History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 54

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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nent Virginian, Richard Henry Lee, who less than two years before had moved in Congress, at Philadelphia, that "these United States are and of right ought to be free and independent states," and himself became one of the signers of the Declara- tion of Independence. On November I the committee appointed to prepare a recom- mendation to set apart a day of public thanksgiving, brought in a report, which was taken into consideration and agreed to unanimously. The proclamation is re- markable in language and thought. Besides breathing forth a spirit of lofty patriotism, it also contains a deep and fervent religious sentiment. Following is the proclamation in full :

"Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknowl- edge with gratitude their obligations for benefits received, and to implore such fur- ther blessings as they stand in need of ; and it having pleased Him in His abundant mercy, not only to continue to nis the in- numerable bounties of His common Prov- idence, but also to smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war for the defence and establishment of our in- alienable rights and liberties; particularly in that He has been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success. It is there- fore recommended to the legislature of executive powers of these United States to set apart Thursday, the 18th of December next, for solemn Thanksgiving and praise ; that with one heart and one voice, the peo- ple of this country may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments, they may join in a penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor ; and their humble and earnest supplication may be that it may please God. through the merits of Jesus Christ mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please Him graciously, to grant His blessings on the government of these states respectively and prosper the public council of the whole United States; to in-

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spire our commanders, both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude, which may render them fit instru- ments under the Providence of Almighty God to secure for these United States, the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace ; that it may please Him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take the schools and seminaries of education, so ne- cessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurtur- ing hand and to prosper the means of religion, for promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consists of righteous- ness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It is further recommended that servile labor and such recreation as at other times inno- cent, may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment on so solemn occasion."

On November I, President Laurens wrote the following letter to each of the Governors of the thirteen states then in the Union :

York in Pennsylvania, Nov. 1. 1777.

Sir :- The arms of the United States of America having been blessed in the present campaign with re- markable success, Congress has resolved to recommend that Thursday, December 18, next be set apart to be observed by all inhabitants throughout the United States for a general Thanksgiving to Almighty God, and I hereby transmit to you the enclosed extract from the minutes of Congress for that purpose.

Your Excellency will be pleased to take the necessary measures for carrying this resolve into effect in the state in which you reside. You will likewise find en- closed certified copy of the minutes, which will show your Excellency the authority under which I have the honor of addressing you.

I am with great esteem and regard, sir, your Excel- lency's most obedient and humble servant.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION ADOPTED.

As early as July, 1775, Benjamin Franklin submitted to Continental Congress a draft of. Articles of Confederation for the thirteen Colonies. His plan limited their vitality to a time when reconciliation with Great Britain should take place, but if that event did not occur, they should be per- petual. Congress then had no fixed plans for the future and Dr. Franklin's proposi- tion does not seem to have been taken up for discussion at that time. After the Declaration of Independence was passed and signed, in 1776, it was evident that some agreement to bind the states together

more firmly was necessary. It was an easy matter to declare the states free and inde- pendent, but it was more difficult to form a perfect union. Congress therefore decided that a committee should be appointed to prepare and properly digest a form of con- federation to be entered into by the several states. The committee when appointed was composed of one delegate from each state with John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, as chairman, and through him this com- mittee reported a draft of Articles of Con- federation on July 12, eight days after the Declaration had been passed. Almost daily discussions on this subject then took place in Congress until August 20, when the report was laid aside and was not taken up until the following April. Meanwhile sev- eral of the states had adopted constitutions and Congress was recognized by the differ- ent states as the supreme head in all mat- ters of public finance and plans for the prosecution of the war. During the next six months the subject was debated two or three times a week and several amendments were added. After Congress removed to York and began the vigorous transaction of business, discussions on the Articles were continued almost daily from October 7 until they were passed, November 15. During these discussions, animated speeches were delivered and the conflicting interests of the states were strongly brought into view by the different speakers. After a spirited debate, the Articles of Con- federation were voted upon affirmatively. The vote of Congress, passing these Ar- ticles, directed that they be submitted to the legislatures of the several states for ap- proval. According to the statement of Daniel Roberdeau, a delegate from Penn- sylvania, the Articles of Confederation as passed at York, November 15, were sent to Lancaster to be printed. After they were printed, Congress directed that copies be sent to the speakers of the various state legislatures and laid before them for ratifi- cation. They were accompanied by a com- munication requesting the several legis- latures in case they approved of them, to instruct their delegates in Congress, to vote for a ratification of them, which last act should be final and conclusive. This com- munication was in the form of an urgent appeal for immediate and united action,

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CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK

and endeavored to show that the plan pro- these arguments, but the majority of the posed was the best that could be adapted to

states had instructed their delegates to sign the circumstances of all. A committee of the Articles by July 9, 1778. At length, Congress, composed of William Duer, James Lovell and Francis Lightfoot Lee, was appointed, November 29. to make a translation of the Articles of Confederation into the French language. This translation was sent to Benjamin Franklin and the other commissioners at Paris, who were en- deavoring to secure a recognition of the American Republic by Louis XVI, King of France.

