It was Gun Control: The Powder Alarm and the Road to Independence

 

First, some quick background.

In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed the “Coercive Acts.” Among other moves, the British closed the port of Boston and revoked Massachusetts’ charter, bringing the colony under the total control of the British government. 

These actions further inflamed tensions between the British and the American colonists. Many colonists saw this as a further attempt to strip them of their right to self-rule and force them into submission.

As noted by American History Central, The people of Massachusetts began to plan for the worst.

Many of the towns throughout the colony were in the habit of storing weapons and ammunition in storehouses throughout the colony, including the Provincial Powder House on Quarry Hill in Charlestown. Slowly, and quietly, the towns started removing their weapons and ammunition from the storehouses.

General Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts, felt the best way to deal with this and keep the peace would be to disarm the colonists as much as possible. 

Yes, that’s just what empires have always done. 

On Aug 27, William Brattle, the leader of the provincial militia, snitched in a letter to Gage to let him know the colonists were taking their powder, and that only “the King’s supply” remained. Gage, of course, determined that the remaining powder had to be taken and brought to Boston for “safekeeping.” 

On Sept 1, Gage sent sheriff David Phips, along with a force of 250+ Redcoats, with orders to remove the power - and Brattle handed him the keys. Most of the troops returned to Boston, but a small detachment marched to Cambridge and seized two artillery pieces assigned to the Middlesex County militia.

But with that many troops assembled in Boston common and sailing up the Mystic river at 4 or 5am - it’s not surprising that rumors of an all-out war started to spread like wildfire.

Despite the fact that these all turned out to be rumors only - at least for the time being - how the people responded was nothing short of remarkable. 

Immediately, as many as 5000 - and upwards of 20,000 people armed up and started streaming towards Boston from as far away as Connecticut. One traveler in Shrewsbury reported that in the space of 15 minutes, 50 men had gathered, equipped themselves, sent out messengers to surrounding towns, and left for Boston.

Within 24 hours, several thousand Massachusetts farmers marched in Cambridge demanding that Attorney General Jonathan Sewall, council members Samuel Danforth and Joseph Lee - and Sheriff David Phips - resign or apologize for the actions they took. They then moved to Lt. Gov. Thomas Oliver’s home and threatened him into signing a resignation. Brattle - the snitch - was forced to flee.

 As the facts overtook the rumors, the colonial militias returned home.

There's a video and audio available - plus 12 reference links for your to read and learn more on your own time.

Here's the link
https://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2023/09/it-was-gun-control-the-powder-alarm-and-the-road-to-independence/