Year 1777: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1777.
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1777. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, U.S. economic data, entertainment trivia, and much more.
Take a journey through history in just minutes.
In 1777, the United States was in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, an “armed conflict” between the United States and Great Britain that took place between April 19, 1775, and September 3, 1783. The hostilities between the two nations were fueled in part by heavy taxes that Great Britain imposed on American colonists, particularly through the controversial Stamp Act and Tea Act.
Patriots: Colonists from the Thirteen Colonies “who fought for independence from Great Britain” during the American Revolution.
Loyalists: Historians believe that about “15% to 20% of the colonial population (roughly 500,000 people) remained loyal to the British Crown” during the American Revolution.
In 1777, General George Washington set a standard daily military ration for a Continental Army soldier that included 1.5 pounds of flour or bread, one pound of beef or fish (or 12 ounces of pork), and four ounces of whiskey or spirits.
Inflation rate: 21.84%
Consumer Price Index (CPI): 10.600
$100.00 in 1777 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,160.19 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.40% per year” between 1777 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 3,060.19%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 3.164% of what it could purchase back in 1777.
It is also worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost about 97% of its value since 1777.
On January 3, at the Battle of Princeton, General George Washington defeated British forces and regained control of much of New Jersey.
On January 28, John Burgoyne, a British general also known as “Gentleman Johnny,” submitted an “ill-fated” plan to the British government “to split” New England from the other American colonies. His strategy led to the “pivotal” surrender at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. Surrounded by American forces, Burgoyne was forced to surrender his army of more than 6,000 men to the opposing American forces.
On April 20, the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York adopted New York’s first state constitution.
On April 26, British troops under the command of General William Tryon attacked the town of Danbury, Connecticut, and began destroying everything in sight. According to History.com, “Facing little, if any, opposition from Patriot forces, the British went on a rampage, setting fire to homes, farmhouses, storehouses, and more than 1,500 tents.”
On May 8, Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy play The School for Scandal premiered in London.
On May 12, America’s first advertisement for ice cream appeared in the New York Gazette.
On June 14, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
On July 4, the first organized Independence Day celebrations were held in Philadelphia and Boston.
On July 8, Vermont adopted its first constitution, which contained a provision prohibiting adult slavery, making it the first jurisdiction in North America to ban adult enslavement.
On September 3, the American flag is said “to have flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware.”
On September 11, the Battle of Brandywine took place near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, which is located about 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia. AMAC tells us that “British General Sir William Howe outflanked General George Washington’s army, winning the battle and allowing the British to capture the American capital of Philadelphia two weeks later on September 26.”
On September 22, John Bartram, the “father of American botany” and founder of Bartram’s Garden in 1728, died at his home in Kingsessing, a neighborhood located today in Southwest Philadelphia. (Author’s note: In 1777, Kingsessing was a separate municipality from the City of Philadelphia. On February 2, 1854, the Consolidation Act was signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor William Bigler, and Kingsessing and 28 other separate municipalities were merged into the “newly expanded” City of Philadelphia, increasing the city’s size from two square miles to approximately 130 square miles.)
On September 30, the Continental Congress fled from Philadelphia to York, Pennsylvania, following the British capture of the city on September 26.
Here are more than 25 foods and beverages that were an integral part of the American diet during the late 1700s: ale, baked fruit puddings, beans, beef, berry pies, cider, coffee and tea, corn mush, crabs, duck, eel, hasty pudding, johnnycakes, lobster, local fruits like apples and berries, local vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and onions, oat cakes, pepper cakes, pork, turkey, venison, whole-grain bread, and wine.
Dinner was the “main and largest meal” of the day and was traditionally eaten anywhere from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The modern three-meal eating pattern began “to take shape toward the end of the century.”
In 1777, the most popular baby names for boys included James, John, Henry, Thomas, and William. For girls, the most popular baby names were Anna, Elizabeth, Frances, Mary, and Sarah.
The most popular surnames in America included Baker, Brown, Carter, Davis, Johnson, Jones, Miller, Smith, Williams, and Wilson.
Popular fiction works for the year: Frances Brooke’s The Excursion and Samuel Jackson Pratt’s Charles and Charlotte
Noteworthy nonfiction works for the year: James Cook’s A Voyage Toward the South Pole and John Howard’s The State of the Prisons in England and Wales
Notable dramatic works for the year: Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal and A Trip to Scarborough
Top poetic works published in 1777: William Combe’s The Diaboliad and The First of April
Famous people born in 1777 included Carl Friedrich Gauss (a German mathematician who formulated Gauss’s law for magnetism, which states that “the net magnetic flux through any closed surface is always zero”) and Henry Clay (an American politician and gifted orator who represented Kentucky in both the Senate and the House of Representatives).
Famous people who passed away in 1777 included Hugh Mercer, a Scottish military officer who fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1777, the words “Articles of Confederation,” “checks and balances,” “classroom,” “coolheaded,” “corridor,” “Davy Jones’s locker,” “don’t mention it,” “fall back on,” “flora,” “gala,” “haven’t,” “intermediary,” “leaflet,” “lost and found,” “Norway lobster,” “packed,” “penal code,” “picket fence,” “playgoer,” “potter’s field,” “pro tem,” “rumbustious,” “purism,” “taboo,” “tissue paper,” “unassembled,” and “woodshed” all appeared in print for the first time.
Courtesy of AmericanHeritage.com, here is the menu for a typical New England Thanksgiving dinner during the late 1700s:
Apple pie
Cauliflower
Cider
Haunch of venison
Indian pudding
Mincemeat pie
Onions in cream
Pigeon pasties
Plum pudding
Potatoes
Pumpkin pie
Raw celery
Roast pork
Roast goose
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1777
https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1775.html
https://www.americanheritage.com/thanksgiving-dinner-during-revolution
Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.
© 2026 Gregory DeVictor
About the Creator
Gregory DeVictor
Gregory DeVictor is a trivia enthusiast who likes to write articles about American history and nostalgia. Each of his articles presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and historic events about a specific calendar year, decade, or century.
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