Wilmington Tea Party Summary

The Wilmington Tea Party By: Sophia Hildebrand January 5, 1774 I have just received a letter from my cousin Cecille, who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She described a “tea party” she had spectated at a few weeks prior, on December 16. She referred to it as The Boston Tea Party in which participants threw cartons of tea over the edge of the ship into the Boston Harbor. It was a protest against the Tea Act. Cecille explained that it is extremely important for us colonists to stand up against the oppression of the British government. I strongly agree with her on this point, we cannot be forced to pay these outrageous prices with our hard earned money for a basic necessity like tea.

January 12, 1774 I have been thinking often of these protests. Perhaps there will be one here in Wilmington in due course. I do hope so, I would like to participate myself if such a thing should come my way.

February 7, 1774 My dear friend Elizabeth visited for tea today. One of our many topics of discussion was the various “tea parties” that have been occurring around the colonies. We both quickly agreed that Wilmington should take a stand as well.

February 23, 1774 Elizabeth and I met for tea again today. Near the end of our meal, I proposed we should arrange a meeting between ourselves and several other
We discussed for hours before we realized it was almost 6 and that we should begin our journey home before it got decently dark. We agreed that on March 25, at noon, we would meet adjacent to the Wilmington waterfront to burn our tea in protest. Each woman contributed a small portion of tea, however. We all agreed that this was best, though not one of us wanted to donate our tea just for burning, as it was now expensive. I believe that by performing this act of defiance, we can show these British tyrants that we will not pay their ridiculous