The Liberty Boys were a branch of the Sons of Liberty in New York City during the 1760s and 1770s. True-Born Sons of Liberty was also a title used by the Liberty Boys. The Liberty Boys are known for being more radical and often more violent than the Sons of Liberty. While many American Colonial cities had Liberty Boys, the most active was the New York Liberty Boys. Both the Liberty Boys and the Sons of Liberty opposed the repressive policies of British rule. The Liberty Boys were active in protests, riots, intimidation, and the installation of Liberty Poles. The Liberty Boys took part in the Battle of Golden Hill on January 19, 1770, years before the 1776 American Revolution. They were very active in opposition to the Stamp act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773. Isaac Sears was a key leader of the New York Liberty Boys, as he was quick to use violence. Marinus Willett was a key leader in the Liberty Boys' arms raids. The Stamp Act of 1765 became a major cause for unity against British rule. Liberty Boys often called for the boycott of British goods and promoted goods from the Daughters of Liberty. By the time of the American Revolutionary War, the Liberty Boys provided both men and arms for the conflict.
New York and Stamp Act of 1765
Liberty Boys started as a secret group to avoid capture or arrest while carrying out acts against the British Empire's rule over the Thirteen Colonies. Their activities were sometimes carried out secretly to hide illicit and illegal actions against British rule. Some of the early actions were in opposition to the British Stamp Act of 1765, passed on March 22, 1765, imposed on the Colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed taxation and a monopoly on the American colonies. The monopoly of the act was that it mandated that every colonists had to purchase a British stamp, or stamped paper, for every official document they used, including newspapers, playing cards and almanacs. The required stamp had a picture of a Tudor rose and the words America, also in French Honi soit qui mal y pense, which translates into Shame to him who thinks evil of it. One other stamp was also used, which had a scepter-and-sword background, and with St. Edward’s Crown encircled by the Order of the Garter logo. The taxation also denied colonial representation in the British Parliament or local colonial rule. In response, the Liberty Boys destroyed property and intimidated royal tax officials. The Liberty Boys prevented the implementation of the Stamp Act. The Liberty Boys were made up of many New York City merchants, artisans, and laborers. The first ship with British stamps docked at New York City's harbor on October 23, 1765. Liberty Boys, with about 2,000 patriotic residents, came to the harbor and protested. The Liberty Boys and the patriotic mob shut down the New York port. The Liberty Boys' intimidation acts included: hanging effigies of royal officials, threats and tarring and feathering. These intimidations worked, as all British stamp agents resigned their posts, and the Stamp Act was never enforced. The Stamp Act was repealed by Parliament on March 18, 1766, after an in-person appeal by Benjamin Franklin to British Parliament. But in response, the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, stating that the British crown and government had total legislative control and power over the 13 colonies, setting the stage for further rebellion. An orderly and non-intimidating response to the Stamp Act was made at the October 1765 Stamp Act Congress.
New York Committee of Correspondence and Committee of Mechanics
On October 31, 1765, New York founded a Committee of Correspondence. A large meeting of New Yorkers was held where five leaders were voted in. The leaders were: John Lamb, Isaac Sears, Gershom Mott, Thomas Robinson, and William Wiley. Both John Lamb and Isaac Sears were also active leaders in the Liberty Boys. A number of cities in the Colonies founded Committees of Correspondence to coordinate opposition to British Acts. The Committees help unite the Colonies by coordinating letter-writing and establishing an underground communication network among Patriot leaders. By 1774, Isaac Sears and Alexander McDougall, with many New York working-class members, founded the more radical "Committee of Mechanics", which challenged the official Committee of Correspondence delegates. In July 1774, the Committee of Mechanics held meetings to challenge the appointment of moderate delegates to the Continental Congress, advocating for a stricter stance against British actions following the Coercive Acts. Dawson, Henry (1886). Westchester County, New York, During the American Revolution. H.B. Dawson. Page 20 to 29Liberty boys and Mechanics of New York City, 1764-1774.” Champagne, Rodger, (1967), page 115-135 On May 29, 1776, the "New York General Committee of Mechanics in union" sent a petition to the New York Provincial Congress to support independence from Britain. The petition was read to the New York Provincial Congress by Committee of Mechanics member and New York craftsman, Lewis Thibou. This New York Mechanics Declaration of Independence, with a list of grievances against the British Crown, predates the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson.
