History Blog

Join Libricola in exploring The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution by William Cooper Nell! Beacon Hill’s north slope, the heart of Boston’s Black community in the 1800s, has a block-long street of historic buildings called Smith Court. One pale yellow 18th-century (private) house, with a tall, twisting magnolia tree now in bloom, was probably an Underground Railroad site. It was also the home of the Black abolitionist William Cooper Nell, who in the 1850s wrote The C

Rachel’s Revolution Paul Revere’s involvement in the Revolution often kept him away from home. But while he and his co-conspirators were engaged in devising a rebellion, women like Rachel Revere were responsible for managing and maintaining the homestead. By April 1775, Rachel found herself caring for 7 children—6 from Paul’s previous marriage and 1 from her own. Late on the 18th, Paul rushed from his home to warn the countryside of an impending British raid, and for an ag

Join one of our blog writers, Memoria, in remembering the iconic Midnight Ride as a fuller historical narrative, while also touching on Sybil Ludington, another icon of the Revolutionary War that has seeped into public memory. Join Memoria in exploring these two examples of public memory and how it impacts the way we learn history and let it define us today. Paul Revere has been an iconic figure in Boston ever since Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s immortal 1861 poem “Paul Revere

Join Libricola once a month in assessing literature that is connected to our monthly themes and the historical narrative you’d encounter on one of our historic tours of Boston. This month, delve deeper with Libricola on Elizabeth Murray Campbell Smith Inman. I will use a chunk of my allotted words here to name one of the 18th century occupants of Boston’s oldest burying ground: Elizabeth Murray Campbell Smith Inman. Patricia Cleary's biography, Elizabeth Murray: A Woman's P

Playing Both Sides At this time 250 years ago, Provincial guns placed on Dorchester Heights threatened British positions in Boston, compelling General William Howe to evacuate his forces on March 17. Meanwhile, the merchant John Rowe was in a state of vexation. On March 11, in preparation for their departure, British authorities raided his warehouse and took what provisions they wanted. While uneasy with British policies in Massachusetts, Rowe’s business stood to gain by m

The King and the ministers who managed the British Empire had one central goal: enriching England. The Industrial Revolution began in the English textile industry even before the American Revolution.