1775 New Year's Eve - Attack on Quebec City

250 Years ago, in the pre-dawn hours of New Year's Eve 1775, New Yorkers from the 13 United Colonies attacked Quebec City.  The attack failed.  The American General lay dead in the snow. 

Location in Quebec City of failed attack on New Year's Eve 1775.

One company of New Yorkers was led by John Nicholson.  He was familiar to Campbells living in Ulster County such as Joel Campbell (b ~1735). The records were not well kept, but there was one "Reuben Callam" in the ranks who could be Joel's brother of that name. There is no indication that Nicholson was successful in recruiting any other Campbells for this failed expedition.

Nicholson's home still stands.  It is only a few hundred yards from where Joel Campbell was enumerated in the 1790 census.

Nicholson home in what was Hanover, Ulster, New York in 1775.

Read my recent article on John Nicholson published in the Orange County Historical Society Journal!

July 1775 in the Precinct of Hanover, Ulster County, New York

This is the fourth installment of a monthly recollection of events of 250 years ago in Hanover, Ulster, New York.  The Precinct of Hanover was the approximate location of Joel Campbell at the time. This area is now part of the Town of Montgomery, Orange, New York.

Although the formal Declaration of Independence would not appear for another full year, the United Colonies were definitely in full rebellion in July of 1775.  News of the June 27th meeting of the Continental Congress reached Hanover in July.  They were to “… immediately take possession of St. John’s, Montreal, and any other parts of the country…,” of Canada!

Captain Nicholson was recruiting in Hanover.  His company's beat included the precinct of New Windsor and parts of Newburgh, Hanover, and Shawangunk.

His company included the following surnames who would appear in the 1779 Tax Assessment for Hanover:  Burns, Caldwell, Clarke, Douglas, Dunlap, Eager, Hannes(Haines), Herrald, Hunter, McBride, McEwan, Millar, Milspaugh, Moloy, Monterief, Morrisson, Nicholson, Parks, Patterson, Ray(Rea), Stitt, Taylor, Weeks, Welch, Wharry, Wood.

On July 13, Captain Nicholson wrote the Provincial Congress of New York:

“Agreeable to my warrant and instructions from the Provincial Congress, I have enlisted a company of seventy-two men to serve in the Continental Army, and now wait for further directions of the Congress." (Journal of the Provincial Congress of New York for July 19, 1775)

June 1775 in the Precinct of Hanover, Ulster County, New York

This is the third installment of a monthly recollection of events of 250 years ago in Hanover, Ulster, New York.  The precinct of Hanover was the approximate location of Joel Campbell at the time. This area is now part of the Town of Montgomery, Orange, New York.

The Provincial and Continental Congresses that began in May continued into June.  Of most lasting consequence was their formation of a military force. On June 15, one day after voting to create a continental army, George Washington was named General of all continental forces. (250th Birthday of the Army) 

On June 30th, the New York Provincial Congress named officers in the New York Regiments. One of the colonels hailed from the adjacent Precinct of New Windsor. Colonel James Clinton was well known to the inhabitants of Hanover. 

One of the companies in Clinton's regiment was led by Captain John Nicholson. He was also from New Windsor, but would be a Hanover resident before the war ended. Many of his men were from Hanover.

Nicholson's two lieutenants were also from New Windsor, David (James?) DuBois and James Gregg.

Gregg's service in the continental army would not end for another EIGHT years! His legendary hardships were described by his wife, Mary, in her application for a widow's pension: “James Greg was shot through the body, was tomahawked and scalped in the Revolutionary War and I believe said wounds was the means of shortening his days.”

May 1775 in the Precinct of Hanover, Ulster County, New York

April 19, 1775, is considered by most historians to mark the start of the Revolutionary War period. (See prior blog). Few would have guessed at the time that it would last eight years. Even fewer today have the patience to endure a 250th commemorative period lasting that long.  This my second month. Will I have the patience to commemorate for 8 years.... 96 months?

