averill skirmishes heavily with Confederate forces at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. His 2,000 troopers dash headlong into a like number of Confederates under Colonel George S. Patton, attack repeatedly across densely wooded terrain, and are defeated.

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Carson, Kit (1809–1868) Frontier scout Christopher (“Kit”) Carson was born in Madison County, Kentucky, on December 24, 1809, and in 1811 he accompanied his family to Boone’s Lick, Missouri. Carson, who was barely educated and semiliterate his whole life, briefly apprenticed himself to a saddler, but he ran away at the age of 16 to join an expedition to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He then found his calling in exploring and trapping along the vast western frontier, which occupied him for the rest of his life. Carson proved himself particularly adept at trapping and Indian fighting and made several forays in and out of the Mojave Deserte region by 1831. That year he was badly wounded in a skirmish against the Blackfeet and subsequently married an Arapaho woman in an Indian ceremony. His reputation as a scout received a decided boost after encountering Lieutenant John C. Frémont on a riverboat near St. Louis. Frémont prevailed upon Carson to serve as his scout during an army exploring expedition, June–October, 1842, and he effectively discharged his duties. Frémont then published the results of his efforts, which gained Carson national recognition. He subsequently accompanied Frémont on two more expeditions, 1834–44 and 1845 and was in California when the war with Mexico erupted in 1846. Carson campaigned actively for the conquest of Los Angeles and was traveling east with dispatches when he encountered the cavalry column of Colonel Stephen W. Kearny. Kearny impressed Carson into his expedition as a scout, where he fought well

at the disastrous skirmish of San Pascual, December 6, 1846. He then rode to Washington, D.C., with dispatches and was commissioned a lieutenant in the elite Regiment of Mounted Riflemen by President James K. Polk. The appointment was blocked by enemies in the Senate, however, and Carson returned to Taos, New Mexico, to live as a private citizen. In the postwar period Carson found useful work as a government Indian agent and worked exclusively with the Ute tribe. In this capacity he accused Territorial Governor David Meriwether of insensitivity toward Native Americans, which led to his arrest, but he was later restored. When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Carson joined the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry as its colonel, and he fought well against Confederate forces at the Battle of Valverde on February 21, 1862. He then served under the harsh General James H. Carleton in administering Indian affairs throughout New Mexico and Arizona, which spawned outright war among uncooperative Apache and Navaho tribesmen. Carson ignored Carleton’s orders to liquidate the offending tribes but did conduct a harsh, scorchedearth policy that drove them into submission and led to their relocation onto reservations. On March 13, 1865, Carson was brevetted to brigadier general for good service, and the following year he assumed command of Fort Garland, Colorado. He died on May 23, 1868, shortly after resuming duties as an Indian agent.

August 29 Naval: The experimental submarine CSS Hunley, under Lieutenant John A. Payne, tragically sinks on a trial run in Charleston harbor, South Carolina, killing all six crew members. The vessel apparently foundered in the wake of the steamer Etiwan after its hatches were opened for better ventilation.

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September 1 Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren leads his ironclad force in a five-hour night action against Confederates at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The vessels steam to within 500 yards of the embattled fortress before firing, and they receive 70 hits from shore batteries before the action is suspended at daybreak.

September 2 Slavery: To curtail mounting manpower shortages, the Alabama state legislature considers arming slaves to serve in the army.

September 3 Indian: Union troops under General Alfred Sully attack a hostile Santee (Sioux) village at Whitestone Hill, Dakota Territory, killing an estimated 200 inhabitants. The Americans then burn the village and withdraw with 156 captives.

September 5 Diplomacy: After being prodded by American minister Charles F. Adams, British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell confiscates two “Laird rams” before they can be seized by Confederate agents in England. Previously, Adams warned his hosts in no uncertain terms that “it would be superfluous for me to point out to your lordship that this is war.” Government seizure of these heavily armed vessels ends a prolonged diplomatic sore point between London and Washington.

September 6 Military: Confederate forces manning batteries Wagner and Gregg on Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, are secretly evacuated by General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. This final act concludes 60 days of near continuous bombardment by Union land and naval forces—one third of the 900 defenders have become casualties.

September 7 Military: A small Confederate battery of 42 men under 20-year-old Lieutenant Richard W. Dowling, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery, engages a 4,000-man amphibious expedition under General William B. Franklin at the mouth of the Sabine River. Dowling allows the vessel to approach to within close range before opening fire with his masked batteries at 4:00 p.m. Within minutes two Union gunboats are forced to strike their colors and the rest dejectedly sail back to New Orleans. Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren demands the surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina, and once it refuses he conducts a personal reconnaissance in force with the ironclads USS Weehawken and New Ironsides. After Weehawken grounds in the channel, the New Ironsides interposes itself between Fort Moultrie and the stricken vessel, taking 50 hits. Both vessels eventually return to safety.

September 9 Diplomacy: The British government formally initiates steps to prevent the two “Laird rams” from leaving the country or entering Confederate service. Military: General James Longstreet’s I Corps of 15,000 veteran troops begins loading into trains in Virginia for a nine-day trek to Lafayette, Georgia, to reinforce General Braxton Bragg in Tennessee.

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Chronology of American History The strategic city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, surrenders to the Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans without a shot being fired. General Braxton Bragg and the Army of Tennessee then fall back 28 miles to Lafayette, Georgia, to await reinforcements form the east. Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren launches a nighttime assault against Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, South Carolina, with 413 sailors and U.S. Marines under Commander Thomas H. Stevens. The Southerners, having earlier recovered a codebook from the sunken USS Keokuk, decipher Union signals and anticipate their attack. The Federals are consequently rebuffed with a loss of 100 prisoners.

September 10 Military: Confederate forces under General Sterling Price evacuate Little Rock, Arkansas, for nearby Rockport, whereupon General Frederick Steele’s Federals advance and establish a pro-Union administration there. This is the latest blow to the Confederacy, still reeling from the loss of Vicksburg, and it imperils the Trans-Mississippi Department under General Edmund Kirby-Smith.

September 11 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes General Andrew Johnson, military governor of Tennessee, to form a civilian government. Lincoln also declines to accept General Ambrose E. Burnside’s latest attempt to resign.

September 13 Military: General Braxton Bragg orders General Leonidas K. Polk to attack and overwhelm the isolated Union XXI Corps under General Thomas L. Crittenden at Lee and Gordon’s Mills in northern Georgia. Polk, however, dithers and fails to maneuver in a timely fashion, so this part of the widely scattered Army of the Cumberland escapes annihilation. General William S. Rosecrans finally recognizes the danger and orders his army to concentrate.

September 18 Military: The Army of the Cumberland and the Army of Tennessee confront each other across Chickamauga Creek, Georgia. For once Confederate forces outnumber the Federals, having massed 68,000 men to a Union tally of 58,000. General Braxton Bragg seeks to impose himself between General William S. Rosecrans and his main supply base at Chattanooga, Tennessee, but skirmishes with Union cavalry along Reed’s and Alexander’s bridges delay the move a full day.

September 19 Military: The Battle of Chickamauga begins once advanced elements of General George H. Thomas’s XIV Corps encounter Confederate cavalry under General Nathan B. Forrest. As fighting escalates both General Braxton Bragg and General William S. Rosecrans cancel their respective plans for the day and continually feed new units into an ever-expanding fray. The day’s combat occasioned serious losses to both sides and little else. That evening, following the arrival of General James Longstreet’s veteran I Corps, Bragg appoints him to command his left wing while General Leonidas K. Polk leads the right.

September 20 Military: General Braxton Bragg intends to renew combat at Chickamauga at dawn, but confusion and delays preclude any Confederate action before 9:00

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a.m. The pattern of fighting resembles that of the previous day, and another bloody stalemate appears in the offing until fate intervenes. General William S. Rosecrans is mistakenly informed that a gap has developed in the center of his line so he orders General Thomas J. Wood’s division to plug it. No sooner does Wood redeploy than General James Longstreet’s I Corps burst through, arrayed six brigades deep. This unexpected onslaught completely sweeps away the Union center and right, carrying off Rosecrans and several ranking leaders in a tumultuous retreat. Only the XIV Corps of General George H. Thomas, which assumed strong defensive positions along Snodgrass Hill, holds its ground against steep odds. This is the bloodiest day of the war in the West with Union casualties of 16,179 to a Southern tally of 17,804. Bragg’s lackluster leadership causes further rifts in an already fractious chain of command.

September 21 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln repeatedly orders General Ambrose E. Burnside at Knoxville, Tennessee, to reinforce General William S. Rosecrans’s shattered army at Chattanooga, but he refuses to budge.

September 22 Military: General William S. Rosecrans continues rallying the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga, Tennessee, while General Ulysses S. Grant dispatches three divisions of the XV Corps from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to assist him. Meanwhile, the Confederate Army of Tennessee leisurely occupies the high ground around the city to commence a siege.

September 24 Diplomacy: The Confederate government appoints Ambrose D. Mann its special agent to the Holy See in Rome. Naval: A total of eight Russian warships gradually arrive and visit New York City. They are seeking refuge in American ports as Great Britain and France are threatening war over the Polish insurrection, although the move is widely interpreted throughout the North as a sign of diplomatic support. Another squadron of six vessels eventually anchors in San Francisco, California, and the Russians are warmly received by the political establishment.

September 25 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln castigates General Ambrose E. Burnside at Knoxville, Tennessee, for not reinforcing Union forces besieged at Chattanooga. “Having struggled,” he write, “to get you to assist General Rosecrans, and you have repeatedly declared you would do it, and yet you steadily move to the contrary way.” Upon further reflection the letter is not sent.

September 27 Military: President Abraham Lincoln again implores General Ambrose E. Burnside at Knoxville, Tennessee, to forward reinforcements to assist General William S. Rosecrans at Chattanooga. “My order to you meant simply that you should save Rosecrans from being crushed out, believing if he lost his position, you could not hold East Tennessee in any event.” General Braxton Bragg, determined to starve out the Army of the Cumberland from Chattanooga, Tennessee, orders General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry to raid tenuous Union lines of communication throughout the 60-mile-long Sequatchie Valley.

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October 1 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln instructs General John M. Schofield, commanding Union forces in Missouri, to place renewed emphasis on the restoration of civilian rule and domestic tranquillity. “Your immediate duty, in regard to Missouri, now is to advance the efficiency of that establishment and to so use it, as far as practicable, to compel the excited people there to leave one another alone.”

October 3 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln designates the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. Slavery: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton authorizes liberated AfricanAmerican slaves to enlist in Maryland, Tennessee, and Missouri.

October 5 Naval: The CSS David, a torpedo boat with an especially low silhouette and equipped with an exploding spar, steams out of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, at night and intends to fatally jab USS New Ironsides below the waterline. That vessel is struck and sustains heavy damage while the David, its boilers extinguished by the blast, drifts helplessly alongside its victim for several minutes before escaping.

October 6 Military: Confederate guerrillas under William C. Quantrill attack what they thought was an isolated Union outpost at Baxter Springs, Kansas. Dressed in captured blue uniforms, they trot over to a column of 100 men and several wagons before shooting. Only General James G. Blunt and a third of his command manage to escape; the remainder are captured and then murdered.

October 9 Diplomacy: The British government apprehends the so-called North Carolina and Mississippi, the two formidable “Laird rams” nearing construction at Birkenhead, England, rather than risk a possible war with the United States. Military: General Joseph Wheeler ends his spectacular dash through the Sequatchie Valley by recrossing the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In a week he guts Union supply lines, inflicts 2,000 casualties, captures more than 1,000 wagons, burns five bridges, tears up miles of track, and ruins millions of dollars in equipment. This spectacular raid nearly throttles the Army of the Cumberland, already on half-rations.

October 10 Military: President Jefferson Davis arrives at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to confer with General Braxton Bragg over military strategy. He is also there to quell seething unrest between Bragg and many senior subordinates.

October 13 Politics: Republican governors prevail during elections held in Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio. Foremost among these is Andrew Curtin, Pennsylvania’s pro-war administrator and staunch ally of President Abraham Lincoln. By contrast, Peace Democrat Clement L. Vallandigham, who ran for the Ohio governorship while exiled in Canada, is roundly trounced by a pro-war Republican.

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October 14 Military: General Ambrose P. Hill, tramping through Warrenrton, Virginia, perceives the rearguard of General George G. Meade strung out and fording the Broad Run at Bristoe Station. He decides to attack at once, unaware that the entire II Corps of General Gouverneur K. Warren lays in wait behind a railroad embankment at right angles to his approach. The Confederate attack, thoroughly enfiladed, collapses after 40 minutes with a loss of 1,361 men. The Federals suffer only 548 casualties.

October 15 Naval: The day before it is to be committed to combat, the experimental Confederate submarine CSS Hunley disastrously founders a second time in Charleston harbor, killing all seven crew members including Horace L. Hunley, its inventor. Nonetheless, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard orders the craft recovered and refitted.

October 16 Military: President Abraham Lincoln, acting through the offices of General in Chief Henry W. Halleck, urges General George G. Meade to attack General Robert E. Lee’s forces, but he continues resisting such prodding. Lee, meanwhile, falls back and assumes strong defensive positions along the Rappahannock River in Virginia.

October 17 Military: General William S. Rosecrans is formally relieved of command from the Army of the Cumberland and succeeded by General George H. Thomas. The new commander calmly reviews the perilous situation of his army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and declares “We will hold the town ’till we starve.”

October 19 Military: As anticipated, Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart is attacked by General Hugh J. Kilpatrick’s Union troopers at Warrenton, Virginia. Just as fighting commences, General Fitzhugh Lee’s 2nd Virginia Cavalry suddenly strikes the flank and rear of General George A. Custer’s brigade while Stuart leads the 1st North Carolina forward at the charge. The Federals rapidly about face and run with vengeful Confederates hotly pursuing them. This embarrassing affair became jocularly known as the “Buckland Races.”

October 23 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant arrives at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and, accompanied by General George H. Thomas, he advances to within gunshot range of Confederate lines below Lookout Mountain for a peek at enemy dispositions. His curiosity satisfied, Grant next orders a new supply route established from Bridgeport to the beleaguered garrison, the so-called “Cracker Line.” Politics: President Jefferson Davis relieves General Leonidas K. Polk as corps commander of the Army of Tennessee, to end tensions with his superior, General Braxton Bragg. He is replaced by General William J. Hardee.

October 27 Military: General Joseph Hooker commences operations to reopen the Tennessee River and thus facilitate the flow of Union supplies to Chattanooga, Tennessee. He also posts a force under General John W. Geary, XII Corps, at Wauhatchie Station to guard his line of communications.

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October 29 Military: A predawn Confederate attack unfolds against Union positions at Wauhatchie Station, Tennessee. General Micah Jenkins’s division of four brigades hits the Union camp hard in the darkness, but Federal troops under General John W. Geary rally and, by firing at muzzle flashes, resist stoutly. By 3:00 a.m., Jenkins has retreated back to Lookout Mountain; the all-important “Cracker Line” survives intact.

November 2 Politics: A Pennsylvania committee, tasked with organizing festivities surrounding the dedication of a Union cemetery for soldiers fallen in the Battle of Gettysburg, invites President Abraham Lincoln to attend the ceremony, scheduled for November 19. To their delight and surprise, the chief executive accepts the invitation, and he begins working on a short speech to codify his justification for the war effort.

November 3 Military: At Bayou Borbeau, Louisiana, three Federal divisions of General William B. Franklin’s XIX Corps encamp carelessly and beyond mutual supporting distance. General Richard Taylor, though outnumbered two-to-one, masses his Confederates for a sudden attack upon General Stephen G. Burbridge’s exposed division. Burbridge, unable to reform his crumbling line, falls back three miles to the camp of General George F. McGinnis for support.

November 5 Slavery: President Abraham Lincoln rebukes General Nathaniel P. Banks for his tardy efforts at reestablishing civilian government in Louisiana which, he insists, must assure African Americans “On the question of permanent freedom.”

November 7 Military: The Army of the Potomac pushes two bridges over the Rappahannock River, Virginia, and runs into stiff fights at Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station. General William H. French, commanding the I, II, and III Corps, proceeds across the River at Kelly’s Ford en masse, catching the Confederate division of General Robert Rodes by surprise. North Carolina troops guarding the ford are overwhelmed by the sudden attack and largely captured, leaving Union forces now firmly established on the south bank of the Rappahannock. Five miles upstream, General John Sedgwick moves his V and VI Corps rapidly against Rappahannock Station, defended by the celebrated “Louisiana Tigers” of Colonel Harry T. Hays and a division under General Robert Hoke. Heavy fighting stops at nightfall, and General Robert E. Lee somewhat naturally assumes that the enemy would not attack further that night, so he declines to reinforce the bridgehead. That same evening, through a driving downpour, Sedgwick unleashes his 6th Maine in a bayonet charge that completely startles the “Tigers.” The Confederate defenders are crushed with 1,600 prisoners taken, forcing Lee to withdraw to Culpeper Court House.

November 11 Politics: President Jefferson Davis, ever concerned about the situation before Chattanooga, Tennessee, cautions General Braxton Bragg to “not allow the enemy

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to get up reinforcements before striking him, if it can be avoided.” Defeat here might lead to another thrust into the Confederate heartland.

November 14 Military: General James Longstreet’s 15,000 Confederates begin crossing the Tennessee River at Loudoun, Tennessee, en route to Knoxville. Meanwhile, General Ambrose E. Burnside gallops into the town beforehand to personally evacuate the 5,000 Union troops stationed there and shepherds them back to Knoxville. A curious parallel race unfolds as the two forces—almost within gunshot of each other—slog through ankle-deep mud to reach the city first.

November 15 Military: The I Corps of General James Longstreet and a division of Union troops under General Ambrose E. Burnside march on through driving rain and deep mud to reach Knoxville, Tennessee, first. Throughout their arduous ordeal the contestants are separated only by one mile and a bend in the Tennessee River. Burnside, anxious to avoid being trapped outside the city, redoubles his efforts to reach Campbell’s Station ahead of the enemy. Longstreet, meanwhile, dispatches General Lafayette McLaw’s division to capture the crossroads ahead of him.

November 16 Military: The Confederate corps of General James Longstreet and a retiring Union division under General Ambrose E. Burnside depart Lenoir, Tennessee, in the early morning darkness. Burnside, feeling he is losing the race, orders his baggage burned to pick up speed. The Union column fortuitously reaches Campbell’s Station just 15 minutes ahead of the Confederates and deploys to give battle. Longstreet then dispatches the brigade of General Evander M. Law around the Union position to strike it from behind while another division under General Lafayette McLaw strikes Burnside’s right. Both attacks are repelled in heavy fighting, and Longstreet finally concedes.

November 18 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, somewhat depressed over the illness of his son Tad, boards a special train that whisks him to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of dedicating a military cemetery.

November 19 Military: As Union forces of General Ambrose E. Burnside race to fortify the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, he orders a cavalry brigade of 700 men under General William P. Sanders to contest the Confederate advance under General James Longstreet. Sanders does exactly that and contains his antagonists for several hours before being killed, the only Southern-born Union general to fall. Fort Loudoun is subsequently renamed Fort Sanders in his honor. Politics: A gathering of 15,000 citizens at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is harangued by stirring oratory by Edward Everett over the course of two hours. Onlookers are next greeted by the spectacle of a gaunt, towering President Abraham Lincoln striding over to the podium. In only two minutes he completes his “Gettysburg Address,” one of the most seminal political speeches in all history. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created

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Chronology of American History equal,” it began. The audience listened in raptured silence, applauding lightly and not fully comprehending the import of what they had just heard, but in only 272 words, Lincoln codifies the ideals of the American republic and the absolute necessity for preserving it.

November 20 Politics: Unhappy over his recent address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln contacts Edward Everett saying “I am pleased to know that, in your opinion, the little I did say was not a failure.”

November 23 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, prior to assaulting the main Confederate defenses of General Braxton Bragg along Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, orchestrates a clever reconnaissance in force near the enemy’s center. He orders General George H. Thomas to parade the IV Corps in full view of enemy positions along Orchard Knob and, at precisely 1:30 p.m., Union forces suddenly lurch forward, completely dispersing their astonished opponents. This easy success allows Grant to deploy his troops at the very foot of Lookout Mountain, and he also employs Orchard Knob as his headquarters for the remainder of the campaign.

November 24 Military: At 8:00 a.m., General Joseph Hooker masses his three divisions—12,000 men—to the foot of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, and begins scaling toward the 1,100-foot summit. Confederates under General Carter L. Stevenson, who can scarcely muster 2,693 men to oppose them, resist fiercely but ultimately yield to the Federal juggernaut. By evening Hooker has achieved all his objectives and the following morning, when a clinging fog finally disperses, Union leaders are relieved to behold the Stars and Stripes flying boldly from the summit.

November 25 Military: At Chattanooga, Tennessee, the final struggle between General Ulysses S. Grant, with 64,000 men, and General Braxton Bragg, commanding 46,000, unfolds. At 10:00 a.m. General William T. Sherman takes 16,000 men on a concerted drive against the Confederate right anchored upon Missionary Ridge, but his lack of progress induces Grant to mount diversions elsewhere to prevent Bragg from shifting reinforcements to his right. General Joseph Hooker’s command then attacks through Rossville gap from Lookout Mountain on Bragg’s left to threaten the Southern rear, but he is delayed by the necessity of building a bridge. Grant finally orders General George H. Thomas to advance and seize Confederate rifle pits fronting their main position along Missionary Ridge. Thomas quickly overruns the defenders and then—without orders—continues charging up the slope, driving the enemy before him. The Confederate stranglehold on Chattanooga is decisively and dramatically ended through Grant’s bold stroke. Union casualties are 5,335, only marginally lighter that the Confederate tally of 6,687.

November 26 Military: Five corps of the Army of the Potomac under General George G. Meade successfully cross the Rapidan River, Virginia, covered by a fog. Meade is now counting on the speed and stealth of his 85,000 men to crush the widely dispersed right wing of the Army of Northern Virginia before it can concentrate

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to oppose him. However, events quickly go awry as the marching order breaks down, units become entangled, and valuable time is lost. The Southerners react quickly and effectively to the new threat.

November 27 Military: No sooner has the Army of the Potomac successfully crossed the Rapidan River than General William H. French’s III Corps takes the wrong road and spends several hours countermarching about. The delay allows the Army of Northern Virginia to deploy the division of General Edward Johnson at Payne’s Farm, Virginia, and heavy fighting erupts. Elements of General Ambrose P. Hill’s III Corps and General Jubal A. Early’s II Corps also arrive, at which point Meade suspends the action. Confederate losses are 545 while the Union tally is not recorded. Confederate General Patrick R. Cleburne, mustering only 4,157 men, confronts a force twice his size under General Joseph Hooker at Ringgold Gap, Georgia. The Federals are immediately blasted back with losses while a column is dispatched to ascend the mountain of Cleburne’s flank. These too stumble headlong into a clever ambush and are sent scampering back down the slope. Cleburne is finally ordered by General William J. Hardee to withdraw, but his stiffly fought rear guard buys the Southerners four precious hours and inflicts 507 Union casualties. Cleburne sustains 20 dead, 190 wounded, and 11 missing.

November 29 Military: At 6:00 a.m., the Confederates launch a desperate attack against Fort Sanders at Knoxville, Tennessee, despite frightfully cold weather. Three brigades of infantry go forward as ordered but, lacking ladders, prove unable to surmount the deep, ice-filled ditch surrounding the works. General James Longstreet loses 129 killed, 458 wounded, and 226 missing, while the defenders endure five killed and eight wounded.

November 30 Military: President Jefferson Davis grants General Braxton Bragg’s request that he be relieved of command in the Army of Tennessee at Dalton, Georgia, and he is temporarily succeeded by General William J. Hardee.

December 1 Military: Notorious Southern spy Belle Boyd, suffering from typhoid fever, is again released from a Federal prison in Washington, D.C., and warned to steer clear of Union territory. Technology: Samuel D. Gooddale of Cincinnati, Ohio, receives a patent for his stereoscope, which allows for three-dimensional views of photographs.

December 3 Military: General James Longstreet’s I Corps abandons its siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, and enters into winter quarters at nearby Greenville. From this position he is at liberty to remain in the theater or march to rejoin General Robert E. Lee’s main force in Virginia.

December 7 Politics: The 4th Session of the First Confederate Congress gathers in Richmond, Virginia. President Jefferson Davis there acknowledges the failures of the previous year but declares “The patriotism of the people has proven equal to every sacrifice demanded by their country’s need.”

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December 8 Politics: To exacerbate the growing rift in Southern politics, President Abraham Lincoln addresses the opening of the 38th Congress and proffers his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction to all Southerners willing to take a loyal oath. In it he offers to recognize the sitting government of any seceded state provided that at least 10 percent of all male voters submit to the oath and abolish slavery. This amnesty does not apply to high ranking Confederate officials or former army officers who resign to fight for the South, but Radical Republicans in Congress find its tone too conciliatory.

December 12 Politics: Henceforth, the Confederate government refuses to accept any supplies sent from the North to Union captives.

December 14 Military: General James Longstreet attacks Bean’s Station, Tennessee, at 2:00 a.m., startling but not dislodging Union cavalry under General James M. Shackleford. At length Shackleford conducts an orderly withdrawal through Bean’s Gap to Blain’s Cross Roads and digs in behind a rail breastwork. Fighting in harsh winter weather inflicts roughly 200 casualties on either side. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln grants Mrs. Mary Todd—his sister-in-law—a general amnesty after she visits the White House and takes a loyalty oath.

December 16 Military: President Jefferson Davis, forgiving past difficulties, appoints General Joseph E. Johnston to succeeded General William J. Hardee as commander of the Army of Tennessee. General Leonidas K. Polk is also promoted to head of the Army of Mississippi.

December 17 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln promulgates plans for a Federal Bureau of Emancipation to assist liberated African Americans. Congress, however, fails to enact the requisite legislation until March 1865.

December 18 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, displeased with General John M. Schofield’s handling of civilian affairs in Missouri, suggests to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton that he be simultaneously relieved and promoted to major general, thereby avoiding any ruffled feathers.

December 27 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston arrives at Dalton, Georgia, to take charge of the Confederate Department of Tennessee and its attendant and much battered army.

December 28 Politics: The Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia, abolishes the practice of hiring draft substitutions and also modifies the detested tax in kind.

December 31 Politics: President Jefferson Davis appoints North Carolina senator George Davis as interim Confederate attorney general to replace outgoing Wade Keyes.

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1864 Business: George Presbury Rowell founds the nation’s first advertising agency in Boston, Massachusetts. Conservation: George Perkins Marsh, a noted lawyer and scholar, publishes Man and Nature, or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action; this is a pioneering appeal for land conservation and geological study. Education: The Columbia Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind is established in Washington, D.C., by Congress and at the behest of Edward Miner Gallaudet. The University of Kansas is founded at Lawrence, Kansas. General: The phrase “In God We Trust” appears for the first time on minted two-cent pieces. Journalism: The Frontier Scout is published at Fort Union, North Dakota, as that territory’s first newspaper. Labor: Cigar makers and iron molders both form their own respective unions. Religion: The Tremont Temple is established in Boston, Massachusetts, by Baptists; it features significant lay participation in all church matters. Sports: Former boxing champion John Morrissey establishes the Saratoga Race Track at Saratoga, New York, and also organizes the first stakes races. The Park Place Croquet Club of Brooklyn, New York, is the first such organization in the country. The first recorded curve ball is thrown by William A. Cumming of the Brooklyn Stars in a game against the Brooklyn Atlantics. Technology: Steel made from the British Bessemer process is introduced to the United States at Wyandotte, Michigan. The plant in question manufactures highgrade steel rails for the railroads. Transportation: The New York State legislature rejects Hugh B. Wilson’s request for a franchise to construct the first subway system beneath New York City.

January 2 Slavery: Irish-born general Patrick R. Cleburne petitions for the arming of African Americans in the Confederate army to address endemic manpower shortages. Not only does President Jefferson Davis ignore the recommendation but he deliberately denies Cleburne his well-deserved promotion to lieutenant general because of it.

January 4 Military: President Jefferson Davis instructs General Robert E. Lee to begin requisitioning food from civilians to feed his troops as it becomes necessary.

January 5 Indian: Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson begins his protracted winter campaign against hostile Navajo in the Canon de Chelly region of the New Mexico Territory. General James H. Carleton, commanding the department, anxiously wires government officials that his numerous prisoners are suffering from want of winter clothing and requests stocks from the Indian Department.

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Chronology of American History Politics: More than 1,000 African-American citizens of New Orleans, Louisiana, including a handful of surviving War of 1812 veterans, petition President Abraham Lincoln for the right to vote.

January 7 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, beset by a rash of army desertions, invariably commutes the death sentences of offenders and insists “I am trying to evade the butchering business lately.”

January 11 Slavery: Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri proposes a joint resolution for the abolition of slavery, which ultimately becomes the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

January 13 Music: Stephen Foster, one of the nation’s most popular songwriters, dies in New York City at the age of 37. One of his last compositions was the noted and popular “Beautiful Dreamer.” Politics: President Abraham Lincoln instructs generals Quincy A. Gilmore in Florida and Nathaniel P. Banks in Louisiana to begin reconstituting civil authority “with all possible dispatch.” President Jefferson Davis advises General Joseph E. Johnston against falling back from his present strong position at Dalton, Georgia, declaring “I trust you will not deem it necessary to adopt such a measure.”

January 19 Politics: The pro-Union Arkansas constitutional convention embraces antislavery provisions in its new document.

January 20 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln advises General Frederick Steele, commanding the District of Arkansas, to schedule free elections as soon as possible to reestablish a free civilian government.

January 21 Politics: A gathering of pro-Union citizens in Nashville, Tennessee, proposes a constitutional convention bent on abolishing slavery.

January 22 Politics: Isaac Murphy becomes governor of the free-state portions of Arkansas following a vote by the state convention.

January 23 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves a policy whereby plantation owners must recognize freedom for all former slaves and hire them on the basis of contract law.

January 26 Diplomacy: William L. Drayton, U.S. Minister to France, expresses embarrassment over the presence of several Confederate cruisers operating in French waters and his government’s inability to deal with them at present.

January 27 Politics: President Jefferson Davis summons General Braxton Bragg to Richmond, Virginia, for consultation as long as his “health permits.”

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January 28 Military: General Jubal A. Early directs generals Edward L. Thomas and Thomas L. Rosser on a combined infantry/cavalry raiding force from New Market, Virginia, toward Union positions in the Allegheny Mountains. Their goal is to secure forage for the horses and the cattle to feed the men.

January 31 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln again urges General Nathaniel P. Banks at New Orleans, Louisiana, to begin reinstituting civilian authority, leaving him “at liberty to adopt any rule which shall admit to vote any unquestionably free state men and none others. And yet I do wish they would all take the oath.”

February 1 Military: The House of Representatives resurrects the rank of lieutenant general, U.S. Army, with Ulysses S. Grant in mind. General George E. Pickett attacks Union forces under General Innis N. Palmer at Batchelder’s Creek, North Carolina, inflicting 326 casualties and forcing the Northerners back into New Bern. However, two Confederate columns under General Seth M. Baton and Colonel James Dearing perceive Federal defenses at Fort Anderson as too formidable and the attack is canceled. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes a draft of 500,000 men to serve three years or for the duration of the conflict.

February 3 Politics: To better suppress espionage, desertion, and disloyalty, President Jefferson Davis recommends suspension of writs of habeas corpus in cases arising from such charges.

February 6 Politics: The Confederate Congress outlaws the importation of luxuries or the possession of U.S. paper money. It also mandates that half of tobacco and food exports must be surrendered to government agents before ships are allowed to clear ports.

February 7 Diplomacy: William Preston becomes the Confederate envoy to Frenchcontrolled Mexico. The Confederacy supports Napoleon III’s occupation of the country and its puppet emperor Maximilian in the hope of gaining diplomatic recognition and possible military intervention.

February 9 Arts: President Abraham Lincoln sits through a photographic session; one portrait is subsequently engraved and utilized on the U.S. five-dollar bill.

February 12 Military: President Abraham Lincoln entertains General Hugh K. Kilpatrick at the White House, whereupon the latter discusses plans for a possible raid against Richmond, Virginia, to free Union prisoners kept under squalid conditions there. The president listens intently to the blustering trooper and eventually grants his approval.

February 14 Military: Meridian, Mississippi, falls without resistance to Union forces led by General William T. Sherman, who covers 150 miles in 11 days. The corps of

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Chronology of American History General Leonidas K. Polk, badly outnumbered, gives ground before it. Sherman then begins systematically destroying all buildings, supplies, and railroads in his earliest application of what becomes known as “total war.” Ultimately, 155 miles of track, 61 bridges, and 20 locomotives are laid waste.

February 15 Politics: The Confederate Congress appropriates $5 million for a sabotage campaign based in Canada. It is to be orchestrated by Thomas C. Hines, who intends to meet with, and coordinate his actions with, the Peace Democrats from the North. Meanwhile, President Jefferson Davis evinces concern that General William T. Sherman might march from Meridian, Mississippi, and directly into Montgomery, Alabama.

February 17 Naval: The submarine CSS Hunley under Lieutenant George E. Dixon sinks the 1,934-ton Union screw sloop USS Housatonic under Captain Charles W. Picketing in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Hunley apparently survives the explosion long enough to signal to shore that it is returning, then inexplicably sinks, killing all hands. Housatonic also enjoys the melancholy distinction of being the first warship in history lost to a submarine attack. Politics: The Confederate Congress suspends writs of habeas corpus as they relate to arrests made under the authority of the president or secretary of war. They also expand the draft to include all white males between the ages of 17 and 50. Another act authorizes the employment of African Americans as army laborers. Confederate vice president Alexander H. Stephens continues protesting the suspension of habeas corpus, insisting it is “Far better that our country be overrun by the enemy, our cities sacked and burned, and our land laid desolate, than that the people should suffer the citadel of their liberties to be entered and taken by professed friends.” In light of this opposition, the Georgia legislature counters with a resolution reaffirming that state’s support for the war effort and all it may entail.

February 18 Politics: Abraham Lincoln declares the port of Brownsville, Texas, open for business and terminates the Federal blockade there.

February 19 Societal: The Knights of Pythias, a fraternal and benevolent society, is founded in Washington, D.C., by Justus H. Rathbone and 12 other associates.

February 20 Military: The Battle of Olustee, Florida, transpires between generals Thomas Seymour and Joseph Finnegan, with both sides numbering roughly 5,000 men apiece. The Northerners advance upon Finnegan’s force, strongly dug in behind entrenchments, but Seymour orders them to charge. The attackers are beaten back with loss and Seymour uses his remaining bridge under Colonel James Montgomery to cover his retreat. He loses 1,861 men—a staggering loss rate of 34 percent—while Finnegan sustains 946, or 20 percent. Consequently, Florida is secured for the Confederacy. Naval: Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren, greatly alarmed by the loss of the USS Housatonic to a Confederate submarine attack, suggests to Navy Secretary Gideon Welles that the government offer a $20,000–30,000 reward for the cap-

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ture or destruction of any such craft. “They are worth more to us than that,” he concludes.

February 22 Military: Confederate cavalry under General Nathan B. Forrest attacks and defeats a larger Union rear guard under General William Sooy Smith near Okolona, Mississippi. However, resistance stiffens as the Southerners engage the main Union body and several of Forrest’s charges are bloodily repelled. Two Union countercharges likewise fail with the loss of six cannon, and Smith ultimately retreats in the direction of Pontotoc. Politics: Senator Samuel Pomeroy of Kansas, viewing President Abraham Lincoln as unelectable, begins a covert attempt to have Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase drafted as the Republican Party’s standard bearer for this year. However, once his “Pomeroy Circular” is printed, it creates an uproar and a backlash against Chase, who promptly ends his candidacy for the presidency. He also offers to resign but Lincoln declines to accept. Michael Hahn is elected governor of the free-state portions of Louisiana.

February 23 Politics: Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase absents himself from cabinet meetings in light of disclosures surrounding the recent “Pomeroy Circular.”

February 24 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation to compensate slave owners in Union-controlled regions by paying them $300 for each of their slaves who enlist in the Union army. The U.S. Senate, following the House of Representatives, votes to create the rank of lieutenant general.

February 25 Military: General John M. Palmer and his XVI Corps continue probing Confederate positions at Buzzard Roost Gap, Georgia, but encounter heavy resistance. After a flanking move by General Jefferson C. Davis along the western side of the imposing ridge, Palmer calls off the attempt and withdraws for the evening. Union losses are 289 casualties to 140 Confederates, but afterward General George H. Thomas divines the strategy of sending Union troops through Snake Gap Creek, 15 miles behind Confederate lines, to outflank the defenders.

February 26 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms his faith in General Benjamin F. Butler and also commutes all death sentences for desertion to imprisonment for the duration of the war.

February 27 Military: Andersonville Prison, near Americus, Georgia, a 161⁄2-acre log stockade, receives its first Union captives. Crowded and squalid from the onset, it gains infamy as the worst prison site in the Confederacy.

February 29 Politics: The U.S. Congress formally revives the rank of lieutenant general at the behest of President Abraham Lincoln.

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March 1 Military: A Union cavalry column under General Hugh J. Kilpatrick, meeting resistance as he approaches the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, suddenly cancels the raid, veers away, and recrosses the Chickahominy Creek. Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, meanwhile, finding the James River swollen and impassible, decides to shift his attack from the east, then also suspends the attack and begins circling back to rejoin Kilpatrick. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln nominates General Ulysses S. Grant for the rank of lieutenant general.

March 2 Politics: The U.S. Senate confers the rank of lieutenant general on Ulysses S. Grant.

March 4

Ulysses S. Grant (National Archives)

Politics: The U.S. Senate confirms Andrew Johnson as governor of Tennessee. Pro-Union governor Michael Hahn is sworn into office at New Orleans, Louisiana.

March 5

Politics: Confederate authorities issue new regulations mandating that all Southern vessels donate half their cargo capacity to government shipments. This is undertaken as much to reduce wartime profiteering as to alleviate mounting supply shortages.

March 8 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant formally accepts his commission as lieutenant general in a ceremony at the White House, then meets and confers with President Abraham Lincoln for the first time. Grant thus becomes the first American military leader to hold such lofty rank since George Washington.

March 9 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant succeeds General Henry W. Halleck as general in chief, with the latter being demoted to chief of staff. Furthermore, to maintain good relationships with the Army of the Potomac, Grant retains General George G. Meade as the commander of that force.

March 12 Military: Sweeping leadership changes are finalized in the Union army with General Ulysses S. Grant in overall command of military operations, General Henry W. Halleck serving as chief of staff, General William T. Sherman leading the Military Division of the Mississippi, and General James B. McPherson heading both the Army and Department of the Tennessee. Naval: Admiral David D. Porter leads a Union armada of 13 ironclads, four tinclads, and four wooden gunboats up the Red River, Louisiana, in concert with the Shreveport Expedition of General Nathaniel P. Banks. Meanwhile, army trans-

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ports convey the 3rd Division, XVI Corps of General Andrew J. Smith up as an advanced force.

March 13 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, after receiving a signed petition from African Americans in Louisiana, encourages Governor Michael Hahn to consider drafting a new state constitution that allows minorities to vote. Curiously, of the 1,000 blacks signing the document, no less than 27 had previously served under General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 with a promise of freedom that was subsequently reneged on.

March 15 Politics: Michael Hahn, newly elected governor of Louisiana, receives powers previously reserved for the military government as civilian authority is slowly revived and reinstituted. This event proves a forerunner of what ultimately transpires during Reconstruction in the postwar period.

March 18 Military: General William T. Sherman formally gains appointment as commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Slavery: Pro-Union Arkansas voters ratify a new constitution mandating the abolition of slavery.

March 19 Politics: The Georgia state legislature grants President Jefferson Davis a vote of confidence and, following the next significant Confederate victory, desires that peace talks be conducted with Washington, D.C, but solely on the basis of recognizing Southern independence.

March 21 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves legislation allowing the Nevada and Colorado territories to become states.

March 23 Military: General Frederick Steele, ordered into the field by the War Department and beset by chronic supply shortages, reluctantly leads 10,400 Union troops out of Little Rock, Arkansas. His mission is to proceed east and link up with the Red River Expedition of General Nathaniel P. Banks. Steele objects to campaigning as the roads, such as they are, remain poor while his flanks are vulnerable to attack by hard-riding Confederate cavalry.

March 24 Military: General Nathaniel P. Banks finally arrives at Alexandria, Louisiana, a week behind schedule, before leading the Union drive up the Red River toward Shreveport. He receives additional bad news in the form of declining water levels on the river itself, which jeopardizes continuing naval support from Admiral David D. Porter’s gunboats. Undeterred, Banks elects to proceed.

March 25 Military: General Nathan B. Forrest attacks and captures the town of Paducah, Kentucky, with his force of 2,800 troopers. Colonel Stephen G. Hicks, the garrison commander, refuses to surrender and withdraws his 665 men into the safety of

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Chronology of American History nearby Fort Anderson, where he repels a Confederate attack. Forrest then withdraws with 50 captives and 400 horses, some of which are confiscated from civilians.

March 27 Military: Union prisoners begin arriving en masse at Camp Sumter in Andersonville, Georgia. Once filled to capacity, it becomes the most squalid and infamous prison camp throughout the South.

March 28 Politics: Charleston, Illinois, is the scene of violent antiwar rioting, aimed at Union soldiers on furlough. Throngs of Democrats gather to hear antiwar Congressional candidate John R. Eden speak, as hundreds of soldiers mill around in curiosity. Once liquor begins flowing, shots are suddenly exchanged between the two sides and Democrats under Sheriff John O’Hare begin retrieving hidden weapons from nearby wagons. Six men are killed and 20 injured by the Knights of the Golden Circle (Copperheads) before the violence is suppressed by additional troops. An additional 50 Democrats are arrested, with 29 held indefinitely by military authorities at Springfield until a clemency order from President Abraham Lincoln releases them.

March 29 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln prevails upon General George G. Meade to forsake a court of inquiry pertaining to his performance at the battle of Gettysburg. For several months now the general has weathered blistering attacks upon his leadership by the Northern press.

April 1 Military: General Frederick Steele, having waited in vain for cavalry reinforcements under General John M. Thayer, departs Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and begins to march for the Red River, Louisiana. All men and animals under his command are already on half rations while his progress is dogged by Confederate cavalry under Joseph O. Shelby and John S. Marmaduke.

April 4 Diplomacy: In light of French aggression toward Mexico, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution protesting the policies of Napoleon III. It reaffirms American resolve never to recognize a monarchical regime arising in the Western hemisphere at the behest of any European power, consistent with the Monroe Doctrine. The Congress also lends its moral support to rebel forces under President Benito Juarez.

April 6 Military: The army of General Nathaniel P. Banks wends its way along the banks of the Red River and along a narrows toward Shreveport, Louisiana. The route is poorly chosen for Banks’s army is strung out for miles in single file in the bayou wilderness and susceptible to attack by General Richard Taylor. Slavery: The Convention of Louisiana, meeting in New Orleans, adopts a new state constitution abolishing slavery.

April 8 Military: The Union Army of 18,000 men under General Nathaniel P. Banks moves along single file toward Mansfield, Louisiana, where it is suddenly attacked by 8,000 Confederates led by General Richard Taylor at Sabine Crossroads. Taylor observed how attenuated the Union force was and ordered his command forward.

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The rebels crash through two Federal lines, overrunning Banks’ artillery and wagon train, which they stop to plunder. Banks, soundly thrashed, retreats with a loss of 2,235 men. Taylor, in comparison, captures 20 cannon, 200 wagons, and 1,000 draft animals for less than 1,000 casualties.

April 9 Military: Union strategy for an all-out push against the Confederacy is finalized by General Ulysses S. Grant into five major components: General Nathaniel P. Banks is to capture Mobile, Alabama; General William T. Sherman will drive deep into Georgia from Tennessee and seize Atlanta; General Franz Sigel is to advance down into the Shenandoah Valley, breadbasket of the Confederacy; and General Benjamin F. Butler will descend upon Richmond, Virginia, from the south bank of the James River. Most importantly, General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac is to seek out and rivet their attention upon General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Politics: The U.S. Senate approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution by a vote of 38 to six. The legislation, aimed at outlawing slavery, is then passed to the House of Representatives for ratification. General Nathaniel P. Banks consolidates 15,000 men of his shaken army, soon reinforced by two veteran corps from General Andrew J. Smith’s XVI Corps, along Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. General Richard Taylor then advances upon the Federals at 9:00 a.m. with 12,000 men and attacks. The rebels are soundly repulsed in stiff fighting and Taylor gradually withdraws, which rescues Banks from his previous defeat at Mansfield. Union losses are 1,506 to a Confederate tally of 1,621. The Northerners still continue retreating to Grand Ecore, spelling an end to the vaunted Red River Campaign.

April 10 Military: Union forces under General Frederick Steele encounter stiff Confederate resistance from General Sterling Price at Prairie D’Ane, Arkansas, and a running battle ensues over the next four days. However, with the Red River campaign of General Nathaniel P. Banks now ignominiously defeated, Steele suddenly finds himself marooned deep behind enemy lines with few supplies and no prospect of reinforcements.

April 11 Politics: The pro-Union administration of Governor Isaac Murphy is inaugurated at Little Rock, Arkansas.

April 12 Military: General Nathan B. Forrest leads 1,500 Confederate cavalry in an attack upon Fort Pillow, Tennessee, on the Mississippi River, then guarded by 557 Union soldiers, including 262 African Americans, under Major Lionel F. Booth. The Confederates succeed after a bloody fight, at which point many of the black soldiers are murdered. Confederate losses are 14 dead and 86 wounded, a pittance compared to the Federal tally of 231 killed, 100 wounded, and 226 captured—only 58 blacks are taken alive.

April 15 Politics: Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee delivers a speech in Knoxville endorsing the principles of emancipation.

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April 17 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant suspends all prisoner exchanges until the Confederates release identical numbers of Union captives—an impossible demand, given their restricted manpower. Confederate authorities strongly disagree with his dictates, and the practice of prisoner exchanges halts altogether, depriving the South of an important source of trained military manpower.

April 18 Military: Confederate cavalry under General John S. Marmaduke detects a party of 1,170 Union soldiers near Poison Springs, Arkansas, and advances to give battle with 3,335 troopers. Southern numbers gradually assert themselves and the Federals suddenly break in panic and flee to the rear. Poison Springs is a significant Union defeat for it requires General Frederick Steele’s army, at Camden, on the defensive, where it languishes on half rations.

April 19 Naval: The huge Confederate steam ram CSS Albemarle under Commander James W. Cooke attacks the Federal blockading squadron off Plymouth, North Carolina, Nathan Bedford Forrest (Library of Congress) sinking the USS Southfield and killing Commander C. W. Flusser. The surviving Union vessels then draw off, leaving the nearby army garrison unsupported. Politics: The U.S. Congress passes legislation admitting Nebraska as a state.

April 20 Military: The government reduces rations accorded to Southern prisoners of war in retaliation for mistreatment of Union captives. General Robert F. Hoke attacks and captures 2,800 Union soldiers and a large quantity of supplies at Plymouth, North Carolina, after a three-day siege. Key to his success was the sudden appearance of the steam ram CSS Ablemarle, which bombarded the defenders from offshore. Confederate losses are 163 killed and 554 wounded.

April 21 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln confers with the governors of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

April 22 Slavery: President Jefferson Davis writes General Leonidas K. Polk respecting African-American prisoners. “If the negroes are escaped slaves, they should be held safely for recovery by their owners,” he states, “If otherwise, inform me.”

April 25 Military: A force of 4,000 Confederate cavalry under General William L. Cabell surprises a Union wagon train at Mark’s Mills, Arkansas, catching the armed guard of Colonel Francis M. Drake in a pincer. Cabell seizes 240 wagons and

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1,700 prisoners as only 300 Federals escape back to their main force at Camden. Moreover, the enraged Southerners also murder 150 African-American slaves who had attached themselves to the column. Outnumbered and nearly surrounded by Confederates under generals Edmund Kirby-Smith and Sterling Price, General Frederick Steele abandons Camden, Arkansas, and retreats to Little Rock. He begins methodically evacuating that night and cleverly slips past Confederate outposts without detection.

April 27 Diplomacy: President Jefferson Davis dispatches a special commissioner to Canada to help possibly negotiate a truce with the United States.

April 28 Naval: Admiral David D. Porter’s flotilla remains trapped on the Red River by receding water levels. The admiral himself is resigned to the necessity of scuttling his entire squadron to prevent its capture, and he advises Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles that “you may judge my feelings at having to perform so painful a duty.”

April 29 Naval: Admiral David D. Porter’s gunboat flotilla is almost completely stranded on the Red River near Alexandria, Louisiana, by receding waters. Fortunately, succor arrives in the form of army engineer Colonel Joseph Bailey, who proposes building a series of dams to raise the water. The result is one of the best improvisations of the entire war. Politics: The U.S. Congress increases all import duties by 50 percent to better fund the war effort.

April 30 General: Five-year-old Joe Davis, son of President Jefferson Davis, dies of injuries received at a fall from the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia. Military: The Battle of Jenkin’s Ferry, Arkansas, unfolds as Confederate cavalry under General John S. Marmaduke attacks a Union rearguard under General Samuel Rice. Meanwhile, General Frederick Steele successfully passes the bulk of his army over the Sabine River and extricates his command. Men of the 2nd Colored Infantry subsequently murder several Southern prisoners in retaliation for atrocities against them at Poison Spring in April. Naval: To assist the gunboat squadron of Admiral David D. Porter, engineer Colonel Joseph Bailey begins constructing a dam of logs across the Red River. “Two or three regiments of Maine men were set to work felling trees,” Porter notes, “Everyman seemed to be working with a vigor seldom equaled.” Slavery: President Jefferson Davis issues orders to return all captured slaves found fighting in Union ranks back to their rightful orders “on proof and payment of charges.”

May 2 Military: General Franz Sigel leads 6,500 Union troops out of Winchester, Virginia, and down the Shenandoah Valley Pike toward New Market. His goal is to deny the Confederacy any food or cattle grown in this highly productive region. Politics: President Jefferson Davis addresses the opening session of the Second Confederate Congress, accusing Northerners of “barbarism” through their

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Chronology of American History “plunder and devastation of property of noncombatants, destruction of private dwellings, and even edifices devoted to the worship of God.”

May 3 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet discuss the recent murder of African-American prisoners at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

May 4 Military: Generals Ulysses S. Grant and George G. Meade direct the Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan River, Virginia, toward the heavily forested area known as the Wilderness. They lead a veteran force of 122,000 men, divided into four commands: General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps, the V Corps under General Gouvernor K. Warren, John Sedgwick’s VI Corps, and General Ambrose E. Burnside’s IX Corps. General William T. Sherman advances his force of 110,000 men from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and against Confederate forces under General Joseph E. Johnston. The Union goal is Atlanta, Georgia, an important communications hub. Politics: The U.S. House of Representatives passes the punitively worded WadeDavis Reconstruction Bill, 73 to 59, over President Abraham Lincoln’s objections. Curiously, Radical Republicans like Thaddeus Stevens find the measure far too conciliatory to their liking.

May 5 Education: The Society of Friends founds Swarthmore College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Military: The Battle of the Wilderness erupts once General Gouvernor K. Warren’s V Corps encounters General Richard S. Ewell’s II Corps along the Orange Turnpike Road. Warren is well situated to sweep the Southerners before him, but insurmountable delays grant Ewell time to rush up reinforcements. Two miles south, General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps engages General Ambrose P. Hill’s III Corps in fierce fighting. An all-out Confederate advance surges ahead initially, but Hill is halted by General George W. Getty’s division, VI Corps, who stands long enough for Hancock to bring sufficient numbers up. Naval: The ironclad ram CSS Albemarle under Commander James W. Cooke, escorted by the smaller Bombshell and Cotton Planter, steams into Albemarle Sound off Plymouth, North Carolina, to engage the Federal squadron anchored there. However, Captain Melanchton Smith keeps the Southerners under a steady bombardment and, with Albemarle damaged and maneuvering badly, Cooke orders his vessel back up the Roanoke River for repairs.

May 6 Military: The Battle of the Wilderness continues as General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps, advancing down the Orange Plank Road, smashes into General Ambrose P. Hill’s III Corps, nearly breaking it. Suddenly General James Longstreet makes his belated appearance with the veteran I Corps and strikes Hancock’s left and rear. Longstreet is then seriously wounded by friendly fire while General Micah Jenkins, riding alongside him, is killed. Delays ensue, and when the Confederates finally sort themselves out and advance, they encounter entrenched Federal troops backed by artillery and are repulsed.

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Two miles away, General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps renews its struggle against General Richard S. Ewell’s II Corps along the Orange Turnpike. A fresh Confederate division under General John B. Gordon then manages to work its way around the Union right and charges, severely disrupting their entire line. The onset of nightfall dampens further fighting, and both sides settle in behind entrenchments. Worse, the dry vegetation and undergrowth are set ablaze by the fighting, and hundreds of wounded soldiers, unable to crawl to safety, perish in the flames. The Wilderness is a dazzling tactical upset by General Robert E. Lee, who tackles an opponent twice his size in an area where he is least expected—and handles him roughly. Grant, who endured the ignominy of having both flanks turned, suffers frightful losses of 17,666; Confederate casualties, through not recorded, are probably in the vicinity of 8,000, but Grant is undeterred and maintains the strategic initiative by sidestepping around Lee’s left flank, inching ever closer to Richmond, Virginia, and forcing the indomitable Southerners to follow.

May 7 Military: The struggle for the Wilderness concludes once General Ulysses S. Grant sets a strategic precedent by ignoring his losses and slipping around the Confederate flank. He then marches 12 miles southeast to Spotsylvania Court House. General Philip A. Sheridan has only the division of General Wesley Merritt available to him, and these troops are sent trotting down the road to Spotsylvania. En route General George A. Custer’s brigade runs headlong into General Fitzhugh Lee’s dismounted Confederates at Todd’s Tavern, skirmishing furiously. Additional cavalry units are fed into the fray, but the Southerners manage to keep their line intact and Spotsylvania remains in their hands. Union losses are around 250, the Confederates sustain possibly half as many. The Atlanta Campaign begins. General William T. Sherman, commanding the armies of the Cumberland (General George H. Thomas), the Ohio (General John M. Schofield), and the Tennessee (General James B. McPherson), roughly 112,000 men, advances upon Dalton, Georgia. There he confronts the Army of Tennessee under General Joseph E. Johnston, who commands 62,000 Confederates. These are organized into two corps under generals John B. Hood and William J. Hardee, while a third corps under General Leonidas K. Polk is en route from Mississippi. Southern mounted troops are entrusted to the highly capable General Joseph Wheeler.

May 8 Military: Thousands of soldiers from both sides file into positions along a threemile front at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. General Gouvernor K. Warren’s V Corps and General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps then charge the Southerners headlong in their fieldworks, being heavily repulsed. That night General Robert E. Lee instructs his men to continue felling trees, digging trenches, strengthening the entire line with them.

May 9 Military: General George Crook, riding at the head of 6,155 Union troops, advances into southwestern Virginia to destroy a portion of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. En route he encounters 2,400 Confederates and 10 cannon under

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Chronology of American History General Albert G. Jenkins at Cloyd’s Mountain. A bloody impasse continues for several hours until a Union column suddenly appears on the Southern left and rolls up their line. Crook then burns the New River Bridge, thereby obtaining his objective.

May 10 Military: Determined to test Confederate defenses, General Ulysses S. Grant begins organizing large-scale assaults near Spotsylvania, Virginia. He believes that General Robert E. Lee has sufficiently weakened his center by reinforcing both flanks and singles out the “Mule Shoe” in consequence. Colonel Emory Upton, who arrays his 12 regiments in a densely packed assault column, charges forward and penetrates the Mule Shoe’s left flank, overturning General Richard Rodes’s division and taking 1,000 prisoners. The lodgment, however, is not properly supported and ultimately fails, but Grant remains highly impressed by Upton’s innovation; he vows to try the same experiment with an entire corps next day. Three brigades of Confederate troopers under General J. E. B. Stuart arrive at Beaver Dam Station, Virginia, hotly trailing General Philip H. Sheridan’s cavalry column. Though outnumbered, Stuart dispatches a brigade under General James B. Gordon to harass the Union rear while deploying generals William C. Wickham and Lunsford L. Lomax into blocking positions at the junction of Yellow Tavern, only six miles north of Richmond. Union General James B. McPherson declines pushing ahead through Snake Gap Creek, Georgia, and commences fortifying his position. Unknown at the time, he was opposed only by a single cavalry brigade under General James Canty. McPherson then digs in and awaits developments. General Joseph E. Johnston’s line of retreat thus remains intact and, when apprised of the danger, he immediate shifts his forces to safer ground. Naval: Back on the Red River, the dam constructed by Colonel Joseph Bailey is deliberately breached and the ironclads USS Mound City, Pittsburgh, and Carondelet successfully shoot the rapids. Admiral David D. Porter is delighted and informs Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles that “The passage of these vessels was a beautiful sight, only to be realized when seen.”

May 11 Military: Ignoring heavy losses, General Ulysses S. Grant renews the struggle at Spotsylvania Court House by attacking the Confederate center again. This time he instructs the entire II Corps of General Winfield S. Hancock drawn up into dense attack columns to spearhead the assault. Meanwhile, General Robert E. Lee carefully monitors Union movements and concludes that Grant is preparing to slip around his left flank again. He inadvertently orders all artillery removed from the Mule Shoe, rendering it more vulnerable to attack. At 11:00 a.m., a tremendous cavalry fight erupts as 4,500 Confederates under General J. E. B. Stuart are attacked by twice their numbers under General Philip H. Sheridan at Yellow Tavern, Virginia. The attackers are repelled, but Stuart is mortally wounded in the stomach and Sheridan is forced to withdraw eastward down the Chickahominy River. Union losses are 704 men while the Southerners sustain more than 300—including the irreplaceable Stuart, who dies the following day.

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May 12 Military: The struggle at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, is renewed as General Ulysses S. Grant launches a bruising frontal assault against the center of General Robert E. Lee’s line. General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps, arrayed in dense columns, slams irresistibly into the Mule Shoe and overwhelms General Edward Johnson’s “Stonewall Brigade,” capturing him, 3,000 prisoners, and 20 cannon. Then a vicious, point-blank musketry duel breaks out which degenerates into hand-to-hand fighting, bayonets rasping, and rock throwing. The melee occasions such terrible carnage that the area is christened “Bloody Angle” by the survivors. At length Grant is forced to call off the attack, which affords stark testimony to the power of Confederate fieldworks, which have elevated the lowly spade to that of rifles and cannon in tactical significance. Union losses are 18,339 men to 10,000 Confederates.

May 13 Naval: The USS Louisville, Chillicothe, and Ozark, last of Admiral David D. Porter’s gunboats, dash over a wing dam on the Red River, Louisiana, and float off to safety. The ingenuity of army engineers under Colonel Joseph Bailey saved an entire squadron from imminent capture or destruction.

May 14 Military: The armies of generals William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston confront each other in full battle array at Resaca, Georgia. The Federals muster 100,000 men and the Confederates, recently joined by a corps under General Leonidas K. Polk, number 60,000. Union troops manage to storm a line of Southern earthworks along Camp Creek, situated on some low-lying hills, a significant gain enabling them to post artillery pieces and shell the entire Confederate line. The toughest struggle, however, is waged on the Union left, where aggressive General John B. Hood successfully attacked along the Dalton-Resaca wagon road until a division dispatched by General George H. Thomas drives them back. More hard fighting is anticipated on the following day. General Franz Sigel resumes advancing with 6,500 men toward New Market, Virginia, as 5,500 Confederates under General John C. Breckinridge assume strong defensive positions. Breckinridge then suddenly sends forward two infantry brigades linked by a dismounted cavalry force, and they sweep through the town by driving Sigel’s men before them. However, when a gap forms in his line, Breckinridge is forced to commit 264 cadets (or ’Katydids”) from the nearby Virginia Military Institute to fill it. At 3:00 p.m., the Confederates crown the heights and seize two cannon while the defeated Federals withdraw across the Shenandoah River to safety.

May 15 Military: The Battle of Resaca resumes as Union forces under General Joseph Hooker engage the Confederates of General John B. Hood on the Union left. Meanwhile, General William T. Sherman orders a division of the XVI Corps across the Oostanaula River to seize a strategic railroad bridge in the Southern rear. General Joseph E. Johnston, his lines of communication now imperiled, expertly disengages, throws a pontoon bridge over the Oostanaula, and withdraws to safety in the predawn darkness. Losses in the two-day struggle are roughly 6,000 Union and 5,000 Confederates as Sherman continues pushing ever deeper into Georgia.

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May 16 Military: General Pierre G. T. Beauregard leads 18,000 Confederates in a sharp attack against General Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James near Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia. General Robert Ransom’s men charge and capture General Charles A. Heckman and 400 prisoners before ammunition shortages force him to halt. Meanwhile, Southerners under General Robert F. Hoke hit the Union center but, becoming lost in the fog, his attack sputters. Butler then withdraws behind fortifications along Bermuda Hundred. Confederate losses are 2,506 while the Union sustains 4,160 casualties. The Federals are now completely corked into the Peninsula, unable to move.

May 19 General: Literary circles are saddened to hear of the death of noted New England writer and novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne at Plymouth, New Hampshire.

May 20 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant directs the Army of the Potomac south and east in an attempt to outflank Confederate defenses along the Mattaponi River, Virginia. His objective is Hanover Station, 24 miles north of Richmond, where the Virginia Central Railroad intersects with the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, two major Southern supply arteries. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, intending to further pen up General Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James in the Bermuda Hundred Peninsula, attacks Union positions at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia. Initially, the divisions of generals Alfred H. Terry and Adelbert Ames are hard pressed before counterattacking and driving their antagonists back to their starting positions. Union losses are roughly 800 to 700 for the Confederates, but Butler remains effectively hemmed in and unable to assist the main drive outside of Richmond, Virginia.

May 21 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward instructs U.S. Minister to France John Bigelow that, while he is to remonstrate against French activities in Mexico, he must avoid outright belligerence until after the Civil War has been successfully concluded. Military: Bested by Southern fortifications around Spotsylvania, General Ulysses S. Grant begins probing Confederate lines near Milford Station, Virginia. He is surprised by the lack of strong resistance and prepares to sidestep around General Robert E. Lee’s left flank and appear in force across the Anna River.

May 23 Military: The II Corps of General Winfield S. Hancock deploys on the northern bank of the North Anna River at Chesterfield Ford while the XI Corps under General Ambrose E. Burnside lands at Jericho Mills. Meanwhile the V and VI Corps under generals Gouvernor K. Warren and Horatio G. Wright, respectively, fan out into the area west of Jericho Mills.

May 25 Military: The XX Corps under General Joseph Hooker, advancing upon New Hope Church, Georgia, collides headlong into General John B. Hood’s Confederates. The Federals are initially repulsed until Hooker masses two entire divisions and charges the troops of General Alexander P. Stewart. Stewart, however, clings

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tenaciously to his ground, and at length Hooker retires with 1,600 casualties. This encounter places Union troops only 25 miles northeast of Atlanta.

May 26 Settlement: The Montana Territory is carved out of the Idaho Territory and establishes its preliminary capital at Bannock.

May 28 Diplomacy: Puppet Emperor Maximilian of Austria lands at Veracruz, Mexico, in order to assume his throne. A political neophyte, he is backed by the machinations of French emperor Napoleon III and opposed by Mexican politician-turnedguerrilla Benito Juarez. The United States considers his presence a violation of the long-stated Monroe Doctrine, but it is too absorbed by civil war to lodge much beyond diplomatic protests.

May 31 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign to Richmond, Virginia, while a costly tactic, succeeds brilliantly at the strategic level. In one very bloody month he has forced the redoubtable Army of Northern Virginia from field positions along the Rapidan River to the very gates of the Confederate capital. Politics: Radical Republicans, dissatisfied with President Abraham Lincoln, nominate former general John C. Frémont in Cleveland, Ohio, as their party candidate for the presidency. They also choose General John Cochrane of New York as vice president. Among Frémont’s strongest supporters is African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who feels that Lincoln is far too leniently disposed toward Southerners in his reconstruction plans.

June 2 Military: At Cold Harbor, Virginia, General Ulysses S. Grant prepares his men for a frontal assault against what he perceives are weak Confederate lines. However, he cancels the operation after General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps, exhausted by marching in hot weather, arrives in poor condition. Grant reluctantly postpones his attack another day, allowing General Robert E. Lee additional time to fortify and dig in.

June 3 Military: The Battle of Cold Harbor unfolds across a continuous, seven-mile front dotted by earthen fortifications and interlocking fields of fire. The Southern position, manned by 59,000 men, confronts 108,000 Federal troops. General Ulysses S. Grant then orders his men to charge across open fields in dense columns as the defenders unleash withering torrents of bullets and canister, cutting them down in droves. Within 30 minutes 7,000 Federals are casualties, while the Confederates sustain roughly 1,500 loses. It is the biggest military blunder of Grant’s career and the Northern press begins assailing him as a “butcher.” General Robert E. Lee had won his final open-field battle, for Cold Harbor also marks an end to the mobile phase of the Overland Campaign to Richmond, Virginia. Since May, both sides have absorbed tremendous losses, with Union casualties exceeding 50,000. The Southern toll exceeds 32,000 which, while numerically smaller, actually constitutes a higher percentage of their army, 46 to 41 percent. General Ulysses S. Grant, moreover, receives a constant and steady flow of reinforcements, whereas Confederate manpower resources are dwindling.

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June 5 Military: Having advanced down the Shenandoah Valley as far as Harrisonburg before turning east, General David Hunter leads 15,000 Union troops on to engage 5,600 Confederates under General William E. Jones at Piedmont, Virginia. Charging through a gap in the Southern line, the Federals capture all of Jones’s artillery and his line shatters. Jones is killed rallying his command, which loses 1,600 men to a Union tally of 780.

June 7 Politics: The Republican Party convenes in Baltimore, Maryland, to nominate its presidential and vice presidential candidates. Assisted by several pro-war Democrats, they are able to portray themselves as the “National Union Convention.”

June 8 Politics: The Republican Party convention held at Baltimore, Maryland, renominates Abraham Lincoln to run for the presidency. However, sitting Vice President Hannibal Hamlin is dropped in favor of Tennessee governor Andrew Johnson, a Southern War Democrat, whose presence will broaden the ticket’s appeal. Their platform calls for a military end to the rebellion and ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery.

June 9 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln endorses a constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery.

June 10 Diplomacy: The Austrian prince Maximilian is crowned emperor of Mexico at the behest of France and his throne is backed by a large French army. He is competing with fugitive president Benito Juarez for the hearts of Mexicans. Military: In a display of tactical virtuosity, General Nathan B. Forrest and 3,500 Confederate cavalry rout a Union force twice its size at Brice’s Cross Road, Mississippi. Forrest anticipated that General Samuel D. Sturgis would commit his cavalry to battle first, followed by his infantry, and he determined to defeat each as they came up. Eager to maintain the battlefield initiative, Forrest next unleashes simultaneous attacks that strike the Union left, right, and center while a small force maneuvers around Sturgis’s rear. The tiring Federals, hit from all sides, suddenly bolt and careen headfirst into their own wagon and artillery train, overturning both. Forrest, defeating twice his numbers, suffers 492 casualties and inflicts 2,240. Politics: In light of a growing manpower crisis, the Confederate Congress authorizes military service for all males between the ages of 17 and 50.

June 11 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan rides into Trevilian Station, Virginia, where he encounters the dismounted division of General Wade Hampton waiting for him in the woods. He quickly dispatches the Michigan brigade of General George A. Custer to turn Hampton’s flank and slash his rear, which he does with aplomb. Custer then dashes in between Hampton and General Fitzhugh Lee’s divisions, capturing 50 wagons, 800 prisoners, and 1,500 horses. Lee is tardy sorting his command out but then begins pressing the unsupported Custer hard. At the last

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minute Sheridan gallops up with reinforcements, and the Southerners retire with an additional 500 Confederate prisoners taken.

June 12 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan’s cavalry renews its clash with generals Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee at Trevilian Station, Virginia. However, Hampton’s well-positioned troopers repel seven Union charges, at which point Sheridan concludes his raid and rides back to the main Union force at Petersburg. Trevilian Station is one of the largest cavalry clashes of the entire war and among the most costly: Sheridan admits to 735 casualties while the Confederate loss is estimated at roughly 1,000.

June 14 Military: In a major feat, Union engineers construct the 2,100-foot-long James River bridge from Windmill Point to Fort Powhatan, Virginia. It enables General Ulysses S. Grant to quickly shift his army across the river and threaten Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee is completely taken unawares.

June 15 Politics: The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution fails to be ratified by the House of Representatives, falling 13 votes short (95 to 66) of the two-thirds majority required for passage. The U.S. Congress passes legislation granting equal pay to African-American soldiers. For many months black personnel refused to accept less pay than their white counterparts in protest. Former congressman and Peace Democrat Clement L. Vallandigham arrives in Ohio following his Canadian exile. He thereupon resumes his activities for securing a negotiated peace with the Confederacy.

June 16 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, addressing the Sanitation Fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, declares “War, at best, is terrible, and this war of ours, in its magnitude and duration, is one of the most terrible.” He assures his audience, however, stating “We accepted this war for a worthy object, and the war will end when that object is attained.”

June 18 Military: The siege of Petersburg, Virginia, begins in earnest once General Robert E. Lee and 50,000 bedraggled, hungry men defend a line 26 miles in circumference while simultaneously guarding the four railroads out of the city that constitute his supply line. In contrast, General Ulysses S. Grant leads 110,000 well-fed, well-equipped soldiers, backed by a steady stream of reinforcements that the Confederates cannot match. The past four days of fighting along the city’s outskirts cost the Union 10,586 casualties while the Southerners lost around 4,000. General David Hunter’s 18,000 Union troops renew their attack upon Lynchburg, Virginia. However, newly arrived Confederates under General Jubal A. Early boost the defenders to 14,000, who resist tenaciously. Hunter concludes that the enemy has been reinforced overnight and outnumbers him, so he orders an ignominious retreat back up the Shenandoah Valley. Early then recaptures the strategic initiative by energetically pursuing his larger adversary.

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June 19 Naval: The USS Kearsarge under Captain John A. Winslow engages the CSS Alabama under Captain Raphael Semmes off Cherbourg, France. The Union vessel enjoys a slightly larger crew and marginally heavier armament, along with the decided advantage that Alabama’s ammunition has deteriorated from lengthy exposure to salt air. Both vessels handle their guns well; Kearsarge receives 28 hits, including a potentially disastrous strike by a 100-pound shell that fails to explode. On the other hand, the Union gunnery is superb and inflicts tremendous hull damage to its adversary, puncturing the Alabama repeatedly. Within an hour the ship is listing and Semmes, unable to dash for the French coast, abandons ship. This action terminates the South’s most celebrated commerce raider.

June 21 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln visits Union troops in the siege lines of Petersburg, Virginia, making a conspicuous target for snipers in his tall, stovepipe hat. Confederate Secretary of the Treasury Christopher G. Memminger resigns over criticism of his handling of monetary affairs.

June 22 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, confronting strong Southern defenses before him at Petersburg, Virginia, tries his time-honored tactic of shifting troops around their flank in a bid to extend and weaken their lines by cutting the Weldon Railroad. General David B. Birney’s II Corps and General Horatio G. Wright’s VI Corps advance through dense woods to reach their objective, but General Cadmus M. Wilcox’s division holds fast while generals William Mahone and Bushrod R. Johnson assail Birney’s flanks. The struggle is savage and rout the veteran Union division of General John Gibbon, taking 1,600 prisoners. General John B. Hood exceeds his orders to extend the Confederate left at Kennesaw Mountain by launching an unauthorized assault with 11,000 men against Union positions at Kolb’s Farm, Georgia. General Joseph Hooker, commanding 14,000 troops and 40 cannon, is forewarned of Hood’s approach and makes careful preparations to receive him. Concentrated rifle and artillery fire mow down the charging Confederates and Hood ultimately withdraws with 1,500 casualties to a Union total of 250.

June 23 Military: Union generals David B. Birney and Horatio G. Wright repeat their attack upon Confederate defenses guarding the Weldon Railroad, Virginia, with their II and VI Corps, respectively. A strong initial advance recovers all ground lost on the previous day, but a stubborn defense mounted by General William Mahone blocks them from reaching the railroad. At dusk the Federals again withdraw below the Jerusalem Plank Road with 2,962 casualties.

June 24 Slavery: The Maryland Convention gathers and votes to abolish slavery.

June 25 Military: Colonel Henry Pleasant’s 48th Pennsylvania, composed mostly of miners from Schuykill County, begins tunneling beneath Confederate defenses at Petersburg, Virginia. The plan is to run a 511-foot shaft beneath a South Carolina

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battery positioned at Elliott’s Salient and stock it with 8,000 pounds of gunpowder. Over the next month, General Ambrose E. Burnside also specially trains a division of African Americans under General Edward Ferrero to spearhead the assault once the charges have been detonated.

June 27 Military: General William T. Sherman wages the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, against General Joseph E. Johnston. The Confederates are skillfully arrayed along high ground strewn with large boulders and trees—affording a perfect killing ground for troops advancing from below. The first Union wave consists of two divisions from General John A. Logan’s XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee. General William W. Loring responds with intense rifle and artillery fire, dropping Federals in bloody clumps. The main thrust against Johnston’s line occurs further south at Cheatham’s Hill, stoutly defended by General William J. Hardee’s corps. Up the hillside go 8,000 men from divisions under generals Jefferson C. Davis and John Newton, XIV Corps, heavily raked by fire from above which depletes their ranks. Sherman finally calls off the attack after losses of 3,000 men, including two generals killed; Johnston sustains about 750 casualties. Politics: Abraham Lincoln accepts the Republican Party nomination for the presidency.

June 28 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation repealing the Fugitive Slave Act, a major irritant that helped spark the present conflagration.

June 30 Politics: The U.S. Congress approves the Internal Revenue Act to help finance the war. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase tenders his resignation to President Abraham Lincoln who, much to his surprise, accepts it. “You and I have reached a point of mutual embarrassment in our official relation which seems cannot be overcome,” Lincoln writes, “or longer sustained, consistently with public service.”

July 1 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln appoints William P. Fessenden as his new secretary of the treasury. The U.S. Senate passes the vindictive Wade-Davis plan for reconstruction 26 to three, with 20 abstaining.

July 2 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, finding the Wade-Davis plan for reconstruction too harsh for his liking, weighs simply not signing it and allowing it to die by pocket veto. Transportation: Congress authorizes the Northern Pacific Railroad to construct a line running from Lake Superior to Portland, Oregon, and thereby facilitate new settlements.

July 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs legislation modifying certain aspects of the Enrollment Act of 1863, striking the clause allowing substitutes to be purchased for $300.

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Chronology of American History The president also clashes with Radical Republicans over the tenor of reconstruction in the Wade-Davis Bill, which would have placed conditions solely in the hands of Congress. Lincoln specifically objects to provisions requiring loyalty oaths by 50 percent of each state’s 1860 population. In the end, he simply kills the measure by not signing it. Societal: The Bureau of Immigration is established by Congress to facilitate the importation of contract laborers.

July 5 Politics: New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley receives peace feelers from the Confederate government and he contacts President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln allows him to meet with the individuals at Niagara Falls, New York.

July 7 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, realizing the seriousness of Confederate thrusts in Maryland, rushes General James B. Rickett’s division (VI Corps) to Baltimore by rail, and from there it will march on foot to Monocacy Junction. There it will reinforce General Lew Wallace, holding the intersection with 3,000 men, who is contemplating a desperate holding action.

July 8 Military: A hodgepodge of Union troops under General Lew Wallace assumes defensive positions behind the Monocacy River near Frederick, Maryland, to defend the national capital from General Jubal A. Early’s advancing Confederates. On the day before battle he cobbles together a force of 6,000 men from various sources, which is all that stands in the way between the rebels and Washington, D.C.

July 9 Military: The Confederate Fabian tactics of General Joseph E. Johnston, which have so infuriated General William T. Sherman, unfortunately draw the ire of President Jefferson Davis. Seeking a possible pretext to relieve Johnston, whom he personally despises, Davis dispatches General Braxton Bragg to his headquarters on a “fact-finding” mission. Johnston, meanwhile, continues withdrawing from the Chattahoochee River to Peachtree Creek, only three miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. General Lew Wallace, with 6,000 troops, confronts 14,000 Confederates under General Jubal A. Early at Monocacy, Maryland. General James B. Rickett’s veteran division easily repels two charges by General John B. Gordon as the Southerners gradually work their way around the Union left. A final charge by General William R. Terry’s Virginia brigade dislodges the defenders and Wallace orders his entire force withdrawn up the Baltimore Pike in good order. Union losses are 1,800, while the Confederates sustain around 700. The road to Washington, D.C., is now wide open, but Monocacy delays Early’s advance by 24 hours and grants the capital time to shore up its defenses.

July 10 Military: Confederates under General Jubal A. Early file through Rockville, Maryland, to confront Union defenders at Fort Stevens, outside Washington, D.C. That post is only manned by 209 inexperienced artillerists but President Abraham Lincoln blithely exclaims “Let us be vigilant but keep cool. I hope neither Baltimore nor Washington will be sacked.”

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July 12 Military: Confederates under General Jubal A. Early withdraw from the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and are cautiously shadowed by General Horatio G. Wright’s Federal forces. For a few tense moments President Abraham Lincoln, visiting the parapets, is under enemy fire, and young Lieutenant Oliver Wendell Holmes (a future Supreme Court justice) unthinkingly shouts “Get down, you fool!”

July 14 Military: A force of 7,500 Confederates under generals Stephen D. Lee and Nathan B. Forrest gather to attack General Andrew J. Smith outside of Tupelo, Mississippi. Lee insists that they charge the awaiting Federals head on, and they are repeatedly decimated by concentrated rifle and artillery fire. Tupelo proves a surprising Union victory, but Forrest’s command survives the debacle intact and still functioning. Union losses are 674 to a Confederate tally of 1,326.

July 16 Politics: A pensive President Jefferson Davis telegraphs General Joseph E. Johnston at Atlanta, Georgia, “I wish to hear from you as to your present situation and your plan of operation so specifically as will enable me to anticipate events.” Johnston matter-of-factly replies, “As the enemy is double our number, we must be on the defensive. My plan of operations must therefore depend upon that of the enemy.”

July 17 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston is preparing to pounce on the isolated Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas at Peachtree Creek, Georgia. Suddenly, a telegram arrives from President Jefferson Davis announcing his replacement by the impetuous, highly aggressive General John B. Hood. Davis’s antipathy for the highly capable Johnston proves a turning point in the course of events.

July 20 Military: No sooner does the 20,000-man Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas cross Peachtree Creek, Georgia (three miles north of Atlanta), than it is set upon by 19,000 Confederates under newly appointed General John B. Hood. The hardest fighting occurs on the right wing where General Edward C. Walthall’s Confederates lace into the divisions of generals Alpheus S. Williams and John W. Geary, XX Corps, whereby the latter is nearly surrounded and hard-pressed for over three hours. Hood’s gambit ultimately fails so he suspends further fighting at 7:00 p.m. and orders a retreat. Peachtree Creek is the first of his highly audacious but ultimately futile attempts to save Atlanta, and it costs him 2,500 men to a Union tally of 1,779 killed, wounded, and missing.

July 22 Military: General John B. Hood initiates the Battle of Atlanta by ordering General William J. Hardee’s corps to strike at the Army of the Tennessee under General James B. McPherson. However, Hardy errs in not moving troops far enough to the east and, instead of turning McPherson’s left flank, he attacks him head on. Tragedy strikes Union forces when McPherson, reconnoitering ahead of his troops, stumbles onto a Confederate picket and is shot dead. Federal reinforcements then storm across the field in turn, driving the gray coats before them

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Chronology of American History and restoring their lines. Hood’s second sortie proves another costly failure that depletes his army of 8,000 men while Union losses are 3,722. Politics: President Jefferson Davis orders General Edmund Kirby-Smith to assist the Army of Tennessee under General John B. Hood. In light of the fact that the Mississippi River is full of Union gunboats, this proves an impossible order to fulfill.

July 23 Politics: The Louisiana State Convention adopts a new constitution which outlaws slavery.

July 24 Military: General Jubal A. Early’s 14,000 Confederates engage the smaller Union VIII Corps under General George Crook at Kernstown, Virginia. Crook’s 8,500 men initially withstand several charges until they are finally flanked by General John C. Breckinridge and driven from the field. Crook’s defeat would have been more costly had Early not mishandled his cavalry and he escapes intact. Unfortunately for the South, their victory here convinces the political establishment in Washington, D.C., that vigorous, new leadership is required to secure the Shenandoah region.

July 28 Indian: General Alfred Sully engages a large number of hostile Teton Lakota (Sioux) in their camp at Killdeer Mountain (North Dakota). Sully is looking for remnants of the Santee (Eastern Sioux) responsible for staging a bloody uprising in Minnesota two years earlier, especially their notorious chief, Inkpaduta. The latter sought refuge among his Teton brethren, who prepare to wage battle rather then turn him over. Sully takes the unusual step of deploying his 3,000 men in a hollow square and advancing in this formation upon the camp. This walking wall of firepower gradually evicts the Teton from their campsite and they flee, losing an estimated 150 warriors. Sully sustains five dead and 10 wounded. Military: General Oliver O. Howard and the Army of the Tennessee advance upon East Point, Georgia, determined to sever the last remaining rail links to Atlanta. Confederate General John B. Hood dispatches the corps of generals Stephen D. Lee and Alexander P. Stewart to hit the Union left flank at Ezra Church and roll it up. The Southerners advance as ordered but, instead of striking Howard’s flank, they mistakenly veer into the front of General John A. Logan’s XV Corps. By the time the Confederates depart Ezra Church they had lost upwards of 5,000 men to a Union tally of only 562. The battle dissuaded the Federals from cutting Atlanta’s rail lines and so depletes Hood’s army that hereafter he is forced on the defensive.

July 30 Military: The Battle of the Crater unfolds as fuses to an explosive-laden tunnel, dug beneath Confederates lines at Petersburg, Virginia, are lit. At 4:45 p.m., the ground beneath Elliot’s Salient erupts furiously, destroying an artillery emplacement and killing 278 North Carolina troops. The Union force pauses 15 minutes before charging into the smoking crater, which measures 1,870 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. The Confederates recover more quickly than expected, rush reinforcement to the threatened point, and shoot downward into the mill-

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ing Federal troops. Union losses are 3,798 while the Southerners sustain 1,491 casualties. General George Stoneman’s cavalry column departs the outskirts of Macon, Georgia, and attempts circling around the city to cross the Ocmulgee River. He advances as far as Hillsboro before being set upon by General Alfred Iverson and three brigades of Confederate troopers near Sunshine Church and surrenders with 700 men. This “raid” proves one of the biggest cavalry fiascos of the entire war and nearly paralyzes General William T. Sherman’s mounted arm for several weeks.

August 4 Military: General William T. Sherman, pursuant to his strategy of circling Atlanta, Georgia, from the west, orders General John M. Schofield’s Army of the Ohio, reinforced by General John M. Palmer’s XIV Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to storm Confederate earthworks near Utoy Creek. Success here places Union troops within two miles of the strategic railroad junction at East Point.

August 5 Naval: At 6:00 a.m., Admiral David G. Farragut launches an all-out attack against Confederate defenses guarding Mobile Bay, Alabama. Disaster strikes when the ironclad USS Tecumseh detonates a torpedo and sinks 30 seconds later with a loss of 90 crewmen. “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” is Farragut’s response to the crisis as his flagship Hartford plunges directly through the Confederate minefield intact. He next confronts the large steam ram CSS Tennessee under the equally redoubtable Admiral James Buchanan, which tries repeatedly ramming the Hartford. Farragut easily dodges his slower adversary while all 17 ships of his squadron pummel it with intense cannon fire. Buchanan finally lowers his flag at 10:00 a.m., as Farragut wins another bold gamble and closes the Confederacy’s last remaining port on the Gulf Coast. Politics: Radical Republicans Benjamin Wade and Henry W. Davis denounce President Abraham Lincoln for pocket vetoing their reconstruction legislation and campaign openly to replace him. “The authority of Congress is paramount and must be respected,” they insist.

August 6 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan arrives at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, to assume command of the Army of the Shenandoah, consisting of the VI Corps under General Horatio G. Wright, the VIII Corps under General George Crook, the XIX Corps under General William H. Emory, and three cavalry divisions led by General T. A. Tolbert.

August 7 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant’s choice of 33-year-old General Philip H. Sheridan to lead the Army of the Shenandoah causes consternation among President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Both men fear that the youthful Sheridan is too inexperienced for so delicate a mission, but Grant insists on having this aggressive, headstrong firebrand at the helm.

August 10 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan leads Union forces out of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and into the Shenandoah Valley as Confederates under General Jubal A. Early watch warily.

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August 15 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan withdraws toward Winchester, Virginia, inducing Confederates under General Jubal A. Early to follow. Sheridan is acting under orders to move with caution, and he is believed to be facing upwards of 40,000 Southerners. President Abraham Lincoln’s precarious political fortunes preclude any embarrassing defeats this close to the national election. Early, however, misinterprets such behavior as timidity.

August 16 Military: Union cavalry under General Wesley Merritt engages General Richard H. Anderson’s Confederate division at Front Royal, Virginia. A swirling saber melee also erupts between Southern troopers of General William C. Wickham and Union cavalry under General Thomas C. Devlin as the former tries to ford the Shenandoah River. A decisive charge by Devlin sends his opponents scampering and he seizes two flags and 139 prisoners.

August 18 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant refuses Confederate requests to resume prisoner exchanges. This act deprives the South of critically needed trained manpower, but also prolongs the hardships of Union prisoners languishing in poorly maintained Confederate prisons. In truth, the South can barely feed its own soldiers, let alone captives. Confederate forces attack General Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia, and are repelled with loss. General Ulysses S. Grant remains convinced that Southern defenses north of the James River have not been depleted, so he recalls Hancock’s expedition back to Petersburg. Operations in this vicinity cost the Union 2,901 casualties to a Confederate tally of about 1,500. At 4:00 p.m., General Gouvernor K. Warren’s V Corps attacks and captures Globe Tavern and portions of the Weldon railroad outside Petersburg, Virginia. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commanding at Petersburg, quickly dispatches General Henry Heth’s division to slash at Warren’s left flank. Timely Union reinforcements from the divisions of generals Samuel W. Crawford and Lysander Cutler make a timely appearance and drive the Southerners back into the city. Still, General Robert E. Lee must take the Weldon Railroad back and intact.

August 19 Military: General Gouvernor K. Warren’s V Corps is reinforced at Weldon Station, Virginia, by three divisions of the IX Corps, plus General Gershom Mott’s division from the II Corps. These arrive and deploy in time to meet a large Southern counterattack orchestrated by General Ambrose P. Hill. By nightfall, Warren’s position has been heavily jostled, but control of this section of the Weldon Railroad remains in Union hands. Federal losses for the day are 4,455 while Confederates are thought to have sustained around 1,600. A surprise raid by 2,000 Confederate cavalry under General Nathan B. Forrest briefly captures Memphis, Tennessee, and the local Union commander, General Cadwallader C. Washburn, only escapes in his nightclothes. Forrest then resumes raiding Federal supply lines with near impunity over the next two months. His success even elicits backhanded praise from General William T. Sherman, who refers to him as “that devil Forrest.”

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August 23 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln expresses pessimism over his reelection chances, noting “It will be my duty to cooperate with the President-elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards.”

August 25 Military: At 5:00 p. m., Confederates under General Ambrose P. Hill savagely assault the Union II Corps under General Winfield S. Hancock at Ream’s Station, Virginia. Hill’s 10,000 men initially rebounded of the divisions of generals Nelson A. Miles and David M. Gregg, until parts of the former suddenly gave way. General John Gibbon’s veteran division, exhausted from fatigue, also stumbles badly in combat and runs. Union losses in these embarrassing affairs are 2,372 while the Southerners sustain only 700 casualties.

August 26 Military: A convention of African Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, advance resolutions calling for the commissioning of black military officers.

August 29 Politics: The Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago, Illinois, where noted “Copperhead” Clement L. Vallandigham delivers the keynote address.

August 30 Politics: The Democratic Party convention in Chicago, Illinois, adopts a peace platform demanding an immediate end to hostilities with the South. Their stance is virtually the mirror opposite of that adopted by President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans.

August 31 Military: General William J. Hardee leads 20,000 Confederates against a similarsized force under General Oliver O. Howard at Jonesboro, Georgia. The Federals are strongly positioned in a semicircle on high ground and enjoy a clear field of fire. Hardee’s piecemeal attacks continually disintegrate in the face of concentrated rifle fire and he finally withdraws after suffering 2,000 casualties. Howard loses a mere 178. Politics: The Democratic Party convention in Chicago, Illinois, nominates former general George B. McClellan as its candidate for president and George H. Pendleton of Ohio for vice president.

September 1 Military: Confederates under General William J. Hardee are attacked by superior Union forces as the struggle at Jonesboro, Georgia, continues. General William T. Sherman designs an elaborate movement by several corps, but Union attacks are poorly coordinated and beaten off with considerable loss. Sherman’s men finally penetrate Southern defenses, taking hundreds of prisoners from General Daniel C. Govin’s brigade. Union losses are 1,274 out of 20,460 present; the Confederates suffer 911 out of 12,661 engaged. Hardy’s heroic stand permits General John B. Hood sufficient time to slip out of Atlanta before Sherman’s noose can close around it.

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Sherman, William T.

(1820 –1891)

General Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancas-­ ter, Ohio, on February 8, 1820, the son of a judge. Orphaned at an early age, he became a ward of Senator Thomas Ewing, who subsequently christened him William. Sherman, with his stepfather’s patronage, then gained appointment to the U.S. Mili-­ tary Academy in 1836 and graduated near the top of his class four years later. He joined the third U.S. Artillery as a second lieutenant and fought in Florida’s Sec-­ ond Seminole War until 1841. Sherman then fulfilled a long stint of garrison duty throughout the Deep South, where he thor-­ oughly familiarized himself with the people and geography. Sherman greatly admired the South and evinced genuine affection for the Southerners, but after the Civil War commenced in 1861 he departed Louisiana

William Tecumseh Sherman (Library of Congress)

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for St. Louis, Missouri, and sought to regain his army commission. He then commanded a brigade under General Irvin McDowell at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, being one of few officers to distinguish himself in combat. Sherman then rose to brigadier general the following August and transferred to the District of Cairo, Illinois, where he became acquainted with General Ulysses S. Grant during the campaign against Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862. The high-­ strung Sherman and the low-­key Grant struck up a cordial relationship that lasted the remainder of the lives. He commanded a division in Grant’s Army of the Tennes-­ see and fought conspicuously at the bloody Battle of Shiloh, April 5–6, 1862. Sherman, who had commanded the pickets that day, had been surprised by Confederates under General Albert S. Johnston, but he effec-­ tively rallied his command and contributed to the final Union victory. Over the next two years Sherman fought capably under Grant and in the spring of 1864 succeeded him as com-­ mander of the western frontier. In this capacity he undertook his most famous endeavor, the conquest of Atlanta, Geor-­ gia, by overcoming the skilled defensive tactics of General Joseph E. Johnston and then the ferocious onslaughts of General John B. Hood. Atlanta fell on September 2, 1864, after which Sherman embarked on a campaign of “total war” against the Southern populace and burned a 60-­mile swath of destruction across the South. By the time the war successfully concluded in April 1865, he had devastated large tracts of land throughout Georgia and South Carolina. Sherman rose to lieu-­ tenant general in July 1866 while head-­

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ing the Division of the Missouri. Three years later newly elected President Grant appointed him commanding general of the army with four stars, becoming only the second individual in American history so honored. Over the next decade Sherman worked earnestly to improve conditions in

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the army and foster greater professionalism, including the wholesale adoption of German staff methods. Sherman retired from the military in November 1883 and resisted calls to enter politics as a Republican. He died in New York City on February 14, 1891.

September 2 Military: “So Atlanta is ours and fairly won,” General William T. Sherman telegraphs President Abraham Lincoln, after the city surrenders to the XX Corps of General Henry W. Slocum. This single act rekindles President Abraham Lincoln’s sagging election prospects while exerting a distressing effect throughout the South. Over the past four months Union forces have sustained 4,432 dead and 22,822 wounded while the Confederates endure 3,044 killed and 18,952 injured. Naval: Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles receives permission to mount a large amphibious assault against Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. Success here will close down the South’s remaining seaport. Slavery: To offset critical manpower shortages, General Robert E. Lee advises President Jefferson Davis of the necessity of replacing white laborers with African Americans, thereby freeing the former for military service.

September 3 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, in honor of recent victories at Mobile, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia, declares the upcoming September 5 a day of national celebration and prayer for such events “call for devout acknowledgment to the Supreme Being in whose hands are the destinies of nations.”

September 5 Slavery: Voters in Louisiana ratify a new constitution abolishing slavery.

September 7 Military: General William T. Sherman issues Special Order No. 67 to the inhabitants of Atlanta, Georgia, requiring all 1,600 families to evacuate the city immediately. “War is cruelty and you cannot refine it,” he declares to the city’s mayor, “When peace does come you may call on me for anything. Then I will share with you the last cracker.”

Ruins of a train depot, blown up on Sherman’s departure from Atlanta, Georgia (Library of Congress)

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September 8 Politics: Former general George B. McClellan accepts the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency, but rejects their peace platform and declares “The Union is the one condition of peace—we ask for no more.” He nonetheless continues railing against President Abraham Lincoln’s handling of the war.

September 9 Military: General Joseph Wheeler, having completed his latest raid against Union supply lines in Tennessee, recrosses the Tennessee River at Florence, Alabama, and gallops home. In fact, his endeavors achieve very little for Union repair crews quickly restore damaged sections of track. The next result of Wheeler’s activities are to deprive General John B. Hood of excellent cavalry during a critical phase of the Georgia campaign.

September 11 Military: Generals William T. Sherman and John B. Hood conclude a 10-day truce to facilitate the evacuation of citizens and their belongings from Atlanta, Georgia. When petitioned by the inhabitants to reconsider, Sherman states “You might as well appeal against the thunderstorm as against these terrible hardships of war.” The age of total war has arrived with a vengeance.

September 16 Military: At dawn General Wade Hampton’s cavalry charges a Union force at Coggin’s Point, Virginia, completely dispersing elements of the First D.C. Cavalry and the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. The raiders then abscond with 2,486 head of cattle—and 300 prisoners—in a line stretching seven miles long. Hampton arrives back behind Confederate lines the next day after committing the largest incident of cattle rustling in American history. Rebecca West, a Union spy in Winchester, Virginia, observes the departure of General Joseph Kershaw’s Confederate cavalry division and 12 cannon from the army of General Jubal A. Early. She manages to relay the information back to General Philip H. Sheridan, then conferring with General Ulysses S. Grant over strategy at Charlestown, West Virginia. News of the transfer induces Sheridan to attack Early immediately. Grant concurs fully, laconically stating “Go in,” then departs.

September 17 Politics: Former general John C. Frémont withdraws his name from the election contest and urges a united Republican Party front under Abraham Lincoln. He fears that a Democratic victory might lead to either recognition of the Confederacy or the survival of slavery.

September 19 Military: At 2:00 p.m., General Philip H. Sheridan’s army, totaling 35,000 men, attacks the 12,000 Confederates of General Jubal A. Early at Winchester, Virginia. Heavy fighting forces Southerners under General Stephen Ramseur to give way, but generals Richard Rodes and John B. Gordon strike back in a vicious counterattack that stuns the XIX Corps. An equally desperate cavalry charge by General Fitzhugh Lee then fails to stop approaching Union troopers under generals Wesley Merritt and William W. Averill, and Confederate resistance collapses around 5:00 p.m. Union loses are 5,018 to a Confederate tally of 3,611, but Early hastily withdraws to Fisher’s Hill.

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Politics: President Jefferson Davis advises the governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida that recent proclamations requiring aliens to either serve in the army or leave are depriving the Confederacy of many skilled workers. Moreover, he insists that “harmony of action between the States and Confederate authorities is essential to public welfare.”

September 22 Military: The Battle of Fisher’s Hill erupts that afternoon when 28,000 Union troops under General Philip H. Sheridan begin probing General Jubal A. Early’s line. Early, who possesses only 9,000 men, suspects that a ruse of some kind is in play and prepares to retreat. Suddenly, two divisions of Federal cavalry under General George Crook emerge screaming down the hillside on Early’s left flank, sweeping aside the dismounted troopers of General Lunsford L. Lomax. Early’s Confederates are thoroughly thrashed, losing 1,235 men and 14 cannon to a Union tally of 456. Sheridan declines to pursue his defeated enemy further, preferring instead to hold back and commence implementing a “scorched earth” policy to devastate the fertile Shenandoah. Politics: President Jefferson Davis arrives by train at Macon, Georgia, and assures compatriots that “Our cause is not lost.”

September 23 Diplomacy: In Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate, feeling heavy pressure from the United States and other European nations, agrees to open Yokohama and selected other ports to Western vessels. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln requests the resignation of Postmaster General Montgomery Blair as a concession to Radical Republicans in the upcoming election.

September 24 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan lopes down the Shenandoah Valley but, instead of pursuing defeated Southern troops, he begins burning crops to eliminate the Confederacy’s breadbasket. This occurs with the complete approbation of General Ulysses S. Grant, who advises “If the war is to last another year we want the Shenandoah Valley to remain a barren waste.” The single-minded Sheridan does not disappoint his superior. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln appoints William Dennison the new postmaster general to replace the outgoing Montgomery Blair.

September 25 Military: President Jefferson Davis arrives at Palmetto, Georgia, to confer with General John B. Hood over strategy. Because of personality clashes, Hood transfers the ornery General William J. Hardee. Davis also approves of Hood’s daring strategy for invading Tennessee to strike at Union supply lines, in the hope of forcing General William T. Sherman to evacuate Georgia in pursuit.

September 27 Military: Confederate guerrillas under William “Bloody Bill” Anderson ride into Centralia, Missouri, and proceed systematically plundering the town and robbing its inhabitants. He next apprehends 23 unarmed Union musicians on a train and has them summarily executed. The tragedy continues once Major A. V. E. Johnson rides into town with 158 newly recruited men of his 39th Missouri Infantry, mounted on

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Chronology of American History mules. Johnson and most of his men die in an ambush, and then the guerrillas return to Centralia to kill off any remaining soldiers. By the time “Bloody Bill” completes his black deed, 116 Federals are dead.

September 29 Military: Two divisions of the V Corps under General Gouvernor K. Warren strike Confederate positions along the Squirrel Level Road near Poplar Springs Church, Virginia. The defenders and their position are quickly overrun but delays by General John G. Parke’s IX Corps enable General Ambrose P. Hill to rush up reinforcements and counterattack. Flanked by generals Henry Heth and Cadmus M. Wilcox, Parke abandons his gains and falls back among Warren’s troops at Peeble’s Farms. General David B. Birney’s X Corps of 18,000 men attacks up the slopes of New Market Heights, Virginia, spearheaded by General Charles A. Paine’s division of African Americans. The black troops encounter heavy fire and dogged resistance, losing 800 men in an hour, but tenaciously forge ahead and carry the earthworks in a tremendous display of courage and sacrifice. Significantly, of 16 Congressional Medals of Honor awarded to African Americans in the Civil War, no less than 14 originate here. General Edward O. C. Ord’s XVIII Corps surges ahead against Fort Harrison, Virginia, then garrisoned by 800 inexperienced artillerists. The Federals have little experience taking their objective but beat off an attack that Confederates retreating from New Market Heights manage to launch. Union troops then begin entrenching and strengthening their lines for the inevitable Southern counterattack the following day.

September 30 Military: Eager to prevent Union troops from lengthening his trench lines, General Robert E. Lee arrives at Richmond, Virginia, with eight infantry brigades to recapture Fort Harrison, Virginia. He launches the divisions of generals Robert F. Hoke and Charles Field in a bid to overwhelm the defenders, but the entrenched Federals easily repel four determined charges. Union losses over the past two days top 3,300 while the Confederates lose approximately 2,000.

October 2 Military: President Jefferson Davis appoints General Pierre G. T. Beauregard as commander of the Division of the West to better coordinate the actions of generals John B. Hood and Richard Taylor. In truth, Davis regards “the little Cajun” as meddlesome and seeks to end his interference in the critical Eastern theater of operations, nor is Beauregard able to achieve much in the West. Confederate forces at Saltville, Virginia, including guerrillas under Champ Ferguson and a Tennessee brigade led by General Felix H. Robertson, defeat a detachment of the Fifth U.S. Colored Cavalry and then execute upwards of 100 wounded soldiers. Several of their white officers are also murdered.

October 4 Politics: U.S. Postmaster General William Dennison joins President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet. Societal: Syracuse, New York, is the scene of the “National Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States,” with 144 delegates drawn from 18 states.

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October 5 Military: A division of Confederates under General Samuel O. French, numbering 3,276 men, is tasked with capturing a major Union supply depot at Alltoona Pass, Georgia. That post is defended by 2,025 Union soldiers under the recently arrived General John M. Corse, who counts on both rugged terrain and rapidfire Henry repeating rifles to thwart the enemy. The Southerners attack from the south and west for several hours, but Corse invariably sweeps his antagonists back down the slopes. Union losses are 706 while the Confederates sustain 897. Politics: President Jefferson Davis appears before cheering crowds at Augusta, Georgia, and lauds them with ringing oratory, predicting a complete Confederate victory. “Never before was I so confident that energy, harmony, and determination would rid the country of its enemy,” he declares, “and give the women of the land that peace their good deeds have so well deserved.”

October 6 Journalism: The Richmond Inquirer breaks new ground by printing an essay promoting the use of African-American soldiers for the Confederacy. The idea is gaining greater currency, although President Jefferson Davis is never reconciled to it.

October 7 Military: General Robert E. Lee again determines to recapture Fort Harrison, Virginia, to restore his siege lines outside Richmond. He then orders two overworked divisions under generals Robert F. Hoke and Charles W. Field to drive Union forces from the Darbytown Road. The Confederates encounter stiff opposition from General Alfred H. Terry’s division, X Corps, at Johnson’s Farm. Hoke also makes a tardy appearance and fails to advance, at which point Lee calls off the action. Confederate casualties are 1,350 to a Union tally of 399. The army of General Philip H. Sheridan continues its policy of burning crops and confiscating livestock at Woodstock, Virginia. To date his men have destroyed 2,000 barns, 70 flour mills, driven off 4,000 head of cattle, and killed 3,000 sheep. Sheridan vows that when he is finished the region “will have little in it for man or beast.” Naval: The USS Wachusett under Commander Napoleon Collins decides to attack and capture the Confederate raider CSS Florida at Bahia, Brazil, after learning that Lieutenant Charles M. Morris and most of his crew are ashore. Florida surrenders after a brief struggle, having previously accounted for 37 Union prizes. However, the nature of its seizure, a blatant violation of Brazilian neutrality, results in diplomatic protests.

October 9 Military: Union cavalry brigades under generals George A. Custer and Wesley Merritt engage the Confederate cavalry division of General Thomas L. Rosser at Tom’s Brook, Virginia. As Custer leads 2,500 troopers to confront Rosser’s 3,500 men, he recognizes his adversary as an old West Point roommate and doffs his hat before engaging. Merritt, meanwhile, crashes headlong into opposing troops, routing them while Custer ends up chasing Rosser’s command for 20 miles. This is the biggest triumph of the Union mounted arm over its vaunted adversary and becomes celebrated as the “Woodstock Races.”

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October 11 Politics: The recent round of elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana demonstrate support for President Abraham Lincoln.

October 12 General: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney, head of that body since 1835, dies in Washington, D.C. He wrote the majority opinion for the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857 which reaffirmed the status of African Americans as property, thereby exacerbating sectional tensions.

October 13 Politics: Maryland narrowly approves a new constitution mandating the abolition of slavery. The margin is only 30,174 to 29,799, a 375-vote margin.

October 17 Military: General John B. Gordon and topographical engineer Captain Jedediah Hotchkiss steal upon the Union encampment at Cedar Creek, Virginia, ascend Massanutten Mountain, and closely examine their deployment. They discern that General Horatio G. Wright’s left flank is entirely “in the air” and subject to a sudden flanking attack. This intelligence is immediately relayed to General Jubal A. Early.

October 18 Military: Indomitable General Jubal A. Early, upon learning that General Philip H. Sheridan is absent from his army, plans to attack the Union encampment at Cedar Creek. Acting upon General John B. Gordon’s advice, he sends three divisions along differing paths that ultimately converge behind the exposed VIII Corps of General George Crook, on their left. This march, carried out under extreme secrecy, is one of the most audacious turning movements of the entire war.

October 19 Military: Lieutenant Bennett H. Young and his band of 20 Confederate Kentuckians slip across the Canadian border and attack three banks in St. Albans, Vermont, 15 miles from the border. Two citizens are shot, one fatally. After absconding with $20,000, the Southerners set fire to several buildings and try fleeing back into Canada. As word of their crime spreads, however, a nearby Union officer forms a posse and chases after them. They the catch the raiders on Canadian soil and turn them over to the proper authorities for processing and extradition. At 5:00 a.m., the Battle of Cedar Creek erupts as the Confederate divisions of generals Clement A. Evans, Stephen Ramseur, and John Pegram plunge out of an early morning fog and pitch into the Union camp of General Horatio G. Wright. The Federal VIII and IX Corps, flanked and completely surprised, crumble before the Southern onslaught. Fortunately, General Philip H. Sheridan is returning from his strategy session in Washington, D.C., and encounters refugees as he approaches Cedar Creek. “Little Phil” then spurs his horse for 12 miles and rallies his men for a swift counterattack. The exhausted, disorganized Confederates offer little resistance and bolt from the field after suffering 2,810 casualties. Sheridan’s losses are put at 5,671, but Southern resistance in the strategic Shenandoah Valley is finally broken.

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October 20 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln decrees that the last Wednesday of every November will be celebrated as “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.”

October 22 Naval: Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory writes to President Jefferson Davis, defending his decision to deploy the CSS Tallahassee and Chickamauga as commerce raiders rather then detaining them at Wilmington, North Carolina, as part of the local defenses. “A cruise by the Chickamauga and Tallahassee against the northern coasts and commerce would at once draw a fleet of fast steamers from the blockading squadron off Wilmington in pursuit of them,” he reasons, “and this alone would render such a cruise expedient.”

October 23 Military: The Battle of Westport, Missouri, unfolds as Confederates under General Sterling Price fend off numerous Union forces. General James G. Blunt brushes up against Southern cavalry expertly led by General Joseph O. Shelby and is rebuffed. However, Price cannot spare the reserves to mount a pursuit, for General Alfred Pleasonton looms across Big Blue River, pressing upon his rear. At length General Samuel R. Curtis reinforces Blunt and they force their way across Brush Creek just as Pleasonton is closing in from behind. Price’s army then bolts the field and flees in confusion toward the southwest. Casualties are roughly 1,500 apiece in this, the last major engagement of the Trans-Mississippi region.

October 26 Military: Confederate outlaw William “Bloody Bill” Anderson is killed in a Union ambush at Richmond, Missouri.

October 27 Military: An advance by 43,000 Union troops commences against the South Side Railroad, below Petersburg, Virginia, in the early morning rain. General Geoffrey Weitzel’s main thrust is blunted while an African-American brigade under General John Holman slips around the Southern flank and charges. Holman’s progress is subsequently stymied by stiff resistance offered by General William Mahone’s Southerners, and Weitzel, seeing further gains as impossible, orders his men withdrawn. Union losses are 1,103 to a Confederate tally of 451. Concurrently, an even larger operation unfolds near Hatcher’s Run when the II Corps under General Winfield S. Hancock, the V Corps of General Gouverneur K. Warren, and the IX Corps under General John G. Parke march seven miles southwest of Petersburg through driving rain. Parke’s command encounters heavy resistance from General Cadmus M. Wilcox’s Confederate division and stops. Nightfall closes the engagement at Hatcher’s Run, and the Federals retire in good order back to their lines. Hancock suffers 1,700 casualties whereas Confederate losses are estimated at 1,000. General Ulysses S. Grant subsequently concludes offensive operations and settles into winter quarters. Naval: The imposing Confederate ram CSS Albemarle is sunk by a spar torpedo operated by 21-year-old Lieutenant William B. Cushing on the Roanoke River, North Carolina. Cushing utilized two 30-foot steam launches, each outfitted with a 14-foot-long spar torpedo, and a crew of 15. The Albemarle is fatally damaged

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Chronology of American History and sinks, as does Cushing’s own vessel, and he is forced to swim to shore. Only Cushing and one other member of the expedition make it back safely; the remaining 13 fall captive.

October 28 Military: James G. Blunt’s division surprises and attacks General Sterling Price’s retreating army at Newtonia, Missouri. However, quick reactions by General Joseph O. Shelby and his “Iron Brigade” allow the bulk of Confederate forces to escape to safety.

October 31 Politics: Nevada becomes the nation’s 36th state. Its two Republican-leaning U.S. senators will assist the abolitionist programs of President Abraham Lincoln and the state’s three electoral votes will also support the president’s reelection bid.

November 1 Politics: The new Maryland state constitution, abolishing slavery, is enacted.

November 2 Military: Secretary of State William H. Seward informs the mayor of New York that Confederate agents arriving from Canada are planning a campaign of arson to burn the city down by election day.

November 4 Naval: Artillery under General Nathan B. Forrest attacks and sinks three Union paddle-wheelers on the Tennessee River near Johnsonville, Tennessee. His latest raid disrupts the flow of Union supplies and results in considerable damage; four gunboats, 14 steamers, 17 barges, 33 cannon, 150 captives, and 75,000 tons of supplies ruined. Total losses to the Union exceed $6.7 million.

November 6 Politics: More than 100 Copperheads and Confederate sympathizers are arrested by Colonel Benjamin Sweet in Chicago, Illinois. They are allegedly plotting to seize the polls on election day, stuff the ballots, then burn the city down. None of those apprehended are ever brought to trial.

November 7 Politics: The 2nd Session of the 2nd Confederate Congress convenes in Richmond, Virginia. President Jefferson Davis declares that the Confederacy still desires a negotiated settlement with the North, but only on the basis of independence. Despite the recent fall of Atlanta, Georgia, Davis assures his compatriots, “There are no vital points on the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends.”

November 8 Politics: The Republican ticket of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson decisively wins reelection by 2,330,552 votes to 1,835,985 for Democrat George B. McClellan. This translates into 212 Republican electoral votes to 21 for the Democrats; McClellan carries only New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky. This margin of 55 percent of votes cast is so large that all 81 electoral votes of the seceded states would not have altered the outcome. Moreover, Lincoln receives his highest percentage of support from soldiers and sailors fighting on the front lines.

