Revolution, Resolve, and the Invisible Hand of Providence

DECEMBER 1775: THE MONTH AMERICA CROSSED THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Revolution, Resolve, and the Invisible Hand of Providence

By Charles Knight

Faith Before Freedom Series

A NATION IN THE WOMB

By December 1775 the American colonies were still, officially, “subjects of the Crown.”
But the reality on the ground told a different story.

Congress was acting like a national government.
Washington commanded a national army.
American forces besieged a British city and invaded Canada.
The navy was being born.
And the colonies were now fighting for far more than tax relief—they were fighting for survival.

It was the moment when faith began guiding freedom, and the colonies stepped into the destiny God had whispered since their founding.

“For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us.” — Isaiah 33:22 (NKJV)

This same divine pattern—Judge, Lawgiver, King—would later shape the very architecture of the U.S. Constitution.

WASHINGTON IN WINTER: HOLDING AN ARMY TOGETHER

The Siege of Boston

George Washington spent December 1775 staring across frozen ground at British-held Boston.
His army was starving, undersupplied, and on the brink of disintegration. Thousands of enlistments expired December 31, and many soldiers were ready to go home.

Washington sent Congress desperate appeals for:

• Powder
• Muskets
• Money
• Winter clothing
• And—most importantly—longer enlistments

The survival of the Revolution hung by a thread.

Yet Washington believed in Providence. Even in his private letters he referred repeatedly to “the interposing hand of Heaven.”

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” — Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)

Washington walked those steps faithfully.

THE CANADIAN GAMBLE: ARNOLD & MONTGOMERY AT QUEBEC

While winter tightened its grip on New England, two American columns converged on Quebec City:

• General Richard Montgomery, fresh from capturing Montreal
• Colonel Benedict Arnold, leading the survivors of one of the most brutal wilderness marches in North American history

In December they united and prepared an assault on the walled city.

The attack would come on the night of December 31—a daring strike intended to win Canada into the American cause.

But God had a different plan.

Montgomery fell instantly in the attack.
Arnold was severely wounded.
The Americans retreated, defeated, frostbitten, and plagued by smallpox.

The Revolution would continue without a northern ally.

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But deliverance is of the Lord.” — Proverbs 21:31 (NKJV)

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: BIRTHING A NATION

The heart of December 1775 was not only on the battlefield—but in the halls of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Congress was exhausted, divided, and uncertain. Yet day after day, they made decisions that would define a nation.

1. Creating a National Army

Congress approved:

• New regiments
• Re-enlistment bonuses
• Larger powers for Washington
• Emergency authority for wartime survival

2. Creating the U.S. Navy

On December 13, Congress approved 13 naval frigates—the foundation of the United States Navy.

They also issued letters of marque, authorizing private ships to seize British vessels. America’s naval warfare had begun.

3. Financing the Revolution

Congress authorized more paper currency—Continentals—and began secretly arranging foreign loans.

4. The First American Diplomacy

In secret sessions, Congress worked with the newly formed Committee of Secret Correspondence to reach out to France and other European nations.

This was the first move toward international recognition.

“Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it.” — Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)

Congress was building—but they clearly sensed God’s hand guiding the construction.

THE SPIRITUAL CLIMATE OF DECEMBER 1775

Though not yet declaring independence, Congress increasingly spoke of:

• God’s providence
• Natural rights endowed by God
• Moral duty to resist tyranny
• The righteousness of their cause

The colonies were awakening spiritually even as they mobilized militarily.

Ministers throughout New England preached fiery sermons comparing British oppression to Pharaoh’s bondage in Exodus. Many Americans felt they were stepping into a calling larger than themselves.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV)

Liberty was no longer a political theory.
It was becoming a divine mandate.

THE DECEMBER THAT CHANGED THE FUTURE

By the end of December 1775:

• The war had expanded to land and sea.
• The siege of Boston continued.
• The Canadian campaign collapsed.
• Congress assumed full wartime authority.
• Independence moved from possibility to inevitability.

