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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Born #OTD in 1759, William Short, American diplomat, lawyer and student of George Wythe at William & Mary. Short studied law at the same time as future Chief Justice John Marshall. He later served as ambassador to Spain, the Netherlands and France. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Portrait of William Short by Rembrandt Peale, 1806. Oil on canvas. Original at the Muscarelle Museum of Art, William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New Wythe Collection volumes! Years ago we purchased volumes 1 and 2 of 'Œuvres Complettes de Démosthene et d'Eschine', but couldn't find 3 and 4 to complete the set. Now we have them! #WytheWednesday Check out wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... and pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/wolfl...

Spines of volumes three and four of 'Œuvres complettes de Démosthene et d'Eschine'. Paris: Lacombe, 1777.

Title page from volume three of 'Œuvres complettes de Démosthene et d'Eschine'. Paris: Lacombe, 1777.

Page 7 from volume three of 'Œuvres complettes de Démosthene et d'Eschine'. Paris: Lacombe, 1777.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Wythe's books included titles by Polybius, Savary, and Guys. Jefferson also sent several copies of his own 'Notes on the State of Virginia' for 10 of his friends as well as another 37 "for such young gentlemen of the college as mr. Wythe from time to time shall think proper."

Half-title page, volume three, from Polybius's 'Historiōn ta Sōzomena: Polybii Lycortae F. Megalopolitani Historiarum Libri qui Supersunt.' Amstelodami: Officina Johannis Janssonii à Waesberge, & Johannis van Someren, 1670.

Map of Egypt from volume two of M. Claude Etienne Savary's 'Lettres Sur l'Égypte, Où L'on Offre Le Parallèle Des Moeurs Anciennes & Modernes De Ses Habitans, Où L'on Décrit L'état, Le Commerce, L'agriculture, Le Gouvernement Du Pays, & La Descente De S. Louis À Damiette, Tirée De Joinville & Des Auteurs Arabes, Avec Des Cartes Géographiques.' Paris: Onfroi, 1785-86.

Frontispiece, volume one, from 'Voyage Littéraire de la Grèce' by Pierre Augustine Guys Paris: Veuve Duchesne, 1783.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#OTD in 1787, Thomas Jefferson sent George Wythe a long letter accompanied by several boxes of books. The books included several gifts for Wythe, as well as volumes for Bishop James Madison, John Page, and Jefferson's nephew, Peter Carr. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Page one of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Wythe, dated September 16, 1787. Image from the Library of Congress, The Thomas Jefferson Papers.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

An indictment against Sweeney for the murder of the mixed-race young man, Michael Brown, was quashed without going to trial. Sweeney was convicted on two counts of counterfeiting checks in Wythe's name but his sentence was never executed. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Detail from page three of the Richmond Enquirer for September 9, 1806.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The trial for George Wythe's alleged murderer began #OTD in 1806. Most believe Wythe's household was poisoned with arsenic by his great-nephew George Wythe Sweeney. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to the deed were Black and barred from testifying. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Detail describing the funeral of George Wythe, the 'Richmond Enquirer' from June 10, 1806.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The Third Virginia Convention - a body elected to create laws during the Revolutionary War - ended #OTD in 1775 and the Wolf Law Library has George Wythe's copy of the proceedings! Check out wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti..., or better yet - come into the library to see the volume! #WytheWednesday

Title page for Virginia's The Proceedings of the Convention of Delegates for the Counties and Corporations in the Colony of Virginia, Held at Richmond Town, in the County of Henrico, on Monday the 17th of July, 1775. Williamsburg: Printed by Alexander Purdie, 1775.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Did you know that Homer was George Wythe's favorite author? His copies of 'The Odyssey' included a 1752 translation by English poet Alexander Pope. In honor of the new film, we offer a few illustrations from Pope's version of Homer's epic. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #Odyssey

Frontispiece, volume one, from Homer's 'The Odyssey of Homer'. Translated by Alexander Pope. London: Printed for Henry Lintot, 1752.

Illustration of the revenge of Odysseus and his men on the Cyclops, volume two, from Homer's 'The Odyssey of Homer'. Translated by Alexander Pope. London: Printed for Henry Lintot, 1752.

