On This Day: Charles Lee organizes NYC defense as Henry Clinton lands

The following is an installment of “On This Day,” a series celebrating America’s 250th anniversary by following the actions of Gen. George Washington, the Continental Congress, and the men and women whose bravery and sacrifice led up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Feb. 4, 1776

Fielding Lewis, Gen. George Washington‘s brother-in-law, writes from Fredericksburg. Virginia is raising new regiments, repairing muskets, building powder mills, and even experimenting with heavy rifles designed to drive British warships from narrow rivers.

However, funding remains a critical problem.

Lewis was a commissioned colonel in the American Revolution and the brother-in-law and second cousin of Washington through their shared great-grandfather, Augustine Warner II. The Lewis family was well known and respected in Virginia society as merchants, owning extensive tracts of land