The sources available on this page were created in the summer of 1775, when General Washington took command of the American Army at Cambridge. In June, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, decided to adopt the New England army that had gathered around Boston in the weeks after the Battles at Lexington and Concord. In the days before the Congress decided to appoint a Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, a delegate from Virginia, wore his old officer's uniform from his service in the Seven Years' War to the meetings. The Continental Congress, on advice from John Adams, unanimously elected Washington as commander of the army. John Hancock of Massachusetts, then the President of the Congress, had hoped to be given the command. However, eager to transform a New England uprising into a continental war, Adams pushed for the Virginian. Washington departed Philadelphia in late June with great fanfare, and arrived outside of Boston on July 2nd. The following day, he took command of the army.

What was the ceremony like? Was it under the old tree on the Common? What did people at the time note about the day? Look at a maps of the Common from 1775, view a database of entries from ordinary soldiers in the American camp at the time, read entries in an officer's orderly book, and see General Washington's correspondence with the Massachusetts leaders of the Revolution as well as his first report back to the Continental Congress.

Maps Showing Positions of the American Army in 1775

This 1775 map shows some fortifications and the positions of the armies during the Siege of Boston when Washington took command. "A Draught of the Towns of Boston & Charlestown" drawn by John Montresor, 1775. From the Clinton Collection of the Clements Library of the University of Michigan. On-line at: http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/index-clinton.html.

Compare it to a modern, schematic view of the positions of the armies during the Siege of Boston in 1775. It is from Richard W. Wilkie and Jack Trager, Historical Atlas of Massachusetts (1991). On-line at: http://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/wilkie/Wilkie/hist_mass_p64.jpg

Soldiers' Diaries and Orderly Books

When General Washington arrived in Cambridge in early July, he took command of an army that had been created by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress (the revolutionary governing body of that province) and its New England neighbors. Many of the soldiers in this army kept diaries recording their experiences. The database collects the entries of several soldiers from the days before and after General Washington took command. You can also download an MS-Excel spreadsheet of these diary entries. What did the soldiers notice and record on July 3rd?

Like soldiers' diaries, orderly books offer an excellent glimpse into the life of an army. Staff officers copied down the orders given by the commanding officers each day.

General Washington's Correspondence

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress sent a letter welcoming General Washington and informing him of the state of the army at Cambridge. View that letter, as well as the General's response.

General Washington was appointed by the Continental Congress, and directed by them to report back to them frequently on the state of the army. Read his first letter back to the Continental Congress, sent on July 10. You can view the transcribed text or the original image of the first page.

Next, see how later generations have imagined and interpreted the events of July 3, 1775.