By the time July 3rd rolled around the delegates to the Continental Congress surely thought most of their work was done. Hadn’t they spent the previous day hammering out the Resolution declaring their independence from Great Britain? And of course, they had spent the evening celebrating and savoring the July 2 Pennsylvania Evening Post which heralded the free and independent States.

Of course, they knew the formal declaration was still in draft form, but they had the Committee of five working on it, and who better than Thomas Jefferson to express their thoughts. By the time the 3rd ended however, the Congress would make major edits to the document they called the “Declaration of Independence.” In fact, over a quarter of what Thomas Jefferson wrote was cut.

As you and your family prepare to celebrate the 4th of July, I hope you will take some time to share your memories of past 4th of July holidays. Please leave a comment on my web site and share your thoughts with us.

If you enjoy trivia, here are a couple of questions for you. Please post your answer as a comment on my web site. Give it that old college try, and don’t use the internet to help. I bet you can answer them yourself.

Answers to July 2 Trivia Questions

Who Were the only people to Actually Sign the Declaration on July 4th?

Answer: Believe it or not, the Declaration of Independence was only signed by two individuals on July 4, 1776: John Hancock and Charles Thompson. The rest of the signers added their own "John Hancocks" to the document on August 2, 1776!

What was the name of General Washington's faithful regiment of Massachusetts mariners who had helped him escape from Brooklyn Heights and manned his boats at the Battle of Trenton?

Copperhead Regiment

Light Dragoons

Minutemen Regiment

Marblehead Regiment

Answer Marblehead Regiment

Named for the place from whence they came, Marblehead, Massachusetts

The Liberty Bell is a symbol of freedom here within America but when was it last rang?

Who accepted the surrender of British troops at Yorktown?

On this date in 1776

On July 3, 1776, British troops landed on Staten Island. Over a period of six weeks, British troop strength was increased so that it number over 32,000 by the end of August. Meanwhile, General Washington was preparing his men as well as he could under the circumstances. Washington was hampered by the British control of the sea, which allowed them to conceivably attack either Long Island or Manhattan. Washington decided to defend both vulnerable areas.