The Powder Alarm
By: AH1Tom
The Powder Alarm is mentioned in the first strike of the match at Project Appleseed. However, due to time constraints, not many details are provided.
By mid-1774, tension between the British government and American colonists was coming to a head. The government had just implemented the Intolerable Acts, punishing the colonists for acts of rebellion such as the Boston Tea Party. Colonists were outraged by the Intolerable Acts, especially in Massachusetts.
The new laws closed Boston Port, putting colonial merchants out of business and preventing Massachusetts from importing essential goods. There were widespread protests, and most colonies rebelled against the new British regulations, refusing to implement them. Political leaders also planned the First Continental Congress, scheduled for September 5th, 1774. Some colonists were beginning to prepare for the possibility of armed conflict, organizing their militias and preparing weapons and other supplies. Some of these resources were stolen from British stockpiles, while others were imported or were leftovers from the French and Indian War.
Local weapons stockpiles, also known as magazines, were often controlled by the provincial government but were sometimes effectively controlled by Patriot forces. Although the stockpiles were originally designed to protect the colonists from common enemies of the Patriots and Loyalists, such as Native American tribes, the British realized they could easily fall into the hands of local militias if war broke out. To reduce the likelihood of a successful armed insurrection, the British government decided to begin a policy of removing black powder, guns, artillery, and other weapons from local stockpiles.
In the early morning of September 1st, 1774, General Thomas Gage sent out his troops to seize the largest stock of gunpowder in New England. It was stored in the Provincial Powder House, six miles northwest of Boston. Many of the local towns kept their munitions there, as did the Province of Massachusetts.
During that summer, the towns had quietly withdrawn their supplies from the Powder House, leaving only the provincial reserve. Loyalists called this supply the King's powder. Most people in Massachusetts believed it belonged to them. Gen Gage was told of the withdrawals by William Brattle, a Cambridge Tory. Gen Gage resolved to remove the remaining gunpowder before it disappeared.
To lead the mission, Gage selected one of his most able officers, Lieutenant-Colonel George Maddison. Maddison was given 260 picked men from several regiments in the garrison. To aid in speed, surprise, and ease of moving the large quantity of stores, Gen Gage made use of the Royal Navy's longboats from the ships in Boston harbor. At 4:30 in the morning of September 1st, 1774, Colonel Maddison's men climbed into the boats, and the coxswains pushed off, rowing across Boston harbor to the Mystic River.
The Middlesex County sheriff, Colonel David Phips, gave them the keys to the building. No lanterns could be lit in the building for fear of explosion, and it was still very dark in the early morning. The soldiers waited for the light to improve and then brought out all 250 half-barrels of gunpowder. As the sun rose over Quarry Hill, a small detachment marched on to Cambridge and brought away two brass field pieces that belonged to the Province.
By noon, the munitions were deposited in Castle Wiliam, and the men were back in their barracks. Gen Gage was very pleased. His staff had planned the mission perfectly, and Colonel Maddison had executed it without a hitch.
The people were caught entirely by surprise. Throughout the day, reports began to fly across the countryside. It was rumored that the province had been robbed of its powder, the Regulars were on the march, the war had begun, six people were killed, and the King's ships were bombarding Boston. Of course, none of this was true, but the day would long be remembered as the powder alarm.
SomervillePowderhouse1935.jpg
[Image Credit: This is a 1935 photograph of the historic Powder House in Somerville, Massachusetts. Credit to: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, MASS,9-SOMV,1; Public Domain]