The Loyal Nine

by Steven Konkoly

  “These events are becoming all too common across the nation,” said Abbie. “When I talk to my colleagues in the Senate, from all political persuasions, they agree there is a feeling of malaise and hopelessness spreading across their home states. The polls provided to me the other day reveal the nation’s low morale. What we’re beginning to witness is a nation that has lost hope. This has turned to anger for many.”

  “Whether by design or by chance, the American people have turned to their government, looking for answers,” said Julia. “Reliance on government support has overwhelmed the system. People in despair don’t realize the government is doomed to fail them. Our system of government was not designed to be the cradle-to-grave provider its citizens have come to expect. They will demand more of the government, and with all due respect, Abbie, politicians will try to provide for their constituents. How long will it be before taxes will have to be significantly raised and the taxpayers pitch a fit?”

  “Exactly,” said Katie. “It’s just a matter of time before class warfare becomes the headline of the day—the makers versus the takers.”

  “History can repeat itself, right, Donald?” asked Sarge.

  “It’s ironic that the nine of us are having this conversation on one of the most important dates in American history,” said Donald. “On this night in 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes left on horseback to warn their patriot comrades about the British advance on Concord and Lexington. Revere left from the Old North Church.”

  Donald directed everyone’s attention up the Charles River toward the north side of Boston.

  “Historically, Dawes was lesser known, though he was equally important as a patriot,” said Donald. “Dawes was directed by Dr. Warren, J.J.’s ancestor, to travel a southerly route through Roxbury and Brookline. He crossed the river near the site of the Cambridge Bridge.”

  Donald drew the circuitous route in the air and walked to the edge of the roof, where he pointed towards Harvard.

  “Both of the men evaded detection and capture until their mission was nearly complete,” said Donald. “Revere was captured by a British patrol, and Dawes lost his horse, walking the rest of the way to Lexington. A third rider, young Samuel Prescott, rode on to Concord with Revere’s message.

  “On the morning of April nineteenth, tomorrow, seven hundred British troops arrived at Lexington,” continued Donald. “Captain John Parker and his seventy-seven-man militia were waiting on Lexington’s common. They were greatly outnumbered. Without warning, an unknown musket fired the shot heard around the world. Eight of Captain Parker’s men died to only one British soldier. Arguably, the patriots lost the Battle of Lexington. But the American Revolution, our fight for freedom, had begun—and we won against all odds.”

  Everyone stood in silence, taking in the moment.

  “The nine of us are a family,” said Sarge. “Our ideals and goals are no different than the patriots who banded together in the 1760s against an oppressive, tyrannical government that did not consider the best interests of its citizens. I believe our nation has become what our forefathers fought so bravely to resist. Tyranny and anarchy are never far apart. Thomas Jefferson recognized this when he said even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have perverted it into tyranny.

  “We will protect each other until our dying day. I think we all know that in our hearts. We also have roots dating back to the founding of our nation. Like you, I love this country and I hate seeing what is happening to it. I believe it is destined for collapse. I don’t believe the nine of us alone have the power to save it, but we’re no different than the nine patriots that stood up for freedom nearly two hundred and fifty years ago. Like those nine Bostonians, we will face challenges, and like our Founding Fathers, when faced with the choice between compromising our principles or choosing freedom—we will choose freedom.”

  “I have something to give everyone,” said Brad. “We wear uniforms in the military to honor traditions and mark our branch of service. The nine of us may not wear a uniform as we fight this battle—in whatever form it takes—but we should have a symbol of our loyalty to each other and the noble purpose to which we’ve devoted our lives.”

  Brad handed out embroidered patches of a flag featuring five red and four white alternating stripes.

