Sparks Journal

March 1, 1770

To my dearest friend Samuel,
You should have never talked me into stealing. I was stupid to follow through with it. But they gave me a choice: military or prison. I thought “Well hey it will be a walk in the park if I join the British Army.” I was sadly mistaken, the same way I was fooled when you told me to try and steal 500 pounds. Well, they dropped me in the 29th regiment that was leaving for the Massachusetts Bay colony. They also allowed me to carry along my youngest brother Richard. When I arrived I immediately realized that the civilians here are out of control!

Just last week I was making my normal street patrol as I noticed out the of the corner of my eye a mob of Patriot lads were throwing stones and obviously still very upset from the Townshend Act, which places a small tax on household items and tea. These children then were confronted by a wise Loyalist man named Ebenzer Richardson. I immediately recognized him as a custom agent as I was recently introduced to him. They also threw stones at him. Soon after he was being stoned he was overwhelmed and hit in the head causing a large gash to open. After that Mr. Richardson did something not very wise. Let me tell you, Samuel. He went home, grabbed his musket, and made haste back to the second floor of the store being stoned and shot into the crowd of lads. As I was watching this, I thought what is this man doing? This is an absolutely terrifying act. It is gruesome here, Samuel.

Upon watching this event I cut myself on a rusty fence. It was a rather large cut if I do say so myself. It was bleeding profusely. Blood was gushing everywhere all over my gun and coat. As this was happening I worried that the Captain would to notice this. When I got back to the camp I and received a total of nine pence for my work in the past weeks, and headed to the doctor. The doctor unfortunately told me it may have to be amputated. He also said most cuts lead to amputation and that there was nothing to worry about.

Days later I was informed that Mr. Richardson had hit a young boy named Christopher Seider, instantly killing him and, what happened next was even more unbelievable. Patriot Samuel Adams organized a funeral for the boy and a trail to walk, starting at Faneuil Hall and ending at the South Granary,. An absolutely astonishing number of citizens took part in this amazing funeral processions. As I made my way though the crowded Boston streets to see the coffin brought to the Granary there were rows upon rows upon rows of people far to many for one man to count, a day I dare not to forget.
Life sounds hard around here, doesn't it Samuel? But, it has some benefits. The Loyalist men and women often give us praise for our hard work in Boston, but you know how I am. I’m here for war, not to sit around in the Common as the Bostonians call it. I have befriended Officer Thomas Preston. Sir Preston is a wise man in my eyes, but I know eventually he will do something drastic. Write me back my friend, write me back...

Your Dearest Cousin,
John Murberry

March 3 1770

To my dearest friend Sameul,

It as been slow the past two days. I have completed three street patrols and have seen nothing of interest. My body is bruised from being pelted by rocks, chunks of ice and and anything else the colonist have thrown at me. A fortnight ago I was whipped ten times with a Nine Tails, which is a whip with nine leather tips. Apparently the Nine Tails is a punishment for getting the elegant red jackets that provide half the uniforms dirty. I was then forced to do the street patrols Officer Thomas Preston, Matthew Kilroy, Hugh Montgumry and many other soldiers for yelling about my horrible pay. Three damned pence, three pence, why such horrible pay Sam, why! I say Sam pay no mind to The Crown.

After seeing that absolutely disgusting pay, I went to seek a job in Boston. I tried everything: blacksmithing, helping a tavern owner, and I even tried to help Mr. Paul Revere with his silver smithing but I was quickly turned down. I see that there is nothing better to do than sit down and polish my very large rifle. Sir Perston has left me with the responsibility of polishing his genuine one shot pistol.

I have noticed two things about the regiment and Bostonians. One thing is they hate each other and two is that the 29th regiment has some very violent soldiers. The other day I over heard Matthew Kilroy and Edward Barns talking and I distinctly heard Matthew Kilroy spoiling for a fight saying. “Upon my first chance I will fire on any ranting Bostonian!” I was completely in shock and in disbelief. I have been considering ideas to desert the British Army and train some of the Bostonians on how to engage in war tactics and uphold a job in Blacksmithing, because I have years of experience. I have even thought about sending Richard out to get an apprenticeship instead of him being around this filthy British camp. Well, thats all I have to say this time.

Yours Truly,
John Murberry

March 8 1770

Dearest friend Samuel

It has been five days, I’m sure you are hanging in suspense to see if anything has sparked up in Boston. I have so much to tell you about what was supposed to be a nice night out for tea with Captain Thomas Preston, Corporal William Wemms, James Hartigan, William McCauley, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren, John Carrol and Hugh Montgomery. So there we were sipping tea from a freshly purchased tea cup from a shop on Milk Street. Outside of the building ruckus began to stir up. We thought nothing of it because after all this is Boston.

All of a sudden we heard cries for help coming from the Sentry on duty. Shortly after we arrived I stepped off to the side to speak with a bystander named James Bailey, who happened to be a Loyalist, about what happened. He told me that there had been a crowd of about twelve boys who were showering the sentry with chunks of ice and snowballs. He then told me that the sentry butted one of the boys to shoo them off. Soon after the boys left, men came with sticks, clubs, swords and empty handed. The mob grew large to almost four-hundred people. The man said that is all he heard because he was now seeing this with his own eyes. John Carrol was hit with a club and knocked down. Soon after he got up William Warren was hit with a club, thrown from a distance.

By this point the church bells were ringing. People were screaming “Fire!” and I heard a sound that shattered the nosily mobs chants and curses. One of my soldier friends fired and about six more shots went off. The crowd quickly dispersed. The soldiers gathered up and discussed what had just happened. I went to see the men on the ground I counted four dead and eight injured at least. The snow was stained with the blood of these men. I fell to my knees in the snow, wondering, just wondering, why? Why would the soldiers fire, why? At this point I realized it was time for me to leave the British army and train some Patriots in British war tactics. I plan to get a job as a blacksmith or something of the sort. I am sorry to say you cannot write me back this time. I have to stay secret and change my name. I am sorry, Samuel. I am sorry. Might you live a long life!

Your dearest friend,
John Murberry

Historical References:

A Day in the Life of a British Soldier 3 April 2006, <RS6.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/amrev/britwo.html>

“Boston Massacre.” World Book. April 26, 2006.

Liberty! The American Revoultion. PBS.Pg. 22-23.

Mrs. LeClair “Social Studies Class”. 3 April 2006.

Penner, Lucille. Liberty! How The Revolutionary War Began. Land Mark Books, 2002.

“Weapons and Tactics” World Book. 3 April 2006 <www.worldbook.com>

Artist's Rendering

Historical Reenactment

Historical Terms
Patriot	Townshend Act
Regiment	Fanueil Hall
Loyalist	Tax

About the Historian
JaCorey is a student at King Middle School. His hobbies are baseball, basketball, football and hanging out with his friends. He also enjoys going to school and learning how to do fun things. For exapmle; learning how to make a web page to show his tremendous findings of a journal by a British Soldier.