On June 16, 1775, George Washington stood before the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and accepted his commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Washington’s election was not just a military decision; it was a deliberate political and symbolic act, one that helped unify the colonies and provided the revolution with a face of leadership, dignity, and resolve.
On June 14, 1775, the Congress established the Continental Army, and the next day (June 15), delegates unanimously chose George Washington to lead it.
Why Washington? He was a Virginian, which brought balance to a cause that, up to that point, had been largely centered in New England. He was also widely respected as a man of integrity, with military experience gained during the French and Indian War. Just as important, Washington had been an early and vocal critic of British policy. His commitment to liberty, combined with a calm and dignified demeanor, made him the ideal figure to rally support across the colonies.
On June 16, Washington formally accepted the command. In a modest speech, he thanked Congress for their confidence but expressed sincere doubts about his own abilities. “I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with,” he told them. He went on to pledge that he would accept no salary, only reimbursement for expenses. It was a powerful gesture, signaling that he was not seeking personal gain but was instead answering a call to duty.
On June 19, Washington received his commission in writing. It read, in part: “We, reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, conduct, and fidelity of George Washington, do hereby constitute and appoint him General and Commander in chief of the Army of the United Colonies.”
Washington departed Philadelphia shortly thereafter and traveled north to take command of the troops besieging Boston. His arrival at Cambridge on July 3 marked the beginning of a long and arduous campaign. Throughout the war, Washington would lead with patience, resilience, and an unwavering sense of purpose.
The choice of George Washington as commander of the Continental Army would turn out to be one of the most important decisions made in American history. The wisdom of their choice was apparent on December 23, 1783, when Washington, at his zenith following the American victory in the war, he resigned and returned the every same commission to the Congress.
On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress met in what we call today Independence Hall in Philadelphia. While the delegates met, Massachusetts soldiers under General Artemas Ward were laying siege to the British army in Boston. They were just a few days away from fighting the bloody battle of Bunker Hill. At this point, the thirteen American colonies were carrying on their resistance to British tyranny individually. But with war underway in Massachusetts, an important event occurred on June 14, 1775. That day, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Massachusetts army and add to it soldiers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. This was the beginning of the Continental Army. The Continental Army would become the unifying force between the various colonies, and would ultimately secure American independence on the battlefield. Today, the United States Army claims June 14, 1775 as its birthday.
The journal of the Continental Congress recorded this for the day:
“Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates.
That each company, as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.”
Of course, the chief officer of the army had not been selected yet. John Adams rose and nominated Colonel George Washington from Virginia. Washington immediately left the room as the Congress debated choice. While the Congress would not vote on Washington’s nomination until the following day, they had taken a momentous step in creating an army, even while they hoped for an ultimate reconciliation with Great Britain with their English rights preserved.
The Continental Congress prescribed the oath for enlisting Continental troops:
“I have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said Army.”
By mid-July the Virginia Continentals would already start marching towards Boston.
This year the United States Army will be doing numerous events to celebrate the momentous event. The National Museum of the US Army in Fairfax County, Virginia also has a special exhibit on display to mark the 250th. Remember the tens of thousands of men who fought in the Continental Army over the eight year war, and the thousands who died in its ranks for our freedom.
Remember this Memorial Day the approximately 25,000 Patriots who died to secure the independence and liberty of the United States between 1775 – 1783. They died all across the continent in battle, in prisons, and in hospitals. In Philadelphia stands a monument to the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. The memorial stands in Washington Square, just a few blocks from Independence Hall. Washington Square was an 18th-century burying ground for the destitute, a Potter’s Field. During the Revolutionary War, it was used as a burying ground for both American and British soldiers who died of disease or were killed in nearby battles.
Not as famous as the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, this one was completed in 1957. The year before, archaeologists found the remains of a soldier who had a musket ball wound in his skull. They took these remains and placed them in a sarcophagus with the words: “Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington’s army who died to give you liberty.” He lies as a representative of the thousands of men who gave their lives during the brutal war. In front of the tomb, an eternal flame flickers in remembrance of the dead. A statue of the soldier’s commander George Washington looks over him. Behind Washington are the words: “Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness.” On one side is a quote from Washington’s Farewell Address: “The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering and success.” On the other, an explanation of the significance of the site: “In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington’s Army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War.”
