Witnessing the Siege of Boston
In this primary source set, students will engage with a variety of letters, maps, artifacts, and more to explore diverse Bostonian experiences at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
Inquiry Question 1: How did ordinary Bostonians experience the Siege of Boston? What were their fears and concerns?
Inquiry Question 2: How did factors like class, gender, race, or political views affect people’s experiences?
Source Set
This map of the Boston area published in London in 1776 was based on a drawing made in October 1775 by Lieutenant Richard Williams, an officer in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (but not, as the map states, a trained engineer). Oriented with north toward the upper right, this plan was drawn by and for British use and refers to the American militia as the "Rebels." The map includes points of military interest such as batteries and fortifications; the locations of prominent sites (Copps Hill, Faneuil Hall, Boston Common, the Boston Wharf, Bunker Hill, Roxbury Meeting House); roads, hills, nearby islands in Boston Harbor and the area exposed at low tide. The map also clearly shows how Boston Neck was the only entrance and exit to the city by land at this time, and how Boston Town was cut off from the “country” by barricading the Neck during the siege.
Citation: A Plan of Boston, and its Environs shewing the true Situation of His Majesty's Army, Map, London: Andrew Dury, 1776. Map depicts Boston in October 1775. Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/2053.
Miss Relief Ellery (later Ellery Vincent), a 20-year-old Charlestown resident, took these silver spoons from the breakfast table as she ran out the door on the morning of 17 June 1775, fleeing to the woods as the British began firing on her town during the Battle of Bunker Hill. When she returned, her entire home was gone. The spoons were all she had left.
Citation: Teaspoons belonging to Relief Ellery, Silver by John Allen, [17--] Made in Boston, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/3514.
Read an excerpt of Deming's account.
Read a simplified excerpt.
Within this 12-page letter written in the form of journal entries from 15-26 April 1775, Sarah Winslow Deming transmits news of the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the first few days of the Siege. Her account describes the fear in the town and her escape from Boston on 20 April 1775, and the rumors of violence that swirl as she flees the city. There are two excerpts for this document: in the first, Deming conveys the frightening atmosphere in Boston during the initial occupation, and the second details her flight from Boston as she travels through various locations including Roxbury Hill, Jamaica Plain, Dedham, Providence RI, and eventually lands in Connecticut. This letter also reveals the experiences of Lucinda, a woman enslaved by the Demings, as she also travels on this journey from Boston.
Citation: Sarah Winslow Deming journal, 1775, On deposit from the Historic Winslow House Association, Marshfield, Mass. Reproduced with permission, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/1898.
Read excerpts of Andrew's letters to Barrell.
Read simplified excerpts.
In this letter written to his brother-in-law on 6 May 1775, John Andrews describes conditions in Boston shortly into the Siege. Andrews mentions the large number of people trying to get a permit allowing them to leave Boston, and how difficult it is to find fresh food and supplies. As he closes the letter, Andrews says that his wife (Barrell's sister) Ruthy is preparing to leave as well, but that Andrews will be staying behind to protect their home and property.
Read his following letters from 1 June 1775 and 11 April 1776.
Citation: Letter from John Andrews to William Barrell, 6 May 1775, From the Andrews-Eliot correspondence, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/2049.
See full transcription of handwritten text.
This permit, issued by General Thomas Gage, gives permission to the holder Margaret Jepson and her family (names listed on the back) to enter or exit Boston without harm while the town is occupied by British soldiers following the battle of Lexington and Concord. 12,000-13,000 people flee Boston as a result of this agreement. For further reading, see a broadside announcing this arrangement.
Citation: Permit to pass through British lines, May 1775, Issued by Thomas Gage, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/527
This pass authorized Henry Howell Williams unlimited access both to Boston and his home on Noddles Island after the start of the Siege of Boston under the condition he "carry no people from hence, or bring any thing off the Island." It is worth noting that while Williams needed a pass to travel in and out of British-controlled Boston, his “servants” (potentially indentured servants or enslaved people) did not need their own passes. You can see Noddles Island and Williams’ house on the map of Boston in this source set.
Citation: Pass issued on behalf of Rear Admiral Samuel Graves to Henry Howell Williams allowing access to Noddles Island, 1 May 1775, From Noddles Island papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/1912.
This handbill is an early example of American Revolutionary War propaganda. The handbill compares living conditions for soldiers on both sides of the lines during the Siege of Boston, 1775-1776, claiming that colonial forces enjoyed things like “Fresh Provisions, and in Plenty” while British soldiers only had “Rotten Salt Pork.” It was printed to encourage British soldiers to desert the British army and join colonial forces camped just a mile away behind the fortifications on Prospect Hill in Cambridge, in full view of the British troops on Bunker's Hill. On the back of the handbill is a message from an “old soldier” encouraging British troops to refuse their orders to kill colonists, fellow “sons of Englishmen.”
Citation: Prospect Hill, Bunker's Hill, Handbill, [Cambridge or Watertown, Mass. : unidentified printer, 1775?] Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/534.
Read an excerpt of Green's account.
Jonathan Green (1719-1795) was a farmer in Chelsea, MA. Green's property along Boston Harbor faced Charlestown, a location that got the attention of both the British and American troops. During the Siege of Boston, Green moved much of his livestock inland to Stoneham to protect it from British soldiers. However, both British and American troops stole Green’s crops and damaged his remaining property. In this 2-page account, Green describes the harms he suffered, and lists how much money the loss of crops and property damages cost him.
Citation: Account of damages done to Jonathan Green during the Siege, [7 May 1776] From Volume V of the Chelsea (Mass.) papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/1911.
Read an excerpt of Howe's Proclamation Proclamation.
British General William Howe faced a number of difficulties in keeping control of Boston during the winter. Howe knew that supply routes from the ocean would soon be cut off by winter storms, and they would quickly run low on food and firewood. While many patriot families had left Boston, the city was crowded with loyalist refugees seeking protection from the British Army. On October 28, 1775, Howe issued a proclamation requesting that the people who remained in Boston either enlist in or offer aid to the British army. To the proclamation Howe attached a letter (pages 3-4) from “his Majesty’s Loyal Subjects of the Town of Boston” who supported his proclamation and agreed to help him as best they could.
Citation: Proclamation by General William Howe (manuscript copy), 28 October 1775, From Miscellaneous Bound Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/532.
Read an excerpt from Edes' diary.
In this diary, seventeen-year-old Peter Edes recorded entries about his capture and his three and a half month imprisonment in a sweltering Boston prison during the Siege. Edes was an apprentice printer and the son of Benjamin Edes, a journalist, printmaker, and member of the Sons of Liberty. Peter Edes wrote about the harsh conditions he and other prisoners experienced and the uncertainty of his situation. He comments often on swearing and foul language used by his jailers. The last page of the diary is a list of 30 prisoners taken from the Battle of Bunker Hill and in his entry of 21 September 1775, Edes mentions that only 11 of them are still living.
Citation: Peter Edes Diary, June-October 1775, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/1978.
Read an excerpt of Winthrop's letter.
And a simplified excerpt of her letter.
Hannah Winthrop lived in Cambridge, MA, where her husband John Winthrop taught mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard. The Winthrops were patriots, and during the Siege of Boston they left Cambridge and relocated to Concord, MA. In this letter, Hannah Winthrop writes to her friend Mercy Otis Warren, a well-known poet, historian, and patriot. Winthrop describes returning home following the end of the Siege. Although her home suffered some damage during the British occupation, Winthrop describes how peaceful Cambridge is following the departure of British troops. However, she also describes an ongoing smallpox outbreak in Boston.