#4 September 1781

[rabbitcruiser]

Los Angeles was founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers on September 4, 1781.

[herhopeistreacherous]

Not to once again be an Assassin’s Creed 3 blog, but I just learned that Haytham dies September 16, 1781 and Achilles also dies in September 1781. Based on when the final homestead mission becomes playable, you can assume that Connor kills Haytham in New York and then arrives to the homestead to find Achilles dead.

This poor boy is forced to kill his actual father and then comes home to tell his father-figure, the man who taught him to be an assassin, and finds him dead. Before he ever gets to tell him he ultimately succeeded in their goal. Before he’s even had a chance to rest since taking on this burden years ago. Before he’s even had a chance to mourn the mother he lost at 4.

The man deserves nothing but love and affection once his assassin days are done.

[historyisdefgay]

LAMSSSSS

Idfk understand how people say Laurens and Hamilton were “platonic” like there is so much proof they were more than friends!!!

First of all the way Hamilton ended his letters to Laurens WAS NOT PLATONIC;

April, 1779-  Yours. 

May 22d.1779-Affectionately Yrs.

September 11, 1779- Yrs most sincerely

January 8 1780- Adieu God preserve and prosper you

March 30, 1780-Yr. Affectionate

June 30, 1780- Adieu God bless you.

September 12, 1780-Adieu

September 16, 1780-Adieu, be happy, and let friendship between us be more than a name

 February 4, 1781- Adieu

August 15, 1782- Yrs for ever 

Yes some of these are regular ways to end a letter but he also referred to Laurens as “my dear Laurens” now I may be being delulu but that’s GAY, cause he didn’t refer to his other friends like that 😐😐😐

And can we talk about his letter he wrote April 1779

HE LITERALLY YAPS ABOUT HOW MUCH HE LOVES LAURENS LIKE 😭😭😭 they were so cute help.

And the way Laurens last letter to Ham he said how he was sad about Hamilton stepping down from public service proves he cares about him even though they’d barely talked that year, than HAMILTON RESPONDS WITH THAT HE WAS HAPPY TO GET LAURENS LETTER. Than Hamiltons like you should do politics with me AND THAN ENDS THE LETTER WITH “Yrs for ever” an than there’s a chance Laurens never got this letter 💔💔💔 that’s the worst part

BUT THIS IS MY PROOF THEY HAD SOMETHING I LITERALLY HAVE LIKE 4 PARAGRAPHS IM MY NOTES ON MY PHONE YAPPING ABOUT THIS😭❤️❤️❤️

[yr-obedt-cicero]

Links to the Lams letters manuscripts

There are still plenty in different societies or libraries scattered throughout the country, and I only have access to the digitized microfilms on the internet—so, unfortunately the list is not long. And if anyone has found or possess pictures of the others feel free to add on to this. But this is mainly reference material for others and myself.

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [April 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [14 July 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [12 December 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [18 December 1779]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [8 January 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [30 June 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [12 September 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [11 October 1780] (copy and incomplete)

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [4 February 1781]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [July 1782]

[nordleuchten]

Turn Week 2024: Day 6 - Cross-Over/International Kissing Day

I do not have anything to contribute to Cross-Overs … but I thought to capitalize on the 6th being International Kissing Day!

Kiss our dear Henriette twenty times for me.

The Marquis de La Fayette to his wife Adrienne, March 7, 1777.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, p. 27.

Kiss our little Anastasie a million times. Alas, she is all that is left to us. I feel that my once divided fatherly affection is now completely for her; take great care of her.

The Marquis de La Fayette to his wife Adrienne, June 16, 1778

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 2, April 10, 1778–March 20, 1780, Cornell University Press, 1979, p. 79.

Ah, my dear heart, when shall I be close to you? When shall I be able to kiss you a hundred times?

The Marquis de La Fayette to his wife Adrienne, September 13, 1778

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 2, April 10, 1778–March 20, 1780, Cornell University Press, 1979, p. 173.

A thousand and thousand tender kisses for my dear Anastasie, and a big hug for George. Farewell, my love.

The Marquis de La Fayette to his wife Adrienne, May 6, 1780.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 3, April 27, 1780–March 29, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1980, p. 10.

My Most Respectfull and Affectionate Compliments to Mrs. Knox; I am so impudent as to take the liberty to Adress a kiss to Lucy-and a paternal one to My Son. Adieu Yours forever

The Marquis de La Fayette to General Henry Knox, August 18, 1781.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 4, April 1, 1781–December 23, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1981, p. 334.

My Best Respects Wait Upon Mrs. Knox, and Miss Lucy. I most affectionately and fatherly kiss my Son Harry.

The Marquis de La Fayette to General Henry Knox, January 8, 1784.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 5, January 4, 1782‑December 29, 1785, Cornell University Press, 1983, p. 188.

My most affectionate tender Respects wait Upon Mrs Washington—I Beg she will give a kiss for me to the little girls, my friend tub

The Marquis de La Fayette to George Washington, December 21, 1784

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 21 December 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0167. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 2, 18 July 1784 – 18 May 1785, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992, pp. 226–228.]

Chevalier de Caraman presents His Best Respects to Mrs Washington and to You—I kiss Squire tub, and the young ladies.

The Marquis de La Fayette to George Washington, March 19, 1785.

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 19 March 1785,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0305. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 2, 18 July 1784 – 18 May 1785, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992, pp. 449–451.]

