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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Ellicott, Andrew, 1754- (search)
Ellicott, Andrew, 1754- Civil engineer; born in Bucks county, Pa., Jan. 24, 1754. His father and uncle founded the town of Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), Md., in 1790. Andrew was much engaged in public surveying for many years after settling in Baltimore in 1785. In 1789 he made the first accurate measurement of Niagara River from lake to lake, and in 1790 he was employed by the United States government in laying out the city of Washington. In 1792 he was made surveyor-general of the United States, and in 1796 he was a commissioner to determine the southern boundary between the territory of the United States and Spain, in accordance with a treaty. From Sept. 1, 1813, until his death, Aug. 29, 1820, he was professor of mathematics and civil engineering at West Point.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Flag, National. (search)
dence of the United States, Dec. 5, 1782, he painted the flag of the United States in the background of a portrait of Elkanah Watson. To Captain Mooers, of the whaling-ship Bedford, of Nantucket, is doubtless due the honor of first The National flag. displaying the national flag in a port of Great Britain. He arrived in the Downs, with it flying at the fore, Feb. 3, 1783. That flag was first carried to the East Indian seas in the Enterprise (an Albanybuilt vessel), Capt. Stewart Dean, in 1785. When Vermont and Kentucky were added to the union of States the flag was altered. By an act of Congress (Jan. 13, 1794) the number of the stripes and stars in the flag was increased from thirteen to fifteen. The act went into effect May 1, 1795. From that time until 1818, when there were twenty States, the number of the stars and stripes remained the same. A committee appointed to revise the standard invited Capt. Samuel C. Reid, the brave defender of the privateer Armstrong, to devis
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Francis, Convers 1785-1863 (search)
Francis, Convers 1785-1863 Clergyman; born in West Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 9, 1785; graduated at Harvard in 1815; became pastor of the Unitarian Church in Watertown, Mass., in 1819. Among his writings are Historical sketch of Watertown; Life of John Eliotin Sparks'sAmerican biographies; Memoirs of Rev. John Allyn, Dr. Gamaliel Bradford, Judge Davis, and Sebastian Rale, etc. He died in Cambridge, Mass., April 7, 1863.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Franklin, Benjamin 1706-1790 (search)
5, after which he was constantly employed at home and abroad in the service of his countrymen struggling for political independence. In Congress, he advocated, helped to prepare and signed the Declaration of Benjamin Franklin. Independence; and in the fall of 1776 he was sent as ambassador to France, as the colleague of Silas Deane and Arthur Lee. To him was chiefly due the successful negotiation of the treaty of alliance with France, and he continued to represent his country there until 1785, when he returned home. While he was in France, and residing at Passy in 1777, a medallion likeness of him was made in the red clay of that region. The Franklin as an apprentice. engraving of it given is about half the size of the original. He took an important part in the negotiation of the treaties of peace. In 1786 he was elected governor of Pennsylvania, and served one term; and he was a leading member in the convention, in 1787, that framed the national Constitution. His last pu
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Garfield, James Abram 1831-1881 (search)
erful vigor which had made him famous on so many fields of the Revolution, and on Aug. 20, 1794, defeated the Indians and their allies on the banks of the Maumee, and completely broke the power of their confederation. On Aug. 3, 1795, General Wayne concluded at Greenville a treaty of lasting peace with these tribes and thus opened the State to settlement. In this treaty there was reserved to the Indians the same territory west of the Cuyahoga as described in the treaty of Fort McIntosh of 1785. Fifth. Settlement of the Western Reserve. I have now noticed briefly the adjustment of the several claims to the Northwestern Territory, excepting that of Connecticut. It has already been seen that Connecticut claimed a strip westward from the Narraganset River to the Mississippi, between the parallels of 41° and 42° 2′; but that portion of her claim which crossed the territory of New York and Pennsylvania had been extinguished by adjustment. Her claim to the territory west of P
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Germain, Lord George, Viscount Sackville 1716-1785 (search)
Germain, Lord George, Viscount Sackville 1716-1785 Statesman; born in England, Jan. 26, 1716; third son of the first Duke of Dorset, lord-lieutenant of Ireland; was educated there; entered the army, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-general. He entered Parliament in 1761, and was made colonial secretary in 1775, ever evincing a most vindictive spirit towards the Americans. He became so unpopular at home that, during the London riots in 1780, he felt compelled to barricade his house in the city. So consonant were his views with those of the King that he was a great favorite at court. His influence over the young King at the time of his coronation, and soon afterwards, was so well known that a handbill appeared with the words, No Lord George Sackville! No Petticoat Government! alluding to the influence of the monarch's mother. He died in England, Aug. 26, 1785. Lord George seemed to take pride an comfort in employing agents who would Lord George Germain. incite the sa
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Gerry, Elbridge 1744-1814 (search)
rn in Marblehead, Mass., July 17, 1744; graduated at Harvard in 1762; took part in the early strife before the Revolution, and in 1772 represented his native town in the State legislature. Gerry was the first to propose, in the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, a law for fitting out armed vessels and establishing a court of admiralty. He took a seat in the Continental Congress early in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence, and remained in that body, with few intermissions, until 1785. He was an efficient member of finance committees in the Congress, and was president of the treasury board in 1780. A delegate in the convention that framed the national Constitution, he was one of those who refused to sign the instrument. He was a member of Congress from 1789 to 1793, and in 1797 was sent as one of the special envoys on a mission to France. He was elected governor of Massachusetts by the Democratic party in 1810, and in 1812 was chosen Vice-President of the United State
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Gorham, Nathaniel 1738-1796 (search)
Gorham, Nathaniel 1738-1796 Statesman; born in Charlestown, Mass., May 27, 1738; took an active part in public affairs at the beginning of the Revolution, especially in the local affairs of Massachusetts; was a delegate to the Continental Congress (1782-83 and from 1785 to 1787); and was chosen its president in June, 1786. He was an influential member of the convention that framed the national Constitution, and exerted great power in procuring its ratification by Massachusetts. In conjunction with Oliver Phelps, he purchased an immense tract of land in the State of New York. He died in Charlestown, June 11, 1796. See Holland land Company.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Greene, Nathanael 1742- (search)
Hobkirk's Hill, April 25. Soon afterwards he besieged the fort of Ninety-Six, and on Sept. 8 gained a victory at Eutaw Springs, S. C., for which Congress gave him thanks, a British standard, and a gold medal. Expelling the British from the Southern country, Greene returned to Rhode Island at the close of the war. Congress presented him with two pieces of artillery. The State of Georgia gave him a fine plantation a few miles from Savannah, where he settled in the fall of Greene's medal. 1785, and died June 19, 1786. South Carolina also gave him a valuable tract of land. A monument dedicated jointly to Greene and Pulaski stands in the city of Savannah, and the State of Rhode Island has erected an equestrian statue of him at the national capital, executed by H. K. Browne. The doubt that had long existed as to the actual burial-place of Trading Ford on the Catawb the hero was settled early in March, 1901, when Col. Asa Bird Gardiner, acting in behalf of the Rhode Island Society
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Greenleaf, Jonathan 1785-1865 (search)
Greenleaf, Jonathan 1785-1865 Clergyman; born in Newburyport, Mass., Sept. 4, 1785. His publications include Sketches of the ecclesiastical history of Maine; History of New York churches, etc. He died in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 24, 1865.
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