With all the hoop and hollar, price gouging, panic buying, speculations and wild fears running rampant, I thought now would be a good time to examine a little known incident in our nation's history.
BACKGROUND:
By 1774, the Colonies were growing restless with their royal masters. The Committees of Correspondence allowed the local governments to communicate with each other and spread the word about abuses under the new Intolerable Acts. Citizens of MA had not yet organized into fighting units to confront the British, but they often spoke of giving support to Boston, whose port had been closed earlier that year.
General Thomas Gage, military governor of MA, was charged with enforcing colonial law. He decided that the only way to prevent open war between the American Whig party and the British Tories was to remove the military stockpiles of gunpowder scattered throughout.
THE MAGAZINE SYSTEM:
As a result of the Seven Years War, the British had left several stockpiles of munitions in place all over the Colonies. Some of them were fortified manors, others simple locked magazines (large stone structures, like a grain mill, to protect the powder itself from the elements). Some of the magazines belonged to local towns or the militias themselves. The government in London has decided, in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, to take more security measures lest their powder be stolen. One such magazine was controlled by William Brattle, leader of the provisional militia in Charlestown, MA. Brattle had refused to take sides between the two parties, and on August 27, notified General Gage in a letter that the town had removed their own supplies from the magazine. Only the King's powder remained, and it was the largest amount in MA.
THE INCIDENT:
Gage sent Sheriff David Phips to get the keys to the magazine from Brattle, which he did. Gage then ordered his men to prepare for action. On September 1, 260 regulars from the 4th regiment rowed up the Mystic River, then marched a mile to their objective. The powder and two field pieces from Cambridge were removed without incident and taken to the British stronghold at Castle Island.
COLONIAL REACTION:
Wild rumors flew about all over the Colonies. British regulars were marching, powder had been seized, blood was spilled. Militias in the surrounding area mobilized for battle and converged on Boston. The contents of Brattle's letter was published, leading some to believe that he was alerting Gage to take the powder before the citizens could. Angry mobs forced Brattle to flee for his own safety. Phips disassociated himself from any involvement. Eventually, the facts were made known and the militias went home.
BRITISH REACTION:
General Gage was shocked by the rapidity and scale of the colonial mobilization. He immediately requested more troops from London, stating, "If you think ten thousand is enough, send twenty. If one million, send two. You will save much blood and treasure." The request was deemed absurd. Only 12,000 regulars were in Britain at the time. Of those, Gage received about 400 Marines. However, London agreed to cease all imports of powder to North America and to immediately secure all stores abroad.
IMPACT:
The colonial militias redoubled their training and took measures to hide their powder supplies. Locals kept closer tabs on the British troops as Gage began more fortifications to the Boston peninsula. Patriot leaders in Worcester urged the militias to reorganize 1/3 of their forces into a new unit: the minutemen. Furthermore, legislatures in MA organized into the First Provisional Congress and established a system of horsemen to carry information for the most up-to-date news.
LEGACY:
Although proven a false alarm, the incident proved permanently detrimental to relations between London and the Colonies. More bizarre events would follow. On December 12, Paul Revere, acting on faulty intelligence, spread the word that the British were to seize powder supplies at Fort William and Mary. The Colonists led a preemptive raid and distributed the supplies among the militias. In truth, the British had contemplated such an operation, but abandoned it.
The biggest impact of the raid was the fact that the militia's began hiding their supplies.
Seven months later, on April 14th, General Gage received orders to disarm the militia in the little town of Concord...
