Beginning as early as the 1830s, it became popular legend that "under this tree Washington first took command of the American Army", supposedly words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The publication of the fictional "eye-witness" journal The Diary of Dorothy Dudley in 1876 furthered the legend. Although George Washington did take command of the army on 3 July 1775, there is no official documentation stating that this event took place under the tree.