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November 9 Military: The army of General William T. Sherman organizes itself into two wings under generals Oliver O. Hazard (XV, XVII Corps) and Henry W. Slocum (XIV, XX Corps) prior to marching upon Savannah, Georgia. Sherman then declares that “the army will forage liberally on the country during the march” as he intends to ignore his own lines of communication. All ranks are expected to refrain from destroying private property, if possible, but this proves an even greater application of “total war.” Politics: At a party celebrating his election victory, President Abraham Lincoln implores his countrymen to remain steadfast in their pursuit of final victory and reunite the country under a single banner.

November 13 Military: General Jubal A. Early is ordered back to New Market, Virginia, and from there to dispatch part of his army from the Shenandoah Valley to the defenses of Petersburg. This act concludes his celebrated Valley Campaign of 1864, which involved 1,670 miles of marching and 75 pitched battles of various sizes.

November 14 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln accepts General George B. McClellan’s resignation from the U.S. Army.

November 15 Military: General William T. Sherman departs a thoroughly devastated Atlanta, Georgia, and lumbers toward Savannah and the sea with 62,000 men. Most notoriously, he also embarks on a 60-mile-wide swath of destruction across the state, destroying anything of use to the Confederacy. His unequivocal object is to “make Georgia howl,” and within 21 days Sherman’s “bummers” inflict damage on the South approaching $300 million, leaving a twisted, blackened landscape in their wake.

November 17 Politics: President Jefferson Davis dismisses outright any notion by Georgia state senators that they should conclude a separate peace treaty with the U.S. government.

November 18 Military: President Jefferson Davis instructs General Howell Cobb of Georgia to mobilize the state’s entire militia force to oppose the advance of General William T. Sherman. He then entrusts the whole to the command of General William J. Hardee.

November 19 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln lifts the blockades from Norfolk, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida, declaring them open for business.

November 21 Military: The Army of Tennessee under General John B. Hood advances 31,000 men and 8,000 cavalry from Florence, Alabama, and toward Nashville, Tennessee, to threaten Union lines of communication. However, his timetable has been delayed three weeks by General Nathan B. Forrest’s absence, and during that interval General George H. Thomas enlarges the defenses of Nashville.

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November 25 Indian: Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson leads 200 charging cavalry through a hostile Kiowa encampment near Adobe Walls, Texas. Simultaneously, his Ute and Apache allies steal the warriors’ horses. However, the survivors flee into nearby Comanche lodges with pleas for help, and soon hundreds of angry warriors begin massing to attack the intruders. Carson, suddenly confronted by the largest body of Native Americans he has ever encountered, quickly ducks behind the ruins of Adobe Walls where the fire of two 12-pound mountain howitzers keep the milling warriors at bay. Several hours of long-distance fire ensue before the Americans and their allies escape to the safety of New Mexico in the darkness. Carson suffers two dead and 10 wounded; Indian losses are between 50 and 150, due mainly to cannon fire. Military: Confederate agents dispatched from Canada set fire to 10 New York hotels in an unsuccessful attempt to burn the city down. One Southern perpetrator is caught and eventually hanged.

November 27 Naval: The Union steamer USS Greyhound, then functioning as the floating headquarters of General Benjamin F. Butler, explodes and sinks in the James River, Virginia, with a high-level conference in progress. Fortunately, Butler, General Robert Schenck, and Admiral David D. Porter escape unharmed. This accident is most likely the result of Confederate sabotage, whereby an exploding “coal torpedo” was inadvertently shoveled into the Greyhound’s boiler.

November 29 Indian: Colorado militia under Colonel John M. Chivington attack a peaceful Cheyenne camp at Sand Creek, Colorado. The Indians under Chief Black Kettle had been directed there by military authorities with the understanding that they would be safe. Nonetheless, vengeful militiamen sweep down upon the sleeping camp at dawn with artillery and then charge, killing all they encounter. Black Kettle and up to 149 Cheyenne, including women and children, are cut down and scalped. Militia losses are nine dead and 40 wounded.

November 30 Military: General John M. Schofield arrives at Franklin, Tennessee, with 15,000 men of his IV and XXII Corps, and begins strengthening the city’s defenses. Within hours he is accosted by 23,000 Confederates of General John B. Hood’s Army of Tennessee, approaching from positions south of the town. Hood’s initial charge catches two brigades of General George D. Wagner’s division out in the open, sweeps them aside, and charges directly into Federal trenches beyond. The defenders are obliged to hold their fire until the cheering Southerners are nearly on top of them, then unleash a concentrated fusillade stopping men by the hundreds. Hood’s men, compacted into a dense mass, resist violently but are cut down in droves by rifle and artillery fire on either flank. The Battle of Franklin costs Hood 6,252 men and six generals, including the talented Patrick L. Cleburne, while Union loses total 2,326.

December 5 Naval: In reporting on affairs at sea, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles declares “The blockade of a coastline, greater in extent that the coast of Europe

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from Cape Trafalgar to Cape North, is an undertaking without precedent in history.”

December 6 Military: General George H. Thomas is ordered by General Ulysses S. Grant to attack Confederate forces gathering outside Nashville, Tennessee, and “wait no longer for remount of your cavalry.” Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, in a conciliatory move, appoints Radical Republican and former secretary of the treasury Salmon P. Chase as the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed the recently deceased Roger B. Taney.

December 9 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant, frustrated by the perceived lack of aggressiveness by General George H. Thomas, orders General John M. Schofield to succeed him as theater commander. The directive is subsequently suspended when Thomas informs Grant that his intended attack has been canceled on account of heavy snowfall. The onset of freezing weather may have inconvenienced Thomas, but it causes the poorly clad and sheltered Confederates under General John B. Hood to shiver in their trenches.

December 10 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln appoints General William F. Smith and Henry Stanberry as special commissioners to report on civil and military matters west of the Mississippi River.

December 13 Diplomacy: Charles Coursel, a Montreal police magistrate, declares that he has no authority to detain Lieutenant Bennet Young and his 20 compatriots for their role in the raid on St. Albans, Vermont, and releases them on bond. A diplomatic uproar ensues and Secretary of State William H. Seward notifies British authorities of his intention to nullify the Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817. This measure had previously demilitarized the U.S.–Canadian border along the Great Lakes region after the War of 1812. Naval: An ailing and fatigued Admiral David G. Farragut arrives in New York City onboard the USS Hartford, receiving his second hero’s welcome by its inhabitants.

December 14 Military: The weather near Nashville, Tennessee, has moderated, and General George H. Thomas informs anxious superiors of his intention to attack General John B. Hood’s Confederate camp next day. True to form, he begins methodically and unhurriedly arranging his men for battle.

December 15 Military: The Battle of Nashville commences as General George H. Thomas unleashes the XVI and IV Corps against the Confederate left wing under General Benjamin F. Cheatham. Simultaneously, a large diversionary attack by General James B. Steedman’s African-American troops sustains heavy loss but pins down the Confederate right. All the while General John B. Hood is furiously shifting troops around to support his overextended line but it crumbles under the weight

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Chronology of American History of the Union assault. Hood is badly drubbed and should have withdrawn that evening but he defiantly elects to make another stand.

December 16 Military: The Battle of Nashville resumes as General George H. Thomas, surprised that General John B. Hood’s Confederates have not retreated, renews his drive against their reformed left wing. In the ensuing rout, the Federals capture General Edward Johnson and nearly all of Hood’s artillery. Only the onset of darkness and the timely arrival of General Nathan B. Forrest’s cavalry prevents the Army of Tennessee from completely disintegrating. Hood’s losses total 5,962 while Thomas, the methodical pugilist, loses 3,057.

December 17 Military: President Jefferson Davis glumly informs General William J. Hardee that he cannot reinforce the defenses of Savannah, Georgia, with units drawn from the Army of Northern Virginia.

December 18 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln pleads for an additional 300,000 volunteers to bolster the Union army’s depleted ranks in anticipation of a final, victorious drive.

December 21 Military: Savannah, Georgia, falls to Union forces under General William T. Sherman, thereby completing his 285-mile “March to the Sea.” He telegrams President Abraham Lincoln, “I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and also about 250,000 bales of cotton.”

December 23 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln approves congressional legislation creating the rank of vice admiral; David G. Farragut becomes the first naval officer so honored, and he acquires rank equivalent to that of lieutenant general.

December 24 Naval: The USS Louisiana, packed with explosives and intended to be detonated under the guns of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, accidently ignites 250 yards from its objective. When this fails to appreciably damage the defenses, 60 Union warships under Admiral David G. Farragut begin a concerted bombardment which strikes the fort with 155 shells per minute.

December 25 Military: An attack upon Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, by the Army of the James under General Benjamin F. Butler, transpires. He lands 2,200 men at 2:00 a.m. and advances inland, thinking that the defenders have been silenced. Suddenly, Confederate gunners unleash a torrent of shot and shell that keeps the attackers 50 yards from their objective. Butler is so nonplussed by the stout defense that he summarily cancels the entire operation and withdraws to the fleet offshore.

December 28 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant admits to President Abraham Lincoln that operations against Fort Fisher, North Carolina, are a complete fiasco, and

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he insists that General Benjamin F. Butler be sacked for “Gross and culpable failure.” Societal: Congress enacts a law forbidding racial discrimination in the hiring of letter carriers.

December 30 Military: President Abraham Lincoln, less politically vulnerable since his landslide reelection, relieves General Benjamin F. Butler as commander of the Army of the James. Politics: Maryland politician Francis P. Blair contacts President Jefferson Davis and suggests conferring with him in Richmond, Virginia, as a peace overture to “explain the view I entertain in reference to the state of affairs of our country.”

December 31 Military: Union forces settle comfortably into their siege lines outside of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, being constantly reinforced to a strength of 110,000 men and capably led by General Ulysses S. Grant. By contrast, the once formidable Army of Northern Virginia of General Robert E. Lee withers away through illness, desertion, and combat. His 66,000 gaunt, ragged soldiers remain fierce and devoted but also perish in the cold and mud of trench warfare. The results of Grant’s war-winning strategy—to pin Lee inside his works and weaken him through sheer attrition—is never more apparent.

1865 Arts: Yale University establishes the first department of fine arts under Professor John F. Weir. Business: John Batterson Stetson establishes a hat factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his unique design, the “Stetson” (or “Ten-Gallon Hat”) proves immediately successful throughout the West. Education: The Indiana Agricultural College (Purdue University) is chartered at Lafayette, Indiana. Cornell University is founded at Ithaca, New York, by Erza Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky (University of Kentucky) is founded at Lexington, Kentucky. Journalism: The San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle, edited by William Moss and Michael Harry DeYoung, respectively, begin publishing. Literature: Walt Whitman publishes his celebrated collection of war poems entitled Drum Taps. Mary Mapes Dodge writes Hans Brinker; or, The Silver Skates, soon acknowledged as a children’s classic. Publishing: Historian Francis Parkman continues his series on Canada with Pioneers of France in the New World. Science: Swiss-born Harvard naturalist Louis Agassiz commences a 19-month expedition to Brazil and the Amazon region to study and collect indigenous fishes. Sports: The National Association of Baseball now boasts a total of 91 clubs, proof of that sport’s burgeoning popularity nationwide.

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Chronology of American History John Wesley Hyatt receives a patent and a $10,000 prize for perfecting a composition billiard ball to replace the more expensive ivory ones then in use. Technology: The Fredonia Gas, Light, and Water Works Company of Fredonia, New York, is the first business to sell natural gas for lighting purposes.

January 2 Naval: Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles contacts Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and expresses the dire necessity for capturing and closing Wilmington, North Carolina, “the only port by which any supplies whatever reach the rebels.”

January 3 Military: General Alfred H. Terry receives command of the forthcoming joint expedition against Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. At this stage of the war even General Benjamin F. Butler’s political allies cannot salvage his waning military fortunes.

January 4 Naval: Admiral David D. Porter begins laying out his strategy for the reduction of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. He intends to use a naval brigade, consisting of sailors and U.S. Marines, to hit the fort frontally while army troops work their way around the rear.

January 5 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln authorizes James Singleton to pass through Union lines and enter the Confederacy; his mission is to unofficially encourage peace negotiations.

January 6 Politics: U.S. Representative J. M. Ashley of Ohio renews the political drive to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “If slavery is wrong and criminal, as the great body of Christian men admit,” he declares, “it is certainly our duty to abolish it.” President Jefferson Davis pens a caustic letter to Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and claims that Stephens’ whispering campaign against him is undermining Southern morale. “I assure you that it would be a source of the sincerest pleasure to see you devoting your agenda and animated ability exclusively to upholding the confidence and animating the spirit of the people to unconquerable resistance against their foes,” he lectures.

January 7 Indian: A large body of 1,000 Cheyenne and Sioux warriors, angered over the 1864 Sand Creek massacre, attack the frontier settlement of Julesburg and Valley Station, Colorado Territory. The Indians send a small detachment forward to lure the garrison out, and a party of the 7th Iowa Cavalry under Captain Nicholas J. O’Brien obliges them. Fortunately, the intended ambush miscarries when it is sprung too early, and the troopers scamper back to the fort and safety. The warriors, unable to overcome such strong defenses, subsequently loot and burn nearby settlements.

January 9 Military: General John B. Hood straggles into Tupelo, Mississippi, with remnants of the once-proud Army of Tennessee. President Jefferson Davis intends

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to transfer the bulk of the survivors eastward to contest the advance of General William T. Sherman in the Carolinas. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln dispatches Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to Savannah, Georgia, for discussions with General William T. Sherman. Among the issues raised is Sherman’s alleged mistreatment of African-American refugees. U.S. Representative Moses Odell, a New York Democrat, endorses the proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery, insisting that “The South by rebellion has absolved the Democratic party in the North from all obligation to stand up longer for the defense of its ‘cornerstone.’ ” The Tennessee constitutional convention approves an amendment abolishing slavery and places it up for a popular vote.

January 10 Politics: Heated debate in the U.S. House continues as to a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. Representative Fernando Wood of New York insists its passage negates any chance for peaceful reconciliation with the South.

January 11 Military: Despite freezing weather, 300 Confederate cavalry under General Thomas L. Rosser attack a Union encampment at Beverly, West Virginia. The defenders, comprising detachments from the 8th and 34th Ohio Cavalry, are caught by surprise and overwhelmed before serious resistance is mounted. Rosser secures 583 captives, 100 horses, 600 rifles and—above all—10,000 rations to feed his hungry men. Slavery: The Missouri constitutional convention approves an ordinance abolishing slavery.

January 12 Naval: Admiral David D. Porter arrives off Wilmington, North Carolina, with a fleet of 59 warships and 8,000 men commanded by General Alfred H. Terry. This is the largest Union armada and combined amphibious expedition of the entire war. Politics: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton confers with African-American leaders in Washington, D.C., over how to best assimilate freed slaves into society. Garrison Frazier, the group spokesman, suggests that blacks continue farming the land until they are able to purchase it. And, despite allegations of callous indifference by General William T. Sherman toward “contrabands,” Frazier states “We have confidence in General Sherman, and think that what concerns us could not be in better hands.” Senior Maryland politician Francis P. Blair confers with President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, sounding out possible overtures for peace. To facilitate a possible rapprochement, Blair suggests mounting a joint military expedition against the French in Mexico. Davis dismisses the scheme as quixotic but acquiesces to sending Confederate representatives to confer with President Abraham Lincoln in February.

January 14 Military: Union troops under General Alfred H. Terry land outside Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, and move quickly to prevent Confederate

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Chronology of American History attempts to reinforce the garrison. Nevertheless, 350 soldiers under General H. C. Whiting make it through Union lines, and bring the fort defenders up to 2,000 men. Naval: The armada of Admiral David D. Porter, mounting 627 heavy cannon, begins its reduction of Confederate defenses at Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. Porter moves his ships to within 1,000 yards of the fort and delivers a meticulously aimed fire of 100 shells per minute. Within hours the bulk of Fort Fisher’s armament has been dismounted or made useless.

January 15 Military: General Alfred H. Terry commences an all-out assault on Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, with three brigades commanded by generals Newton M. Curtis, Galusha Pennypacker, and Louis H. Bell. Resistance is fierce and all three Union brigadiers are either killed or wounded in fierce, hand-to-hand fighting lasting eight hours. Terry then commits his final brigade under General Joseph C. Abbott and the defenders are overpowered by 10:00 p.m. Combined Union losses are 1,341 while the Confederates sustain roughly 500 with an additional 1,500 taken. Naval: Admiral David D. Porter orders his ironclad monitors to point-blank range of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, and maintains a withering bombardment of Confederate defenses. Once the fort’s heavy cannon are silenced, the naval brigade goes forward in three desperate charges that are repelled but also distract the defenders from army troops circling from behind. For their role in this significant victory, no less than 35 sailors and marines win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

January 16 Politics: Maryland politician Francis P. Blair conveys a letter from President Jefferson Davis to President Abraham Lincoln, suggesting the commencement of peace talks “between the two nations.” Lincoln, like Davis, dismisses any notion of a joint expedition against Mexico, but agrees to attend a peace conference slated for February. The Confederate Congress, lacking confidence in President Jefferson Davis’s conduct of military affairs, passes a resolution, 14 to 2, to appoint General Robert E. Lee as general in chief, and also to restore General Joseph E. Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee. Slavery: General William T. Sherman issues Special Field Order No. 15 which confiscates land on the Georgia coast for the express purpose of settling AfricanAmerican refugees. He later insists this is nothing but a temporary expedient until the refugees can be resettled inland on a more permanent basis.

January 18 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln hands Francis P. Blair a letter for President Jefferson Davis, demonstrating his willingness to negotiate peace for the inhabitants of “our one common country.”

January 19 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln inquires of General Ulysses S. Grant about the possibility of finding Robert Lincoln, his eldest son, a staff position. Grant subsequently appoints him assistant adjutant general with a rank of captain.

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President Jefferson Davis, intent upon shoring up support for his flagging reputation as a war leader, convinces a reluctant General Robert E. Lee to serve as general in chief of Confederate forces. Lee consents but cautions “I must state that with the addition of immediate command of the army, I do not think I could accomplish any good.”

January 20 Politics: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, recently arrived from Savannah, Georgia, confers with President Abraham Lincoln as to recent conversation he held with General William T. Sherman.

January 21 Military: General William T. Sherman begins relocating his headquarters from Savannah, Georgia, to Beaufort, South Carolina. Over all, his march through the Carolinas has been plagued by heavy rains.

January 22 Naval: Lieutenant John Low, C.S.N., sails the steamer CSS Ajax from Dublin, Ireland, and makes for Nassau, the Bahamas, to receive its armament. However, adroit work by American minister Charles F. Adams dissuades the British from allowing any guns to be shipped there.

January 23 Politics: President Jefferson Davis, reacting to pressure from the Confederate Congress, signs the General in Chief Act which makes General Robert E. Lee supreme military commander.

January 24 Military: Reversing himself, General Ulysses S. Grant now approves of renewed prisoner exchanges. This influx of new Confederate manpower is calculated to exacerbate existing food shortages.

January 27 Politics: President Jefferson Davis begins choosing a commission to conduct informal peace talks as suggested by Francis P. Blair. This ultimately consists of Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, Senate President Robert Hunter, and Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell. They are authorized to discuss political moves to arrange an armistice, although Southern independence must be the ultimate goal.

January 31 Military: General Robert E. Lee is appointed general in chief of Confederate forces in light of continuing dissatisfaction over President Jefferson Davis’s handling of military affairs. Politics: The U.S. House of Representatives finally musters the two-thirds majority vote (119 to 56) and ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery. This legislation was previously passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and is now handed off to the states for ratification.

February 1 Politics: Illinois becomes the first state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which formally abolishes slavery.

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Chronology of American History John Rock, an African-American attorney from Boston, Massachusetts, becomes the first minority lawyer to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon resigns due to office political pressure.

February 2 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln departs Washington, D.C., to meet with Confederate peace commissioners at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Rhode Island and Michigan are the second and third states to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment.

February 3 Politics: President Jefferson Davis dispatches Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, John A. Campbell, and Robert M. T. Hunter to confer with President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward onboard a ship off Hampton Roads, Virginia. The meeting deadlocks since the Southerners insist on independence as a precondition for peace, while Lincoln will only accept their unconditional surrender. Maryland, New York, and West Virginia ratify the Thirteenth Amendment for a total of six states.

February 4 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant orders Union forces to cut off Southern wagon trains near Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, along the Boydton Plank Road. The II Corps under General Andrew A. Humphreys, the V Corps of General Gouvernor K. Warren, and a cavalry under General John M. Gregg draw the assignment. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln returns to Washington, D.C., somewhat distraught that nothing has been accomplished through direct peace negotiations. He then assures General Ulysses S. Grant, “Nothing transpired, or transpiring, with the three gentlemen from Richmond is to cause any change, hindrance, or delay of your military plans or operations.”

February 5 Military: General Gouverneur K. Warren’s V Corps launches a renewed offensive along the Boydton Plank Road near Hatcher’s Run (Dabney’s Mill), Virginia, while General Andrew A. Humphrey’s II Corps likewise occupies the nearby Vaughan Road. The Confederates then launch several strong attacks throughout the course of the day but are repulsed, and Humphreys is reinforced overnight by General David M. Gregg’s cavalry division. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln floats the idea of offering $400 million to slave states if they will surrender by April 1. His cabinet uniformly rejects the suggestion, however, so Lincoln abandons it.

February 6 Military: Heavy fighting resumes along Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, as Confederate forces of General John B. Gordon’s division slam into the exposed V Corps of General Gouverneur K. Warren. In the course of heavy fighting Southern general John Pegram falls in action, but renewed onslaughts by General Clement A. Evans gradually force the Federals off the Boydton Plank Road.

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Politics: In reporting to the Confederate Congress the recent conference held at Hampton Roads, President Jefferson Davis denounces President Abraham Lincoln for insisting upon unqualified submission as the sole basis for peace. He declares this unacceptable and vows that the fight for Southern independence will go on. General and former vice president John C. Breckinridge is appointed the new Confederate secretary of war to replace outgoing James A. Seddon.

February 7 Military: Fighting continues at Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, as Union forces finally and successfully extend their siege lines at a cost of 1,512 casualties. Southern losses are unknown but presumed as heavy. Worse, General Robert E. Lee’s defensive perimeter is now stretched to 37 miles in length just as General Ulysses S. Grant again prepares to shift his forces further leftward. Politics: Maine and Kansas ratify the Thirteenth Amendment; the Delaware legislature fails to muster the necessary two-thirds majority.

February 8 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln signs a U.S. House resolution declaring that 11 states of the soon-to-be defunct Confederacy should not enjoy representation in the electoral college.

February 9 Politics: Upon the recommendation of General Robert E. Lee, now general in chief, President Jefferson Davis enacts a pardon for all Confederate deserters who report back to their units with 30 days. Slavery: Unionists in Virginia ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, outlawing slavery.

February 12 Politics: The Electoral College meets and confirms President Abraham Lincoln’s election victory on a vote of 212 to 21.

February 13 Diplomacy: Lord John Russell informs American diplomats in London of the government’s unease over recent buildups of naval strength along the Great Lakes region, contrary to the 1817 Rush-Bagot Agreement. The British are summarily informed that the buildup is in direct response to the Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont, on October 19, 1864, which was launched from Canada. Politics: Reacting to complaints from west Tennessee politicians, President Abraham Lincoln admonishes military authorities there, insisting that “the object of the war being to restore and maintain blessings of peace and good government, I desire you to help, and not hinder, every advance in that direction.”

February 17 Military: Union forces under General William T. Sherman accept the surrender of Columbia, capital of South Carolina, from city officials. Meanwhile, General Wade Hampton’s cavalry burns enormous stockpiles of cotton bales before departing, sparks from which ignite several uncontrollable fires. Southerners are convinced that the city has been torched on Sherman’s orders and mark it as a defining atrocity of the war.

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Chronology of American History Politics: The U.S. Congress repudiates all debts accrued by various Confederate governments.

February 18 Military: Charleston, South Carolina, is occupied by Union forces under General Alexander Schimmelfenning. For many Federals, the capture of the “fire eater” center of the Confederacy is sweet revenge. Politics: General Robert E. Lee agrees in principle to the notion of arming slaves to fight for Southern independence but feels they must be fighting as free men.

February 20 Politics: The Confederate House of Representatives approves the use of AfricanAmerican slaves as soldiers.

February 21 Military: General Robert E. Lee alerts Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge that, if absolutely necessary, he will abandon Richmond, Virginia, and make all haste for Burkeville to maintain communication with Confederate forces in the Carolinas. He also requests that General Joseph E. Johnston be returned to active duty as the health of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard appears fragile.

February 22 Military: Union forces under General John M. Schofield occupy Wilmington, North Carolina, closing the last remaining port of the Confederacy from the land side. The Federals are now poised to conduct military operations toward the interior of the state and, to facilitate this, Schofield orders all railroad tracks in the vicinity repaired. Slavery: Tennessee voters approve a new state constitution that abolishes slavery while Kentucky legislators reject the Thirteenth Amendment.

February 23 Politics: The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by Minnesota.

February 24 Military: General William T. Sherman vigorously protests to General Wade Hampton the alleged murder of several Union soldiers on a foraging expedition. Hampton replies that his government authorizes him to execute any Federals caught burning private property.

February 25 Military: General Joseph E. Johnston arrives at Charlotte, North Carolina, to resume command of the Army of Tennessee and all Confederate forces extant in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. He now leads a skeleton force of 25,000 ragged, hungry men, observing, “in my opinion, these troops form an army far too weak to cope with Sherman.”

February 27 Military: Generals Philip H. Sheridan and Wesley Merritt take 10,000 cavalry down the Shenandoah Valley toward Lynchburg, Virginia, intending to sever the Virginia Central Railroad and the James River Canal. They command the 1st Cavalry division of General Thomas C. Devlin and the 3rd Cavalry Division of General George A. Custer.

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March 1 Politics: The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by Wisconsin but rejected by New Jersey.

March 2 Military: The 3rd Cavalry Division of General George A. Custer clatters up to Waynesboro, Virginia, where it observes 2,000 Confederates under General Gabriel C. Wharton’s division drawn up on a ridge line, supported by a few hundred cavalry under General Thomas L. Rosser. Custer quickly perceives that Wharton lacks the manpower to cover both his flanks and dispatches three dismounted regiments to encircle the Confederate left. He sounds the advance and his flankers burst through the woods on Wharton’s flank and then leads his two remaining brigades on a thunderous charge through the Confederate center. The Southerners simply dissolve under the onslaught and General Jubal A. Early and his staff flee from the field. Custer takes 1,600 prisoners, 17 flags, 11 cannon, and 200 wagons for a loss of nine dead and wounded.

March 3 Business: To better regulate finances, the U.S. Congress levies a 10 percent tax on state bank notes to drive them out of circulation. These are then replaced by bank notes drawn from institutions belonging to the national banking system. It is a move calculated to improve centralized financing for the war effort. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, acting through Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, instructs General Ulysses S. Grant to ignore any of General Robert E. Lee’s intimations toward peace unless he surrenders first. Slavery: Congress institutes the Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees (Freedmen’s Bureau) to assist former African-American slaves to find work and education and obtain land. This, in effect, constitutes the nation’s first social welfare agency and is tasked with helping 4 million liberated slaves adjust to freedom.

March 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term in Washington, D.C. Despite the carnage and acrimony of the past four years he strikes a conciliatory tone with his adversaries. “With malice towards none; with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in,” he declares, “to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” In contrast to Lincoln’s stunning eloquence, newly elected Vice President Andrew Johnson delivers a rambling, incoherent speech that offends many in the audience. Tennessee Unionist William G. Brownlow is elected governor to replace Andrew Johnson.

March 5 Politics: Comptroller of Currency Hugh McCulloch is appointed Secretary of the Treasury, replacing William Fessenden, who resigned after winning a seat as U.S. Senator from Maine.

March 6 Military: The 600-man expedition of General John Newton encounters Confederate resistance under General William Miller at Natural Bridge, Florida. The

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Chronology of American History Federals make repeated attempts to outflank them but find Southern defenses too strong to storm. Miller is also reinforced to a strength of 1,000 men, so Newton falls back and entrenches on an open pine barren. This minor Confederate victory prevents the state capital at Tallahassee from being attacked.

March 7 Politics: Admiral David D. Porter testifies before Congress, proffering some salty commentary as to the leadership abilities of generals Benjamin F. Butler and Nathaniel P. Banks.

March 8 Slavery: The Confederate Congress authorizes African-American slaves to bear arms for military service on a vote of nine to eight.

March 9 Military: General Robert E. Lee warns Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge about endemic supply shortages and “Unless the men and animals can be subsisted, the army cannot be kept together, and our present lines must be abandoned.” The Battle of Kinston, North Carolina, unfolds as General Braxton Bragg attacks soldiers of General Jacob D. Cox’s XXII Corps. He does so by dispatching General Robert F. Hoke’s division on a flank attack that dislodges Federals under General Samuel P. Carter, while General Daniel H. Hill undertakes a similar move against the Union right. However, neither commander can dislodge a second Union line commanded by General Thomas H. Ruger and the Southern offensive stumbles. Bragg then orders his men across the Neuse River and back into Kinston. Union loses are 1,257 while the Confederates suffer only 134. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln accepts the resignation of John P. Usher as secretary of the interior and appoints Assistant William Otto to succeed him. Vermont ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment.

March 10 Military: Covered by an early morning fog, Confederate cavalry led by generals Wade Hampton and Joseph Wheeler successfully attacks sleeping cavalry of General Hugh J. Kilpatrick at Monroe’s Crossroads, North Carolina. Kilpatrick, surprised and clad only in his undershirt, narrowly evades capture as the Southerners under General Matthew Butler gallop through his camp, sweeping up all in their path. The Federals gradually rally and recapture their bivouac, and Hampton withdraws in good order back to Fayetteville. Kilpatrick insists that his losses are no greater than 190, while killing 80 Confederates and taking 30 prisoner. The affair becomes popularly known on both sides as the “Battle of Kilpatrick’s Pants.”

March 11 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln declares an amnesty for all army and navy deserters returning to their units within two months. Failure to do so results in a loss of citizenship.

March 13 Politics: Desperate to secure additional manpower, President Jefferson Davis reluctantly signs the “Negro Soldier Law” allowing slaves to serve in the Confed-

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erate army. The legislation implies that individuals who serve may be manumitted at a later date with the permission of their owner and state legislatures. Had such pragmatic measures been approved earlier the men might have mitigated continual Confederate personnel shortages and wielded a positive impact on the Southern war effort.

March 14 Diplomacy: Despite Southern overtures toward emancipation, Lord Palmerston declares to Confederate envoys James M. Mason and Duncan F. Kenner that English diplomatic recognition is now a closed issue, especially seeing that the war, in all likelihood, will terminate in a Union victory very shortly.

March 15 Military: General William T. Sherman orders his army out of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and toward Goldsborough. Meanwhile, Union cavalry under General Hugh J. Kilpatrick advances to Averasboro and headlong into General William J. Hardee’s division of 6,000 men, strongly posted with a swamp on their right and the Black River to their left. Kilpatrick backs off until additional Federal forces can come up.

March 16 Military: The Battle of Averasboro erupts as General Hugh J. Kilpatrick’s pushes the 8th Indiana Cavalry forward. These push back skirmishers from Colonel Alfred Rhet’s brigade but then are stopped cold by the main Confederate body under General Lafayette McLaws. All four divisions of the Union XX Corps under General Henry W. Slocum then deploy on the field and drive the Southerners back into their fieldworks. Fighting continues as the Union troops attempt to flank McLaws with scant success and the battle unwinds by nightfall. General William J. Hardee subsequently orders the Confederates to fall back upon Smithville, which they accomplish without incident.

March 17 Military: General Edward R. S. Canby begins his drive toward Mobile, Alabama, with 32,000 men of the XVI and XII Corps; his opponent, General Dabney H. Maury, only musters 2,000 rank and file. Canby intends to catch the city in a pincer, with one column under General Frederick Steele proceeding out of Pensacola to the east as he leads another force from the west along the shore of Mobile Bay. However, progress is slow owing to the muddy condition of the roads they must pass over, and corduroy has to be laid to allow the passage of heavy artillery. Politics: The 2nd Session, 2nd Confederate Congress adjourns, although in a pique over President Jefferson Davis’s insinuation of obstructionism.

March 19 Military: The Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, commences as General Henry W. Slocum orders General William P. Carlin’s division, XX Corps, down the Goldsborough Road toward Cole’s Plantation. En route he encounters large numbers of heavily entrenched Confederates and halts. Desperate fighting breaks out along the line as hard-charging Southerners fail to break through Union lines. The conflict winds down with nightfall as both sides bring up additional reinforcements.

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March 20 Military: The right wing of General William T. Sherman’s army under General Oliver O. Howard marches toward Bentonville, North Carolina, to reinforce the left wing under General Henry W. Slocum. His arrival boosts Union numbers to 60,000—three times the size of his Southern opponent. Confederates under General Joseph E. Johnston, meanwhile, continue strengthening their fortifications and are especially eager to protect Mill Creek Bridge, their only escape route, from being seized.

March 21 Military: The Battle of Bentonville resumes as General William T. Sherman dispatches General Joseph A. Mower’s division to turn the Confederate left and rear while the main Union force demonstrates to their front. Mower makes surprisingly good progress and nearly reaches Mill Creek Bridge before being violently assailed on both flanks and driven back. However, General Joseph E. Johnston simply lacks the manpower to follow up his success and he orders the army to withdraw northwest toward Smithville. Bentonville is the last conventional clash of the Civil War and both sides perform admirably. Union casualties are 1,646 to a Confederate tally of 2,606.

March 22 Military: General James H. Wilson, at the head of 13,500 Union cavalry, crosses the Tennessee River from Gravelly Springs, Tennessee, and gallops into northern Alabama. His objective is to seize the Confederate munitions center at Selma and commands the divisions of generals Edward M. Cook, Eli Long, and Emory Upton; this is also the largest cavalry force ever fielded in American military history. Wilson, determined to confuse the defenders while en route, divides his command into three columns and takes three separate but mutually supporting routes.

March 23 Military: The combined forces of generals William T. Sherman and John M. Schofield, numbering in excess of 100,000 men, unite at Goldsborough, North Carolina. Thus far Sherman has covered 425 miles from Savannah, Georgia, in only 50 days and with no major mishap. It is a logistical and organizational triumph that far exceeds his better known “March to the Sea” in complexity and difficulty. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad depart Washington, D.C., for City Point, Virginia, outside Petersburg, to confer with General Ulysses S. Grant.

March 24 Military: General Robert E. Lee, in light of his slowly eroding defenses in and around Petersburg, Virginia, conceives his final tactical offensive of the war. He orders General John B. Gordon to take elements of several Confederate corps and seize a portion of nearby Union lines. A breakthough would undoubtedly force General Ulysses S. Grant to concentrate his forces near the break, thereby allowing the Army of Virginia to slip out of Petersburg and join General Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, prior to meeting with General Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman at City Point.

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March 25 Military: At 4:00 p.m., the Battle of Fort Stedman, Virginia, begins as Confederate pioneer companies silence outlying Union pickets and remove their abatis (defensive obstacles). Then General John B. Gordon launches 11,000 Southerners into Union trenches near Fort Stedman, surprising the defenders and capturing the fort and Batteries X, XI, and XII. However, General John Hartranft leads 4,000 men back to the trenches, recaptures Fort Stedman, and forces Gordon’s veterans back. Lacking the manpower necessary to contest the Union advance, the Confederates fall back in disorder, losing 3,500 men, including 1,500 prisoners. Union casualties amount to 1,044; Lee now has little recourse but to prepare for the abandonment of Petersburg. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln arrives at City Point, Virginia, and meets with General Ulysses S. Grant.

March 28 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln, generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, and Admiral David D. Porter confer on the steamship River Queen to discuss postwar policy toward their former adversaries. Lincoln, fearful of continuing guerrilla activity, instructs them to offer generous terms to the vanquished in order to bring them back into the fold quickly.

March 31 Military: Union forces under General Philip H. Sheridan continue turning the Confederate right flank at Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia. He is suddenly assailed in the left flank by General George E. Pickett’s division and violently shoved back, but Pickett, cognizant of how dangerously thin his force is stretched, withdraws to Five Forks under cover of darkness. Moreover, General Robert E. Lee fears for the precariousness of his perimeter and explicitly instructs Pickett to “Hold Five Forks at all hazards.”

April 1 Military: The Battle of Five Forks, Virginia, begins as General Philip H. Sheridan orders cavalry under generals George A. Custer and Thomas C. Devlin to slash at the Confederate right flank while his remaining forces engage and pin them frontally. Inexplicably, Confederate generals George E. Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee are absent as the struggle develops, being at a fish bake several miles to the rear. Sheridan then orders his cavalry to charge the entire Confederate line and it buckles and breaks. Victory at Five Forks cost the Union 986 casualties while the Confederates lost 4,400 men in addition to 11 flags and four cannon. Worse still, General Robert E. Lee has no recourse but to abandon Richmond to save his army from encirclement. Union cavalry under generals Eli Long and Emory Upton press 1,500 Confederate cavalry under General Nathan B. Forrest at Ebenezer Church, Alabama, where he awaits the arrival of General James R. Chalmer’s division. At 4:00 p. m., the first Union wave under Long gallops forward, crashes into the Confederate center, and is repulsed. Another part of Upton’s men hit Forrest’s center-left, held by Alabama militia, and they bolt and collapse the entire line. Federal losses amount to 12 dead and 40 wounded to a Confederate tally of 300, mostly captured.

April 2 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant decisively orders an all-out assault on Confederate defenses ringing Petersburg, Virginia. At 4:30 a. m. General Horatio G.

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Chronology of American History Wright’s VI Corps storms the Southern right at Fort Fisher, as far as Hatcher’s Run, and fatally ruptures General Robert E. Lee’s line. The XXIV Corps also charges down Boydton Plank Road, routing the defenders while redoubtable General Ambrose P. Hill dies rallying his men. General Robert E. Lee orders the immediate evacuation of Petersburg, Virginia, and advises President Jefferson Davis to relocate the seat of Confederate government far from Richmond. Thus the siege of Petersburg, which commenced on June 15, 1864, successfully terminates with Union losses of 5,100 killed, 24,800 wounded, and 17,500 captured; Confederate losses over this same period are variously estimated at between 28,000 and 38,000. General James H. Wilson arrives before Selma, Alabama, a heavily fortified city guarded by 5,000 men under General Nathan B. Forrest. Wilson immediately dispatches General Eli Long’s division to attack the Confederate right while dismounted; the troopers cross 600 yards of open space, taking heavy losses. Wilson then decides the issue with a thundering charge down the Selma Road which finally scatters the defenders. Forrest’s losses are 2,700 captured and 102 cannon seized; Union casualties are 46 dead, 300 wounded, and 13 missing. Politics: As Confederate defenses around Richmond, Virginia, collapse, a greatly relieved President Abraham Lincoln telegraphs General Ulysses S. Grant, “Allow me to tender to you, and all with you, the nation’s grateful thanks for this additional and magnificent success.”

April 3 Military: Union forces under General Godfrey Weitzel, commanding the largely African-American XXV Corps, prepares to occupy Richmond, Virginia. At 5:30 a.m., he sends forward an advance party under Major Atherton H. Stevens, which is received by civil authorities at city hall. Richmond then formally capitulates to Union forces, who promptly raise the Stars and Stripes over the state capitol. President Abraham Lincoln, visiting General Ulysses S Grant in Petersburg, happily declares “Thank God I have lived to see this. It seems to me that I have been dreaming a horrid dream for four years, and now the nightmare is gone.” Politics: President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet arrive by special train in Danville, Virginia.

April 4 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln ventures up the James River to Richmond, Virginia, aboard the USS Malvern. Once ashore he is escorted by Admiral David D. Porter and 10 sailors to the Confederate White House, all the while being greeted by throngs of former African-American slaves. Many of these reach out and touch Lincoln’s person to convince themselves that he is not an apparition. President Jefferson Davis, pausing momentarily at Danville, Virginia, calls on fellow Southerners not to lose hope for ultimate victory is certain from “our own unquenchable resolve.”

April 5 Military: General Robert E. Lee, preparing to depart Amelia Court House, Virginia, is now joined by the troops of General Richard S. Ewell, bringing his strength up to 58,000. Lee then determines to attack Union forces under generals Philip H. Sheridan and George G. Meade directly in their path at Jetersville and cut themselves free. Three divisions under General James Longstreet are readied to march,

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but Lee cancels the move and instead opts for a night march around the Union left flank, followed by a quick dash to Farmville where promised supplies should be waiting. Federal forces continue milling around their fortifications until 10:30 p.m. when General Ulysses S. Grant arrives to personally supervise the pursuit. Politics: As President Abraham Lincoln delights sitting in Jefferson Davis’s chair, he is approached by Confederate Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell, himself a former U.S. Supreme Court justice, who requests that the president help maintain the rule of law in Virginia. Secretary of State William H. Seward is severely injured in a carriage accident in Washington, D.C.

April 6 Military: The Battle of Sayler’s Creek unfolds as the Army of the Northern Virginia, retreating from Amelia Court House to Farmsville, Virginia, inadvertently separates into three parts. Closely pursuing Union forces are thus able to exploit gaps between the commands of generals Richard S. Ewell, Richard H. Anderson, and John B. Gordon with disastrous effect. The Southerners initially repulse the Union advance as they pour over the flooded Sayler’s Creek, but the division of General George W. Getty effectively flanks the defenders. Ewell’s entire line is then promptly double-enveloped and surrenders 3,400 prisoners. A similar drama develops to Ewell’s right-rear, where a Union cavalry division under General Wesley Merritt attacks General Richard H. Anderson’s corps. Here the weak formations of generals George E. Pickett and Bushrod Johnson dissolve in the face of a mounted charge by General George A. Custer. As Southern defenses buckle, Anderson’s survivors flee into the woods and Federal troops round up another 2,600 captives, 300 wagons, and 15 cannon. The final act to play occurs on the Confederate left where 17,000 men of General Andrew A. Humphrey’s II Corps engages General John B. Gordon’s rear guard, numbering only 7,000. Gordon is presently protecting a Southern wagon train bogged down in the mud and Humphrey quickly sends a strong column around his left. Gordon quickly abandons the field to save his command, although an additional 1,700 men are taken prisoner. Sayler’s Creek proves a black day for the Army of Northern Virginia, which loses 7,700 men and eight generals—one-fifth of its entire strength. Union losses amount only to 166 killed and 982 wounded. This also represents one of the largest numbers of Americans captured in battle until Bataan, 1942.

April 7 Diplomacy: The U.S. government, having lost millions of dollars in shipping to the English-built CSS Alabama and other raiders, begins a lengthy litigation process seeking restitution. Politics: An anxious President Abraham Lincoln, upon hearing that General Robert E. Lee might capitulate if cornered, implores General Ulysses S. Grant to “Let the thing be pressed.” Tennessee ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment while William G. Brownlow, an unabashed Unionist, is inaugurated as governor.

April 8 Military: Rather than surrender, General Robert E. Lee seeks to break through Union cavalry under General Philip H. Sheridan blocking his path at Appomattox

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Chronology of American History Court House. At a council of war held late that night, Lee and his generals agree to attack Sheridan in the morning then press onto Lynchburg.

April 9 Military: Palm Sunday. General Robert E. Lee directs generals John B. Gordon and Fitzhugh Lee to attack General Philip H. Sheridan’s forces at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The Federal troopers are gradually dislodged from their position when Lee discerns Union General Edward O. C. Ord’s entire Army of the James drawn up in battle formation behind them. He finally acknowledges the futility of fighting further and parleys with Union authorities to discuss surrender terms. At 1:30 p.m., General Robert E. Lee, accompanied only by his secretary, meets with General Ulysses S. Grant and formally surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The terms proffered by Grant are generous, whereby all of Lee’s 30,000 survivors are paroled and allowed to go home, officers are permitted to retain sidearms, and all horses and mules remain with their rightful owners. In a kindly gesture, Union forces issue 25,000 rations to the half-starved Confederates. The harsh and bloody Civil War, the most costly conflict in American history, reaches its humane and dignified denouement. Fort Blakely, Mobile, Alabama, is besieged by 45,000 Federal troops once General Frederick Steele is joined by the main force under General Edward R. S. Canby. An assault force of 16,000 then attacks the Confederate defenses at noon, covered by the fire of 37 field pieces and 75 siege guns. Their success prompts General St. John R. Liddell to surrender after 20 minutes of fighting. Union losses

This painting depicts the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his army at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia, to General Ulysses S. Grant (Library of Congress)

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are 113 killed and 516 wounded while the Southerners incur 629 casualties and 3,423 men and 40 cannon captured.

April 10 Military: General Robert E. Lee issues Order No. 9 and thanks the men and officers of the Army of Northern Virginia, who had served him famously over the past three years, in victory and now defeat. “With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country,” Lee writes, “and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell.” Politics: President Abraham Lincoln is accosted by happy crowds in Washington, D.C., and then asks a military band to strike up Dixie, “one of the best tunes I have ever heard.” President Jefferson Davis, upon learning of General Robert E. Lee’s capitulation, hastily departs Danville, Virginia, and makes for Greensborough, North Carolina. News of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender sparks wild celebrations in northern cities.

April 11 Politics: President Abraham Lincoln delivers his final public address to enthusiastic crowds gathered about the White House. He again pleas for magnanimity and peaceful reconciliation with the inhabitants of former secessionist states.

April 12 Military: The vaunted Army of Northern Virginia formally capitulates at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, to General Joshua L. Chamberlain. As General John B. Gordon leads a column of weather-beaten 28,000 Southerners along the Richmond Stage Road, completely lined by Union forces, Chamberlain orders his men to present arms to the solemn procession. The salute is returned in kind. Politics: President Jefferson Davis, readying to flee Greensborough, North Carolina, confers with General Joseph E. Johnston about the potential surrender of remaining Confederate forces. He then authorizes Johnston to meet with Union authorities and get the best terms possible.

April 13 Politics: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton orders the military draft suspended and also reduces supply requisitions.

April 14 Military: General Robert Anderson hoists the American flag over the battered remnants of Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, South Carolina. It is the identical standard lowered by him on April 14, 1861. Politics: In his final cabinet meeting, President Abraham Lincoln reiterates his call for reconciliation with the South, and then repairs to Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., to attend the play “Our American Cousin.” At 10:15 p.m., Lincoln is suddenly shot by actor John Wilkes Booth, who then escapes. Meanwhile, Secretary of State William H. Seward, recovering in his home from a recent accident,

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Chronology of American History survives an assassination attempt by Lewis Powell. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton declares martial law throughout the District of Columbia and initiates a massive dragnet to snare the assassins.

April 15 Arts: In recognition of President Abraham Lincoln’s death, all theaters in New York City close for the next ten days. Politics: President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m., leaving Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to reputedly declare “Now, he belongs to the ages.” Vice President Andrew Johnson is then sworn in as the nation’s 17th chief executive by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase; Johnson’s first request is to ask members of Lincoln’s cabinet to retain their offices. President Jefferson Davis departs Greensborough, North Carolina, on horseback and rides all night towards Lexington.

April 16 Military: General James H. Wilson’s army occupies Columbus, Georgia, after brushing aside a hodgepodge collection of Confederates and militia, taking 1,200 captives and 52 cannon. The victorious troopers then commence burning several factories, 100,000 bales of cotton, 15 locomotives, and 200 rail cars. Another column under General Edward M. McCook seizes West Point, destroying an additional 19 locomotives and numerous railcars.

April 17 Politics: John Wilkes Booth, who broke his leg after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, hides near Port Tobacco, Maryland, where he awaits transportation over the Potomac River to freedom. The body of President Abraham Lincoln lies in state in the East Room of the White House, Washington, D.C. President Jefferson Davis and his entourage arrive at Salisbury, North Carolina.

April 18 Military: Confederate forces under General Joseph E. Johnston agree to surrender 37,000 men to General William T. Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina. However, terms of their “Memorandum or Basis of Agreement” will be viewed in Washington, D.C., as overly generous and disavowed. Sherman will also be accused of overstepping his authority and ordered to renegotiate the pact with identical terms used at Appomattox.

April 19 Politics: Funeral services are held for President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., and huge crowds throng the proceedings. President Jefferson Davis and his remaining cabinet flee to Charlotte, North Carolina.

April 20 Politics: Arkansas ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment.

April 21 General: A train bearing the casket of President Abraham Lincoln departs Washington, D.C., for Springfield, Illinois, as immense crowds of mourners gather along the tracks en route.

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April 22 Crime: John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David E. Herold escape in a small rowboat from Maryland to Virginia.

April 24 Crime: Presidential assassins John Wilkes Booth and David E. Herold make their way to Port Conway, Virginia. Politics: President Andrew Johnson formally rejects the surrender agreement reached between generals William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston. He then dispatches General Ulysses S. Grant to Raleigh, North Carolina, to personally inform Sherman of his displeasure.

April 25 Crime: Union troops chase assassins John Wilkes Booth and David E. Herold to Bowling Green, Virginia, just south of the Rappahannock River. The two fugitives seek refuge in the barn belonging to farmer Richard H. Garrett.

April 26 Crime: John Wilkes Booth is cornered in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia, while attempting to escape from Federal troops and dies of his wounds. His accomplice, David E. Herold, is apprehended. Military: Generals Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman meet again at Durham Station, North Carolina, and renegotiate a surrender agreement with identical terms to those offered at Appomattox, Virginia. Politics: President Jefferson Davis departs Charlotte, North Carolina, and heads for the Trans-Mississippi region, intending to carry on a guerrilla struggle for Southern independence.

April 27 General: At 2:00 a.m., boilers on the steamer Sultana explode with a deafening roar, hurling crew and passengers alike into the frigid waters of the Mississippi River. By the time help finally arrives from Memphis, Tennessee, two hours later, more than 1,700 people have perished from burns and hypothermia. Only 600 are fished from the waters alive. Sultana remains the single biggest maritime disaster in United States maritime history and eclipses the more famous Titanic disaster 47 years hence.

April 28 Politics: The train bearing President Abraham Lincoln’s casket pauses briefly at Cleveland, Ohio, where 50,000 citizens come to pay their final respects. President Jefferson Davis accepts the resignation of Confederate Secretary of the Treasury George A. Trentholm from his cabinet.

April 29 Politics: President Andrew Johnson issues an executive order lifting commercial restrictions against all Southern states except Texas, still technically at war with the United States. President Jefferson Davis and his entourage reach Yorksville, South Carolina.

April 30 Military: General Edward R. S. Canby holds preliminary talks with General Richard Taylor at Mobile, Alabama, as to the latter’s forthcoming capitulation.

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Chronology of American History Afterward, Taylor returns to his headquarters at Meridian, Mississippi, and makes preparations.

May 1 Politics: President Andrew Johnson calls for a board of nine army officers to try the eight individuals accused of participating in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. President Jefferson Davis reaches Cokesbury, South Carolina, en route to the Florida coast. There they hope to catch a fast vessel and make for Texas.

May 2 Politics: President Andrew Johnson accuses a fugitive Jefferson Davis of complicity in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and offers $100,000 for his capture. President Jefferson Davis arrives at Abbeville, South Carolina, and heads for Washington, Georgia, escorted by four brigades of cavalry under General Basil W. Duke. Members of his cabinet begin disputing his intention of renewing their struggle through guerrilla warfare. Confederate Secretary of Navy Stephen R. Mallory tenders his resignation to President Jefferson Davis at Washington, Georgia. Societal: The New York legislature authorizes the first paid fire department in New York City.

May 3 Politics: The funeral train bearing the remains of President Abraham Lincoln pulls into Springfield, Illinois, its final stop. Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin resigns from President Jefferson Davis’s cabinet and eventually flees to England.

May 4 Military: General Richard Taylor formally surrenders all Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River to General Edward R. S. Canby at Citronelle, Alabama. He receives the identical terms proffered to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox and is also allowed to employ steamships to send his men home. Politics: Abraham Lincoln is laid to his final rest at Springfield, Illinois.

May 5 Crime: The nation’s first train heist occurs when an engine belonging to the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad is stopped and robbed at North Bend, Ohio. Politics: Connecticut ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. President Jefferson Davis and his dwindling coterie arrive at Sandersville, Georgia.

May 6 Politics: President Andrew Johnson appoints General David Hunter to head the military commission tasked with trying those implicated in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The accused are prosecuted by Joseph Holt, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army.

May 9 Crime: The trial of eight suspected conspirators begins in Washington, D.C. Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares the naval blockade will remain in place for two more weeks to impede any escape by fugitive Confederate leaders.

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Francis H. Pierpont receives official recognition as governor of Virginia; previously he headed Unionist Virginians in the Union-controlled portion of the state. President Jefferson Davis is re united with his wife Varina at Dublin, Georgia.

May 10 Military: Dreaded Confederate guerrilla William C. Quantrill is mortally wounded and captured in a Union ambush near Taylorville, Kentucky. He dies in prison shortly afterward. Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares armed resistance “virtually at an end” although sporadic skirmishes persist in rural parts of the South. President Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina are captured near Abbeville, Georgia, by men of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Pritchard—part of General James H. Wilson’s command. His arrest signals the end of Confederate government.

May 12 Societal: President Andrew Johnson appoints General Oliver O. Howard to head the new Freedmen’s Bureau.

May 13 Military: Colonel Theodore H. Barrett arrives in Texas to take command of Union troops under Colonel David Branson and leads them into combat at Palmetto Ranch. They engage a force of Confederate cavalry under Colonel John S. Ford, who deftly outflanks the overconfident Federals. Barrett promptly falls back, pursued by the Southerners, who chase him for 17 miles. Union losses are estimated at 130 killed, wounded, and captured; the Confederates are thought to have suffered far less. Palmetto Ranch is the last pitched Civil War encounter west of the Mississippi River.

May 16 Politics: President Jefferson Davis, his family, and several ranking Confederate officials are placed on steamers and sent down the Savannah River, Georgia, and call at Port Royal, South Carolina.

May 22 Politics: President Andrew Johnson opens all Southern seaports as of July 1 with the exception of four harbors in Texas: Galveston, La Salle, Brazos Santiago, and Brownsville. President Jefferson Davis arrives in chains at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and will remain confined there until May 13, 1867.

May 23 Military: The Grand Army of the Republic parades in a mass review at Washington, D.C., and flags are permitted to fly at full mast for the first time in four years. Sadly, not one of the 166 African-American regiments raised during the war is present during the festivities. The army of General William T. Sherman, sporting a much looser appearance than the spit-and-polish Army of the Potomac, victoriously tramps its way through Washington, D.C. Moreover, Sherman still seethes over his contretemps with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and the surrender terms imposed on General Joseph E. Johnston, so he refuses to shake Stanton’s hand.

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Chronology of American History Politics: The Piedmont government, a collection of Unionist politicians from Virginia, formally occupies the state capital at Richmond.

May 26 Military: General Simon B. Buckner, representing General Edmund Kirby-Smith, surrenders to General Edward R. S. Canby’s deputy General Peter J. Osterhaus at New Orleans, Louisiana. This completely dissolves all remaining Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River. General Joseph O. Shelby, however, angrily spurs 1,000 followers southward into Mexico to help found a military colony.

May 27 Politics: President Andrew Johnson empties the prisons of almost all Southerners still incarcerated by the military.

May 29 Diplomacy: In a detailed letter, American minister Charles F. Adams outlines to British foreign minister Lord John Russell that British-built Confederate warships are responsible for the destruction of 110,000 tons of American shipping—and compensation is in order. The damage wrought proves so extensive that the United States forfeits its prior status as the world’s largest maritime carrier. Politics: President Andrew Johnson proclaims an amnesty and pardon agreement to any former Confederates submitting to a loyalty oath. He also extends recognition to four new state governments established by his predecessor, along with plans for readmitting Southern states back into the Union. Johnson’s continuation of moderate reconstruction or, as he deems it, Restoration, spells trouble at the hands of Radical Republicans who are intent on exacting a measure of revenge for the erstwhile rebels. William H. Holden gains appointment as provisional governor of North Carolina.

June 2 Diplomacy: The government of Great Britain officially rescinds belligerent status from the Confederate States of America. Military: General Edmund Kirby-Smith formally surrenders Confederate forces at Galveston, Texas, to General Edmund J. Davis. The articles of capitulation are signed aboard the USS Fort Jackson. Politics: President Andrew Johnson pardons Lambdin P. Milligan, a notorious “Copperhead” agitator, from hanging.

June 6 Politics: President Andrew Johnson orders all remaining Confederate prisoners of war released after they take a loyalty oath. Voters in Missouri approve a new constitution abolishing slavery.

June 13 Politics: President Andrew Johnson appoints William L. Sharkey as provisional governor of Mississippi, continuing his policy of reestablishing civilian authority as quickly as possible.

June 17 Politics: President Andrew Johnson appoints James Johnson and Andrew J. Hamilton as provisional governors of Georgia and Texas, respectively.

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June 21 Politics: President Andrew Johnson appoints Lewis E. Parsons to serve as provisional governor of Alabama.

June 22 Naval: Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah under Lieutenant James I. Waddell fires the last shots of the Civil War while capturing six Union whalers in the Bering Sea. Waddell hears rumors that the war has ended from his captives but disbelieves them.

June 23 Indian: General Stand Watie surrenders his Confederate Cherokee at Doaksville, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). He is the last ranking Confederate officer to lay down his arms. Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares the Union naval blockade of all Southern states officially ended.

June 24 Politics: President Andrew Johnson lifts all commercial restrictions from states and territories west of the Mississippi River.

June 30 Crime: A military commission finds all eight conspirators charged with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln guilty. David E. Herold, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, and Mary E. Surratt are sentenced to hang while Dr. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O’Laughlin receive life sentences. Edward Spangler receives six years in prison.

July Journalism: Edwin Lawrence Godkin founds The Nation in New York City, a weekly publication concerned with politics and the arts.

July 1 Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares all Southern ports now open to foreign commerce and shipping. New Hampshire ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment.

July 7 Crime: Four individuals found guilty of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln go to the gallows in Washington, D.C. Four others are slated to serve their sentences on the Dry Tortugas Islands, Florida.

July 13 Politics: President Andrew Johnson appoints William Marvin provisional governor of Florida.

July 19 Politics: Governor Madison J. Wells implores the inhabitants of Louisiana to take the oath of allegiance or lose their right to vote.

August 2 Naval: Lieutenant James I. Waddell of the CSS Shenandoah learns from the British vessel Barracouta that the Civil War has ended in a complete Union victory. Fearing that he and his crew will be charged with piracy, and ignoring protests from many sailors, Waddell orders the vessel to make way for England.

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August 21 Politics: The Mississippi state legislature negates its secessionist ordinance and also abolishes slavery.

August 28 Naval: Admiral David D. Porter is appointed the sixth superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, and he orchestrates its transfer back to Annapolis, Maryland, from Newport, Rhode Island. Porter serves four years there, rising to vice admiral.

September 1 Education: Former general Robert E. Lee becomes president of Washington College, Virginia.

September 4 Journalism: A heated editorial in the New York Times calls for Jefferson Davis’s trial so as to demonstrate that the recent failed rebellion was a crime.

September 5 Politics: The South Carolina legislature, once the epicenter of secession, formally nullifies its ordinance to do the same.

September 14 Diplomacy: Representatives of nine Native American tribes (Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Osage, Seminole, Seneca, Shawnee, and Quapaw) gather at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to sign a treaty of loyalty to the United States.

October 2 Politics: Former general Robert E. Lee takes his oath of allegiance to the United States and receives a full pardon.

October 11 Politics: Former Confederate vice president Alexander H. Stephens and several high ranking cabinet officials are paroled by President Andrew Johnson.

October 12 Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares an end to martial law in Kentucky.

November 3 Naval: Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles instructs all U.S. Navy vessels to render proper honors upon entering English ports. This diplomatic nicety is resumed once the British government retracts belligerent status from the now defunct Confederacy.

November 5 Naval: Lieutenant James I. Waddell docks the USS Shenadoah at Liverpool, England, after covering 58,000 miles and seizing 38 Union prizes. His is the final Confederate flag struck. Following a few days of confinement, Waddell and his crew are released by British authorities and allowed to leave.

November 9 Politics: The North Carolina legislature overturns its 1861 secession ordinance, outlaws slavery, and elects new members to Congress.

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November 10 Crime: Captain Henry Wirz is hanged by Union authorities for his role as commandant of notorious Andersonville Prison, Georgia. He is the only Confederate military officer so punished.

November 13 Politics: The South Carolina state legislature ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment.

November 18 Literature: Little-known writer and social commentator Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”) begins his celebrated literary career by publishing “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” in the weekly magazine The Nation.

November 24 Societal: The Mississippi state legislature passes laws concerning vagrancy, labor service, and other “black codes” aimed at regulating African Americans and defining their role in greater society. Henceforth, blacks are forbidden from serving on juries, cannot testify against white persons in a court of law, cannot bear arms, and cannot assemble in large numbers. Collectively, these are an early manifestation of what becomes known as “Jim Crow” laws in the 20th century.

December 1 Politics: The government revokes wartime suspension of writs of habeas corpus, except in states of the former Confederacy, the District of Columbia, and the New Mexico and Arizona Territories.

December 2 Politics: The Alabama state legislature ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, granting the requisite three-fourths approval by the states to render it law.

December 4 Politics: The 39th U.S. Congress convenes and the House of Representative institutes the Joint Committee on Reconstruction to oppose what is perceived as moderate tendencies by President Andrew Johnson. Known as the “Committee of Fifteen,” it consists of nine Republicans and six Democrats, and votes consistently along party lines. Among its first actions is disputing the credentials of newly elected senators and representatives from former Confederate states, hence denying them seats in Congress. According to senator and Radical Republican Charles Sumner, the South has committed “State suicide.” The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by North Carolina but it fails in Mississippi.

December 5 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward instructs American minister to France John Bigelow to express, in no uncertain terms, American displeasure with France’s occupation of Mexico. Politics: The Georgia legislature ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment.

December 6 Politics: In his first annual message to Congress, President Andrew Johnson declares with “gratitude to God in the name of the people for the preservation of the United States.”

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December 11 Politics: The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by Oregon.

December 12 Politics: The U.S. Senate appoints the “Joint Committee on Reconstruction” at the behest of William P. Fessenden of Maine.

December 14 Politics: U.S. Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, an outspoken Radical Republican, assumes the mantle of leadership within the “Committee of Fifteen.”

December 18 Politics: Secretary of State William H. Seward declares the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, approved by 27 states, as formally adopted. Thus, after two and a half contentious centuries, the incubus of slavery is finally expunged from the American polity and psyche alike. However, in many places throughout the states of the former Confederacy, it is supplanted by equally repugnant “Jim Crow” laws which are not finally eliminated until the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a century hence.

December 24 Politics: The Ku Klux Klan is founded in Tennessee as a secret society intent upon terrorizing newly freed African Americans. Former Confederate general Nathan B. Forrest is installed as the first Grand Wizard, although he eventually resigns once members resort to violence against blacks.

December 25 Business: The Union Stockyard opens in Chicago, Illinois, and wields a profound impact on the economic growth of the midwest and prairies by facilitating the soon-to-be thriving cattle industry.

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B IBLIOGRAPHY ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ Adair, Douglass G. The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy: Republicanism, the Class Struggle, and the Virtuous Farmer. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2000. Allgor, Catherine. A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation. New York: Henry Holt, 2006. Allison, Robert J. Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero, 1779–1820. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2005. Angevine, Robert G. The Railroad and the State: War, Politics, and Technology in Nineteenth-Century America. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2004. Ayers, Edward L. Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006. ———. What Caused the Civil War?: Reflections on the South and Southern History. New York: Norton, 2005. Baker, Anne. Heartless Insanity: Literature, Culture, and Geography in Antebellum America. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007. Baker, Jean H. Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Baker, Jennifer J. Securing the Commonwealth: Debt, Speculation, and Writing in the Making of Early America. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Ball, Durwood. Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848–1861. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. Banner, Stuart. How the Indians Lost Their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005. Basker, James G., ed. Early American Abolitionists: A Collection of Anti-Slavery Writings, 1760–1820. New York: Gilder Lehrman Institute of America, 2005. Beck, Paul N. The First Sioux War: The Grattan Fight and Blue Water Creek, 1854–1856. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2004. Belko, W. Stephen. The Invincible Duff Green: Whig of the West. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. Berube, Claude, and John A. Rodgaard. A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution. Dulles, Va.: Potomac, 2005. Blackman, Ann. Wild Rose: The True Story of a Civil War Spy. New York: Random House, 2005. 1184

Bibliography Blair, Jayne E. The Essential Civil War: A Handbook to the Battles, Armies, Navies, and Commanders. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. Blake, David H. Walt Whitman and the Culture of American Celebrity. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006. Bohan, Ruth L. Looking into Walt Whitman: American Art, 1850–1920. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. Bowling, Kenneth R., and Donald R. Kennon, eds. Establishing Congress: The Removal to Washington, D.C., and the Election of 1800. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2005. Braden, Bruce, ed. “Ye Will Say I am no Christian”: The Thomas Jefferson/John Adams Correspondence on Religion, Morals, and Values. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2006. Brands, H. W. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. New York: Doubleday, 2005. Bratt, James D. Antirevivalism in Antebellum America: A Collection of Religious Voices. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2006. Brown, Kent M. Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Brown, Susan M. “U.S. Soldiers and Veterans in War, Peace, and Politics during the Revolutionary War and State-Formation Period.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., New School University, 2005. Buel, Richard. America on the Brink: How the Political Struggle over the War of 1812 Almost Destroyed the Young Republic. New York: Palgrave, 2005. ———. Historical Dictionary of the Early American Republic. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. Buell, Lawrence, ed. The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings. New York: Modern Library, 2006. Buinicki, Martin T. Negotiating Copyright: Authorship and the Discourse of Literary Property Rights in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Routledge, 2006. Burin, Eric. Slavery and the Peculiar Solution: A History of the American Colonization Society. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. Burnstein, Andrew. Jefferson’s Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello. New York: Basic Books, 2005. Butts, Michele T. Galvanized Yankees on the Upper Missouri: The Face of Loyalty. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2003. Calonius, Erik. The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2006. Campbell, Robin D. Mistresses of the Transient Hearth: American Army Officers’ Wives and Material Culture, 1840–1880. New York: Routledge, 2005. Carey, Charles W. The Mexican War: “Mr. Polk’s War.” Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow, 2002. Carmichael, Peter S. The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Carroll, Lorraine. Rhetorical Drag: Gender, Impersonation, Captivity, and the Writing of History. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2006. Cashin, Joan E. First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis’s Civil War. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.

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Chronology of American History Casto, William R. Foreign Affairs and the Constitution in the Age of Fighting Sail. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina, 2006. Cawardine, Richard. Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Chhibber, Pradeep K., and Ken Pollman. The Formation of National Party Systems: Federalism and Party Competition in Canada, Great Britain, India, and the United States. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2004. Clinton, Catherine, and Nina Silber, eds. Battle Scars: Gender and Sexuality in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Cogliano, Francis D. Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006. Cohoon, Lorinda B. Serialized Citizenships: Periodicals, Books, and American Boys, 1840–1911. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. Colaiaco, James A. Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July: Speaking Truth to America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Corps, Terry. Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny. Lanham Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. Coski, John M. The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 2005. Crapol, Edward P. John Tyler: the Accidental President. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Creighton, Margaret S. The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History, Immigrants, Women, and African Americans in the Civil War’s Defining Battle. New York: Basic Books, 2005. Cunningham, Noble E. Jefferson vs Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. Currie, David P. The Constitution in Congress: Democrats and Whigs, 1829– 1861. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Daehnke, Joel. In the Works of Their Hands is Their Prayer: Cultural Narrative and Redemption on the American Frontiers, 1830–1930. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2003. Davis, Clark. Hawthorne’s Shyness: Ethics, Politics, and the Question of Engagement. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Davis, David B. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. DePalma, Margaret C. Dialogue on the Frontier: Catholic and Protestant Relations, 1793–1883. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2004. Derks, Scott. The Value of a Dollar: Colonial Era to the Civil War, 1600–1865. Millerton, N.Y.: Grey House Publishing, 2005. Dershowitz, Alan M. America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles that Transformed Our Nation. New York: Warner Books, 2004. Deyle, Steven. Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Doolen, Andy. Fugitive Empire: Locating Early American Imperialism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Doutrich, Paul R. Shapers of the Great Debate on Jacksonian Democracy: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Bibliography Dudley, Wade G. Splintering the Wooden Wall: The British Blockade of the United States, 1812–1815. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2003. Earle, Peter. The Pirate Wars. New York: Thomas Dunn Books/St. Martin’s Press, 2005. Edling, Max M. A Revolution in Favor of Government: Origins of the U.S. Constitution and the Making of the American State. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Einhorn, Robin L. American Taxation, American Slavery. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Eisenberg, John. The Great Match Race: When North met South in America’s First Sports Spectacle. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Elazar, Daniel J., and John Kincaid, eds. The Covenant Connection: From Federal Theology to Modern Federalism. Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2000. Elkin, Stephen L. Reconstructing the Commercial Republic: Constitutional Design After Madison. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Emerson, W. Eric. Sons of Privilege: The Charleston Light Dragoons in the Civil War. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. Escott, Paul D. Military Necessity: Civil-Military Relations in the Confederacy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International, 2006. Etcheson, Nicole. Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004. Fazio, Michael W. The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Finkleman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation: The Emergence of the United States, 1754–1829. 3 vols. Detroit, Mich.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005. Finseth, Ian F., ed. The American Civil War. New York: Routledge, 2006. Foletta, Marshall. Coming to Terms with Democracy: Federalist Intellectuals and the Shaping of an American Culture. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001. Foos, Paul. A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair: Soldiers and Social Conflict during the Mexican-American War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Ford, Lacey K., ed. A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2005. Fowler, Damon L., ed. Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance. Charlottesville, Va.: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2005. Francaviglia, Richard V., and Douglas W. Richmond, eds. Duel Eagles: Reinterpreting the U.S.–Mexican War, 1846–1848. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2000. Frazier, Harriet C. Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those Who Helped Them, 1763–1865. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004. Fresonke, Kris. West of Emerson: The Design of Manifest Destiny. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Furstenberg, François. In the Name of the Father: Washington’s Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation. New York: Penguin Press, 2006. Gabler-Hover, Janet, and Robert Sattelmeyer, eds. American History Through Literature, 1820–1870. 3 vols. Detroit, Mich.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005.

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Chronology of American History Gaff, Alan D. Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne’s Legion in the Old North West. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. Gaido, Daniel. The Formative Period of American Capitalism: A Materialist Interpretation. New York: Routledge, 2006. Garvey, T. Gregory. Creating the Culture of Reform in Antebellum America. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006. Gershenson, Harold P. America the Musical, 1776–1899: A Nation’s History through Music. Greensboro, N.C.: Kindermusik International, 2005. Giertz, John B. “The Lincoln-Douglas Campaign of 1858: A Constitutive Theoretical Analysis.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Regent University, 2005. Gilje, Paul A. The Making of the American Republic, 1763–1815. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Ginzberg, Lori D. Untidy Origins: A Story of Women’s Rights in Antebellum New York. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Goldschmidt, Henry, and Elizabeth McAlister, eds. Race, Nation, and Religion in the Americas. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Goodrich, Thomas. The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, And the Great American Tragedy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. Goudie, Sean X. Creole America: The West Indies and the Formation of Literature and Culture in the New Republic. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Gough, Barry. Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and Its Aftermath. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2002. Graber, Mark A. Dred Scott and the Problem of Constitutional Evil. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Grant, James. John Adams: Party of One. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2005. Grant, Susan-Mary, and Peter Parish, eds. Legacy of Disunion: The Enduring Significance of the American Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2003. Greenberg, Amy S. Manifest Manhood and the Antebellum American Empire. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Grenier, John. The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier, 1607–1814. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Griffin, John C. Abraham Lincoln’s Execution. Gretna, La.: Pelican Publishing Co., 2006. Groom, Winston. Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Gunn, Giles, ed. A Historical Guide to Herman Melville. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Guttridge, Leonard F. Our Country, Right or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy’s Most Illustrious Commander. New York: Forge, 2006. Hagedorn, Ann. Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. Hankins, Barry. The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Hannings, Bud. Forts of the United States: An Historical Dictionary, 16th through 19th Centuries. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005.

Bibliography Hart, Gary. James Monroe. New York: Times Books, 2005. Harris, Sharon M. Executing Race: Early American Women’s Narratives of Race, Society, and the Law. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2005. Helton, Tina L. “The Literary Frontier: Creating an American Nation (1820– 1840).” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Louisiana State University, 2005. Henkin, David M. The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth-Century America. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Hess, Earl J. Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Hessinger, Rodney. Seduced, Abandoned, and Reborn: Visions of Youth in Middle-Class America, 1780–1850. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Hewett, Elizabeth. Correspondence and American Literature, 1770–1865. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Holtz, Jeffrey. Divergent Visions, Contested Spaces: The Early United States Through the Lens of Travel. New York: Routledge, 2006. Holzer, Harold. Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech that Made Abraham Lincoln President. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2005. Homestead, Melissa J. American Woman Authors and Literary Property, 1822– 1869. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Horn, James, Jan Ellen Lewis, and Peter S. Onuf, eds. The Revolution of 1800: Democracy, Race, and the New Republic. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2002. Horton, James O., and Lois Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Hutson, James L. Stephen A. Douglas and the Dilemma of Democratic Equality. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. Hyslop, Stephen G. Bound for Santa Fe: The Road to New Mexico and the American Conquest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. Janin, Hunt. Claiming the American Wilderness: International Rivalry in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1528–1803. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. Johnson, Odai. Absence and Memory in Colonial American Theater: Fiorelli’s Plaster. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Johnson, Paul E. The Early American Republic, 1789–1829. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Kagan, Robert. Dangerous Nation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Kaplan, Amy. The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Kastor, Peter J. The Nation’s Crucible: The Louisiana Purchase and the Creation of America. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2004. Kaufmann, J. E., and H. W. Kaufmann. Fortress America: The Forts that Defended America, 1600 to the Present. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2005. Ketchum, Ralph, ed. Selected Writings of James Madison. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett Pub., 2006. Keyssar, Alexander. The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2000. King, Desmond. The Liberty of Strangers: Making the American Nation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Chronology of American History Knetsch, Joe. Florida’s Seminole Wars. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2003. Knudson, Jerry W. Jefferson and the Press: Crucible of Liberty. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2006. Kohn, Denise, Sarah Meer, and Emily B. Todd. Transatlantic Stowe: Harriet Beecher Stowe and European Culture. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2006. Kopper, Kevin P. “Arthur St. Clair and the Struggle for Power in the Old Northwest, 1763–1803.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Kent State University, 2005. Lambert, Frank. The Barbary War: American Independence in the Atlantic World. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Lanning, Michael L. The Civil War 100: The Stories Behind the Most Influential Battles, People, and Events in the War Between the States. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2007. Larkin, Jack. Where We Lived: Discovering the Places We Once Called Home: The American Home from 1790 to 1840. Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press, 2006. Larson, John, and Michael Morrison, eds. Whither the Early Republic: A Forum on the Future of the Field. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Lause, Mark A. Young America: Land, Labor, and Republican Community. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Leiner, Frederick C. The End of Barbary Terror: America’s 1815 War Against the Pirates of North Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Lenner, Andrew C. The Federal Principle in American Politics, 1790–1833. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001. Leonard, Gerald. The Invention of Party Politics: Federalism, Popular Sovereignty, and Constitutional Development in Jacksonian Illinois. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Leonard, Thomas M. James K. Polk: A Clear and Unquestionable Destiny. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2000. Levine, Bruce C. Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. ———. Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of Civil War. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Levinson, Irving W. War within War: Mexican Guerrillas, Domestic Elites, and the United States of America, 1846–1848. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2005. Link, William A. Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Longacre, Mark G. Rhetoric and the Republic: Politics, Civic Discourse, and Education in Early America. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2007. Lundin, Roger. There Before Us: Religion and American Literature from Emerson to Eliot. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. Malcomson, Robert. A Very Brilliant Affair: The Battle of Queenstown Heights, 1812. Toronto, Ont.: Robin Brass Studio, 2002. McAfee, Thomas B. Inherent Rights, the Written Constitution, and Popular Sovereignty. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000.

Bibliography McCaffrey, James M. The Army in Transformation, 1790–1860. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. McCarthy, Timothy P., and John Stauffer, eds. Prophets of Protest: Reconsidering the History of American Abolitionism. New York: New Press, 2006. McDonald, Robert M. S., ed. Thomas Jefferson’s Military Academy: Founding West Point. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004. McDougall. Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585– 1828. New York: Perennial, 2005. McNutt, Donald J. Urban Revelations: Images of Ruin in the American City, 1790–1860. New York: Routledge, 2006. McWilliams, John. New England’s Crises and Cultural History: Literature, Politics, History, Religion, 1620–1860. New York. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Mason, Matthew. Slavery and Politics in the Early American Republic. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Matson, Cathy D. The Economy of Early America: Historical Perspectives & New Directions. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. May, Robert E. Manifest Destiny’s Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Mayo, Louise A. President James K. Polk. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2006. Meyer, David R. Networked Machinists: High-Technology Industries in Antebellum America. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Meyers, Karen. Colonialism and the Revolutionary Period: Beginnings to 1800. New York: Facts On File, 2005. Milder, Robert. Exiled Royalists: Melville and the Life We Imagine. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Miller, Susan A. Coacoochee’s Bones: A Seminole Saga. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003. Mills, Bruce. Poe, Fuller, and the Mesmeric Arts: Transition States in the American Renaissance. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006. Missall, John, and Mary Lou Missall. The Seminole Wars: America’s Longest Indian Conflict. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004. Mitton, Steven H. “The Free World Confronted: The Problem of Slavery and Progress in American Foreign Relations, 1833–1844.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Louisiana State University, 2005. Monroe, Dan. Shapers of the Great Debate on the Civil War: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Morrisey, Will. Self-Government, the American Theme: Presidents of the Founding and Civil War. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2004. Moser, Harold D. Daniel Webster: A Bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2005. Nabers, Deak. Victory of the Law: the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil War, and American Literature, 1852–1867. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Neely, Mark E. The Boundaries of American Political Culture in the Civil War Era. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Neff, John R. Honoring the Civil War Dead: Commemoration and the Problem of Reconciliation. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005.

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Chronology of American History O’Brien, Sean-Michael. In Bitterness and Tears: Andrew Jackson’s Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. Olegario, Rowena. A Culture of Credit: Embedding Trust and Transparency in American Business. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006. Oliver, Sandra L. Food in Colonial and Federal America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Onuf, Nicholas G. Nations, Markets, and War: Modern History and the American Civil War. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006. Onuf, Peter S., and Leonard J. Sadosky. Jeffersonian America. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2002. Osborne, William M. The Wild Frontier: Atrocities during the American-Indian War from Jamestown to Wounded Knee. New York: Random House, 2000. Pacheco, Josephine F. The Pearl: A Failed Slave Escape on the Potomac. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Pasley, Jeffrey L. “The Tyranny of Printers”: Newspaper Politics in the Early American Republic. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001. Patterson, Benton R. The Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to New Orleans. New York: New York University Press, 2005. Paul, R. Eli. Blue Water Creek and the First Sioux War, 1854–1856. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. Pennell, Melissa M. Masterpieces of American Romantic Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. Person, Leland S. A Historical Guide to James Fenimore Cooper. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Peterson, Anna L. Seeds of the Kingdom: Utopian Communities in the Americas. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Pfau, Michael. The Political Style of Conspiracy: Chase, Sumner, and Lincoln. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2005. Phillips, Jerry. Romanticism and Transcendentalism: 1800–1860. New York: Facts On File, 2005. Portnoy, Alisse. Their Right to Speak: Women’s Activism in the Indian and Slave Debates. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Preston, Daniel, and Marlena C. DeLong, eds. The Papers of James Monroe. 2 vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003–2004. Prushankin, Jeffrey S. A Crisis in Confederate Command: Edmund Kirby Smith, Richard Taylor, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005. Reid, Brian H. Robert E. Lee: Icon for a Nation. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 2005. Reid, Stuart. The Secret War for Texas. College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2007. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and His Seminole Wars. New York: Viking, 2001. Resendez, Andres. Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 1800–1850. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Reynolds, David S. John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.

Bibliography ——— Walt Whitman. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Richards, Jeffrey H. Drama, Theater, and Identity in the American New Republic. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Riss, Arthur. Race, Slavery, and Liberalism in Nineteenth-century American Literature. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Roberts, David. A Newer World: Kit Carson, John C. Frémont, and the Claiming of the American West. New York: Touchstone Books, 2000. Robertson, Andrew W. The Language of Democracy: Political Rhetoric in the United States and Britain, 1790–1900. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005. Robertson, Lindsay G. Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Robinson, Armistead L. Bitter Fruits of Bondage: The Demise of Slavery and the Collapse of the Confederacy, 1861–1865. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005. Rosen, Fred. Gold! The Story of the 1848 Gold Rush and How It Shaped a Nation. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2005. Rossignol, Marie-Jeanne. The Nationalist Ferment: The Origins of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1789–1812. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2004. Rothman, Adam. Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Rugemer, Edward B. “The Problem of Emancipation: The United States and Britain’s Abolition of Slavery.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Boston College, 2005. Saillant, John. Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753–1833. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Schroeder, John H. Commodore John Rodgers: Paragon of the Early American Navy. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2006. Schweitzer, Ivy. Perfecting Friendship: Politics and Affiliation in Early American Literature. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Seefeldt, Douglas, Jeffrey L. Hantman, and Peter S. Onuf, eds. Across the Continent: Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and the Making of America. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005. Shankman, Andrew W. Crucible of American Democracy: The Struggle to Fuse Egalitarianism and Capitalism in Jeffersonian Pennsylvania. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004. Siddali, Silvana R. From Property to Person: Slavery and the Confiscation Acts, 1861–1862. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005. Siemers, David J. Ratifying the Republic: AntiFederalists and Federalists in Constitutional Time. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2002. Silber, Nina. Daughters of the Union: Northern Women Fight the Civil War. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005. Silbey, Joel H. Storm Over Texas: The Annexation Controversy and the Road to Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Silverstone, Scott A. Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2004. Singer, Jane. The Confederate Dirty War: Arsons, Bombings, and Plots for Chemical and Germ Attacks on the Union. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005.

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Bibliography Wallenstein, Peter, and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, eds. Virginia’s Civil War. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2005. Warshauer, Matthew. Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law: Nationalism, Civil Liberties, and Partisanship. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006. Watkins, William J. Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Watson, Harry L. Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Wayne, Tiffany K. Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Weber, Jennifer L. Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Weddle, Kevin J. Lincoln’s Tragic Admiral: The Life of Samuel Francis Du Pont. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005. Weierman, Karen W. One Nation, One Blood: Interracial Marriage in American Fiction, Scandal, and Law, 1820–1870. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2005. Weitz, Mark A. More Damning than Slaughter: Desertion in the Confederate Army. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. Wertheimer, Eric. Underwriting: The Poetics of Insurance in America, 1722– 1872. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2006. Widmer, Edward L. Martin Van Buren. New York: Times Books, 2005. Wilentz, Sean. Andrew Jackson. New York: Times Books, 2005. ———. The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. New York: Norton, 2005. Williams, Heather A. Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Williams, Patrick G., Charles Bolton, and Jeannie M. Whayne, eds. A Whole Country in Commotion: The Louisiana Purchase and the American Southwest. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2005. Williams, Susan S. Reclaiming Authorship: Literary Women in America, 1850– 1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Wills, Garry. Negro President: Jefferson and Slave Power. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ———. Henry Adams and the Making of America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Winders, Richard B. Crisis in the Southwest: The United States and the Struggle over Texas. Wilmington, Del.: SR Books, 2002. Wood, John H. A History of Central Banking in Great Britain and the United States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Wooton, David, Ed. The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 2003. Wright, Daniel S. The First Cause Is to Our Sex: The Female Moral Reform Movement in the Antebellum Northeast, 1834–1848. New York: Routledge, 2006. Wright, Gavin. Slavery and American Economic Development. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007.

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Chronology of American History Wright, Robert E. The US National Debt, 1787–1900. 4 vols. London: Pickering & Chatto, 2006. Young, Jeffrey R. Proslavery and Sectional Thought in the Early South, 1740– 1829. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2006. Young, Michael P. Bearing Witness Against Sin: The Evangelical Birth of the American Social Movement. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Zacks, Richard. The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805. New York: Hyperion, 2005.

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME III ★★★

Industry and Modernity 1866 to 1920

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN HISTORY Volume I Colonization and Independence Beginnings to 1788 Volume II Expansion and Civil War 1789 to 1865 Volume III Industry and Modernity 1866 to 1920 Volume IV Challenges at Home and Abroad 1921 to the Present

CHRONOLOGY OF

AMERICAn HISTORy VOLUME III ★★★

Industry and Modernity 1866 to 1920

JOHN C. FREDRIKSEN

Chronology of American History Copyright © 2008 John C. Fredriksen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fredriksen, John C. Chronology of American history / John C. Fredriksen. v. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. Contents. v. 1. Colonization and independence, beginnings to 1788— v. 2. Expansion and Civil War, to 1865—v. 3. Industry and modernity, to 1920— v. 4. Challenges at home and abroad, to the present. ISBN 978-0-8160-6800-5 (set : hc : alk. paper) 1. United States—History— Chronology. 2. United States—Civilization—Chronology. 3. United States— Biography. I. Title. E174.5.F74 2008 973—dc22 2007033964 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967–8800 or (800) 322–8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Kerry Casey Cover design by Salvatore Luongo Printed in the United States of America VB BVC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper and contains 30 percent postconsumer recycled content.

CONTENTS ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ Introduction

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INTRODUCTION ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ ictory in the Civil War may have reunited a shattered polity into the same union, but major and largely unexpected changes proved to be a consequence. First, states of the former Confederacy were subject to a long and contentious healing process—Reconstruction—before sectional differences were finally mitigated and the whole of the boat returned to the fold. This sometimes painful process occasioned the rise of the “New South,” whereby a traditional reliance on a crop-based, agrarian economy was slowly supplanted by a burgeoning industrial base more consistent with the ongoing industrial revolution. However, social progress was blemished by a stark racial dichotomy, for newly freed African-American slaves now confronted the racially stringent regime of “Jim Crow” and were deliberately denied a seat at America’s increasingly bountiful table. A century would pass before meaningful laws were enforced to correct such injustices, whose negative ramifications haunt us still. Likewise, explosive economic growth brought on by rapid industrialization and by revolutions in communication (telephones) and transportation (railroads) brought on concomitant social dislocation and poverty. In fact, the so-called Gilded Age was characterized by the vast accumulation of wealth by a handful of “robber barons,” while laborers of every race remained bereft of even basic social services to mitigate the lingering effects of dislocation, mass urbanization, and periodic economic downturns. The inherent and sometimes glaring inequities of capitalism throughout this period ushered in the modern labor movement, which, despite a few violent interludes, peacefully acquired better wages and working conditions for all involved. These changes came about much less from altruism on behalf of employers than from congressional legislation and Supreme Court decisions that granted both labor, and the collective bargaining they represented, an effectiveness and cogency they heretofore had lacked. Thus, by the first year of the “Roaring Twenties,” the most pressing social problems had been obviated by intelligent change instead of violent upheaval, and America was well on its way to cultivating a peaceful and prosperous middle class.

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Chronology of American History The United States also underwent profound readjustments on the world scene. The nation’s traditional and cherished isolationism slowly gave ground to a new imperialist impulse, along with a mounting realization of its role to play among the community of nations. America garnered its first overseas possessions in the wake of a predictably successful war with Spain in 1898, and acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico as part of its nascent empire, at the same time annexing the republic of Hawaii. These acquisitions may have paled in comparison to European efforts in Africa and elsewhere but nonetheless represented a complete reversal of attitudes toward the outside world. Two decades later, buoyed by sustained economic growth and immigration, the United States emerged as a world power to reckon with, and successfully parlayed its newfound vigor into becoming the final arbiter of World War I. By 1920 the United States was a colossus astride the globe and a far cry from the self-centered collection of states of only six decades previous. A vigorous, confident America had finally taken its place upon the world stage, with even bigger advances in store for it. This volume covers the growth and expansion of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the first year of the so-called Roaring Twenties. Chronologies on American history are standard fare in reference collections but, in a major oversight, these tend to stress social and political events at the expense of military affairs; this volume goes to great lengths to address such deficiencies with a more balanced approach. It also affords treatment of numerous and salient topics of interest to researchers, students, and laypersons alike. Even a simple perusing of the text calls to the reader’s eye such wide-ranging concerns as art, business, diplomacy, literature, medicine, military and naval affairs, politics, publishing, religion, science, slavery, society, and technology in a simple to use and easily accessed format. Space constraints restrict most entries to a single line, but highly important events can command up to a paragraph in coverage. Wherever possible entries are also assigned an exact year, month, and day for organizational purposes. The text is further buttressed by inclusion of 100 capsule biographies denoting individuals of singular import to their passage in time. These are uniform in composition and touch upon birth and death dates, background, education, and other facets in addition to their most obvious concern. The volume is finally rounded out with a 5,000-word bibliography of the very latest scholarship pertaining to most events represented therein, including dissertations and master’s theses, where applicable. Furthermore the pages are replete with numerous and relevant illustrations that function both as embellishments and visual points of reference. From perusing these pages one can hopefully grasp the imposing pageantry of American history, and all its threads of continuity and points of departure. Nothing or no one has been overlooked and, while degrees of coverage may vary in length, the author cast the widest possible net for

Introduction ix purposes of inclusion. I am deeply indebted to my editor, Owen Lancer, for suggesting this project to me. It was an arduous, nearly exhausting sojourn at times, but I am a better historian for it. ———John C. Fredriksen, Ph.D.

CHRONOLOGY ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ 1866 Agriculture: Southern states, divested of slaves, try recruiting Chinese and other laborers to work their farms but without success. The lack of cash to pay former slaves gradually gives rise to the oppressive sharecropping system. Crime: The chain gang system begins when the Georgia legislature approves the hiring of convicted criminals to provide labor for private companies. Education: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology begins the first formal courses in architecture. The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (today’s University of New Hampshire) is founded at Durham. Indian: General Philip H. Sheridan declares there are at least 100 million buffalo presently ranging the western prairies and plains. He feels that killing off the bison will deprive hostile Plains Indians of their ability to feed and clothe themselves, inducing their surrender. Literature: Poet John Greenleaf Whittier publishes “Snow-Bound,” his most celebrated composition. Former Confederate officer John Esten Cooke publishes his novel Surry of Eagle’s Nest, a sympathetic and romantic view of the antebellum South. In time he emerges as the leading writer of this historical genre. Medical: Several large cities are ravaged by the onset of a cholera epidemic; with St. Louis alone losing an average of 200 people a day. Military: The army of the United States, one million men strong, begins demobilizing back to its prewar standing establishment of around 11,000 men; the bulk of men still under arms are in African-American regiments. U.S. Army troops under General George Crook engage in a protracted struggle against the Northern Paiute (Snake) Indians, who have been raiding mines in southern Oregon and Idaho. Nearly 50 battles and skirmishes ensue over the next two years. Publishing: Scottish photographer Alexander Gardner publishes Gardner’s Sketch Book of the War, which contains many shocking and graphic illustrations of carnage and ruins. Religion: The first Greek Orthodox parish in America takes root at New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Sheridan, Philip Henry

(1831–1888)

General Philip Henry Sheridan was born in Albany, New York, on March 6, 1831, a son of Irish immigrants. After receiving some rudimentary education he clerked at a store in Somerset, Ohio, until he gained admittance to the U.S. Military Academy in 1848. Sheridan, short and fierce tempered, was suspended a year on account of fighting, and graduated a year late in 1853. He then saw active service as an infantry officer throughout the western frontier; when the Civil War commenced in April 1861, he was captain and quartermaster in Missouri. He then embarked on one of that conflict’s most meteoric military careers, commencing on July 1, 1862, when he thrashed twice his number of Confederates at Booneville, Mississippi, which brought him promotion to brigadier general. He then fought with distinction at the bloody battles of Perrysville and Murfreesboro. Sheridan subsequently command the XX Corps in the ill-fated Chickamauga Campaign, but redeemed himself by a brilliant charge that climaxed the Union victory at Chattanooga in the fall of 1863. Sheridan then accompanied General Ulysses S. Grant east to assume command of all his cavalry, and he continually harassed Confederate supply lines in the Overland drive to Richmond, Virginia. But his seminal contribution to the war came in August 1864 when he took charge of Union forces in Virginia’s strategic Shenandoah Valley. He immediately attacked Confederates under General Jubal A. Early, routing them three times at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar

Creek—and winning the last engagement only after a 12-mile dash to rally his shaken command. In the spring of 1865 he was active in operations around Richmond, and his victory at Five Forks sealed the Confederacy’s doom. Shortly after, his cavalry cut off General Robert E. Lee and induced him to surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. After the war Sheridan briefly commanded American troops deployed along the Mexican border to induce French occupying forces to leave. In 1867 he was called upon to partake of Reconstruction activities in Louisiana and Texas, but his harsh administration led President Andrew Johnson to reassign him to the Department of the Missouri to fight hostile Indians. Sheridan helped plan and execute the strategy that drove the hostile Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne into submission by 1869, and the following year he served as an observer with the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Returning west, he helped direct final operations that brought both the Sioux and Nez Perce into submission by 1877; in November 1883 he supplanted William Tecumseh Sherman as commanding general of the army. In this capacity he authorized additional operations that resulted in the capture of the Apache Geronimo by General Nelson A. Miles in 1887. Sheridan then received the coveted rank of four-star general prior to his death at Nonquitt, Massachusetts, on August 5, 1888. He was one of the most pugnacious and aggressive military leaders in American history, and among the most successful.

Societal: Charlie Goodnight and Oliver Loving perfect the cattle drive from Texas to Colorado and with it trail-drive industry; this endeavor quickly transforms the lowly cowboy into a figure of frontier mythology. Sports: The schooner Henrietta, captained by James Gordon Bennett, becomes the first vessel to win a transatlantic yacht race, completing a run between

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Crook, George

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(1829–1890)

General George Crook was born in Dayton, Ohio, on September 23, 1829, and he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1852. He initially assumed frontier duties in the Northwest until 1861 when he was commissioned as colonel of an Ohio volunteer regiment during the Civil War. Crook fought with distinction in a number of important engagements, including South Mountain and Antietam, and in 1863 he transferred to the cavalry and commanded a division in the bloody Battle of Chickamauga. He subsequently joined up with General Philip H. Sheridan in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and saw close action at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek, which finally crushed the Confederate army of General Jubal A. Early. Shortly afterward Crook was breveted a major general and he commanded cavalry forces under Sheridan throughout the decisive Petersburg campaign. Crook was retained in the peacetime establishment with his regular rank of lieutenant colonel and was posted to the region near Boise, Idaho. In this capacity he helped end an internecine Indian war that had raged for several years and in 1871 was sent to the restless Arizona Territory. Here Crook was tasked with pacifying the militant Apache under Cochise, which he accomplished in two years, and was rewarded by a promotion by two grades to brigadier general. In 1875 Crook transferred north to the Department of the Platte to keep a watchful eye upon the Sioux and Cheyenne following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. The following year

a large uprising erupted in the region and Crook command a column of troops dispatched to help envelop the hostiles. Instead, he was engaged and nearly defeated by Crazy Horse at the Rosebud River on June 17, 1876, and effectively knocked out of the campaign. The Indians were eventually defeated and by 1882 Crook was back as head of the Arizona Territory. His opponent this time was the wily Geronimo, who conceded only after Crook took the unusual expedient of hiring disaffected Apache scouts to track him. Beforehand, Crook was obliged to chase the fugitive band into the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico before he surrendered and was brought back to a reservation. In 1885 Geronimo again escaped and Crook chased after him, but authorities decided to appoint General Nelson A. Miles, the new regional commander, to finish the task. Crook strongly protested when General Sheridan ordered all Apache—friendly or not—deported to Florida, an act that ended their friendship. Crook wound up back commanding the Department of the Platte in 1886. Two years later he advanced to major general and head of the Department of the Missouri with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Crook distinguished himself from many contemporaries associated with Indian fighting by calling for better treatment of Native Americans, and he spoke out publicly on their behalf. He died in Chicago on March 21, 1890, universally acknowledged as one of the nation’s greatest Indian fighters, yet an ardent champion of Native American rights.

Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and the Isle of Wight in 13 days, 21 hours, and 45 minutes. Technology: The first oil pipeline is constructed at Pithole, Pennsylvania, to carry that valuable liquid five miles from its source to a nearby railway. River barges and wagons steadily become obsolete as oil transports.

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January 1 Civil: General John B. Sanborn is appointed governor of the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and is tasked with overseeing Reconstruction activities as they relate to freedmen living in the region. The Five Civilized Tribes living in the region have been slaveholders for decades.

January 2 Women: Suffrage crusader Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes a column in a New York newspaper to inform female readers that the proposed Fourteenth Amendment threatens to exclude and forever disenfranchise women on the basis of gender.

January 4 Naval: The armed tug USS Narcissus strikes Egmont Reef off the Florida coast and sinks with the loss of all 32 crew.

January 8 Politics: Anticipating the eventual move toward Reconstruction, Representative Samuel Shallaberger of Ohio declares that Southern states, by virtue of secession, have forfeited their constitutional rights as part of the Union. He also maintains that Congress alone is in a position to restore them.

January 9 Education: Union troops open a school for African Americans in an army barracks at Nashville, Tennessee; it is named in honor of General Clinton B. Fisk, head of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the following year receives a charter as Fisk University.

Johnson, Andrew (1808–1875) President Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808, a son of poor farmers. Barely educated, he relocated with his family to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he ran a tailor shop. A self-made man, Johnson also taught himself how to read and write with help from a woman that he ultimately married in 1827. As Johnson’s business flourished, so did his appetite for politics and he began winning election to statewide offices as a pro-slavery Jacksonian Democrat. He capped his career at home in 1857 by gaining appointment to the U.S. Senate as a moderate Southerner. In this capacity he crusaded hard for passage of a homestead law and was bitterly disappointed when it died at the hands

1866

of Southern opposition. However, Johnson supported Senator Jefferson Davis’s call for constitutional guarantees for slavery in the new territories and supported his presidential candidacy in 1860. The victory of Republican Abraham Lincoln, however, galvanized secessionists throughout the South, yet Johnson remained loyal and became the only Southern Democrat still serving in the Senate. By 1862 his native state of Tennessee had been recaptured by Union forces and President Lincoln tapped him to serve as military governor there. Johnson, now firmly committed to abolitionism and the Union, performed capably under difficult conditions and arranged for Tennessee to convene a constitutional convention to out-

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January 24 Women: Dr. Mary E. Walker is the first woman to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor for her services as a spy in 1864, for which she spent several months in a Confederate prisoner of war camp.

February 5 Religion: In Lynn, Massachusetts, Mary Baker Patterson posts a remarkable recovery from a serious fall she sustained three days earlier and attributes her healing to religious faith, specially the biblical passage Matthew 9:2. This incident forms the basis of the Christian Science movement.

February 11 Politics: Senator Jacob H. Howards (Michigan) summons former Confederate general Robert E. Lee to testify before his panel investigating conditions in the South. A two-hour grilling produces little of substance and the general departs.

February 12 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward dispatches a note to the French government and demands that it remove all military forces presently occupying Mexico. General: President Andrew Johnson and other dignitaries attend the first public commemoration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in Washington, D.C.

law slavery. By 1864 war weariness threatened Lincoln’s reelection prospects, so he nominated Johnson to run as his vice president to garner the votes of pro-Union Democrats. Once elected, Johnson arrived in Washington, D.C., to take his oath of office the following March. However, Johnson was suffering from the effects of typhoid fever and gave a rambling, incoherent speech that greatly embarrassed Lincoln and his administration. He was kept at arm’s length from cabinet meetings until April 15, 1865, the day after the president’s assassination. Johnson’s presidency failed due to the highly charged and retributive atmosphere of national politics and his own shortcomings as a politician. He proved surprisingly lenient toward former Confederate leaders, pardoning them en masse, then angered

Congress by persistently vetoing legislation intended to improve the lot of newly freed African-American slaves. Consequently, radical Republicans enjoyed a resurgence in the fall of 1866, but Johnson continued to ignore and defy their mandate by replacing military commanders in the South that he felt were too liberal. Congress responded by accusing him of violating the newly passed Tenure of Office Act on February 25, 1868, but the ensuing Senate trial failed by a single vote to impeach him. He then fulfilled his term in office, although essentially ignored by Congress. Johnson returned home; in 1875 he was reelected to the Senate before dying at Cater Station on July 31, 1875. He and William Jefferson Clinton remain the only two presidents to have been impeached by Congress.

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James, Jesse

(1847–1882)

Outlaw Jesse Woodson James was born in Centerville, Missouri, on September 5, 1847, the son of a Baptist preacher. His father left the family to minister to miners in California and died there, while his mother remarried several times. James matured on the roughhewn Missouri frontier, where justice was frequently dispensed with a bullet. His family, like many in the region, owned slaves and was openly pro-Confederate in their sympathies. This made them prime targets for raids by pro-Union Jayhawkers during the Civil War, and they were apparently accosted several times before Jesse and his older brother Frank joined Confederate partisans under Captain William Clarke Quantrill. In this capacity they participated in scouting, screening, and ambushes, along with the murder of several Union prisoners foolish enough to surrender to them. Sometime in 1864 the James brothers switched allegiances by joining William “Bloody Bill” Anderson’s guerrillas, also infamous for violent atrocities. The Civil War ended in 1865 and James tried surrendering to Union forces, but they opened fire and wounded him seriously. He and Frank then went into hiding and decided to apply their military skill as raiders to robbing banks. On February 13, 1866, they launched their criminal careers by hitting the bank in Liberty, Missouri, killing a bystander in the process. Subsequently they operated alone and on other occasions in concert with the Younger brothers, Cole, James, and Robert. Considerable folklore sprang up around their activities and their ability to appear

suddenly, rob banks, then vanish into the wilderness. It was not until a heist at Gallatin, Missouri, in 1869 that Jesse and Frank were clearly identified as perpetrators of a crime. As the years ground on, Jesse and Frank turned to the lucrative business of robbing trains, which were rapidly becoming a staple of modern life along the Missouri frontier. The well-financed railroad companies determined to stop their depredations and hired detectives from the famous Pinkerton agency to apprehend them. The sleuths never did corner Jesse or Frank, but on January 5, 1875, they apparently tossed a bomb into their house, killing a younger brother. On September 7, 1876, the duo, again allied with the Youngers, unfortunately hit the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, killing a bank clerk. This time, in the ensuing shootout, Frank and Jesse were both wounded, two members of the gang killed, and all three of the Youngers captured. The two brothers simply disappeared into the countryside until the turmoil died down, since, up through 1880, they enjoyed the sympathy and protection of the region’s impoverished residents. But their criminal activities spurred several state legislatures to offer a large reward for their capture—dead or alive. This proved too tempting for Robert Ford, a member of Jesse’s gang, who gunned him down on April 3, 1882, while he stood on a chair straightening a picture. Despite his well-deserved reputation as a robber and murderer, Jesse James remains an iconic figure of Wild West mythology.

February 13 Crime: Former Confederate bushwhackers Frank and Jesse James organize their own outlaw band in Missouri and rob the Clay County Savings Association of $60,000—a fabulous sum for its day.

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February 19 Politics: Congress expands the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, allowing the military complete jurisdiction over any individual who denies recently freed African Americans their civil rights. President Andrew Johnson, however, vetoes the act, calling it unconstitutional for expanding federal jurisdiction into former Confederate states still legally denied representation in Congress. He also maintains that its provisions for military trials violate the Fifth Amendment. Johnson’s recalcitrance serves only to widen the rift between the executive and legislative branches.

February 22 Politics: President Andrew Johnson addresses a gathering of former Copperheads and other political supporters at a candlelight vigil supporting his recent veto. However, in an inflammatory speech he condemns leading Republican senators Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner as traitors. Such brazen sentiments cause a complete decline in party support for his political agenda.

February 26 Medical: In New York City, where a raging cholera epidemic has claimed the lives of 2,000 people, the Metropolitan Board of Health is created to both clean up tenements and help screen for unhealthy immigrants.

March 2 Politics: The Joint Committee on Reconstruction forwards a resolution mandating that former Confederate states will not be admitted to Congress without the express permission of that body. However, this punitive measure does not include guidelines for allowing such future admission to transpire legally.

March 17 Diplomacy: The United States formally abrogates the Marcy-Elgin Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 as it relates to offshore fishing and duty-free commodities from Canada. Emotions are running high as to perception of the pro-Confederate sympathies of Great Britain, and negation of this treaty is viewed as the quickest manner of diplomatic retaliation.

March 21 Military: Congress authorizes the first two national soldiers’ homes at Dayton, Ohio, and Tagus, Maine, for the relief of totally disabled officers and men.

March 27 Civil: Congress enacts the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 to counter sometimes flagrant violations of African-American rights by vengeful Southerners, especially newly adopted “Black Codes.” Although very specific with regard to delineating rights, its overall tone is moderate and responsible—thus even objective supporters are shocked when President Andrew Johnson vetoes the legislation on constitutional grounds.

April 1 Business: America acquires its first business monopoly after Western Union absorbs the U.S. Telegraph Company, resulting in an entity worth $46 million. The new arrangement allows uniform rates to be imposed on all parts of the nation.

April 2 Politics: President Andrew Johnson formally declares the Civil War over in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South

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Chronology of American History Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Only Texas remains to be reconciled. Other than this proclamation, no treaty or document is signed to signify the end of hostilities.

April 5 Diplomacy: After several years of American threats and agitation, Emperor Napoleon III of France announces his decision to withdraw all his forces supporting the regime of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. This is accomplished over the next 11 months and in the shadow of 50,000 U.S. troops poised on the TexasMexico border.

April 6 Politics: In Decatur, Illinois, Dr. B. F. Stephenson and Reverend W. J. Rudolph help organize the Grand Army of the Republic, a lobbyist organization drawn entirely from Union Civil War veterans. At its height, it will boast a membership exceeding 409,000.

April 9 Civil: Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the 1866 Civil Rights Bill by a single vote, signaling the executive’s relative powerlessness for influencing essential congressional decisions. This is also the first time in history that a chief executive’s veto has been defeated. The new bill restores rights to African Americans that were lost in the earlier Dred Scott decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. However, its provisions do not apply to Native Americans, who pay no taxes.

April 10 Societal: The cause of animal welfare is greatly advanced by founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), with philanthropist Henry Bergh as its first president. Among its many chores are sheltering and caring for homeless domestic animals, helping to enforce game laws, and advising farmers in the care of livestock.

April 17 Politics: Federal authorities release from prison former Confederate official Clement C. Clay despite his being accused of conspiring in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederacy, is the sole remaining political prisoner.

April 28 Civil: Representatives of the Crow and Choctaw nations sign a treaty with the United States in Washington, D.C., to outlaw slavery and settle the freedmen on their own lands. A federal governor is also appointed to supervise Reconstruction activities throughout the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Politics: Senator William Fessenden of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction proffers some proposals that water down strident Northern demands for full voting rights for African Americans and other measures. He is confident that when Southern politicians reject these moderate measures, Congress will be positioned to impose even harsher legislation.

May 2– 4 Civil: A pitched battle between African Americans and angry whites erupts at Memphis, Tennessee, with 46 people killed and numerous black schools and residences burned. General George Stoneman, commanding the Department of Ten-

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nessee, is highly criticized for failing to intervene with Federal troops in a timely manner.

May 6 Naval: The ironclad USS Miantonomoh, accompanied by the side-wheel vessels Ashuelot and Augusta, becomes the first vessel of its class to cross the Atlantic Ocean under its own power, departing from New York Harbor. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox is also on board to fulfill a technical mission in Europe.

May 10 Women: Suffragette Susan B. Anthony presides as president of the 11th National Women’s Rights Convention in New York City. Within days the new American Equal Rights Association is founded with Lucretia Mott as its president. Its goal is to link various radical movements to push for suffrage for women and African Americans.

Anthony, Susan Brownell

(1820–1906)

Reformer Susan Brownell Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1820, the daughter of a prominent abolitionist. Born into a family with deep Quaker roots, she absorbed her father’s passion for social activism and circulated among the leading lights of that movement, including Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Wendell Phillips. Anthony was also

Susan B. Anthony (Library of Congress)

well-educated for a woman of her period and taught at various schools including the Canajoharie Academy, New York State, in 1849, where she served as headmistress. Firmly committed to temperance, she found her efforts stymied by male compatriots and concluded that women deserve a voice of their own in politics. Anthony befriended fellow suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851 and attended her first women’s rights convention the following year. From that point on she became a tireless voice on behalf of women’s rights and suffrage, actively campaigning door to door throughout New York State and at the state legislature. In 1860 she scored her first success by convincing it to pass the Married Woman’s Property and Guardianship Law, which granted females the right to conduct their own financial affairs and property matters, and ensured their ability to retain all earnings. The following year the Civil War erupted and Anthony plunged headlong into the crusade to free African Americans (continues)

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(continued) from bondage. By 1865, when emancipation was a reality, she suddenly changed her tack and opposed granting freedmen the right to vote if it were also denied highly educated white women. Once again, resistance from male compatriots in the movement forced her to associate with more radical feminists to achieve her desired goal. In 1866 Anthony helped found the American Equal Rights Association and three years later, in concert with Stanton, she established the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) to oppose the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing the right of black males to vote, if the same rights were not extended to white women. Anthony was also never to forsake direct action in her beliefs and in 1872 she registered and voted in the presidential election of that year, then forbidden for women,

and was arrested and fined. She defiantly refused to pay the fine but the charges were dropped and she resumed her agitations. In 1890 the NWSA resolved its differences with the more conservative American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA); they merged to become the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and two years later Anthony served as its second president. After 1900 she began actively touring the United States and Europe on behalf of women’s suffrage and lived to see it achieved in New Zealand (1893) and Australia (1902). Anthony never lived to see that eventuality in the United States for she died in Rochester, New York, on March 13, 1906. But the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed in 1920 and women’s right to vote, a dream in Anthony’s day, finally became a reality.

May 13 Military: Colonel Henry B. Carrington and the 18th U.S. Infantry advance up the Bozeman Trail, Wyoming Territory, to commence construction of Fort Phil Kearny. This incursion is greatly resented by Sioux warriors under Chief Red Cloud, who begins urging his people to take up arms against the intruders.

May 16 Business: Congress introduces a new five-cent piece called the “nickel,” minted from copper and not more than 25 percent nickel.

May 29 General: Winfield Scott, hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, and progenitor of the “Anaconda Strategy” that led to victory in the recent Civil War, dies at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, aged 80 years.

May 31– June 1 Societal: A gathering of 600 Irish veterans of the Civil War, members of the secret Fenian Society, crosses the Niagara River from New York into Canada, skirmishing with local militia before recrossing and being arrested. However, they are gradually released and Canadian damage claims go unpaid.

