The Revolutionary War officially began in April of 1775 in Lexington and Concord. But had the events of February 26th, 1775 played out differently, it very well could have begun in Salem, Massachusetts.
Prior to Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts was like a powder keg about to explode and General Thomas Gage was appointed by the king to quiet the anger. General Gage seemed to believe that the best way to go about this was to confiscate all the weapons. In September of 1774, he seized a large stock of gunpowder from the Provincial Powder House just outside of Boston. This led to whispers in this time of unrest and fear that the war had officially begun. Mobs began forming in Boston and General Gage later closed off the city and forced a surrender of weapons.
On October 5, 1774 the Provincial Congress organized in Salem, Massachusetts. According to some sources, General Gage was distressed about what was happening in Salem and began keeping a closer eye on the North Shore city for resistance like that which he was encountering in Boston. He then received reports that the people in Salem were acquiring a sizable amount of cannons.
On February 24th, 1775, General Gage ordered Colonel Alexander Leslie to make his way into Salem with the objective of seizing any and all weapons. The next day, Colonel Leslie and 240 Regulars, often colloquially referred to as “Redcoats,” departed Castle William in the middle of the night and quietly arrived at Homan’s Cove in Marblehead on February 26th, 1775. Colonel Leslie and his men had the plan to wait until the residents went in for their Sunday afternoon church sermon, anticipating that they would be able to march to Salem relatively unseen –– but the people of Marblehead were keeping watch.
Major John Pedrick of Marblehead was sent to alert the people of Salem, but he was unable to begin his journey until after Colonel Leslie and his men had already begun theirs, and the only way to Salem was the road they were traveling. Major Pedrick slowly made his way past the British soldiers and politely saluted Colonel Leslie to not arouse suspicion. Colonel Leslie returned the salute and ordered his men to give Major Pedrick room to pass by them. Not only was Major Pedrick a smart choice for his skilled riding abilities, but he was trusted by Colonel Leslie after the colonel had been a guest at his house on previous occasions.
Once Major Pedrick had put enough distance between himself and the Regulars, he quickly galloped the rest of the way and alerted the Salemites who, in turn, filed out of their Sunday service, preparing for what could become a violent confrontation. According to some sources, Captain David Mason, Engineer to the Committee of Public Safety, ran through the town shouting the phrase that would one day become synonymous with Paul Revere:
“The Regulars are coming!”
To delay Colonel Leslie and his men further, some Salemites began tearing some planks from the bridge that connected Salem and Marblehead. By the time Colonel Leslie and his troops arrived at the bridge, they had to wait for the townspeople to repair it. Once Colonel Leslie and his men made it into Salem, someone whispered in the Colonel’s ear where the cannons were and a quick march began towards the North River. But just as the troops arrived at the drawbridge, it was raised from the other side and there was no way to cross.
Colonel Leslie demanded to know why the men blocked the King’s highway. “Old” Mr. James Barr commented that it was a road built on private property leading to private lots and therefore was not under control of any government bodies. Colonel Leslie demanded that it be lowered and “stomped and swore.” When the people of Salem showed resistance, he threatened to command his men to open fire.
Militia Captain John Felt replied:
“You had better be damned than fire! You have no right to fire without further orders! If you fire, you’ll all be dead men.”
Behind Captain Felt, sitting on the drawbridge, several Salem residents taunted Colonel Leslie and his men, calling them cowards, “Lobster Coats,” and “fiddlers” (because it was cold and the soldiers were shaking), all while insulting their government. One man named Symonds stood near the whole day with a musket, ready to fire if necessary. Captain Richard Derby shouted across the water:
“Find the cannons if you can. Take them if you can. They will never be surrendered.”
Behind Colonel Leslie, the Marblehead Regiment was moving into position along the Salem road, ready to fight if necessary and Benjamin Daland was on his way back into town after alerting the people of Danvers about the Regular’s activities. By that evening, 3000 militiamen from as far as Amesbury were making their way to Salem and the Danvers Militia had taken up residence at the Salem distillery to, according to Historic Ipswich, “protect its precious wares.”
