This Month in
1776

​March 3rd The Raid of Nassau, Bahamas was executed  by American commodore Esek Hopkins, resulting in the seizure of military supplies, especially gunpowder sorely needed by the  Continental Army. Hopkins was the only Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy’s fleet during the Revolution.

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March 4-5th Fortification of Dorchester Heights in Boston - At the suggestion of his officers, General George Washington captured Dorchester Heights, placing his artillery on the eminence and rendering General William Howe's position untenable. The operation got underway on March 4th, and by dawn, the Continentals stood ensconced atop the high ground ultimately ending the year-long Siege Of Boston. 

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March 7-9th George Washington's letter to John Hancock, President of the Second Continental Congress was regarding preparations for taking Boston's Dorchester Heights.                                   

      

March 9th Wealth of Nations Published -Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith published the influential Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations.  Providing a  blueprint for modern capitalism and free enterprise, Adam Smith's concepts exerted enormous influence before he died in 1790 and especially in the nineteenth century. America’s Founders, including Alexander Hamilton, were greatly influenced by his insights. 

 

March 12th Public Notice in Baltimore, Maryland - A public notice appeared in local papers recognizing the sacrifice of women to the cause of  the Revolution. The notice urged others to recognize women’s contributions and announced, “The necessity of taking all imaginable care of those who may happen to be wounded in the country’s cause, urges us to address our humane ladies, to lend us their kind assistance in furnishing us with linen rags and old sheeting, for bandages.” From the earliest protests against British taxation, women’s assent and labor was critical to the success of the cause.

 

March 14th In London, England, Mohawk leader Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)  advocated for the Six Nations’ land rights and securing their alliance with the British Crown. On March 14th, he delivered a speech to Lord George Germain, promising Iroquois support in the American Revolutionary War in exchange for protecting their lands.

 

March 14th Alexander Hamilton, at age twenty-one,  was commissioned as a captain of the New York Provincial Company of Artillery. In 1777, Hamilton was invited to join General Washington's staff as an aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The two men had a complementary relationship. Hamilton understood Washington intuitively, and Washington trusted him. This relationship developed throughout the war and early republic until Washington's death in 1799.

 

March 17th Siege Of Boston - General William Howe's British forces were compelled to evacuate from Boston to Nova Scotia after General Washington fortified Dorchester Heights. As a result, the last of Howe's army boarded transports and departed on March 17th. Within months, Howe would return and face Washington in a campaign for New York.

March 25th Continental Congress authorized a medal for George Washington, recognizing his leadership in the Siege of Boston.

 

March 28th Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza claims for Spain the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, the traditional territory of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone people. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Ramaytush Ohlone numbered approximately 1500 persons, but by the end of the Mission Period, only a few families had survived. The Presidio eventually became a military post of the US Army.

 

March 31st "Remember the Ladies" - In a famous letter to her husband John Adams, Abigail Adams urged the Continental Congress to "remember the ladies" and protect women’s rights in the new code of laws, the Articles of Confederation (adopted November 1777).