Friday, March 2

I arrived in Boston this afternoon. Upon entering the Royal Exchange, there was a great meeting in progress. Apparently a soldier had gone to the ropewalks owned by one John Gray and asked for some labor during his off-duty time. The master ropemaker, being the ass that he is, said that the only work for him would be cleaning out the privy. After much shouting and shoving, both acquired companions and a riot of about 70 people wielding clubs and sticks did occur in the ropeyard.

One of those speaking at the meeting was Jonathon Taylor, a hot head that sprayed his spittle on those close to him as he spoke. Another speaker was a business associate by the name of Samuel Adams, a publick orator who took every opportunity to inflame the passions of the local citizens against the soldiers. It has been whispered that he is one of a secret group of rebel-rousers doing and saying whatever could be done and said to drive the Regulars out of Boston. This secret group has even organised the farmers to come to town with their muskets if a tar barrel is set afire upon Beacon Hill.

Saturday, March 3

This night, one Crispus Atucks, a darkie sailor from the Bahamas supped at the Royal Exchange. Afterwards he drank with the rebels and bragged about his sugar and rum running. Listening to his ramblings led me to comprehend what an angry darkie he was. What I did for profit, Atucks did out of spite and malice. He enjoyed thumbing his nose at the king's rule while cruising about the Caribbean (and punishing the rum for free, no doubt). Atucks said with a sneer that he would soon strike a blow for freedom.

It is just past midnight and I have been awakened by Theodore Seawell. I did arise to listen to his information and to record it now, lest I would forget the details. Theodore described to me a meeting that he had overheard regarding actions that will occur this next Monday. The intent of the actions is to incite the soldiers to physically attack or even fire upon citizens and thereby create a legal issue for their immediate removal. The meeting was among Samuel Adams, Samuel Maverick, Edwark Garrick, Crispus Atucks, and Sam Gray. On Monday evening Adams, Maverick and Atucks would agitate meetings in various parts of the city and converge on the Commons House at 9 a'clock. Edward Garrick and Sam Gray would stay about the Commons House on King Street. They were all instructed to spread the word that a confrontation would occur Monday.

Sunday, March 4

A riot almost was incited on this day of rest. One sergeant of the Garrison had disappeared yesterday evening and the soldiers were certain that he had been murdered. Being out for a fight, the soldiers did forcible search several homes and establishments of instigators and several establishments that the sergeant was known to frequent. The sergeant was found att Barlington's House alive, but passed completely out due to excessive spirits, and in the company of a whore.

Monday, March 5

Sam Gray arrived at the Royal Exchange early in the evening, being in a mischievous and rowdy mood. It was obvious that something was afoot. Gray who usually was either broke or very tight with his money was buying pints of ale for anyone who would drink with him. I can guess where he obtained funding. Sam Adams no doubt, making sure that the citizens were sufficiently filled with liquid courage to carry out the plan of the evening past. As the evening wore on, Gray continued to pay for the flow of ale while inciting his drunken company against the posting of soldiers in the town.

About 9 a'clock, a church bell began ringing nearby and then another in the distance joined in its tolling. In response, Gray led his group of drunken companions outside. Several stumbled and fell over each other. I followed the mob out the door fearing that they would be of little use in putting out the fire and that fire would spread quickly. Leave it to Providence to create a fire in the midst of the instigators plans to start a riot. Once outside I looked around frantically, but did not see any flames or smell any smoke. Others had also turned out at the peal of the bells and the street was quickly filling with concerned citizens.

I saw Samuel Maverick and Atucks leading a large number of angry yelling men into the Commons area. At the same time, I saw a small squad of soldiers pushing through the crowd to join a sentry in front of the Commons House. Edward Garrick was shouting at the sentry and becoming the center of the crowd's attention.

The bells continued to toll. I crossed the street to address Garrick and tried to convince him to stop the rebel nonsense and help put out the fire. His reply was "This is the fire, you fool." That’s when I realized that there was no fire, but the signal was being used to turn out citizens to add to the drunken mob. As the mob taunted the soldiers several in the crowd yelled "fire!, fire!". My blood ran cold as I realised that citizens trying to get assistance to answer the tolling of the fire alarm might be misunderstood as attempting to inflame the soldiers to discharge their weapons. Damn clever those instigators. I turned from the soldiers and tried to push my way through the crowd, not wanting to be in the middle of the fight. But the drunken mob pressing forward yelling at the soldiers slowed my progress.

Then the worst happened. A sudden flash of powder and a rapport. The mob withdrew a few paces, as much in surprise as in fear while several turned and fled. I turned to see that all had moved back except Gray and Atucks who stood their ground. Atucks slumped his shoulders and dropped his club. Gray turned toward him and with an expression of shock across his face and yelled something I could not make out. I took the opportunity to turn and push my way farther through the crowd and away from the soldiers.

Then the mob roared in unison and surged toward the soldiers brandishing their clubs. Gray and Atucks were caught in the press and carried forward. The soldiers fended off the advancing mob with thrusts of their bayonets as they slowly gave away ground. Captain Preston attempted to step between the mob and soldiers, pushing the bayonet of the nearest soldier down and moving in front of him. He raised his hand and yelled, "In God’s name, please stop!". A club struck him on the arm and he fell.

In response, a soldier yelled "Damn you all to hell" and fired his weapon point blank into the crowd. Immediately the soldier to his right also fired. Gray and Atucks, trapped in the midst, both went down. Several other soldiers fired at will while those that had already discharged their weapons hurriedly reloaded. Others in the mob fell. Captain Preston jumped up yelling at the soldiers to be at ease and demanding to know why they had fired without his order. Again, the mob withdrew, leaving Gray and Atucks laying in the street. The snow around Gray’s head was red with blood. Half of his face had disappeared. Atucks lay unmoving next to him.