The order to fire was not repeated by Colonel Leslie but he did tell Captain Felt that he was determined to pass over the drawbridge even if he had to remain in the city until Autumn. Captain Felt commented that “nobody would care for that” and urged Colonel Leslie to acknowledge that he had already been outsmarted.
Colonel Leslie then ordered his men to take three gundalows, large sailboats, but the men of Salem reached them first and began destroying them. Colonel Leslie demanded them to stop and the soldiers still threatened to use their bayonets in response.
Joseph Whicher, the foreman of Colonel Sprague’s distillery, tore open his shirt and dared them. One frustrated soldier lunged forward and pricked him in his chest with his bayonet tip. Whicher fell back onto the boat, but was only mildly injured. Whicher was incredibly proud and for the rest of his life was known to show off at any slight provocation “the first wound received in the war of Independence.”
After again being refused, Colonel Leslie commanded his men to begin loading their weapons telling his officer to “turn this company about and have the men fire.” Reverend Thomas Barnard, who was either a Loyalist or very recently loyal to the British, emerged from the crowd and tried to mitigate. The Salemites watched on with mistrust, considering his sympathies in the past. Since it seemed like at this point Colonel Leslie’s goal was simply to cross the drawbridge, he proposed that the drawbridge would be lowered but Colonel Leslie and his men would only be able to search a short distance on the other side.
After Leslie swore that he and his men would be peaceful and go no more than 250 yards across the bridge (although some sources state it was as little as 100 yards) and Captain Felt assured the townspeople, the drawbridge was lowered. Colonel Leslie and his men found nothing within that small area.
If they were allowed to explore further, they would have found the nineteen French cannons purchased by Colonel Mason and Captain Derby on the premises of Captain Robert Foster’s blacksmith shop. According to Bonnie Hurd Smith, Hannah Mason, Colonel Mason’s wife, and their daughters had hidden all additional weapons during the standoff.
Colonel Leslie and his men began retreating and Sarah Tarrant, a thirty-year-old nurse who was frustrated with the Regulars believing they had jurisdiction to do whatever they please, thrust her head out of the window and screamed at them to go home, that they were on a fool’s errand, and chastised them for interrupting their Sunday service while waving a turkey-wing duster for emphasis and added “do you think we were born in the woods, to be frightened by owls?” In response, a frustrated Regular raised his firearm and took aim at her. She responded, “fire if you have the courage, but I doubt it.” He did not fire. Colonel Leslie and his men retreated, reportedly “purple-faced” staring straight ahead. Sarah Tarrant lived to her 80s.
The Regulars continued their way out of Salem surrounded by militiamen from all over Northern Massachusetts. Later on, General Gage admitted that this was a mistake and the British Army were being laughed at.
In England on April 17, 1775, The Gentleman's Magazine of London published “by a ship just arrived from America, it is reported that the Americans have hoisted their standard of liberty at Salem” and that there was “no doubt that the next news will be an account of a bloody engagement between the two armies.”
Two days later the war officially began at Lexington and Concord.
Sources
- Barnes, Eric W. "All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men." American Heritage Journal, Volume 11, Issue 6, October 1960. Available at AmericanHeritage.com.
- Endicott, Charles Moses. "Account of Leslie’s Retreat." Salem: William Ives & George W. Pease Printers, 1856. Available at: Archive.org.
- Fischer, David Hackett. "Paul Revere's Ride." New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 9780195098310.
- "Leslie’s Retreat or How the Revolutionary War Almost Began in Salem." Historic Ipswich. February 22, 2023. Available at HistoricIpswich.net.
- "Leslie’s Retreat Historical Marker." Historical Marker Database. Available at HDMB.org.
- Paine, Ralph D.. "The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem." Reprint Publication Maryland: Heritage, Inc., 2007. Available at Google Books.
- "Preventing Tyranny: Patriotism at Salem's North Bridge." Passion for the Past. July 4, 2015. Available at PassionForThePast.blogspot.com.
Edited by Alisa Grishin