George Washington | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 14, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago – George Washington Address to the Inhabitants of Canada

After Great Britain emerged victorious in the French and Indian War, a clash with France over territory in North America, in 1763, it faced a difficult task: managing Quebec, a sprawling former French colony where the Catholic majority had little in common with their new Protestant rulers.

To heal the wounds of the war and streamline governance, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act in 1774. The legislation’s compromises were significant. The criminal law code became British, while civil and property law in the province continued to follow the French model.

The act largely preserved Quebec’s feudal land distribution system, and it allowed residents the right to freely practice “the religion of the Church of Rome,” so long as they stayed loyal foremost to Britain’s king, George III.

The act’s most controversial reform, however, was expanding the official boundary of Quebec to the Ohio River Valley, which conflicted with prominent American colonists’ property interests and their hopes of expanding on the Western frontier.

Many residents of the lower Thirteen Colonies took the Quebec Act as yet another instance of “ministerial tyranny” akin to the Coercive Acts, which were passed that same year to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and other incidents of unrest in the city.

The delegates of the First Continental Congress wholeheartedly condemned the Quebec Act—and Quebec itself—in September 1774 as “dangerous in an extreme degree to the Protestant religion and to the civil rights and liberties of all America.” (Wizevich, Smithsonian)

On about September 14, 1775. George Wasington delivered an address “To the Inhabitants of Canada”.

“Friends and Brethren,”

“The unnatural Contest between the English Colonies and Great-Britain, has now risen to such a Heighth, that Arms alone must decide it. The Colonies, confiding in the Justice of their Cause, and the Purity of their Intentions, have reluctantly appealed to that Being, in whose Hands are all human Events.”

“He has hitherto smiled upon their virtuous Efforts—The Hand of Tyranny has been arrested in its Ravages, and the British Arms which have shone with so much Splendor in every Part of the Globe, are now tarnished with Disgrace and Disappointment.—”

“Generals of approved Experience, who boasted of subduing this great Continent, find themselves circumscribed within the Limits of a single City and its Suburbs, suffering all the Shame and Distress of a Siege.”

“While the trueborn Sons of America, animated by the genuine Principles of Liberty and Love of their Country, with increasing Union, Firmness and Discipline repel every Attack, and despise every Danger.”

“Above all, we rejoice, that our Enemies have been deceived with Regard to you—They have perswaded themselves, they have even dared to say, that the Canadians were not capable of distinguishing between the Blessings of Liberty, and the Wretchedness of Slavery; that gratifying the Vanity of a little Circle of Nobility—would blind the Eyes of the People of Canada.—”

“By such Artifices they hoped to bend you to their Views, but they have been deceived, instead of finding in you that Poverty of Soul, and Baseness of Spirit, they see with a Chagrin equal to our Joy, that you are enlightned, generous, and virtuous—that you will not renounce your own Rights, or serve as Instruments to deprive your Fellow Subjects of theirs.—”

“Come then, my Brethren, unite with us in an indissoluble Union, let us run together to the same Goal.—We have taken up Arms in Defence of our Liberty, our Property, our Wives, and our Children, we are determined to preserve them, or die.”

“We look forward with Pleasure to that Day not far remote (we hope) when the Inhabitants of America shall have one Sentiment, and the full Enjoyment of the Blessings of a free Government.”

“Incited by these Motives, and encouraged by the Advice of many Friends of Liberty among you, the Grand American Congress have sent an Army into your Province, under the Command of General Schuyler; not to plunder, but to protect you; to animate, and bring forth into Action those Sentiments of Freedom you have disclosed, and which the Tools of Despotism would extinguish through the whole Creation.—”

“To co-operate with this Design, and to frustrate those cruel and perfidious Schemes, which would deluge our Frontiers with the Blood of Women and Children; I have detached Colonel Arnold into your Country, with a Part of the Army under my Command—”

“I have enjoined upon him, and I am certain that he will consider himself, and act as in the Country of his Patrons, and best Friends. Necessaries and Accommodations of every Kind which you may furnish, he will thankfully receive, and render the full Value.—”

“I invite you therefore as Friends and Brethren, to provide him with such Supplies as your Country affords; and I pledge myself not only for your Safety and Security, but for ample Compensation. Let no Man desert his Habitation—Let no one flee as before an Enemy.”

“The Cause of America, and of Liberty, is the Cause of every virtuous American Citizen; whatever may be his Religion or his Descent, the United Colonies know no Distinction but such as Slavery, Corruption and arbitrary Domination may create.”

