The 4th July Crossword Reveal

I hope you enjoyed the brainteaser crossword challenge yesterday. If you haven't yet completed it, DO NOT read any further, because I'll be revealing the answers!

I hope you have revelled during the extended 4th July weekend, and have enjoyed some well-earned 'downtime' today. 

I've had some lovely replies to my mailing yesterday, and also some befuddled folks who couldn't figure out the answer to some of the crossword quiz clues. So, I've copied each clue below, along with the answer and an explanation! 

You can still do it by clicking on the link or "It's Quiz Time" on the left. so if you don't want to know the answers yet, don't scroll down. Good luck...

5. Traditional Fourth of July food of New England
Answer: Salmon. Poached salmon with egg sauce served with new potatoes and spring peas is a classic New England tradition on the Fourth of July.

7. Headed the committee to draft the Declaration
Answer: Jefferson. The committee of five, after discussing the general outline that the Declaration of Independence document should follow, decided that Jefferson would write the first draft. 

8. Actor who starred in the top Fourth of July movies
Answer: Will Smith. I tried to trick you with this one, calling it Fourth of July, rather than Independence Day ;-)

10. Summer of 1776, residents of this city burned effigy of King George III
Answer: Savannah. After the declaration was read in Savannah, Georgia, on August 10, the rebels held a mock funeral of George III.

11. Americans eat 150 million of these every Fourth of July
Answer: Hotdogs. It’s summer, which means we’re in peak hot dog season - and it goes without saying that during the 4th July celebrations, Americans enjoy the single largest hot dog day of the year!

13. Declaration of Independence was ____ on July 4 1776
Answer: Adopted. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies' separation from Great Britain.

14. Ben Franklin wanted what to be the national bird
Answer: Turkey. Well I guess it's not strictly true, but the story began as a result of a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey. Although he later defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he didn't actually propose its becoming one of America’s most important symbols.

15. Song used by British soldiers to mock Americans
Answer: Yankee Doodle Dandy. “Yankee Doodle” is a famous example of an insult that backfired. The “Yankee Doodle” tune was already well known by the 1750s, but tradition says that in 1755 a British doctor named Richard Schuckburg penned new words to mock his American allies, portraying the colonists as rude, crude, and cowardly. 

16. Largest signature on Declaration of Independence
Answer: Hancock. John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, has the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence.

17. Sewed the 1st flag for the United States
Answer: Betsy Ross. Considered essential to the American Revolution, Betsy Ross is credited with sewing the first United States flag. A symbol of patriotism, Ross is often celebrated as the woman who helped George Washington finish the design.

18. Warned "the British are coming"
Answer: Revere. On April 18th 1775, Paul Revere was asked to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British troops were coming to arrest them.

19. Tapped 13 times every Fourth of July to commemorate the 13 colonies
Answer: Liberty Bell. On every Fourth of July, at 2pm Eastern time, children who are descendants of Declaration signers symbolically tap the Liberty Bell 13 times while bells across the nation also ring 13 times in honor of the patriots from the original 13 states. 

DOWN

1. City where Second Continental Congress met
Answer: Philadelphia. In May 1775, with Redcoats once again storming Boston, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia.

2. Congress 1st authorized use of this for celebrations
Answer: Fireworks. They're the most iconic symbol of the Fourth of July, and they were used to celebrate the first anniversary of the holiday in 1777. Ever since Americans have proudly shot fireworks into the night sky every Fourth of July. 

3. One of three presidents who died on Fourth of July
Answer: Monroe. On July 4, 1831, James Monroe, the fifth President, died at the age of 73 at his son-in-law's home in New York City. Two other presidents of the United States have died on Fourth of July, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams who had both died on the same day, July 4, 1826.

4. President born on 4th of July
Answer: Coolidge. John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, the only U.S. president to be born on Independence Day.

6. 1st state to make Fourth of July a holiday
Answer: Massachusetts. In 1781, several months before the key American victory at the Battle of Yorktown, Massachusetts became the first state to make Fourth of July an official state holiday.

9. Another name for the Fourth of July
Answer: Independence Day. The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day because that is the day that the Second Continental Congress adopted the full and formal Declaration of Independence. 

12. First state to be admitted to the Union
Answer: Delaware. Delaware was one of the Thirteen Colonies that took part in the American Revolution. On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, and has since been known as The First State.

20. On July 4 1778 Washington gave US soldiers a double ration of this to celebrate.
Answer: Rum. George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778.

And that's that! How did you score? Let me know in the comments below...