Hub Town Tours Circular Letter Vo. 10, No. 1 Issue: “Life Under Siege.”

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 maintaining diplomacy with the Crown. Thus, he remained politically unaligned—a decision which made him a pariah to the Revolutionaries. This became evident when he was forced to leave Patriot Joseph Warren’s funeral at King’s Chapel. For civilians like John Rowe, neutrality could be just as costly as loyalty or rebellion. - Discipulus

The Stone Chapel

Founded in 1686 as Boston’s first Anglican church, King’s Chapel stood at the center of the city’s imperial world in the eighteenth century, reflecting the chapel’s ties to the Church of England and the broader British Empire during a period of rising revolutionary tensions. Like many institutions in a bustling Atlantic port city, King’s Chapel was also connected to the commercial networks that shaped Boston’s prosperity. Some merchants and families linked to the chapel participated in trade systems intertwined with slavery and the wider Atlantic economy. Today, King’s Chapel invites visitors to reflect on these layered histories. As both a historic site and an active place of worship, it provides space to consider Boston’s ties to empire, commerce, and enslavement—and the ways these histories continue to shape our understanding of the past. - Scholaris

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