﻿January 11, 1769, Wednesday, the British Soldier is Offered Meat in Lieu of Hard Currency 418 days to the Boston Massacre

January 11, 1769, Wednesday, the British Soldier is Offered Meat in Lieu of Hard Currency 418 days to the Boston Massacre

1/12/2017

“They can’t get no relief. . .There must be some way out of here. . . .”[i]

The British foot soldiers were feared around the world for their exceptional discipline. Their officers had a very different fear, desertion! Each regiment worked intensely on their esprit de corps. Each desertion reflected badly on the regiment and was a point of dishonor.

On this day the Boston Evening Post suggested that the British soldiers were most unhappy that their pay had been offered in beef instead of currency. Compounding their displeasure, the exchange rate offered was higher than the fair market value. If the soldiers had hard currency they could purchase fresh cod caught in the harbor, partridge, rabbit, duck, geese, lobster or venison.

The British army private was paid eight pence a day. This rate of pay was set in 1660 and had not changed in one-hundred and ten years. Don’t get excited, the army ensured they did not spend their money on alcohol; the soldiers second priority. The army deducted six pence a week for basic clothing. One pence was deducted per week for the regimental surgeon and to add insult to injury, the pay master. Fourteen pence sort of went to the soldier's pension fund, cut further with fees to the “regimental agent.”[ii]

It was all very neatly done. Stephenson, in his expansive book, Patriot Battles, on page 40, did the arithmetic cleanly; “fifty-six pence in; fifty-six pence out.” This economic corruption forced the non-commissioned British soldier to seek additional income. Unfortunately the Boston economy was in free fall as smuggling was nearly eliminated by the British Navy.

The soldier's presence in the labor market led to several flash points prior to the Boston Massacre. We will elaborate in subsequent blogs on the Riley and Moyce, affairs. Click here for a preview.

Bibliography
Boston Under Military Rule 1768-1769, O. M. Dickerson 1970, Da Capo Press
Patriot Battles: how the War of Independence was fought. Michael Stephenson, 2007, HarperCollins

[i] Bob Dillon, All Along the Watchtower, 1965, Isle of Wight album

[ii] Patriot Battles: how the War of Independence was fought. Michael Stephenson, 2007, HarperCollins, p.40

A brief video of our tour.
http://www.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/5/7/76576147/videomassacre_321.mp4

Henry Pelham's rendition of the Boston Massacre

Authors

Local Bostonians engulfed in the unique history of our town. We enjoy walking and talking history, it is more interesting than historical fiction. We will tailor any tour to the nature of your group, college, high school/middle school, international, retirees, history buffs, general public wishing to walk beyond the Freedom Trail., Tours can be adjusted to be ADA compliant.

Date: Fri, jun 22, 2018, 3:57 pm
subject: re: walk boston history Tour
to: n>

The tour of the freedom trail with the emphasis on Paul Revere was very informative. We started at the state house and learned about its architecture. We continued through Boston Commons and past the burial grounds. We then continued to the north end and Paul Revere’s house. At each stop Mitch had many interesting and little known facts to tell us. We were surprised by the number of occupations Paul Revere had. During our walk through the north end Mitch pointed out various restaurants to eat in. The tour was about 2 miles of walking and lasted about 1 hour 45 minutes and was most enjoyable. We would definitely take another tour with Mitch in the future.
Betsy, florida

6/5/2018

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:

Irishman1987
I was there that day with members of Jerusalem lodge #104 Keene NH, I am so glad I had the chance to attend this event and pay my respects.

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.