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Show gjURPKISIXG it is to discover K how many important events in history have occurred on the Fturth of July. N--y On the fourth day of July, "Ti George Wasliing- V!v-it.';iK ton surrendered an army. g.-'i'' It was only a small army, but a fort went with it. He experienced on this occasion his first defeat in "var, at the hands of the Frencb. Although at that time only twenty- two years of age, he had been placed in command com-mand of a small body of troops which was marching toward Fort Duquesne. At a point on the Monongahela river, less than forty miles from his destination, destina-tion, he heard of the approach ap-proach of a party of French and Indians, sent to intercept him Accordingly, he fell back to the Great Meadows, fifty miles Irom Cumberland, and hastily erected a stockade, stock-ade, which he called Fort Necessity. With the help of a friendly Indian sachem. Half King, he attacked the French in their camp at night, killing their commander, Ju-monville, Ju-monville, and taking a number of prisoners. It was the first blood shed in the French and Indian war. A few days later Fort Necessity was attacked at-tacked by 1,500 Indians and French under De Villiers, and Washington Washing-ton surrendered on is to discover i- ' ' '' ' '" ' "-V '"; '' ' "s' V-' ' portant events " i'rv'' ' 'i''.'1-., re occurred on ,-, rwT July. : th day of July. . 3rge Washing- jjfC ';&5 P-KtiKS?. red an army. Id i small army. ;;K& -H--:.w- it with it. He Jfil0mt.t!SB, asion his first K'ISg hands of the Jtv only twenty- 1 1 surrfje'J ronrao III ISB ff If flLf fsi&i8gp -sm&MaSl!- and destroyed. But- ,4ih&X' vjv nllhi ' rtitu h ler reported taking j&VV COJYTWZJVrAl, JiAU H fl 227 scalps and five fi mAlfMl 1 Iff WAWIMrON prisoners, the Eng- f if f y rj lish loss being two If yr white men killed and eight Indians A fsf -""-w. wounded. iH J I Incredible deeds of cruelty and fe- s I Ji, 5?I'''W rocity are said to have been commlt- t?J lld'&S1' ted fey the tories on this occasion, felif It and the wnole valley was left a scene KP s X Ng, I-;, i ot desolation. But it is not true that L'tSil "&JW' women and children were massacred. f J f On the fourth day of July, 1780, con- 3$ 1 (- I tinental currency notes were worth lgfeii3 y V" two cents on the dollar, and, It was vJQWrC.mZrrOTrr V said- "a agonload of paper money Vrf: V 3 was required to pay for a wagonload of was on the Cr &f s L-fs. ' ' provisions." Nothing could well give marched out ( WVNa "fe a more vivid notion of the desperate )0 men, drums (J? Ill X. situation of the Revolutionary cause ;, and he and Wj, b-J at that period. peaceably to Sy Offi WALTER RAIFIGH On the Fourth of July, 1826, Thom- honorable 'terms. This was on the morning of July 4. He marched out with his little army of 400 men, drums beating and flags flying, and he and his soldiers returned peaceably to their homes. On the fourth day of July, 1846, the independence of California was declared. de-clared. There was at that time in California as yet of course a part of Mexico about two hundred Americans, nearly all of them men of exceptional vigor of body and alertness of mind. Of Mexicans there were 6,000, and the aboriginal Indian population numbered num-bered perhaps 200,000. Capt. John C. Fremont had been Bent to California on an exploring expedition ex-pedition a year earlier. He was on his way to Oregon when he was over-. over-. taken by an officer sent from Washington Wash-ington with a message ordering him to wait and to co-operate witn the Pacific Pa-cific squadron in case of hostilities with Mexico. The message had been in writing, but the officer was obliged to destroy it while crossing Mexican territory, after committing it to memory. Accordingly Fremont returned to California and took up his headquarters headquar-ters at Sutter's Fort. A few days later, June 14, a party of fourteen Americans organized a small revolution on their own account, ac-count, captured Sonoma and declared war against Mexico. Needing a flag and not daring to use that of the Unittd States, they made one. not out of an old lady's petticoat, as has sometimes been alleged, but from a Mexican rebosa or scarf of unbleached un-bleached muslin a yard wide and five feet long. Along the bottom they sewed t strip of red flannel and in the left band corner they painted a star in red ink. The middle of the flag was occupied by a picture of a grizzly bear, beneath which were the words "California Republic." The temporary government thus set up is known in history as the Bear Flag Republic. Its banner now ornaments orna-ments the rooms of the Pioneer society so-ciety In San Francisco. The grizzly bear was rather crudely drawn, and the Mexicans said it was a pig, calling call-ing the flag the pig flag. Meanwhile news had come of the outbreak of war along the Rio Grande and on July 4 Fremont called a meet-, ing at Sonoma which formally proclaimed pro-claimed the Independence of California. Cali-fornia. He W'as appointed governor. Soon afterward there came intelligence intelli-gence that Commodore Sloat had arrived ar-rived at Monterey (July 7) and had raised the American flag; also that by his orders Commander Montgomery Montgom-ery of the V. S. sloop of war Portsmouth Ports-mouth had taken possession of San Francisco. Sloat, having heard of the hostilities hostili-ties with Mexico, had sailed immediately immedi-ately from Mazatlan for California, where he took possession of the country coun-try and raised the American flag on his own responsibility. He was none too soon, for exactly a week later, July 14, the British man of war Col-lingwood, Col-lingwood, commanded by Sir George Seymour, arrived at Monterey to proclaim pro-claim British sovereignty. It was thus only by a