My Best Respects Wait on Mrs. Hamilton. I kiss Phil, and the Young lady. Adieu Your affectionate friend

The Marquis de La Fayette to Alexander Hamilton, April 13, 1785.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 5, January 4, 1782‑December 29, 1785, Cornell University Press, 1983, p. 318.

My Most affectionate Respects Wait upon Mrs. Knox, Miss Lucy, all the family. I kiss my God Son.

The Marquis de La Fayette to General Henry Knox, May 11, 1785.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 5, January 4, 1782‑December 29, 1785, Cornell University Press, 1983, p. 322.

Adieu, my good friend, my most affectionate Respects to Mrs. Knox, and a kiss to Lucy, my Son, and the little one. Your affectionate friend

The Marquis de La Fayette to General Henry Knox, June 12, 1785.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 5, January 4, 1782‑December 29, 1785, Cornell University Press, 1983, p. 330.

[bignaz8]

REMEMBER FORT GRISWOLD!!

This was a rallying cry during the Battle of Yorktown, the final struggle of the American Revolution. What is Fort Griswold? What horrors happened on September 6th, 1781 to earn the respect of the troops? It is also personal to my family, as my wife has a direct ancestral family connection to this conflict.

Let's examine the events leading up to the Battle of Fort Griswold, also known as the Battle of Groton Heights. After turning coat, Benedict Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British army as part of the deal that he made in order to betray his country.

In August 1781, George Washington decided to shift forces in order to attack the army of Lt. Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis in Virginia. Washington began pulling troops from the New York area. Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander-in-chief in America, realized on September 2 that Washington’s tactics had deceived him, leaving him unable to mobilize quickly enough to help Cornwallis. Further, there was still a significant force of Continentals facing him in front of New York, and Clinton did not feel that he could detach troops to reinforce Cornwallis as a result.

Instead, Clinton decided to launch a raid into Connecticut in the hope of forcing Washington to respond. Clinton intended that this be a raid, but he also recognized that New London on the Thames River could be used as a permanent base of operations into the interior of New England. Clinton appointed Arnold to command the raid because he was from Connecticut and knew the terrain.

Arnold commanded about 1,700 British solders, divided into two battalions. Lt. Col. Edmund Eyre commanded a battalion consisting of the 40th and 54th Regiments of Foot and Cortland Skinner’s New Jersey Volunteers, a Loyalist unit. Arnold himself commanded the other battalion, made up of the 38th Regiment of Foot and various Loyalist units, including the Loyal American Regiment and Arnold’s American Legion. Arnold also had about 100 Hessian Jägers, and three six-pound guns. This was a formidable force anchored by the three Regular regiments.

Arnold and his command sailed from New York City on September 4. The British fleet anchored about 30 miles west of New London to make its final preparations, and then sailed for New London late on September 5, hoping to make a nighttime landing. Fortunately for the defenders of New London, the winds did not favor Arnold’s plan, and the British force did not arrive until daylight on September 6.

Rufus Avery, a Continental officer stationed at Fort Griswold, on the opposite side of the Thames River, and positioned on commanding high ground, witnessed the arrival of the British:

“… about three o’clock in the morning, as soon as I had daylight so as to see the fleet, it appeared a short distance below the lighthouse. The fleet consisted of thirty-two vessels…. I immediately sent word to Captain William Latham, who commanded [Fort Griswold], and who was not far distant. He very soon came to the fort, and saw the enemy’s fleet, and immediately sent a notice to Col. William Ledyard, who was commander of the harbor, Fort Griswold, and Fort Trumbull.”

43-year-old Lt. Col. William Ledyard commanded Forts Griswold and Trumbull. Ledyard, a Connecticut militia officer, quickly sent a messenger to notify Gov. Jonathan Trumbull and to muster troops. He then went to Fort Griswold to assume command of its defenses. The fort’s guns fired twice to signal the enemy approach, and a British ship answered with a third shot, changing the meaning of the signal to suggest the arrival of a victorious friend, thereby confusing the local militia commanders and delaying the mustering and deployment of their troops.

Fort Griswold began being constructed in late 1775 in response to the outbreak of hostilities. It was completed in 1778, and was known as “Groton Fort.” It sits atop a high hill and could bombard any ship attempting to enter the Thames River or the town of New London. Approximately 165 Connecticut militiamen manned its defenses, organized into two companies, and a detachment of the 8th Regiment of Connecticut Militia. Ledyard and his soldiers faced a stern task—they were badly outnumbered by veteran British troops including Regulars of some of the best regiments in Clinton’s army.

A British officer described Fort Griswold’s defenses:

“The fort was an oblong square, with bastions at opposite angles, its longest side fronting the river in a north-west and southeast direction. Its walls were of stone,and were ten or twelve feet high on the lower side, and surrounded by a ditch. On the wall were pickets, projecting over twelve feet; above this was a parapet with embrasures, and within a platform for cannon, and a step to mount upon, to shoot over the parapet with small arms. In the south-west bastion was a flag-staff, and in the side near the opposite angle, was the gate, in front of which was a triangular

breast-work to protect the gate; and to the right of this was a redoubt, with a three-pounder in it, which was about 120 yards from the gate. Between the fort and the river was another battery, with a covered way, but which could not be used in this attack, as the enemy appeared in a different quarter today.”

Six-pound cannons bristled from the western side of the fort, overlooking the Thames. The northern side by the main entrance was level and played a major role in the coming battle.

