There are plenty of people around today who were alive 50 years ago. They will recall, in 1975, the entire nation was prepping for our bi-centennial – 200 years of officially being the United States. For the record, that name was officially coined in April of 1776 when it appeared in an anonymous article in the Virginia Gazette printed in Williamsburg. The term evidently gained quick acceptance because, barely two months later, Thomas Jefferson used it in his first draft of the Declaration of Independence. As we know, it stuck....
Exactly half a century ago, the prepping for the pending bi-centennial celebrations were nothing short of epic. All along the eastern seaboard, where the Revolution had taken place - and was won - Americans were planning for celebrations including enough fireworks to probably be seen from space.
In fairness, the country was trying and hoping to get back on track. Wounds were fresh from the Vietnam war, ending in 1973. Then came Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Oil prices quadrupled that year as the US entered a major economic recession. By May 1975, US unemployment hit nine percent. There couldn’t have been a better time for a major distraction. Enter the bi-centennial.
In 1975 and 1976, the Postal Service went patriotically off-the-charts by producing 47 bi-centennial-related stamps plus another 20 in the “Americana” series issued from 1977 to 1979. The USPS also produced four large Bi-centennial souvenir sheets featuring famous colonial paintings with five stamps embedded in each sheet. Collectors snapped them up in droves. Collectors still pay a handsome premium for those sheets today.
If 200 years elicited that level of response, we can only imagine what 250 years – also known as our semiquincentennial – will bring in barely a year. The US Mint is already planning new quarters, half dollars and dollar coins for the anniversary. To avoid any vestige of favoritism, the Mint has directed that at least one of the new 2026 quarters will "be emblematic of a woman's or women's contribution.” There were certainly many women who played pivotal roles. So far, the Mint or Bureau of Engraving and Printing isn’t tipping their hat as to what coin or currency designs may be coming.
The USPS wins the race for first out of the chute with the issuance of a pane of 15 “Forever” stamps. The collective pane combines to showcase colorfully etched and detailed images chronicling critical battlefields of the Revolution. Unquestionably, Massachusetts was often at the very epicenter of the conflict.
First up on the pane is the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It is recognized as the first armed conflict of the American Revolution. That contingent of colonists against the British military ignited outrage in Massachusetts and New England. The fight showed the ferocity of citizen soldiers comprised of patriots with local organizing and their home terrain, confronting and repelling the highly trained and professional British military.
After that is shown the historic and legendary Battle of Bunker Hill. Actually, fought primarily on Breed’s Hill just outside Boston, the battle was an early demonstration of American tenacity. Though being a tactical loss for the Americans, the British were stunned by heavy casualties causing them to entirely rethink their strategy for future battles.
Next featured is Washington a year and a half later. On Christmas Day 1776, Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware River from Pennsylvania into New Jersey to wage the Battle of Trenton. There he surprised and defeated a garrison of Hessian soldiers. Albeit desperate, that began to turn the tide of the war.
Next is highlighted the 1777 Battles of Saratoga in New York. Those engagements served to halt an ardent British campaign meant to divide the Colonies. The American resolve in those conflicts finally drew much needed international support.
Finally, the Battle of Yorktown proved to be the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War. It involved a weeks-long siege by the Americans with a British surrender. British General Cornwallis was so humiliated by the defeat, he refused to appear at the official surrender. To this day, the fighting trenches manned by American troops at Yorktown still exist. In that sense, it’s still possible to actually touch history.
The new panes of Historic Battlefields of the American Revolution will be issued on April 16, at Minute Man Historic Park in Concord, MA. A First Day of Issue ceremony will be held that day. For those not able to attend, log onto www.USPS.gov/store/collectors for information on ordering by mail.
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