51[In Congress, May 1775] (Adams Papers)
Congress assembled and proceeded to Business, and the Members appeared to me to be of one Mind, and that mind after my own heart. I dreaded the danger of disunion and divisions among Us, and much more among the People. It appeared to me, that all Petitions, Remonstrances and Negotiations, for the future would be fruitless and only occasion a Loss of time and give Opportunity to the Ennemy to...
52From Benjamin Franklin to [Joseph Priestley?], May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
Unfinished draft: Library of Congress During his voyage to Philadelphia Franklin made the observations on the sea that appear above under April 10. On May 16 he promised in a letter to Priestley to communicate to him “a valuable philosophical discovery” that he had made on the voyage; years later William Temple Franklin conjectured, in a note on that letter, that the discovery was related to...
53To Benjamin Franklin from Nathaniel Seidel, May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
Two copies: Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Your safe return from England into this Province, at so very critical a Time, has given me and my Brethren much Joy, we viewd and honor’d the Hand of God in it, hoping that your deep Knowledge and long Experience in the House of Assembly will once more be well apply’d for the good of this Country. I can therefore assure you that we thankd...
54[May 1775] (Washington Papers)
May 1. Went up to Alexa. to meet the Independt. Company. Mr. Herbert came at Night. 2. Messrs. Hendks. Dalton & others Breakfasted here & Majr. Gates & Mr. B. Fairfax dind & lodgd here. James Hendricks, an Alexandria merchant, was one of ten Alexandrians who formed a town committee of correspondence in May 1774; he later served in the Revolution as a major and colonel with the Virginia troops...
55Acct. of the Weather in May [1775] (Washington Papers)
May 1st. Exceeding hot. Wind southerly. 2. Also warm, but not so hot as yesterday. 3. Again warm & clear. Wind Southerly. 4. Very warm indeed with but little wind & clear. 5. Again very Warm with a violent Gust abt. 5 Oclock in the Evening. 6. Somewhat Cool. Wind Easterly. 7. Cool & pleasant. Wind Northerly. 8. Still Cool & lowering with Rain now and then. 9. Clear & pleasant. Wind Westerly....
56Cash Accounts, May 1775 (Washington Papers)
Cash May 1— To Thos Cortee recd from him by the hands of Capt. Bradstreet (which with Two Bills of Excha. One Drawn by Lyonel Bradstreet on Wm Tippell of Londo. date 12th Apl for £40 Str. & another Bill Drawn by Thos Cortee on Mr Wm Mollison of the Same date for £40 Str.) is in full for the Briga. Farmer Sold the sade Cortee £283.6.8 Maryld Curry is [£]226.13. 4 To Bryan Fairfax Esqr. Int. of...
57[Diary entry: 1 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
May 1. Went up to Alexa. to meet the Independt. Company. Mr. Herbert came at Night.
58[Diary entry: 1 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
May 1st. Exceeding hot. Wind southerly.
59Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren, 2 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
What a scene has opened upon us since I had the favour of your last! Such a scene as we never before Experienced, and could scarcely form an Idea of. If we look back we are amazed at what is past, if we look forward we must shudder at the view. Our only comfort lies in the justice of our cause; and in the mercy of that being who never said, “Seek ye me in vain.” These are consolation s which...
60John Adams to Abigail Adams, 2 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
Our Hearts are bleeding for the poor People of Boston. What will, or can be done for them I cant conceive. God preserve them. I take this opportunity, to write, by our Committee who were sent to this Colony, just to let you know that I am comfortable, and shall proceed this afternoon. Pray write to me, and get all my Friends to write and let me be informed of every Thing that occurs. Send your...
61John Adams to Abigail Adams, 2 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
Mr. Eliot of Fairfield, is this Moment arrived in his Way to Boston. He read us a Letter from the Dr. his Father dated Yesterday Sennight being Sunday. The Drs. Description of the Melancholly of the Town, is enough to melt a Stone. The Tryals of that unhappy and devoted People are likely to be severe indeed. God grant that the Furnace of Affliction may refine them. God grant that they may be...
