American philosophy as Maximilien Robespierre, François-Marie Arouet (better known by his pen name, Voltaire), and Rousseau. However, an investigation of 106 contributors to the "Declaration of Independence" between September 5, 1774 and July 4, 1776 found that only two men (Franklin and Jefferson), both American Practical Idealists in their moral philosophy, might be called quasi-deists or non-denominational Christians; all the others were publicly members of denominational Christian churches. Even Franklin professed the need for a "public religion" and would attend various churches from time to time. Jefferson was vestryman at the evangelical Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville, Virginia, a church he himself
HMS Firebrand (1694) HMS Firebrand (1694) Firebrand was a Royal Navy fireship built at Limehouse in 1694, the first Royal Naval vessel to bear the name. "Firebrand" served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. She is recorded as convoying five merchantmen in company with "Winchester" near Barbados in March 1695. "Firebrand" was lost during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 when a navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous reefs west of Cornwall while on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. On the night of 22 October 1707, "Firebrand", commanded by Captain Francis Percy, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock off