Sunday, February 16, 2014

Today in the Sobel Timeline: February 16

On February 16, 1778, General George Washington resigned his commission as a general in the Continental Army. Two days earlier, he had been relieved of his post as Commander-in-Chief and been reassigned to command of the Southern Theatre under the new Chairman of the Board of War, General Artemis Ward. That same day, Lord North called a secret Cabinet meeting to discuss overtures to moderate Americans, with an offer of limited autonomy based on the Galloway Plan of Proposed Union in return for the colonies returning to British rule.

On February 16, 1890, Premier Adolfo Camacho of New Granada held a meeting with the ambassadors of the Confederation of North America, Great Britain, and Spain, to warn them of an impending attack on his country by the United States of Mexico, and to seek their assistance. However, North American Governor-General Ezra Gallivan was unwilling to intervene, and without a North American commitment, neither of the other nations were willing to act.

On February 16, 1914, Victoriano Consalus was inaugurated as President of the U.S.M. In his inaugural address, Consalus limited his short speech to generalities, promising "a better life for all our people." However, when speaking of foreign policy, he spoke firmly, saying, "Our land has had more than its share of war. Its history has been written in blood. From the days of the Conquistadores, to the North American Rebellion, through the Rocky Mountain War and the bloodshed of the HermiĆ³n dictatorship, we have suffered. We want no war, and so we prepare for combat sadly, hoping it will not fall to this generation to suffer the fate of its ancestors."

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