MHS Members are invited to attend the first-ever live audience taping of our podcast, Historians & Their Histories! At this taping, MHS Director of Research, Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, will interview special guests about their journeys to becoming historians. Refreshments will be provided! Register for this event and see the full calendar of Member Week events (June 2- June 7) at the link in bio. Interested in attending and not yet a Member? Click the link in our bio for more information on membership. As a Member, you’ll gain access to the other fun events during Member Week. (fb)

Abigail Adams awoke to the sound of an alarm on May 21, 1775. Were the British preparing an attack? It was the second month of the Siege of Boston, and tensions were high. The British forces were staked out in the city, blocked from leaving by colonial militias in the countryside. Abigail was living south of Boston in Braintree, MA, with her children, while her husband John was away in Philadelphia. In a letter to John, Abigail writes about the state of confused alarm in Braintree and the surrounding area after British vessels dropped anchor nearby. She watched as local residents, including her own relatives, began to flee in fear of a British attack. "My Fathers family flying, the Drs. in great distress, as you may well immagine for my Aunt had her Bed thrown into a cart, into which she got herself, and orderd the boy to drive her of to Bridgwater which he did.” Men from nearby towns such as Weymouth, Braintree, and Hingham gathered "till 2000 were collected," ready to defend themselves from any invasion. But the British hadn’t sailed across the Harbor to fight; instead they were gathering hay from Grape Island, owned by a loyalist farmer who promised the British much-needed supplies to take back to Boston for their horses and livestock. Abigail describes the local militia men jumping into action, firing at the British to foil their efforts and scrambling to find boats to take them to Grape Island. Once the Americans managed to reach the island, they “set fire to the Hay which with the Barn was soon consumed, about 80 ton tis said.” The skirmish of Grape Island is an often-forgotten incident in the historical narrative of the Siege of Boston, but Abigail Adam’s words bring the eventful day to life. To read more of her letter, visit here: https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-04-01-02-0136#sn=3 Join us as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution: www.masshist.org/250 #AmericanRevolution250 #MA250 #Massachusetts250 (fb)