In the plaza of the square are multiple Revolutionary War era flags. The site is somber and inspiring. It was a place of somber reflection even while the war was being fought. On April 13, 1777, John Adams walked through the burying ground and wrote to his wife Abigail what he saw:
“I have spent an Hour, this Morning, in the Congregation of the dead. I took a Walk into the Potters Field, a burying Ground between the new stone Prison, and the Hospital, and I never in my whole Life was affected with so much Melancholly. The Graves of the soldiers, who have been buryed, in this Ground, from the Hospital and bettering House, during the Course of the last Summer, Fall, and Winter, dead of the small Pox, and Camp Diseases, are enough to make the Heart of stone to melt away. The Sexton told me, that upwards of two Thousand soldiers had been buried there, and by the Appearance, of the Graves, and Trenches, it is most probable to me, he speaks within Bounds.”
Two weeks later he wrote to the unborn millions who became the beneficiaries of these mens’ ultimate sacrifice: “Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.”
In the early days of American independence, few tales are as intriguing—or as controversial—as the story of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Allegedly signed on May 20, 1775, over a year before the more famous Declaration in Philadelphia, this document claimed that citizens of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, boldly severed ties with the British crown. It’s a story of early patriotism, defiance, and pride—but also one mired in historical uncertainty.
According to legend, upon hearing news of the battles at Lexington and Concord, local leaders in Mecklenburg County convened an emergency meeting and drafted a declaration proclaiming themselves “free and independent.” The idea that North Carolina may have led the way in declaring independence is a point of pride for many in the state. In fact, May 20, 1775, the supposed date of the declaration, is emblazoned on the North Carolina state flag and seal.
Yet for all its emotional and symbolic power, the Mecklenburg Declaration has a major problem: there’s no evidence it ever existed.
No original copy has survived. In fact, the first known reference to the document didn’t surface until 1819, more than 40 years after the supposed event. That version was reconstructed from memory by elderly men who claimed to have seen or signed it in their youth. These recollections were written down decades after the fact, raising serious doubts about their reliability.
Most historians today believe the Mecklenburg Declaration is a misremembered version of the “Mecklenburg Resolves,” a very real and much better-documented set of statements issued on May 31, 1775. These resolves denounced British authority and called for local governance, but they stopped short of declaring full independence.
Despite the lack of hard evidence, the legend of the Mecklenburg Declaration persisted, particularly in North Carolina. Even Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the national Declaration of Independence, was drawn into the controversy when some accused him of borrowing from the Mecklenburg document—an accusation he vigorously denied.
Today, the Mecklenburg Declaration stands as a symbol, if not a historical document: a reminder of the spirit of independence, the complexities of memory, and the way legends can shape our understanding of the past. Whether or not it was truly the first declaration of independence, it remains a proud part of North Carolina’s revolutionary heritage.
Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolution. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were brutal and vicious. More than 40 American colonists were killed in the fighting. These were the first martyrs in the cause for American liberty. Here are the stories of some of those men who shed their blood on that fateful day for our freedom.
Jonathan Harrington was one of the few dozen men in the Lexington militia who stood on the Lexington Green when the first British troops arrived at sunrise on April 19, 1775. He lived with his wife and child in a home that was located on the Green. After a shot was fired, the British soldiers opened fire on the American militiamen. As they were dispersing, Harrington was shot through the chest. He crawled towards his house and died within sight of his home. Local legend says he crawled to his own doorstep and died at the feet of his wife and child.
Sign on the Harrington house which still stands in Lexington, MA today.
Isaac Davis was the captain of the Acton minutemen. The Acton minutemen marched more than 5 miles to Concord in the early morning hours of April 19. After seeing smoke from the town, the minutemen marched down towards the North Bridge and the British soldiers guarding the opposite side fired a volley at the minutemen. This volley was high and may have been a warning shot. The next volley was fired into the minutemen. Private Abner Hosmer was shot through the head and killed. Davis was shot through the chest, his blood splattering the men around him. Seconds later the American colonists were given the command to fire on British soldiers for the very first time.
The Acton Monument stands over the graves of Isaac Davis, Abner Hosmer, and James Hayward.
