Margaretta Days a Once in a Semiquincentennial Year Celebration of First Naval Engagement
By Paul Sylvain
Midway between a bicentennial and a tercentenary celebration is this peculiarly named anniversary called a “semiquincentennial,” and this year marked the semiquincentennial — or, in plain English, the 250th — anniversary of the Battle of the Margaretta, which is considered by the U.S. Navy and many others to be the first Naval engagement of the American Revolution.