Horton's Historical Articles

Article of Association

As the Revolutionary War began, the need to determine who were friends and who were foes became imperative. In the Mohawk Valley, this task fell upon the shoulders of the Committees of Safety that had formed in the valley. In May 1775, a meeting was held in Cherry Valley and a document titled an Article of Association was created.

This document stated that the signers agreed with the Rebel cause and supported the Continental Congress. Those refusing to sign the Association were deemed Loyalists and came under closer scrutiny of the Committees of Safety. This is a transcription of the Article of Association from William Campbell’s book The Border Warfare of New York During the Revolution … :

“Whereas the grand jury of this county, and a number of the magistrates, have signed a declaration, declaring their disapprobation of the opposition made by the Colonies to the oppressive and arbitrary acts of Parliament, the purport of which is evidently to entail slavery on America; and as the said declaration may, in some measure, be looked upon as the sense of the County in general, if the same be passed over in silence; we the said County, inspired with a sincere love for our country, and deeply interested in the common cause, do solemnly declare our fixed attachment and entire approbation of the proceedings of the grand Continental Congress held at Philadelphia last fall, and that we will strictly adhere to, and repose our confidence in the wisdom and integrity of the present Continental Congress; and that we will support the same to the utmost of our power, and that we will religiously and inviolably observe the regulations of that august body.”

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