Governor Francis Bernard came to the conclusion that British troops were needed in Boston, but did not want to be responsible for inviting them.
'I was now at the end of my tether. "
- Governor francis bernard after refusal of the Massachusetts council to request British troops
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Governor Francis Bernard lacked the political skill and termperament to deal with rising protests. Increasingly, he became a figure of scorn by radicals like James Otis and Samuel Adams.
- Oxford UniversityShadow Boxing
When the Council, the upper house of the colonial assembly, refused to join him in requesting troops Governor Bernard held back publicly while hinting at the need to British officials. General Gage, British military commander for North America, was frustrated with Bernard. "Quash this Spirit at a Blow, without too much regard to the Expence," he wrote, "and it will prove economy in the End." While Bernard hesitated and maneuvered, the government in London ordered troops to Boston.
General Thomas Gage, British commander far North America, by John Singleton Copley. Gage judged that a move of decisive force would defuse the crisis.
- Yale Center For Brittish Art
What's in a Name: Beacon Hill
In 1634, the Puritan government, fearing that the King might suppress the Massachusetts Bay Colony, had ordered that a beacon be placed on ''sentry hill" to warn of possible invasion-the origin of the name ''Beacon Hill." When word of the dispatch of British troops arrived in 1768, a turpentine barrel was again placed on Beacon Hill, sixtyfive feet above ground and visible far inland to warn of possible danger.
