Boston 1775

On 28 Oct 1775, John Dickinson finished writing a long letter to a Quaker banker in Britain, David Barclay —one of the documents just pub...

The part of the newly released documents from John Dickinson getting the most attention, including a news story in the New York Times , is...

The William & Mary Quarterly had a big Sestercentennial scoop in its July 2026 issue—so big that it made those newly discovered documen...

At the end of August 1771, Richard Steele finished a very busy year. Since the start of September 1770, the young man had been: convicte...

The 7 May 1771 Connecticut Courant newspaper of Hartford repeated Sheriff Ezekiel Williams ’s wanted notice for Richard Steele that I quot...

Yesterday we left young Richard Steele back in the custody of Hartford County law enforcement in February 1771. According to the 27 Augu...

Yesterday’s posting left Richard Steele in New Haven, Connecticut , in December 1770, being branded and cropped on his ear the second time...

On 17 Sept 1770, the Connecticut Courant of Hartford reported on recent cases from “the Superior Court of Assize and General Goal Delivery...

In January I broke off a series of postings about the first years of Connecticut ’s New-Gate Prison because of the press of other matters. ...

Speaking of comics, this Sestercentennial summer has also brought us The British Are Coming: The Graphic Edition, Volume 1 , adapted from t...

When Boston 1775 last looked in on America250 , the commemorative campaign of the Congressionally-established Semiquincentennial commission...

In 2019 Ric Detwiller published an excellent article at the Journal of the American Revolution about a Frenchman recruited as a provincial...

Earlier this month I visited Medford Community Media to chat with Laura Duggan of Looking Back at Medford History about The Road to Concor...

On 18 July 1776, 250 years ago today , the Declaration of Independence was officially proclaimed in Massachusetts. People had already hea...

This month the city of Boston announced a new finding about a stone in the Granary Burying Ground that reads: HERE LYES Ye. BODY OF BOSTON...

Since September 2025 I’ve been following the dispute over displays at the President’s House, part of Independence National Historical Park ...

As recounted yesterday , on 21 Oct 1776 Boston’s committee of correspondence, inspection, and safety questioned Elizabeth and Mary Hill ab...

Back in April I wrote a series of postings about John Hill , his wife Elizabeth (?), and their daughter, captured on board the brig Elizabe...

On Sunday, 19 July, the Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge will host a commemoration called “H...

History Camp Boston will take place on 7–9 August, with the main gathering on Saturday the 8th. As in recent years, the main venue will b...