Free Republic

On January 13, 1776, General Washington sat down to write a letter to the Massachusetts state legislature, reporting how dire their situation was. Such letters were unfortunately to become the norm throughout America’s long War of Independence; the General felt that the civilian legislature needed to be kept apprised of the state of the fight, and in particular, they needed to know how much more material support the troops required from their government. In January of 1776, the Continental Army had been conducting the Siege of Boston for eight months. That’s eight months of sitting, encamped outside the most important...

Reflections on the anniversary of General Washington’s arrival at Cambridge, July, 1775, a year before the Declaration of Independence... Having been unanimously selected by his fellow delegates in the Continental Congress as Commander-in-Chief, on June 15, 1775, George Washington of Virginia was commissioned a General on June 19 and sent off to assume command of the newly created Continental Army… which was then little more than a fiction, as those awaiting him outside Boston really belonged to their localities and their states. When General Washington arrived at Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 3, 1775, he took command of a collection of...

In the early days of the Revolutionary War, the British held a tight grip on the city of Boston. On April 19, 1775, colonial forces attempted to confront the British in Lexington and Concord. Although the British prevailed, this was the beginning of the siege of Boston.General Artemas Ward was given control over the various groups of militia by Brigadier General William Heath on April 20. Ward found it difficult to fully control the different militias but managed to position them in a siege line that ran from Roxbury to Chelsea which blocked in Boston and Charlestown.Ward’s forces were bolstered...