First
Committee of Correspondence organized in Tryon County.
Organizers
were:
Issac
Paris
John Frey
Andrew Finck
Christopher P. Yates
By
May of 1775, most Committees of Correspondence had changed their
name to Committees of Safety. These committees performed the functions
of local government until a formal one could be established.
Source:
Maryly
B. Penrose, Mohawk Valley in the Revolution : Committee of Safety
Papers
Battles
of Concord and Lexington.
Meeting
of Committee of Safety held in Cherry Valley church. Article of
Association was drafted. This document (similar ones were developed
by other area committees) was used to determine a resident's political
leanings. Those who signed the Article of Association were considered
Patriots supporting the Continental Congress. Refusing to sign branded
the resident as a Loyalist (or Tory).
Sources:
See
transcription of Article of Association under Historical Articles
on this website.
William W. Campbell, The Border Warfare of New York During the Revolution
Maryly B. Penrose, Mohawk Valley in the Revolution: Committee of
Safety Papers
Fort
Ticonderoga captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. Not a shot
was fired. Arms and munitions sorely needed by the Rebels were seized.
A Liberty
Pole was raised eight miles west of Fort Johnson (near present day
Fonda, NY). Tryon County Sheriff Alexander White led a posse to
disperse the Rebel gathering. No shots were fired. Several accounts
say no one was hurt, however, Stone wrote that he had narratives
describing the beating of Jacob Sammons by the Loyalists.
Sources:
See
an account of the incident in the Sammons Family article on this
website.
Robert
Venables, Tryon County, 1775 - 1783: A Frontier in Revolution, Phd
Dissertation, Vanderbilt Univ., 1967.
William
Stone, Border Wars of the American Revolution Vol I, Chapter 3.
Palatine
Committee of Safety adopted their Declaration of Independence. It
was the first such declaration in New York State and issued more
than a year before the one adopted by the Continental Congress on
July 4, 1776.
Source:
For
more information, see Declaration of Independence under Historical
Articles on this website.
Guy
Johnson, British Indian Superintendent, leaves the Mohawk Valley for
Canada. Accompanying him were:
John
and Walter Butler
Daniel Claus
Barent Frey
Hon Yost Herkimer
Gilbert Tice
Joseph Brant
Two of Sir William Johnson's sons
Approx: 90 Mohawks and 120 whites
Sources:
Ernest
A. Cruikshank, The Story of Butler's Rangers.
Barbara Graymont, The Iroquois in the American Revolution.
Continental
Congress appoints George Washington General and Commander-in-Chief
of the forces of the United American Colonies.
Battle
of Bunker Hill.
Guy
Johnson holds Indian council at Fort Ontario (present day Oswego,
NY). Some 1,458 Indians were present according to Johnson. He called
on the Indians to remain loyal to Britain.
Source:
Isabel
Thompson Kelsay, Joseph Brant 1743-1807: Man of Two Worlds.
The
Continental Congress authorized the formation of three Indian Departments
based on geography. Commissioners of the Northern Department to
deal principally with the Iroquois were:
Philip
Schuyler
Joseph Hawley
Turbot Francis
Oliver Wolcott
Volkert P. Douw
Source:
Barbara
Graymont, The Iroquois in the American Revolution.
Continental
Congress enacts first Militia Law.
See transcription of the law under Historical Articles on this website.
Council
of the Six Nations and Northern Indian Department of the Continental
Congress was held at Albany NY. Indian Department Commissioners
present were:
Philip
Schuyler
Oliver Wolcott
Turbutt Francis
Volkert P. Douw
Interpreters
were:
Samuel Kirkland
James Dean
The
Iroquois at the council agreed to remain neutral.
Source:
Barbara Graymont, The Iroquois in the American Revolution.
William
Johnson, Jr. son of Sir William by Mary Brant, burst into Col. Jacob
Klock's house. Armed with two pistols, a rifle, and a broadsword,
he shouted he was a King's man and promised to bring a force of
500 to burn the valley.
Sources:
Barbara
Graymont, The Iroquois in the American Revloution.
Maryly B. Penrose, Mohawk Valley in the Revolution: Committee of
Safety Papers
Montreal
captured and occupied by General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery
then moved to Quebec to link up with Benedict Arnold's force that
was marching north through the Maine wilderness.
Source:
Mark
Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.
John
Butler sent to Fort Niagara by Governor General Guy Carleton. Carleton's
order to Butler was to keep the Indians in the area neutral.
Source:
Isabel
Thompson Kelsay, Joseph Brant 1743-1807: Man of Two Worlds.
Dec 1, 1775
By
December 1775, the jail at Albany was so crowded (with Tories) that
the Albany Committee of Safety was obliged to provide additional quarters
and hire an extra jailer.
Source:
Willis T. Hanson, History of Schenectady (NY) During the Revolution.
Gen
Richard Montgomery and Col. Benedict Arnold attacked Quebec under
cover of darkness and a snowstorm. The attack failed and Gen Montgomery
was killed. Of the 800 Americans who attacked the fort, 426 were
captured and another 60 were killed or wounded. A young officer,
Aaron Burr, risked his life to carry Gen Montgomery's body back
to the American lines.
Source:
Mark
Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.
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