The different legislatures felt the neces- sity of a firm bond of union between the states, yet they were slow to ratify the Ar- ticles. Some of them could not agree on the plan of representation mentioned in the Articles, because under them each state was entitled to the same voice in Congress whatever might be the difference in popu- lation.

The most objectionable feature, however. was the plan to determine the boundary lines of the states and the disposition of the unsettled western lands still belonging to England. On June 22. 1778, five days before adjourning at York to meet in Phila- delphia, Congress proceeded to consider the objections of the states to the Articles of Confederation and after a careful consider- ation of them, Richard Henry Lee, of Vir- ginia, Gouverneur Morris, of New York, and Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, were ap- pointed a committee to prepare a form of ratification. They reported the draft the following day and it was agreed to.

Articles Ratified. Six states. Massachusetts, Con- necticut. Virginia. North Caro- lina, South Carolina and Georgia, claimed that their "from sea to sea" charters gave them lands between the mountains and the Mississippi River, and one state, New York, had bought the In- dian title to land in the Ohio Valley. The sea charters" and so had no claims to west-

finding that Maryland was determined not to adopt the Articles till her demands were complied with, they began to yield. In February, 1780, New York ceded her claims to Congress, and in January, 1781, Virginia gave up her claim to the country north of the Ohio River. Maryland had now car- ried her point, and on March 4, 1781, her delegates signed the Articles of Confedera- tion. As all the other states had ratified the Articles, this act on the part of Maryland made them law, and on March 2, 1781, Con- gress met for the first time under a form of government the states were pledged to obey and which was in force until the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, in 1789.

October 17, Congress decided

Printing that the Committee of Intelli-

Press at gence be authorized to take the York. most speedy and effectual meas- ures for getting a printing press erected in York for the purpose of "convey- ing to the public the intelligence that Con- gress may from time to time receive." The chairman of this committee was Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, who, with his asso- ciates, completed arrangements for the re- moval to York of the Hall and Sellers Press, which had been conveyed to Lan- caster when Congress left Philadelphia. This printing press originally belonged to Benjamin Franklin, who sold it to Hall and Sellers, publishers of the "Pennsylvania Ga- zette." This paper, by authority of Con- gress, was printed at York from the time the press was brought here until June 27, 1778, when Congress returned to Philadel- phia. The files of this paper for that period are now in the State Library at Harris- burg.

The Hall and Sellers press, when brought the building now standing at the southwest pied by the Adams Express Company. During the Revolution this building was the residence of Major John Clark, a noted

other six states did not have "from sea to to York, was placed in the second story of

ern lands. As three of them, New Jersey, corner of Market and Beaver Streets, occu- Delaware and Maryland, held that the claims of their sister states were invalid. they now refused to adopt the Articles un- less the land so claimed was given to Con- soldier who served on the staff of General gress to be used to pay for the cost of the Nathaniel Greene. Besides printing the Pennsylvania Gazette and a variety of

Revolution. For three years. the land- claiming states refused to be convinced by pamphlets and documents for Congress,

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Hall and Sellers were authorized to print came to York in January, 1778, still bearing a vast amount of Continental money. the laurels of his victory at Saratoga.

The first Board of War to direct

New the affairs of the army, similar to

Board the War Department of today, was of appointed in June, 1776. It was composed of John Adams, Roger

War. Sherman, Benjamin Harrison, James Wilson, and Edward Rutledge, five members of Congress. This board, with John Adams as president, was continued until 1777. In November of that year, by resolution of Congress, a new Board of War, composed of three persons, appointed to sit in the place where Congress held its sessions. They were not to be members of Congress and Thomas Mifflin, who had just resigned as quartermaster-general of the army. Colonel Timothy Pickering, adjutant- general of the army, and Colonel Robert Harrison, an aide on Washington's staff, were appointed the members of this board. They were to receive two thousand dollars a year. Colonel Harrison, the only personal friend of Washington in the board, declined the appointment. On November 27, Con- gress decided to increase the number to five members, and elected General Horatio Gates, Joseph Trumbull and Richard Peters.

