Sunday, August 11th, 1:30pm, Tapley Memorial Hall
Summer 1774. The Port of Boston has been closed. The countryside is rising up, there is talk of raising minute companies alongside the regular militia, and British soldiers are appearing in Danvers.
General Thomas Gage, newly appointed Royal Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony arrives in New England to keep watch over the restless colonists. Take refreshments with the General to hear his side of the story and see our new exhibit of artifacts from the 18th century. The talk will focus on the little-known episode of the summer of 1774, when Gage moved the government of Massachusetts from Boston to Salem in an attempt to bypass the Sons of Liberty and patriot influence in Boston, hoping to find a more receptive audience in the port of Salem.
Afterward, we’ll walk next door to see the General’s office recreated in our Jeremiah Page House where he spent part of each day 250 years ago. July of 1774, General Gage moved his troops to the area now occupied by the Liberty Tree Mall. He lived at the Hooper-Collins house(Lindens), now in Washington DC.
Paul O’Shaughnessy is a longtime reenactor of British soldiers and officers from the opening years of the American Revolution. He recently portrayed General Thomas Gage, newly appointed Governor of Massachusetts, in a re-creation of Gage’s arrival in Salem in June 1774. He is also a Board member of the Lexington Historical Society and the Friends of Minute Man National Park and an officer in His Majesty’s Tenth Regiment of Foot, a re-created British infantry regiment of 1775. The Tenth Foot is based in Lexington, MA. See their website at www.redcoat.org
Refreshments provided by CleanEatz of Danvers
The Danvers Historical Society invites you to follow along with us as we explore the people and events leading up to the War of Independence.
Explore artifacts and stories from 1774 and the era of the American revolution.
Tapley Memorial Hall, 13 Page Street, Danvers MA.
The Page House, 11 Page Street, Danvers MA.
Free Admission. Donations appreciated.
We are proud to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program.
Danvers Historical Society: 978-777-1666 or E-mail to connect@danvershistory.org