On the night of December 16, 1773, three British merchant ships lay alongside Griffin's Wharf in the city of Boston. They carried cargoes of tea packed in wooden cases.
Rain had fallen throughout the day. But now the sky was clear and crowded with stars. Suddenly, the sparkle of the stars was joined by the yellow glow 'of lanterns swinging along the wharf. Holding the lanterns high were some 150 strangely dressed marchers. Blankets hung from their shoulders. Single feathers crowned their heads. They carried axes and hatchets.
