Welcome back to Powder to Parchment on WREV 760AM, Norwich’s home for Revolutionary Talk. Yesterday we looked at Washington’s grim reality outside Boston — nine shots apiece and a bluff that might break at any moment. Today, October 2, 1775, we turn to Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress takes up an idea as bold as it is dangerous: creating a navy.

John Adams rises and declares, “Without a navy we cannot do much.” His words cut through the dust and hesitation of the chamber. Yet the room divides. Adams sees survival in schooners and privateers; John Dickinson sees danger in expense and provocation. Boldness against caution, liberty against reconciliation.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, King George drafts his speech branding us rebels and his ministers hire Hessians to finish the job. So which will it be, Norwich? Ships or speeches? Schooners or supplication? Stay tuned — Revolutionary Talk begins now.