ABSTRACT
On the eve of the Revolution, Jonathan Potts was a respected community leader. After the passage of the Boston Port Acts in March 1774, he supported political protests about British oppression, and he voiced the radical rhetoric of the Revolution. Potts served on Committees of Safety, represented Berks County at provincial conventions, and helped to establish emergency controls for the colony. When fighting erupted at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Potts was already a dedicated patriot, determined to fight for American liberty. Potts bitterly opposed the Boston Port Acts, or “Intolerable Acts,” enacted by the British Parliament in early 1774 to punish Massachusetts for its Tea Party. He may have experienced some of the difficulties encountered by battalion or regimental surgeons during the campaign. At first he hoped to be named the regional director of the department in the Middle Colonies, but because of administrative changes, he requested an appointment to supervise a hospital in Canada.
