Mark Hung in Chains
The landmark Paul Revere named in his own account of his ride.
Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.
How the story begins
"After I had passed Charlestown Neck, and got nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on horseback under a tree." That is Paul Revere, in 1798, writing down his ride of 1775 for the Massachusetts Historical Society. He does not say who Mark was. Mark was enslaved by John Codman, a retired ship's captain. He had been allowed to live in Boston with his wife and child, earning wages for Codman.
The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.
Visiting
Sullivan Square, Charlestown, on the Orange Line. A traffic square and a station: there is nothing to visit, and the gibbet's exact spot is unknown. Mind the traffic.
Sources
- Paul Revere House, Mark Hung in Chains: Slavery and Paul Revere's Midnight Ride
- Abner C. Goodell, The Trial and Execution, for Petit Treason, of Mark and Phillis (1883), Project Gutenberg
- Old North Church, Paul Revere and the Mark of Slavery
- Cambridge Day, A story of enslavement: a Juneteenth reflection (2021)
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