Historical Walking Tours | Boston, Massachusetts
  • Tour 18thC of Paul Revere
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    • Dr. Joseph Warren's Dedication
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the Freemasons rededicated the statue of  Major general (Dr.) Joseph Warren, son of liberty and "true patriot"; by skylight studios, Woburn massachusetts

                                                                       
On October 22, 2016,  the Sixth District Freemasons(1) of Massachusetts, unveiled a statue of Major General Dr. Joseph Warren, deceased two-hundred and forty-one years ago. The images above are from the actual ceremony.  They barely convey the enduring love Freemasons have for Dr. Warren.  

Freemasonry  is the oldest fraternal organization in America, born originally in the 13th Century by stonemasons.    Boston's Freemason lodges reach back to Ireland and Scotland for their authenticity.  The Boston lodge was established 1733 in  North America.  The Boston Freemason's 18th Century membership list included many individuals chiefly responsible for making us a nation; James Otis, Dr. Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Nathaniel Greene, John Paul Jones, Jeremiah Gridley and William Dawes. We shouldn't leave out George Washington and Ben Franklin. Both had significant roles in other Freemason Lodges and this nation's creation.  Footnotes below provide additional information on several individuals mentioned above.


                                                                                     Here is a brief history of Dr. Warren.
  • Born on June 11, 1741 and shot through the head in the last seconds of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17 , 1775.  His body was further abused making recognition nearly impossible but for his then eloquent clothing, that was almost immediately removed as a souvenir.
  •  A graduate of Harvard at the age of 18 and a doctor by 22.
  • Dr. Warren orchestrated the rides of April 18th, 1775, by Paul Revere and William Dawes, that alerted the countryside that the “Regulars are out”.
  • As a Colonial surgeon of Boston, none was more meticulous, clean and handsome or more eloquent in his writings and speeches on independence.  
  • Dr. Warren penned articles under the name of “True Patriot”, in 1767, in protest of the “Townshend Acts.”  Our Boston Massacre Walking Tour describes in detail the sequence of events triggered by the five acts termed the “Townshend Acts” running up to the Massacre..  Further information is available here; http://www.walkbostonhistory.com/the-boston-massacre-tour.html 
  • Dr. Warren wrote the first draft of the Suffolk Resolves completed 9/9/1774, calling for resistance to Parliaments "intolerable Acts" a/k/a, "Coercive Acts".  Perhaps the clearest signal that Parliamentary rule was done and military confrontation was inevitable.
  • Joseph Warren's portrait  of 1765, by John Singleton Copley,  is the next to last image above, provided by Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
  • Three years before he died at the Battle of Bunker Hill, his wife died leaving him with four children. 

Dr. Warren was a devoted freemason and became the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts befriending a fellow mason, Paul Revere. Here began an association of spies that also fostered the closest of friendships. He was a most eligible widower, perhaps courting one of Paul Revere’s sisters.  

​Dr. Warren 
performed autopsies, including that of young Christopher Seider, in February 1770, murdered by a Tory days before the Boston Massacre. Christopher Seider’s death dramatically accelerated the hostilities between Colonist and British soldiers.  An event that is discussed at length during our Boston Massacre tour.  http://www.walkbostonhistory.com/the-boston-massacre-tour.html
​

Days before the Battle of Bunker Hill Dr. Warren was appointed a Major General in the colonial militia by George Washington.  He was one of the few Sons of Liberty to remain in occupied Boston after the Battle of Lexington and Concord of April 19, 1775. His arrest seemed imminent. With Boston garrisoned by the British, he was the last to slip out of Boston on June 17, 1775, and nearly last to die on Bunker Hill.  He arrived between the second and third frontal assaults by the British.  He grabbed musket, powder and shot from a retreating minuteman and fought to his death as a common soldier.

His corpse was visited by many British officers and soldiers including Generals William Howe (who was on the field the entire battle) and General John Burgoyne who witnessed the battle from Boston.  They all needed to see for themselves that such a vital colonial patriot was lost to the cause.

Nine months after his crude burial on Bunker Hill (actually Breed's Hill), the colonial militia regained control of Bunker Hill as the British occupation force sailed out of Boston Harbor.  All those buried by the British Army were removed for proper interment.  Paul Revere was asked to confirm Dr. Warren’s identity.  The corpse was exposed to the elements and abused by the occupying British force.  Paul Revere confirmed Dr. Warren’s remains by inspecting the false teeth he made and the unique silver wire adapter; an improvisation Paul specifically did for Dr. Warren.

Dr. Warren’s remains, were relocated two more times, finally resting at Forest Hills Cemetery in 1855.   The large rock that supports his newly dedicated sculpture  is the accumulation of glacial dust many thousands of years in the making called puddingstone and was chosen by the Warren family.

Our tour will expand on the relationship between Paul Revere and Dr. Warren, each a political, military and intelligence  bridge to the American Revolution.

