The Silver Insult

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

The Silver Insult

For George III's fifteenth anniversary on the throne, the leading silversmith in the American colonies, Paul Revere, created a magnificent silver chalice, with the names of the American colonies engraved around the rim. On the bottom in small letters Revere engraved "fecit Paul Revere, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay Colony".

When this was first noticed in London, a tremendous scandal ensued. Edmund Burke rose to address Commons, "It is not for us to say whether Americans no longer comprehend our beautiful language, or whether this supposed silversmith is simply incapable of spelling such a simple word as 'harbour'. The problem is the insult presented to our monarch in presuming to address such a solecism to him."

The problem was finally addressed by never allowing the chalice to reach the King. It was instead placed well out of sight in a rural church in Yorkshire.

When word of this reached Revere he was enraged, but waited to act. Finally his opportunity arrived. After about a month, some soldiers from the Boston garrison were sent on a march through the countryside. Borrowing a horse from the pastor of his church, Revere galloped through the countryside ahead of the troops, warning colonists the troops were coming to seize their weapons
The colonists attacked the marching troops, driving them back to Boston. The die was cast. The fighting which would turn into the American Revolution had begun.

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