Bow Tie Tours

06/19/2026

No relation to the famous Virginia Lee family (Richard Henry Lee, Lighthorse Harry Lee, Robert E. Lee, etc.), he was a British officer who fought in the colonies during the Seven Years War, fell in love with the place, and took up residence in (naturally) Virginia.

Charles Lee was informed of his appointment as second Major general to be third in command, June 19, 1775. He would later be fired by Congress.

Upon motion Ordered, That Mr. [Patrick] Henry, Mr. [Thomas] Lynch, and Mr. J[ohn] Adams, be a committee to wait upon Genl Lee, and to inform him of his appointment, and request his answer, whether he will accept the command.

Committee returned and reported, that they had waited on Genl Lee, and informed him of his appointment, and that he gave for answer: That he expressed a high sense of the honour done him and assured them he was ready to render America all services in his power, but desired as the situation of his affairs was peculiar, to have an opportunity of had the highest sense of the honor conferred upon him by the Congress; that no effort in his power shall be wanting to serve the American cause.--But before he entered upon the service he desired a conference with a committee to consist of one delegate from each of the associated colonies, to whom he desired to explain some particulars respecting his private fortune.

Where upon Mr. [John] Sullivan, Mr. S[amuel] Adams, Mr. [Stephen] Hopkins, Mr. [Eliphalet] Dyer, Mr. P[hilip] Livingston, Mr. W[illiam] Livingston, Mr. [George] Ross, Mr. [Cæsar] Rodney, Mr. [Thomas] Johnson, Mr. [Patrick] Henry, Mr. [Richard] Caswell and Mr. [Thomas] Lynch were appointed a committee to confer with Genl. Lee.

The committee returned and reported that they had conferred with Genl. Lee, who had communicated to them an estimate of the Estate he risqued by this service; Whereupon,

Resolved, That these colonies will indemnify General Lee for any loss of property which he may sustain by entering into their service, and that the same be done by this or any future Congress as soon as such loss is ascertained.

Upon motion, resolved una:

[With Congress choosing Artemus Ward as the first Major General and Charles Lee as the second, they went on]

Resolved, That Mr. [Richard Henry] Lee, Mr. E[dward] Rutledge, and Mr. J[ohn] Adams, be a committee to prepare the form of a commission for the Major generals, and also for the brigadier generals, and other officers in the army.

Resolved, That there be four Major generals.

The Congress then proceeded to chuse the two remaining Major generals, when upon taking the votes Philip Schuyler. Esq. was chosen third Major General.

Israel Putnam, Esq. was unanimously chosen 4th. Major General.

Journals of the Continental Congress --MONDAY, JUNE 19, 1775

Image: Charles Lee Esq'r. - major general of the American forces, United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph 3a45456.

© 2020-2026Clifford Olsen/250Years America’s Founding

06/19/2026

Illuminating article explaining the various symbols of the first Seal of the United States.

On June 20, 1782, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States after six years of discussion.

The front of the seal depicts a bald eagle clutching an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left. On its breast appears a shield marked with 13 vertical red and white stripes topped by a bar of blue. The eagle’s beak clutches a banner inscribed, E pluribus unum, a Latin phrase meaning “Out of Many One.” Above the eagle’s head, golden rays burst forth, encircling 13 stars.

*Charles Thomson outlined the symbolic connotations of the seal’s elements when he presented his design to Congress. The bottom of the shield (or pale) represents the 13 states united in support of the blue bar at the top of the shield (or chief), “which unites the whole and represents Congress.” The motto E Pluribus Unum serves as a textual representation of the same relationshiptho. The colors used in the shield are the same as those in the flag: alternating red and white for the important balance between innocence and valor, topped by the blue of “vigilance, perseverance and justice.” The eagle’s talons hold symbols of Congress power to make peace (the olive branch) and war (arrows). The constellation of stars indicates that “a new State [is] taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers.”

The reverse side of the seal bears the familiar Masonic motif of a pyramid, which Thomson proposed as a symbol of “Strength and Duration.” The pyramid, like the new nation, is unfinished and frequently depicted as having 13 steps for the original states. The disembodied eye floating above the structure is that of providence, which Thomson believed had acted “in favour of the American cause.” Beneath the pyramid, the number 1776 appears in Roman numerals as a reminder of the year of independence. The phrase Annuit Coeptis or “Providence has Favored Our Undertakings” appears above the providential eye; Novus Ordo Seclorum or “A New Order of the Ages” appears beneath the pyramid.

