250 years ago, George Washington traveled to a state he had never visited and gathered his troops with the odds stacked completely against them.

And so began a key chapter to America's fight for independence that very few people remember until today.

Why July 4th, 1775 matters.

I'm Jenna, and this is Smarter News.

On July 4th, we will celebrate the Declaration of Independence sign in July 1776.

And next year, we're going to have an epic celebration for the 250th birthday of America.

But this year, we marked 250 years since another critical date that is easily forgotten.

Let me tell you a little bit of a backstory about how I first learned about this myself.

So I follow Mount Vernon on Instagram, Mount Vernon, the historical home of George Washington

and his family.

And they had a post a few weeks ago citing a letter from George Washington to his wife, Martha, written in June of 1775. And this was really notable because we have only a handful of letters that exist between the two of them. Only three exist. Martha destroyed most of them after President Washington's death. So this is very rare,

and this letter was found in her desk. Was it placed there on purpose behind a drawer? Was it there

by accident? And she just didn't catch it? We don't know. But it's very interesting because it

captures a very specific moment in time when George Washington is writing that he's leaving

Philadelphia and heading to

Cambridge, Massachusetts. And he's doing this for a very specific reason. But before we get to that,

here's what he wrote. My dearest, as I am within a few minutes of leaving the city, I could not think

of departing from it without dropping you a line, especially as I do not know whether it may be

in my power to write again till I get to the camp at Boston. I go fully trusting in that providence,

which has been more bountiful to me than I deserve, and in full confidence of a happy meeting

with you sometime in the fall. I have not time to add more as I am surrounded with company to take leave of me.

I retain an unalterable affection for you, which neither time or distance can change.

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