On the day that independence was approved in Congress, Abraham Clark informed Elias Dayton, the commander of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, that the United States was embarking on a “Tempestuous Sea, (where) Life (is) very uncertain” and the “dangers (are) Scattered thick Around us.” He advised Dayton to “prepare for the Worst.” One month later, Clark was having second thoughts about his decision to support independence, as he confided to Dayton in a subsequent letter.