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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Adams, John, 1735- (search)
riots in Massachusetts. He was a delegate to the first Continental Congress (1774), where he took a leading part. Returning. he was elected a member of the Provincial Congress. He was an efficient speaker and most useful committee-man in the Continental Congress until he was appointed commissioner to France late in 1777, to supersede Deane. He advocated. helped to frame, voted for, and signed the Declaration of Independence. and he was a most efficient member of the Board of War from June, 1776, until December, 1777. He reached Paris April 8, 1778. where he found a feud between Franklin and Lee, two other commissioners. He advised intrusting that mission to one commissioner, and Franklin was made sole ambassador. He was appointed minister (1779) to treat with Great Britain for peace. and sailed for France in November. He did not serve as commissioner there, but. in July, 1780, he went to Holland to negotiate a loan. He was also received by the States-General as United Stat
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Aitken, Robert, 1734-1802 (search)
Aitken, Robert, 1734-1802 Publisher; born in Scotland in 1734; arrived in Philadelphia in 1769; was a practical printer, and published the Pennsylvania magazine, or American monthly Museum, from January, 1775, to June, 1776. He was a warm Whig, and was thrown into prison after the British took possession of Philadelphia, late in 1777. He very narrowly escaped the horrors of a British prison-ship in New York. He issued the first American edition of the Bible in 1782, by which he lost considerable money. He is supposed to have been the author of a paper entitled An inquiry concerning the principles of a commercial system for the United States. He died in Philadelphia in July, 1802.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Blair, John, 1732-1800 (search)
Blair, John, 1732-1800 Jurist; born in Williamsburg, Va., in 1732; was educated at the College of William and Mary; studied law at the Temple, London; soon rose to the first rank as a lawyer; was a member of the House of Burgesses as early as 1765, and was one of the dissolved Virginia Assembly who met at the Raleigh Tavern, in the summer of 1774, and drafted the Virginia non-importation agreement. He was one of the committee who, in June, 1776, drew up the plan for the Virginia State government, and in 1777 was elected a judge of the Court of Appeals; then chief-justice, and, in 1780, a judge of the High Court of Chancery. he was one of the framers of the national Constitution; and, in 1789. Washington appointed him a judge of the United States Supreme Court. He resigned his seat on the bench of that court in 1796, and died in Williamsburg, Va., Aug. 31, 1800.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Canada (search)
1775), in an attempt to take the city by storm, the invaders were repulsed, and Montgomery was killed. Arnold took the command, and was relieved by General Wooster, in April (1776). A month later, General Thomas took command, and, hearing of the approach of a large armament, land and naval, to Quebec, he retreated up the river. Driven from one post to another, the Americans were finally expelled from Canada, the wretched remnant of the army, reduced by disease, arriving at Crown Point in June, 1776. The American Board of War, General Gates president, arranged a plan, late in 1777, for a winter campaign against Canada, and appointed Lafayette to the command. The Marquis was cordially received at Albany by General Schuyler, then out of the military service. General Conway, who had been appointed inspector-general of the army, was there before him. Lafayette was utterly disappointed and disgusted by the lack of preparation and the delusive statements of Gates. I do not believe, he
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Champlain, Lake, operations on (search)
Champlain, Lake, operations on After the Americans left Canada in sad plight in June, 1776, Carleton, the governor of Canada and general of the forces there, appeared at the foot of Lake Champlain with a well-appointed force of 13,000 men. Only on the bosom of the lake could they advance, for there was no road on either shore. To prevent this invasion, it was important that the Americans should hold command of its waters. A flotilla of small armed vessels was constructed at Crown Point, and Benedict Arnold was placed in command of them as commodore. A schooner called the Royal Savage was his flag-ship. Carleton, meanwhile, had used great diligence in fitting out an armed flotilla at St. John for the recovery of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Towards the close of August, Arnold went down the lake with his fleet and watched the foe until early in October, when he fell back to Valcour Island and formed his flotilla for action without skill. Carleton advanced, with Edward Pringle
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Fellows, John 1733-1808 (search)
Fellows, John 1733-1808 Military officer; born in Pomfret, Conn., in 1733; was in the French and Indian War (q. v.); was a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1775; led a company of minute-men to Cambridge after the skirmish at Lexington, and was made brigadiergeneral of militia in June, 1776. He commanded a brigade in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Bemis's Heights, and was very active in the capture of Burgoyne, October, 1777. After the war he was high sheriff of Berkshire county. He died in Sheffield, Mass., Aug. 1, 1808.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Hickey, Thomas (search)
Hickey, Thomas Conspirator. In June, 1776, when the British were marching against New York City, a conspiracy was hatched to kill the American generals by blowing up the magazine, or to capture General Washington. About 500 persons were concerned, including two guards of Washington. Hickey, one of the guards, with a dozen others, was discovered, and by the unanimous decision of a courtmartial was convicted. He was hanged near Bowery Lane, New York, in the sight of 20,000 people, June 27, 1776.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Knyphausen, Baron Wilhelm von 1716-1800 (search)
Knyphausen, Baron Wilhelm von 1716-1800 Military officer; born in Lutzberg, Germany, Nov. 4, 1716; began his military career in the Prussian service in 1734, and became a general in the army of Frederick the Great in 1775. He arrived in America in June, 1776, and was first engaged in battle here in that of Long Island in August following, in which he commanded a body of Hessian mercenaries. Knyphausen was in the battle of White Plains; assisted in the capture of Fort Washington, which was named by its captors Fort Knyphausen; was conspicuous in the battle of Brandywine in 1777, and in Monmouth in 1778; and commanded an expedition to Springfield, N. J., in June, 1780. In the absence of Sir Henry Clinton he was in command of the city of New York. He died in Cassel, Dec. 7, 1800.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Lee, Charles 1731- (search)
, Stand by me, my brave grenadiers! In his will, after bequeathing his soul to the Almighty and his body to the earth, he directed that his remains should not be buried in any church or church-yard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting-house; for, he said, since I have resided in this country, I have kept so much bad company when living that I do not choose to continue it when dead. He was buried in Christ Church-yard, Philadelphia, with military honors. When, in June, 1776, the British were about to attack Fort Sullivan, in the harbor of Charleston, Lee, who had been sent south to take command of troops there, went to the fort, and, after a brief inspection, declared it not tenable for half an hour. It was a slaughter-pen. He proposed to Governor Rutledge to withdraw the garrison from the fort without striking a blow. Rutledge refused, and Lee contented himself with giving several orders for preparing for a retreat. A better soldier than he commanded th
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Lee, Richard Henry 1732-1794 (search)
d a clear political writer. Mr. Lee supported Patrick Henry's resolutions, and was among the foremost men in Virginia in forming and putting in motion the machinery against royal oppression and parliamentary rule. He was a delegate to the first Congress (1774), was a member of all the leading committees, and wrote the memorial of Congress to the people of British America. In 1775 he wrote the second address of Congress to the people of Great Britain; and from his seat in that body, in June, 1776, he offered the famous resolution which declared the English-American colonies to be free and independent States. It is said that his speech on that occasion was a brilliant display of eloquence. Leaving Congress in June, 1777, he was again in that body in 1778-80, 1784-85, and 1786-87. In 1784 he was chosen president of Congress, but retired at the end of the year. Mr. Lee was opposed to the national Constitution, because it superseded State supremacy, but he was a supporter of Washi
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