George Washington Papers

[Diary entry: 10 June 1774]

10. Dined at the Raleigh, & went to the Fire works.

Fireworks were occasionally used to celebrate a public event, as in the “elegant set of fireworks . . . displayed in this city [Williamsburg] on the arrival of . . . Lady Dunmore” (Va. Gaz., R, 10 Mar. 1774; CARSON [2] description begins Jane Carson. Colonial Virginians at Play. Williamsburg, Va., 1965. description ends , 200–203). They may also have been to commemorate the second anniversary of the burning of the British revenue cutter Gaspee.

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