*Designed by Secretary Charles Thomson and heraldry expert William Barton, the seal established the American bald eagle as the national emblem and symbol of sovereignty.

Image: The Great Seal of the United States, image courtesy of The Collector https://www.thecollector.com/great-seal-united-states/

06/19/2026

Extensive original historical research, archaeology, photographs and analysis of slavery in colonial America, and the controvery concerning presenting the President's House in Philadelphia as a national historical monument.

06/19/2026

Read about the Pennsylvania Mutiny, when some four hundred soldiers marched on Philadelphia—which was then the capital of Pennsylvania as well as the home of the Confederated Congress—to demand the payment they were owed!

06/18/2026

Big news for Revolutionary history enthusiasts in the Philly area!

Join us for our Grand Reopening on July 4th! We will be opening from 10 am until 5 pm with living history and a preview of three new exhibits, and visitors can see, for the first time in decades, the arch that George Washington passed under on his inaugural march through Trenton. More details to follow. Can't wait to see you there!

This event will be free thanks to our sponsor, Hunter Research.

101 Barrack St, Trenton, NJ 08608

06/18/2026

Talk about a psychological defeat for the British! Taking Philadelphia had been their only real accomplishment in 1777, and it was both costly (Howe’s fixation on Philadelphia resulted in the British suffering a very costly defeat in the battles of Saratoga) and militarily pointless (Philadelphia, unlike New York, really had no strategic value; Howe coveted it mostly for psychological reasons, thinking that taking “the capital”—which Philadelphia wasn’t, really, anyway—would be of great value in deflating the colonials’ hopes, discouraging potential allies, and recruiting loyalists in the city to enlist and fight). And then…they just walked away, gave it up, without a shot being fired. It was as if, after all the effort it took to take the city, the British gave an Emily Litellaesque “Never mind.”

British Abandon Philadelphia
On this day in 1778, after almost nine months of occupation, 15,000 British troops under General Sir Henry Clinton evacuate Philadelphia, the former U.S. capital.
The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General George Washington's defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of the Clouds. British General William Howe had made Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress, the focus of his campaign, but the Patriot government had deprived him of the decisive victory he hoped for by moving its operations to the more secure site of York one week before the city was taken.
While Howe and the British officer corps spent the winter enjoying the luxury of Philadelphia's finest homes, the Continental Army froze and suffered appalling deprivation at Valley Forge. Fortunately for the Patriots, an infusion of capable European strategists, including the Prussian Baron von Steuben; the Frenchmen Marquis de Lafayette and Johann, Baron de Kalb; and Poles Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir, Count Pulaski, aided Washington in the creation of a well-drilled, professional force capable of fighting the British.
The British position in Philadelphia became untenable after France's entrance into the war on the side of the Americans. To avoid the French fleet, General Clinton was forced to lead his British-Hessian force to New York City by land. Loyalists in the city sailed down the Delaware River to escape the Patriots, who returned to Philadelphia the day after the British departure. U.S. General Benedict Arnold, who led the force that reclaimed the city without bloodshed, was appointed military governor. On June 24, the Continental Congress returned to the city from its temporary quarters at York, Pennsylvania.

06/17/2026

And here's the conclusion, part five.

06/17/2026

Part three of a series on Bunker Hill.

06/17/2026

Here's part four of the series.

06/17/2026

Shared part one of this series on Bunker HIll earlier. Here's part two.

PART TWO
June 17th, 1775,
4:00am, HMS Lively sees the earthworks on Breed's Hill and started firing.
9:00am, the British cannons on Copp's Hill stated firing.
General Gage prepares to land 2200 men at Moulton's Point by boat with Major General William Howe in command to clear the Patriot force off the peninsula.
General Ward sends Massachusetts regiments to occupy Charlestown to support Colonel Prescott's men on Breed's Hill.
By 1:00pm, a double column of British boats can be seen heading to Moulton's Point.