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The Two Sides of the Boston Massacre

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I was watching a special on the History channel the other day about the Boston Massacre. Right after a commercial for home security Brooklyn, the special came back on and actually began addressing the British side of the event. We all know about the Boston Massacre but few of us realize that there are, in fact, two different sides to that story. The one many of us in the States have come to know is that on a cold winter day, a group of colonials struck out against a British patrol and were met with gunfire which erupted into a massacre.

Tensions between the colonials and Britain were already at their highest but the accounts tend to blur when it comes to what started it. Some people say that the British patrol antagonized the colonials long before it even started but some people say that the instigation was much more than just some harmless snowballs. Some accounts claim that actual rocks were thrown and the British patrol was literally being stoned to death by colonials. While we may never know how it truly started or who was more at fault, violence was met with violence and all we really have to show for it are some murdered ancestors and unspoken animosity that has never really gone away.

Two If By Sea, the Old North Church

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, THAT North Church. The same one made famous by the poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The one that inspired the famous line, “One if by land and two if by sea…” When you visit Boston is the Old North Church is definitely a “must-see”. Don’t pass up the chance to stand in the streets of Boston, just like Paul Revere once did. Gaze anxiously up at the tower of the Old North Church, imagining you are Revere. You’ve worked out a signal to alert the rebel group, Sons of Liberty that the hated British were approaching; Lanterns to be lit and hung in the tower of the Old North Church. Ingenious! No one would be suspicious and the tower was visible from a distance like a beacon to those who knew the code! One lantern if the Redcoats marched by land. Two if they came by ship. At long last, the glow of two lanterns shatters the darkness over sleepy Boston. Now you’re off, riding through the country side, waking up your fellow patriots to meet the British at Lexington and Concord, where the first shots were fired and the American Revolutionary war began. Let history come alive for you by visiting Boston’s Old North Church.

Sixty Three Miles. Ride With Paul Revere

www.bostonantiquesweekend.com — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

One if by land and two if by sea was the lantern signal that came on April 18, 1775 and began the 63 mile midnight ride for which Paul Revere is famous. First by rowboat across the Charles River from North Boston to Charlestown, then horseback to Concord he warned all patriots with the call “The Regulars are coming” (not “The British are coming”). This route encompasses the present day towns of Somerville, Medford and Arlington. Parts of the route offer annual reenactments of the ride.Want more? Click here.
Historical sites associated with Revere and his ride abound, beginning with his home in the North End of Boston, which is the oldest residence in downtown Boston. The bronze statue of Paul astride his horse took 16 years to create and 40 years to install. The North Church, from which the lantern signal was given that was the symbolic start of the Revolutionary War, is near the statue. Paul Revere’s grave is located in Granary Burial Ground. The site of the Boston Massacre is also associated with Revere, but it is not known if he was actually in attendance at this event.
Paul Revere has been immortalized in paintings, poems and historical texts. In the famous words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Listen, my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

Freedom Trail, 2.5 Mile Walk Through History

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Before you can appreciate the present, you must understand the past. So while you’re in Boston, Massachusetts, why don’t you walk the Freedom Trail and take a 2.5 mile tour through United States history?

Seventeen important, historic landmarks pepper the trail. From the Massachusetts State House to the Old South Meeting House, where the Boston Tea Party was planned, you can practically see the creation of the United States through the eyes of the founding fathers.Confused? Here ‘s a little help . Walking through the site of the Boston Massacre, where civilians were fired upon by British soldiers, and past the Bunker Hill Monument, which commemorates the first major battle between the Redcoats and the Patriots in the Revolutionary War, the spirit of the fallen and their desire for freedom is strong in the air. See the USS Constitution in all her glory, the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel and a symbol of the young, American nation.

While exploring the birth of a nation through the Freedom Trail, you also have the opportunity to step out on to the Black Heritage Trail to experience another aspect of the American national heritage. Regardless of your ethnicity or national origin, the Freedom Trail is significant not only in the birth of the United States, but also in its contributions to the revolutions worldwide that make the international community what it is today.

Old Ironsides, Two Centuries in the Life of a Warship

admin — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You have probably heard of “Old Ironsides,” the “unsinkable” warship first launched in 1797. She was one of six warships authorized for construction or purchase by the Naval Act of 1794. Officially named the USS Constitution by George Washington, this amazing ship came to fame during the War of 1812, when British cannonballs kept bouncing off its sturdy wooden sides as if the ship was made of iron. During that war, it defeated five British warships and captured numerous merchant ships. In its long history, it has never been defeated in battle.

In the 1840′s, the Constitution circled the globe. During the U.S. Civil War, she served as a Naval training ship, and she carried artwork across the Atlantic to the Paris Exposition of 1878. The ship was retired from active service in 1881, and was designated as a museum ship in 1907 by an act of Congress. For her 200th birthday in 1997, she once again sailed under her own power. She is stationed in Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.

Today, the Constitution’s mission is largely ceremonial, promoting the Navy’s historical role in war and peace through outreach programs, historic demonstrations, and participation in public events in the Boston area.