62From John Adams to Joseph Palmer, 2 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
We are very anxious to know the State of Things at Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and Roxbury. The Accounts We have here are very confused and uncertain. I hope the News Papers, will come now. Our Accounts from N. York are very well. That Province is getting into a Train, which will Secure the Union of the Colonies, and Success to their Efforts. The little, dirty, ministerial Party there, is...
63[Diary entry: 2 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
2. Messrs. Hendks. Dalton & others Breakfasted here & Majr. Gates & Mr. B. Fairfax dind & lodgd here. James Hendricks, an Alexandria merchant, was one of ten Alexandrians who formed a town committee of correspondence in May 1774; he later served in the Revolution as a major and colonel with the Virginia troops ( VAN SCHREEVEN William J. Van Schreeven et al., eds. Revolutionary Virginia: The...
64[Diary entry: 2 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
2. Also warm, but not so hot as yesterday.
65To John Adams from Edward Dilly, 3 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
I have only One Moments opportunity of acknowledging your favor of the 30th of Decr and of informing you that the Packet inclosed was sent agreeable to direction. Every friend of Liberty and the English Constitution rejoice to hear of the Firmness and unanimity of our Brethren in America. By your own Virtue, Valor and Perseverance you are to expect a deliverance from the Yoke. Every attempt...
66[Diary entry: 3 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
3. Mr. Fairfax went away. Majr. Gates stayd all day. In the Afternoon Colo. Richd. H. Lee & Brothr. Thoms. as also Colo. Chas. Carter came here. Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794) married Anne Aylett (1738–1768), whose half sister, also named Anne Aylett, had married GW’s half brother Augustine Washington, of Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County. Lee built his home, Chantilly, just a few miles down...
67[Diary entry: 3 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
3. Again warm & clear. Wind Southerly.
68Abigail Adams to John Adams, 4 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
I have but little news to write you. Every thing of that kind you will learn by a more accurate hand than mine; things remain much in the same situation here that they were when you went away, there has been no Desent upon the sea coast. Guards are regularily kept, and people seem more settled, and are returning to their husbandry.—I feel somewhat lonesome. Mr. Thaxter is gone home, Mr. Rice...
69[Diary entry: 4 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
4. Set out for the Congress at Phila. Dind in Alexa. & lodgd at Marlborough. GW left Mount Vernon in his chariot, probably accompanied by Richard Henry Lee. He may have met several of the other delegates on the road between Mount Vernon and Baltimore, because GW, Lee, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Pendleton, and Benjamin Harrison of Virginia and Joseph Hewes and Richard Caswell of North Carolina all...
70[Diary entry: 4 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
4. Very warm indeed with but little wind & clear.
71[Diary entry: 5 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
5. Breakfasted at Mrs. Ramsays & Lodged at Baltimore. Although GW had traveled the Baltimore-Marlboro road on his return south in 1773, he still was unfamiliar with the route and paid 7s. 6d. for a guide to Baltimore ( General Ledger B General Ledger B, 1772–1793. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers. , folio 193). The roads in this part of Maryland ran...
72[Diary entry: 5 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
5. Again very Warm with a violent Gust abt. 5 Oclock in the Evening.
73From Benjamin Franklin to David Hartley, 6 May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : Dartmouth College Library What as far as we know was the first letter Franklin wrote after landing was not to his son or sister or some close friend, as might be expected, but to an Englishman who three months earlier seems to have been no more than a casual acquaintance. In late February, when Hartley asked for information, Franklin furnished it in a formal, third-person note, and a few...
74[Diary entry: 6 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
6. At Baltimore all day. Reviewd the Companies there & dind at an Entertainmt. given by the Townsmen. “Four companies of the town militia were drawn upon the Common, where they were reviewed by Col. Washington . . . accompanied by the other delegates. . . . In the afternoon the delegates, accompanied by the Rev. Clergy and principal gentlemen of the town, preceded by Capt. [Mordecai] Gist’s...