At sunrise on September 6, British troops landed on both sides of the mouth of the Thames River. Arnold’s battalion of 800 men occupied New London with no resistance. The 23 soldiers manning Fort Trumbull on the New London side of the river fired a single volley, spiked their guns, and then fled across the river to Fort Griswold. Shapley lost 7 men wounded while Arnold’s troops sustained four or five casualties. After chasing off the defenders of Fort Trumbull, Arnold’s troops entered the town and began destroying supplies and naval stores. Parts of the town were spared, but when a storehouse that contained a large supply of gunpowder was set ablaze, the resulting explosion triggered a huge fire that consumed 143 buildings in New London.

Lt. Col. Edmund Eyre’s battalion of 800 Regulars and Loyalists landed on the east bank of the Thames River, facing tangled woodlands and swamps. The New Jersey Loyalists, in fact, had so much difficulty moving the artillery that they did not participate in the assault on Fort Griswold.

Eyre sent a Captain Beckwith to the fort under a flag of truce to demand its surrender. Ledyard called a council of war and consulted with his officers. The Americans believed that a large force of militiamen would answer the call, and that this augmented force could defend the fort. Ledyard responded by sending an American flag to meet the British flag bearer. The American told Beckwith, “Colonel Ledyard will maintain the fort to its last extremity.” Displeased by the response, Eyre sent a second flag, threatening no quarter if the militia did not surrender. Ledyard gave the same response even though some of the Americans suggested that they should leave the fort and fight outside instead.

Arnold ordered Eyre to assault the fort, assuming that it would be taken easily. Once he reached a hill that allowed him to see the entire fort, Arnold realized that the stout fort would not fall easily. Arnold tried to recall Eyre, but it was too late. The British assault was about to begin in earnest.

Eyre split his force. Some moved to the southern side of the fort while others went around the east side to the northern face. A diversionary force feinted toward the western side. Naval captain Elias Halsey, an experienced artillerist, manned the main cannon on the eastern face of the front as Eyre’s troops approached Ledyard ordered his men to hold their fire until the first British detachment arrived at a point that gave his men the best opportunity to kill as many as possible. As the British moved to assault the fort, Halsey pulled the lanyard on his 18-pounder loaded with grapeshot. Twenty British solders fell to the ground, either dead or suffering from ghastly wounds from being torn apart by the grapeshot. Halsey’s well-aimed shot tore a gaping hole in the British line, but the well-disciplined Regulars closed ranks and filled that gap, continuing their advance.

Sgt. Stephen Hempstead of Ledyard’s command recounted, “When the answer to their demand had been returned … the enemy were soon in motion, and marched with great rapidity, in a solid column … they rushed furiously and simultaneously to the assault of the southwest bastion and the opposite sides.”

The large force of British soldiers moved on the southwest bastion under heavy fire from the fort’s defenders. The British officers goaded their men on toward the ramparts of the fort, even though their men were suffering heavily at the hands of the defenders. Colonel Eyre fell mortally wounded, and was carried from the field.

Maj. William Montgomery of the 40th Regiment of Foot was now the senior British officer. He led his men forward in solid column formation, and advanced on the east side of the fort. Montgomery ordered an attack on the eastern redoubt. Ledyard’s Nutmeg State men stoutly resisted, inflicting heavy losses on the British attackers. The Regulars attempted to scale the 12-foot high ramparts, but were cut down. As the men of the 40th Regiment poured over the top of the walls, defender Jordan Freeman, an African-American free man formerly owned by Colonel Ledyard, killed Montgomery with a long pike. The enraged Regulars then killed Freeman to avenge the death of their commander.

The concentrated fire of the British Regulars cut the fort’s main flag from its stand, which the British soldiers construed as the flag being struck in surrendering the fort. Thinking they had won the day, the rushed the main gate of the fort, only to receive a thunderous volley of shot and shell. The enraged Regulars tried to open the fort’s main gates to allow the rest of their comrades to enter, but a sheet of musket fire cut many of them down—supposedly, the first man to try to open the gate was killed instantly by a musket ball to the brain. Some of the British troops forced the gate open, and the Regulars poured into the fort.

Despite losing their two highest-ranking officers in the assault on the fort, the British carried the day. However, their successful assault now set the stage for the tragedy that followed.

With British soldiers pouring into the fort, Colonel Ledyard ordered a ceasefire and prepared to surrender Fort Griswold to the victorious British. However, the British disregarded the ceasefire and continued pouring fire into the American garrison, killing or wounding nearly all of the fort’s defenders. “I believe there was not less than five or six hundred men of the enemy on the parade in the fort,” claimed American soldier Rufus Avery. “They killed and wounded nearly every man in the fort as quick as they could.”

Maj. Stephen Bromfield, the ranking British officer after Montgomery fell, called out, “Who commands this fort?” Ledyard stepped forward and responded, “I did, sir, but you do now.” Another American, Jonathan Rathbun, watched Bromfield run Ledyard through the heart and lungs with Ledyard’s own sword:

“…the wretch who murdered him [Ledyard], exclaimed, as he came near, “Who commands this fort?” Ledyard handsomely replied, “I did, but you do now,” at the same moment handing him his sword, which the unfeeling villain buried in his breast! Oh, the

hellish spite and madness of a man that will murder a reasonable and noble-hearted officer, in the act of submitting and surrendering!”

Another African-American soldier, Lambo Latham, avenged Ledyard’s death by killing the British officer responsible for Ledyard’s death.

