Last updated: February 24, 2026
Article
Living Conditions Under the Siege of Boston
Boston Public Library
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, a siege on the town of Boston ensued. The British military, British-supporting Loyalists, and non-Loyalist Boston citizens remained trapped inside Boston, while George Washington's colonial forces laid siege to force out the British. Although some people fled to the countryside as refugees, those who could not or did not flee had to endure the harsh conditions of a siege.
Supply Issues
As the months went by, those inside the town suffered for a want of fresh supplies, especially with a prolonged siege. Two factors contributed to low provisions in Boston.
First, supply route. The only supply route to provide provisions to Boston consisted of a long and treacherous passage over the Atlantic Ocean from England, which took several weeks, or a shorter route from Nova Scotia. The inhabitants of Boston and the British military relied on supplies via ocean travel because colonial soldiers commanded the countryside and thus controlled mainland supplies.
Second, colonial privateers and colonial military raids on surrounding islands prevented supplies reaching Boston. Raids captured livestock, hay, and other forage and destroyed what they did not take to prevent important supplies from falling into British hands. Privateers, using small vessels and whaling boats, targeted isolated supply ships with speed and mobility. Captured provisions often went to Washington’s command in Cambridge.
As a result of these tactics, people inside Boston suffered. Numerous residents detailed the scarcity of food. A Boston resident noted that carcasses – dead animals – sold quickly. Ensign Martin Hunter reported that an officer’s horse was stolen, killed, and sold for meat. Deacon and Boston Selectman Timothy Newell remembered a dinner with two gentlemen in which they were served rats.[1]
New York Public Library
Winter Conditions in Boston
Winter added to the difficulties. British soldiers not accustomed to New England winters perhaps suffered most. Soldiers described tents with holes leading one soldier to complain that it was better to sleep under open air. Temperatures dropped so low that British sentries froze to death.
To make up for the lack of firewood, British soldiers targeted symbols of resistance – the Liberty Tree – and dilapidated buildings. Soldiers destroyed old homes, barns, and wharves for firewood. Even portions of Old North Church became a target for firewood. The cold winter proved devastating for those inside Boston.
Desertions
As the siege continued, British deserters escaped to Continental lines. These deserters reported to colonial militia that if Washington attacked, more soldiers would defect because of the continued terrible conditions they faced. In another instance, British General William Howe, who replaced General Thomas Gage as commander in September, ordered 300 men, women, and children out of Boston due to disease. Washington noted that these people were in "the whole most miserable and piteous condition" when they arrived outside Continental lines.[2]
National Park Service
A perfect statement on conditions in Boston during winter 1775-1776 can be summed up by Brigadier General Nathanael Greene:
"Provisions and [fuel] scarce…no harmony among the Troops…Many of the People that [come] out are real objects of pity, their suffering has been exceedingly severe, especially among the poorer sort. Great Violence is done to the Cause of humanity in that Town."[3]
The suffering of those in town continued as spring approached. On March 5, 1776, after a long night’s work, Continental forces occupied Dorchester Heights. With already limited resources and now American control of the heights overlooking and threatening British shipping routes, General Howe had no option but evacuate the town. On March 17, 1776, the British left Boston after occupying the town since 1774.
New York Public Library
A newspaper captured the victorious moment as Washington’s army entered Boston: "The joy of our friends in Boston on seeing the victorious and gallant troops of their country enter the town almost at the heels of their barbarous oppressors, was inexpressibly great." James Thatcher noted, "In the course of the forenoon we enjoyed the unspeakable satisfaction of beholding their whole fleet under sail."[4]
Washington and his army had achieved their first victory in Boston, ending an 11-month siege with little bloodshed. However, the siege had taken a toll on the town of Boston and its residents, leaving both physical and psychological scars for years to come.
Footnotes
[1] Derek Beck, The War Before Independence, 1775-1776 (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2016), 177-78.
[2] "George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Reed, 27 November 1775," Founders Online, National Archives [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, 16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 442–443.]
[3] Quoted in Terry Golway, Washington’s General: Nathanael Greene & the Triumph of the American Revolution (New York, NY: Owl Books, Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2006), 63.
[4] George F. Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin, Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived It (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1957), 108.
Sources
Beck, Derek. The War Before Independence: 1775-1776. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2016.
Golway, Terry. Washington’s General: Nathanel Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Owl Books, Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2016.
McCullough, David. 1776. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Puls, Mark. Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Scheer, George F. and Hugh F. Rankin. Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived it. New York, NY: Da Capr Press, 1957.