The SAMS Lyceum of Martial and Societal Antediluvian Chronicles An addendum to The SAMS Sporran July 2019 With the Fourth of July looming and its importance to our history and our country I have taken the liberty to include several articles about the Revolutionary War. In view of the fact that this is a Scottish publication there are references to Scots in the articles. The Bush Declaration The 1st Declaration of Independence By James Schiaffino “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America". This prediction was made by founding father and future president John Adams in a letter written to his wife Abigail. It refers to The Declaration of Independence, the one composed by Thomas Jefferson. This might come as a surprise to most people but it was not the first. Also it was signed on July second, not the fourth. As it turns out, nearly 100 other “declarations of independence” had already been issued in the months leading up to July 4th, 1776, by states, towns, counties, and assorted other bodies. These "declarations" took a variety of forms. Some were formal written instructions for congressional delegations. Others were legislative acts that officially ended British rule in individual colonies. Rhode Island legislature declared its independence from Great Britain on May 4, the first colony to do so. The first place to formally declare independence from Great Britain, however, was not Rhode Island. It was Bush Town, the Capital of Harford County Md. On March 22, 1775, 34 prominent men from Harford county met at The Bush Tavern to declare their support for the growing desire for independence from Great Britain. From this meeting The Bush Declaration was adopted. The Bush Declaration “We, the Committee of Harford County, having most Seriously and Maturely Considered the Resolves and Association of the Continental Congress, and the Resolves of the Provincial Convention, do most heartily approve of the same, and as we Esteem ourselves in a more particular manner intrusted by our Constituents to see them carried into Execution, we do most solemnly pledge ourselves to each other, and to our country, and engage ourselves by every tie held sacred among mankind, to perform the same at the risque of our lives and fortunes.” The last line found its way into the Declaration of Independence, “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." (In addition to being the first declaration, The Bush Declaration is also quite possibly be the longest single sentence in the English language.) The Bush Tavern The Bush Declaration was signed at the Bush Tavern in Bush Town. At that time Bush Town consisted of several homes, two taverns, several mills and a tannery. Bush was also the home of nearby Cokesburry College the largest Methodist college in the colonies. Bush Town was the center of activity in Harford County and Bush Tavern was the center of activity in Bush Town. The Tavern is still standing and is the second oldest building in the county. The Bush Tavern was a stagecoach stop on what was originally called The Great Eastern Highway. The Great Eastern was the major conduit of information for the colonies from Alexandria VA. to New York NY. The Great Eastern Highway was not what we would refer to as a highway or even a road today, it was essentially an old Indian path and catered primarily to riders on horseback. After it was widened to accommodate carriage trade (buckboards and stagecoaches; the 18th century version of pickup trucks and buses) the name was changed to The Post Road. Now mail (Post) and other packages that could not be shipped by water used the road. It was the route used by the Comte Rochambeau and his army on his way to Yorktown and the one Tench Tilghman used to carry the news of The British surrender at Yorktown to the Assembly in Philadelphia. Washington and his army used Route 1, a parallel road several miles west of The Old Post Road. In the 19th century its name was changed again to The Philadelphia Road. (Locals still refer to it as Old Philadelphia Road instead of MD Route 7.) The Stage Coach Stop Travel by stagecoach was an adventure. It cost $4 plus $4 for 150 lbs of luggage.Frequently passengers would disembark to fill ruts and holes in the road with saplings, dirt and other bracken. When the stagecoach approached a hill the passengers would again disembark and walk along with the coach as the horses strove to crest the hill. If the hill was steep it was not unusual for the passengers to lend a hand and help to push the wagon uphill. In the winter passengers would be covered with hats, heavy coats, woolen mittens, wool socks, boots, topped off with blankets leaving only their eyes uncovered. Still it was preferable to travel by stagecoach, rather than horse back. Taverns were located about 12 miles apart; the average distance a stagecoach could travel at that time. The Taverns provided rest and food for the weary horses and travelers. Taverns provided hearty meals on a strict time schedule. Breakfast usually consisted of grits, cakes of unleavened dough baked on bake stones or circular griddles that went by names such as "clap bread", "griddle cakes" and "pancakes". Additionally, whatever vegetables and meats that were leftover from the previous evening were served as accompaniment. For the hearty dinner venison, mutton, pork and chicken were popular as were tripe, turnips, onions, cabbage, carrots, and parsnips, along with pulses and legumes. These were mixed together in a kind of porridge and served in a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon. Following their repast, the travelers could imbibe the tavern’s offerings: beer, and cider with breakfast; rum and wine with dinner; claret, ratifies, creams, punches, and other concoctions in the evening. Water was not considered suitable for consumption at that time. Following the meal travelers could sit by the fire and pass the time listening to local news or entertain themselves with card games like whist and cribbage. Then they would retire to a dormitory style room where they slept two to a bed. In an age without telephone, TV or the internet taverns were the places to congregate and catch up on the local news, gossip and foreign events like what was happening in far away and exotic places like Baltimore or Philadelphia. In the 17th and 18th centuries mail was delivered to the local tavern (there were no ‘Post Offices’) as the tavern was the social and business center of any town. It was the logical place to gather and discuss politics, in this case whether or not to leave the British Empire. The Tavern has a second claim to fame. From September 10th to the 11th it served as a temporary headquarters for Comte de Rochambeau as he bivouacked his army on their march south with Washington on their way to Yorktown. Today the tavern is the professional office of a doctor who appropriately enough is a dedicated student of Revolutionary War History. The office is filled with all manner of memorabilia, most donated by his patients. The University of Maryland did an archeological dig of the grounds of Bush Tavern. They discovered the foundations of the kitchen, a well and foundations for several storage buildings in addition to hundreds of period artifacts. There are two Historical markers outside the Tavern today. One is dedicated to the Bush Declaration The other signifies the Tavern as a stop on the Rochambeau Trail. The Maryland Line The Saviors of The Revolution by James E. Schiaffino A tiny band of armed men stood on a small rise overlooking the battlefield at Yorktown. Below arrayed in their finest uniforms stood the commanders-in-chief of both the American and French armies; General Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. The ramshackle uniforms of the men on the hill resembled those worn by the crestfallen and war weary British and Hessian soldiers. This small band of soldiers were all that remained of the fabled Old Maryland Line -- The Bayonets of the Revolution. They watched with bemused sadness as Lord Cornwallis’ sword ( he refused to attend the surrender ceremony) was passed by his second in command General Charles O’Hara to Comte De Rochambeau who differed to General Washington. Always the consummate gentleman and politician, he in turn demurred to his second in command Major General Benjamin Lincoln (who earlier had been a British prisoner of war) to receive the sword. For the men of The Maryland Line it marked the end of a long, difficult and sometimes painful journey. These men had served honorably and bravely through the long and difficult days of the Revolutionary War. Time and again they had been called upon to do the impossible. For General Washington they were the saviors of the revolution. Of all of the patriots who served and gave their lives these were the bravest and most hallowed. When the situation was desperate it was the Maryland Line that often stood isolated, alone, outnumbered, and outgunned but determined against the powerful British army. Of the 1,500 men of Maryland who served, barely a handful survived to see the end of the war. Time and time again they had been asked by their general to stand and face the enemy as their compatriots withdrew from the battlefield. Every time they unfailingly answered the call. Every time they stood in line firing and reloading, firing and reloading while every fiber of their being yelled flee, flee! There they stood holding off the oncoming enemy as their brothers in arms retreated.