A Continental Congress

John Adams calculated that they were "one third Tories, another Whigs, and the rest mongrels"; and he found "Trimmers & Timeservers" upon every side. Fifth columnism was at work, as the patriots soon learned; despite the best efforts of Congress to preserve secrecy, the British government was informed of all its proceedings (Stephen Sayre to Samuel Adams).

The work of the Continental Congress soon demonstrated that the American aristocracy was divided against itself and that this division worked in

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Too, the British fleet under command of Admiral Sir Thomas Graves and Admiral Sir Samuel Hood were late in setting sail from New York to stop de Grasse. He was able to defend himself, though, and was returned to Saint Eustatius in 1779. It was President Franklin Roosevelt, who in 1939, recognized Statia's importance in his country's history by presenting the plaque to its citizens to honor that first signal – the eleven-gun salute by Dutch governor de Graaff to the Andrew Doria – noting that it was "here the sovereignty of the United States of America was first formally acknowledged to a national vessel by a foreign official. With the French gone, rebellion became more attractive. Some favored taking Guadeloupe, which had been captured in 1759, instead of taking Canada. In response to King George's protests, the Dutch brought de Graaff home for an inquiry by the West India Company.

Thus far, the radical policy of relying mainly upon events to bring the issue of independence before the people was fully vindicated. The "blood and treasure" already expended by Americans, exclaimed the radicals, and made reconciliation impossible except upon the colonists' own terms. The British probably would have continued the war in America even after the surrender at Yorktown, but with the loss of St. This produced early protestations by the colonies of denial of rights without representation in Parliament.

The other key to the Battle of Yorktown was French admiral Francois-Joseph-Paul de Grasse and his fleet, which arrived August 30, 1781, from the West Indies in time to provide a blockade at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and prevent Cornwallis's escape.

The radicals in the Continental Congress rejoiced that Great Britain's "unexampled cruelties" now barred the path of compromise. Once again, the arguments centered on sugar. It is possible that British admiral Sir George Rodney could have stopped de Grasse, but Rodney thought it more important for his fleet to stay in the Caribbean to defend the islands, which he felt were under imminent attack.

Common topics in this essay:
Continental Congress, West Indies, Fort Oranje, Perpetual Union, Gazette Purdie, Empire England, York Worry, Molasses Act, Canada Britain, Guadeloupe France, continental congress, de graaff, west indies, de grasse, fort oranje, military supplies, st kitts, american colonies, admiral sir, andrew doria, grand union flag,

Approximate Word count = 2020
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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