Henry Laurens, President of Congress, then wrote to General Gates, "I have the pleasure of informing you that you have been elected a member of the Board of War and by the unanimous voice of Congress appointed its president, a circumstance thoroughly expressive of the high sense which Congress entertains of your abilities and peculiar fitness to discharge the duties of that important office, upon the right execution of which the safety and interest of the United States eminently depend." General Gates was allowed to retain the rank and pay of a major-general in the army and was not to be present at the meet- ings when his services were demanded in the field. The membership was now almost entirely opposed to the interest of Wash- ington, who had not yet loomed up as the dominant personality of the Revolution. The acting members of the Board of War at this time were Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, and Richard Peters, of Pennsylvania, each of whom received two thousand dollars a year. General Gates

Although the Board of

Appropriations. Treasury at this period did not have a large fund to its credit, the amount of money dis- tributed by authority of Congress from its vaults and different loan offices during Oc- tober, the first month of its session at York, exceeded one million dollars. An appropri- ation of $352,000 was granted to Thomas Mifflin, quartermaster-general of the army, in accordance with his request of October 14. Of this sum, a warrant on the loan office of the State of Connecticut for $50,000 was to be sent to the deputy quartermaster- general at Fishkill, New York; one on the loan office of the State of New Hampshire for $50,000 was to be sent to the deputy quartermaster-general at Hartford, Con- necticut ; one on the loan office of the State of Virginia for $50,000 was to be sent to the deputy quartermaster-general at Williams- burg, Virginia ; one on the loan office of the State of New Jersey for $40,000 was to be sent to the deputy quartermaster-general at Easton, and one on the loan office of the State of Pennsylvania for $60,000. The re- maining $102,000 was to be paid General Mifflin out of the treasury or monies in the hands of the auditor-general.

The Board of War was voted $300,000 to be sent to the paymaster-general for the use of the army under Washington, near Phila- delphia. A warrant for $200,000 was or- dered drawn on the loan office for the State of Massachusetts in favor of Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., deputy quartermaster-gen- eral, for the use of the army on the Hudson under General Horatio Gates. Other sums advanced by Congress were $14,000 to Colonel George Morgan for the public ser- vice at Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg: $10,000 to John Baynton, deputy paymaster-general at Fort Pitt: $3,000 to Ebenezer Hazard, surveyor-general of the postoffice of the United States ; $10,000 by warrant on the loan office of Pennsylvania in favor of Wil- liam Henry, of Lancaster, for the purchase of shoes and leather and for repairing con- tinental arms: $10,000 to William Bu- chanan, commissary-general, to close his accounts : $20,000 for Continental troops in Georgia, and $4,000 to George Ross and Company, owners of Mary Ann Furnace, in

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ADJOURNMENT OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, NOVEMBER, 1777, ON THE DAY OF THE RECEPTION OF THE NEWS OF BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER

FROM PEN AND INK DRAWING BY HORACE BONHAM, ESQ.

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CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK

part payment for cannon balls for the navy. This last item has special local significance. George Ross, of Lancaster, one of the sign- ers of the Declaration of Independence, owned Mary Ann Furnace. This furnace, situated four miles south of Hanover, had been erected in 1762 and made cannon balls for the American army and navy in consid- erable quantities.

Expenses of a

In a letter written by Jonathan Elmer, a delegate from the State of New Jersey and dated

Delegate. at York, November 20, 1777, he stated that he would leave York in a few days, after which the State of New Jersey would have no representation in Congress, until new ones were elected by the Legislature. In this letter, he mentions the fact that it cost him 20 shillings, or about $5.00, a day as expenses while at- tending Congress. He said it cost him sixty-five pounds to support himself and his horse during the seven weeks he was at York. He further stated that delegates from other states received a salary from five to eight dollars a day.

On December. I 1777, Congress passed a resolution requesting

Lafayette a Major- that Washington place General

General. Lafayette in command of a division of Continental troops. Lafayette had recently arrived in this coun- try from France for the purpose of aiding ' the Americans in the war for independence. He had inherited a dislike for the English crown, for his father had been killed in the French army on English soil, before the son was born. Lafayette had left his young wife and two children in France, to come to America. He landed at Charleston, South Carolina. From thence he traveled with a retinue of attendants to Philadelphia, ar- riving there shortly before the battle of Brandywine. He was only twenty years of age, when Congress, at the request of Washington, promoted him to the rank of major-general in the American army. On the same day that this request was made, Congress ordered that the Committee of Commerce ship with all dispatch, 4,000 hogsheads of tobacco to the commissioners of the United States at the Court of France, to comply with a contract made with the authorities of that country.

December I, it ordered that a warrant be issued on Thomas Smith, commissioner of the loan office in the State of Pennsylvania, for $20,000 in favor of John Gibson, auditor- general of Pennsylvania; that a warrant also be issued on Thomas Smith for $50,000 to be sent to Dr. William Shippen, director- general of the government hospitals in con- nection with the army. The same day, Congress ordered that a warrant be issued on Michael Hillegas, treasurer of the United States, with his office at the northeast cor- ner of George Street and Centre Square, for the amount of $50,000, for the use of Dr. William Shippen, in his department ; ordered that $200,000 be sent to William Buchanan, commissary-general of pur- chases, for the American army ; that $10,000 be sent to Benjamin Flower, commissary- general of military stores; that $450,000 be sent to Thomas Mifflin, quartermaster- general of the army; the sum of $150,000 of this amount from the loan office in the State of New York; and $100,000 each from the loan offices of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and $100,000 on the continental treasurer.