Pl
Footnotes:​
 1..  The 6th Masonic District is comprised of seven Lodges meeting in Norwood and Westwood.  The Lodges meeting in Norwood are: Lafayette                Dover,   Orient and Union, the Lodges meeting in Westwood are: Celestial, Prospect, Rabboni and West Roxbury / Dorchester.  The original                  communities of  these various Lodges included: Dedham, Dorchester, Dover, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Norwood, Roslindale,                    Roxbury and West  Roxbury. 
2.   Jeremy Gridley, A Grand Master, Lawyer: he trained  James Otis and, John Adams to pass the law bar and become lawyers.,
3.   James Otis, Opposed the Writ of Assistance Act that permitted British Customs officials to inspect any house or business for smuggled goods.
       He coined the term "taxation without representation is tyranny".
4.    Nathaniel Greene, a Rhode Island native that became George Washington's most reliable and longest serving general.

            





9/5/2017
Hi Sheila,


I just wanted to tell you and Mitch how very much I enjoyed today. Mitch is passion for history comes through loud and clear in his delivery.

I learned new facts about Paul Revere that I had never known before.

Mitch was so well-prepared including all of the pictures and it was obvious that heput a lot of time and effort into this tour and the presentation.

So thank you so much for the invitation
He did a great job!
leslie b, Natick


10/18/2017Hi Mitch, finally getting to say thank you for such an enjoyable day and tour of Paul Revere etc.. I truly learned so much and loved walking through so much of historic Boston! PHYLIS, nh

9/5/2017
Hi Beth,

Thanks for asking us to go on your tour, Mitch, of Boston’s historic sites. Your enthusiasm and love of history is contagious. You made history come alive. Sorry I had to leave early. I bet the tour of the North End was equally exciting! You put your all into it.
sarah r. Wellesley

6/15/2017 gxxxxen@snhu.edu Comment 6/1/2017, Your remarks about John Hancock really painted a historical image of the man.
​
6/1/2016
Hi Mitch, resume services reviews has just posted a comment on your blog post,     Why Did Paul Revere Become a Coroner at the   Age of Sixty-two? : This is a very interesting piece of historical information. I was never aware of this information before. I didn't even know how relevant Paul Revere is in the history of Boston. It seems that he is a very important figure on Boston's foundation. I'm definitely going to dwell further into matter and research more about him.
Comment actions:

​

6/3/2017 GS, SNHU,edu,  Mitch your remarks about John Hancock really painted an historical image of the man.

10/15/2016 Thank you so much for the Boston Massacre Tour.  I never knew it was such a complicated affair.  I particularly liked the incidental historical stops about Colonial Boston.  I hadn't been downtown for years.  You opened up so much for me.  June, Natick Ma.

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  • Tour 18thC of Paul Revere
    • ADDITIONAL TOURS >
      • The Boston Massacre Tour >
        • The Boston Massacre per the Pennsylvania Gzette
        • The Boston Massacre Lesson Plan
      • Boston Civil War Tours
      • The Kennedy Tour
  • Revere Bells Index
    • Revere Bells in Boston
    • California's 2 Paul Revere Bells >
      • Paul Revere & Son's Bell Westborough Massachusetts
    • First Parish Church of Kennebunk
    • Revere Bells in Maine
    • Revere Bell of Michigan
    • Singapore Revere Bell
    • Revere Bells Washington DC
    • Tuscaloosa Bell >
      • History of the St John and Leavens Patriarchs
      • Samuel St John Jr Estate Genealogy
      • Authenticating the Revere Tuscaloosa Bell
      • Joshua B Leavens Last Will and Testament
      • 20th Century Tuscaloosa bell
    • Revere Bells Woodstock VT
    • Revere Bells Lost in Time
  • History Blog
  • Bostonians
    • Edward F Alexander of The Harvard 20th Civil War Regiment
    • Polly Baker
    • John Wilkes Booth
    • The Mad Hatter, Thomas, Boston Corbett who Killed John Wilkes Booth
    • Mayor's of Boston
    • James Franklin
    • Amos Lincoln
    • King Philip
    • James Otis
    • Edward Hutchinson Robbins Revere
    • Paul Joseph Revere
    • John Rowe >
      • Joh Rowe's Tea Ship
      • John Rowe and the Jail Fire
      • Hang John Rowe?????
      • John Rowe the Fisherman
    • Be Proud to be Called a Lucy Stoner
    • Rachel Wall , Pirate
    • Paul Revere the Coroner of Boston
    • Deborah Sampson
    • Who was Mrs. Silence Dogood?
    • Dr. Joseph Warren's Dedication
  • Collage of Boston
    • Boston Harbor
    • Forest Hills Cemetery
    • The Battle Road
    • Skate bike and scooter park
    • Cassin Young & USS Cassin Young
    • MIT
    • Historic Charles River
    • The Customs House
    • John & Abigail Adams National Park
✕