  “This is the rebellious stripes flag,” said Brad. “This became a symbol of freedom to the patriots who founded our nation. When Bostonians gathered at the Liberty Tree near Boston Common in 1765 to protest burdensome taxation, a clear message was sent to the British government. In 1767, a flagpole was erected next to the Liberty Tree, and the Rebellious Flag was raised. The Rebellious Flag and the Liberty Tree witnessed historic meetings, fiery speeches and celebrations for the early patriots who became known as the Sons of Liberty. This is our past. This is also our future.”

  “We are modern-day Knights Templar,” said Sarge. “Our mission should be to protect America and its republic from those who would inflict tyranny upon her. This group of nine Americans is loyal to our country and each other. I suggest a tribute to the original nine members of the Sons of Liberty, who had the vision and strength to persevere against all odds to give us the freedoms we enjoy. I propose a toast to us—the Loyal Nine.”

  The Loyal Nine!

  “Like our forefathers before us, the Loyal Nine grew from a few voices into a legion of patriots throughout America. There will be many who join us in the challenge to preserve freedom. To all of those who will join us in the fight against tyranny and for the preservation of our freedoms, I propose a toast they be included with us as—the Mechanics.”

  The Mechanics!

  “Finally,” said Sarge, “when faced with the tough choices necessary to preserve our nation’s ideals, I say we choose freedom!”

  The group toasted together. Choose Freedom!

  The End

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  History of the Original Loyal Nine

  Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

  ~ George Santayana, philosopher and novelist

  George Grenville was a British statesman born into an influential political family. He became the British Prime Minister in 1763, and the primary focus of his government was to bring spending under control. Grenville, a whig, advocated the supremacy of Parliament and a strong central government.

  During his term in office from 1763 to 1765, a major point of contention at the time was the incredible cost of defending and protecting the colonies and the British expansion into the American frontier. Near the Appalachian Mountains, the British had stationed ten thousand troops for this purpose. While serving as Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1764, he proposed a stamp tax in a speech to Parliament. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Documents, licenses, newspapers, ship’s papers, legal documents, and even playing cards were taxed. The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of garrisoning the troops.

  On February 17, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed in the House of Commons by an overwhelming vote of 205 to 49; on March 8, it unanimously passed in the House of Lords; and on March 22, it was given Royal Assent. The law had an effective date of November 1, 1765.

  News of the Stamp Act’s passage reached America in May of 1765. The Stamp Act caused both anger and resentment in the colonies—not so much because of the imposition of a tax, but because of its manner of enactment and means of enforcement. The colonists believed that it violated their ri
ghts as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent. Such consent, in the view of the colonists, could only be granted by the legislatures of the colonies in which they resided. The colonists believed that any laws passed affecting them were illegal under the British Bill of Rights of 1689.

  A slogan was quickly adopted throughout the colonies: No taxation without representation.

  Boston, Massachusetts, became the epicenter of the colonist opposition to British rule. In 1765 a group of Bostonians formed a “social club”—attempting to avoid the scrutiny a political organization might provoke. Their purpose, however, was more than social. This group of nine Bostonians, formed and operating in secrecy, plotted a response to the Stamp Act.

  They called themselves the Loyal Nine. Although they were respectable merchants and tradesmen, they were not necessarily the most prominent Bostonians. They were private and unassuming, avoided undue publicity, and were diligent in their secretiveness. The names of the Loyal Nine aren’t prominent in American history books. But these nine men sowed the seeds of the American Revolution. They were average, hardworking Americans—fighting against tyrannical rule.

  They were:

  Henry Bass, a merchant and the cousin of Samuel Adams; Thomas Chase, a distiller; John Avery, also a distiller and the Loyal Nine’s secretary; Stephen Cleverly and John Smith, braziers (tradesmen who worked with brass); Thomas Crafts, a painter; Joseph Field, a seafarer; George Trott, a jeweler; and the most well-known among the Loyal Nine, Benjamin Edes, the printer of the Boston Gazette.