June Indian: A peace council is summoned at Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory, between U.S. Army representatives and Lakota chiefs Red Cloud, Man-Afraidof-his Horse, and Spotted Tail. At issue is white encroachment along the Boze-

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Red Cloud

1207

(1822–1909)

Oglala chief Red Cloud (Mahpiua Luta) was born along the North Platte River in Nebraska in 1822 as part of the Oglala Sioux nation. He matured into a fierce and crafty warrior, and made a reputation for himself among tribesmen as chief of the Bad Face military society. By 1865 he had risen to prominence among his people as chief, just when the United States was preparing to construct an immigrant road through Nebraska and Wyoming into Montana. The Sioux under Red Cloud angrily departed peace talks at Fort Laramie and declared they would fight rather than allow construction in their territory. Commencing with the Fetterman Massacre of December 21, 1866, and over the next two years, Red Cloud led a devastating guerrilla war that flummoxed army attempts to contain it. Consequently, travel along the Bozeman Trail became impossible and garrisoning the forts C. F. Smith, Phil Kearny, and Reno proved hazardous at best. A new agreement was finally reached at Fort Laramie in November 1868, but Red Cloud himself did not formally sign until the three forts had been abandoned and burned. Only then did he agree to lay down his arms and relocate to a reservation, the so-called Red Cloud Agency, in Nebraska. Cognizant of the strength of the American government, he thereafter served as a peace missionary and frequently visited Washington, D.C., to plea for better treatment of his people. Red Cloud also met with white audiences in cities throughout the East Coast and asked them to pressure the government

to treat Native Americans more fairly. Consequently, the Fort Laramie treaty was revised by Congress and rendered more favorable toward the Oglala. Persistent white encroachment on the Black Hills regions of South Dakota, held as sacred to the Sioux and other tribes, resulted in the large Indian uprising of 1876. Restive warriors under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull took to the field to fight, but Red Cloud expressly forbade braves living on his reservation from taking the war path. This was a sagacious decision in light of what followed, but Red Cloud’s seemingly timid leadership fell out of favor among younger Indians who preferred bellicosity to peace. He may also have had a hand in the arrest and murder of Crazy Horse, whom he regarded as a threat to his leadership. However, the government suspected Red Cloud was assisting the rebels and in 1878 ordered his tribe relocated to the Pine Ridge Agency of South Dakota. There the machinations of agent V. Trant McGillycuddy resulted in Red Cloud’s dismissal as chief, which further diminished his reputation among the Oglala. Nonetheless, he adamantly opposed his people participating in the Ghost Dance religion and subsequent fighting at Wounded Knee in December 1890. Red Cloud continued living among his people at Pine Ridge, declining in both health and influence, until his death there on December 10, 1909. In his heyday, he was a peerless warrior who not only defeated the United States, but also dictated the terms of peace to it.

man Trail in the Powder River region, and concurrent attacks against miners and settlers. Government agents ply their guests with many gifts, but when it is made clear that the army intends to construct a series of forts in the region, Red Cloud and his entourage storm out of the meeting, promising war.

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June 16 Civil: Northern radicals in Congress, upset by tales of wholesale discrimination and violence against African-American citizens in the former Confederacy, propose the new Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; this seminal document defines civil rights on a strict constitutional basis. Moreover, any state that deliberately denies blacks their rights will, in turn, be denied representation in Congress. President Andrew Johnson urges Southerners to ignore it, insisting it cannot apply to states denied representation in Congress; the radicals posit Southern passage of the amendment as the price for readmission.

June 20 Naval: At Newchwang (Ying-K’oo), China, Lieutenant John W. Philip leads a boat load of 100 sailors from the USS Wachusett ashore to hunt for a band that assaulted the American consul there.

June 21 Naval: Congress establishes the Hydrographic Office to continue ocean mapping activities previously carried out by the prewar Hydrographical Office. Politics: In Congress, the Joint Committee of Fifteen, composed of both radicals and moderates, reports on the manner in which the pressing issue of Reconstruction should be handled. The committee insists that former Confederate states have abrogated their rights to representation, and that terms for readmission can be managed only by the Congress and not the executive branch.

June 25 Diplomacy: The United States joins Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands in pressing Emperor Meiji after his Japanese government abrogates payments from the $3 million Shimonoseki indemnity. However, the American representative proffers new terms, and offers to suspend $2 million of the debt provided that the emperor replaces the existing 20 percent tariff with a 5 percent one and opens two additional cities to trade. Meiji, badly outmatched, submits to the terms for the time being. Naval: Congress creates the rank of full admiral and bestows it on Vice Admiral David G. Farragut in tribute to his Civil War service.

July Indian: The U.S. Army begins constructing Forts Reno, Phil Kearny, and C. F. Smith on the Bozeman Trail, Wyoming, which is land claimed by the Lakota Sioux nation. Angry warriors under Chief Red Cloud begin gathering to repel the intruders.

July 1 Business: Congress, determined to stop states from issuing their own currency, imposes a 10 percent tax on all state bank notes. This move drives scrip from the market and leads back to a unified national currency.

July 4 Art: In New York City, John Jay, grandson of the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, declares to a banquet of prominent city dwellers his intention to found a world-class art institute in that city; it eventually becomes the Metropolitan Museum of Art. General: Fires rage through Portland, Maine, destroying 1,500 buildings and inflicting damages estimated at $10 million.

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Indian: The Delaware nation sells its remaining lands to the Missouri River Railroad Company, while the U.S. government guarantees payment for the same.

July 13 Military: Congress passes legislation to allow an army officer of any branch to head up the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Prior to this the superintendent was always an engineering officer.

July 16 Politics: Both houses of Congress handily override President Andrew Johnson’s veto of an act determined to strengthen the Freedmen’s Bureau. The bureau is now empowered with an ability to try by military court any individual charged with depriving African Americans of their rights.

July 19 Politics: The Tennessee legislature, firmly controlled by Radical Republicans, votes to become the first Southern state to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment; shortly afterward, it is restored to Congress and the Union.

July 25 Military: Congress votes to honor Ulysses S. Grant by promoting him to the rank of full general, the first officer since George Washington to hold such a rank.

July 27 Communication: The steamship Great Eastern completes laying the Atlantic Cable between Ireland and the United States in only two weeks. The previous attempt occurred 12 years earlier under businessman Cyrus Field, but his cable broke after a few days of operation. The State Department is now in almost instantaneous communication with its European representatives.

July 28 General: Congress passes a law authorizing the use of the metric system for measurements. Military: President Andrew Johnson signs an act that fixes the postwar military establishment at 45 infantry and six cavalry regiments, totaling 54,302 men. This is the first time that the U.S. Army has been greatly expanded after a war, but falls short of the 80,000 recommended by the commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant. The new force is expected to play a prominent role in Reconstruction activities.

July 30 Civil: Race riots in New Orleans lead to the deaths of 48 whites and African Americans, with an additional 150 injured, forcing even moderate Northerners to begin abandoning their political support for President Andrew Johnson.

August 1 Military: The War Department issues orders for the hiring of Indian scouts to work with the U.S. Army on the frontier. Prospective recruits are to receive the same pay and allowances as regular cavalry troopers; 474 are hired in the first year.

August 12 Military: In another alarming development for the Plains Indians, Captain Nathaniel C. Kinney, 18th U.S. Infantry, begins construction of Fort C. F. Smith along the northernmost reaches of Wyoming’s Bozeman Trail.

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August 14 –16 Politics: In Philadelphia, President Andrew Johnson tries to shore up moderate supporters by establishing the National Union Party. This is intended as a foil to counter the Radical Republicans under Senator Thaddeus Stevens, but Johnson’s overt sympathy for fellow Southerners causes moderate Northerners to resist joining in significant numbers.

August 20 Labor: The unexpected growth of industry in the North, coupled with the rise of unsafe working conditions and other detriments to workers’ well-being, induces the National Labor Congress to convene in Baltimore, Maryland, under Ira Stead and George E. McNeill. This is the genesis of the National Labor Union, which will boast 60,000 members, although years will pass before it possesses the clout needed to have labor-oriented legislation passed by Congress; the immediate goal is acceptance of an eight-hour day. Politics: President Andrew Johnson declares that the insurrection has finally ended in Texas and that “peace, order, tranquility, and civil authority now exists throughout the whole of the United States of America.”

August 28 Politics: President Andrew Johnson commences a two-week speaking tour of major Northern cities to shore up his sagging political support, but he is dogged by radical protesters at every stop.

September Indian: Fort Smith, Arkansas, is the scene of a gathering of U.S. officials and former Confederate Indian tribes for negotiations to settle accounts dating from the Civil War. The Americans impose harsh conditions and make the vanquished tribesmen free their slaves, sell off their lands in the western Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and permit the construction of railroads through their remaining territory.

September 1 Indian: Noted Navajo leader Manuelito, tired of being hounded and pursued by superior forces, finally surrenders his 23-man band to the U.S. Army and is promptly relocated to the Bosque Redondo Reservation in New Mexico.

September 21 Military: Two regiments of African Americans, the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry, are activated under white officers. In time they will gain renown as the “Buffalo soldiers,” the name given them by the Plains Indians who fought them.

September 23 Arts: The “Black Crook,” ostensibly the world’s first musical comedy—or burlesque—debuts in New York City and complaints arise over a dance number by scantily clad women.

September 25 Societal: A report in Scientific American states that the number of individuals worth $100,000 or more has increased dramatically over the past 25 years.

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October 3 General: The steamer Evening Star sinks at sea en route from New York City to New Orleans, killing 250 passengers.

October 10 Women: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, denied the right to vote but still eligible to run for public office, unsuccessfully stands for a seat in the 8th Congressional District, New York, receiving only 24 votes.

October 13 Civil: Civil rights for African Americans receives a major setback when the Texas legislature rejects the Fourteenth Amendment; this is the first Southern state to do so and inspires the remaining 10 to do likewise.

November Politics: The latest round of congressional elections results in large, anti-Johnson majorities in both houses, ensuring congressional dominance of the national agenda at the executive’s expense.

November 16 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William H. Seward proposes joint military action with France against the “Hermit Kingdom” of Korea, after the latter’s forces attack the transport General Sherman and murder its crew. France is likewise angered by the murder of Roman Catholic missionaries in this highly xenophobic society.

November 20 Societal: Union army veterans having founded the Grand Army of the Republic, a national organization, establish their first encampment at Indianapolis, Indiana.

December 6 Military: Oglala Sioux warriors under chief Miniconjou attack a wagon train outside Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, hoping to lure the relieving force into a trap. Cavalry under Captain William Fetterman attack and pursue the elusive Indians as far as Lodge Trail Ridge, then wisely turn back.

December 17 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court, in deciding Ex parte Milligan, rules that militaryimposed martial law and sentences are unconstitutional outside of theaters of war or in those areas where civil courts already function. Consequently, Lambdin P. Milligan, a Confederate sympathizer imprisoned in Indiana since 1864, is released. The decision also defines limits on military authority initiated by the federal government.

December 21 Military: Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne warriors under Red Cloud, angered by the intrusion of white soldiers on their traditional hunting grounds, lure a troop of 80 soldiers under Captain William J. Fetterman into a deadly ambush near Fort Phil Kearny (Wyoming), killing all. This act precipitates a two-year struggle for control of the Bozeman Trail, Idaho Territory, and underscores the military’s inability to adequately police the frontier.

December 29 Arts: A multilingual performance of Othello is staged at the Winter Garden in New York City, with parts being delivered in both English and German.

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December 31 General: Businessmen and Chinese dignitaries attend a gala “Grand China Mail Dinner” in San Francisco, California, hosted by Governor Frederick F. Low. On the morrow the steamer Colorado will leave American waters for China, initiating monthly mail service.

1867 Art: American sculptor John Rogers unveils a series of three Civil War scenes, or group statuary, at the Paris Exposition. The American Water Color Society is founded by Samuel Coleman and John D. Smillie, with the former serving as the first president. Education: The Agricultural College of West Virginia (today’s University of West Virginia) is founded at Morgantown. Johns Hopkins University is chartered at Baltimore, Maryland, with the first classes held in 1876. The University of Illinois is chartered at Urbana; the first classes meet in 1868. After a 30-year absence, noted philosopher and sage Ralph Waldo Emerson is welcomed back to the same Harvard University that had scorned him for advocating personal spirituality at the expense of organized religion. Indian: Senator James R. Doolittle, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, promulgates a report favoring the reservation system as a way of curtailing Indian-white hostilities. The ongoing decimation of buffalo herds has left the tribesmen in desperate straits; relocation to a reservation, where they can be taught agriculture and self-sufficiency, is viewed as a humane alternative to extermination by military means. Law: The U.S. Supreme Court declares to be unconstitutional federal and state loyalty oaths enacted to prevent former Confederate officials from practicing certain professions. Military: For the first time since the Mexican War, the army updates its drill manual by adopting Colonel Emory Upton’s new Infantry Tactics. Publishing: Inspirational writer Horatio Alger, Jr., publishes his first piece, Ragged Dick, in the magazine Student and Schoolmate. This and many stories that follow invariably cast the boundless opportunities of the “American dream” in a romantic light, and touch a popular chord in youthful readers. Within a decade Alger sells over 20 million copies of his success-oriented novels, making him one of the most successful authors in American history. Augusta Jane Evans’s romantic novel St. Elmo, concerning the success and vindication of a poor girl, sells one million copies and inspires people to name streets and babies after it. James Cruikshank publishes his Primary Geography, a principal school book text for the next three decades. Societal: New York City enacts the nation’s first tenement house laws to help improve declining standards of living due to a crush of new immigrants. The regulations touch upon minimum standards of space, lighting, ventilation, and sanitation, but enforcement proves so slipshod that conditions actually worsen. Cigarettes, long a staple of European tobacco culture, begin showing up in the United States for the first time.

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Alger, Horatio (1832–1899) Writer Horatio Alger was born in Revere, Massachusetts, on January 13, 1832, the son of a stern Unitarian minister. His father steered him toward life in the ministry and he was classically educated at Gates University. Alger performed well enough to gain entry into Harvard University in 1848, where he performed well in the Classics and French, but displayed no great propensity for religion. Alger consequently tutored and wrote journalistic essays after 1852, but pressure from his father forced him into Harvard’s Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1860. Again, Alger exhibited no real enthusiasm for preaching and, after receiving his inheritance, he ventured to Paris, France, for a year to indulge in some feckless hedonism. He then returned to the United States in 1861 and failed to obtain a commission during the Civil War, so after three more years of teaching and writing he resigned himself to the ministry and was ordained in the Brewster, Massachusetts, Unitarian Church on December 8, 1864. Once again, Alger’s lack of interest in religion manifested and within two years he resigned from the pulpit and relocated to New York City to pursue his sole passion—writing. Prior to this Alger had tried his hand at composing novels, such as Bertha’s Christmas Vision (1856), Nothing to Do, A Tilt at Our Best Society (1857), and Frank’s Campaign, or What a Boy Can Do (1864), none of which garnered either critical or financial success. However, a momentous turn in Alger’s fortunes occurred in 1866 when he befriended the management of the

local Newsboys Lodging House, a home for wayward youth. Drawing upon his religious training and the natural empathy it generated for street urchins, Alger felt inspired to write about their plight and possible succor. Alger’s first efforts manifested in a short story entitled “Ragged Dick,” which was published serially in the magazine Student and Schoolmate. It concerned itself with the rise of a poor child through honesty, frugality, and hard work, and proved an immediate success. Boston publisher A. K. Loring then pulled the installments together into a single volume, which also sold well, and proffered Alger a generous contract for six more books along these lines. Alger willingly complied, churning out such potboilers as Luck and Pluck (1869), Tattered Tom (1871), and the like, all of which promoted the ethos of hard work, discipline, and sacrifice as essential ingredients of personal success. All told, Alger composed no less than 119 books, all of which touched upon this identical theme of hard work and inevitable reward. They connected empathically to the ready audience of young boys and girls, who would purchase 20 million copies by the turn of the century, and make Alger the most successful children’s author in American history. Alger himself proved something of a generous spendthrift, and bankrupted himself and his fortune by assisting the Newsboys Lodging House and its inhabitants. For this reason he suffered a nervous breakdown and died in poverty at his sister’s house in Natick, Massachusetts, on July 18, 1899.

Sports: Edward P. Weston wins a long-distance walking contest by covering the distance between Portland, Maine, and Chicago, Illinois, in only 26 days. He pockets $10,000 for his effort. Technology: Christopher Latham Sholes perfects a working example of the typewriter, also calling it by that name.

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Chronology of American History Transportation: George Pullman incorporates the Pullman Palace Car Company and within two years is operating a fleet of 48 luxury cars on three different railroads.

January 1 Communication: The 340-foot-long steamship Colorado departs San Francisco, California, and sails westward to establish direct mail service with China.

January 7 Politics: Radical Republicans, fed up with President Andrew Johnson’s obstructionism, are ready for action. Representative James M. Ashley of Ohio introduces articles of impeachment to empower the Judiciary Committee to consider removing the president and it passes easily.

January 8 Civil: Full voting suffrage is extended to African Americans in Washington, D.C., over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. This further demonstrates the supremacy of Congress in setting the national agenda and underscores the Radical Republican drive toward universal manhood suffrage.

January 22 Politics: The 40th Congress, determined to challenge the power of President Andrew Johnson, votes to convene a special session on March 4.

January 23 General: Extremely cold weather in New York leaves the East River completely frozen over and several thousand people either stand on it or cross over on foot.

January 31 Politics: Congress extends manhood suffrage to all males over 21 years of age throughout the territories, regardless of race.

February 7 Civil: A deputation of African Americans led by Frederick Douglass visits the White House and implores President Andrew Johnson to push voting rights for former slaves.

February 9 Science: President Ulysses S. Grant establishes the U.S. Weather Service as a unit within the army. They are tasked with monitoring weather conditions, nationwide, and possibly giving advanced warning of storms.

February 18 Education: The Augusta Institute (forerunner to today’s Morehouse College) is founded in Atlanta, Georgia, for the benefit of African Americans.

February 25 Transportation: A congressional resolution is adopted to promote a survey of Darién, Panama, as the site for a potential canal across the isthmus, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

March 1 Civil: The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been rejected by 12 out of 37 states, including 10 former members of the Confederacy. This recalcitrance further stokes the resentment of Northern radicals in Congress, prompting harsher legislation from them.

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Four African-American women participate in a cooking class (Library of Congress)

Settlement: Nebraska is admitted into the Union as the 37th state, with its capital at Lancaster subsequently renamed Lincoln. President Andrew Johnson had vetoed the bill allowing it to join, fearing that the addition of two Republican senators would enable the Senate to impeach him, but he was overridden.

March 2 Business: Congress repeals all excise and income taxes on people earning less than $1,000. Civil: The First Reconstruction Act passes Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. Henceforth, states of the former Confederacy (minus Tennessee) are to be divided into five military districts controlled by an army general. For the purpose of maintaining order in many defiant areas, the military government is authorized to arrest and try suspects involved in activities against African Americans. Only passage of the Fourteenth Amendment by former state legislatures, which guarantees the civil rights of blacks, will terminate this occupation.

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Chronology of American History Moreover, while poor and landless whites are eligible to vote, former Confederate authorities remain disenfranchised. Education: Howard Normal and Theological Institute for the Education of Teachers and Preachers (precursor to today’s Howard University) is chartered in Washington, D.C., under the aegis of General Oliver O. Howard. It is the first educational institution directed at African Americans to enjoy formal university facilities. Morehouse College in Augusta, Georgia, also opens its doors to former African-American slaves. Military: Senator Thaddeus Stevens forces the Command of the Army Act through Congress, whereby all orders issued by the executive must first pass through the commanding general of the army, Ulysses S. Grant. This act halts President Andrew Johnson from dealing directly with military governors in his capacity as commander in chief. Congress is determined to politically emasculate its uncooperative chief executive. Politics: The powerful Radical Republican, Senator Thaddeus Stevens, arranges for the Tenure of Office Act to pass through Congress; this further weakens the presidency by denying it the right to dismiss officials requiring Senate approval. Thus Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who has been in league with the radicals, cannot be discharged. The act is on somewhat dubious constitutional grounds, but nonetheless remains on the books until 1926.

March 4 Politics: In its latest move to up the political ante, Congress votes to reconvene again that month rather than wait the usual nine months to begin the new session. Through this expedient, the legislature again asserts its domination over the executive office.

March 5 Civil: Virginia authorities find grounds to discount up to 1,000 votes by African Americans, leading many blacks to question the goodwill of their white neighbors and Reconstruction in general.

March 7 Labor: Shoemakers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, feeling threatened by the onset of technology, found the Order of the Knights of St. Crispin as their own labor union. Their purpose is to protect themselves against the introduction of machinery and possible competition from apprentices with less seniority.

March 11 Military: President Andrew Johnson, as per the will of Congress, appoints five commanders to the five military districts established by the First Reconstruction Act. They command 20,000 occupation troops, including several hundred black militiamen, and are tasked with registering former slaves to vote and seeing to it that they participate in elections without violence.

March 12 Diplomacy: In an apparent triumph for Secretary of State William Henry Seward and a resurgent Monroe Doctrine, the last French troops are finally shipped home from Mexico. However, the Austrian prince Maximilian refuses to abdicate and elects to meet his fate at the hands of an angry populace. The Americans decline to intervene.

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March 13 General: Former Confederate president Jefferson Davis, hailed throughout the South as the “Caged Eagle,” is released from his confines at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, on a $100,000 bond. He still faces trial for treason.

March 23 Civil: When Southern states recalcitrantly fail to summon constitutional conventions, Congress passes a second Reconstruction Act over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. This legislation empowers the five military governors to summon state constitutional conventions, seeing that state authorities have failed to do so. In this manner former African-American slaves will be elected as representatives to the forthcoming conventions and will bear active roles in formulating policy.

March 27 Military: When Alabama fails to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, military rule is imposed on that former Confederate state.

March 29 Diplomacy: The United States has a new player to contend with on the continent as the British North America Act is signed in London, and the Dominion of Canada is born under Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald. Journalism: The Pulaski Citizen of Tennessee is the first newspaper to publicly expound upon the Ku Klux Klan, a highly secretive, rituals dominated organization dedicated to white supremacy and the suppression of former AfricanAmerican slaves. The essay refers to it as the “Invisible Empire of the South.”

March 30 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William Henry Seward arranges the purchase of Russian Alaska from the czar’s foreign minister, Edouard de Stoeckl. This huge tract of seemingly useless land is derided by many as “Seward’s Folly,” but turns out to be one of the most lucrative acquisitions in American history. The Russians are liquidating their holdings in the New World for fear that Britain is planning to seize them by force. Their main financial asset in the region, the Russian-American Company, is in poor shape financially and apparently not worth fighting for. The Russians also see Alaska as a convenient American buffer zone between Siberia and British Canada. The price of $7.2 million—two cents an acre—struck both sides as a fair price.

April Military: Captain J. M. Williams leads several companies of the 8th U.S. Cavalry on a raid against hostile Apache near Fort Whipple, Arizona; some 50 Native Americans are slain.

April–May Law: Two cases are handled by the U.S. Supreme Court, Georgia v. Stanton and Mississippi v. Johnson, and the Court decides that it lacks the ability to block enforcement of Reconstruction legislation.

April 7 Military: Following a failed conference at Fort Larned, Kansas, 1,400 troops under General Winfield S. Hancock advance into the Central Plains region

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Chronology of American History with a view toward intimidating into submission the indigenous tribesmen, then harassing the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Recalcitrant Lakota and Cheyenne villages are singled out for punishment, but the highly mobile Native Americans easily evade their antagonists and counter by attacking wagon trains and stagecoaches.

April 9 Military: U.S. troops under General Winfield Scott Hancock burn abandoned Cheyenne and Sioux villages at Pawnee Fork, Kansas, to underscore his displeasure over their raiding activities. Politics: The Senate, convinced by Secretary of State William H. Seward of Alaska’s usefulness, ratifies the acquisition treaty by a vote of 27 to 12, only a single vote larger than the necessary two-thirds margin. Its purchase signifies the nation’s growing awareness of the Pacific and Arctic regions for commerce and security, despite derogatory cries of “Seward’s Folly.”

April 12 Military: General Winfield S. Hancock unsuccessfully parleys with Cheyenne and Sioux chiefs Tall Bull and Pawnee Killer, at the conclusion of which the Indians slip out of their village, which Hancock vindictively burns. The enraged Indians regard this act as a declaration of war and begin wholesale raiding of settlers and stagecoaches.

May Societal: The Ku Klux Klan is officially founded at Nashville, Tennessee, with former Confederate general Nathan B. Forrest as Grand Wizard. It is formed to check the social progress of African Americans and Northern radicals, by force, if need be. This first incarnation will gradually dissolve by 1869 and Forrest, who renounces the use of violence, will resign.

May 9–10 Women: Suffrage crusader Lucretia Mott presides over the American Equal Rights Convention in New York City, and collects signatures for a memorial to Congress on the subject of women’s rights.

May 13 Civil: Former Confederate president Jefferson Davis is released from prison at Fort Monroe, Virginia, on $100,000 bail, although he is still ordered to stand trial.

May 22 Societal: In New Orleans, the Knights of the White Camelia is founded to oppose the Radical Republican agenda of civil rights for former African-American slaves. “White supremacy” is gathering impetus throughout the Old South.

June 1 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads his 7th U.S. Cavalry into the area between the Platte and Arkansas Rivers to clear it of hostile Sioux and Cheyenne warriors raiding there. Over the next two weeks, the splendidly mounted Native Americans avoid the cavalry and Custer grows frustrated from lack of action.

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Custer, George Armstrong (1839–1876) Soldier George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, on December 5, 1839, and in 1857 he gained entrance to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. He proved somewhat of a slovenly student, was nearly court-martialed for dereliction of duty, and graduated at the bottom of his class in 1861. However, the onset of the Civil War that year led to his commissioning into the cavalry, and Custer first tasted battle at Bull Run that August. He proved himself a dashing trooper, served as aide-de-camp to General George B. McClellan in 1862, and the following year rose to brigadier general at the age of 23. Custer was a literal whirlwind in combat, with his long blonde hair flowing at the front of his command—and lost no less than 11 horses killed under him. On May 11, 1864 he waged one of his most important actions, at Yellow Tavern, Virginia, where the legendary Confederate leader, General J. E. B. Stuart, was mortally wounded. That year he also served under aggressive general Philip H. Sheridan and effectively hounded Confederates under General Robert E. Lee until they finally surrendered at Appomattox in April 1865. Custer was now a national war hero and a brevet major general, but under the demobilization scheme adopted by the U.S. Army he reverted to his linear rank of captain in 1866. The following year, in light of his sterling reputation and wartime celebrity, Custer advanced two grades to become lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 7th U.S. Cavalry and was posted to Kansas to fight Indians.

Custer’s first action in the West was as part of the thoroughly muddled campaign of General Winfield Scott Hancock along the Middle Plains in 1866. The following year he faced a court-martial for being absent without leave, but was reinstated to active duty within a year. In 1868 he teamed again with General Sheridan and that November his men surprised and defeated a Cheyenne encampment under Chief Black Kettle at the Washita River, which, while regarded by many as atrocious, convinced many hostile bands to return to reservations. The army then reorganized and disbanded the 7th U.S. Cavalry, forcing Custer to serve two years in Kentucky, but it was reinstated in 1873. That year Custer wrote his best-selling memoir My Life on the Plains, which further enhanced his national following. In 1874 he conducted a large-scale reconnaissance of the Black Hills region, sacred to Sioux and Cheyenne alike, discovering gold there. The large influx of prospectors pushed the Indians living there into open hostility by 1876, and Custer was initially assigned to the large cavalry column of General Alfred H. Terry. That June Terry dispatched Custer to scout the large Indian encampment along the Little Bighorn River, Montana, but was ordered to avoid a fight. Custer, however, disregarded his instructions and attacked, being then surrounded and killed by several thousand mounted warriors on June 25, 1876. The death of the vainglorious Custer and his men shocked the nation and ensured his legacy as one of America’s most controversial Indian fighters.

June 11 Naval: The latest attempt to establish diplomatic relations with the “Hermit Kingdom” of Korea ends tragically when navy lieutenant Hugh W. McKee is fatally speared on Kanghoa Island.

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June 13 Naval: The warships USS Wyoming and Hertford conduct a punitive raid on the Chinese island of Formosa (Taiwan) in retaliation for the latter’s murder of the crew of the ship Rover, which shipwrecked there. A landing party scatters a party of natives, losing one man to combat and suffering 14 cases of sunstroke.

June 19 Sports: Ruthless wins the first annual Belmont Stakes at Jerome Park, New York, with a winning time of three minutes, five seconds and a purse of $1,850. This remains the oldest of the American Triple Crown races.

June 21 Diplomacy: The United States and Nicaragua conclude the Dickinson-Ayon Treaty, a commercial treaty granting the Americans free transit rights across that nation, to facilitate trade between the two oceans.

July Indian: Congress appoints General William T. Sherman to head the U.S. Peace Commission, tasked with negotiating peace settlements with various warring tribes on the Central Plains. Western politicians in Congress, however, resent what they view as leniency and call for harsher retaliation against the Indians.

July 1 Diplomacy: In a major development, the British North America Act of 1867 comes into effect, creating a new nation in North America, the Dominion of Canada, from the colonies of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Under this arrangement the various provinces enjoy a large degree of local autonomy while technically remaining under the British Crown. It is also undertaken to preclude any annexation attempt by the United States, either by direct force or by gradual assimilation.

July 3 Diplomacy: A five-vessel diplomatic mission, sent to establish diplomatic relations with Korea, has achieved nothing but the loss of one officer, and formally withdraws its attempt.

July 6 Settlement: President Andrew Johnson submits the Alaska acquisition treaty to the House of Representatives to secure both money and a mechanism for administrating the territory.

July 12 Settlement: The first group of white settlers arrives at Cheyenne Village, weeks before the Wyoming Territory is officially organized.

July 15 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, disgusted by lack of fighting and unaware of General William S. Hancock’s intentions, summarily decides to abandon the field and march back to Fort Hays, Kansas, from the Platte River region. They arrive in slightly over two days, having covered 150 miles of rough terrain in remarkably good time. Custer then rides on from Fort Hays an additional 60 miles to Fort Harker to stay with his wife. There he will be arrested for taking leave without absence and ultimately suspended from rank and command for a year.

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July 19 Civil: Congress passes the Third Reconstruction Act over President Andrew Johnson’s veto to circumvent such Southern obstructionism as boycotting the polls; the new act declares that a simple majority of those caring to vote are deemed sufficient for ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment and readmission into the Union. Furthermore, the power to determine voter eligibility is granted to military commanders administering the South.

July 25 Women: A constitutional convention held in New York decisively rejects an amendment granting women the right to vote by a tally of 125 to 19.

August 1 Military: Roving Sioux and Cheyenne warriors attack a party of 20 woodcutters under Lieutenant Sigismund Sternberg outside of Fort C. F. Smith on the Bozeman Trail, Wyoming Territory, but are repulsed by rapid-fire weaponry in the ensuing “Hayfield Fight.” Reinforcements from the fort arrive six hours later and the Indians ride off; their losses are unknown but the Americans sustain three dead and three injured.

August 2 Military: A large band of Sioux attacks a 30-man army detachment outside Fort Phil Kearny, but Captain James W. Powell, 27th U.S. Infantry, manages to circle his wagons and repel his assailants until relief arrives. This skirmish becomes celebrated as the “Wagon Box Fight” and is the last pitched encounter of Red Cloud’s War. American losses are six dead and two wounded while the Indians are thought to have suffered as many as 60 dead and 120 wounded. Thereafter Red Cloud avoids direct confrontation with army troops and resumes raiding.

August 12 Politics: When Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton bluntly informs President Andrew Johnson that the new military governors must answer directly to Congress and not him, Johnson demands his resignation. Stanton refuses under the terms of the newly passed Tenure of Office Act. The president then suspends his secretary and nominates General Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general of the army, to replace him. Johnson also summarily dismisses existing military governors and replaces them with men of his own, more lenient persuasion.

August 13 Literature: Aspiring writer Augustin Daly pens the melodrama Under the Gaslight in New York City, which goes on to a successful print run.

August 28 Settlement: The USS Lackawanna under Captain William Reynolds drops anchor at Midway Island in the Pacific, 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii, and claims that atoll for the United States. It does so at the behest of the China Mail Steamship Company, which desires to utilize it as a mid-oceanic coaling station; the name derives from the fact that it lies midway between the ports of San Francisco, California, and Yokohama, Japan. In World War II this seemingly insignificant speck of land will play a highly important role.

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September 5 Business: In a sign of sectional healing, Southern cattle drovers and Northern meat dealers celebrate the arrival of 35,000 Texas longhorn cattle at Abilene, Kansas, the first stop on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. This run was the brainchild of Illinois meat dealer Joseph M. McCoy, who realized that cows worth only $3 a head in Texas could fetch $40 apiece at northern markets.

September 30 Diplomacy: The Senate, aided by political enemies of President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Henry Seward, defeats a proposed treaty to promote trade reciprocity with the kingdom of Hawaii.

October 3 Technology: The sewing machine, invented by Elias Howe, wins a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition; however, Howe dies in Brooklyn that same year.

October 18 Settlement: Troops under General Lovell H. Rousseau formally take possession of Alaska from the Russian empire. Indian: Alaska becomes part of the United States, although without the compliance of indigenous Eskimos and other Native Americans, who are now subject to whatever laws the new owners choose to enforce on them.

October 21–28 Indian: Indian commissioners and representatives of the Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Comanche nations meet at Medicine Lodge Creek (near Fort Larned, Kansas) and conclude a treaty to establish the first federal reservations for Native Americans. In this manner the tribesmen relinquish 90 million acres of land in return for smaller parcels in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). But despite pledges to live in peace, many bands of Kiowa and Comanche prove restive, and sporadic fighting ensues for another decade.

October 24 Diplomacy: In another setback for Secretary of State William Henry Seward, the Senate balks at an attempt to purchase the Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands) for $7.5 million. Apparently, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles sought their acquisition as a strategic link between the Caribbean and Europe but the islands are retained as a Danish possession for the next four decades.

October 25 Religion: Maimonides College, the first rabbinical college in the nation, opens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, although it will close in 1873 due to lack of support.

November 20 Politics: In a political first, the House Judiciary Committee votes five to four to begin impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. The chief executive is being charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

December Military: The army disbands the 125th U.S. Colored Infantry, the last AfricanAmerican infantry unit in the army. Thereafter the few remaining blacks are retained in the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry, the “Buffalo Soldiers.”

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December 2 Arts: English author Charles Dickens arrives in New York City for a literature reading; lines at the box office stretch nearly a mile long.

December 3 Politics: President Andrew Johnson delivers a defiant annual address to Congress, insisting that it is the executive’s duty to stand his ground on the office’s rights, regardless of the political consequences.

December 4 Agriculture: Oliver Hudson Kelley, formerly a clerk in the Department of Agriculture, founds a new, secret organization called the Patrons of Husbandry (Grangers) in Washington, D.C. It intends to give farmers a bigger and more unified voice in legislation affecting them. The organization is also unique for its day by accepting women as full participants.

December 7 Politics: The House of Representatives temporarily votes down the attempt to impeach President Andrew Johnson; the attempt will be repeated in the new year.

December 19 General: A train derailment at Angola, New York, kills 44 passengers.

December 28 Settlement: The United States formally declares ownership of Midway Island, which was claimed by an American naval vessel the previous August. Significantly, this constitutes the first territory acquired outside the continent.

1868 Arts: Sculptor Hiram Powers finishes his latest celebrated work, Clytie, at his home in Florence, Italy. Business: Armour and Company, a meat-packing concern, begins this year as a pork packing plant associated with the Chicago Grain Commission. Education: The University of Minnesota is chartered at Minneapolis and holds its first classes in 1869. General: The Harnisch & Baer Ice Cream Parlour of San Antonio, Texas, helps patrons cope with the blazing summer heat by inventing the ice cream soda, soon a national best-seller at soda fountains everywhere. Indian: Navajo chiefs Manuelito, Baboncito, and others venture to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Andrew Johnson over the horrendous living conditions assigned to them at the Bosque Redondo Reservation, New Mexico Territory. They then petition their “Great Father” for repatriation to their ancestral homelands. Journalism: Noted author Charles A. Dana becomes managing editor of the New York Sun. Labor: Railway conductors form their own union, thereby adding to the rise of railroad brotherhoods. Literature: Wilkie Collins’s classic mystery, The Moonstone, appears serially in Harper’s Weekly. Medical: The surgeon general orders that thousands of Native American skulls be collected from battlefield and grave sites for examination and scrutiny at the

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Chronology of American History Army Medical Hospital. Through this expedient the army hopes to demonstrate the intellectual inferiority of the Indians. Publishing: After two decades of writing, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow finally completes his religious tract Christus–A Mystery. Authoress Harriet Beecher Stowe writes and publishes Men of Our Times and The Chimney Corner. The first issue of The World Almanac is published by the New York World. Religion: Sunday sermons by Congregationalist Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn, New York, prove so popular that they sell in printed form for five cents a copy. Societal: The Ku Klux Klan adopts a constitution declaring its objectives to be chivalry, humanity, mercy, and patriotism. However, its immediate purpose is intimidation of newly freed African Americans and white supremacy throughout the South. Merchant banker Walter Loomis Miller bequeaths a $2 million endowment for creation of a public reference library in Chicago, Illinois, which will become known as the Newberry Library. Sports: An estimated 200,000 skaters use New York’s Central Park every year; one reason for the sport’s popularity is that it can be enjoyed equally by both genders at the same location. The new sport of velocipeding (bicycle riding) is gaining rapid popularity in America, three years after its introduction in France. Technology: Abram S. Hewitt introduces the open-hearth process to the American steel industry at Trenton, New Jersey. This innovation permits greater extraction of sulphur and phosphorus, thus facilitating steel production. Elisha Otis’s safety elevator, first demonstrated in 1854, allows for the construction of very high office buildings. The new Equitable Life Assurance Company building in New York City, under construction and expected to reach 130 feet in height, is designed around this useful device. Women: Carolina Severance founds the New England Women’s Club to advance the cause of suffrage and equal rights; author Julia Ward Howe is chosen the first president.

January 1 Publishing: Suffragette Susan B. Anthony publishes a weekly journal called The Revolution, edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, that advocates women’s suffrage and other concerns.

January 3 Diplomacy: In an event of global implications, Japan’s tottering Tokugawa shogunate is overthrown by forces loyal to Emperor Meiji, who now assumes direct control of national affairs.

January 7 Indian: The U.S. Peace Commission, created by Congress to investigate the state of Native Americans, points a finger at gross corruption in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, particularly those tasked with administering Indian reservations. According to a report issued by the commission, their neglect and duplicity has exacerbated already trying conditions for the tribesmen.

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January 10 Politics: The Senate Committee on Military Affairs issues a report that clears Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton of any wrongdoing in his decision to resist dismissal.

January 11 Politics: General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding general of the army, requests to be relieved of command rather than violate terms of the Tenure of Office Act.

January 13 Politics: Citing the newly passed Tenure of Office Act, the Senate votes 35 to six and refuses to condone President Andrew Johnson’s attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton from his post.

January 14 Military: General Ulysses S. Grant resigns as secretary of war and turns the office back to its previous occupant, Edwin M. Stanton. President Andrew Johnson is greatly angered by what be considers a political betrayal by Grant.

January 16 Technology: Detroit fish dealer William Davis receives a patent for his refrigerator car, invented for the safe transportation of fruit, fish, and other perishables to distant markets. This invention consequently alters the commerce and business of agriculture.

February 4 Naval: A landing party from the USS Oneida goes ashore at Hiogo, Japan, to protect American citizens living there from attack by rebels trying to oust the Tokugawa shogunate.

February 5 Diplomacy: Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlotta refuse to desert their throne in Mexico, despite the fact that France, under intense American pressure, is pulling out their bodyguard of 10,000 troops.

February 7 Naval: Admiral Charles H. Davis, commanding the screw sloops USS Guerriere and Quinnebaug and three smaller vessels, anchors at Montevideo, Uruguay, to protect American interests there during a local insurrection.

February 11 Naval: The new screw-powered cruiser USS Wampanoag becomes the navy’s fastest vessel with a sustained speed of 17 knots, a record not eclipsed until 1889.

February 21 Politics: President Andrew Johnson, having previously suspended Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, now dismisses him from office over differences with his Reconstruction policy; General Lorenzo Thomas gains appointment as his interim replacement. Through this measure Johnson is deliberately seeking a Supreme Court decision on the Tenure of Office Act, which he believes is unconstitutional. Moreover, Johnson directly orders military commanders throughout the South to report directly to him and to ignore both Congress and the commanding general of the army, Ulysses S. Grant. Stanton counters by barricading himself in his office, refusing to leave as per the Tenure of Office Act.

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February 22 Politics: In the House of Representatives, Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens drafts a formal resolution of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson for attempting to violate the Tenure of Office Act. Though weak and ailing, he chooses this day to bitterly denounce the chief executive because it is George Washington’s birthday.

February 24 Politics: In the House of Representatives, John Covode of Pennsylvania offers up articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which passes 126 to 47. Faced with 11 articles of impeachment, President Andrew Johnson appoints former attorney general Henry Stanbury to represent him during his trial in the U.S. Senate; Johnson himself boycotts the proceedings entirely.

March 5 Politics: The Senate begins arranging its chamber for the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, a first in American history.

March 11 Politics: Congress approves a third supplementary Reconstruction Act mandating that state constitutions will be ratified by a simple majority of those Southerners actually casting votes. It effectively counters the trend toward intimidation and disenfranchisement of African Americans throughout the South, although only over President Andrew Johnson’s veto.

March 13–May 26 Politics: The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson commences in the Senate chambers amid much public interest and political rancor. While technically being tried for violating the Tenure of Office Act, frustrated Radical Republicans hope to make an example of the Tennessean for opposing Reconstruction. Passions run high but a two-thirds vote is still required to remove the chief executive.

March 23 Education: The University of California is chartered in Berkeley by merging with the College of California under terms of the 1866 Morrill Land Grant College Act. It continues the policy of maintaining courses and academic standards similar to older establishments found in the East.

March 26 Politics: Former Confederate president Jefferson Davis is formally charged with treason by the Richmond Circuit Court.

March 27 Politics: The radically controlled Congress passes a law to circumvent Supreme Court interference aimed at invalidating Reconstruction legislation or procedures.

April 29 Indian: General William T. Sherman signs the Treaty of Fort Laramie with the Sioux nation, ending a costly frontier conflict. The victorious Red Cloud demands and gets the army to disband all its posts along the Bozeman Trail, Wyoming Territory. Furthermore, all territory east of the Big Horn Mountains and north of the North Platte River is affirmed as exclusively Indian. Several bands of Sioux

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and Cheyenne also agree to be relocated to reservations in Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

May Medical: The American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children appears in New York, becoming the first specialized medical journal published in America. Musical: In Boston, the First Triennial Festival boasts what critics hail as the only satisfactory performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in America.

May 16 Politics: President Andrew Johnson survives a test vote, 35 to 19, on the issue of impeachment. Senate managers then obtain a 10-day recess to try and change a handful of votes. The president is being tried for alleged violations of the Tenure of Office Act and Command of the Army Act.

May 20 Publishing: Author Horatio Alger proffers his first story, Ragged Dick, or Street Life, in New York as a copyrighted book. This seemingly inauspicious title strikes a chord with young readers and becomes a huge success.

May 20–21 Politics: The Republican Party national convention convenes in Chicago, Illinois, and nominates General Ulysses S. Grant on the first ballot. Schuyler Colfax of Indiana is selected as his vice presidential running mate—proof of the growing significance of the Midwest to national politics. The party platform fully endorses Radical Reconstruction.

May 28 Politics: In a dramatic hush, the trial of President Andrew Johnson concludes in the U.S. Senate. The vote is then tallied and the impeachment, which requires two-thirds of the Senate, or 54 votes in favor, fails by a single vote, cast by Kansas senator Edmund G. Ross. Ross is never again elected to political office, but the stability of the American system, based on the intrinsic difficulty of removing a chief executive for spurious reasons, is reaffirmed. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton resigns from office.

May 30 Societal: Decoration Day (later, Memorial Day), a time to embellish local Civil War graves, is celebrated nationwide for the first time. The date has been chosen by General John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, who calls upon Union veterans to decorate military graves with flowers.

June 1 General: Former president James Buchanan dies at the age of 77. Indian: The U.S. government and the Navajo conclude the Treaty of 1868, whereby the tribe is allowed to return to its ancestral homeland in the territory of northern Arizona and New Mexico, and reside on a 3.5-million-acre reservation. This terminates the tribe’s four-year internment under substandard conditions at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Military: John M. Schofield, an accomplished Civil War general and a determined military reformer, gains appointment as secretary of war, where he will serve for a year.

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June 10 Sports: The Second Belmont Stakes is won by General Duke, running with a time of three minutes, two seconds.

June 22 Politics: Arkansas gains readmission into the Union and representation in Congress after endorsing universal manhood suffrage with regard to race.

June 23 Technology: Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel Soule of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, receive a patent for a new writing device, which they call a typewriter.

June 25 Labor: Congress authorizes an eight-hour working day for government employees, although the private sector will be extremely slow in adopting similar measures. Politics: Congress allows Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina readmission into the Union with representation through an “Omnibus Act passed over President Andrew Johnson’s veto.” Texas remains the only holdout.

July Indian: The U.S. Army under General George Crook finally prevails in its threeyear struggle with the Northern Paiute (Snake) Indians when their leaders surrender at Fort Harney, Oregon. Publishing: Anton Roman publishes The Overland Monthly in San Francisco, California, which will become an outlet for many struggling new writers including Jack London and others.

July 4 –9 Politics: The Democrats hold their national convention in New York City, nominating Horatio Seymour of New York and Francis P. Blair of Missouri as their presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. The party strenuously objects to the policies of Radical Reconstruction.

July 9 Politics: The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified by the states; it irrevocably grants citizenship and all the privileges therein to all citizens, born or naturalized, including former African-American slaves. It also releases the federal government from any debts accrued while combatting a rebellion against the United States.

July 14 Settlement: The House of Representatives votes to appropriate funds to purchase Alaska, 113 to 43.

July 15 Diplomacy: Mexican president Benito Juárez restores republican rule to his country following an internecine, five-year struggle against French occupation. Former emperor Maximilian will be arrested and executed.

July 25 Settlement: Congress creates the Territory of Wyoming as the western regions are occupied by increasing numbers of settlers.

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July 27 Naval: Congress authorizes legislation to allow Japanese midshipmen to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, provided their government shoulders the cost. A total of 16 Japanese nationals graduate from the academy between 1869 and 1906, and several reach the rank of admiral in their own service.

July 28 Civil: Secretary of State William H. Seward declares the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution as having been passed by two-thirds of all states, and thereby ratified. Henceforth, all African Americans and naturalized immigrants are accorded full civil rights, although this does not apply to Native Americans. Debts accrued during the Civil War years are also validated, unless they originated as part of the insurrection. Diplomacy: In San Francisco, California, the United States concludes the Treaty of Burlingame with representatives of the Manchu dynasty of China, establishing regular steamboat service between the two nations. This also opens the floodgates of Chinese immigration to the United States, cheap “coolie” laborers being needed for the vast network of railroads then under construction. Curiously, the Chinese government is represented by Anson Burlingame, the former American minister to that country, who hopes that venerable nation will be viewed and treated as an equal among Western powers.

August Publishing: Author Bret Harte publishes his story “The Luck of Roaring Camp” in the Overland Monthly, gaining national attention.

August 5 Business: John and Charles Deere formally incorporate their highly successfully farm tool business as Deere & Company.

August 11 General: Radical senator Thaddeus Stevens dies in Washington, D.C. He has arranged to have his remains interred in an African-American cemetery at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to underscore his belief in “equality of man before his creator.”

August 13 Naval: The bark USS Fredonia and the gunboat Wateree are struck by a tidal wave outside Arica, Peru, and sunk with a loss of 27 sailors. The force of the water carries both vessels 1,500 feet inland.

August 26 Literature: Louisa May Alcott publishes her semi-autobiographical novel Little Women, which goes on to sell two million copies.

August 29 Military: To track marauding Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux war bands that are raiding along the Saline and Solomon Rivers in Kansas, Major George A. Forsyth departs Fort Hays with 50 mounted volunteers. Transportation: The Mt. Washington Cog Railroad, unique in its ability to traverse directly up mountain slopes, is opened to the public at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire.

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Alcott, Louisa May (1832–1888) Writer Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832, the daughter of noted transcendentalist philosopher Amos Bronson Alcott. In 1844 she relocated to Boston where her father made several attempts to found a communal, utopian community at Fruitlands. She endured a hardscrabble existence of poverty and simplicity in accordance with her father’s beliefs, but her childhood was enlivened throughout by constant association with his circle of friends, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Early in life Alcott realized that she was doomed to a life of deprivation if alternative sources of income did not generate sufficient money to ameliorate her situation. She thus entered the workforce at the age of 16 and performed menial tasks like sewing and substitute teaching, but Alcott subsequently discovered she had a talent for expository prose. Her first book of fairy tales, Flower Fables, was published in 1855, six years after it was written, but failed to garner much attention. She nevertheless continued writing and publishing essays in various venues and by 1860 had become a featured writer in the prestigious Atlantic Monthly. After the Civil War commenced in 1861, Alcott volunteered her services as a nurse in Washington, D.C., rendering erudite sketches of what she saw and accomplished in that capacity. In 1862 she compiled and published them in a booklet called Hospital Sketches, which finally gained her crucial recognition as an aspiring female writer.

Alcott followed up with a novel entitled Moods, which was well-received, and after the war she toured Europe before returning home to serve as editor of the children’s publication Merry Museum. It was not until 1868 that Alcott acquired national recognition through the publication of her two-volume novel Little Women. This seminal work is basically an autobiographical account of life at Concord, Massachusetts, in which she plays the character Jo and her three sisters flesh out the remaining cast. Little Women received instant celebrity as a children’s classic and was translated into several languages; in the 20th century it was also made into several motion pictures. Alcott thus basked in the wealth and fame that had eluded her earlier in life and she turned her attention to politics and social reform. In this capacity she soon emerged as a champion for women’s suffrage and temperance, while continuing to write successful autobiographical novels such as An Old Fashioned Girl (1870), Little Men (1871), and Jo’s Boys (1886). She consequently used the luxury of time and resources to speak on lecturing circuits on behalf of many causes, invariably enjoying a large audience. She also tried her hand at family history in the book Silver Pitchers (1876), which painfully recounts her father’s failed attempt to establish his Fruitlands commune. Alcott, who had suffered poor health since her Civil War days, died in Boston on March 6, 1888, among the foremost female authors of her generation.

Civil: When the Georgia legislature expels 27 African-American members, military rule is declared and the state’s congressional representation is once again voided and military governance is again imposed.

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September 17–25 Military: A scouting party of 50 men under Major George A. Forsyth is attacked by 600 mounted Cheyenne, Lakota, and Arapaho Indians on Beecher’s Island along the Republican River. A nine-day siege ensues in which the Americans take significant losses but invariably drive the Indians off with superior firepower. The Americans are finally rescued by a party of African-American troopers, the famed 10th U.S. Cavalry or “Buffalo soldiers.” Forsyth loses five dead and 18 wounded to an estimated 32 dead Indians. Among the noted casualties are Roman Nose, a celebrated Cheyenne war chief, and Lieutenant Frederick Beecher, nephew of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, for whom the battle is named.

October 1 Agriculture: New York’s Rochester Agricultural Fair brings in 50,000 attendees from around the country. Journalism: Editors of the New York Times apologize to readers for the increased advertising space in a paper that is now 12 pages long. However, commercial demands for more ads cannot be ignored financially.

October 7 Indian: The U.S. Peace Commission confers with General William T. Sherman in Chicago, Illinois, and the majority of members decide that Native American peoples should no longer be recognized as sovereign states, thus removing the necessity of having to make treaties with them. The commission is disbanded thereafter.

October 21 General: San Francisco is badly battered by a large earthquake; damage estimates total upward of $3 million.

November 3 Politics: Republican presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant crushes his Democratic opponent Horatio Seymour with 214 electoral votes to 80. With 3 million in favor and 2.7 million against, Grant’s majority in overall votes is only 309,000; apparently, the 700,000 African-American votes cast, under military protection, went to the Republican Party and tipped the balance. Schuyler Colfax becomes vice president.

November 7 Indian: A peace treaty is concluded between Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux nation and General William T. Sherman, whereby the Americans agree to disband their forts and other structures along the Bozeman Trail, Idaho Territory (Wyoming). In exchange, the Sioux receive new land in the Dakotas and agree to remain to reservations there. The government also pledges to provide food, supplies, and schooling, along with clothing and seeds.

November 11 Sports: The New York Athletic Club sponsors the first indoor amateur track and field meet, establishes the rules for future meets, and also constructs the first cinder track.

November 12 Military: An army column under Colonel Alfred E. Sully, which includes the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, rides south from Fort

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Chronology of American History Dodge to curtail raiding Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. The campaign, however, begins almost a month late owing to the tardiness of supplies.

November 13 Military: Colonel Jacob Zeilin, U.S. Marine Corps commandant, proffers the eagle, globe, and anchor emblem as the new symbol of the corps and it is quickly approved by the secretary of the navy.

November 15 Military: In response to recent despoliations by hostile Comanche, Major Andrew W. Evans leads six companies of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry, accompanied by infantry and artillery, out of Fort Bascom, New Mexico Territory, in search of the raiders.

November 23 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan, commanding the Department of the Missouri, departs Camp Supply, Oklahoma, on a long winter raid to locate elusive Indian war bands. His campaign is spearheaded by the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, something of a neophyte when it comes to Indian fighting.

November 27 Military: In a terrible atrocity, the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer attacks the peaceful Southern Cheyenne band of Chief Black Kettle in its camp. Black Kettle, a noted voice for peace and accommodation with whites, desperately tries to surrender but is killed, along with his wife and 103 fellow tribesmen. American losses come to 21 killed—including Captain Louis M. Hamilton, grandson of Alexander Hamilton—and 14 wounded. This represents a victory over the Southern Plains Indians, but resentment over the massacre among neighboring Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche bands will trigger a frontier war lasting several years and consuming hundreds of lives on both sides.

December 3 Politics: The treason trial of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis commences in Richmond, Virginia, before circuit judges Salmon P. Chase and John C. Underwood.

December 8 Naval: Jiunzo Matsumura becomes the first Japanese national admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, from which he graduates in 1873 and eventually rises to admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

December 25 Politics: In one of his last acts as president, Andrew Johnson invokes executive clemency and declares a general amnesty for all former Confederate officials. Thus about 300 senior Confederate leaders are pardoned, closing the last chapter of the Civil War.

1869 Arts: Sculptor Thomas Gould finishes his work West Wind, depicting a young girl surrounded by drapery, and is commissioned to make seven copies. Business: Henry J. Heinz and L. C. Noble found a company in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of producing grated horse radish. This is the beginning of a major food industry giant.

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Education: Harvard University offers the first summer class, a geology course taught by Dean Nathaniel S. Shaler. Exploring: John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran, becomes the first white to navigate the Colorado River down the entire length of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Indian: President Ulysses S. Grant appoints General Ely S. Parker, a full-blooded Seneca, to serve as commissioner of Indian affairs. During the Civil War Parker served on Grant’s military staff, and he fully supports the president’s goal of “civilizing” Native Americans by teaching them agriculture. Sitting Bull becomes an important shaman within the Lakota Sioux nation. This is an untraditional appointment by tribal standards but, now confined to a reservation, they recognize the need for strong leadership in their dealings with whites. Literature: Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes her Oldtown Folks, which draws on her familiarity with small-town New England life and mannerisms. Medical: Massachusetts establishes the first state board of health in the nation. Military: Congress, in a cost-cutting measure, reduces the standing military establishment to 25 regiments and four regiments of African-American regulars are consolidated into two, the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantry. Music: The usually grim Prohibition Party scores an unexpected hit with the public by playing its hit song, “Little Brown Jug.” This is another sign of the party’s growing acceptance. Publishing: Horatio Alger follows through on his success by publishing Luck and Pluck, another in his continuing saga of rags to riches novels. He is slowly becoming the apostle of the self-made man. Religion: The Northern Paiute (Snake) prophet Wodziwob begins preaching a new religion to Native Americans in Oregon: All the whites will someday die, all dead Indians will be returned to life, and their traditional ways of life will be restored. In tenor and effect it strongly resembles the Ghost Dance movement of two decades hence. Sports: The Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club is the first such organization in the United States and it spawns similar and competing outfits along the Hudson River. Women: The budding Equal Rights Association is wracked by dissent and splits into two factions: radicals under Elizabeth Cady Stanton of the National Woman Suffrage Association and moderates under Lucy Stone’s American Woman Suffrage Association. They split over the question of African-American suffrage, which Stanton and other radicals refuse to support because women remained disenfranchised. Distinguished women writers Catherine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe join forces to publish a new magazine, The American Woman’s Home, which emphasizes the role of the domestic woman, with useful tips on organization, lighting, and kitchen use.

January Indian: Chief Tochoway of the Comanche, upon meeting a fierce and scowling General Philip H. Sheridan at Fort Cobb, pronounces himself a “good Indian.” Sheridan’s apocryphal and cold-hearted riposte is, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

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January 3 Diplomacy: R. R. Valkenburg, the U.S. minister to Japan, is granted an audience with Emperor Meiji in Edo (Tokyo) to assure the United States of the stability of his regime despite some ongoing resistance of the Tokugawa navy.

January 12 Politics: African Americans make their first attempt to organize at the national level by founding the National Convention of Colored Men, with former slave Frederick Douglass as their president. The group calls for the protection of both black suffrage and educational opportunities for their children.

January 14 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain conclude the JohnsonClarendon Convention to secure reparation payments from the latter for damages inflicted on American shipping by the British-supplied Confederate raider CSS Alabama. However, it will fail to pass the Senate. This day the United States and Colombia sign a treaty granting Americans the right to construct a canal in Panama, while Colombia maintains sovereignty of the area. However, the agreement will not be ratified by either national legislature.

January 19 Women: The organized women’s movement begins in Washington, D.C., when Susan Brownell Anthony is elected president of the American Equal Rights Association.

January 23 Labor: Massachusetts organizes the first state bureau of labor.

January 25 Indian: In Washington, D.C., a deputation of Quakers meets with president-elect Ulysses S. Grant and urges a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Indian conflict. They strongly suggest replacing military personnel with people of a Christian persuasion, but also recommend assimilation to inculcate Native Americans with agriculture and other tenets of “civilization.”

February 6 General: The iconic figure Uncle Sam is rendered for the first time with facial whiskers, by Thomas Nast for an issue of Harper’s Weekly; heretofore he has been drawn clean shaven and this updated version will become the de facto national symbol.

February 12 Technology: A patent is issued to James Oliver for his improved plow design, which is made of iron with a cutting edge formed from tempered steel. This is an essential feature for homesteading on the prairies, where the temperature can drop to 40 degrees below zero, rendering the ground rock-hard for months.

February 15 Education: The University of Nebraska is chartered at Lincoln and holds its first classes in 1871. Politics: President Andrew Johnson having proclaimed a general amnesty for all former Confederate officials, the treason trial of former president Jefferson Davis comes to a close.

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Nast, Thomas (1840–1902) Illustrator Thomas Nast was born in Ludwig, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and accompanied his family when they immigrated to New York City six years later. Nast was educated locally and displayed considerable artistic talent, so in 1855 he applied for work at the offices of Leslie’s Weekly and worked as an illustrator. Periodicals at this time had turned increasingly to wood-block illustrations to lure their readership, and Nast proved adept at rendering the simplistic yet effective line illustrations then in vogue. In 1859 he switched over to the New York Illustrated News, where he effectively rendered John Brown’s funeral for northern audiences. He next went to England to cover various boxing matches and then to Italy, where he carefully rendered sketches of Garibaldi’s revolt of 1860. When the Civil War commenced in 1861 Nast ardently embraced the Union cause and the following year he transferred his skills to the important publication, Harper’s Weekly. Here he turned out a seemingly endless flow of drawings for public consumption, invariably displaying Union forces in a positive light while excoriating the Confederates through caricature. So popular and reassuring were his drawings that President Abraham Lincoln once described him as “our best recruiting sergeant.” After the war Nast turned his vitriolic pen upon President Andrew Johnson for his opposition to Reconstruction and African-American civil rights. In his new capacity as a caricaturist, he began illustrating his subjects with distorted or exaggerated physical traits to drive

home their positive or negative aspects. Thus a new, politically inspired art form was born. Nast reached the heights of national popularity and influence in the 1870s when he conducted his own visual vendetta against the corrupt Tammany Hall Democrats controlling New York City through patronage and bribes. His unflattering rendition of ring leader William Marcy “Boss” Tweed proved particularly effective, giving the impression of a beady-eyed owl. So effective and politically damaging were his caricatures to machine politicians that Nast was reputedly offered $200,000 to stop, a bribe that he promptly declined. By 1874 he had also penned the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant, and the Tammany tiger as potent and enduring political symbols. He was also an important contributor to the popular American image of Santa Claus. After Tweed died in 1878 Nast lost one of his most popular targets, so he turned his wrath upon labor unionists and Catholics, although with less effect. By the 1880s new forms of illustration were evolving and Nast failed to adapt artistically. His work began showing up less frequently in popular magazines, and in 1884 Harper’s Weekly finally terminated his contract. In 1902 Nast was facing a retirement in poverty so President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to serve as U.S. consul in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He died while serving in this capacity on December 2, 1902, one of the nation’s first and most effective political cartoonists.

February 24 Business: Congress, responding to renewed pressure from business, passes Senator Justin Morrill’s Tariff Act to protect American industry and raise revenues.

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February 27 Civil: Congress, alarmed by continuing violence against African-American voters, passes the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which affirms the right to vote, regardless of race or ethnicity. Furthermore, its conditions apply unconditionally to both Northern and Southern states. The measure will then pass on to the states for ratification.

March Indian: At Sweetwater Creek, Texas, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer rescues two American women from a band of hostile Cheyenne and takes hostages of his own, whereupon the tribesmen surrender and agree to be sent to a reservation.

March 4 Politics: Former general Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War hero, is inaugurated the 18th president of the United States in Washington, D.C. He is the second Republican to hold high office after Abraham Lincoln and, at 46, the youngest.

March 5 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant appoints Elihu B. Washburne to serve as secretary of state for five days until his appointment as minister to France can be confirmed by the Senate. Washburne was an Illinois congressman who had

Grant, Ulysses S. (1822–1885) General, president Hiram Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, a son of farmers. He was admitted to the U.S. Military Academy in 1839, where he changed his name to Ulysses S. Grant and graduated in the middle of his class in 1841. Grant then served in the infantry as a captain throughout the Mexican War of 1846– 48, performing with distinction. Disillusioned with the peacetime establishment, he resigned his commission in 1854 and embarked on a succession of failed business ventures. After the Civil War erupted in 1861, Grant rejoined as a colonel and then brigadier general of Illinois troops. He proved an effective, offense-minded commander, and by January 1862 had driven the Confederates from the strategic

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Forts Henry and Donelson on the Tennessee River. On April 6, 1862, he repulsed a heavy Confederate attack at Shiloh, Tennessee, and in July 1863 he captured the Southern bastion of Vicksburg, Mississippi, splitting the confederacy in half. The following November he routed the Confederates at Chattanooga and was brought east by President Abraham Lincoln to confront the redoubtable General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. Commencing in the spring of 1864, Grant fought an overland slugfest with Lee, losing heavily yet inexorably forcing the Confederates back to their capital of Richmond. Lee was then pinned in his works as Union forces under General William T. Sherman began coming up from Savannah. When Lee attempted to flee

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proved especially helpful during Grant’s Civil War career and Grant, now chief executive, always rewarded his friends.

March 8 Military: President Ulysses S. Grant appoints General William T. Sherman to succeed him as the four-star commanding general of the army. Philip H. Sheridan becomes a lieutenant general.

March 9 Naval: In Washington, D.C., Adolf E. Borie is selected to serve as secretary of the navy.

March 10 Education: Charles W. Eliot becomes the first non-clergyman president of Harvard University and embarks on a program to update that institution’s outmoded curriculum. Specifically, he seeks to introduce a system of electives that balances newer professional and business study with traditional classic and liberal arts courses. In time his reforms greatly affect higher education throughout the country.

March 11 Politics: Hamilton Fish, a wealthy New York businessman and friend of President Ulysses S. Grant, gains appointment as secretary of state to replace Elihu Washburne, who held the office only five days before becoming U.S. minister to France. Fish will prove himself highly competent is this role.

Petersburg, Virginia, Grant expertly boxed the rebels in and forced their surrender on April 9, 1865. For helping to win the Civil War and thus preserve the American Union, Grant became the nation’s most honored military hero. Radical Republicans dissatisfied with President Andrew Johnson convinced Grant to run for the presidency in 1868, when he won a narrow popular victory. He assumed his office on March 4, 1869; while well-intended and personally honest, he had surrounded himself with men far less scrupulous than himself. His first term in office was subsequently wracked by scandal, corruption, and continuing unrest over Reconstruction. During the 1872 election cycle, dissident Republicans bolted from the party and supported the nomination of Democrat Horace Greeley, but Grant none-

theless racked up another electoral victory. However, his second term was simply a continuation of the first, and an embarrassing stream of corruption scandals ensued. On a positive note, his secretary of state, Hamilton Fish, negated a possible war with Spain and also signed the Treaty of Washington in 1871, which improved relations with Great Britain. Otherwise, Grant seemed detached from the controversies swirling around him. In 1880 die-hard supporters nominated him for a third time, but he failed to win. He then resided in New York City and lost a fortune in poor investment schemes. Grant was then persuaded by his friend Mark Twain to write his personal memoirs, which were published after his death in New York on July 23, 1885. He remains one of history’s greatest generals.

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March 13 Military: President Ulysses S. Grant appoints John A. Rawlins to serve as the new secretary of war; he will die of tuberculosis after only six months in office.

March 15 Military: In a remarkable display of nerve, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, accompanied only by a single lieutenant, rides into the Cheyenne camp of Chiefs Medicine Bow and Little Robe to parley. When several chiefs are induced to visit the American camp they are suddenly taken hostage, at which point Custer threatens to hang them if three white women being held hostage are not released. The Cheyenne comply and, thoroughly intimidated, also promise to return to their reservation as soon as their ponies regain strength.

March 18 Business: Congress, in an attempt to bring down the vast amount of paper money still in circulation, passes the Public Credit Act, stipulating that payment of all government bonds be made in gold. However, the problem of how to redeem the $356 million in greenbacks (paper currency) issued during the war years is unresolved and will remain a hotly debated issue.

March 28 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry rides wearily into Camp Supply, marking the end of the Washita Campaign. Hostile Indians have been removed or eliminated from the Great Plains between the Platte and Arkansas rivers.

April 5 Military: Daniel F. Blakeman, the oldest surviving veteran of the American Revolution, dies at the age of 109.

April 6 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer shepherds his 7th U.S. Cavalry back to Fort Hays, Kansas, ending General Philip H. Sheridan’s winter campaign against hostile Plains Indians.

April 7 Sports: The Cincinnati Red Stockings becomes America’s first professional baseball team; George Wright, shortstop, is also the highest paid athlete in the nation, with a salary of $1,400 a year.

April 10 Civil: The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified by Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia, allowing these former Confederate states to regain admission into the Union. Indian: In concert with President Ulysses S. Grant’s Peace Policy, Congress creates the Board of Indian Commissioners to help supervise federal spending on tribesmen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); in practice it will simply become another part of the web of corruption working against Native Americans. Law: An act of Congress raises the number of Supreme Court justices from seven to nine.

April 13 Diplomacy: The Senate rejects the Claredon-Johnson Treaty to settle the Alabama claims arising from British warships built for the Confederate navy. Because

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the British refuse to apologize for their actions and offer only a paltry $15 million in compensation, Charles Sumner, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, excoriates the treaty, killing its chances for passage and it fails to pass, 54 votes to one. Societal: The National Grange convenes its first national meeting in Washington, D.C.; Iowa, Minnesota, and New York all boast statewide chapters. Technology: A patent is issued to inventor George Westinghouse for his airbrake, which greatly improves the safety of railroad operations.

April 15 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Texas v. White, ruling that secession is unconstitutional, hence illegal—as recent events have strongly underscored.

Apri1 16 Civil: Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett becomes the first African-American diplomat when he is assigned as minister resident and consul general to Haiti.

May 10 Transportation: The first transcontinental railroad is completed when an engine from the westward-bound Union Pacific meets an engine from the eastwardbound Central Pacific Railroad near Promontory Summit, Utah. The track uniting them is sealed by a golden spike wielded by Leland Stanford, chief executive of the Central Pacific, while a military band of the 21st U.S. Infantry serenades the affair. Railroads are fast becoming the most vital part of America’s transportation network and four more transcontinental lines will be built by the turn of the century. A journey across the breadth of the United States now takes only a week instead of three months.

May 15 Women: The National Woman Suffrage Association is founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with the latter functioning as president; their goals are voting rights for women and the ability to hold public office.

May 24 Exploring: One-armed John Wesley Powell makes the first of four expeditions down the Colorado River, especially in the region of the Grand Canyon. With congressional funding and approval, he will repeat the hazardous task in 1871, 1874, and 1875.

May 28 Indian: Vengeful Cheyenne destroy part of the Union Pacific track along Fossil Creek, Kansas.

June 1 Technology: Up-and-coming inventor Thomas Alva Edison receives his first patent for an “electrographic vote recorder.” The device itself performs well but fails to gain commercial notice.

June 5 Sports: The third annual Belmont Stakes is won by Fenian, who runs a time of three minutes and four seconds.

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Edison, Thomas Alva

(1847–1931)

Inventor

Thomas Alva Edison, with phonograph (Library of Congress)

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, and raised in Port Huron, Michigan, where he received only three months of formal schooling. Afterward he served as a railroad newsboy and in 1863 graduated to become a telegraph operator. Edison, possessed of a quick, intuitive mind, began experimenting with electricity and by 1869 he obtained his first patent for an electrical vote recorder. He then relocated to New York City to work with the firm of Pope, Edison, & Co., and began churning out a multiplicity of useful and practical new inventions. These early devices included the quadruplex telegraph that could transmit four messages simultaneously. Edison then parlayed his newfound wealth into his own research facility at Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he attempted to capture sound on metal discs. The resulting phonograph was successfully constructed in 1877 and the following year demonstrated before the Royal Institution in London and

June 8 Technology: Ives W. Gaffney of Chicago receives the first patent issued for a vacuum cleaner.

June 9 Military: Major Eugene Carr leads eight troops of the 5th U.S. Cavalry and three companies of Pawnee scouts out of Fort McPherson, Nebraska, in search of hostile Cheyenne under Tall Bull. Naval: Secretary of the Navy Adolf E. Borie orders construction of the navy’s first torpedo station on Goat Island, Newport, Rhode Island.

June 15 Music: Musical afficionados are rocked in Boston’s new Coliseum by a chorus of more than 10,000 people and an orchestra of 1,000 instruments. The occasion is in celebration of the end of the Civil War and restoration of the Union. Sports: Mike McCoole defeats English expatriate boxer Tom Allen in St. Louis, Missouri, after nine rounds and claims the heavyweight championship.

June 18 Naval: The U.S. Navy, being a force in transition from sail power to steam, orders ships to rely upon wind power unless circumstances are “most urgent.”

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President Rutherford B. Hayes in Washington, D.C. His next task was the development of an incandescent light bulb for home use to supplant existing electric arc lights that were impractical for home use. A period of his intensive trial and error experimentation culminated in the first functioning light bulb, capable of staying lit for 15 hours by dint of its carbon filament. The device was patented on November 1, 1879, and proved revolutionary for bringing the warm glow of electric light into households across the world. Edison also underscored its utility on New Year’s Eve of that year by lighting up the entire city of Menlo Park, with 3,000 spectators brought in on trains to behold the spectacle. In 1887 Edison subsequently founded the General Electric Company in West Orange, New Jersey, where he continued research and development schemes at his usual furious clip. Edison’s next technological breakthrough came in the realm of motion pictures. In 1891 he perfected his kinetograph camera and kinteoscope viewer through which projected

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sequential images could be viewed for the first time. He also began working arduously to perfect a practical electric cell battery for automobiles in 1900 and eight years latter settled upon a nickel hydrate/iron oxide model with lithium hydroxide added for extended life. As a researcher, Edison was a devout practitioner of “trial and error” experimentation, with scant regard for theoretical science and mathematics. For this reason, his techniques were falling behind by the advent of World War I, when weapons research technology required increasing levels of sophistication, but he still managed to patent no less than 54 devices relevant to naval warfare. Afterward he went on to establish the Naval Research Laboratory, the only weapons-dedicated American institute until World War II. The onset of old age did little to diminish Edison’s enthusiasm or imagination, and by 1930 he had developed a strain of crossbred rubber plants that yielded latex. Edison died in West Orange on October 18, 1931, the embodiment of Yankee ingenuity and American know-how.

June 26 Naval: In Washington, D.C., George M. Robeson becomes the 26th secretary of the navy.

June 29 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish orders U.S. Minister to Spain Daniel E. Sickles to help negotiate a settlement of difficulties between that nation and Cuba on the basis of independence and an end to slavery. The Spanish, however, reject any attempt at American interference along with a negotiated settlement with rebel forces.

July 4 Settlement: Captain Charles W. Raymond and a small army detachment arrive at British Fort, Lower Yukon, exactly on the Arctic Circle, and use astronomical observations to prove that the post is on American soil. British traders residing there will be evicted and the post renamed Fort Hamilton, Alaska. Transportation: The first railroad bridge across the Missouri River is opened by the Burlington Railroad.

July 11 Military: Major Eugene Carr’s 5th U.S. Cavalry, assisted by Pawnee scouts led by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, surprises and overruns a Cheyenne village at

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Chronology of American History Summit Springs on the South Platte River in Colorado Territory. The Indians are routed and suffer 52 dead, including Chief Tall Bull, and 17 women captured. One American is wounded. This defeat effectively demoralizes the remaining Cheyenne war bands, who begin straggling back onto their reservations.

July 12 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish meets with the Canadian finance minister, John Rose, in Washington, D.C. Both desire better relations but Fish makes clear American dissatisfaction with Great Britain’s stance over the Alabama claims. Rose promises to broach the matter with Prime Minister William Gladstone when he visits England the following year. His appearance will coincide with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and a strong wish by Gladstone to patch up relations with the United States.

July 13 Societal: Violent anti-Chinese riots break out in San Francisco when newly arrived immigrants, willing to work for the lowest possible wages, incur the wrath of competing laborers. Racial animosity against Asians is on the rise along the West Coast.

Twain, Mark (1835–1910) Author

Mark Twain (Library of Congress)

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Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835—the year of Halley’s Comet—and raised in the nearby frontier town of Hannibal. Poorly educated and losing his father early in life, he went to work as a child to help support his family. Working initially as an apprentice printer, he began contributing journalistic pieces to local newspapers and in 1856 changed jobs by becoming a river boat pilot on the Mississippi River. From this occupation he adopted his famous nom-de-plume of Mark Twain—a reference to the depth of river waters. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 Twain and his brother fled to Nevada to escape military service and he worked as a reporter in various newspapers in Virginia City. Relocating to San Francisco, he wrote his noted first essay, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” for the New York Saturday Press, which gained him some notoriety. Twain then

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August 11 Literature: Samuel Langhorne Clemens, writing under the pseudonym Mark Twain, publishes his book Innocents Abroad; this satyrical contrast between the United States and Europe becomes his first best-seller.

August 16 Arts: Noted dramatist Augustin Daly becomes manager of the Fifth Avenue Theater, New York City.

September 1 Politics: The National Temperance Convention, meeting at Chicago, forms the new Prohibition Party, drawn from 500 men and women from 20 states.

September 6 General: A coal mining disaster at Avondale, Pennsylvania, leads to the death of 106 miners by suffocation.

September 24 Business: Fluctuations in the gold market, cleverly manipulated by Jay Gould and James Fisk, induce President Ulysses S. Grant to sell off $4 million in

traveled abroad for many years before producing his distinctly satirical commentary entitled Innocents Abroad (1869), which was critically acclaimed and brought him national recognition. He then settled down in Hartford, Connecticut, to compose some of the most representative American literature ever written. This included a travelogue, Roughing It (1872), a satire, The Gilded Age (1873), and his immortal children’s classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), which confirmed his reputation as the preeminent American humorist of his day. Subsequent works such as the historical novel The Prince and the Pauper (1881) and the semi-autobiographical Life on the Mississippi (1883) added to his literary largesse of wry observation and sparkling humor. In 1884 he published his second fictional masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, concerning a youthful and selfwilled outcast from the world of gentle society. Twain enjoyed less success in business matters; his overinvestment in a proposed mechanical typesetter, combined with the

panic of 1893, left him deeply in debt. He thereupon embarked on a worldwide lecture tour to raise money, while also composing a number of lesser works. Twain, a first-class cynic regarding human nature, gradually succumbed to outright pessimism and bitterness about his fellow man. Later works such as The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894) and The Mysterious Stranger (posthumous, 1916) invariably touched upon mankind’s innate cruelty toward itself. Following the death of his beloved wife Olivia in 1904, Twain traveled abroad more and wrote less. True to his dire—and inescapably ironic prediction— he died in the year of Halley’s Comet’s return, on April 21, 1910, in Hartford, Connecticut. Twain, hailed as a literary genius in his day, has been equally regarded in Europe and his numerous works were translated into several languages. In concert with Theodore Dreiser and Jack London, his homespun tales and twinkling humor perhaps best capture the American spirit—and mounting cynicism—of his day.

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Gould, Jay

(1836–1892)

Financier Jayson Goul­d was born in Roxbury, New York, on May 27, 1836, the son of a farmer. Indifferentl­y educated, he briefl­y operated a l­eather tannery before moving to New York City as a merchant. There he discovered his uncanny tal­ent as a stockbroker and for monetary specul­ation on nearby Wal­l­ Street; over the next 12 years he amassed a minor fortune. By this time Goul­d’s penchant for manipul­ation and outright deceit, combined with personal­ ruthl­essness to succeed, had become preval­ent. His ensuing success can be attributed to the skil­l­ and guil­e with which he acquired rundown rail­roads, made improvements, then sol­d them at a huge gain whil­e using his corporate profits for additional­ specul­ation and outright bribes. In 1867 Goul­d began dabbl­ing in rail­roads and was angl­ing to obtain control­ of the Erie Rail­road, pl­acing him in direct com-­ petition with another grasping mil­l­ionaire, Cornel­ius Vanderbil­t. However, Vanderbil­t had met his match in Goul­d who, in l­eague with fel­l­ow schemers Daniel­ Drew and James Fisk, il­l­egal­l­y issued 100,000 shares of new stock, then took the profits to Al­bany, New York, where they bribed numerous l­eg-­ isl­ators to l­egal­ize their ownership. Goul­d next embarked on a vast expansion of the Erie l­ine and sol­d it off at an enormous profit before it overreached and bankrupted itsel­f in 1875. Previousl­y, he had acquired the Wabash Line, used principal­l­y to carry wheat stores to markets, and conceived a scheme to push up the price of gol­d, weaken the dol­l­ar, and encourage foreign merchants

to purchase more grain carried by his rail­-­ road. President Ul­ysses S. Grant was inad-­ vertentl­y compl­icit in the scheme but, to counter it, he ordered the U.S. Treasury to sel­l­ off its gol­d stocks and l­ower that val­u-­ abl­e commodities price. This move defeated Goul­d’s pl­oy compl­etel­y but al­so triggered “Bl­ack Friday” on September 24, 1869, and ushered in a l­engthy economic depression. Undeterred, Goul­d simpl­y resumed his successful­ specul­ation activities and by 1872 he was weal­thy enough to begin buy-­ ing up rail­roads again. This time his object was acquisition of the Texas and Pacific Rail­road, ownership of which al­l­owed him to infl­ate the price of his possessions, sel­l­ them, and reap windfal­l­ profits on capital­ gains. In 1889 he set his sights on acquir-­ ing the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific rail­roads. Control­ of this l­ine gave Goul­d a transportation empire stretching from Boston and New York to St. Louis and Denver. He al­so turned his attention to transportation networks in New York City, and he gradual­l­y gained ownership of that city’s el­evated train system. Goul­d then cl­everl­y and quietl­y acquired the Western Union Tel­egraph Company and the Ameri-­ can Union Tel­egraph Company, al­ong with the tel­egraph network of the Bal­timore and Ohio Rail­road—granting him a communica-­ tions monopol­y. Goul­d died in New York City on December 2, 1892, hugel­y weal­thy and universal­l­y acknowl­edged as the arche-­ type “robber baron” of the age of industrial­ capital­ism.

bul­l­ion, dramatical­l­y pl­unging its market val­ue in onl­y 15 minutes. The ensu-­ ing crash wil­l­ become revil­ed as “Bl­ack Friday,” wil­l­ ruin thousands of gol­d specul­ators, and wil­l­ greatl­y tarnish Grant’s publ­ic reputation, especial­l­y when it is l­earned that his brother-­in-­l­aw, Abel­ Rathbone Corbin, has been cl­andes-­ tinel­y assisting Goul­d and Fisk. The crash is demonstrabl­e proof of the inherent

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instability of America’s unregulated “boom or bust” economy throughout the Gilded Age.

September 28 Settlement: The army outpost at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, hosts the first post office erected in that region, with John S. Evans as its first postmaster. The ground for this particular fort had been personally laid out by General Philip H. Sheridan.

October 8 General: Former president Franklin Pierce dies in Concord, New Hampshire, aged 65.

October 25 Military: President Ulysses S. Grant nominates William W. Belknap to succeed John M. Rawlins after the latter dies in office. Although a major general in the Civil War, Belknap’s conduct will lead to a serious scandal in the Grant administration.

October 27 General: The steamboat Stonewall catches fire and sinks in the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois, killing 200 passengers.

November 6 Sports: Rutgers defeats Princeton 6–4 in the first intercollegiate football game, held at New Brunswick, New Jersey.

November 13 Sports: Princeton routs Rutgers 8–0 in the second intercollegiate football game, distinguished by its use of the “rebel yell” during plays.

November 29 Diplomacy: General Orville E. Babcock, President Ulysses S. Grant’s personal secretary, signs a treaty with the Dominican Republic in order to annex it outright. The move is supported by the president but disavowed by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, who fails to lend it support during Senate consideration. Another agreement to lease Samana Bay as a naval base is also signed but never makes it to debate.

December 6 Labor: The first gathering of the National Negro Labor Convention results in the founding of the Colored National Labor Union in Washington, D.C. Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant’s annual message to Congress stresses his neutrality toward the ongoing insurrection on the island of Cuba, despite losses to American property holders there. However, he maintains that America retains its freedom of action regarding future events on that island.

December 9 Labor: Garment cutter Uriah S. Stephens founds the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with only 11 tailors. Within a year it will have chapters across the nation, although it will remain a largely secret organization owing to the uncertain legal status of unions.

December 10 Women: The Wyoming Territory passes a law allowing women the right to vote within its confines. This move reflects the egalitarian frontier spirit and a trend toward greater freedom throughout the West. Ironically, women had been allowed to vote in New Jersey until 1807.

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December 22 Civil: Congress insists that Georgia must ratify the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution in order to regain its representation. This move underscores the need to keep army troops at various points through the South to ensure compliance with civil rights legislation.

December 24 General: Former secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton dies in Washington, D.C., only four days after he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Grant.

1870 Agriculture: Vermont farmers perfect the famous Red Macintosh apple, renowned for its appealing appearance and juicy flavor. It soon becomes a national best-seller and a staple of fruit stands everywhere. Arts: John La Farge finishes his stained glass window work entitled Battle Window for installation at Memorial Hall, Harvard University. Congress incorporates the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., so named after financier William C. Corcoran, who bequeathed the institution $300,000 in 1859, plus an additional $1 million to acquire a collection. Paris supplants London as the center for American artists abroad, and aspiring painters like William Morris Hunt, John La Farge, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler all study there. Bronson Howard, the only American dramatist able to earn a living from stage works, produces his newest work entitled Saratoga. Business: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company is founded for the express purpose of importing and distributing tea and coffee to a growing market; it will grow into the nation’s largest chain of grocery stores. Education: Harvard and Princeton universities begin the nation’s first comprehensive graduate student programs. The Stevens Institute of Technology is founded at Hoboken, New Jersey, with classes commencing in 1871. Wellesley College, Massachusetts, is founded as a female seminary. The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College (today’s Ohio State University) is chartered at Columbus. St. Ignatius College (Loyola University) is founded in Chicago; classes had been meeting on campus since 1869, a year before it was officially chartered. Labor: The success and appeal of unions is marked by a burgeoning membership, presently at 300,000. Literature: Scribner’s Magazine is founded and is unique in giving preference to American writers such as Edward Eggleston, Joaquin Miller, Bret Harte, and Frank Stockton. For this reason it becomes one of the leading magazines of the decade. Military: Congress fine-tunes the peacetime military establishment by reducing to 30,000 men, approving new pay scales for all ranks, and granting a pension after 30 years of service. Population: The ninth census reveals a population of just under 40 million, centered north and east of Cincinnati, Ohio. Publishing: Lucy Stone of the National Woman Suffrage Association founds Woman’s Journal as its official mouthpiece.

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Chronology

Whistler, James

1247

(1834 –1903)

Painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1834, the son of an army engineering officer. He traveled abroad with his father and lived in Russia from 1843 to 1849, while his father directed construction of a railroad for the czar. Whistler initially studied drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg in 1845, and returned to America following his father’s death in 1849. He then matriculated through the U.S. Military Academy, dropped out on account of failing chemistry, and subsequently worked with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Here Whistler acquired excellent training in etching and printmaking, so he quit and relocated to Paris to formally study art, especially the school of realism represented by Gustave Courbet. He never again returned to the United States. Whistler began painting and etching, and by 1858 had several pieces displayed at the Royal Academy in London. By then, however, he had dispensed with the refined and moralistic nuances of Victorian painting and determined to create “art for art’s sake.” In 1863 Whistler achieved considerable fame and notoriety by depicting his Irish mistress in a composition entitled “The White Girl,” which had been rejected by both the Royal Academy and Paris Salon but openly embraced by the Salon de Refuses in Paris. He also turned out a long series of atmospheric etchings, “Views of the Thames,” that were generally well received in 1871, and the following year painted the work for which he is indel-

ibly associated, Arrangement in Black and White, more popular known as Whistler’s Mother. However, in 1877 his creation Falling Rocket was so degraded by critic John Ruskin that Whistler sued him for libel. This precipitated the most sensational art trial of the century; although Whistler won the case, he so gratuitously insulted judge and jury that they rewarded him only a single farthing as compensation. Whistler’s trial rendered him bankrupt and unable to continue much longer in England, so he was commissioned by the Fine Arts Society to visit Venice for another series of etchings. The resulting body of work was among Whistler’s finest within this milieu, and he adopted a new style of painting with thin lines and tonal coloring. His art sold well and he returned to London with a new mistress, and on January 31, 1885, delivered a noted address, “Ten O’Clock,” which summarized his unique approach to esthetics. In 1887 Whistler also began dabbling in the art of lithography, which he pursued for a decade with commendable creativity and flair, and also rendered several portraits characterized by their emphasis on tone and atmosphere rather than precise likeness. Whistler’s art was invariably many years ahead of his critics and they never cordially embraced him, but in 1886 he presided over the Royal Society of British Artists and in 1897 the International Society of Sculptors and Engravers. He died in London on July 17, 1903, and was inducted into the national Hall of Fame in 1930.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich publishes his semi-autobiographical novel The Story of a Bad Boy, which forgoes the usual moralizing in favor of a more gritty reality. Sports: William H. Fuller develops the art of figure skating, which is eventually exported around the world.

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Chronology of American History Walking continues as the nation’s most popular spectator sport, but it is gradually being edged out by bicycling. Pimlico Racetrack is constructed at Baltimore, Maryland, by racing enthusiasts eager to emulate the success of Saratoga Springs, New York. Technology: Gustavus Franklin Swift perfects a working model of the refrigerated railroad car, essential for shipping beef and other perishables from Chicago to markets in the East.

January 2 Engineering: Work on the Brooklyn Bridge, a new suspension project to be constructed entirely from steel, begins. When finished it will span the East River from Park Row, Manhattan, to Washington Street, Brooklyn.

January 4 Labor: A telegraph operator’s strike begins and expands throughout the nation, potentially affecting all 300,000 union members.

January 10 Business: John D. Rockefeller incorporates the Standard Oil Company in Cleveland, Ohio, initiating what will become a huge business empire with a capitalization of $1 million. Diplomacy: President Ulysses S. Grant, convinced by land speculators that acquisition of the Dominican Republic might prove profitable, dispatches his

Rockefeller, John D.

(1839–1937)

Industrialist John Davidson Rockefeller was born in Tioga County, New York, on July 8, 1839, a son of farmers. He relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, at an early age, passed through the local schools, and began working as a clerk at the age of 16. Rockefeller proved remarkably adept at business matters, particularly accounting, and in 1859 he acquired a partner for a commodity trading firm that flourished throughout the Civil War. Always seeking outlets for innovation, Rockefeller entered the new petroleum business in 1863, bought out his partners, and within two years owned the largest such firm in Cleveland. Business boomed and he subsequently expanded his company vertically by acquiring timber tracts, chemical factories, and

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tanker cars, while also cutting deals with railroads to achieve their best rates. By January 1870 all these threads dramatically came together with the founding of the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, which served as a testimony to Rockefeller’s visionary business acumen. Through dint of effective, cost-cutting management, hard bargaining, and imaginative acquisitions, Standard Oil dominated the American oil industry by 1878, and reaped whirlwind profits in an age characterized by governmental neglect and non-regulation. In 1882 he followed this up by establishing the Standard Oil Trust, a sweeping industrial combination of different subsidiaries, verging on the edge of monopoly, that finally prodded

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personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock, to negotiate a treaty of annexation. He also ignored the usual nuances of State Department protocol and submits the proposed treaty to the Senate for ratification.

January 15 Journalism: A donkey is used for the first time to portray the Democratic Party in a cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper’s Weekly.

January 20 Diplomacy: American minister to Colombia Stephen A. Hurlburt signs a second treaty with that government to secure American rights in the Panama region, although with the proviso that any canal constructed had to maintain strict neutrality in time of war. The Colombia senate ratifies this new agreement but it dies in the U.S. Senate over the neutrality clause. Thus America still lacks the rights to construct its coveted Panama Canal.

January 23 Military: Major Eugene Baker directs two squadrons of cavalry to attack a Piegan (Blackfoot) village in northern Montana as retribution for past raids. The troopers kill 173 Native Americans and take an additional 143 captive. However, the public reacts badly to the massacre and forces Congress to scuttle a bill transferring the Bureau of Indian Affairs back to the War Department.

Congress to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Rockefeller’s success became the source of his own undoing when, in 1892, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered his trust broken up, largely after the revelation of muckracking journalists such as Henry Demarest Lloyd, who had published excoriating exposés about the company and its practices. Rockefeller countered seven years later by creating the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, which functioned profitably until the U.S. Supreme Court also ordered its dismantling in 1911. By this time Rockefeller had retired from active management to concentrate on other matters more dear to him. As one of the world’s most successful and wealthiest individuals, he surprised critics by also proving to be one of the leading philanthropists of his day. In 1891 he

founded and endowed the new University of Chicago with a grant of $35 million; it is now regarded as one of America’s leading institutions. This was followed by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York City, in 1901 (now Rockefeller University), the General Education Board in 1902, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation named after his wife in 1913. All told it is estimated that during his long lifetime, Rockefeller contributed more than $550 million to charities and philanthropies, more than any other individual. Curiously, despite his great success and tremendous wealth, he remained to the end a modestly disposed, publicity-shy individual, almost nondescript. Rockefeller died in Ormond Beach, Florida, on May 23, 1937, one of the most astute and generous businessmen in American history.

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January 24 Naval: The steamer USS Oneida collides with the British vessel City of Bombay off Yokohama, Japan, and sinks with the loss of 117 crewmen, including its three senior officers. The British vessel refused to stop and render assistance.

January 26 Civil: Virginia passes the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, thereby regaining its representation in Congress. Moreover, members of the state legislature must take an oath swearing to never amend their constitution to deprive African Americans of their rights.

February 7 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Hepburn v. Griswold, ruling that the Legal Tender Act is not retroactive, hence debts contracted prior to its approval in 1862 and 1863 cannot be repaid with treasury notes.

February 9 Science: Congress approves the National Weather Bureau, which initially functions as part of the U. S. Army Signal Corps.

February 12 Women: The legislature of Utah Territory grants full suffrage to women voters and also allows them to hold public office and attend college.

February 14 Arts: Thomas Blades DeWalden produces his play Kit the Arkansas Traveler, the first successful frontier drama for the stage.

February 23 Civil: Mississippi regains admission to Congress after ratifying the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, although only after legislative members affirm that they will not pass any constitutional amendments to deprive African Americans of their civil rights. However, violence against blacks is on the rise and 63 deaths will be recorded this year alone.

February 25 Civil: Reverend Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi, the first African American elected to either the U.S. Senate or Congress in general, takes his seat as a Republican. There he pleads that Georgia should be denied entry into the Union until all the proper political safeguards have been ratified and put into effect. A literate, persuasive college graduate, he is cheered by colleagues upon entering the chamber.

March 30 Civil: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish declares the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution to be ratified and in effect. Henceforth states are forbidden from denying rights on the basis of race—although enforcement of the law proves faulty.

March 31 Politics: Texas becomes the last former Confederate state to gain readmission into the Union and representation in Congress, on the same terms as Virginia and Mississippi.

April Indian: A deputation of Lakota Sioux under Red Cloud visits Washington, D.C., for talks with President Ulysses S. Grant. The issue in question is the impending

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relocation to a reservation as stipulated by the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. However, when terms of the “treaty” are read to Red Cloud, he strongly denounces them as lies, says that he signed no such documents, and utterly refuses to abide by its terms. “It is all lies!” he declares, then storms out of the meeting.

April 27 Crime: In Helena, Montana, convicted robbers J. L. Compton and Joseph Wilson are the last criminals to be executed from the notorious “Hangman’s Tree.” General: In Richmond, Virginia, the floor of the supreme court building collapses, killing 61 and injuring 12.

May 10 Sports: Englishman Jem Mace defeats Tom Allen in 10 rounds at Kennersville, Louisiana.

May 13 Diplomacy: In a major development, Great Britain finally recognizes the rights of naturalized American citizens and promises to respect them when they go abroad. An earlier British refusal to do so was a direct cause of the War of 1812 as it related to the impressment of Americans into the Royal Navy. Politics: Determined to overcome Southern recalcitrance toward Reconstruction, Congress approves a force bill that allows federal courts and officers to enforce provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.

May 19 Military: Sergeant Emanuel Stance, of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, becomes the first African-American soldier to win the Congressional Medal of Honor in the post– Civil War era. Stance distinguished himself in a surprise attack upon Apache raiders, routing them.

May 25–27 Military: Armed groups of Irish army veterans, the so-called Fenians, begin raiding across the Canadian border in an attempt to provoke hostilities with Great Britain. At length they will be detained and arrested by Canadian and American authorities.

May 31 Civil: With the encouragement of Senator Benjamin Butler, the Enforcement Act of 1870 (or Ku Klux Klan Act) is adopted by Congress to forestall continuing violence against African Americans in the South. This enables aggrieved persons to sue other parties should they be deprived of their rights. Labor: The Union Pacific prefers to hire Chinese laborers at $32.50 a month rather than pay $52 for whites; such disparity in payment leads to preferential hiring and to a great deal of racial antagonism and strife.

June Indian: Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux, having concluded two months of fruitless negotiations in Washington, D.C., ventures to New York City, delivers an impassioned speech at Cooper Union, and asks the white audience’s help in achieving justice.

June 4 Sports: The fourth annual Belmont Stakes goes to Kingfisher, who clocks in at two minutes, 59 seconds.

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June 12 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant dismisses Attorney General Ebenezer R. Hoar over the latter’s refusal to support Grant’s ill-advised scheme to annex the Dominican Republic. Amos T. Ackerman, a Southerner, is appointed in his place.

June 16 Diplomacy: In the House of Representatives, a resolution passes to recognize the Cuban rebels as belligerents, but staunch opposition by President Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary Hamilton Fish results in several amendments that recognize the difficulties on that island, yet fail to extend any recognition to the insurgents.

June 17 Naval: Sailors under Lieutenant Willard H. Brownson of the screw sloop USS Mohican row up the Teacapan River, Mexico, in search of pirates and burn one of their vessels at anchor.

June 22 Law: Recognizing the growing influence and responsibilities of the attorney general’s office, Congress establishes the Department of Justice as the government’s first law enforcement agency; today it supervises all government police agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons. Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant dismisses Special Commissioner of Revenue David A. Wells after he insists on the necessity of reforms.

June 30 Military: The growth of military professionalism is greatly abetted by the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Emory Upton as commandant of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Politics: The U.S. Senate refuses to approve Secretary of State Hamilton Fish’s treaty entailing annexation of the Dominican Republic on a tie vote of 28 to 28, and political ramifications ensue. Leading the charge against the measure is Senator Charles Sumner, who is now permanently estranged from President Ulysses S. Grant and loses chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

July 4 Sports: The steamer Robert E. Lee under Captain John W. Cannon wins an epic 1,100-mile riverboat race down the Mississippi by defeating the Natchez. The contestants departed New Orleans, Louisiana, and raced upstream against the currents. The winner arrived at St. Louis in three days, 18 hours, and 14 minutes. The Natchez under Captain Thomas P. Leathers, who claimed to have been delayed by fog above Devil’s Island, crossed the line six hours later.

July 8 Diplomacy: The Senate signals its intent to authorize a recent treaty between Great Britain and the United States to help suppress the still lucrative African slave trade.

July 12 Technology: Inventor brothers John and Isaiah Hyatt receive a patent for developing celluloid, an early step in the process of developing cheaper, synthetic materials such as plastic. Here it is used as a substitute for ivory in billiard balls.

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July 14 Business: Congress passes the Internal Revenue and Tariff Act of 1870, which eliminates excise taxes while lowering tariffs and duties on only a selected few items. This vote is indicative of the political clout of American industry, which seeks protection from European competition. Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish refines the Monroe Doctrine with a “no transfer” corollary declaring that any territory in the Western Hemisphere belonging to one major power cannot be transferred over to another, and must be declared independent. This stance is directed at maintaining the independence of Santo Domingo.

July 15 Politics: Georgia, having gained readmission into the Union and then having lost it for refusing to admit African Americans to its legislature, makes amends and regains admittance as a state with congressional representation. Technically speaking, it is the last former Confederate state so disposed.

July 24 Transportation: The first railroad car to depart San Francisco, California, pulls into New York City, initiating the first transcontinental route across America; such extensive travel is now a practical reality and proof of America’s expanding mobility.

August Indian: The army begins recruiting African-Seminole Indian scouts from Florida to serve along the southwest border, usually in concert with the two black cavalry regiments stationed there.

August 1 Women: Women cast their vote for the first time in Utah Territory.

August 4 Politics: Democrats, with the backing of white supremacists, gain control of the North Carolina legislature. This marks a resurgence of violence and obstructionism against civil rights for African Americans throughout the South as the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are routinely ignored. In effect, Reconstruction is being systematically dismantled.

August 8 Sports: For the first time in 12 years, the British enter the yacht Cambria in a contest to win back the America’s Cup. It sails against 23 other boats belonging to the New York Yacht Club, but the contest is won by the American vessel Magic.

August 16 Sports: Pitcher Fred Goldsmith demonstrates his curveball before an astonished crowd of onlookers at the Capitoline Grounds, Brooklyn, New York.

August 22 Exploring: Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane, U.S. Army, leads an expedition of five soldiers to Lake Yellowstone; they become the first white men to behold what subsequently becomes Yellowstone National Park.

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September 6 Women: In Laramie, Wyoming, Mrs. Laura Swain becomes the first American woman to legally cast a ballot in that territory since New Jersey women lost the right to vote in the 1800s. In New York City, radical magazine editor Victoria Claflin Woodhull opens the first female-owned and -operated stock firm in the United States.

September 19 Music: Swedish operatic singer Christine Nilsson makes her triumphant American debut at Steinway Hall, New York.

October 3 Business: Secretary of the Interior Jacob D. Cox, who had urged caution and restraint in utilizing the nation’s natural resources, is forced to resign under pressure from the industrial lobby. Previously, Cox had labeled them “robber barons.”

October 4 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant appoints Benjamin H. Bristow to serve as the first solicitor general of the United States.

October 12 General: Robert E. Lee, celebrated military leader and an enduring icon of the Confederacy, dies in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 63.

October 29 Naval: After the side-wheeler steamer USS Saginaw strikes a reef near Ocean Island in the mid-Pacific, a boatload of five volunteers under Lieutenant John

Woodhull, Victoria Claflin (1838–1927) Reformer Victoria Claflin was born in Homer, Ohio, on September 23, 1838, into a large and very spiritualistic family. She and her sisters claimed to be clairvoyant and accompanied their father’s traveling spiritualist show across the Midwest for many years. She married Dr. Canning Woodhull at the age of 16, divorced him in 1864, and retained his name. Around this time she also became a devotee of free love, enjoying trysts with several men while still living with her ex-husband. In 1868, Woodhull, accompanied by her younger sister, Tennessee Claflin, ventured to New York where they encountered millionaire businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was interested in spiritualism. Vander-

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bilt lent them money and assistance, so she and her sister opened Woodhull, Claflin, and Company, the nation’s first female-owned stockbrokerage firm. They then cashed in on their newfound notoriety, handled their duties to investors attentively, and made a small fortune. Woodhull followed up this success by founding her own newspaper, Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, in 1870, in which she promoted free love, women’s suffrage, and socialism. A committed revolutionary, she published the first edition of Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto in 1872 in her paper. However, Woodhull’s stature as a suffragette was never fully accepted by many contemporaries because of her radicalism

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G. Talbot sails off to Hawaii to obtain help for the survivors—a distance of 1,500 miles.

November 1 Military: The U.S. Army deploys sergeant-observers from the Signal Service across 22 cities to simultaneously monitor and telegraph weather conditions. These are the first-ever networked observations and constitute the beginnings of the National Weather Service.

November 8 Politics: In Missouri, a co ali tion of liberal Republicans and hard- line Democrats elects the anti-radical Republican Benjamin G. Brown as governor. This is consistent with a trend throughout the South to slowly dismantle Reconstruction.

December 5 Politics: For the first time since 1860, the U.S. Congress convenes in Washington, D.C., with members from all 41 states represented. The American polity is finally reunited.

December 10 Women: Governor John Campbell of Wyoming Territory signs a bill granting women the right to both vote and hold public office.

December 12 Civil: Congressman Joseph H. Rainey of Georgetown, South Carolina, becomes the first African American sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives.

and seeming disdain for the Victorian mores of 19th-century America. She confirmed her reputation for audacity in April 1870 by declaring herself a candidate for the presidency of the United States while also nominating African-American civil rights leader Frederick Douglass to serve as her vice president—but he declined to run. The following year she became the first woman to appear before the House Judiciary Committee and capably presented her case for women’s suffrage and equal rights. After failing to win the White House, Woodhull embarked on a personal vendetta against two of her most strident critics, novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister Catherine Beecher. She formally accused their brother, noted preacher Henry Ward Beecher, of conducting an affair with one

of his parishioners; he was subsequently put on trial for adultery. After Beecher was acquitted, Woodhull was countersued for libel in 1873 and, while likewise acquitted, the scandalous nature of her conduct cost her many former supporters. Feeling abandoned, Woodhull moved to England with her sister, and continued to write and lecture on behalf of women’s rights. In 1882 she married the wealthy banker John B. Martin, and settled into his country estate at Norton Park, Worcestershire. Between 1892 and 1910 Woodhull and her daughter, Zulu Maud Woodhull, edited and published a new magazine, The Humanitarian, to promote socialist viewpoints. She died in England on June 10, 1927, a memorable and all-too-frequently controversial spokeswoman for equality between the genders.

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December 15 Diplomacy: In his annual address to Congress, President Ulysses S. Grant urges Congress to reconsider the annexation of Santo Domingo, based on the island’s potential value in terms of commerce and regional defense.

December 16 Religion: African-American separatists under Bishop Robert Paine of the Methodist Episcopal Church found the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, Tennessee.

December 20 Naval: A boatload of five volunteers under Lieutenant John G. Talbot, having sailed for 31 days and covered 1,500 miles to reach Hawaii, reaches landfall. Tragically, the lieutenant drowns in heavy surf coming ashore, along with four shipmates, and only coxswain William Halford survives to get help for his shipmates still marooned on Ocean Island. For his efforts, Halford wins the Congressional Medal of Honor.

December 21 Arts: Theater producer Augustin Daly introduces the comedic play Saratoga by Bronson Howard in New York City.

1871 Architecture: Richard Morris Hunt, who trained in France at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Paris, designs and builds the Lennox Library in New York City. This is one of the first introductions of French design in the United States. Arts: James McNeill Whistler’s painting Arrangement in Grey and Black, better known as Whistler’s Mother, goes on display at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Conservation: Aided by railroads and improved firearms, white hunters arrive in droves along the southern plains and begin decimating buffalo herds for hides and cheap leather. Education: The Yale University pamphlet The Needs of the University underscores the growing necessity for emphasizing science in modern college curricula, although not necessarily at the expense of a classical education. Smith College is chartered at Northhampton, Massachusetts, as a woman’s institute. Journalism: The Daily Illinois, published at the University of Illinois, becomes the nation’s first undergraduate newspaper. Indian: Ely S. Parker, commissioner of Indian affairs, is investigated by Congress on charges of corruption. Parker, himself a Native American, will subsequently be cleared of all charges but nonetheless will resign and return home to Fairfield, Connecticut. Literature: Edward Eggleston’s novel The Hoosier Schoolmaster sells 500,000 copies. Poet Walt Whitman publishes “Passage to India,” his last significant poem. Louisa May Alcott publishes Little Men, the sequel to her famous Little Women. Publishing: Naturalist John Burroughs publishes his book Wake-Robin to promote popular interest in ornithology.

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In light of expanding global communications, Unitarian clergyman James Freeman Clarke writes and publishes his two-volume study Ten Great Religions, a popular tome that goes through 21 editions by 1886. Societal: Cowboys are gaining national attention due to their close association with the massive cattle drives to western railheads for shipment to eastern markets. Long feted and glamorized for rugged individualism, their life is a tough, Spartan one, replete with dangerous working conditions and low pay. By the late 1880s they will be a fading commodity, largely replaced by railroads and fencedin ranges. Sports: The National Rifle Association (NRA) forms in response to a rekindled interest in marksmanship brought on by the Civil War and the large numbers of sharpshooters it produced. Technology: A patent is issued to the firm Balthaser Kreischer for its unique hollow tiles, both light and fire resistant, that prove popular in the construction of industrial buildings. Andrew Smith Hallidie invents the mechanical devices necessary for the development of cable cars, soon to be a San Francisco hallmark. Transportation: The first Grand Central Station, constructed of webbed, wrought iron, arises in New York City as a hub for several interconnecting railroads serving the city and its boroughs.

January 11 Women: The House Committee on the Judiciary receives a memorial from editor and stockbroker Victoria Claflin Woodhull requesting that suffrage rights be extended to women; the memorial is tabled without further discussion. Consequently, Woodhull will begin an extensive speaking engagement to mobilize women.

January 13 Military: To assist and protect Revenue Department operations, U.S. Marines from the Brooklyn Navy Yard raid a nearby shantytown to seize an illegal distillery operating there.

January 19 Civil: The Colored National Labor Union petitions Congress for a national system of educational and technical training for African Americans. Indian: General George Stoneman commences a winter campaign against Apache Indians who have been attacking settlers in Arizona Territory.

February 7 Diplomacy: President Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of State Hamilton Fish agree to appoint members to a Joint High Commission to resolve long-standing questions regarding American—British—Canadian relations. The commission is to meet in Washington, D.C., later this spring, despite threats from Senator Charles Sumner, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

February 21 Politics: The District of Columbia adopts a territorial form of government to promote greater political autonomy.

February 24 Politics: The addition of senators from Georgia grants the South full political representation for the first time since 1860.

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February 28 Civil: To assist enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment, Congress imposes federal supervision of elections in any city with a population over 20,000. They also enact a second force bill authorizing federal courts and marshals to control the process.

March 3 Indian: In a major reversal, the government adopts the Indian Appropriation Act of 1871. This declares that Native Americans are no longer viewed as sovereign entities, but rather as wards of the state. To placate critics, President Ulysses S. Grant promulgates his own peace policy by assigning a myriad of religious groups to reservations to pacify, educate, and “civilize” the Indians. Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant forms a Civil Service Commission, under George W. Curtis, to investigate corruption in government; however, it lacks real authority and possesses only cosmetic appeal.

March 4 Politics: The Georgia congressional delegation is again seated now that the state has ratified the Fifteenth Amendment, which makes Southern representation complete.

March 9 Politics: Senator Charles Sumner is forced from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the behest of President Ulysses S. Grant, for opposing the Dominican Republic annexation treaty. Sumner adamantly refuses to allow that measure to be ratified.

March 17 Sports: The National Association of Professional Baseball Players is organized to replace the amateur-oriented National Association.

March 18 Education: In Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi, white teacher Sarah A. Allen is forced by the local Ku Klux Klan to leave her school for African-American children.

March 27 Education: The Arkansas Industrial University (today’s University of Arkansas) is founded at Fayetteville, Arkansas.

April 1 Education: Inventor Alexander Graham Bell employs his father’s use of “visible speech” (lip reading) to teach the deaf. His work in this field will lead to creation of the telephone.

April 3 Indian: Upon the urging of Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely S. Parker, Congress votes to forbid the United States from negotiating treaties with Native Americans, through the simple proposition that the tribes are not sovereign entities capable of enforcing or upholding whatever it is they sign. This will not stop the actual practice of concluding treaties if an advantage is to be gained.

April 5 Diplomacy: President Ulysses S. Grant, unable to overcome the stiff opposition of Senator Charles Sumner to the proposed annexation of Santo Domingo, finally withdraws the effort from consideration.

