We look to the month of March to begin the break with winter. But March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war and was traditionally the start of Roman military campaigns because of its better weather. The American colonists’ discontent with England occurred over a period of years and cannot be pinpointed to a particular month but the writings and events of March 1774 foretell the American colonies inevitable march to war with England.
Alexander King (1737-1802) was an influential man in Suffield. In March 1774, he was a prominent doctor in town, but also the Town Clerk and Selectman. King wrote prolifically but few of his writings remain because he burned most of them before his death. However, this March 1774 entry exists. It alludes to his unease with the political unrest taking place in the country.
“Arrived a Ship in Harbour at Boston with Tea Consigned to Several Gentlemen in the Town, on Monday Morning the 7th it was all thrown into the Docks as that sent by the East India Company was in December last. The people of Province Except the County of Hampshire make very Great Opposition to Government Especially the Town of Boston and Commit very Great Disorder in support of what they call Liberty.”
Another entry states this:
“The House have lately impeached Mr. Oliver the Chief Justice of the Province of High Crimes and Misdemeanors…”
Peter Oliver was a loyalist and one of the judges who presided over the trial of British soldiers who allegedly shot into an unruly crowd in Boston, ultimately killing five people. The incident which came to be known as the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770. Eight British soldiers and their officer were accused of murder. John Adams took on the controversial role of defending the British soldiers. Adams was a patriot, not a loyalist, but his defense of the soldiers showed his commitment to supporting the rule of law even amidst strong anti-British sentiment in the colonies. Like Alexander King, Adams condemned mob violence. Adams later served in the Continental Congress and helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. At the end of the trial, six soldiers and the officer were acquitted, while two soldiers whose sentences were reduced to manslaughter, were freed, but branded on their thumbs. The Boston Massacre, a name coined as anti-British propaganda, and the verdict were used by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere to fuel the anger of the colonists against the British government. Following the trial, Peter Oliver was promoted to Chief Justice of the Province (the highest court in America). He was continuously harassed by the Sons of Liberty, a secret anti-British political organization founded by Samuel Adams. Oliver was impeached in 1774 when he accepted a pay increase from the British. In truth, his impeachment occurred because of his staunch defense of British authority. In 1776, Oliver fled to England where he published a lengthy paper urging the Continental soldiers to abandon the patriot cause.
On March 31, 1774, the British Port Act became law although it did not take effect until June 1. It was the first of the Coercive Acts (renamed the Intolerable Acts by the colonists). The Act blockaded the Port of Boston, closing it to commercial trade and allowed no exports. Provisions for British soldiers were the sole imports allowed in. The Act demanded restitution by Bostonians to the East India Company for tea thrown into the harbor. Only then would the blockade be lifted.
The march to inevitable war was ensured.
America250 is a nationwide initiative to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The Suffield Historical Society and other organizations are preparing events and programs to reflect on the significance of the document in the past, the present and the future of our country.