Ledyard fell, and those nearest to him tried to support the dying colonel. Capt. Peter Richards, seriously wounded, but still on his feet, held Ledyard while others moved forward to try to avenge their fallen commander. The British cut them all down with their bayonets, with some receiving as many as 30 stab wounds.

In the meantime, on the southwest side of the fort, some of the Regulars turned one of the fort’s cannons on its defenders and opened fire, killing Capt. Adam Sharpley and another officer.

“Never was a scene of more brutal wanton carnage witnessed than now took place,” recalled American Stephen Hempstead. “The enemy were still firing upon us… [until] they discovered they were in danger of being blown up.” Rufus Avery believed that the attack was called off due to the chance that further musket fire might set off the fort’s powder magazine.” Hempstead noted, “After the massacre, they plundered us of everything we had, and left us literally naked.”

Horrified by the carnage around him, a British officer demanded that the butchery end. “Stop! Stop!” yelled the officer. “In the name of heaven I say stop! My soul cannot bear it!” The officers soon regained control of their men, and the slaughter soon ended.

The best explanation for the massacre of the fort’s defenders by the British was an angry reaction to the casualties taken by them after the fort’s colors were shot down, leading the British to believe that the fort had surrendered. Furious at the continued resistance after the supposed surrender, the British punished the American defenders in an atrocity.

They killed and wounded every man they possibly could… one mad looking fellow put his bayonet to my side, swearing “by Jesus he would skipper me!” I looked him earnestly in the face and eyes, and begged him to have mercy… he put his bayonet three times into me… I think no scene ever exceeded this for continued and barbarous massacre after surrender. (Rufus Avery’s account of the storming of Fort Griswold by British regulars, September 6th 1781).

American casualties were appalling: 85 killed, 35 wounded and paroled, 28 taken prisoner, 13 escaped, 1 captured and released (12 year old William Latham, Jr.). Total: 162. British losses numbered 48 killed and 145 wounded.

An American named F. M. Calkins reported that American dead were loaded into a cart and were carried away from the fort:

“About twenty soldiers wee then employed to drag this wagon down the hill, to a safe distance from the expected explosion. From the brow of the ridge on which the fort stood, to the brink of the river, was a rapid descent of one hundred rods, uninterrupted

except by the roughens of the surface, and by scattered rocks, brushes, and stumps of

trees. The weight of the wagon after it had begun to move, pressing heavily upon the soldiers, they let go their hold, and darting aside, left it to its own impetus. On it went, with accelerated velocity, surmounting every impediment, till near the foot of the hill,

when it came against the trunk of a large apple-tree, with a force that caused it to recoil and sway round. This arrested its course, but gave a sudden access of torture to the sufferers. The violence of the shock is said to have caused instant death to some of them;

others fainted, and two or three were thrown out to the ground. The enemy, after a time, gathered up the bleeding men, and carried them into a house near by, belonging to Ensign Avery, who was himself one of the party in the wagon. The house had been previously set on fire, but they extinguished the flames, and left the wounded men there on parole, taking as hostage for them, Ebenezer Ledyard, brother of the commander of the fort.”

The British lit a trail of gunpowder that they hoped would destroy Fort Griswold’s magazine, but a daring militiaman entered the fort and extinguished the fire, leaving the fort intact. The British then loaded their prisoners onto their ships and withdrew, leaving chaos in their aftermath.

This was the final major battle in the northern theater of the American Revolution. General Clinton praised Arnold’s “spirited conduct”, but also complained about the high casualty rate suffered by Arnold’s forces—about a quarter of the troops sent to attack Fort Griswold became casualties. A British observer likened the fight for Fort Griswold to the debacle at Bunker Hill. Many British soldiers blamed Arnold for the losses at Fort Griswold, even though he was not present on the battlefield. Arnold next proposed a raid on Philadelphia, but Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown the next month ended the active fighting of the American Revolution.

Today, Fort Griswold is a Connecticut state park. The fort’s earthen works are well maintained. There are monuments to both Montgomery and Ledyard within the boundaries of the fort. The site of the former barracks located in the fort is marked. Large gates bear the names of all of the American defenders who fell defending Fort Griswold. The Groton Monument, erected in 1830, towers 130 feet over the battlefield in commemoration of the fort’s gallant defenders, and a plaque affixed to the monument provides:

THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT, A.D. 1830, AND IN THE 55TH YEAR OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE U.S.A. IN MEMORY OF THE BRAVE PATRIOTS, WHO FELL IN THE MASSACRE AT FORT GRISWOLD, NEAR THIS SPOT, ON THE 6TH OF SEPT. A.D. 1781, WHEN THE BRITISH, UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE TRAITOR, BENEDICT ARNOLD, BURNT THE TOWNS OF NEW LONDON AND GROTON, AND SPREAD DESOLATION AND WOE THROUGHOUT THIS REGION.

There is a small museum nearby that includes artifacts and a detailed diorama and model of the British assault on Fort Griswold. It is well worth the visit. One can also hike up the spiral staircase of the 130 foot obelisk to view the fort and battlefield through the small windows at its pinnacle. (I did this in the hot and humid summer and was very thankful to be back on the ground).

The Battle of Groton Heights is largely overlooked and forgotten today but was nevertheless an important battle, representing the final significant combat in the northern theater of the Revolutionary War. It also represents the only battle where Benedict Arnold faced his fellow countrymen.

The militia were farmers and fishermen that left their homes to defend their new country to become patriots. I was honored and humbled to visit this historical site in 2016. It is a great reminder of the ultimate sacrifices made to attain our freedoms.