“Come then, ye generous Citizens, range yourselves under the Standard of general Liberty—against which all the Force and Artifice of Tyranny will never be able to prevail. G. Washington.” (National Archives)

On New Year’s Eve, 1775, Colonists stormed Quebec City. Of the roughly 500 soldiers in the contingent, 35 were killed, 33 were wounded and 372 were captured in the failed assault. (Wizevich, Smithsonian)

June 14, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … Continental Army

The colonies are abuzz following the adjournment of the First Continental Congress. As colonists deliberated and implemented Congress’s mandates, they also pondered the future of their relationship with Great Britain. How will the King respond to Congress’s petition? Will the proposed Association (a comprehensive non-importation and non-exportation scheme) force Parliament to repeal the Coercive Acts? Colonists wait only a few short months for an answer.

On February 3, 1775 Abigail Adams wrote to Mercy Otis Warren, reporting among other things, “The die is cast … but it seems to me the Sword is now our only, yet dreadful alternative”.

Forming the Continental Army and Naming Its Commander in Chief

America’s Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775 with exchanges of musketry between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord, as many delegates were already enroute to Philadelphia, where Congress was scheduled to convene on May 10, 1775.

When the delegates to the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, they soon learned that armed men commanded by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain in New York.

The New England colonists reacted to this news by raising four separate armies. With remarkable speed, committees of correspondence spread the traumatic news of Lexington and Concord beyond the borders of Massachusetts.

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress adopted “the American continental army” after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole. This procedure and the desire for secrecy account for the sparseness of the official journal entries for the day.

On June 15, Congress unanimously chose George Washington. Washington had been active in the military planning committees of Congress and by late May had taken to wearing his old uniform.

Preparing the Continental Army to Go to War

Washington was also to prepare and to send to Congress an accurate strength return of that army. On the other hand, instructions to keep the army obedient, diligent, and disciplined were rather vague. The Commander in Chief’s right to make strategic and tactical decisions on purely military grounds was limited only by a requirement to listen to the advice of a council of war.

Within a set troop maximum, including volunteers, Washington had the right to determine how many men to retain, and he had the power to fill temporarily any vacancies below the rank of colonel. Permanent promotions and appointments were reserved for the colonial governments to make.

The record indicates only that Congress undertook to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form for them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and Schuyler) to draft rules and regulations “for the government of the army.”

The delegates’ correspondence, diaries, and subsequent actions make it clear that they really did much more. They also accepted responsibility for the existing New England troops and the forces requested for the defense of the various points in New York. The former were believed to total 10,000 men; the latter, both New Yorkers and Connecticut men, another 5,000.

By the third week in June delegates were referring to 15,000 at Boston. Meanwhile, the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 forced many delegates to rethink their position on reconciliation. As accounts of the battle reach Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson are drafting the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking up Arms. John Adams calls the document a spirited Manifesto.

When on June 19 Congress requested the governments of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire to forward to Boston “such of the forces as are already embodied, towards their quotas of the troops agreed to be raised by the New England Colonies,” it gave a clear indication of its intent to adopt the regional army. Discussions the next day indicated that Congress was prepared to support a force at Boston twice the size of the British garrison, and that it was unwilling to order any existing units to be disbanded.

Congress then took steps for issuing paper money to finance the army, and on June 30 it adopted the Articles of War.

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783) was an insurrection by which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies that won political independence and went on to form the United States of America.

The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after having long adhered to a policy of salutary neglect.

By the time the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, the Thirteen Colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year.

At any given time, however, the American forces seldom numbered over 20,000; in 1781 there were only about 29,000 revolutionaries under arms throughout the country.

By contrast, the British army was a reliable steady force of professionals. Since it numbered only about 42,000, heavy recruiting programs were introduced.

Because troops were few and conscription unknown, the British government, following a traditional policy, purchased about 30,000 troops from various German princes.

An estimated 6,800 Americans were killed in action, 6,100 wounded, and upwards of 20,000 were taken prisoner. Historians believe that at least an additional 17,000 deaths were the result of disease, including about 8,000–12,000 who died while prisoners of war.

