The Brattle House

General William Brattle owned the Brattle House at the time of the Revolutionary War and both he and the house itself were central to the events that occurred in Revolutionary Cambridge. General Brattle was a prominent military man in Cambridge. From a very young age he played an important role in the Cambridge military. At the time of the French and Indian War, Brattle was very active in getting troops from Cambridge involved in the war. As time passed and the colony of Massachusetts began to have conflicts with the British Government Brattle remained at loyalist.

The Brattle House is located on Brattle Street which was known as Tory Row in Revolutionary Cambridge. The street was called Tory Row because of seven wealthy families, who were loyal to the King, and owned all the property along the street from the Brattle House to Elmwood.

In August of 1774 General Brattle created an enormous controversy, which led to the evacuation of the Tory Row families. General Brattle informed British General Gage that many Massachusetts towns had been taking gunpowder from the provincial powder house in Somerville. In response, General Gage sent British troops to the Powder House to seize the gunpowder on September 1, 1774.  The very next day thousands of people converged on the Cambridge Common and in Harvard Square for a massive protest. The protestors were enraged by the seizure of gunpowder, which they felt belonged to the colonists. This was on top of a recent and strong resentment brought on by the establishment of The Mandamus Council, or a group appointed by the governor which had recently replaced all Massachusetts elected officials. The crowd demanded that the three appointees to the council who lived in Cambridge, Judge Lee, Judge Danforth, and Lieutenant Governor Oliver resign. Judge Lee and Judge Danforth both addressed the crowd and assured them that they had already resigned. Following the rally on the Common, the angry crowd marched down Tory Row toward Oliver’s house and demanded his resignation as well. After this protest it was clear that the Tories were a minority and were outnumbered by those who were hostile and on the verge of violence. Many Tories, including William Brattle, fled the area to seek safe refuge in Boston or abroad.

Within months of the protest The American Revolution had begun and Cambridge became the headquarters of the gathered New England militias. Like most Tory Row homes that were abandoned, the Brattle House was seized and used by the American troops, in this case as Commissary General Thomas Mifflin’s headquarters during the Siege of Boston. George Washington and John and Abigail Adams were visitors of Mifflin’s during the siege.

 

Brattle House Today

 

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