Cornwallis and Bell’s Mill

Martha (McFarland) McGee was a widow with five children when she married Captain William Bell in May of 1779. Bell owned Bell’s Mill, circa 1725, located in Randolph County, North Carolina. While Captain Bell, an officer in the North Carolina militia, was away serving his county, his new wife Martha operated the mill.

In 1781, after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Lord Cornwallis went ahead to Bell’s Mill to confiscate corn and meal for his army, while he briefly occupied Mrs. Bell’s home as his headquarters.

Mrs. Bell confronted the British general to ask if he was planning to torch the mill when he finished grinding meal for his troops. She told him that if he planned to destroy the mill, that she would to burn it herself. Bell’s Mill was spared and continued in operation.

Martha McFarland McGee Bell was honored at Guilford Court House Battleground with a monument that reads, “Loyal Whig, Enthusiastic Patriot, Revolutionary Heroine“.

Sadly, reports Gary Strader whose photograph of Bell’s Mill is here posted, the historic mill site is now under water. For more information see his web site: “Bell’s Mill”

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The image, North Facing Foundation Wall, and Trash Heap, is subject to copyright by gstrader. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

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A Revolutionary Thanksgiving

From the Library of Congress

Congressional Fast Day Proclamation
Congress proclaimed days of fasting and of thanksgiving annually throughout the Revolutionary War. This proclamation by Congress set May 17, 1776, as a “day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer” throughout the colonies. Congress urges its fellow citizens to “confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his [God’s] righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness.” Massachusetts ordered a “suitable Number” of these proclamations be printed so “that each of the religious Assemblies in this Colony, may be furnished with a Copy of the same” and added the motto “God Save This People” as a substitute for “God Save the King.”

Congressional Fast Day Proclamation, March 16, 1776

Gunboat Philadelphia

“The Philadelphia was one of the gunboats constructed in Skenesborough (now Whitehall, new York) and fitted out at Mount Independence / Fort Ticonderoga. The boat was sunk at the Battle of Valcoour. The wreck was recovered in 1935 by Lorenzo F. Hagglund and is now in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.”

The ship model was made by W. West Frazier and is on display at Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

Small gunboats such as Philadelphia were commissioned after the American capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. The boats were built under the direction of one-time patriot, Benedict Arnold. In 1776, these small warships engaged a British fleet at the Battle of Lake Champlain, where almost all of them, including the Philadelphia, were sunk. However, the battle delayed the British push south from Canada until the following year. (9)

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The image, Philadelphia, is subject to copyright by Captain Oblivious. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

Thomas Jefferson Lives On

Virginians continue to be enamored of their great son and patriot Thomas Jefferson.  He is remembered everywhere, as here he sits outside a shop in Williamsburg.

When Thomas Jefferson succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia, in 1780, he agreed to move the capitol from Williamsburg to Richmond, as it was a more central and protected location. However, both Williamsburg and Richmond were soon invaded by the British in full force, as was all of Virginia, in 1781. Although Jefferson was harshly criticized by his foes for leaving Richmond before the onslaught, he did save his neck, and survive to contribute much more to the newly founded nation.

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The image, Thomas Jefferson statue at Merchants Sq., is subject to copyright by jeffq. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

George Washington

First in War & Peace; Seventh in Our Hearts
For two centuries, school children have known George Washington as the “Father of His Country”. By the 21st century the Commanding General of the Continental Army seems to be headed for the dust bin of history.

When the great First President died in 1799, Congress adopted the eulogy given my his fellow Virginian, Henry Lee: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen“.

Today, he ranks about seventh, behind Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, according to a report at ABC News, February 2005.

My Posts About George Washington

Learn More About – George Washington – America’s Greatest President

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The image, George Washington, is subject to copyright by sheena1chi. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.