James Hayward was part of the Acton company that joined in the running battle back towards Boston. During the battle soldiers from both sides stopped to get water at local wells. At one point a British soldier went to the well by the Fiske house to get a drink of water. At the same time, Hayward was heading there too. The two saw each other and raised their muskets. The British soldier said, “You are a dead man!” Hayward replied, “So are you.” They both fired at the same time. The British soldier was killed instantly. Hayward was hit, with splinters of his powder horn going into his side. He died not long after.
The site of the Fiske well, where James Hayward and a British soldier died.
Jason Russell was a 58-year-old man living in the village of Metonomy (present day Arlington, Massachusetts) and was preparing to defend his home on the road back to Boston. People were telling him to leave the area, but Russell refused and exclaimed “An Englishman’s home is his castle!” As the British column came down the road, Russell and a dozen militiamen began to fire into redcoats. Unfortunately for Russell and the other militiamen, the British had deployed flankers to clear out many of the houses along the road. The colonists were taken by surprise and retreated into the house. Russell was unable to run and was bayonetted to death by the British troops on his front doorstep. The British entered the house and hand to hand fighting occurred inside the house. Two British soldiers and eleven militiamen were killed.
A painting depicting the death of Jason Russell at the Jason Russell House (Arlington Historical Society)
Jason Winship and Jabez Wyman decided to sit in the Cooper Tavern and have a drink. The fighting in Metonomy became extremely brutal. Even unarmed civilians got caught up in the carnage. As British arrived at the Cooper Tavern, the tavern owners fled into a cellar. Winship and Wyman did not stand a chance. The owners noted that: “the King’s regular troops under the command of General Gage, upon their return from blood and slaughter, which they had made at Lexington and Concord, fired more than one hundred bullets into the house where we dwell, through doors, and windows,…The two aged gentlemen [Winship and Wyman] were immediately most barbarously and inhumanly murdered by them, being stabbed through in many places, their heads mangled, skulls broke, and their brains out on the floor and walls of the house.”
Samuel Whittemore was a 78-year-old man who lived in Menotomy. He prepared to fight the British troops marching along the road. He carried a musket, two pistols and a sword. As some British soldiers moved to get Whittemore, he shot one with his musket, then killed two with his pistols and then drew his sword to fight them. The British soldiers shot off part of his face off, clubbed him and bayoneted him fourteen times, leaving him for dead. Amazingly, he survived and live for another eighteen years, dying at the ripe age of 96.
A monument for Smauel Whittemore in Arlington, MA.
One of the last people to die that day was 65-year-old militiaman James Miller. As the British were making it back to Charlestown, James Miller and some men fired into the retreating soldiers. British soldiers ran towards the militia. Miller’s compatriots fled and entreated him to do the same. Miller replied, “I am too old to run.” The British opened fire and killed Miller.
Today the remains of the men who were killed on Lexington Green now lie there under a monument that was erected in 1799, not long after the successful conclusion of the Revolutionary War. The epitaph on that monument still speaks to the heroism and valor of these first Americans to fall in the Revolutionary War:
“The Blood of these Martyrs, In the cause of God & their Country, Was the Cement of the Union of these States, then Colonies; & gave the spring to the spirit. Firmness And resolution of their Fellow Citizens. They rose as one man to revenge their brethren’s Blood and at the point of the sword to assert & Defend their native Rights. They nobly dar’d to be free!!”
Stafford County, Virginia was the boyhood home to the most famous person in the Revolutionary War, George Washington. However, it was also the boyhood home for another, often overlooked, Washington. This was George Washington’s second cousin once removed, William Washington. William Washington was born and spent his early life in northern Stafford County and went on to become a war hero. He fought in many of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War and was wounded multiple times. For his valor in combat, he received a medal from the Continental Congress. After the war, he married and settled in Charleston, South Carolina where he became a planter and prominent state politician.
William Washington by Rembrandt Peale. He is wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons.
