A priceless American document that you have never heard about

The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured ... by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "to form a more perfect Union."  Abraham Lincoln, 1861

Few Americans are aware that our union of states predates the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence.  During Lincoln’s time this document was still celebrated, but the legacy of this important document has now been forgotten by all but the most dedicated students of history.

The Articles of Association was drawn up and signed by members of the First Continental Congress in 1774.  The intent of the Congress and the Articles was to unify the British American colonies into a cohesive political body which could resist the high taxation and economic sanctions that the Crown had imposed on them.  There was no intent to sever allegiance, only to alter Britain's policies towards the colonies and to repeal the Coercive Acts that had been passed by Parliament.

Twelve of the future thirteen colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia to First Continental Congress in September 1774.  Georgia did not, as they were preoccupied with war against the Muskogee Indian Nation at the time.  The colonies of East Florida and West Florida never did agree to send delegates to the Continental Congress. (East and West Florida were the fourteenth and fifteenth colonies in what was to become the United States.  We have somehow collectively forgotten that they existed, but that is another story!)

On October 20, 1774 the First Continental Congress passed the Articles of Association which laid out grievances and fourteen economic and boycotting measures that the colonies would take against the Crown and British commerce.  More importantly, the colonies had taken the first step in coalescing into and union of states that would culminate in the Constitution thirteen years later.  The signers considered the Articles of Association as a contract, which universally pledged all the colonies together under "self rule."  In some ways, the Articles of Association is just as important as the Declaration of Independence.  The complete text of the Articles of Association can be found here:  http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/contcong_10-20-74.asp

One of the surviving 1774 printed version of Articles

Copies of the Articles were sent to all the colonies and to Great Britain, but the original, with the signatures of fifty three of our founding fathers, was lost.

Fast Forward to 1978

In 1978 a collector who was visiting Knoxville Tennessee on business went into a used book store in hopes of finding a first edition copy of "Lee and His Lieutenants," which was published in 1867.  He was thrilled to find just what he was looking for.  When he got home, he discovered a large document folded neatly and resting between the leaves of the book.  He did not know what he had found, but he could not miss the signatures of George Washington, John Adams, Roger Sherman and fifty other men.

The document was later authenticated by scholars at the Smithsonian and other institutions.  It was page four, the signature page, of the original hand drafted Articles of Association.  The fate of pages 1 - 3 is still a mystery.  But, if only one page was to survive, this was the page to have!  The document is still owned by the original finder and has been safeguarded since 1978. 

 

The signature page of the Articles of Association as it is being displayed while on tour

Recently the owner has graciously allowed Bill Stone, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) to take the document on the road to be shared with the public.  Bill will be showing the Articles of Association to schools, SAR/DAR chapters and other patriotic organizations across Alabama in the coming year. 


Mr. Bill Stone visited the Huntsville, Alabama chapter of the
Sons of the American Revolution on February 11th, 2013 and told
the fascinating story of the Articles and their rediscovery in 1978

 

 



A close up of the signatures of Virginia Delegation, including George Washington and Richard Henry Lee

BACK TO BLUE - After 108 Years the US Army Returns to Blue for its Service Uniform

By Mark E. Hubbs

“When a Soldier can be brought to take delight in his dress, it will be easy to mold him to whatever else may be desired, … therefore every method should be pursued to accomplish what may so justly be looked on, as the foundation of order and economy in a Corps.”

— Lt. Col. Bennett Cuthbertson, 1768

The United States Army announced on June 6, 2006 that the suite of Army dress service uniforms would be streamlined to one blue dress uniform to be known as the Army Service Uniform.  The change was begun in 2008 and is expected to be fully instituted in the regular Army, Army Reserve and National Guard by 2014.  The Army green uniform will be phased out and the uniform previously known as “dress blues” will become the new “Class A” uniform.  It will be authorized for wear for any situation where the old green uniform would have been appropriate and will also continue to be worn for formal occasions in a slightly different form.  For many, this may seem like a break from tradition, but the shift back to blue is actually a return to the uniform colors that have been in use in America since before the Revolutionary War.

In the generations leading up to the change, a soldier’s uniform was intended as both a dress uniform and combat uniform.  When most of the European powers began to experiment with green and gray-green uniforms at the end of the 19th Century, the U.S. Army followed their example.  Blue for field uniforms began to be phased out in 1898 for khaki tan.  In 1902 a new olive drab uniform was introduced.  Soldiers began to receive it in 1906 as stocks of the old blue uniforms ran out.  By the time our Doughboys sailed for France in 1917 all blue uniforms for field and dress had been eliminated.  The shade of green has changed through the years, from the olive drabs used until after World War II, to the deeper green used in the current dress uniform.  Also, by the time of World War II, the dress uniform became separate from the more practical garments used for field and combat wear.

The American association with blue as a uniform color began in colonial times when many militia units chose blue for their uniforms instead of the red of regular army British troops.  This was most likely done to ease logistics, as indigo for blue dye was grown in the colonies, where most red dyes were imported from Europe.

