Boston Common: At the Common

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Since the Common was also a training ground, it was normal for the troops to depart from there. Troops departed from the Common for such wars as the American Indian War,[1] or the Colonial wars. The Common was used, not only by colonial militia, but by British military regiments who encamped on the Common before and during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, 1775–83.

In 1753 a group of 300 hundred men and women gathered together to work simultaneously with their looms and shuttles.[2]

In 1766 the town joyfully celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act

In 1768 effigies were hung in protest for the tax on tea

In the year 1770 a popular pastime was to “build huge fires and roast oxen for the poor.”[3]

In 1775 British troops occupied the Common burning firewood and the scarce landscape.

On March 1776 a victorious General Washington reviewed his troops following the British evacuation.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Wars

[2] Schoefield, William G. Freedom by the Bay: The Boston Freedom Trail. Page 23.

[3] Schoefield, William G. Freedom by the Bay: The Boston Freedom Trail. Page 23.

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