Today in Johnson City History, Sunday, July 13, 2025

The Paint Creek gang, an unusual flower, a kidnapping and more

Thursday, July 13, 1775: Two hundred and fifty years ago today, according to Wikipedia.com, the Second Continental Congress met and “prepared a speech to the Six Nations, a powerful confederacy of Native American tribes, urging them to remain neutral in the growing conflict with Great Britain. The speech emphasized that the colonists did not want the tribes to take up arms against the British and desired them to stay neutral. The speech, along with symbolic items like belts and strings, was to be delivered by Reverend Samuel Kirkland and General Philip Schuyler. They were instructed to take these items to the Six Nations' central council house at Onondaga. “