Illustration of Penelope's suitors with the bow of Odysseus, volume five, from Homer's 'The Odyssey of Homer'. Translated by Alexander Pope. London: Printed for Henry Lintot, 1752.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

On August 3, 1769, George Wythe ordered a copy of "Debates Relative to the Affairs of Ireland in the Years 1763 and 1764" from John Norton in London. The set chronicles Irish resentment to British rule, mirroring the American colonial experience. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Title page from volume one of Sir James Caldwell's "Debates Relative to the Affairs of Ireland in the Years 1763 and 1764 Taken by a Military Officer to Which are Added, an Inquiry How Far the Restrictions Laid Upon the Trade of Ireland, by British Acts of Parliament, are a Benefit or Disadvantage to British Dominions in General, and to England in Particular, for Whose Separate Advantage They Were Intended, with Extracts of Such Parts of the Statutes as Lay the Trade of Ireland under Those Restrictions." London, 1766.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Jefferson also asked to borrow a silhouette of Wythe that had been given to Wythe's housekeeper and former slave, Lydia Broadnax. He sent the image to Charles Wilson Peale to have the artist copy it. Peale's version is not known to still exist. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

William Bache silhouette, cut coated paper mounted on paper, c. 1803-04. "Ledger Book of William Bache," National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

On July 17, 1806, Thomas Jefferson wrote to George Wythe's executor, William DuVal, offering to purchase various items from Wythe's estate, including a watch and seal. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William DuVal, dated July 17, 1806. Image from the Library of Congress, The Thomas Jefferson Papers.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Wythe represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress and later in the Constitutional Convention. He also served the Commonwealth as the second Speaker of the House of Delegates. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... (Thanks to our intern, Charlie, for writing the Wythe the Politician page!)

Marble bust of George Wythe, by Bryant Baker (1962). Original in the Virginia State Capitol,, Library of Virginia art collection, Richmond, Virginia.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

A lawyer, teacher and judge, George Wythe also spent over 30 years as a politician. He served in various offices in colonial Virginia including Clerk of the House of Burgesses, Interim Attorney General, and Mayor of Williamsburg. #WytheWednesday

First day cover postcard for June 20, 1985, with cachet of George Wythe. "Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Served as clerk of the House of Burgesses, professor of law and Attorney General in Virginia."

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

There's even a question about whether Wythe actually signed the Declaration when he returned to Philadelphia later that summer. We do know Jefferson sent Wythe a draft which is believed to be the draft now at the New York Public Library. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

First page of the New York Public Library's draft of the Declaration of Independence, in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson. The copy is thought to be the draft Jefferson sent to George Wythe. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Early July 1776 - where is George Wythe? Not in Philadelphia working on the Declaration of Independence, he's back in Williamsburg contributing to the debates regarding Virginia's new constitution and government. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

'Declaration of Independence' by John Trumbull (1818), depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

#OTD in 1806, The Richmond Enquirer published a small notice stating that the General Court of Virginia had elected to wear black arm bands for three months, in memory of George Wythe, who died on June 8th. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Detail from page three of the Richmond Enquirer for June 24, 1806.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

In honor of #USA250, there's a new exhibit in The George Wythe Room featuring "revolutionary" books and historical revolutions. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Title page from Benjamin Franklin's 'The Interest of Great Britain Considered: with Regard to Her Colonies, and the Acquisitions of Canada and Guadaloupe, to Which are added, Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of countries, Etc.' London: Printed for T. Becket, 1761.

Title page from Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution'. 8th ed. London: Printed for J.S. Jordan, 1791.

First page of "Titus Andronicus" from volume three of William Shakespeare's 'The Works of Shakespeare: In Eight Volumes, Collated With The Oldest Copies, And Corrected'. 2nd ed. London: Printed for H. Lintott, C. Hitch, J. and R. Tonson, C. Corbet, R. and B. Wellington, J. Brindley, and E. New, 1740.

