Scope and Content: Fortifications at Castle Island, Boston Harbor, used since the 1640s for military and penal purposes, were rebuilt after being burned by evacuating British forces in 1776, and then manned by various militia troops, at times under the command of Paul Revere.  A military garrison consisting of a company of men was established there in 1779; the island became the site of a prison facility for Massachusetts from 1785 to 1798.  Enabling legislation (St 1784, c 63 ((Mar. 4, 1785) provided that the convicts, sentenced to hard labor, would compensate the state for internment by money-making industry, including manufacture of nails.  Series documents sale of these nails in casks.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically in numbered batches
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