Tag: Continental Congress

Battle of the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis, 1779

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"On September 23, 1779, Captain John Paul Jones fought a battle without parallel in naval history. Hitherto the contest upon the sea had been mainly a predatory warfare of privateers, aimed at the destruction of commerce and the plunder of merchant vessels. The young republic was without a navy proper. Called 'Pirate Jones' by the English, for retaliating on the coast of England for the atrocities committed on the coast of America, the captain of the Bon Homme Richard gallantly refused the sword of the surrending captain of the Serapis — but did take his ship."

They Gave Us Liberty: Roger Sherman, by Ellsworth S. Grant

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"This archetype of the Connecticut Yankee had a reputation for taciturnity. One of his political mottoes was: 'When you are in a minority, talk, when you are in a majority, vote!' In his country drawl, daughter came out as 'dat-ter' and applesauce sounded like 'ap-plesass.' But Jefferson remarked that however awkward his manner Sherman 'never said a foolish thing in his life.' And he was by no means silent. During the Convention he spoke 138 times, each speech short but pithy, only three others were more vocal."

ALL OF ONE FAMILY. Three Prominent Men Descended From Roger Sherman.

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"William M. Evarts, the polished, urbane, witty New Yorker; George Frisbie Hoar, the sharp, petulant, bright, nagging New Englander; John Sherman, the unostentatious, but persistent Westerner. But behind all these mannerisms we see the [Roger] Sherman imprint upon the mind of each. If one of them becomes President, it will be all in the family."

[The Shermans] Have Ruled America, by Dr. B. J. Cigrand

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"The Sherman people have been earnest supporters of the Union: from the famous Roger down we find them loyally upholding the principles of their distinguished forefathers. In the village boards, the aldermanic councils, the list of mayors, the roll of Governors, the roster of Generals, and roll-call of House and Senate, the name Sherman is ever present."

Interviewing Connecticut’s Great Lawyer and Democrat, by James B. Morrow

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"A man who resembles his distinguished great-grandfather, Roger Sherman, signer of the declaration, Gov. Simeon E. Baldwin talks on the dominant questions of the day. Every generation of Americans, he asserts, has its own point of view and, therefore, through the Supreme Court of the United States, makes the Constitution fit its own needs and conditions."

Rebecca Prescott Sherman

Arthur MullenLeave a comment

"Roger Sherman journeyed on horseback from New Haven, where he had moved after his wife Elizabeth's death, to visit his brother Josiah, who was then settled over his church in Woburn, Massachusetts. Upon his departure, his brother accompanied him some little distance, when they stopped to say a few parting words. As they were bidding… Continue reading Rebecca Prescott Sherman