'A True Patriot': Boston Tea Party Hero Honored Nearly 250 Years Later
LYNN (CBS) - Honoring an American patriot, nearly 250 years later. That's what happened Thursday in a Lynn cemetery. It's a project of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum to recognize the more than 100 men who struck a blow against tyranny in 1773.
The graveside ceremony remembered a hero who distinguished himself in a unique way.
"He was a true patriot. A man who was willing to make sacrifices in his life that would change the history of the world," said Arthur Dulong, a member of the Pine Grove Cemetery Commission in Lynn, the scene of the recognition.
They gathered to honor Francis Moore, a baker who settled in Lynn after the Revolutionary War. He was one of the men who participated in the Boston Tea Party.
But Moore holds a special distinction. While most of the participants took pains to hide their identities, Moore did not. "He didn't disguise himself. It was a very brave moment at the time because anyone caught having anything to do with the tea party would be tried for treason," explained Shawn Ford, the director of the Tea Party Ships and Museum.
The commemoration is organized by that institution where reenactors show visitors how it was done by tossing "tea" into the harbor.
"My name is Jason Schaum. I play Francis Moore, a baker from Cambridge," said Schaum, who came to the cemetery dressed as Moore. So it was fitting that this "Francis Moore" placed a special medallion at the real Moore's gravesite.
"I think it's good to give a voice to those who are less memorable in our history, but have taken incredible strides to make the country what it is. And I'm very thankful for it," he said.
Another visitor at the gravesite was Joan Breed, a distant relative of Moore's through marriage. "It's nice to see that people remember. So often people do wonderful things and people forget all about them. So I think it's nice," Breed said.
The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum has placed about 80 of the commemorative medals at gravesites of tea party participants. That will continue until the 250th anniversary of the rebellious act in 2023.