Tarring and Feathering of John Malcolm
- When
- 1774
- Where
- Boston, Massachusetts; King Street, Boston
- Episodes
- 2
In late January 1774, a Boston crowd seized customs official John Malcolm and tarred and feathered him after he struck Patriot shoemaker George Hewes and a boy with his cane. This incident marked the most publicized act of mob violence against a Loyalist during the pre-Revolutionary period.
Episodes
- Tarring and Feathering
A crowd seized Malcolm from his house and tarred and feathered him in King Street.
- Confrontation with George Hewes
Malcolm threatened a boy and struck George Hewes with his cane, knocking him unconscious.
Background and detail
The Incident. On January 25, 1774, Malcolm threatened a boy with his cane and subsequently struck George Hewes on the forehead, knocking him unconscious. That night, a crowd seized Malcolm from his house, dragged him into King Street, and subjected him to tarring and feathering as punishment for the assault.
Aftermath. Some Patriot leaders who believed mob violence hurt their cause tried to dissuade the crowd by arguing that Malcolm should be turned over to the justice system, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Malcolm moved to England in May 1774 to seek compensation for the suffering he had endured in Boston, and he later petitioned the King. He never returned to Boston for the remainder of his life due to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
People involved
- John Malcolm · Victim, British customs official
- George Hewes · Patriot shoemaker, instigator of the crowd's action
Sources
- John Malcolm (Loyalist) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-17
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.