REMEMBER FORT GRISWOLD!!

[helpyourselfwithcherrywine]

Modern AU! Haytham Kenway and Maid! Reader characters cast.

Character Background

Set in Modern Day 2023! Boston, New York City, etc.

Also forgot to mention, reader is of Hispanic decent, but I kept it open for all readers so it may not be implied on the reader, but her OC's family will be. Some will be taken from the books (very little), theories and more characters may be added. Idk

• Haytham Kenway - December 4, 1989 (34): [In game, Haytham was 31 when Connor was born in AC 3, in this story he was 25]

• In game December 4th, 1725 - September 16, 1781 (55)

• Edward Kenway - March 10, 1964 (59) [In game, Edward was 32 when Haytham was born; He was 25 in this story in 1989]

• In game March 10, 1693 - December 3, 1735

• Ratonhake:ton/Connor - April 4, 2014 (9)

• In game April 4, 1756 - ????

• Shay Cormac - September 12, 1994 (29) [In game, he was 5 years younger than Haytham. the same was applied for this story] 1731

• September 12, 1731 - ???

• Ana Jimenez (OC) - July 10, 1967 (56): [ Hired by Edward in 1995]

*Ziio - November 14, 1992 (31) [1731 in game year, no date was actually given est. ][Was 22 when Connor was born in 2014] Still alive, her Haytham are no longer together.

•Grandma Josephina (OC) -April 24, 1941 -

[Dedicated to a person I knew in real life, she was the sweetest and a third grandma in a way,]

• Aunt Victoria (Vicki) (OC) - August 21, 1973-

[OC from another story, ]

[daemonicdasein]

Chronology of the Marquis de Sade’s life from How to Read Sade by John Phillips, W. W. Norton (September 17, 2005), Pages 112-114.

1740 2 June: birth of Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, lord of La Coste, Saumane and Mazan in Provence. He was brought up in the palace of the Prince de Condé, who was four years older.

1746: Sent to live with his uncle, the abbé de Sade, at Saumane in Provence.

1750: Pursues his studies at the Jesuit college of Louis-le-Grand in Paris. The Jesuits infect him with a life-long enthusiasm for the theatre.

1755: Appointed sub-lieutenant in the King’s infantry regiment. In the course of active service in the Seven Years War is promoted to the rank of captain.

1763 17 May: marriage to Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil.

1763 October: briefly imprisoned at Vincennes for allegedly whipping Jeanne Testard, a fan-maker.

1765: Liaison with Mademoiselle de Beauvoisin, an actress.

1767: Death of his father, the comte de Sade, and birth of his first son, Louis-Marie.

1768: The Rose Kellar affair: imprisoned for six months initially at Saumur, then at Pierre-Encise near Lyons for alleged acts of libertinage, sacrilege and sadism on Easter Sunday in his house at Arcueil.

1769: Birth of his second son, Donatien-Claude-Armand.

1771: Birth of his daughter, Madeleine-Laure. Briefly imprisoned for debt.

1772 17 June: the Marseilles affair: Sade and his valet are found guilty of sodomy and attempted poisoning on the occasion of an orgy in Marseilles. Both flee to Italy, accompanied by Sade’s younger sister-in-law, Anne-Prospère. Sentenced to death in absentia, their effigies are burnt publicly at Aix.

1772 8 December: arrested and imprisoned at Miolans in Piedmont.

1773 1 May: escapes and eventually returns to La Coste. Sade’s mother-in-law, the Présidente de Montreuil, embittered by the seduction of Anne-Prospère, obtains a lettre de cachet for his arrest and imprisonment.

1775: Flees once again to Italy.

1777: Fresh scandals at La Coste, this time involving young girls employed at the château.

1778: The accusations of attempted poisoning having been dismissed, the death sentence imposed by the Aix parlement is lifted, but the Présidente uses her influence to obtain a new lettre de cachet. Sade escapes but is recaptured and returned to Vincennes. He will remain in prison until the Revolution.

1781: Writes the first of a succession of plays, The Inconstant.

1782: Writes the Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man and begins The 120 Days of Sodom.

1784 29 February: transferred from Vincennes to the Bastille.

1786: Writes the greater part of his ‘philosophical’ novel Aline et Valcour.

1787: Composition of The Misfortunes of Virtue, the first novella-length version of Justine. Begins writing his collection of short stories, originally entitled Tales and Fabliaux of Eighteenth Century by a Provençal Troubadour, a selection of which will eventually be published in 1799 under the title The Crimes of Love.

1789 2 July: Sade incites the mob to riot from his cell window in the Bastille, telling them that prisoners are being murdered.

1789 4 July: sent to the insane asylum at Charenton, leaving behind a number of manuscripts, including The 120 Days of Sodom which he will never see again.

1789 14 July: the fall of the Bastille and the start of the Revolution.

1790 1 April: Sade is released following abolition of lettres de cachet by the new revolutionary government. Formal separation from Renée-Pélagie and start of a new relationship with Constance Quesnet, nicknamed ‘Sensitive’, which will last until his death. Actively involved in revolutionary politics, promoting hospital reform. Tries unsuccessfully to get his plays performed.

1791: Anonymous publication of Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue, the second version of the Justine narrative, and performance of his play The Comte d’Oxtiern, or the Effects of Libertinism.

1792: Composes various revolutionary essays, including The Idea on the Method for the Sanctioning of Laws.

