The Sons of Liberty Banquet - Robinson's Tavern, DorchesterOn Monday, August 14, 1769, the 4th anniversary of the first public protest of the Stamp Act, 355 members of the Sons of Liberty gathered at Liberty Tree in Boston. They had named the area surrounding the tree Liberty Hall. Here they drank fourteen toasts and then traveled to Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester (also known as the Sign of Liberty Tree) to dine. Robinson's Tavern was nearly 100 years old and was owned by Sons of Liberty member Lemuel Robinson. The members sat outside. John Adams wrote "we had two tables laid in the open field by the barn, with between 300 and 400 plates, and an arning (awning) of sailcloth overhead." Three pigs were barbecued. The men also ate boiled codfish with egg sauce, chickens, blueberry pie, and drank Madeira wine that was likely supplied by John Hancock. There were forty-five toasts, and John Adams noted "To the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person intoxicated, or near it." 
Click on picture for larger image The Sons of Liberty were entertained in good humor by fellow member Nathaniel Balch. They also sang the Farmer's Liberty Song with everyone joining in the chorus. Among them, besides John Adams, was his cousin Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Otis, Paul Revere, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Benjamin Edes and John Gill, printers of the Boston Gazette, enjoyed the festivities, as did John Pulling, Captain Daniel Malcom, and Nathaniel Barber. As the singing concluded, Alexander Edwards took his seat next to his brother in law John Savage. They spoke about the festivities that had occurred just two weeks earlier, accompanying the departure of the despised Royal Governor Francis Bernard. On that day, July 31, 1769, bells rang, and militia cannons fired as Alexander Edwards and over 100 other inhabitants of the town formalized their commitment to boycott British goods and signed the Boston Citizen's Non-Importation Agreement. By the afternoon, rain had begun to fall at Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester, but it did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance. The banquet drew to a close between 4 and 5 o'clock and John Hancock entered his carriage to lead the men back to Boston. Alexander and the others rode off in the procession which extended for nearly a mile and a half. Another carriage followed at the rear of the group. John Adams soon left what he called "a large collection of good company" and galloped off toward Taunton, Massachusetts. The procession returned to Boston before dark. In October of 1769, the boycott of British goods spread to New Jersey, Rhode Island, and North Carolina. Through the fall and winter, tensions grew between the British Regulars and the townspeople of Boston. On the evening of March 5, 1770, those tensions had deadly consequences. A crowd of Bostonians threw snowballs and rocks at a group of British soldiers. The townspeople grew angrier, waved wooden clubs, and taunted the soldiers who stood in front of the Town House (Old State House). The soldiers kept the mob at a distance with bayonettes. Soon a club was thrown, it hit one of the soldiers, and he fired his musket. Three or four shots rang out, one after the other, and three more soon followed. The musket fire hit eleven men; three died instantly, one a few hours later, and a fifth within a matter of days. Six others who were wounded survived. The victims were buried in a common grave at Old Granary Burying Ground. The citizens of Boston were enraged and their hatred for the British soldiers grew. In April of 1770, most of the Townshend Acts were repealed. All taxes on imported goods were removed, except for a tax on tea. On May 10, 1773, the Tea Act maintained a three penny per pound tax on imported tea. It also gave a monopoly to the British East India Company, which was nearing bankruptcy. It allowed them to sell tea direct to agents in the colonies and bypass any middlemen. They would be able to sell tea cheaper than American merchants. In September, Parliament approved the shipment of half a million pounds of tea. The Colonists opposed the monopoly. The Sons of Liberty harassed the tea agents in an effort to make them resign. On November 28, 1773, the Dartmouth, the first of three British ships loaded with tea, arrived in Boston Harbor. On November 29 and 30, two large town meetings were held to discuss what action should be taken. Bostonians decided to send the tea on the Dartmouth back to England and pay no taxes on it. The Eleanor and the Beaver soon joined the Dartmouth in Boston Harbor. Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson insisted that the tea would be unloaded and the tax paid. |