Presidents' Day

Presidents’ Day

Originally established in 1885 by the U.S. Congress to honor George Washington’s birthday (February 22), Presidents’ Day has a long and interesting history, and now honors all past Presidents. There are four U.S. Presidents who were born in February – George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan. Throughout the 1800s, Washington’s birthday…

George Washington

The First State of the Union Address

Though there were ten Presidents of the United States under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789, George Washington was the first under our present Constitution. He was sworn in on April 30, 1789 and gave the first State of the Union Address January 8, 1790; 232 years ago. He gave the address in…

The British Surrender at Yorktown

The British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 was a miracle of providential timing and intervention.  It involved at least four major ingredients that had to come together in the face of potential disaster.  The disasters included worthless paper money and the lack of an ability to support the troops.  In addition, troops outside…

The Grand Union Flag of 1776

On January 1, 1776, while the British laid siege to Boston, George Washington raised the Grand Union Flag on Prospect Hill near his headquarters in Cambridge. It was the first flag of the united colonies.  It was known as the Congress Colors, the First Navy Ensign and the Cambridge Flag and could be considered the…

The Battle of Princeton

On January 3, 1777, the battle of Princeton took place that helped turn the tide of the Revolution.  However, setting the stage for this battle, early in the morning December 25, 1776, Washington secretly crossed the Delaware River to conduct a surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey.  The painting by Emanuel Leutze depicting Washington Crossing…