The shots fired at Lexington and Concord changed the tone of the rebellion from peaceful protests to military confrontation. The "Articles of Association" signed by the rebels in New York City on April 29th, 1775, had been quickly reproduced in Ulster County and signed by Joel Campbell's brother, Reuben, in New Paltz. The "Articles" were as much a declaration of independence as the document that was to publish July 4, 1776.  It stated that the signers would recognize the extra-legal congresses set up by the rebels. Signing was a treasonous act.

On May 5, 1775, residents of the Precinct of Hanover, Ulster County, appeared at the home of Captain Peter Hill (known as the Brick House on 17K) to sign the "Articles."

On about the same date, the Newburgh Committee of Safety and Observation posted the "Articles" at Weigand's Tavern for all to sign. Joel Campbell's signature (namesake of this blog) does not appear on any of the surviving "Articles."

On May 11, 1775, Ulster residents met again in New Paltz to select representatives to the First Provincial Congress (the April 1775 meeting had been called a "Provincial Convention"). They selected Col. Johannes Hardenbergh, Col. James Clinton, Egbert Dumond, Charles Clinton, Christopher Tappen, John Nicholson and Jacob Hoornbeek. Note that the participants were eager to include their military credentials in what was quickly becoming more than a battle of words.

Indeed, some residents had marched to Boston to support the standoff at the besieged city. 

The 1st Provincial Congress convened in New York City on May 23. For the next month it would conduct business in parallel with the ongoing Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Post riders galloped daily between the two cities, sharing and requesting information.

The settling of grievances with Britain was quickly turning into a military conflict.

The April 14, 1775 Petition of Cadwallader Colden Jr and Peter & Walter DuBois

I obtained a copy of the April 14, 1775 petition (see prior post) courtesy of Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site Collections, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. It does not appear to be in the handwriting of Cadwallader Colden or Peter DuBois, but the document appears to be contemporary.

The writing is very much in the verbose, almost legalistic, style of Colden.

It starts with...

"Whereas a Number of Persons did on the 7th Day of April Instant meet at the Town of the Paltz in this County, and did then and there assume to themselves the Stile and Title of Committee elected by the Inhabitants of the several Precincts and Districts of this County with Authority when collectively assembled to ellect[sic] and appoint Deputies to meet in Provincial Convention at the City of New York for the Purpose of nominating electing and appointing Delegates to meet those from other Provinces on this Continent subject to the Dominion of his Britanic Majesty our liege Sovereign at the City of Philadephia on the 10th Day of May..."

The final lines are the exact opposite of the "Association" that will be signed by rebels in the next few weeks...

“We do therefore hereby publicly protest against … all Manner of Proceedings Acts and Deeds of any illegal Congress whatsoever and we do hereby declare that we will not pay any Obedience to any of their Resolutions or illegal Mandates …”

The letter is signed by Cadwallader, Walter, and Peter, but it is evident that the signatures are not in their handwriting. The signature below is from a personal note from Colden to Peter on New Year's Eve 1768, inviting him to dine.

April 1775 in the Precinct of Hanover, Ulster County, New York

April 2025 marks the start of "250th anniversary" celebrations in the United States.

For most people, the celebrations will start and end on July 4, 2026. But for students of the birth of the United States, the military struggle for independence began with the shots at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 and ended with evacuation of British troops from Manhattan on November 25, 1783. It was a long eight years. [see my 2023 article on the long centennial celebration from 1875 to 1883.]

Prior to April 19, 1775, frustrations over British rule had been expressed in the form of protests with limited violence.  The rebels created lists of grievances, vandalized tea imports, and burned a few royal appointees in effigy. That all changed with the skirmishes in Massachusetts.

In April 1775, the colony of New York decided to send representatives to the next Continental Congress which would commence in May. Those representatives would be selected by delegates sent from each of the counties. Ulster county residents (the county where the namesake of this blog resided) gathered in New Paltz and selected George Clinton, Levi Pawling, and Charles DeWitt as their delegates.

