Trip to Boston

We took a trip to Boston.  It was amazing to be in places that were so significant to our United States history.  I love being American, and some of these places are as old as or older than our great country.  We had fun and look forward to going back to see more.

 

It was at Faneuil Hall in 1764 that Americans first protested against the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, setting the doctrine that would come to be known as no taxation without representation. Gatherings to protest the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, and the Redcoat occupation would follow, as would one of the first in a series of meetings that would culminate in the Boston Tea Party.

This wooden structure, dating back to 1680, is downtown Boston's oldest building still in existence. Paul Revere purchased it in 1770 when he was 35 years old. He paid 53 pounds, 6 shillings and 8 pence with a mortgage of 160 pounds. Revere was living at this house the night he set forth on April 18, 1775 to make his momentous ride to Lexington.

 Christ Church in the City of Boston, also known as Old North Church, is the oldest standing church building in Boston, having first opened its doors to worshippers on December 29, 1723. Gen. Thomas Gage had made secret plans to send troops to seize rebel munitions stored in Lexington and Concord and to arrest John Hancock and Sam Adams. The Sons of Liberty discovered the plot and devised their own plan to have Paul Revere and William Dawes warn the countryside of the arrival of the British army.

On April 18, 1775 Paul Revere met up with sexton Robert Newman to tell him how many lanterns to display in the church’s steeple to signal how British troops were advancing.  Newman then met fellow Sons of Liberty Capt. Pulling and Thomas Bernard. Leaving Bernard to keep watch outside, Newman opened the church and he and Pulling climbed the stairs and ladders up eight stories to hang two lanterns for a few moments. It was long enough for patriots in Charlestown to learn what has been immortalized by the phrase One if by land, two if by sea in Longfellow’s Paul Revere’s Ride. The British were advancing by boat across the Charles River. These lanterns heralded the battles of Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the American Revolution.

WOW!  These are just a few of the sights to see... like I said, we will be going back!