Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1909-04-15

| plates, as was 10 De expected from one
wholly self-taught in the art, were crude
in detail though expressive and forceful
in composition, but his later work often
attained a considerable degree of elegance
and artistic merit.
The martial spirit that stirred .him to
such degree .in1ater lifey asserted iitself
first on the occasion of the campaign
against the French in Canada in l756, and
he was at that time commissioned Second
Lieutenant OF Artillery by Governor
Shirley and attached TO the expedition
against Crown Point under command Of
General John Winslow. His service in
this campaign was uneventful, and some
six months later he returned to his bus
mess. From this time his allegiance TO
royal authority steadily waned.
The expense OF protecting the Colonies
from French encroachments had been
large, and in apportioning share OF this
to America, the King thereby desired to
express the sovereignty of the mother
country with view of checking the
spirit of independence that was manifest
in certain quarters, particularly in Boston.
His ministers therefore devised the Stamp
Act, which though defeated in Parliament
when first offered, was passed in 1865 and
its enforcement Immediately attempted.
| This included tax on the imports Of the
Colonies, but its repugnance to the latter
lay in the fact that they had no voice in
the matter, right which they claimed
under the Magma Charta, the foundation
of English liberty. The resentment en-
gendered by this enactment operated TO
widen the breach between Wings and
Tories, as the sympathizerS OF the King
were called, and the leaders of the former
banded themselves together under the
name of the Sons of Liberty Their
meetings were conducted with great Sc
crecy, those in Boston being held chiefly
at the Green Dragon Tavern, and meas
ures were taken to resist at every step
the impending tyranny.
Paul Revere, popular among his fel-
lows, and esteemed by those whom So
cial position and previous services had
marked as prime directors, became a
prominent figure in this movement and
was intruSted with the execution of many
important affairs. Committees of safety
and correspondence were formed
throughout the Colonies, and Revere was
often the bearer of intelligence and in
structions from one to another. His chief
commissions at this time were to carry TO
New York and Philadelphia the senti-
ments of Massachusetts,, and its PROPOSE
ton to unity the action Of the country
through a Colonial Congress. This Con-
greSS was held at New York in October
OF the same year, and adopted Declara-
ton of Rights and Grievances which, to-
gether with the protests from British mer-
chants and the earnest efforts of William
Pitt, caused Parliament to repeal the OBJ
noxious Act early in l766.
The King, unwilling to renounce his
policy OF subsection, secured the passage
of another and somewhat similar Act
aimed at American commerce, and again
the colonies were excited to resistance
and methods devised to defeat its pro-
visions. A non-importation league was
formed, and many encounters occurred
between the crown officers, or their SYM
pathizers, and the patriots. Paul Revere
appears as leading spirit in these de-
monstrations, and several of them were
marked by the publication of engravings
illustrative of the events.
The discomfort bred by the stamp
measures of Parliament and nurtured in
the secret societies and caucuSeS that
abounded in Boston burst from these
bounds on the 29th of November, l773,
with the issuance OF broad side, or pos
ter as we would now term it, calling the
citizens to meet and take action upon the
matter. The ship Dartmouth" laden
with tea, had arrived on the 18th, and
great excitement prevailed. The meeting
announced was held and addressed by
noted patriots, who urged the people to
prevent the discharge of the cargo.
Samuel Adams offered resolution "tlat
the tea should not be landed; that it
should be sent back in the same bottom
to the place whence it came, and at all
events that no duty should be paid on ii. :"
J This was unanimously adopted and a
guard of twenty-five was appointed to
! support it. Paul Revere was one of this
number, and with others watched the
ship that night Another meeting was
held the next day and the owners OF the
Dartmouth" and two other tea ships
which had arrived were compelled TO
send them back to England without an
loading. Governor Hutchinson upset
this peaceful solution OF the matter by
the Issuance Of clearance papers for the
ships until the cargoes should be dis
charged. This further inflamed the citi-
zens, and on the 10th of December another
excited gathering was held in the "Old
South" Meeting House. At the close OF
this the cry, "BoSton Harbor teapot to-
night" was raised, at which signal band
Of men styling themselves "Mohawks, "
and largely disguised as such, led the way
to Griffin's Wharf, boarded the ships, and
in an orderly manner burst open three
hundred and forty-two chests and threw
the tea into the waters of the harbor. AS
usual, Paul Revere was one Of The insti-
gators and leaders OF this-the first act OF
open rebellion.
A. - -o.,,f+ ~ .I,;c acfi0u iauc Were