75[Diary entry: 6 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
6. Somewhat Cool. Wind Easterly.
76Abigail Adams to John Adams, 7 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
I received by the Deacon two Letters from you this Day from Hartford. I feel a recruit of spirits upon the reception of them, and the comfortable news which they contain. We had not heard any thing from N. Carolina before, and could not help feeling anxious least we should find a defection there, arising more from their ancient feuds and animosities, than from any setled ill will in the...
77To John Adams from James Warren, 7 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
After I had Executed my Commission at Providence, I Returned Home set Mrs. Warren down in her own Habitation, made the best provision I could for the security of our Family, and some of our Effects which we considered to be not very safe at Plymouth, and Immediately hastened to this place in order to contribute my mite to the publick Service in this Exigence of affairs. Here I have been near a...
78[Diary entry: 7 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
7. Breakfasted at Cheyns’s. Dind at Rogers’s & lodged at Stevensons this side Susqueha[nna]. cheyns’s : probably the tavern located about 13 miles east of Baltimore at the head of Bird River, a tributary of the Gunpowder River. It was operated for a number of years by a series of different keepers, and at one time was called the Red Lion Tavern. John Rodgers (c.1726–1791), a Scot who came to...
79[Diary entry: 7 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
7. Cool & pleasant. Wind Northerly.
80From Thomas Jefferson to William Small, 7 May 1775 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure by a gentleman who saw you at Birmingham to hear of your welfare. By Capt. Aselby of the True-patriot belonging to Messrs. Farrell & Jones of Bristol I send you three dozen bottles of Madeira, being the half of a present which I had laid by for you. The captain was afraid to take more on board lest it should draw upon him the officers of the customs. The remaining three...
81John Adams to Abigail Adams, 8 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
I have an opportunity by Captn. Beale, to write you a Line. We all arrived last Night in this City. It would take many Sheets of Paper, to give you a Description of the Reception, We found here. The Militia were all in Arms, and almost the whole City out to Meet us. The Tories are put to Flight here, as effectually as the Mandamus Council at Boston. They have associated, to stand by...
82From Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Galloway, 8 May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : Mrs. Arthur Loeb, Philadelphia (1955) This short letter is tantalizingly uninformative. It touches on the two personal relationships that were in crisis when Franklin returned to America, with his son and with his oldest political ally; but it throws little light on either. Its contents make clear that it was in answer to a letter now missing, in which Galloway congratulated Franklin on...
83From Benjamin Franklin to David Hartley, 8 May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : Harvard University Library I arrived here on Friday Evening, and the next morning was unanimously chosen by the General Assembly a Delegate for the ensuing Congress, which is to meet on Wednesday. You will have heard before this reaches you of the Commencement of a Civil War; the End of it perhaps neither myself, nor you, who are much younger, may live to see. I find here all Ranks of...
84[Diary entry: 8 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
8. Breakfasted at Charles Town & Dined & lodged at Wilmington. Charlestown, a flourishing port on the Northeast River, was the county seat of Cecil County, Md., until 1786, when the courthouse was moved to Elkton (Head of Elk). The road followed by GW from Charlestown to Wilmington led him through Christiana Bridge, or Christiana ( General Ledger B General Ledger B, 1772–1793. Library of...
85[Diary entry: 8 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
8. Still Cool & lowering with Rain now and then.
86The Pennsylvania Assembly: Instructions to Its Delegates in Congress, 9 May 1775 (Franklin Papers)
Printed in Votes and Proceedings of the Province of Pennsylvania . . . (6 vols., Philadelphia, 1752–76), VI , 587. Franklin had no more than set foot in Philadelphia before he was plunged into local as well as Congressional politics. The day after he arrived the Assembly chose him unanimously as a delegate to Congress. On June 30 he was appointed to the Pennsylvania committee of safety and...
87[Diary entry: 9 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
9th. Breakfasted at Chester, & dined at the City Tavern Phila. Supped at Mr. Jos. Reads. The arrival in Philadelphia of the delegates from Virginia and other southern colonies was celebrated, according to Christopher Marshall, by a large reception and parade at the outskirts of the city ( Duane, Diary of Marshall William Duane, ed. Extracts from the Diary of Christopher Marshall, Kept in...
