On or around this day in 1780, a female agent in one of Washington’s spy rings may have been arrested. Can you believe that this woman was so good at hiding her identity that we still do not know who she was!? We can mostly just guess at what happened to her. The mystery lady, a.k.a. Agent 355, was a member of the Culper Spy Ring, which operated in the New York area under the supervision of Benjamin Tallmadge. Other members included Abraham Woodhull (a.k.a. Samuel Culper, S

On this day in 1776, Benedict Arnold prepares to take on the British. He is badly outgunned. His sailors are inexperienced. His ships are inferior. Naturally, he went anyway. After all, back then, he was still a good guy, fighting valiantly for the American cause! Arnold had no intention of letting George Washington’s army fall victim to the latest British plot: A fleet was being prepared to push through Lake Champlain toward the Hudson Valley, joining Howe’s forces near

On this day in 1803, Samuel Adams passes away. Much could be said about this fiery Patriot, of course. “[He] has the most thourough Understanding,” his cousin John Adams once said, “of Liberty . . . as well as the most habitual, radical Love of it, of any of them.” That “radical love” of liberty shone especially bright in one incident, years before shots rang out at Lexington Green. Indeed, Sam Adams went toe-to-toe with the British that day—and won. Parliament had then

On this day in 1780, General George Washington receives an offer of help from a group of women in Maryland. Many of my history posts have to do with glorious moments in a battle or a specific brave act. Perhaps lost in the shuffle are the many ways in which ordinary citizens pitched in: Many, many Americans wanted their freedom!! Perhaps they didn’t always know how to help. But they jumped in and did whatever they could, when they could. In this instance, the First Lady of

On this day in 1774, a largely forgotten American settles into a new job. It was one he would hold throughout the American Revolution. Schools don’t say much about Charles Thomson, but he was the perpetual secretary of Congress for nearly 15 years. His job was to do much of the unglamorous, behind-the-scenes work that made our Revolution possible. He resigned only when the Constitution was ratified and our new government established. Yet most Americans have no idea he exist

On this day in 1779, Navy legend John Paul Jones fights the Battle of Flamborough Head. He’d lost his biggest guns. His ship was flooding, and one of his own frigates was even shooting at him! Naturally, he won anyway. Jones was then commanding a squadron of ships in the North Sea, near the coast of Yorkshire. His flagship, the Continental Navy ship Bonhomme Richard, and a few others had been wreaking havoc, capturing British ships and threatening coastal towns. Trouble c

On this day in 1776, an American Patriot is executed by the British. Nathan Hale’s reported final words were brave and memorable. Maybe you’ve heard them? Hale declared: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Awesome! Brave. Hale was attempting to help George Washington’s army, then fighting a series of battles in and around New York. Americans had lost the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, but then they’d made a miraculous middle-of-the-night

On this day in 1777, George Washington’s army scrambles to recover from a most unusual military disaster: Its ammunition has been ruined by rain. Ironically, the same storm may have just saved the army from an even greater disaster. It had then been about a week since the Battle of Brandywine (see September 11 history post). Americans had lost that battle, but they’d put up a good fight against the better-trained British army. Morale was surprisingly high. Washington ex

On this day in 1782, a young woman is missing. Did her neighbors suspect where Deborah Samson (or Sampson) was? After all, she’d already been kicked out of her church for dressing like a man and attempting to enlist in the Continental Army. “The Church consider’d the case of Deborah Sampson . . . who last Spring was accused of dressing in men’s clothes,” her church’s September 3rd record states, “and enlisting as a Soldier in the Army . . . and for some time before behaved

On this day in 1779, Benjamin Tallmadge prepares to raid Lloyd’s Neck. You may know Tallmadge as the leader of George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring, but did you know that there was a more traditional military side to him, too? Tallmadge was an officer in the Continental Army. He was also a native of Long Island. Understandably, this Long Island native was disturbed by much of what was going on in that area during the American Revolution. New York was the British headquarte

On this day in 1817, a little-known Revolutionary War soldier passes away. It’s said that Tristram Thomas obtained the surrender of a large British force without firing a single shot! Unfortunately, much of the rest of his story is lost to history. “The name of Tristram Thomas,” local historian Duncan D. McColl writes, “distinguished in the early annals of Marlboro County, is practically unknown to the present generation, which enjoys the fruits of the splendid sacrifices m

On this day in 1773, Phillis Wheatley becomes the first black American to have a book of poetry published. Very little is known about Phillis Wheatley’s early life—not even her name at birth. She was born somewhere in Africa before falling victim to the slave trade: As a young girl, she was apparently kidnapped and taken to Boston. By the time the ship arrived in the colonies, the slave trader had decided that Phillis was sickly and frail. He sold her for a “trifle” to a re

On this day in 1776, John Adams writes his wife Abigail about an unusual assignment: He, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson had been asked to design a seal for the new United States. They’d been given the assignment just a few weeks earlier, on July 4. You may think of July 4 as the day that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. That’s true, but Congress accomplished other things that day as well. For instance, Congress passed a resolutio

On this day in 1778, General Charles Lee’s court martial ends with a guilty verdict. But who is Charles Lee? Well, it seems that if Charles Lee had had his way, he would have been Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Now he was in trouble. Mere weeks earlier, he had ordered a retreat in the midst of the Battle of Monmouth. General George Washington had arrived just in time to reverse the retreat and salvage the battle. Battle of Monmout

On this day in 1779, General “Mad Anthony” Wayne launches an attack in New York. He and his men would take back the fort at Stony Point, which had been lost to the British mere weeks earlier. George Washington himself had drafted the original plan of attack, then tasked Wayne with carrying it out. Washington’s plan exploited a flaw in the fortifications, and it called for the attack to be made in the middle of the night—an unusually difficult time to attack. But Washington

On this day in 1776, George Washington refuses to accept a letter from British Admiral Richard Howe. The admiral and his brother, General William Howe, were attempting to contact Washington without recognizing the legitimacy of his military title. Of course, what they really meant is that they did not accept the legitimacy of the American cause. Washington’s army was then on Long Island and in Manhattan, preparing to defend New York City from a British attack. In the meantime

On this day in 1835, city bells toll as a funeral procession for Chief Justice John Marshall makes its way down Philadelphia streets. Some reports say that the Liberty Bell cracked on that day, although the story has never been proven. Marshall was one of the nation’s early Chief Justices, and his tenure established the Court as we think of it today. But do you know the rest of this Patriot’s story? The future Chief Justice Marshall grew up in Virginia, where George Washi

On this day in 1777, a series of skirmishes between British and American forces continue. At first, it seemed that British Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne might succeed in squashing the Patriots. Fortunately, Americans got the last laugh. Burgoyne was then on a campaign through New York. He’d entered America from Canada, moving toward Albany. He hoped British troops would join him from New York City, thus separating New England colonies from the South. He thought dividing the co

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopts our Declaration of Independence. It had already resolved on July 2 that “these United Colonies are, and, of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States . . . .” Now it formally adopted a written document, too. It took nearly a month to write the Declaration. You may know that Thomas Jefferson was the primary author, but he had help, too. What is the rest of the story? On June 11, Congress nominated a “Committee of Five”

Happy 250th birthday, America! On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress declared America’s independence! Did you know that this vote actually occurred on July 2, not July 4? “That these United Colonies are,” congressional delegates resolved, “and, of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown . . . .” There would be no more attempts to reconcile with Great Britain. The Committee of Five as depicted in