should debate its content. The Committee amended it on July 2 and 3, then adopted it in final form on Thursday, July 4. Harrison duly reported this to Congress and gave a final reading of the Declaration. The Congress unanimously resolved to have the Declaration engrossed and signed by those present. Harrison was known for his audacious sense of humor. Even detractor John Adams conceded in his diary that "Harrison's contributions and many pleasantries steadied rough sessions." Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Rush in particular recalled the Congress' atmosphere during a signing of the Declaration on August 2, 1776. He described a scene of "pensive and awful silence". He said that Harrison singularly interrupted "the silence and gloom of the morning" as delegates filed forward to inscribe what they thought was their ensuing death warrant. Rush said that the rotund Harrison approached the diminutive Elbridge Gerry, who was about to sign the Declaration, and said, "I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes and be with the Angels, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead." Revolutionary War From December 1775 until March 1777, the Congress was on two occasions threatened by British forces and forced to remove itself—first to Baltimore and later to York, Pennsylvania–circumstances that Harrison distinctly disliked. This has been attributed to some unspecified illness he was experiencing then. In 1777, Harrison became a member of the newly created Committee of Secret Correspondence for Congress. The committee's primary objective was to establish secure communication with American agents in Britain concerning the colonies' interests. Harrison was also named as Chairman of the Board of War, whose initial purpose was to review the movements of the army in the north and the exchange of prisoners. At that time, Harrison found himself at odds with Washington over Marquis de Lafayette's commission, which Harrison insisted was honorary only and without pay. He also stirred controversy by endorsing the rights of Quakers not to bear arms per their religion. He unsuccessfully argued throughout the formation of the Articles of Confederation that Virginia should be given greater representation than other states based on its population and land mass. His Congressional membership permanently ended in