America was now fully engaged in a fight it could not turn back from.

This was the month the colonies crossed the point of no return—guided by courage, sacrifice, and a profound sense of divine purpose.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.”
— Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

EPILOGUE: FAITH BEFORE FREEDOM

December 1775 shows us that America’s birth was not simply political or military—it was spiritual.

Before there was freedom, there was faith.
Before independence, there was dependence on God.
Before a nation stood, men knelt.

And because they did, a new nation—one nation under God—was born.

NOTES & REFERENCES

December 1775 — Revolutionary War & Continental Congress

I. PRIMARY HISTORICAL SOURCES

1. Journals of the Continental Congress (December 1775)

• Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, Vol. 3
  Key December entries:
• Dec. 4–7: Debates on army reorganization & enlistments
• Dec. 13: Authorization of 13 Continental frigates
• Dec. 21–23: Expansion of Washington’s emergency powers
• Late December: Currency issuance, privateering, foreign correspondence
  (Library of Congress)

2. George Washington’s Letters (December 1775)

From The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series (University of Virginia):

• To the Continental Congress, Dec. 4 & 5, 1775: Shortage of muskets, powder, & enlistment crisis
• To Joseph Reed, Dec. 14, 1775: Desperate need for supplies and term expirations
• To Congress, Dec. 22, 1775: Request for expanded authority
• To General Schuyler, Dec. 26, 1775: Reports on Canada and Quebec

Washington repeatedly refers to “Providence,” “the interposing hand of Heaven,” and divine protection.

3. Quebec Campaign Records

• Richard Montgomery’s correspondence, November–December 1775
• Benedict Arnold’s journals from the March to Quebec
• British Governor Guy Carleton’s official report on the Dec. 31 attack on Quebec
  (Archives Canada)

II. SECONDARY HISTORIES & ACADEMIC WORKS

1. Military & Political Histories

• Bernard Bailyn – The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
• David McCullough – 1776
• John Ferling – Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence
• Allen French – The First Year of the American Revolution

These confirm the enlistment crisis, supply shortages, and Congress’s transition toward functioning as a national government.

2. Naval Origins

• William Fowler – Rebels Under Sail: The American Navy During the Revolution
  Documents Congress’s decision on Dec. 13, 1775 to build 13 frigates.

3. Congress & Diplomacy

• Samuel Flagg Bemis – The Diplomacy of the American Revolution
  Details the early work of the Committee of Secret Correspondence created in November 1775 and active through December.

III. SPIRITUAL & RELIGIOUS CONTEXT

1. Sermons of the 1770s

• Ellis Sandoz, ed. – Political Sermons of the American Founding Era, 1730–1805
  Shows ministers tying British oppression to biblical Israel, especially Exodus.

2. The Christian Influence on Independence

• Mark David Hall – Did America Have a Christian Founding?
• Daniel Dreisbach – Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers

These scholars document:

• Biblical worldview in colonial America
• Regular use of Scripture in Congress and public discourse
• Belief in Providence guiding national events

IV. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES (NKJV)

Used in the article

1. Isaiah 33:22
   “For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.”
2. Psalm 37:23
   “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”
3. Proverbs 21:31
   “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.”
4. Psalm 127:1
   “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”
5. 2 Corinthians 3:17
   “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
6. Galatians 5:1
   “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.”

V. KEY FACTS VERIFIED

✔ Siege of Boston

Confirmed through Washington’s dispatches and British records.

✔ Expiration of enlistments (Dec. 31, 1775)

Documented in Washington’s letters & army returns.

✔ Authorization of the U.S. Navy (Dec. 13, 1775)

Recorded in Journals of the Continental Congress.

✔ Quebec assault (Dec. 31, 1775)

Documented in both American and British military reports.

✔ Congressional powers expanded (Dec. 22, 1775)

Recorded verbatim in Congress journals.

✔ Committee of Secret Correspondence active in December

Documented through letters to Silas Deane and French agents.

✔ Religious & Providence-based language

Present in speeches, sermons, and Washington’s correspondence.