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  • U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 17, 1776
    George Washington

    Congress allowed free blacks to serve in the militia

    U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 17, 1776

    Washington initially protested enlistment of slaves in the Continental Army, but later he relented when the British emancipated and used theirs. On January 16, 1776, Congress allowed free blacks to serve in the militia. By the end of the war one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks.




  • U.S.
    Jan, 1776
    George Washington

    The Continental Army reduced by half to 9,600 men

    U.S.
    Jan, 1776

    The Continental Army, further diminished by expiring short-term enlistments, and by January 1776 reduced by half to 9,600 men, had to be supplemented with militia, and was joined by Knox with heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga.




  • Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Sunday Mar 10, 1776
    George Washington

    Washington's troops brought up Knox's big guns

    Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Sunday Mar 10, 1776

    On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops brought up Knox's big guns and bombarded British ships in Boston harbor.




  • U.S.
    Mar, 1776
    Coverture

    Abigail Adams

    U.S.
    Mar, 1776

    In March 1776, Abigail Adams, the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, second president of the U.S., saw an opportunity in the language of natural rights, and wrote to her husband, John Adams: In the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husband. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.




  • Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Monday Mar 18, 1776
    George Washington

    9,000 British troops and Loyalists began a chaotic ten-day evacuation of Boston

    Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Monday Mar 18, 1776

    On March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began a chaotic ten-day evacuation of Boston aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder the city. He ordered vaccinations against smallpox to great effect, as he did later in Morristown, New Jersey.




  • New York, U.S.
    Sunday Apr 14, 1776
    George Washington

    Washington then proceeded to New York City

    New York, U.S.
    Sunday Apr 14, 1776

    Washington then proceeded to New York City, arriving on April 13, 1776, and began constructing fortifications there to thwart the expected British attack. He ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuse suffered by civilians in Boston at the hands of British troops.




  • Staten Island, New York, U.S.
    Wednesday Jul 3, 1776
    George Washington

    The British forces began arriving on Staten Island

    Staten Island, New York, U.S.
    Wednesday Jul 3, 1776

    The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island on July 2 to lay siege to the city.


  • U.S.
    Thursday Jul 4, 1776
    Flag of the United States

    Declaration of Independence

    U.S.
    Thursday Jul 4, 1776

    At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year. The flag contemporaneously known as "the Continental Colors" has historically been referred to as the first national flag.


  • Salzburg, Austria
    Sunday Jul 21, 1776
    Mozart

    The Haffner Serenad

    Salzburg, Austria
    Sunday Jul 21, 1776

    Siegmund Haffner, approached them with a request for music for his sister’s wedding, Mozart happily obliged. Hard as we might imagine today, the resulting Haffner Serenade was planned to be played at Marie Elisabeth Haffner 's wedding on July 21, 1776 for talking, cooking, drinking guests. Once again, the Haffner Serenade is one of Mozart 's early achievements — a brilliant work, full of complexity and imagination, despite receiving little attention from the audience at its first performance.


  • U.S.
    1776
    Flag of the United States

    The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation

    U.S.
    1776

    The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence—likely with the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensigns by adding white stripes—and would use this flag until 1777, when it would form the basis for the subsequent de jure designs.


  • Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
    Aug, 1776
    George Washington

    Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn

    Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
    Aug, 1776

    Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessians, and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn, and approached Washington's fortifications, as King George III proclaimed the rebellious American colonists to be traitors.


  • New York, U.S.
    Saturday Aug 31, 1776
    George Washington

    Alexander was captured

    New York, U.S.
    Saturday Aug 31, 1776

    On August 30, General William Alexander held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the East River under darkness to Manhattan Island without loss of life or materiel, although Alexander was captured.


  • Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Sunday Nov 17, 1776
    George Washington

    Battle of Fort Washington

    Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Sunday Nov 17, 1776

    Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and captured Fort Washington, inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured.


  • Delaware River, U.S.
    Thursday Dec 26, 1776
    George Washington

    Washington crossed the Delaware River

    Delaware River, U.S.
    Thursday Dec 26, 1776

    Washington crossed the Delaware River at sunset on Christmas Day, December 25, 1776, and risked capture staking out the Jersey shoreline. His men followed across the ice-obstructed river in sleet and snow at McKonkey's Ferry, with 40 men per vessel. Wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3:00 a.m. they made it across with no losses.


  • Cambridge
    Wednesday Jan 24, 1776

    Henry Knox Brings Cannon to Cambridge

    Cambridge
    Wednesday Jan 24, 1776

    The cannon that was transported from Fort Ticonderoga was brought to Cambridge, Massachusetts by Henry Knox.


  • Vienna
    Thursday Aug 15, 1776

    Ignaz von Seyfried Birth

    Vienna
    Thursday Aug 15, 1776

    The Austrian composer Ignaz von Seyfried was born in Vienna in 1776.


  • Paris
    Monday Apr 1, 1776

    Sophie Germain Birth

    Paris
    Monday Apr 1, 1776

    A French mathematician, Sophie Germain, was born in Paris in 1776.


  • Oldenburg
    Saturday May 4, 1776

    Johann Herbart Birth

    Oldenburg
    Saturday May 4, 1776

    The German philosopher and psychologist, Johann Friedrich Herbart, was born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1776.


  • East Bergholt
    Tuesday Jun 11, 1776

    John Constable Birth

    East Bergholt
    Tuesday Jun 11, 1776

    John Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk, England in 1776.


  • Trier
    Tuesday Dec 31, 1776

    Spurzheim Birth

    Trier
    Tuesday Dec 31, 1776

    Spurzheim was a German physician who was born in Trier in 1776.


  • Brussels
    Monday May 13, 1776

    Charles Ots Birth

    Brussels
    Monday May 13, 1776

    The Belgian composer, Charles Ots, was born in 1776.


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