I'm Mary Catherine, and I'm celebrating America 250 by reading primary documents written for or by the Founding Fathers for as many of the days of the year as I can.

Thanks for joining me for this mini episode of Getting Hammered.

Today, in 1776, we're keeping it very short and very sweet with a letter from John Adams to his wife, Abigail.

John has just traveled some 300 arduous winter miles on horse or by carriage from Braintree,

Massachusetts near Boston, which is under immense pressure from British forces to Philadelphia

to rejoin the Continental Congress.

So from military travails to political travails.

He arrived on February 8th and sent this letter on February 11th to describe his travels,

his worries, and his hopes for the colonies.

My dear, here I am again.

Arrived last Thursday in good health, although I had a cold journey.

The weather, a great part of the way, was very severe, which prevented our making very quick

progress, and by an accident that happened to one of my horses,

which obliged me to leave her at Brookfield and hire another, I was delayed two days. A horse broke

loose in the barn and corked mine under the foreshoulder. I hope that Bass, upon his return,

will find her well. Quirked means bruised badly by another horse. My companion was agreeable and made

the journey much less tedious than it would have been.

I can form no judgment of the state of public opinions and principles here as yet, nor any

conjectures of what an hour may bring forth. I have been to meeting and heard Mr. Defield from

Jeremiah 217. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God

when he led thee by the way.

He prayed very earnestly for Boston and New York, supposing the latter to be in danger of

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