88[Diary entry: 9 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
9. Clear & pleasant. Wind Westerly.
89From James Madison to William Bradford, 9 May 1775 (Madison Papers)
I this day received your favor by Mr Hoopes but have not yet got the articles I find came along with it. Mr Hoopes lives at no very great distance so that I shall not be long without them. We have lately had a great alarm here about the Governor’s removing a large quantity of powder from our magazine and conveying it on board a ship of war: Not less [than] 600 men well armed and mounted...
90Address to Captain Patrick Henry and the Gentlemen Independents of Hanover, 9 May 1775 (Madison Papers)
The committee for Orange county, met on Tuesday the 9th of May, taking into their consideration the removal of the powder from the publick magazine, and the compensation obtained by the independent company of Hanover; and observing also, that the receipt given by Capt. Patrick Henry , to his Majesty’s Receiver General, refers the final disposal of the money to the next Colony Convention, came...
91[Diary entry: 10 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
10. Dined at Mr. Thos. Mifflins & spent the Eveng. at my lodgings. my lodgings : GW’s cash memorandum lists a payment of £17 13s. 3d. in Pennsylvania currency “By Mr. Randolph Bd. &ca.” on 22 June, the day before he left Philadelphia (Cash Memoranda, DLC:GW ). Benjamin Randolph was a cabinetmaker who lived on Chestnut Street between Third and Fourth streets. Thomas Jefferson also lodged with...
92[Diary entry: 10 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
10. Clear and pleasant not being very warm.
93[Diary entry: 11 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
11. Dined at Young Doctr. Shippens—spent the Eveng. at my Lodgings. In Congress the credentials of the delegates were read and the decision was again made to keep the proceedings secret. A letter was read from colonial agents in London reporting the rejection of the colonists’ petition to the king, the failure of the earl of Chatham’s plan for reconciliation, and the embarkation of more...
94[Diary entry: 11 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
11. Clear but rather Cool wind being Westerly.
95[Diary entry: 12 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
12. Dined and Supped at the City Tavern. GW’s expenses on this day include 6s. 7d. in Pennsylvania currency for “Club at Smith’s” (Cash Memoranda, DLC:GW ). George Read, Delaware delegate, wrote his wife a description of these dinners at Daniel Smith’s City Tavern: “I then dine at the City Tavern, where a few of us have established a table for each day in the week, save Saturday, when there is...
96[Diary entry: 12 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
12. Clear & pleasant, but rather Cool.
97To George Washington from James Cleveland, 12 May 1775 (Washington Papers)
These Fue lines Comes to let you know that we are all Well & & & And on April 5 I Got to Gilbert Sympsons Whear I Found all the hands; & Nothing Ready but What I Gave you & Account of but the Articles hear after menched; one Cannae Made by your one [own] hands, two Do Made last year; 9 Axes so I bought one Cannae of Sympson at 20/ And one more I Got Which Made Five With my one after I had got...
98[Daniel Smith’s Bill for Entertainment.] (Adams Papers)
Jno. Adams Esqr. To Daniel Smith Dr. 1775 £ s d May 13th. To Bottle Brandy 2 6 26. To Bottle do. 2 6 July 10. To Quart Spirits 2
99Abigail Adams to Joseph Warren, 13 May 1775 (Adams Papers)
A Brother of Mr. Adams’es who has been a Captain of a Company in this Town, is desirous of joining the Army provided he can obtain a Birth; he would prefer a Majors to any other. As he has not any acquaintance with any Gentleman in the Army, except Coll. Palmer, he requested me to write you a line, in his behalf; he is a person both of steadiness and probity, and if there should be any place...
100[Diary entry: 13 May 1775] (Washington Papers)
13. Dined at the City Tavern with the Congress. Spent the Eveng. at my Lodgings. This was Saturday, the day all members of Congress met together for dinner at the City Tavern.