Title page of the ''Book of Common Prayer" in 'The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly Translated Out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty's Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches'. Oxford: Printed by Thomas Baskett, printer to the University, 1754.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Happy 300th birthday, George Wythe! "The birthdate of the Chancellor, if he was 80 at the time of his death, would have had to fall between 21 April and 8 June, 1726.' — 'George Wythe: Lawyer, Revolutionary, Judge' (1985): catalog.libraries.wm.edu/permalink/01... #WytheWednesday ##USA250 #Wythe300

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

May 29, 1776: Congress resolves "That an animated address be published to impress the minds of the people with the necessity of their now stepping forward to save their country, their freedom and property." In the handwriting of George Wythe: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Draft for an address to the inhabitants of the Colonies "drawn by George Wythe". Image from the Library of Congress, The 'Thomas Jefferson Papers,' incorrectly dated July 6, 1775.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Somebody tell J.T. we finally added the latest champions' names to the Wolf Law Library Open golf trophy. For library golf. Golf, in the library: www.flickr.com/photos/wolfl...

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

This is the reverse of the title page, mirrored, if that helps! (It doesn't.)

Reverse of title page in vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Paleographers, amateur and professional! Care to take a look? Two mystery signatures in one of our vol. 2s of Bushrod Washington's Virginia Reports (2 Va.). Same surname, different people? Woodall? Goodson? A Jr., perhaps? Probably 18th- and 19th-century attorneys, maybe from Richmond, Virginia?

Title page of vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

"To the Public," vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

Previous owner signature in vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

A draft of this appeal survives, in Wythe's handwriting: "Were you compelled by your sovereigns to undertake the bloody work of butchering your unoffending fellow-creatures? Disdain the inhuman office, disgraceful to the soldier." wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Page one of George Wythe's draft for an address to the foreign mercenaries, May, 1776. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers' (variously and incorrectly dated June, 1775, and August 27, 1776). http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtjbib000191

Page two of George Wythe's draft for an address to the foreign mercenaries, May, 1776. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers' (variously and incorrectly dated June, 1775, and August 27, 1776). http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtjbib000191

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

On May 21, 1776, Congress appointed a committee to "prepare an address to the foreign mercenaries who are coming to invade America." In the Declaration of Independence, such mercenaries are accused of completing "Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages."

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Currently on display in the law library's Nicholas J. St. George Rare Book Room: "Virginia Revolutionaries: Semiquincentennial Selections from the Wolf Law Library's Collections," April through September, 2026. www.flickr.com/photos/wolfl...

Poster for "Virginia Revolutionaries: Semiquincentennial Selections from the Wolf Law Library's Collections," with George Wythe's copy of a Thomas Jefferson draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence signatures of the Virginia Delegates to the Continental Congress: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Carter Braxton.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

The Wolf Law Library will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, May 23rd, 24th, and 25th, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Please see our home page for our summer schedule and holiday hours: law.wm.edu/library/

Colonial-era padlock on a white painted fence.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

This week in 1776: George Wythe writes to the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, enclosing a copy of Congress' resolution that the Colonies "adopt such government as shall... best conduce to the happiness and safety of... America in general": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Incorrectly dated May 18, 1776 draft of a letter from the delegates for Virginia in Congress to the Virginia Convention, in George Wythe's hand. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers.' With Thomas Jefferson's notes on coin production.

Worthington C. Ford, ed., 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789' vol. 4, January 1 - June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), 362. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/cFjUAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA362&printsec=frontcover

Broadside, "In Congress, May 15, 1776" (Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1776). https://therevolutionarycity.org/islandora/congress-may-15-1776

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The poems were first published in an article by a Wythe scholar, Ed Hemphill, in 1952: "George Wythe Courts the Muses: In Which, to the Astonishment of Everyone, That Silent, Selfless Pedant Is Found to Have Had a Sense of Humor": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

W. Edwin Hemphill, "George Wythe Courts the Muses: In Which, to the Astonishment of Everyone, That Silent, Selfless Pedant Is Found to Have Had a Sense of Humor," William and Mary Quarterly 3rd ser., 9, no. 3 (July 1952), 338-345.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

On May 14, 1776, Mr. Ellery came to Congress! William Ellery of Rhode Island (1727–1820) was the same age as George Wythe, and the two men exchanged droll and topical poems back and forth on scraps of paper, during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

George Wythe (VA) and William Ellery (RI) exchanged verses on pieces of scrap paper during Congress, as evidenced by this page, originally addressed to "The Hon. William Ellery, Delegate for the State of Rhode Island, in Continental Congress, Philadelphia."

