THE WASHINGTON ELM 



Revolution remind us that "under its 

 branches Washington took command of the 

 Continental Army on the third of July, 



1775." 



The Cambridge elm leaped into fame as 

 a result of the opposition to British oppres- 

 sion expressed in Boston, and the necessity 

 for a nationally recognized military organiza- 

 tion equal to meeting the needs of the time. 

 Until 1775 the Colonies were without a 

 commander-in-chief. In reviewing the period, 

 in an article on American historical trees, 

 Harper's Monthly for May, 1862, says: "The 

 thunder peal of revolution that went forth 

 from Lexington and Concord aroused all 

 New England and a formidable army was 

 soon gathered together around Boston, with 

 a determination to confine the British in- 

 vader to that peninsula or drive him into 

 the sea. The storm cloud of war grew 

 more portentous every hour. At length it 

 burst on Bunker Hill, and the great conflict 

 for American Independence began. The pa- 

 triots looked for a competent captain to 

 lead them to absolute freedom and peace. 



