Kicking off our historical context posts (and also leading in to the first of the extra scenes from We Are Not Strangers, which will be based on this incident and will be posted here on the blog on New Year’s Day!), we have:
One of the most amusing anecdotes to come out of pre-Revolutionary Boston and its dealings with British soldiers is the tale of William Fanthorp and Corporal Cheene, who appear as important (and are Mercy’s twin’s favorite) side characters in We Are Not Strangers.
About six months prior to Lexington and Concord, one William Fanthorp was confined by his captain for being drunk on duty. Then he tried to take his arms from Cheene, because alcohol + guns is always a great idea.
The resulting court martial sentenced him to 200 lashes, but the commanding officer refused to sign off on the punishment because it was too light. As Fanthorp couldn’t be tried again, he got off without a single lash. The whole brouhaha erupted when someone leaked the ordeal to the very anti-British Massachusetts Spy newspaper, decrying “tyrannical commanders.”
As for said brouhaha, it got so widely reported that Hugh Percy, most likely the commander referenced, had to write home about it. Y’know, just in case his parents got wind of the scandal.
The idea of the young officers getting infected with the rebellious spirit of the dastardly colonialists likely not only refers to the daily kerfuffles Percy references, but to the idea that one of their own had leaked this information to the press.
So, who did?
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