The Battle of Quebec

On this day in 1775,

With Montgomery dead and Arnold wounded, near 450 Americans are trapped and suffering in harsh weather, and are forced to surrender.

Arnold blockades the city for the next four months but is never reinforced. The Canadians were never again asked to join the new colonies after the Battle of Quebec.
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Battle for Quebec

On this day in 1775,

Maj. Gen. Montgomery is killed late in the day as operations begin in a blinding snowstorm, leaving Benedict Arnold in command. The final Battle for Quebec has begun.

On this day in 1776,

Washington crosses the Delaware for a second time on his way to the Battle of Princeton.
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Savannah

On this day in 1778,

After two weeks of fighting, British forces capture the city of Savannah.
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The Battle of John's Island

On this day in 1781,
British troops under Maj. James Henry Craig are posted at John’s Island, near Charleston. The Patriots planned to remove Craig and his men from the island with troops led by Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and his famed cavalry from Fort Ninety-Six. Lee aborted the attack when a column led by Maj. James Hamilton arrived too late and was unable to cross the Wapoo River at The Battle of John's Island.
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The Battle of Fairforest Creek, SC

On this day in 1780,

American Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan detaches a force of approximately 275 troops commanded by Col. William Washington to destroy a force of 250 British Loyalists under the command of Col. Thomas Waters, who had been terrorizing Patriots in the vicinity at The Battle of Fairforest Creek, SC.
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The Battle of Trenton

On this in 1776,

At approximately 8 a.m. Gen. George Washington's Continental Army reaches the outskirts of Trenton, NJ, and descends upon the unsuspecting Hessian force guarding the city. The 1,400 defenders were still groggy from the previous evening's Christmas festivities. The troops of the Continental Army quickly overwhelmed the defenses, and by 9:30 a.m. the city was surrounded, at The Battle of Trenton.
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Benjamin Rush

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1745, patriot, physician and social reformer Benjamin Rush is born in Byberry Township, PA.
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American Crisis - Crisis I

On this day in 1776,

Thomas Paine wrote in his publication the "American Crisis - Crisis I" the famous opening remark:

"These are the times that try men's souls."
"Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
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The Battle of Cane Break

On this day in 1775,

4000 Carolinian militia from five different command regiments combine to attack Loyalists gathered near the Saluda River. Loyalist leader Thomas Fletchall is also captured as the Americans reign victorious at the Battle of Cane Break.
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Robert Barnwell

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1761, Revolutionary War hero and faithful Patriot Robert Barnwell is born in Beaufort, SC.
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American Crisis

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1776, Thomas Payne publishes "American Crisis".

“These are the times that try men’s souls..."
"Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered."
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Valley Forge

On this day in 1777,

The Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, PA. By spring, more than 2000 soldiers will be dead from cold and disease.
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A Battle a Day - The Colonial Years

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1777 the new United States celebrates its first national day of thanksgiving, commemorating the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga after the surrender of Gen. John Burgoyne and 5,000 British troops.
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The Battle of Vincennes, IN

On this day in 1778,

A force of 800 British under the command of Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton, Canadian and Indians from Detroit attack and recapture Fort Sackville at The Battle of Vincennes, IN.
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A Battle a Day - The Colonial Years

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1773, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships moored in Boston Harbor and dump 342 chests of tea into the water.
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Virginia

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1791, Virginia becomes the last state to ratify the Bill of Rights, making the first ten amendments to the Constitution law.
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Lee's forces

On this day in 1776,

The remainder of Lee's forces make their way rapidly across New Jersey to meet up with Washington and the main army west of Trenton in the Quaker countryside north of Philadelphia.
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Maj. Gen. Charles

On this day in 1776,

Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, the highest ranking general after Washington, after being routed by the British in White Plains and after writing several letters criticizing Washington's command abilities, and after ignoring Washington's orders to return to the main army near Trenton, is captured in Morris county, New Jersey.
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Pennsylvania

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1787, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the Constitution.
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The Battle of Matson's Ford, PA

On this day in 1777,

Washington leaves White Marsh with his army to travel to their winter quarters at valley Forge. As soon as they cross the Schuylkill River, an advance guard accidentally runs into a British foraging party. The Americans quickly withdraw back across the river, destroying their makeshift bridge leaving the British to stare at them from the other side of the river at The Battle of Matson's Ford, PA.
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The Battle of Long Island

On this day in 1777,

Col. S.B. Webb and his regiment conduct a raid against the British-held Long Island. The raid is quickly broken up by some British warships. Webb and his men were eventually captured a The Battle of Long Island.
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The Battle of Great Bridge

On this day in 1775,

Col. William Woodford and his 2nd Virginia Regiment, takes on Dunmore for the last time and defeats the British once and for all, destroying Royalist Virginia and delivering it to the Colonies at the Battle of Great Bridge.
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The Battle of Quebec

On this day in 1775,

Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery lead an American force in the siege of Quebec. The Americans hoped to capture the British-occupied city and with it win support for the American cause in Canada at The Battle of Quebec.
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The First State

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1787, Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution.
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The Battle of Chestnut Hill, PA

On this day in 1777,

A vanguard of Gen. William Howe's army engages with a Patriot militia force at Chestnut Hill. After heavy firing from both sides, the militia withdraws from The Battle of Chestnut Hill, PA.
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Phi Beta Kappa

On this day in 1776,

In Williamsburg, Virginia, a group of five students at the College of William and Mary gather at Raleigh’s Tavern to found a new fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa. Intended to follow strictly American principles as opposed to those of “England or Germany,” the new society engaged in the fervent political debate typical of student life at Thomas Jefferson’s beloved college in Virginia’s capital.
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The Battle of Rugeley's Mill, SC.

On this day in 1780,

Col. William Washington's dragoons surround a group of 100 Tory militia holed up in a stone barn. Having no cannon at all, he places a large log atop a cannon carriage and wheels to the barn threatening an attack. All 100 surrender at The Battle of Rugeley's Mill, SC.
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Across the Delaware

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1776, Gen. George Washington writes to Congress from his headquarters in Trenton, NJ, to report that he had transported much of the Continental Army’s stores and baggage across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.
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Lydia Darragh

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1777, legend has it that Philadelphia Quaker housewife and nurse Lydia Darragh single-handedly saves the lives of Gen. Washington and his Continental Army when she overhears the British planning a surprise attack on Washington’s army for the following day.
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Washington’s army

No major battles occurred on this date.

But in 1779, General George Washington’s army settles into winter quarters at Morristown, NJ.
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