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(1847–1922)

Inventor Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3, 1847, the son of a distinguished speech physiologist. Like his father, Bell studied both speech and sound at the University of Edinburgh and the University of London, and worked as his assistant. Professionally, he was very interested in teaching and perfecting technology for deaf students. In 1870 Bell sailed to Canada for his health and a year later relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, to work at a school for the deaf. Success here resulted in a professorship at the Boston University School of Oratory, where he also enjoyed the time and means for applying the newest electrical technology to the problem of transmitted sound. In 1875 Bell patented a multiplexing telegraph system, but he remained intrigued by the possibility of electrical transmission of human voices over the wires. Aided by his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, Bell finally achieved success on June 3, 1875, and successfully transmitted a faintly audible message. A patent was applied for on February 14, 1876, but only hours before inventor Elisha Gray had patented a similar device. This led to a lengthy succession of lawsuits and counter-lawsuits between Bell and others who claimed to have invented the telephone; several of the suits went all the way to the Supreme Court, but in the end Bell prevailed. On March 10, 1876, Bell perfected his liquid amplifying transmitter and broadcast the first complete and perfectly audible message ever delivered through the electronic milieu: “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you.” Thereafter

Bell found several investors and incorporated the Bell Telephone Company on July 9, 1877. Through perseverance and technical acumen, Bell had initiated a complete revolution in human communication. Bell’s company and its device proved enormously lucrative, so in 1879 he turned control over to Gardiner G. Hubbard of the Clark Institute for the Deaf, and moved to Washington, D.C., to continue his research. There he invented numerous and ingenious devices such as the light-actuated photophone, an audiometer, and an electrical metal detector, first used to find bullets lodged in the body of President James A. Garfield in 1881. Bell also found the time to circulate within academe and publish Science, the journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Science. He then found time to serve as president of the National Geographic Society, 1896–1904, and also served as regent of the Smithsonian Institution in 1898. Bell remained active in various fields up through his later years, when he became passionately involved in the developing field of aviation. In this capacity he helped fund Samuel P. Langley’s early experiments with powered kites. In 1907 Bell also founded the Aerial Experiment Association, which helped fund the successful endeavors of aeronaut Glenn H. Curtiss. Bell remained active in promoting science until his death at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, on August 2, 1922. He was eulogized as one of the foremost inventors of his day and in 1950 was inducted into the National Hall of Fame.

April 7 Transportation: Congress passes the Illinois Railroad Act, which establishes a commission to fix maximum rates on railroad and warehouse use, in an attempt to regulate the rapidly expanding industry.

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April 10 General: With his usual flourish, outlandish promoter P. T. Barnum unveils his “Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome” in Brooklyn, New York. It will prove to be a popular draw for waves of curiosity seekers, greatly enriching the proprietor.

April 12 Business: Charles Pillsbury becomes head of the flour mill business C. A. Pillsbury & Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

April 20 Civil: Senator Benjamin F. Butler forces passage of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to support enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment. This authorizes the president to suspend writs of habeas corpus and employ federal troops if necessary, and also outlines specific procedures and penalties for the process.

April 30 Indian: Enraged settlers and vigilantes massacre 100 peaceful Apache at Camp Grant, Arizona, where they are still under federal protection. Public indignation results but little is done to comfort the survivors and hostilities continue intermittently over the next 15 years.

May Naval: When a group of American warships enters the kingdom of Korea seeking to establish diplomatic relations, they are fired upon by shore batteries. Sailors and marines are landed in consequence and they burn and destroy five Korean forts, then sail away without the desired relations.

May 1 Indian: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Boudinot v. United States, ruling that an 1866 treaty with the Cherokee outlawing a tobacco tax is rendered null and void by a newer 1868 tax law. This establishes the “last-in-time” principle, allowing Congress to systematically gut all previous treaty obligations and promises. Its net effect is to further erode the notion of tribal sovereignty. Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Knox v. Lee, reversing an earlier decision reached in 1870 through Hepburn v. Griswold. Henceforth, the Legal Tender Act is declared constitutional and treasury notes issued during the Civil War are considered legal currency.

May 3 Exploring: Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, U.S. Army Engineers, leads a party of 30 men out of Camp Halleck, Nevada, to begin mapping the area south of the Central Pacific Railroad. He is also to provide accurate information relative to Indian tribes in the region, sites for possible military operations, and possible routes for roads or railroad tracks.

May 8 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and British minister Sir John Rose formalize the Treaty of Washington for the purpose of establishing a joint commission to arbitrate fishing and boundary disputes, along with spoliation claims leveled against Britain for depredations inflicted upon Union shipping during

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the Civil War by the British-built raider CSS Alabama. Existing fishing arrangements between Canada and America are also renewed. Consequently, the German kaiser will be asked to serve as an arbitrator in settling the question of the Juan de Fuca Strait in Washington Territory while Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland will assist in settling the claims.

May 10 Politics: The Equal Rights Party nominates crusading editor and advocate of free love Victoria Claflin Woodhull for president and African-American civil rights leader Frederick A. Douglass for vice president.

May 11 Women: The National Woman’s Suffrage Association descends upon New York City to combat the deletion of women from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

May 18 Military: A band of hostile Kiowa under Satanta attacks a civilian wagon train hauling freight to Fort Griffin, Texas, and perpetrates the Salt Creek Prairie massacre by killing seven men and absconding with 41 mules.

May 24 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Treaty of Washington at the behest of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. This establishes an international commission at Geneva, Switzerland, to resolve the issue of damages arising from the British-built Confederate raider CSS Alabama during the Civil War.

May 27 Indian: Kiowa chief Satanta, having boasted of his role in the Salt Creek Prairie massacre, is confronted at the Fort Sill Agency by General William T. Sherman, who orders his arrest. When the Indians appear determined to resist, Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson suddenly deploys his 10th U.S. Cavalry and three tribal leaders are taken into custody.

May 30 Naval: Commodore John Rodgers, commanding the screw frigate USS Colorado and several smaller vessels, ascends the Han River in Korea. He is carrying Frederick Low, U.S. minister to China, in an attempt to establish relations with the reclusive leaders of the “Hermit Kingdom.” Several land forts fire upon the intruders and Rodgers promptly silences them. The commodore then demands a formal apology for the action; when one is not forthcoming, he prepares his force for action.

June 10 Naval: The American warships USS Monocacy and Palos put ashore 700 sailors and marines on the Han River, Korea, who storm and destroy several Korean forts that fired on the American squadron a few days previous. The defenders resist to literally the last man before the positions are carried and 243 Koreans are killed. American losses are three dead and seven wounded—no less than 15 Congressional Medals of Honor are awarded to sailors and marines for this stout action.

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Chronology of American History Sports: The fifth annual Belmont Stakes is won by Harry Bassett, who gallops around the track in two minutes and 56 seconds.

June 29 Exploring: Captain Charles F. Hall sails from New York City with the screw tug USS Polaris, voyaging northward on an ill-fated expedition to the Arctic.

July 2 Exploring: Captain J. W. Barlow leads a small party of engineers and explorers from Chicago, Illinois, to Yellowstone Lake, with orders to accurately map the headwaters of the Yellowstone River.

July 8 Journalism: New York City kingpin William Marcy “Boss” Tweed is exposed by a series of articles published in the New York Times, and he will ultimately be charged with accepting $200 million in fraudulent contracts. As nominal head of the Tammany Hall political machine, he has run the political life of the city for several decades. Millionaire Jay Gould helps him stay out of jail by posting a $2 million bail bond.

July 12 Religion: Rioting between Scotch Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics in New York City leaves 31 dead, including two policemen.

July 28 Literature: Struggling writer Walt Whitman, who first published Leaves of Grass in 1855, completes his latest work, Democratic Vistas, which strongly critiques the shortcomings of American democracy. It proves to be another wellintentioned but basically ignored endeavor.

July 30 General: The steamer Westfield, operating as part of the Staten Island Ferry service, New York, suddenly explodes in the harbor, killing 72 passengers and injuring 135 more.

September 4 Law: A citizen commission is appointed in New York City to investigate the alleged corruption of Tammany Hall and, especially, of Democratic Party leader William Marcy “Boss” Tweed. This commences a long campaign of political reform in America.

September 5 Arts: Augustin Daly successfully stages the play Divorce, which enjoys a successful run in New York and lasts 200 performances.

September 16 Exploring: Lieutenant George M. Wheeler’s exploring party starts up the Colorado River into the Grand Canyon, assisted by a dozen Mojave Indians as guides.

September 30 Literature: The first installment of the Hoosier Schoolmaster by Edward Eggleston is published in the magazine Hearth and Home; it is destined for fame and best-seller status once published in book form.

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October Indian: In the Indian Territory, civil war briefly erupts within the Creek tribe between adherents of Sands, a traditionalist chief who opposes the new Creek constitution, and modernists under Samuel Checote, who quells the rebellion.

October 2 Religion: The federal government arrests 70-year-old Mormon leader Brigham Young for practicing polygamy—he has 16 wives—but he is allowed to remain at home pending trial.

October 8–11 General: Beginning at 9:30 p.m., Chicago is ravaged by a huge fire that kills 250 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, and leaves 98,000 homeless. Total damage is estimated at $196 million and includes Abraham Lincoln’s first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, destroyed when the Chicago Historical Society goes up in flames.

October 9 General: Drought conditions lead to a fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, that kills 600 and devastates 2,000 square miles of forest land.

October 14 General: Chicago mayor Roswell Mason, surveying the wreckage of his once proud city, places survivors in the hands of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, which had been founded 11 years previously and now caters to the needs of 90,000 homeless.

October 20 Exploring: The small expedition of Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, marooned on the Colorado River near Diamond Creek, Arizona, and nearly out of food, is succored by a rescue party.

October 23 Sports: The U.S. yacht Columbia successfully defends the America’s Cup.

October 24 Societal: Continuing resentment against Chinese immigrant laborers leads to 15 lynchings in Los Angeles, California. The violence stems from the abduction of a Chinese woman by feuding secret gangs (tongs) and the subsequent murder of an investigating police officer.

October 26 Crime: William Marcy “Boss” Tweed is indicted on corruption charges following an expository essay published in the New York Times. It is estimated that Tweed and his inner circle have pilfered between $30 million and $200 million through falsifying contracts, bills, and other business dealings.

November 10 Journalism: New York Herald reporter Henry Morton Stanley tracks down explorer David Livingstone at Ujiji in the heart of Central Africa (Lake Tanganyika) and utters that immortal greeting, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

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1872 Agriculture: In Lunenburg, Massachusetts, Luther Burbank develops the socalled Burbank potato, which proves a popular variety to large and small growers alike. Architecture: Henry Hobson Richardson designs the elegant First Baptist Church in Boston on the site of the New Brattle Square Church. The Old Art Museum begins construction under the influence of John Ruskin, who ardently promotes medieval architecture against what he considers the gaudy, immoral forms expressed in Renaissance designs. Business: The Pennsylvania Railroad and the South Improvement Company sign a contract initiating secret rebates, one of many pernicious business practices of the era. Education: The University of Oregon is established with campuses at Eugene and Portland. Journalism: The Boston Globe begins publishing in Boston, Massachusetts. Literature: Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) publishes his book Roughing It, which includes satyrical accounts of life in the Wild West, replete with gambling, fist fights, stagecoach rides, and an account of his visit to Hawaii. Reverend Edward Payson Roe writes his Barriers Burned Away, a novel about the great Chicago fire that proves to be an immediate best-seller. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes his famous historical poem, “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” Military: After field-testing more than 100 types of firearm, the army settles upon the .45-caliber Springfield breechloading rifle as its principal firearm. Publishing: Continuing growth in popular and trade magazines results in publications such as Publishers Weekly and Popular Science Monthly. Religion: The Russian Orthodox Church relocates its episcopal see from Sitka, Alaska, to San Francisco, California. The recent American purchase of Alaska by the United States disestablished the church as an organ of the state. Charles Taze Russell, a Presbyterian lay member, founds his own sect, the Rusellites (Jehovah’s Witnesses). Settlement: Dodge City, soon to be a celebrated fixture of Western folklore, is laid out roughly five miles from Fort Dodge, Kansas. Technology: In Washington, D.C., Luther Chicks Crowell invents a machine to churn out flat-bottomed paper bags which prove essential for shopping purposes.

February Sports: More proof of the growing popularity of roller skating can be had in remote Cheyenne, Wyoming, which opens its first rink this month.

February 2 Politics: Congress passes a law mandating that, commencing in 1876, all congressional elections are to fall on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

February 17 Diplomacy: The Senate, rejecting a rising tide of imperialism in American foreign relations, turns down a proposed treaty that would have established coaling

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stations on the Pacific island of Pago Pago and also authorized the United States to serve as “protector” of Samoa.

February 22 Politics: The National Labor Convention assembles in Columbus, Ohio, to nominate David Davis of Illinois for the presidency and Joel Parker of New Jersey as vice president. Labor is determined to flex its growing muscles in the political arena in an attempt to curb the excesses of business and industry. The Prohibition Party holds its first nominating convention at Columbus, Ohio, selecting James Black of Pennsylvania for the presidency and Reverend John Russell of Michigan for vice president.

March 1 Conservation: Congress, under pressure to preserve the nation’s natural wilderness from exploitation and despoliation, authorizes creation of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Territory, as a public preserve. This is the first concerted federal attempt to preserve a part of the natural environment for the benefit of the entire population.

March 5 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant, noting the increasing importance of the Pacific region to American trade and commerce, appoints a commission to explore the possibility of constructing a canal across the Isthmus of Panama at Darien.

March 23 Journalism: The Indianapolis Sentinel is the first newspaper to label the Republican enemies of James G. Blaine as “Mugwumps.”

April 3 Indian: Major Elmer Otis unsuccessfully confers with Modoc leader Captain Jack, who refuses to return to the Klamath reservation in Oregon. The Modoc and Klamath are traditional enemies and do not reside easily on the same terrain.

April 7 Business: Anson Singer and Elisha Gray establish the Western Electric Company in New York City.

April 10 Societal: Julius Sterling Morton, a future secretary of agriculture, begins the practice of Arbor Day, a festival of tree planting, in Nebraska.

April 26 General: A severe earthquake rattles the settlement of Lone Pine, California, killing 27 and injuring 60.

April 29 Crime: A gang led by brothers Frank and Jesse James holds up and robs the Deposit Bank in Columbia, Kentucky. Having killed a cashier and being unable to open the vault, they simply abscond with $200 found in a drawer.

May 1 Politics: A gathering of liberal-minded Republicans in Cincinnati, Ohio, unhappy with the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant, nominates New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley and Benjamin Gratz Brown to oppose him.

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Chronology of American History Unsatiated, additional men under Carl Schurtz then leave and establish their own Republican Party with William S. Grosbeck as their candidate.

May 5–6 Politics: The Republican national convention convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and includes the first-ever African-American delegates to attend a presidential convention. Not surprisingly, Ulysses S. Grant receives their nomination on the first ballot, despite the tangle of corruption allegations around his associates in office. He remains a beloved soldier-figure and national hero to most of his constituents. This is also the first party convention in which African Americans are allowed to participate; William B. Gray of Arkansas, B. B. Elliott of South Carolina, and John Roy Lynch of Mississippi all deliver speeches from the rostrum.

May 9–10 Politics: Activists calling themselves the Equal Rights Party meet in New York City and nominate Victoria Claflin Woodhull for president and civil rights advocate Frederick Douglass for vice president.

May 22 Civil: Congress passes the Amnesty Act, which allows many Southerners to hold public office despite provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. A core element of 600 former Confederates remains without their full rights. Diplomacy: President Ulysses S. Grant asks the Senate to ratify a treaty signed between U.S. Navy commander Richard W. Meade and various Tutuila chiefs on the Samoan Islands. The harbor at Pago Pago, halfway between Hawaii and Sydney, Australia, is described as one of the best in the Pacific, and is of special concern to various steamship companies. The Senate, however, declines to act.

May 23 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant receives an important endorsement when the Workingmen’s National Convention meets in New York City and votes as a block to support him.

June 1 Sports: The sixth annual Belmont Stakes is won by Joe Daniels, who gallops around the course in two minutes and 58 seconds.

June 5–6 Business: President Ulysses S. Grant, politically posturing ahead of the election, endorses the Tariff Act of 1872, which imposes a 10 percent reduction on all imported items.

June 10 Civil: The Republican-dominated Congress disbands the Freedmen’s Bureau, unrealistically insisting that newly freed African Americans in the South stand on their own. Previously, the department doled out badly needed medical supplies, food, and schooling to those in need; its passing signals that Reconstruction is almost defunct.

June 17 Music: Devotees of classical music flock to hear famous Austrian composer Johann Strauss conducting his equally celebrated composition, the “Blue Danube” waltz, backed by a 2,000-man orchestra. The festivities are part of the World’s

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Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival, held to commemorate the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The event has been arranged by American composer P. S. Gilmore, who specializes in performances utilizing maximum instrumentation; he is better known as the author of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

July 6 Indian: T. B. Ordenal, superintendent of Indian affairs in Oregon, is ordered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to relocate the Modoc band under Captain Jack to the Klamath reservation—by force, if necessary. The stage is now set for an internecine war.

July 9 Political: The Democratic Party assembles in Baltimore, Maryland, and nominates New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley as its presidential candidate. Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri is selected as vice president. It is a curious and self-defeating choice as Greeley had previously criticized the Democrats on a number of important issues.

July 26 Military: In another provocative move, Colonel S. D. Stanley takes a large military expedition, supported by Gatling guns, out from Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, and begins surveying land east of Bozeman, Montana.

July 27 Military: War parties of Hunkpapa Sioux, angered by the army’s incursion into the region east of Bozeman, Montana, launch a night attack upon the camp of Major Eugene M. Baker, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, who is scouting ahead of the main column under Colonel S. D. Stanley. Two soldiers are killed in the so-called Battle of Poker Flat, and the expedition turns back.

August Business: In Chicago, Aaron Montgomery Ward establishes Montgomery Ward & Company with a new approach to the business of retail merchandising—direct marketing and sales by mail. His first catalog lists and details 150 items of use to the modern consumer.

September Military: Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie surprises a large Comanche encampment at McClellan’s Creek, killing 20 Indians and capturing 130 prisoners and 3,000 ponies. American losses are one dead and three wounded.

September 3 Politics: “Straight” Democrats meet at Louisville, Kentucky, and nominate Charles O’Conor of New York for president and John Quincy Adams II of Massachusetts for vice president.

September 4 Journalism: The Credit Mobilier scandal is exposed in the New York Sun after the directors of the Union Pacific Railroad form a company and reward themselves with lucrative construction contracts. The new outfit, Credit Mobilier of America, enjoyed deep pockets and made payouts of various sorts to congressmen, cabinet officials, and others, Vice President Schuyler Colfax among them. The

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Ward, Montgomery (1843–1913) Businessman Aaron Montgomery Ward was born in Chatham, New Jersey, on February 17, 1843, the descendant of a Revolutionary War general of the same name. After dropping out of school to work as a barrel and brick maker, he opted to sell dry goods at various stores in the Midwest, including at Chicago, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Joseph, Michigan. It was while working in this capacity that Ward became cognizant of a major complaint by farmers in the region: They could buy only a small selection of goods from local stores and usually at inflated prices. Ward then hit upon the idea of selling fine products to farmers by mail at a reasonable price, which would completely eliminate the middleman and his markup. He also intended to buy in bulk from manufacturers, to lower overall unit prices. Furthermore, all sales were to be conducted with cash, not credit, in another effective, cost-cutting measure. Returning to Chicago in 1872, he and his business partner George R. Thorne invested $2,400 and began marketing 30 items from a onepage catalog out of their one-room office. Business, as expected, boomed and the two began expanding both their inventory and their mail-order catalog, which reached 150 pages by 1876. To increase consumer confidence, Ward began the unprecedented practice of offering complete money-back guarantees for any product deemed unsatisfactory. Cash-strapped farmers, grateful at the opportunity to enjoy luxury items usually beyond their grasp, responded in droves and by 1888 annual sales had

skyrocketed to $1 million. In fact, Ward had so cut into the local dry goods business throughout the region that store owners protested by collecting and burning his catalogs in public. But Ward also had a powerful ally in the newly formed Farmer’s National Grange, an agrarian political lobby, whose endorsement resulted in a steady flow of repeat consumers. In gratitude he proudly proclaimed his company, “The Original Grange Supply House.” The growth of Ward’s business had, by 1900, prompted him to locate to the newly constructed Ward Tower at Michigan Boulevard and Madison Street in Chicago. Within two years a rival company, Sears & Roebuck, was offering stiff competition and began surpassing him in their annual volume of sales. But by this time, Ward had retired from actual company operations, although he still held the title of president. He was also politically active and highly civic minded, spending million of dollars in legal action to keep the Chicago waterfront unspoiled and free of commercial growth. By 1901 Ward withdrew from the business to his luxury home in Highland Park. He died there on December 7, 1913, having successfully pioneered the revolutionary mail-order merchandising business. His wife subsequently donated a large part of the family fortune, roughly $8.5 million, to charitable causes, especially Northwestern University, which constructed a medical and dental school in his memory. Today Montgomery Ward has 400 retail stores, 50,000 employees, and annual sales exceeding $7 billion.

story represents an early expression of “muckraking” journalism. It is also the latest damning evidence of the corruption-ridden administration of President Ulysses S. Grant.

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September 11 Naval: James Henry Conyers becomes the first African American admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy as a cadet; he resigns a year later owing to deficiencies in mathematics and French.

September 14 Diplomacy: An international tribunal established by the 1871 Treaty of Washington awards the United States $15.5 million in claims against Great Britain for its role in supplying the Confederate navy with the CSS Alabama during the Civil War. This successful commerce raider sank 100,000 ton of Union shipping before being itself sunk in 1864. Moreover, the success of this tribunal, comprised of members from Switzerland, Italy, and Brazil, anticipates later efforts at international arbitration.

September 25 Politics: The Liberal Colored Republicans meet in Louisville, Kentucky, to nominate Horace Greeley and B. Gratz Brown for president and vice president, respectively.

October 1–11 Indian: General Oliver O. Howard, assisted by noted scout Thomas Jeffords, gains an audience with renegade Apache leader Cochise in the Dragoon Mountains. Cochise agrees to relocation to a reservation in his Chiricahua homeland, but only if Jeffords, a personal friend, serves as his agent.

October 21 Diplomacy: Under the terms of the Treaty of Washington, which established commissions to settle boundary disputes between the United States and Great Britain, the San Juan Islands between Washington Territory and British Columbia are awarded to the Americans. The decision is reached under the aegis of Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, who had been asked to serve as an arbiter.

November 1 Transportation: An editorial in the New York Times predicts an early demise for the velocipede—or bicycle—when compared to the overall utility of the horse.

November 5 Diplomacy: Ever-expanding Japan signs an agreement with the United States, promising to uphold provisions of a treaty signed between Commodore Perry and the “king” of the Ryukyu Islands in 1853. Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant is resoundingly reelected with 3.5 million votes to Horace Greeley’s tally of 2.8 million and an electoral vote of 286 to 66. The Republicans also sweep both houses of Congress, and the new members include seven African Americans. Women: Susan B. Anthony and several women activists are arrested in New York for trying to register and vote in a presidential election. The transgressors are fined $100.

November 7 Naval: Captain Benjamin S. Briggs sails his brig Mary Celeste from New York harbor for Genoa, Italy, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and eight crewmen. The ship will be found drifting intact but abandoned at sea on December 4, with all hands missing; the mystery has never been solved.

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November 11 General: Boston is ravaged by a huge fire that kills 13 people and inflicts $75 million in damages across 65 acres.

November 14 Indian: A strong earthquake rattles Chelan Indian settlements in Washington State, prompting Christian missionaries to frighten the natives into adopting Christianity. Instead, an angry Chief Nmosize has their mission burned to the ground.

November 19 Law: In New York City, William “Boss” Tweed is convicted of swindling the city out of $200 million and receives a 13-year sentence. He is reportedly livid over having to serve it in a state penitentiary rather than a local county jail.

November 28 Military: Fighting breaks out between cavalry under Captain James Jackson and a group of belligerent Modoc Indians who refuse to return to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. One soldier dies and seven are wounded to a Modoc tally of two killed and three wounded. The Indians will slink off into the nearby lava beds of northern California and defy the troopers to evict them.

November 30 Indian: A group of hostile Modoc, migrating south from Oregon under Hooker Jim, surprises and kills 18 settlers.

December Military: U.S. troops corner a band of Tonto Apache at Salt River Cave, New Mexico, and make a desperate last stand. The Americans, aided by ricochet, fire directly into the cave and slaughter the defenders.

December 2 Politics: Representative Luke P. Poland of Vermont heads the newly assigned committee investigating the scandal surrounding the Credit Mobilier construction wing of the Union Pacific Railroad.

December 9 Civil: African-American army veteran Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback becomes acting governor of Louisiana and also the first black governor in U.S. history.

December 28 Military: Army captains William M. Brown and James Burn attack a group of Yavapai Apache at Skull Cave on the Salt River Canyon, Arizona Territory, killing 76.

1873 Arts: Artist George Inness spearheads a revival in romantic landscapes with his famous painting Home of the Heron, which also establishes him as the leading devotee of French-inspired sentimentalism in painting. Business: Adolph Coors establishes a beer brewery in Denver, Colorado. Education: Susan Elizabeth Bow opens the Des Peres School in St. Louis, Missouri, which functions as the nation’s first public kindergarten. She is assisted by two apprentices and instructs 68 students in her first semester there.

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Richard Greener, a Harvard graduate, becomes the first African-American professor of metaphysics at the University of South Carolina. Publishing: St. Nicholas Magazine for children is founded with Mary Mapes Dodge as editor. It will soon emerge as an influential publication for young people and feature original essays by Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott, Howard Pyle, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The popular biweekly Home Companion begins in Cleveland, Ohio, and continues in publication until 1957. Aspiring writers Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Edward Eggleston, and Bret Harte all publish successful fiction novels and collections. Americans get a dose of what will later be called science fiction when Jules Verne’s adventure saga Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea is translated into English and becomes a best-seller. Medical: The nation is swept by recurring epidemics of yellow fever, cholera, and smallpox, especially in the South. Bellevue Hospital, New York City, becomes the first nursing education institution in the United States; it draws upon the theories of the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale. Military: Once Congress grants all Civil War veterans burial rights in national cemeteries, Secretary of War William W. Belknap selects the design for grave markers, which is still in use today. Music: Composer Sidney Lanier writes several noted compositions for the lute, including “Field-larks and Blackbirds” and “Swamp Robin.” Religion: The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the first such Reform Judaism group in the United States, is organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, under Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. Societal: Decoration Day (later, Memorial Day) first becomes a legal holiday in New York. Sports: English bookmakers make their appearance at American racetracks, signaling the end to informal wagering between owners and spectators. Marksmanship enjoys a huge revival in post–Civil War America with 100,000 riflemen attending a shooting match in Creedmore, Long Island, alone. Technology: The new and more powerful explosive nitroglycerine is first employed in construction of the Hoosac Tunnel in western Massachusetts.

January 7–9 General: Minnesota is beset by a raging blizzard that sweeps the plains and inflicts heavy damage on property and livestock.

January 8 Politics: Prince William Lunalilo of Hawaii is crowned King Lunalilo; he is the first elected monarch of the islands.

January 17 Military: Colonel Frank Wheaton, 21st U.S. Infantry, musters 400 soldiers in an attack upon Captain Jack’s Modoc positions in the Tule Lake lava beds of northern California. Indian resistance is tenacious and the Americans are forced back with 35 killed and 25 wounded.

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February 12 Business: Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1873, whereby silver coins are removed from circulation because silver is so rare it has exceeded gold (bullion) in value. This move, in turn, opens the government to charges of a gold standard conspiracy. Free silver advocates will consider this act the “Crime of ‘73,” especially after extensive silver deposits are uncovered out West.

February 27 Politics: Congressmen Oakes Ames and James Brooks are accused by a House committee investigating the Credit Mobilier scandal of corruption and taking bribes. Their expulsion is recommended, but in the end they will only be censured.

March 1 Technology: Christopher E. Sholes, who invented a working typewriter in 1868, goes into business with E. Remington & Sons (a gun manufacturer) to manufacture typewriters on a mass basis. In time Remington machines will dominate the business office world.

March 3 Environment: Congress passes the Timber Culture Act, which promises an additional 160 acres to any settler who promises to plant trees on a quarter of his land. Politics: Congress generously raises its own pay by 50 percent along with that of the president and justices of the Supreme Court; the move is badly received by the public and condemned in the press as the “Salary Grab Act.” They also proffer the Coal Lands Act, which doles out coal-bearing acreage to anyone who can afford the $10-$20 an acre price, subject to limits of 120 acres per person or 320 acres per group. Societal: Congress passes an act forbidding the mailing of obscene literature, at the behest of Anthony Comstock, secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. This marks the rise of attempts to impose a straitlaced conservative morality upon the nation.

March 4 Journalism: The first issue of the Congressional Record is published; it reports exclusively on the activities of the Congress. Politics: Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated for his second term in office; Henry Wilson is the new vice president.

March 27 Military: A column under Captain George M. Randall, 23rd U.S. Infantry, surprises an Apache camp near Turret Peak, Arizona Territory, killing 23 Indians. The dispirited survivors begin returning to their reservation.

April 6 Indian: General George Crook accepts the surrender of 300 Yavapai Apache at Camp Verde, Arizona, who are then dispatched to new lives on reservations.

April 11 Indian: General Edward R. S. Canby, commanding the Department of the Pacific, attempts to placate warring Modoc Indians by meeting with tribal leaders near the Tule Lake lava beds in northern California. However, he is treacherously shot

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and killed by Captain Jack (Kintpuash), along with a peace commissioner, which will lead to renewed efforts by the U.S. Army to surround and finally crush the insurgents. Canby is the only regular army general killed in an Indian war.

April 14 Civil: Armed whites storm into Colfax, Louisiana, killing most of the African Americans living there. Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the Slaughter House Case, which relates directly to provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. They rule that the federal government does not have jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to civil rights, nor is it applicable to cases related to property rights—in effect, reaffirming state sovereignty.

April 15 Military: Colonel Alvin C. Gillem, 1st U.S. Cavalry, supported by howitzers, attacks Modoc Indian positions in the Tule Lake lava beds of northern California. Despite intense shelling, the Indians suffer no casualties and repulse another American advance with a loss of seven dead and 13 wounded.

April 26 Military: Modoc warriors under Scarfaced Charley surprise a company of the 1st U.S. Cavalry in camp outside the Tule Lake lava beds of northern California, killing 18 and wounding 16. The defeat leads to the replacement of Colonel Alvin C. Gillem.

May 1 Business: The first penny post cards are issued by the U.S. Post Office.

May 7 General: Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase of the U.S. Supreme Court, a founder of the Republican Party and a staunch advocate for civil rights, dies in New York City. Naval: The screw sloop USS Tuscarora puts 200 men ashore at Panama (then part of Colombia) to protect American lives and property during a revolutionary upheaval.

May 10 Military: Modoc Indians again sortie from their strongpoint in the Tule Lake lava beds of northern California and surprise army troops encamped there. Five Americans die and another 12 are wounded, but the Modoc lose five killed, among them Ellen’s Man, an important leader. This leads to dissension in the Modoc camp, and a band under Hooker Jim surrenders to the army. He also agrees to help apprehend Captain Jack.

May 13 Military: Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie departs Fort Clark, Texas, at the head of the 4th U.S. Cavalry and heads south into Mexican territory to attack renegade bands of Kickapoo Indians encamped along the San Rodrigo River.

May 18 Military: A detachment of the 4th U.S. Cavalry under Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie crosses into Mexico without government permission and attacks a hostile Kickapoo settlement at Nacimiento. They round up 317 survivors and take them back to reservations in Kansas. Mexican protests over the incursion will be ignored.

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May 27 Sports: The first annual Preakness Stakes is run at Pimlico, Maryland, and won by Survivor, who gallops across the line in two minutes and 43 seconds. In time it is grouped with the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes to form the Triple Crown of horse racing.

June 4 Indian: Several Modoc bands under Hooker Jim, having sensed the futility of fighting the U.S. Army long-term, assist in the capture of Kintpuash (Captain Jack) near the Lost River, California. He is subsequently tried and hung for the death of General Edward R. S. Canby.

June 7 Sports: The seventh annual Belmont Stakes is won by Springbok with a time of three minutes and one second.

June 12 Exploring: A small exploring party under Captain W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, departs Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, and begins blazing a new trail into the Yellowstone region. Specifically, he is seeking a military route that will connect Yellowstone to the nearby Union Pacific Railroad line.

June 20 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer leads 10 troops of his 7th Cavalry as part of a 1,500-man column out of Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, and up the Yellowstone River. His mission is to scour the region for hostile Cheyenne and Sioux who have been harassing the Northern Pacific Railroad. When his commanding officer, Colonel David S. Stanley, is removed from command for drunkenness, Custer will take charge of the ensuing campaign.

July 3 General: President Ulysses S. Grant proclaims that the Centennial Exposition of 1876 will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, birthplace of the nation.

July 21 Crime: The Jesse James gang robs a train belonging to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad near Adair, Iowa, making off with $3,000 from the delivery car’s safe.

August General: Swarms of locusts plague western farms, already hard-pressed by high debt for seed, tools, and machinery. Many small farmers are thus forced to sell their lands at a loss and begin migrating in large numbers to the cities to look for work.

August 1 Technology: San Francisco’s first cable car, designed by British-born Andrew Hallidie, commences operations by scaling the 2,781-foot-long track up Nob Hill on a daily basis.

August 2 General: Portland, Oregon, is ravaged by a great fire that destroys 22 city blocks.

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August 4 Military: Lieutenant Col­oÂ�nel George A. Custer, scouting ahead of his main body with only his brother and 20 mounted scouts, is suddenly attacked by 300 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors along the Tongue River, Montana. Custer deploys his men in the grass, until they suddenly rise and deliver several Â�point-­blank volleys into the mounted mass, driving them back in confusion. The enraged Indians then dis-­ mount and begin surrounding the defenders, but Custer and his men are rescued in the nick of time by the 7th Cavalry, which rides up to their rescue. Custer’s adroit handling of his men, coupled with aggressive tactics, averts what might have been a minor disaster.

August 6 Diplomacy: The United States and Japan sign a postal convention whereby the former is allowed to help establish a modern mail serÂ�vice. The Americans also take steps to lower the extraterritoriality of its citizens living there, ordering them to observe various JapaÂ�nese laws respecting hunting, the press, and quar-­ antine Â�regulations. In this manner Japan will slowly attain equality with Western powers.

August 11 Military: The 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenant Col­oÂ�nel George Armstrong Custer attempts to engage a large Sioux village near the mouth of the Big Horn River. His 450 men are attempting to wade a river in front of the village when a party of warriors under Crazy Â�Horse outflanks them and begins closing in from the rear. Caught between two fires, Custer signals his men to mount, orders the regimental band to play “Garryowen,” and the Â�hard-­bitten troopers suddenly charge the enemy. The Indians scatter before the onslaught and escape from the battlefield while Custer recrosses the Yellowstone River at his leisure. American losses are three killed and four wounded to an estimated loss of 40 dead Indians. After this engagement the Sioux fail to mount any more serious reÂ�sisÂ�tance to the intruders.

August 18 Sports: Mount Whitney, which, at 14,495 feet, is the tallest peak in the United States, is successfully scaled by John Lucas, Charles Begole, and A. H. Johnson.

August 27 Diplomacy: In light of growing social discord in Cuba, Secretary of State Ham-­ ilton Fish warns Spanish authorities to begin reforms on that island in order to restore stability. He also mentions that several groups in the United States desire to invade Cuba and annex it outright. Naturally, this stance will lead to a deterio-­ ration of relations between the two countries.

September 18 Business: The brokerage firm Jay Cooke & Company fails and triggers a Â�five-­year economic depression; this year over 5,000 businesses will Â�fail—all as a result of 12 years of economic excess based upon Â�over-­trading, Â�over-­production, and Â�overÂ�speculation. The panic of 1873 is a watershed moment in the economic history of the nation and will not be fully mitigated until 1879, with an increasing emphasis on cooperation between business and labor.

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September 20 Business: The Stock Exchange, reeling from the closure of Jay Cooke & Company, closes its doors for 10 days. In response the Treasury Department releases $26 million in greenbacks, slated for recall in January 1874.

September 23 Sports: Englishman Tom Allen wins the world heavyweight boxing championship by defeating American Mike McCoole neat St. Louis, Missouri.

October 3 Indian: At Fort Klamath, Oregon, Kintpuash (Captain Jack) and four other Modoc leaders are hung for the murder of peace commissioners, while 150 of their followers are sent to live at Fort Quapaw, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). It is not until 1909 that some are allowed to return to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon.

October 9 Naval: Fifteen naval officers, seeking an outlet for dissident points of view, form a professional society at Annapolis, Maryland, that will eventually be called the United State Naval Institute, with its own publication, the Proceedings.

October 18 Sports: Conferees from Yale, Princeton, Rutgers, and Columbia universities establish the first football conference at a hotel in New York City and draft an initial code of rules. These resemble soccer more than anything else, and in a few years the game will revert to the more modern “Boston Game” preferred by Harvard.

October 31 Diplomacy: Spanish gunboats capture the American steamer Virginius, which is carrying arms and insurgents bound for Cuba. Fifty-three crew members, including eight Americans, will ultimately be executed by military authorities. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish negotiates compensation to the families, but public hostility mounts toward what is viewed as an act of aggression. War seems a distinct possibility.

November Societal: The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is founded in Cleveland, Ohio, with a view toward establishing prohibition, nationwide.

November 19 Law: William Marcy “Boss” Tweed, the Democratic Party leader who controlled Tammany Hall, is convicted of 102 counts of fraud. He consequently receives a 12-year sentence and is fined $12,550. Currier and lves print (1874) showing a young woman as a warrior for temperance (Library of Congress)

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November 27 Engineering: Construction is completed on the Hoosac Tunnel, 26 feet wide and 4.7 miles long,

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which burrows through a spur in the Green Mountains, Massachusetts. This is the second longest railroad tunnel in the world and connects the Connecticut River valley to the Hudson River valley.

November 29 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and Spanish admiral José Polo de Bernabe agree to settle damages arising from the Virginius affair by paying $80,000 to the survivors’ families—despite the fact that the vessel was illegally flying an American flag and was aiding Cuban rebels on the island. The agreement curtails any sentiments for war and annexation for the time being.

1874 Agriculture: The Colorado beetle, better known as the potato bug, finally completes its migration to the East Coast and inflicts great damage to potato crops. Arts: Martin Milmore begins work on his Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Boston, Massachusetts, initiating a distinct and ornate style in American public sculpture. Business: The Krug Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is renamed the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Medical: Dr. Andrew T. Still of Baldwin, Kansas, begins the new practice of osteopathy, or therapy based on the manipulation of the skeleton and muscles. Military: Congress slashes the size of the U.S. Army down to 25,000 men, forcing it to eliminate all recruiting efforts. Politics: The Social Democratic Workingmen’s Party is organized, based on the principles of German socialist Ferdinand LaSalle, which are evolutionary and not revolutionary. Publishing: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Charles Dudley Warner publish the novel The Gilded Age, a caustic satire on the corruption and rampant speculation of the day. Writer Edward Eggleston enjoys critical success with his novel The Circuit Rider, concerning a frontier preacher. Historian Francis Parkman publishes The Old Regime of Canada, the next volume in his epic historical series. Religion: Liberal theologian John Fiske publishes Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, arguing that religion and the scientific theories of evolution espoused by Charles Darwin are not mutually exclusive. In fact, society, by its many trials and tribulations, weeds out the weak while only the strong and better equipped survive. This is the origin of “social Darwinism.” Science: Governor W. H. Jackson, who is also an avid photographer, discovers ancient Pueblo “cliff dwellings” along the Manco River, Colorado Territory. Societal: The Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, America’s first public zoo, opens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sports: The new sport of lawn tennis appears in the United States, having been imported from Bermuda by New Yorker Mary Ewing Outerbridge. She also lays out the first tennis court, replete with nets, balls, and rackets, on Staten Island. Technology: Construction of the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, employs pneumatic foundation casings for the first time.

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Chronology of American History Stephen Field of New York City pioneers invention of the third rail, which safely and conveniently provides streetcars with an electric current.

January 13 Labor: Frustrated with unemployment, a mob riots in Tompkins Square Park, New York City.

January 20 Politics: Congress, reacting to public pressure and resentment, repeals the “Salary Grab Act of 1873,” although raises for the president and Supreme Court justices are left intact.

January 21 Law: Late chief justice Salmon P. Chase of the U.S. Supreme Court is replaced by Morrison R. Waite; the Senate had rejected President Grant’s earlier nominees, George Henry Williams and Caleb Cushing.

January 31 General: The Minnesota legislature votes to give $5,000 in aid to farmers beset by a destructive locust infestation. Other plains states so afflicted soon follow suit.

February 3 Civil: In Jackson, Mississippi, Blanche K. Bruce becomes the first AfricanAmerican U.S. senator elected from that state. Politics: King Lunalilo dies suddenly in Hawaii, leaving several competitors scrambling to succeed him.

February 12 Politics: After Hawaiian legislators elect Prince David Kalakaua to succeed the late king Lunalilo, supporters of Queen Emma riot and gut the palace. A bitter power struggle ensues.

March 8 General: Former president Millard Fillmore dies at 74 in Buffalo, New York.

March 11 Business: The Wisconsin state legislature, prodded by the Grange, passes the Potter Law to regulate railroad and freight rates within its boundaries. This is a major victory over the lumber and railroad monopolies.

March 22 Religion: The Young Men’s Hebrew Association is founded in New York City under President Lewis May.

March 23 Business: The Iowa legislature, with backing from the local Grange, passes the so-called Grange Laws to regulate freight rates within that state. This move frustrates the ability of tycoons like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould to set their own rates, while protecting farmers and railroad managers. This also constitutes a major victory for the Grange, whose influence is slowly growing nationwide.

April 14 Business: The House of Representatives passes the Legal Tender Act, which adds $18 million in greenbacks to the $383 million already in circulation.

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Vanderbilt, Cornelius (1794–1877) Businessman Cornel­ius Vanderbil­t was born in Port Rich-­ mond, Staten Isl­and, New York, on May 27, 1794, the son of farmers. Exceptional­l­y wil­l­ful­, he dropped out of school­ at 11 and five years l­ater purchased a sail­boat to raise money by giving rides. Vanderbil­t displ­ayed acute busi-­ ness acumen at an earl­y age, and by the War of 1812 he possessed a fl­eet of schooners and a contract with the government to sup-­ pl­y various forts around New York City. By 1818 Vanderbil­t correctl­y guessed that steam was the future of transportation, so he man-­ aged a smal­l­ fl­eet of steamboats with Tho-­ mas Gibbons and chal­l­enged Robert Ful­ton’s monopol­y of the traffic on the Hudson River. When Ful­ton’s monopol­y was overthrown by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1829, Vanderbil­t acquired his own steamboat l­ine, undercut al­l­ the competition, drove them out of business, and ended up with a virtual­ monopol­y of his own. He owed his success to the incessant pl­owing of profits back into the business, and to offering the publ­ic both l­uxury accom-­ modations and l­ower fares than competitors. So successful­ did this enterprise prove that Vanderbil­t garnered the nickname “Commo-­ dore” and became a mil­l­ionaire by 1846. The fol­l­owing year he acquired a steamboat l­ine in Nicaragua, which was temporaril­y taken over by competitors, but he cut his own rates, drove them out of business, and acquired another monopol­y to the Pacific just as the famous gol­d rush was commencing. Vander-­ bil­t subsequentl­y acquired three l­uxury l­iners for the transatl­antic passage from New York to Le Havre, France, but when the Civil­ War

commenced in 1861 he donated them to the U.S. Navy as warships. He al­so bought up and refurbished many ol­der vessel­s and then sol­d them to the government for use as bl­ock-­ ade vessel­s. By 1862 Vanderbil­t foresaw that rail­-­ roads woul­d prove of increasing importance as a national­ transportation network, and began quietl­y and methodical­l­y purchasing fail­ing l­ines. He began by purchasing the New York & Harl­em Rail­road, and with it he initiated New York City’s first streetcar service. Vanderbil­t then vanquished Dan-­ iel­ Drew in a l­ong and costl­y struggl­e to consol­idate the Harl­em River Rail­road and the New York Central­ Rail­road, which he accompl­ished with the hel­p of the New York l­egisl­ature in 1869. However, Vanderbil­t met his match when he took on Drew, James Fisk, and the wil­y Jay Goul­d for control­ of the Erie Rail­road in Pennsyl­vania. When the l­atter fl­ooded the stock market with 100,000 issues of fraudul­ent stock, which Vanderbil­t purchased by mistake, he l­ost heavil­y and then withdrew from the competition. This setback proved temporary, for in 1873 his acquisition of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail­road compl­eted the first direct l­ink between the metropol­itan hubs of New York and Chicago. Vanderbil­t then survived the panic of 1873 by arranging construction of the Grand Central­ Terminal­ in New York. Vanderbil­t died in New York on January 1, 1877, with a net worth exceeding $100 mil­-­ l­ion, which marked him as the most success-­ ful­ business tycoon of his day.

April 15–May 15 Politics: With backing from President Grant, Republ­ican El­isha Baxter becomes governor of Arkansas, ending a viol­ent dispute with Democratic contender James Brooks. Armed supporters of either side have kil­l­ed 20 men and federal­ troops are required to restore order.

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April 22 Business: President Grant vetoes the Legal Tender Bill, which calls for $18 million in additional paper money, for fear of stimulating inflation.

May 4 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Bartemeyer v. Iowa, ruling that the sale of liquor does not fall under the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Politics: Secretary of the Treasury William A. Richardson resigns after revelations that he allowed a friend to reap windfall commissions while collecting taxes for the U.S. government.

May 8 Labor: Massachusetts adopts a 10-hour work day for women and children under 18, the first in the nation.

May 16 General: The Williamsburg Dam, Massachusetts, breaks at the Ashfield Reservoir and floods the Mill River valley, inflicting 100 deaths and damage amounting to millions of dollars.

May 21 General: Nellie Grant, the president’s daughter, marries Algernon Frederick Sartoris in a White House ceremony; it is the third wedding on the premises.

May 26 Sports: The second annual Preakness Stakes is won by Culpepper, who turns in a time of two minutes and 56 seconds.

June 13 Sports: The eighth annual Belmont Stakes is won by Saxon, who completes the course in two minutes and 39 seconds. This also marks the first year that the distance run was one and a half miles.

June 18 Agriculture: To assist farmers whose crops have been destroyed by locusts, Congress passes an act allowing them to temporarily evacuate their holdings without risk of losing their claims to the land. In this manner the residents may seek employment elsewhere for the time being.

June 20 Business: Congress fixes the amount of greenbacks in circulation at $382 million. Politics: A board of three commissioners, appointed by the president, is installed as the new government of Washington, D.C. The previous territorial form of governance is abolished, and the inhabitants are disenfranchised and lose their nonvoting representative in Congress.

June 27 Military: A large raiding party of Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche Indians under Quanah Parker and Lone Wolf attacks the fortified trading post called Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle. However, the sharpshooting hunters opposing them, being equipped with high-powered rifles, commence felling braves at a mile’s distance. Unable to overcome such stout resistance, the discouraged war-

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riors retire after a few hours of one-sided combat. However, this action signifies the start of the Red River War.

July General: The Rocky Mountains are suddenly beset by hungry locusts who infest the region in a swarm of biblical-scale proportions. These winged hordes promptly descend on the fertile plains states, devouring everything in sight and causing millions of dollars in crop damages. Indian: Commanding General William T. Sherman announces the end of President Ulysses S. Grant’s “peace policy” toward Native Americans and instructs General Philip H. Sheridan to aggressively pursue and punish all hostile tribes. Sherman himself relocates his headquarters to Chicago, Illinois, after continual disagreements with Secretary of War William W. Belknap.

July 2 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer leads 10 companies of his 7th U.S. Cavalry out of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, and begins exploring the Black Hills region. This is a part of the Great Sioux Reservation and the intrusion does much to escalate hostilities between both sides. As if to underscore the ramifications of this endeavor, within two days Custer’s Crow scouts abandon the column for fear of Sioux retaliation. Custer is in the region to verify the presence of valuable mineral deposits, especially gold, and he is accompanied by civilian specialists in geology, topography, and paleontology.

July 4 Engineering: James Buchanan Eads, renowned for constructing gunboats during the Civil War, erects the world’s largest steel arch bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri. The bridge has been seven years in the making and constitutes a milestone in engineering.

July 27 Military: At Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, General John Pope orders men of the 6th U.S. Cavalry and 5th U.S. Infantry to begin marshaling at Fort Dodge to conduct sweeps against hostile Indians along the southern plains.

July 30 Military: The cavalry column of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer wends its way along the banks of French Creek, Dakota Territory, where the soldiers begin to encounter gold deposits, consistent with the reports of various prospectors.

August 2 Indian: General George A. Custer announces the discovery of gold in the Black Hills region of the Dakota Territory, a tract previously reserved by treaty for the Sioux nation. This news will result in an influx of miners and prospectors onto Indian land, which will greatly anger the inhabitants.

August 4 –18 Societal: The Chautauqua Movement is founded by Methodist clergyman John H. Vincent and Ohio industrialist Lewis Miller. It starts as a summer school for Sunday teachers but expands its program to promote reading and discussion of major national events. Its derives its name from Lake Chautauqua in western New York.

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August 21 Religion: Congregationalist preacher Henry Ward Beecher of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, New York, is cleared on charges of adultery leveled against him by Theodore Tilton. The trial has commanded great public attention, and speculation only increases after the jury split 9-3 in favor of Beecher.

August 30 Military: The military expedition of Lieutenant Col onel George A. Custer trots back into Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, after exploring the Black Hills region of the Great Sioux Reservation. It had been an impressive jaunt covering 1,205 miles in 60 days and was accomplished without violence. The intrusion will do much to exacerbate tensions with tribes claiming the hills as sacred land, as hungry prospectors begin swarming into the region. Colonel Nelson A. Miles leads the 5th U.S. Infantry and the 6th U.S. Cavalry in a lengthy pursuit of Cheyenne war parties along the Red River. The ensuing running skirmish lasts five hours and culminates with a successful stand by the warriors at Tule Canyon, Texas, at which point Miles withdraws due to lack of provisions.

September Agriculture: A large settlement of Menonnite emigrants from Russia introduces the drought-resistant “Turkey Red” strain of wheat to America.

September 9–12 Military: Hostile Kiowa and Comanche under Lone Wolf, Satanta, and Big Tree attack Major William R. Price’s supply train along the Washita River, Texas, and will be rebuffed after a three-day siege.

September 14 Politics: When Democratic candidate John McEmery supposedly defeats Republican governor William P. Kellogg in Louisiana, violence breaks out between feuding groups, especially white supremacists and carpetbaggers. President Ulysses S. Grant, recognizing Kellogg as the legitimate governor, dispatches federal troops under General Philip H. Sheridan to his support.

September 15 Business: An American delegation attends the first international postal conference held at Berne, Switzerland. Their goal is to help standardize international mailing procedures and rates.

September 17 Politics: Backed by federal bayonets, Republican William P. Kellogg is sworn in as governor of Louisiana.

September 18 Societal: The Nebraska Relief and Aid Society is founded to assist farmers hard hit by the recent locust infestation and will actively collect and distribute money and supplies to those in need. The swarms of insects have been so dense of late that they literally block out the sun.

September 28 Military: A column of the 4th U.S. Cavalry under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie surrounds and attacks a body of Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Comanche Indians at Palo Duro Canyon, destroying their winter camp and food supplies, and stam-

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peding 1,500 ponies. This demoralizing defeat forces many of the warriors to surrender at reservation agencies.

November 3 Politics: Mid-term elections return control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats for the first time since 1860. The Republicans, as a reflection of public anger against mounting corruption, lose 89 seats in the House and four in the Senate. In New York, Samuel J. Tilden, the politician responsible for breaking up the William “Boss” Tweed Ring, is elected governor on a reform platform. His success in prosecuting and eliminating graft will make him a viable candidate for the next presidential election.

November 7 Politics: Cartoonist Thomas Nast uses an elephant to symbolize the Republican Party for the first time, in an issue of Harper’s Weekly.

November 18–20 Politics: The Women’s Christian Temperance Union is created from a gathering of delegates from 17 states in Cleveland, Ohio, with Annie Wittenmyer as president. As a social movement, temperance is slowly gaining traction within large sections of society, particularly among women, who frequently bear the brunt of drunken spouses.

November 24 Technology: Joseph F. Glidden obtains a patent for barbed wire, a highly significant device that will be used to keep cattle from ranging off a rancher’s land. Barbed wire was originally developed for use in the Civil War as an anti-personnel device, but this is the first known civilian application. Cattle raising becomes an expanding industry throughout the Great Plains.

November 25 Politics: The Greenback Party, comprised largely of farmers from the South and West, convenes for the first time at Indianapolis, Indiana. They call for currency inflation, an end to payment of debts in cash (gold), and repayment of debts and mortgages with “cheaper” paper money.

December 7 Civil: Race rioting outside a courthouse in Vicksburg, Mississippi, results in the deaths of 75 African Americans. The cause was removal of a carpetbag sheriff by angry Southerners. Politics: In his annual address to Congress; President Ulysses S. Grant urges the resumption of specie payments.

1875 Agriculture: In Santa Rosa, California, Luther Burbank continues crossbreeding plants on a commercial scale, producing new strains of plants, berries, fruits, grains, and vegetables. Arts: Sculptor John Rogers cashes in on the growing vogue for miniature plaster statuary groups, such as his The Checker Players and The Slave Market, selling 100,000 copies.

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Chronology of American History Sculptor Daniel Chester French creates the famous statue in Boston, Massachusetts, entitled The Minuteman. Thomas Eakins’s painting Gross Clinic is hailed as a marvel of realism in the style of French artists Jean Léon Gérôme and Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat. Business: In Brooklyn, New York, Thomas Adams invents the first chewing gum by using chicle, which is derived from the tropical evergreen tree. General: Advertising itself as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” promoter P. T. Barnum unveils his famous three-ring circus, covered by the biggest canvas tent in the world. Literature: Henry James publishes his important work A Passionate Pilgrim and Other Tales, which underscores his celebrated command of psychology and realism. Medical: In Kirksville, Missouri, Dr. Andrew T. Still develops a new branch of medicine he dubs as osteopathy. George F. Green patents the dental drill in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Music: As an indication of the growing cultural respect for music, Harvard appoints John Knowles Paine to a professorship in that discipline, the first such tenured chair in the nation. Publishing: The Naval Institute of the United States begins publishing its Proceedings at Annapolis, Maryland. Religion: Forceful evangelist Dwight L. Moody explodes on the revival scene as a preacher, relaying a simple biblical message about the saving of souls at a time when most clergymen are concerned with social reforms. Hebrew Union College is founded at Cincinnati, Ohio, being one of the oldest rabbinical seminaries in the country. Isaac Mayer Wise is the first president and has an enrollment of nine students, initially. In Portland, Maine, James A. Healy is the first African-American bishop in the Catholic Church. Societal: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is founded with Henry Bergh as its first president. Sports: In Boston, unpadded baseball gloves are introduced by first baseman Charles G. Waite.

January 14 Business: Congress passes the Specie Resumption Act, which provides for gold to be exchanged for legal tender in an attempt to bring down the total number of greenbacks still in circulation from $382 million to $300 million. It attempts to balance the needs for currency inflation in the West and “sound money” policy in the East, and finally closes the book on Civil War financing.

January 25 Agriculture: The commissioner of agriculture is ordered by Congress to distribute $30,000 of seed to farmers whose land has been devastated by locusts. This is performed under the objection of constitutional purists, including President Ulysses S. Grant, who deems such assistance illegal. Crime: Pinkerton detectives raid the farmhouse of outlaws Frank and Jesse James, burning down their barn with fire bombs, but the pair are not present. Despite their reputation as wanton murderers, the brothers enjoy some local popularity as modern-day versions of Robin Hood.

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James, Henry

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(1843–1916)

Author Henry James was born in New York City on April 5, 1843, the son of a theologian and a brother of philosopher William James. His father ensured that he had an extremely eclectic education by taking him to Europe constantly, while also providing private tutors. James entered Harvard Law School in 1862 but he dropped out to publish essays and critical reviews. He then became a regular contributor to the Nation while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1865 to 1869, during which time William Dean Howells, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, also encouraged him to write fiction. His first effort, A Passionate Pilgrim and other Tales (1871), struck what became for him a recurrent theme, namely, the sharp contrast between rough-hewn Americans abroad and their more sophisticated counterparts in Europe. By 1875 James had relocated to Paris to pursue writing, and became intimately acquainted with impressionists such as Ivan Turgenev, Gustave Flaubert, and Emile Zola. A year later he settled in London and continued publishing novels on his favorite theme, the conflict of civilizations. In 1879 he published his first famous novel, Daisy Miller, and followed it up with The Portrait of a Lady (1881), which is considered a masterwork of this genre. With time James gradually abandoned his obsession for national traditions and focused more on characters as they developed morally and intellectually. This steady flow of work included stories such as The Siege of London (1885), the short story

“A Turn of the Screw,” and The Awkward Age (1899). Though successful as a novelist, he began dabbling with writing drama for the stage in 1890 but failed miserably after a concerted, five-year effort. He abandoned the stage upon being jeered by the audience after his play “Guy Domville” debuted in 1895. Undeterred, James returned to writing and produced some of his best work to date. Between 1899 and 1904 he published his trilogy, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl, which further cemented his reputation as among the finest exponents of impressionistic fiction. His themes now centered upon the relationship of individuals to society as a whole, along with delineating an ethical framework that he held essential to the maintenance of civilized society. He returned to the United States in 1904 and toured the country with his brother before venturing back to Lamb House, Rye, England. James suffered from a nervous ailment in 1909, which slowed his output, but his final works, such as The American Scene (1907), proved as popular as ever. He was also showered with literary laurels, including an honorary doctorate from Harvard in 1911 and a similar degree from Oxford a year later. He was disturbed by the outbreak of war in Europe and angered by America’s neutrality, so he contributed by helping hospitals and Belgian war refugees and also became a naturalized British subject. He died in London on February 28, 1916, shortly after receiving the Order of Merit from King George V.

January 30 Diplomacy: The United States and King Kalakua of Hawaii conclude a reciprocity treaty whereby sugar products can be imported duty-free. Furthermore, third powers are excluded from acquiring any Hawaiian trade relations and the Americans are free to establish a protectorate to enforce the same.

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Moody, Dwight L. (1837–1899) Evangelist

Dwight Lyman Moody (Library of Congress)

Dwight Lyman Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1837, and relocated to Boston at 17 to work as a cobbler. A Unitarian since birth, Moody came into contact with Congregationalists through membership in the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and thereafter he was indelibly drawn to religion. In 1856 he joined the Congregationalists and moved to Chicago to work as a shoe salesman. Significantly, he remained a layman and was never ordained as a full minister. Moody was gradually attracted by evangelical work in nearby slums and he formed a church for children there by 1858. Upon the advent of the Civil War in 1861, he forsook his occupation altogether, worked full-time for the YMCA as a director, and also served with the U.S. Christian Commission to administer to Union troops. However, it was not until 1872 that Moody embarked upon the avocation that would bring him renown. That year he ventured to England and began preaching

February 10 Societal: Congress votes an additional $150,000 to assist midwestern farmers dislocated by locust infestations.

March 1 Civil: Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which guarantees access to all public facilities to African Americans and also allows them to serve on juries. This bill was originally championed by the late senator Charles Sumner, an ardent proponent of equality.

March 3 Business: Congress authorizes the minting of 20-cent silver pieces. Politics: The Tariff Act of 1875 is approved by Congress; this bill raises duty levels by 10 percent.

March 4 Politics: Former president Andrew Johnson resumes his seat in the U.S. Senate, where he serves for the next five months.

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at a local church while on a YMCA business trip. When 400 people responded to his religious call for salvation, Moody committed his life to preaching and spreading evangelical Christianity. Unlike many contemporaries, Moody addressed the laity in direct, friendly terms and, in a simplified message, accentuated that salvation is attainable only through personal rebirth in Christ. Otherwise, he eschewed all theological debate and nuance, preferring instead to concentrate on the pursuit of individual salvation. He also specialized in preaching to the urban masses, long neglected by government and the business community, and found them a receptive audience. In successive tours of England in 1872 and 1873, Moody preached to an estimated three million people. Success made him a wonder of the evangelical movement and he determined to carry his message to every American city. Moody was an outstanding organizer thanks to his business background, and he toured nearly all major American urban centers with impressive success. He was

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also theologically astute enough to avoid local disputes between either liberal or conservative ministers, seeking instead to unite them in his common cause of saving souls. Moody proved himself a whirlwind of activity, inexhaustibly preaching at various locales for weeks on end while, backed by musician Ira Sankey, who pioneered the new and popular form of gospel hymn. Together the two men electrified the preaching circuit and helped usher in a late-19thcentury revivalism. Mindful of his legacy, Moody also established two private secondary academies in Northfield and the famous Chicago (now Moody) Bible Institute for the instruction of urban lay evangelicals. In 1886 he also inaugurated the Student Volunteer Movement to assist the YMCA to expand and enhance Protestant missionary efforts. Moreover, his mass effort presaged and stimulated the fundamentalist streak in the modern American evangelical movement by many decades. Moody died at Northfield on December 22, 1899, one of the most influential religious figures in American history.

March 5 Civil: Blanche Kelso Bruce of Mississippi becomes the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate.

March 6 Indian: Bested in the brief but bloody Red River War, over 800 Cheyenne under Chief Gray Beard surrender to authorities at the Darlington Agency, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

March 15 Religion: Archbishop John McCloskey of New York City becomes the first American Roman Catholic cardinal and is invested at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

March 18 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the recent reciprocity treaty with Hawaii, which allows duty-free imports and excludes foreign nations from expropriating any islands.

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Chronology of American History Recent cross-border raids by hostile Apache Indians force Secretary of State Hamilton Fish to explain the American inability to contain them in a note to Mexico’s foreign minister. Greater cooperation between the militaries of both sides is also encouraged.

March 30 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Minor v. Happersett, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment does not preclude states from establishing suffrage requirements. This will be used as a pretext for denying women the right to vote.

April 12 Diplomacy: When a coterie of generals overthrows the short-lived Spanish republic and installs Alfonzo XII as king of Spain, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish instructs Caleb Cushing, the U.S. minister in Madrid, to recognize the de facto regime. Meanwhile, the Americans intend to keep pressing the Spanish to end the Cuban rebellion by making necessary reforms.

April 25 Indian: Another party of civilian geologists confirms the presence of gold in the Black Hills region, Dakota, setting the stage for a bloody showdown with the Sioux nation, which regards the region as sacred.

May Indian: Exhausted Comanche war bands under Quanah Parker surrender to military authorities at Fort Sill, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Parker, who is halfwhite, strikes up cordial relations with Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, whom the Indians have dubbed “Bad Hand” on account of a Civil War injury.

May 1 Journalism: According to the St. Louis Democrat, John McDonald, a supervisor of internal revenue in St. Louis and a close friend of President Ulysses S. Grant, is involved in a scandal known as the Whiskey Ring. This is a conspiracy between distillery owners and revenue officers who defraud the government through nonpayment of liquor taxes. A full-scale investigation begins under the aegis of Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow.

May 3 Diplomacy: The United States joins the Universal Postal Union whereby several nations share postal services. Indian: Chief Kicking Bird of the Kiowa, who identified tribal leaders active in the Red River War in Texas to U.S. authorities, dies under mysterious circumstances— possibly poisoned by rivals for cooperating with the Americans.

May 7 General: The steamboat Schiller, en route from New York to Hamburg, Germany, runs aground off the English coast, killing 200 passengers.

May 10 Politics: Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow informs President Ulysses S. Grant that his personal secretary, General Orville Babcock, has been implicated in the so-called Whiskey Ring scandal.

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May 17 Sports: The horse Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, with a run of two minutes, 37 seconds, and jockey Oliver Lewis takes a purse of $2,850. The race will remain a one and one-quarter-mile track reserved for three-year-old horses.

May 21 Indian: A party of 72 disaffected Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians arrives at Fort Marion, Florida, to begin new lives on a reservation. Though separated by a thousand miles from the bulk of their fellow tribesmen, the newcomers are looked after by Richard Pratt, a former army officer, who entreats his charges to learn English and adopt white customs, yet preserve their memories as warriors with pencil and paper “hide paintings.”

May 27 General: The French Catholic Church in Holyoke, Massachusetts, catches fire and burns to the ground, killing 120 parishioners.

May 28 Sports: The third annual Preakness Stakes is won by Tom Ochiltree with a time of two minutes, 43 seconds.

May 29 Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant declares that he will not run for a third term as president.

June 2 Communication: Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely, 4th U.S. Infantry and a future explorer of note, runs the first telegraph wire through Indian Territory and establishes a direct link between Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Sill (Oklahoma).

June 3 Technology: Alexander Graham Bell, while experimenting with telegraphs as a possible tool for teaching the deaf, actually hears his assistant trying to pluck a stuck transmitter spring over the wires—an important step toward creation of the telephone.

June 12 Sports: The ninth annual Belmont Stakes is won by Calvin, who turns in a time of two minutes, 42 seconds.

July Religion: The noted evangelical minister Dwight Lyman Moody begins preaching in cities throughout the East, leading to a general revival movement.

July 31 General: Former president Andrew Johnson dies at Cater’s Station, Tennessee, aged 66.

September 1 Labor: In Pennsylvania, a murder conviction leads to the breakup of a violent Irish miners’ association known as the Molly Maguires. However, public opinion will begin to pressure for improving conditions in the shafts.

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September 10 Conservation: The American Forestry Association is organized in Chicago, Illinois, by Dr. John A. Wardner, to facilitate the conservation of natural resources on a national scale.

September 16 Communication: The first Fast Mail train departs Grand Central Station, New York City, initiating a mailing innovation.

October Indian: Government attempts to either buy or force the Sioux off their land in the Dakotas result in a large and bloody conflict under Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

October 12 Politics: Anti-greenback candidate Rutherford B. Hayes is elected to the governorship of Ohio.

October 30 Religion: Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy begins publishing her magazine Science and Health, which expounds upon the tenets of her faith.

November 17 Societal: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky founds an American chapter of the Theosophical Society in New York to promote the universal brotherhood of humanity along with comparative studies of Eastern philosophy and religion. Blavatsky, or “H. P.,” as she prefers to be called, also places a strong emphasis on reincarnation and psychical powers.

November 22 General: Vice President Henry Wilson dies at 63; he was one of the founders of the Republican Party.

November 23 Transportation: A National Railroad Convention unfolds at St. Louis, Missouri, drawing 800 delegates from 31 states. Among them is former Confederate president Jefferson Davis, who heads the Mississippi delegation.

December Indian: In a major escalation of tensions, the federal government orders the Sioux nation to return to its reservations no later than January 31 or face military action. This is despite the fact that prospectors are presently working on the Black Hills section of land allotted to the Indians. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse begin marshaling their warriors for action. Religion: In Brooklyn, New York, extra trolley tracks have to be laid on the ground to accommodate the throng wishing to hear the evangelical preacher Dwight Lyman Moody, a former shoe salesman bereft of formal theological training.

December 4 Crime: Convicted swindler William “Boss” Tweed manages to escape confinement in New York City and flees to Cuba and then to Spain. There he will eventually be arrested by authorities and returned to finish his incarceration.

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Crazy Horse

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(ca. 1849–1877)

Sioux chief Crazy Horse (Tashunca-Uitco) was born near present-day Rapid City, South Dakota, around 1849, a member of the Oglala Sioux nation. He first came to the attention of tribal elders during the Red Cloud War by playing prominent roles in the Fetterman Massacre of December 21, 1866, and the Wagon Box Fight on August 2, 1867. He distinguished himself in combat as a warrior, but was considered unusual for a Sioux brave due to his reserved nature and insistence upon not taking scalps. After 1868 Crazy Horse refused to follow Red Cloud onto reservations established for the Sioux by the American government and took a band of approximately 1,200 Native Americans northward to join the followers of Sitting Bull. Approximately half of these were Cheyenne, owing to his marriage to a tribal woman. Once settled, he resumed his traditional ways of raiding Crow villages, hunting buffalo, and attacking prospectors looking for gold on Indian land. In 1873 Crazy Horse skirmished briefly with a future antagonist, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer; two years later Custer would certify that gold had been discovered in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. This land, regarded as sacred to the Sioux, had been promised to them by government agents and they greatly resented the intrusion. Worse, in December 1875 the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued an ultimatum that any Indian not confined to a reservation by the end of January 1876 would be considered as hostile and subject to military action. This threat prompted the

Sioux and others to mobilize several thousand mounted warriors in open defiance, and a large-scale uprising broke out. Crazy Horse, the quiet warrior, was destined to play a prominent role in one of the final, defining acts of the Indian wars. Crazy Horse assumed command of approximately 1,600 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. On June 17, 1876, he attacked the mounted column of General George Crook along the Rosebud River, fighting it to a draw and inflicting considerable losses. Consequently, Crook withdrew from the field to regroup and was unable to rendezvous with another column under General Alfred H. Terry. The spearhead of this force, the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Custer, happened upon the large Indian encampment at Little Bighorn River and attacked before reinforcements could arrive. Crazy Horse, aided by Gall and other chiefs, promptly sallied out of the village, attacked en masse, and killed Custer and all 261 of his men. The army then renewed its efforts to crush the uprising, and another force under Colonel Nelson A. Miles drove Crazy Horse’s band all winter long. The chief finally surrendered to authorities on May 5, 1877, and he was interned at the Fort Robinson agency. General Crook was alerted by Red Cloud and other Sioux elders, who resented the youthful chief ’s influence, that he might be plotting a rebellion. Crazy Horse, however, resisted arrest and died after being bayoneted on September 7, 1877. He is regarded as among the greatest of Native American military leaders.

December 6 Politics: The 44th Congress assembles with the first Democratic majority in the House of Representatives since 1859. Meanwhile, the Republicans maintain a solid lead in the Senate.

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Sitting Bull (ca. 1831–1890) Hunkpapa chief Sitting Bul­l­ (Tatanka Iyotake) was prob-­ abl­y born around 1831 al­ong the Grand River in modern South Dakota. As part of the Hunkpapa Sioux nation, he dis-­ tinguished himsel­f as a warrior earl­y in manhood and by 1856 headed the Strong Heart mil­itary society. Sitting Bul­l­ first skirmished against the U.S. Army dur-­ ing Littl­e Crow’s uprising in Minnesota in 1862, yet became more highl­y prized among his peopl­e as a shaman, or medi-­ cine man, for the great number of visions he experienced whil­e dancing. By 1866 he had emerged as a nominal­ l­eader of the Hunkpapa and their nominal­ al­l­ies, the Lakota Sioux, and al­so became cl­osel­y identified with noted war chief Crazy Horse of the al­l­ied Ogl­al­a. As a l­eader, Sitting Bul­l­ strongl­y resented and resisted white encroachment on Indian l­ands, and he repeatedl­y warned the numerous white representatives he encountered that he woul­d resist any attempt to rel­ocate his peopl­e to a reservation. The Sioux

Sitting Bull (National Archives of Canada)

December 15 Politics: The Democratic control­l­ed House of Representatives passes an anti-­ third term resol­ution to discourage Ul­ysses S. Grant from running again. The president, in any event, has publ­icl­y decl­ined to do so.

December 25 Journalism: Mel­vil­l­e E. Stone, Wil­l­iam Doughtery, and Percy Meggy found the Chicago Daily News in Chicago, Il­l­inois.

December 30 Technology: The Carnegie Steel­ Mil­l­ in Braddock, Pennsyl­vania, is the first American pl­ant to empl­oy the new Bessemer process for removing impurities from mol­ten iron with air. The resul­t is a steel­ of much higher qual­ity and strength for buil­ding purposes.

1876 Architecture: Frederick Law Ol­msted and Cal­vert Vaux compl­ete their work on New York City’s Central­ Park, hereafter a vital­ part of that city’s social­ and artistic l­ife.

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managed to coexist in an uneasy relation with frontier settlements until 1874, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, which triggered an influx of miners and prospectors. Tensions crested in the fall of 1875 when General Alfred Terry warned all Indians to be on a reservation by the following January or be considered hostile and subject to a military response. “You won’t need any guides,” was Sitting Bull’s response. “You can find me easily, I won’t run away.” In time his encampment was swollen by 2,500 to 4,000 warriors; under enlightened leadership from Crazy Horse, Gall, and others, they turned back General George Crook’s column at Rosebud Creek, then destroyed part of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry at Little Bighorn. However, the Indians then broke up and dispersed for the winter, with vengeful army troops in hot pursuit, and Sitting Bull’s band sought out safety in Canada by May 1877. After years of deprivation in Canada, Sitting Bull and 187 Hunkpapa finally

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returned to the United States and surrendered to authorities in July 1881. Following two years of confinement at Fort Randall, he was released and relocated to the Standing Rock Reservation. Much to his surprise, Sitting Bull had become a legendary and popular figure among whites, and he toured a year with William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show to thunderous applause. Despite his newfound fame, Sitting Bull insisted that he was still chief of his people and sought to return to them. He continued living a quiet life until 1890 when the new “Ghost Dance” religion took root among the impoverished Indians and promised to deliver them from their white oppressors. Sitting Bull looked askance at these developments and did not endorse them, but army officials suspected he was secretly fomenting an uprising and dispatched Apache reservation police to arrest him. Fighting ensued and Sitting Bull was mortally wounded; he died on December 15, 1890, the most famous symbol of Indian resistance.

Arts: Painter John La Farge is commissioned to provide the first mural decoration in an American church by working at Trinity Church, Boston. Erasmus D. Palmer completes the bronze casting entitled Chancellor Robert R. Livingston in the U.S. Capitol’s Hall of Statuary; previously, the work won a medal at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marks a turning point in American sculpture as prospective artists are able to study firsthand various works by European masters who have turned away from the neoclassical style. Business: In Topeka, Kansas, English entrepreneur Fred Harvey introduces his clean-scrubbed, neatly attired “Harvey Girls” to wait on hungry railroad customers at his dining room above the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. The approach will prove eminently successful and he will soon open similar ventures along the entire length of the line. Henry J. Heinz of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, comes up with the novel idea of putting ketchup in bottles for use in both restaurants and homes. Education: Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, opens the first college fraternity house to a chapter of the Kappa Alpha Society.

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Eddy, Mary Baker

(1821–1910)

Theologian

Mary Baker Eddy (Library of Congress)

Mary Baker was born in Bow, New Hamp-­ shire, into a famil­y of strong Puritan roots. Sickl­y as a chil­d, she remained inexpl­icabl­y subject to nervous col­l­apses as an adul­t. Baker was nonethel­ess hap-­ pil­y married to George W. Gl­over in 1843, al­though he died of il­l­ness within a year. In 1853 she remarried, to Daniel­ Pat-­ terson, a dentist, al­l­ the whil­e remaining sidel­ined by frequent il­l­ness. Around this time Baker devel­oped an interest in faith heal­ing, and in 1862 became intrigued by the nonmedical­ principl­es of Dr. Phineas P. Quimby of Portl­and, Maine. Surpris-­ ingl­y, Baker found her ail­ments cured and she became an enthusiastic discipl­e of Quimby’s techniques. She then sus-­ tained serious spinal­ injuries in a fal­l­ and began pursuing Bibl­e-­based heal­ing tech-­ niques, what she subsequentl­y described as “Christian Science.” Fol­l­owing her sec-­ ond divorce in 1866 Baker began formu-­ l­ating and col­l­ating the groundwork for her newfound rel­igious faith. In 1875 she wrote and publ­ished her ground-­breaking

The Harvard Lampoon, the first undergraduate humor magazine, begins pub-­ l­ishing at Harvard University. Journalism: Joel­ Chandl­er Harris begins writing for the Atlanta Constitution, commencing a 31-­year tenure there. Literature: Herman Mel­vil­l­e publ­ishes his Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, recounting his 1857 journey to the Middl­e East, but the book does l­ittl­e to enhance his reputation. Mark Twain publ­ishes his seminal­ work, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, hail­ed as an American cl­assic by many but barred by publ­ic l­ibraries in Brookl­yn and Denver as unfit for young readers. The book is based partl­y upon the author’s experiences as a Mississippi River pil­ot. Noted poet Wil­l­iam Cul­l­en Bryant finishes two of his most cel­ebrated com-­ positions, “A Lifetime” and “The Fl­ood of the Years.”

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book, Science and Health with the Key to the Scriptures, which hol­ds that il­l­ness is il­l­usory and can be obviated by purel­y mental­ desire, citing Jesus curing the pal­-­ sied crippl­ed as a scriptural­ exampl­e. Baker, furthermore, bel­ieved that matter and physical­ existence are il­l­usionary, whereas mind, l­ife, and spirit are al­l­ exten-­ sions of God himsel­f. More controversial­ tenets of her faith incl­ude the refusal­ by devout members to seek medical­ hel­p when il­l­, and al­so to deny that practice to sick chil­dren. In 1877 she married one of her fol­l­owers, Asa G. Eddy, and two years l­ater formal­l­y founded her “Church of Christ, Scientist.” She enjoyed consid-­ erabl­e success attracting converts, and in 1881 the Massachusetts Metaphysical­ Col­l­ege was establ­ished in Boston and administered under her aegis. Baker’s success in founding and enl­arg-­ ing her creed al­so l­ed to numerous publ­ica-­ tions both expl­aining and propagating it. By 1883 she had commenced editing the Chris-­

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tian Science Journal and in 1895 had al­so establ­ished what she deemed her “Mother Church,” the First Church of Christ, Sci-­ entist, in Boston to keep dissenters in l­ine. Membership increased so exponential­l­y that she was forced to introduce a Church Manual that same year, which imposed her decidedl­y autocratic by-­l­aws for govern-­ ance. In 1898 the Christian Science Sentinel began publ­ication, fol­l­owed by the noted Christian Science Monitor in 1908. In addi-­ tion to preaching, Baker was al­so active in promoting equal­ity of the sexes, femal­e suffrage, and femal­e property rights. She gradual­l­y rel­inquished active control­ of the church fol­l­owing her retirement to Chest-­ nut Hil­l­, Boston, in 1908, but maintained a keen interest in church matters. Baker died in Boston on December 3, 1910, one of the most infl­uential­ women in American theol­-­ ogy and the onl­y American woman to have spawned a major worl­d rel­igion. In 1995 Baker was inducted into the National­ Wom-­ an’s Hal­l­ of Fame.

Military: Congress establ­ishes manpower l­evel­s for the U.S. Army at 27,442 rank and fil­e, a number that does not change substantial­l­y until­ the Spanish-­ American War of 1898. The secretary of war al­so directs al­l­ inspectors general­ to report to l­ocal­ commanders instead of the War Department, thereby ending their reputation as spies for higher headquarters. Science: Yal­e researcher Josiah Wil­l­ard Gibbs publ­ishes “On the Equil­ibrium of Heterogeneous Substances” in Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences; Gibbs is best regarded as the father of thermodynamics, which forms the basis for modern chemistry. Societal: Harvard University l­ogician Charl­es Saunders Peirce originates the new and uniquel­y American phil­osophy he cal­l­s pragmatism. Sports: James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald introduces pol­o to the United States at Dickel­’s Riding Academy in New York City. Fred W. Thayer of Harvard University introduces the catcher’s mask to basebal­l­. Technology: Inventor Thomas A. Edison creates a mimeograph device that empl­oys a stencil­ and a frame for providing near-­exact dupl­icates of material­s drawn; in effect, this is the first practical­ copying machine.

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January 1 Societal: The Philadelphia Mummers Parade is formed to commemorate the American Centennial, however, the city does not officially recognize the event until 1901. The practice dates to colonial times, being a cross between the Swedish custom of celebrating New Year and the English tradition of presenting the Mummer’s play wherein St. George slays the dragon.

February Politics: Secretary of War William W. Belknap is accused of suborning a bribe by contractor Caleb P. Marsh; an investigation uncovers that Belknap has received nearly $25,000 in kickbacks from the Indian trading post lobby.

February 2 Sports: Morgan G. Bulkeley becomes president of the newly founded National League of Professional Baseball Clubs in New York City. At present they have teams from Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.

February 7 Diplomacy: A special interoceanic canal commission reports its findings to President Ulysses S. Grant, strongly suggesting that a canal be constructed through Nicaragua. A naval commission also reports its findings in the subject and both conclude that the most viable route for a new waterway is through Nicaragua, not Panama, owing to better climate and less formidable terrain. This decision will deflect American attention from Panama for the next 20 years.

February 24 Politics: General Orville E. Babcock, President Ulysses S. Grant’s personal secretary, is found not guilty of any complicity with the so-called Whiskey Ring scandal.

March 1 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish admits his failure to garner European support to help end the seven-year-old insurrection in Cuba, which has resulted in the destruction of American property and the execution of Cubanborn Americans. He has thus been reduced to reiterating old demands for Spain to make the requisite reforms on the island.

March 2 Politics: The House of Representatives votes impeachment proceedings against Secretary of War William W. Belknap for having clandestinely received a $6,000 bribe from individuals involved in the Indian trade; he resigns from office this same day to escape prosecution.

March 7–10 Communication: Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his new device, the telephone, which promises to revolutionize human communication over vast distances. He makes the first effective use of it three days later by summoning his assistant from another room.

March 8 Military: Alphonso Taft gains appointment as secretary of war, although he serves only three months before transferring as attorney general. His son, William Howard Taft, will be elected president in 1909.

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March 16 Military: In a preliminary skirmish, the 3rd U.S. Cavalry under Colonel Joseph Reynolds surprises a combined Lakota/Cheyenne village along the Powder River, Montana Territory. The defenders are initially stampeded but eventually rallied by Chief Crazy Horse and led back into battle. Their determined, frenzied approach so unnerves Reynolds that he sounds the retreat, abandoning several bodies and one wounded trooper to the Indians. His superior, General George Crook, is furious over Reynolds’s failure to hold the village and files court-martial charges against him. This defeat also alerts the tribesmen that the army is beginning to bear down on them in large numbers; they prepare themselves accordingly.

March 27 Law: The U. S. Supreme Court decides the case of United States v. Cruikshank, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment protects African Americans from discrimination by state governments, not individuals. This is another blow against the faltering campaign to secure civil rights throughout the South.

April 2 Sports: In the first official baseball game of the National League, Boston defeats Philadelphia on a score of six to five. The first run is hit by James “Orator Jim” O’Rourke.

April 18 Politics: In a bit of self-aggrandizement, President Ulysses S. Grant vetoes a bill intended to reduce the chief executive’s salary. This is a leftover fight arising from the “Salary Grab” act of 1873.

April 20 Science: The American Chemical Society is founded in New York City for the advancement of research and development in the field of chemistry.

April 24 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Walker v. Sauvinet, ruling that the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the Constitution are not covered by the Fourteenth Amendment, hence states are at liberty to modify or abolish trial by jury at their leisure.

May 10 Business: The Eli Lilly Company, specializing in pharmaceuticals, is founded in Indianapolis, Indiana. Societal: Fifty-six countries open exhibits at the Centennial Exposition at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, to showcase such exotic and up-and-coming technologies as telephones, typewriters, and refrigerator railcars. This is a most impressively staged celebration, with cannon, an 800-voice choir, and 4,000 foreign and American dignitaries, including Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.

A print showing the game of baseball, ca. 1890 (Library of Congress)

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May 15 Politics: James G. Blaine, House minority leader, falls under the scrutiny of the Judiciary Committee over charges of having favored railroad interests in 1869 while he was speaker. Sports: The second annual Kentucky Derby is won by Vagrant, who runs the course in two minutes, 38 seconds.

May 17 Politics: The Prohibition Party holds its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, nominating Green Clay Smith of Kentucky as its presidential candidate and Gideon T. Stewart of Ohio for vice president.

May 18 Politics: The new Greenback Party convenes its first national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, nominating Peter Cooper of New York for president and Samuel F. Cary of Ohio for vice president. Their platform insists upon repeal of the Specie Resumption Act and the wholesale creation of paper money.

May 22 Military: In Washington, D.C., James D. Cameron is tapped to replace Alphonso Taft as secretary of war.

May 23 Sports: Joe Borden of Boston pitches the National League’s first no-hitter and the first in baseball history; he will subsequently be sent to the showers and ends the season as the club groundskeeper.

May 25 Sports: The fourth annual Preakness Stakes is won by Shirley, who finishes first with a time of two minutes, 40 seconds.

May 29 Military: A cavalry column under General George Crook rides from Fort Fetterman and swings north as part of a three-pronged strategy to ensnare hostile Indians in the Little Big Horn region of Montana Territory. En route, Crook is to rendezvous with 260 Shoshoni and Crow allies who have volunteered to fight their hereditary enemy, the Sioux.

June Military: The army launches a coordinated campaign against the Sioux and other hostile Native Americans who are resisting moves to place them on reservations. Three columns advance toward a large gathering of Indians along the Big Horn River; the first is commanded by General George Crook, marching north from Fort Fetterman, while the second column under Colonel John Gibbon moves east from Fort Ellis, Montana. A third column marches west from Fort Lincoln in the Dakota Territory, under General Alfred H. Terry

June 5 Politics: James G. Blaine reads letters to the House Judiciary Committee, from contractor Warren Fischer, which appear to exonerate him from charges of favoring specific railroad interests while he was Speaker of the House.

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June 6 Societal: Dr. Walter Fleming organizes the Imperial Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, which is the American branch of the Masonic Lodge.

June 8 Indian: Lakota shaman Sitting Bull has a strong vision of upside-down soldiers— symbolic of death—that inspires his warriors with confidence for the coming fight.

June 10 Sports: The 10th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Algerine, who turns in a time of two minutes, 40 seconds.

June 14 –16 Politics: In Cincinnati, Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes receives the Republican Party’s nod to run for the presidency as their candidate; William A. Wheeler of New York is to be his vice president. The former frontrunner, James G. Blaine, is defeated after six ballots, undoubtedly due to ongoing investigations as to his possibly illegal connections to the Union Pacific Railroad.

June 17 Military: General George Crook leads 1,700 cavalry men into combat against a similar number of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne under Crazy Horse at the Rosebud River valley, Montana Territory. Rather than skirt the army’s flanks and harass them, Crazy Horse changes tactics and unexpectedly charges the troopers head on. The ensuing struggle lasts six hours and entails scores of casualties to both sides but ends in a draw. The Americans reportedly lose only 10 dead and 21 wounded, but Crook’s column is so incapacitated that it will be effectively removed from the campaign for two months; Indian losses are not known but presumed equally heavy.

June 22 Military: Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th U.S. Cavalry move down the Little Bighorn River, hoping to rendezvous with Colonel John Gibbon’s force and catch hostile Indians in a pincer movement. They are assisted by 35 Arikara, Crow, and Dakota Indians serving as scouts. General Alfred H. Terry has specifically ordered the impetuous Custer not to engage the enemy until the force under Colonel John Gibbon is within supporting distance. Custer, true to form, will ignore his instructions.

June 24 Military: A cavalry column under Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer espies a large encampment of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors under Gall, Crazy Horse, and Two Moons; he disobeys orders and prepares to attack, without waiting for reinforcements.

June 25 Military: The Battle of Little Bighorn unfolds as Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and six companies of his 7th U.S. Cavalry, totaling little more than 250 men, attack an Indians encampment housing an estimated 6,000 Cheyenne and Sioux, of which roughly 2,000 are warriors. Repulsed, Custer hastily forms

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Chronology of American History a skirmish line on a nearby hilltop while detachments under Major Marcus A. Reno and Captain Frederick W. Benteen are pinned and unable to assist him. The Indians surround the Americans and gradually whittle down their number before finally settling the issue in a bold rush. The 7th loses 268 dead—Custer and his brother among them—and 50 wounded in less than two hours. Indian losses are not recorded but may have been as high as 100. The defeat stuns public opinion and prompts the government to pursue the war more vigorously. Curiously, this is not the biggest military defeat at the hands of Native Americans—that melancholy distinction remains with General Arthur St. Clair in 1791.

June 27 Communication: At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, onlookers are captivated by a public demonstration of Alexander Graham Bell’s new contraption, the telephone. As Bell recites Hamlet’s soliloquy at one end, Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, at the receiving end, exclaims, “It talks!” Military: The main body of General Alfred E. Terry’s force arrives at Little Bighorn and rescues the survivors of Major Marcus A. Reno’s detachment. The great mass of victorious Indians, meanwhile, has split up into various groups and dispersed.

June 26 Political: The nation is electrified by news of Custer’s defeat and the War Department is under renewed pressure to punish the Indians for their bellicosity.

June 27–29 Politics: The Democratic Party holds its nominating convention in St. Louis, Missouri, selecting Samuel J. Tilden of New York and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana as its presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. The party platform demands repeal of the Resumption Act of 1875.

July 4 Arts: African-American artist Edward M. Bannister wins first prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, for a painting entitled Under the Oaks.

July 17 Military: A group of U.S. Cavalry engages and defeats a party of Cheyenne, killing Chief Yellow Hand. The chief is then scalped by the celebrated scout William F. Cody, who will later restage this success in his Wild West Show under the stage name of Buffalo Bill.

July 20 Sports: The Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes (ICAAA) is founded at Saratoga, New York, by delegates from 14 colleges gathered there for a track meet. It is the earliest and most significant amateur athletic organization.

July 25 Business: Congressman Richard P. Bland of Missouri introduces a bill to the House of Representatives to issue silver coinage in unlimited quantities. He also coins the term “Crime of ’73” to describe the act that terminated silver production in the first place.

August 1 Politics: Former secretary of war William W. Belknap is acquitted by the U.S. Senate of accepting bribes for the sale of posts within the Indian trade. The major-

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ity of the 25 senators voting for acquittal feel it is not necessary to impeach an official who has already resigned from office. Settlement: Colorado joins the Union as the 38th state and, because of the year of its admittance, is popularly known as the Centennial State.

August 2 Crime: Frontier icon James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok is murdered by Jack McCall, a local drunkard, while playing cards in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

August 11–12 Sports: The America’s Cup is successfully defended by the yacht Madeline, which fends off a strong challenge from the Canadian Countess of Dufferin.

August 15 Military: Congress reacts to the Little Bighorn disaster by authorizing an additional 2,500 cavalrymen to the U.S. Army, but no new units are created to the order of battle. Instead, the recruits are simply added to flesh out existing cavalry companies.

September Indian: Chief Sitting Bull manages to escape pursuing American troops and reach Canada. The bulk of his fellow Sioux, however, will be mercilessly hounded throughout the winter months until they finally consent to deportation to reservations. Religion: The adultery trial of Reverend Henry Ward Beecher of the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York, ends in a hung jury and he resumes his duties. The verdict weighs badly upon Victoria Clafflin Woodhull, who instigated the lawsuit.

September 7 Crime: Gangs led by Jesse James and Frank Younger cooperate by hitting a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, but are rebuffed by angry, armed citizens. Three of the bandits are killed and three captured. Sports: Englishman Joe Goss defeats Tom Allen in 27 rounds and becomes the world’s heavyweight boxing champion.

September 9 Military: Vengeful troopers under Captain Anson Mills, 3rd U.S. Cavalry, engage a band of Lakota Sioux under Chief American Horse at the Battle of Slim Buttes. The Indians are scattered and take up defensive positions in a gulch, killing three troopers and wounding 12. The noted war chief American Horse is fatally wounded in the stomach before Crazy Horse arrives with reinforcements. The battle continues nonstop until the main column under General George Crook arrives, at which point the Indians simply disengage and disappear. American Horse’s

Henry Ward Beecher (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History death is upheld as appropriate revenge for Custer’s death, even though his participation at Little Bighorn has never been confirmed.

October 6 Societal: In Philadelphia, Melvil Dewey becomes president of the newly formed American Library Association (ALA), the first professional organization for librarians and libraries. Dewey himself is responsible for creating the Dewey decimal system of classification, still widely used by many public libraries.

November Education: Juliet Corson founds the first cooking school in New York City.

November 7 Politics: In the presidential election, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden receives a majority of the popular vote—4.2 million to 4.0 million—but fails to obtain the necessary electoral votes in order to defeat Rutherford B. Hayes. The contest in the electoral college is tighter still, 184 votes for Tilden—one short of winning—to 163 for Hayes. With electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina openly disputed, the contest heads to the House of Representatives in what becomes one of the most contested presidential elections of American history.

November 14 Military: Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie departs Fort Fetterman, Wyoming Territory, at the head of 2,200 men in an attempt to find and defeat Crazy Horse. His column includes a force of 400 Indian scouts from various allied tribes, and will proceed through deep snow up the Bozeman Trail toward the Powder River region.

November 20 Diplomacy: In Mexico, Porfirio Díaz overthrows President Lerdo de Tejada, initiating a military dictatorship that will rule with little interruption until 1911.

November 23 Crime: William “Boss” Tweed is returned to New York by Spanish authorities, even though they do not enjoy an extradition treaty with the United States. Sports: The Intercollegiate Football Association has its origins when delegates from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Rutgers, and Princeton gather at Massachusetts House in Springfield, Massachusetts, to discuss drawing up standard rules. At that time the British rugby-style rules favored by Harvard are adopted by all the colleges present.

November 25 Military: General George Crook dispatches a cavalry column under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, to attack a Cheyenne village in the Bighorn Mountains, Dakota Territory. The troopers, thirsting to avenge the death of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his men, will storm into the sleeping village with a vengeance, killing 40 inhabitants and scattering the rest. Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf will manage to escape their pursuers, but only after the loss of their pony herd and village. American losses are six dead and 26 wounded, but the tribesmen, especially women and children, will now endure sub-zero weather with only the clothing on their backs.

December 5 General: A fire at Conway’s Theater in Brooklyn, New York, kills 289 people. This is the city’s biggest theater fire.

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Politics: President Ulysses S. Grant, apologizing to Congress for his many missteps, claims they were “errors of judgement, not of intent.” He nonetheless leaves behind a legacy tainted by stock manipulation, the Whiskey Ring, and the Credit Mobilier scandals.

December 6 Politics: The presidential electors of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, apparently swayed by the presence of federal troops in their domain, cast their votes for Rutherford B. Hayes, even though Samuel J. Tilden had easily won the popular vote. Congress is then forced to wade into the process and decide what to do next.

December 12 Politics: Congressman Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire proposes a constitutional amendment advocating prohibition for the first time. The movement is slowly gathering force and, with it, political respectability.

December 13 Business: The House passes a bill authored by Congressman Richard P. Bland to authorize unlimited coining of silver but the Senate fails to take up the cause.

December 14 Politics: Democrat Wade Hampton of South Carolina, undeterred by the presence of federal troops in his state, is sworn in as the new governor of South Carolina. His rise, coming at the expense of a Republican candidate who also claims to have won, signals that Reconstruction is finally dead in that state.

December 25 Publishing: In New York City, former army engineer Henry M. Robert writes and publishes his Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies to help organizations conduct their routine affairs in an orderly, productive manner. It has since become known as Robert’s Rules of Order, and is still widely employed today.

December 29 General: A bridge collapse over a gorge in Ashtabula, Ohio, sends several cars of a Pacific Express train into the abyss, killing 90 passengers.

1877 Arts: Thomas Eakins paints his controversial work entitled William Rush Carving the Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River, which arouses considerable antipathy for its inclusion of a nude figure. Business: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Charles Elmer Hires has combined birch bark, spikenard, sarsaparilla, and hops into a delectable concoction he calls “root beer.” The product sold so well during the Centennial Exposition last year that he intends to sell packets of the formula by mail. Journalism: The Washington Post is founded in Washington, D.C. Labor: Despite a brief resurgence, labor unions are in decline, with membership dropping from 300,000 to only 50,000, and the number of unions shrinking from 30 to only nine. Literature: Sarah Orne Jewett publishes her first major work, Deephaven, which draws deeply upon local color for describing her story set against a small New England town.

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Chronology of American History Henry James publishes The American, which delineates a tale of American naivety set against a background of Old World sophistication and intrigue. Science: Astronomer Asaph Hall discovers two moons orbiting the planet Mars, which are christened Phobos and Deimos. Sports: The Westminster Kennel Club holds its first annual dog show at Gilmore’s Garden in New York City, with many breeds present. Boston is baseball’s National League pennant winner with 31 wins and 17 losses. Technology: In Rochester, New York, George B. Selden perfects a viable, twocycle “gasoline carriage” but fails to obtain a patent for nearly two decades. Moreover, the gasoline engine has yet to demonstrate any inherent advantages over the more commonly employed steam power. Boston is the scene of the first interconnection of phone lines, or a switchboard, which greatly facilitates the mounting volume of calls. Prolific tinkerer Thomas Edison patents the phonograph a decade after he invented it.

January 2 Politics: The swearing in of Democrat George F. Drew as governor of Florida is another indication that the reign of “carpetbaggers” is over, along with federally orchestrated Reconstruction.

Miles, Nelson A.

(1839–1925)

General Nelson Appleton Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on August 8, 1839, and he subsequently lived in Boston. There he clerked by day and studied military history at night; after the Civil War commenced in April 1861, he used his savings to help raise a company of volunteers for the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry. Miles then served capably as a lieutenant in the fierce battles of the Peninsula, Antietam, and Fredericksburg in 1862, after which he transferred as lieutenant colonel of the 61st New York Infantry. He was next conspicuously engaged at Chancellorsville in 1863, being serious wounded, and was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1892 for heroism under fire. By war’s end the 26-

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year-old Miles was a major general of volunteers in the Army of the Potomac, and a veteran of virtually every major engagement fought by it. He then served as commandant of Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he kept the former Confederate president Jefferson Davis in chains until public pressure forced the government to relent. Miles was then retained in the peacetime establishment as a full colonel of the 5th U.S. Infantry, and posted to the western frontier. Once again, he distinguished himself in combat against Native Americans by helping to pacify the Sioux and Cheyenne under Crazy Horse in 1876, and he also captured Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce the following year. In 1886 he replaced General George Crook

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January 8 Military: General Nelson A. Miles, having captured a number of Cheyenne women and children in a village near Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory, is attacked by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under Crazy Horse, attempting to rescue them. However, Miles is well prepared to receive them with artillery and the Indians are repulsed with few losses to either side.

January 29 Politics: Congress passes the Electoral Commission Bill, whereby 15 members are chosen to settle the election dispute between Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. The commission, which is split between nine Republicans and eight Democrats, is supposed to pick a final, independent member but, when none can be found, Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a Republican, will be selected.

February 1 Diplomacy: After months of wrangling, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish acquiesces to the inclusion of Belgian prime minister Maurice Delfosse to serve on the Washington Treaty arbitration commission.

March 1 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Peik v. Chicago and Northwest Railroad Company, ruling that states possess the ability to regulate commerce that originates within their own boundaries. In a related case, Munn v. Illinois, the Court

in Arizona and pursed renegade Apache chief Geronimo for 18 months until he surrendered. Four years later Miles was called upon to settle unrest caused by the Ghost Dance religion among the Sioux, whereupon his subordinates were involved in the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890. This sorry affair terminated three centuries of conflict between whites and Native Americans, and Miles was brought to Governor’s Island, New York, to command the Department of the East. There, in 1895, he gained appointment as commanding general of the army. Despite his rank and reputation, Miles played only a token role in the SpanishAmerican War of 1898 by orchestrating the conquest of Puerto Rico. He also got himself in trouble by publicly remarking on

Admiral George Dewey’s report on Admiral Winfield S. Schley’s behavior in that conflict. In 1902 Miles toured the Philippine Islands and aroused controversy for comments relating to the treatment of prisoners of war there. It was no secret that President Theodore Roosevelt disparagingly regarded him as a “brave peacock,” but nevertheless he promoted Miles to lieutenant general in 1901. In this capacity he roundly criticized Secretary of War Elihu Root for trying to establish a general staff along the German model and abolish his office altogether. Miles, who harbored presidential aspirations of his own, was bitterly disappointed when neither party asked him to run. He retired from active duty in 1903 and died in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 1925, one of the foremost soldiers of his age.

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Chronology of American History again rules in favor of states wishing to regulate warehouse and intrastate rates. Both cases represent significant victories for the Grange Movement, which is determined to prevent industry giants from running small operators out of business.

March 2 Politics: The Electoral Commission votes along party lines and the Senate president declares that Rutherford B. Hayes should receive the disputed electoral votes. Apparently, the Republicans won over the Southern Democrats by promising to remove all federal troops from the South, appoint at least one southerner to the cabinet, and appropriate funding for railroad construction in the South. Hayes thus becomes president of the United States by edging out Samuel J. Tilden 185 electoral votes to 184. William A. Wheeler also becomes vice president.

March 3 Politics: Rutherford B. Hayes is inaugurated as the 19th president of the United States. He does so on Saturday in a private ceremony as opposed to Sunday, in a public event, to thwart cat calls of “Rutherfraud.” Settlement: Congress passes the Desert Land Act to encourage the development of arid acreage in the Great Plains and Southwest. It promises plots of 640 acres

Hayes, Rutherford B.

(1822–1893)

President

Rutherford B. Hayes (Library of Congress)

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Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, on October 4, 1822, a son of farmers, and in 1842 he graduated from Kenyon College. He subsequently obtained a law degree from Harvard University in 1845 and established a successful practice in Cincinnati. Beyond gaining social prominence, Hayes also dabbled in Whig politics and, although he never enthusiastically embraced abolitionism, he later joined the Republican Party. After the Civil War commenced in 1861, Hayes joined the 23rd Ohio Volunteers as a major and fought with distinction under generals George Crook and Philip H. Sheridan. He sustained no less than four wounds, one of them serious, and mustered out of the service with the rank of major general of volunteers. His war record catapulted him to political prominence in his home state, and in 1864 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives while still in uniform. In 1866 he returned home to successfully run as governor of Ohio. He com-

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at 25 cents per acre if the owner will irrigate his soil. In practice the majority of land claims will be made fraudulently and most land will end up in the hands of cattle ranchers.

March 4 Politics: Rutherford B. Hayes is publicly inaugurated the 19th president of the United States in Washington, D.C.

March 5 Politics: Having promised southern Democrats that he would appoint a southerner to his cabinet in exchange for their electoral support, President Rutherford B. Hayes selects David M. Key of Florida to serve as his postmaster general. This is but the first volley of the policy to deliberately dismantle Reconstruction throughout the South and reduce African Americans living there to a permanent underclass.

March 12 Military: In Washington, D.C., President Rutherford B. Hayes appoints George W. McCrary his new secretary of war. Politics: William Maxwell Evarts, a distinguished attorney with little experience in foreign affairs, is appointed secretary of state by President Hayes.

pleted two terms in office, characterized by a moderate reform impulse, but then declined renomination to a third term. Hayes resumed his legal practice with his usual success, and in 1875 ran for the governorship a third time and won. This victory brought him to the attention of party elders and the following year he attended the Republican nominating convention as a dark horse candidate. The anticipated favorite, James G. Blaine, had been implicated in several scandals, and after several ballots Hayes defeated him for the party’s nomination. The ensuing general election, proved fraught with controversy; although Democrat Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote, the returns from four states—South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon—were contested. Because the Republicans controlled Congress they sent a bipartisan delegation to investigate voting practices in those states, then voted 8–7 along party lines to elect Hayes. Hayes was sworn into office twice, once in a private ceremony to avoid protest, and

publicly on March 5, 1877. Once in power, he fulfilled a deal made with Southern Democrats to secure the election and ordered all remaining federal troops out of the South. This act effectively ended Reconstruction and abandoned African Americans living there to white supremacist rule. Hayes also alienated party regulars by enacting civil service reforms to end political patronage and dismissed Chester A. Arthur as collector of customs in New York. He also maintained a strong currency stance to avoid inflation, opposed a Chinese exclusionary bill on the grounds that it violated an earlier agreement, and also opposed a long and violent railroad strike in 1877. In 1880 Hayes chose to honor his pledge not to seek a second term in office, and he returned to Ohio to practice law. He also distinguished himself in calling for reforms of the national penal system and in 1883 became president of the National Prison Association. Hayes died in Fremont, Ohio, on January 17, 1893, a capable, honest, but colorless bureaucrat.

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March 13 Naval: Former congressman Richard W. Thompson is sworn in as the 27th secretary of the navy.

April Transportation: Executives of the four leading, or “trunk,” railroads form a cabal to fix rates among themselves and cut workers’ wages by 10 percent. Their machinations are facilitated by the ongoing depression and the dilapidated state in which it has left the labor movement.

April 3 Military: Lieutenant Colonel William R. Shafter leads a column of troops over the Mexican border to Piedras Negras to secure the release of two jailed Mexican nationals who had previously assisted the army. The episode engenders a diplomatic row between the United States and Mexico.

April 10 Politics: President Rutherford B. Hayes, pursuant to his agreement with southerners, orders federal troops removed from South Carolina. Through this expedient Hayes is officially ending the Reconstruction period, which will leave African Americans to bear the brunt of discrimination and worse throughout the former Confederacy.

April 20 Indian: Indian agent John Clum arrests Apache chief Geronimo on the Ojo Caliente Reservation, Arizona Territory, and transfers him to the San Carlos Reservation.

April 24 Politics: President Rutherford B. Hayes orders the last remaining federal troops withdrawn from New Orleans, Louisiana, finally leaving the South, as the white inhabitants declare, “redeemed.” This closes the curtain on the corrupt and extravagant period known as “Carpetbag Rule” and is the price Hayes has to pay for southern compliance with his election. Reconstruction is finally—and formally—over.

May Indian: General Oliver O. Howard orders the remainder of the “non-treaty” Nez Perce Indians off their ancestral homes in the Snake River region of Oregon and onto reservations. Chief Joseph and other leaders seek to comply but resentment is growing.

May 5 Indian: Noted Lakota warrior Crazy Horse surrenders himself, 1,000 warriors, and 2,500 ponies at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. Observers note he does not appear broken in spirit but is chanting war songs along with his followers.

May 7 Military: U.S. troops under General Nelson A. Miles engage and defeat a party of hostile Lakota under Chiefs Lame Deer and Iron Star in their camp along Muddy Creek, Montana Territory. The chiefs are slain even though they had laid down their weapons and attempted to surrender. Sioux losses are 14 dead while the Americans sustain four killed and seven wounded.

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Geronimo (ca. 1829–1909) Apache chief Goyahkla (“One who yawns”) was born near the headwaters of the Gila River, Arizona, around 1829, into the Chiricahua Apache band. He matured into a man of considerable prowess and intelligence, serv-

Geronimo (New York Public Library)

ing as both a minor war chief and a shaman. In 1856 Mexican marauders killed his mother, wife, and children at Janos, Chihuahua, and he swore to take revenge. He then so audaciously raided Mexican settlements that they dubbed him Geronimo (“Jerome”) and the name became popularized. Soon after, Geronimo joined the Apache raiders under Cochise and began attacking American settlements until General George Crook finally pacified the tribe and resettled them onto the San Carlos Reservation, New Mexico Territory. Here the Chiricahua were lodged with western Apache peoples and tensions between the two groups ran high. Geronimo by this time had risen in the tribal hierarchy to war chief and, anxious to regain his nomadic existence, he led a renegade band of warriors off the reservation in 1878. For three years Geronimo conducted his traditional hit-and-run operations, usually against the hated Mexicans, and in 1881 he boldly returned to San Carlos to recruit new members. General Crook was forced to pursue the marauders into Mexico where, assisted by Apache scouts and Mexican troops, he finally cornered Geronimo in 1886 and convinced him to surrender and be deported to a new abode in Florida. Two days later he and 39 members of his band escaped from the reservation again, at which point the government, angered by what they considered Crook’s leniency, replaced him with the hard-bitten General Nelson A. Miles. For 18 months the elusive Apache easily evaded Miles and his forces, totaling 5,000 men, bounty hunters, and a like number of Mexican troops. In September 1887 Miles finally cornered the band and induced them (continues)

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(continued) to surrender with the understanding that they would return to the San Carlos Reservation after two year’s confinement. However, President Grover Cleveland chose to ignore this arrangement and ordered Geronimo and his followers deported to military facilities at Fort Pickens, Florida. The Apache were treated as prisoners of war and kept in close confinement until 1894, when they were transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to learn farming. Geronimo, who had by now converted to Christianity, toured frequently with William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show, and also attended the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904, where he signed autographed pictures for an eager populace. The following year he was allowed to march in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural procession, although still regarded as a prisoner of war. At this time he also dictated his autobiography to historian S. M. Barrett, which was published in 1906 as Geronimo’s Story of His Life. The wily Apache raider, who had caused the Mexicans and Americans such grief and turmoil, died quietly at Fort Sill on February 17, 1909, still technically regarded as a prisoner of war.

May 17 Politics: Former president Ulysses S. Grant begins an international goodwill trip.

May 22 Sports: The third annual Kentucky Derby is won by Baden Baden, who runs the track in two minutes and 38 seconds.

May 24 Sports: The fifth annual Preakness Stakes is won by Cloverbrook, posting a time of two minutes and 45 seconds.

June Military: Army forces under General Nelson A. Miles defeat the ragged band of Nez Perce under Chief Joseph, forcing them to continue retreating toward Canada.

June 1 Arts: Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Wyatt Eaton, Walter Shirlaw, and Helena De Kay found the Society of American Artists. Diplomacy: President Rutherford B. Hayes, angered by the incursions of Mexican bandits and Apaches onto American soil, orders the military commander in Texas, General O. C. Ord, to pursue the transgressors into Mexico if necessary. The order greatly angers President Porfirio Díaz, who then orders his troops to stand their ground and confront the intruders.

June 9 Sports: The 11th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Cloverbrook with a run of two minutes and 46 seconds. He is the first horse to also win the Preakness.

June 13 Indian: Youthful Nez Perce warriors, angered by their mistreatment by whites, kill four settlers in the Wallowa Valley, Washington Territory, and flee. Troops under General Oliver O. Howard will be hurriedly dispatched in pursuit.

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Joseph (ca. 1840–1904) Nez Perce chief Joseph was born Hin-mah-to-yah-lat-kit (Rolling Thunder Down from the Mountains) in Oregon Country’s Wallowa Valley around 1840, part of the Nez Perce tribe. His father, also named Joseph, was head chief of his band and in 1863, after gold was discovered on their land, he refused to renegotiate an 1855 land cession treaty with the U.S. government. However, other bands within the Nez Perce nation did so and the government insisted that the new agreement apply to all bands, including those refusing to sign. In 1873 Joseph succeeded his father as chief and vigilantly refused all efforts to surrender his ancestral homelands to white settlers. However, in 1877 President Ulysses S. Grant declared the Wallowa Valley open for settlement and instructed General Oliver O. Howard to remove any resisters by force. Joseph was greatly saddened by such strong-arm tactics but decided to vacate his homeland peacefully, as requested. However, angry braves disobeyed orders and killed several settlers in revenge, at which point Howard dispatched army troops to forcibly remove the Nez Perce. The two sides collided at White Bird Canyon on June 1, 1877, where Captain David Perry’s cavalry was badly repulsed by the Indians. On July 11 the soldiers tried again with similar results but Joseph, realizing he lacked the resources to beat the United States, ordered his people to march toward the Bitterroot Mountains and ally themselves with the Crow. His band slipped effortlessly into Montana through the Lolo Pass, but on August 9, 1877, they were sur-

prised by Colonel John Gibbon and both sides took heavy losses. When Joseph also learned that the Crow, far from being his allies, were being recruited by the army to track him, he changed the object of their march to Canada to join Chief Sitting Bull’s Sioux. The Nez Perce continued retreating in good order, generally obeying Joseph’s strictures against killing and scalping unarmed civilians, while several army columns began converging on them. On September 13, 1877, they defeated an attack by Colonel Samuel Sturgis at Canyon Creek before finally encamping along Snake Creek in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana Territory. Unfortunately, Colonel Nelson A. Miles managed to surround the Indians, steal their ponies, and bombard them for six days before Joseph, eager to end his people’s suffering, agreed to surrender on October 5, 1877. “Hear me my chiefs, my heart is sick and sad,” he solemnly declared. “From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” The survivors were then removed to new homes in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), despite the pleas of soldiers like Howard and Miles, who greatly respected Joseph as a military leader. Eventually the Nez Perce were allowed to migrate and resettle at the Colville Reservation, Washington, despite repeated entreaties to return home. Joseph died on the reservation on September 21, 1904, an enduring symbol of Native American resistance to white encroachment upon their lands.

