Chelsea program spotlights Battle of Chelsea Creek ahead of May commemoration

Chelsea — Local historians and city officials on Saturday reviewed the Revolutionary War–era Battle of Chelsea Creek and previewed a May commemoration that the city says will include reenactors, a visiting historic schooner and food vendors.

Matt Frank, president of the Bellingham‑Cary House Association, opened the program and thanked the city and volunteers for the house’s public programming. “This is part of a series of events that the city has sponsored with the Bellingham‑Cary House,” Frank said.

The program included remarks by Lourdes Alvarez, arts and culture and creative economy manager for the city of Chelsea, who said the event series is funded in part by a Massachusetts 250 grant and that the main Battle of Chelsea Creek celebration is scheduled for May. “We will have reenactors. We will have beer gardens, food vendors, and a whole day of celebrations,” Alvarez said.

Speakers traced the May 27, 1775, engagement’s background, leaders and outcomes. Jeff Perlman, Revere city historian and an adjunct professor at Salem State, described how regional militia forces cooperated in the action and argued the battle’s local and national significance. “I hope… you learned at least one thing about the Battle of Chelsea Creek that you didn’t know when you walked in here,” Perlman told the audience.

Presenters summarized commonly cited facts from primary and secondary sources: colonial forces seized livestock and hay on local harbor islands, British naval forces, including the schooner Diana, engaged provincial troops, and the Diana was burned after grounding in Chelsea Creek. The presenters cited period accounts — including a diary excerpt by Amos Farnsworth — and published local histories when giving casualty and capture estimates. The numbers presented at the program, attributed to Benjamin Sherloft in the presenters’ research, were: six horses, 27 horned cattle and 411 sheep taken to the mainland. The speakers said provincial casualties were reportedly low (two wounded) while British wounded and killed were estimated between about 35 and 60.

Speakers emphasized the battle’s broader points: it was among the first deliberate offensive actions by Massachusetts citizens after Lexington and Concord, it was the first recorded destruction of a British vessel in the war, and it marked an early instance of troops from different colonies operating together under a unified command (Putnam, Stark and Nixon were named in the presentations).

Bob Allison, representing Revolution 250, presented a commemorative lantern to the Bellingham‑Cary House and urged continued local interpretation of the fight’s history. Presenters encouraged local groups and schools to include the battle in teaching about the siege of Boston and noted related programming: a May main event with a historic schooner from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, simultaneous activities in East Boston coordinated with the East Boston Museum, and additional talks at the Bellingham‑Cary House.

Audience members asked questions about local place names and artifacts discussed during the talk, including the provenance of a restored cannon that some local historians link to the Diana. Presenters said research and local archival materials inform those claims and invited attendees to further events and walking tours.

The program closed with organizers asking for donations and memberships to support the nonprofit Bellingham‑Cary House Association and with an invitation to upcoming talks and tours tied to the Massachusetts 250 commemoration.