Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House

The Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House was built in 1759 by John Vassall Jr. and was one of the grandest of the Tory Row mansions in Cambridge. The street was considered Tory Row because of the numerous wealthy families that lived on the street, all of whom were loyal to King George III.

By 1774 tensions were rising in the Massachusetts colonies between the Patriots and the Tories as Parliament had placed taxes on the colony, closed the port of Boston and had abolished Massachusetts’ elected governments and replaced it with the Mandamus Council. These tensions were particularly high in Cambridge which resulted in an enormous protest on Cambridge Common and in Harvard Square on September 2, 1774.  The thousands protested the seizure of gun powder in Somerville, which had taken place the previous night, and the creation of the Mandamus Council that replaced elected officials. The protestors demanded that the three Cambridge appointees to the Mandamus Council resign from their positions. Judge Danforth and Judge Lee resigned on the steps of the courthouse while Lietenant Governor Oliver required a little more persuasion. Thousands of protestors marched down Tory Row and surrounded his house, which made it clear that they Tories were outnumbered. The loyalists considered themselves in danger and left their grand estates. Like the other Loyalist families on Tory Row the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow house was abandoned, within months of the September protest, as the family sought safety in Boston or other countries.

By July of 1775 Cambridge had become the center of the American Revolution as thousands of minutemen from all over New England had marched to Cambridge in response to The Battle of Lexington and Concord and The Battle of Bunker Hill. Like many other houses on Tory Row, soldiers used the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow house as their barracks. Troops from Marblehead used this house until the arrival of General George Washington. On July 3, 1775 General George Washington took command of the Continental Army making Cambridge the station for the American Army. It was not clear how long the army would be stationed here but it was necessary to find General George Washington a permanent headquarters. The Committee of Safety voted that The Wadsworth House would be an appropriate headquarters for the General. However, George Washington deemed the house too small and chose the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow mansion instead.

After a few months it was clear that the American Army would be in Cambridge for a bit longer. Therefore Washington sent for Martha Washington and their children to come to Cambridge. George Washington used the house as his head quarters for nine months until the British evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776 due to Washington’s fortification of Dorchester Heights. 

 

 

Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House Today

George Washington's Letter
George Washington's letter to the Continental Congress discussing the lack of supplies for his troops stationed in Cambidge.

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