Governor Dunmore signs Dunmore's Proclamation

On this day in history, November 7, 1775, what became known as Dunmore's Proclamation was signed by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore and Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia. This proclamation declared martial law in the colony and promised freedom to all slaves who would leave their Virginia masters and join the Royal army.

Dunmore hoped to reassert his authority in the colony after living aboard a ship at Yorktown for several months when the rebellion started becoming violent. His hopes were never realized, only one or two thousand slaves left to join his meager force of 300 soldiers. Patriot and Loyalist slave owners turned against him. The Virginia Convention issued an amnesty to any slaves who would return home.

The slaves that could fight became part of "Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment" and only fought in one battle, the Battle of Great Bridge, which the British lost. Many of Dunmore's soldiers died in a smallpox outbreak the following year. In 1776, Dunmore was forced to abandon the colony and he took 300 of the slaves with him back to England.

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Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness." 
George Washington (1783)

De La Balme's Defeat

On this day in history, November 5, 1780, a Revolutionary War battle known as De la Balme's Defeat or De la Balme's Massacre takes place when retired French cavalry officer Augustin de la Balme is killed near present day Fort Wayne, Indiana in a battle with Miami Indians. The officer had been appointed in 1777 as the Continental Army's Inspector of Cavalry, but resigned this position due to his dislike for Polish General Casimir Pulaski, the Commander of the United States Cavalry.

In 1780, De la Balme left on a voyage down the Ohio River on a mission to capture the British Fort Detroit. Historians are uncertain whether he undertook this mission on his own or if he was acting on secret orders from General George Washington. De la Balme gathered Canadian colonists who had been living under British rule along the way in Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes (in what is now Indiana).

De la Balme's men moved north toward Fort Detroit and when they arrived in Kekionga (modern day Fort Wayne, Indiana), they found an unoccupied British and Indian trading post, the British and their Miami Indian allies having left the post, apparently on a hunting mission. De la Balme occupied the post and began to raid other British posts in the area. On the 5th, De la Balme set out for a post along the Eel River.

In the meantime, a group of Miami hunters returned to Kekionga, killed the 20 men De la Balme had left there and spread the word among the local Indians. Chief Little Turtle, who lived on the Eel River nearby, attacked De la Balme's party before he could reach the trading post. de la Balme's men entrenched themselves along the river, but were eventually overcome. De la Balme and most of his men were killed, with only a few escaping to tell the tale.

Chief Little Turtle would go on to become a successful war chief against the Americans in the Northwest Indian Wars of the 1790s and, in spite of De la Balme's failure, the British would post a group of Rangers at Kekionga to protect it from further attack. Fort Detroit would remain in British possession until the signing of the Jay Treaty in 1794.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised! in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then renounce all treaty with them upon any score but that of total separation, and under God trust our cause to our swords." 
Samuel Adams (1776)

Admiral D'Estaing leaves for the West Indies

On this day in history, November 4, 1778, French Admiral Charles Hector, Count D'Estaing, left Boston for the West Indies. This was a great blow to the Americans who were counting on French involvement to help them win the war against Great Britain. France had joined the Americans earlier in the year and D'Estaing's arrival in July with sixteen ships had brought great hope to the Americans.

D'Estaing's first mission was to blockade the British fleet in the Delaware River, but the British had evacuated Philadelphia and the fleet returned to New York before D'Estaing's arrival. D'Estaing then sailed for New York, but was not able to cross the shallow sandbars into New York Harbor. With the consultation of American generals, D'Estaing then sailed for British occupied Newport, Rhode Island, where he was to assist the Americans in ousting the British from the city.

Admiral D'Estaing began to unload his 4,000 soldiers to help the Americans in the Battle of Rhode Island, but took them back on board when another British fleet arrived. He then attempted to engage the British fleet, but a storm arose that lasted for two days, heavily damaging and scattering both fleets. The British fleet returned to New York for repairs. D'Estaing regathered and returned to Newport to tell the generals that his fleet was too damaged to be of any help. He sailed for Boston for repairs, much to the consternation of the Americans. In Boston, D'Estaing was assailed as a "deserter."

On November 4, the Americans were even more distressed when D'Estaing sailed for the West Indies to help in the war against Britain there instead. He returned briefly to America to help with an attack against British occupied Savannah, Georgia in September, but this mission failed also and D'Estaing returned to France. The Americans were bereft of French naval help until the arrival of Admiral Charles-Henri-Louis d'Arsac de Ternay at Newport in May, 1780.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.”
George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress (8 January 1790)

Vermont ratifies the Bill of Rights

On this day in history, November 3, 1791, the state of Vermont ratified all twelve amendments to the Bill of Rights that were suggested by Congress. Ten of them would be agreed upon by 2/3rds of the states and would become the Bill of Rights.

Vermont was the 10th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, which would not become law until Virginia ratified them on December 15, 1791, just one month later. With Virginia's ratification, the required 2/3rd's majority of the states was met and the 10 amendments became law. Congress originally proposed 12 amendments, but only 10 of them were ratified by enough states.

Vermont ruled itself as a sovereign country for 14 years after it declared independence from Great Britain on January 15, 1777. Note that it was not one of the original thirteen colonies, but was in an area called the "New Hampshire Grants." When Vermont first declared independence from England, it was called the Republic of New Connecticut.

At the time Vermont ratified the Bill of Rights, it was the newest state in the union and the first to become a state after the original thirteen. She was formally welcomed into the United States on March 4, 1791 and adopted the Bill of Rights 9 months later.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism." 
Alexander Hamilton (1775)