Dear Patriots,

Now you’ve gone and done it!  All of Boston will suffer from the deeds of the Sons of Liberty (and some of their sons) at the Tea Party.  Did ye think King George would ignore 14,000 British pounds of ruined tea?  Now the port of Boston is closed until we pay for the tea, more Redcoats are arriving every day, and  the citizens of Boston can no longer meet as they please unless they have permission from the royal governor.  What a fine kettle of fish!  Ye must know this will effect our daily lives and trades.   Please let me know just how severe the impact is on your family because, in my misery, I need company.

Loyal to the crown,

Isabella

17 December 1773

Dear customers of the Cobbler Shoppe,

I am writing a letter to the editor of the Boston Local and need your assistance.  Could any of ye eyewitnesses let me know what you saw and heard on Griffin’s Wharf tonight?  I need more details to make my point.  I attended the meeting at the Old South Meeting House last night but had to return home to tend to my ill sister.

Gratefully yours,

Constance

Boston:   In the trial of the soldiers of the Boston Massacre, which began November 27, 1770, John Adams argued that if the soldiers acted in self-defense of their lives they were innocent. If the soldiers were provoked but their lives were not in danger, they were at most guilty of manslaughter. The jury agreed with Adams and acquitted six of the soldiers.   There was overwhelming evidence that two of the soldiers, Kilroy and Montgomery, fired directly into the crowd; they were found guilty of manslaughter and branded with an M on their right thumbs.

Boston Local

John Adams:  “These Regulars are citizens of Great Britain and as Englishmen deserve a fair trial.”

Boston:   Because of the decline in profits as a result of the colonial boycott of imported British goods, Parliament has withdrawn all of the Townshend Act (1767) taxes except for the tax on tea.  For three years colonists have paid taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea.   The boycotts have had their desired effect and Parliament has repealed all but the tea tax.  Huzzah!

The Boston Gazette 

Postscript:  Charles Townshend estimated the Townshend taxes would produce ₤400,000 a year for the English treasury.  He died on September 4, 1767, and never saw the strain his taxes put on the relationship between the “mother” country and her “children”.

At the suggestion and advice of Mercy Otis Warren, we have formed  Committees of Correspondence to keep patriots in all the colonies in touch with each other.  Horseback riders will carry messages from town to town, up and down the post roads from New England to Georgia.  As Mercy says, “This will cement the union of the colonies.”  Trustworthy post riders are needed to fulfill our mission.

Sam Adams

6 March 1770

Dear Patriots,

I heard bits and pieces about a fight on King Street last night.  Some of our men were killed.  Were any of ye there?  Does anyone have the details?

Anxiously awaiting news,

Isabella

Boston, 1767:  Britain’s Chancellor of the Treasury, Charles Townshend, has succeeded in urging Parliament to pass new taxes for the colonists.  The Townshend Acts require the colonists to pay taxes on glass, lead, paper, paint and tea.  British customs agents are boarding and seizing ships in Boston’s harbor (including John Hancock’s  Liberty ship) to search for smuggled goods .  The Sons of Liberty are reacting with riots and fires.  More British troops are on the way to our port.

The Boston Local

Boston, March 1766:   Huzzah! King George and Parliament have voted to repeal the Stamp Act and end the tax on paper in the colonies. William Pitt of England is to be honored with a commemorative coin; he was instrumental in convincing the King and his Parliament members that the colonists should not be taxed without proper representation.

The Boston Local

Dear Colonists,

The king’s soldiers, the Regulars, are permitted to stay at your home under the King’s Quartering Act.  Please know that the King’s troops are here to protect you.  Give them shelter, food, and drink, as you would any family member of your own.  You will find these English men to be friendly and caring if you treat them well.

Sincerely,

Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson

P.S.  Do care for the horses, as well.