On this day in 1775, British forces surrender to American Brigadier General Richard Montgomery. They’d been under siege at Fort St. John for nearly 7 weeks.
It was an early success in the American fight for independence!
Did you know Americans attempted to invade Canada during the early months of the war? There were two prongs to this attack: Benedict Arnold led one group of men towards Quebec on a roundabout route through Maine. (See October 29 post.) A second force was dispatched towards Montreal. This second force was initially led by Major General Philip Schuyler.
Fort St. John stood in the way of Montreal.
That fort had already been attacked once, during the summer of 1775. Benedict Arnold’s effort to take the fort ended when he stole a British warship from a nearby river. The British soon dispatched Major Charles Preston to improve defenses at the fort, in case it was attacked again.
They would be better prepared if and when the Americans returned.
Naturally, Americans weren’t giving up.
The story continues here:
https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-fort-st-john
#TDIH #OTD #History #USHistory #liberty #freedom #ShareTheHistory
Did you know that today’s holiday would not exist but for the actions of a 19-year old schoolteacher from Wisconsin?
In other words, anyone, anywhere can make a difference. :)
In 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand was teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in Waubeka, Wisconsin. He’d devised a simple class exercise for his students: They were to write essays about the flag in commemoration of the flag’s birthday on June 14.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-flag-day
On this day in 1778, the Continental Congress receives peace overtures from the so-called Carlisle Commission.
Let’s just say that the British peace commission achieved anything but peace. To the contrary, the missive it sent to Congress caused such an uproar that the reading of the letter could not even be completed for three days.
The British had created the peace commission months earlier, soon after Parliament received word of the French alliance with America. At nearly the same time, the Continental Congress was across the ocean, then deciding that it would not negotiate with Britain until the King recognized American independence.
Remember, at this point, the war had been ongoing for three years. Americans had offered their own olive branches to the King, and those overtures had been decisively rejected. The British were willing to talk now that the French were backing our cause?
Perhaps our ancestors had cause to view peace overtures with a bit of skepticsm.
The story ...
On this day in 1924, George H.W. Bush is born. You know him as the 41st President of the United States, but do you know about his service during World War II? He was among those that rushed to enlist after the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
He was then just 17 years old and a senior in high school. Nevertheless, the question wasn’t if he would serve: The question was how and when. He wanted to be an aviator, but he wasn’t quite old enough—or at least he wasn’t old enough until his 18th birthday in June 1942.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his birthday.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-wwii-georgehwbush
