On This Day In The Revolution

On this day 250 year ago, a ship docked in Boston Harbor carrying news that Parliament had enacted the Boston Port Act, closing the Port of Boston starting on June 1, 1774, as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. Source: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/boston-port-act-1774

On the 8th of May 250 years ago, William Crawford wrote a letter to George Washington reporting (as his brother Valentine had done the previous day) on the attack on Indians on the Ohio River led by Michael Cresap and the massacre at Yellow Creek committed by Daniel Greathouse and his gang. Then William Crawford…

On this day 250 years ago in the Revolution, Captain John Neville led 24 militiamen plus “four Negro men with proper working implements” from Peters Creek (now in Pennsylvania but then claimed by Virginia) to reinforce the garrison at Fort Pitt in anticipation of war with the Shawnee, Mingo and other tribes. Source: Williams, Glenn…

On this day 250 years ago from Jacobs Creek (now in Pennsylvania but then considered to be in Virginia) Valentine Crawford wrote George Washington to report on the hostilities on the frontier along the Ohio, including the Massacre of Indians at Yellow Creek committed by Daniel Greathouse and his gang and the attacks on Indians…

On this day 250 years ago a ship carrying the first news of the enactment of Boston Port Act arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, although it would be a few more days before the news reached Boston. Sources: Norton, Mary Beth, 1774 the Long Year of Revolution at p. 78.

On this day 250 years ago, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that effigies of Alexander Wedderburn, Solicitor General of Great Britain, and Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachusetts, were paraded through the streets of Philadelphia on a cart, then hanged and burned. Wedderburn and Hutchinson were the British officials who were most responsible for the sacking of…

On this day 250 years ago, the annual Boston Town Meeting elected Boston’s representatives to the Massachusetts House. Samuel Adams was elected with 535 of the 536 votes cast. Adams was also named the moderator of the Town Meeting.  Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/samuel-adams-104357

On this day 250 years ago in Parliament in London Isaac Barre delivered a prescient speech predicting the outcome of Parliament’s adoption of the Intolerable Acts: The question now before us is, whether we will choose to bring over the affections of all our Colonies by lenient measures, or to wage war with them? I…

On this day 250 years ago, the London Magazine published the political cartoon “The able Doctor, or America swallowing the Bitter Draught.” The cartoon was reprinted by Paul Revere and widely distributed by Patriots throughout the American Colonies. Source: https://emuseum.history.org/objects/16031/the-able-doctor-or-america-swallowing-the-bitter-draught