On This Day In The Revolution

On this day 250 years ago in Kentucky, Lawrence Darnell and six men of his advanced survey party were making their way on foot to meet the main survey party led by John Floyd that was heading down the Ohio River to survey lands for settlement in Kentucky. Darnell and his team had been robbed…

On April 23, 1774 at 9:00 am one of the largest crowds in the City’s history to date congregated in front of Fraunces Tavern in New York City to demand an apology from Captain Lockyer of the Nancy for trying to import East India Company tea into New York. After his apology, the crowd escorted…

On this day 250 years ago, New York City had its own tea party when the ship London arrived at the port. The ship’s captain claimed that he had no tea aboard, but the local Sons of Liberty had learned that the captain was smuggling tea for his own profit. The captain was seized, the ship was searched,…

John Connolly, Virginia Governor Dunmore’s representative at Pittsburgh, issued a circular letter that essentially declared war on the Shawnee, Mingo and other tribes in present day West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. Dunmore and Connolly both remained loyal to Britain in the Revolution and ended up allied with these tribes but the Virginia militia who they…

On this day 250 years ago The Pennsylvania Gazette published an anonymous letter from London dated February 19, 1774, that some scholars speculate was written by Franklin himself, recounting Benjamin Franklin’s mistreatment by the Privy Council on January 29, 1774. [See my prior post for that day.] The letter began: The Ministerial People here are…

On this day 250 years ago in London Edmund Burke delivered his famous speech “On American Taxation” in Parliament. To no avail, Burke urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend Act and the duties it imposed on tea. This speech included many memorable passages including: Could anything be a subject of more just alarm to America,…

On this day 250 years ago, the last of the seven ships dispatched from London to carry East India Company tea (698 cases) finally made it to the shores of America. The Nancy, commanded by Captain Benjamin Lockyer, had been blown off course and badly damaged during the Atlantic crossing. After landing at Sandy Hook, New…

On this day 250 years ago, Virginia militia from the area around Fort Pitt were searching for the band of Cherokees who had ambushed the traders on the Ohio River on April 15. At this time both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed the Pittsburgh area and both colonies had officials exercising authority in the area. Source:…

On this day 250 years ago in London, Benjamin Franklin wrote to inform Thomas Cushing, the Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly, of new bills introduced in Parliament to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party: The Torrent is still violent against America. A Bill is brought in to alter the Charter, appointing the Council by…

On this day 250 years ago, at Beaver Creek in what is now West Virginia, three traders were camped after canoeing down the Ohio from Pittsburgh in order to trade with the Shawnee for pelts. That morning the traders were attacked by party of four Cherokee without warning. One of the traders named Murphy was…