A Few Cannon Exchanged on Both Sides

Selectman Timothy Newell’s biggest worry in early July of 1775 was cannonballs flying into Boston. Here are two more excerpts from his diary:

July 1st. A few cannon exchanged on both sides—one 24 pounder came into the lines, knocked down one Man with the wind of it.

2nd Sabbath morning. I waked up by a cannonade from the lines, which continued two hours. A house on the Neck burnt down thereby, which belonged to the town.

A “twenty-four pounder” was a cannon big enough to shoot iron cannonballs that weighed twenty-four pounds. A table prepared at the Royal Military Repository by William Congreve in 1778 listed three types of brass twenty-four pounders: light, medium, and heavy. They were from five feet long to nine and a half feet, and could weight between 1,600 and 5,300 pounds.

As a New Englander, Newell was probably offended by the Royal Artillery’s choice to fire their guns for two hours on a Sunday morning. And as one of Boston’s highest officials, Newell had to keep track of town property, like that burned house on the narrow Neck leading out of town.