Part 1 – 250th?
Reading, MA — Have you heard about the 250th Celebration? The 250th of what, you ask? Well, the Semiquincentennial of America of course. The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the events that led up to and occurred during the American Revolution has already begun. For some of us, it doesn’t seem possible that it has been 50 years since the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration. Two hundred years before that, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the United States was created. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – “I learned all about that in school”. But how much did you learn or, more importantly, remember? No, this is not going to be a boring history lesson – just maybe a few important reminders.
We, in Massachusetts, had already been here for over 150 years, long before July 4, 1776. Yes, there were important events that took place in all of the 13 colonies, but we’re going to concentrate on Massachusetts and specifically Reading. You may have heard about a few 250th events that have already taken place. But you probably didn’t hear about them until they had already happened and were being reported on the news. March 5, 2020 – the Boston Massacre (1770 + 250); December 16, 2023 – the Boston Tea Party (1773 + 250). You can see where this is going. A reenactment was held on February 22 of this year in Salem – Leslie’s Retreat. It told the story of a confrontation that happened when British troops went to Salem to seize weapons from the colonists. It was resolved peacefully without injuries or gunfire, and without any weapons or ammunition being seized. And fast approaching is the anniversary of Lexington and Concord on April 19, the official beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Once the War began in 1775, it did not officially end until 1783. There were many events that took place during those eight years. Some occurred in Massachusetts, like the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill, and others took place elsewhere in the Colonies. Did Reading take part in any of those events?
In Part two, we will provide information about where to find out about upcoming 250th events and begin to learn how Reading was involved at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and beyond.
