On this day in 1776, future President John Adams writes a letter about the man who would ultimately become the last living signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
Charles Carroll would also be the only Catholic person to sign. He suffered immensely because of this last fact.
For years, Carroll was mistreated because of his faith. As a young boy, he attended a religious private school in secret. When he got older, he traveled overseas to complete his education. When he returned to America, he was unable to run for office because he was Catholic.
All in all, perhaps it would have been understandable if he’d chosen to remain loyal to the Crown during the Revolution? He was a wealthy man with a lot to lose. And he surely had bad memories of being mistreated by the American colonists early on.
Carroll, however, was a fervent Patriot. When the conflict with Great Britain started, he wrote many anonymous letters defending the cause of liberty—and of religious freedom. People eventually discovered who had been writing the letters, and his name became more well-known.
What was special about Carroll's signature on the Declaration? The story continues here:
https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-charles-carroll
Hi, everyone! First, This week's Medal of Honor Monday story can be found here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-charles-murray-moh
Second, I am very sorry, but I am going to be shutting down this account. Honestly, I never really figured out how to get going on this platform. (It's probably user error on my part! LOL.) I am thinking of shutting down one or two other social media accounts also.... I spend a ton of time posting and cross-posting. Just trying to limit it to the most productive sites at this point. I am sorry, though!!!
My stories can always be found here:
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Thank you for understanding. I hope everyone has a great week!
Tara
On this day in 1774, Paul Revere makes a furious ride to warn colonists that the “British are coming!” Okay, so it wasn’t that ride. Revere’s famous midnight ride was still four months in the future. Instead, this little-known ride was made from Boston to New Hampshire—and it was made in the middle of the day.
The clashes in New Hampshire, historian David Hackett Fischer notes, “were truly the first blows of the American Revolution, four months before the battles of Lexington and Concord.”
Relations between Great Britain and her American colonies had been strained for quite a while. But in October 1774, King George III and his ministers made things even worse: They imposed a ban on the exportation of arms and ammunition to North America. They also ordered royal officials to secure the arms that were already in the colonies.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-paul-revere-other-ride
On this day in 1996, a Labrador Retriever is born. That little dog, Salty, would become a guide dog, leading his blind owner from the burning World Trade Center on 9-11.
“Salty will always have a special place in my heart,” said Omar Rivera on the 11th anniversary of those attacks. “To see my family grow, to see my daughters grow, to continue to be together with my family—it’s such a gift. Life is a gift.”
Rivera had been at work early that day. He was on the 71st floor preparing for a meeting when he heard a huge, crashing noise. It was the sound of American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the building 22 floors above him, but he had no way to know that.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-salty-roselle