The first standardized uniform used by the fledgling American Continental Army was also blue.  In early 1777, the Continental Congress allocated funds to procure 30,000 “ready-made” uniforms from French contractors.  Dr. Benjamin Franklin was part of the American commission in France who made arraignments for the uniforms to be made.  Franklin, and fellow commissioner Silas Deane, designed a uniform equal in quality, but unlike the design used by the French Army.  The American uniforms were built with cold American winters in mind.


The first of the French contract uniforms arrived in March, 1778 and immediately caused a stir in the Continental Army.  A shortage of blue wool broadcloth resulted in the delivery of only half of the uniform coats in blue.  The rest were made in brown wool.  Both were constructed with red lapels and cuffs.  They came only in small, medium and large, with the largest size similar to our medium size of today.  An Army inspector reported, “The greatest part of what I have seen of them are exceedingly good. . . the coats well cut, have a tasty air and that great quality of being at the same time large and warm. . . “

Courtesy: Todd Post, 2nd Virginia Regiment

 The troops, however, desired blue uniforms and detested anything other than blue.  As a result, General George Washington,“in order to prevent disputes & jealousy among the Troops of the Main Army. . .  and to give them all an equal chance,” decided that lots would be drawn to determine which of his regiments would receive the blue coats and which would receive the hated brown.  In the end, the allocations were made by state.  Nine states were represented in Washington’s army at the time.  Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire were stuck with brown until additional blue uniforms could be made.  Washington later issued a general order in 1779 which standardized all government issued uniforms to be blue, with cuffs and facings of various colors to indicate the home state of the soldier.

Blue became so associated with the U.S. Army and our new nation that The Adjutant & Inspector General's Office on March 27, 1821 stated, "Dark blue is the National colour.  When a different one is not expressly prescribed, all uniform coats, whether for officers or enlisted men, will be of that colour."  
  
As the uniform evolved throughout the 19th Century, the enduring constant was the color blue for the uniform coat.  The trousers emerged as light blue in the 1820s.  The wool cloth used for trousers was called kersey and was a coarser, cheaper cloth compared to the expensive wool broadcloth used for uniform coats.  The cheap kersey cloth could not take a consistent deep blue dye as the better quality broadcloth could.  As a result, kersey was dyed a lighter shade of blue.

This tradition in the difference in shades of blue between the coat and trousers is carried on in the modern Army blue service uniform.


So, in the near future when you begin to see our young soldiers in their blue uniforms, don’t think of it as a break from tradition.  Consider it instead, a return to our heritage of the “National Color.”

I originally had this article published in the Spring 2011 issue of The Infantry Bugler, the journal of the National Infantry Associaiton. 
http://www.infantryassn.com/Bugler%20issues/042811/Flashbook/bugler_fbook.html

Courtesy: US Army

 

Victualling the Army

I had the honor of speaking to the Huntsville, AL chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution this week.  We had a good crowd of about 50+ folks there.  I was asked to speak on Camp Life of the Revolutionary War soldier.  That would be daunting subject to cover in such a short speech, so I limited my talk to army rations.  The presentation was well received, and I think I brought some new information to the group.  I also brought some samples of ship's biscuit (hardtack) and corn pone.  The samples were not as well received as I was!

Speaking to the Huntsville, Alabama Sons of the American Revolution on Army Rations

The title of this blog entry, and of my presentation came from an excellent article by the same title by my good friend Todd Post.  That article covers all aspects of rations and cookery in the Revolutionary War armies.

Here are some simple recipes if you would like to try some ship's biscuits or pone yourself:

Ship’s Biscuits, Sea Biscuits and Hard Bread
Recipe for One Days Ration (1 lb)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup pastry flour or all purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

Mix the ingredients completely and work the dough into a ball.  Let is set up for a few minutes.  Roll the dough out until it is about 3/8 inch thick, use a large biscuit cutter to cut out the rounds, then punch them with 8 - 12 holes to let the moisture escape during baking.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 - 40 minutes.  Set aside to cool and let air dry for a day or two before packaging for storage.  Any additions to the recipe such as salt, sugar or shortening will shorten the shelf life considerably.

Fire Cake:  (aka hoe-cake, corn pone, corn dodger, ash-cake etc)

1 1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups yellow corn meal (not cornmeal mix!)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Crisco, lard, bacon grease etc

Add salt and grease to boiling water, then pour into the corn meal.  Mix thoroughly to make a thick, heavy glutinous dough.  Let it set up for about 30 minutes.  pat into 1/2 inch thick patties, using about 1/2 cup of dough. Can be cooked by baking or frying in pork fat.   The soldiers cooked them in the ashes, on flat rocks or on the blades of shovels and hoes.

Corn pone plays a significant part in a chapter of my book, The Secret of Wattensaw Bayou.  I can attest, as can my characters, that corn pone with a bit of sorghum molasses on it tastes might good!