narrow chance that England did not become the possessor of California, which she had greatly coveted. On the fourth day of July, 1584, two barks which had been sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to discover and annex the American continent north of Florida arrived off the coast. Sailing along for 120 miles, they entered the mouth of a river and took formal possession pos-session of the country for the queen of England, naming it Virginia. They landed on Roanoke Island, afterward occupied by the first English settlement settle-ment in the new world. This colony, consisting of 110 persons sent out In April, 1585, was abandoned in less than a year, the settlers carrying back with them to Europe the first tobacco to-bacco and the first potatoes, which latter were planted experimentally on Raleigh's estate not far from Cork, in Ireland. On the fourth day of July, 1754, Benjamin Franklin laid before the commissioners of colonies, at Albany, Al-bany, a plan for a federal constitution, constitu-tion, aimed to accomplish a union for defense against French encroachment. It was adopted, but afterward was rejected re-jected by some of the colonies and by the British government. This was exactly ex-actly twenty-two years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Inde-pendence. Curiously enough, the document doc-ument was rejected by the colonies because it put too much power into the hands of the king; and it was vetoed ve-toed in England because it gave too .much power to the assemblies of the colories. On the fourth day of July, 1770, umbrellas um-brellas were first introduced into this cc-untry, a shipment of them arriving at the port of Baltimore. They were jteierally regarded as an absurdity, ani it was considered that only fool-inlr fool-inlr and effeminate persons could pos-?ITly pos-?ITly use them. The massacre of Wyoming valley occurred on July 4, 1776. T.n the previous autumn two companies com-panies had been raised in the valley ard had been ordered to join General Washington. Several stockaded forts hf-d been built during the summer, but those left behind to guard them wore mostly old men. A raiding force of tories, Canadians atd Indians, under Maj. John Butler, a tory of Niagara, entered the valley and set fire to some of the forts. Forty Fort, three miles above Wilkes Barre. had assembled a garrison of 300, largely old men and boys. This force decided to march against the invaders, which it did with disastrous result Taken in flank, it was routed and destroyed. Butler But-ler reported taking 227 scalps and five prisoners, the English Eng-lish loss being two white men killed and eight Indians wounded. Incredible deeds of cruelty and ferocity fe-rocity are said to have been committed commit-ted by the tories on this occasion, and the whole valley was left a scene of desolation. But it is not true that women and children were massacred. On the fourth day of July, 1780, continental con-tinental currency notes were worth two cents on the dollar, and, It was said, "a wagonload of paper money was required to pay for a wagonload of provisions." Nothing could well give a more vivid notion of the desperate situation of the Revolutionary cause at that period. On the Fourth of July, 1826, Thomas Thom-as Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration Dec-laration of Independence, died, aged eighty-three, just fifty years from the date of that historic document. On the same day died John Adams,, second sec-ond president of the United States, aged ninety-one. James Monroe also died on the Fourth of July, 1831, his age being seventy-three. On the fourth day of July, 1848, the treaty of peace with Mexico was proclaimed pro-claimed at Washington. And on the same day the cornerstone of the Washington monument was laid with great pomp and ceremony. Money for building it had been subscribed by individuals, in-dividuals, but the sum thus obtained proved so far inadequate that the structure remained a mere stump, only about one-third its present height, until 1881, when congress appropriated ap-propriated the amount necessary for its completion. There was a similar and even more important ceremony in Washington on July 4, 1851, when President Fill more initiated by the laying of a cornerstone the construction of the two great white marble wings of the capitol. There was an impressive assemblage of dignitaries and an oration ora-tion was made by Daniel Webster, then secretary of state. Of special interest in-terest was the presence of a few persons per-sons who had witnessed the laying of the first cornerstone of the capitol by Washington on the eighteenth day of September, 1793. On the fourth day of July, 153?., John Fryth, an English preacher, wa? burned at Smithfield for the heresy ot Lutheranism. July 4. 1450, was the day on which Jack Cade plundered the city of Lon don or a portion thereof, beheading Baron Say and Sele and murdering several other personages of importance. import-ance. Cade had fled from England for some crime; but after serving in the French wars he went back to that country and settled in Kent under the assumed name of Aylmer, marrying a lady of good position. When the men of Kent rose in rebellion, in May, 1450, he led them. The rebels made their way into London on July 3. A portion of the populace favored them, but the opposing party gained strength when Cade began to plunder and kill. He retired to Southwark. and was prevented from re-entering the city after a fierce struggle on London Bridge. Afterward he was captured, and being severely wounded, died in the cart which was conveying him to London. July 4. 1007, was the date of the battle of Dorylaeum, a great victory of the Crusaders over the Moslems under Soliman, who had attacked them on the march. |
