Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Skirmish at Boston Neck.
- Date: July 8, 1775.
- Location: Boston Neck, in the South End of present-day Boston, Massachusetts.
- Participants: United Colonies, Great Britain.
- Key American Leaders: Benjamin Tupper, John Crane.
- Key British Leaders: Unknown.
- Who Won: United Colonies.
- Part of: Siege of Boston, American Revolutionary War
The Skirmish on Boston Neck and Attack on Brown’s House
In the early morning of July 8, 1775, a group of volunteers led by Major Benjamin Tupper and Major John Crane launched an attack on the British soldiers stationed at Brown’s House on Boston Neck, just 300 yards from the primary fortifications.
Around 10 o’clock the night before, a group of six men was sent ahead and succeeded in reaching the rear of the guard-house. The rest of the volunteer force concealed themselves in the marshes flanking both sides of the Neck. Two brass field pieces were moved silently through the marsh and positioned roughly 300 yards from the target.
At a signal from the advance party, two rounds were fired into the house, prompting the British guard to retreat hastily toward their main lines. The six men then set fire to the house and a nearby structure. Before withdrawing, the party seized several muskets and made their retreat without suffering any casualties. Sporadic fire from the enemy outposts continued for a time afterward.
The British responded by mooring a floating artillery battery up in the bay to cover the right flank of their fortifications on Boston Neck.
- Benjamin Tupper (1738–1792) — Tupper served in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and was a militia officer in Chesterfield. He participated in several raids during the Siege of Boston. Afterward, he saw action in New York and Rhode Island and was at Valley Forge. He fought at Monmouth Courthouse and then served at West Point. Following the war, he helped defend Springfield during Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787). He helped form the Ohio Company of Associates and led the first settlers to Marietta, Ohio.
- John Crane (1744–1805) — A veteran of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Crane was a member of the Boston Sons of Liberty and participated in the Boston Tea Party. He served from the Siege of Boston through the end of the war, and saw action in New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.
- Boston Neck — The Neck was a narrow strip of land that started in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and crossed over to Boston, which sat on a peninsula. The Neck was the only land route in and out of the city. Following the Powder Alarm (1774), General Thomas Gage built defensive fortifications on the Neck, a move that outraged Patriots throughout Massachusetts.
- Brown’s House — The home and tavern of Enoch Brown.
Appendix
William Heath’s Account
The following passage is from the Memoirs of Major General William Heath (1901).
8th. — A little after two o’clock in the morning, a number of volunteers, under the command of Majors Tupper and Crane, attacked the British advance guard at Brown’s house, on Boston Neck, and routed them, took a halbert, a musket, and two bayonets, and burnt the two houses; the store and barn escaped the flames; a scattering fire at the out-post continued for some time; a floating battery was brought up into the bay, and moored so as to cover the right flank of the British works on the Neck.