"Instead of Controlling Our Mary's Cross Humor," by William Ellery. Manuscript endorses as "Poem Ans — WE / 2d", page five of Poems on Witty Subjects in Congress, from the Boston Public Library's American Revolutionary War Manuscripts Collection.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The law library will be on a shortened schedule for William & Mary's summer break, through Monday, August 17th, 2026. A few holidays notwithstanding, we're here all summer! Sundays: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturdays: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Wolf Law Library Summer Hours, 2026:

Sundays: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturdays: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

May 3, 1776: In Congress, George Wythe (VA), Thomas McKean (DE), and John Adams (MA) are referred a petition from an American sea captain, seeking compensation after personal belongings were looted from his captured sloop by a British prize master: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Petition of Peter Simon and Israel Ambrose, page one. Image from the 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

Enclosure by Israel Ambrose, February 14, 1776. Image from the 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Displayed in the law library's Rare Book Room, the W&M Law School mace is a 19th-century copy of the mace in the British House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster, London, originally created in 1649 and altered in 1660 to reflect the Restoration of the monarchy: www.facebook.com/ukparliament...

The Marshall-Wythe Mace (ca. 1850-1855?) is carried each year at graduation by the presidents of the Student Bar Association (SBA). This replica was presented to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Great Britain in 1965, as part of the 750th anniversary of the Magna Carta. It was subsequently transferred to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law in the late 1960s, from the anniversary exhibit at Jamestown Festival Park. The Law School's mace is a 19th-century copy of the Mace in the British House of Commons, originally created in 1649 and altered in 1660 to reflect the Restoration of the monarchy.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Attention 3Ls! The library is holding three photo ops for you to pose with the William & Mary Law School mace, before Commencement: May 13-15. Gird yourself in regalia, and come on by the Rare Book Room!

William & Mary Law School Mace
Photo Opportunities:

Wednesday, May 13: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, May 14: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, May 15: 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Nicholas St. George Rare Book Room, The Wolf Law Library

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

April 30, 1776: George Wythe is elected by the Continental Congress to a standing committee for Indian Affairs. Wythe would pen this address to a delegation from the Iroquois Confederacy, who met with Congress in Philadelphia in June, 1776: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

"Address to the Indians," in the handwriting of George Wythe, dated June 6, 1776. In the 'Papers of the Continental Congress,' No. 30, folio 351.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

The Wolf Law Library at the William & Mary Law School is a library of wolves, raised by wolves, for the wolves!

Law library study aids, flanked by a toy wolf.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

This week in 1776, the Second Continental Congress appoints George Wythe to a committee of seven, to ascertain the value of various coins circulating in the Colonies. The committee's final report is largely in Wythe's distinctive handwriting: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Re... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Page one of a report from the committee to ascertain the value of the several species of gold and silver in the Colonies, May 22, 1776. Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress.'

Page two of a report from the committee to ascertain the value of the several species of gold and silver in the Colonies, May 22, 1776. Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress.'

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

and 2), along with Carter Braxton and John Jay, Wythe is ordered to investigate how residents "who assist any of the enemies of these United Colonies in the captures of vessels or goods, may be made liable to make good the damages to the sufferers": www.google.com/books/editio...

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 284. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/ljQSAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA284&printsec=frontcover

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

#OTD in 1776, George Wythe is appointed to two committees in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia: 1) referred a letter from General Washington (with Benjamin Harrison and Samuel Adams): wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Ge... #WytheWednesday #USA250

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 282. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/ljQSAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA282&printsec=frontcover

Page one of "George Washington to the President of Congress, 4 April 1776." Image from The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-04-02-0027

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

This week in Congress, 250 years ago: George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison, and Samuel Adams report on letters from General Schuyler, and recommend Robert Yates (NY) for secretary of the Committee for Indian Affairs (Northern Department): wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Wy... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Page one of reports from George Wythe and committee, including letters from General Schuyler, and the Committee for Indian Affairs, Northern department, dated read April 19, 1776. Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 260. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/ljQSAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA260&printsec=frontcover

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

March 29, 1776: Letters from General Schuyler in Albany, and the New York Committee of Safety, are referred to a committee of George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison, and Samuel Adams: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Ph... #WytheWednesday #USA250 wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Wi...

