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

Lt. Col. Leslie and his men were on a secret mission to march to Salem, four miles away, and seize 19 cannons purchased by militia colonel David Mason. These cannons were hidden at a blacksmith forge owned by militia captain Robert Foster. Loyalist spies had informed British Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts Bay, about the cannons, warning that they were intended for use against his forces.

Lt. Col. Leslie waited for the townspeople of Marblehead to fill the meetinghouses for their afternoon church services before giving the order to disembark. Between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., the Regulars landed, quickly formed ranks with fixed bayonets, and marched toward Salem.

However, local militiamen, including Maj. John Pedrick, had been watching the transport since its arrival. They spotted the Regulars landing and immediately took action.

Turn Out the Militia! Sound the Alarm!

An undated portrait of Gen. Alexander Leslie by Thomas Gainsborough. Public Domain

Maj. Pedrick mounted his horse and rode toward Salem. As he passed the Regulars on the road (even saluting Lt. Col. Leslie), Pedrick picked up speed and headed for Col. Mason’s home. Once informed of the impending raid, Mason ran inside the Salem North Church and warned the congregation, shouting: “The Reg'lars are coming after the guns. ... To arms! To arms!”

The attendees bolted from the church as the sexton rang the bell. Bells and drums echoed throughout Salem as militiamen sabotaged the south bridge connecting Salem to Marblehead to slow the approaching Regulars. Others crossed the North River drawbridge to remove the weapons hidden at Capt. Foster’s forge.

When the Regulars crossed the southern bridge and entered Salem, they were met by a group of loyalists who directed them to the guns’ location. Lt. Col. Leslie and his men proceeded toward the North River drawbridge, where a large crowd had gathered, including militia captain Thomas Pickering, who would later serve as U.S. secretary of War and State.

Here They Come!

In a show of contempt for the approaching Regulars, the townspeople blocked the road and raised the drawbridge from the opposite side of the channel. Lt. Col. Leslie demanded that they clear the way on the King’s Highway and lower the bridge, but the crowd defiantly taunted the Regulars, declaring the highway belonged to them, not the king. Enraged, Leslie was overheard threatening to fire on the crowd if they didn’t comply.

Recalling the Boston Massacre of 1770, militia captain John Felt warned Leslie: “You had better be damned than fire. … If you do fire, you will all be dead men.”

Lt. Col. Leslie replied: “I am determined to pass over this bridge before I return to Boston, [even] if I remain here until next autumn.”

Stalemate

Sketch of Leslie's Retreat in Salem, Mass. Public Domain

A standoff ensued, with the crowd growing in size and continuing their defiance, while the Regulars shivered in the cold. Militiamen arrived from Marblehead, Danvers, Amesbury, and other surrounding towns, positioning themselves around the outnumbered British troops. Despite this predicament, Lt. Col. Leslie remained determined to cross the bridge and search for the guns.

Noticing two large gondolas nearby, Leslie ordered his men to seize them. Before the Regulars could react, townspeople jumped into the gondolas and began tearing them apart. Joseph Whicher, one of the townsmen, tore open his shirt and dared the Regulars to attack him. One of the provoked Regulars lost his temper and pricked Whicher in the chest with his bayonet. This act further enraged the gathered crowds, now estimated at thousands of people, some who now stood just inches from the Regulars.

At that point, Rev. Thomas Barnard approached Lt. Col. Leslie, introducing himself as a minister, and advised him against firing on innocent civilians. Leslie informed Barnard that he remained determined to complete his mission.

Let’s Make a Deal

Realizing the situation was rapidly deteriorating (and also knowing the cannons had been safely removed and hidden away), Rev. Barnard, along with Capt. Felt and Col. Mason, proposed a compromise. They would lower the drawbridge so the Regulars could search for the weapons, but they had to promise not to go beyond 30 rods (less than 500 feet). If no weapons were found, Leslie and his men would immediately leave Salem and return to their ships. Because it was nearing sunset, Leslie reluctantly agreed to the terms.

The drawbridge was lowered, allowing Leslie and his men to cross. From a nearby window, a young nurse named Sarah Tarrant yelled at the Regulars: “Go home and tell your master he sent you on a fool’s errand, and has broken the peace of our Sabbath. ... Do you think we were born in the woods, to be frightened of owls?” A Regular, fed up with the verbal abuse, pointed his musket at her. Tarrant dared him to shoot, saying, “Fire, if you have the courage, but I doubt it.” The Regular lowered his musket without firing.

The Regulars searched the forge but found no guns. Lt. Col. Leslie and his men then retreated to their ships, marching between thousands of bold New Englanders who lined the streets.

Aftermath

News of the confrontation spread across both sides of the Atlantic. British Member of Parliament Edmund Burke remarked: “Thus ended their first expedition, without effect and happily without mischief. Enough appeared to show on what a slender thread the peace of the Empire hung, and that the least exertion of the military power would certainly bring things to extremities.”

A painting of Edmund Burke by Sir Joshua Reynolds, circa 1769. Public Domain

Patrick Henry, sensing that tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain would inevitably lead to war, declared at the Second Virginia Convention:

“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

A Dress Rehearsal

The Salem Gunpowder Raid, also known as Leslie’s Retreat, nearly ignited the Revolutionary War. Both sides tested each other to their limits, but the open defiance displayed by Felt, Tarrant, and Whicher emboldened the patriots and raised the bar for those wishing to further challenge Gen. Gage’s administration. Less than eight weeks later, they would be given that chance when 700 British Regulars marched on Lexington and Concord.

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