Fort George riot Liberty Boys, including Isaac Sears, John Lamb, and Alexander McDougall, led a colonial mob of over 2,000 to Fort George, in lower Manhattan, on the night of November 1, 1765. November 1, 1765, was the day the Stamp Act was to be established. On the way to the Fort, the mob stopped at former Stamp Agent, James McEvers’ home and give him a cheer for his resignation on August 30 to Sears and Allicocke, after many threats from the Liberty Boys. The Liberty Boys and the colonial mob went to Fort George, as this was the residence of New York Governor Cadwallader Colden, who had taken refuge there. At the Fort, the Liberty Boys demanded the Governor's resignation and his surrender of the British stamps there. The mob of 2,000 was about one-tenth of the city's population at the time. The Liberty Boys hung a Cadwallader Colden effigy as they marched through the streets. The Liberty Boys and the mob destroyed the British officer's carriage house. Liberty Boys and the mob also took the governor's horse carriage & sleighs, then used them for a "funeral of liberty" bonfire at the nearby Bowling Green park. The governor, seeing the large mob, said he and his officers would not enforce the Stamp Act. The event could have been a Boston Massacre, as the Liberty Boys and the mob tried to provoke the fort's soldiers to shoot at them. Moderate Sons of Liberty leaders were able to calm the mob. The same night, November 1, 1765, the mansion called Ranelagh at the intersection of Anthony Street and West Broadway, belonging to British Royal Artillery Major Thomas James, was ransacked and burned by the Liberty Boys and the city mob. James was a supporter of the Stamp Act and defended Fort George. In January 1766, another British ship docked with more British stamps. But the Liberty Boys seized the stamps and burned them. The Liberty Boys and their mob remained active till May of 1766, when the repeal of the Stamp Act in New York City was official. The Liberty Boys made a flag with Liberty, Property, No Stamps on it in celebration. After the Fort George riot, John Lamb went to Philadelphia, working with the local "Heart and Hand Fire Company"; they were able to force John Hughes to resign. John Hughes was the last Colony Stamp Agent, ending any enforcement of the Stamp Act.Holstein, Anna M. Swedish Holsteins in America, from 1644 to 1892. Comprising many letters and biographical matter relating to John Hughes, the "stamp officer," and friend of Franklin, with papers not before published relating to his brother of revolutionary fame, Colonel Hugh Hughes of New York. Norristown, PA: W. R. Willis, 1892. page 51Stamp Act, National Society Sons of the American Revolution, Fall 2002
New York Liberty Poles
Another activity of the Liberty Boys was installing Liberty Poles. To celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766, the Liberty Boys installed New York City's first Liberty Pole on May 21, 1766. The Liberty Poles were installed in New York City Hall Park (the Commons), near Montagne’s Tavern. Montagne’s Tavern (also called Montagne House) was a key meeting house for the Liberty Boys and Sons of Liberty. The Liberty Pole was also in view of the Brithish soldier’s barracks. To avoid looking rebellious, the first poles featured an emblem of the British Crown with a note about unfair taxation. A common quote on the poles was George 3rd, Pitt and Liberty. This conveyed colonial honor to King George III and William Pitt for his support of repealing the Stamp Act. The hope was for peaceful liberty and rights for the Colonies. But, British troops cut down the liberty poles. The Liberty Boys held a protest meeting over the removal of the New York Liberty Pole; over 2,000 people attended. British soldiers fired into the meeting and hit a few people, wounding them. After this event, the Liberty Boys started blocking British soldiers from patrolling the streets in Lower Manhattan. Later at night, the Liberty Boys would just put up a new pole. If the two met, violence ensued. The 4th pole was reinforced with iron bands to make removal harder. The fifth Liberty pole was placed on private property to end the cutting down and install a new problem. The liberty poles also served as a rallying location for colonial patriots.Liberty
Battle of Golden Hill
The Battle of Golden Hill occurred on January 19, 1770, between Liberty Boys and British soldiers. Due to the 4th Liberty pole's reinforcement with iron bands, on January 16, 1770, British soldiers used gunpowder to remove the 4th Liberty pole. The soldiers used too much gunpowder, and wood shards covered the block, also hit Montagne’s Tavern's door. This pole no longer had a non-rebellious sign on it. On January 19, 1770, there was a brawl over broadside poster. Liberty Boys had been posting rebel posters, while British soldiers were posting posters supporting British rule. Isaac Sears, Walter Quackenbos, and other Liberty Boys tried to stop soldiers from posting handbills. A group of soldiers was surrounded by a mob, and a brawl broke out on what is called Golden Hill in the City of New York. The anger over the "Battle" (brawl) soon subsided, and local politicians and businessmen joined in resolving the problem and even making some reparations. A new fifth Liberty pole was placed on private property.
Quartering Acts
Liberty Boys resisted the British policy of the 1765 and 1774 Quartering Acts. The Liberty Boys' radical protest placed housing and financial hardship on the British soldiers. The Liberty Boys were able to get other New Yorkers to form resistance against the unpopular taxation and housing without representation. The first act of the Quartering Act of 1765 required colonial assemblies to provide housing, supplies, and food for British soldiers stationed in the colonies. The French and Indian War led to the passage of the Quartering Act of 1765. The Quartering Act of 1774 was part of the Coercive Acts, part of the Intolerable Acts. This was a punishment for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Ammerman, David (1974). In the Common Cause: American Response to the Coercive Acts of 1776. Charlottesville: University of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-0525-7. The Liberty Boys resisted the Quartering Acts primarily in New York by organized mass protests, intimidation of officials, public propaganda, and physical confrontations. They viewed the acts as unconstitutional taxation, aiming to protect private property and prevent the normalization of a standing British army in New York.
New York Restraining Act