Joseph Lee Smith–May 28, 1776

Joseph Lee Smith–May 28, 1776

Cover art for May 28, 1776: Joseph Lee Smith's home (Later Kirby Smith's) in St. Augustine, Florida. Uploaded to Wikipedia by user WhisperToMe. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-28-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] There’s a cool thing about Joseph Lee Smith that Mike doesn’t cover in his story today, probably because he is SO JEALOUS OF ME. Nah, I’m kidding. But the fact is, Joseph Lee Smith is tied up a little bit in my distant family history. I mentioned once before that my family can trace back to a common ancestor, Thomas Call, who arrived in America sometime in the 1640s. Thus, anyone with the surname Call is related, however distantly. There were Calls who were among the first Mormons to go west with (the other) Joseph Smith, so the name is about as common in Utah as it is uncommon pretty much everywhere else. Smith moved to Florida in 1821 and from 1823 to 1832 he was a territorial judge. In 1823 a delegate from Florida named Richard K Call introduced a resolution calling for the US House Judiciary Committee to investigage Smith on charges that he took bribes and kickbacks. The resolution was adopted and the investigation went on for at least seven years, but no charges were ever filed to impeach Smith. There are a few Calls in Florida history, and a couple of towns have a Call Street, including Starke, which has a “Call Street Historic District [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Street_Historic_District]“. This area was named specifically for Richard K Call. Hm. My brother is named Richard Call, though he has a different middle initial. I may have to let him know about this… The post Joseph Lee Smith–May 28, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/28/joseph-lee-smith-may-28-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Justice John Johnson–May 27, 1776

Cover art for May 27, 1776: grave of John Johnson. via find-a-grave.com. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-27-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] Justice John Johnson had a brief career in the Indiana Supreme Court, but this shouldn’t be the legacy he leaves behind, especially inasmuch as there were no important decisions handed down during the six-ish months in which he was part of that bench. It would be his earlier efforts as an Indiana politician that you want to know about. And yes, Johnson was an active politician early in the days of the Indiana Congress. Before there was a state Constitution, there were the Territorial laws that Johnson helped to organize, so he was probably quite well-versed in what was already down on paper. The post Justice John Johnson–May 27, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/27/justice-john-johnson-may-27-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

The Battle Of The Cedars Ends–May 26, 1776

Cover art for May 26, 1776: detail of a 1764 map of the western end of the Isle of Montreal. The Cedars ("des Cedres") can be seen at bottom left. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-26-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] The Battle of the Cedars was actually a series of skirmishes that took place near the end of the American invasion of Quebec, which started in September 1775 [https://250andcounting.com/2025/09/04/september-4-1775-the-offensive-in-canada-grows/]. The Cedars was an area just under 30 miles west of Quebec, and in April, Benedict Arnold had placed a detachment of troops in that area, because he’d heard that British and Indian troops were forming there. When Arnold’s men engaged with them, they wound up surrendering. What’s more, a backup force was also captured. But Arnold wasn’t giving up so easily, and he was able to get reinforcements that allowed him to move from the area just outside Montreal toward The Cedars. Unfortunately for him, the British had four-inch guns to fire at him, plus the threat that any prisoners captured so far would be killed—by the Indians, not by the British. Arnold may or may not have known what rules the Indians worked under, so he called a war council to get his advisers’ opinions. Arnold wanted to mount a surprise attack but his council convinced him otherwise. And that was pretty much that for the Battle of the Cedars. All that remained was the negotiations for prisoner exchange, but I won’t spoil for you here how that worked out; you’ll have to let Mike tell you. The post The Battle Of The Cedars Ends–May 26, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/26/the-battle-of-the-cedars-ends-may-26-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Making A Play For The Natives–May 25, 1776

Cover art for May 25, 1776: The first page of the address to the Iroquois Indians. It's in George Wythe's handwriting, but the identity of the person making the speech was not recorded. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-25-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] The Continental Congress knew that good relationship with the Native Americans was the smart thing to do, but it took them months to put together the Committee for Indian Affairs, even when their first attempt to bring the natives in [https://250andcounting.com/2025/09/28/september-28-1775-a-friendly-meeting-with-the-natives/]failed miserably. In that first try, they came to the upstate New York and framed the Revolution as though it was a family dispute. The Iroquois, taking that literally, decided to stay out of the affair, then. This time around, the Iroquois (and shame on me, I should be saying Haudenosauree) came to Philadelphia, but in my humble opinion they weren’t treated especially well, having to wait for several days to meet with the Congress, and several more days to hear the proposal that the Committee for Indian Affairs put together. Small wonder, then, that they simply left without even responding to the Americans’ offer. The post Making A Play For The Natives–May 25, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/25/making-a-play-for-the-natives-may-25-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Mr. Washington Goes To Philadelphia–May 24, 1776

Cover art for May 24, 1776: A marble statue of George Washington erected in Philadelphia in the 1860s. This photo was taken in the early 1890s. The statue was eventually moved to an indoor location and a bronze replica put in its place. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-24-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] The idea of George Washington in Philadelphia sounds kind of like a no-brainer, but with dealing with a war against the greatest army in the world, plus having to put up with ill-trained troops to fight that war, he was a busy guy and didn’t get out there much. Later on, after the war, of course, it was a common sight. But given Washington’s post-war stature as the soldier who delivered American victory, plus his stint as our first President—and the man who set many of the precedents for Presidential behaviors and ceremonies—it makes sense that Philadelphia would erect a statue to honor him, and park it right in front of Independence Hall. The first statue of Washington in Philadephia was erected in 1869 and dedicated by the mayor. After about 40 years it began to show signs of the weather and overall climate getting to it, so a decision was made to replace it with a bronze replica and move the marble version to an indoor location. It now stands inside Philadelphia’s City Hall, while the bronze one still stands outside Independence Hall, where it has been since 1910. Today, Mike takes you to this day in 1776, when Washington felt he had no choice but to speak to Congressional delegates himself The post Mr. Washington Goes To Philadelphia–May 24, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/24/mr-washington-goes-to-philadelphia-may-24-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].