1793: Publishes a pamphlet in honour of Marat following his murder by Charlotte Corday. When the opportunity presents itself, Sade, who has been appointed a judge in his revolutionary section, does not sentence his in-laws to death. Suspected of moderation and royalist sympathies, Sade is arrested in December.

1794: Sade escapes death owing to a bureaucratic error, and is eventually released at the end of the Terror, following the fall and execution of Robespierre.

1795: Penniless owing to the loss of his lands and property in the Revolution, Sade tries to stage more plays. Publishes Aline and Valcour, and, anonymously, Philosophy in the Boudoir.

1799: Anonymous publication of The New Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue, followed by The History of Juliette, her Sister, or the Prosperities of Vice, and publication in Sade’s own name of The Crimes of Love. Works as a prompt in a Versailles theatre for 40 sous a day.

1801: Sade arrested at his publishers in April for authorship of ‘obscene’ writings, and imprisoned at Sainte-Pélagie.

1803: Transferred to Bicêtre, then to Charenton.

1804: Sade’s continued detention justified by the invention of a new medical condition, ‘libertine dementia’.

1807: Confiscation of the libertine novel The Days at Florbelle, or Nature unveiled, begun in 1804. The manuscript will be destroyed at the behest of his younger son after his death.

1808: Organizes theatrical performances, using asylum inmates and professional actresses.

1812-13: Writes Adelaide of Brunswick, Princess of Saxony, The Secret History of Isabelle of Bavaria and The Marquis de Gange, all conventional historical novels.

1813-14: Affair with the sixteen-year-old laundry-maid Madeleine Leclerc.

1814 2 December: Sade’s death, followed by interment in the Charenton cemetery with full religious rites.

[revolutionarywarhistory]

"The misfortune which ensued": The defeat at Germantown [Part 3]

Continued from Part 2

This was originally written in October 2016 when I was a research fellow at the Maryland State Archives. It has been reprinted from Academia.edu and my History Hermann WordPress blog.

© 2016-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] “To George Washington from Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, 23 April 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; The Annual Register, 135. The Annual Register says that British patrols found the Continentals by 3:00 in the morning, so their attack was no surprise.

[2] Mark Andrew Tacyn, “’To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 143-144; Pension of James Morris, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1771, pension number W. 2035. Courtesy of Fold3.com; James Morris, Memoirs of James Morris of South Farms in Litchfield (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1933), 18; Pension of Jacob Armstrong, Revolutionary War Pensions, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, pension number S.22090, roll 0075. Courtesy of Fold3.com; Stanley Weintraub, Iron Tears: America’s Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire: 1775-1783 (New York: Free Press, 2005), 116-117;  Andrew O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America: British Command During the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire (London: One World Publications, 2013), 109; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” Maryland Historical Magazine June 1908. Vol. 3, no.2, 110; John Dwight Kilbourne, A Short History of the Maryland Line in the Continental Army (Baltimore: Society of Cincinnati of Maryland, 1992), 14;  “From George Washington to Brigadier General Alexander McDougall, 25 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Pension of James Morris, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1771, pension number W. 2035. Courtesy of Fold3.com; James Morris, Memoirs of James Morris of South Farms in Litchfield (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1933), 18; “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. The reference to no food or blanket specifically refers to James Morris of Connecticut. Washington’s headquarters was on Pennibecker’s Mill on the Skippack Road from September 26-29 and October 4 to October 8th, 1777. The Continental Army had camped at Chester throughout late September, but Morris says they camped near the Leni River. However, a river of this name does not exist, so he may have meant a branch off the Schuykill River or maybe the Delaware River, since the Leni-Lenape indigenous group lived on the river.

[3] “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Page, 11 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; C.H. Lesser, The Sinews of Independence, Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), 80.

[4] Tacyn, 4, 115, 144; Enoch Anderson, Personal Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution (New York: New York Times & Arno Press, 1971), 44; “From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[5] Tacyn, 145.

[6] Anderson, 45.

[7] Anderson, 45.

[8] Anderson, 45.

[9] Tacyn, 145-146; Anderson, 45; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110-111.

[10] Tacyn, 15, 209-210, 289, 291;  Pension of James Morris, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, National Archives, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1408, pension number W. 11929. Courtesy of Fold3.com. Thomas Carvin and James Reynolds were said to be missing after the battle. Reportedly, a Marylander named Elisha Jarvis was ordered by William Smallwood to guard the baggage train at the Battle of Germantown.

[11] Thomas Thorleifur Sobol, “William Maxwell, New Jersey’s Hard Fighting General,” Journal of the American Revolution, August 15, 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016; “From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[12] David Ross, The Hessian Jagerkorps in New York and Pennsylvania, 1776-1777, Journal of the American Revolution, May 14, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2016.

[13] “From George Washington to John Hancock, 5 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[14] Pension of James Morris; Morris, 18-19.

[15] Don N. Hagist, “Who killed General Agnew? Not Hans Boyer,” Journal of the American Revolution, August 17, 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016; Don N. Hagist, “Martin Hurley’s Last Charge,” Journal of the American Revolution, April 14, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2016; John Rees, “War as Waiter: Soldier Servants,” Journal of the American Revolution, April 28, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2016; Thomas Verenna, “20 Terrifying Revolutionary War Soldier Experiences,” Journal of the American Revolution, April 24, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2016; Thomas Verenna, “Explaining Pennsylvania’s Militia,” Journal of the American Revolution, June 17, 2014. Accessed October 3, 2016; “General Orders, 11 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. Richard St. George and Martin Hurley of the British army were wounded and James Agnew, a British general, was killed.

