Boston at War: Letters of Abigail and John Adams

Over the past century and a half, America has been involved in wars fought in far-off lands, with little but the nightly news to remind us of the violence. But at the start of our Revolution, war was waged here in Eastern Massachusetts. British troops were entrenched in Boston and Charlestown, and the surrounding countryside was covered with a makeshift militia army. A general attack by the British was expected daily, and every town was in a constant state of alarm. Every port from Newburyport to Martha’s Vineyard feared invasion from the sea.

Several skirmishes were fought within sight and sound of the Adams homestead in Braintree, and the roar of cannon fire often kept the household awake at night. In 1775 and 1776, Abigail Adams had the responsibility of the family farm and the four young Adams children, while John served at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, unable to sleep for worry about his loved ones in danger.

The correspondence between John and Abigail gives us a unique insight into the eleven months when Boston was in fact AT WAR!

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: Adams scholars and living history performers Patricia Bridgman and Thomas Macy have over 40 years of living history experience between them. They appear regularly at the Adams National Historic Site in Quincy MA, and have also presented programs at the Abigail Adams birthplace, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Old Sturbridge Village, Minute Man National Park, Boston National Historic Park, UMass Boston, Emmanuel College, Boston’s Old State House, the Salem Maritime Historic Site, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and numerous historical associations.