British soldiers entering Boston in 1768
Illustration from The History Scrap Book published circa 1889 Info from wiki: On June 10, 1768, customs officials seized Liberty, a sloop owned by leading Boston merchant John Hancock, on allegations that the ship had been involved in smuggling. Bostonians were already angry because the captain of Romney had been impressing local sailors; they began to riot,[11] and customs officials fled to Castle William for protection.[12] Daniel Calfe declares, that on Saturday evening the 3rd of March, a camp-woman, wife to James McDeed, a grenadier of the 29th, came into his father's shop, and the people talking about the affrays at the ropewalks, and blaming the soldiers for the part they had acted in it, the woman said, "the soldiers were in the right;" adding, "that before Tuesday or Wednesday night they would wet their swords or bayonets in New England people's blood." —Excerpt from A Short Narrative, suggesting that the soldiers were contemplating violence against the colonists[13] Given the unstable state of affairs in Massachusetts, Hillsborough instructed General Thomas Gage, Commander-in-Chief, North America, to send "such Force as You shall think necessary to Boston",[14] and the first of four British Army regiments began disembarking in Boston on October 1, 1768.[15] Two regiments were removed from Boston in 1769, but the 14th and the 29th Regiments of Foot remained.
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1, 1768, 18th, affair, america, american, boston, british, century, colonial, engraving, entering, feelings, hancock, history, illustration, independence, john, liberty, october, owned, resentment, roots, seizure, sloop, soldiers
