[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Brawl.
Sticky.
Catch.
Gallop.

The colonials had a sticky wicket to deal with in the Second Continental Congress which could have resulted in a brawl.. That was the question of whether to fight for independence from England or whether to assert their rights from within a British Empire. They picked Ben Franklin as its oldest member as he was 69. Franklin had time to catch up on his sleep during the Congress as much of the time he was "sitting in silence, a great part of the time fast asleep in his chair." His thoughts did not gallop to independence like some of the more hot headed members who even accused Franklin of being a spy for the British because of how quiet he was. Office of the Historian - Milestones - 1776-1783 - Continental Congress Second Continental Congress | Ask.com Encyclopedia

Franklin suffered a large number of defeats in his aims in the upcoming months as did the Rebels at the Battle of Bunker Hill http://www.britishbattles.com/bunker-hill.htm and during the burning of Charlestown. http://www.bostonfirehistory.org/his...efore1874.html He became quite weary with these losses. His illegitimate son William-- Royal Governor of New Jersey-- became even more adamant about his loyalty to the crown and pulled Franklin's grandson William Temple Franklin into the mix as well. There were many loyalists huddled at King's College (now Columbia) so Ben Franklin ruined his son's plan to send his grandson Temple there. Their relationship became even murkier.

Franklin's ire came to a head when he leaked a letter he had written to a long-time London friend and fellow printer William Strahan to the Rebel grapevine. You could have seen the milky film of cataracts of any hint of Franklin's remaining dutifulness to England drop from some eyes after this letter became widely known.

Philada. July 5. 1775

Mr. Strahan

You are a Member of Parliament, and one of that Majority which has doomed my Country to Destruction. You have begun to burn our Towns and murder our People. — Look upon your hands! They are stained with the Blood of your Relations! — You and I were long Friends:— You are now my Enemy, — and

I am,

Yours.

B. Franklin

Franklin is a man of plurality though and never really shows just one face to historians as he never sent that letter to Strahan and continued to send him letters with very different sentiments throughout 1775 and afterwards.