William Washington was born on February 28, 1752 at Windsor Forest plantation in Stafford County, Virginia. The 1200-acre plantation, no longer extant, is now part of the US Marine Corps Quantico Base, about a mile and a half north of present day Garrisonville Road. He was the second son of Bailey and Catherine Washington. The Washingtons were very active in the church and young William initially attended services at St. Paul’s in King George County and later attended services at Aquia Church in Stafford County. He was tutored by Rev. Dr. William Stuart and was preparing to enter the ministry. When not studying, Washington played, hunted, and rode horses throughout Stafford County. He was described by Henry Lee III as “possessed [of] a stout frame, being six feet high, broad, strong and corpulent.”
In the spring of 1775, William Washington left his studies to join in the Revolutionary War. He initially joined the Stafford minutemen and became the captain of that unit. In February 1776, William Washington was commissioned as one of ten company captains in the 3rd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line. He was 23 years old. For the first part of 1776 the 3rd Virginia was stationed mostly around Williamsburg. By the end of July, they were ordered to march north and join George Washington’s main Continental Army outside of New York City. They marched north through Stafford County and stopped at the nearby James Hunter’s Iron Works to resupply.
Join us this Washington’s Birthday (Observed) weekend on Sunday, February 16 at 7 p.m. EST on our Facebook page as we sit down with the curatorial staff of the National Museum of the United States Army to discuss the upcoming new special exhibition to commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday in 2025, and our nation’s declaration of independence in 2026. This new landmark exhibit will include a rare collection of Revolutionary War artifacts from the original colonies, England, France and Canada, accompanied by Soldier stories of our nation’s first veterans. Check out this preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vNXR3XWw9I
Can’t join us on Sunday? Check out the discussion later on our YouTube page or listen to the audio on our podcast! Emerging Revolutionary War is your home for America’s 250th!
Join us on Sunday evening as we welcome historian and author Gary Ecelbarger to discuss his new two volume study of George Washington between July 4, 1777 and July 4, 1778. During this momentous year, Washington faced the British army at major engagements at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He also spent the winter at Valley Forge. Ecelbarger breaks down this year into two volumes. The first volume, which covers the July to December of 1777 is available now.
This will be pre-recorded and posted to the Emerging Revolutionary War Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/emergingrevwar at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 22.
Last weekend, Emerging Revolutionary War wrapped up our fourth annual bus tour. Our previous tours covered Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, Valley Forge, and Charleston. This year we went to where the whole war started: Lexington and Concord on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the battles. We had a jam-packed weekend with a fully sold out 56 passenger bus. As most places close down in November in Massachusetts, we chose to move this year’s tour from our usual Veterans Day weekend, to Columbus Day weekend. Here is a brief overview of how the weekend went:
On August 30, 1774, two Virginians arrived by carriage at George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. It was Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. Henry and Pendleton planned to spend the night at Mount Vernon and on the morning of August 31, 1774 they would depart with Washington to go to Philadelphia and attend the First Continental Congress. These three Virginians would be joined in Philadelphia by Richard Henry Lee, Peyton Randolph, Benjamin Harrison, and Richard Bland to form the Virginia delegation at the congress. This was the first time delegates from twelve of the American colonies met in the lead up to the Revolutionary War.
The west front of the mansion at Mount Vernon. From the doorway here, Martha Washington bid farewell to her husband on August 31, 1774. (Wikimedia)
They had no idea what this congress would lead to. For the first time, men from colonies as far north as New Hampshire and far south as South Carolina would be meeting. The disparate colonies were coming together in response to the British Parliament’s harsh measures levied earlier that year.
As the three Virginians left Mount Vernon on August 31, Edmund Pendleton remembered how Martha Washington bid them goodbye. She had no idea that the events that would follow would result in her husband being gone from Mount Vernon for nearly eight years.
Pendleton wrote: “I was most pleased with Mrs. Washington and her spirit. She seemed ready to make any sacrifice and was cheerful though I knew she felt anxious. She talked like a Spartan mother to her son going to battle. ‘I hope you will stand firm – I know George will,’ she said. The dear little woman was busy from morning to night in domestic duties, but she gave us much time in conversation and affording us entertainment. When we set off in the morning, she stood in the door and cheered us with the good words, ‘God be with you gentlemen.’”
Make sure to follow Emerging Revolutionary War on Facebook as we attend events to mark the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress next weekend in Philadelphia. We will be doing videos throughout the weekend and will post them later to our YouTube channel.
