Massachusetts Historical Society: MHS Gallery

A website from the Massachusetts Historical Society; founded 1791.

American Revolution

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A Bloody Massacre

The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5th 1770 by a Party of the 29th Regiment
Engraving with hand coloring by Paul Revere, Boston, 1770
22.8 cm x 20 cm

This engraving by Paul Revere depicts the Redcoats' captain urging a point-blank volley into a defenseless crowd, an event now known as the Boston Massacre. Although colorful and dramatic, the scene is historically inaccurate. On the evening of 5 March 1770, a crowd gathered outside the Customs House in Boston to taunt the British soldiers standing guard. Reinforcements were called, shots rang out, and when the smoke cleared three locals lay dead and eight wounded. But, unlike Revere's interpretation, no shots were ordered. Revere, an ardent patriot, added additional touches, such as the sign that reads "Butcher's Hall" over the Customs House. Appearing so soon after the event, this engraving was widely circulated and admired, and it continues to influence the way many view this historical event.
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The Blockade of Boston Harbour

A Perspective View of the Blockad[e] of Boston Harbour
Watercolor on laid paper by Christian Remick, circa 1768
32.6 cm x 155.5 cm

This watercolor by Christian Remick depicts Boston Harbor with British warships at anchor off Long Wharf while their troops disembark. The central banner cites the Magna Carta, which symbolized individual rights and the accountability of the king to the law. In 1767, Boston began a boycott of British goods to protest the Townshend Acts, which included new taxes on paint, lead, tea, and paper. Boston leaders sent a circular letter to the other colonies protesting the laws and calling for an inter-colonial conference on the matter. Unrest in Massachusetts was seen as a threat to British rule, so the British prime minister sent two regiments to Boston in October 1768. This painting both documents and protests this newest act of tyranny against the American colonies. A key in the upper left corner identifies ships and points of reference.
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Paul Revere's Account of His Famous Ride

Letter from Paul Revere to Jeremy Belknap, circa 1798

In this undated letter Paul Revere summarizes the activities surrounding his famous ride on 18 April 1775. He recounts how Dr. Joseph Warren urged him to ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of British troop movements. He arranged to signal the direction of the troops with lanterns from Old North Church and then had friends row him across the Charles River, borrowing a horse for his ride. Revere wrote this letter at the request of Jeremy Belknap, corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Revere signed his name to the letter but then wrote above it "A Son of Liberty of the year 1775" and beside it "do not print my name." Nonetheless, the MHS included Revere’s name when it printed the letter in 1798.
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Prescott and Linzee Swords

Wooden plaque with crossed swords
Silver-hilted sword belonging to Col. William Prescott, created by Jacob Hurd, circa 1730-1750 and sword for an officer of the Royal Navy, belonging to Capt. John Linzee, created by unidentified maker, circa 1780s

These swords belonged to Col. William Prescott and Capt. John Linzee, who fought on opposite sides in the American Revolution. The inscription on Prescott's sword reads, "The Sword of Col. William Prescott, and worn by him at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775," while Linzee's sword reads, "Sword of Capt. John Linzee R. N. who Commanded the British Sloop of War Falcon while acting against the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775." Both swords were given to the society by descendants of the two families. The MHS commissioned the swords to be mounted on the walnut plaque in 1859. The swords cross through a carved wreath of olive leaves, and the shields over the leaves bear the Prescott and Linzee family crests.
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"Remember the Ladies"

Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March - 5 April 1776

Abigail Adams wrote this famous letter on 31 March 1776 to her husband John Adams, who was in Philadelphia serving in the first Continental Congress. Abigail had great concern for the political and moral state of her country. She argued in support of equality for women before the law, writing: "I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited powers into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could." Although Abigail's letter did not have the desired effect for women in her lifetime, she is considered a pioneering feminist by many modern scholars.
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Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Portrait, oil on canvas by Joseph Boze, 1790
89.2 cm x 70.7 cm

Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1790 for his gallery of American heroes, this Joseph Boze painting represents Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, at the pinnacle of his career. A musketeer in the King's Regiment of France, Lafayette was stirred by the reports of Americans fighting for liberty. In 1777, he bought a ship and sailed for America, earning an honorary commission as major general in the Continental Army. He was devoted to Gen. George Washington, who became his mentor. Lafayette's courage on the battlefield and successful pleas for material aid from France established him as a hero. He risked his life for liberty in a country not his own and captured the imagination and admiration of Americans.
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George Washington

Portrait, oil on canvas by Christian Gullager, 1789
73.5 cm x 60.7 cm; in frame: 101.6 cm x 87.6 cm

