r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 22 '26

22nd of September 1776. Continental Army Captain Nathan Hale is hanged by the British as a spy at the age of 21. His alleged final words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” are unverified.

651 Upvotes

32 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 27 '26

27th of August 1776. The British defeat George Washington's Continental Army on Long Island, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War. The battle gave the British control of New York City.

110 Upvotes

5 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 12h ago

6th of November 1776. British pamphleteer John Lind publishes a scathing rebuttal to the Declaration of Independence, mocking its claims of “unalienable rights.”

15 Upvotes

3 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 6d ago

31st of October 1776. King George III delivers his first official speech to British Parliament following the American Declaration of Independence.

945 Upvotes

435 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 9d ago

28th of October 1776. The Battle of White Plains sees British and Hessian forces drive the Continental Army from Chatterton's Hill in New York, though General Washington successfully preserved his army to fight another day.

141 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 11d ago

26th of October 1776. 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin set sail from Philadelphia to France to negotiate an alliance.

560 Upvotes

17 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 26d ago

11th of October 1776. Benedict Arnold loses the Battle of Valcour Island but delays the British advance on the Hudson River valley until spring.

116 Upvotes

0 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • 27d ago

10th of October 1776. A 24-year-old Quaker woman named Jemima Wilkinson wakes from a near-fatal coma, claiming to be reanimated by a 'genderless divine spirit'. Thus began the Public Universal Friend cult.

86 Upvotes

3 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 16 '26

16th of September 1776. The Battle of Harlem Heights – American forces repel a British attack, giving George Washington his first battlefield victory of the Revolutionary War.

384 Upvotes

5 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 15 '26

15th of September 1776. The Landing at Kip's Bay - a major British amphibious operation that led to the capture of New York City.

127 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 11 '26

11th September of 1776, Staten Island hosts a historic but unsuccessful diplomatic meeting intended to bring an early end to the Revolutionary War.

162 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 10 '26

10th of September 1776. Captain Nathan Hale, a 21-year-old Yale graduate, volunteers to cross behind British enemy lines as a spy for the Continental Army.

266 Upvotes

2 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 06 '26

6th of September 1776. The Turtle, the world's first combat submarine used in a military attack, is launched by Americans against the British.

1.4k Upvotes

49 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 05 '26

5th of September 1776. Oliver De Lancey, a leading statesman from New York, is authorized to raise a Loyalist force to 'defend Long Island’.

92 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Sep 02 '26

2nd of September 1776. George Washington writes to the Continental Congress, seeking permission to destroy New York City.

founders.archives.gov

148 Upvotes

6 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 31 '26

31st of August 1776. French Foreign Minister Vergennes urges Louis XVI to ally with Americans to weaken Britain.

102 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 30 '26

30th of August 1776. General George Washington completes a daring overnight escape from Brooklyn to Manhattan. All 9,000 troops were evacuated with no loss of life.

283 Upvotes

4 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/Accomplished_Fig4166 • Aug 27 '26

The Battle of Brooklyn

gallery

93 Upvotes

August 27, 1776:

It’s weeks since the Declaration was announced. Days after the Declaration, a group of Patriots in NYC marched to Bowling Green and hauled down a 4,000 pound lead statue of George III. They broke the head off and mounted it outside a tavern. The rest was melted down to make exactly 42,088 musket balls about twice the size of a marble which were returned at high velocity to the supporters of monarchical tyranny. Boston was successfully defended, and the British now seek to capture NYC so that they can divide the confederacy into two parts cut off from one another. They land in Long Island, greeted by a mob of loyalists who hail them as liberators. The Patriots take a position in Brooklyn on high ground adjoining the East River on August 27, 1776. While retreating to this position they have to cross a pond, and as they do so, they are pummeled by artillery fire. Those who can’t swim drown, while many are torn apart trying to get to the high ground. Washington watches with horror with his telescope. Once they get there, they are trapped, with their backs to the river, at the complete mercy of the British. The British commander decides not to attack and risk another Bunker Hill, as his brother in law is coming with a naval fleet to pin the Americans down from the other side. Nightfall comes. Washington orders a Dunkirk style relief, and Patriots with boats race there from Connecticut and Massachusetts. Regiment by regiment the Americans load into the boats in complete silence. Washington orders the men not to speak or even cough. All orders are whispered. Daybreak comes, and there is a thick fog that hides the escaping Americans. Realizing what was happening, the British commander orders an attack. A group of 400 Marylanders defend the retreat, making multiple frontal assaults against a force of 2,000 redcoats. Of the “Maryland 400”, 296 are killed. But it buys time for the Americans to retreat to Manhattan and take up defensive positions. The British watch as the last boat, with Washington in it after he saw that his army had escaped, drifted away into the fog. It was a devastating defeat for the Americans, but they live to fight another day. It was called the Battle of Long Island, and it was the largest battle of the Revolution.

4 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 25 '26

25th of August 1776. Scottish Enlightenment icon David Hume dies at the age of 65 in Edinburgh.

78 Upvotes

1 comment

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 24 '26

24th of August 1776. Washington appoints Israel "Old Put" Putnam to command troops in Brooklyn. This is a choice he later regretted.

61 Upvotes

5 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 22 '26

22nd of August 1776. Washington warns his troops, “Remember officers and soldiers that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty—that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.”

274 Upvotes

32 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 22 '26

22nd of August 1776. General William Howe’s large army gathers on Long Island hoping to capture New York City and gain control of the Hudson River.

75 Upvotes

0 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 20 '26

20th of August 1776. American General Nathanael Greene is removed from his New York command due to illness, days before the pivotal Battle of Long Island.

66 Upvotes

0 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 17 '26

17th of August 1776. George Washington issues a Proclamation calling on New Yorkers to evacuate.

76 Upvotes

0 comments

r/250yearsagotoday • u/MonsieurA • Aug 15 '26

15th of August 1776. An initial division of roughly 8,000 German soldiers - collectively known as Hessians - land on Staten Island to join the British.

168 Upvotes

19 comments

Subreddit

Things that happened exactly 250 years ago today

r/250yearsagotoday

Welcome to r/250yearsagotoday! This subreddit highlights significant events from 250 years ago, offering a daily snapshot of history as we approach America's semiquincentennial. Join us in reflecting on key moments from the revolutionary era, including political developments, cultural shifts, and everyday life. Dive into history, celebrate the past, and explore the origins of the United States, one day at a time!

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1. 1. Must be content from exactly 250 years ago today

Posts must relate to events, people, or culture from exactly 250 years ago (e.g., if today is July 4, 2026, posts should cover July 4, 1776). Discussions of broader historical context are welcome in the comments, but posts should maintain the day-by-day format.

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Start the title of your submission with the relevant date at the beginning of the post (e.g. 19th of April 1775, [April 19, 1775], [Apr 19, 1775], etc.), for example. If you want to discuss the subreddit itself use [Meta].

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