Unreliable data places the total casualties for British regulars fighting in the Revolutionary War around 24,000 men. This total number includes battlefield deaths and injuries, deaths from disease, men taken prisoner, and those who remained missing. Approximately 1,200 Hessian soldiers were killed, 6,354 died of disease and another 5,500 deserted and settled in America afterward. (Battlefield)

Click the following links to general summaries about the Continental Army:

Click to access Continental-Army-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access Continental-Army.pdf

November 22, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Conway Cabal

The Battle of Saratoga fought in the fall of 1777; it proved to be a turning point in the American struggle for independence. Saratoga was unquestionably the greatest victory yet won by the Continental Army in terms of prisoners and captured arms and equipment. Nearly 6,000 enemy soldiers were taken, along with 42 cannon and massive quantities of stores. (Army-mil)

Following the American victory, morale among American troops was high. With General John Burgoyne’s surrender of his army to General Horatio Gates, the Americans scored a decisive victory that finally persuaded the French to sign a treaty allying with the United States against Britain, France’s traditional enemy.

The entrance of France into the war, along with its financial and military support, in particular its navy, was in the end crucial to Washington’s victory at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781, which effectively ended the war.

It also had a direct impact on the career of General George Washington. Without the victory at Saratoga, American forces would likely not have received critical assistance from the French, and faith in the war effort would have been weakened.

But the victory of General Gates at Saratoga also led to a serious but ultimately unsuccessful effort to replace Washington with Gates as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. (Mount Vernon)

The cabal …

A ‘Cabal’ is the “contrived schemes of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government).” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

The Conway Cabal refers to a loosely organized attempt by a group of military officers and members of Congress to remove General George Washington from command of the Continental Army and replace him with Major General Horatio Gates.

The supposed leader of this movement was Brigadier General Thomas Conway, an Irish member of the French army who commanded a brigade in Washington’s army.

Conway was critical of Washington’s performance in the Battle of Brandywine and boastful about his own feats at the same engagement. Shortly after Brandywine, Conway wrote Congress requesting a promotion to the rank of major general. Washington protested Conway’s promotion and was irritated by the request, believing it would have disastrous effects on the morale of more senior officers.

In October 1777, Conway wrote a letter to encourage Gates’ ambitions.

Washington learned the details of the letter from a drunken James Wilkinson, Gates’ aide-de-camp. In response, Washington informed Conway that he was aware of the contents of the letter, to which Conway replied that he never penned the phrase “weak general.” Conway added that he believed Washington was influenced by men not equal to him in experience.

On November 14, Conway offered his resignation to Congress. However, instead of accepting the resignation Congress promoted Conway to the newly created position of Inspector General and to the rank of Major General.

In addition, a Board of War was created to oversee Washington after some members of Congress, including Samuel Adams, Thomas Mifflin, and Richard Henry Lee, began to question whether Washington could lead the Americans to victory.

Conway served with Washington at Valley Forge, and reported to the Board of War, which appointed Gates as its president on November 27, 1777.

In response to these developments, Washington distanced himself from Conway. Nonetheless, Washington maintained that his personal dislike for Conway never interfered with their professional relationship.

One object of the scheme was to detach the Marquis de Lafayette from Washington, to whom he was devotedly attached, and bring him into the interests of the cabal.

For this purpose he was to have the command of the expedition; an appointment which it was thought would tempt his military ambition. Conway was to be second in command, and it was trusted that his address and superior intelligence would virtually make him the leader.

The cabal, however, had overshot their mark. Lafayette, who was aware of their intrigues, was so disgusted by the want of deference and respect to the commander-in-chief evinced in the whole proceeding, that he would at once have declined the appointment, had not Washington himself advised him strongly to accept it. (Life of George Washington)

As winter wore on, the so-called cabal dissolved, bringing disgrace to and ending the careers of several of its leaders. Washington’s authority was strengthened, as loyal supporters rallied to defend and exalt the commander in chief. (Valley Forge, NPS)

Click the following link to a general summary about the Conway Cabal:

Click to access Conway-Cabal.pdf

February 22, 2022 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Three Contemporary Leaders

While not the three amigos, these were three concurrent warriors and leaders of their respective parts of the planet – Kamehameha, Washington and Napoleon.

Each came into prominence through war and each left a mark in history in civil governance.

Kamehameha I (ca. 1758 – May 8, 1819)

Kamehameha was initially known as Paiʻea, which means “hard-shelled crab;” Kamehameha means “The Lonely One.”

Raised in the royal court of his uncle, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, Kamehameha achieved prominence in 1782, upon Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death.

While the kingship was inherited by Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s son Kiwalaʻo, Kamehameha was given the prominent position of guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.

In 1785, Kamehameha married Ka‘ahumanu, the daughter of one of his most trusted advisors. In 1790, he attained control of Hawai‘i Island, then he successfully invaded the Islands of Maui, Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i and O‘ahu, by 1795.

Ultimately, in 1810, Kauai‘i’s Kaumuali‘i decided to peacefully yield and unite with Kamehameha and join the rest of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

Kamehameha instituted the Kānāwai Māmalahoe, the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law, “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety,” is enshrined in the state constitution, Article 9, Section 10, and has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

The first president of the United States, George Washington, serving from 1789 to 1797, is often referred to as the Father of Our Country.

He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783.

After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to the emerging American political ideology of republicanism. Washington was elected as the first president in 1789, and re-elected 1792.

Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation, in 1787, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution.

Napoleon Bonaparte (August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821)

Napoleon was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.

As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. He is remembered for his role in the wars led against France by a series of coalitions, the so-called Napoleonic Wars.

His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code (with enhanced civil rights, property rights and class privileges were extinguished,) has been a major influence on many civil law jurisdictions worldwide.

After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances. Ultimately, in June 1815, Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo; he spent the last six years of his life in confinement by the British.

I find it interesting to see what these three notable leaders were doing at the same time in disparate and unconnected parts of the world.

I don’t know about you, but I am curious and fascinated in looking at similar timeframes and comparing histories of different parts of the world.

Three Contemporary Leaders-Kamehameha-Washington-Napoleon

February 2, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Washington Monument

Plans for a national monument to commemorate George Washington began as early as 1783 when Congress proposed that an equestrian statue of George Washington be erected. Although the Monument was authorized by Congress, little action was taken, even after Major Peter Charles L’Enfant selected its site in his 1791 Federal City plan.

Washington’s 1799 death rekindled public aspiration for an appropriate tribute to him, and John Marshall proposed that a special sepulcher be erected for the General within the Capitol itself. Lack of funds postponed construction.

In an elaborate Fourth of July ceremony in 1848, the cornerstone was laid. The Washington Monument was built between 1848 and 1884 as a tribute to George Washington’s military leadership from 1775-1783 during the American Revolution.

Its construction took place in two major phases, 1848-56, and 1876-84 – a lack of funds, political turmoil, and uncertainty about the survival of the American Union caused the intermittent hiatus.

The outbreak of Civil War of 1861 exacerbated the society’s difficulties with fund-raising efforts. When Lt Col Thomas L Casey resumed work on the project in 1876, he heavily altered the original design for the monument so that it resembled an unadorned Egyptian obelisk with a pointed pyramidion

The US Army Corps of Engineers of the War Department was charged with completing the construction, and the monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885, and officially opened to the public on October 9, 1888.

Weighing 81,120 tons, the Washington Monument stands 555′ 5-1/8″ tall. The walls of the monument range in thickness from 15′ at the base to 18” at the upper shaft.

They are composed primarily of white marble blocks from Maryland with a few from Massachusetts, underlain by Maryland blue gneiss and Maine granite. A slight color change is perceptible at the 150′ level near where construction slowed in 1854. (LOC)

Over 36,000 stones were used to construct the monument. But those are not the only stones in it – over the years almost 200- “commemorative stones” (also referred to as “memorial stones” and “presented stones”), presented by individuals, societies, cities, States, and nations of the world, have been added to the inside walls of the monument. Most of the stones date from 1849 to 1855.

Back in 1911, Hawaii was looking to have its representation in the Washington Monument. At that time, forty states and sixteen cities and a variety of other organizations were represented in the monument with memorial tablets.

“The series of memorial stones begin at the 30-foot elevation and continue up to the 280 foot level. In all there are 170 of these stones all containing tributes to the memory of Washington and many of them notable for their beauty elaborate carving or origin.”

“It is possible that the Sons of the American Revolution and the Hawaiian Historical Society may be enlisted in the proposition. There are many historic places around the Islands many connected with the career of Kamehameha the Great from which a suitable historic stone could be obtained.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 24, 1911)

Most of the stones date from 1849 to 1855. Sixteen stones date to the twentieth century. The last stone was installed in 2000. There is a stone from every state, and also from fraternal and community organizations, cities and towns, foreign countries, and individuals. Stone types include granite, marble, limestone, sandstone, soapstone, and jade.

Hawaii would have to wait another 25-years before its memorial stone was added to the Washington Monument. The work of installation was begun on January 21, 1936 and completed on February 26, 1936.

It’s a 4-foot by 2-foot and 6-inches thick “Coral sandstone from Waimanalo, Hawaii donated by Grace Brothers, Ltd” with the words “Hawaii” followed by “Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono.” It sits at the 360-foot landing of the monument.

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