Massachusetts Committee of Safety Orders Troops to Occupy the Charleston Peninsula

Derived from German rifles brought to America by early settlers, the American version had longer barrels and smaller bores to make more efficient use of powder and increase accuracy. This iron-mounted rifle was made by gunsmith Thomas Tileston of Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1773. Tileston, an active member of the pre-war “Sons of Liberty,” served in the Massachusetts militia from 1775 to 1778. This rifle is perhaps one of the earliest American long rifles manufactured in New England.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "A plan of the town and harbour of Boston and the country adjacent with the road from Boston to Concord" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed February 25, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. "Boston and the adjacent country with the stations of the British & provincial armies" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/

Robson, T. Plan of the town with the attack on Bunkers-Hill in the peninsula of Charlestown, the 17th. of June. [Newcastle upon Tyne Eng. Printed for T. Robson, 1778] Map. https://www.loc.gov/

Page, Thomas Hyde, Sir. A plan of the town of Boston and its environs, with the lines, batteries, and incampments of the British and American armies. [1776] Map. https://www.loc.gov