John Malcolm

Who was John Malcolm?

John Malcolm was a sea captain, army officer, and British customs official who was the victim of the most publicized tarring and feathering incident during the American Revolution.

A Bostonian, Captain Malcolm was a staunch supporter of royal authority. During the War of the Regulation, he traveled to the province of North Carolina to help put down the uprising. While working for the customs service, he pursued his duties with a zeal that made him unpopular. The fact that he was a loyalist during the Tea Act, the three-pence tea tax detested by the patriots did not help his reputation. In November 1773, sailors in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tarred and feathered him. Malcolm got off relatively easy in this attack, since the tar and feathers were applied while he was still fully clothed.

As a hard-line Loyalist, Malcolm often faced abuse and provocation from Boston's Patriots, the critics of British authority. People often "hooted" at him in the streets, but Governor Thomas Hutchinson urged him not to respond.

A confrontation with Patriot shoemaker George Hewes thrust Malcolm into the spotlight.