Continental Congress (October 18, 1780) issued a Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. This came after the revealing and subsequent deliverance from Benedict Arnold's plot to betray General George Washington and his troops to the British:
<Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, amidst the vicissitudes and calamities of war, to bestow blessings on the people of these states, which call for their devout and thankful acknowledgements, more especially in the late remarkable interposition of his watchful providence, in the rescuing the person of our Commander-in-Chief and the army from imminent dangers, at the moment when treason was ripened for execution....
It is therefore recommended to the several states...a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, that all the people may assemble on that day to celebrate the praises of our Divine Benefactor; to confess our unworthiness of the least of his favours, and to offer our fervent supplications to the God of all grace...to cause the knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the earth.> 1780CC001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1780CC001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Continental Congress, October 18, 1780. The Journals of the Continental Congress 1774- 1789 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1905), Vol. XVIII, pp. 950-951.