  John Adams recalled in his diary that the Loyal Nine met in one of two locations; either in a small compting Room in Chase and Speakman’s Distillery or under the foliage of a large elm tree in nearby Hanover Square. The tree would soon become known as the Liberty Tree. Until its destruction by British soldiers in 1775, the Liberty Tree would serve as a meeting place for fiery speeches and as a rallying point for patriotic demonstrations.

  Knowing they were going to need help organizing a resistance movement, the Loyal Nine turned to Ebenezer Mackintosh and his gang of miscreants known as the South Enders. Mackintosh was a poor shoemaker who was generally considered lower class in Boston at the time. After the death of his first wife, Mackintosh became involved in the militia and later joined the infamous Fire Engine Company No. 9 in South Boston. Over time, he became a fixture and a leader in the poor communities of Boston’s South End.

  As the head of the fast-growing South End gang, he coordinated activities of the annual Guy Fawkes Night held on the fifth of November. In 1605, Guy Fawkes was a member of the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James and several members of the House of Lords. The plot failed, but Fawkes became well known for his insurgent activities. Animated masks honoring Fawkes began to surface, featuring an oversized smile and red cheeks, a wide upturned moustache and a thin vertical pointed beard.

  Today, the Guy Fawkes mask is the widely recognized symbol of the hacktivist group Anonymous. Mackintosh used the occasion of Guy Fawkes Night to light an enormous bonfire and recruit more members into his gang. He orchestrated most activities in the south part of the city. Inciting public disturbance was not foreign to them.

  The Loyal Nine needed soldiers—insurgents. They convinced Mackintosh to put aside his local quarrels with Henry Swift and the North Enders gang to direct their hostilities towards opposing the British and the Stamp Act. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Mackintosh, Swift and the hundreds of their gang members agreed to work together.

  Per a letter on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society, Cyrus Baldwin, a local civil engineer, recounted the events of the morning of August 14. Bostonians were greeted by:

  something so Rair as to draw the attention of almost the whole Town – it was no less than the Effigie of the Honourable Stamp Master of [the] Province hanging on one of the great Trees at the south end directly over the main street – behind him was a Boot hung up with the Devil Crawling out, with the Pitchfork in his hand, on the Effigie’s Right arm was writ and sew’d on the letters AO [Andrew Oliver] – On his left arm was wrote these words ‘It’s a glorious to See a stamp-man hanging on a Tree’ … This Effigie hung in this manner alday … the mob … took the Image down, after the performance of some Cerimonies. It was brought through the main street to near Olivers Dock, and in less than half an hour laid it even with the ground then took timbers of the house and caryd ’em up on Fort Hill where they stamped the Image & timber & made a bonfire – the fuel faild. – they Immediately fell upon the stamp Masters Garden fence, took it up, stampd it and burnt it … Not contented with this they proceeded to his Coach house took off the doars, stampd ’em & burnt ’em. – While they was doing this, the Sheriff began to read the proclamation for the mob to withdraw.

  The Loyal Nine, with the assistance of their new alliance, conducted the first, large-scale opposition against the Stamp Act and, specifically, a Stamp Master. It was well planned, directed at a specific target and perfectly executed. The Loyal Nine’s rationale was simple: without Stamp Masters, the Act could not go into effect. John Dickinson, former president of the Delaware colony and known as the Penman of the Revolution, wrote the hanging of the effigy was “the most effectual and most decent Method of preventing the Execution of a Statute that strikes the Axe into the Root of the Tree.”

  Word of the defiance spread throughout the colonies. Incidents of protest had been occurring in other cities and towns from Fort Halifax in Maine to Charleston, but now force had been introduced as a tool of the masses.

  On August 26, Andrew Oliver informed his fellow Stamp Master, Jared Ingersoll of Connecticut, of his intention to resign from his office:

  Sir: The News Papers will sufficiently inform you of the Abuse I have met with. I am therefore only to acquaint you in short, that after having stood the attack for 36 hours – a single man against a whole People, the Government not being able to afford me any help during that whole time, I was persuaded to yield, in order to prevent what was coming in the night; and as I happened to give out in writing the terms of Capitulation, I send you a copy of them.