June 14 General: The nation celebrates Flag Day for the first time, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Stars and Stripes. However, it will never become a legal holiday and is observed solely through presidential proclamation.

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June 15 Diplomacy: The Halifax Commission, arranged by the Treaty of Washington, meets to resolve long-standing American/Canadian disputes as to fishing rights off Newfoundland and the Grand Banks. Military: Henry O. Flipper becomes the first African American to receive his 2nd lieutenant’s commission from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. His deployment options are limited on account of his race and he is posted immediately with the all-black 10th U.S. Cavalry, the famous “Buffalo Soldiers.”

June 17 Military: The Nez Perce War intensifies when Chief Joseph’s band engages two troops of cavalry under Captain David Perry, 1st U.S. Cavalry, ambushing them in White Bird Canyon, Washington Territory. Indian fire kills 24 Americans while Joseph sustains three wounded and flees with 400 tribesmen eastward over the Rocky Mountains before reinforcements can arrive.

June 21 Crime: Ten members of the violent Irish miner’s organization called the “Molly Maguires” are hung for murder. The society, heavily infiltrated by detectives from the Pinkerton Agency, will shortly after be disbanded.

July 11–12 Military: General Oliver O. Howard surprises the Nez Perce encampment of Chief Looking Glass on the Clearwater River, Idaho Territory, and attacks

Flipper, Henry O. (1856–1940) African-American soldier Henry Ossian Flipper was born in Thomasville, Georgia, on March 21, 1856, the son of slave parents. After the Civil War he attended schools run by the American Missionary Association, applied to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, in 1873 and gained admittance under the auspices of a Republican representative, James C. Freeman. Flipper was not the first minority student to matriculate at West Point; two other African Americans, Michael Howard and James Webster, had preceded him in 1870, but neither graduated. He endured rigorous academic demands and intense racial animosity for four years and graduated 50th in his class of 76 on June 14, 1877. Flipper was then commissioned a second lieutenant in

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the all-black 10th U.S. Cavalry, the famous “Buffalo Soldiers,” and served under Colonel Benjamin Grierson along the western frontier. He functioned capably for four years by performing routine duties such as mosquito control at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and installing telegraph wires in and out of Fort Elliott, Texas. His most significant accomplishment was during the 1880 Indian war against the renegade Apache Victorio, whereby Colonel Grierson highly commended his conduct as an officer and a soldier. However, while serving as acting commissary of subsistence at Fort Davis, Texas, Flipper was charged with embezzling $3,000 of government property—a charge he vehemently denied— and was court-martialed. He was eventually

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with 400 soldiers and 100 volunteers, backed by artillery and Gatling guns. The Indians, however, fight tenaciously and hold their ground long enough for their families to flee eastward toward the perceived safety of the Bitterroot Mountains. American losses are 13 dead and 27 injured to an Indian tally of four killed and six wounded.

July 16 Labor: Violence erupts once President Rutherford B. Hayes orders federal troops and militia to break up a strike at the Baltimore and Ohio Railway in Martinsburg, West Virginia. This represents the first use of troops against workers since Andrew Jackson’s time.

July 17 Labor: Workers walk off their jobs with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, precipitating the Great Strike of 1877. Soon after, the strike will begin spreading to other portions of the country, as workers begin demanding better conditions and a 10 percent hike in pay. It also will usher in the phenomenon of so-called sympathy strikes by factory workers, indicating that labor wields an increasingly enormous clout. This is the first major labor action in American history.

July 20 Labor: Militia troops fire point-blank into a crowd of angry workers in Baltimore, Maryland, killing nine and wounding several more. More then 50 people die over the next four days before order at the railway station is restored to its owners.

cleared of all charges relating to theft, but his superior, Colonel William R. Shafter, found him guilty of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” Flipper was consequently discharged from the service on June 30, 1882, which he attributed to the prejudice of his peers. Back in civilian life, Flipper applied the talents he learned in the military to good effect. From 1893 to 1901 he served as a special agent for the Justice Department and also distinguished himself as a cartographer for various Mexican and American mining companies. Fluent in Spanish, he translated several treatises on Mexican law and in 1921 Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall appointed him his assistant. In this capacity he joined a commission tasked with the location, construction, and operation of

railways in Alaska. Two years later he quit his government post to work for a number of oil companies in the United States and Venezuela, publishing a legal treatise on the latter nation. Flipper died at Atlanta, Georgia, on May 9, 1940, all but forgotten. However, after the U.S. armed forces were desegregated in 1947, moves were taken to reexamine Flipper’s court-martial proceedings. Officials found it so blatantly racist that they reversed the verdict and granted him an honorable discharge. Moreover, in 1977 a bust of Flipper was formally unveiled at West Point, signifying recognition from the very institution that had once so scorned him. Then, in December 1978, his remains were reinterred with full military honors, bequeathing West Point’s first African-American graduate the respect denied him in life.

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July 21 Labor: Striking workers and militiamen struggle for control of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, railyard; an ensuing fire consumes 2,000 cars along with $10 million in property.

July 26 Labor: Police, assisted by federal cavalry, attack a group of milling workers in Chicago, Illinois, killing 19.

July 31 Labor: After several days of violence and deaths, the railroad strike of 1877 begins winding down as workers are cajoled or forced back to work without winning the conditions they struck for. However, the extent of the strike demonstrates the newfound cohesiveness of the labor movement.

August Crime: Notorious Texas gunslinger John Wesley Hardin is sentenced to 25 years in prison for the death of Sheriff Charles Webb. He is reputed to have slain no less than 40 men in various confrontations and will finally be paroled in 1902. Indian: A body of around 940 Northern Cheyenne under Little Wolf and Dull Knife arrives at the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Agency in Indian Territory, where they take up residence with the Southern Cheyenne. However, relations are tense once the newcomers refuse to affiliate themselves with the others.

August 1 Business: In Boston, Massachusetts, the Bell Telephone Company is incorporated with 5,000 shares of stock. In addition to owner Alexander Graham Bell, the firm employs one full-time worker, Thomas Watson. To date, 778 telephones are in actual service.

August 9–10 Military: Six companies of the 7th U.S. Infantry under Colonel John Gibbon surprise the Nez Perce fugitives at Big Hole River, Montana Territory, killing 89 Indians, including many women and children. However, the Indians quickly regroup and resist tenaciously, driving the Americans off. Gibbon suffers 30 dead and 34 wounded and the elusive Native Americans successfully disengage and flee their pursuers at night. However, Chief Looking Glass, who insisted that the tribe stop here to rest, loses much of his influence.

August 19 Military: A Nez Perce raiding party surprises army troops at Camas Meadows, Washington Territory, and absconds with 150 mules.

August 29 General: The querulous Mormon leader Brigham Young dies in Utah Territory. With his passing, the government is finally willing to allow the territory to apply for formal statehood, assuming it denounces the practice of polygamy.

September 2 Indian: The Mimbreno Apache leader Victorio, fed up with horrid living conditions at the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona Territory, stages a mass escape with 300 followers and begins roaming and raiding across New Mexico.

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September 5 Indian: Noted warrior Chief Crazy Horse is killed by troops at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, after resisting arrest. The commanding officer was apparently unnerved at growing unrest among Indians living at the fort and suspected the chief of complicity.

September 13 Military: Six troops of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis attempt to trap the fleeing Nez Perce Indians at Canyon Creek north of the Yellowstone River, Montana Territory. He then launches a slow advance into the canyon under an exchange of long-range rifle fire, but the Indians beat off their antagonists with considerable loss and elude their pursuers once again. Sturgis loses three dead and 11 wounded, and will be roundly criticized for his handling of the affair.

September 30 Military: Following a pursuit of 1,700 miles, army troops under General Nelson A. Miles overtake the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana Territory, and a bloody battle ensues. The Americans are roundly repulsed by accurate Indian fire, losing 21 killed and 38 wounded—including many officers—in a few minutes. Miles then elects to pursue a siege of their position as additional forces come up to reinforce him. The Nez Perce are now within 40 miles of the Canadian border—and sanctuary.

October 5 Indian: Additional fighting at Bear Paw Mountain results in the death of Nez Perce chief Looking Glass. Then Chief Joseph and his half-starved band surrender to Colonel Nelson A. Miles—within a few miles of the Canadian border. This concludes an epic 1,700-mile trek and pursuit by four different army columns. At the time the chief eloquently declares, “I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” The surviving 200 warriors and 600 women and children will be dispatched to new homes on a reservation in Oklahoma. However, an estimated 300 men, women, and children under Chief White Bird apparently slip through American lines and reach Canada.

October 9 Business: President Rutherford B. Hayes, ignoring local objections, signs an executive order allowing the Southern Pacific Railroad to expand into the New Mexico and Arizona territories.

October 17 Indian: Chief Sitting Bull and his entourage meet with General Alfred A. Terry in their camp in Canada, whereupon the general urges the malcontents to lay down their arms and return home. Sitting Bull angrily denounces Terry for the hardships inflicted upon his people and tells him to “go back home where you came from.”

November 5 Business: Congressman Richard P. Bland again forwards his bill for the monitization of silver at a ratio of 16 to one, gold. New silver strikes in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado are prompting mine owners to apply pressure on legislators for action. The Senate, however, refuses to take any action.

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November 23 Diplomacy: The United States, in accordance with terms of the Halifax Commission established by the Treaty of Washington, votes to award Great Britain $5.5 million for past fishing rights off Newfoundland. The American commissioner present, Ensign Kellogg, dissents from the opinion but the nation is honor bound to make reparations.

November 24 Naval: The steamer USS Huron is shipwrecked in a storm off Nags Head, North Carolina, with a loss of 98 sailors.

November 29 Technology: In a fit of creativity, inventor Thomas A. Edison and assistant John Kreusi spend the entire night reciting the poem “Mary had a Little Lamb” into their new phonograph recorder and are continually pleased to hear Edison’s voice played back.

December 15 Technology: From his office at Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas A. Edison files for a patent for his newly invented sound recorder, or phonograph.

1878 Arts: Edward Kemeys, America’s foremost authority on animal sculpture, displays his group Bison and Wolves at the Paris Salon to rave reviews. Business: In Cincinnati, Ohio, the firm of William Procter and James Gamble begins marketing its own distinct brand of cleanser it calls “White Soap.” Albert Pope establishes the first bicycle factory at Hartford, Connecticut, to cash in on the cycling craze. Education: In an early clash between science and fundamentalism, geology professor Alexander Winchell is dismissed from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, for scientifically contradicting biblical chronology. Exploring: John Wesley Powell publishes his account of an 11-man expedition that successfully navigated down the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869 for the first time; they covered 1,048 miles in 98 days. Indian: The Bureau of Indian Affairs is authorized by Congress to begin hiring Native Americans to serve as police forces on reservations. It is hoped this move will reduce tensions with Native Americans, but it will actually heighten tensions because those hired are regarded as traitors. In a major development, John Lorenzo Hubbell, a trader on the Navajo Indian Reservation, successfully convinces his neighbors to turn their creative talents to making and selling Native American artifacts such as blankets, children’s dolls, silver work, and rugs. In return, Hubbell will sell their work through an exclusive mail-order service nationwide, with profits to the Navajo and to Hubbell. Journalism: The Philadelphia Times is the first newspaper to successfully publish a Sunday edition. Literature: Henry James composes his newest book, The Europeans, which for the first time features Europeans in an American setting. Sidney Lanier’s celebrated poem “The Marshes of Glynn” appears in an anonymous anthology entitled Masque of Poets.

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Medical: Noted cowgirl and marksman Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary puts aside her guns long enough to assist victims of a raging smallpox epidemic in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. Publishing: Moses Coit Tyler publishes his pioneering study entitled History of American Literature, 1607–1765. Science: Albert A. Michelson invents the interferometer, which accurately gauges distance by measuring light waves with an accuracy of 99.999 percent. Precise astronomical measurements of the solar system are now possible. Furthermore, this work establishes the theoretical groundwork for Albert Einstein to propose his Theory of Special Relativity in 1905. Societal: Americans in the Gilded Age are becoming obsessed with proper manners and deportment in social settings, hence a rise in publications advising readers on etiquette, such as The Social Etiquette of New York, P. G., or Perfect Gentleman, and Success in Society. Sports: Boston is the National League baseball pennant winner with 41 wins and 19 losses. Technology: George Eastman begins manufacturing photographic dry plates, an important step in the modernization of photography. The first milking machine with commercial applications is invented in Auburn, New York.

January 1 Labor: The Knights of Labor reforms itself as a national organization and intends to organize all workers into a single union. However, its penchant for flirting with violent socialist splinter groups continually undermines its own efforts.

January 10 Women: In a ground-breaking development, Senator Aaron A. Sargent introduces the Women’s Suffrage Amendment into Congress, although nearly half a century will lapse before it is adopted in 1919.

January 14 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Hall v. De Cuir, ruling that public transportation, such as railroads and steamships, is not required to provide equal accommodations for all passengers, regardless of their race.

January 17 Diplomacy: In a nod to growing awareness of the outside world, the Senate ratifies a treaty with the Pacific island of Samoa, which grants the U.S. Navy permission to establish a coaling station at Pago Pago. Both sides are determined to limit German and British influence in the region.

January 28 Communication: New Haven, Connecticut, sports the nation’s first telephone exchange, which possesses eight lines and services 21 phones.

February Crime: Nineteen-year-old William Bonney, the future outlaw “Billy the Kid,” is baptized under fire during a four-day range war between rival cattle interests, the so-called Lincoln County War.

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February 10 Diplomacy: After years of American pressure, Spain agrees to the convention of El Zanjon, which ends the Cuban rebellion for the time being. The gradual abolition of slavery is among the provisions agreed to, which will ensure peace on the island for the next 15 years.

February 19 Technology: A patent is issued to inventor Thomas A. Edison for a soundrecording gadget called a “phonograph.”

February 21 Communication: New Haven, Connecticut, issues the first-ever telephone directory.

February 22 Politics: The Greenback and Labor parties unite at Toledo, Ohio, to form a new entity, the Greenback Labor Party. As such they stand for more paper currency, unlimited coinage of silver, restrictions on Chinese immigration, and fewer hours for workers. This year they will elect 14 representatives to Congress.

February 28 Business: Congress, pressured by western silver-mining interests, approves the Bland-Allison Act providing for the minting of silver coins but imposing a restriction of $2 million to $4 million worth of metal per month to avoid inflation. It passes over President Rutherford B. Hayes’s veto and is undertaken to placate farmers and silver miners out West, who have been pressing Congress for free coinage ever since large deposits of the metal were uncovered in 1876.

March 23 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William Maxwell Evarts, who has delayed recognition of the Porfirio Díaz regime in Mexico until all border disputes have been resolved, finally instructs John W. Foster, the U.S. minister in Mexico City, to do so. Díaz, through his iron-fisted regime, has managed to restore order and civility to his country and normal relations are again possible.

April Education: Richard Henry Pratt, who has lived among and studied the Cheyenne and Kiowa Indians for several years, founds the Indian Branch of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia to help educate children of Native Americans. Eventually, he intends to follow through with a school of his own.

April 16 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Reynolds v. United States, ruling that First Amendment freedom of religion rights do not extend to “criminal” or “immoral” behavior such as polygamy. The decision is aimed squarely at the Mormon Church.

May Medical: The South is beset by a massive yellow fever epidemic that claims 14,000 lives, 4,000 in New Orleans alone. The nation responds to the crisis with $400,00 in donations, and by dispatching innumerable doctors, nurses, and supplies to afflicted regions.

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May 18 Diplomacy: Ferdinand de Lesseps, whose company constructed the famous Suez Canal in Egypt, is granted the right, by the Colombian government, to construct a similar waterway at the Isthmus of Panama.

May 21 Sports: The fourth annual Kentucky Derby is won by Day Star, with a time of two minutes and 37 seconds.

May 27 Sports: The fourth annual Kentucky Derby goes to Duke of Magenta, who runs the course in two minutes and 41 seconds.

May 30 Military: On the camas prairie of Idaho Territory, Bannock Indians kill two settlers who allowed their hogs to devour all the camas root essential to the Bannock diet. Then 200 warriors take to the war path under Buffalo Horn and commence raiding the vicinity. In response, the army under General Oliver O. Howard will be sent to round up the entire tribe, regardless of whether or not they participated in attacks against whites, and they will be deported en masse to the Yakima Indian Reservation in eastern Washington Territory.

May 31 Business: Congress passes an act requiring that the $347 million of Greenbacks still in circulation continue on as valid currency.

June 3 Agriculture: Congress passes the Timber Cutting Act to encourage the cutting of timber on public land in order to increase farm acreage. However, this also increases erosion rates and will lead to the acquisition of even larger swaths of land by the timber industry. They also pass the Timber and Stone Act, which parcels out nonagricultural land at $2.50 per acre in lots of 160 acres.

June 8 Military: A raiding party of 200 Bannock Indians under Buffalo Horn, having killed numerous settlers, encounters stiff resistance at Silver City, Idaho Territory, and is repulsed. Buffalo Horn is among those slain, although the raiding party will subsequently be swelled by additional Paiute, Oyte, and Egan Indians to around 450. Sports: The 12th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Duke of Magenta with a time of two minutes and 43 seconds.

June 11 Political: Inhabitants of the District of Columbia finally obtain a constitution through the Organic Act passed by Congress but still lack voting rights in either local or national elections. Moreover, a board of three commissioners is delegated to make legislative suggestions to Congress. This consists of two residents and one U.S. Army engineer who are empowered to recommend legislation to Congress.

June 18 Societal: Congress establishes the United States Life-Saving Service, the first such organization in the world. It originally functions as part of the Treasury Department but in 1915 will be combined with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard.

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June 23 Military: Troopers under Captain Reuben Bernard, 1st U.S. Cavalry, surprise Bannock raiders in their camp at Steens Mountain, Oregon, although the Indians manage to escape at night.

July 8 Military: General Oliver O. Howard encounters a large number of Bannock and other Indians entrenched at Birch Creek, Oregon, but he manages to outflank their position in heavy fighting, forcing them to flee south.

July 11 Politics: In an attempt to promote reform of the civil service, President Rutherford B. Hayes arranges for the Senate to remove Chester A. Arthur as collector of the Port of New York. Also departing is naval officer Alonzo B. Cornell, who has refused to carry out his investigative functions as port naval officer. Both individuals obtained their sinecures through the office of Senator Roscoe C. Conkling of New York, who heads the corrupt Republican machine in New York. Despite the controversial nature of his election, Hayes is determined to ferret out corruption and improve the standing of the Republican Party.

July 25 Diplomacy: The United States, determined to end the period of “unequal treaties” with Japan, signs a new agreement granting the Japanese greater control over its commercial and foreign relations. This is done over the protests of European nations present, who now have little recourse but to pursue equal treaties of their own.

August 21 Law: In a sign of mounting professionalism, the American Bar Association is founded at Saratoga, New York, being the first national organization for lawyers. James O. Broadhead serves as its first president.

September 9 Indian: A body of 300 Northern Cheyenne under Dull Knife and Little Wolf, chafing under reservation life in Oklahoma, breaks free to begin trekking back to ancestral homes in Wyoming and Montana Territories. Apparently, they cannot cohabit peaceably with the more acculturated Southern Cheyenne already there in the Indian Territory. The army will pursue them with 10,000 soldiers for six weeks before overtaking the fugitives.

September 27 Military: Northern Cheyenne under Little Wolf and Dull Knife flee to Smoky Hill, Kansas, and pause at Punished Woman’s Creek only to be surprised and set upon by pursuing army troops. After some inconclusive fighting, the Cheyenne, men, women, and children, escape confinement and resume retreating north.

October 15 Business: Anticipating eventual success, inventor Thomas A. Edison founds the Edison Electric Light Company on 65th Street in New York City, even though he has yet to perfect commercial applications of the light bulb. Nonetheless, he enjoys the backing of J. P. Morgan, noted financier.

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October 23 Military: A party of Northern Cheyenne under Dull Knife, exhausted and starving, finally surrenders to the U.S. Cavalry and is taken to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. A party of diehards under Little Wolf refuses to give up and escapes.

October 27 Crime: A gang of thieves under George L. Leslie burglarizes the Manhattan Insti-­ tute for Savings and absconds with $3 million. Two accomplices are eventually caught and prosecuted, but “Western George” escapes justice once again.

November Medical: The South continues in the grip of a major yellow fever epidemic, cen-­ tered upon New Orleans, Louisiana, which ultimately kills 14,000 people.

November 5 Politics: Â�Mid-­term elections deliver control of both Â�houses of Congress to the DemoÂ�crats for the first time since 1858. No less than 14 members of the new Greenback Labor Party also win seats in the Â�House of Representatives.

November 9 Naval: The Â�steam-­powered sloop USS Ticonderoga departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, on a Â�two-­year cruise to circumnavigate the globe. Its mission is to visit 40 ports, expand existing trade relations, and seek out new ones.

December Indian: Cheyenne under Chief Dull Knife make a desperate break for freedom by escaping from their reservation in northern Oklahoma and march through winter harshness back to their ancestral homeland in Montana. Eventually they will be rounded up and returned by army troops at a tremendous cost in lives.

December 9 Business: The greenback notes issued during the Civil War years are finally redeemable at face value; eastern banks, which had earlier purchased a vast quan-­ tity of the scrip at depreciated value, stand to make a killing.

December 17 Journalism: Joseph Pulitzer acquires the failing St. Louis Dispatch for $2,500 and then merges it with John A. Dillon’s St. Louis Post; the new entity, the St. Louis Â�Post-­Dispatch, will become a profitable enterprise.

1879 Architecture: Madison Square Garden is opened to the public in New York City; it will function as one of the world’s great entertainment centers. Art: Sculptor Daniel Chester French unveils his bust of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which dramatically conveys strength and character with delicacy. Communication: Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts, boast the nation’s first intercity telephone system. Education: Radcliffe College is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of Harvard University. Indian: Frank Hamilton Cushing, a Â�self-­trained Smithsonian anthropologist, takes up residence with the Zuni of Arizona/New Mexico territory to study them. Cushing completely adopts Native American dress and manners, wins their trust,

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Pulitzer, Joseph (1847–1911) Publisher Joseph Pulitzer was born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 10, 1847, the son of a grain dealer. He migrated to the United States in 1864 and briefly served in the Union army before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, as a laborer. He eventually found work with the German-language newspaper Westliche Post and inadvertently won a seat in the state legislature as a Republican when party officials jokingly nominated him to run in a strong Democratic district. Pulitzer, however, won the election and acquired a reputation by combating corruption and graft. He tired quickly of politics and decided that journalism was a better route for policing society’s ills. Accordingly, in 1872 Pulitzer purchased the St. Louis Post and then the St. Louis Dispatch, which he combined into a new entity, the Post-Dispatch. From the onset Pulitzer distinguished himself from contemporaries by crusading hard against gambling, tax dodging, encouraging cleaning and repairing of the streets, and generally making St. Louis a more habitable city to live in. Success here prompted Pulitzer to move to New York City, where he obtained the failing New York World from financier Jay Gould for $346,000. Buttressed by new, more aggressive reporting, including coverage of crime and human interest stories, Pulitzer quickly turned his investment around and used it as a promotional mouthpiece for the Democratic Party. In 1885 he took another stab at politics by successfully standing for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he again grew disenchanted and resigned after

a few months to return to journalism. By 1887 he had founded the New York Evening World, with a Sunday edition, which also proved a lucrative venture. By 1890 Pulitzer’s eyesight was fading just as his biggest battle, a struggle for circulation with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his New York Morning Journal, was unfolding. Hearst used his wealth to raid Pulitzer’s editorial offices and stole many of his best writers by offering better wages. Although blind, Pulitzer relied on his secretaries to be his eyes and countered by trying to outdo Hearst’s trademark sensational reporting of crime, corruption, and other headline grabbing lead-ins. This trend toward sensationalism reached its peak in the period leading up to the Spanish-American War of 1898, and is generally regarded as jingoistic “yellow journalism.” Pulitzer apparently experienced a change of heart at this point and reverted to his more responsible, disciplined style of reporting. His paper was also skewed toward the common man, being anti-monopoly and pro-union in outlook. In 1903 Pulitzer announced his support for the Columbia University School of Journalism, which finally opened in 1912 and, commencing in 1917, also awarded Pulitzer prizes for excellence in reporting, fiction, history, and music. Pulitzer himself died on his yacht off South Carolina on October 29, 1911. More than a crusading journalist, he help set standards of excellence for accurate reporting that are still utilized around the world.

and begins writing some of the most highly detailed studies of the Southwestern Indians ever attempted. Literature: Albion W. Tourgee, a former carpetbagger judge, pens his novel A Fool’s Errand. This is the first story set against the background of Reconstruction.

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Henry James publishes Daisy Miller, one of his most popular early titles, which features a young American heroine. Medical: In Detroit, Michigan, the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company introduces the concept of standardized dosages. Publishing: Economist Henry George promulgates his controversial book Progress and Poverty, which advocates a single tax on land to replace all other forms of revenue. Sports: Providence wins the National League baseball pennant with a season record of 55 wins and 23 losses. Technology: Charles F. Brush installs the first electrical lighting system at Cleveland, Ohio, although he employs arc lights for illumination instead of the soondominant incandescent lamp.

January 1 Business: Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman orders a resumption of specie payments as per the Specie Resumption Act of 1875. He doubts there will be a rush to redeem greenbacks, despite the fact that they are now redeemable at face value in coin.

January 2 Indian: Despite threats and entreaties from the commander of Fort Robinson, Nebraska, Dull Knife refuses to return his band of Northern Cheyenne to the reservation in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The officer then cuts off all food and water to the tribesmen to induce them to return. The Indians, sick of this mistreatment, begin making plans to break from their confinement.

January 9 Indian: Cheyenne refugees under Dull Knife, confined to army barracks at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, since January 2 without food or water, stage a mass exodus; roughly half escape and these will be hunted down in the snow over the next three weeks.

January 13 Arts: The Mulligan Guard Balls, a musical farce satirizing post–Civil War military organizations, proves a big hit in New York City.

January 14 Indian: Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce appears before Congress and appeals for help to feed, clothe, and house his suffering tribesmen. Aid is forthcoming, but his request to be allowed to return to his ancestral homeland in Oregon’s Wallowa Valley is denied.

January 15 Arts: New York City audiences are captivated by the wit and inane humor of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta H. M. S. Pinafore; it will become a commercial success and spawn homegrown imitators.

January 25 Military: Congress passes the Arrears of Pension Act to secure back payment of military pensions retroactively to the day of discharge.

January 27 Business: Inventor Thomas Alva Edison receives a federal patent for his practical incandescent lamp, one of the seminal inventions of human history.

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February 15 Women: Congress passes a law permitting female lawyers to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, although each must have argued cases before their state supreme court for at least three years to qualify.

February 22 Business: Frank W. Woolworth and W. H. Moore hit upon a new business scheme of selling practical commodities at a fixed price, five cents. This is the basis behind their first “five cent store” in Utica, New York, and the start of a commercial empire.

March 1 Politics: Now that Democrats control Congress they attach a rider to the Army Appropriations Act that denies the president any authority to use federal troops to enforce civil rights provisions of the Enforcement Acts of 1865 and 1874. However, President Rutherford B. Hayes, in concert with radical and liberal Republicans, vetoes the attempt four consecutive times. This fight marks the resurgence of the executive branch, whose power has waned since the days of Andrew Johnson. Societal: President Rutherford B. Hayes vetoes a bill limiting future Chinese immigration on the basis that it conflicts with the Burlingame Treaty of 1868.

March 3 Indian: The United States Bureau of Ethnology is founded in Washington, D.C., in order to collect and analyze materials pertaining to Native Americans

Woolworth, Frank W. (1852–1919) Businessman Frank Winfield Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, on April 13, 1852, a son of farmers. He was educated locally and also worked on his father’s farm, but craved to enter the retail business. He eventually accepted work in a dry goods store for a minuscule salary—$3.50 for an 84-hour week—and one day noticed how goods he arranged for a five-cent liquidation sale sold quickly. Woolworth then conceived an entire store functioning along these lines, so in 1879 he started his own small business, “The Great 5-Cent Store,” in Utica, New York. He enjoyed some success but his location was less than ideal for steady business and the effort ultimately failed. Undeterred, he opened up a new store in

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania, heartland of the thrifty Pennsylvania Dutch, again enjoying considerable success despite the fact he had marked up part of his inventory to include items priced at 10 cents. But an important part of Woolworth’s overall strategy was in pioneering new concepts of retail business. He routinely purchased entire inventories directly from manufacturers, cut out the middleman, and passed the savings along to the public at low retail prices. This also preempted competitors from stocking the same goods. Furthermore, he saw that a critical factor in customer satisfaction was the sheer variety of goods on shelves. Under Woolworth’s scheme relatively luxurious items such as toothpaste and facial cream

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and their rapidly disappearing culture. Major John Wesley Powell (U.S. Army) also becomes the bureau’s first director. In time, the reports and essays issued by bureau writers will influence an entire generation of American cultural anthropologists. Science: The United States Geological Survey is founded by Congress as a bureau within the Department of the Interior. The director chosen is Clarence King, renowned for demanding high professional standards.

March 27 Military: A ragged band of Northern Cheyenne under Little Wolf finally surrenders to Lieutenant William Philo Clark, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, at the Little Missouri River, Montana Territory. The troopers quickly round up 33 warriors, 43 women, and 43 children, along with 250 ponies, and escort them to Fort Keogh. There Little Wolf and several warriors join the U.S. Army to serve as scouts.

April 12 Religion: Mary Baker Eddy founds the Church of Christ, Scientist in Lynn, Massachusetts, to restore the concept of healing to religion.

April 18 Law: A court decides the case of Ponca v. Crook, which establishes the legal fact that Native Americans are considered human beings under U.S. law and must be dealt with accordingly. The ruling issues from the case of Chief Standing Bear, who in January 1879 left his assigned reservation in the Indian Territory and began wandering back to ancestral lands in Nebraska. En route he was returned

were within the purchasing ability of local housewives. By 1881 Woolworth had two successful stores in Pennsylvania and new outlets were continually added to the chain with partners who also functioned as managers. Business flourished, and Woolworth felt emboldened to move his main store to Manhattan, New York, in order to be closer to wholesale suppliers. He also was cognizant of attracting customers through window displays, in which he took a keen interest, and Woolworth personally designed an eye-catching storefront that became the company’s trademark. Between 1890 and 1910, Woolworth’s chain enjoyed phenomenal success, with 631 outlets and an average intake of $60 million. In 1912 Woolworth eliminated five of his top competitors by merging with them and

incorporating the company with $65 million in assets. He was now one of the nation’s wealthiest individuals, and in 1913 he paid $13.5 million for construction of the Woolworth Building in New York City, which, at 792 feet and 60 stories in height, was the world’s tallest building. At the grand opening ceremony, the exterior lights were switched on by President Woodrow Wilson himself. In 1909 his first store in England opened its doors and by 1919 the company had over 1,000 stores in operation worldwide, with annual sales in excess of $107 million. Woolworth died in Glen Cove, Long Island. New York, on April 8, 1919, possibly the most successful retailer in history to that point. He forever changed the landscape of retail business and made the “five and ten cent” store a reassuring staple of consumer life.

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Chronology of American History by army troops under General George Crook. Several concerned attorneys sued the government on behalf of the Indians and obtained a favorable ruling.

April 29 Politics: The army appropriations bill is vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes over a provision that would forbid federal troops from being dispatched to oversee congressional elections, presumably in the South. This is a Democratic ploy to nullify the Force Bill and also violates the constitutional equality of all three branches of government.

April 30 Business: Boston, Massachusetts, adopts the first factory inspection law in the nation, authorizing governors to dispatch police officials to any organization suspected of safety violations.

May Business: Frank W. Woolworth opens his second five-cent store, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the humble beginning of a vast commercial empire that, by 1919, will consist of 1,000 stores. He does so by pioneering the vision of mass-produced, low-cost goods for average consumers. Indian: A band of renegade Bannock and Shoshone Indians called Sheepeaters begin raiding white settlements throughout Idaho Territory, living free and eating settlers’ sheep. Army troops will be called in to round them up and they will eventually be imprisoned in Vancouver, Washington.

May 7 Societal: Anti-Chinese sentiment crests in California with the inclusion of a new clause in the state constitution that forbids the employment of any Chinese workers. This is accomplished at the behest of Denis Kearney of the Working Man’s Party, who invariably closes his firebrand speeches with a declaration that “The Chinese must go.”

May 8 Technology: George B. Selden of Rochester, New York, applies for a patent relative to his “horseless carriage”—a gasoline-driven automobile. He continually refines his design but will not receive a patent until 1895, after several competitors have already entered the field.

May 9 Indian: Sitting Bull and his entourage attempt to return to the United States from Canada, but they are blocked by Colonel Thomas H. Rutger, 18th U.S. Infantry, which occupies Fort Assiniboine, Montana Territory.

May 11 Societal: A bill passed by Congress to restrict Chinese immigration is successfully vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes. He does so because it violates statutes of the 1868 Burlingame Treaty, which guarantees free immigration.

May 20 Sports: The fifth annual Kentucky Derby is won by Lord Murphy, who clocks in at two minutes, 37 seconds.

May 24 Sports: The seventh annual Preakness Stakes is won by Spendthrift, running at two minutes, 48 seconds.

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June Civil: An exodus of African Americans inexplicably departs Mississippi and makes for St. Louis, Missouri, in the belief that they will find better living conditions there. By August 5,000 refugees are in or near the city and the mayor warns them that he cannot possibly provide for all of them.

June 14 Military: Lieutenant James A. Moss takes the African-American 25th U.S. Infantry Bicycle Corps on a strenuous mobility test from Fort Missoula, Montana Territory, to St. Louis, Missouri, 900 miles distant. The trip is successfully completed in 40 days but bicycles fail to catch on as a means of conveyance.

June 5 Sports: The 13th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Spendthrift, coming in at two minutes 48 seconds.

June 24 Sports: A rowing team from the University of Pennsylvania wins the first Child’s Cup by defeating teams from Columbia, Princeton, and Cornell.

June 28 Naval: The Jeanette, a former Royal Navy vessel, becomes the first American vessel outfitted with a shipboard electric lighting system. It will subsequently serve as a polar research vessel until it is crushed by an ice pack. Transportation: Congress authorizes the Mississippi River Commission, with seven members appointed by the president, to investigate the current navigability of that great and constantly shifting waterway.

June 30 Military: General E. O. C. Ord, reacting to the defeat at Little Bighorn, places renewed emphasis on the theory and practice of marksmanship by directing weekly target practice for troops in his Department of California.

August 7 Exploring: Lieutenant George Washington De Long sails from San Francisco, California, in the Jeanette, accompanied by a crew of 28 men. He thus begins an ill-fated attempt to explore the waters of the North Pole. The expedition is also underwritten by the New York Herald. Military: The War Department, taking its cue from General E. O. C. Ord of the Department of California, institutes new target practice regulations by allowing each soldier 20 rounds per month. The best shots will then be rewarded with prizes and furloughs.

September 4 Military: Renegade Apache under Chief Victorio attack the 9th U.S. Cavalry in camp outside the Ojo Caliente Reservation, Arizona, killing eight troopers and stealing numerous horses. This act precipitates a prolonged cross-border conflict between whites and Apache in the Southwest.

September 10 Indian: At the White River Agency in Colorado, Indian agent Nathan C. Meeker becomes embroiled in a dispute with nearby Ute Indians and requests military assistance to preserve order.

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September 16 Military: Major Thomas T. Thornburgh departs Fort Steele, Wyoming, Territory, with 400 men of his 4th U.S. Infantry, and marches south to assist the White River Agency in Colorado.

September 29 Indian: Ute Indians under Chief Jack (Nicaagat), angered by a harsh government agent, ambush an army column under Major Thomas T. Thornburgh at the Battle of Milk Creek, killing him and 30 soldiers. The Indians suffer 23 dead before returning to the White River Agency and murdering agent Nathan C. Meeker.

October 11 Military: Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie’s 5th U.S. Cavalry arrives at White River Agency, Colorado, and the Ute gathered there are subsequently forced to surrender and release several white hostages. Shortly after the tribesmen will be forcibly retired to the Uintah Reservation in Utah.

October 6 Indian: The Carlisle Indian School opens at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, under the auspices of Richard Henry Pratt, and begins grammar instruction for 82 young Sioux. This is the first such institution not affiliated with a reservation.

October 19–21 Technology: In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas A. Edison, utilizing a carbonized cotton thread in a vacuum, observes that it burns for 24 hours without overheating. He is moving ever closer to perfecting the light bulb, which will finally happen when he substitutes carbonized bamboo with tungsten.

October 31 Indian: U.S. Army troops are sent to arrest Chief Big Snake of the Ponca tribe for moving to a Cheyenne reservation 100 miles from his assigned area. Once sent back to the Ponca Indian Agency he will resist orders to arrest him and will be killed by soldiers.

November Indian: Ponca chief Standing Bear, upset about conditions on his reservation, begins a speaking engagement throughout eastern cities to denounce the hardships inflicted upon his people. He is favorably received by large white audiences, but the government still refuses to let him leave the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

December 10 Military: In Washington, D.C., Alexander Ramsey is appointed the new secretary of war to replace George W. McCrary.

December 31 Technology: From his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, inventor Thomas A. Edison arranges a public demonstration of his new incandescent light bulb. The technology had manifested in one form or another previously, but Edison perfected it by enclosing the filament in a gas-filled glass bulb. The affair is witnessed by several thousand people, brought in by special trains.

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A group of young Native American men and women at the U.S. Indian School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, participate in an art class. (Library of Congress)

1880 Agriculture: This decade witnesses an accelerated departure from the traditional crops of tobacco and cotton in the South in favor of a more diversified variety of plants, including fruits, peanuts, and vegetables. Architecture: Henry Hobson Richardson completes Bellaman House in Cohasset, Massachusetts, the first of his influential shingled designs. Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, under construction for a decade, opens its doors in New York City, and functions as one of the world’s greatest art collections. Forced by public convention to avoid depicting nudes, French-trained painters like Abbott Thayer and Thomas Dewing revert to showing young American girls as angels, water fairies, and the like. Business: Ira Remsen discovers the formula for saccharin, an artificial sweetener 300 times stronger than regular sugar. In New York City, English baker Samuel Bath Thomas invents a new kind of toasted muffin he calls an “English.”

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Chronology of American History Education: Martha Carey, studying at a college in Switzerland, becomes the first American woman to receive her Ph.D. and graduates summa cum laude. The Indian University (subsequently Bacone College) is founded by the Baptist Home Mission Society in Tahlequah, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The first class will consist of three students. Engineering: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is formed to facilitate the growth of scientific literature as it relates to mechanization. Literature: Former Civil War general Lew Wallace publishes his most famous novel, Ben-Hur, about the early days of Christianity and the Roman Empire. It sells 300,000 copies over the next 10 years and will be made into two motion pictures in the next century. Mark Twain publishes his A Tramp Abroad, a good-natured travel narrative of his tour of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Aging Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes Ultima Thule, his next to last collection of poems. Music: John Knowles Paine performs his Second Symphony in Boston, Massachusetts, which is wildly received by critics and audience alike. Population: The U.S. Census reveals a population of 50,155,783 while New York becomes the first American city with over five million inhabitants. Publishing: Margaret Sidney’s (Harriet Lothrop) booklet Five Little Peppers and How They Grew will become a children’s classic, with over two million copies sold over the next five decades. Historian Henry Adams, son of President John Quincy Adams, anonymously publishes Democracy, which is a cynical insider’s view of power politics in Washington, D.C. The participation of women in sports is on the rise and includes such diverse activities as archery, tennis, croquet, cycling, swimming, fencing, and skating. Chicago wins the National League baseball pennant with 67 wins and 17 losses. Technology: Inventor George Eastman develops and patents a roll of film for cameras, supplanting the single plate system. The safety razor is developed by the Kampfe brothers in New York City, making the problematic practice of shaving much safer. The Sherwin-Williams Company of Cleveland, Ohio, perfects an all-purpose house paint based on a standard formula. Transportation: Within five decades, American railroads have laid 93,671 miles of track, which covers virtually all settled regions of the nation.

January Business: The U.S. Supreme Court decides a case between the large Santa Fe Railroad and the small Denver & Rio Grande line, allowing the latter to construct a track from Pueblo, through the Royal Gorge, and into Salt Lake City.

January 27 Technology: A patent is issued to Thomas A. Edison for his new and revolutionary incandescent light bulbs. Man’s age-old struggle with darkness is about to take a decided turn for the better.

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Adams, Henry Brooke

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(1838–1918)

Historian Henry Brooke Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1838, a son of Charles Francis Adams and a grandson of John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States. The Adams family at this time was among the most respected in the nation, and he matured amidst an atmosphere of high culture, perpetual debate, and intellectual discourse. Consequently, Adams was easily accepted into Harvard University in 1854, where he handled himself capably, if without great distinction. After graduating in 1858 Adams toured Germany and Italy and interviewed the Italian patriot/ revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi for the Boston Courier. He subsequently returned home to serve as a secretary to his father, now a congressman from Massachusetts, and resettled in Washington, D.C. He also began writing numerous historical essays for the North American Review, which garnered him national attention, but in 1861, following the onset of the Civil War, he was dissuaded from seeking a military commission and instead accompanied his father abroad to England, where his father served as U.S. minister. Adams continued mixing in elite circles, which served to broaden his social horizons and stoke his intuitive grasp of history and politics. He returned once again to Washington, D.C., in 1868 and settled into the role of a brilliant and acerbic social and political commentator. In this capacity he proved himself most unpopular with men close to the center of power, who were greatly relieved when he

relocated to Boston in 1870 to teach history at Harvard. It was as an historian that Adams finally found his intellectual niche. He helped pioneer the seminar system of historical instruction, which called upon students to proffer their own opinions and interpret relevant empirical evidence, as opposed to simply memorizing facts and events. In 1872 he also married a highly intelligent woman, Marian Hooper, in whom his restless soul finally found a mate. When not teaching, Adams found time to serve as editor of the prestigious magazine North American Review, to which he contributed many scintillating articles. But in researching and publishing history Adams had few peers, and his books Documents Relating to New England Federalism (1877), The Life of Albert Gallatin (1879), John Randolph (1882), and his magnum opus, History of the United States during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison (1889–91) gained renown for his mastery of the discipline. In 1877 Adams quit Harvard and returned to Washington, D.C., to further pursue his research and also found time to tour Europe with his wife. He was profoundly shaken by her suicide in 1885 and became increasingly reclusive. In 1904 he privately printed a medieval text, MontSaint-Michael and Chartres, immediately hailed as a classic, and his autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams in 1907, which posthumously received a Pulitzer prize. Adams died in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1918.

February 2 Technology: Wabash, Indiana, becomes the first American city to employ electric lighting, although on a small scale. The technology has been provided by the Brush Electric Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

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Chronology of American History Women: Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood becomes the first American female attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. She does so in presenting the merits of fellow lawyer Samuel R. Lowery, who becomes the fifth African American to work at the Court.

February 4 Arts: Steele MacKaye’s domestic drama Hazel Kirke opens at the Madison Square Theater in New York, signaling a gradual shift from romantic productions to more realistic themes.

February 12 Indian: President Rutherford B. Hayes issues a warning against squatters trying to settle on land reserved for Native Americans. The area in question lies south of Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri, but will ultimately be ceded to westerners in 1889.

February 19 Journalism: The Houston Post is organized by journalist Gail Borden.

February 24 Diplomacy: With the return of stability along the southern border and expanding commercial ties to the Mexican regime of President Porfirio Díaz, President Rutherford B. Hayes rescinds his June 1, 1877, order granting American forces the right of “hot pursuit” onto Mexican soil to chase bandits and renegade Indians. After this point investments will pour into Mexico and cordial relations resume.

March 1 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court, drawing upon the Fourteenth Amendment, decides the case of Strauder v. West Virginia, ruling that excluding African Americans from jury duty is unconstitutional. The ruling does not affect the status of women, whose appearance on jury panels remains problematic.

March 4 Media: The New York Daily Graphic is the first newspaper to employ half-tone photographs as illustrations on a daily basis.

March 8 Diplomacy: President Rutherford B. Hayes declares that any canal built across the Isthmus of Panama will fall completely under the aegis of the United States. This is after Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps testifies before Congress as to his intentions toward neutrality.

March 12 Crime: In an attempt to halt a rise in bank robberies, Inspector Thomas Byrnes of the New York City police establishes a “dead line” along Fulton Street, below which any known criminal will be apprehended immediately.

March 18 Business: French Canal Company official Ferdinand de Lesseps testifies before Congress that his company is devoid of ties to the French government and that the canal he is attempting to build in Panama is a private, commercial venture. In doing so he allays fear of possible European intervention in the hemisphere, which would invoke the Monroe Doctrine.

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March 24 Religion: Commissioner George Railton and seven women establish the American chapter of the Salvation Army in Philadelphia. This is both an evangelical and philanthropic organization that preaches salvation through good works; it was originally founded in London in 1865 by William Booth. Despite its uniforms and military demeanor, it is unique for according women members complete equality in its hierarchy.

April Politics: George Milton helps organize the National Farmers Alliance, a precursor to the People’s Party of 1892, in Chicago, Illinois. His efforts are enthusiastically received because small farmers have been downtrodden by high tariffs, floods, droughts, inflated railroad rates, and high interest on loans and mortgages. Technology: Charles F. Brush employs his arc lamp system to completely illuminate the town of Wabash, Indiana. However, the device will prove less versatile than Thomas A. Edison’s incandescent light bulb and soon fade into oblivion.

April 18 Military: A patrol under Captain Henry Carroll, 9th U.S. Cavalry, is surprised by Apache in Dog Canyon, New Mexico Territory, losing several troopers when large boulders are suddenly rolled on top of them.

May 18 Sports: The sixth annual Kentucky Derby is won by Fonso with a time of two minutes, 37 seconds.

May 28 Sports: The eighth annual Preakness Stakes is won by Grenada, who turns in a run of two minutes, 40 seconds.

May 30 Sports: In College Station, West Virginia, Irish-American boxer Paddy Ryan knocks out Joe Goss, his English opponent, after 87 grueling bare-knuckle rounds to become world heavyweight champion. He is also the first American pugilist boxer to win the title in his first recorded fight.

June 2–8 Politics: The Republican Party convention, after considerable infighting, finally nominates James A. Garfield to serve as its compromise presidential candidate on the 36th ballot. Chester A. Arthur, a relatively unknown public official from New York, is selected for the vice presidency to appease the “Stalwart” faction of the party, which favors former president Ulysses S. Grant. Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce of Mississippi becomes temporary chairman of the convention, the first African American to serve in this capacity.

June 9 Politics: The National Greenback Labor Party convenes in Chicago, Illinois, to nominate James B. Weaver of Iowa for president and B. J. Chambers of Texas for vice president.

June 14 Sports: The 14th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Grenada, who crosses the line after two minutes, 47 seconds.

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June 17 Politics: The Prohibition Party holds its national convention, nominating Neal Dow of Maine and A. M. Thompson of Ohio as its candidates for president and vice president.

June 22–24 Politics: In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Democratic Party convention selects former general Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania for president and William H. English of Indiana for vice president. Significantly, there is little to choose between the platforms of the major parties as both cater to interest groups created by the enormous shift from a largely agrarian-based society to an industrial one. The acquisition of money becomes a driving force behind the lust for office, and badly needed social reforms for the common man and woman lag far behind in political priorities.

July 3 Diplomacy: The United States and several European powers convene in Madrid and agree that Morocco, then in the grip of an independence movement, will not be “protected” by foreign powers.

July 29 Military: Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson leads the African-American 10th U.S. Cavalry (“Buffalo Soldiers”) out from Fort Quitman, Texas, and begins a long pursuit of Apache raiders under Victorio. It will end indecisively once the Apache flee across the border into Mexico.

October 1 Music: John Philips Sousa becomes the 14th and most celebrated conductor of the U.S. Marine Corps Band. Under his 12-year tenure the band gains national renown and tours repeatedly.

October 4 Education: The University of Southern California is founded in Los Angeles, California, with classes beginning this same year.

October 15–16 Military: American forces under Colonel George Buell, assisted by Colonel Joaquin Terrazas and 350 Mexican militia, corner the renegade Apache band of Victorio at Tres Castillos, Mexico. The Americans are then sent home as the Mexicans attack, killing the chief and 78 Apache, while 62 are captured and used as slaves.

October 27 Diplomacy: In Chile, U.S. minister Isaac P. Christinacy reports to Secretary of State William Maxwell Evarts that Chile has failed to accede to an offer from the United States to help end its ongoing war with Peru and Bolivia over mineral deposits in Tarapaca.

November 2 Politics: After a rancorous, mud-slinging campaign, Republican James A. Garfield wins the presidential election with a popular vote of 4,453,295 votes to 4,444,082 for Democrat Winfield S. Hancock—the margin in the decisive state of Pennsylvania is razor close at only 9,464. Garfield also amasses 214 electoral votes to Hancock’s 155. Chester A. Arthur becomes vice president while Repub-

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Sousa, John Philip (1854–1932) Composer John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 1854, the son of a Portuguese father and a German mother. He displayed an amazing aptitude for music as a child, and at 13 he was playing band instruments. In his late teens Sousa enlisted with the Marine Band and also served as orchestra director at a variety house and for various comedy troupes. In 1876 he was profoundly influenced by French composer Jacques Offenbach, in whose orchestra he played at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and where he also encountered noted band leader Patrick Gilmore. Sousa subsequently returned to Washington where, in 1880, he signed on as director of the U.S. Marine Band, which he completely reorganized, modifying its instrumentation and expanding its musical repertoire. In 1892 he left and formed his own group, the New Marine Band, which he formulated more for concerts than marching performances, and during the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago he entertained thousands of spectators on a daily basis. Listeners were enthralled by Sousa’s ability to energetically conduct his players in a wide variety of toe-tapping compositions, as well as traditional airs. The musical director of the exposition was so nonplussed by Sousa’s performance that he canceled his own symphonic and choral events. Around this time Sousa began composing his own marching tunes, such as “The March King” and “The Washington Post March,” which enhanced his reputation as one of the nation’s leading musicians. So famous did Sousa’s band

become that it began touring the United States and Canada in 1893, with commercial and critical success. This was followed up by four trips to Europe and an audacious tour around the world, heretofore unprecedented by a marching band. In 1897 Sousa composed his most famous and most enduring piece, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which remains a perennial national favorite during Fourth of July celebrations and on patriotic occasions. After the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 he served as musical director with the VI Army Corps and, following American entry into World War I in 1917, he assumed command of all naval bands. After the war Sousa resumed his touring activities and also began dabbling in higher forms of music such as comic operas. He had been greatly impressed by the amazing popularity of British composers Gilbert and Sullivan, and wrote no less than 10 comic operas of which The Bride Elect, El Capitan, and The Free Lance proved commercially successful. The multifaceted Sousa also proved himself a fair hand at writing, producing three novels and a manual for playing violin and trumpet, along with a highly regarded memoir entitled Marching Along (1928). Sousa died in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1932, quite easily the most successful composer and conductor of his time. His 40 years as bandmaster grossed an estimated $40 million in receipts, and established him as one of the most influential forces in American musical history.

licans also regain control of the House of Representatives. Power in the Senate, meanwhile, is evenly divided and shared with two independents. In Tenafly, New Jersey, suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton make a public display when they are again denied the right to vote in

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Chronology of American History national elections by the polling booth attendant. At this juncture they have been pushing for women’s suffrage for 30 years.

November 8 Arts: Noted French actress Sarah Bernhardt debuts in a production of Alexander Dumas’s La Dame aux Camelias at Booth’s Theater in New York City. She especially wows the audience with her melodramatic “death” scene at the end of the play.

November 9 Naval: The steam-powered sloop USS Ticonderoga under Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt returns to Hampton Roads, Virginia, after a two-year diplomatic sojourn, having covered 36,000 miles and called upon more than 40 ports worldwide. This is the first global circumnavigation performed by a U.S. Navy steam vessel.

November 17 Diplomacy: The United States and China amend the Burlingame Treaty of 1868 with the Chinese Exclusion Treaty. This severely curtails—but does not stop—Chinese coolie immigration, while travel by academics, business people, and travelers remains unaffected.

December 20 Technology: The arc lighting system of Charles F. Brush is employed to light up an entire mile of New York’s Broadway.

1881 Agriculture: Judge James J. Logan of Santa Cruz, California, develops a new type of fruit called the Loganberry, which is a cross between blackberries and raspberries. Architecture: Henry Hobson Richardson designs a suburban station for the Boston & Albany Railroad in Auburndale, Massachusetts, which is regarded as among his finest efforts. William Kissam Vanderbilt’s home at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, New York, which cost $3 million to complete and furbish, initiates a period of chateaus and palaces constructed by America’s wealthy—largely as monuments to themselves. Art: The depiction of children and motherhood, captured on canvas by Mary Cassatt, garners rave reviews in Paris. Although living abroad, she is regarded as America’s finest woman artist. John Singer Sargent paints his Vernon Lee and Portrait of Lady, anticipating what will become a brilliant career celebrated for his command of elegance, pose, and light colors. Actor William Gillette tries his hand as a playwright by penning the realistic melodramas The Professor and Esmeralda in which he himself plays the leading roles. Civil: The Tennessee legislature passes the first of many “Jim Crow” laws to keep African Americans segregated on trains and prohibited from riding first class. Education: The Wharton School of Finance and the Economy is founded as part of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Joseph Wharton, a wealthy industrialist, contributes $100,000 to the project, being the first of its kind in the nation.

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Sargent, John Singer

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(1856–1925)

Artist John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy, to American parents, and he first studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts there. He also traveled throughout Italy, France, and Germany as he matured, invariably sketching the numerous sights he beheld. Singer was therefore exceptionally well prepared when he began formal art instruction at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, in 1874. Two years later he visited the United States to claim his American citizenship, then returned to France for more study. Sargent proved himself a talented painter and began exhibiting his works at the Salon as early as 1877, winning honorable mention for the composition En Route pour la Peche. However, his predilection for understated tones and brilliant highlights was ahead of its time, artistically, so he failed to find a patron. In 1884 his most famous work, Madam X, debuted at the Salon and created such a scandal that it had to be withdrawn. Here he depicted the fair-skinned Madame Gautreau, a fabled and ravishing Parisian belle, in a distinctly low-cut evening gown and with so much suggested sensuality that critics were stunned. Sargent consequently closed shop amidst a storm of criticism and relocated to London where his vivid and imaginative compositions were also coldly received. He then surrendered to the inevitable and began painting portraits on a commission basis, quickly gaining recognition as one of the leading portraitists of his day. Again, Sargent disregarded the stately visual

nuances of the period, substituting instead his own sense of directness and spontaneity. By 1890 his reputation was such that peeresses and notables throughout England were lining up to be rendered on canvas, although around this time he had tired of portraiture and turned to landscape and decorative works. In light of his success in Europe, Sargent returned to the United States and was widely praised in artistic circles throughout Boston, Massachusetts. For this reason he was commissioned to execute a large series of murals inside the Boston Public Library, which took two decades to complete, and he also lent his skills in painting the interior of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In 1897 Sargent became one of a handful of American painters inducted into the Royal Academy, London. By 1910 Sargent was back in Italy, touring the Alps, and capturing their majesty in a new medium, watercolor, and the resulting work is considered among his very best. In 1918 the British government commissioned him an official war artist and he produced such memorable works as Gassed and General Officers of the Great War. The art scene by this time was dominated by abstraction-minded modernists with little regard for Sargent’s dramatic realism and he became regarded as both passé and a “society painter.” He died in London on April 15, 1925, openly regarded as America’s most technically astute portraitist, whose mastery influenced a generation of modern artists.

The Storrs Agricultural School (today’s University of Connecticut) is founded at Storrs, Connecticut. General: Coney Island, New York, is rapidly becoming an area for swimming and recreation, and includes its own boardwalk, which runs three-quarters of a mile out over the ocean.

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Luna Park at Coney Island, N.Y. (Library of Congress)

Literature: Joel Chandler Harris publishes Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, about the wise pronouncements of an aged former slave. In doing so he introduces American readers to Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and a host of humorous characters. Harris, a journalist with the Atlanta Constitution, spent several years interviewing freedmen and carefully noting the intrinsic wisdom of their folk tales. He also meticulously reproduces the exact dialects then in use. Henry James completes Portrait of a Lady, regarded as another of his early masterpieces, along with Washington Square, which depicts American life at home. The newest edition of Walt Whitman’s perennial Leaves of Grass is withdrawn from circulation by publishers in Boston over charges of indecency. Naval: In New Jersey, schoolteacher and Irish expatriate John Holland invents the first practical submarine for naval warfare. He has been inspired by Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under The Sea and hopes his invention will one day be used against warships of the Royal Navy. Publishing: Richard Watson Gilder becomes editor of The Century Illustrated Magazine, which specializes in the memoirs of Civil War generals and other leaders.

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His sister Jeanette also contributes to what can be called the nation’s first gossip column. Helen Hunt Jackson publishes her A Century of Dishonor, a scathing account of the mistreatment of Native Americans by the federal government. It is extremely well-received by whites in sympathy with the Indians and their plight. Science: Geologist Clarence E. Dutton concludes the first extensive survey of the Grand Canyon region, and begins publishing erudite scientific papers on its formation. Societal: The first summer camp for city children is established at Squam Lake, New Hampshire, and leads to the founding of similar camps in New York, Pennsylvania, and throughout New England. Sports: The United States Lawn Tennis Association is formed during a meeting of eastern clubs. Chicago wins the National League baseball pennant with a record of 56 wins and 28 losses. Technology: Lewis Latimer obtains a patent for the first incandescent light bulb.

January 7 Naval: In Washington, D.C., Nathan Goff is appointed secretary of the navy; he serves only two months.

January 19 Communication: The Western Union Telegraph Company of Jay Gould and William H. Vanderbilt acquires the American Union and several smaller telegraph firms, gaining a telegraph communications monopoly for the first time.

January 24 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Springer v. the United States, ruling that federally imposed income tax laws are not the type of direct levy (such as a real property tax or poll tax) proscribed by constitutional law.

February 9 Medical: Army surgeon general George Miller Sternberg uncovers the existence of the deadly pneumococcus germ cell, which causes pneumonia, a discovery that will establish him as the “father of American bacteriology.”

February 19 Societal: Kansas is the first state to embrace prohibition and outlaw the sale of liquor, except for medicinal, mechanical, or scientific purposes.

February 22 Societal: President Rutherford B. Hayes, himself married to a stern prohibitionist nicknamed “Lemonade Lucy,” bans the sale of liquor at military posts.

March 3 Business: Congress creates a central registration agency for the protection of company trademarks, recognizing that corporations have now expanded to national enterprises.

March 4 Agriculture: Expanding overseas trade prompts Congress to begin passing plant and produce quarantine legislation. Politics: James A. Garfield is inaugurated as president of the United States, with Chester A. Arthur his vice president.

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Garfield, James A., (1831–1881) President James Abram Garfield was born near Orange, Ohio, on November 19, 1831, into a hardscrabble existence. He worked as a canal boy before attending the Geauga Academy in Chester, Ohio, then continued his education at the Eclectic Institute in Hiram. Garfield was a devout member of the Disciples of Christ and served as a preacher in local churches before gaining admission to Williams College, Massachusetts. Strongly abolitionist, he also dabbled in Republican Party politics and in 1859 gained election to the Ohio senate. He served two years before resigning to help recruit the 42nd Ohio Volunteers, serving with them as lieutenant colonel throughout the Civil War. Garfield proved himself adept as an officer and fought with distinction at the bloody encounters of Shiloh and Chickamauga. He had risen to brigadier general of volunteers before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives from his own district in

James A. Garfield (Library of Congress)

March 5 Military: President James A. Garfield appoints Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln, to serve as secretary of war. Politics: President James A. Garfield appoints James G. Blaine as secretary of state to placate the “Half Breed” faction of the Republican Party, but Blaine’s unpopularity with rank-and-file members leads to pronounced splits within party ranks. Blaine, in fact, has little practical experience in diplomatic matters and more or less secured his position through his status within the party.

March 7 Naval: In Washington, D.C., William H. Hunt is appointed secretary of the navy. He inherits a tottering force in considerable disrepair, as only 52 vessels out of 140 in commission are completely seaworthy.

March 23 Politics: President James A. Garfield makes another divisive appointment in Judge William H. Robinson, who becomes collector of customs for the Port of New York. This is a lucrative post previously manipulated by New York senator Roscoe Conkling, who will briefly obstruct the nomination in the Senate.

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l­ate 1863. Garfiel­d was a natural­ pol­itician and easil­y won reel­ection over the next 17 years, al­though in 1874 he was marginal­l­y tainted by the infamous Credit Mobil­ier scandal­. He was al­so a l­oyal­ party operative and in 1866 voted for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. In 1876 Gar-­ fiel­d accompanied the controversial­ group of “visiting statesmen” to Louisiana during the presidential­ el­ection of that year and, as a member of the El­ectoral­ Commission, voted to instal­l­ Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House over his Democratic rival­. Despite his renowned agil­ity in straddl­ing issues and prospering by it, Garfiel­d was a firm fiscal­ conservative, advocated sound money (hard currency) pol­icies, and strenuousl­y opposed infl­ationary greenbacks. In 1880 Garfiel­d was appointed to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio state l­egisl­ature, but fate intervened and he never occupied his seat. That year the Republ­ican Party nom-­ inating convention was deadl­ocked in a three-­way spl­it between Ul­ysses S. Grant, Ohio senator John Sherman, and New York

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senator James G. Bl­aine. On the 36th bal­l­ot, Garfiel­d suddenl­y became the compromise candidate between warring factions within the party al­though, to pl­acate the “Stal­warts,” who embraced entrenched pol­itical­ patron-­ age, he was paired with New Yorker Ches-­ ter A. Arthur. The two went on to win the el­ection and Garfiel­d was sworn into office the fol­l­owing March. Once in office, Gar-­ fiel­d angered the “Stal­warts,” reforming the civil­ service and attempting to outl­aw pol­iti-­ cal­l­y based patronage. He al­so vigorousl­y asserted his presidential­ power of appoint-­ ment by ignoring candidates chosen by Sena-­ tor Roscoe Conkl­ing of New York, a l­eading Stal­wart. However, the extent of a ful­l­ tenure in office wil­l­ never be known for on Jul­y 2, 1881, at a Washington rail­road station, he was fatal­l­y wounded by disappointed office seeker Charl­es J. Guiteau, l­ingering for 11 weeks before final­l­y dying in El­beron, New Jersey, on September 19, 1881. He was suc-­ ceeded by Vice President Arthur who, much to the pol­itical­ establ­ishment’s surprise, con-­ tinued Garfiel­d’s reforms of the civil­ service.

May 7 Exploring: Lieutenant Adol­phus W. Greel­y takes a 25-­man contingent to Al­aska for the purpose of establ­ishing a meteorol­ogical­ station. He wil­l­ subsequentl­y found Fort Conger on Canada’s El­l­esmere Isl­and. Military: In another sign of mounting professional­ism in the mil­itary, General­ Wil­l­iam T. Sherman establ­ishes the Infantry and Caval­ry School­ at Fort Leav-­ enworth, Kansas. Today it functions as the Army Command and General­ Staff Col­l­ege.

May 16 Politics: Senators Roscoe Conkl­ing and Thomas Pl­att obstruct the nomination of James G. Bl­aine as secretary of state, and both wil­l­ resign in protest when they are approved. Surprisingl­y, the New York State l­egisl­ature wil­l­ decl­ine to reel­ect them. This episode is additional­ proof that the executive branch has recovered some of its former power since the days of Reconstruction.

May 17 Sports: The seventh annual­ Kentucky Derby is won by Hindoo with a time of two minutes, 40 seconds.

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Greely, Adolphus (1844–1935) Explorer Adolphus Greely was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on March 27, 1844. He volunteered for military service in 1861 and fought in several Civil War engagements, being wounded three times and promoted in rank from private to major. In 1865 he was one of the few volunteer officers allowed to join the regular peacetime establishment, as a second lieutenant. In this capacity he served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps and was busily engaged in erecting telegraph lines from Texas to California and from the Dakotas to the Washington Territory. Greely, however, was a serious student of meteorology and an avid reader of scientific publications respecting polar exploration. In 1881, after Congress authorized American participation in the first International Polar Year, he was appointed to command the first American expedition to the Arctic Circle. In July of that year he sailed with 25 men from Newfoundland aboard the Proteus and disembarked at Lady Franklin Bay on the eastern periphery of Ellesmere Island. Having established a base camp at Fort Conger, Greely sent out exploring parties that discovered Lake Hazen, Greely Fjord, and advanced to the farthest northern point then achieved. Unfortunately, scheduled provision ships failed to arrive in 1882 and 1883 so his party was faced with starvation. Greely then conducted his party 200 miles southward along a prearranged route to Cape Sabine where, in June 1884, seven survivors were finally rescued in emaciated condition. Greely was initially criticized for

the loss of life but an official court of inquiry exonerated him. All told, it was an extremely heroic three-year endeavor and in 1886 he received promotion to captain. In 1887 President Grover Cleveland arranged for Greely to be promoted several ranks to brigadier general, whereupon he became head of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Here he was tasked with laying down thousands of miles of telegraph lines and submarine cables across the United States and to Alaska, Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. He pushed for the army’s adoption of the first wireless technology and also served as chief of the U.S. Weather Service until 1891 when its responsibilities were transferred to the Department of Agriculture. In all these occupations Greely acquitted himself well and rose to major general in 1906. He then successively commanded the Northern Military Division and Pacific Military Division, and rendered useful humanitarian service in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Greely finally retired from service in 1908 and turned to writing his memoirs and also composed various and widely respected scientific tracts. He had previously served as a founder and promoter of the new National Geographic Society, which was the recipient of his personal library and scrapbooks. In 1935 his service was officially honored by a Congressional Medal of Honor. Greely died in Washington, D.C., on October 20, 1935, one of the most distinguished explorers and soldier-scientists of his day.

May 21 Arts: Noted actor William H. Gillette stars in a production of the play The Professor at Madison Square Garden in New York City; he also wrote it. Societal: Clara Barton, formerly an army nurse in the Civil War, founds the American chapter of the International Red Cross and will serve for many years as its presi-

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Barton, Clara

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(1821–1912)

Reformer Cl­ara Harl­ow Barton was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts, on December 25, 1821, the daughter of a sol­dier. Her father, a veteran of the Indian wars, sought to imbue his daughter with a sense of discipl­ine, pur-­ pose, and singl­e-­minded determination to succeed—traits she displ­ayed throughout her l­ife. Barton taught briefl­y, then cl­erked sev-­ eral­ years at the U.S. Patent Office in Wash-­ ington, D.C. When the Civil­ War erupted in 1861, she joined the 6th Massachusetts Regiment as a nurse and fol­l­owed it into combat at such bl­oody fiel­ds as Bul­l­ Run and Antietam. She al­so l­obbied Congress for permission to establ­ish her own rel­ief agency, which operated independentl­y of Dorothea A. Dix’s Army Nurse Corps. Bar-­ ton’s cool­ness under fire and al­l­-­around exempl­ary behavior paved the way for other women to participate directl­y in the war effort. In 1864 General­ Benjamin Butl­er el­evated her to chief nurse of his Army of the James, and in February 1865 President Abra-­ ham Lincol­n authorized her to establ­ish an office dedicated to finding and identifying the remains of deceased sol­diers. In this capacity Barton performed inval­uabl­e work exhuming human remains at the notori-­ ous Andersonvil­l­e prison in Georgia, where she hel­ped to identify and bring 13,000 individual­s to their final­ resting pl­aces. She al­so testified before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction in the spring of 1866, and Congress was so impressed by her demeanor that they voted her an additional­ $15,000 to continue to work with missing men. Now a

national­ cel­ebrity, Barton frequentl­y toured the country and l­ectured the publ­ic about her wartime experiences in 1866–68. Barton fel­l­ il­l­ in 1869 and visited Europe to recuperate. She arrived in time to wit-­ ness the bl­oody Franco-­Prussian War of 1870–71 and gained firsthand exposure to the Swiss-­based rel­ief agency, the Red Cross. Indel­ibl­y impressed, Barton returned home determined to establ­ish an American chapter. In 1877 she al­so l­obbied Congress to accept provisions of the Geneva Con-­ vention, which recognized the neutral­ity of rel­ief workers. This act was signed into l­aw by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882, one year after a Red Cross chapter had final­l­y been chartered in the United States, with Barton as its first president. She then worked tirel­essl­y, orchestrating rel­ief efforts for victims of the 1889 Johnstown, Pennsyl­-­ vania, fl­ood and demonstrated the viabil­ity of Red Cross efforts in disaster situations. In 1898 the 77-­year-­ol­d Barton arrived in Cuba to supervise Red Cross operations during the Spanish-­American War, al­though her autocratic demeanor al­ienated mil­itary authorities. Nonethel­ess, in June 1900 Presi-­ dent Wil­l­iam McKinl­ey signed the bil­l­ that institutional­ized the Red Cross on a national­ basis. Barton was gradual­l­y eased out as head of her agency on account of age, al­though she spent the l­ast eight years of her l­ife l­ob-­ bying on behal­f of humanitarian rel­ief agen-­ cies. She died at Echo, Maryl­and, on April­ 12, 1912, having dispersed an estimated $2 mil­l­ion of aid in the interest of humanity.

dent. America now joins a dozen European nations pl­edged to uphol­d the neutral­ity of medical­ personnel­ and al­so the humane treatment of prisoners of war.

May 27 Sports: The ninth annual­ Preakness Stakes is won by Saunterer with a run of two minutes, 40 seconds.

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June 2 Diplomacy: Great Britain agrees to pay the United States $105,305 in compensation after Canadians tear American fishing nets in Fortune Bay, Newfoundland. This easy accommodation reflects the return to power of Liberal prime minister William Gladstone, who seeks closer relations with America.

June 7 Sports: The 15th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Saunterer, who turns in a run of two minutes, 47 seconds.

June 13 Exploring: The yacht Jeanette under Lieutenant George Washington De Long, caught in Arctic ice floes for several months, is finally crushed. This will force the crew of 28 to make their way overland to Siberia, where only two will survive.

June 24 Diplomacy: Several European nations are put on notice by Secretary of State James G. Blaine that they are not to make outlandish promises of support or intervention to French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps as he begins digging a canal across the Panamanian isthmus. He therefore urges Great Britain to acquiesce to changes in the 1854 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty already in effect.

June 28 Naval: Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt establishes a naval advisory board under Admiral John Rodgers in light of that service’s dilapidated condition. The board will recommend immediate construction of several modern, steel-hulled vessels.

July Transportation: The railroad line from Durango, Colorado, to Chama, New Mexico—undertaken through prohibitively desolate territory—is finished at a cost of $140,000 per mile.

July 2 Politics: In Washington, D.C., President James A. Garfield is shot and fatally wounded by Charles J. Guiteau, an unemployed and mentally disturbed individual. Garfield becomes the second chief executive to be shot while in office and will linger in pain for nearly three months with a bullet lodged near his spine.

July 4 Civil: Booker T. Washington, a noted civil rights advocate, charters the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, with himself as principal. Washington, who is an advocate of gradual change, feels African Americans can gain a toehold in modern society only through technical training, especially because the Old South is gradually turning away from its traditional reliance on cotton and other crops in favor of industrialization. Crime: Notorious outlaw William C. Bonney (Billy the Kid), wanted for the murder of 21 men, is shot down in Fort Sumner, New Mexico Territory, by Sheriff Pat Garrett, a former friend.

July 6 General: In a celebrated feat of heroism, 15-year-old Kate Shelby crossed a damaged bridge in Boone County, Iowa, trudges another mile and a half in a driving rainstorm to the nearest telegraph office, and alerts authorities that the bridge

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Washington, Booker T. (1856–1915) African-American educator Booker Taliaferro was born in Franklin County, Virginia, on April 5, 1856, the son of an African-American slave mother and a white father whom she never married. He was raised near Malden, West Virginia, after being freed by the Civil War and went to work in the salt furnaces and coal mines at the age of nine. Despite a menial existence, he thirsted for knowledge and attended a night school for blacks, adopting there the surname Washington. In 1872 Washington spent his life savings to enroll at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, a trade school for African Americans, and he supported himself by performing janitorial work. Washington then zestfully threw himself into educating former slaves with

Booker T. Washington (Library of Congress)

considerable success, and in 1881 he was selected as the first president of the newly founded Tuskegee Institute. For many years Washington struggled to attract qualified black students and white benefactors to his school, and by dint of his affable and charismatic personality, transformed the struggling school into a thriving campus of 100 buildings, a student body of 1,500, a professional faculty of 200, and an endowment of $200 million. Success here catapulted him into the front ranks of an embryonic black national leadership, and in 1895 Washington delivered his famous “Atlanta Compromise” speech at the Cotton States and International Exposition. Here Washington recommended that blacks accept racial discrimination as a temporary expedient until, through hard work and education, they acquired sufficient economic and social clout to press for equality. Many white leaders openly praised his approach to gradually ending segregation while the majority of blacks, impressed by his ability to raise money for their colleges and education, also embraced him as their de facto national spokesman. Washington’s success crested in 1901 when President Theodore Roosevelt invited him to become the first African-American leader to dine at the White House. White southerners were outraged, but again Washington had demonstrated his appeal to moderates. The black community gradually made some progress, despite the rampant discrimination and segregation in many parts of the country, and a rising generation of new black leadership began questioning Washington’s accommodationist policies. Foremost among these was black intellectual (continues)

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(continued) W. E. B. DuBois, who encouraged blacks to forego technical training in favor of classical education, and demand equality through political action and the courts. In fact, Washington had quietly been assisting in lawsuits intended to end discrimination and restore black suffrage throughout the South, but he remained aloof from more militant leaders. Determined to enhance

the economic viability of African Americans, he founded the National Negro Business League while his autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901) is considered a classic of American literature. Washington died in Tuskegee, Alabama, on November 15, 1915, one of the earliest and most effective black spokesmen and educators of American history.

over the Des Moines River is down. Her prompt action spares an oncoming train and its passengers from inevitable disaster.

July 12 Diplomacy: Through mutual agreement, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany recognize Malietoa Laupepa as king of the Samoan Islands.

July 19 Indian: Fugitive Indian leader Sitting Bull (a shaman, not a chief ) surrenders himself to federal authorities at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory, with 45 warriors, 67 women, and 73 children. His capitulation marks the end of the largest and most violent Indian uprising in the West; the captives will be detained two years at Fort Randall before being assigned to a reservation.

August 1 Education: The University of Texas is chartered at Austin.

August 5 Indian: In a heated tribal dispute, Lakota Sioux Crow Dog kills his cousin Spotted Tail over his alleged negotiating and cooperating with whites. Indian tradition requires that he make financial restitution to the slain man’s family, but outraged whites demand his imprisonment.

August 8 Labor: The Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners is formed in Chicago, Illinois, from 36 delegates representing 11 cities. Peter McGuire is elected the first president.

August 24 Science: Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greeley is chosen to establish a scientific observatory in northern Greenland, assisted by a team of 24 workers.

August 30 Indian: Colonel Eugene A. Carr, 4th U.S. Cavalry, arrests the White Mountain Apache prophet Nakaidoklini, who preaches Indian supremacy and separation from whites, and imprisons him at Fort Apache to interrupt his steadily increasing following. When resentful tribesmen from the nearby San Carlos Reservation begin swarming around the fort and fighting breaks out, the prophet is gunned

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down. His death prompts Geronimo, a disciple of Nakaidoklini, to lead a band of his people away from the reservation.

August 31 Sports: The first national championship of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association plays out at Newport, Rhode Island, and the first-ever singles crown is won by Richard D. Sears.

September 7 Arts: Sidney Lanier, long considered the leading southern poet, dies of tuberculosis contracted while a prisoner of war at Lynn, North Carolina.

September 19 General: President James A. Garfield dies of blood poisoning arising from his injuries, at Elberon, New Jersey.

September 20 Politics: Chester A. Arthur becomes the 21st president of the United States. Despite his reputation as a “machine politician” in New York, he deter-

Arthur, Chester Alan (1829–1886) President of the United States Chester Alan Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, on October 5, 1829, the son

Chester Alan Arthur (Library of Congress)

of a Baptist minister. His family moved constantly, but in 1844 he gained admission to Union College, Schenectady, New York, to study law. He graduated four years later, clerked several years in a New York City law office, and was admitted to the bar in 1854. At this time Arthur became closely entwined with Republican Party politics and, due to his background in abolitionist work, won two important cases on behalf of African-American slaves. The first involved obtaining freedom for slaves who had been transported across state lines into New York, and the second resulted in non-discriminatory seating for blacks on all New York trolley cars. When the Civil War erupted in 1861 he joined the staff of Governor Edwin D. Morgan as quartermaster, with a rank of brigadier general, and essayed his tasks competently. He lost his position when a Democrat came to power in Albany in 1863, and returned to New York City (continues)

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(continued) to practice law. Afterward Arthur became closely identified with the widely accepted practice of patronage (or “spoils”) and built up his political capital accordingly. In 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Arthur to the lucrative post of customs collector for the Port of New York, whereby he controlled 1,000 agents, enjoyed an income of $50,000 per year, and helped organize and fund state party activities. However, in 1878 President Rutherford B. Hayes decided to sack Arthur, who was never implicated in any corruption scheme, in an attempt to curtail the practice of widespread patronage. Two years later he was chosen to run as vice president with main candidate James A. Garfield in order to placate an ongoing battle between reform and conservative elements. Arthur was sworn into office in the spring of 1881 but was elevated to the presidency on September 19, 1881, when Garfield, struck down by an assassin’s bullet two months earlier, died of his wounds. Not much was

expected of Arthur, a bluff, impeccably dressed individual with no apparent genius for politics, but he surprised his reform-minded critics. Despite his reputation as a “spoilsman,” he proved to be completely honest in his handling of national matters and signed on fully to the reform agenda of Congress. To this end he vetoed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which he felt abrogated an earlier treaty with China, and also signed the Pendleton Act of 1883 and created a national bureaucracy to eliminate patronage completely. Arthur also took active interest in national defense and promoted increased spending and modernization for the U.S. Navy. By 1884 Arthur was aware that he was fatally ill with Bright’s disease and did not campaign vigorously for election. Party elders edged him out in favor of James G. Blaine, who subsequently lost to Democrat Grover Cleveland. Arthur then lost interest in the party and they in him, so he returned to New York and died in relative obscurity on November 18, 1886.

mines to distance himself from former associates, like former senator Roscoe Conkling.

October Indian: Apache chief Geronimo and 74 militant followers, fed up with life on the San Carlos Reservation, stage a mass escape and flee to Mexico.

October 15 Sports: American Angler, the first sport fishing magazine, is published and edited in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by William C. Harris.

October 22 Music: The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs its first concert.

October 26 Crime: Deputy Marshal Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and “Doc” Holliday corner the violent Clanton brothers and their minions at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

October 30 Exploring: Arctic explorer George Washington De Long dies of starvation while trying to reach safety in a lifeboat. His vessel, the Jeanette, was crushed by ice on June 13 while traversing the Bering Sea.

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November 3 Naval: Captain William Devan becomes commander of the first inland station of the U.S. Life Saving Service, at Louisville, Kentucky. He is tasked with assisting shipwrecked passengers and sailors along the Ohio River and will make his first rescue only four days later.

November 8 Diplomacy: The government of Mexico declines Secretary of State James G. Blaine’s offer to arbitrate a simmering border dispute with Guatemala. He did so in an attempt to circumvent any European intervention; in the end Guatemala will surrender control of Chiapas province to Mexico.

November 9–10 Sports: The yacht Mischief successfully defends the Americas’s Cup against the Canadian challenger Atalanta.

November 14 Law: The trial of Charles J. Guiteau, charged with the assassination of President James A. Garfield, begins in Washington, D.C.

November 17 Labor: Samuel Gompers helps found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States out of dissidents within the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor. Gompers, a pragmatist and a political moderate, proffers his group as an alternative to the more radical, violent, and socialist groups then coalescing around labor issues.

November 18 Transportation: The blow of a single railroad spike initiates construction of the Georgia Pacific Railroad, intending to link the city of Atlanta with coal mines in Alabama.

November 29 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James G. Blaine issues an invitation to 18 Latin American nations to attend a precedent-breaking hemispheric peace conference in Washington, D.C.

November 30 Naval: The steamer USS Rodgers, scouting in St. Lawrence Bay, Canada, for survivors from the ill-fated Jeanette expedition, catches fire and sinks without the loss of life.

December 1 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James G. Blaine declares American ownership of Hawaii and that the islands are no longer subject to foreign colonization as per dictates of the Monroe Doctrine.

December 5 Politics: The 47th Congress assembles with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans the House of Representatives. President Chester A. Arthur, in his first annual address to the Congress, suggests removing party control from the process of granting federal civil service commissions.

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Gompers, Samuel

(1850–1924)

Labor Leader Samuel Gompers was born in East London, England, on January 27, 1850, the son of a poor cigar maker. Barely educated, he moved with his family to New York City in 1863 and the following year he joined the Cigarmaker’s Union. At this time Gompers was exposed to the socialist theories of German writer Karl Marx and others, but he rejected revolutionary theories in favor of pragmatic gains. Committed to workers, Gompers reorganized the Cigarmaker’s Union in 1877 by instituting strike and pension funds, as well as asserting control of the international union over local chapters. However, Gompers proved unique among contemporaries by completely forgoing radicalism and activism in favor of the relentless pursuit of higher wages, benefits, and working security. He would not hesitate to call for strikes where necessary, but otherwise strenuously avoided political action or affiliation. Gompers also preferred to concentrate on highly skilled tradesmen rather than help organize unskilled, uneducated workers, as the Knights of Labor was doing. Such was his success in managing labor matters that in 1881 the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions arose under his aegis. Five years later Gompers reorganized this into the American Federation of Labor (AFL) with himself as president. Gompers served in this capacity, with the exception of 1895, for the next four decades and capably advanced the living standards of skilled workers within his organization. By this time the Knights of Labor was experiencing rapid decline, owing to its

disastrous flirtation with violent socialists, and the AFL emerged as the nation’s largest labor organization. Gompers determined to avoid the Knights’ fate by stridently opposing socialists in the AFL and resisting all calls to form a radicalized labor party. Gompers always posited himself as a team player, invariably focused on improving the lot of his members, and therein lay the secret of his success. On the downside, Gompers’s refusal to address the real plight of unskilled workers added impetus to the International Workers of the World (IWW, or “Wobblies”), a very radical and violent organization calling for the complete reordering of society. Gompers nonetheless insisted that the conflict between labor and capital was a false one, and that unions and management were obliged to work in harmony for the benefit of all. To this end, in 1901 he helped create the National Civic Union, consisting of businessmen willing to deal with conservative union leaders like himself. Gompers was also the first union leader to enjoy national stature and throughout World War I his support was actively courted by President Woodrow Wilson. He cheerfully obliged the president, immersed himself in the war effort, and continually lambasted socialists and pacifists. Consequently, he was invited by Wilson to sit in on all important labor-management discussions and also attended the Versailles Peace Conference as a labor adviser. Gompers died in San Antonio, Texas, on December 13, 1924, the most influential labor leader in American history.

December 12 Politics: President Chester A. Arthur accepts the resignation of James G. Blaine as secretary of state and appoints Frederick T. Frelinghuysen as his successor.

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December 19 Diplomacy: Secretary of State James G. Blaine, having lost his chief benefactor when President James A. Garfield died, resigns from office and is replaced by Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. A major project Blaine had been fomenting, a PanAmerican movement, will be allowed to wither until 1889.

1882 Education: The University of South Dakota is chartered at Vermillion. The American School of Classical Studies is founded in Athens, Greece, to encourage the study of the classics. General: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is honored with a bust in the poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey in London, the first American so honored. William Horrick of Racine, Wisconsin, develops the first malted milk by mixing milk with extract of wheat and malt barley. Indian: Traditionalists and non-traditionalists in the Creek nation come to blows in the so-called Green Peach War, which erupts in a peach orchard and takes several lives. Ultimately, U.S. Army troops are called in to track down and arrest the traditionalists. Journalism: Albert Pulitzer acquires the New York Morning Journal, a publication specializing in sensationalism. Labor: At the behest of labor leader Samuel Gompers, Governor Grover Cleveland signs legislation outlawing the practice of manufacturing cigars in tenement houses, also known as “sweat shops.” This law is subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court. Literature: Mark Twain publishes his historical romance The Prince and the Pauper, set in the reign of King Edward VI. Frank R. Stockton’s short story “The Lady or the Tiger” appears in Century Magazine. It will prove to be extremely popular with generations of readers and he republished in countless anthologies of American fiction. Medical: Professor Granville Stanley Hall is appointed to a special lectureship in psychology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the nation’s earliest departments to specialize in that discipline. Naval: Lieutenant Commander French Ensor Chadwick, an authority on investigating foreign naval establishments, is appointed the first American naval attaché in London, England. Publishing: Historian Henry Adams publishes his biographical study John Randolph as part of his ongoing study of the founding fathers. Theodore Roosevelt publishes his The Naval War of 1812, one of the first objective analyses of that conflict. Sports: The National Croquet Association is formed to help foment standardized rules of play. The U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is founded by teams from Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. Chicago wins the National League baseball pennant with 55 wins and 29 losses. They also split a two-game interleague playoff with Cincinnati of the American League in a forerunner of the World Series. Technology: Appleton, Wisconsin, is the scene of the nation’s first hydroelectric dam, which provides power to the neighboring area.

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January 2 Business: Industrial tycoon John D. Rockefeller creates the Standard Oil Trust in New York City, thereby circumventing the laws of various states infringing on his ability to govern his organization. In this manner he eliminates competition among the 40 companies comprising the trust by placing them under a single management. This is the first industrial monopoly in America and its success inspires other large corporations to follow his example and form their own trusts.

January 15 Law: The so-called Star Route mail fraud case erupts, implicating Senator S. W. Dorsey, Republican of Arkansas, and other leading politicians. This involves the deliberate marking of expenses along otherwise unprofitable mail routes, these being marked with a “star” on the official schedules. Subsequent investigation leads to the resignation of Second Assistant Postmaster Thomas J. Brady.

January 25 Law: Charles J. Guiteau is found guilty of assassinating President James A. Garfield and is sentenced to death.

Sullivan, John Lawrence (1858–1918) Athlete John Lawrence Sullivan was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on October 15, 1858, a son of Irish immigrants. After working as a laborer he was drawn into fighting on account of his impressive physical strength. In 1877 he won his first fight at Boston’s Dudley Street Opera when fighter Tom Scannell challenged any man in the house to meet him. Sullivan readily accepted and knocked Scannell off the stage in one round. He emerged as the statewide champion within two years, which carried some risk, for boxing was illegal in most cities throughout the country. Nonetheless, Sullivan, now nicknamed “The Boston Strong Boy,” waged his first title match against champion Paddy Ryan in Mississippi City, Mississippi, in 1882, knocking him out after nine rounds. At this time, boxing employed the so-called London Prize Ring rules, calling for bare knuckles and grappling. Sullivan, no giant at 5 feet 10 inches, 190 pounds, was both exceptionally powerful,

1882

John L. Sullivan, in a lithograph by Currier & lves, ca. 1883 (Library of Congress)

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January 26 Diplomacy: In an attempt to discredit the policies of James G. Blaine, Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen releases all private correspondence concerning the wars between Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. This has the effect of undercutting negotiations of U.S. minister William H. Trescott, who is coldly informed of the matter by his Chilean counterpart. This move will cost the United States much of its influence in the region.

February 2 Religion: The Roman Catholic Church, caught in the growing popularity of fraternal benefit organizations, establishes the Knights of Columbus at New Haven, Connecticut, under Father Michael McGivney. In addition to advancing Catholic interests, the Knights are also tasked with promoting benevolence, religious and racial tolerance, and patriotism.

February 7 Sports: Novice boxer John L. Sullivan bludgeons Paddy Ryan in the ninth round at Mississippi City, Mississippi, replacing him as bare-knuckle champion of the world. He will subsequently tour the country, offering $500 to anyone who can

lightning fast, and usually overpowered his opponents. He also cut a larger than life figure with a boisterous, outgoing personality, and a ravenous appetite for liquor and high living. Between official matches, Sullivan accompanied various exhibitions, challenging anyone from the public to withstand three rounds in the ring with him for $500; the prize went uncollected. The public bought readily into his flamboyance, and he became the sport’s first identifiable hero. As the years went by Sullivan continued racking up impressive victories, which included 43 wins (29 knockouts), one loss, and three draws. On July 8, 1889, he savored his final bare-knuckle brawl in Ritchburg, Mississippi, putting away challenger Jake Kilrain after 75 grueling rounds. Shortly afterward, boxing discarded the London Prize Ring rules in favor of the new Marquis of Queensberry rules, which mandated gloves, forbade grappling, and instituted threeminute rounds. Sullivan, heavily addicted to drinking and usually out of shape, could not adapt to them.

On September 7, 1892, Sullivan fought and lost his final match against James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, who knocked him down in 21 rounds. Thereafter he had the common sense to retire gracefully from the ring save for an occasional exhibition match. He fought one more time professionally, in 1905, by knocking out Jim McCormick in two rounds at Grand Rapids, Michigan, then hung up his gloves after a brilliant career spanning 25 years. Sullivan, flamboyant and popular as ever, then toured the nation to lecture on the evils of alcohol, and also penned his colorfully titled autobiography, Life and Reminiscences of a 19th Century Gladiator (1892). He is also one of few world-class athletes to fraternize with world leaders such as President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII of England, who were also fans. Sullivan died, almost penniless, in Abington, Massachusetts, on February 2, 1918, the last bare-knuckle fighting champion and among America’s earliest sports legends.

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Chronology of American History last four rounds with him; boxing is on its way to a respectable and profitable sporting venture.

February 25 Politics: A Reapportionment Act passes Congress, which enlarges the House of Representatives from 293 to 325 members. Technology: New York City sports the first electrically lit Christmas tree.

March General: Flooding along the Mississippi River this month destroys thousands of buildings along the riverbank and leads to 85,000 homeless. The root cause of the disaster is over-extensive timber cutting and soil exhaustion, which allows the water to run excessively.

March 16 Diplomacy: After intense urging by Clara Barton, head of the American Red Cross, the Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention of 1864, which outlines the care of wounded war personnel. Most European nations and several from South and Central America also sign on.

March 22 Religion: In a swipe at Mormonism, Congress passes an act sponsored by Senator Charles F. Edmunds of Vermont, which forbids polygamists from holding public office. Various penalties are also delineated.

March 23 Exploring: A boat commanded by Engineer George W. Melville, having arrived at a settlement on the Lena Delta, Siberia, with word of the research vessel Jeanette’s survivors subsequently returns to their campsite, only to find their frozen corpses. However, the expedition’s records will be recovered intact and prove a useful cautionary tale for prospective explorers of this hostile region. Naval: In Washington, D.C., the secretary of the navy establishes the Office of Naval Intelligence.

March 31 Politics: The widows of former presidents James K. Polk, John Tyler, and James A. Garfield are all voted a special $5,000 a year pension by Congress.

April Indian: Apache renegades Geronimo and Juh slip into the San Carlos Reservation, kill the chief of Indian police, then convince many of their Chiricahua tribesmen to follow them into the hills as raiders.

April 3 General: Notorious outlaw Jesse W. James (alias Thomas Howard) is murdered by Robert Ford, a member of his own gang, in St. Joseph, Missouri, for a $10,000 reward. Ford then flees the scene and will never receive it.

April 4 Diplomacy: President Chester A. Arthur vetoes the Chinese Exclusion Treaty on the basis that it violates the Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which allowed for unlimited immigration.

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April 17 Naval: In Washington, D.C., William E. Chandler becomes the 30th secretary of the navy and leads efforts to renew that tottering force of wooden ships and Civil War–era ordnance.

April 19–23 Indian: Restive Apache on the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona, kill the local police chief and then recruit members of the resident Warm Spring tribe to join their warrior band. Lieutenant George A. Forsyth will pursue the raiders as far as Â�HorseÂ�shoe Canyon, where an indecisive skirmish is waged; the renegades Â�high-­tail it into Mexico. Forsyth, reinforced by a detachment of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, will mount a Â�cross-­border chase until a Mexican infantry unit orders them out of the country.

April 26 Law: President Chester A. Arthur seeks mili-­ tary authorities to deal with “The Cowboys,” a group of terrorists who have been harassing and attacking inhabitants in the territory of Arizona.

April 28 Civil: Textile manufacturer John Fox Slater establishes a fund under his name for the edu-­ cation of emancipated African Americans and endows it with $100,000. This constitutes the first major philanthropy of its kind.

May 6 Politics: Congress overrides President Chester A. Arthur’s veto of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which excludes the entrance of Chinese labor-­ ers for 10 years. Total immigration for the period 1868–82 has been over 200,000.

May 8 Labor: New York City trade � unionist Pete J. Maquire proposes a national labor holiday, which the local Knights of Labor celebrate on this day.

May 15 Business: In light of burgeoning surpluses in the national treaÂ�sury, Congress authorizes a Tariff Commission, staffed by nine members appointed by the president. The chairmanship will go to John L. Hayes, secretary of the National Asso-­ ciation of Wool Manufacturers, who can hardly be considered an impartial judge of Â�free-­market economics.

This cartoon by Thomas Nast shows a Democratic tiger and a Republican elephant joining forces to remove a Chinese immigrant who hangs on desperately to a tree labeled "Freedom to all."╇ (Library of Congress)

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May 16 Naval: Samuel Powhatan Carter is elevated to rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. During the Civil War, Carter served as a major general in the Union army and is thus the only senior military officer to have ever attained the ranks of both general and admiral. Sports: The eighth annual Kentucky Derby is won by Apollo, who runs the course in two minutes, 40 seconds.

May 19 Naval: Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt, commanding the screw sloop USS Swatara, comes ashore in Korea and commences diplomatic negotiations.

May 22 Diplomacy: The United States and Korea—the self-styled “Hermit Kingdom”— sign a treaty of friendship and commerce with Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt, the first official act between the two nations. Diplomatically, the Americans feel that an independent Korea is in their best economic interests, but the rising Japanese empire is also preparing to act according to perceptions of its own needs.

May 27 Sports: The 10th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Vanguard with a run of two minutes and 44 seconds.

June Labor: The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers initiates several strikes nationwide, as workers begin flexing their collective bargaining abilities.

June 8 Sports: The 16th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Forester with a time of two minutes, 43 seconds.

June 24 Sports: Richard Higham becomes the only umpire expelled from baseball’s National League for dishonesty.

June 30 General: Charles Guiteau is hung for the murder of President James A. Garfield.

July 14 Naval: The warships USS Lancaster, Quinnebaug, and Nipsic land sailors ashore at Alexandria, Egypt, to protect American lives and property during a British bombardment of that port.

July 17 Military: Captain Adna Romanza Chaffee, leading elements of the 3rd and 6th U.S. Cavalry, perceives a White Mountain Apache ambush set for him along the East Clear Creek, Arizona. He adroitly outflanks the Indians and attacks, driving them back with such heavy losses that they retire to their reservation.

July 26 Diplomacy: The United States declares it will abide by provisions outlined by the Geneva Convention of 1864 respecting the care of wounded soldiers in wartime. It thus joins 16 other signatories to employ Red Cross personnel.

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Chaffee, Adna Romanza

1357

(1842–1914)

General Adna Romanza Chaffee was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, on April 14, 1842. After the Civil War commenced in 1861, he left home in order to join an Ohio volunteer regiment, but en route encountered a recruiting party from the 6th U.S. Cavalry and signed on as a private. He rode with the regiment for the next 27 years. Chaffee proved himself a capable soldier and served with distinction at such bloody battles as the Peninsula, Antietam, Brandy Station, and Gettysburg. He fought so well that Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had him commissioned a second lieutenant and he ended the war a captain after participating in 54 major battles and skirmishes. Chaffee continued in the peacetime establishment and fought under generals George Crook and Nelson Miles in campaigns against the Comanche and Apache throughout the Old Southwest. He helped orchestrate the army victory at Painted Creek, Texas, in March 1868, and won a brevet promotion to major. In 1888 he transferred to the 9th U.S. Cavalry, the famous African-American “Buffalo Soldiers,” as brevet lieutenant colonel and in 1897 took up teaching responsibilities at the Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. When war with Spain commenced in 1898, Chaffee gained appointment as a brigadier general of volunteers in General Henry Lawton’s 2nd Division, and in this capacity fought with distinction at the July 1, 1898, Battle of El Caney, Cuba. Faced with dug-in defenders he adroitly brought up his artillery and led a charge by the 12th Volunteer Infantry, which

clinched the victory. For his efforts, Chaffee received a brevet promotion to major general and served in Cuba after the war as chief of staff under General Leonard Wood. In 1900 Secretary of War Elihu H. Root directed Chaffee to lead American forces in the so-called Boxer Rebellion in China. Landing with troops from the Philippines, he marched them overland to Peking (Beijing), helped storm the city gates on August 14, 1900, and rescued the diplomatic legation there. His tactful treatment of the inhabitants, and the good behavior of his men, were widely praised by the Chinese. He advanced to major general in 1901, relieved General Arthur MacArthur as commanding general of the Philippines, and conducted closing operations against the militant Moro rebels. Once home, Chaffee pinned on his third star as a lieutenant general and became the first-ever chief of staff in the U.S. Army by 1904. This was a new position, patterned after the German army model, in order to streamline military administration and better harmonize relations with the president, or commander in chief. In this capacity he also ventured to Europe to observe military maneuvers, then concluded his lengthy career by resigning on February 1, 1906. Chaffee subsequently settled in Los Angeles, California, to serve as president of the Board of Water Works and died there on November 1, 1914. A consummate professional, Chaffee remains the only American soldier to have risen to lieutenant general from the rank of private.

August 2 Politics: Congress approves a $19 million Rivers and Harbor Bill but President Chester A. Arthur, who views it as a “pork barrel” measure with $14 million set aside for special interests, vetoes it.

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August 3 Societal: Congress clamps down on immigration for the first time by imposing selective admission, which excludes paupers, criminals, and the insane; new arrivals are also subject to a 50 cent head tax. Over the next eight years five million immigrants still arrive.

September Military: General George Crook, an effective and humane leader, assumes command of the Department of Arizona, secures the San Carlos Reservation, then prepares to cross into Mexico with 50 troopers and 200 Apache scouts in order to capture the renegade Geronimo.

September 4 Technology: Thomas A. Edison’s steam-powered electrical power station, located on Pearl Street in New York City, begins supplying active current to 60 buildings. This also powers his incandescent light bulbs placed throughout the city, and New York begins basking in the glow of electric light.

September 5 Labor: New York City hosts the first Labor Day parade, further recognition of the importance of labor unions to the political and economic vitality of the nation. No less than 30,000 participants turn out for the occasion, first suggested by Peter J. McGuire of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

September 25 Sports: Baseball teams from Providence and Worcester play the first major league doubleheader.

October 5 Crime: Wanted outlaw Frank James turns himself in at Jefferson, Missouri, where he will be tried on a count of first-degree murder.

October 24–26 Indian: In Alaska, the Tlingit Indians demand 200 blankets from the Northwest Trading Company for the accidental deaths of two of their members. A party of U.S. Navy sailors, tasked with keeping the peace, decides to punish the tribesmen by demanding a payment of 400 blankets. When the Tlingit refuse, the sailors bring up a Gatling gun and flatten their village, killing six children. This outrage prompts Congress to reorganize Alaskan law enforcement.

November 6 Arts: English socialite-turned actress Lily Langtry appears in a production of As You Like It at the Fifth Avenue Theater in New York City. Considered a mediocre actress, she revels in her scandalous reputation and the public responds accordingly.

November 7 Politics: Former Buffalo mayor Grover Cleveland is elected governor of New York, presaging a Democratic resurgence nationwide. The Democrats also gain 50 seats in the House of Representatives, taking control of that body.

November 10 General: Canadian Alexander Graham Bell becomes a naturalized American citizen.

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November 15 Diplomacy: Lieutenant Commander French Ensor Chadwick arrives in London, England, as the first American naval attaché.

November 30 Sports: The U.S. Naval Academy football team loses its first-ever game to the Clifton Football Club, 8–0.

December Indian: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Herbert Walsh and Henry Panacoast found the Indian Rights Association to lobby for better treatment of Native Americans. They recruit many wealthy easterners to their cause, assemble a lobby group in Washington, D.C., and soon emerge as an influential voice in deciding subsequent U.S. Indian policy.

December 4 Politics: The nine-man tariff commission recommends that existing rates on various commodities be cut by 20 to 25 percent; their report is ignored by Congress.

December 11 Technology: Thomas A. Edison uses 650 incandescent light bulbs to illuminate Boston’s Bijou Theater for the first time. The occasion is the opera Iolanthe by British playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan.

December 16 Indian: President Chester A. Arthur issues an executive order establishing the Hopi Indian Reservation in the heart of their ancestral homeland, although Navajo also living their refuse to leave peacefully.

1883 Arts: Benjamin F. Keith opens the first of his 400 vaudeville theaters in Boston, Massachusetts, which gives a big boost to that popular and rapidly growing form of entertainment. Business: George S. Parker, a 16-year-old resident of Salem, Massachusetts, invents a game he calls Banking and aspires to have his own manufacturing firm to market his recreational ideas. Education: The Modern Language Association (MLA) is founded in Baltimore, Maryland, for the purpose of promoting the study of literature and linguistics. Indian: Lake Mohonk, New York, hosts the first-ever “Friends of the Indian” Conference. These largely Protestant reformers advocate assimilation into the cultural mainstream as the best way of preserving Native American rights. They hope to persuade Con-

Poster for a popular vaudeville show (Library of Congress)

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1360â•… Chronology of American History gress to adopt programs geared toward teaching Indians agriculture to transform them into private landowners. Literature: Mark Twain publishes his Â�semi-­autobiographical account Life on the Mississippi River, soon hailed as an American classic and among that author’s most popÂ�uÂ�lar efforts. Edgar Watson Howe, having been continually rejected by publishing Â�houses, Â�self-­publishes The Story of a Country Town, a pioneering work of naturalistic fiction. Publishing: The diary of late explorer George Washington De Long, who died two years earlier of starvation awaiting rescue in the Arctic, is published as Voy-­ age of the “Jeanette.” Sociologist Lester Frank Ward publishes his Dynamic Sociology, which holds that the human mind is capable of taking an active role in human evolution. Sociologist Willard Graham Sumner publishes Psychic Factors in Civilization, which holds that only the fittest individuals in a given society survive, especially through hard work and individualism. This is another stream in the ongoing evo-­ lution of what generally becomes regarded as “Social Darwinism.” Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute Indian and former U.S. Army trans-­ lator, publishes Life among the Paiutes, which is the first book ever written by a Native American woman. Proceeds from the book fund various speaking engagements in the East in which she rails against abuses heaped upon her fel-­ low tribesmen. Cyrus H. K. Curtis founds the monthly Ladies’ Home Journal which gains a wide circulation on the basis of its fine editorship, fiction, and feature articles. Religion: Salish Indian John Slocum has a religious experience in which he meets the Christian God, who promises that Native Americans will prosper by swearing off drinking, smoking, and their indigenous shamans and healers. This is the start of the Indian Shaker movement, which gathers strength and influence among tribes living in Washington State, Oregon, and British Columbia. Societal: The Southern Immigration Association is formed to promote EuÂ�roÂ� peÂ�an immigration to the South. Sports: The first recorded bicycle Â�race—with two Â�entrants—is won by G. M. Hendrie. Boston wins the National Baseball League pennant with 63 wins and 35 losses. The Kentucky Derby race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, is shortened to one and Â�one-­quarter miles. Technology: Lewis E. Waterman invents the first practical fountain pen using the principle of capillary action. The growing acÂ�cepÂ�tance of electricity stimulates a concurrent wave of domes-­ tic inventions such as electric fans, sewing machines, irons, and stoves for every-­ day use at home. Prolific inventor George WestingÂ�house beings experimenting with Â�longÂ�distance natural gas pipelines. Transportation: The Northern Pacific Railway of Jay Cooke and Henry Villard completes laying tracks from Lake Superior to Portland, Oregon. Concurrently, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad opens up a direct route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Los Angeles, California.

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January 10 General: The Newhall House, a hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, burns to the ground, killing 71 people.

January 16 Politics: Pressed by the need to overhaul the national bureaucracy, particularly the spoils system, the House of Representatives passes the Civil Service Act of Senator George H. Pendleton. This bill establishes a bipartisan, three-man commission tasked with establishing competitive entrance examinations to hire workers on the basis of merit, not party affiliation.

February 14 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen appoints Samuel G. Benjamin the first minister resident to Persia (renamed Iran in 1935). Labor: New Jersey becomes the first state to legalize trade unions, a sign of the growing acceptance of workers’ rights.

February 15 General: Severe flooding in Cincinnati, Ohio, results from excess cutting down of trees and the erosion of topsoil by wasteful farming methods. Pressure is mounting nationwide for improved education of farmers and workers along these lines.

February 16 General: More than 70 miners lose their lives in flooding at the Wilmington Coal Field’s Shaft No. 2 in Braidwood, Illinois.

February 22 Diplomacy: Congress votes to return a $785,000 indemnity received from Japan after a nobleman there fired on American shipping off Shimonoseki in 1860.

February 23 Education: The University of North Dakota is chartered at Grand Forks, and classes commence the following year.

February 27 Technology: A patent is granted to Oscar Hammerstein for his first, practical cigar-rolling machine. His invention proves so lucrative that he is able to bankroll the production of several operas and opera houses throughout the nation.

March Military: Renegade Apache under Geronimo leave their winter quarters in Mexico and begin raiding white settlements across southeastern Arizona and New Mexico.

March 3 Business: Congress orders the U.S Postal Service to reduce rates to two cents per half-ounce. Naval: In an attempt to completely modernize the U.S. Navy, currently rated as the world’s 12th largest, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler convinces Congress to authorize the construction of three steel cruisers, USS Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, along with a dispatch vessel, Dolphin. These are the first such vessels acquired since the Civil War and will lead to what becomes known as the “Steel Navy.”

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March 4 Politics: The Mongrel Tariff Act is passed by Congress, which removes excise taxes from liquor and tobacco to reduce the size of government surpluses, and also reduces rates on other commodities by 5 percent but otherwise maintains high protectionist rates of between 35 and 40 percent.

March 21 Military: An Apache raiding party of 23 warriors under Chato raids across the Mexican border into Arizona and kills 11 settlers without interference from the U.S. Army, which has turned out in force looking for them.

March 24 Communication: The first long-distance telephone service becomes operational between New York City and Chicago. Labor: In a sign of the times, cowboys in the Texas Panhandle strike to protest dwindling work and skimpy pay.

March 26 General: Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt throws an elaborate party for New York City’s high society that costs an estimated $75,000. Over 1,000 guests arrive, including former president Ulysses S. Grant.

April 10 Indian: The Bureau of Indian Affairs authorizes creation of courts of Indian offenses. These are three-member boards working in concert with Indian reservation police to handle and adjudicate violations of the ban against traditional tribal religious ceremonies. In this manner it is hoped that Native Americans may better restrain themselves from religious practices that incite violence against whites.

April 11 Education: Spellman College, destined to educate African Americans, is founded in a basement at Atlanta, Georgia.

April 23 General: The state of Texas purchases the famous ruins of the Alamo from the Roman Catholic Church, converting it into a national shrine.

May 1 Military: Captain Emmet Crawford, 4th U.S. Cavalry, leads a cavalry column into the central Mexican highlands in order to smoke out the renegade Apache band of Geronimo. In this quest he is ably assisted by loyal Apache scouts willing to work for the army.

May 9 Journalism: Joseph Pulitzer purchases the New York World from Jay Gould for $346,000, whereupon it will function as an unofficial mouthpiece for the Democratic Party.

May 15 Military: Troopers under Captain Emmet Crawford, 4th U.S. Cavalry, surprise an Apache encampment under Chato and Benito at San Bernardino Springs, Arizona, killing 30 warriors and burning nine lodges. This defeat sufficiently unsettles the Indians that they begin voluntarily returning to the San Carlos Reservation.

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May 17 General: Wil­l­iam Frederick Cody, who goes by the moniker of “Buffal­o Bil­l­,” opens his famous “Wil­d West” show at Omaha, Nebraska, to rave reviews. His el­aboratel­y staged presentation hel­ps shape the popul­ar imagery associated with cowboys by displ­ays of horsemanship, marksmanship, and mock battl­es empl­oy-­ ing genuine Native American warriors. The l­atter constantl­y amaze white audi-­ ences with their equestrian and martial­ prowess.

Cody, William Frederick

(1846–1917)

Showman Wil­l­iam Frederick Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa, on February 26, 1846, the son of an Indian trader. He matured in a rugged frontier environment and, whil­e barel­y edu-­

cated, becoming adept at scouting, shoot-­ ing, and horsemanship. He was working as a horse wrangl­er and messenger when the Civil­ War erupted in 1861, and he then (continues)

W. F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody shown standing sixth man from the left (Library of Congress)

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(continued) participated in anti-slavery “Jayhawking” activities. Two years later he joined the 9th Kansas Cavalry as a scout and fought alongside Union forces in campaigns throughout Tennessee and Missouri. After the war ended Cody worked for a meat supplier contracted with victualing the Kansas Pacific Railroad, during which time he claimed to have singlehandedly shot 4,280 buffalo. Cody returned to military service, 1868–72 as a scout and actively campaigned against hostile Native Americans on the plains. This activity brought him to the attention of author E. Z. C. Judson (“Ned Buntline”) who began writing serialized and highly fictional accounts of Cody’s life and accomplishments for popular dime novels. In 1872 Cody appeared in Judson’s play Scouts of the Plains under the stage name “Texas Jack” Omohundro. It was in this capacity that his talent for theatrics and self-promotion became fully realized; after touring several cities, he recognized the great public interest in frontier life and lives. But in 1876 Cody rejoined the U.S. Army as a scout under Colonel Nelson A. Miles, fought gallantly in the Battle of Summit Springs that July, and personally killed and scalped Chief Yellow Hand of the Cheyenne in a single duel. Cody’s rising reputation as a frontier hero and his considerable appetite for aggrandizement led to his most famous

effort, “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.” This was an elaborately staged production featuring genuine cowboys famously adept at riding and shooting, alongside real Native American warriors and families who performed in mock battles and also provided white audiences with spectacular native dances. The project, somewhat contrived to glamorize Cody’s role in the depicted events, was tremendously successful and it toured the nation for 30 years. Among the performers routinely displayed were Annie Oakley and Chief Sitting Bull. Cody’s ensemble even performed for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in London in 1887, and subsequently toured continental Europe to the delight of audiences there. In light of his skill as a scout, General Philip H. Sheridan also called upon him to escort Grand Duke Alexis of Russia on a celebrated hunt. Cody’s business fortunes began declining in 1913; his celebrated tour finally folded and business debts forced him to remain on the road with other productions until 1916. He then retired to an extensive land tract granted to him by the state of Wyoming, where the city of Cody was eventually built. Cody himself died at Denver, Colorado, on January 10, 1917, having contributed to the romantic vision of the Wild West, cowboys, and Native Americans more than any other individual.