Page one of "Philip Schuyler to John Hancock, 21 March 1776." Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

Page one of "New York Committee of Safety to John Hancock, 26 March 1776." Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 240. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/ljQSAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA240&printsec=frontcover

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

This week in history, 250 years ago: George Wythe and committee are referred a letter from General Phillip Schuyler in Albany, on March 21, regarding (among other matters) the difficulties in transporting heavy cannon: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Ph... #WytheWednesday #USA250

"Philip Schuyler to John Hancock, 7 March 1776, pg 1." Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

Peter Force, 'American Archives,' Fourth Series, vol. 5 (Washington, D.C.: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, 1844), pp. 103-104. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027756447&seq=114

"A letter of the 7th from general Schuyler, with a return of the forces before Quebec, was laid before Congress and read. Resolved, That it be referred to Mr. Wythe, Mr. Harrifon, and Mr. S. Adams."

'Journals of Congress, Containing the Proceedings from: January 1, 1776, to January 1, 1777' (Yorktown, PA: John Dunlap, 1778), p. 102. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_Congress_Jan_1_1776_to_Jan_1/p401AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA102&printsec=frontcover

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Richard Smith of New Jersey recorded in his diary for March 22: "Wyth [sic] reported the preamble about Privateering. he and Lee moved an Amendt. wherein the King was made the Author of our Miseries instead of the Ministry": books.google.com/books?id=4Am...

Edmund C. Burnett, ed. 'Letters of Members of the Continental Congress,' vol. 1, August 29, 1174-July 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution, 1921), p. 404.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

March 19, 1776: at the order of Congress, George Wythe drafts a *strongly-worded* preamble in regards to attacks on trade from the Colonies, in which he paraphrases Pliny on Nero, accusing the British of becoming 'hostem humani generis': "enemies of the human race": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Dr...

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 289.

Page one of a draft resolution in relation to British hostilities, in the handwriting of George Wythe, from 'Documents, 1728-1816: Relating to the Province of Pennsylvania and to the American Revolution,' American Philosophical Society Library, Philadelphia, 131. https://therevolutionarycity.org/islandora/documents-1728-1816-relating-province-pennsylvania-and-american-revolution-page-131

"Proposed Preamble to a Congressional Resolution on Privateering, [before 23 March 1776]," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0230

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

...and on March 13, 1776, Wythe would find himself on another committee, to "enquire and report the best ways and means of raising the necessary supplies to defray the expences of the war for the present year, over and above the emission of bills of credit": www.google.com/books/editio...

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 200.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Another busy week for George Wythe in 1776! On March 8th, he was appointed to a committee of four to review a letter from Colonel Moses Hazen, in Montreal... wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Mo... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Page two of "Moses Hazen to John Hancock, 18 February 1776." Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 192.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Previously, on February 17th, George Wythe was chosen (along with John Adams and Roger Sherman) for the committee to prepare instructions for the committee appointed to go to Canada: www.google.com/books/editio...

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 159.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Business of March 4, 1776: "Resolved, That the foregoing letters from General Wooster, General Arnold and General Schuyler, be referred to the committee appointed to prepare instructions for the Commissioners going into Canada": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Da... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Page one of "David Wooster to Congress, 11 February 1776." Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 182.

'Journals of the Continental Congress,' vol. 4, January 1-June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 183.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

February 26, 1776: requiring trade for weapons and ammunition but losing ships to the enemy, Congress appoints George Wythe to a committee of five to examine the number of permits and the destination of vessels exporting the produce of the Colonies: www.google.com/books/editio... #WytheWednesday

'American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs,' vol. 4, Peter Force, ed., (Washington, D.C.: St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, 1833), pp. 1687-1688.

Detail from 'American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs,' vol. 4, Peter Force, ed., (Washington, D.C.: St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, 1833), pp. 1687-1688.

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The Wolf Law Library @wolflawlibrary.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

In addition to some remarkable films, there's a chance you might see Keith David and Daphne Maxwell Reid in Williamsburg this week, for the Virginia Black Film Festival! virginiablackfilmfestival.com

VIRGINIA BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
2026
AWARDS GALA
Special Guests: Keith David and Daphne Maxwell Reid!
Saturday, February 21st 5pm Photo Ops / 6pm Ceremony
Live Music by 5 Starr Band!
Kimball Theatre
428 W. Duke of Gloucester Street Williamsburg, VA 23185
www.virginiablackfilmfestival.com

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