What Happened Today - April

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Welcome to April!!!
Come follow along this journey into what happened during the beginning years of our great country.

Mrs. Hoffman


I have found my information for these pages from the following sites and applications:

• Today in the 1770s
• Today in History
• Today in History - A timeline of events 
• This Day in History 
• On-This-Day.com 
• Library of Congress
• National Park Service 

April 1, 1621 - Pilgrim sign the first peace treaty with the Wampanoags and their chief, Massasoit.

April 2, 1792 - The first US Mint was created.  The colonies had several mints beforehand, but once the Revolutionary War was won, the United States needed to centralize the monetary system.  In 1788, the US Constitution gave Congress the power to coin money.  The dollar was made the basic unit of money.  The first national mint was created in Philadelphia.

April 3, 1776 - The Continental Congress told privateers that "you may, by force of arms, attack, subdue, and take all ships and other vessels belonging to the inhabitants of Great Britain, on the high seas, or between high-water and low-water marks, except ships and vessels bringing persons who intend to settle and reside in the United Colonies, or bringing arms, ammunition, or warlike stores to the said colonies, for the use of such inhabitants thereof as are friends to the American cause, which you shall suffer to pass unmolested, the commanders thereof permitting a peaceable search, and giving satisfactory information of the contents of the ladings, and destinations of the voyages."

April 4, 1776 - George Washington marches towards New York to protect it from the British.  His soldiers are all unpaid volunteers and he writes to Congress, asking for funds to pay his soldiers. Congress did not have the funds, but started offering land as an incentive.  More than 12,000 soldiers arrive in the city.

April 5, 1614 - Pocahantas married John Rolfe. John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1610  and planted tobacco which became the basis of the Jamestown economy.  The marriage marked the beginning of peace between the Powhatan Indians and the settlers.  They had child, Thomas in 1616.  Unfortunately, not long after they sailed to England, Pocahantas died in 1617.

April 6, 1776 - Congress opened all American ports to international trade.  This was a slap in Britain's face who previously only allowed the colonists to trade with them.  Of course the colonies did trade without Britain knowing, but now, this was a firm announcement of their independence.

April 7, 1776 - Captain John Barry captures the British vessel HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia.  He was born in Ireland but came to fight for the colonists.  His warship was called the Lexington. He fought in the last naval battle againts the HMS Sybylle in 1783.

April 8, 1780 - Charleston, South Carolina is attacked.  The British under General Henry Clinton attacks the colonies here in hopes of cutting the South from the North and bringing them to their knees.  Instead, the colonists become only stronger and fight back even more.

April 9, 1776 - South Carolina's General Assembly establishes a Court of Admiralty (maritime courts - allowing those captured to be tried there in the colonies)  when British ships are captured by American vessels.

April 10, 1606 - King James I chartered the Virginia companies of London and Plymouth.  The Plymouth Company was chartered for English merchants who wanted to set up trading colonies in America.  They could set up colonies between the parallels of 38 and 45 degrees north latitude.  The London Company could colonize between the 34 and 41 degree north latitude.  The London Company thought precious metals could be found in the colonies and spent $10,000 to send men to the Jamestown colony.  Every person was to share in the wealth, but they never  made a profit.

April 11, 1783 - The new Continental Congress declares the American Revolution at an end by formally accepting the provisional peace treaty from March 13.

April 12, 1770 - The Townshend Act is repealed by the British government.  The tax on tea is still in place which will lead to the Boston Tea Party.  The act was named after Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the Exechequer.  Not only did he push taxes on the colonists, he also instituted the vice admiralty courts. Townshend's successor, Lord North, asked for the repeal because the taxes were bad for trade.

April 13, 1777 - Cornwallis surprises American troops at Bound Brook, New Jersey.  While the soldiers and their commander, Major General Benjamin Lincoln escape, the British  manage to capture all the artillery and weapons.

April 14, 1780 - General William Alexander leads a force of 3,000 men to Staten Island and engages the British.  Seventeen soldiers are captured.  Alexander only loses 6 men.  The British retaliate by burning Elizabethtown courthouse.

April 15, 1783 - Today is the day the Revolutionary War was officially declared over.  The war began on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord.  After 8 years, the war ended at Yorktown but peace negotiations did not begin until April of 1782.  Congress did not approve the treaty until April 15th.  Of course, it still had to be signed and that did not happen until September 3.

April 16, 1781 - From the 15th to the 19th, General Greene sends Henry Lee and his forces against Cornwallis. Then Lee and Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) lay siege to Fort Watson in South Carolina. The British surrender.

April 17, 1777 - The Committee of Foreign Affairs is formed.  It was formerly called the Congressional Committee of Secret Correspondence.  The original members of the committee included Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Johnson, Jr., John Dickinson, and John Jay. The committee first sent word to different countries to see how they felt about the colonies.  They even sent secret agents abroad.

April 18, 1775 - Tonight is the famous ride of Paul Revere.  He placed two lanterns in the North Church to warn the colonists that the British were coming.

April 19, 1775 - The shot heard around the world happened today!  The American Revolution began at Lexington and Concord.  British troops landed and went to secure the weapons at the magazine, then to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

April 20, 1776 - Britain arranges to have more German troops sent to America to fight the colonists.  More than 600 infantrymen are sent as well.

April 21, 1777 - The British attack Danbury, Connecticut, burning down houses and businesses.  General William Tryon destroys everything in sight.  The Patriots don't learn about it until the British are retreating and unfortunately cannot do much to stop them.

April 22, 1778 - Commander John Paul Jones leads a raid at Whitehaven, England.  Jones and 30 volunteers rowed towards the port where more than 400 British merchant ships were anchored.  Jones set fire the southern fort which spread to the rest of the town.  His ship was the USS Ranger.

April 23, 1775 - A town meeting is held in Philadelphia.  Over 8000 people vow to "defend their property, liberty, and lives".  Remember that word spreads slowly because there were no telephones so word of the attack at Lexington and Concord would have just arrived.

April 24, 1800 - The Library of Congress was established on this date.  It is one of the largest research libraries in the world with over 130 million items in the collection. The new library was given $5000 to buy books.

April 25, 1781 - General Cornwallis is defeated at Guilford Courthouse by General Greene and retreats to Wilmington, North Carolina.

April 26, 1777 - As the British withdraw from Danbury, Connecticut, American troops attack them under Benedict Arnold (who has not turned traitor yet), David Wooster, and Gold Silliman.  Unfortunately, the American patriots are outnumbered and cannot stop the British from reaching their fleet at Long Island Sound.

April 27, 1773 - the British government passes the Tea Act. Of course at the time, the East India Company was going bankrupt and the government needed to step in (sounds like what happened to us over the past couple years with our own government).  If the tax was lowered (not that people paid, but that was paid to the government) then the company would not go bankrupt.  Parliament also granted the East India Company a monopoly on the American tea trade and told the colonies they could not purchase their tea from anywhere else. The cost was even cheaper than smuggled in tea from other countries.

April 28, 1788 - Maryland is the 7th state to ratify the constitution.  Every state had to ratify the constitution and this process took two years.

April 29, 1776 - Commander-in-chief, George Washington orders General Nathanael Greene to take command of Long Island in New York.  He has received word of the attack on Boston and wants Greene to defend New York, knowing the British will soon come there as well.  Unfortunately, Long Island population was mostly Loyalist and the British took over easily.

April 30, 1789 - How exciting to be at the end of another month's facts!! This date is truly monumental - this is the day George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.