PolarBear
Major
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2007
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Britains Classic Redcoats and Bluecoats often lead the collector on interesting and sometimes unexpected historical journeys (see the thread "Learning History from a Toy Soldier"). Today I was looking at the forthcoming Redcoats June releases and came across the figure illustrated below: WB #440032 Pvt. 29th Regt. of Foot 1768-1770
I knew right away that this figure pre-dated the American Revolution and I wondered what story this figure might have to tell. When I looked up the history of the 29th Regiment of Foot I was suddenly confronted by the fact that this regiment included the notorious group of Redcoats who participated in the historic Boston Massacre of March 5. 1770, two-hundred and thirty eight years ago this month. The Boston Massacre resulted from the growing tension between the British and the American colonists over increased British taxation of the colonies culminating in the hated Townshend Acts of 1767. Anger and strife over these taxes was especially strong in Boston. Therefore to protect against the growing unrest, British General Thomas Gage had two regiments of British troops sent to Boston in 1768 to occupy the city. One of those regiments was the 29th Foot. On March 5, 1770 a riot broke out in front of the Boston custom's house between outraged citizens and the British occupying troops. Shots were fired by the men of the 29th into the crowd of civilians resulting in the death of 5 citizens, including the African American Crispus Attucks. A murder trial was held in which the accused soldiers were defended by John Adams. Two of these men were convicted of manslaughter and were punished by having their thumbs branded. The other men of the 29th were found not guilty. The massacre was commemorated in a drawing made by Henry Pelham (the half-brother of artist John Singleton Copley) which was engraved into a political broadside by patriot Paul Revere (see below). The red uniforms of the 29th were decorated with yellow facings seen in the Britains figure and in Revere's color engraving. The act of drawing "first blood" in the Revolutionary War earned the 29th the nicknmae of the "VEIN OPENERS".
So once again we find a "toy" soldier with an interesting story to tell.
Randy 3/25/08
I knew right away that this figure pre-dated the American Revolution and I wondered what story this figure might have to tell. When I looked up the history of the 29th Regiment of Foot I was suddenly confronted by the fact that this regiment included the notorious group of Redcoats who participated in the historic Boston Massacre of March 5. 1770, two-hundred and thirty eight years ago this month. The Boston Massacre resulted from the growing tension between the British and the American colonists over increased British taxation of the colonies culminating in the hated Townshend Acts of 1767. Anger and strife over these taxes was especially strong in Boston. Therefore to protect against the growing unrest, British General Thomas Gage had two regiments of British troops sent to Boston in 1768 to occupy the city. One of those regiments was the 29th Foot. On March 5, 1770 a riot broke out in front of the Boston custom's house between outraged citizens and the British occupying troops. Shots were fired by the men of the 29th into the crowd of civilians resulting in the death of 5 citizens, including the African American Crispus Attucks. A murder trial was held in which the accused soldiers were defended by John Adams. Two of these men were convicted of manslaughter and were punished by having their thumbs branded. The other men of the 29th were found not guilty. The massacre was commemorated in a drawing made by Henry Pelham (the half-brother of artist John Singleton Copley) which was engraved into a political broadside by patriot Paul Revere (see below). The red uniforms of the 29th were decorated with yellow facings seen in the Britains figure and in Revere's color engraving. The act of drawing "first blood" in the Revolutionary War earned the 29th the nicknmae of the "VEIN OPENERS".
So once again we find a "toy" soldier with an interesting story to tell.
Randy 3/25/08
