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| Housewife Witnesses
Massacre! by Neala B |
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March 4, 1770
Dear Diary,
I had a good day today, just a usual day. I woke up a little late this
morning and I should have been up much earlier then I did. I had to
work extra hard this morning to make breakfast and get Martha and Sarah
ready since I did not have as much time.
As I was making breakfast, I spilled tea on my apron. I thought maybe
if I just gave it a washing it would go away, but it would not come
out. It was very good tea as well, since the king is taxing the
tea, and having thlots of women have been making different kinds of
drinks
that taste like tea, or herbal tea. It is like a tea substitute. A
woman who lives just down the street from me made the tea that I
spilled. It was very delicious, and I plan to get more, or maybe I’ll
try to make a tea substitute of my own.
William,my husband, told me that yesterday night he went down to the
Green Dragon Tavern and was talking to Dr. Joseph Warren. He said that
Joseph was telling him that there was still a lot of unrest in the
town! Joseph also said that just the other day a group of children were
yelling " Lobsterbacks! " at some of the soldiers and they were throwing snow, ice, and rocks. I was so
surprised when I heard that people were still angry with the British
soldiers, it is not really their fault, if anyone should be hurt with
ice and rocks it should be the governor. I also do not agree with the
idea of taxing colonies without us voting. I think it is very wrong,
and disrespectful to the citizens of this town. I think that they are
trying to tell us that we cannot control what they do, and that
everything is the British’s decision, and I do not think that is fair
at all. Well I should be getting Martha and Sarah to bed now, and I
should go to sleep now as well, but I will write more tomorrow.
- Patience Bradford
March 5, 1770
Dear Diary,
Today was awful, and I am so exhausted from it all. I woke up before
the sun rose to get breakfast together and get some water from the well
. I did not have much time since I had to make sure that I got down to
the market before mid afternoon. I had gotten some cornmeal for 2 pence
from one of the merchants at the market and hurried home as quick as I
could to put the cornbread in the oven to have it ready by dinner time.
During the evening the town got very intense and crazy. I was bathing
Martha and Sarah when I heard some very loud noises from outside the
window, I ignored it at first but when Sarah was wondering what was
happening outside I got a bit curious as well. I pushed the pale green
curtain out of the way and saw that down by King Street. There was a
bit of a crowd, not that large but there were definitely a few people.
I was not sure what they were doing. I was scared to bring the girls in
case it was something I did not want them to see. But they begged and
begged for me to bring them down, so I finished up washing Sarah’s hair
and dressed the girls, and we went down to see where all the noises
were coming from.
When I got down there I had to push though people to see what was going
on. There must have been at least a foot of snow on the ground and
there was a hole in my boots, so my socks were getting soaked. I heard
people shouting and yelling things, but I do not know who they were
yelling at. I asked Daniel Calef, a friend of my husbands, who was
standing to the right of me if he knew what was going on. He said that
people were yelling insults at the soldiers and throwing things at them
and things were getting out of hand. Right after he told me that,
someone screamed “FIRE” and a few people ran away towards the Custom
House and came out with buckets of water. Some people came out of their
houses with pails of water not knowing what was going on. I did not see
a fire anywhere, so I just stepped back a few inches with Sarah and
Martha tight in my grip. My skirt was blowing back and forth on my
goose bumped legs and Sarah was holding the end of my jacket with all
her might. Thomas Preston came along with eight other soldiers, and
then I heard Thomas yell, “ FIRE! “. One soldier fired his musket and I
heard people gasping and crying, I did not take the time to see who was
shot, I just grabbed Sarah and Martha and scurried home quickly. I did
not want them seeing this or getting hurt, as much as I was curious.
-Patience Bradford
December 5, 1770
Dear Diary,
I am terribly sorry I have not written in so many months; there has
been a flurry of activity. Today was not that great, and it was rather
usual. I heard so many different things today, and I do not know which
ones to believe.
The soldiers, accused of murder, have been having a trial for the
Boston massacre, and today was the last day of it. I was not planning
on going to any of the trials, but some people had said that today was
the last one and I wanted to see who would be guilty and who would be
innocent. My friend, Abigail, watched Sarah, while Martha had her first
day of school.
I watched as the people were yelling and taking sides. The jury was
just watching; they seemed like they were not sure which side to
believe quite yet because they all had these confused faces on
throughout the whole trial. I also saw John Adams staring blankly
towards the other lawyer, but then when it became his turn to speak his
expression changed rather quickly. It took a long time for things to
finish up.
In the end it turned out six soldiers were innocent, but they were
still punished and taken out of the army. The other two soldiers, a man
named Matthew Kilroy and another man named Hugh Montgomery, were found
guilty of manslaughter and they even had their thumbs branded. But they
did not get executed. It was strange being in the same room as two men
who were supposedly murderers. I felt weird and uncomfortable being
there, in that room. It was cold in the Custom House, and I could
almost see people’s breath, but not quite. Most people were so involved
in watching, and they kept a stern look on their face and seemed to
really care about this all. I care as well, but I did not want to watch
so intensely because it frightened me.
I left as soon as the trial was over, and on my walk home I thought a
lot about the trial, and how life would be so hard being a soldier. I
do not really think it was Matthew Kilroy and Hugh Montgomery’s fault
that they shot the townspeople, if they thought someone said fire, they
would have had to fire because it was their job. Whether or not someone
yelled it, as long as they heard it and are not lying I do not think
they should be found guilty, even though they were found guilty of
manslaughter.
After walking home I had to make dinner, and I did not have much time,
but I had already decided I would be making cabbage soup with corn
bread. I was surprised how fast I finished cooking. I was just in time
before my husband came home after work. He said that today he had made
four saddles, in one day! I was so proud that he worked so hard, and I
have always been proud that he ended up being a saddler because that's
what he has wanted to be for a long time. Well, it has been a long
day, and I should be getting to sleep now, I might write more
tomorrow night.
- Patience Bradford
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Historical References:
Beller, Susan Provost. The Revolutionary War.
New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2002.
Boston massacre Historical Society. Colonial Williamsburg.
25 April 06’. <www.bostonmassacre.net/>
Garcia, Jesus, Donna M., Ogle, Risinger C. Frederick,
and Stevos, Joyce. Creating America. United
States, McDougal Littell, 2005.
The American Revolution. San Diego:Green Haven Press,
INC., 1992.
Hakim, Joy. A History of US: From Colonies to Country.
Oxford University Press: New York, 1993.
Murray, Stuart. American Revolution. New York: DK
Publishing, INC., 2002.
“The View from the Crows Nest, The Boston Massacre.”
Cobblestone. 27 April 2006: 4-5
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