Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell House

 

The Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell House was central to Revolutionary Cambridge, both during The Siege of Boston and the years following. At the time of the American Revolution Jonathan Sewall, the last Attorney General under British rule owned the Tory Row house.

During the years leading up to the Revolutionary War tensions between patriots and Tories grew. On September 2, 1774 tensions were at an all time high when thousands of people convened on Cambridge Common and in Harvard Square to protest the British seizure of gunpowder and The Mandamus Council. The crowd demanded that the three Cambridge men appointed to The Mandamus Council resign. The Mandamus Council replaced Massachusetts’ elected governments. The three men appointed to the Mandamus Council from Cambridge were Judge Lee, Judge Danforth, and Lieutenant Governor Oliver all resigned that evening due to the enormous protesting crowd. After the protest it was clear that the families of Tory Row were no longer safe and within months, Sewall and the other families of Tory Row evacuated Cambridge for safer areas such as Boston. Since the houses on Tory Row were abandoned they were used as barracks and headquarters for the Continental Army throughout the Siege of Boston.

The Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell played an even more significant role in Cambridge in the years following the Siege of Boston.  In 1777 the British lost the Battle of Saratoga under General John Burgoyne. The terms of surrender indicated that Burgoyne’s troops, known as The Convention troops, would await passage back to England in Cambridge. The Convention troops, both British and German, were placed under General Heath’s command in Cambridge. Heath designated the abandoned Tory homes to be used to house the Convention troops. However the plans to house the troops were extremely disorganized. However, when Burgoyne and his troops arrived in Cambridge it became clear that the Cambridge citizens were reluctant to host soldiers in their city again. For weeks soldiers were forced to sleep on the street and officers were forced to stay in dirty inns.

Baron Von Riedesell, the Commander of the German Convention troops, and his family experienced the same mistreatment as the British troops. Within their first week in Cambridge their luggage was stolen. Eventually the Riedesell family was allowed to move into the Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell House. The house was unfurnished so they had to purchase their own furniture. However, once the family was settled, Baroness Von Riedesell made the Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell house the center of the German Convention troop social life. The Riedesell’s began to enjoy Cambridge as time passed and they were treated better than many of the British troops. Baroness Von Riedesell carved her name into one of the windows with her diamond ring, which became an important historic relic from this house.   

Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesell House Today

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