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| Gunsmith Reveals Mystery Behind
Ride of Revere by Jason P |
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April 17, 1775
Dear John,
Today the Boston Harbor is closed because of the ships from England
carrying the soldiers. It reminds me of the Destruction of the
Tea, and I am vexed because I was going to take my rowboat and test it
out. Since I could not be on the water, I walked to work. I do
not live with my master anymore because it is my last year as an
apprentice. He had been good to me all the years I lived with
him. I moved into his home when I was 13 years old. It
seems like I always lived with him. It is hard to believe eight
years have passed.
Mr. Williamson, my master, came in and told me to make a rifle, and he
told me it had to be done by May 21st. So I started the gun, and
I thought that I would not be doing anything else until May 21st.
I have to work more and more now because we have not gotten any
new apprentices since three of them were killed. One was killed from
smallpox and the other two were from the King Street Massacre all
those years ago.
I will need all of that time to craft the gun. I will miss my long
walks. I also had to make some locks for the shop to put on the
displays. I think it is easier to work on the locks than making
guns. I have been making guns nonstop since all of the trouble
began with the King’s taxes and the Redcoats almost five years ago.
It may be a good idea for you to come back to Boston since the men of
Boston who want to break away from England have been shipping all of
the munitions to Concord. I fear now for the people of Concord’s
safety as well as the people of Boston. I hope the Boston and
Concord militia are ready because with these military ships in the
harbor I think something bad is about to happen
Your dear friend,
Joseph
April 18, 1775
Dear John,
Today I got paid, and I went to the market for food. Since it is
my last year with Mr. Williamson, he gives me a bit of
compensation. When I was shopping, I ran into a man, You may have
heard his name before because he is a messenger and a sliversmith in
Boston, Paul Revere. He said he needed to speak with me so he
came over for a noon meal.
At the meal, Paul told me that he was going to be leaving Boston on an
errand for the Son’s of Liberty. He asked me to watch his family
while he was gone. I said yes. I asked him why he was
leaving when there is so much going on in Boston at this time. He
said he could not share the information with me for my safety. I
told him that if he could trust me with his family then he could trust
me with the secrets of the movement.
Paul shared with me that down on the docks today a man overheard a
soldier saying that tonight they will be marching on Concord.
Paul was chosen to ride and warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock in
Lexington. Then he had to warn the militia in both Lexington and
Concord that the soldiers were on their way. Then he left in a
hurry. But before he left, he told me that he was going to
Lexington.
Later that night when I went to bed, it was easy to fall asleep.
I woke up later that night i i heard a noise I looked out my window and
saw Paul getting on his horse. He knocked on my door and said in
a rush, “Joseph, the time has come!” For the rest of that night, I
wondered if i would see Paul Revere again.
Sincerely your good friend,
Joseph
April 19, 1775
Dear John,
I got up and went to work, and I am still working on the same
gun. After I finish the barrel, I have to make the
engraving on the gun. The engraving is the hard part because you need
to do it neatly. I finished the gun that Samuel
Johnson ordered. He came to pick it up and he was pleased. After
he left, customers started coming in and purchased all kinds of
gun powder and ordered more firearms. The whole day I was
perplexed why they were purchasing all these items.
Nobody came in for the rest of the day and I was thinking why.
After my
day, I was walking home and I looked down and I saw horse footprints in
the ground and at the moment I thought about Paul Revere and his
horse. That night I heard from someone that Paul Revere and
William Dawes left to Lexington and Paul got captured in Lexington and
this all started because of the tax.
Sincerely your good friend,
Joseph |
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Historical References:
The Electronic Ben
Franklin.3rd ,March.1999
.http//ww.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm
Hakim,Joy. From Colonies to
Country, Oxford University Press,NY
,1993.
“Gunsmith Trade at Colonial
Willamsburg,”
30,march,www.history.org/Almanack/life/trades/tradegun.cfm.
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