On This Day: Schooner beats back boarding attempts by larger British force

Gen. George Washington remains in Philadelphia to continue his meetings with the Second Continental Congress. Their focus is on defending New York City and assisting with the struggling situation in Canada.

Washington witnesses an emerging development in Congress as Virginia delegates, acting under instructions from the Virginia Convention, present resolutions calling for independence from England. This is the boldest step so far.

Meanwhile, in Boston, weeks after the British siege of the city’s harbor ended, Maj. Gen. Artemas Ward sends Washington details of an incident in the harbor: a skirmish between a small American schooner with only seven men on board and a much larger British force, which repeatedly beat back boarding attempts.

Major General Artemas Ward to George Washington, 27 May 1776

Sir