[16] Pension of Jacob Armstrong; The Annual Register or a View of the History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1777 (4th Edition, London: J. Dosley, 1794), 129-130; Sir George Otto Trevelyan, The American Revolution: Saratoga and Brandywine, Valley Forge, England and France at War, Vol. 4 (London: Longmans Greens Co., 1920), 275; O’Shaughnessy, 110; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110-111; Kilbourne, 17, 19;  “From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[17] “From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[18] “From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Page, 11 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Hancock, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[19] “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[20] “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 111; Anderson, 45-46.

[21] “From George Washington to John Hancock, 5 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Hancock, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Page, 11 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. In his letters he said that Grant was wounded while Nash (died after the battle from wounds) and Agnew were killed.

[22] Pension of James Morris; Morris, 19.

[23] “General Orders, 5 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Annual Register, 136.

[24] “From George Washington to John Hancock, 5 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major John Clark, Jr., 6 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “From George Washington to John Hancock, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “From George Washington to Major General Israel Putnam, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[25]  “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major John Clark, Jr., 6 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 7 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Hancock, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “From George Washington to Major General Israel Putnam, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, 9 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “From George Washington to John Page, 11 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Captain Henry Lee, Jr., 15 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 18 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; Annual Register, 137. One letter says fifty British were killed and another says fifty-seven. The British Annual Register confirms that Nash was killed.

[26] Annual Register, 136-137.

[27] Pension of James Morris; Morris, 19.

[28] Pension of James Morris; Morris, 19-25; “To George Washington from Pelatiah Webster, 19 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Thomas McKean, 8 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016,

[29] Pension of James Morris, Morris, 23-29, 31; “To George Washington from Captain Henry Lee, Jr., 9 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Lieutenant Colonel Persifor Frazer, 9 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Pelatiah Webster, 19 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016. He also said that he was then shipped to Philadelphia where he served a prisoner on Long Island as a farm laborer until May 1781.

[30] “To John Adams from Joseph Ward, 9 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[31] “The Committee for Foreign Affairs to the American Commissioners, 6[–9] October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To Benjamin Franklin from the Massachusetts Board of War, 24 October 1777: résumé,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[32] “To George Washington from Major General John Sullivan, 25 November 1777,”  Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “Major General John Sullivan’s Opinion, 29 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[33] “To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 13 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016;  “General Orders, 19 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major General Nathanael Greene, 24 November 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “General Orders, 22 December 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Captain Edward Vail, 22 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “General Orders, 13 June 1778,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from William Gordon, 25 February 1778,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major General Adam Stephen, 9 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[34] Trevelyan, 249; O’Shaughnessy, 111; Christopher Hibbert, George III: A Personal History (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 154-155; “From John Adams to James Lovell, 26 July 1778,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[35] Annual Register, 137-141.

[36] Anderson, 53; Tacyn, 146; Thomas Thorleifur Sobol, “William Maxwell, New Jersey’s Hard Fighting General,” Journal of the American Revolution, August 15, 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016; “Journal of Captain William Beatty 1776-1781,” 110; Kilbourne, 14; “From George Washington to George Clinton, 15 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to Major General Israel Putnam, 15 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major John Clark, Jr., 27 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Brigadier General Henry Knox, 26 November 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “To George Washington from Major John Clark, Jr., 6 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016; “From George Washington to John Hancock, 7 October 1777,” Founders Online,National Archives, last modified July 12, 2016.

[37] Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, April 1, 1778 through October 26, 1779 Archives of Maryland Online Vol. 21, 118; Kilbourne, 21-22, 24-27, 29-30, 31, 33; Tacyn, 241. Some argue that in the battle of Eutaw Springs parts of the battle of Germantown were repeated.

[rabbitcruiser]

Los Angeles was founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers on September 4, 1781.

[ladailymirror]

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Fiesta de las Flores

Mary Mallory takes a look at La Fiesta de las Flores in this edition of Hollywood Heights

President William McKinley and First Lady Ida McKinley at La Fiesta de las Flores, 1901. Though founded September 4, 1781 the tiny pueblo of Los Angeles featured little assets to lure large numbers of migrants westward looking to call it home. Population grew slowly for its first 90 years; starting with 44 residents at its founding, the hamlet counted only about 5,700 in 1870. It appeared to…

[veale2006-blog]

U.S. Constitution signed September 17, 1787 The Constitution of the United States of America is signed by 39 delegates present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Supporters of the document waged a hard-won battle to win ratification by the necessary nine out of 13 U.S. states.

The Articles of Confederation, ratified several months before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, provided for a loose confederation of U.S. states, which were sovereign in most of their affairs. On paper, Congress–the central authority–had the power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate currency, but in practice these powers were sharply limited because Congress was given no authority to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops. By 1786, it was apparent that the Union would soon break up if the Articles of Confederation were not amended or replaced. Five states met in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss the issue, and all the states were invited to send delegates to a new constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia.

On May 25, 1787, delegates representing every state except Rhode Island convened at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House for the Constitutional Convention. The building, which is now known as Independence Hall, had earlier seen the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Articles of Confederation. The assembly immediately discarded the idea of amending the Articles of Confederation and set about drawing up a new scheme of government. Revolutionary War hero George Washington, a delegate from Virginia, was elected convention president.

During an intensive debate, the delegates devised a brilliant federal organization characterized by an intricate system of checks and balances. The convention was divided over the issue of state representation in Congress, as more-populated states sought proportional legislation, and smaller states wanted equal representation. The problem was resolved by the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in the upper house (Senate).