  The activities of the Loyal Nine and their alliance were having the desired effect—the tax collectors were resigning out of fear. These Patriot mobs used tactics of fear, force, intimidation and violence to demonstrate against the Stamp Act, and they targeted pro-Stamp Act supporters and officials. The Loyal Nine organized these mobs by putting anti-Stamp Act pamphlets and signage all over the streets of Boston, and hanging effigies of public officials and others who supported the Stamp Act.

  On November 1, the day enforcement of the Stamp Act was to begin; there appeared in a Boston newspaper a caricature by John Singleton Copley, entitled “The Deplorable State of America.” The cartoon expressed the emotions of the citizens of Boston who felt intimidated by the revenue measure. The power of the press was behind the Loyal Nine.

  Four days later, the citizens of Boston were greeted by an unusual scene—Ebenezer Mackintosh, leader of the South Enders, and Henry Swift, leader of the North Enders, two bitter rivals, were leading their men side-by-side down the streets of Boston. These were two opposing gangs that had gone at each other with clubs and knives on Guy Fawkes Day for as long as anyone could remember. The citizens were amazed and confused—what had happened? The answer became known as the Union Feast. Samuel Adams, with the assistance of John Hancock, organized a series of dinners and invited all classes of men, meaning the two mobs, to share a meal together.

  Sir Francis Bernard, former governor of the Province of New Jersey, recalled in his writings that some of the Loyal Nine were present and with Heart and Hands in flowing Bowls and bumping Glasses, the Sons of Liberty were born!

  The Loyal Nine kept up the pressure on the tax collectors. On the evening of December 16, Andrew Oliver received a notice from the Loyal Nine that his presence was requested at the Liberty Tree the next day to publicly resign his office of Stamp Master. The letter ended with the following caveat: “Provided you comply with the a
bove, you shall be treated with the greatest Politeness and Humanity. If not…” The next morning he sent for his friend John Avery, whom he hoped would act as an intermediary between himself and the Loyal Nine. Avery told him that it was too late—that the effigies were already prepared. Oliver then offered to resign at the courthouse, but was told that would not be acceptable. Shortly before noon, Mackintosh appeared at his door for the purpose of escorting Oliver through the streets of Boston to the Liberty Tree. Because there was a heavy rain, Oliver was permitted to read his resignation from an upper window of a house next to the Liberty Tree.

  Henry Bass described the Loyal Nine’s involvement in his diary:

  On seeing Messrs. Edes & Gill last mondays Paper, the Loyall Nine repair’d the same Evg. [December 16] to Liberty Hall, in order to Consult what further should be done respecting Mr. Oliver’s Resignation, as what had been done heretofore, we tho’t not Conclusive & upon some little time debating we apprehended it would be most Satisfactory to the Publick to send a Letter to desire him to appear under Liberty Tree at 12 oClock on Tuesday, to make a publick Resignation under Oath: the Copy of which the advertisement, his Message, Resignation & Oath you have Inclos’d. The whole affair transacted by the Loyall Nine in writing the Letter, getting the Advertisements Printed, which were all done after 12 oClock Monday night, the advertisements Pasted up to the amount of a hundred was all done from 9 to 3 oClock.

  John Adams similarly recalled the events in his writings:

  [They] gave me a particular Account of the Proceedings of the Sons of Liberty on Tuesday last in prevailing on Mr. Oliver to renounce his office of Distributor of Stamps, by a Declaration under his Hand, and under the very Tree of Liberty, nay under the very Limb where he had been hanged in Effigy, Aug. 14 , 1765. Their absolute Requisition of an Oath, and under that Tree, were Circumstances, extremely humiliating and mortifying, as Punishment for his receiving a Deputation to be a Distributor after his pretended Resignation, and for his faint and indirect Declaration in the News Papers last Monday.