The artist Christian Gullager painted this portrait of George Washington on 3 November 1789, just six months after Washington became the first president of the United States. Boston gentlemen paid for the portrait with the proceeds from a raffle. Washington wrote in his diary, "Sat two hours in the forenoon for a Mr. [Gullager], painter, of Boston, at the request of Mr. Brick, of that place, who wrote Major Jackson that it was an earnest desire of many of the inhabitants of that town that he might be indulged." At the time the portrait was painted, Washington was on a private visit to a friend in Portsmouth, N.H., in between official visits to the northeastern states as the new president.
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John Hancock

Portrait, oil on canvas by John Singleton Copley, circa 1770-1772
73.8 cm x 61.7 cm; in frame: 88 cm x 76.2 cm

By the time John Singleton Copley painted this portrait of John Hancock in the early 1770s, Hancock, a former Loyalist, had already become a patriotic hero in America. Although local authorities generally ignored smuggling activity, the Massachusetts royal governor decided to make an example of Hancock when he imported a large cargo of wine on his ship, the Liberty, in 1768. The governor seized the ship and the townspeople rioted in protest, turning Hancock into a symbol of English repression. He went on to become the most famous signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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Declaration of Independence as Intended by Thomas Jefferson

Declaration of Independence, manuscript copy by Thomas Jefferson, [1776]

Thomas Jefferson made this manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence as he initially drafted it. Unhappy with the revisions that Congress made to the Declaration before it was approved, Jefferson created several copies of his original version to share with his friends. Some changes that Congress made to the Declaration were political. Jefferson's attack on the slave trade was cut in order to gain unanimous support for the document in Congress. Other changes were stylistic. Jefferson originally wrote of the "inherent & inalienable rights" that "all men are endowed with," but that line became "certain unalienable rights" in the authorized text.
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John Adams's Handwritten Copy of the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence, manuscript copy by John Adams, before 28 June 1776

John Adams made this copy of the Declaration of Independence while revisions of Thomas Jefferson's draft were still in progress. Adams and Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston made up the Committee of Five appointed by Congress to draft the Declaration. It is likely that Jefferson showed his draft first to Adams, when Adams made this copy, and then to Franklin before he presented it to the entire committee. This copy is extremely important for demonstrating the evolution of the text from Jefferson's original rough draft, which exists now only as a much marked-up document, to the Declaration known today.
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First Printing of the Declaration of Independence

In Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled
Broadside; 50 cm x 40 cm
Philadelphia: printed by John Dunlap, [1776]

This is one of only 23 known copies of John Dunlap's first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the most important single printed document in American history. On 4 July 1776, the Committee of Five that had drafted the Declaration of Independence, which included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, brought their congressionally approved text to the Philadelphia printing shop of Dunlap. Dunlap printed a small number of copies of the Declaration on the night of 4 July. On 5 July, the first copies were distributed. It is this printed Declaration that conveyed the news of the birth of a new nation and fixed the Fourth of July as our national anniversary.
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John Adams

Portrait, pastel on paper by Benjamin Blyth, circa 1766
57 cm x 44.5 cm; in frame: 68 cm x 55.2 cm

This portrait of John Adams in pastel crayon by Benjamin Blyth is the earliest known likeness of him. Adams was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Mass. in 1735. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, became a lawyer, and returned to Braintree to practice. In 1764, Adams married Abigail Smith of Weymouth, Mass., who was also depicted by Blyth in a companion portrait. Adams's law career led him into politics and government, which took him away from Massachusetts for long periods of time. He became a member of the Continental Congress, a peace commissioner, the first United States minister to England, the first vice president, and the second president of the United States.
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"Washington before Boston"

Comitia Americana medal, Washington before Boston, 1776
Silver, engraved by Pierre Simon Benjamin Duvivier, 1789
68 mm

Congress awarded Gen. George Washington this silver medal for his "wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisitions of Boston." On 16 February 1776, Washington used the element of surprise to force the British from Boston. With the ground too frozen to dig trenches, Washington instructed his troops to employ a diversionary bombardment while they built a breastwork, a breast-high defensive structure. This prevented a British attack. The engraver Pierre Simon Benjamin Duvivier completed this commemorative medal in 1789, and it became the standard by which all medallic portraits of Washington are measured. It is one of nine Comitia Americana medals, the first congressional medals issued, in a set presented to Washington by Thomas Jefferson in 1790.
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MHS GALLERYHighlights from Our Collections

Categories

American Revolution

A Bloody Massacre

The Blockade of Boston Harbour

Paul Revere's Account of His Famous Ride

Prescott and Linzee Swords

"Remember the Ladies"

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

George Washington

John Hancock

Declaration of Independence as Intended by Thomas Jefferson

John Adams's Handwritten Copy of the Declaration of Independence

First Printing of the Declaration of Independence

John Adams

"Washington before Boston"