Joseph Warren was an important, but often forgotten figure in the Revolutionary War. He was a doctor, popular speaker, and grave robber.

Fun Facts

• Joseph Warren was fourteen-years-old when he enrolled at Harvard University.
• By age 22, he was a physician, treating prominent people in Boston, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hanco-ck.
• He was considered the best doctor in the city. This reputation gave him access to Loyalists, including the wife of British General Thomas Gage.
• Some people think Margaret Gage might have told him secrets about the British army’s tactics.
• During medical school, he probably belonged to the Spunkers, a group of medical students that visited graveyards and poorhouses looking for bodies to study.
• In 1775, Joseph Warren was asked to give a speech commemorating the Boston Massacre. He gave a rousing address and wore a toga. The British soldiers watching were not amused.
• Warren was a free mason and was the grand master of his group. They often met at the Green Dragon Tavern to plan the revolution.
• In response to the “Intolerable Acts,” Warren wrote the Suffolk Resolves, which basically said that the colonists would not put up with the British rules. The Continental Congress endorsed the document.
• Warren was the one who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride.

Vocabulary

1. Poorhouse: a place for people living in poverty
2. Endorse: support

Questions and Answers

Question: Why isn’t Joseph Warren better known?

Answer: Warren was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill when he was 34-years-old. Had he lived, he probably would have been a prominent Founding Father.

Learn More

Watch a video about Joseph Warren.