Country Vessels Men

Great Britain........556 87,427

France..............507 42,848

Russia..............410 31,000

Italy......,.........175 13,328

China...............124 8,935

Netherlands.........120 7,204

Spain...............114 22,000

Austro-Hungary.....110 9,775

United States........107 12,114

Denmark............ 92 1,500

Germany............ 79 16,995

Sweden.............. 68 5,927

Country Vessels Men

Turkey............... 64 4,200

Brazil................59 4,323

Portugal.............55 4,908

Norway............. 50 1,260

Argentine Republic... 38 1,500

Japan............... 36 4,500

Greece . ............. 35 2,864

Egypt............... 29 2,100

Chili................ 18 1,988

Roumania............. 16 1,247

Canada.............. 7 1,200

Mexico.............. 5 510

Presidents of the Continental Congresses

Peyton Randolph, of Virginia...........................Sept. 5,1774

Henry Middleton, of South Carolina...................Oct. 22, 1774

Peyton Randolph, of Virginia.........................May 10, 1775

John Hancock, of Massachusetts......................May 24, 1775

Henry Laurens, of South Carolina..........................Nov. 1, 1777

John Jay, of New York..............................Dec. 10, 1778

Samuel Huntington, of Connecticut...................Sept. 28, 1779

Thomas McKean, of Delaware.........................July 10, 1781

John Hanson, of Maryland............................Nov. 5, 1781

Elias Boudinot, of New Jersey.............................Nov. 4, 1782

Thomas Mifflin, of Pennsylvania........................Nov. 3, 1783

Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia........................Nov. 30,1784

John Hancock, Massachusetts.......................Jan. 11, 1785

Nathaniel Gorham, of Massachusetts............. ......June 6, 1786

Arthur St. Clair, of Pennsylvania.....................Feb. 21, 1787

Cyrus Griffin, of Virginia.............................Jan. 22, 1788

Where the Continental Congresses Met

The seat of government was established first at Philadelphia, Penn., commencing Sept. 5, 1774 and May 10, 1775; at Baltimore, Md., commencing Dec. 20, 1776; at Philadelphia, Penn., commencing March 4, 1777; at Lancaster, Penn., commencing Sept. 27,1777; at York, Penn., commencing Sept. 30, 1777; at Philadelphia, Penn., commencing July 2, 1778; at Princeton, N. J., commencing June 30, 1783; at Annapolis, Md., commencing Nov. 26, 1783; at Trenton, N. J., commencing Nov. 1. 1784; and at New York, N. Y., commencing Jan. 11, 1785.

FORMATION OF THE UNION (UNITED STATES)

On Monday, September 5, 1774, a number of men were assembled at Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia, who had been chosen by the several Colonies, in what now constitutes the United States, to hold a Congress for the purpose of discussing certain grievances imputed to the mother country (England). This Congress resolved that each colony should have one vote only. On Tuesday, July 2, 1776, the Congress resolved: "That these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free and Independent States," etc.; and on Thursday, July 4, 1776, the whole Declaration of Independence having been agreed upon, was publicly read to the people.

On September 9, 1776, it was resolved that the words "United Colonies" should no longer be used and that "United States" should thenceforward be the style of the Union.

On Saturday, November 15, 1777, "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union of the United States of America" were agreed to by the State Delegates, subject to the ratification of the several State Legislatures. Eight of the States ratified these articles, July 9, 1778; one July 21, 1778; one July 24, 1778; one November 26, 1778; one February 22, 1779; and the last March 1, 1781.

Battles of the Revolutionary War

The following comprises all the battles for freedom of the American Colonies, that took place from April 19, 1775, to the closing, October 19, 1781, just 6 years and 6 months. The British sent over 134,000 soldiers and sailors (and paid Indians to do bloody work on the field and to families at home) to the war. The Colonies met them with 230, -000 Colonists and 50,000 militia (and near the close the French helped a little).

The leading and notable battles of the war were as follows: Concord and Lexington, Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Bennington, Monmouth, King's Mountain, Cowpens, Eutaw Springs, and Yorktown.