George Robert Twelves Hewes George Robert Twelves Hewes ( August 25 , 1742 – November 5 , 1840 ) was a participant in the political protests in Boston at the onset of the American Revolution , and one of the last survivors of the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre . Later he fought in the American Revolutionary War as a militiaman and privateer . Shortly before his death at the age of 98 , Hewes was the subject of two biographies and much public commemoration . Early life . George Robert Twelves Hewes was born in the South End of Boston , the son of George Hewes , a poor tanner and chandler who had moved to Boston from his family home in Wrentham , Massachusetts , which was located in present day Plainville , Massachusetts . Hewes ' s unusual third name evidently came from his maternal grandmother , whose maiden name was Twelves . At the age of fourteen Hewes was apprenticed to a shoemaker named Downing . Disliking both his master and his craft , Hewes tried to enlist in the British army but was rejected for being too short ( he stood at only five feet , one inch tall ) . Upon turning twenty - one in 1763 , Hewes opened his own shoemaking shop and began a long , poverty - stricken career . In January 1768 he married Sarah " Sally " Sumner , the daughter of a Baptist sexton . Before being caught up in the political unrest of 1770 , Hewes was an average member of Boston ' s lower class , never belonging to any church or association , and never participating in politics . Political activity . In his biographies , written at the end of his life , Hewes recalled that his participation in the Patriot movement began on March 5 , 1770 , when he joined the mob of Bostonian apprentices and craftsmen present at what is now called the Boston Massacre . Hewes joined the crowd in support of the apprentice who was trying to collect on a debt from British Captain John Goldfinch . Hewes was unarmed during the riot that ensued , but nonetheless he suffered injury when British Private Kilroy struck him in the shoulder with his rifle . On his way home that night Hewes had a verbal confrontation with two British soldiers , which he related in an official deposition the next day . On December 16 , 1773 , Hewes joined the band of Bostonians who protested the Tea Act by dumping tea into Boston Harbor , an event now called the Boston Tea Party . The protesters divided themselves into three boarding parties , each going aboard one of the three tea ships , Dartmouth , Eleanor and Beaver . Hewes was appointed " boatswain " of his party that boarded Dartmouth , mostly on account of his " whistling talent . " In his capacity as boatswain , Hewes went to the captain of the boarded ship to demand the keys to the tea chests . He also fought with Captain O ' Connor , a fellow protester who was trying to take some of the tea for himself . According to Hewes , it took three hours to empty every tea chest and throw the content into the Boston Harbor . Like the other protesters , Hewes then quietly returned to his place of residence . In January , Hewes was at the center of the events surrounding the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm , one of the most publicized incidents of its kind in the Revolutionary period . Malcolm was what would later be known as a Loyalist , a supporter of royal authority . A Bostonian , he worked for the British customs service , and pursued his duties with a zeal that made him unpopular . Commoners often " hooted " at Malcolm in the streets , and sailors in Portsmouth , New Hampshire , tarred and feathered him in November 1773 . On January 25 , 1774 , according to the account in the " Massachusetts Gazette " , Hewes saw Malcolm threatening to strike a boy with his cane . When Hewes intervened to stop Malcolm , the two began arguing , with Malcolm insisting that Hewes should not interfere in the business of a gentleman . When Hewes replied that at least he ( Hewes ) had never been tarred and feathered , Malcolm struck Hewes hard on the forehead with the cane , knocking him unconscious . Hewes was treated by the noted Patriot doctor , Joseph Warren . The cane left a scar which would be visible on Hewes ' s forehead for the rest of his life . He went to a magistrate ' s office to swear out a warrant for John Malcolm ' s arrest . That night , a mob seized Malcolm in his house and dragged him into King Street , where , over the objections of Hewes , he was stripped to the waist and covered with tar and feathers . They then took him to the Liberty Tree , where they first threatened to hang him and then threatened to cut off his ears if he did not apologize for his behavior and renounce his customs commission . Malcolm relented and was sent home . The event was reported in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic . Military service . In 1775 Boston was put under martial law . Like many Patriots , Hewes fled the city . He sent his family to Wrentham , his father ' s hometown . He himself had to escape Boston by boat . For the majority of the war years Hewes stayed with his family , providing for them . For a few months of each year , however , Hewes signed up to fight , sometimes in the militia and sometimes as a privateer . Hewes ' first period of military service began in the fall of 1776 when he sailed aboard the privateering ship " Diamond . " It was a successful three - month voyage , resulting in the capture of three enemy vessels . Hewes later recalled that when the voyage dragged on longer , and no additional prizes had been captured , he joined the crew in threatening to mutiny if the captain did not sail back to Providence . Hewes served in the militia for one to three months of 1777 . In 1778 he served for another month , seeing action at the Battle of Rhode Island . In 1779 Hewes signed on with the Connecticut ship of war " Defence " for an eventful seven - and - a - half - month voyage . After capturing four ships and thousands of dollars in prize money , the ship ' s captain , Samuel Smedley , refused to give Hewes his share . Hewes served in the militia twice more , in the autumn months of 1780 and 1781 . Once in the closing years of the war Hewes hired a substitute to avoid the draft . The " extreme pressure of his circumstances " and the need to provide for his family precluded another tour with the militia . Hewes ' most enduring memories of the war were of a temporary increase in the dignity of his position . The democratic style of leadership in the militia and aboard the privateers left its mark on Hewes , and he never forgot the respect he received from his social superiors during this time . Later life . George Hewes lived in Wrentham until after the outbreak of the War of 1812 . This period of time was relatively unremarkable . He and Sally had fifteen children , and probably eleven survived birth . He remained a poor shoemaker . In 1812 two of his sons followed in his footsteps and joined the militia . Apparently their willingness to fight was unusual for Wrentham citizens at the time . After the war George and Sarah Hewes followed a few of their children to Richfield Springs in Ostego County , New York . George was then seventy - four years old . Hewes never escaped from the poverty that haunted him his entire life . Even in his old age he continued to earn money making shoes . Sarah died in 1828 at the age of 77 . In his later years he relied on various friends and relatives for support , moving from house to house . He became , however , a notable figure in the community , being one of the last survivors of the Revolutionary War and appearing at Independence Day festivities in his militia uniform every Fourth of July . During these years Hewes converted to Methodism and began reading the Bible frequently . Rediscovery . The 1830s were a period when the American Revolution experienced a revival in the public memory . Battles and events from the revolution were being newly commemorated . During this period , in 1833 , a writer named James Hawkes discovered Hewes in Richfield Springs and wrote a biography about him , " A Retrospect of the Boston Tea - Party " . Hawkes ' s book became popular , and in 1835 Hewes toured New England as a celebrity . He sat for a portrait by Joseph Cole , called simply " The Centenarian " , which now hangs in the Old State House in Boston . Benjamin Bussey Thatcher wrote a second biography , " Traits of the Tea Party . " He was the guest of honor at an elaborate ceremony on the Fourth of July attended by the lieutenant governor and by other Revolutionary War veterans . All along his route he was adored by the public for his age , his health , his pleasant demeanor , and for his role in the seminal events of the Revolution . Both Hawkes and Thatcher were amazed by Hewes ' s memory . Hewes remembered details of his stages of life clearly , and he could recall his memories smoothly . He could recall how things looked , how things tasted , and how he felt at that time even though he was in his nineties . Although Hewes was not by any means a pivotal player in the Revolution or an important public figure , he helped to secure the American Revolution as an important event in American history . He was rediscovered at a time when the Boston Tea Party and other early events of the revolution were also being rediscovered . He continues to be notable today through his biographies , which give the impressions of a common person of the revolution reflecting on his participation at the end of his life . Death . Hewes was injured in an accident on July 4 , 1840 , as he was boarding the carriage to go to the annual festivities . He died on November 5 , 1840 . He was 98 years old , although believed at the time to be 109 . He was buried without public commemoration in Richfield Springs ; in 1896 he was reburied ceremoniously in the town ' s Grand Army of the Republic cemetery for veterans .