Boston Freedom Trail Women's Tours
Boston's Freedom Trail is highlighting Revolutionary Women with special tours each weekend in March for Women's History Month. The tours include stories about Louisa May Alcott and other historical figures who shaped the city. It's part of the trail's effort to showcase women's contributions to American independence.
The 90-minute "Revolutionary Women" tour expands the Freedom Trail's traditional narrative by focusing on figures often left in the historical footnotes. Beyond the well-known Founding Fathers, the tour illuminates the contributions of women who played pivotal roles in the fight for American independence and subsequent struggles for equality. The tour covers four centuries of women who instigated their own fights for freedom. Among the key figures is Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and an influential advisor. From her home in Brattle Square, she witnessed the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, and her extensive correspondence provides a vital eyewitness account of the revolution's home front. She famously urged her husband to "Remember the Ladies" in the new nation's laws. The tour also features Mercy Otis Warren, a poet, playwright, and satirist who used her pen as a weapon against British authority. Warren anonymously published plays and poems that criticized the royal governor and urged colonists to resist, making her a leading female intellectual of the revolutionary period. Her home was a frequent meeting place for revolutionaries, including the Sons of Liberty. Visitors will also learn about Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American female poet. Kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery in Boston, Wheatley learned to read and write and became a celebrated literary talent. Her poetry, which often touched on themes of patriotism and freedom, earned her praise from prominent figures like George Washington. Another remarkable story is that of Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army. Enlisting under the name Robert Shirtliff, she served for 17 months and was honorably discharged after her identity was discovered. She was later recognized as the official heroine of Massachusetts for her service. While the tour centers on the Revolutionary War, it also encompasses later generations of influential women. This includes figures from the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements, connecting the early fight for liberty to ongoing struggles for equality. The tour stops at significant sites like the Old Corner Bookstore, where women's literary works were published, and Faneuil Hall, a hub for both abolitionist and suffrage activism.
