Massachusetts Soldiers Threaten Mutiny
On this day in 1759, a regiment of Massachusetts men serving in the French and Indian War began to talk of mutiny against their British commander. The colonel had decided not to release the volunteers when their eight-month enlistment was over. Outraged, the men refused to perform their duties. The British Regulars were shocked at such insubordination and disloyalty, but the colonists were incensed that the army had not honored the terms of their contract. The French and Indian War was the first time most of these Massachusetts men had any contact with their Old World cousins, and the experience revealed that the Mother Country and her colonies had developed very different notions of authority and liberty. Fifteen years later, these differences would lead to a revolution.
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