May 23 Sports: The ninth annual Kentucky Derby is won by Leonatus, who runs in two minutes, 43 seconds.

May 24 Engineering: The Brooklyn Bridge, a marvel of mechanical engineering designed by John A. Roebling (who died during construction), is opened amidst great pomp by President Chester A. Arthur. Fourteen years in the making, it spans 1,595 feet, weighs 18,000 tons, and connects Brooklyn directly to Manhattan. It is also the first large suspension bridge to employ steel wire and steel parts for structures

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suspended by the cables. Festivities surrounding its opening are attended by an estimated one million people.

May 26 Sports: The 11th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Jacobus with a time of two minutes, 42 seconds.

June Military: General George Crook, assisted by Apache scouts, locates the dissident band lead by Geronimo in the Sierre Madre Mountains. The militant Apache then meet with the general and, after much discussion, finally agree to give up. The event reflects the highest credit upon Crook, a humane man who felt that the Indians must be dealt with fairly in order to circumvent violence.

June 2 Sports: The first baseball game illuminated by electric lights plays out at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the home team defeats Springfield 19–11.

June 7–August 21 Naval: The screw steamer USS Trenton is the first naval vessel to receive electrical lighting while berthed in New York harbor. The Edison Lighting Company installs no less than 238 lamps at various parts of the ship at a cost of $5,500.

June 9 Sports: The 17th annual Belmont Stakes is won by George Kinney with a run of two minutes, 47 seconds. Transportation: The first elevated railroad debuts at an exposition in Chicago, in this instance a 15 horsepower electric train traveling on a three-foot gauge track high above the ground.

June 16 Sports: The New York Giants stage the first Ladies Day game, whereby women are admitted to the park for free.

June 30 Diplomacy: The United States, angered by the large award granted to Canada by the Halifax Commission and Britain’s own reluctance to pay reparations for an incident in January 1878, informs the British that it is abrogating the fisheries section of the 1871 Treaty of Washington, effective in 1885.

July 4 Business: By this date one million tons of ore have been extracted from the Gregory Mine in Helena, Montana.

August Exploring: Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely, short on food and never relieved by a promised supply vessel, departs Fort Congar, Alaska, and marches south to spend the winter at Camp Sabine.

August 13 General: The luxurious Kimball House, a tony establishment in Atlanta, Georgia, is razed to the ground in a serious fire that injures nearly 1,000 people.

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September Aviation: John J. Montgomery, a teacher at Santa Clara College, performs the earliest known heavier-than-air glider flight from a 300-foot hill near Otay, California, which carries him a distance of 600 feet. Indian: Lakota shaman Sitting Bull is invited to deliver a speech at the opening of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Bismarck, North Dakota. He willingly obliges, then declares to his audience, “I hate all white people. You are thieves and liars. You have taken away our land and made us outcasts.” The appointed translator ignores Sitting Bull’s rant and delivers a laudatory, prepared speech—which is roundly applauded.

September 3 Transportation: The Northern Pacific Railroad finally completes its northernmost tier, running nonstop from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Tacoma, Washington.

September 8 Transportation: The nation acquires a second transcontinental railroad when the Northern Pacific completes its line from Ashland, Wisconsin, to Portland, Oregon.

September 15 Education: The University of Texas at Austin, which had been authorized in 1876, finally begins classes.

September 21 Communication: The United States and Brazil initiate direct telegraph service.

October 15 Civil: The U.S. Supreme Court Strikes down the Civil Rights Act of 1875 that granted African Americans equal access to public places, arguing that it cannot stop individual actions against them, only those imposed by states. Henceforth, Congress may address infringements happening only at the state level.

October 20 Diplomacy: The American minister to Chile, Cornelius A. Logan, plays only a minor role in arranging a peace treaty between Chile and Peru, which sign the Treaty of Ancon.

October 22 Arts: The spacious and opulent Metropolitan Opera House opens along an entire block between 39th and 40th Streets at Broadway in New York City. No less than 1,989 patrons can be accommodated in relative splendor, which costs investors $1.7 million. The occasion is a lavish performance of Faust by Charles François Gounod. Immediately, the “Met” supercedes the 14th Street Academy of Music as the epicenter of operatic performances. General: New York City hosts the first annual New York Horse Show, drawing 299 contestants. Various kinds of animals are included in the competition, including police, fire, and draft horses, although the latter are soon dropped due to undesirable class distinctions of the owners.

November 1 Military: General Philip H. Sheridan replaces William T. Sherman as commanding general of the army, although he will not obtain his fourth star until June 1888.

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November 18 Transportation: To further harmonize service, the United States and Canada adopt a unified time system with four zones, 15 degrees wide, imposed across the North American continent. They are and remain Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific as measured westward from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

December 4 General: The Sons of the American Revolution are founded in New York City to perpetuate the popular memory of that conflict and those who partook of it. Naval: President Chester A. Arthur vows to Congress that the United States will not become embroiled in a naval arms race such as the one presently unfolding in Europe.

December 17 Indian: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Ex Parte Crow Dog, ruling that the chief, sentenced to death by a white territorial court for the murder of another Indian, must be set free. They insist that the ruling infringes upon the sovereignty of the Lakota nation—a verdict that enrages non-Indians.

December 18 Labor: Typographical Union No. 6 organizes the first nationally noticed boycott by striking the New York Tribune.

1884 Architecture: The 10-story Home Life Insurance Building is designed and constructed by William Le Baron Jenney. Built upon the new principle of employing a skeleton of steel girders, it is the first building known as a “skyscraper.” Arts: Painter John Singer Sargent causes a considerable stir in Paris with his Mme. Gautreau, which prominently features a sexy, decolleté black dress. Complains about its obvious eroticism will prompt its removal from public display. Winslow Homer retires to his cottage at Scarborough, Maine, where he will live for the remainder of his life and concentrate on marine paintings. Business: In Worcester, Massachusetts, Sam Jones unveils his movable lunch wagon, replete with fold-away seats for patrons to utilize while eating. In this manner, the dining room is brought to the consumer. Communication: Long distance telephone service begins between Boston and New York City. Education: Tulane University is established by the Louisiana legislature in New Orleans. The American Historical Association is founded at Saratoga, New York, as the first professional organization for historians. Today it is located in Washington, D.C. General: Showman P. T. Barnum acquires Jumbo, a huge bull elephant, from the London Zoological Society. Indian: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Elk v. Wilkins, ruling that John Elk, a Ponca Indian living among whites in Nebraska, is legally a Native American for franchise reasons and, hence, cannot be registered to vote. In sum, the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Indians, even those who depart from tribal membership.

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Homer, Winslow (1836–1910) Painter Winslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 24, 1836, and he was apprenticed to a lithographer in 1855. Without prior artistic training he proved himself adept in this field, and in 1857 he moved to

New York to open up his own studio. Here Homer made a name for himself by selling illustrations to popular magazines such as Ballou’s Pictorial and Harper’s Weekly. In the spring of 1861 he was dispatched to

The Unruly Calf, by Winslow Homer, 1875 (Library of Congress)

Literature: Helen Hunt Jackson publishes her best-selling novel Ramona, which is a plea for better treatment of Native Americans. Eventually, the tale is made into four movies and a play performed annually in Hemet, California. Medical: The Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer, the first such institute in the nation, is established in New York City. Military: Inventor Hiram Maxim invents the world’s first practical machine gun, a single barrel weapon capable of shooting 660 rounds per minute. U.S. Army rifles are provided with a rear sight to correct for the natural drift of bullets in flight. Publishing: Historian Francis Parkman publishes Montcalm and Wolfe as part of his seminal series on the conquest of Canada. Joel Chandler Harris composes his Mingoy, and Other Sketches in Black and White, which examines the lives of poor Georgia whites in detail.

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Washington, D.C., to sketch the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln. After the Civil War erupted, Homer spent many months in Virginia drawing and painting the various multitudes of military life including camp scenes, drills, and battles. His grasp for realism, combined with his command of light and composition, were regarded as exceptional, so his works entitled Sharpshooter on Picket Duty and Prisoners from the Front were displayed at the National Academy of Design. At this time he was also regarded as among the finest graphic artists of his time. However, Homer wished to move on from drawings and engravings, so after the war he ventured to France and studied water color. He adapted readily to this new medium, which suited his talent for graphic style perfectly, and his outlay of new works in many ways presaged the noted French impressionists by several decades. Moreover, Homer’s landscape and western-themed compositions such as Snap the Whip were displayed to public acclaim at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. His artwork underwent another transformation in 1881 when he visited England for two years and stayed at the seaside town of Tynemouth. This experience reawakened his long-suppressed love for the sea and hereafter he concentrated his best efforts on maritime themes.

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Homer returned to America in 1883 and settled down at the desolate enclave of Prout’s Neck, Maine, to live in nearcomplete isolation. Over the next two decades he turned out some of his finest efforts, including maritime paintings like the famous Eight Bells and The Fog Warning. He also renewed his acquaintance with nature and completed outdoor compositions renowned for natural composition and vivid colors. Between 1884 and 1889 Homer also dabbled in etching nature scenes on metal plates, but these achieved none of the popularity or acclaim of his oil and watercolor paintings. Foremost among his latter efforts were natural depictions of the rugged Adirondack Mountains and the dense woodlands of nearby Quebec, in which he camped every summer with his brother Charles. Winslow continued living in seclusion and turning out vivid renditions of the sea and wilderness until his death at Prout’s Neck on September 29, 1910. By this time he was heralded as America’s foremost artist and an exemplary pioneer of naturalist painting. His works remain celebrated, command high prices on the art market when available, and conspicuously adorn several of the nation’s leading art museums.

Ottmar Mergenthaler perfects the linotype automatic typesetting machine, capable of forming an entire line of type as a single piece of metal—in time it will revolutionize publishing. Artist Elihu Vedder composes over 50 detailed drawings for an illustrated edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendering it a significant publication. Religion: In Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Charles Taze Russell and six fellow Adventists found the International Bible Students Association, better known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Sports: Yale wins the national college football championship with eight wins and one draw. Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first African-American player in the American League by signing on with Toledo.

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Chronology of American History Richard D. Sears win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association men’s singles for the fourth consecutive year. Providence wins the National League baseball pennant with 84 wins and 28 losses. They subsequently defeat the New York Metropolitans in a three-game series. Technology: Architect William L. Jenney incorporates a steel skeleton for the first time while building the 10-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois. The American Institute of Electrical Engineers is founded as an umbrella organization for all facets of the electrical industry. Telephone poles and wires have become so unsightly in New York City that the city fathers order all wires placed underground. In Rochester, New York, inventor George Eastman perfects an inexpensive roll of film covered by its own photographic emulsion, which allows average people to operate their own cameras with great success.

January 1 Literature: Samuel Langhorne Clemens, “Mark Twain” to his growing readership, publishes one of his most famous novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It crosses into a previously taboo area by casting his African-American friend Jim, not as a buffoon but rather as a father figure to the wayward boys Huck and Tom Sawyer.

January 18 General: The steamer City of Columbus strikes a reef off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and sinks, killing 103 passengers. Only 21 can be rescued from the freezing water by the revenue cutter Dexter.

February 9 General: A severe outbreak of tornadoes across the South kills 700 people.

February 14 General: The Ohio River overflows its banks again, cresting at 71 feet and causing extensive damage in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio.

March 3 General: A severe riot erupts outside a jail in Cincinnati, Ohio, over the issue of lax enforcement of justice. Militia is called in to restore order but violence continues for the next six days, resulting in 45 deaths and 135 injured. Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of allowing Congress the power to print treasury notes (“Greenbacks) as legal tender in peacetime.

March Indian: Militant Apache leader Geronimo voluntarily returns to the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona, but begins to agitate unrest among his fellow tribesmen.

March 4 Societal: In another victory for prohibition, the Iowa legislature prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages.

March 6 Women: President Chester A. Arthur receives suffragist Susan B. Anthony and 100 activists at the White House, where they implore him to speak on behalf of women’s rights in his next inaugural address.

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March 12 Education: The Mississippi Industrial Institute and College (today’s Mississippi University of Women) is chartered at Columbus, Mississippi.

March 13 General: A coal mine accident kills 112 miners at Pocahontas, Virginia.

March 30 General: An angry crowd, incensed over the manslaughter conviction of William Berner in Columbus, Ohio, goes on a rampage in Cincinnati and 56 of the rioters die at the hands of militia before order can be restored.

April Labor: A strike by miners at the Hocking Valley, Ohio, coal mines elicits public sympathy initially, but this sours once the strikers resort to violence.

April 24 Exploring: Commander Winfield Scott Schley leads the steamers USS Alert, Bear, and Thetis from New York City to search the North Pole for possible survivors of Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely’s expedition.

May 10 Politics: Theodore Roosevelt, a highly outspoken and somewhat unpopular member of the New York Assembly, announces his decision not to seek reelection in the fall. This decision comes on the heels of the deaths of his wife and mother on the same day in the previous February.

May 14 Politics: Benjamin F. Butler, a former Democrat and Radical Republican, is nominated for president by the new Anti-Monopoly Party. Their platform mandates better regulation of rapidly growing trusts and corporations that are working together to preclude competition. They also endorse a new, graduated income tax.

May 16 Sports: The 10th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Buchanan, who runs the course in two minutes and 40 seconds.

May 17 Settlement: The recent discovery of gold in Alaska leads an onslaught of fortune seekers into that vast region, so Congress authorizes the Organic Act, which leads to creation of the District of Alaska. Through this expedient it is now subject to the same laws as the state of Oregon; it will not become an organized territory until 1912.

May 19 General: Baraboo, Wisconsin, becomes the home of the five Ringling brothers and their “Circus,” which features no animals but does dazzle the audience with skilled juggling and acrobatics.

May 23 Sports: The 12th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Knight of Ellerslie with a time of two minutes, 39 seconds.

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May 28 Politics: The Greenback Party convenes in Indianapolis, Indiana, and nominates Benjamin F. Butler for president and Alan M. West of Mississippi for vice president.

May 29 General: Congress authorizes creation of the Bureau of Animal Industry within the U.S. Department of Agriculture with Dr. Daniel Elmer Salmon as its head.

June General: Noted engineer James Buchanan Eads is awarded the prestigious Albert Medal from the British Society for the Encouragement of Art, Manufacturing, and Commerce, being the first American so honored. Labor: The Knights of Labor convenes in Chicago, Illinois, and passed resolutions supporting an eight-hour work day, the incorporation of unions, and an age limit of 14 years for child labor.

June 3–6 Politics: The Republican Party holds its national convention in Chicago, Illinois, and on the fourth ballot nominates James G. Blaine of Maine for the presidency and former general John A. Logan of Illinois for the vice presidency. Many liberal Republicans, aghast at Blaine’s association with corruption, abandon the party.

June 4 Sports: The 18th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Panique with a run of two minutes, 42 seconds.

June 5 Politics: Civil War hero William T. Sherman declines to run for the presidency as the Republican nominee, famously declaring, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.”

June 16 Politics: Liberal Republicans, or “Mugwumps” (an Algonquin term for “Big Chief ”) meeting in New York City agree to support whomever the Democratic Party is going to nominate, should he prove liberal enough. Like many voters, they are moved by a spirit of reform and modernity, signaling a shift from the agrarian-dominated policies of a decade ago, and toward industrialism, labor and women’s rights, and control of giant trusts.

June 22 Exploring: A relief expedition under Commander Winfield Scott Schley reaches Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely’s scientific observatory on Cape Sabine, Grinnell Land (Greenland), discovering that only six of its 24 occupants have survived—on a diet of moss, lichen, and seal skin.

June 27 Labor: Congress authorizes the new Bureau of Labor Statistics under the existing Department of the Interior, to collect vital economic statistics and help address growing and legitimate social grievances.

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July 4 Sports: Itinerant cowboys from Texas and Mexico stage what is possibly the nation’s first and only bullfight at Dodge City, Kansas, but it fails to garner much public interest.

July 5 Societal: Congress further amends laws affecting Chinese immigration by expanding the term “Laborer” to include hucksters, peddlers, or anyone drying or preserving shells or fish. New regulations also maintain that Chinese resident since 1882, who have since returned to China, must obtain a visa from the U.S. consul before coming back.

July 8–11 Politics: The Democratic Party holds its national convention in Chicago, Illinois, selecting Grover Cleveland of New York for president and Thomas B. Hendricks of Indiana for vice president. Cleveland is the first Democrat to receive backing from the liberal wing of the Republican Party.

July 23 Politics: The Prohibition Party meets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and nominates John P. St. John of Kansas to be its presidential candidate and William Daniel of Maryland to serve as vice president.

July 26 Transportation: Cleveland, Ohio, initiates the world’s first electric street car service, powered by a third rail hidden under the track.

July 30 Politics: The Labor Party holds its national convention in Chicago, Illinois, and backs the Democratic Party slate.

August 1 Politics: Campaign mudslinging commences in earnest when a missive of Republican James G. Blaine is published in Harper’s Weekly, which suggests a role in the Credit Mobilier scandal. It ends with the declaration “Burn this letter!” Meanwhile, Republicans harp over the fact that Grover Cleveland had apparently sired an illegitimate child—to which he freely admits.

August 5 General: The forthcoming Statue of Liberty has the first cornerstone of its pedestal (151 feet high) laid on Bedloe’s (Liberty) Island, New York.

August 26 Technology: Ottmar Mergenthaler receives a patent for his linotype printing machine, a device that greatly facilitates the growth and maturation of newspapers and also accelerates the mass production of books. As such it represents a pivotal point in the evolution of the information industry.

September 1 Education: The United States Industrial Training School (today’s Haskell Indian Nations University) opens in Lawrence, Kansas, being the first such institution dedicated to the instruction of Native Americans.

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September 15 Politics: Republicans endorse the campaign slogan, “Ma, Ma, Where’s my Pa?” after learning that Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland has sired an illegitimate child.

October 1–November 1 Diplomacy: Washington, D.C., hosts the International Prime Meridian Conference whereby Greenwich, England, is selected as the prime meridian, now the basis for determining mean time and longitude.

October 6 Naval: The U.S. Naval War College, the world’s first graduate-level military establishment, is founded at Newport, Rhode Island, under the aegis of Admiral Stephen Bleecker Luce, who also serves as its first president.

October 29 Politics: Reverend Samuel D. Burchard gives a speech in New York, endorsing James G. Blaine for the presidency, in which he accuses the Democratic Party of symbolizing “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion.” This incendiary phrase alienates Irish-American voters, who will refuse to vote for Blaine when he fails to disavow the remark.

November 4 Politics: Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine by a vote of 4.9 million to 4.8 million; Blaine, who had criticized the Roman Catholic Church, loses the crucial state of New York by only 1,149 Irish-American votes, which tips the Electoral College in his opponent’s favor, 219 to 182. Thomas A. Hendricks is also elected vice president; they are the first Democrats to occupy the White House since James Buchanan, 1857–61. The Democrats also control the House of Representatives. Robert La Follette is elected to Congress from Wisconsin, becoming the first of a new breed of “socially conscious” politicians intent upon reforming the nation. Journalism: Samuel Sidney McClure founds the first newspaper syndicate in the United States, McClure’s Syndicate. This is reflective of the medium’s growing popularity and its importance in disseminating useful information to a newshungry populace.

November 15 Diplomacy: The United States sends a delegation to the International Berlin Conference on African Affairs, which agrees to help end the African slave trade but is silent on European acquisition of Africa itself.

December 6 Architecture: The capstone is finally placed atop a finished Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Diplomacy: The State Department renews the 1884 treaty with Hawaii but adds a clause allowing U.S. warships to drop anchor at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, and also to construct a coaling station there. The Hawaiians, wishing to continue their fruitful commercial alliance, readily agree to the amendment.

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December 10 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen sends a new Nicaraguan canal treaty to the U.S. Senate, that includes provisions for a “perpetual alliance” between the two nations in the interest of canal security.

December 16 General: New Orleans, Louisiana, hosts the World Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition. The lights are turned on by President Chester A. Arthur, who flips a switch from the Oval Office in Washington, D.C.

December 22 Diplomacy: In an attempt to reduce existing tariffs, Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen submits reciprocal trade treaties with Spain and Santo Domingo to the U.S. Senate—however, both agreements will eventually be withdrawn from consideration.

1885 Architecture: Henry Hobson Richardson designs the Marshall Field Building in Chicago, Illinois, marking a new age in the design of large, commercial structures. Arts: Realistic art reaches new heights with William Michael Harnett’s After the Hunt, which is purchased for a New York saloon after dazzling onlookers in Paris. Sculptor John Donoghue finishes his most celebrated piece, Young Sophocles, as part of his ongoing series of classically inspired work. The Mikado by British playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan premieres in New York City. Business: The American Economic Association is formed from a group of German-trained academics who feel that the “hands-off ” or laissez-faire approach to national economics is not adequate to answer all of society’s needs. They also fear that the continuing deterioration of workers’ living standards may usher in widespread class warfare, pitting the very poor against the very rich. Forwardthinking individuals such as Andrew Carnegie, Woodrow Wilson, and Henry C. Adams are among the group’s founders. Education: Stanford University is founded at Palo Alto, California. The University of Arizona is chartered at Tucson by the territorial legislature. Medical: Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, convinced that cold, dry air was responsible for curing his own case of tuberculosis, opens the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium at Saranac Lake, New York, for patients suffering from this dreaded malady. This is the first such institution in the country. Military: The U.S. Army arsenal at Watervliet, New York, begins casting modern, rifled artillery tubes. Music: African-American musician/composer Scott Joplin arrives at St. Louis, Missouri, and begins developing a unique American style of music known as ragtime; this is the earliest known form of jazz and draws upon syncopated West African rhythms.

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Carnegie, Andrew

(1835–1919)

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835, the son of a weaver. He matured amidst poverty, was poorly educated, and finally relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his family in 1848. There Carnegie sought work with a local telegraph office as a messenger and within two years had energetically advanced himself to a keyboard operator. He then transferred to the Pennsylvania Railroad to serve as secretary under Thomas A. Scott, the western division superintendent. Carnegie, exposed to the nuances of management, flourished in the role and gradually rose to become superintendent of the Pittsburgh division. Ever ambitious, he quit the company in 1865 to form the Keystone Bridge Company and enjoyed a successful period of diversifying his rapidly expanding business empire. After 1873 Carnegie shifted his considerable business acumen to the production of steel,

Andrew Carnegie (Library of Congress)

Literature: William Dean Howells publishes his novel The Rise of Silas Lapham, a well-regarded work concerning the rise of a self-made man in the heart of Bostonian society. Publishing: Josiah Royce, a respected Harvard philosopher, composes his first major work entitled The Spirit of Modern Philosophy. Former president Ulysses S. Grant, dying of cancer, publishes his two-volume Personal Memoirs, which proves immensely popular and rescues his family from impending poverty. William W. Warren’s book, History of the Ojibways, Based upon Traditions and Oral Statements, is published 30 years after the death of its author, a halfIndian Minnesota legislator. Religion: Congregationalist minister Josiah Strong publishes a new social gospel entitled Our Country, which condemns the accumulation of wealth by the few and calls for church involvement to address social problems. Science: Daniel Elmer Salmon, a veterinarian, is the first scientist to describe the bacteria Salmonella, which he believes is the source for food poisoning. Sports: Richard D. Sears wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship for the fifth consecutive year. Princeton University wins the national college football championship with nine wins and no losses or ties.

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then a central commodity in the modernization of American industry and urbanization. Stingy with profits, he stole a march on competitors by invariably ploughing profits back into the company, hiring the best technicians and chemists, and using the very latest technical innovations such as the Bessemer process. By 1900 his Carnegie Steel Corporation, which owned everything from ore fields to productive factories, was among the largest companies in the world and certainly the most lucrative. Most of this success can be attributed to Carnegie’s uncanny grasp of business and marketing, but also to able subordinates he acquired, such as Henry Clay Frick and Charles M. Schwab. By the time Carnegie sold his controlling interests in the company to financier John Pierpont Morgan in 1901 for $500 million, he had become the world’s wealthiest individual. In an age generally dominated by selfcentered “robber barons,” Carnegie also set an important precedent through his deeply felt beliefs about noblesse oblige. In 1889 he

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set forth these principles in an essay entitled “The Gospel of Wealth,” which held that rich industrialists have a moral obligation to donate a portion of their acquired fortunes to the needy and society itself. Accordingly, Carnegie donated millions of dollars toward the advancement of a personal passion—public libraries—and helped establish 2,811. He also donated money for the purchase of 4,092 church organs at a time when such devices were viewed as prohibitively expensive luxury items for most churches. Carnegie also possessed the foresight to perpetuate his generosity long after he was gone, and so founded the Carnegie Institute of Technology, the Carnegie Institute of Washington, the Carnegie Institute for the Advancement of Teaching, and, most significantly of all, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, totaling an estimated $350 million in the name of philanthropy. Carnegie died in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1919, one of the first “captains of industry,” and a positive force in the promotion of culture, education, and science.

The administrators of Harvard University, looking askance at football as too violent for its own good, cancel the entire season on their campus. Chicago wins the National League baseball pennant with 87 wins, 25 losses; it also splits the third interleague playoff series against St. Louis of the American Association, one game apiece and one draw. Technology: Faced with increasing urbanization and mounds of garbage, many cities resort to burning refuse in furnaces for the first time. This proves particularly urgent in the Midwest, where pigs fed garbage have contracted trichinosis, which was passed on to human hosts. Garbage disposal poses serious health and sanitation problems throughout the nation. Asbestos curtains are used for the first time for fire protection in large American theaters, nationwide. The first gasoline pump is operated by Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana. In Boston, Massachusetts, Charles Tainter and Alexander Graham Bell construct a practical recording device called a graphophone, which employs a rotating cardboard drum. Transportation: Montgomery, Alabama, is the first large southern city to employ streetcars.

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Joplin, Scott

(1868–1917)

African-American composer Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, on November 24, 1868, the son of a former slave turned railroad worker. Despite their poverty, Scott’s talent for music was carefully nurtured by his parents and he was allowed to play a neighbor’s piano. A friendly German musician in the neighborhood also gave him free lessons in theory and harmony, especially as it related to European composers. As he matured, Joplin left home to play piano and cornet in various honky-tonks and bars across the South and Midwest. It was here that he first encountered and absorbed the new musical form known as “ragtime,” which was heavily based on the repetitive West African rhythms of former slaves. A turning point in his career happened in 1893 when he played in a band at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. There Joplin was encouraged by pianist Otis Saunders to write down his compositions for posterity. Feeling that the future held little promise for ragtime, his first two published pieces, “A Picture of Her Face” and “Please Say You Will” mimicked conventional waltz songs. By 1896, however, Joplin had finished touring for the time being and enrolled at the George Smith College for Negroes at Sedalia, Missouri, to formally study music in all its nuances. He also taught piano to local ragtime composers and played frequently at the Maple Leaf Club in town, where his talents impressed John Stark, a white music publisher. With his encouragement, Joplin went on to compose his “Maple Leaf Rag” in 1899 and Stark gave him a royalty

contract yielding him one cent per copy sold, unheard of in its day. He consequently reaped a windfall when “Maple Leaf Rag” became one of the nation’s most popular songs, selling nearly half a million copies. Success here led to Joplin’s reputation as the king of ragtime writers. Over the ensuing decade Joplin wrote profusely and greatly amplified the number of popular ragtime tunes extant. As a composer, his music embraced a happy and toe-tapping melody in contrast with that emerging and soon to be dominant form of African-American music—jazz. To assist fellow musicians, in 1908 Joplin also wrote and published The School of Ragtime: Six Exercises for the Piano to better highlight his unique style of syncopation. However, he resented that the majority white population regarded most ragtime music as distinctly déclassé; wishing to be taken seriously for his craft, he branched out into more acceptable forms. He began composing his own ragtime operas and ballets, none of which received serious funding and were haphazardly staged. Joplin labored especially hard on his final production, the formal opera Treemonisha, which was performed only once, in 1915. Joplin died in New York on April 11, 1917, according to legend, from a broken heart. However, his music was revived and nationally popularized by the 1973 movie The Sting, and in 1976 Treemonisha was formally staged to critical success. In light of his contributions to American music, Joplin received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976.

January 4 Indian: The Ahantchuyuks of Oregon sign an accord with the United States and agree to be settled on a reservation.

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Medical: In Davenport, Iowa, surgeons successfully perform the first appendectomy.

January 17 Societal: The Old Time Printers Association celebrates Benjamin Franklin’s birthday for the first time, acknowledging his indelible contributions to the field of publishing.

January 18 Naval: U.S. Marines from the gunboat USS Alliance land at Aspinwall, Panama (Colombia), to protect a railroad against revolutionary violence.

January 24 General: The New Orleans Exposition opens, drawing exhibits and visitors from around the world, including Japan, China, Austria, Britain, France, and several South American nations.

January 29 Diplomacy: On a vote of 32 to 23, the U.S. Senate declines to ratify the 1884 treaty to build a canal across Nicaragua, on the basis that it violates the 1854 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and places the United States in a perpetual defensive alliance with Nicaragua. Its rejection also suggests that the American polity is reticent about making large-scale commitments abroad.

February 11 Politics: President Chester A. Arthur vetoes a bill for the parents of disabled soldiers and sailors, citing its potential for abuse and corruption. Two weeks later his veto will be sustained.

February 21 Architecture: The Washington Monument, the cornerstone of which was laid on July 4, 1848, is finished by the Army Corps of Engineers and publicly dedicated. It soars to a height of 555 feet, weighs 81,120 tons, and requires 898 stair steps to reach the top. Total construction costs are $1.2 million, an astronomical sum for its day.

February 23 Diplomacy: After further reflection, the U.S. Senate votes to reconsider the rejected canal treaty with Nicaragua, but President Chester A. Arthur withdraws it from consideration over its “perpetual alliance” clause.

February 25 Politics: Congress passes a law outlawing the unauthorized enclosure (fencing) of public lands with barbed wire throughout the West. This underscores their determination that public land is reserved for public use.

February 26 Diplomacy: A U.S. delegation under John A. Kason attends the Berlin Conference, arranged by France and Germany for discussions over the disposition of the Congo River in Central Africa. Henry M. Stanley, the famous newsman who encountered explorer Dr. David Livingstone on November 10, 1869, is also present. Labor: Congress, pressured by the Knights of Labor and other groups, passes the Contract Labor Law that forbids employers from soliciting workers abroad in

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Chronology of American History exchange for free passage to America. Previously, companies had been importing and utilizing foreign workers as a means of breaking strikes.

February 28 Communication: The new American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York City and begins planning to provide interstate phone service. Its first projected phone line will connect New York to Philadelphia.

March 3 Business: The U.S. Post Office initiates Special Delivery ser vice. Improved accounting since the Star Route scandal of 1882 has resulted in better profits, which are then passed along to the public Conservation: The California legislature authorizes the first state forest in the United States. Diplomacy: A joint resolution of Congress authorizes the United States to unilaterally abrogate the fisheries reciprocity section of the Treaty of Washington, signed with Great Britain in 1871. Law: Congress passes the Major Crime Act to place Native Americans living on reservations subject to American laws. This is intended to upend the 1883 Supreme Court decision of Ex Parte Crow Dog.

Cleveland, Stephen Grover

(1837–1908)

President Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, on March 18, 1837, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He went to work at 16 after his father died and never attended college, but instead clerked in a law office in Buffalo, New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. There he established a successful practice and partook of politics by joining the Democratic Party. Cleveland did not fight in the Civil War but elected to purchase a substitute and remain home to care for his aged mother. Afterward his skill and honesty in politics resulted in election to several local posts, including sheriff. Cleveland’s career passed a major milestone in 1881 when he became mayor of Buffalo after campaigning on a platform to reform the city’s corrupt politics. He achieved this skillfully, lived up to all his campaign promises, and completely distanced himself from the state’s entrenched and corrupt political bosses. Consequently, in 1882 Cleveland

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Grover Cleveland (Library of Congress)

Chronology

1381

Military: Congress authorizes creation of a Board of Fortifications and Coast Defenses to evaluate the defensive status of the American coastline and make recommendations. It also passed a measure creating the rank General of the Army, the seniormost military officer.

March 4 Politics: Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the 22nd president of the United States while Thomas A. Hendricks becomes vice president. Former president Ulysses S. Grant is reappointed a general in the army and then placed on the retired list so that the retirement pay this confers will alleviate his family’s poverty.

March 5 Military: President Grover Cleveland appoints attorney William C. Endicott to serve as his secretary of war.

March 6 Politics: President Grover Cleveland appoints Thomas F. Bayard as the new secretary of state; he is an attorney of considerable standing within the Democratic Party, but otherwise lacks much experience in international affairs.

became governor of New York, where he furthered his reputation for honest and open government. This earned him the enmity of political machines like Tammany Hall and its cronies, but Cleveland enjoyed popular support for his anti-corruption measures and in 1884 he gained the party nomination for the presidency. Cleveland gained a narrow victory over the Republican candidate, James G. Blaine, who was tainted by the specter of corruption, and became the first Democrat to occupy the White House since 1860. Again, he vigorously pursued honesty in government by passing extensive civil service reforms, but his favorable stance toward tariff reduction cost him popular support and in 1888 he lost his reelection bid to Republican Benjamin Harrison. Although he lost the electoral college count, Cleveland won the popular vote. Cleveland returned to practicing law after the election and by 1892 the Republicans had lost popular support owing to their advocacy of the McKinley Tariff. He once

again became the Democratic presidential candidate and defeated Harrison, while his party also regained control of Congress. However, his second term coincided with the panic of 1893, a lengthy economic depression that eroded his own political position. Cleveland, a fiscal conservative, was out of step with many fellow Democrats by refusing to embrace the notion of “free silver” to inflate the currency and assist landowners and farmers to pay debts. In 1894 party members were further alienated when the president deployed federal troops to help quell the Pullman railroad strike, after which he appeared too friendly to big business. By 1896 most party activists had fallen under the sway of the charismatic populist William Jennings Bryan, who won the presidential nomination, and Cleveland retired to private life. He remained active in community and business affairs at Princeton, New Jersey, where he died on June 24, 1908. Cleveland remains the only chief executive whose two terms in office were not consecutive.

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March 7 Naval: In Washington, D.C., William C. Whitney is appointed the 31st secretary of the navy.

March 13 Indian: President Grover Cleveland warns squatters not to abscond with land set aside for Native Americans in the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

March 16–May 25 Naval: U.S. Marines from the steamer USS Galena, sloop of war Iroquois, and screw sloops Shenandoah and Swartara are landed again at Aspinwall, Panama (Colombia), for the protection of the railroad across the isthmus.

March 18 Education: Bryn Mawr College is opened at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

April 3 Politics: In a major shake-up, Land Commissioner William A. J. Sparks suspends all titles to land that are suspected as being fraudulent. This act releases 2.7 million acres in the West for settlement by prospective owners, not land speculators.

May 14 Sports: The 11th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Joe Cotton, who runs the course in two minutes, 37 seconds.

May 17 Indian: Restless Apache chief Geronimo again leads 42 Chiricahua men and 92 women out of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona, and steers for the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexican territory. He is particularly angered by reservation rules outlawing the consumption of tiswin, a traditional alcoholic drink. Army troops under General George Crook begin an immediate search for him.

May 22 Indian: After persuasive pleading, Chief Joseph is allowed to take 150 Nez Perce survivors and relocate to the Coleville Indian Reservation in Washington Territory, although the Indians are still denied the right of return to their ancestral home in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon. Sports: The 13th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Tecumseh with a time of two minutes, four seconds.

June–October General: Noted Lakota shaman Sitting Bull joins William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show as it tours the United States and Canada. He is well received by the public and well-paid by Cody, who gives him a beautiful gray circus horse as a gift once his contract expires and he returns to the Great Sioux Reservation.

June 6 Sports: The 19th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Tyrant, who runs the track in two minutes, 43 seconds.

June 19 General: The imposing Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French people, arrives at New York City where it will be prepared for eventual display on Bedloe’s Island.

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July 1 Business: Congress orders the postal rates lowered to two cents an ounce, with second-class postage set at one cent a pound. Diplomacy: The United States formally withdraws from the fisheries reciprocity section of the 1871 Treaty of Washington with Great Britain. Canada informs the United States that American vessels violating its waters will be apprehended.

July 7 Technology: G. Moore Peters of Xenia, Ohio, obtains a patent for his table loading machine that is ultimately employed for the mass manufacturing of cartridge bullets.

July 13 Military: A party of the 4th U.S. Cavalry under Captain Wirt Davis, assisted by 100 Indian scouts, crosses the Mexican border in search of the renegade Apache Geronimo and his band. However, the wily Native Americans easily evade their pursuers.

July 23 General: Former general and president Ulysses S. Grant dies of tongue cancer in New York at the age of 63.

August 8 General: Ulysses S. Grant is buried amidst much ceremony and solemnity in New York City. The funeral procession past his coffin at City Hall lasts for two days and nights; many former Confederate generals who opposed him are also in attendance.

August 10 Transportation: Baltimore hosts the first electric railroad in the United States; operated by Leo Daft, its cars are powered by electricity passed down from overhead wires.

August 17 Settlement: President Grover Cleveland orders all illegal fences torn down on Indian territory in the West. These have been placed there largely by business interests and squatters.

September 14 –16 Sports: The U.S. yacht Puritan successfully defends the America’s Cup from British challenger Genesta.

September 30 Societal: In Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, English and Swedish immigrant miners attack the local Chinese immigrant community, killing 28 and injuring 15.

November Military: Despite the presence of General George Crook and 3,000 soldiers patrolling the Mexican border, a band of Apache under Josanie slips past them and begins raiding white settlements in Arizona and New Mexico, killing 38 settlers before returning to their sanctuary in Mexico.

November 9 Transportation: Under the watchful eyes of army guards, workers of the California Southern Railroad drive the final spike into new tracks laid through the Cajon Pass.

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November 19 Religion: In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a gathering of Hebrew delegates under Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise signs their declaration of “independence” from Orthodox Judaism and starts their own Reform branch. These adherents reject all parts of traditional Mosaic law deemed inconsistent with modern civilization, especially Zionism, and do not agitate for an eventual return to Israel.

November 25 Politics: Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks dies in office at 66; no successor is ever named.

December 1 Business: In Waco, Texas, Wade Morrison invents a new “brain tonic” he calls “Dr. Pepper,” so named after his girlfriend’s father.

December 7 Politics: The 49th Congress assembles with Republicans controlling the Senate and Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives.

December 8 Politics: President Grover Cleveland makes his first address to Congress, and calls for an end to mandatory coinage of silver as it eventually will supplant all the gold then in government banks. He also calls for a new commission to discuss with Great Britain the issue of fishery rights off Canada.

December 18 Politics: A majority report outlining a reduction of jurisdiction for the Appropriations Committee is adopted by the House of Representatives.

December 20 Sports: William B. Curtis breaks several weight-lifting records by hoisting 3,239 pounds with a harness.

1886 Arts: William Gillette pens the drama Held by the Enemy, the first play concerning itself with the Civil War. James Abbott McNeill Whistler is elected president of the Royal Society of British Artists. Painter Thomas Eakins is expelled from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for using undraped models in his art classes. Business: The Whiskey Trust is formed from 80 distilleries; operationally, it patterns itself after the highly successful Standard Oil Trust. In Atlanta, Georgia, John Stith Pemberton perfects the formula for a tasty tonic he calls Coca Cola—its primary ingredient is the highly addictive drug cocaine. Indian: In New York State, Mohawk Indians are hired as ironworkers to construct a bridge over the St. Lawrence River. They perform so well that several companies begin soliciting their talents as workers. Literature: Henry James publishes Princess Casamassima, a novel concerning the social tensions underlying upper-class life in London. Frances Hodgson Burnett pens her famous children’s story Little Lord Fauntleroy, sumptuously illustrated by Reginald Bathurst Birch.

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Publishing: Cosmopolitan Magazine is founded in Rochester, New York; a year later it will relocate to New York City. Millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie publishes his new book Triumphant Democracy, in which he condemns monarchies. Religion: An ongoing dispute between liberal and orthodox Congregationalist forces erupts at the Andover Theological Seminary, where five professors are charged with espousing liberal views on religion; only one is found guilty. In Chicago, Illinois, celebrated evangelical leader Dwight L. Moody establishes the Bible Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. Today it is called the Moody Bible Institute. Augustus Toltan is ordained in Rome as the first African-American Catholic priest. Societal: Dr. Stanton Coit, founder of the Neighborhood Guild, opens the first Settlement House aimed at serving the poor and dispossessed. Sports: England and the United States wage the first international polo match at Newport, R.I., which will be swept by the more experienced visitors, 10–4 and 14–2. Yale University wins the national college football championship with nine wins, no losses, and one tie. Richard D. Sears wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association men’s singles for the sixth consecutive year. Chicago wins the National League baseball pennant with 90 wins and 34 losses; however, they will lose the interleague playoff to St. Louis of the American Association, two games to four. Technology: Elihu Thompson receives a patent for the electric welding machine, which will effectively replace riveting and greatly enhance future automobile manufacturing.

January Military: The Endicott Board, headed by Secretary of War William Endicott, promulgates a plan to fortify 28 major harbors in the United States with various fortifications and 2,362 cannon.

January 1 Sports: The first Tournament of Roses unfolds as a competition between highly decorated horse carriages, adorned by native flowers, at Pasadena, California, followed by a day of athletic events.

January 4 Arts: Willard Spenser finishes The Little Tycoon, one of the earliest comic operas penned by an American.

January 9 Indian: From his sanctuary in Mexico, renegade Apache chief Geronimo sends a messenger to General George Crook declaring his intention to surrender within a few weeks.

January 19 Politics: Congress passes the Presidential Succession Act, which provides for cabinet members to succeed a president or vice president in the order that their

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Chronology of American History office was created, beginning with the secretary of state. This law will remain in effect until 1947. Politics: In Maine, state coopers, and ship and wharf owners petition Congress for a tax on foreign shipping to protect them from competition.

February 7–8 Societal: Seattle, Washington, is the scene of anti-Chinese violence that forces 400 individuals from their homes before troops are sent to restore order. The immigrants will be packed aboard the steamer Queen of the Pacific and shipped to San Francisco after residents collect the money for their transit.

February 14 Business: The first shipment of oranges picked from California groves departs by rail for east coast markets.

February 15 Politics: A protectionist-minded Congress defeats Representative William R. Morrison’s tariff bill for reducing duties.

February 23 Technology: In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Charles Martin Hall perfects a more efficient method of extracting aluminum from ore by using electrolytes. This will trigger a dramatic reduction in the price of that valuable substance, whish heretofore had been used only for making jewelry and other novelties.

March Technology: In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, George Westinghouse and William Stanley demonstrate the first electrical alternating current system.

March 1 Politics: President Grover Cleveland duly informs the Senate that a chief executive can, despite the Tenure of Office Act, lawfully remove officials without their consent.

March 4 Education: The University of Wyoming is chartered at Laramie.

March 6 Labor: Jay Gould’s Missouri-Pacific Railroad is beset by a labor action when the Knights of Labor go on strike, throwing the entire 5,000 miles of track into idleness. The dispute will be settled in May without any gain to the workers.

March 22 Technology: A steam generator built and owned by Sidney Mitchell and Fred Sparling powers an electrical generator that lights up Seattle, Washington Territory, for the first time.

March 25 Military: General George Crook again prevails upon renegade Apache chief Geronimo to depart his Mexican enclave and be returned to the San Carlos Reservation after a two-year incarceration in the East. However, the Indians change will their minds at the last moment and disappear, prompting an angry War Department to sack Crook altogether and replace him with the hard-bitten General Nelson A. Miles.

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April 1 Indian: The War Department reneges on an arrangement between General George Crook and Apache chief Geronimo when 77 Chiricahuas are shipped to Fort Marion, Indian Territory. Crook, for his part, is disgusted by this display of bad faith and resigns from the military to champion the cause of Native American rights.

April 8 Politics: Missouri representative Richard P. Bland introduces a bill to the House of Representatives mandating the free coinage of silver; it is only narrowly defeated.

April 13 Politics: Senator Orville H. Platt of Connecticut finds that the Senate’s reliance on secrecy in executive sessions is not found in the Constitution and introduces a measure to halt the practice; its is tabled without further discussion.

April 22 Labor: President Grover Cleveland becomes the first chief executive to suggest that the Congress set up an independent agency to arbitrate labor disputes. He specifically mentions creation of a labor commission.

April 29 Diplomacy: Upon the recommendation of President Grover Cleveland, the Senate debates an extradition treaty with Japan, which provides for a mutual exchange of any criminals who have fled to either nation. All remaining provisions of extraterritoriality are also ended.

May 1– 4 Labor: Roughly 100,000 workers from the Knights of Labor, the Black International Anarchists, and other trade unions simultaneously strike across the nation to demand an eight-hour work day. This is a major display of national strength by the burgeoning labor movement.

May 3 Labor: Police fire onto violent strikers at the McCormick Reaper Manufacturing Company, killing six people. That night anarchist Augustus Spies harangues a sympathetic crowd gathered at Haymarket Square, demanding revenge.

May 5 Labor: Violence again erupts in Chicago when police confront a throng of strikers at Chicago’s Haymarket Square. The proceedings are peaceful until a bomb is tossed in the middle of the police and explodes, killing seven and wounding 50. Eight anarchists are then arrested for murder; public opinion, aghast at the attack, begins swinging against labor radicals.

Reproduction of anarchist handbill distributed prior to the Haymarket Riot of 1886 (Library of Congress)

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Chronology of American History Military: Captain Henry Lawton, 4th U.S. Cavalry, takes a troop of soldiers and 100 Apache scouts out of Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to begin looking for the renegade Apache leader Geronimo. They spend the next four months searching in vain for the wily leader and his equally agile band.

May 10 Civil: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Yick Wo v. Hopkins, ruling that an alien is a person for legal purposes, and her or his rights are protected under the Fourteenth Amendment; therefore, municipal ordinances discriminating against Chinese laundries are unconstitutional. Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, ruling that a corporation, under the Fourteenth Amendment, is considered a person for legal purposes and cannot be deprived of rights or profits without due process. This proves a major boost to business.

May 14 Sports: The 12th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Ben Ali, who runs the course in two minutes, 36 seconds.

May 16 Military: Congress passes legislation authorizing that attendees of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, are to be commissioned second lieutenants upon graduating.

May 21 Sports: The 14th annual Preakness Stakes is won by The Bard, who finishes in two minutes, 45 seconds.

June 3 General: President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom, the muchyounger daughter of his former law partner. He is the first chief executive to tie the knot in the White House.

June 5 Sports: The 20th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Inspector, who finishes in two minutes, 41 seconds.

June 19–August 20 Law: Anarchists arrested for the death of several police officers in the Haymarket Square riot stand trial under Judge Albert Parsons. Eight defendants are arraigned and eventually found guilty, although the actual perpetrators will never be found.

June 29 Labor: Congress authorizes trade unions to begin incorporating themselves in an attempt to address the growing needs of industrial workers.

June 30 Politics: Congress, responding to public pressure, founds a Division of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture. Its first director is Dr. Bernhard E. Fernow. Religion: Baltimore bishop James Gibbons becomes the second cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.

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August 3 Naval: Congress considers acquisition of two ironclads, an armored cruiser and a motor torpedo boat as part of its ongoing naval modernization program initiated by Secretary of the Navy William C. Whitney. Whitney also reorients the service toward modernity and the latest technology. By the turn of the century the United States will boast the world’s third largest navy.

August 6 Naval: Congress authorizes construction of the armored cruiser USS Maine and the armored battleship Texas; these 6,000-ton vessels are considered to be the nation’s first battle wagons.

August 17 Military: Captain Moses Harris, 1st U.S. Cavalry, establishes the Fort Yellowstone Guards in Wyoming Territory to protect Yellowstone Park from vandalism and illegal poaching.

August 19 Arts: American playwright and producer Augustin Daly leads the first Englishspeaking dramatic troupe to perform in Paris and Berlin; public and critical reaction proves tepid.

August 20 Law: Eight anarchists tried for the deaths of seven policemen in the Haymarket Square riot are found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. In legal circles, the trial and conviction on circumstantial evidence is regarded as shoddy and questionable.

August 24 Indian: Renegade Apache chief Geronimo confers under a flag of truce with Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood and agrees to surrender, but only to General Nelson A. Miles in person.

September 4 Indian: Renegade Apache chief Geronimo concludes a 1,600-mile pursuit and surrenders to General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona. Both he, his 20-man band, and 13 accompanying women are immediately deported to new homes in Fort Pickens, Florida. A 15-year, internecine struggle involving the Arizona and New Mexico territories and Mexico is finally drawing to a close.

September 9 –11 Sports: The U.S. yacht Mayflower successfully defends the America’s Cup from British challenger Galatea.

September 16 Politics: The Anti-Saloon Republicans hold their convention in Chicago, Illinois, another sign of reform-minded political activism within the major parties.

October General: Griswold Lorillard makes fashion headlines with a rakish, tailless dress coat at the annual autumn ball at the Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo, New York. It will subsequently become known as a tuxedo.

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October 12 General: Flooding along the Texas coast, brought on by gale force winds, kills 250 people.

October 25 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of St. Louis and Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois, denying states the ability to regulate that interstate commerce which originates within its own state boundaries. State legislatures therefore lose their ability to regulate the affairs of trusts, corporations, railroads, and other combines, although Congress stands ready to pick up the slack.

October 28 General: President Grover Cleveland presides over ceremonies dedicating the 225-ton, 152-foot-tall Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. This iconic monument is a gift of the French people and the creation of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Newspaper editor Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World has underwritten the pedestal upon which it arose. More importantly, Lady Liberty will serve as a beacon of freedom to millions of immigrants arriving over the next decades.

November 2 Politics: Mid-term elections leave the Republicans in charge of the Senate and Democrats still controlling the House of Representatives.

November 19 General: Former president Chester A. Arthur dies in New York City at the age of 56.

December 7–8 Labor: Samuel Gompers and Adolph Strasser organize the American Federation of Labor (AFL) from 25 diverse labor groups representing 150,000 workers. The AFL becomes the cutting edge in labor matters over the next decade, with Gompers acting capably as president. Under his enlightened aegis the AFL quickly supplants the Knights of Labor, which has discredited itself by associating with anarchists and socialists. Gompers also supports the widespread proliferation of local unions, something the autocratically minded Knights oppose.

December 10 Labor: Leonora Barry, an investigator with the Knights of Labor, encounters a corset factory that imposes a 10-cent fine for any worker caught eating, laughing, or talking.

1887 Statue of Liberty, Bedloe (later Liberty) Island, New York, 1890 (Library of Congress)

1887

Arts: Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens finishes his celebrated statue of President Abraham Lincoln for Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois.

Chronology

1391

Business: The U.S. Post Office grants free mail delivery to all communities with populations over 10,000. The five Merritt brothers uncover a large iron ore deposit in the Mesabi range of Minnesota, an immense boon to the nation’s rapidly expanding steel industry. Conservation: Theodore Roosevelt founds the Boone and Racket Club for the protection of game and to prevent the needless slaughter of large animals. Education: Clark University is founded at Worcester, Massachusetts, as an institution that will offer quality education at lower cost than similar schools. Indian: The Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, thought to have been constructed by the Hopewell Indian Culture of 3,000 b.c., is purchased for study by the Harvard University Peabody Museum. George Bushotter, a Lakota Sioux and a graduate of the Hampton Institute, is hired by the Bureau of Ethnology in Washington, D.C. In this capacity he makes indelible contributions to the linguistic and cultural knowledge of his people. Journalism: Daring female reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) has herself committed to an insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island, New York, then recounts what she saw in her book Ten Days in a Mad House.

Bly, Nellie (1867–1922) Journalist Elizabeth Cochrane was born in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 1864, the daughter of an accomplished industrialist. She lost her father at an early age and, after her mother remarried and divorced, she moved in with relatives at Pittsburgh. Cochrane, who was distinctly “Tom Girl” in outlook, decided to forsake teaching, the usual employment for young women, and pursue journalism. In this she exhibited a genuine flair for investigating important stories and relaying them with accurate and scintillating prose. However, her gender proved an obstacle and work was not forthcoming. One day, after writing a scathing letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch and adroitly defending a woman’s right to seek employment as she wished, editor George A. Madden invited her in for an interview. Singularly impressed by her moxie attitude, Madden entrusted her

with several minor essays on women. These proved competent and interesting to the readership and she became one of the few woman journalists of her day, publishing under the pseudonym “Nelly Bly”—possibly after a popular Stephen Foster song. She quickly proved herself a crack investigative journalist with a “nose for news” and the daring to push her craft to the limits to get a story. Bly, investigating the dangerous and unsanitary working conditions women and children endured in the Pittsburgh area, took a job in a factory and gave a firsthand account of hazards encountered there. Her reporting led to a number of local reforms but also great indignation from the business community, which pressured the Pittsburgh Dispatch to halt her reports. Bly was subsequently sidelined with social and cultural (continues)

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(continued) events, but she chafed under the assignment and in 1886 spent several months in Mexico reporting on the impoverishment encountered there. The biggest turn in Bly’s career occurred when she relocated to New York City and was hired by John Cockerill and Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World. In this capacity, she outdid her reputation for daring by having herself committed to an insane asylum for 10 days to report on the abuses there. Bly then pretended to have committed a crime in order to get arrested and cover abuses endured by women in the criminal justice system. Employment agencies, medical clinics, and corrupt lobbyists were also subject to her scathing scrutiny,

and her reports inevitably led to immediate reforms. But her most notorious stunt came in 1889 when she determined to beat the imaginary record set forth in Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days; she traveled alone across the globe by ship and train, returning to cheers in New York on January 25, 1890. Her sojourn took only 72 days. Bly married industrialist Steven Livingston Seaman in 1895 and left journalism for many years but returned in 1914 to cover World War I for the New York Evening Journal. She died in New York City on January 27, 1922, an extremely popular cultural hero and a trail-blazing journalist who inspired generations of women reporters.

In San Francisco, California, William Randolph Hearst assumes control of the San Francisco Chronicle. Literature: Poet Eugene Field composes two of his most famous poems for the Chicago Morning News, “Little Boy Blue” and “Dutch Lullaby.” Media: Eadweard Muybridge publishes Animal Locomotion, the first photographic study of a living creature in motion; he conclusively proves that a horse, at full gallop, actually has all four feet in the air at one point. Military: Noted explorer Adolphus W. Greely gains promotion to brigadier general and is also made chief of the Signal Corps. Publishing: Historical romances and sketches about the antebellum South are aptly captured in Thomas Nelson Page’s book In Old Virginia. Theodore Roosevelt, an aspiring historian, publishes volume one of his noted series The Winning of the West. Science: Stephen F. Baird, U.S. Commissioner of Fishes and Fisheries, is the driving force behind the new Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts. Physicists Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morely conclusively demonstrate that the velocity of the Earth exerts no influence on the speed of light; this fact will eventually inspire a young Albert Einstein to espouse his Special Theory of Relativity. Societal: Melvil Dewey establishes the New York State Library in Albany, New York, and serves as chief librarian. He is also responsible for creating the “Dewey Decimal System” for cataloging books for storage and retrieval.

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(1863–1951)

Publisher Wil­l­iam Randol­ph Hearst was born in San Francisco, Cal­ifornia, on April­ 29, 1863, the son of a mil­l­ionaire businessman and successful­ pol­itician. Something of a spoil­ed scion, he was admitted to Harvard Uni-­ versity in 1883 but was kicked out two years l­ater for pl­aying practical­ jokes on professors. Hearst subsequentl­y devel­oped an interest in journal­ism, and in 1887 he convinced his father to l­et him purchase the fail­ing San Francisco Examiner and then turn it into a successful­ venture on behal­f of his father’s pol­itical­ career. Hearst, showing a fl­air for hysterical­ stories and other l­ures, accompl­ished his goal­, then ventured to New York City to invade the real­m of news-­ paper magnate Joseph Pul­itzer. He obtained the fail­ing New York Journal, l­aced it with comic strips, a col­or Sunday section, racy stories about crime, pol­itics, and societal­ gossip, whil­e reducing the paper’s price to a penny. The resul­t was record sal­es, and the fol­l­owing year Hearst bought out the New York Evening Journal. As a publ­isher, Hearst regul­arl­y raided Pul­itzer’s staff by offering his best writers and editors better sal­aries, whil­e al­so promoting his own pop-­ ul­ist brand of Democratic pol­itics. To this end he strongl­y supported the candidacy of Wil­l­iam Jennings Bryan in 1896, and al­so stoked publ­ic sentiments for war with Spain through his unique brand of sensational­-­ ized, jingoistic coverage known as “yel­l­ow journal­ism.” In this manner both Hearst and Pul­itzer hel­ped fan the fl­ames of publ­ic resentment against Spain in Cuba and were a contributing factor to the confl­ict that fol­l­owed. At one point before hostil­ities commenced, Hearst engaged the services of noted artist Frederic Remington, who was instructed to provide gripping scenes, real­

or imagined, and l­et the editors decide what the content and story l­ine woul­d be. Hearst’s success as a journal­ist stoked his own pol­itical­ ambition and in 1902 he was el­ected to the U.S. House of Repre-­ sentatives for two terms. In 1905 he nar-­ rowl­y missed becoming mayor of New York, the fol­l­owing year he was defeated for the governor’s office, and in 1909 he again l­ost a bid for the mayorship. Al­l­ the whil­e he continuousl­y added to his publ­ishing empire with magazines such as Cosmopolitan and (continues)

William Randolph Hearst (Library of Congress)

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(continued) Harper’s Bazaar. By 1913 he began extending his influence into the new business of motion pictures and acquired two companies and a stable of young actresses, several of whom he married and then divorced. Stridently anti-British, Hearst opposed America’s entry into World War I, which did little to diminish the overall popularity of his publications. By 1920 one in four Americans read a Hearst paper every day,

and he controlled no less then 20 dailies, 11 Sunday papers, the King Features syndication service, the International News Service, and six magazines. Hearst also built a $30 million mansion for himself at San Simeon, California; his career allegedly inspired the hit 1941 movie Citizen Kane. He died in Beverly Hills on August 14, 1951, having assembled one of the largest communication empires in history.

Sports: The first American golf club arises at Foxburg, Pennsylvania, as a result of John Mickle Fox’s trip to Scotland to learn the game. Yale University wins the national college football championship with nine wins, no ties, and no losses. Richard D. Sears wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association men’s singles for the seventh consecutive time. Detroit wins the National League baseball pennant with 79 wins and 45 losses; it also bests the American Association’s St. Louis team 10 games to five in the interleague series. The Philadelphia Cricket Club hosts the first-ever woman’s singles championship, won by Ellen Hansell.

January 9 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., British minister Lord Sackville-West protests American seizure of three Canadian vessels allegedly sealing in Alaskan territorial waters.

January 20 Diplomacy: The Senate agrees to ratify the 1875 treaty with Hawaii, which promotes reciprocal trade and allows the United States to construct a naval base at Pearl Harbor, Oahu.

January 29 Military: Congress authorizes construction of the Cavalry and Light Artillery School at Fort Riley, Kansas, although five years will lapse before the facilities are finished and instruction can commence.

February 3 Politics: Congress passes the Electoral Count Act, making each state responsible for the validity of vote counts in every national election. Congress will intervene only if a state is unable to come up with an accurate decision or if the tally proffered is deemed fraudulent.

February 4 Business: Reacting to the complaints of farmers and other small businessmen, Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act to bring federal regulation of cor-

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porations, trusts, and other economic combines. It creates a five-man commission to see that freight haulers charge reasonable and uniform rates across state lines. This finally grants the government regulatory oversight over heretofore freewheeling big business.

February 8 Indian: To begin phasing out the reservation system, Congress passes the General Allotment Act (or Dawes Severalty Act), which no longer recognizes them as sovereign nations. Moreover it provides each Indian family on federal land 160 acres. Moreover, to prevent Native Americans from being tricked into selling their holdings, the land will be held in trust by the federal government for 25 years. This is the latest attempt by concerned whites to save Native Americans through “assimilation.”

February 11 Politics: President Grover Cleveland vetoes the Dependent Pension Bill, which would extend benefits to servicemen with non-military-related disabilities, in an attempt to cap retirement expenditures and potential fraudulent claims. He does so at the risk of alienating large and influential veteran groups like the Grand Army of the Republic.

March 1 Military: To provide a professional cadre of enlisted soldiers to assist the medical profession in the field, Congress authorizes the Army Hospital Corps. This relieves line units from having to assign the requisite personnel.

March 2 Agriculture: Congress passes the Hatch Act to fund experimental farming stations in most states to study the best methods of farming, eradicating diseases and pests, and preventing rampant topsoil erosion. Annual appropriations to each station are also provided by the act. Through such expedients American agriculture is finally assuming a more scientific approach to the challenge of conservation. Diplomacy: Canadian fishermen begin harassing American shipping off the Grand Banks following American abrogation of the fishing settlement with Great Britain in the 1875 Treaty of Washington.

March 1 Medical: The War Department establishes the Army Hospital Corps to employ hospital stewards, acting hospital stewards, and privates.

March 3 Diplomacy: To retaliate against Canadian seizures of American vessels found in their waters, Congress empowers the president with the ability to retaliate by barring Canadian ships, fish, and other products from American ports. However, President Cleveland declines to enforce these measures, hoping instead to reach a sweeping accommodation in future negotiations on the topic. Religion: Congress passes a bill authorizing the government to seize property belonging to the Mormon Church, and those lands so taken will not be returned until the practice of polygamy is renounced.

March 5 Politics: In a major move toward restoring executive independence, Congress repeals the 1867 Tenure of Office Act and now allows the president to suspend or

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Chronology of American History remove individuals as per the Constitution. This is a major political triumph for President Grover Cleveland, who has pushed the legislators hard toward restoring the traditional independence and authority of the executive office.

April 5 Business: The five-man board under Thomas Cooley, appointed by President Grover Cleveland for regulating rail rates, meets for the first time in Washington, D.C. This action constitutes a major victory for the Grange and small farmers, and enjoys wide congressional support.

April 19 Education: Catholic University is chartered by Congress in Washington, D.C.; this is the first institution of higher learning owned by the Roman Catholic Church in America.

May 3 Business: In Chicago, Illinois, the American Cattle Trust is founded in an attempt to corner the cattle market.

May 11 Sports: The 13th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Montrose with a time of two minutes, 39 seconds.

May 13 Sports: The 15th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Dunbine, who runs the course in two minutes, 39 seconds.

May 26 Sports: New York becomes the first state to legalize racetrack betting.

June 7 Politics: President Grover Cleveland signs an order allowing the return of captured Confederate flags to the southern states, which triggers a chorus of protests from Union army veterans.

June 9 Sports: The 21st annual Belmont Stakes is won by Hanover, who crosses the finish line at two minutes, 43 seconds.

June 15 Politics: Vociferous protests by Republican politicians and angry Union army veterans force President Grover Cleveland to rescind his order restoring captured Confederate battle flags to the South; this will not actually transpire until 1905.

June 20 General: In London, England, noted female marksman Phoebe Ann Annie Oakleyi Mozee (publicly known as Annie Oakley) gains an audience with Queen Victoria after a thrilling exhibition of her unerring aim. “What a wonderful little girl!” is the monarch’s exclamation.

June 25–July 26 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., representatives from the United States, Great Britain, and Germany convene to discuss control of the Pacific island of Samoa. When Germany insists it enjoys a mandate, the meeting concludes without a resolution. Secretary of State Thomas Bayard, however, suggests adjourning for

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Oakley, Annie (1860–1926) Markswoman Phoebe Anne Mozee was born in Darke County, Ohio, on August 13, 1860, the daughter of farmers. According to legend she began shooting guns at the age of eight with unerring aim; after her father died in a blizzard, she began hunting game and selling it to support the family. At the age of 15 she apparently won a shooting match against vaudeville marksman Frank E. Butler in Cincinnati; they eventually married and frequently toured with vaudeville circuses. In 1884 she allegedly captivated the noted Sioux Chief Sitting Bull with a shooting display at St. Paul, Minnesota, whereupon the chief adopted her under the name “Watanya Cicila” (Little Sure Shot). In 1885, she adopted the stage name of “Annie Oakley” and joined up with William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show, gaining national renown as a performer. In truth, Oakley was an infallible markswoman with handguns, rifles, or shotguns. A standard act over the next 17 years was to shoot a cigarette out of her husband’s mouth and a coin from between his fingers. Off-season, she was active in regularly scheduled shooting matches throughout the Midwest, routinely defeating men in what was touted as a purely masculine sport. On one occasion Oakely hit with a pistol 943 balls out of 1,000 that were tossed in the air and, on another, scored 4,772 hits out of 5,000 balls with a shotgun. Given her remarkable skills, she was naturally touted as a western heroine, but in person Oakley remained shy, reserved and, consistent with

her Quaker heritage, read the Bible daily. She was also very generous with her prizegenerated income, donated freely to charities and orphanages, and even assisted other women to pay for a college education. Her modest disposition notwithstanding, the diminutive and attractive Oakley was hailed as “America’s sweetheart” or “The Peerless Lady Wing Shot” and was one of the few women of her day to enjoy national renown Oakley’s reputation resulted in her touring abroad with Cody in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and especially Britain, where she enthralled Queen Victoria. On another occasion, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (later, Kaiser Wilhelm II) had the ashes shot off his cigarette at 30 paces. In 1901 Oakley sustained serious injuries in a train wreck but recuperated and continued touring until 1913 when she and her husband finally retired. During World War I both frequently came out to trains to entertain the troops with sterling displays of their marksmanship, which had not diminished with age. In 1925 Oakley and her husband returned to Darke County, Ohio, where she died at Greenville on November 3, 1926. Since then she has been the subject of several biographies, along with a musical written by Irving Berlin, Annie Get Your Gun. Oakley remains an iconic figure of the Wild West and one of the most intriguing female personalities of American history. For many years after her passing, complementary theater tickets, punched as if they had been shot by bullets, were labeled “Annie Oakleys.”

several months to see how events play out. Germany responds with aggressive action in the islands to enforce its will.

July 26 Military: A milestone of sorts is passed when the 12th U.S. Infantry is assembled at Buffalo, New York, and conducts regimental-level exercises as an integrated

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Chronology of American History unit for the first time since 1866. Previously, the small size of the American army and the vast frontier that it was tasked with guarding required units to be dispersed in penny packets at various forts.

August 1 Politics: President Grover Cleveland “pocket vetoes” (refuses to sign) what he considers an overly extravagant rivers and harbors act.

August 10 General: A bridge in Chatsworth, Illinois, collapses under the weight of a train, killing 100 people and injuring scores more.

August 19 Diplomacy: Four German warships drop anchor at Apia in the Samoan Islands and capture King Malietoa, a deed that sets Germany on a collision course with Great Britain and the United States. Transportation: The first train chugs into Santa Barbara, California.

September 5 Labor: New York is the first state to recognize Labor Day as a legal holiday.

September 17–30 Sports: The U.S. yacht Volunteer successfully defends the America’s Cup from the British challenger Thistle.

October 11 Diplomacy: Despite German aggression in Samoa, Secretary of State Thomas Bayard cautions strict neutrality; nonetheless, the warship USS Adams is dispatched to the islands.

November 5 Indian: U.S. Army troops are called into the Crow Agency, Montana Territory, to put down a perceived uprising. In fact, a party of Crow warriors under Sword Bearer had been celebrating a successful raid on a Blackfoot camp and accidentally fired into the agent’s house. In the ensuing scuffle, Sword Bearer and eight Crow are slain.

November 11 Crime: Five anarchists found guilty in the Haymarket explosion 18 months earlier in Chicago meet their death on the scaffold. An even bigger casualty is the image of organized labor, now tinged with radical violence, which causes public sentiment to turn against improved wages, working conditions, and an eight-hour work day.

November 22 Diplomacy: The six-member Anglo-American-Canadian commission meets in Washington, D.C., to hammer out an agreement respecting the Canadian fisheries. Two months will elapse before a mutually agreeable treaty can be worked out.

November 23 Civil: Striking African Americans at Thibodaux, Louisiana, are fired upon by sheriff ’s deputies and local militia, leaving 20 dead and several more injured. The workers had been striking for hire wages payable in cash, and not scrip redeemable only at company stores.

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December 5 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Mugler v. Kansas, ruling that states enjoy a constitutional right to prohibit the manufacture of alcoholic beverages. Politics: The 50th Congress assembles with Republicans controlling the Senate and Democrats controlling the House of Representatives.

December 6 Politics: President Grover Cleveland makes a bold statement against the continuation of tariffs on both necessities and luxuries, and calls for their reduction. The mounting public perception is that such tariffs are actually subsidizing certain businesses at the expense of others. Cleveland does so after first consulting his own party, thereby infuriating high-tariff advocates.

1888 Architecture: Charles Follum McKim begins a new main building for the Boston Public Library on Copley Square, based upon Italian Re nais sance precepts. In Washington, D.C., General Thomas Lincoln Casey begins construction of the new main building for the Library of Congress. Art: Lin Levi Earner and John T. Boyle travel westward, using Native Americans as subjects for various paintings and bust sculptures. Celebrated muralist John La Farge completes his vast work of art, the Ascension, for the chancel in the Church of the Ascension, New York. Education: The growing professionalization of American scholarship is reflected by the founding of such organizations as the Geological Society of America, the American Folklore Society, the American Mathematical Society, and the National Statistical Society. Media: In a major technological and commercial leap, George Eastman invents the Kodak No. 1, a square box camera already loaded with a roll of film. Prospective photographers simply take the pictures then mail the entire unit back to Eastman’s factory for professional processing. Photography, heretofore limited by expense and expertise to a handful of specialists, now becomes a popular hobby. The dawn of the “snapshot” is at hand. Music: Composer Arthur William Foote receives critical acclaim in Boston for his choral work “The Wreck of the Hesperus.” He is also the vanguard of a new movement informally known as the Boston Classicists. After 12 years of study in France and Germany, composer Edward A. MacDowell returns to the United States, becoming the first American composer to become as highly regarded as contemporary Europeans. Marine Corps Band conductor John Philip Sousa composes his famous march “Semper Fidelis” for the corps. Publishing: Journalist Edward Bellamy writes a utopian fantasy entitled Looking Backward, 2000–1887, which discusses the problems of industrialized society and posits nationalization and wealth distribution as the best possible solutions. It will become an unexpected million-seller with something of a cult following as “Bellamy Clubs” begin springing up around the country to advocate change.

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Chronology of American History Historian John Fiske publishes The Critical Period of American History, 1783–1789 while Henry C. Lea completes another seminal study, The History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. Theodore Roosevelt publishes his book Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, the first manifestation of his life-long crusade for the preservation of wildlife and big game. English ambassador James Bryce pens his The American Constitution, an erudite and favorable discussion of American political institutions and law that is widely read in both nations. Science: Hungarian-born scientist Nikola Tesla arrives in the United States, where he makes significant contributions to the advancement of electrical engineering. His most significant invention is the alternating current motor. The Lick Observatory arises on Mount Hamilton near San Jose, California, largely funded by a $700,000 bequest from financier James Lick. At the time it utilizes the most powerful telescopes in existence. Sports: The founding of the St. Andrews Club in Yonkers, New York, affords additional proof that golf is making considerable inroads among the sporting set. Yale University wins the national college football championship with 13 wins, no ties, no losses. Tim Keefe of New York is the first baseball pitcher to win 19 consecutive games. Henry W. Slocum wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association’s singles championship for men, while Bertha L. Townshend takes the women’s division. New York wins the National League baseball championship with 84 wins, 47 losses; they subsequently win the interleague playoffs by defeating the American League’s St. Louis team six games to four. Technology: Frank J. Sprague constructs the first electric trolley system in Richmond, Virginia.

January 3 Business: In Washington, D.C., Marvin Chester Stone invents a drinking straw made from manila paper and coated with paraffin wax. They prove an immediate hit at soda parlors nationwide.

January 13 Science: The National Geographic Society is founded by a board of 33 individuals determined to diffuse knowledge of geography to the general public. Graham Greene Hubbard is elected its first president.

January 21 Sports: The Amateur Athletic Association is founded to protect amateur athletes from unscrupulous promoters and to promote sport “for sport’s sake.”

February 15 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard and British colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain reach an agreement on Canadian fishing rights in the Bayard-Chamberlain Treaty, signed at Washington, D.C. The Senate will refuse to ratify the agreement because of its provision for reciprocal tariffs, but amiable relations over the issue continue to manifest once the Americans are allowed to purchase local licenses to fish the waters. This ad hoc arrangement will be renewed every two years until a lasting solution is finally proffered in 1912.

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Electric trolleys competed with automobiles for space on city streets. (Library of Congress)

February 19 General: Mount Vernon, Illinois, is devastated by a violent tornado, which kills 35 people.

February 22 Politics: The Industrial Reform Party convenes in Washington, D.C., and nominates Albert E. Redstone of California for president and John Colvin of Kansas for the vice presidency. This is the latest manifestation of growing concern for economic issues of the day. Sports: In Yonkers, New York, Scottish-born John Reid teaches three of his neighbors how to play a new imported game called golf.

March 12 Diplomacy: The United States and China conclude a new treaty that both excludes additional Chinese immigration for 20 years and pays China an indemnity of $276,619 for coolies killed in anti-Chinese riots. However, the treaty is never ratified because the Senate will insist on a provision to forbid the 20,000 Chinese who have returned to China to visit from returning. General: The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the Northeast with a 36-hour snowfall that cuts all transportation and communication, kills 400 people, and inflicts $25 million in damages in New York City alone. The city is literally brought to a

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Chronology of American History standstill for 48 hours before normal conditions can resume; all communication to and from Boston has to be relayed via England.

April 24 Business: In London, England, the American Oil Company is founded as Standard Oil’s first foreign affiliate.

May Arts: Ernest Thayer’s play about baseball, entitled Casey at the Bat, is successfully staged at Wallack’s Theater, New York City.

May 3 Engineering: Two opposing tunnels dug into the sides of Mount Rainier, Washington, converge into a single transit route.

May 10 Diplomacy: Despite a lukewarm reception by President Grover Cleveland, Congress passes a resolution inviting 18 Latin American nations to a Pan-American conference in Washington, D.C., in 1889.

May 11 Sports: The 16th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Refund with a time of two minutes, 49 seconds.

May 14 Sports: The 14th annual Kentucky Derby is won by MacBeth, who runs the course in two minutes, 38 seconds.

May 15 Politics: The Equal Rights Party holds its national convention in Des Moines, Iowa, being unique in its insistence for women’s suffrage. Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, is nominated for president.

May 16 Politics: The Union Labor Party gathers in Cincinnati, Ohio, nominating A. J. Sweeter of Illinois and Charles E. Cunningham of Arkansas for president and vice president, respectively.

May 17 Naval: Massachusetts becomes the first state to authorize a naval militia, which, in concert with other states that follow, will ultimately spur creation of a new Naval Reserve. Politics: The United Labor Party also convenes its national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, naming Robert H. Cowdrey of Illinois and W. H. T. Wakefield of Kansas for president and vice president, respectively.

May 31 Politics: The Prohibition Party holds its national convention and nominates Clinton B. Fisk of New Jersey for president and John A. Brooks of Missouri for vice president.

June 4 Crime: Governor David B. Bill signs legislation making New York the first state to substitute electrocution for hanging in capital crimes cases.

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June 5–7 Politics: The Democratic Party holds its national convention in St. Louis, Missouri, whereby Grover Cleveland is renominated by acclamation. Allen G. Thurman is also chosen to run as vice president.

June 6 Sports: The 22nd annual Belmont Stakes is won by Sir Dixon with a time of two minutes, 40 seconds. Jimmy McLaughlin, his jockey, completes his sixth Belmont Stakes win.

June 13 Labor: In recognition of new social forces at work in society, Congress creates the Department of Labor, although it will not acquire cabinet status until the next century.

June 19 Naval: A 25-man party of U.S. Marines is landed at Chemulpo, Korea, and marches into the capital of Seoul for the protection of American citizens living there. This port will gain lasting fame eight decades later—after being renamed Inchon—as the site of a much larger Marine Corps landing in 1950.

June 19–25 Politics: The Republican Party convenes its national convention in Chicago, Illinois, and nominates Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for president on the eighth ballot. Levi P. Morton of New York is also chosen as vice president. Their platform endorses high tariffs and reflects domination by big industrialists. But they also endorse using the money accumulated by tariff revenues to fund pensions for Civil War veterans, thereby winning popular support from the influential Grand Army of the Republic and other veterans’ groups.

July 10 Transportation: The first all-steel bridge on the west coast is opened by the Union Pacific Railroad in Oregon.

July 13 Diplomacy: With congressional backing, Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard invites Latin American nations to an inter-American conference in Washington, D.C., in the following year.

July 27 Technology: Philip W. Pratt successfully demonstrates an electric automobile in Boston, Massachusetts. The new device resembles a tricycle and is powered by storage batteries.

July 29 Medical: Jacksonville, Florida, is beset by a raging epidemic of yellow fever; 450 deaths are reported.

August 14 Military: General John McAllister Schofield succeeds the late Philip H. Sheridan as commanding general of the army.

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August 15 Politics: The American Party convenes its national convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and nominates James L. Curtis of New York and James R. Gree of Tennessee for president and vice president, respectively.

August 21 Diplomacy: Republicans in the Senate manage to scuttle the recent BayardChamberlain Treaty, but amicable relations with Canada, especially as it relates to fishing rights, are on the upswing, regardless.

September 7 Naval: The trend toward naval modernization continues when Congress authorizes construction of the steel cruiser USS New York and six smaller vessels.

October 1 Labor: Congress passes legislation allowing federal labor arbitration to help mediate railroad disputes. The president is also empowered to appoint an investigatory commission that can also act as a board of conciliation. Societal: Congress, in a nod to western labor interests, forbids any Chinese migrants who left the country from returning.

October 21 Politics: In an early example of political dirty tricks, British ambassador Lord Sackville-West responds to a letter purportedly written by “Charles F. Murchison,” an English expatriate and naturalized American citizen, who is asking for advice on who to vote for in the upcoming election. It is actually written by George Osgoodby, a California Republican, and when Lord Sackville-West tells him to vote for Democrat Grover Cleveland, the letter is published and enrages IrishAmerican voters throughout New York. Lord Sackville-West is subsequently recalled from Washington, D.C.

November 6 Politics: President Grover Cleveland wins a majority of the popular vote with 5.5 million votes to Benjamin Harrison’s 5.4 million, but Harrison carries the essential state of New York, winning the Electoral College vote 233 to 168. The Republicans also win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, thereby controlling both chambers. The secret ballot is introduced for the first time during a municipal election in Louisville, Kentucky, and will spread quickly throughout the nation. Ironically, Australia was the first nation to employ secret ballots, as early as 1858; South Carolina will be the last state to adopt the system in 1950.

November 14 Naval: The outbreak of civil war on the Pacific island of Samoa prompts a landing by U.S. Marines from the gunboat USS Nipsic to protect American lives and property there.

November 25 Business: The first commercial quantities of aluminum are readied for shipment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

December Naval: German forces, working to suppress an active uprising in Samoa, briefly seize and hold a small American ship flying the national flag. The U.S. vice consul

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in Apia then wires the matter to Washington, D.C., requesting the presence of a naval squadron.

December 20 Naval: In a less-than-subtle hint, the vessels USS Galena and Yantic drop anchor at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, inducing authorities there to free a recently detained American steamer.

December 24 General: The Mississippi River steamboat Kate Adams catches fire and sinks, killing 25 passengers.

December 26 General: The steamship John H. Hana catches fire on the Mississippi River, leading to 30 deaths.

1889 Architecture: The 11-story Tower Building becomes the first steel-skeleton building in New York City, unique in its ability to carry its weight through girders and columns down to the foundation. Arts: David Belasco and Henry De Mille pen the successful play The Charity Ball, which opens at the Lyceum in New York City. Business: New Jersey adopts a law allowing holding companies to be formed, ostensibly to circumvent provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. For this reason the Garden State will be home to many of the first giant corporations. The first electric-powered sewing machines are manufactured and sold by Singer Manufacturing Company in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Communication: The first coin-operated telephones are installed at Hartford, Connecticut, inviting users to spend their money while conversing over longer distances. Education: Barnard College for women is founded on the campus of Columbia University. The University of New Mexico is chartered at Albuquerque. Indian: Pioneering ethnologist J. Walker Fewkes uses newly invented phonograph technology to record Indian speech and music for the first time. His subjects in this instance are Native Americans living along the Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine. Congress passes the Sioux Bill, which breaks up the Great Sioux Reservation into six smaller gatherings and opens nine million acres of former Indian land to whites. The Indians each receive 320-acre allotments for settlement purposes. Literature: Mark Twain publishes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, a satyrical account of a modern industrialist in the supposedly chivalrous Middle Ages. Lafcadio Hearn publishes his unusual tale of natural destruction in Chita: A Memory of Last Island. Media: Noted photographer and Danish immigrant Jacob Riis shocks the nation with his extensive collection of photos depicting the hardship and deprivation of immigrants and urban poor in New York City. Medical: In Rochester, Minnesota, brothers William J. and Charles H. Mayo, both successful surgeons, open a hospital that gains renown as the Mayo Clinic. Susan La Flesche, a full-blooded Omaha Indian, graduates from the Women’s College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and becomes the first female

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Hearn, Lafcadio (1850–1904) Writer Patricio Lafcadio Tessima Carlos Hearn was born on the Greek island of Leukas on June 27, 1850, the son of a British army surgeon and a Greek woman. At the age of six he was sent to live with a great-aunt in Dublin, Ireland, after which he was educated at schools in England and France. Hearn was an extremely bright individual and especially fluent in the literary nuances of Romance languages such as French and Spanish. In 1863, however, he suffered from an accident that destroyed his left eye while the right one was grotesquely swollen from overuse. He thus matured into a rather disfigured and extremely short individual, possessing an extreme inferiority complex. Nevertheless, Hearn ventured to the United States in 1869, and he settled in New York City, seeking work as a writer. Failing here, he moved on to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he met and befriended printer Henry Watkin, who gave him food, shelter, and comradeship as he learned a trade. Hearn eventually found work with the local Inquirer, where his columns proved both interesting and beautifully rendered, but his liaison with a local African-American woman cost him his job. He ended up moving to New Orleans at the behest of another employer. Hearn, who had by now developed an obsession for folklore, especially that touching upon the bizarre and unusual, contributed many articles on local culture and also expertly translated several French romance stories, including Theophile Gavtier’s One of Cleopatra’s Nights (1882).

Several books on obscure legends and stories followed, each invariably touching upon the grotesque, strange, or romantic, and in 1888 he relocated to the West Indies in search of new materials. There he also composed his first two novels, Chita (1889) and Youma (1890), which, despite their plodding story lines, were engagingly written and reaffirmed Hearn’s reputation as a first-class writer. Back in New York and nearly penniless by 1890, Hearn was commissioned by a magazine to visit Japan, but, upon arriving, he quarreled with his editor and quit. Japan by this time had been open for 40 years, but no systematic attempt had been made to translate its literature or folklore for the benefit of Western audiences. Hearn, after accepting a teaching position in a government school at Matsue, eventually married a Japanese woman belonging to an impoverished samurai family, and proceeded to absorb all the fabled culture of his new clime. Commencing with Glimpses of Japan (1894) he researched, collated, and wrote no less than 12 significant titles on Japanese culture and folklore, translating and preserving such important tales as the famous ghost story Kwaidan. His success resulted in a teaching position at the prestigious Imperial University of Tokyo, where he functioned as a highly respected professor of literature. Curiously, Hearn himself never learned to speak or write Japanese and was wholly dependent upon his wife and colleagues for translation. He died in Tokyo on September 26, 1904.

Native American physician. She subsequently returns to the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska, being the only physician available to more than 1,000 residents. Music: Composer Edward MacDowell successfully performs his “Second Piano Concerto” at Chickering Hall in New York City, his first major success since returning from a decade of study in Germany and France.

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Publishing: Theodore Roosevel­t publ­ishes the second vol­ume of his noted his-­ tory The Winning of the West, which is wel­l­ received. Edward W. Bok becomes editor of Ladies’ Home Journal and begins expos-­ ing his readership to thoughtful­ essays and material­s by Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipl­ing, and other noted writers. Women respond favorabl­y to the change and subscriptions increase exponential­l­y over the next decade. Social: Reformer Jane Addams establ­ishes the settl­ement house, Hul­l­-­House, in Chicago in an attempt to meet the needs of the poor; it wil­l­ soon become a national­ l­andmark and a ral­l­ying point for social­ activists. The Sons of the American Revol­ution, a patriotic organization, is founded in New York City from the descendants of that confl­ict.

Addams, Jane (1860–1935) Reformer Jane Addams was born in Cl­earvil­l­e, Il­l­i-­ nois, on September 6, 1860, the daughter of a prominent state senator. She l­ost her mother at the age of three and grew very cl­ose to her father in consequence, becom-­ ing indel­ibl­y impressed by his ingrained bel­iefs as an abol­itionist and community l­eader. In 1877 Addams entered the Rock-­ ford Femal­e Seminary to study medicine and graduated as a student l­eader in 1881. She next attended the Woman’s Medi-­ cal­ Col­l­ege in Phil­adel­phia, but, affl­icted by il­l­ness and chronic depression, Add-­ ams dropped out after a few months of study. Not sure what to do with hersel­f and cognizant of the barriers pl­aced upon women by a mal­e-­dominated society, Add-­ ams next ventured to Europe in 1883–85 and again in 1887–88, where she encoun-­ tered Toynbee Hal­l­ in London. This was a reform-­minded community for ministerial­ students to minister to poverty, and Add-­ ams returned home determined to appl­y these same principl­es in concert with her friend, El­l­en Gates Starr. The two agreed that the upper cl­asses must hel­p shoul­der responsibil­ity for social­ disl­ocation aris-­ ing from America’s rapid industrial­ization.

In 1889 they pool­ed their resources and acquired Hul­l­-­House in one of Chicago’s (continues)

Jane Addams (Library of Congress)

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(continued) worst immigrant slums and championed relief for the poor. Addams also intended her experiment to be an avenue for welleducated white women to learn about poverty and take active steps toward mitigating it. Hull-House soon proved itself amazingly successful and by 1893 was offering residents day care, a gymnasium, a playground, boarding facilities, sewing instruction for girls, and a full range of artistic activities and outlets. Success here garnered Addams national renown and by 1907 Hull-House comprised no less than 13 buildings built over a city block. Addams’s success prompted her to tackle the issue of poverty on a national scale and she immersed herself in politics. Aligning herself with progressive movements, she championed collective bargaining, union representation, a shorter work week, better welfare standards, and legal protection for immigrants in the face of unscrupulous

landlords and employers. Her efforts paid off in 1899 when Chicago established the first juvenile court in the United States, and she also vociferously advocated compulsory education. Consequently, Addams became much sought after as a public speaker and energetically took up the cause of world peace. In 1910 she became the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale University and also hosted former president Theodore Roosevelt, a fellow progressive, at several tours of Hull-House. Addams also took up her various causes by writing several books, including her classic autobiography, Twenty Years at Hull-House (1910). She continued working selflessly in the name of the poor and in 1931 jointly shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Columbia University president Nicholas Murray Butler. Addams died in Chicago on May 21, 1935, and her funeral was attended by thousands of mourners.

Sports: An issue of Collier’s Weekly contains a list by Caspar Whitney of the first allAmerican football team, comprising the very best players from 11 college teams. New York wins the National League baseball championship with 83 wins and 43 losses, and also defeats Brooklyn of the American Association six games to three. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association single championships are won by Henry W. Slocum and Bertha L. Townsend in their respective divisions. Brooklyn wins the National League baseball championship with 86 wins, 43 losses; a playoff with the American League’s Louisville team ends in a draw of three games apiece. Technology: Recent advances in the Bessemer steel process make possible the forging of steel “I beams,” essential for erecting the skeleton of modern, high-rise skyscrapers. The first examples are manufactured by the firm of Jones and Laughlin at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Aspiring inventor Thomas A. Edison creates the first practical motion picture film using materials provided by George Eastman. Transportation: The safety bicycle is invented with two wheels of equal diameter, front and back. They replace the earlier and more dangerous versions with an enormous front wheel and smaller trailing wheel that were inherently unstable.

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Women: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs is established, reflecting a trend toward greater advancement in female education and opportunities, combined with a growing interest in community and national affairs.

January 1 Indian: Wovoka, a Northern Paiute prophet, begins preaching a new religion based upon a holy vision. Having met God, he maintains that the Earth will be restored to Native Americans if they do not kill living things and avoid drinking liquor. This is the genesis of the so-called Ghost Dance religion, a rapidly growing phenomenon that many white onlookers misconstrue as a militant conspiracy masking as religion.

January 12 Naval: In response to German actions in Samoa, Admiral Lewis A. Kimberly is dispatched there with the warships USS Trenton, Nipsic, and Vandalia.

January 15 Politics: President Grover Cleveland informs Congress of the German seizure of an American vessel in December last and the dispatch of naval reinforcements there. An armed confrontation of some kind appears in the offing.

January 23 Medical: In Chicago, Illinois, the Provident Hospital becomes the first training ground for African-American nurses.

January 24 Crime: The Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company is robbed of $500,000.

January 28 Labor: New York City suffers from a transit worker’s strike that ends a few days later without any tangible gains to the strikers.

January 30 Education: The University of Idaho is chartered at Moscow, Idaho.

February 2 Publishing: Frank A. Munsey published the first issue of his Munsey’s Weekly, which includes moralistic stories and pieces by rags-to-riches avatar Horatio Alger.

February 5 Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland, wishing to avert a war with Germany in the Pacific, accepts Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s invitation to confer in Berlin and settle the Samoan question.

February 11 Agriculture: The Department of Agriculture is accorded cabinet status through an act of Congress, reflecting that farming has evolved into big business—with the political clout to match. Norman J. Colman, the commissioner of agriculture, becomes the first secretary.

February 20 General: Congress incorporates the Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua to facilitate construction of a canal across that nation. The company itself is to remain under American control.

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February 22 Settlement: President Grover Cleveland signs a bill granting statehood to North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington Territories. Also, a two-millionacre plot in the heart of Indian Territory (Oklahoma), presently unused by any tribe, is opened up for settlement by whites.

February 27 Politics: Congress, goaded by German high-handedness in Samoa, appropriates $500,000 to protect American interests in the islands and an additional $100,000 to construct a fortified naval base on Pago Pago.

March 2 Business: The Kansas legislature passes the first-ever antitrust law to bring large corporations and other economic combines under control and subject them to better regulation. Within a year several other states follow suit, although no state can legally prevent a corporation, founded elsewhere, from doing business within its boundaries. Pressure consequently mounts for greater federal antitrust legislation.

Harrison, Benjamin

(1833–1901)

President Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, on August 20, 1833, part of an

Benjamin Harrison (Library of Congress)

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illustrious American family. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was a famous War of 1812 general and president of the United States, while his great grandfather, Benjamin Harrison, fought in the Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence. After graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Harrison read law and two years later established a successful practice in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also developed an interest in Republican Party politics and began occupying minor posts at the state level. During the Civil War, Harrison helped raise the 70th Indiana Infantry, serving as its colonel, and rendered useful service in Tennessee and throughout the Georgia campaign. He retired from military service with a rank of brigadier general in 1865 and resumed his political activities back in Indiana. As a radical, he opposed both liberal Republicans and the Greenback Party, a stance that cost him the gubernatorial nomination in 1872. Harrison was

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Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland claims control over the entire Bering Sea region, principally to stop the slaughter of fur seals by Canadian hunters, and authorizes the seizure of vessels violating the area. Congress cites its 1867 treaty with Russia over ownership of the Pribilof Islands as the basis of its claim, but the claim remains unrecognized by international law. The British, in particular, regard this matter as a serious offense.

March 4 Politics: Benjamin Harrison is inaugurated as the 23rd president of the United States, with Levi P. Morton as his vice president.

March 5 Military: Redfield Procter is selected by President Benjamin Harrison to serve as his secretary of war. Politics: President Benjamin Harrison appoints James G. Blaine to serve as secretary of state, and wishes him to resume his previous policy of cultivating good relations with Latin American nations.

again the party nominee four years later and he lost the general election, but his efforts brought him to the attention of national party leadership. In 1880 he headed the Indiana delegation to the Republican nominating convention and ensured the selection of James A. Garfield for the presidency. Harrison subsequently declined a cabinet appointment, choosing instead to serve as U.S. senator from Indiana. There he proved himself a strong supporter of civil service reform, the Interstate Commerce Act, and Indian affairs, but he was not reelected in 1887. However, the following year he won the party’s nomination for the presidency and defeated incumbent Grover Cleveland in the Electoral College; he finished second in the popular vote. Harrison was something of a dull and dour figure personally and his tenure in office proved equally unimpressive. His greatest successes came in the field of foreign policy, largely through the talents of Secretary of State James G. Blaine, and include the first Pan-American Conference,

establishment of a tripartite protectorate in Samoa, and a Hawaiian annexation treaty. His most controversial interlude was in a near-declaration of war against Chile for the deaths of American sailors killed in a riot, which resulted in Chile’s payment of a $75,000 indemnity. Domestically, Harrison also embraced the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to rein in big business and the McKinley Tariff Act to increase protective rates, but he fumbled badly by signing the politically motivated Sherman Silver Purchase Act, and for allowing the Veteran’s Bureau to engage in notorious expenditures that drained the treasury. By 1892 Harrison had alienated the public, along with many in his own party, and he was defeated by Cleveland in the general election. Harrison appeared relieved to depart Washington, D.C., and he returned to Indianapolis to practice law. He was again extremely successful and at one point the nation of Venezuela hired him as counsel in their dispute with Great Britain, 1898–99. He died in Indianapolis on March 13, 1901, sincere but undistinguished.

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March 6 Naval: In Washington, D.C., former Union army general Benjamin F. Tracy becomes the 32nd secretary of the navy.

March 14 Diplomacy: To anticipate a possible clash with Great Britain and Germany over control of the Pacific island of Samoa, President Benjamin Harrison sends three American representatives to the Berlin Conference on Samoa.

March 15–16 Diplomacy: The navies of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany deploy several warships in the vicinity of Samoa, then in the grips of a civil war. Hostility between the various ships seems imminent when most are sunk by a sudden typhoon. The gunboat USS Nipsic, the screw steamer Trenton, and the screw sloop Vandalia are lost, along with 49 crew members.

March 18 Business: In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Philip Best Company, a local brewery, is reorganized by former German immigrant Frederick Pabst and renamed the Pabst Brewery Company.

April 22 Settlement: The government opens land in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to settlement by white settlers and a celebrated race by 50,000 homesteaders—the Oklahoma Land Rush—takes place to claim it. Previously, the government paid $4 million to the tribes for two million acres of scrubby, arid land, and the settlements of Guthrie and Oklahoma City rapidly take shape. Many prospective inhabitants have sneaked into the area sooner than permitted by law, thereby giving rise to the nickname “Sooners.”

April 29–June 14 Diplomacy: The governments of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany agree in Berlin to back King Malietoa’s claim to the throne of Samoa, thereby reducing tension between the three competing nations. Joint supervision and administration of the islands is also allowed for. General: The centennial of George Washington’s inauguration takes place in New York City amidst large-scale festivities involving President Benjamin Harrison and literally thousands of participants. Stanford White creates an exquisite stone arch, which still stands today in Washington Square, astride the campus of New York University.

May 1 Business: In Atlanta, Georgia, Asa Briggs Candler acquires rights to the name “Coca Cola” from its previous owner, John Stith Pemberton, and continues marketing the popular soft drink.

May 9 Sports: The 15th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Spokane with a time of two minutes, 34 seconds—a record run.

May 10 Sports: The 17th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Buddhist, who runs the course in two minutes, 17 seconds.

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May 13 Politics: A little-known New York politician named Theodore Roosevelt is appointed civil service commissioner by President Benjamin Harrison.

May 31 General: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a center for the steel-making industry, is destroyed when the dam holding back rain-swelled Conemaugh Lake, 18 miles distant, breaks. The raging floodwaters—towering 40 feet high—completely level the town eight minutes later, killing 5,000 people and inflicting $10 million in damages. The nation responds by sending $3 million in relief aid and supplies to the survivors.

June Societal: Millionaire Andrew Carnegie publishes his essay “Gospel of Wealth” in the North American Review, and promulgates the first systematic theory of American philanthropy. In it he not only defends capitalism as the best way of securing a fortune, but also insists that business should donate part of its wealth to redress the system’s inherent inequities.

June 5 Sports: Amateur boxer James J. Corbett defeats pro boxer Joe Choynski in 27 rounds with a left hook—allegedly after breaking two knuckles.

June 6 General: A fire in Seattle, Washington, destroys 64 acres of the downtown business district.

June 10 Societal: The United Confederate Veterans is founded at New Orleans, Louisiana, with former general John B. Gordon, presently governor of Georgia, as its first president.

June 13 Sports: The 23rd annual Belmont Stakes is won by Eric with a time of two minutes, 47 seconds.

June 14 Diplomacy: In Berlin, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany formalize a tripartite protectorate (The General Act of Berlin) over the kingdom of Samoa to forestall the outbreak of any violence among them. Under its terms King Malietoa is restored to power, assisted by a council consisting of members from each of the three nations. This is the first time in American history that America is jointly governing an overseas domain.

June 21 Technology: The Maxim machine gun, designed by American-born inventor Hiram Maxim, is successfully demonstrated at Annapolis, Maryland. This selfloading , continuous-fire device has a cyclic rate of 750 rounds a minute and ushers in a new age of modern firepower.

July 8 Business: The Wall Street firm of Dow Jones & Company begins publishing a four-page business newspaper called the Wall Street Journal, to provide coverage

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1414â•… Chronology of American History for both business and national news. It will evolve into a business publication of paramount influence and authority.

July 12 Music: Eu�ro�pe�an recognition of American composers manifests at the Paris Exposition with per�for�mances of works by Edward MacDowell and other noted composers.

July 23 Sports: Boxer John L. Sullivan beats Jake Kilrain after 75 rounds in Richburg, Mississippi, winning a $20,000 prize and the title of world champion. This will be the last contest held in the United States employing the London Rules for Â�bare-­knuckle brawling, as subsequent fights employ the Marquis of Queensberry rules requiring gloves.

July 30 Naval: A detachment of U.S. Marines from the gunboat USS Adams comes ashore at Honolulu, Hawaii, during a period of civil unrest to protect the Ameri-­ can legation stationed there.

August 3 Indian: The recently defeated Sioux nation is forced to cede 11 million acres of land in Dakota Territory to the United States.

September 9 Arts: Bronson Crocker Howard’s play Shenandoah, concerning conflicting loy-­ alties during the Civil War, successfully opens at the Star Theater in New York City.

October Civil: An African American wins his case against the Bijou Theater in Milwau-­ kee, Wisconsin, after it refused to seat him.

October 2 Diplomacy: Washington, D.C., hosts the First International Conference of Amer-­ ican States and establishes the International Bureau of American Republics to promote a unified customs Â�union. EighÂ�teen Latin American countries, except for the Dominican Republic, are in attendance. Ironically, it is presided over by newly reappointed secretary of state James G. Blaine, who first conceived the idea in 1881 and seeks hemispheric relations based on “friendship, not force.” A Pan-American Â�Union is formed to encourage greater cooperation among the neighbors.

October 7 Education: Seth Low is appointed president of Columbia University in New York City; his 12-­year tenure will be marked by the transformation of that institu-­ tion from a small college to a vibrant university.

November 2 Settlement: North and South Dakota join the American Â�Union as Â�full-­fledged states, with capitals at Bismarck and Pierre, respectively.

November 8 Settlement: Montana breaks off from Oregon Territory and gains admission to the �Union as a state, with its capital at Helena.

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November 11 Religion: The first congress of Roman Catholic laity in America gathers at Baltimore, Maryland. Settlement: The Washington Territory joins the Union as the 42nd state, with its capital at Olympia.

November 14 Journalism: Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane), a daring female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, begins an ambitious voyage around the world to beat French writer Jules Verne’s fictional 80-day voyage by his protagonist Phileas Fogg.

November 26 General: In Lynn, Massachusetts, 80 acres of the downtown business district is gutted by a raging fire that started in the engine room of a shoe factory.

November 30 Education: The Wisconsin legislature passes a law requiring mandatory English lessons for all schoolchildren aged seven to 14 years of age to ensure the assimilation of great numbers of German and Polish immigrant students.

December Labor: Members of farm organizations like the Northern Alliance and the Southern Alliance meet in St. Louis, Missouri, with the Knights of Labor to discuss a platform of proposals. These include free coinage of silver, the elimination of national banks, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, and land ownership restricted to American citizens. In many respects the endeavor anticipates what ultimately emerges as the Populist movement of the following decade.

December 2 Politics: The 51st Congress assembles with the Republicans in control of both houses, and for the first time since 1875.

December 6 General: Former Confederate president Jefferson Davis dies in New Orleans, widely mourned by his former compatriots and a defiant symbol of the “Lost Cause.” To the bitter end Davis refused to have his citizenship restored.

December 14 Societal: The American Academy of Political and Social Science begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marking a continuing trend in the professional specialization of various disciplines. This year they are joined by the American Physical Association and the American Dialect Society.

1890 Agriculture: Macadamia nuts are imported from Australia by E. W. Jordan for harvesting in Hawaii. Architecture: Designer Louis H. Sullivan completes the Chicago Auditorium in Chicago, Illinois, regarded as one of the greatest structures of its kind in the world. Arts: Victor Herbert and Reginald De Koven become the most celebrated exponents of light comic operas then in vogue on the American stage, more proof of the growing sophistication of popular taste in the “Gilded Age.”

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Business: The National Carbon Company of New York City invents and markets the first commercial dry cell battery, which it christens Ever Ready. Conservation: Congress acts to found Sequoia and Yosemite national parks to protect endangered plants and wilderness from hunters and timber interests. Literature: A collection of poems by the late Emily Dickinson is published posthumously by her sister, although the publisher, nervous about public reaction, alters many compositions. The work is not well received by critics. Medical: William James, an avid practitioner of the unique American philosophy of pragmatism, pens the memorable book Principles of Psychology, which forever alters that discipline into a laboratory science. Music: Pioneering musician Charles Buddy Bolden forms one of the earliest jazz bands in New Orleans, Louisiana; it will serve as a training ground for several early jazz devotees. Population: The latest census reveals a population of nearly 63 million people, with the population center 20 miles east of Columbus, Indiana. Publishing: John Nicolay and John M. Hay, former secretaries under President Abraham Lincoln, publish their 10-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A History; it quickly becomes a standard biography. John W. Burgess puts forth a startling new interpretation of law and governance in his Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law. In it he calls for historic and legal analysis of social and political institutions at the expense of heretofore unquestioned precepts of natural law. New York City journalist Jacob A. Riis pens a touching story of urban slums and the misery they generate in his How the Other Half Lives, which stimulates reform efforts in terms of improved building codes and labor conditions. The book singularly impresses one rising politician, Theodore Roosevelt. The English novel Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is published at the behest of the American Humane Society. Religion: The rising tide of Social Gospel, or church socialism, is reflected in the book Burning Questions by Reverend Washington Gladden. He, like many contemporaries, evinces concern for those caught up in the hardships of rapid industrialization and seeks better working conditions and pay for laborers. The new Ghost Dance religion continues spreading rapidly among the dispirited Plains Indians, beset by crop failures, disease, and confinement upon reservations. Whites in the region fear that these new beliefs will incite Native Americans into warring against them. Societal: In social circles the faster two-step form of dancing replaces more traditional styles like the polka, the gallop, and the reel. William “Buffalo Bill” Cody imports 15 horsemen from Georgia (Russia) to ride in his Wild West Show; Homes of the poorer classes, Chattanooga, these are the first Georgians to enter the country. Tennessee (Library of Congress)

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Sports: The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championship is won by Oliver C. Campbell and Ellen C. Roosevelt in their respective divisions. Technology: Charles B. King receives the first patent for his pneumatic hammer. The introduction of cyanide into the gold extraction process allows production of that valuable metal to be doubled within eight years. This success has political consequences, for it undermines the argument for the free coinage of silver.

January Military: Congress authorizes the addition of a pound of vegetables to the daily diet of all soldiers, although it falls upon the secretary of war to determine the exact proportions the new ration will assume.

January 7 Naval: The cruiser USS Baltimore under Captain Winfield Scott Schley becomes the first American naval vessel rigged as a mine layer.

January 23 Labor: In Columbus, Ohio, the National Federation and the Knights of America and the World merge to found a new organization, the United Mine Workers (UMW). For the time being they enjoy cordial relations with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Naval: The USS Cushing, constructed and launched at Newport, Rhode Island, becomes the first torpedo boat in American naval history. Due to the experimental nature of the craft, it is assigned to work with the so-called Squadron of Evolution for experimental work. Transportation: A train from the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad sets a speed record of 78.1 miles per hour on a run from La Junta, Colorado, to Chicago, Illinois.

January 25 Journalism: Daring female reporter Nellie Bly of the New York World completes her around the world voyage by ship and train in only 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes. Labor: The American Federation of Labor is formed from various remnants of the Knights of Labor and other groups to improve the oftentimes scandalously poor working conditions in the coal mining industry.

January 31 Business: James Buchanan Duke founds the American Tobacco Company, which is later expanded into a monopoly for plug tobacco and snuff. He soon gains renown as the undisputed “King of tobacco” for his ability to virtually dictate the price of the crop, industry-wide.

February 4 Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Samoan Treaty in concert with Great Britain and Germany. This places the island chain under joint control of the three powers, thereby making the U.S. Navy coaling station on Pago Pago more secure.

February 8 Indian: The commissioner of Indian affairs, in concert with the General Allotment Act of 1887, directs all Indian schools to celebrate Indian Citizenship Day.

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1418  Chronology of American History This event is intended to extol the virtues of U.S. citizenship, along with those of private property, in a continuing attempt to assimilate Native Americans.

February 10 Settlement: The government opens up to settlement 11 million acres of land acquired from the Sioux in 1889.

February 14 Politics: Speaker of the Â�House Thomas B. Reed sets a preÂ�ceÂ�dent by counting only those members present, as opposed to those answering a roll call, to circum-­ vent absenteeism or silence as a means of preventing a quorum.

February 18 Women: Various women’s suffrage groups merge to form the National Woman’s Suffrage Association under Elizabeth Cady Stanton; women can now vote and hold office in several western states, but much work remains to be done in pro-­ moting equality in this vital demoÂ�cratic function.

February 24 General: The Â�House of Representatives designates Chicago as the site for the World’s Columbian Exposition, to be held in honor of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.

March 3 Civil: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Louisville, New Orleans, and Texas Railway v. Mississippi, ruling that states can provide separate facilities and accommodations for white and black passengers. Moreover, it rules this require-­ ment does not infringe upon interstate commerce.

March 10 Education: Senator Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire prevails on the Senate to pass the Â�so-­called Blair Education Bill, which would earmark $120 million to the states for the eradication of illiteracy. However, the meaÂ�sure will die in the Â�House.

March 24 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad v. Minnesota, ruling that states cannot set fees so as to deny a “reasonable profit,” which is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, “persons” in this instance are railroad corporations and the decision sets back the course of social justice by a deÂ�cade.

April 14 Diplomacy: Nations attending the Pan-American conference in Washington, D.C., pass a resolution creating the Pan-American Â�Union. This is an outgrowth of growing poÂ�litiÂ�cal solidarity among Latin American nations, and the Â�union prom-­ ises to offer technical information and other serÂ�vices to all member nations.

April 23 Naval: The USS Cushing is commissioned into active serÂ�vice as the navy’s first torpedo boat.

April 28 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Leisy v. Hardin, ruling that state laws forbidding liquor from passing their boundaries are unconstitutional. This is another blow against state sovereignty.

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May Publishing: Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan publishes his seminal work, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783, which will be translated into several languages and become a de facto policy for several of the world’s naval establishments. This classic analysis of naval power holds that nations cannot

Mahan, Alfred Thayer (1840–1914) Naval officer, author Alfred Thayer Mahan was born in West Point, New York, on September 27, 1840, the son of an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy. He attended Columbia University for two years before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, from which he graduated second in his class in 1859. Over the next four decades he served conscientiously in a variety of naval capacities, both on sea and ashore. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 he was assigned to the blockading squadron of Admiral John A. D. Dahlgren, was retained in the peacetime establishment after 1865, and in 1883 he published his first book, The Gulf and Inland Waters, as part of a Civil War history. Mahan rose to captain in 1885, by which time he enjoyed a reputation for sterling scholarship, so the following year he was invited to deliver a series of lectures to students at the U.S. Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. His ideas were well received and in 1889 he was made the second president of the college. These activities spurred him to research the strategic and historical nuances of naval power, and in 1890 he published his seminal text, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783. Here Mahan held that all great nations and empires must possess adequate naval forces to ensure their safety and continuing viability. Coming as it did on the eve of the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of overseas territory, his thesis was widely embraced and helped justify

new naval construction programs. Moreover, Mahan’s treatise became an immediate best-seller overseas, was translated into several languages, and became standard reading for British, German, and Japanese naval officers. It also cemented his reputation as America’s leading naval theorist and, after being widely endorsed by politicians such as Theodore Roosevelt, provided political impetus for continuing naval rearmament. In 1892 Mahan followed up his initial success by writing The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, also regarded as a classic examination of naval strategy. That year he again served as president of the War College, and in 1893 he captained the cruiser USS Chicago in a goodwill tour of European waters. In this capacity he was highly feted by the British government and received honorary degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford. Mahan finally retired from active duty in 1896 but lent his expertise to a naval strategy board throughout the SpanishAmerican War. Afterward he served on the U.S. delegation to the peace conference at The Hague in 1899 and in 1902 crowned his success by being elected president of the American Historical Association in Washington, D.C. Mahan died there on December 1, 1914, among the most influential military writers in history. His various publications articulated the foundations of strategy that influenced naval affairs throughout the 20th century.

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Chronology of American History become world powers without command of the sea lanes, and his precepts become fashionable in naval circles around the globe. It will force political and military thinkers in the United States to reevaluate their traditional isolationism in an increasingly imperial age.

May 1 Business: The Bank of America fails in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, precipitating the collapse of several nearby financial institutions and the American Life Insurance Company.

May 2 Settlement: Congress establishes the Oklahoma Territory from land previously reserved for the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations. This is the final piece of contiguous land created in the United States proper or “lower 48.”

May 14 Sports: The 16th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Riley with a time of two minutes, 45 seconds.