On December 2, the question of

John the retirement of John Adams

Retires.

Adams from Congress came before that body. He had served continu- ously as a delegate to Congress since 1775, taking a very active part in all its deliberations. Adams seconded the nomination of appointing Washington as the head of the army. in June, 1775, and made a forceful speech on that occasion. For a time, he was the devoted friend and supporter of the commander-in-chief. At this period in the war he was more inclined to favor the promotion of Gates. Late in November, he wrote to a friend in Boston that the money he received as a delegate to Congress was hardly sufficient to pay his hired man, whom he had engaged to take charge of the affairs of his farm at Quincy, Massachusetts. He had already left York on horseback for Boston before Congress had voted to send him as a special commis- sioner or rather envoy extraordinary to the Court of France. Benjamin Franklin, who was still a member of Congress from Penn- sylvania, was serving on the commission in France in order to secure the alliance of

This was a busy month for Congress. On that government in the cause of inde-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

pendence. Silas Deane, of Connecticut, had more favorably toward Washington. By previously been sent to Paris for the same the time he arrived at Paris, Benjamin Franklin had secured the endorsement of the American republic by Louis XVI, of France, who not only agreed to sign a treaty of amity and commerce, but also to send a fleet and army to aid the Americans in fighting for their freedom.

purpose, and Arthur Lee, of Virginia, who had been the secret agent of the United Colonies in England, had also been commis- sioned to go to France for the same pur- pose. Communications had frequently been received from Franklin, with reference to the hope of conciliating France in favor of the infant republic. It was now felt neces- sary that a member of Congress should proceed across the ocean and confer with the American commissioner at Paris. Adams was selected for that position, be- fore he had determined to go to his home in Massachusetts. He states in a letter that after he had mounted his horse at York for his journey home, Elbridge Gerry, of Mas- sachusetts, told him that he would presently receive a communication from Congress, asking him to go to France. He knew nothing definite about this matter until one month later, when a courier arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where Adams, as a lawyer, was engaged in the trial of a case in court. This messenger came to the desk where he was sitting, and communicated the news to him. On De- cember 23, he wrote a letter to Congress accepting the appointment of commissioner to the Court of France.

The attitude of Adams toward General Washington as commander-in-chief was not understood. In a letter written from York to his wife, in Massachusetts, shortly after Gates' victory at Saratoga, he said, "if there was any glory to the American army, it could not .be attributed to the com- mander-in-chief."

Before he had completed his ar- rangements to go to France, he

Goes to was called upon by General France. Henry Knox, chief of artillery in the American army, and after- ward secretary of war in Washington's first cabinet. In answer to a query concerning his opinion, Adams responded that Wash- ington was an "amiable gentleman." This reply did not satisfy Knox, who was a bosom friend of Washington, and said, "If you go to France as a special commissioner from Congress, you should be an avowed supporter of the commander-in-chief of our army." Before leaving Portsmouth for England, Adams had expressed himself

The treasury now had very little money in its vaults and Congress, on December 2, appointed Nathaniel Folsom, of New Hampshire; James Duane, of New York, and Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, a com- mittee to make arrangements for securing a loan. Before Adams had set sail for France, Congress decided that he should unite with Franklin in asking the French government to loan the United States $2,000,000 sterling "on the thirteen United States, for a term not less than ten years." It was then decided to request the legis- latures of all the states to make a law for the collection of all colonial moneys and bills of credit issued by the authority of England before 1775, and that it should be exchanged for continental money. The sum of $3,100 was ordered to be sent to Colonel George Morgan, commanding Fort Pitt, at the site of Pittsburg, which was then threatened by the Indians. Colonel Thomas Butler, in charge of the armory at Lancaster, was voted $1,800.

----

On December 3, Congress ordered that $1,000,000 be issued under the direction of . the Board of Treasury and on the "faith of the United States." These bills were to be of the same tenor and date as those issued November 7, 1777, to the amount of $1,000,000. This money was issued at York under authority of an act of Congress passed at Philadelphia and does not bear the impress of York upon it. The number of 15,384 bills with the denomination of $3, $4. $5, $6, $7, each, were issued, and the number of 15,385 bills of $2, $8, and $30 each. On this day, Francis Dana, of Mas- `sachusetts; Benjamin Rumsey, of Mary- land, and Dr. Joseph Jones, of Virginia, were added to the Board of Treasury. Dana had been transferred to this board from the Board of War. John Gibson was voted $380 in favor of Lieutenant Allen for conveying $300,000 to North Carolina. On December 5, Francis Lewis, of New York, arrived and took his seat in Congress. The

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 54

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372