In 1776, the moon was a clock, a calendar and a streetlight — and it was 31 feet closer to Earth

[Ron Schultz]

Colonial Americans depended on the moon in ways that are easy to forget in an age of electric light and digital clocks. Travelers planned journeys around how much moonlight would be available on a given night. Farmers and Indigenous peoples consulted lunar cycles to anticipate seasonal changes. Mariners tracked the moon's pull on the tides. Even military planners considered lunar illumination — during the Revolutionary War, a moonlit night could aid troop movement and navigation, but it could also expose an army's position to enemy forces. The moon helped people organize their activities in an era when daily life remained closely tied to the natural world.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/in-1776-the-moon-was-a-clock-a-calendar-and-a-streetlight-and-it-was-31-feet-closer-to-earth