May 19 Arts: Actor and matinee idol Richard Mansfield stars in a production of Beau Brummel by William Clyde Fitch. Fitch, who specializes in social dramas, wrote the play specifically for Mansfield and it will proves to be a hit in both America and Europe.

May 24 Aviation: George Francis Train, flying in a balloon, beats reporter Nellie Bly’s record by traveling around the world in 67 days, 13 hours, three minutes, and three seconds.

May 30 Architecture: In New York, the cornerstone of Stanford White’s all-marble Washington Memorial Arch is laid.

June 9 Arts: Composer Reginald de Koven’s comic operetta Robin Hood successfully debuts in Chicago, and will run for 3,000 consecutive performances.

June 10 Sports: The 18th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Montague, who runs the course in two minutes, 36 seconds. The 24th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Burlington, with a time of two minutes, seven seconds.

June 16 Military: To further promote professionalism, Congress modifies the promotion system for all officers under the grade of brigadier general. Officers can now be transferred within a given branch with loss of rank or seniority. Additionally, regimental officers below the rank of major are now subject to examination to ensure minimum levels of competence.

June 27 Political: President Benjamin Harrison appoints James Tanner, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, as commissioner of pensions. “God help

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the surplus!” he declares after taking his oath of office. Under Tanner’s aegis the number of pensioners rises from 676,000 to 970,000 and includes men who served a minimum of 90 days, as well as widows and orphans, and the stipend paid out mushrooms from $90 million to $150 million annually.

June 29 Politics: The Federal Elections Bill, also known as the Force Bill of 1890, is sponsored by Henry Cabot Lodge. This mandates federal supervision of federal elections to ensure that African-American voting rights are not infringed upon. It passes in the House of Representatives but fails to gain traction in the Senate.

June 30 Naval: Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy issues his first annual report and calls for the construction of no less than 20 armored battleships to defend the nation’s home waters.

July 2 Business: Ohio senator John Sherman introduces the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, one of the most significant pieces of reform legislation since the Civil War. It intends to curb the excesses of corporations, trusts, and other economic combines that have been running amok and without meaningful regulation for the past two decades. The precedent is set, but the act itself is rather ambiguously worded, fails to establish precisely what a trust is in legal parlance, and will fail to halt the growth of monopolies and combines. Civil: The House of Representatives passes a Force Bill mandating federal supervision of national elections to protect the rights of African Americans. However, its failure in the Senate seems to signal to southerners that civil rights are a fair target for violence and discrimination. Diplomacy: The United States becomes a signatory to the International Act for the Suppression of African Slave Trade; the Senate will grant its approval in 1892.

July 3 Settlement: Idaho becomes the 43rd state in the Union, with its capital at Boise.

July 10 Women: Wyoming, the 44th state, is also the first to enter the Union with women’s suffrage already in play. Legislators insisted that this provision of the territorial constitution be kept intact should statehood be granted.

July 13 General: A tornado descends upon Lake Pepin, Minnesota, killing nearly 100 people.

July 14 Business: The Sherman Silver Purchase Act is passed by Congress. It supplants the Bland Allison Act of 1878 by calling for the purchase of 4.5 million ounces of silver per month. The treasury then issues legal tender notes against that amount, which are redeemable at face value. Overall the act will deplete the U.S. gold reserve and weaken confidence in the national currency.

July 26 General: A tornado strikes the tenement district of Lawrence, Massachusetts, killing eight and injuring 28 in only three minutes.

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July 30 Naval: Political violence in Buenos Aires, Argentina, causes the steamer USS Tallapoosa to land U.S. Marines to protect the American legation there.

August 6 Crime: William Kemmler becomes the first man electrocuted for murder at Auburn Prison, New York, although it takes several charges to finally kill him.

August 8 Business: Congress counters the pro-business stance of the U.S. Supreme Court by passing the Original Package Act. This negates the Leisy v. Hardin decision by upholding the right of states to regulate merchandise coming in from other states. Thus dry states like Kansas are enabled to forbid the sale of out-of-state liquor within their own boundaries. Labor: The Knights of Labor flexes its muscles by calling for a strike on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad; the action lasts six weeks and resolves nothing. Naval: The cruiser USS Baltimore is detailed to carry the body of Swedish naval engineer John Ericsson, father of the famous Civil War ironclad Monitor, back to his homeland for burial.

August 30 Business: Congress authorizes the Department of Agriculture to inspect shipments of pork destined for foreign markets. Recent shipments of tainted pork to Europe have caused an uproar and resulted in strict import restrictions.

September 3 Politics: The Single Tax National League is founded at Cooper Square, New York, and calls for the imposition of a single tax on all real estate. The league bases its precepts on the writings of economist Henry George, author of the radical study Progress and Poverty (1879).

September 24 Politics: In Indianapolis, Indiana, various farmers’ groups and Greenbackers coalesce into a new organization, the People’s Party. As a group they seek expanded silver coinage to help farm mortgage debt, along with lower tariffs and better regulation of banks and railroads.

September 25 Conservation: Congress creates Yosemite Park, California, to prevent the further depletion of trees and wildlife in the area.

September 29 Business: Congress mandates that all unused railroad land be forfeited by the companies owning the land; this is undertaken to stimulate new construction by the industry.

October Religion: Daniel F. Royer, agent of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, is worried about Lakota embrace of the new Ghost Dance religion, fearing that it might spark an uprising. He therefore urges the government to dispatch U.S. Army troops to the reservation to maintain order.

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October 1 Business: The McKinley Tariff Act passes Congress, raising protectionist duties to their highest-ever rate—49.5 percent. However, it does include provisions for tariff reciprocity with other nations for the first time. Among the items enumerated is opium, taxed at $10 a pound if imported for medicinal purposes. Military: Weather Ser vice Activities are transferred by Congress from the U.S. Army Signal Corps to the Department of Agriculture to reduce military expenditures. Science: Congress creates the Weather Bureau under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture. This relieves the Army Signal Corps of its weather-gathering activities.

October 6 Religion: The Mormon Church formally disavows the practice of polygamy.

November 1 Civil: The Mississippi constitution is amended to include a law predicating suffrage on voter ability to understand specific parts of that document. It is adopted to preclude poorly educated African Americans from voting. This act signals the rise of “Jim Crow” laws elsewhere.

November 4 Politics: The new Southern Alliance elects Benjamin Tillman governor of South Carolina; this is the first victory over the entrenched power of the aristocratic Bourbon Democrats, although the newcomers are just as strident against African Americans as their predecessors. The Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives; their victory is seen as a backlash against the high tariffs recently adopted. The Republicans retain solid control of the Senate.

November 17 Indian: Newly appointed Indian agents, perceiving the outbreak of the socalled Ghost Dance religion within the Sioux nation, interpret this as a potential uprising. Upon their instigation, General Nelson A. Miles will send army troops and Apache Indian police in their employ onto the Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota, to restore order. Ultimately, 100 troopers of the 8th U.S. Cavalry will arrive.

November 29 Sports: The first Army-Navy football game is played at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, and navy wins the “battle” decisively, 24 to 0. Thereafter the game—and its concomitant rivalry—will become an annual fixture in the sporting world.

December 1 Politics: A meeting between members of the Southern Alliance, the Farmers’ Mutual Benefit Association, and the Colored Farmers Alliance meets briefly in Ocala, Florida, to form a possible alliance. However, they will prove unable to transcend racial animus and their efforts come to naught. They also reject overtures from the Knights of Labor to form a political party.

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December 15 Indian: Apache tribal police, ordered by Standing Rock Reservation agent James McLaughlin to arrest Sitting Bull, end up shooting him and engaging in a firefight with enraged tribesmen; 13 Native Americans are killed in the exchange. Chief Big Foot then escapes from the reservation with his band and makes for the Pine Ridge Agency to ask Red Cloud for protection. This marks the outbreak of the “Ghost Dance War,” the final conflict between the U.S. Army and the Plains Indians.

December 28 Military: A detachment of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Major Samuel Whiteside overtakes Big Foot’s fleeing band and orders them to the cavalry camp at Wounded Knee. Big Foot, ill with pneumonia, peacefully submits, along with his followers; Whiteside kindly dispatches his surgeon to tend to the ailing chief, and also issues rations to the hungry Indians.

December 29 Military: Ongoing tensions between the Lakota Sioux and the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Colonel James W. Forsyth explode at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. Forsyth arrives with the balance of the regiment and begins disarming and detaining several Indian leaders associated with the Ghost Dance religion, particularly the Miniconjou Sioux chief, Big Foot, but the tribesmen refuse to give them up. Fighting breaks out when angry braves fire upon the soldiers, who then return fire into the crowd. A one-sided slaughter ensues for the Native Americans, with 84 men (including Big Foot), 44 women, and 18 children slain and a further 51 wounded. American losses are 19 dead and 33 wounded. This is the final, bloody act in the long war against the Plains Indians and elicits an outpouring of public sympathy for their plight.

December 30 Military: Hostile Sioux ambush a patrol of the 7th U.S. Cavalry at White Clay Creek, Montana, forcing a detachment of the 9th U.S. Cavalry to march to its relief. General Nelson A. Miles begins deploying 3,500 men around the Pine Ridge Reservation to crush the “rebellion.”

1891 Architecture: Daniel H. Burnham and John W. Root, disciples of the Romanesque revivalist Henry Hobson Richardson, design and construct the Masonic Temple in Chicago, Illinois. Towering 20 stories high, it will be for a brief time the tallest building in the United States. Arts: Edwin Booth, a force of nature in terms of the stage, closes his celebrated four-decade acting career with a final performance in Hamlet. Thirteen-year-old George M. Cohan makes his stage debut in Peck’s Bad Boy. Augustus Saint-Gaudens completes a monumental tribute to the late Mrs. Henry Adams in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C., entitled Grief. Business: The American Sugar Refining Company is created under a New Jersey charter by Henry O. Havemeyer. He has relocated here after New York antitrust laws broke it up.

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Photograph of a Sioux village taken in 1890, one month before the events at Wounded Knee (Library of Congress) Crime: Congress orders construction of the first federal penitentiaries at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Atlanta, Georgia, and McNeil’s Island, Puget Sound, Washington. These constitute the government’s first non-military prisons. Education: John D. Rockefeller donates the first payment of $35 million to found the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Throop Polytechnic Institute (California Institute of Technology) is founded in Pasadena, California. Indian: In an attempt to assist the Inuit Indians of Alaska, Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson introduces the practice of herding reindeer imported from Siberia. The natives are taught how to care for the animals by members of the Sami people (Lapp), recruited in Norway for that reason. Congress passes the Act for the Relief of Mission Indians, whereby 32 small reservations are established throughout southern California. Literature: Ambrose Bierce, a San Francisco journalist subsequently noted for his fascination with the supernatural, debuts in the literary world with his Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. Sophia Alice Callahan becomes the first Native American woman author by publishing her novel A Child of the Forest, which concerns life among the Creek Indians in the Muskogee Indian Reservation (Oklahoma). Aging sage Walt Whitman publishes his final collection of poetry, Goodbye, My Fancy.

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Chronology of American History Military: Lieutenant John J. Pershing is assigned as professor of military science and tactics at the University of Nebraska, while also taking classes toward a law degree. Religion: New Testament scholar Orello Cone publishes his Gospel Criticism and Historical Christianity, which establishes new parameters for religious historiography.

Pershing, John J. (1860–1948) General John Joseph Pershing was born in Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860, a son of farmers. In 1882 he gained admission to the U.S. Military Academy and graduated four years later as cadet captain. Pershing subsequently served with the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and participated in military actions against the Apache under Geronimo and the Sioux under Sitting Bull before serving as instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska, 1891–95. After taking his law degree there, Pershing returned to West Point in 1897–98 as instructor of tactics and also fought in the Spanish-American War as a captain. In this capacity he befriended Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and subsequently served in the Philippine campaign against Moro rebels. Pershing enjoyed considerable success there and was personally congratulated by President Roosevelt, who appointed him military attaché to Tokyo during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. Roosevelt then took the unprecedented step of promoting Pershing to brigadier general, over the heads of 862 officers enjoying more seniority. He then returned to the Philippines and finally crushed all resistance by 1913 before coming home to serve along the troubled U. S.-Mexican border. In 1916, following the guerrilla attacks in New Mexico by rebel forces of Pancho Villa, Pershing commanded a punitive expedition into Mexico to hunt down the elusive raider. His quest was aided by America’s first use of military aircraft, but the campaign ended

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anticlimactically a year later without capturing Villa. Still, his capable performance in this difficult task enhanced his reputation as an efficient planner and organizer. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Pershing commander of the newly raised American Expeditionary Force (AEF), and he arrived in France ahead of his troops to begin planning and training operations. As American numbers swelled he received temporary promotion to four-star general in October 1917, which gave him greater leverage when dealing with Allied senior commanders. Specifically, Pershing refused to allow the AEF to be broken up and distributed as reinforcements for the war-weary French and British armies and he determined to keep his army a unified American force. The Doughboys were finally committed to combat in the spring of 1918 to blunt a determined German offensive, and then assumed offensive operations at St. Mihiel and MeuseArgonne, slowly driving the enemy before them. At war’s end Pershing returned home a national hero and received the rank of general of the army, a distinction held only by George Washington in 1799. He then served as army chief of staff until 1924, although his rank required him to remain on active duty for the remainder of his life. Pershing’s book, My Experiences in the World War, also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931. He died in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 1948, among the foremost generals of his time.

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Congregationalist minister Washington Gladden publishes his Who Wrote the Bible, an attempt to bridge the gap between new Bible interpreters and those possessing more orthodox views. It will subsequently serve as a standard text for religious instruction at the YMCA. Science: Student astronomer George L. Hale of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology takes the first photographs of the sun with a specialized device called a spectroheliograph. He subsequently serves as professor of astrophysics at the University of Chicago and director of the Mount Palomar observatory. Sports: Yale University wins the national college football championship with 13 wins, no losses, and no ties. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championship is won by Oliver S. Campbell and Mabel E. Cahil, in their respective divisions. Boston wins the National League baseball championship with 87 wins, 51 losses. However, no interleague playoff is held as the American Association disbands following a disappointing season. Technology: In Chicago, Illinois, Whitcomb L. Judson receives a patent for a contraption he calls the “zipper.” He envisions that one day it will replace all the buttons on clothing.

January 1 Indian: Army burial crews inter the frozen corpses of 146 men, women, and children killed at the Wounded Knee Massacre. A further 300 were also wounded and are presently in the care of friends and relatives on the reservation.

January 15 Indian: U.S. Army troops under General Nelson A. Miles surround the Pine Ridge Reservation and demand the surrender of Chief Kicking Bear, a Ghost Dance advocate, and 5,000 of his tribesmen. The chief, mindful of the slaughter at Wounded Knee, capitulates peacefully in the last formal surrender of the Plains Indian Wars. Four hundred years of internecine conflict between whites and Native Americans draws to an end.

January 20 Politics: King Kalakaua of Hawaii dies suddenly in San Francisco, California.

January 29 Politics: Upon the death of King Kalakaua, his sister, Princess Liliuokalani, ascends the Hawaiian throne to succeed him. Fluent in English and decidedly outspoken, she opposes America’s continuing presence in the islands and promotes “Hawaii for the Hawaiians.”

January 31 Indian: Affairs at the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, fall into the hands of agents with more sympathetic views toward Native Americans and the final bout of hostility fades.

February Military: Congress passes a law requiring army officers to retire at 64 years of age.

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February 28 Indian: Congress amends the General Allotment Act, reducing the acreage granted to individual Indian families to 80 acres. Also, the allotments are now eligible to be leased to non-Indians by the rightful owners.

March 1 Law: In 1881 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal income tax as constitutional based on the fact that it falls outside the usual interpretation of a “direct tax” since it is not apportioned among states in proportion to their population. That said, they also ordered the amounts collected returned to the states, which occurs this day. Military: The War Department, eager to deflect Native-American attention from warlike preparations, authorizes the recruitment of 26 companies of Indian scouts—one per each regiment in the army.

March 3 Business: Congress passes an updated copyright act for the protection of authors from pirate publishers. However, many nations, including Great Britain, will still refuse to recognize international copyright agreements. Conservation: Congress, sensitive to public pressure, repeals the Timber Culture Act of 1873 and supplants it with the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, which sets aside 21 million acres of public land as 13 national forest reserves. These will become national forests in 1907. Law: Congress authorizes creation of the Circuit Court of Appeals to relieve the Supreme Court of some appellate jurisdiction. The system initially consists of 11 districts, each with three to 15 circuit judgeships. Naval: The office of assistant secretary of the navy is reactivated and James Russell Soley, a former Naval Academy professor, is tapped to fill it. Societal: Congress, faced with an economic depression and the lack of frontier land, creates the superintendent of immigration to better administer the process. Over 500,000 new citizens will be added this year alone and 3.7 million will arrive over the next decade.

March 4 Law: Congress passes the International Copyright Act, which extends reciprocal copyright protection to authors from Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. It will subsequently serve as a template for expanding protection toward intellectual property around the globe.

March 5 Military: In Washington, D.C., Stephen B. Elkins gains appointment as the new secretary of war.

March 9 Naval: The army adjutant general issues Order No. 28, authorizing recruitment of eight troops of Native American cavalry and 19 companies of Indian infantry. Tribes such as the Crow and former enemies like the Sioux are all readily sought.

March 14 Crime: A jury indicts 11 Sicilian immigrants for the murder of an Irish chief of police in New Orleans, and insinuates they are part of an underground “Mafia” gang. However, those implicated—including three Italian nationals—are murdered in jail by a mob and the Italian consulate will demand compensation.

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March 31 Diplomacy: The Italian government, enraged by the murder of 11 of its citizens in New Orleans, demands compensation, but when Secretary of State James G. Blaine refuses, Italy recalls minister Francesco Fava from Washington, D.C. Italy then withholds its diplomatic representative for the next 12 months in protest.

April 4 Arts: Noted actor Edwin Booth faces his final curtain call while performing in the title role of Hamlet at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

April 7 Labor: Nebraska is the first state to pass laws mandating an eight-hour work day.

April 13 Indian: President Benjamin Harrison, in an attempt to cure the endemic corruption associated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, mandates that all prospective employees be subject to civil service examinations.

A cartoon criticizing the corruption of the Office of Indian Affairs (Library of Congress)

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April 14 Politics: President Benjamin Harrison begins a month-long tour of the South and West.

May 5 Music: The Music Hall on 57th Street, New York City, opens with a series of Rus sian compositions conducted by the noted composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Because the building was largely financed by financier Andrew Carnegie, it will be renamed Carnegie Hall in 1898 and house the New York Philharmonic.

May 13 Sports: Kingman, ridden by African-American jockey Isaac Murphy, wins the Kentucky Derby; for Murphy this is his third such triumph.

May 19 Education: William Marsh Rice founds the Rice Institute (Rice University) in Houston, Texas, although instruction does not commence until 1912. Politics: The farm-oriented Northwestern Alliance founds the Populist Party in Cincinnati, Ohio, and holds its first and very enthusiastic national convention. The platform includes government ownership of all railroads, free coinage of silver, an eight-hour working day, and a graduated income tax.

June Science: Dr. George Koening, while prospecting in Canon Diablo, Arizona, uncovers meteorite remains with diamonds in them.

June 10 Sports: The 25th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Foxford, who turns in a time of two minutes, eight seconds.

June 15 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain conclude a modus vivendi (a temporary agreement) whereby only 7,500 seals will be taken from the region of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. With this arrangement, the dangerous and provocative American practice of seizing Canadian vessels on the high seas ceases.

July 4 Naval: The warship USS Charleston seizes the Chilean rebel vessel Itata in the port of Iquique, Chile, after allegations that it violated American neutrality by purchasing arms at San Diego, California.

July 20 Labor: State troops are called in to help suppress a violent coal mine strike at Briceville, Tennessee. Thereafter, 200 convicts will be transferred from the jails to the pits to help break the strike.

August 19 Societal: President Benjamin Harrison attends festivities marking the Battle of Bennington, Vermont (1777), and joins numerous New England governors in dedicating a huge stone monument.

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August 24 Technology: Thomas A. Edison receives a patent for his new motion picture camera, or what he calls a kinetoscope, a hand-cranked device for viewing moving pictures through a peep hole in a box.

August 28 Diplomacy: Much to the disgust of Chilean revolutionaries, the American minister in Valparaíso grants shelter to members of the recently overthrown regime of President José Manuel Balmaceda. Popular resentment begins brewing against the United States. Naval: U.S. Marines from the cruisers USS Baltimore and San Francisco are landed at Valparaíso, Chile, to protect the U.S. consulate during an ongoing civil war. Politics: President Benjamin Harrison visits Salt Lake City, Utah, where he addresses the Mormon community on the virtues of monogamy.

September 9 Labor: African-American laborers in Arkansas and Georgia, seeking a wage increase to $1.00 per day, go on strike but to little avail.

September 22 Indian: An additional 900,000 acres of Indian land in Oklahoma are opened to settlement by the government. The region, owned by the Sauk, Fox, and Potawatomi nations, has been ceded to the United States, but through treaties rather less than scrupulous.

October 1 Education: Leland Stanford, Jr., University, opens its doors at Palo Alto, California; it is endowed in his son’s memory by millionaire railroad president Leland Stanford, Sr.

October 3 Military: New drill and modernized regulations are issued by the War Department for the infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

October 16 Diplomacy: War looms when two American sailors from the USS Baltimore under Captain William S. Schley are killed by a mob at the True Blue Saloon in Valparaíso, Chile, and 16 others are injured. The locals are apparently angered by the recent American seizure of a boat carrying arms for local rebels. Education: Thomas Jefferson Foster, editor of the Shenandoah Herald, opens the nation’s first correspondence school to teach miners the proper techniques of mine safety. It continues today as the International Correspondence School in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

October 18 Sports: William “Plugger Bill” Martin wins the first six-day international bike race at Madison Square Garden, New York, by grinding out 2,093.4 miles without collapsing from exhaustion, like the majority of contestants.

November 3 Politics: Former senator William McKinley, who lost his seat due to his hightariff stance, is elected governor of Ohio.

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November 9 Arts: Charles H. Hoyt’s play A Trip to Chinatown begins its celebrated run of 650 consecutive performances, the longest theater run to date.

December Sports: James Naismith invents the game of basketball at the School for Christian Workers at Springfield, Massachusetts. He does so to keep his students physically active throughout the winter.

December 7 Politics: The 52nd Congress assembles with Republicans in control of the Senate and Democrats in control of the House of Representatives. Many of the latter are openly sympathetic to the rising tide of “people’s movements” across the country.

December 9 Politics: President Benjamin Harrison, in his annual address to Congress, declares that Chilean police were involved in the recent attack upon American sailors in that nation and that an apology and reparations are required to end the crisis.

December 11 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., Chilean foreign minister Manual A. Matta takes out ads in local newspapers to claim that President Benjamin Harrison’s recent accusations against his country are patently false and that Chile will prevail. Tensions are quickly mounting between the two nations, particularly after one of the dead American sailors is laid in state at Independence Hall, Philadelphia.

December 29 Technology: Thomas A. Edison receives a patent for his new wireless telegraphy, which transmits signals through the air without the use of wires.

1892 Agriculture: The boll weevil, an agricultural pest originating from Central America, makes its unwelcome appearance in Texas by causing severe damage to cotton crops. However, it has the unintended consequence of forcing southern farmers to diversify their crops with long-term improvements in agriculture. Architecture: Budding architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs his first building, the Charnley House, in Chicago, Illinois, while working for the firm of Adler and Sullivan. Arts: With assistance from financier George W. Vanderbilt, the American Fine Arts Society is formed from the amalgamation of the Society of American Artists, the Arts Students’ League, and the Architectural League. Business: In New York, the Edison Electric Company of Thomas Edison and the rival Thomson-Houston Electric Company under George Westinghouse merge into a bigger entity, General Electric. Education: President William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago breaks new ground by introducing summer sessions for the academic school year. General: The Ferris wheel, carrying 40 passengers up to heights of 250 feet, is patented by its inventor, George W. G. Ferris.

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(1867–1959)

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin, where his mother reared him in the innovative kindergarten education techniques of Frederick Froebel and encouraged him to be an architect. In 1884 he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to study architecture but dropped out a year later, and in 1886 he apprenticed himself to Louis H. Sullivan in Chicago. Wright learned everything he could about designing buildings over the next five years and by 1893 he felt ready to strike out on his own. Even at the onset of his professional career, Wright embodied a completely different approach to his profession and declined to simply imitate contemporary neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He always strove to make buildings mesh with their environments, as well as designing accommodations for the people who inhabited them. Wright labeled his approach as “organic architecture.” In his first notable endeavor, the Frederick G. Robie House (Chicago, 1909), Wright encompassed what came to be known as the “Prairie Style,” a low-lying structure with simple straight lines, designed to blend in with the vast expanse of a western landscape. The design brought him international acclaim and by 1909 he had constructed three other prairie houses in Chicago, Highland Park, and River Forest, Illinois. His philosophy toward designing commercial buildings also pioneered the use of mechanical ventilation and steel furnishings, along with innovative,

robust construction. For example, Wright’s Imperial Hotel, constructed in Tokyo with a strengthened steel structure, was the only major building to survive the disastrous Kanto earthquake of 1923. Between 1909 and 1944 Wright enjoyed a productive “second period” in which he honed and perfected his “organic architecture” technique. The foremost example of this was his own home and studio, “Taliesin” (Welsh for “Shining Brow”), along with the Kaufmann House (1937) of Bear Run, Pennsylvania, the Johnson Wax Company Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, and the campus of Florida Southern University in Lakeland. But he reached his peak of productivity and creativity in the wake of World War II when commissions literally poured in. Among the noted buildings he designed were the Unitarian Church (1947), Madison, Wisconsin, the Beth Shalom Synagogue (1959), Elkin Park, Pennsylvania, and the revolutionary, six-story Guggenheim Art Museum in New York City, which he began in 1943 and finally finished in 1959. This is perhaps his best known and most celebrated effort, with its daring, spiral structure. Wright received a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1949, and he had designed around 600 distinct buildings by the time he died in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 9, 1959. For seven decades Wright pioneered dramatically innovative structures around the world, and did much to set the standards for contemporary architectural esthetics.

Indian: Guidelines for revising tribal courts are issued by the federal government. Henceforth, proscribed activities such as performing the sun dance, scalp dance, or war dance can be punished by courts of Indian offenses with punishment ranging up to 30 days’ imprisonment. Literature: Walt Whitman publishes the final edition of his seminal volume Leaves of Grass.

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Chronology of American History William Dean Howells pens The Quality of Mercy, which examines the relationship between economic life and crimes of individuals. Medical: Lieutenant Colonel George Miller Sternberg, an army doctor, publishes A Manual of Bacteriology, which is a seminal treatise in the prevention of infectious diseases. The rise of psychology as an independent discipline is abetted by creation of the American Psychological Association. The first college of osteopathy is founded at Kirksville, Missouri. Music: The cycling craze is aptly captured in the popular ditty Daisy Bell and its “bicycle built for two.” White musician Jack “Papa” Laine forms his Reliance Band, which gains renown for its ability to mimic the “hot” music of African Americans. This is most likely the origin of white Dixieland jazz. Popular composer Charles K. Harris enjoys great success and popularity with his song After the Ball Is Over, which plays repeatedly at the Chicago Exposition of 1893. Oscar Hammerstein opens his Manhattan Opera Company in New York City, where he gradually emerges as a force in musical productions in direct competition with the larger Metropolitan Opera Company. Publishing: Thomas Nelson Page’s The Old South proffers readers a vivid and sentimental glimpse of plantation life and days gone by. Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is printed in the United States for the first time and rapidly becomes one of the best-selling works of fiction. Vogue Magazine starts publishing in New York City. Religion: A bitter theological dispute unfolds when Charles A. Briggs, professor of theology at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, is tried and convicted of heresy for taking a liberal approach to biblical doctrine. Rather than discharge its distinguished scholar, the seminary sever its ties with the Presbyterian Church and becomes nondenominational. Science: From the Lick Observatory in California, astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard discovers a fifth satellite orbiting the planet Jupiter. Societal: Alcohol, long the bane of Native American communities, is formally banned by Congress through passage of the Intoxication in Indian Country Act. Henceforth, the sale or even transportation of liquor is forbidden in Indian territory. Sports: Yale University wins the college football championship with 13 wins, no losses, and no ties. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championships are won by Oliver S. Campbell and Mable Cahill in their respective divisions. Boston wins the National League baseball championship with 102 wins, 48 losses. Technology: Hungarian expatriate scientist Nikola Tesla unveils an electric motor capable of running efficiently on alternating current. In Baltimore, Maryland, William Painter perfects both the bottle cap and the capping machine with salubrious results for the soft drink industry.

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January 1 Societal: Ellis Island, New York Harbor, becomes the welcoming pad for millions of emigrants from around the world. Before it closes in 1954, more than 20 million individuals will pass through its facilities.

January 11 Diplomacy: The United States approves international agreements outlawing the African slave trade.

January 16 Business: The major silver mines at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, are closed down owing to escalating freight rates and diminishing silver prices.

January 21 Diplomacy: President Benjamin Harrison demands an apology for the Chilean foreign minister’s remarks that sparked a confrontation between American sailors in Valparaíso, Chile, and a local mob. Failure to do so will result in a break in diplomatic relations—and possibly war.

January 25 Diplomacy: President Benjamin Harrison, incensed by the recent attack on U.S. sailors by a Chilean mob, considers a declaration of war against that nation for an attack on the uniform and flag of the United States.

January 26 Diplomacy: The new Chilean foreign minister, Luis Pereira, openly apologizes for the attack upon U.S. sailors in his nation last fall and offers to pay reparations of $75,000 to family members.

January 27 Diplomacy: After the threat of war implied by President Benjamin Harrison, the Chilean government apologizes and agrees to pay a $75,000 indemnity to the families of two sailors killed by a mob in Valparaíso the previous fall.

February 12 General: Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is declared a national holiday for the first time.

February 29 Diplomacy: The United States and Great Britain resolve to end a dispute involving seal hunts in the Bering Sea by submitting it to international arbitration. Previous to this, the Americans had seized several Canadian vessels they charged with violating the ban. The ensuing commission consists of members from Italy, France, and Sweden.

March Business: The Ohio Supreme Court, in a major decision, orders the Standard Ohio Trust dissolved and the Standard Oil Company of Ohio to cut all links with its parent company.

March 18 Sports: After a rider was discovered using an electric spur on his horse at Guttenberg, New Jersey, all jockeys are formally forbidden form using anything but a whip and a spur while horse racing.

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April 1 Labor: Miners at the silver mine in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, go on strike and the ensuing campaign of violence and sabotage resembles a minor guerrilla war.

April 12 Diplomacy: The United States pays a $25,000 indemnity to the families of Sicilian immigrants lynched by a mob at New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1891.

April 19 Indian: President Benjamin Harrison opens an additional three million acres of Indian land for settlement in Oklahoma, this time displacing the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

May 5 Societal: Congress passes the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act, which mandates that all Chinese residing within the United States must register with the government or face deportation. Immigration will be severely curtailed for another decade.

May 11 Sports: The 18th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Arza, who turns in a time of two minutes, 41 seconds.

May 20 Politics: Monarchy police arrest liberal politicians in Hawaii, suspecting a plot to overthrow the government.

May 28 Conservation: Scottish-born naturalist John Muir founds the Sierra Club as an organization and a political lobby for conservation purposes. He does so after beholding the stark beauty of California’s Yosemite Valley and becomes singularly determined to preserve the region’s giant sequoia trees from the lumberman’s ax.

June 3 General: Florida observes the birthday of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis for the first time as an official holiday.

June 4 Politics: Secretary of State James G. Blaine resigns from office, apparently seeking the Republican Party presidential nomination.

June 7–10 Politics: The Republican Party convenes its national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, renominating Benjamin Harrison for president on the first ballot at 535. Aspirants James G. Blaine and William McKinley are handily defeated with tallies of 183 and 182, respectively. Whitelaw Reid, editor of the New York Tribune, is selected for the vice presidency.

June 9 Sports: The 26th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Patron with a time of two minutes, 47 seconds.

June 21–23 Politics: The Democratic Party holds its convention in Chicago and nominates former president Grover Cleveland of New York as its presidential candidate,

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John Muir (Library of Congress)

while Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois becomes the vice presidential candidate. The platform, dominated by radicals, demands an end to high tariffs.

June 26 Labor: The Homestead Mill, owned by the Carnegie Steel Company and administered by Henry Clay Frick, will be the site of a protracted strike, which breaks out today. The main issue revolves around recognition of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, which Frick refuses to do. The strike will last five months without any gain for the workers.

June 29–July 1 Politics: The Prohibition Party gathers in Cincinnati, Ohio, for its convention and selects John Bidwell of California for president and James B. Cranfill of Texas for vice president.

July 4–5 Politics: The Populist Party holds its first-ever national convention in Omaha, Nebraska, and nominates James B. Weaver of Iowa for president and James G. Field of Virginia for vice president. The party platform endorses coining more silver to pay off soaring mortgage debts with cheaper dollars. Few southerners care to attend, however, because of the large number of African Americans present at the proceedings.

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Frick, Henry Clay

(1849–1919)

Industrialist Henry Clay Frick was born in West Overton, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 1849, a son of farmers. Barely educated, he clerked capably in nearby stores for many years and gradually developed an incisive business acumen. With backing from banker Thomas Mellon, Frick began amassing coal fields and coke ovens around Pittsburgh in 1871 to facilitate steel production throughout western Pennsylvania. His company, Frick and Company, proved extremely lucrative, and he continued ploughing money back into his firm to obtain more assets and the very latest technology. By 1879 Frick was a millionaire and his success brought him to the attention of local industrial magnate Andrew Carnegie. Impressed by his administrative abilities, Carnegie appointed Frick chairman of his Carnegie Steel Corporation in 1889. In this capacity he introduced a major reorganization of the company structure, rendering it even more cost-effective and efficient. Furthermore, a major move, accomplished over Carnegie’s objections, was acquisition of iron ore mines near Lake Superior, whose raw materials greatly facilitated the company’s overall industrial output. In 1892 Frick orchestrated the rise of the new Carnegie Steel Company with assets of $25 million, making it the largest such business concern in the world. But Frick’s major failing, from a management standpoint, was his abject refusal to accommodate unions or strikers. After he instituted a cut in piecework rates to induce greater output, the Amalgamated Iron and Steel Workers embarked on a vit-

riolic strike that gained national notoriety. Frick responded with a militancy of his own and imported 300 strikebreakers from the Pinkerton Detective Agency to dislodge the workers, and a pitched battle ensued wherein 10 men were killed. Ultimately, the Pennsylvania National Guard arrived to restore order and Frick himself was shot and stabbed by an anarchist during the proceedings. He survived, but the incident reflected badly on his reputation and also marked the end of his harmonious association with Carnegie. Continuing differences between the two men resulted in Frick’s acrimonious departure in 1900; they never spoke again. In 1901 Frick helped financier John Pierpont Morgan to organize the new United States Steel Corporation from the old Carnegie Steel Company and he was ultimately installed as its director. He served here, and on the boards of other large corporations, for nearly two decades, all the while endowing many hospitals and educational institutions, and even providing Pittsburgh with a large park. Having distinguished himself by his active philanthropy, Frick also amassed a huge, lavish art collection from around the world. By the time he died in New York City on December 2, 1919, he was one of the world’s wealthiest men, and recognized as one of the most astute businessmen of his generation. His house in New York City has since been converted into the Frick Art Reference Library and opened to the public as one of that city’s greatest cultural assets.

July 6 Labor: A pitched battle is waged between striking steel workers and Pinkerton detectives brought in to break the strike at Homestead, Pennsylvania; 10 people are killed and hundreds wounded in the fracas.

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July 9 Labor: The Homestead Steel strike ends when 7,000 state troops are ordered in to restore order; they remain onsite for three months.

July 11 Labor: Violence erupts between strikers and strikebreakers at the silver mines of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, until federal troops are deployed there.

July 12 Labor: Pennsylvania governor Robert Pattison calls in militia troops to protect Pinkerton strikebreakers at the Carnegie Steel Company.

July 14 Labor: U.S. Army troops arrive to end a strike by silver miners at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and enforce order by declaring martial law. Societal: Congress grants a $50 per month pension to all Civil War veterans wounded in action.

July 23 Indian: Congress bans the sale of alcoholic beverages on all Indian land. Labor: Federal troops ordered in to break the strike by silver miners at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, round up violent offenders and place them in cattle-like stockades.

July 27 Societal: Congress grants a pension of $8.00 per month to survivors of the Second Seminole War, 1835–42, followed by a $12 per month pension to nurses who served in the Civil War.

July 29 Politics: Secretary of State James G. Blaine resigns from office and is replaced by John Watson Foster, an experienced career diplomat.

August 4 Crime: In Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden is accused of the grisly axslaying of her father and stepmother. She will be tried and acquitted, but the case will give rise to a well known and macabre jingle.

August 20 Diplomacy: In response to Canadian toll collectors on the Sault Sainte Marie Canal, President Benjamin Harrison orders American canal keepers to do the same.

August 27 General: New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House, a centerpiece for music appreciation, is consumed by fire and destroyed.

August 28 Politics: The Socialist Labor Party convenes its national convention in New York, nominating Simon Wing of Massachusetts for the presidency and Charles H. Matchet of New York as vice president.

August 30 Medical: The Hamburg-American liner Moravia docks in New York, bringing with it a dangerous outbreak of cholera.

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September Technology: William Morrison publicly demonstrates his electric automobile in the streets of Des Moines, Iowa. Its appearance causes such a stir that the police are called in to force throngs of onlookers out of his way.

September 7 Sports: James “Gentleman Jim” Corbett defeats John L. Sullivan in 21 rounds at New Orleans, Louisiana, becoming the world champion. This is also the first recorded use of the Marquis of Queensberry rules in America, which require gloves and Â�three-­minute rounds.

September 8 Societal: Given unrest arising from the massive influx of emigrants from EuÂ�rope and elsewhere, educators James B. Upham and Francis Bellamy compose and publish the 29-­word “Pledge of Allegiance” in the magazine Youth’s Companion. They hope it will find widespread acÂ�cepÂ�tance in the classroom.

September 22 Technology: Charles and Frank Duryea of Springfield, Massachusetts, perfect the first marketable American automobile, although the first working example had been constructed by George B. Selden in 1879. This nevertheless marks the beginning of a major national industry and a transportation revolution, and Dur-­ yea will continue manufacturing cars until 1917.

September 26 Music: A new band led by former Marine Corps Band director John Philip Sousa debuts at Stillman Music Hall, New Jersey, and plays some innovative new tunes; but members of the public still want to hear his patriotic standbys like “The Thun-­ derer” and “Semper Fidelis.”

September 27 Music: Noted Czech composer Antonín Dvorˇák arrives at Hoboken, New Jersey, as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City.

October 3 Education: The University of Idaho opens its doors to students after being char-­ tered in January 1889.

October 5 Crimes: The infamous Dalton gang is destroyed when brothers Bob and Emmett are killed while attempting to rob a bank at Coffeyville, Kansas.

October 15 Indian: President Benjamin Harrison opens an additional 1.8 million acres of Indian land in Oklahoma, formerly belonging to the Crow, to white settlement.

October 20–23 General: Vice President Levi Morton officiates at the dedication of the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, gathered to celebrate the 400th anni-­ versary of America’s discovery. Music is provided by John Philip Sousa, who resigned from the U.S. Marine Corps to assemble his own band. The fair itself is spread out among 644 acres, with 155 acres consigned for the actual displays inside several magnificent buildings. The many buildings constructed for the affair

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are rendered in the distinctive U.S. Classical style, which spells an end to prevailing Gothic and Romanesque trends.

October 28 General: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is ravaged by a fire that destroys 26 acres of property and inflicts $5 million in property damages.

November 8 Politics: In a surprising comeback bid, Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats incumbent Republican Benjamin Harrison for the presidency by a popular vote of 5.5 million to 5.1 million, and an Electoral College count of 277 to 145. Former senator Adlai Stevenson becomes vice president and the Democrats regain control of both chambers of Congress.

November 14 Labor: The Homestead Steel Mill strike is called off after five months without any appreciable gains for the strikers. Many of the men lost their jobs permanently and this reverse constitutes a major defeat for the heretofore powerful Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron Workers. It also alerts corporations that they can survive lengthy strikes by shifting the bulk of work to non-union facilities.

December 2 General: Jay Gould, one of the most outlandish and freewheeling entrepreneurs of the early industrial age, dies at the age of 56. His estimated value is $72 million.

December 19 Education: The University of Oklahoma is opened at Norman.

December 27 Architecture: Construction begins on the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which is intended to be the largest church in the United States. The massive, Romanesque complex, designed by the firm of George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant La Farge, will be 601 feet long and 146 feet wide. In 1911 the plans will be modified for a more Gothic approach, but the structure remains unfinished to this day.

1893 Architecture: The Manhattan Life Insurance Company, at 17 stories the first structure to rise above the Trinity Church steeple, is constructed in New York City. Frank Lloyd Wright completes the Winslow residence in Chicago, Illinois, which is his first independent commission. Louis H. Sullivan greatly distinguishes himself in his design for the Transportation Building at the Colombian Exposition. Art: The play Shore Acres by James A. Herne, part of a growing trend in American drama to focus on domestic themes, opens successfully in Boston and runs for 133 performances. Frederick W. MacMonnies sculpts the riveting fountain at the Court of Honor at the Columbian Exposition, consisting of 27 lifelike figures surrounding a great white ship. This work establishes him as Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s greatest prodigy.

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Chronology of American History Little Egypt (Catherine Devine) introduces the art of belly dancing at the Columbian Exposition, garnering considerable celebrity—and notoriety. Business: In New York City, L. C. Tiffany perfects his decorative Favrile glass for the purpose of adorning screens and lampshades, his art ultimately culminating in the “Tiffany lamp.” In Chicago, the first self-service eateries—or cafeterias—open at the Columbian Exposition and enjoy great success. They cater perfectly to an American populace that is constantly on the move. Communication: Once the patent on the Bell telephone expires, the Bell Telephone Company forfeits its monopoly and other companies pick up the slack, introducing phones and services into areas not previously covered. Conservation: The American buffalo (bison), which had roamed the prairie regions in herds of up to 20 million strong, has been reduced to less than 1,000 animals due to reckless hunting. This animal, essential to the life of regional Native Americans and symbolic of the American West, is seriously threatened with extinction. Education: In New Mexico, the Fort Defiance Boarding School opens under the aegis of the Presbyterian Church, and Navajo agent Dana Shipley tries to make attendance compulsory for all Navajo children. This will spark a violent outbreak in which Dana is physically assaulted. Indian: The Quechan Indians of southern Arizona are coerced into an allotment agreement with the U.S. government, forcing them to surrender most of their land along the Colorado River in exchange for smaller, permanent plots of land for each household. Literature: Author Stephen Crane pens the novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, about a youthful prostitute, but he is forced to publish it himself for lack of publisher interest. Still, it represents part of a growing trend in literature to focus upon the grittier aspects of American life. Ambrose Bierce pens a chilling collection of supernatural tales entitled Can Such Things Be? Robert Louis Stevenson publishes the first American edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Military: The U.S. Army adopts the .30-caliber Krag-Jorgensen rifle, the first American firearm to possess a five-round clip. It replaces the single-shot Springfield Model 1873 rifle. Music: Nellie Melba of Australia and Emma Calve of France, two classical sopranos, debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Melba will become such a popular figure that a peach dessert will be named after her. Religion: The huge Mormon Temple is finally completed at Salt Lake City, Utah, following four decades of construction and expenditures of $6–12 million. Societal: Under Commissioner James Tanner, the annual military pension appropriation rises from $81 million to $135 million—much to the relief of poor veterans and widows caught in a depression. Lillian D. Wald founds the Livingston Street Settlement in New York City to assist the vast number of poor and indigent living there. Sports: The game of ice hockey is introduced to the United States from Canada and games are initially played at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities.

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Crane, Stephen

1443

(1871–1900)

Author Stephen Crane was born into a large family at Newark, New Jersey, the son of a Methodist minister. He was well educated but proved himself an indifferent student and successively dropped out of Lafayette College and Syracuse University for lack of interest. By 1891 he was living a Bohemian existence in New York City’s Bowery, whose poverty struck him deeply, and there he discovered a penchant for writing. After penning several descriptive essays for the New York Herald and the New York Tribune, Crane penned his first novel, entitled Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. This was a stunningly graphic novel of deprivation and exploitation, and no publisher would accept it, so Crane published it on his own. The book did not sell well but he was undeterred and continued associating himself with two noted writers, Hamlin Garland and William Dean Howells. Backed by their encouragement, in 1895 Crane began writing a Civil War novel entitled The Red Badge of Courage, which renders the experience of combat in vicarious and dramatic terms. The book proved an instant success and is regarded as a classic of American historical fiction. Crane’s instant celebrity is all the more surprising, considering his complete lack of military or combat experience. That same year he also released his first volume of poetry, entitled The Black Riders, distinguished by a stark descriptive symbolism marking it as a significant departure and transition point from Victorian and toward modern poetry.

Crane subsequently worked as a reporter for a newspaper syndicate and he was dispatched on voyages to the West and Mexico, where he produced some of his finest short stories and essays. He also embarked on a tryst with hotel keeper Cora Stewart, who became his lifelong companion. While on a small steamer to Cuba the boat sank and Crane was heroically involved in rescuing the survivors. The affair served as the template for one of his best short stories, “The Open Boat.” Crane transferred to the Hearst newspaper syndicate in 1897 and covered the war between Greece and Turkey in the Balkans He next ventured to England and befriended such literary luminaries as Henry James, H. G. Wells, and Joseph Conrad. Crane also found time to produce an excellent novella, “The Monster,” and quite possibly his finest short stories, “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,” “Death and the Child,” and “The Blue Hotel.” When the Spanish-American War commenced in 1898, Crane landed in Cuba with the American troops and provided graphic descriptions of combat there for the New York World. By now he was fatally stricken with tuberculosis, and ventured one more time to England to recuperate. He managed to publish a second and final volume of poems entitled War Is Kind before dying at Badenweiler, Germany, on June 5, 1900, at the age of 28. In his short but vivid career, Crane produced a highly impressionistic, symbolic prose that altered and invigorated the American realism of his day.

Princeton University wins the national football championship with 11 wins, no ties, and no losses. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association’s singles championships are won by Robert D. Wrenn and Aline Terry in their respective divisions.

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Chronology of American History The Chicago Fly Casting Club sponsors the first national fly casting tournament at the Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. The sport will soon gather a national following and its own amateur association. Boston wins the National League baseball championship with 86 wins, 44 losses. Technology: The process for manufacturing Velox paper is perfected by Leo H. Baekeland, to whom the George Eastman Company pays $1 million to acquire the patent. Transportation: In the decade since 1883, the number of bicycles nationwide has risen to over one million.

January 4 Religion: The government offers amnesty to Mormon polygamists on the condition that future laws against the practice are observed.

January 5 Religion: The first apostolic delegate to the United States is dispatched by Pope Leo XIII.

January 9 Military: At Fort Riley, Kansas, the School for Cavalry and Light Artillery finally opens for instruction after its facilities are completed.

January 16–17 Settlement: Ambassador John L. Stevens, backed by pineapple planters under Sanford E. Dole, overthrows the regime of Queen Liliuokalani in Hawaii. He is assisted by a detachment of 300 marines from the nearby cruiser USS Boston. The victors then establish a Committee of Safety before Stevens recognizes the new administration—without permission from the State Department—and starts negotiating a treaty of annexation. Incredibly, all this transpires without the American government being informed beforehand.

January 17 General: Former president Rutherford B. Hayes dies at the age of 70.

January 19 Diplomacy: Without losing a beat, the new provisional government in Hawaii dispatches a commission to Washington, D.C., for the purpose of requesting annexation.

February 1 Diplomacy: Ambassador John L. Stevens, still lacking authorization from the State Department, declares Hawaii an American protectorate and orders American flags flown from government buildings. Media: Inventor Thomas A. Edison opens his motion picture lot at his factory at West Orange, New Jersey. It is christened the “Black Maria” after its resemblance to police paddy wagons.

February 15 Politics: Ambassador John L. Stevens of Hawaii blithely submits a treaty of annexation to the U.S. Senate.

February 17 Education: The University of Montana is chartered in Missoula, Montana, and classes will begin two years later.

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February 24 Business: The failure of the Philadelphia and Reading railroads, saddled by a $125 million debt, signals the start of the panic of 1893. This year alone 74 rail-­ roads will fall into receivership, 600 banks fail, and 15,000 businesses collapse.

March 1 Diplomacy: Congress, through its Diplomatic Appropriation Act, creates the rank of ambassador to outrank numerous consuls and ministers. Henceforth, American ministers will hold the rank of diplomat in nations to which they are assigned.

March 3 Indian: Faced with a massive influx of ambitious white settlers into the Indian Ter-­ ritory, Congress establishes the Dawes Commission under former senator Henry Dawes to review existing allotment arrangements with Indian leaders there.

March 4 Politics: Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the 24th president of the United States—the only chief executive whose two terms in office are Â�non-­consecutive. Adlai E. Stevenson becomes vice president.

March 5 Military: In Washington, D.C., President Grover Cleveland appoints Daniel S. Lamont to serve as his secretary of war.

March 6 Politics: DemoÂ�cratic president Grover Cleveland appoints Republican Walter Quintin Gresham to be secretary of state, although he completely lacks experi-­ ence in diplomatic matters.

March 7 Naval: In Washington, D.C., Hilary A. Herbert, a former Confederate officer, is sworn in as the 33rd secretary of the navy.

March 9 Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland has the recent Hawaii Annexation Treaty withdrawn from Senate consideration owing to irregularities surrounding its creation. He also dispatches special envoy James H. Blount to the islands to investigate recent occurrences there.

March 10 General: Boston is ravaged by a huge fire causing $5 million in damages.

March 14 Architecture: The posh, 10-­story Waldorf Hotel, artfully designed by Henry Janeway Hardenberg, opens in New York City.

March 25 Labor: In New Orleans, strikers of the Workingmen’s Amalgamated Council are found guilty of conspiracy in conducting a Â�city-­wide general strike; this is the first time that strikers have been so accused under the terms of the Sherman Â�Anti-­Trust Act.

March 27 Communication: In Boston, Massachusetts, Alexander Graham Bell makes the first Â�long-­distance phone call by conversing with company officials in New York City.

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March 30 Diplomacy: Thomas F. Bayard becomes the first American with ambassadorial rank to the Court of St. James in Great Britain. Prior to this the highest rank held by American diplomats was minister.

April 6 Sports: Pugilists Andy Bowen and Jack Burke spar for seven hours, 19 minutes without a clear winner; this remains the longest boxing match in the history of the sport.

April 13 Diplomacy: Special envoy James H. Blount puts an end to the four-month-old American “protectorate” of Hawaii by ordering U.S. Marines off the islands. The pro-annexation movement in those islands is thus checked, if temporarily.

April 21 Business: Once the gold reserve falls below the $100 million mark, due to the overvaluation of silver, the government orders the issuance of gold certificates suspended. This signals the beginning of the panic of 1893, which will be perpetuated by the continuing shrinkage of gold reserves.

May 1 General: President Grover Cleveland officiates at the opening of the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, celebrating the 400th anniversary of America’s discovery, which draws an estimated 27 million people by the fall. The U.S. Post Office issues its first commemorative stamps to mark the occasion.

May 5–June 27 Business: Securities fall dramatically and a temporary panic ensues on the New York Stock Exchange; the value of the U.S. silver dollar falls to 60 cents in gold. The crisis will be temporarily averted by a $6 million loan by clearinghouse banks, but by year’s end 600 banks and 15,000 businesses have failed. Four years of uninterrupted hardship will ensue.

May 10 Sports: The 19th Annual Kentucky Derby is won by Lookout, who runs a time of two minutes, 39 seconds. Transportation: In Batavia, New York, Train No. 999 of the New York Central & Hudson River railroad is clocked going down a slight grade while pulling four cars at a blazing 112.5 miles per hour, a new land speed record

May 15 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court finds the Geary Exclusion Act, leveled against Chinese immigrants, to be constitutional.

May 24 Societal: The Anti-Saloon League takes root at Oberlin, Ohio, before branching out nationwide.

June 10 Sports: The 27th Belmont Stakes is won by Comanche, who tears up the course in one minute, 53 seconds.

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June 14 Societal: The mayor of Philadelphia orders the first national observance of Flag Day, with flags draped over every public building in the city.

June 20 Labor: Militant unionist Eugene V. Debs founds the American Railway Union in Chicago, Illinois, and within a year it will boast 150,000 adherents in 465 lodges.

June 24 Medical: The Army Medical School open under the auspices of General George M. Sternberg, Surgeon General, to ensure proper instruction for Medical Corps personnel. Among its most distinguished alumni will be Walter Reed and Josiah Gorgas.

June 26 Politics: Governor John P. Altgeld of Illinois, urged on by Clarence Darrow and other reformers, pardons the last three surviving anarchists convicted of murder

Debs, Eugene V.

(1855–1926)

Reformer

Caricature of Eugene Debs, pictured wearing a crown labeled "Deb's American railway union." (Library of Congress)

Eugene Victor Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 5, 1855, the son of French immigrant parents. He dropped out of school to work on the railroads, ultimately rising to locomotive fireman, but lost his job during the depression of the 1870s. In 1874 Debs joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and also edited the Fireman’s Magazine, whereby he questioned why railroad workers were perpetually divided along trade lines. His commitment to organized labor grew over the ensuing decade and in 1893 he founded the inclusive American Railway Union (ARU). Debs was officially against violence, but when members of his union rioted during the famous Pullman Strike, he was jailed for contempt of court for failing to call off the strike. While serving a six-month sentence, Debs was exposed to the writings of German political philosopher Karl Marx and he formally converted to socialism. He wished very much to parlay his labor instincts into political action, and in 1898 Debs created (continues)

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(continued) the Social Democratic Party. Three years later he also established its successor, the more militant Socialist Party of America. Debs strongly felt that the ongoing struggle between capital and labor ensured continuing class struggle and inequity; because no single union could be entrusted with protecting workers’ rights, he advocated a cooperative commonwealth that would better serve workers than the profit system. However, Debs carefully couched his radicalism in pacifistic terms, denounced violence, and promoted peaceful change. He also proved himself to be a fiery orator and his party nominated him five times to the presidency, in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920, and he usually received 6 percent of the national vote. Debs ultimately failed to expand the Socialists into a viable political force due to his inability to reconcile moderate factions with increasingly radical counterparts. His reputation as a moderate was further enhanced in 1917 when he denounced the autocratic Bolshevik revolution in Russia and refused to join the Communists.

In 1916 Debs began vocally criticizing the neutrality policies of President Woodrow Wilson and predicted that he was leading the country down a path toward war. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, he was arrested for sedition under the newly passed Espionage Act and received a 10-year sentence. Undeterred, Debs ran for president a fifth time, in 1920, from his prison cell and received one million votes. He was finally pardoned and released in 1921, but by now his influence had begun to wane. The excesses of the Communist Revolution in Russia had badly split the Socialists at home and membership dwindled. Debs himself suffered from poor health and he died in Elmhurst, Illinois, on December 20, 1926, a successful labor leader but a failed politician. Ironically, many of the radical positions he staked out, such as abolishing child labor, women’s suffrage, and a graduated income tax, were eventually coopted by the political mainstream and made law.

in the Haymarket Square riot of May 1886. He believes their trial and conviction were fraudulent, but this leniency costs him his political career.

June 27 Business: The New York Stock Market continues to plummet after the government of India switches from a silver standard to gold. The root of the problem is the incessant draining of gold reserves due to an influx of silver certificates still redeemable at face value.

June 30 Politics: President Grover Cleveland, under pressure to take measures to improve the sinking economy, requests a special session of Congress to convene on August 7 and repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.

July 1 Medical: President Grover Cleveland successfully receives treatment for mouth cancer. However, the operation is conducted in secret, on board a friend’s yacht, as it is feared that word of his illness might precipitate an even greater sense of crisis in the nation.

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July 12 Education: Professor Frederick Jackson Turner, a young historian from the University of Wisconsin, delivers a paper at the Columbian Exposition entitled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” His revisionist thesis, which holds the frontier at the center of America’s political experience, will influence national historiography for nearly a century and establish Turner as among the most significant historical scholars of his generation. His argument will also shape the treatment of Indian-white relationships for the next half-century.

Turner, Frederick Jackson

(1861–1932)

Historian Frederick Jackson Turner was born in Portage, Wisconsin, on November 14, 1861, the son of a successful journalist and local historian. In 1880 he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he fell under the influence of Professor William F. Allen, who impressed on him the need to interpret empirical evidence carefully and methodically before rendering historical verdicts. Turner was also inculcated with the need to understand institutional history as a conduit to national culture. He graduated in 1884 and then received his master’s degree before attending the graduate history department at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. There Turner penned a dissertation entitled “The Character and Influence of the Indian Trade in Wisconsin,” which was competently researched, written, and argued, and resulted in his receipt of a doctorate in 1888. Turner then returned to Wisconsin to teach frontier history, his career specialty, from 1889 to 1910. However, in 1893, at a meeting of the American Historical Society in Chicago, he delivered the most significant paper of his career, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” which stimulated a complete reevaluation as to the source of American character, culture, and political tradition. Unlike historians schooled in more traditional European-

oriented historiography, Turner insisted that it was the frontier, the sheer physical environment of North America, that transformed European settlers into American colonists. Furthermore, he epitomized national leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln as logical products of the frontier clime. In the century since its promulgation, not every school of historical thought has concurred with the so-called Turner thesis, but it marked a major break from the staid historical traditions of his day. More importantly, it also laid the groundwork for newer, more incisive, and compelling schools of thought in the 20th century. Fame did not sit easily with Turner for he spurned it and preferred teaching students the science of historical inquiry back at Wisconsin. Nor was the volume of his professional literature very impressive, owing to the patience and exacting methodology that became his scholarly trademark. But he did elaborate on his central thesis in the books Rise of the New West, 1819–1829 (1906) and his volume of essays, The Frontier in American History (1920), which were generally convincing and highly regarded. In 1910 Turner left Wisconsin to (continues)

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(continued) teach history at Harvard University, where he remained until his retirement to southern California in 1924. There he continued his historical inquiries at the noted Huntington Library in Pasadena, until his death there on March 4, 1932. One of his last works, The Significance of

Sections in American History, was published posthumously and received a Pulitzer Prize. Quiet, modest, and unassuming, Turner would undoubtedly be amused by his reputation for redirecting the course of American historiography down entirely new paths.

July 17 Diplomacy: Special Commissioner James H. Blount’s report on the Hawaiian situation is delivered to Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham and points an accusing finger at Minister John L. Stevens for orchestrating a coup.

August 1 Naval: The newly commissioned cruiser USS New York joins the fleet, being both heavily armed and armored, and possessing a top speed of 21 knots. Politics: Populists and Republicans meeting at Chicago, Illinois, found the National Bimetallic League, which demands the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and a return to silver coinage at a rate of 16 to one. Strong banking reforms are also suggested.

August 7 Politics: The 53rd Congress assembles with the Democrats in control of both houses. President Grover Cleveland requests action on the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, even if it alienates fellow Democrats who prefer easy credit; he will ultimately prevail but the ensuing fight will badly wound the Democratic Party.

August 10 Societal: The first group of Chinese laborers are deported from San Francisco for non-registration under the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act.

August 13 General: A large fire in Minneapolis, Minnesota, inflicts $2 million in damage and leaves 1,500 homeless.

August 15 Diplomacy: An international arbitration commission decides in favor of Great Britain over a seal hunting dispute in the Bering Sea with the United States. Henceforth, Britain will receive compensation worth $542,169 for vessels seized and Canadian ships will be allowed into the disputed region, but seal hunting is banned within 60 miles of the Pribilof Islands.

August 23–29 General: Severe storms and cyclones rattle Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, leaving 1,000 dead in their wake.

August 31 Politics: Socialist and militant activist Emma Goldman is arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for trying to incite a riot while addressing a throng of unemployed workers.

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September 7 Societal: Canada and the United States agree for the first time to monitor the flow of illegal immigra-­ tion, especially from Canada’s Pacific coastal ports.

September 16 Settlement: The sale of six million acres, the �so� called Cherokee Strip, acquired from the Cherokee of Oklahoma for $8.5 million in 1891, leads to a land rush stampede by 100,000 prospective settlers.

September 17 Medical: A severe outbreak of yellow fever is reported in Brunswick, Georgia.

October 2 General: The Gulf Coast of Louisiana is lashed by a powerful storm that kills 2,000 people, mostly near Grand Isle, Louisiana.

October 13 Sports: The U.S. yacht Vigilant successfully defends the America’s Cup from the British challenger Valkyrie.

October 23 Arts: Charles T. Dazey’s melodramatic play In Old Kentucky opens in New York City and will run for 27 seasons in either a New York theater or on the road.

Emma Goldman, 1934╇ (Library of Congress)

October 30 Business: After intense infighting and acrimonious debate, the �Demo�cratic�controlled Congress votes to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, and does so at the behest of President Grover Cleveland. The Demo�crats are badly split on the issue and the Republicans provide the balance necessary for victory. However, silver will become a major factor in the presidential election of 1896.

November 3 Military: Congress instructs the War Department to detail up to 100 officers for the purpose of teaching military science at colleges.

November 7 Women: Populist governor Davis H. Waite encourages a popÂ�uÂ�lar vote in Colo-­ rado to successfully secure women’s suffrage.

December 16 Music: Talented Czech composer Antonín Dvorˇák premieres his famous Sym-­ phony No. 9, “From the New World,” at Carnegie Music Hall in New York City. He conceived the piece while vacationing at a Bohemian community in Iowa.

December 24 Technology: Henry Ford constructs his first successful, Â�two-­cylinder, Â�four-­cycle, gasoline engine in Detroit, Michigan.

December 25 Arts: The successful play Shore Acres by James A. Herne is transplanted from Boston to a lengthy run at Daly’s Theater in New York.

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December 31 Business: By this time, the grim tol­l­ of business fail­ures in the panic of 1893 encompasses 74 rail­roads, 600 banks, and no l­ess than 15,000 smal­l­ businesses. Now that national­ gol­d reserves have fal­l­en to bel­ow $80 mil­l­ion, no rel­ief is in sight.

1894 Arts: Mary Cassatt, one of a handful­ of professional­ woman painters in America, unveil­s her l­atest creation, La Toilette, at the Paris Exposition. Scul­ptor George Grey Barnard unveil­s his massive work, Struggle of the Two Natures in Man, at the Paris Sal­on to rave reviews.

Ford, Henry

(1863–1947)

Industrialist Henry Ford was born on Jul­y 30, 1863, the son of a prosperous framer. As a chil­d he del­ighted in mechanical­ tinkering and went to work for the Edison Il­l­uminat-­ ing Company in Detroit, Michigan, eventu-­ al­l­y befriending the noted inventor, Thomas Edison. Ford proved himsel­f adept at engi-­ neering and eventual­l­y rose to chief engi-­ neer, but he grew preoccupied with the new form of transportation cal­l­ed “horse-­ l­ess carriages,” or automobil­es. Ford quit Edison’s firm in 1896 and constructed his first gasol­ine buggy on bicycl­e wheel­s. He subsequentl­y worked with the Detroit Auto-­ mobil­e Company in 1899 and the Henry Ford Motor Company a few years l­ater, but it was not until­ 1903 that he coul­d capital­ize the Ford Motor Company with a $28,000 l­oan from Detroit coal­ deal­er Al­ex Y. Mal­comson. This time, however, Ford was armed with a revol­utionary marketing strategy to mass-­produce cars as quickl­y and cheapl­y as possibl­e, thereby tapping into the vast middl­e cl­ass of consumers. In 1908 this pl­an cul­minated in the design and production of his l­egendary Model­ T, or “Tin Lizzy,” which was bare-­bones, highl­y

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Henry Ford (Library of Congress)

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Business: J. P. Morgan founds the Southern Rail­road Company, the first such organization to function efficientl­y in this region. His methodical­, businessl­ike approach to management spel­l­s an end to the piratical­ methods of earl­ier tycoons such as Jay Goul­d and other “robber barons.” Cream of Wheat, to become a stapl­e of American breakfasts for over a cen-­ tury, makes its successful­ and tasty debut this year. In Lancaster, Pennsyl­vania, Mil­ton Hershey establ­ishes his l­andmark Hershey Chocol­ate Company, which offers the del­ectabl­e confectionary in a smal­l­ rectan-­ gul­ar sl­ab and at prices avail­abl­e to everyone. Indian: Cyrus Thomas publ­ishes his Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology, which del­ineates research into the ancient burial­ mounds of Ohio. Whereas previous generations refused to ascribe to Native Americans the abil­ity to erect such compl­icated structures, and attributed them to foreigners such as the Egyptians or Aztecs, Thomas concl­usivel­y proves that they were the handiwork of eastern Indians. Journalism: Defeated in his bid to become U.S. senator from Nebraska, Wil­-­ l­iam Jennings Bryan becomes editor of the Omaha World Herald and a popul­ar speaker on the national­ l­ecture circuit.

rel­iabl­e, and priced at onl­y $850 per unit. It represented a compl­ete departure from cur-­ rent trends in the automotive industry, which hel­d that automobil­es were basical­l­y toys for the rich. In 1913 Ford originated another rev-­ ol­utionary concept, the assembl­y l­ine, which speeded up production and, being accom-­ pl­ished at waist-­l­evel­, l­essened the exertions of l­aborers working it. Consequentl­y, savings were passed on to the consumer and prices fel­l­ further stil­l­. Ford was al­so unique among contemporaries by offering his workers $5.00 per day—twice the pay of other companies— to ensure l­oyal­ty. By 1927 no l­ess than 15 mil­l­ion Model­ Ts had been manufactured, making Ford the worl­d’s l­argest and most prosperous automobil­e company. Ford, however, was hardl­y the model­ of a modern corporate executive. He was autocratic by nature and reserved al­l­ major and minor business decisions to himsel­f. Consequentl­y, Ford kept cranking out onl­y one variant of Model­ Ts in one col­or—

bl­ack—whil­e other companies gradual­l­y began offering different makes and col­ors to increasingl­y sophisticated buyers. He thus fel­l­ six years behind other manufacturers in adopting such critical­ and standard features as hydraul­ic brakes, eight-­cyl­inder engines, and modern transmissions. Sal­es sl­umped accordingl­y and were onl­y partl­y revived by introducing the Model­ A in 1932. Ford was al­so mil­itantl­y anti-­union and stridentl­y refused to recognize the United Auto Work-­ ers (UAW), going so far as to hire a private pol­ice force to squel­ch union activities in his pl­ants. He al­so engaged in somewhat bizarre publ­ic rel­ations stunts l­ike outfitting a “peace ship” for Europe in 1914 and al­l­ow-­ ing anti-­Semitic essays to be publ­ished in his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent. However, more than any other individual­, Henry Ford put America “on wheel­s” and pioneered modern industrial­ manufacturing techniques with great success. He died in Dearborn, Michigan, on April­ 7, 1947.

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Morgan, John P. (1837–1913) Financier John Pierpont Morgan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 17, 1837, the son of a prominent banker. He passed through the University of Göttingen in 1857 and then settled in New York City to pursue finance. Morgan proved adept at juggling money matters and in 1862 he opened his own bank, the forerunner of the famous J. P. Morgan & Company. He began acquiring railroads in 1869 with the purchase of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, and subsequently branched out into other regions. Morgan, unlike self-serving raiders like Jay Gould, was a consummate organizer who imposed greater efficiency on his charges, making them both stable and profitable. Such was his renown that by 1893, when the national economy was reeling from questionable monetary policies brought on by free-silver advocates, Morgan was requested by the government to singlehandedly save the gold reserve. He did so by selling government bonds for gold through his overseas agents and, while reaping whirlwind profits in the process, spared the nation from economic collapse. In 1901 Morgan felt strong enough to take on millionaire industrialist Andrew Carnegie by acquiring his Carnegie Steel Company, merging it with other acquisitions, and creating an entirely new entity, the United States Steel Corporation under Henry Clay Frick. This was then the world’s largest company and sufficiently centralized to allow American steel to be manufactured for export abroad. Naturally, the acquisition of all this wealth in the hands of a single

individual made the government suspicious, and in 1904 Morgan’s Northern Securities Company was dissolved by the Supreme Court. Morgan was nevertheless also active in the founding of such large corporations as General Electric and the International Harvester Company, which enhanced his reputation as the nation’s preeminent financier. Morgan may have been unpopular with the political establishment, but he also proved indispensable to it. In 1907, with the economy heading into the grip of a possible depression, he rallied the New York financial community at the government’s request, assessed the resources of participating banks and trust companies, then bailed out those on the verge of collapse. Morgan and his allies were acting in the capacity of a central bank, which the country sorely lacked, so in 1913 Congress created the Federal Reserve System to back up member institutions. Morgan, secretive by nature, refused to publicly divulge exactly what he owned or controlled, so in 1912 Congress formed the Pujo Committee to ascertain exactly that. They reported that the House of Morgan controlled 72 directorships in 47 major corporations, although no further action was taken. Morgan also invested considerable wealth in acquiring the world’s finest private art collection, which today forms the basis of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Morgan died in Rome on March 31, 1913, the only banker in American history who twice salvaged the national economy.

Labor: The American Federation of Labor (AFL), taking its lead from President Samuel Gompers, votes down attempts to adopt socialist reform programs. Gompers has decided it is more prudent to work within capitalism than against it and concentrates on shorter hours, better wages, and safer working conditions.

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Literature: Anthony Hope publishes his historical romance The Prisoner of Zenda, which becomes a classic. Mark Twain publishes his under-appreciated novel called The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Margaret Marshall Saunders writes her dog story, Beautiful Joe, which eventually sells a million copies nationwide. English writer Rudyard Kipling, living in Brattleboro, Vermont, publishes The Jungle Book, one of his most celebrated tales. William Sydney Porter (the future writer O. Henry) buys a printing office in Austin, Texas, and begins publishing his ill-fated magazine, Iconoclast. Media: Inventor Thomas Edison shoots The Sioux Ghost Dance, the first film to deal with Native American rituals. Barely a minute in duration, it affords millions of easterners a firsthand glimpse of Native American customs and culture. Medical: Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau opens his enlarged Adirondack Sanatorium Cottage with the aid of philanthropist George C. Cooper; he subsequently conducts the first large-scale experiments on tuberculosis. Military: Congress passes legislation requiring that all recruits enlisting in the U.S. Army be citizens, less than 30 years of age, and fluent in English. Music: Victor Herbert of the 22nd New York Regiment Band composes his first successful operetta, Prince Ananias. Charles Lawler composes “The Streets of New York,“ which becomes a popular song in music halls. The constant clatter of upright pianos along New York City’s 28th Street—the music publishers’ row—gains that street the nickname “Tin Pan Alley.” Population: The Report on Indians Taxed and Not Taxed, issued by the Bureau of the Census, reveals that Native-American populations are at historic lows, less than 250,000 individuals—a 40 percent decline from the last census taken in 1850. Publishing: William Hope Harvey’s otherwise insignificant booklet Coin’s Financial School, which advocates free silver, sells 300,000 copies. Accomplished writer Lafcadio Hearn publishes Glimpses of Japan while living there in situ, attempting to demystify this inscrutable Asian country for American audiences. Henry Demarest Lloyd, one of the earliest muckraking journalists, pens Wealth against Commonwealth, an excoriating account of the Standard Oil Company that calls for it to be broken up. In the latest sign of growing military professionalism, the United States Infantry Association begins publishing its first professional magazine, the Infantry Journal. Science: The Lowell Observatory is founded by astronomer Percival Lowell at Flagstaff, Arizona; he believes that there might be intelligent life on Mars. Sports: Hugh Duffy of the Boston Nationals earns the highest batting average in a single season, .438. Yale University wins the national college football championship with 16 wins, no losses, and no ties. Baltimore wins the National League baseball championship with 89 wins, 39 losses.

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Bryan, William Jennings (1860–1925) Reformer William Jennings Bryan was born in Salem, Illinois, on March 19, 1860, into a very religious household. He graduated from Illinois College in 1881 and four years later received a law degree from Union College in Chicago. Bryan subsequently opened a successful practice in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he also dabbled in politics and became closely identified with progressive, farm-oriented stances and issues. A captivating orator, he gained election to the House of Representatives in 1890 from a nominally Republican district and was reelected two years later. In this capacity he vigorously touted agrarian interests, especially the notion of “free silver,” until losing a bid for the Senate in 1896. However, Bryan indelibly impressed like-minded members of the Democratic Party and, following his electrifying “Cross of Gold” speech at the party convention that year, he gained their nomination for the presidency. Here Bryan broke new ground by campaigning vigorously by train, address-

William Jennings Bryan (Library of Congress)

January 8 General: The Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, is ravaged by a huge fire that destroys nearly all of its magnificent structures, with damage estimated at $2 million.

January 11 Religion: St. Sava’s Church, the first Serbian Orthodox Church in America, is consecrated in Jackson, California.

January 17 Business: A $50 million bond issue is authorized by the Treasury Department to restore the national gold reserve; this issue largely fails, gold supplies continue to dwindle, and most bonds are purchased by banks.

January 29 Naval: In Rio de Janeiro, Rear Admiral A. E. K. Benham uses American warships to break a blockade established by Brazilian monarchist rebels attempting to subvert the republic. The Americans are eventually joined by British vessels and together they save the tottering regime of President Moraes Barros.

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ing thousands of citizens in hundreds of stops. He gained a respectable 6 million votes in the ensuing election, but finally lost to Republican William McKinley. This was also the first presidential campaign wherein traditional sectional issues were wholly supplanted by those concerning class and wealth, an outgrowth of the rapid industrialization and urbanization that the country was then experiencing. Bryan remained the nominal party leader, and in 1900 he again received his party’s nomination, only to lose again to McKinley by a wider margin. He also found time to serve as editor of the newspaper Commoner, which articulated the concerns of farmers and populists nationwide. Bryan’s rapport for the average man, particularly hard-pressed farmers, gained him the moniker of “The Great Commoner,” and in 1908 he again secured the party’s nomination, losing in this instance to Republican William Howard Taft. Defeat did little to diminish Bryan’s political capital within the party, and in 1912 he helped orchestrate the nomination of Woodrow

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Wilson as president, who went on to win the general election. Given Bryan’s stature within the party, he was assured a major appointment in return for his activism, and in 1913 President Wilson made him secretary of state. In this capacity he made a genuine effort to parlay his idealism into national policy by fostering bilateral treaties for arbitration of international disputes. He was also sternly determined to keep America out of World War I and resigned his position when Wilson sent what he considered a bellicose protest to Germany over the Lusitania sinking in 1915. Back in private life, Bryan resumed his editorial and speaking activities, although to a continually smaller audience. He relocated to Florida in 1921 and there helped draft a resolution for the state legislature to ban the teaching of evolution in schools. Bryan’s last public appearance was during the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial,” where attorney Clarence Darrow eviscerated his stance on science and creationism. Bryan died in Dayton, Ohio, on July 26, 1925, shortly after the trial.

January 30 Law: The Lexow Committee is appointed by the New York state senate to investigate scandals within the New York City Police Department and other agencies.

February Sports: The Jockey Club is founded to encourage professional racing standards and thoroughbred horse breeding.

February 2 Naval: The venerable screw sloop USS Kearsarge, which sank the Confederate commerce raider Alabama in 1864, strikes a reef in the West Indies and sinks. However, its illustrious name will subsequently be transferred to a new battleship under construction, becoming the only vessel of its class not christened after a state.

February 4 Journalism: Today’s issue of the New York World contains the first printing of a color comic strip by Walter McDougall and Mark Fenderson, entitled The Unfortunate Fate of a Well-Intentioned Dog.

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February 8 Civil: Congress repeals the Enforcement Act of 1871, leaving the voting rights of African Americans in the hands of southern racial supremacists. Henceforth, prospective black voters in Mississippi are required to answer specific questions about the U.S. Constitution when challenged to do so.

February 13 General: The collapse of the Gaylord Mine in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, kills 13 miners.

February 20 Women: Suffragettes Isabelle Beecher Hooker, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony appear before a Senate committee to argue for women’s voting rights. Despite a lack of action at the federal level, there has been progress in Wyoming and Utah.

March 14 Crime: The Woodward, Oklahoma, train station is accosted by the Doolin gang, which robs passengers but leaves the safe intact.

March 17 Diplomacy: The United States and China conclude a supplementary Chinese Exclusionary Treaty whereby most Chinese laborers are denied migration rights to America, but those already living in America will enjoy rights and protections equal to those of other foreigners.

March 25 Labor: Businessman Jacob S. Coxey leads a small band of unemployed workers out of Massillon, Ohio, intending to march to Washington, D.C., and gather congressional attention and relief of their plight.

March 30 Politics: President Grover Cleveland vetoes the so-called Bland Bill of Missouri representative Richard Parks Bland, which would have authorized the coinage of silver bullion. Consequently, Bland promises to make silver a leading issue in the upcoming presidential election.

April 5 Labor: A coal mine strike in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, erupts into violence and 11 men are killed. The strikers are protesting the dark dangerous conditions under which they work and all too frequently die.

April 10 Conservation: Congress approves a bill placing restraints and conditions upon seal hunting in the Bering Sea.

April 14 Media: Inventor Thomas A. Edison gives a public demonstration of his moving picture camera, or kinetoscope, at 1155 Broadway, New York. The crude images include a boxing match, a dancing girl with bare ankles, and a child bathing. Success here will lead to a rash of so-called kinetoscope parlors across the nation.

April 20 General: A mine accident at Franklin, Washington, claims 37 lives.

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Labor: A large number of coal miners—136,000—strike in several states, including Ohio, for improved wages and working conditions.

April 24 General: At least 37 miners die in a tunnel disaster at Franklin, Washington.

April 30 Societal: A party of 400 protesters under Jacob Sechler Coxey marches from Ohio to Washington, D.C., to protest unemployment. The leaders of “Coxey’s Army,” anticipating a favorable reception from members of Congress, intend to demand large-scale public works programs to mitigate their poverty. However, Coxey is arrested for trespassing and his followers disband.

May 6 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Regan v. Farmer’s Loan and Trust Company, ruling that the Court can determine the reasonableness of rates, be they set by legislatures or state commissions. It is another victory for the Court’s somewhat antiquated laissez-faire view of economics.

May 11 Labor: The Pullman Palace Car Company, having reduced payroll and wages without a concomitant reduction in prices charged at workers’ homes and mandatory company stores, faces a strike by members of the militant American Railway Union. The ensuing struggle will be bitter and replete with violence, pillage, and the destruction of company property.

May 15 Labor: The New Jersey legislature passes the first laws in the nation to outlaw discrimination against workers based upon union membership. Sports: The 20th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Chant, who runs the course in two minutes, 41 seconds.

May 17 Sports: After a three-year hiatus, the Preakness Stakes resumes with its 19th running and is won by Assignee with a time of one minute 49 seconds.

May 31 Diplomacy: The U.S. Senate rules that the government of Hawaii can keep its own government and also warns outside nations from interfering with the independence of the islands. Otherwise, the Americans decline to annex the islands outright at this time.

June 19 Sports: The 28th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Henry of Navarre, who finishes in one minute, 56 seconds.

June 21 Politics: The Democratic Silver Convention in Omaha, Nebraska, receives a jolt when Congressman William Jennings Bryan delivers a rousing speech on behalf of free silver and a 16 to one ratio. This speech will establishes Bryan as a force within progressive American politics.

June 26 Labor: Eugene V. Debs, president of the American Railway Union (ARU), calls a general sympathy strike for members of the Pullman Palace Car Company; over

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Chronology of American History 50,000 miles of railroad track and service are affected. Still, the Railway Managers Association refuses to deal with the workers and summons 3,600 deputy marshals to break their strike. Technology: German inventor Karl Benz receives a U.S. patent for his gasolinepowered automobile.

June 28 General: Congress, cognizant of the mounting influence of the labor movement, declares that this day will be celebrated as Labor Day in honor of working men nationwide. The idea was first proposed in 1882.

July 2 Labor: In a major upset, President Grover Cleveland issues an injunction against railroad strikers because of their disruption of interstate commerce and postal service. This is a major blow against the union’s two main weapons, striking and boycotts. Cleveland does so at the behest of Attorney General Richard Olney, a former member of the Railway Manager’s Association, who expresses no sympathy for the strikers. The injunction specifically orders Eugene V. Debs to call off the strike, which he will refuse to do.

July 3 Labor: U.S. Army troops are deployed to Chicago to enforce a court injunction against the railroad strike against the Pullman Company. Illinois governor John P. Altgeld protests the move on constitutional grounds, insisting that the problem is local and does not merit federal intervention. In any case the American Railway Union strikers, agitated by Eugene V. Debs, are unmoved.

July 4 Settlement: Judge Sanford Dole becomes president of the Republic of Hawaii after deposing Queen Liliuokalani. He does so in contravention of orders from Washington, D.C.

July 6 Labor: U.S. deputy marshals fire upon striking railway workers in Kensington, Illinois, killing two. Naval: Sailors and marines from the cruiser USS Columbia are landed at Bluefields, Nicaragua, to protect American lives and property against civil unrest.

July 8 Labor: U.S. Army troops fire upon an unruly mob of strikers at Hammond, Indiana, killing one and wounding a dozen more.

July 10 Labor: Eugene V. Debs is indicted by a federal grand jury for his failure to comply with a court injunction against striking railroad workers. He is then indicted for criminal conspiracy and contempt of court.

July 20 Labor: U.S. Army troops are withdrawn from the Chicago area, but rampaging strikers have managed to set fires and burn $3 million in property.

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July 24 Naval: The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, with Japanese troops invading the Korean Peninsula, results in the landing of 50 U.S. Marines from the cruiser USS Baltimore to protect the American legation at Seoul.

July 26 Arts: Augustus Thomas’s play New Blood successfully opens in Chicago; it is a riveting account of the Pullman strike and highlights the conflict between labor and capital.

August 1 General: A fire in Chicago inflicts $3 million in property damage.

August 3 Labor: The Pullman strike is canceled by the American Railway Union, which, now abandoned by more conservative trade unions, has gained nothing by its actions. An estimated $80 million in property and wage losses is the result—along with several lives. Moreover, the organization has been crushed and no new industrial unions will be attempted until the 1930s.

August 7 Diplomacy: The United States formally recognizes the Republic of Hawaii under President Sanford Dole and also warns off foreign powers by cloaking it in the Monroe Doctrine. Interference in the islands now runs the risk of assaulting U.S. sovereignty.

August 18 Settlement: Senator Joseph Maull Carey of Wyoming sponsors the Carey Act, passed by Congress, which grants states up to one million acres of public land for settlement if owners agree to undertake irrigation measures. Societal: Congress establishes the Bureau of Immigration.

August 28 Politics: The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act passes Congress under heavy opposition and becomes law without the signature of President Grover Cleveland; this law lowers tariffs by nearly 50 percent and also includes the first graduated income tax on incomes over $4,000. Senator John Sherman of Ohio denounces the measure as “socialism, communism, devilism.”

September 1 General: Hinckley, Minnesota, experiences a severe wind storm during a town fire that spreads to nearby communities, kills 500 people, scorches 160,000 acres, and renders thousands of survivors homeless.

September 4 Labor: Around 12,000 tailors in New York City go on strike to protest “sweat shops,” horrid work conditions, and piecework pay rates.

November 4 Politics: In mid-term elections, the Republicans sweep both houses of Congress, leading 43–49 in the Senate and 244–105 in the House of Representatives.

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November 13 Business: With gold reserves still plummeting, the Treasury Department offers a second $50 million bond to redress the balance. Public response is tepid and most of the loan is taken up by New York banks.

November 22 Diplomacy: Japan and the United States conclude a commercial treaty in Washington, D.C., although tensions remain over the issue of immigration.

November 25 Journalism: The Boston Globe prints the first color supplement on the day of a Harvard-Princeton game.

November 30 Diplomacy: The sultan of the Ottoman Empire invites an American delegation to investigate the massacre of Armenians in the Sassoun district, but President Grover Cleveland declines to get involved. Armenian refugees in America, angered by what they perceive as indifference to their plight, begin organizing politically.

December 14 Crime: Captain Timothy J. Creeden admits to a New York state senate committee that he paid $15,000 to receive his captaincy; his admission leads to a wider investigation of the New York City Police Department. Labor: Radical union leader Eugene V. Debs is sentenced to six months in jail for failing to heed a court injunction against striking railroad workers. He was articulately but unsuccessfully defended by his attorney, Clarence Darrow.

December 22 Sports: The U.S. Golf Association is formed from five clubs in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Illinois. They intend to create standard rules, establish tournaments, and otherwise promote the game, but two decades will lapse before golf becomes anything more then a pastime of the wealthy.

December 29 General: A Christmas festival fire at Silver Lake, Oregon, kills 40 people.

1895 Architecture: Daniel H. Burnham continues pioneering the use of steel frame architecture, in the-16 story Reliance Building of Chicago, Illinois. Arts: Illustrator Charles Dana Gibson perfects and publishes drawings of his ideal of the model woman, the so-called Gibson Girl, who is slender, aloof, and highly beautiful. His visage plays a major role in how Americans of this generation, particularly women, see themselves. Voluptuous stage actress Lillian Russell gains both recognition and notoriety as America’s first sex symbol; her social affairs and many private flings garner far more attention than her talent. Civil: African-American author Ida B. Wells publishes “The Red Record,” a shocking statistical pamphlet detailing lynching in the South. Indian: Comanche leader Quanah Parker is removed from the Court of Indian Offenses because he has followed tribal tradition and possesses several wives. Literature: Neophyte novelist Stephen Crane publishes his riveting Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, at the age of 23. The book becomes renowned

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for its realism and grasp of armed combat, despite the author’s complete lack of military experience. Music: Ben R. Harley’s song “You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon but You’ve Done Broke Down” contains the first identifiable ragtime features. It will become a standard number in New Orleans jazz houses. Organist and composer George W. Chadwick begins compiling his “Symphonic Sketches,” drawn largely from the streets and fields of America. He is the most creatively versatile member of the so-called Boston Classicists. Publishing: Elbert Hubbard establishes the Roycroft Press in East Aurora, New York, and with it begins publishing a monthly literary magazine, The Philistine. Field and Stream Magazine begins publication. Sports: Pennsylvania win the national college football championship with 14 wins, no ties, no losses. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championships are won by Fred H. Hovey and Juliette P. Atkinson in their respective divisions. Baltimore wins the National League baseball championship with 87 wins, 43 losses. Women take so readily to biking that their otherwise long skirts are shortened an inch from the ankle by necessity, although the hems remain weighted down with lead in the interest of preserving modesty. Bikes have become so numerous of late that they actually outnumber horses in some communities and are known popularly as “silent steeds.” Technology: The first pneumatic bicycle tires are manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut. Transportation: It is estimated that at least 300 of the newfangled motorcars are chugging their way across America’s largely unpaved road system. Gasolinepowered vehicles constitute only 20 percent of those in service; the remainder are either steam or electric driven. Women: Suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton publishes her Women’s Bible, which removes all offensive references to that gender.

January 5 General: Tragedy strikes as the Kenyon-Connell Company warehouse in Butte, Montana, catches fire, detonating stored boxes of dynamite and killing several employees.

January 6 Religion: In Rome, Pope Leo XIII, though pleased with the growth of Catholicism in the United States, is alarmed by its insistence upon secularism and calls for greater cooperation between church and state.

January 14 Labor: Riots arising from a strike by trolley operators in Brooklyn, New York, have to be subdued by state militia.

January 16 Politics: Liliuokalani, former queen of Hawaii, is arrested and jailed under a charge of treason, along with 200 supporters. According to her detractors, she has been plotting to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii.

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January 21 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of United States v. E. C. Knight, ruling that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act applies only to those monopolies engaged in interstate commerce. It then draws a fine line between manufacturing and commerce, declaring that a sugar combine cannot be affected by the act. This ruling temporarily renders the Sherman Act legally impotent.

January 22 Business: Representatives from several hundred manufacturing concerns gather at Cincinnati, Ohio, to found a national lobbying organization calling itself the National Association of Manufacturers. It is the latest sign of the growing technical and intellectual sophistication of the business sector, now an underpinning of the consumer-oriented economy.

February 8 Business: National gold reserves continue plunging downward, to $41 million, but Congress fails to pass a bill requiring that notes redeemed in gold cannot be reissued. The result is a continuing run on the nation’s gold reserves. Meanwhile, the government arranges a federal gold purchase of $62 million from J. P. Morgan and August Belmont to make up the difference.

February 11 General: Congress establishes the Gettysburg National Military Park, consisting of 2,400 of the most desperately contested acres in American history.

February 20 Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland receives a congressional nod to help arbitrate a lengthy border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana, now intensified by the discovery of gold in the region. Great Britain, however, stridently declines any such assistance.

February 23 Diplomacy: Cubans resume their rebellion against Spanish rule when Spain suspends its constitutional guarantees of 1878. The United States, with extensive property holdings on the island, takes a keen interest in the restoration of peace.

February 24 Journalism: Recent Spanish cruelty toward members of the Cuban population suspected of harboring revolutionaries, is increasingly reported in American newspapers. This marks the rise of “yellow journalism,” in papers controlled by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, which is jingoistic by nature and seeks to embroil the United States in a conflict abroad.

March 2 Naval: Congress continues its modernizing trend by authorizing construction of the battleships Kearsarge and Kentucky.

March 5 Politics: A minority of “Silver Democrats” in the House of Representatives led by Richard P. Bland of Missouri begins a campaign for “free silver” coinage at a rate of 16 silver to one gold. The idea is gaining in popularity thanks to the eloquent agitation of former congressman William Jennings Bryan, who has left his seat to begin a speaking tour, affording more proof that the party

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is turning against President Grover Cleveland and his preference for the gold standard.

March 8 Naval: Proof of expanding American interests on a global scale is evinced today when U.S. Marines from the cruisers USS Baltimore and Atlanta are sent ashore at Chenfoo, China, and Boca del Toro, Colombia, to protect American lives and property during intervals of unrest.

March 13 Naval: The John P. Holland Company of New York contracts with the Navy Department to construct the service’s first submarine.

March 18 Societal: A body of 200 African Americans from Savannah, Georgia, relocates to the U.S.-founded nation of Liberia in Africa, continuing a trend that began in 1822.

March 20 General: Nearly 60 miners are killed in a coal mine explosion at Red Canyon, Wyoming.

April 17 Military: Japan’s sweeping victory over China in the Sino-Japanese War is finalized by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, whereby the Korean Peninsula becomes independent and the islands of Formosa and the Pescadores are ceded to the victor. This puts the world on notice that Japan, which had been living in feudalism only three decades before, has become a regional power to reckon with.

April 27 Diplomacy: A dispute over the Mosquito Islands of Nicaragua leads to the landing of Royal Marines there to secure reparations. President Grover Cleveland decides that the British are in their rights and their action does not constitute a violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but he is assailed in the press by Republicans for appeasement.

May 6 Sports: The 21st annual Kentucky Derby is won by Halma with a time of two minutes and 37 seconds.

May 15 Politics: Free coinage advocates from 17 states gather for a convention at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory.

May 20 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Pollock v. Farmer’s Loan and Trust Company, ruling that the income tax provision of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which levies taxes on all incomes over $4,000, is unconstitutional for directly taxing a specific segment of society. Consequently, the $80,000 collected thus far is to be returned to its rightful owners. The Court also decides the case of United States v. E. C. Knight Co., removing interstate monopolies from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, thereby weakening the federal government’s control over such practices.

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May 25 Sports: The 20th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Belmar who finishes in one minute, 50 seconds.

May 27 Labor: The U.S. Supreme Court decides In re Debs that the Sherman AntiTrust Act can be applied against organized labor by declaring federal injunctions against them legitimate on the grounds that they are interfering with interstate commerce and the mails.

June 1 Journalism: Staunch Kansas Republican William Allen White becomes editor of the Emporia Gazette, and readily takes on that state’s more populist establishments.

June 8 Politics: President Grover Cleveland appoints Richard Olney to serve as the new secretary of state.

June 11 Technology: Charles E. Duryea receives a patent for an automobile he first designed in 1893.

June 12 Politics: President Grover Cleveland invokes neutrality laws and warns citizens against aiding Cuban rebels against the government of Spain, although popular sympathy is being framed and fanned by the “yellow journalism” of publishers like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.

June 25 Diplomacy: Joseph Chamberlain gains appointment as Great Britain’s colonial secretary; he will initiate a major program to harmonize relations with the United States, thereby fostering global “Anglo-Saxon unity.”

July 4 Arts: Wellesley College professor Katherine Lee Bates composes her singular poem “America the Beautiful” for a church publication, the Congregationalist.

July 20 Diplomacy: Secretary of State Richard Olney, invoking the Monroe Doctrine, sends a decidedly arrogant telegram to English foreign minister Lord Salisbury, and declares the United States master of the Western Hemisphere and virtually invulnerable to attack. The British, unimpressed, will ignore the telegram. This hubris is in reference to an ongoing border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana, where gold has been discovered.

August 15 Naval: The USS Texas is commissioned, becoming the first armored battleship to serve in the U.S. Navy. However, because its armament is designed off-center, the ship will quickly be reclassified as a second-class warship once more modern designs with centerline main battery turrets are built.

August 19 Crime: Notorious gunslinger John Wesley Hardin is gunned down in a saloon in El Paso, Texas. He is shot point-blank in the back by Sheriff John Selman before Hardin can carry out alleged threats to kill the sheriff ’s son.

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August 31 Sports: The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Y.M.C.A. football team trounces its rivals from Jeanette, 12–0, in the first professional game. John Brailier, a quarterback with the Latrobe team, is paid $10 for his services—making him the nation’s first professional, paid athlete.

September 7–12 Sports: The U.S. yacht Defender successfully fends off a challenge by the British vessel Valkyrie II.

September 9 Sports: Delegates to the American Bowling Congress gather for the first time in Beethoven Hall, New York City, as a ruling body for the sport, nationwide. As such it will standardize rules and equipment and also plan national tournaments.

September 17 Naval: The USS Maine, originally built as an armored cruiser but now reclassified as a second-class battleship, is commissioned into service. The ship will serves for only three years before being destroyed by an accidental explosion that brings on a war.

September 18 Civil: The Cotton States and International Exposition unfolds in Atlanta, Georgia, to showcase that region’s participation in the age of industrialization. Among the guest speakers is African-American reformer Booker T. Washington, who appeals for accommodation between the two races until such time that equal rights can be granted. His controversial stance subsequently becomes known as the Atlanta Compromise and garners the speaker a national reputation.

September 27 General: A self-proclaimed Irish National Convention meets in Chicago, Illinois, where the use of force to free Ireland from Great Britain is discussed openly.

October 4 Sports: Nineteen-year-old Horace Rawlins, an English expatriate and former caddy, wins the first U.S. Open golf tournament at Newport, Rhode Island.

October 5 Military: General Nelson A. Miles replaces John McAllister Schofield as commanding general of the U.S. Army.

October 12 Technology: The world’s first electrical power grid, designed by Croatian expatriate Nikola Tesla, is constructed by the Westinghouse Electric Company at Niagara Falls; the new system employs no less than 10 large generators that utilize the alternating current principle invented by Tesla.

October 21 Business: The Southern California Fruit Exchange (today’s Sunkist Growers) is incorporated.

November 2 Sports: The 29th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Belmar, who runs the course in two minutes, 11 seconds.

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November 5 Business: George B. Selden finally obtains a patent for an automobile he first designed in 1879; the designer christens his new device a “road engine.” However, judging from the extent of infringements on the patent and the legal actions that ensue, this becomes and will remain the most controversial litigation in automotive history. Women: The new Utah constitution is written with a passage to include women’s suffrage.

November 6 General: The boiler at the Detroit Evening Journal explodes, killing 40 workers.

November 15 General: Turkish militants, convinced that Western powers are clandestinely spreading Christianity in the predominately Muslim land, burn several Americanowned missions at Marash and Harput. The U.S. government will demand a $100,000 indemnity for property destroyed.

November 20 Naval: The USS Indiana, the first modern American battleship sporting a centerline turret armament, is commissioned.

November 26 Diplomacy: British foreign minister Robert A. T. Gascoyne-Cecil, Lord Salisbury, responds unfavorably to Secretary of State Richard Olney’s invocation of the Monroe Doctrine in a border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana. The British insist the dispute is none of America’s business.

November 28 Sports: The first automobile race transpires on a 54-mile course from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois. A car built and driven by Charles E. Duryea is declared winner after covering the distance in seven hours and 53 minutes. His closest competitor is a Benz automobile shipped in from Germany.

December 2 Politics: The 54th Congress assembles with the Republicans in charge of both houses; a total of 13 Populists are also in the two chambers.

December 17 Societal: The Anti-Saloon League is officially founded as a national organization in Washington, D.C., only a year after its humble origin in Oberlin, Ohio.

December 17–21 Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland angrily addresses Congress with the belligerent correspondence from Lord Salisbury regarding the boundary dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela. He then demands and receives $100,000 to form a commission to arbitrate the boundary dispute, consistent with the norms of the Monroe Doctrine, which forbids European territorial aggression in the Western Hemisphere. Although war does not seem imminent, Cleveland has certainly roiled the waters between the two nations.

December 25 Business: A large deposit of natural gas is struck at Iola, Kansas, sparking efforts to retrieve it for industrial purposes.

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1896 Aviation: Aeronautical pioneer Samuel P. Langley constructs a steam-powered model airplane that flies for 90 seconds across the Potomac River. Business: Brothers Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea commence building 10 automobiles a year; they will win several races and establish themselves as a force on the early American automotive scene. General: The New York Aquarium is established to provide both public entertainment and a center of ichthyological studies. Journalism: The New Orleans Picayune begins a column for the lovelorn by Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, writing under the nom de plume Dorothea Dix. Finley Peter Dunne creates a column by “Mr. Dooley,” a fictional Irish barkeep who proffers pointed and frequently unsavory commentary about Chicago’s political and social scenes. Literature: Sarah Orne Jewett pens another local-color masterpiece entitled The Country of the Pointed Firs, which highlights ongoing problems in the Maine wilderness. Mark Twain publishes Joan of Arc, his final major work. A third edition of Emily Dickinson’s poems is published, containing more newly discovered material.

Dickinson, Emily

(1830–1886)

Poetess Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, the daughter of a successful politician and treasurer of nearby Amherst College. She attended Amherst Academy and performed sufficiently well enough to be admitted into the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, but Dickinson disliked being away from home and dropped out. At this point she began showing signs of reclusiveness that characterized her later adult life, the cause for which biographers and historians can only speculate. The most given explanation was a failed romance with a “dear friend,” Benjamin Newton, who was too poor to marry, or the brilliant preacher Reverend Charles Wadsworth. In any event, Dickinson rarely, if ever, left the confines of her parent’s home after 1848. By all accounts she was a bright, even gifted individual, yet morose and pathologically isolated from

contemporary society. Throughout most of her life, poetry appears to have been her only source of solace and at the same time, since her works were continually rejected by publishers, simply another source of pain. Dickinson had apparently begun writing verse as early as teenhood, but she did the bulk of her composing in the years 1858–66. She possessed what today is considered a marvelous sense of unorthodox diction and meter, with a predilection for recurring themes of metaphysical speculation, God, romance, and death. However, coming at the time when it did, her poetry proved far too unorthodox for the closely prescribed Victorian standards of her day, and she never published under her name. The only exception was the Springfield Republic in 1852, when two anonymous and heavily (continues)

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(continued) edited pieces appeared. In 1862 she turned to Atlantic Monthly editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson for help and advice and, while he did not publish her poems, he did proffer useful advice and the two became friendly correspondents. Dickinson died at her home on May 15, 1886, alone and in near obscurity. Dickinson’s rise to fame came posthumously. During her lifetime her 1,775 compositions were kept neatly arranged in a large ebony box and in 1890 her friend Higginson was asked by her sister, Lavinia Dickinson, to edit and publish some of them. The three collections of poetry, all heavily edited by Higginson, appeared in 1890, 1891, and 1896, and were badly received by contempo-

rary critics. It was not until the 20th century, when the syntax and meter norms of contemporary poetry had vastly changed, that Dickinson’s genius was finally recognized. Several more volumes appeared over the ensuing decades, but it was not until 1955 that Harvard University published a definitive, annotated edition of all 1,775 poems. Present-day scholars continue to hail her as one of the most original and creative voices in American poetry, ahead of such literary luminaries as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Sidney Lanier. The equally eccentric Walt Whitman, writing in a similarly disjointed and unmelodic style, is considered her closest rival for laurels.

The religious novel In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon becomes one of the year’s best-sellers. Harold Frederic’s controversial novel The Damnation of Theron Ware dishes dirt on the religious hypocrisy of small-town Methodists and causes a popular stir. Media: R. F. Outcault pens the first comic strip, The Yellow Kid, in the New York World. Captions adorn the kid’s baggy, yellow shirt, thus giving a novel, “yellow journalism,” to the sensationalistic, jingoistic brand of journalism so prevalent in that day. Military: The 14th U.S. Infantry and detachments from other regiments arrive in Alaska to help map and survey land routes and mineral resources in that largely uncharted wilderness. Music: In an attempt to elevate music studies at the college level, Columbia University appoints Edward A. MacDowell as head of its new Music Department. He is one of the first composers to stimulate interest in a genuine form of orchestral music based upon Native American and African-American melodies. Noted conductor John Philip Sousa creates his legendary composition, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which remains a perennial and patriotic favorite among Americans. Theodore A. Metz pens the highly popular song, “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Night.” Publishing: Theodore Roosevelt finishes the fourth and final volume to his mammoth study The Winning of the West. Spanish-born George Santayana, now a Harvard University philosopher, publishes his The Sense of Beauty. Religion: William Ashley “Billy” Sunday, a former professional baseball player, turns to evangelical Christianity, becoming one of the nation’s most sought after

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preachers. Before dying in 1935 he will conduct 300 revivals and be heard by an estimated 100 million people. John Alexander Downie, a Scot who arrived in America by way of Australia, founds his Christian Catholic Church, which will grow to encompass 100,000 members and include its own tabernacle at Zion, Illinois. The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (or yeshiva) is founded in New York City; it is the first such institution in the United States. Sports: Princeton wins the national college football championship with 10 wins, no losses, and one tie. Baltimore wins the National League baseball championship with 90 wins, 39 losses.

January 1 Diplomacy: President Grover Cleveland appoints an investigating committee to explore the boundary dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana. The British government, already preoccupied by fears of an expanding war in South Africa, reluctantly agrees to cooperate.

January 4 Settlement: After five unsuccessful attempts, Utah (the name is derived from the local Ute Indians) becomes the 45th state admitted to the Union, with its capital at Salt Lake City. This was not possible until the Mormon Church officially renounced the practice of polygamy; also, Utah’s constitution promotes women’s suffrage.

January 6 Business: Gold reserves continue plummeting to dangerous new levels owing to a fourth bond issue worth $100 million and a recent deal with the banking establishment under J.P. Morgan. Because the government continues to redeem bonds in gold, the reserves keep dwindling. Editor Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World coins the term “robber barons” to describe the parties involved.

January 25 Diplomacy: Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain of Great Britain seeks a diplomatic rapprochement with the United States after the Boer War breaks out in southern Africa and the emperor of Germany telegrams the rebels (largely of Dutch descent) congratulations.

January 29 Medical: Dr. Emil H. Grube utilizes X rays for the first time during the treatment of breast cancer. They are measured in units called roentgens after their discoverer, Conrad Roentgen of Germany, and are used to selectively burn malignant cells.

February 10 Journalism: In a streak of unabashed “yellow journalism,” the American press describes the cruel Spanish general Valeriano Weyler as “the Butcher.”

February 28 Diplomacy: Congress grants the rebels in Cuba “belligerent rights” and also offers the Spanish government American cooperation if it chooses to negotiate with them.

March 6 Transportation: Charles Brady King designs and tests the first car driven in Detroit, Michigan. Among the many observers present is a Henry Ford, who becomes fixated on automobiles.

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March 16 Settlement: The U.S. Supreme Court settles a lengthy border dispute between Texas and Oklahoma.

March 20 Military: U.S. Marines are landed at Cortino, Nicaragua, to protect American citizens after a revolution breaks out there.

April 4 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Richard Olney contacts Spanish minister Enrique de Lome and offers to mediate the dispute between Spain and Cuban rebels. The minister politely but firmly declines the offer.

April 6 Diplomacy: Congress seeks to grant the Cuban rebels belligerent status and offers American assistance to Spain as an arbitrator—with a view toward independence. Sports: A team of athletes from the United States participates in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning nine of 12 events—an amazing event considering they arrived completely out of shape after a long ocean trip and had no time to warm up. James B. Connolly, by winning the hop, skip, and jump, is anointed as the first Olympic champion in more than 15 centuries.

April 23 Technology: Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in New York City is the site of another public display of Thomas A. Edison’s new motion picture technology, or Vitascope. A short black and white film, wows the onlookers and a New York Times writer considers the program “Wonderfully real and singularly exhilarating.” Word of mouth is making the “flickers” the most popular entertainment in America.

May 2 Naval: The gunboat USS Alert dispatches a landing party ashore at Cortino, Nicaragua, to protect American lives and property in an interval of unrest.

May 6 Civil: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the seminal case of Plessy v. Ferguson, ruling that “separate but equal” does not deprive African Americans of civil rights as defined by the Fourteenth Amendment. This will give rise to the infamous “Jim Crow Laws,” which formalize racial discrimination throughout the South. Sports: The 22nd annual Kentucky Derby is won by Ben Brush with a time of two minutes, seven seconds.

May 12 Military: The all-African-American 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps is formed at Fort Missoula, Montana, under Second Lieutenant James A. Moss, a white officer. This is the only such unit in the world and seeks to test the viability of such light and reliable transportation for military applications.

May 18 Indian: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Talton v. Mayes, ruling that the Bill of Rights does not apply to Indian tribal court proceedings, seeing that tribal governments predate the Constitution.

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Media: William Randolph Hearst scores a minor publishing coup by convincing cartoonist R. F. Outcault to transfer his noted strip, the Yellow Kid, from a paper owned by rival Joseph Pulitzer to his own New York Journal.

May 22 Diplomacy: Spain declines American offers of help for negotiating with Cuban rebels, which spells the end of President Grover Cleveland’s hands-off approach to the issue.

May 27 General: A large tornado rips through St. Louis and East St. Louis, killing 306 people and displacing 5,000 more. Damage is estimated at $13 million. Politics: The Prohibition Party convenes in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to nominate Joshua Levering of Maryland for president and Hale Johnson of Illinois to be vice president. The free silver-oriented National Party nominates Charles E. Bentley for president.

June 2 Sports: The 30th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Hastings, who runs the course in two minutes, 24 seconds.

June 4 Business: At Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford completes his first Ford automobile in a brick work shed. Once finished, the new vehicle will prove wider than the exit door, which has to be knocked down.

June 6 Sport: The 21st Preakness Stakes is won by Margrave with a time of one minute, 51 seconds.

June 11 General: The house where Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, is declared a national historic monument.

June 16–18 Politics: The Republican Party hosts its national convention in St. Louis, Missouri, and nominates William McKinley for the presidency, chiefly through the machinations of Cleveland industrialist Mark Hanna. However, 34 “Silver Republicans” bolt the proceedings to support like-minded candidates of the Democratic Party. Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey is also chosen as vice president while the party platform endorses both high tariffs and the gold standard.

June 28 General: A cave-in at a coal mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania, kills 58 miners.

July 4 –9 Politics: The Socialist Labor Party meets in New York City and nominates Charles H. Machett of New York and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey as president and vice president, respectively.

July 7–11 Politics: The Democratic Party, badly split over the issue of silver, convenes its national convention in Chicago, Illinois, and selects Nebraskan William Jennings Bryan as its nominee for president. Bryan thunders off with one of his trademark,

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Chronology of American History rousing speeches on behalf of free silver, declaring, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” This stance forces numerous “gold Democrats” to depart the proceedings and form a splinter group of their own, the “National Democrats.” Arthur Sewall, a Maine banker who still supports free silver, is nominated for the vice presidency.

July 18 Sports: James Foulis wins the U.S. Open golf tournament.

July 22–24 Politics: Western, or “Silver Republicans,” convene a convention of their own in St. Louis under Henry M. Teller of Colorado and endorse William Jennings Bryan for president and Arthur Sewall for vice president. The Populist Party, also meeting across town, likewise throws its support behind Bryan but, to maintain its distance from the Democrats, chooses Thomas Watson for the vice presidency.

July 25 Politics: The People’s (Populist) Party holds its national convention and nominates William Jennings Bryan for president and Thomas E. Watson of Georgia for vice president.

July 30 General: A train accident near Atlantic City, New Jersey, kills 60 passengers.

July 31 Indian: In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, white settlers kill three Bannock Indians, including one child, and the government orders Major Adna Romanza Chaffee there with troops to restore order and prevent the outbreak of fighting.

August 6 General: Gold is discovered on the Klondike River of Canada’s Yukon territory, near the border of Alaska, sparking another major gold rush. Within two years 25,000 gold seekers will be braving freezing weather and permafrost conditions to extract the precious metal from the ground.

August 15 Journalism: Republican editor William Allen White of the Emporia Gazette pens a noted column entitled “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” following an ugly confrontation with irate populists. This attack on Democrats subsequently makes its way into every major newspaper and will be coopted by the presidential campaign of William McKinley.

August 16 Settlement: Word of the gold strike near Dawson in Canada’s Yukon, close to the Alaska border, triggers a stampede of 18,000 prospectors; they will be joined by 100,000 more by year’s end.

September Societal: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s daughter, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, establishes a free home in New York City for poor cancer patients.

September 2–3 Politics: The National (gold standard) Democrats who abandoned their party after it embraced William Jennings Bryan, assemble a convention of their own

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at Indianapolis, Indiana, and choose John M. Palmer of Illinois and Simon B. Buckner of Kentucky for president and vice president, respectively.

September 7 Sports: The first racetrack for automobiles opens in Narragansett, Rhode Island, where a handful of mechanical daredevils hope to propel America into the horseless carriage age. Several spectators, singularly unimpressed by their technical endeavors, allegedly yell “Get a horse!”

October 1 Business: The U.S. Post Office establishes rural free delivery (R.F.D.) areas across Virginia, with the rest of the nation soon to follow. This move ends the long-standing cultural and intellectual isolation suffered by remote regions of the nation and also stimulates the rise of mail-order retail businesses nationwide.

October 26 Journalism: In New York City, editor Adolph Ochs, determined to produce a respectable newspaper, unlike the Hurst and Pulitzer scandal sheets, arranges the purchase of the failing New York Times. His approach is to disavow the sensationalism then in vogue and give readers nothing less than “All the news that’s fit to print.”

November Sports: The Amateur Hockey League, the first in the nation, is organized in New York City. This Canadian import sport is growing in popularity wherever ice can be found for extended periods.