Slowly, a few from the mob came forward with mouths agape. Instead of assaulting the soldiers again, they quietly stood and knelt around the fallen bodies.

I was told that Gray's body was taken to the home of Dr. Loring, but since he did not answer the knock, the brave and loyal patriots left his body laying in the street gutter. As for Atucks, his body lays stiff in my cold storage room. Shot dead while leading a drunken mob in a riot. It is probably a good thing the damn fool didn't understand that when the white masters talked about "freedom for all", that the "all" did not include the darkies, otherwise he might have been a loyalist. Martyrdom suits some rebel-rousers better than others in that it keeps them quiet when all the shooting is over.

Tomorrow, I journey to Philadelphia.

Tuesday, April 17

Received today from Andrew Caples along with his monthly report, an engraving of "The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street" by Paul Revere. As a final insult to the dead and buried Atucks, that scoundrel Revere depicted him as a white man. But according to Caples, that was not actually the fault of Revere. Henry Pelham showed Atucks in his drawing of the shooting as a white man. All Revere did was steal the drawing, produce copies and sell it before Pelham could get off the privy and do likewise. Not only was Revere’s engraving the first to be sold, he had it coloured and charged an outrageous amount for it. By word of Caples, Revere made a small fortune. Sharp business man , that Revere. He might make a good business partner if it was not for his endless and boring talk of teeth. One thing that caught my eye is the person in the foreground of the mob facing away from the soldiers. It is me, trying to get away from the confrontation.

Friday, April 20

Dined with my close friend, Thomas Gage this evening, who was visiting Philadelphia. When the conversation turned to the recent confrontation in Boston, I told him of what I saw along with the free ale and bell ringing. I also allowed him to read my diary about the overheard meeting and showed him the engraving by Revere. He flew into a rage, exclaiming that he had suspected that the trouble arose not from the citizens, but from a handful of elite ringleaders in Boston that were provoking mobs to unruly behavior. Now he was certain of it. But, he told me in confidence that he had a spy among the rebels. And for now on, he would be one step ahead of them.

FOOTNOTES

Flashman was part owner in the Royal Exchange Tavern and the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston. Also Flashman had interests in taverns in the surrounding community such as the Golden Ball Tavern in nearby Weston. When in the Boston area, Flashman used these taverns as his abodes and offices. [John Taylor] return

Jonathon Taylor is my ancestor and my namesake. He was a prominent citizen of Boston, heavily involved in the rebellion until he was killed. After his death, all his property was confiscated and his family was sent to the poor house [JT]. According to Flashman's records, he purchased a considerable amount of beer from breweries of Samuel Adams for his taverns in the Boston area. Preliminary research into the Sam Adams brewery indicates that Flashman was the largest customer during the 1770's. Obviously Flashman would know that Adams was constantly attempting to incite rebellion. [Dale Madison] return

Although it is recorded by several historians that by Sunday evening many were aware that a confrontation would occur Monday, there is no confirmation regarding this meeting and conspiracy. [DM] return

Flashman's account of the missing sergeant differs somewhat from other accounts. The consensus among other historians is that the soldiers only searched the ropeworks were a riot had occurred two days before. Also, that the sergeant returned to the barracks Sunday evening and in good health. There is no mention of him being found in a whorehouse or any no indication of his state of sobriety. [DM] return

As a result of fires that had destroyed portions of Boston, an organization of bell ringers were established to quickly signal a fire by ringing the church bells. To most residents, fire was the most terrifying event possible and almost everyone to the man would quickly dress and respond to the fire alarm regardless of time or weather. [JT] return

Andrew Caples was an employee of the Royal Exchange Tavern. One of his duties as to provide a monthly report of events in the Boston area. Flashman apparently received monthly reports from all his taverns and other operations. [JT] It is assumed that he started this practice for business monitoring and planning purposes. Some evidence exists that Flashman used it as a "spy network" and provided information to both the rebels and the British Army during subsequent years. [DM] return

Although Flashman claims that Revere stole the drawing of fellow engraver Henry Pelham, there is reason to believe that it was actually purchased with additional funding from Samuel Adams. (Click on image to view at full size). Adams, wanting to keep emotions at a high-level, pushed Revere to work day and night to produce copies as quickly as possible. Revere employed an artist by the name of Christian Remick to add color to the prints to create more of an impact. This was apparently the idea of Sam Adams. The prints were available for sale within three weeks which is surprising, considering the reproduction procedure at the time consisted of creating a woodcut or copper engraving, making prints and then hand-coloring them. By the time Pelham’s prints and those of a third engraver (Jonathan Mulliken) became available, Revere had cornered the market. Considering Paul Revere's association with the rebels, it is strange that he was not present. Since he was involved in bell ringing associations and agreements since a teenager, a few have speculated that Revere was behind the ringing of the church bells that night. In addition to being a goldsmith and silversmith, Revere also made custom dentures. [DM] return

Not only was General Thomas Gage commander in chief of British forces in the New World, he was also the Royal Governor of Massachusetts. He had long suspected that the mobs were being driven by a small group of radicals. And Flashman's comments must have confirmed it. Although it may have appeared this way, historians agree that the general population was also growing weary of Royal rule. This opinion caused Gage to under estimate his opponents and resulted in several serious tactical mistakes. It is well known that Gage bought the alliance of Dr. Benjamin Church, who had access to the inner circles of the revolutionary movement. return