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states. Beginning on December 7, five states—Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut—ratified it in quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserve un-delegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. In June, Virginia ratified the Constitution, followed by New York in July.

On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution–the Bill of Rights–and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791. In November 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the original 13 colonies joined the United States. Today, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in operation in the world.

The Constitution of the United States of America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSWl5ldEv6w

[thedhananjayaparkhe]

DYK AND TIQ

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 Did you know… … that today is the birthday of Los Angeles, California? In 1781, the Mexican Provincial Governor, Felipe de Neve, founded El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles, which translates into the Village of our Lady, the Queen of the Angels … L.A. for short. Happy birthday, L.A.! ~~~ Today’s Inspirational Quote: “How old would you be if you didn’t…

[lboogie1906]

On September 4, 1781, Los Angeles, was founded by forty-four settlers of whom at least twenty-six were descendants of Africans. Among the African American settlers, according to H.H. Bancroft’s authoritative History of California, were “Joseph Moreno, Mulatto, 22 years old, wife a Mulattress, five children; Manuel Cameron, Mulatto, 30 years old, wife Mulattress; Antonio Mesa, Negro, 38 years old, wife Mulattress, six children; Jose Antonio Navarro, Mestizo, 42 years old, wife, Mulattress, three children; Basil Rosas, Indian, 68 years old, wife, Mulattress, six children.” #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[bobmccullochny]

History

September 4, 1609 - The island of Manhattan was discovered by navigator Henry Hudson.

September 4, 1781 - Los Angeles was founded by the Spanish Governor of California, Felipe de Neve, near the site of the Native American village of Yang-na. The original name was El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles (The Town of the Queen of the Angels).

September 4, 1886 - The last major U.S.-Indian war came to an end as Geronimo was captured. He died of natural causes in 1909 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Birthday - Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was born in Ansfelden, Austria. Best known for his monumental ten symphonies.

[affectionately-frankie]

a small biography of Frances Laurens, only daughter of John Laurens

Frances Eleanor Laurens was the only daughter of Lt. Col. John Laurens and his wife Martha Weatherell Manning Laurens. She was referred to by her nickname "Fanny." She was born in London sometime before the 28th of January 1777, since John Baker, a family friend of the Mannings, wrote that he visited Frances on the 28th. She was said to have suffered much pain during her delivery, either being born with a swollen hip and thigh, or those injuries being caused by a "careless" nurse. A doctor had to cut off flesh. Her father was not present at her birth, having left for the colonies in December of 1776. She was baptized on February 18, 1777, as "Frances-Eleanor, daughter of John and Martha Laurens." Throughout her childhood, Frances and her mother made attempts to join her father in the colonies, although none were able to be completed. On October 13, 1780, Frances, along with her mother, uncle, and maternal grandfather, were the first visitors of her paternal grandfather, Henry Laurens, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1781, Frances' father, John, was on a diplomatic mission to France. Her mother, Martha, took Frances to France to try to see John, but unfortunately missed him by a few days. Even more unfortunately, on September 1, 1781, Martha would die of an unspecified illness, according to the will of her father, William Manning. Frances' custody was initially given to her aunt and uncle-in-law, Sarah Manning Vaughan and Benjamin Vaughan, according to a letter written by Vaughan. On August 27, 1782, John would die in battle, leaving Frances an orphan. After her father's death, Frances' custody went to her paternal aunt, Martha Laurens (not to be confused with her mother), in England. In 1784, the pair would travel to Charleston, South Carolina, with other people. Martha Laurens would marry David Ramsay on January 28, 1787. The pair gave Frances a thorough education. After her paternal grandfather's death in 1792, she would inherit a plantation at Long Canes, lots in Hampstead, and money, on her twenty-first birthday or when she was married. In 1795, when Frances was 18, she wished to marry Francis Henderson, a Scottish merchant, who was believed to be 20 or 21 at the time. Martha and David Ramsay didn't approve of the match, and it appears that Frances and Henderson ran away and eloped in England on November 4, 1795, since they had met in Charleston, and their marriage certificate was in England. While the date of his birth is contested, she and Henderson had Francis Henderson Jr., either in 1797 or 1800. Unfortunately, in 1801, Frances and Henderson would divorce for unknown reasons, although presumably due to money. Frances did not receive custody of her four to one year old son. Henderson took him to Scotland to be raised by his family members, but did not stay in Scotland with him. Francis Jr. was either raised to believe or assumed his mother had died. Frances likely stayed in England for the rest of her life. Henderson and Francis Jr. petitioned Congress to receive money owed to John Laurens' descendants from his time serving in the military. After many refusals, Henderson requested Frances come help them. On July 14, 1832, the trio received $7,335.86, which in today's money would be $237,091.58. This is when Francis Jr. discovered his mother was still alive. It's unclear if mother and son ever reconciled, what is known is that after this revelation, Francis Jr. became an alcoholic. He never married or had children, and died prematurely in 1847, between the ages of 50 and 46. It's unclear if Frances could marry after she and Henderson divorced in 1801. However, Frances only remarried after Henderson's death, and her marriage certificate listed her as a "widow." Still, on June 10, 1853, she married James Cunnington at the age of 76. He was believed to be about 79. On April 25, 1860, in England, Frances Cunnington died at the age of 83. She was described as "...the beautiful, accomplished and wealthy Miss Laurens, of Charleston, S.C..." in 1876.