On this day 250 years ago, Generals George Washington and Charles Lee and their staffs departed New Haven, Connecticut and were escorted out of town by Connecticut militia and a brigade of 100 student militia from Yale College that included 16-year old fifer Noah Webster (whose Dictionary and Speller would in the 19th Century help forge the new American identity). Washington and his entourage then rode through Wallingford and Durham and would spend the night in Wethersfield at the home of Silas Deane, one of Connecticut’s delegates who had served with Washington in the First Continental Congress. You can retrace Washington’s rail through these towns today.
Sources: https://www.ordinarynewhaven.com/history; https://www.msn.com/en-us/society-culture-and-history/history/george-washington-returns-to-wallingford-250-years-later-for-flag-day-reenactment/ar-AA1GBjAu; https://www.townofdurhamct.org/subpages/george-washington-trail; https://wdsmuseum.org/
On this day 250 years ago in Boston, James Lovell was arrested by the British Army on the orders of General Gage. Lovell was a well known Patriot and the British had found letters in the pockets of the clothing on the body of Dr. Joseph Warren when he was killed at Bunker Hill that implicated Lovell in spying on the British Army. Lovell would spend the next 18 months imprisoned by the British but after he was released he would be elected to the Continental Congress and would serve continuously from 1777 to 1782.
On This Day In The Revolution 