Dispatches sets the words of 1775 beside the photographs of 2026 — one account from each side, printed as they were.
On August 8, 1775, HMS Falcon chased two schooners into Gloucester harbor. Captain John Linzee sent his boats in, the townspeople fought back, and he tried to burn the town. He failed, and lost his boarding party.
"Lindzee was so enraged that he fired several Cannon Shot into the Town of Glocester, but did little Damage."
— Boston Gazette, Watertown, August 14, 1775
"Our attempt to fire the Town therefore not only failed but one of the men was blown up, and the American deserted."
— Captain John Linzee, Royal Navy, to Vice Admiral Samuel Graves, Nantasket Road, August 10, 1775
Photographs: Stage Fort Park and Gloucester Harbor, Gloucester, Massachusetts, June 21, 2026. Rev250 living history photography by Thomas Musante.
Sources
If you'd like to learn more about the reporting of the day, below are the original newspaper article and the naval report of the events at Gloucester, along with modern accounts of what took place.
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 1 — Naval History and Heritage Command. Linzee's report (pp. 1110–1111) and the Boston Gazette account (pp. 1139–1140).
"Blocked Our Harbor Up": Essex County, the Royal Navy and Harassment of the Coastline in 1775 — Alexander R. Cain, Historical Nerdery
Falcon Fans the Flames of Revolution: The Misadventures of Captain John Linzee — Journal of the American Revolution