November 3 Politics: In a taut and highly emotional campaign, Williams Jenning Bryan has traveled has 1,800 miles to deliver 600 speeches, earning the moniker “Boy orator of the Platte.” Low-key William McKinley, in contrast, has conducted his “front porch” campaign and addressed thousands of voters who stop outside his Ohio home. Meanwhile, his campaign manager, millionaire Mark Hanna, distributed millions of campaign leaflets and hired an army of campaign speakers to tour the nation for him. In the end McKinley defeats Bryan with a popular vote of 7.1 million to 6.5 million and an electoral count of 271 to 165. The campaign has been stridently negative, with many business owners warning workers they will no longer have jobs if Bryan is elected. Still, the results are relatively close considering that the well-heeled Republicans spent over $47 million while the impoverished Democrats, deserted by big business, had only $300,000 in their coffers. Nonetheless, this victory spells the doom of attempts to put silver on a parity with gold and also signals the demise of the Populist Party. The Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress. Women: Idaho adopts women’s suffrage as an amendment to the state constitution.

November 12 Diplomacy: In Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Richard Olney and British minister Sir Julian Pauncefote agree to terms for establishing an arbitration treaty between Great Britain and Venezuela. The panel consists of two American Supreme Court justices, two British high court justices, a member appointed by Sweden, and one from Venezuela.

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December 10 Diplomacy: Queen Liliuokalani ( jibed in the press as “Queen Lil”) arrives at San Francisco on a goodwill tour of the United States.

December 15 Sports: The first ice hockey league game is played in America when the St. Nick’s Skating Club shuts out the Brooklyn skaters, 15–0.

1897 Architecture: John Merven Carrere and Thomas Hastings begin work on the New York Public Library building along Fifth Avenue. The finished product will strongly reflect the design principles espoused by the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris. Literature: Novelist S. Weir Mitchell pens Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker, considered to be his finest historical work. The novel Soldiers of Fortune by Richard Harding Davis becomes an instant best-seller, although the author gradually lapses into obscurity. From his home in Brattleboro, Vermont, British writer Rudyard Kipling writes another successful novel, Captains Courageous. Edwin Arlington Robinson pens a collection of noted poems entitled The Children of the Night. Media: The Katzenjammer Kids, a cartoon strip by Rudolph Dirks appearing in the New York Journal, becomes the first cartoon strip to utilize speech balloons. Medical: The American Osteopathic Association is founded, indicative of osteopathy’s rising relevance to medical practice. Politics: The entire faculty of the Kansas Agricultural College is dismissed for failing to wholeheartedly endorse populism. Publishing: Moses Coit Taylor finishes his Literary History of the American Revolution. Charles M. Sheldon, a Congregationalist minister, writes In His Steps, which exhorts young people to see what they can accomplish by emulating Jesus Christ for a year. It proves an immediate best-seller and will sell eight million copies. William James, leader of the pragmatist philosophical movement, publishes a collection of his beliefs in The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy. Science: The Yerkes Observatory, constructed under the aegis of the University of Chicago, is opened at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It is named after its major benefactor, traction magnate Charles Tyson Yerkes. Societal: The citizens of Cheyenne, Wyoming, begin celebrating Frontier Day, which will continue as a five-day Wild West Show. Sports: The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championships are won by Robert D. Wrenn and Juliette P. Atkinson in their respective divisions. Boston wins the National League baseball championship with 93 wins, 39 losses.

January 11 Diplomacy: The Olney-Pauncefote Treaty, which makes accommodations for arbitration between Great Britain and the United States, is submitted to the Senate by President Grover Cleveland; however, it will never be ratified. Still,

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the effort is indicative of a warming trend between the two nations and better cooperation. Women: In Utah, M. H. Cannon is chosen to become Utah’s first state senator.

January 12 Business: The National Monetary Conference assembles at Indianapolis, Indiana, to convince Congress to adopt a long-range monetary strategy pegged to the gold standard. This is another indication that gold levels are on the upswing and prosperity is returning to the land.

January 26 Societal: The New Orleans Board of Aldermen, cognizant that they will never be able to outlaw prostitution, resolve to allow it to flourish along Basin Street near the French Quarter, only. Thereafter the area will jocularly be known as “Storyville” after Alderman Sidney Story, who proposed the measure.

January 30 Architecture: Henry Janeway Hardenberg begins designing the lavish, 10-story Astoria Hotel in New York City.

February 2 Diplomacy: Prodded by American agitation, Great Britain and Venezuela sign an accord to settle their boundary dispute through arbitration. This precludes any need for American assistance or diplomatic intervention and the arbitration commission created by President Grover Cleveland is dismissed. General: A raging fire guts the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg; a new building will not be completed on the same site until 1906.

February 17 Societal: Phoebe A. Hearst and Alice M. Birney found the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C. This is a precursor to the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) in 1924.

February 21 Politics: In a major political payoff, industrialist Mark Hanna is appointed U.S. senator from Ohio, replacing John Sherman who becomes the new secretary of state. Hanna has been an unstinting supporter of newly elected William McKinley and was instrumental in his recent victory over populist William Jennings Bryan.

March 1 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Allgeyer v. Louisiana, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment protects all freedoms associated with making contracts. The legal concept “free of contract” also surfaces for the first time.

March 2 Politics: In one of his last acts in office, President Grover Cleveland vetoes a bill subjecting migrants to a literacy test on the basis that it is “a radical departure.”

March 4 Politics: William A. McKinley is inaugurated the 25th president of the United States while Garett A. Hobart becomes vice president. In his inaugural address he promises that war will be the last resort in sorting out the nation’s difficulties.

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McKinley, William (1843–1901) President William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio, on January 29, 1843, and spent much of his childhood in the neighboring town of Poland. He subsequently attended Allegheny College for one semester before dropping out due to illness, and he later found work as a teacher and post office clerk. In 1862 he joined the 23rd Ohio Volunteers under Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, fought well in several battles, and mustered out three years later with a rank of major. Afterward McKinley attended the Albany Law School, then passed the Ohio bar exam and established a practice in Canton, Ohio. By this time he had developed an infatuation for Republican Party politics and held several statewide offices before gaining election to the U.S. House

of Representatives in 1876. In this capacity he favored high tariffs and civil service reform, which culminated in his appointment as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Here McKinley pushed through the protectionist tariff act that bears his name to increase rates previously lowered by President Grover Cleveland. However, he lost his seat due to the gerrymandering of Democrats and returned to Ohio in 1891. That year he successfully ran for the governorship of his home state, which he held until January 1896. As the decade ground on, McKinley was increasingly less disposed to support the free coinage of silver to stimulate inflation and lessen the monetary burden on farmers, and came to embrace the gold

March 5 Politics: President William McKinley appoints John Sherman, a former Ohio senator, as secretary of state; he will serve little over a year due to illness. Russell A. Alger, a distinguished Civil War general and former commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, is appointed secretary of war by President William McKinley.

March 6 Naval: In Washington, D.C., John Davis Long, former governor of Massachusetts, becomes the 34th secretary of the navy.

March 15 Politics: The 55th Congress assembles with Republicans in firm control of both houses.

March 17 Sports: In Carson City, Nevada, Bob Fitzsimmons defeats “Gentleman Jim” Corbett for the world heavyweight boxing championship, toppling him in 14 rounds. This is the first boxing match recorded on film, with three cameras present.

March 22 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Association on a five to four vote, finally ruling that railroads are, in fact, subject to tenets of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

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standard of his party. In 1896 he ran for the presidency, with the assistance of millionaire Marcus Hanna, on a platform that called for hard currency and high tariffs, and that year he handily defeated the free silver populist candidacy of William Jennings Bryan. Once in office, McKinley signed the Dingley Act, which raised tariff rates. However, the balance of his administration became overwhelmingly absorbed by the issues of war and peace, along with an increasing desire to obtain the overseas possessions befitting a great power. Cuba was then in the throes of a protracted rebellion against Spain, and McKinley fell under mounting pressure to go to war and protect American sugar interests on that island. The trend was accelerated following the accidental sinking of the battleship USS Maine on February

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15, 1898, and war was finally declared that April. The Americans easily triumphed in this one-sided contest, but McKinley proved no outright imperialist and the country had to settle for an independent Cuba and control over the Philippines until selfgovernance was possible, while Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico received territorial status. McKinley nonetheless basked in the afterglow of his successful “little war,” and in 1900 he easily defeated Bryan in a political rematch. This time he was paired with Theodore Roosevelt, a popular New York progressive, who served as his vice president. McKinley anticipated his second term would be dominated by administering these new acquisitions, but on September 6, 1901, he was shot by anarchist Leon F. Czolgosz, in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later.

April Business: President William A. McKinley dispatches a commission to Europe to sound out the concept of international bimentalism.

April 19 Sports: John J. McDermott wins the first running of the Boston Marathon, with a run of two hours, 55 minutes, and 10 seconds.

April 22 Naval: Inventor Simon Lake constructs and tests the submarine Argonaut, which is both fully submersible and manageable under water. This craft, 36 feet long and powered by a 30 horsepower gasoline engine, depends on a hose floating from the surface to provide air to both crew and propulsion engine. Sports: Louis Sockalexis, a full-blooded Penobscot Indian, becomes the first Native-American professional baseball player when he signs with the Cleveland Spiders.

April 23 Indian: The Choctaw and Chickasaw nations sign the Atoka Agreement with the U.S. government, which doubles their land assignments under the Allotment Treaty to 320 acres.

May 4 Sports: The 23rd annual Kentucky Derby is won by Typhoon II, who runs the course in two minutes, 32 seconds.

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May 5 Diplomacy: The Japanese government, incensed over Hawaii’s discriminatory policy toward its immigrant workers, dispatches the warship Naniwa to voice its discontent. Japan’s minister in residence, H. Shimamura, then warns the Hawaiians to stop the practice immediately, or war would follow. Settlement: The governor of New York signs a new charter allowing for an increase in the size of New York City through the absorption of neighboring boroughs.

May 22 Journalism: William Randolph Hearst begins whipping up a popular frenzy against Spain over its atrocious treatment of Cuban rebels, most of it fictitious. Yellow journalism is ramping up the rhetoric for war.

May 24 Politics: Congress appropriates $50,000 for the relief of Americans living in Cuba during a period of upheaval.

May 29 Sports: The 31st annual Belmont Stakes is won by Scottish Chieftain with a time of two minutes, 32 seconds.

May 31 Military: The U.S. Army discharges the last of its Indian scouts, although Native Americans continue serving in the ranks as regular soldiers.

June 2 General: From England, essayist Mark Twain cables to a New York newspaper his oft-quoted declaration, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

June 7 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Sherman complains to the Spanish government over its alleged treatment of Cuban rebels.

June 8 Sports: The 22nd annual Preakness Stakes is won by Paul Kauvar, who crosses the line in one minute, 51 seconds.

June 15 Politics: The Social Democracy of America is formed by Victor L. Berger and Eugene L. Debs in Chicago, Illinois, principally from remnants of the American Railway Union and other socialist groups. The following year it adopts the moniker of Social Democratic Party.

June 16 Diplomacy: A treaty of annexation is signed by Secretary of State John Sherman and the government of Hawaii. The Senate, however, fails to ratify.

June 19 Diplomacy: The empire of Japan, which secretly covets Hawaii for its own, protests the recent annexation of the islands by the United States. It presently has 25,000 nationals working in the islands.

June 27 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Sherman fires off a diplomatic protest to Spain over the cruel suppression of Cuban rebels by General Valeriano Weyler, whom the American press has labeled “the Butcher.”

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July 2 Labor: Mines in Ohio and Pennsylvania are shut down by a strike of 75,000 workers.

July 7 Business: The Republican-controlled Congress passes the Dingley Tariff Bill, which raises protectionist rates to their highest-ever levels—up to 91 percent on wool, 97 percent on sugar, and 119 percent on tobacco—an overall average of 57 percent. However, the effort is redundant because many American products no longer require protection from foreign competitors.

July 14 General: The first shipment of $750,000 in gold from Alaska arrives at San Francisco on board the vessel Excelsior. Three days later another shipment worth $800,000 will arrive, precipitating a rush to the north by fortune seekers. Eventually 100,000 people will make their way to the gold fields seeking an easy fortune.

July 24 Transportation: President William A. McKinley appoints a commission tasked with studying the possibility of a canal across Nicaragua.

September 1 Labor: Striking coal miners in Hazleton and Lattimer, Pennsylvania, are fired upon by deputy sheriffs, and 20 men die, in one of the first actions by the new United Mine Workers, which has orchestrated strikes in that state, West Virginia, and Ohio—finally winning the vaunted eight-hour work day.

September 17 Sports: Englishman Joe Lloyd wins the U.S. Open golf tournament.

September 18 Diplomacy: U.S. minister to Madrid Stewart L. Woodford is instructed by the State Department to demand that Spain cease its destructive war against Cuban rebels. Moreover, the Spanish have until November 1, 1897, to submit a favorable response.

September 25 Transportation: The German Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, then the world’s largest ship, sails majestically into New York harbor.

October 1 Transportation: Boston unveils the nation’s first underground railroad, or “Subway,” at Tremont Street, stretching one and one-half miles beneath the city from Allston to Cambridge. The system can handle up to 400 cars at once and has cost taxpayers $4.3 million.

October 6 Diplomacy: The new and moderately disposed Spanish premier, Praxedes Mateo Sagasta, assumes control of the government, and he both recalls the repressive general Valeriano Weyler from Cuba and ends the practice of concentration camps. Cubans consequently receive a greater degree of political autonomy. However, the American press, under men like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, is still actively promoting war for its own sake and continues to

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November 13–28 Diplomacy: To placate U.S. criticism, the Spanish government formally dismisses and recalls Governor General Valeriano Weyler after a brutal two-year reign. Because of his excesses he is branded in the American press as “the Butcher.” His replacement is General Ramón Blanco, a man of more moderate disposition. Plans for Cuba’s eventual political autonomy are also adopted and made public.

December 6 Politics: President William A. McKinley, in his annual address to Congress, voices optimism that the Cuban problem can be resolved peacefully.

December 22 Diplomacy: Following assurances from Secretary of State John Sherman and the payment of reparations for damages inflicted upon Japanese nationals in Hawaii, the emperor’s government withdraws its protest against the islands’ annexation treaty with the United States.

1898 Architecture: Chicago architects Dankmar Adler and Louis H. Sullivan design the terra cotta Bayard Building in New York City. Arts: The National Institute of Arts and Letters is created by the American Social Science Association. The first group of American impressionist painters has a group exhibit for the first time in New York City; their effort heralds the growing popularity of this art form. The play Origins of the Cake Walk, written and performed entirely by African Americans, is the first all-black minstrel show performed for white audiences in New York City. Business: By now the United States is producing 10 million tons of steel per annum, more than Germany and Great Britain combined. The widespread application of steam turbines and electric motors is also dramatically changing the nature of American industry. The Kellogg brothers of Battle Creek, Michigan, add malt flavoring to groundup corn and produce the first good-tasting corn flakes—soon to be a staple of the American breakfast. In New Bern, North Carolina, Caleb Bradham formulates a new soda to compete with the highly successful Coca-Cola—he names it Pepsi-Cola. Education: Dr. Carl A. Schenck opens the Biltmore Forest School, the nation’s first institute for the scientific study and application of forestry. Indian: Roughly 500 Native Americans, representing 23 tribes, are allowed to perform their native dances and rituals at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. Literature: The novel David Harum by Edward Noyes Westcott sells 400,000 copies and over a million copies over the next quarter century. Tragically, the

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author, who had been rejected by six publishers, dies before it is published by D. Appleton. Henry James pens The Turn of the Screw, one of his finest horror masterpieces. Charles Major’s historical romance, When Knighthood Was in Flower, becomes a national best-seller. Media: At 36 minutes in length, The Passion Play becomes one of the longest motion pictures assembled to date and concerns itself with religious themes. Music: “The Rosary,” a sentimental song by Robert Cameron Rogers with music by Ethelbert Nevin, becomes a popular song for the next 25 years. Settlement: Nome, Alaska, is founded on the Seward Peninsula as a result of an ongoing gold rush. Sports: Harvard wins the national college football championship with 11 wins, no ties, no losses. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championships are won by Malcolm D. Whitman and Juliette P. Atkinson in their respective divisions. Boston wins the National League baseball championship with 102 wins, 47 losses.

January 1 General: The New York legislature enlarges New York City by consolidating it with four surrounding boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. This day Robert Van Wyck is sworn is as mayor of the five boroughs, which, while sharing police, fire, and other services, will retain a degree of self-governance. Naval: Admiral Montgomery Sicard positions his squadron near the Dry Tortugas, Florida, in anticipation of war with Spain.

January 7 Science: Alexander Graham Bell is appointed president of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.

January 12 Diplomacy: A riot breaks out in Havana among Spanish and Cuban loyalists, who denounce both autonomy and the liberal policies of General Ramón Blanco. Fitzhugh Lee, the U.S. minister, is convinced that attempts at reform in the face of such resistance would lead only to chaos and asks the U.S. government to dispatch a warship to the vicinity as a show of strength.

January 15 Diplomacy: Spanish forces cordon off the U.S. consulate in Havana to protect it from pro-Spanish rioters.

January 24–25 Naval: The battleship USS Maine under Captain Charles D. Sigsbee drops anchor at Havana harbor, Cuba, ostensibly on a goodwill call, but it is actually present to help protect American lives and property.

February 8 Agriculture: In Chicago, Illinois, the Butter and Egg Board is constituted to grade both products on a consumer basis. Military: Due to the onslaught of prospectors during the Klondike gold rush, the U.S. Army establishes a safety zone to protect private property in that region.

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1484â•… Chronology of American History Four companies of the 14th U.S. Infantry are dispatched to preserve law and order.

February 9 Diplomacy: Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the Spanish minister to the United States, resigns and composes a letter highly unflattering to the United States in general and President William McKinley in parÂ�ticÂ�uÂ�lar. When William Randolph Hearst obtains a copy and publishes it in his New York Journal, it sparks national indig-­ nation toward Spain. De Lôme is forced to leave the country immediately.

February 15 Naval: The 6,700-­ton battleship USS Maine sinks at anchor in Havana harbor with the loss of 260 sailors out of a total complement of 358, apparently from an internal explosion. However, this costly accident is treated in the American press as an act of sabotage, possibly by a hostile mine, which further fans prowar senti-­ ments nationwide. In time, “Remember the Maine!” becomes a stirring battle cry and a conÂ�veÂ�nient pretext for intervention in Cuba.

February 18 Military: In Alaska, the 14th U.S. Infantry is established as a military peacekeep-­ ing force to protect miners and their property. The army is tasked with patrolling a “safety zone” in order to root out criminals and troublemakers.

The U.S. battleship Maine╇ (Library of Congress)

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February 23 Naval: Anticipating hostilities with Spain, the Navy Department orders several warships to concentrate at Key West, Florida.

February 25 Naval: Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, anticipating war with Spain, secretly orders Commodore George Dewey at Hong Kong to attack the Pacific Squadron of Admiral Patricio Montojo in the Philippines, if war is declared, and then to capture Manila.

Dewey, George (1837–1917) Admiral George Dewey was born at Montpelier, Vermont, on December 26, 1837, and he attended Norwich University before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Dewey graduated in 1858 and rose to lieutenant in 1861 in time for active service during the Civil War. In 1862 he accompanied the squadron of Captain David G. Farragut and rendered useful service in the capture of New Orleans and operations along the Mississippi River. Dewey finished the war performing blockade duty and he remained in the peacetime establishment, successively rising to commander in 1872, captain in 1884, and commodore by 1896. The U.S. Navy at this time was undergoing a period of transition from sail to steam, and Dewey immersed himself in the nuances of modern propulsion and ordnance. His expertise landed him the post as president of the Board of Inspection and Survey in 1895, chief of the Bureau of Equipment in 1889, and president of the Board of Inspection and Survey in 1895. In all these capacities he helped established criteria for the newest class of battleships. In 1897 Dewey requested sea duty and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt appointed him commander of the Asiatic Squadron based at Hong Kong. He was functioning in this capacity when the Spanish-American War

erupted in 1898, and Roosevelt immediately ordered him to engage the Spanish naval force at Manila in the Philippines. On May 1, 1898, Dewey led his force of four modern cruisers and two gunboats into Manila Bay to engage an older but similarly sized Spanish force. Addressing the captain of his flag ship, Dewey said, “You may fire when ready, Gridley.” The Americans completely outgunned their adversary, sinking all the Spanish ships, with only eight injuries on the American side. The lopsided nature of his victory rendered him a national hero. Dewey lingered in Philippine waters long enough to assist General Wesley Merritt in capturing the city of Manila before returning to the United States in triumph. Previously, he had received promotion to rear admiral and obtained the thanks of Congress. Dewey’s reception in New York was thunderous and the Democratic Party openly courted him to run as its presidential candidate. Dewey, who cared little for politics, toyed with the offer but declined, so in 1899 he received the special rank of admiral of the navy, the highest grade ever held by an American naval officer. This required him to remain on active duty for life, and he soon gained appointment as head of the General Board (continues)

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(continued) of the Navy. In this capacity, Dewey helped guide and orchestrate the ongoing naval construction program, which resulted in the acquisition of fleets of modern warships in time for World War I. Dewey published his memoirs in 1913, which were well received,

and then died in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1917. His smashing victory at Manila Bay in 1898 secured his reputation as a famous naval commander and set the stage for America’s emergence as a global power to reckon with.

February 28 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Holden v. Hardy, ruling that a Utah statute mandating an eight-hour working day for miners is valid. It is an important victory for the labor movement and paves the way for other favorable decisions.

March 6 Naval: The 10,200-ton battleship USS Oregon is dispatched from Puget Sound, Washington, for Key West, Florida, under Captain Charles E. Clark. The move is undertaken in anticipation of war with Spain. More importantly, the fact that it takes 67 days and 14,760 miles to round Cape Horn and deploy where needed underscores the need for a Central American canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

March 8 Diplomacy: When Great Britain, alarmed at the rapid colonizing of China by German, Austrian, Italian, Russian, and Japanese forces, appeals to the United States for military assistance in maintaining the “Open Door” trade policy, it receives a rude shock when President William McKinley flatly refuses to approve of special concessions to one power. Military: Congress expands the army by adding the 6th and 7th U.S. Artillery Regiments to the military establishment.

March 9 Politics: In a fit of bellicosity, Congress approves $50 million in defense appropriations, with half earmarked for the U.S. Navy; at present, the navy is well prepared for strife but the U.S. Army is undermanned, underequipped, and needs to be fleshed out by enthusiastic and well-trained volunteers.

March 11 Military: As President William McKinley wavers over the issue of conflict, the War Department begins mobilizing its forces for war with Spain.

March 14 Naval: In Spain, Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete hoists anchor in Madrid and sails for the Cape Verde Islands in an ill-fated attempt to reinforce Cuba.

March 16 Diplomacy: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee presents a Hawaiian annexation resolution to Congress, although proponents fail to muster the two-thirds vote necessary for adoption. However, aggressive posturing by the government of Japan forces Congress to revisit the issue.

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March 17 Diplomacy: Senator Redfield Proctor, a former peace activist, has no sooner returned from a visit to Cuba than he appears before the U.S. Senate and calls for an indictment of Spanish policies toward that island. His testimony lends additional impetus to growing public sentiment toward war with Spain. Naval: The USS Holland, the navy’s first commissioned submarine, is launched at the Crescent Shipyard, New Jersey, under the command of Lieutenant H. H. Caldwell.

March 18 Naval: A “Flying Squadron” consisting of the battleships USS Texas and Massachusetts, along with cruisers Brooklyn, Columbia, and Minneapolis, is entrusted to Acting Commodore Winfield Scott Schley for the purpose of guarding the Atlantic coastline against possible attack by Spain.

March 24 Naval: Captain William T. Sampson replaces Admiral Montgomery B. Sicard as commander of the North Atlantic Squadron while his own promotion to admiral is pending.

March 25 Aviation: Theodore Roosevelt, assistant secretary of the navy, recommends to the secretary of the navy that several “scientific officers” be appointed to investigate any military applications for Dr. Samuel P. Langley’s purported “flying machine,” then under development.

March 27 Diplomacy: Mindful of mounting pressure for war, President William McKinley makes a peace gesture by instructing Stewart L. Woodford, American minister to Spain, to demand a truce with the Cuban rebels, dismantling of all concentration camps, and American arbitration for a peaceful solution.

March 28 Journalism: William Randolph Hearst, editor of the New York Journal, declares to artist Frederic Remington, working clandestinely in Cuba, “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” Yellow journalism is quickly and effectively fanning public sentiment in the direction of armed conflict. Naval: The official report on the loss of the USS Maine is finally presented to Congress. Ignoring the evidence, the report concludes that the vessel was sunk by an underwater explosion, possibly from a mine. They decline to state whose mine it was, possibly that of Cuban rebels, which in itself is additional proof that Spain has failed to maintain order in the islands. Societal: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruling that American citizenship cannot be determined or rewarded on the basis of race. Henceforth, Chinese children born in the United States are not subject to deportation under the Chinese Exclusion Act even if both of their parents are Chinese nationals. It is a landmark decision in the course of American racial relations.

March 31 Diplomacy: The Spanish government responds to the American near-ultimatum on the ongoing crisis in Cuba. The new liberal regime reiterates its call for an end

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Remington, Frederic (1861–1909) Painter Frederic Remington was born in Canton, New York, on October 4, 1861, the son of a Union cavalry officer. He was educated locally before gaining admission to the Yale University School of Fine Arts in 1878. Remington proved adept as an artist but was dissatisfied with the techniques taught to him at Yale, so he dropped out in 1880 to pursue what for him proved a lifelong calling: the Wild West. Arriving in Montana, he worked as a ranch-hand and cowboy for several months, carefully noting all the nuances of life around him. Remington came east in 1881 and sold his illustrations to Harper’s Weekly, which readily published his finely detailed and vividly rendered work. He returned to the West in 1883 and bought

a sheep farm in Kansas, but after it failed he temporarily settled in Kansas City, Missouri. Remington sketched and painted profusely, then returned to New York to sell his additional work to Harper’s Weekly. He also enrolled in the Student Art League in New York City to enhance his style, but in 1887 Harper’s commissioned him to go west and accompany U.S. Army troops in their dealings with Native Americans. Back in his element, Remington artfully depicted cowboys, cavalrymen, Indians, and settlers, set against a broad tableau of the impressive but rapidly shrinking Wild West. He deliberately sought close proximity to both nature and his intended subjects to enhance all depictions of them as they lived out their lives. Success

to concentration camps, which had been resurrected by General Ramon Blanco, and the possibility of an armistice. However, Spain flatly rejects any American attempt at mediation. President William McKinley regards the response as unsatisfactory in light of the circumstances.

April 5 Diplomatic: In a prelude to hostilities, President William McKinley recalls the U.S. consuls from Havana. The storm clouds of war gather rapidly.

April 9 Diplomacy: Responding to American pressure, General Ramón Blanco, governor general of Cuba, proffers an armistice to rebel forces and closes the concentration camp housing prisoners. The Spanish government is desperate to avoid strife with the United States yet no mention is made of granting Cuban independence.

April 10 Diplomacy: The government of Prime Minister Praxedes Mateo Sagasta in Madrid informs the American minister there that Spain is willing to negotiate Cuban independence.

April 11 Politics: President William McKinley, under pressure from the public and political arenas, backtracks from his anti-war stance and delivers a “War Message” to Congress, while being less than candid about the recent Spanish embrace of peace initiatives. Not surprisingly, many government officials and the national press are vocally in favor of war, and generally sway public opinion in that direction. However, the chief executive balks by not directly requesting war, and leaves Congress

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here resulted in Century Magazine commissioning him to do a series on Native Americans struggling to adjust to new lives on the reservation. Remington also became a distinguished essay writer on western subjects, becoming both widely published and read. In 1895 Remington began the next important phase of his artistic career by taking up sculpting. Like his paintings, his creations were highly detailed and celebrated for combining the vivacity of action with the mood of the moment. To ensure authenticity, Remington always kept a wide variety of military, cowboy, and Indian clothing and artifacts in his studio to draw upon. Two of his works, The Bronco Buster and The Wounded Bunkie proved especially appealing to art critics, who gushed over their lifelike qualities and attention to detail.

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During the Spanish-American War of 1898, William Randolph Hearst dispatched him to Cuba as a war correspondent and artist, and he subsequently toured Germany, Russia, and North Africa looking for good material to sketch or paint. By the time Remington died at his home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on December 26, 1909, he had rendered no less than 3,000 drawings, illustrations, and paintings, along with 25 highly acclaimed bronze castings, eight volumes of memoirs, and many other writings. More than any other individual, Remington captured on canvas the essence of a heroic, departed ideal—the Wild West in eclipse—bringing it to vivid life for millions of readers in the comfort of their homes. For this reason he is considered one of the greatest promoters of the American frontier and a gifted artist.

to choose among conflict, negotiation, or inactivity. Consequently, nine days of heated debate ensue.

April 15 Military: The War Department orders troops and equipment concentrated in several ports along the Gulf of Mexico, although the order is quickly rescinded when facilities there are found lacking. Eight corps are planned with each commanded by a major general.

April 19 Politics: Congress passes a war resolution predicated upon Spain’s recognition of Cuban independence and the immediate evacuation of the island by Spanish forces, granting President William McKinley authority to use American military and naval power to achieve those ends, as necessary. The resolution also declares that the United States has no interest in controlling Cuba but intends simply to deliver that island over to its inhabitants. Sports: Ronald J. McDonald wins the second Boston Marathon with a run of two hours, 42 minutes.

April 20 Diplomacy: Stewart L. Woodford, the U.S. minister to Spain, has his passport revoked before delivering an ultimatum to the Spanish government.

April 21 Diplomacy: Sensing the futility of further deliberation and determined to defend its national sovereignty and sense of honor, Spain breaks diplomatic relations with the United States.

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April 22–23 Military: Congress passes the Volunteer Army Act aiming to create a force of 125,000 men, including recruitment of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry, command of which is handed to Colonel Leonard Wood. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns from office to serve as its lieutenant colonel. The U.S. Army is almost doubled from its current strength to 65,000 for the duration of hostilities. Naval: A blockade is imposed upon the island of Cuba by the North Atlantic Squadron under Admiral William T. Sampson, and the gunboat USS Nashville captures the Spanish steamer Buenaventura in the Gulf of Mexico, the war’s first prize. Over the course of the war, the navy acquires 128 vessels and expands in size from 12,500 men to 24,123.

April 23 Military: President William McKinley authorizes a call-up of 125,000 volunteers for the U.S. Army.

April 24 Diplomacy: Spain formally rejects American demands to recognize Cuban independence and declares war on the United States.

April 25 Diplomacy: The United States declares war with Spain, retroactive to the 21st, when the Spanish cut diplomatic relations. This is the first major conflict waged by America since the Civil War.

Wood, Leonard

(1860–1927)

Physician, general Leonard Wood was born in Winchester, New Hampshire, on October 9, 1860, and he graduated from Harvard University with a medical degree in 1884. He then joined the U.S. Army as a contract physician in 1886 with the rank of lieutenant and served in the Arizona Territory under General Nelson A. Miles. Wood, although a doctor, fought in several pitched battles against renegade Apache under Geronimo, and he received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He then fulfilled more routine duties along the frontier before transferring to the Department of the East as the personal physician to Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley. In this capacity he befriended and struck up cor-

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dial relations with Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the navy. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Wood gained appointment as colonel of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the noted “Rough Riders,” with Roosevelt as lieutenant colonel. He was mostly sidelined with administrative tasks, but in 1898 he was appointed military governor of Santiago, Cuba, with a rank of major general of volunteers. Wood distinguished himself in this capacity and subsequently served as military governor of the entire island until it organized a new government in 1901. Two years later he arrived in the Philippines as governor of volatile Moro Province, reestablished order there, and became a major

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Naval: Commodore George Dewey’s squadron, anchored off the coast of China, is ordered into action against the Spanish fleet in the Philippines by Secretary of the Navy John D. Long. Politics: In Congress the Teller Amendment is added to the declaration of war, asserting that the United States will not attempt to seize control of Cuba.

April 26 Military: Congress reorganizes U.S. Army infantry regiments by authorizing a third battalion to each, along with two additional companies per unit. All companies extant are also increased to a strength of 100 men apiece. Politics: Secretary of State John Sherman, in declining health, resigns and is replaced by William R. Day.

April 27 Naval: Admiral George Dewey sorties his squadron, consisting of the modern steel cruisers USS Olympia, Boston, Baltimore, and Raleigh, and the gunboats Petrel and Concord from Hong Kong. He then steers directly toward Manila Bay to seek and destroy the Pacific Squadron of Admiral Patricio Montojo. The fleet under Admiral William T. Sampson silences Spanish batteries at Point Rubalcava, northwestern Cuba, with fire from the cruisers USS New York and Cincinnati, assisted by the monitor Puritan.

general in the regular army at Roosevelt’s behest. From 1906 to 1910 Wood commanded the Philippine Division capably, then returned to the United States where President William H. Taft appointed him chief of the general staff. Thus empowered, Wood struggled to bring the army’s various and nearly autonomous departments under his control, and arranged for the retirement of Adjutant General Frederick C. Ainsworth when he resisted change. By the time Wood stepped down in 1914, the General Staff was a centralized, strategy-making body, well prepared for modern warfare. As the United States drifted toward entry into World War I, both Wood and Roosevelt expressed dismay over the lack of military preparedness, nationwide, so they initiated citizen training camps at Plattsburgh, New

York, to encourage volunteers. Wood also proved less than politic in his criticism of President Woodrow Wilson; consequently, command of the American Expeditionary Force went to General John J. Pershing, an officer of great talent but less seniority. Wood found himself exiled and commanding an obscure training facility at Camp Funston, Kansas, for the duration of hostilities. Nevertheless, he remained a popular national figure and in 1920 Wood dabbled in politics by vying for the Republican Party presidential nomination. This went to Warren G. Harding after eight deadlocked ballots, and Wood was next deployed to the Philippines as governor general. He remained there until 1927, then returned to the United States for medical treatment, dying in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 7, 1927.

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April 28 Politics: President William McKinley appoints William Rufus Day to replace John Sherman as secretary of state. Like his predecessor, Day is relatively inexperienced in the nuances of diplomacy and resigns within a year.

April 29 Naval: The Spanish Atlantic Fleet of Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topyete departs the Cape Verde Islands and sails for Cuba with the antiquated cruisers Infanta Maria Theresa, Vizcaya, Almirante Oquendo, and Cristóbal Colón, plus destroyers Furor, Pluton, and Terror. Its exact whereabouts remain a complete mystery to the American fleet looking for him, prompting fears of an attack on the U.S. coastline. The American cruiser USS Marblehead and armed yacht Eagle briefly exchange fire with the Spanish gunboats Galacia and Vasco Núñez de Balboa at Cienfuegos, with little damage inflicted.

April 30 Naval: The battleship USS Oregon, having rounded Cape Horn from San Francisco, puts into Rio de Janeiro to recoal.

May 1 Naval: The Battle of Manila Bay ensues as the American squadron under Admiral George Dewey enters the bay to find the Spanish force under Admiral Patricio Montojo waiting for him, anchored in line abreast formation. He then barks “You may fire when ready, Gridley,” to the commander of his flagship, USS Olympia, and it joins cruisers Boston, Baltimore, Raleigh, Concord, and gunboat Petrel in a shooting spree against the obsolete Spanish vessels, sinking all seven of them in five passes. Montojo loses both his fleet and 371 killed and wounded while Dewey sustains only nine wounded. The lopsided nature of this decisive victory renders Dewey a national hero.

May 1–30 Medical: The threat of disease to troop concentrations, brought about mainly through poor planning, nonexistent sanitation, and tainted food, becomes painfully apparent when 80 officers and 2,520 enlisted men die before a shot is fired.

May 2–3 Naval: The gunboat USS Petrel dispatches a landing party to seize the Spanish naval arsenal at Cavite while other troops disembark from the cruisers Baltimore and Raleigh to capture Corregidor Island in Manila Bay.

May 4 Naval: Congress authorizes construction of three additional battleships, 16 torpedo boat destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, and one gunboat. This is the largest crash construction program for the navy since the Civil War. Sports: The 24th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Plaudit, who runs the course in two minutes, nine seconds.

May 8 Military: General Nelson A. Miles is ordered to begin preparing his 70,000 regulars and volunteers for an amphibious descent upon Havana. Naval: The torpedo boat USS Winslow is driven from Cardenas Bay, northwestern Cuba, by heavy fire from three Spanish gunboats.

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May 11 Naval: Torpedo boat USS Winslow reenters Cardenas Bay, Cuba, supported by the cruiser Machias and gunboats Hudson and Wilmington. The vessels are then ambushed by a masked Spanish battery using smokeless powder, which kills five and wounds five on the Winslow in an hour-long duel. Ensign Worth Bagley becomes the navy’s first and only officer fatality in this war. The cruiser USS Marblehead and the gunboat Nashville shell the beach at Cardenas, Cuba, and also launch several boatloads of sailors in an attempt to sever communication cables between Havana and Madrid, but the Americans are driven off by heavy artillery fire from the shore. Four Americans die and five are wounded.

May 12 Civil: In a major setback to African Americans, the new Louisiana state constitution promotes disenfranchisement with property qualifications and literacy tests. Thus the sheer number of African-American voters in that state legally shrinks from 130,000 to only 5,000—and similar ploys will be adopted by most southern states. Naval: The American fleet under Admiral William T. Sampson bombards San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the battleships Indiana and Iowa, cruisers Detroit and New York, and several monitors and gunboats. Spanish counterfire proves ineffectual. However, once Sampson is convinced that the main Spanish squadron is not anchored there, he hauls off and heads west.

May 13 Naval: Captain C. F. Goodrich orders his armed auxiliary USS Saint Louis to dredge the seabed east of San Juan de Puerto Rico to cut the underwater cable to St. Thomas.

May 14 Naval: As the gunboats USS Vicksburg and Annapolis patrol the waters outside Havana harbor, they perceive the small Spanish vessels Conde de Venadito and Nueva España attempting to run their blockade. Shots are exchanged as the American auxiliaries Mayflower, Wasp, Tecumseh, and Osceola arrive to help, and the Spanish turn hard about and make for the safety of the harbor.

May 16 Naval: American cruisers USS Saint Louis and Wompatuck enter shallow water near Santiago, Cuba, to find and cut the telegraphic cable leading to Jamaica. Heavy fire from shore batteries drives them back to deep water but the two ships will enjoy better success on the following day.

May 17 Naval: Admiral William T. Sampson’s flagship USS New York sails rapidly to Key West, Florida, frantically searching for the Spanish fleet, and intercepts the vessel Carlos F. Rosas off Havana. His straggling fleet will gradually join him over the next two days.

May 18 Naval: The battleship USS Oregon drops anchor at Barbados to recoal, having covered 14,000 miles around Cape Horn in two month’s sailing time.

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May 19 Military: President William McKinley authorizes General Adolphus W. Greely, chief of the Signal Corps, to take control of the nation’s telephone and telegraph systems. He is also tasked with intercepting Spanish communications for intelligence purposes—and on this day a dispatch is received announcing the arrival of the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba. The Americans transport Filipino guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo from Hong Kong to help fight the Spanish. Naval: Badly outgunned, Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete takes his Spanish fleet of four cruisers and three destroyers within the confines of Santiago harbor, Cuba, where it joins the 19,000-man garrison of General Arsenio Linares. Meanwhile, the Americans remain ignorant of Cervera’s whereabouts and suspect he is actually positioning himself to bombard the U.S. coastline. Commodore Winfield Scott Schley is therefore ordered to take his “Flying Squadron” and blockade the port at Cienfuegos.

May 20 Naval: While cruising in international waters, the USS Wompatuck finds the underwater cable connecting Guantánamo, Cuba, to Cape Mole, Haiti, and cuts it.

May 23 Naval: Clara Barton sails aboard the Red Cross ship State of Texas to Tampa, Florida, awaiting the U.S. invasion of Cuba.

May 24 Naval: The battleship USS Oregon, having sailed from Puget Sound, Washington, and around Cape Horn, finally reaches Jupiter Inlet, Florida, after a 67-day transit and just in time to rendezvous with the main American fleet under Admiral Winfield Scott Schley. Their long voyage only highlights the strategic needs for a Panama canal.

May 25 Military: America troopships depart San Francisco, California, with 2,000 army troops under General Thomas M. Anderson, destined for Manila. This is the vanguard of a 14,000-man force assembling under General Wesley Merritt, the VIII Corps. They depart upon the recommendation of Major General Nelson A. Miles, who feels that they should acquire a land base to prevent a second Spanish fleet from arriving. Politics: President William McKinley asks for an additional 75,000 volunteers to fight in the war.

May 26 Naval: Commodore Winfield Scott Schley shepherds his squadron, consisting of battleships USS Massachusetts and Texas, cruisers Brooklyn and Marblehead, plus three armed auxiliaries, to within 20 miles of Santiago harbor, Cuba. That evening he is reinforced by the cruiser Minneapolis and two more armed auxiliaries. Sports: The 32nd annual Belmont Stakes is won by Bowling Brook, with a time of two minutes, 32 seconds.

May 28 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that citizenship exists without regard to race or color. Consequently, a child born to Chinese parents in America is exempt from the Chinese Exclusionary Act.

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Military: To maintain rank seniority in the military, Congress mandates that all officers transferring from the regulars to the volunteers do so without losing any of their accumulated seniority. Naval: Cannon fire from the armed tugs USS Uncas and Leyden flattens a Spanish blockhouse near Cardenas, Cuba.

May 29 Naval: An American fleet under Commodore Winfield Scott Schley inadvertently discovers the fleet of Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete anchored in Santiago harbor, assumes blockading positions, and waits for the Spanish to emerge.

May 31 Naval: Admiral Winfield Scott Schley tests the defenses of Santiago harbor, Cuba, by sailing his squadron close to land where the battleships USS Massachusetts and Iowa exchange fire with shore batteries. Little damage results to either side and the Americans withdraw leisurely.

June 1 Labor: Congress passes the Erdman Arbitration Act, legitimizing government’s role as an arbitrator in labor disputes involving interstate carriers. Blacklisting union laborers also becomes illegal. Military: A chartered vessel of Signal Corps men arrives off the Cuban coast and begins cutting offshore Spanish communication cables until being driven off by artillery fire. Naval: Admiral William T. Sampson arrives off Santiago, Cuba, with the battleship USS Oregon, the cruiser New York, and the torpedo boat Porter. He takes command of all American naval forces from Commodore Winfield Scott Schley.

June 3 Naval: Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson attempts to scuttle his vessel, the collier USS Merrimac, and trap the Spanish fleet at Santiago harbor, but his vessel is thwarted by artillery fire and sinks near the edge of the channel. Hobson is then captured along with seven volunteers, but all will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for the attempt. Congress authorizes receipt of the Dewey Medal to all officers and men who fought in the Battle of Manila Bay. This is the first official American campaign medal.

June 6 Naval: The American squadron under Admiral William T. Sampson enters Santiago harbor and begins shelling the defenders. After several hours the squadron withdraws intact, having inflicted three Spanish dead and 14 injured ashore. Five are killed and 14 wounded aboard the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes.

June 7 Naval: Admiral William T. Sampson’s squadron, off the town of Caimanera, bombards and destroys a Spanish battery at Playa del Este. Then the cruiser USS St. Louis runs the boom in the harbor and anchors off Fisherman’s Point to receive two Cuban guerrillas with information about Spanish defenses. Sampson decides that the 7,000-man garrison is too large to tackle before the arrival of a larger landing force.

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June 9 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William Rufus Day requests Congress to authorize a commercial commission to China to preempt Europe an and Japanese domination of the market there. With the Americans firmly ensconced at Manila for the foreseeable future, expanded trade with the Middle Kingdom seems inevitable.

June 10–14 Military: The invasion of Cuba commences at Guantánamo Bay when American cruisers USS Marblehead and Yankee under Commander Bowman H. McCalla anchor off Playa del Este and disembark 647 U.S. Marines under Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington. The Spanish garrison of 6,000 men under General Felix Pareja Mesa prepares to attack the intruders. Sports: The 23rd annual Preakness Stakes is won by Sly Fox with a time of one minute, 49 seconds.

June 12 Military: Spanish forces counterattack the American beachhead at Guantánamo, Cuba, and are handily repulsed by the U.S. Marine contingent. Two Americans die and seven more are wounded. Guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo proclaims a new Philippine insurrection with a view toward driving out the Spanish, if possible, and the Americans, if necessary.

June 13 Business: Congress passes the War Revenue Act, imposing excise taxes on tea, tobacco, liquor, and inheritances. A bond issue of $400 million is also authorized, but brings in only half that amount. Naval: When the Spanish torpedo boat Galicia mistakenly approaches the converted cruiser USS Yankee off Cienfuegos, Cuba, it is hastily driven off by heavy cannon fire.

June 14 Military: An invasion force of 17,000 regulars and volunteers sails in 32 transports from Tampa, Florida, under the command of General William R. Shafter and makes for Santiago, Cuba. A force of 600 U.S. Marines under Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington, assisted by Cuban guerrillas, outflanks and drives off a Spanish detachment at Cuzco Well, Guantánamo, killing 60 and taking 18 prisoners. Naval: The American squadron is strengthened by the arrival of the experimental, 930-ton cruiser USS Vesuvius, which is armed with high-explosive gun-cotton ordnance. For this reason it is nicknamed the “dynamite cruiser.”

June 15 Naval: The cruisers USS Marblehead and Suwanee, assisted by the battleship Texas, shell and destroy a Spanish fort at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This action helps marines ashore consolidate control of this vital port, which will function as the principal coaling station for the main fleet off Santiago and also as a major entrepot for the invasion of Puerto Rico. Journalist Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, comes ashore with the marines and will publish an account of their activities.

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June 17 Naval: German warships under Admiral Otto von Diederichs, disregarding blockade rules established by Commodore George Dewey, sail into Manila harbor, apparently intending to lease bases in the region.

June 18 Military: Congress streamlines the system of military justice by allowing enlisted personnel to be tried by courts-martial headed by a single officer and restricted to a specific list of punishments. Sports: Fred Herd wins the U.S. Open golf tournament.

June 20 Military: The naval expedition carrying the 17,000-man V Corps under General William R. Shafter arrives off Santiago, Cuba. Naval: A small task force under Captain Henry Glass of the cruiser USS Charleston hails the Spanish garrison at Guam with a gunshot, then sends a messenger ashore to find out why the garrison has failed to respond. The Spanish commander apologizes for his seeming rudeness, but then explains that he faces a complete lack of ammunition. Moreover, his 60-man garrison has not been informed as to the state of war.

June 22 Military: The main expeditionary force of 17,000 men under General William R. Shafter disembarks at Daiquirí, only 15 miles east of its main objective at Santiago. Because of the lack of boats and other landing craft the men are forced to jump into the surf and wade ashore. Scattered fighting costs the invaders one killed and four wounded. Naval: At Puerto Rico, a sortie by Spanish cruiser Isabel and destroyer Terror is rebuffed by heavy fire from the American auxiliary USS Saint Paul. Isabel withdraws back to port but Terror is heavily damaged and ends up beached.

June 24 –25 Military: An American cavalry division under the impetuous (and formerly Confederate) leader, General Joseph Wheeler, pushes forward and defeats Spanish forces under General Antero Rubin in a minor action at Las Guasimas, Cuba, driving them back to Santiago. Among the 1,000 troops engaged are the so-called Rough Riders under Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who receive their baptism of fire, and the veteran 10th U.S. Cavalry (African-American “Buffalo Soldiers”). The Americans lose 16 killed and wounded while Spanish losses are around 10. Assistant Surgeon James Robb Church, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, will win the Congressional Medal of Honor for rescuing wounded men under fire.

June 28 Indian: Charles Curtis, a Kaw Indian from Kansas, sponsors the Curtis Act to impose land allotments on the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), while also dissolving the existing tribal governments there. Eventually, this will promote the territory’s ultimate incorporation into the state of Oklahoma. Military: General William Rufus Shafter is alerted by Cuban spies that the 8,000-man Spanish garrison of Manzanillo has broken through guerrilla lines

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Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders atop the hill they captured, Battle of San Juan Hill, 1898 (Library of Congress)

and is hurrying toward their main position at Santiago. This intelligence prompts Shafter to attack Santiago at once before the reinforcements can deploy. Naval: Off San Juan, Puerto Rico, the auxiliary cruiser USS Yosemite attacks and drives the Spanish transport Antonio Lopez ashore, then destroys it by shelling. This is despite covering fire from two Spanish cruisers and a torpedo boat accompanying the hapless vessel.

June 30 Military: Commodore George Dewey lands General Thomas M. Anderson’s 2,400 troops ashore at Manila to secure a port for his fleet, and he also transports guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo back from Hong Kong to fight the Spanish. Naval: The American armed yachts USS Hornet and Hist engage and sink a small Spanish gunboat at Niquero Bay, Cuba, and then are joined by the armed tug USS Wompatuck. The three vessels then venture inland toward Manzanillo

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harbor and sink the Spanish vessel Centenila, but are driven back by artillery fire from surviving Spanish gunboats.

July 1 Military: The battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill unfold as the Americans seek to surround Santiago, Cuba. In the former engagement, two brigades under Generals Adna Romanza Chaffee and William Ludlow attack 650 dug-in Spaniards commanded by General Joaquín Vara de Rey, who enjoy the advantage of superior Mauser rifles and smokeless ammunition. The defenders are outnumbered ten-to-one but put up a valiant defense that holds the Americans at bay for seven hours. General Henry Lawton’s division finally carries the heights at a cost of 81 killed and 360 wounded; the Spanish lose 248 killed and wounded along with 300 captured. The balance of General William R. Shafter’s V Corps is committed to storming San Juan Hill, overlooking Santiago. A division under Jacob F. Kent moves forward to brush aside the 500 Spanish defenders from the hillside, only to be shot down in large numbers by Mauser-wielding snipers. The “Rough Riders” under Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt give way under the fusillade but are saved by the timely intervention of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, the famous “Buffalo Soldiers.” The Americans then regroup and charge, finally swamping both San Juan Hill and nearby Kettle Hill. The victors lose 140 killed and 940 wounded, and Santiago is now on the verge of being captured. Naval: The American gunboats USS Scorpion and Osceola pay a return visit to the harbor at Manzanillo, Cuba, to knock out any surviving Spanish land batteries, but encounter heavy fire and withdraw after several hours. The American Expeditionary Force, with 115 officers and 2,386 men, disembarks outside Manila in the Philippines, escorted by the cruiser USS Charleston.

July 2 Naval: Spanish authorities, unwilling to allow the squadron of Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete to be captured or scuttled at Santiago, Cuba, order the admiral to sortie immediately to at least salvage their honor. Cervera complies and withdraws 1,200 sailors, who have been manning the city’s defenses, back aboard his ships and prepares to make way.

July 3 Naval: Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete sorties his fleet from Santiago, Cuba, and attempts to run for the open sea. However, the American “Flying Squadron” under Commodore Winfield Scott Schley intercepts him with the battleships Indiana, Iowa, Oregon, and Texas, plus the cruiser Brooklyn. Cervera, who possesses only four cruisers and two destroyers, is badly outgunned and his force is mauled, being either sunk or driven ashore, with a loss of 474 killed and wounded. The Americans lose only one dead and 10 injured. Credit for this lopsided victory will prove controversial when Admiral William T. Sampson, who appeared toward the close, insists that it be considered his—much acrimony ensuing.

July 4 Military: American forces en route to the Philippines pause briefly to occupy Wake Island in mid-Pacific. Naval: The Americans sink the captured Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes at the mouth of Santiago harbor in order to block it.

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Chronology of American History The Spanish mail steamer Alfonzo is run aground and burned by the American armed yacht Hawk and the gunboat Castine seven miles west of Havana.

July 6 Diplomacy: Congress passes a bill for the annexation of Hawaii, despite the protests of anti-imperialists in both chambers. The recent acquisition of the Philippines makes the islands infinitely more useful from a strategic viewpoint.

July 7 Diplomacy: President William McKinley, ignoring remonstrances from Democrats and anti-imperialists, readily signs the Hawaii Annexation Treaty. This act preempts similar designs on the islands by the Japanese, and its acquisition will prove to be of immense strategic significance during the next century.

July 8 Naval: Admiral George Dewey seizes Isla Grande near Manila, prior to moving on the city. American naval units force the German gunboat Irene out of the immediate vicinity.

July 9 Military: With the Spanish fleet destroyed, General William R. Shafter orders a general advance upon Santiago and closes off all possible escape routes.

July 10 Military: American forces begin probing the Spanish defenses of Santiago, Cuba, assisted by shellfire from the cruisers USS Brooklyn, New York, and Indiana. Casualties are light on either side.

July 11 Naval: A convoy arrives off Siboney, Cuba, with army reinforcements under General Nelson A. Miles.

July 12 Naval: The USS Eagle chases the Spanish blockade-runner Santo Domingo aground onto Piedras Point, Cuba, burning it.

July 13 Naval: To forestall any German attempt at occupation, Commodore George Dewey orders the ships USS Raleigh and Concord to seize Grande Island in Subic Bay. The German vessels retire upon their approach, but their presence underscores the European desire to annex the islands if the Americans fail to do so.

July 14 Medical: Volunteers from the largely African-American 24th U.S. Infantry perform nursing duties to thousands of soldiers and volunteers afflicted by malaria and yellow fever.

July 16 Naval: The cruiser USS Nashville assists Cuban rebels to seize the northeastern port of Gibara, Cuba.

July 17 Military: Santiago, Cuba, under General José Toral surrenders to General William R. Shafter, who takes 24,000 prisoners and 97 cannon. The conquest of Cuba has cost the United States 243 dead and 1,445 injured; General Leonard Wood is installed as the town’s military governor.

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Chronology â•… 1501 Naval: The surrender of Spanish forces at Santiago caps seven days of nonstop naval bombardment and concludes with an additional eight vessels captured.

July 18 Military: In an attempt to sort out the orÂ�ganÂ�iÂ�zaÂ�tionÂ�al chaos, the Quartermaster Department creates the Division of Transportation to oversee all matters pertain-­ ing to rail and water transport for men and materiel. Naval: American gunboats USS Wilmington, Helena, Hist, Hornet, Wompatuck, Scorpion, and Osceola enter Manzanillo’s harbor and begin shelling Spanish ves-­ sels anchored there; six enemy gunboats and two steamers are either sunk or crippled by accurate gunfire.

July 21 Military: General Nelson A. Miles sails from Guantánamo, Cuba, with 3,400 volunteers and makes for the island of Puerto Rico, escorted by the battleship USS Massachusetts and cruisers Columbia, Dixie, Gloucester, and Yale. Naval: American gunboats approach the port of Nipe, on the northern coast of Cuba, and sink the dispatch vessel Jorge Juan in one of the last hostile encounters of the war.

July 25 Military: American naval forces capture Guánica, Puerto Rico, meeting little reÂ�sisÂ�tance; General Nelson A. Miles is also present, being the last time that a seÂ�nior military commander accompanies troops in the field. General Wesley Merritt arrives at Cavite with 10,700 reinforcements of VIII Corps for the conquest of Manila. The Americans are to be assisted by Filipino guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo, who has plans of his own.

July 26 Diplomacy: The Spanish ambassador requests peace terms through the French ambassador, and the “Splendid Little War” comes to its victorious conclusion.

July 27 Military: On Puerto Rico, General Nelson A. Miles is joined by an additional 3,300 troops and volunteers under General James H. Wilson, and makes prepara-­ tions to advance on the settlement of Ponce.

July 28 Military: American forces under General George Garretson easily occupy the city of Yauco, Puerto Rico, with minimal Spanish re�sis�tance The general then pronounces the inhabitants as free from Spanish rule, which ensures a friendly reception.

July 29 Military: In the Philippines, men of General Wesley Merritt’s VIII Corps move through guerrilla lines and take up siege positions around the city of Manila.

July 30 Diplomacy: President William McKinley lays out peace terms to Spain, includ-­ ing Cuban inÂ�deÂ�penÂ�dence, American acquisition of Puerto Rico, and the immedi-­ ate occupation of Manila until a formalized treaty is signed.

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July 31 Military: American forces on Puerto Rico are reinforced by the arrival of 2,900 regular soldiers under General Theodore Schwan. General Francis V. Greene and his men repulse a Spanish attack at Malate, outside Manila, losing 10 dead and 33 wounded.

August 1 Medical: The War Department is advised that of 17,000 soldiers committed to Cuba, no less than 4,200 have contracted illnesses, principally yellow fever. The unhealthy soldiers are ordered into quarantine at Montauk Point, Long Island, to keep them from public view. By war’s end, 90 percent of American casualties will be a result of disease and poor sanitation, not combat. Military: American troops under General Nelson A. Miles move inland on Puerto Rico, capturing the settlements of Arroyo and Guayama with little struggle.

August 3 Military: General Nelson A. Miles is reinforced by 3,700 volunteers under General Peter C. Hains at Arroyo, Puerto Rico. With 17,000 men in hand, Miles then begins advancing in four prongs against the 8,000-man Spanish garrison still holed up on the island.

August 6 Naval: A naval landing party from the USS Ampitrite captures a lighthouse outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, assisted by gunfire from the cruiser USS Cincinnati.

August 7 Military: General Wesley Merritt, commanding VIII Corps, issues an ultimatum to General Fermín Jáudenes y Alvarez to surrender the city of Manila, Philippines, or face attack. Jaudenes agrees but insists on a minimum battle of some kind to assuage Spain’s honor.

August 8 Military: In a series of mopping up operations, American forces under General Theodore Schwan probe the outlying defenses of San Juan, Puerto Rico, before military activity on the island ceases. Total casualties are four killed and 40 wounded.

August 9 Military: Admiral George Dewey and General Wesley Merritt formally demand that Manila’s Spanish garrison surrender. The Spanish refuse and fighting commences. General James H. Wilson defeats Spanish forces in a smart action at Coamo, Puerto Rico, then moves on to capture several towns. The Americans lose six wounded to a Spanish tally of 40 killed and wounded and 170 captured.

August 12 Diplomacy: Spain declares its acceptance of American terms by signing a peace protocol; the Spanish garrison on Puerto Rico also capitulates. Cuba thus gains its independence, while the United States acquires the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico for the foreseeable future. Naval: An American task force appears off Manzanillo, Cuba, and silences several Spanish batteries while Cuban guerrillas harass the garrison. This is the last fighting on the island before word of peace arrives.

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Settlement: The Republic of Hawaii formally transfers its sovereignty to the United States amidst local celebrations and festivities. This act ends the indigenous monarchy, and President Sanford Ballard Dole of the provisional government is sworn into office as governor.

August 13 Military: The Spanish garrison of Manila resists combined forces under Admiral George Dewey and General Wesley Merritt, unaware that the war has ended. They capitulate the following day, surrendering 13,000 prisoners and 22,000 stands of arms. American losses are five killed and 38 wounded. However, the victors are hard-pressed to maintain order among Filipino nationalists, who demand immediate access to the city, yet are kept out. In sum, the Spanish-American War has cost $250 million, 5,462 American lives—overwhelmingly through disease—and an additional 1,604 wounded. The United States has finally acquired an overseas empire and will settle into its new role as a global power. This ends a century of Filipino resistance to Spanish rule.

August 14 Naval: The armed lighthouse ship USS Mangrove engages two Spanish gunboats off Caibarién, Cuba, but learns of the armistice after a white flag is raised. These are the final shots of the Spanish-American War.

August 23 Diplomacy: An Anglo-American Joint High Commission assembles in Quebec, Canada, and Washington, D.C., to settle a number of pressing issues between the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. Foremost on the agenda is resolution of the Alaska boundary question, along with revision of the 1854 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty respecting an isthmian canal.

August 26 Military: General Wesley Merritt is ordered out of the Philippines to Paris, France, to partake of peace negotiations. He is succeeded by General Elwell S. Otis, an unpopular leader, and many officers will request other assignments.

August 31 Military: Volunteer troop strength crests at 216,029 officers and men; when combined with the army regulars, this makes a total military establishment of 275,000—the largest since 1865.

September 5 Arts: Ernest L. Blumenstein and Bert Philips arrive at Taos, New Mexico, to help found the Taos Art Colony. Both men, and a host of artists joining them, are struck by the singular beauty of the rugged landscape surrounding them.

September 8 Diplomacy: Sensing an opportunity, the Japanese government signals its willingness to support a joint occupation of the Philippines with the United States, but the offer is politely declined.

September 9 Diplomacy: Secretary of State William R. Day begins selecting a deputation of American peace commissioners.

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September 10 Labor: Deputy sheriffs open fire on rioting miners at Hazleton and Lattimer, Pennsylvania, killing 20. However, the strike is settled the following day, and the miners win an eight-hour day, biweekly pay, and the abolition of company stores.

September 15 Arts: The American Social Science Association in New York helps found the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

September 20 Politics: President William McKinley appoints John Hay to replace William Rufus Day as secretary of state. A career diplomat, he is well qualified for the position, unlike his two predecessors.

September 29 Diplomacy: The Philippine revolutionary assembly convenes at Malolos and declares its independence from both Spain and the United States.

September 30 Military: The U.S. Army fights its final pitched encounter with Native Americans near the Leech Lake Agency, Minnesota, when a band of Chippewa opens fire on a detachment of the 3rd U.S. Infantry sent there to maintain order. A two-day siege will ensue until reinforcements arrive; American losses are six dead and 14 wounded.

October 1 Diplomacy: American and Spanish diplomats begin official peace talks in Paris.

October 6 Arts: Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac premieres at the Garden Theater in New York City, becoming one of the best attended productions of the time.

October 12 Labor: Fighting erupts at the Virden, Illinois, coal mine when management attempts to bring in African-American workers to break a strike; 13 people die and 25 are injured in the ensuing riot.

October 25 Diplomacy: President William McKinley formally decides that Spain must cede the entire Philippine archipelago to the United States, even though public opinion is widely divided on the subject. He does so less in the spirit of imperialism than as a mission to bring “civilization” to its inhabitants.

November 4 Naval: U.S. Marines drawn from the cruisers USS Baltimore, Raleigh, and Boston are landed and march overland to Peking (Beijing), China, to guard the American legation there.

November 8 Politics: In midterm elections, the Republicans garner additional strength in Congress, controlling the Senate, 53–26, and the House of Representatives, 185–163.

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Theodore Roosevelt, having returned from Cuba a war hero, wins easy nomination to run for the governorship of New York.

November 16 Military: The Transport Corps is established by the secretary of war and placed under the aegis of the quartermaster general of the army. San Francisco, California, and New York City are designated official home ports.

November 19 Politics: In Boston, Massachusetts, an anti-imperialist league is organized by those firmly opposed to the idea of annexing foreign territory. They soon become a focal point of opposition to the new war in Southeast Asia.

November 23 Naval: A study issued by Paymaster W. B. Wilcox and Cadet Leonard R. Sargent, who have visited the interior of Luzon, accurately predicts that the inhabitants will resist any attempt by the United States to impose a new colonial regime. Their finds will be reported to Admiral George Dewey but fail to alter the course of subsequent events.

November 26 General: Ignoring storm warnings, the steamer Portland departs Boston for its run to Portland, Maine, and flounders in heavy seas with 163 lives lost.

December 6 Politics: Democrat George C. Vest of Missouri pushes forward a resolution in Congress that strictly forbids American annexation of the Philippine Islands. The issue is hotly debated but then rendered moot following ratification of the Treaty of Paris four days later.

December 10 Diplomacy: The United States and Spain conclude the Treaty of Paris, whereby the Philippines are ceded to the Americans for a sum of $20 million, along with Puerto Rico and Guam. Cuba is also declared free and the Spanish pledge to pay $400 million for all Cuban debts. This concludes nearly four centuries of Spanish rule in the Western Hemisphere and what newspapers have touted as “a splendid little war.” America has finally acquired an overseas empire at very little cost.

December 26 Military: Army troops under General Marcus P. Miller arrive off the island of Mindoro, Philippines, but prove unable to negotiate a peaceful landing with the locals. The men eventually sail back to Manila.

1899 Architecture: The Schelsinger and Mayer department store in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Louis Sullivan, becomes the first modern commercial-style building in America. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, grain magnate Frank Peavy astounds critics by constructing an 80-foot-tall grain elevator that does not collapse under it own weight. Arts: William Gillette stars in a stage production of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Business: The first motorized mail delivery occurs on a mail route in Cleveland, Ohio, and covers 126 stops along 22 miles in only 10 hours, 27 minutes. This is less than half the time required by horse-drawn carriages.

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Chronology of American History Education: The University of Chicago’s John Dewey, presently head of the trendsetting Laboratory School, pens School and Society. This text, which postulates that learning begins with actual life experience rather than traditional curricula, revolutionizes American educational theory and practice.

Dewey, John (1859–1952) Educator John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont, on October 20, 1859, the son of a local merchant. After passing through the local school system with little distinction, he was admitted to the University of Vermont and graduated with honors in 1879. Dewey then taught school for two years before attending Johns Hopkins University, where he acquired his doctorate in 1884. Thus augmented, he taught philosophy at the universities of Minnesota and Michigan before finally settling at the University of Chicago to head the Department of Philosophy, Psychology, and Pedagogy in 1894. It was in this capacity that Dewey first distinguished himself as an educational reformer of the first rank. In 1896 he established his so-called Laboratory School to test his evolving theories of education, which questioned the intellectual utility of the traditional rote learning and memorization approaches. Dewey then transferred to the faculty of Columbia University in New York City, where he worked with the famous Teachers College there. Basically, Dewey embraced William James’s philosophy of pragmatism, which emphasized results over dogma, and fashioned his own scientifically oriented school of “instrumentalism.” Here, Dewey postulated that education was an outgrowth of the accumulation and assimilation of experiences, which, in turn, helped shape a well-balanced personality and broad-based cognitive awareness. His efforts dovetailed with the ongoing “progressive movement”

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in American education, and his approach was widely hailed. In terms of social implications, Dewey was especially concerned that America not adopt a class-based education that restricted the rich to self-enrichment and the poor to handling manual tasks. It was essential, he felt, that everyone be equipped to function at their intellectual and creative best for the betterment of society in general. Moreover, he held that only education would permit the poorest classes the means and ability to succeed economically and become useful, contributing members of society. Dewey’s success at promulgating his theory marked him as one of the nation’s leading educational thinkers, and he was also called upon to act as an adviser to educational systems in several developing nations. When not teaching, Dewey was extremely busy in a variety of fields and by turns served as president of the American Psychological Association, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Association of University Professors. He was also a highly respected and prolific writer with a long list of distinguished titles to his credit, including The School and Society (1889), Democracy and Education (1916), and The Problems of Men (1946). Dewey finally retired from Columbia University in 1930, but he remained active in social, political, and educational affairs until his death in New York City on June 1, 1952. He is considered one of the nation’s greatest philosophers and educational reformers.

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Literature: Booth Tarkington publishes his first novel, The Gentleman from Indiana, concerning a crusading newspaper editor. Military: The new, enlarged military establishment constricts to 155,772 officers and men, and finds itself deployed in two different theaters at opposite ends of the globe. Music: Scott Joplin finally writes down one of his energetic compositions, which is published by John Stillwell Stark under the title of “Maple Leaf Rag.” The name derives from the Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia, Missouri, where Stark first heard Joplin play, and its success catapults “ragtime” to the forefront of American musical genres. Publishing: Professor Thorstein Veblen of the University of Chicago publishes his humorous but excoriating Theory of the Leisure Class, which attacks the excesses of the rich. He maintains that America has become engrossed in a culture of conspicuous consumption, which, beyond being wasteful, fails to serve the greater society beneficially. African-American reformer W. E. B. DuBois publishes a landmark sociological study, The Philadelphia Negro, which emphasizes historical and environmental factors when assessing societal matters, not race or genetics. Simon Pokagon, a Potawatomie scholar, has his autobiographical romance O-Gi-Maw-Kwe-Mit-I-Gwa-Ki (Queen of the Forest) published posthumously in his native tongue. It is later translated into English. Societal: Wielding a Bible and an ax, militant prohibitionist Carrie Nation begins her anti-saloon drive in Medicine Lodge and Kiowa, Kansas. Public vice will never be quite the same. Sports: Harvard wins the national college football championship with 10 wins, no losses, and one tie. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championships are won by Malcolm D. Whitman and Marion Jones in their respective divisions.

January 3 Transportation: An editorial in the New York Times coins the word “automobile” for the first time.

January 5 Diplomacy: Filipino guerrilla Emilio Aguinaldo, disturbed by the lack of independence in the recent peace treaty, summons a revolutionary assembly at Malolos to discuss what to do next. He is prepared to fight the newly victorious Americans, if necessary. The United States, concerned about the viability of its Open Door Policy, files an official protest to France concerning the latter’s attempt to expand its economic interests in Shanghai, China.

January 9 Arts: Noted German opera star Ernestine Schumann-Heink debuts in Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Diplomacy: The Senate ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American War. Military: General Ewell S. Otis meets with guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo in an attempt to circumvent an outbreak of hostilities, but lacks the authority to grant Filipinos the right to vote or any similar manifestation of independence.

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DuBois, W. E. B. (1868–1963) African-American reformer William Edward Burghardt DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1868, into a racially mixed family. After graduating as valedictorian from high school he attended Fisk University, Tennessee, in 1884, receiving a bachelor of arts degree four years later. In 1888 DuBois entered Harvard University, graduated cum laude in 1890, and also served as one of six commencement speakers. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Berlin, 1892– 94, and subsequently served as professor of Greek and Latin at Wilberforce University, Ohio. DuBois finally received his doctorate in history from Harvard in 1895, whereupon he joined the faculty of Atlanta University, Georgia, teaching history and economics. He first came to the attention of fellow scholars with his pioneering book entitled The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899). However, DuBois was also becoming active in civil rights matters, to protest the baleful discriminatory practices suffered by African Americans in the United States. In 1903 these attitudes crystalized in the book Souls of Black Folk, wherein he rejected outright the accommodation policies of Booker T. Washington and called for an immediate end to racism. In 1905 DuBois figured largely in creation of the Niagara Movement to push for political change; in 1909, when it merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), DuBois served as editor of its journal Crisis.

In this capacity he distinguished himself by his acerbic commentaries about white institutions while also flaunting black pride. DuBois was also an outspoken advocate of independence for African nations held as colonies, and in 1900, 1919, 1921, 1923, and 1927 he attended various Pan African conferences. DuBois parted company with the NAACP in 1934 by opposing its commitment to integration and instead advocating separatist nationalism and black-owned businesses, schools, and economic cooperatives. However, he rejoined them in 1944 as director of special research and in 1947 served as a consultant to the new United Nations. By this time DuBois was becoming increasingly bound up in politics and polemics. A lifelong socialist, he attended various peace conferences in Communist China and the Soviet Union, expressing open admiration for these closed and supposedly egalitarian societies. In 1951 he was tried by the government for being the agent of a foreign power but was acquitted. DuBois formally joined the Communist Party in 1961 and relocated to Ghana at the behest of President Kwame Nkrumah. There he continued espousing Pan-African sentiments while working on his massive Encyclopedia Africana. DuBois died in Accra, Ghana, on August 27, and received a state funeral. He is regarded as one of the most outspoken and intellectually gifted African-American leaders of the pre– civil rights era.

January 15 Arts: Poet Edwin Markham, inspired by a painting by Jean François Millet, publishes the poem “Man with a Hoe” in the San Francisco Examiner. This is a protest against the brutal modernization of agriculture and is eventually published in all major newspapers within the United States.

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Nation, Carrie (1846–1911) Reformer Carrie Amelia Moore was born in Garrard County, Kentucky, on November 25, 1846, into an intensely religious household. She accompanied her family as they migrated constantly between Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas, although during the Civil War her slave-owning father lost heavily. By 1865 they had finally settled at Belton, Missouri, where she attained a teaching certificate at a state normal school. Two years later she married Dr. Charles Gloyd, although he was an incurable alcoholic and soon died and left her with an infant son. This loss created an inveterate hatred of alcohol and saloons in Carrie. It was not until 1887 that she married David Nation, a lawyer and minister, taking his name. She and her spouse gradually relocated to Medicine Lodge, Kansas, where, in 1899, a raging fire stopped just short of the hotel they lived at. From this point forward Nation believed that she was divinely protected, and she also began experiencing religious hallucinations. Around this time she became active in the small but vocal prohibitionist movement and founded her own group, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Nation—tall, stern, and physically impressive—began orchestrating praying and singing demonstrations outside local taverns. In 1899 her seemingly pacifist methods forced Medicine Lodge to close a saloon, but these pious tactics failed elsewhere. Kansas at this time was officially a dry state where liquor was outlawed, and by 1890 antiprohibitionists were pressing for a repeal of the law. Many openly flaunted their defiance by

selling alcohol in public, and the charismatic Nation was determined to stop this. Commencing in 1900 Nation and her followers began hurling bricks through technically illegal saloons; when that failed, she invariably strode in armed with a Bible and an iron rod, then smashed every liquor container within her reach. She also held numerous rallies in Wichita and Topeka, exhorting her largely female crowds to violence in the name of the Lord, and upending private property to underscore her wrath. Such excesses landed her in jail but also rendered her the darling of the prohibition movement, nationwide. Through lectures and other public events, Nation raised the money to post her bond. She funded a shelter for wives of alcoholics, and also directed the publication of journals like The Smasher’s Mail and The Hatchet to broaden membership. The latter derived its name from her practice, as of January 21, 1901, of brandishing a large metal hatchet whenever she raided an illegal saloon. Nation also published her best-selling autobiography, The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation. But as the novelty of her violent raids wore off, she came more to symbolize aggression and reckless behavior than reform. Her health finally faded and she withdrew from public scrutiny to recuperate in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Nation died after a brief illness at Leavenworth, Kansas, on June 9, 1911, having bequeathed urgency and a moral impetus to the rising tide of prohibitionism in America.

January 17 Settlement: The gunboat USS Bennington under Commander Edward D. Taussig lands and occupies Midway Island for the second and final time.

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January 20 Politics: President William McKinley appoints the Philippine Commission under Jacob G. Schurman. They suggest that the United States administer the island until such a time that the inhabitants are enabled to rule it in an orderly manner; this is a process that continues nearly half a century, ending in 1946. An American presence precludes any attempts by Imperial Germany, which has a sizable fleet in the region, from annexing the islands to its own empire. Acquisition of this Asian land also brings the United States in direct competition with Japan, which defeated China in 1895, acquiring Korea as a protectorate, and in preparing to deal with the Russian empire. Meanwhile, revolutionaries convened by guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo approve national independence irrespective of American rule.

February 1 Diplomacy: The United States formally acquires Guam from Spain as per the Treaty of Paris.

February 4 Military: Filipino guerrillas under Emilio Aguinaldo, angered that the Philippines have not been granted immediate independence, attack American outposts along the San Juan River, Manila. A protracted and frequently bloody struggle now ensues as the United States is embroiled in its first Asian war.

February 5 Military: General Arthur MacArthur’s brigade sweeps north of Manila, driving Filipino guerrillas before them and capturing a fortified ridge overlooking the city. American losses are 44 dead and 194 wounded. Naval: The cruiser USS Charleston, the monitor Monadnock, and the gunboats Callao and Concord provide supporting fire for army operations outside Manila.

February 6 Diplomacy: The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the Senate on a vote of 57 to 27, despite strident opposition from anti-imperialists who feel that acquisition of foreign land is contrary to cherished political principles of self-governance. Hence the margin of victory in securing a two-thirds majority is only one vote. Nonetheless, the Americans, like Japan and many European nations, have acquired overseas possessions by force of arms. It is an imperial age.

February 10 Military: U.S. Army troops under General Arthur MacArthur attack Filipino guerrilla forces at Caloocan, Philippines, supported by naval gunfire. The town falls quickly, along with a railroad station and several hundred cars.

February 11 Naval: The gunboat USS Petrel bombards a rebel fort at Iloilo City, Philippines, after which a landing party is sent ashore to capture the position.

February 14 Diplomacy: Senator Augustus O. Bacon of Georgia introduces a resolution in the U.S. Senate granting independence to the Philippines, but it is narrowly defeated when Vice President Garret A. Hobart breaks a tie vote by voting against it. Politics: The use of voting machines in federal elections is authorized by Congress, although it remains up to individual states to utilize them or not.

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MacArthur, Arthur (1845–1912) General Arthur MacArthur was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1845, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He failed to gain an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy when the Civil War commenced in 1861, so he joined the 24th Wisconsin Infantry as a second lieutenant. Despite his youth, being only 16 at the time, MacArthur went on to compile a brilliant war record. He fought heroically at the bloody 1862 battles of Perryville and Murfreesboro, winning promotion to captain. But his greatest feat was during the Union victory at Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, when the 24th Wisconsin stalled after being raked by enfilade fire and he seized the regimental flag, charged up the hill, and planted it on the enemy’s ramparts. For this act MacArthur was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1890. He fought well throughout the campaign of 1864 in the West, winning promotion to lieutenant colonel and taking command of his regiment at the age of 19. For this reason, MacArthur became hailed throughout the Union army as the “Boy Colonel,” for having led his men forward in nine pitched battles, sustained two serious wounds, and won four promotions. He was the youngest regimental-grade commander on either side to direct actual combat operations. MacArthur mustered out after the war to study law, but he rejoined as a lieutenant in 1866 and remained a captain for nearly two decades. He served throughout the Southwest and in 1885 received a campaign medal for operations against the renegade Apache Geronimo. He subsequently trans-

ferred to the new Cavalry and Infantry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, before being billeted with the adjutant general’s office in Washington, D.C. MacArthur’s biggest contribution here was instituting mandatory examinations for promotion of any officer below the rank of colonel. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, MacArthur gained promotion to brigadier general and sailed to the Philippines in command of volunteer forces. After helping to secure the capture of Manila, he employed a deft combination of swift military action and humane civic programs like building schools to help suppress the rebellion of guerrilla leader Emilio Aguinaldo. In 1900 he rose to brigadier general in the regular army, advanced into central Luzon, and captured a succession of rebel outposts. With the rebellion crushed MacArthur later served as governor of the islands and he instituted many democratic reforms. He was promoted to major general, but also quarreled with governor William Howard Taft and was replaced by General Adna Romanza Chaffee. In 1904–05 MacArthur was detailed as an observer to the RussoJapanese War and he advanced to lieutenant general commanding the Division of the Pacific in September 1906. He was the army’s senior officer at the time, but stormy relations with President Theodore Roosevelt precluded his appointment as army chief of staff. MacArthur concluded 47 years of service by resigning in June 1909. He died in Milwaukee on September 5, 1912; General Douglas MacArthur was his son.

February 20 Diplomacy: The Anglo-American Joint High Commission meeting in Quebec, Canada, and Washington, D.C., is disbanded. Neither the United States, Great Britain, nor Canada was able to peacefully resolve issues surrounding the Alaskan

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Chronology of American History boundary and the proposed isthmian canal. After a cooling-off period, the commissioners will try again.

February 22 Literature: Elbert Hubbard pens the inspirational if somewhat inaccurate story “A Message to Garcia” in the magazine Philistine. It concerns itself with the efforts of Captain Andrew Rowan to run a letter to Cuban rebel leader General Calixto Garcia Iniquez during the Spanish-American War.

February 24 Naval: Marines and sailors from the gunboat USS Marietta deploy at Bluefields, Nicaragua, to protect American lives and property.

March 2 Conservation: Congress establishes Mount Rainier National Park in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Military: An additional 35,000 volunteers are authorized by Congress to help suppress an ongoing insurgency in the Philippines led by former ally Emilio Aguinaldo. However, in a major change, their officers are now tendered federal, not state commissions—a complete break from the state militia tradition. The U.S. Army is also enlarged by 3,000 men to flesh out existing regiments. Naval: Congress authorizes creation of the rank admiral of the navy for Admiral George Dewey; he is the only officer in American naval history so honored. This is also the first military rank to waive the mandatory retirement age.

March 3 Naval: To better project American power abroad and show the flag, Congress authorizes construction of three new battleships, three armed cruisers, and six protected cruisers. The Naval Personnel Act of 1899 merges line and engineering officers equally to end intractable hostilities among the navy’s officer corps, It also requires the curricula at the U.S. Naval Academy to include more courses on engineering. Politics: Admiral John G. Walker is appointed head of the third Isthmian Canal Commission to investigate the best possible route for building a canal across Central America. Given America’s global responsibilities across two oceans, the canal shifts from an economic advantage to a strategic imperative. Congress formulates a code of criminal law for the District of Alaska.

March 11 Diplomacy: Due to the death of King Malietoa, the Samoan islands are divided into American, British, and German spheres of influence complicated by violence from competing successors. In the end American and British marines will depose the German candidate, Mataafa, and place Tamu on the throne. The Germans will then request a three-man commission be appointed to investigate the entire Samoan issue.

March 25–31 Military: Kansas and Nebraska volunteers under Colonel Frederick Funston overcome desperate Filipino resistance and capture their capital at Malolos, suffering 500 casualties in the process. However, insurgent leader Emilio Aguinaldo escapes and his followers withdraw rapidly upon Tarlac to renew the contest.

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April 1 Naval: An American naval force is landed on the island of Upolu, Samoa, to protect Americans living there from tribal warfare, but it is attacked and suffers seven dead and seven wounded.

April 19 Sports: Lawrence J. Brignolla wins the third running of the Boston Marathon, turning in a time of two hours, 54 minutes, 38 seconds.

April 24 Labor: Rioting miners at Wardner, Idaho, having been refused a raise to $3.50 a hour, riot and destroy $250,000 worth of equipment.

April 27 General: A violent tornado tears through northern Missouri, killing 40 people and injuring over 100. Military: Colonel Frederick Funston leads his 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry into action against a superior force of Filipino guerrillas at the Rio Grande de Pampanga River, routing the defenders. Consequently, Funston and two of his men win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

April 28 Diplomacy: A deputation representing the Filipino resistance requests peace terms from General Elwell Stephens Otis, who insisted upon unconditional surrender. The rebels then withdraw their peace offer.

April 29 Labor: Miners at Wardner, Idaho, strike for better wages, but when owners refuse to allow them to close the mine, the workers blow it up, inflicting $250,000 in damages.

May 4 Sports: The 25th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Manuel, who runs the course in two minutes, 12 seconds.

May 18–July 29 Diplomacy: The First Hague Peace Conference convenes in the Netherlands at the behest of Czar Nicholas II, it will lead to the eventual establishment of the Permanent Court of International Arbitration. Delegates from the United States are in attendance, although they still insist on upholding the Monroe Doctrine for resolving disputes in their region of influence. A total of 26 nations are in attendance.

May 25 Sports: The 33rd Belmont Stakes is won by Jean Bereaud, who finishes in two minutes, 23 seconds.

May 30 Sports: The 24th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Half Time, who finishes in one minute, 47 seconds.

June 9 Sports: Heavyweight champion Bob Fitzsimmons is dethroned in 11 rounds by challenger James J. Jeffries at Coney Island, New York.

June 10–13 Naval: Filipino insurgent positions at Cavite, Philippines, are bombarded by U.S. Navy monitors and gunboats, in concert with army sweeps against them.

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June 12 Crime: A gang led by Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh (“The Sundance Kid”) knocks off a bank in the small railroad town of Wilcox Station, Wyoming, absconding with a haul estimated at $60,000. General: New Richmond, Wisconsin, is ripped by a tornado that kills 250 people.

June 30 Transportation: The U.S. Army acquires several electricity-driven trucks as potential transport vehicles but will abandon the effort two years later when their batteries prove incapable of holding a charge for sufficient periods of time. On Long Island, New York, cyclist Charles Murphy covers a mile in only 57 seconds.

July Military: In the Philippines, the VIII Corps of General Ewell S. Otis loses 8,000 volunteers when their enlistments expire; the Americans are thus forced to wage a guerrilla war with only 20,000 men until reinforcements can arrive in the fall.

July 1 Religion: The Christian Commercial Men’s Association of America founds the Gideons International with its own unique spin on evangelicalism; their purpose is to deposit Bibles in hotel rooms across the nation.

July 10 Religion: The North American Buddhist Mission is established in San Francisco, California, under the aegis of Kakuryo Nishijima and Shuye Sonoda. The sect in question is Jodo Ching-T’u, which stresses enlightenment, self-reliance, and the notion of karma—that actions in a previous life will affect present events.

July 19 Military: The poor performance of ill-prepared and ill-equipped U.S. Army and Volunteer troops in recent hostilities results in the resignation of Secretary of War Russell A. Alger. For every soldier killed in action, no less than 13 died of illness. Captain Bernard Byrne leads two companies of the 6th U.S. Infantry against bolo-wielding tribesmen occupying the village of Bobong. The defenders are driven off after heavy fighting.

July 29 Diplomacy: At The Hague, Netherlands, the United States signs a convention to join the Permanent Court of International Arbitration. However, the U.S. delegation has insisted that cases involving the Monroe Doctrine must be exempted.

August 1 Military: In Washington, D.C., Elihu Root is appointed the new secretary of war by President William McKinley. Root is a determined reformer, partly inspired by the writings of the late general Emory Upton.

August 5 Business: Ambitious Henry Ford founds his Detroit Automobile Company in Detroit, Michigan.

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August 14 Diplomacy: Jacob G. Shurman, chairman of the Philippine Commission, returns from the Pacific and issues a report to Congress favoring retention of the islands, although independence should be granted at some indeterminate date in the future. However, establishment of an effective means of self-governance will be essential to the entire process.

August 17 Civil: The National Afro-Council convenes its first annual convention in Chicago, Illinois, mostly to discuss the high number of lynchings occurring throughout the South.

September–October Military: American forces in the Philippines take advantage of the dry season and push several columns forward into the central plains of Luzon to clear out any remaining pockets of guerrillas.

September 6 Diplomacy: The United States is determined to prevent China from being dismembered and colonized by Western powers and Japan, although more for commercial reasons that altruism. For this reason, Secretary of State John Hay instructs all American Most lynching victims were African-American ambassadors in nations that have treaties and long- men, such as the one in this photograph. (Library term leases in China to request an “Open Door” policy of Congress) granting equal treatment to all foreigners living there. Such agreements will preclude any moves toward “spheres of influence” that would further weaken the ancient “Middle Kingdom” or infringe upon free trade.

September 12 Diplomacy: The Chinese government protests what it considers America’s disregard for friendly relations, its discriminatory laws against Chinese immigrants in Hawaii and the Philippines in particular.

September 15 Sports: Willie Smith wins the U.S. Open golf tournament.

September 18–23 Naval: The cruisers USS Charleston and Baltimore join U.S. Navy gunboats and monitors in a bombardment of Filipino insurgents at Olongapo, Philippines, at the head of Subic Bay. The transport Zafiro then lands troops that storm ashore and take their position.

September 25 Naval: Filipino guerrillas ambush the armed boat Urdaneta under Naval Cadet Welborn C. Wood along the Pampanga River, Luzon. Wood and four crewmen die and four are captured; his becomes the only naval vessel lost in the Philippine Insurrection.

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October 1 Diplomacy: The Venezuelan Boundary Commission, established by the United States, Great Britain, and Venezuela, reports its findings. The disputed region that occasioned its creation is awarded to British Guiana, while Venezuela receives the mouth of the Orinoco River and 5,000 square miles in the interior.

October 4 Military: Ongoing difficulties in the Philippines result in the dispatch of additional ships and troops at the behest of Admiral George Dewey. A total of 30,963 men are ultimately garrisoned there.

October 8 Naval: U.S. Marines go ashore at Novaleta, Philippines, assisted by gunfire from the gunboats USS Callao and Petrel, and capture the position.

October 14 Technology: President William McKinley takes a Stanley Steamer for a spin, becoming the first chief executive to drive an automobile. The “horseless buggy” is a dramatic improvement over conventional modes of transportation, but, given its still considerable expense, editorial mavens at the Literary Digest pronounce automobiles as mere toys for the rich, predicting that they will never rival bicycles in popularity.

October 16–20 Sports: The U.S. yacht Columbia successfully defends the America’s Cup against the British challenger Shamrock I. News of the victory is then relayed for the first time by wireless transmission to the offices of the New York Herald.

October 20 Diplomacy: Great Britain, eager to gain traction on the isthmian canal under consideration, strong-arms Canada to accept an Alaskan boundary settlement favoring the United States. This is a considerable victory for Secretary of State John Hay, who finally settles a contentious issue.

November 2 Naval: The cruiser USS Charleston hits a reef near Camiguin Island, Philippines, and is shipwrecked without loss of life.

November 11 Military: When the 33rd U.S. Volunteer Regiment is ambushed by Filipino guerrillas at San Jacinto, Major Peyton March turns the tables on the guerrillas, defeating them. American losses are 21 dead and wounded.

November 13 Military: American troops of General Arthur MacArthur’s division storm into Tarlac, the last capital of Filipino guerrillas. The insurgents melt away into the jungle to conduct small-scale raids and ambushes.

November 21 General: Vice President Garret A. Hobart dies at Paterson, New Jersey.

November 24 Military: A sweep by American forces through the Luzon region under General Ewell Stephen Otis nets the renegade president of the Philippine Congress and its secretary of state and treasurer. The main island of the Philippines is now in

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American hands, but the occupiers are dogged by fanatical Muslim guerrillas farther south.

November 26 Naval: The battleship USS Oregon and the cruiser Baltimore dispatch landing parties ashore that seize and occupy the old Spanish navy yard of Olongapo at Subic Bay on Luzon.

December 2 Diplomacy: The United States, Great Britain, and Germany reach a new accord over the Samoan Islands, agreeing to abolish the monarchy there and, by terms of the Samoan Partition Treaty, divide the archipelago among themselves. The Americans, for their part, receive all islands east of the 171st meridian and also award Germany $20,000 in reparations for damage to their embassy during the fighting.

December 4 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Addyston Pipe & Steel Co. v. United States, ruling that companies negotiating among themselves to eliminate competition violate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Politics: The 56th Congress assembles with the Republicans still in control of both houses.

December 5 Business: President William McKinley, taking his cue from the Supreme Court, addresses Congress by declaring that trusts and other economic combines require closer congressional attention and regulation. This is a bold stance for a Republican executive previously beholden to big business for his success, and signals a change in attitude toward unchecked economic forces.

December 7 Diplomacy: Congressman William P. Hepburn introduces a bill calling for the construction of an isthmian canal without British agreement, although it fails to garner serious consideration.

December 9 Military: Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Howze directs his 34th U.S. Volunteer Infantry in a sizable victory over Filipino insurgents on the island of Luzon. The three-hour engagement destroys a brigade-size unit of guerrillas.

December 18 Military: General Henry W. Lawton, a very tall individual made even more conspicuous by his white raincoat and pith helmet, is shot by a sniper and killed on the firing line near San Mateo, Philippines. He is the highest ranking fatality of the insurgency.

December 24 Transportation: Public transit in Boston, Massachusetts, reaches a historic milestone when the last horse-drawn car is withdrawn from service on Boylston Street.

1900 Arts: The self-taught Albert Pinkham Ryder comes into his own as a force in American painting, with his most celebrated work, Toilers of the Sea, finished this year.

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Chronology of American History Sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil win a medal at the Paris Exposition for his dramatic renderings of Native-American life. In Chicago, the Jane Addams social settlement house founds the nation’s first “little theater,” whose inhabitants include social workers, artists, and painters. Business: This year 187,000 automobiles will roll off the production lines, signaling America’s rapid transition to mechanization. The Olds Company establishes the first quality-production automobile plant in America at Detroit, Michigan, after being capitalized at $350,000. The machines are hand-assembled one at a time with parts purchased from other companies, and only 400 are turned out in the first year of production. Civil: The National Negro Business League is founded by reformer Booker T. Washington. Communication: A record 1.3 million telephones are at work throughout the nation, and the number keeps growing yearly. Labor: The vaudeville circuit is thoroughly jostled by the appearance of a group calling themselves the White Rats, a union for actors demanding higher wages. To combat sweatshop conditions and dismally small wages, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union is founded. Literature: Writer Theodore Dreiser, soon to be considered one of America’s finest writers, publishes his first novel, Sister Carrie, only to have Doubleday, his publisher, withdraw it from circulation. The story concerns the degradation of a man at the hands of an immoral woman. An edited edition will be reissued in 1912, but the complete, unaltered story will not be made available until 1981. Dreiser is so distraught that he considers suicide and will not complete another novel for the next 11 years. Smart Set begins monthly publication under the enlightened aegis of William D’Alton Mann, featuring original stories by Mary Austin, Ambrose Bierce, Theodore Dreiser, O. Henry, and Jack London. Irving Bacheller pens Eben Holden, A Tale of the Old Country, which sells 300,000 copies. L. Frank Baum writes his seminal fantasy tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Jack London publishes his first collection of short stories, entitled The Son of the Wolf. Media: Dramatic motion picture footage is taken of disasters at Bayonne, New Jersey, and Galveston, Texas, ushering in the age of film journalism. The Eastman Kodak Company breaks into the commercial photography market by introducing the Brownie Box camera, which is completely self-contained with film inside. The price is only one dollar, which places it in the hands of thousands of amateur photographers. Military: U.S. Army troop concentration in the Philippines rises to 64,000 men, and operations are expanded to include the islands of Samar, Leyte, and Jolo. Music: The song “Goodbye Dolly Gray” is popularized by soldiers departing for war in the Philippines. Population: The latest census reveals a tally of 76 million citizens, with the center of population six miles south of Columbus, Indiana. Societal: Growing access to public education has reduced illiteracy rates to 10.7 percent.

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London, Jack (1876–1916) Author Jack Griffith London was born in San Francisco, California, on January 12, 1876, the illegitimate son of a spiritualist. As a young man he proved aimless, wandered around constantly, and assumed petty jobs such as working for the Fish Patrol in his native city. He continued loafing about until 1893 when he joined the merchant marine as an able-bodied seaman and shipped to Japan. London came home a year later, drifted about, and was arrested in New York City for vagrancy before returning home to complete his high school diploma. In 1896 he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied one year before dropping out. By this time London’s brushes with poverty had made him a committed socialist, but he also developed a penchant for writing. He joined the Klondike gold rush the following year, developed scurvy, and was forced home to recover. While recuperating he penned several short stories based on his wilderness experiences, which were published in periodicals, in 1901 he pulled them together in a collection called The Son of the Wolf. American literature at this time was characterized by its polish and pretensions toward gentility, such as in the refined writings of Henry James, but London’s style was blunt, muscular, and fixated upon the primitive. In 1903 he wrote and published his masterpiece, The Call of the Wild, which is a paean to the survival of the fittest in a very harsh environment. Despite London’s socialist leanings, he very much embraced a Darwinian social outlook in his

writings, where only the strongest are best equipped to survive. His subsequent novels, such as White Fang (1906) and The Sea Wolf (1904), touched upon similar themes and all rose to become national best-sellers. In 1903 London moved to England to live in its slum areas, which provided grist for his new novel The People of the Abyss, a scathing critique of the inequities of capitalism. Returning home he finally settled at Glen Ellen, California, and continued churning out autobiographical titles like The Cruise of the Snark, concerning his voyage to the South Pacific, along with socialist-oriented diatribes such as The Iron Heel (1907), Burning Daylight (1910), and The Valley of the Moon (1913). London also composed one of the best eyewitness accounts of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, and later published what he saw while serving as a war correspondent in the Russo-Japanese War. London subsequently found the time to pen three semi-autobiographical books, Tales of the Fish Patrol (1905), The Road (1907), and John Barleycorn (1913), considered among his finest work. In 1914 he served as a news correspondent at Veracruz, Mexico, alongside American forces, although his continuing dependency on alcohol led to divorce and declining health. He committed suicide at his home on November 22, 1916, an immensely prolific writer and among the most widely read authors of his day. London’s two-fisted prose neatly bridges the gap between Mark Twain’s adventurous yarns and Ernest Hemingway’s war stories.

Manufacturers churn out four billion cigarettes this year, although they are still seen as effete when compared to more “manly” products, such as cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco. Sports: Tennis player Dwight F. Davis offers the Davis Cup for competition between tennis players from the United States and Great Britain.

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Chronology of American History The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles championship is won by Malcolm D. Whitman and Myrtle McAteer in their respective divisions. Yale University wins the national college football championship with 12 wins, no ties, and no losses. Brooklyn wins the National League baseball championship with 82 wins and 54 defeats. Technology: The increasing use of the Bessemer process for steel manufacture results in a record output of 10 million tons, with half of that going to steel rails. Transportation: The New York Central Railroad, which controls 10,000 miles of track, becomes the nation’s largest transportation entity. The extent of railroad track laid has mushroomed from 37,000 miles in 1865 to over 193,000, over which three and a half times as much freight is shipped annually. At the start of the new century, the United States possesses roughly 8,000 automobiles and 150,000 miles of paved roads.

January Business: In Tacoma, Washington, the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Company is incorporated. Naval: In the Philippines, navy gunboats support army troops in attacking and seizing the Batan Islands from Filipino insurgents.

January 2 Transportation: New York City deploys its first electric-powered buses, which rumble silently up and down Fifth Avenue. Fare is set at five cents.

January 4 Military: In the Philippines, U.S. Army troops begin a concerted campaign to root out insurgents in Cavite, which will last for an entire month and be attended with considerable success.

January 7 Military: The 38th U.S. Volunteer Infantry handily defeats a larger body of Filipino irregulars at Patol Bridge, Cavite, killing over 100 insurgents in a two-hour battle.

January 20 Civil: In Washington, D.C., African-American congressman G. H. White of North Carolina introduces legislation to have lynching declared a federal offense; it is not passed.

January 25 Politics: The House of Representatives expels Mormon congressman Brigham Henry Roberts of Utah because of his alleged polygamy.

January 29 Sports: The new American Baseball League is formed in Chicago, Illinois, but is denied recognition by the previously existing National League.

February Naval: Navy gunboats enjoy an active month in supporting army operations by participating in the captures of Biniktgan village, Perez, and Pasacao from Filipino insurgents.

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February 5 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Hay and British foreign minister Sir Julian Pauncefote conclude the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, which allows the United States sole construction rights for building a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. In return, the Americans swear to uphold the neutrality of the canal and allow passage to shipping of all nations.

February 6 Politics: Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New York stridently declares that he will never accept the vice presidency should it be tendered to him. However, a myriad of political enemies in New York are striving to accomplish just that—to get rid of him.

February 10 Naval: Commodore Seaton Schroeder gains appointment as the first naval governor of American Samoa, whose administration is under the Navy Department.

February 20 Naval: U.S. Marines from the gunboat USS Nashville assist army troops in the reduction of Calapacuan, Philippines.

March 5 General: The new Hall of Fame is founded at New York University in New York City with a goal toward promoting the lives and accomplishments of famous Americans.

March 6–9 Politics: The Social Democratic Party convenes its national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, choosing Eugene V. Debs of Indiana for president and Job Harrison of California for vice president.

March 13 Naval: The secretary of the navy, reluctant to copy the army and adopt a general staff that would control naval planning, instead founds a general board of senior admirals, which will function in an advisory capacity only. Admiral George Dewey is called upon to initially head the board.

March 14 Business: Congress passes the Gold Standard Act, which establishes a gold dollar at 25.8 grains and places all U.S. currency on a parity with that precious metal. The national gold reserve, previously diminished, has rebounded back to $150 million due to new sources in Alaska, Africa, and Australia. The act also establishes national banks in towns of 3,000 or less to assist the agrarian sector. Politics: The governor of Utah vetoes legislation aimed at easing the prosecution of polygamy cases.

March 20 Diplomacy: In something of a diplomatic and economic coup, Secretary of State John Hay declares that the “Open Door” policy for China has been accepted—if sullenly—by the Great Powers: Britain, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Japan. This ensures that China, militarily weak and subject to colonization, will be commercially accessible to the United States.

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March 24 Business: Andrew Carnegie incorporates his new Carnegie Steel Company in New Jersey with little hindrance from the nearly defunct Sherman Anti-Trust Act. With a capitalization of $160 million—unprecedented for its day—it is the largest conglomerate in the world. Military: The U.S. Army guides creation of the Puerto Rico battalion at San Juan, Puerto Rico, to assist it in security matters.

April Business: Standard Oil Company makes dividend payments of $20 million for the first quarter of 1900, the largest such dividend claim by any corporation to date. Naval: The Filipino insurgent vessel San Jose is captured by the gunboat USS Paragua off the Philippine coast.

April 12 Politics: Congress passes Senator Joseph Foraker’s act to confirm Puerto Rico’s status as an unconsolidated territory under American control, and a government is appointed with a governor and a bicameral legislature. Preparations are thus made to end all vestiges of military rule. The island’s inhabitants, however, will not obtain American citizenship until 1916. Provisions of the Dingley Tariff Act are extended to the island.

April 15 Sports: A. L. Riker wins an early automobile race at Springfield, Long Island, by tearing up 50 miles in two hours, three minutes.

April 19 Sports: Canadian James J. Caffrey wins the fourth Boston Marathon by crossing the line at two hours, 39 minutes, and 44 seconds.

April 25 Transportation: In New York City, the Cuba Company prepares to invest $8 million to construct railroads on that island.

April 30 General: John Luther “Casey” Jones, a celebrated railroad engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad and captain of the “Cannon Ball Express,” is killed in a train collision near Vaughn, Mississippi. He sacrifices himself to save the lives of his passengers and is subsequently canonized in numerous ballads and folk tales. Settlement: Hawaii obtains territorial status from Congress.

May Naval: Gunboats USS Pampanga and Paragua assist in the capture of Masing and Santa Margarita, Leyte, as part of the ongoing reduction of Filipino insurgent bases. Four enemy vessel are also captured or sunk.

May 1 General: More than 200 miners are killed in an explosion at Scofield, Utah.

May 3 Sports: The 26th annual Kentucky Derby is won by Lieutenant Gibson, who runs the course in two minutes, six seconds.

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May 9–10 Politics: The People’s Party meets in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and nominates William Jennings Bryan for president and Charles A. Town of Minnesota for vice president. However, a splinter group within the party arranges its own gathering at Cincinnati, Ohio, and nominates Wharton Baker of Pennsylvania and Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota for the same offices.

May 11 Sports: Boxing champion James J. Jeffries successfully defends his title against challenger James J. Corbett at Coney Island, New York, winning by a knockout after 23 rounds.

May 14 Law: The U.S. Supreme Court decides the case of Knowlton v. Moore, ruling that the inheritance tax imposed by the War Revenue Act of 1898 is constitutional. Settlement: Sanford Ballard Dole, who has served as provisional president of the Republic of Hawaii since 1894, is appointed the first territorial governor by President William McKinley. Societal: A group of steely women prohibitionists led by Carrie Nation descends upon various saloons and liquor stores throughout Kansas, gutting several.

May 15 Military: General Ewell S. Otis is replaced as governor and commander in the Philippines by General Arthur MacArthur, who now commands 63,000 soldiers.

May 18 Naval: Edwin Conger, U.S. consul at Peking (Beijing), China, expresses great concern over mounting anti-foreign hostility from secret revolutionaries known as “Boxers” and requests that the legation receive additional U.S. Marines from the Asiatic Fleet.

May 20–October 28 Sports: The Olympic Games transpire in Paris, France, and athletes from the United States finish second behind France, with 20 medals.

May 22 General: A raging fire consumes 64 buildings in Lakeview, Oregon.

May 24 Sports: The 34th annual Belmont Stakes is won by Ildrim with a time of two minutes, 21 seconds.

May 26 Communication: In Alaska, the U.S. Army Signal Corps begins constructing a telegraph cable to connect that remote region to Washington, D.C. Military: The War Department issues Order No. 155 to establish an Army War College for regular commissioned officers. This will be a graduate-level institution for regularly commissioned officers, and General Samuel B. Young will serve as its first president.

May 29 Sports: The 25th annual Preakness Stakes is won by Hindus, who crosses the finish line in one minute, 48 seconds.

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May 31 Military: A contingent of U.S. Marines and sailors from the battleship USS Oregon and cruiser Newark form part of a 337-man force dispatched to Peking (Beijing) for the purpose of protecting diplomatic legations there from rampaging Chinese rebels, or “Boxers.”

June 2 Politics: The Socialist Labor Party convenes in New York and chooses Joseph P. Maloney of Massachusetts and Valentine Remmel of Pennsylvania for president and vice president, respectively.

June 4 Politics: A deputation of four men headed by Judge William Howard Taft arrives at Manila to help organize a government of the Philippine Islands. However, insurgent leader Emilio Aguinaldo continues to direct guerrilla operations against the 60,000 troops garrisoning the islands.

June 5 Military: A small patrol of soldiers of the 28th U.S. Volunteer Infantry engages guerrillas at Payapay, Philippines, killing 14 insurgents. The American company commander is slain in action.

June 6 Military: Congress resurrects the title of lieutenant general for the commanding general of the army, Nelson A. Miles.

June 10 Military: British admiral Sir Edward Seymour leads an international force of more than 2,000 soldiers (including more than 100 Americans) from Tientsin to Peking for the purpose of reinforcing the diplomatic legations besieged there. Skirmishes en route cost four American dead and 28 wounded among the 290 casualties sustained.

June 13 Military: Chinese Boxers attack a train carrying an international force under Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, including American sailors and marines, bringing it to a standstill outside Tientsin.

June 14 Settlement: The territorial status of Hawaii becomes official and President William McKinley appoints Sanford B. Dole as the first governor.

June 15 Music: In New York City, virtuoso pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski funds an endowment of $10,000 as a reward to the best orchestral composers in America.

June 16 Naval: The gunboat USS Villalobos captures its 22nd Filipino insurgent craft in two months of operations in Philippine waters.

June 17 Military: Heavy attacks by Chinese Boxers force an international relief force under Admiral Sir Edward Seymour to withdraw from the relief of Peking (Beijing). Naval: At the Chinese port of Taku, the gunboat USS Monocacy is shelled by Chinese army forts but is ordered not to return fire, along with allied vessels, for fear of precipitating a war with the government.

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June 18 Naval: The gunboat USS Nashville makes a high-speed transit from the Philippines with 140 U.S. Marines, whom it lands this day at the port of Taku. Once ashore the contingent marches hastily for Tientsin, about 37 miles away.

June 19–21 Military: In China, an international force is cobbled together for the relief of the diplomatic legations trapped in Peking (Beijing). General Adna Romanza Chaffee also takes charge of the American contingent in the Philippines, consisting of the 9th and 14th U.S. Infantry, two troops of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and a battery from the 5th U.S. Artillery. Politics: The Republican Party holds its convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and renominates William McKinley for the presidency. Again, industrialist Mark Hanna is behind the scenes securing his victory. But the height of the evening is when Theodore Roosevelt shows up in his “Rough Rider” attire, delivers a rousing campaign speech, and wins the vice presidential nod by acclamation. Roosevelt feels his nomination is a ploy by political enemies in New York to remove him from power and influence. The party platform stresses the gold standard, the prevailing stance in foreign policy, and a canal across the Isthmus of Panama.

June 20 Military: In China, xenophobic nationalist factions incite the so-called Boxer Rebellion, trapping diplomatic delegations in the fortress-like Imperial City in Peking and drawing a multinational expeditionary force to their rescue. The ailing Manchu dynasty under Dowager Empress T’zu Hsi, also wishing to rid itself of foreigners, belatedly throws its support to the rebels; scores of Christian missionaries, along with thousands of converts, are massacred.

June 21 Military: General Arthur MacArthur, determined to undermine guerrilla resistance, offers an amnesty to Filipino insurgents.

June 22 Military: The international relief force under Admiral Sir Edward Seymour captures the Hsiku Arsenal, six miles out of Tientsin, China. They halt to await reinforcements.

June 27–28 Politics: The Prohibition Party meets in Chicago, Illinois, and nominates John G. Woolley of Illinois for president and Henry B. Metcalf of Rhode Island for vice president.

June 30 General: A fire on the piers of Hoboken, New Jersey, destroys several steam ships, kills 326 passengers, and inflicts $10 million in damages.

July Naval: Navy gunboats support U.S. Army operations in and around Samar and Mindanao, Philippines, sinking or capturing 12 more insurgent craft.

July 3 Diplomacy: Secretary of State John Hay, alarmed by the Boxer Rebellion in China but equally determined to preserve the “Open Door” policy with respect

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Chronology of American History to trade, dispatches a circular letter declaring his search for a solution that will achieve peace and impartial world trade. He also insists that Chinese sovereignty be respected after the rebellion is eventually crushed.

July 4 –6 Politics: The Democratic Party convenes in Kansas City, Missouri, and unanimously selects William Jennings Bryan as its standard bearer, with Adlai Stevenson as vice president. Moreover, the party platform denounces imperialism and the gold standard, demanding an end to both.

July 8 Military: The 9th U.S. Infantry under Colonel Emerson H. Liscum arrives at Taku, China, from the Philippines, and then marches 37 miles to join allied forces at Tientsin.

July 13 Military: American troops from the 1st Marines and 9th U.S. Infantry, totaling 1,021 men under Colonel Emerson H. Liscum, assist allied forces in storming the walled Chinese city of Tientsin. Liscum’s losses are 18 dead and 22 wounded, while two officers and one private later are awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The overall effort is directed by British general A. R. F. Dorward and is the first occasion that Americans have cooperated with a foreign military power since 1779.

July 16 Military: A detachment of the 28th U.S. Volunteer Infantry attacks and drives 400 Filipino insurgents from their stronghold at Barrio de Talaug, Philippines.

July 17 Military: Soldiers of the 28th U.S. Volunteers, backed by the gunboat USS Villalobos, rout a larger detachment of insurgents at Taal, Batangas, the Philippines.

July 26–29 Military: The balance of General Adna Romanza Chaffee’s American Expeditionary Force arrives at Taku, China, consisting of elements from the 14th U.S. Infantry, the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and 5th U.S. Artillery. Once ashore they immediately set out overland to join allied forces at Tientsin.

August 2 Military: The diplomatic legations besieged in Peking are heartened by the arrival of a letter from Lieutenant Colonel J. S. Mallory, who declares that a column of 10,000 soldiers is marching to their relief. Naval: The gunboat USS Pampanga enjoys an active month hunting down Filipino insurgent craft, destroying no less than nine bancas (small coastal craft) in August alone.

August 5–6 Military: Allied forces storm across Chinese defenses along the Pei-Ho River and in the city of Yang Ts’un; the victory costs the Americans seven dead and 65 wounded.

August 8–10 Sports: Longwood, Massachusetts, is the scene of the first international lawn tennis competition for the Davis Cup, which the United States wins three matches to none. Ironically, Dwight F. Davis, who had put up the cup, will be among the winners.

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August 13–14 Military: A force of 2,500 Americans under General Adna Romanza Chaffee batters its way past Chinese rebels, storms the gates of Peking, and secures all foreign dignitaries holed up there for the past three months. He does so in conjunction with 12,000 Russian, German, British, Austrian, and Japanese soldiers. In action, musician Calvin Titus, 14th U.S. Infantry, will clamber up the city’s high walls and plant the American flag under fire, winning a Congressional Medal of Honor.

August 15 Military: A two-gun battery under Lieutenant Charles P. Summerall, 5th U.S. Artillery, blasts open the gates to Peking’s Forbidden City, and troops rush in to disperse all remaining