In 1976 when our nation was celebrating its bicentennial, there was a delightful musical produced about those uneasy weeks in Philadelphia more than 200 years ago when our Declaration of Independence was being written and signed. Throughout the whole production of "1776," a courier from General Washington keeps breaking in on the proceedings of the Continental Congress with increasingly disheartening news from the New Jersey encampments. The seemingly endless debate drags on ... 85 changes are made in the document ... and 400 words are deleted. Suddenly the courier arrives with the terrible news that General Washington and his troops are in full retreat from New York. The General has but 5,000 volunteers while the British Regulars number more than 25,000 seasoned veterans. The production i…