Joseph V. Micallef

1. Article · Jul 22, 2026 · Joseph V. Micallef

   This Week in 1776 : July 22–28 (opens the original)

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   By the fourth week of July 1776, the great question was no longer whether Britain would strike New York City but when and where. The city’s strategic importance had been obvious for months. Now, British power in and around the harbor made that abstract judgment immediate. More ships had arrived. More troops had landed. Washington’s army was being forced to defend a position whose geography favored the attacker. New York City’s rivers, islands, and waterways gave the British multiple options and

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2. Article · Jul 15, 2026 · Joseph V. Micallef

   This Week in 1776: July 15–21 (opens the original)

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   The third week of July 1776 revealed how quickly the Declaration of Independence had altered the terms of the conflict. On July 19, Congress ordered that the declaration adopted on July 4 be “fairly engrossed on parchment” under the new title “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,” and that every member of Congress sign it. That act seemed administrative, yet it captured a profound shift. The colonies were no longer speaking as loosely united provinces in protest. T

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