250 Years Ago, Part 4: The Salem Gunpowder Raid and Leslie’s Retreat

On the road to the Revolutionary War, defiant patriots give the British a prelude of battles to come.

A marker stands to commemorate the historic events on the bridge where Lt. Col. Leslie had to make a retreat. Courtesy of Alan Wakim

On the frigid Sunday of Feb. 26, 1775, British Army Lt. Col. Alexander Leslie waited aboard a transport ship anchored off Homan’s Cove, a secluded beach on Marblehead Neck. He had been there since shortly after noon. Belowdecks, concealed from view to avoid detection, were between 240 and 300 British Regulars (also known as Redcoats), though estimates of their exact number vary.

A shot of Homan's Cove today. Courtesy of Alan Wakim