Boston, an Illustrious Hub of American Patriotism

Dear readers, we are all aware of the horrible events surrounding the terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday. But, instead of going over the terrible details, let's talk about Boston, the ciry where it occurred. Boston, the largest city in New England and the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States, is called the Cradle of Liberty because of its crucial role as a political hub in the American colonies and as the original leader in the American Revolution. Boston's motto is "Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis" (God was with our fathers, so may He be us). Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan colonists from England. It was the scene of key events of the American Revolution, including : (1). The Boston Massacre, known as the Incident on King Street by the British, occurred on March 5, 1770, when British Army soldiers killed five civilian men and injured six others; British troops had been stationed in Boston since 1768 in order to protect crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation, and amid growing tensions, a mob formed around a British sentry, who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassments leading to the arrival of eight additional soldiers, who fired into the crowd, without orders, instantly killing three people and wounding others. Two more people died later before the mob dispersed, but it reformed the next day, driving the British troops out of the center of Boston - the Boston Massacre is often cited as the real behinning of the American rebellion against the British. (2). The Boston Tea Party is surely the most famous single event in Boston's history, setting the colonists on the path to independence when Bostonians dumped tea into Boston Harbor rather than pay the British tax on it. (3). Paul Revere's famous "midnight ride" warning that the British Redcoat soldiers were matching toward the battles of Lexington and Concord. (4). The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston on June 15, 1775 - the American colonists heard that the British planned to control the Charlestown peninsula between the Charles and Mystic Rivers that include Bunker and Breed's Hill overlooking both Boston and its harbor, thus making the hills critical vantage points. In order to beat the British to the high ground, American soldiers dug into and fortified the Hill under cover of night on June 16 and at dawn, the British were stunned to see Breed's Hill fortified overnight with a 160-by-30-foot earthen structure. British General Gage dispatched 2,300 troops under the command of Major General Howe to take control of the hill. So, the Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place on Breed's Hill when fighting began at daybreak. As soon as the men on British frigates awoke they opened fire on the colonial fortifications. General Gage ordered his men to try and take control of the hill. An American soldier, would later write, “There was a matter of 40 barges full of Regulars coming over to us...the enemy landed and fronted before us and formed themselves in an oblong square...and after they were well formed they advanced towards us, but they found a choakly [sic] mouthful of us.” When the British forces were firmly established on the ground at the base of the hill they proceeded to charge, expecting to march up the hill and just scare the colonists away. The British Regulars advanced with bayonets fixed; many of their muskets were not even loaded. The British troops, wearing their bright red wool jackets and weighed down by heavy equipment marched up hill over farm fields and low stone walls hidden in the tall grass. As the colonists saw this massive red line approach slowly and steadily, they remained calm and did not open fire. The fact they waited so long to commence an attack was because their General Prescott has been assumed to have given the famous order, "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes." Once the British came within range, the colonists began firing, and the British soldiers started to fall rapidly and were driven back twice, but on their third and final thrust forward the British were able to break through the colonists' line, overrunning the tentative American fortifications, thus taking the hill. The colonists had run out of ammunition and supplies. The colonists fled back up the peninsula since it was their only escape route. This battle was one of the deadliest of the Revolutionary War and although the British technically won the battle because they took control of the hill, they suffered too many losses to fully benefit from it. The British had suffered more than one thousand casualties out of the 2,300 who fought. The colonists only suffered 400 to 600 casualties from an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 men. Besides having fewer deaths than the British, the colonists believe they had won in other ways as well. The Americans had proved to themselves, and the rest of the world that they could stand up to the British army in traditional warfare. And only a few days later, George Washington would lead a group of men up to Dorchester Heights, aiming their cannons at the British, and then watch the Red Coats retreat from the hill. So even though the British had won the battle, it was a short lived victory since the colonists took control quickly afterward. ~~~~~ I give you a piece of Boston's illustrious and patriotic history, dear readers, to say that Bostonians are tough-minded, fiercely proud and liberty-loving, and the bombs of yesterday, horrible as they were, will never defeat the New England Yankee Boston spirit. We grieve with Boston but we know her soul will rise to meet the needs of this latest assault on her freedom.