Clinton was a close neighbor of Joel Campbell, living in the hamlet of Little Britain. He would be elected the State's first governor in 1777. Levi Pawling may have been known to Joel. In 1776, many of the Hanover militia (of which Joel was a member) would be led by Pawling down to New York to fight in the Battle for New York.

Many Ulster residents were not pleased with this extra-legal election of representatives. They were led by Cadwallader Colden Jr. who authored a rebuke along with the Dubois brothers, Peter and Walter. [I have written much about these three in my blogs.]

The New York Provincial Convention convened on April 20th in New York City. George Clinton was among the group selected to represent the Province of New York at the Continental Congress.  They adjourned on the 22nd with no knowledge of what had happened on the 19th in Lexington.

On April 29th, the City of New York issued their "Articles of Association." The document, which was intended to be signed, committed the signer to acknowledge and abide by the decisions of the Continental Congress and the New York Provincial Convention. Other jurisdictions soon followed by circulating similar petitions. Reuben Campbell (brother of Joel) signed the New Paltz Articles. Joel's name is not found on any preserved copies of the Articles, but he also does not appear on lists of those who refused to sign.

May 1775 would bring more winds of war to the Hudson Valley.  Coming soon....

Is Watts/CdA a good predictor of Time-Trial Speed?

Is Watts/CdA a good predictor of Time-Trial Speed?

A recent Scientific Triathlon podcast argued that the best predictor of average bike-speed on a flat course is watts per CdA.  If your watts per CdA is higher than the rider next to you, you will beat that rider in a flat time-trial. [This is in contrast to watts/kg, which is the best predictor of climbing speed.  See my blog on the Tron Bike for a discussion on watts/kg.]

Most of us triathletes do power-based workouts on the bike.  We work on increasing our Functional Threshold Power (ftp) and have a good feel for the average wattage we can produce during a race. But do any of us have a handle on what our CdA is? And how do we reduce it?

What is CdA?  CdA is the coefficient of aerodynamic drag multiplied by a relevant area. Area(A) is usually taken to be the frontal area of the object, but in reality, Cd and A are rarely treated separately. CdA is a measure of resistance as a body moves through a fluid. It is a function of both the size and shape of the body and density and viscosity of the fluid. If you are a bigger person, your shape is bigger, so you may have a higher CdA than a smaller person.  On the other hand, if the larger volume of muscle generates more watts, it likely will overcompensate for the additional "area" of that muscle.

Back to the title question: Is Watts/CdA a good predictor of Time-Trial Speed? The answer is 'yes', but it is almost worthless in practice, because no one knows their CdA!! Even most CdAs of professional cyclists reported in the literature are not directly measured but are calculated from their speed and watts.  You can do the same. Go to the chart below and find your average moving speed for a recent time trial (or a flat bike leg of a triathlon). Find the watts/CdA that corresponds with that speed using the dashed curve. Divide your average watts for the time-trial by that number. That is your CdA x1000.

[Example: If your speed was 20 mph, then Watts/CdA x 1000 is 0.5. If your average watts for that event was 160, then 160 watts / (1000 x 0.5) = 0.32 m² for your CdA.]

The points [blue squares] on the chart above were gathered from the internet and from friends who shared their watts, speeds, rolling resistance data, and air density. [A slightly more sophisticated estimation of watts/CdA can be done with this additional data.] The pink line is the theoretical watts/CdA if one ignores everything but aerodynamic drag (no power losses from drivetrain, rolling resistance, elevation gain/loss, wind, etc.) Are you surprised at how irrelevant the other factors are in predicting race speeds on these flat courses?

Note especially that nowhere is rider weight or bike weight part of the equation! Weight only effects the speed when there are changes in elevation or accelerations. At constant speed on a flat course there is no penalty for a heavy bike! If the extra weight is due to aero features of the bike, a few additional kilos is an advantage on a flat course.

Now that you know your CdA, how do you reduce it? That will be covered in Part II.