“For the Continuance of general Peace” in New Hampshire

Gov. Thomas Gage didn’t follow the tradition of his New England-born predecessor, Thomas Hutchinson, by proclaiming a Thanksgiving holiday toward the end of 1774.

Perhaps he didn’t grasp the local significance of that holiday. Perhaps, with barracks to be finished, he couldn’t afford to give people a day off work. Or perhaps he just didn’t feel thankful.

Gov. John Wentworth did declare a Thanksgiving in New Hampshire, issuing this proclamation at the start of the month for a holiday on 24 November.

Back in 2008, I wrote a couple of posts about how the Massachusetts Provincial Congress declared 15 December as a Thanksgiving Day, and how people responded in army-occupied Boston and in Newport.