Today your editors take comfort in knowing that even Thomas Jefferson got criticized. As the 1776 delegates debated his draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson remembered, “I was sitting by Dr. Franklin, and he observed that I was writhing a little under the acrimonious criticisms of some of its parts.”

For, writing about tonight’s Fireworks on the Water in our June 29 edition, we said that “Fireworks almost certainly had no immediate connection to July 4 …. “ The editorial also said images in Francis Scott Key’s 1814 poem during the attack on Fort McHenry evolved into Independence Day fireworks.

But a reader — not an acrimonious reader, to be sure — reminded us of John Adams’ July 3 letter to his wife, Abigail, about the importance of July 2 — the day Adams’ committee adopted Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for colonial independence. The letter says, “The second day of July, 1776 … ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.” We are proud to record John Adams’ point of correction.

July 4 has become our Independence Day. We are happy to say that Adams’ prediction has come true. Meanwhile “the rockets’ red glare” is indeed a fine picture of what we will be watching tonight on the Waterway. And we can also appreciate what a Fort McHenry ranger once said to a Mississippi visitor: “We fly the biggest flag we can.”

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.