The morning was crisp, cold, and clear that day in December 1773. The pub, Green Dragon Tavern, was empty save for a small group of men with fire in their eyes. Among them were Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Josiah Quincy Jr., and Thomas Young as well as a few others. They were concerned.
At Old South Meeting House there were hundreds of colonial patriots already gathered, anxious, mad, and ready for a fight. Outside there were perhaps another 150 or so, rough men all of them, passing around jugs of Boston’s finest home brew. All were spoiling for a fight. None were happy. The British masters were the target of their anger.
No one had thought this day, although only about 11 in the morning, would grow into such an uproar. The leadership huddled around a single table in the Green Dragon were determined not to lose the momentum. Today would be the day. The British Royal Governor, Thomas Hutchinson, would have no lingering doubts about the Patriots’ opinion of his latest scandal.
While the debate and arguing had been going on for hours, a vote had already been taken…Sam Adams would be the leader at the harbor. Sam was anxious to get to the Old South Meeting House, the crowd had been steadily growing, and the mood was darkening. During the short 10-minute walk, he would gather his thoughts on exactly how to proceed. Whatever the outcome…it had to be a very clear message of what would not be tolerated. Today would be the day for that message…a very strong message.
There were some doubters, those who promoted caution. Odd for Patriot cause leaders. Consensus was reached when Patrick Henry stood, placed his mug of ale on the weathered old table, and declared…
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
It had been almost nine years since Governor Hutchinson employed the first spies. Not many at first, but the number had now grown to 120,000 of his minions posted throughout the colonies. They were everywhere collecting information on the Colonists throughout their daily lives. It was encroaching on everything…and people were fed up with it. Today, today it all changes.
The “observers” are posted on almost every corner, outside every pub and tavern, near every church, even posted on rural roads. They are easy to spot. They have a standard uniform, they don’t even try to hide who they are. Most are tall, almost bean-pole skinny. They wear black britches and coats with the same rather flattish hats cocked off to one side.
They have huge ledgers and record every horse, cart and wagon that passes by. They write down color, markings, saddle and harness designs, any signage on wagons or carts, and worst of all…what the rider or driver looks like. All of this information is noted with date, time, and direction of travel.
Later, all of the ledgers are sent to several central points around the colonies for correlation, where they are searched for any suspect behavior. All the local British commanders have access to it and search the ledgers regularly looking for criminals…or potential criminals. Some of the clerks at these “centers” are tasked with looking for any behavior they deem suspicious. Soldiers are immediately dispatched to apprehend any suspects without warrants.
It wasn’t until recently that it was discovered that there was a separate set of “ledgers” kept specifically to identify and build cases against the Patriot cause leadership. They had also learned that the time was drawing short when those ledgers would be used to apprehend those leaders, try them for treason for which they would inevitably be hanged. This secret group was called “Defenders of His Sovereignty”…Patriots now referred to them simply as DHS.
The entire operation had been kept relatively quiet for years, almost entirely discreet and unknown. The final tidbit of information smuggled out was the name of the operation…Fellowship of Loyal Observers of the Crown & King. John Hancock had coined the term to more easily discuss it…FLOCK.
Their plan was a simple one…as the day drew to a close, thousands of men around the colonies would face the FLOCK spies, unhorse them, destroy the ledgers and warn agents of the British Crown they were no longer welcome.
At the same time another group of men would raid the “centers,” remove the clerks, then burn all the ledgers, making them worthless. The men conducting this part of the raid had decided on their own they would also burn the buildings that contained the centers. The message must be clear.
The third and final group would raid the ship that had just entered the harbor the day before. On that ship were fresh FLOCK spies and crates full of new ledgers inbound for use…and ledgers full of information bound for the King in England.
This day would be a proud day for the Patriot cause and its leadership. No longer would they be spied upon by a tyrannical Empire bent on subjugating the Colonists. The Patriots would not tolerate spies among them…FLOCK ended today! America would be free…whatever the cost…tyrants and their spies had no place in America.
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