The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-02-03
JANUARY, 1915.
Its Resemblance TO January Of this Years
The Opening of the Revolutionary Cam
pRign.

Its Resemblance to January Of this Years
| The Opening of the Revolutionary Cam
paign.l
It is remarkable that the first month
of this centennial year closely resem-
bled that of 1776. The journals of that
year speak of the unusual mildness of
the season. It was even said that the
lack of the usual ice in Boston harbor
prevented Washington from crossing his
forces and attempting surprise on the
city, and the Americans were enabled to
continually send forth vessels from all
parts of the harbor to the West Indies
for munitions of war. The mild season
enabled Gen. Schuyler, in these first
first days of January, to dispatch his
well-planned little expedition up the
Mohawk valley to surprise the High
landers, under Johnson. This officer,
one of the ablest in our history, was
then exceedingly popular, but q COM
bination of unlucky circumstances and
of sectional prejudice deprived him
subsequently, of the glory, which was
entirely his, of the first great victory
of the war.
The first of January, 1776, had been
signalized by the barbarous burning of
an old historic colonial town, Norfolk,
in Virginia, by Lord Dunmore. This
had only intensified the bitterness of the
feelings of the citizens against the
British government All parts of the
country were in much the same state of
feeling toward the royal administration
which the border States were in here
| toward the central government in 1861.
Many of the conservative and the loyal
dreaded to break the old ties with the
parent country. The interests of law
and order seemed to many on the side of
the crown. The sentiments, from long
tradition and from family and historical
connection with the old country, bound
them to the royal party. Families like
the Delanceys and the Phillipses, in
New York State, the latter of whom
owned land almost from Yonkers to the
Highlands, feared to risk their largo
property interests in rebellion which
seemed to have no chance of success.
In New York city many of the wealthy
families stood by the crown; Queens
county remained loyal; the old Dutch
families around the city were often
averse to joining the revolutionary
| u.
Even in New England itself, one town,
Portsmouth, N. H., refused to join the
popular movement, and set up O gov
erDment of its own. 1t looked at one
time as if the future of the republic,
which should declare itself independent
Of Great Britain, would consist of New
England; and Franklin even had the
courage to write that, if New England
formed separate confederation against
the crown, he would throw in his for
tunes with her.I New York, during this
first winter of the century, remained in
a condition of semi-neutrality, the Brit
ish ships lying in the harbor without
molesting the city, and the Americans
sending out, unimpeded, their small
craft to obtain supplies from the West
Indies.
The more revolutionary spirits of New
England We're indignant at this apathy,
and Lee, with one of his rattle-brained
expeditions from Connecticut to New
York city. came very near exposing the
town to the horrors of battle. The his
toric names of the State begin already to
appear on the side of the most deter
mined revolutionists-the Jays, Living
stons, Van Rensselaers, Schuylers, Ham
iltons, and others; and as a general
thing those with the largest interest in
the country were found ready to risk the
most.
1t was in these January days that the
letters of the time relate the incident of
farce played by the British officers in
Boston, called " Forcing the Blockade" I"
wherein Washington was pictured in a
ludicrous garb, but which was suddenly
interrupted by the hurried anncnnce-
ment by the sergeant that the "rebels
were fortifying the hills around the
city - This was supposed by the audi
ence to be well-acted part of the farce,
and it was only the confusion and de-
parture of the actors which showed that
the play had become reality. Wash.
ington, during that January, managed
to disguise the smallness of his army SO
well that his 5000 was amplifed, in
popular belief, to 10000, and this i'm
preston, though he was utterly desti-
tute of ammunition, with his mastery
occupation of Dorchester heights. COM
PEELED, little later, the evacuation of
the city. 1t was in January, if we are
not mistaken, that the new flag of thir-
teen stripes OF red and white. but with
out the stars, was first unfurled in the
Continental army, near Boston. The
winter was full, to the colonies, of
anxiety, excitement, and danger. 1t was
evidently the opening of great war,
and a great change in the worlds his
tory. Few could predict whether disas-
ter or success would be the result.