Scope and Content: Per a resolve of Oct. 20, 1774, the first Provincial Congress established the Committee of Safety to oversee actions taken for the defense and safety of the Province of Massachusetts Bay during the Revolutionary War.  The committee supervised the process of military build-up and provided for procurement and disbursement of arms, munitions, and other supplies through oversight of the Committee of Supplies.  Minutes were created to record votes, orders, and resolves of the committee.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Related Catalog Records:

Archivegrid
OCLC

Scope and Content: In pre-Revolutionary Massachusetts, the first Provincial Congress ordered a committee to inquire and report on the proper time for the province to provide a reserve of powder, ordnance, and ordnance stores (Journals, Oct. 24, 1774).  The committee provided an itemized list of proposed ordnance the following day.  Then the congress appointed a Committee of Supplies to work in conjunction with the Committee of Safety to provide for the reception, support, and provision of any militia that might be formed (Journals, Oct, 26, 1774).  The committee continued in existence for only a few months after the resumption of the General Court in July 1775 (Resolves 1775-75, c 371 (Nov. 9, 1775)).  Its work was assisted by a commissary (Journals, Feb. 11, 1775) and a quartermaster general (Journals, Committee of Safety, Apr. 30, 1775) –During the period of the second Provincial Congress, the Committee of Supplies was empowered to purchase military stores and provisions and to deposit them in suitable places for delivery to the troops by the commissary general (Journals, Apr. 29, 1775). The following day the Committee of Safety was able to report (Journals, Apr. 30, 1775) the  presence of ordnance stores at Cambridge and Watertown (at Edward Richardson’s tavern, to which Capt. Waite Foster had been ordered to care for cannon and entrenching tools–Journals, Committee of Safety, Apr. 22, 1775), supply sites that amassed and delivered weaponry and accouterments to the Massachusetts army.  Soon thereafter, the third congress appointed Major Nathaniel Barber ordnance storekeeper at Cambridge (Journals, June 7, 1775), succeeded by Ezekiel Cheever (Journals, June 27, 1775).  Meantime, four storekeepers of officer rank were authorized (Journals, June 19, 1775).  Following his July 1775 assumption of command of the Continental Army in Cambridge, George Washington reorganized Massachusetts ordnance stores and storekeepers.  In August, he appointed Cheever to the position of Commissary of Artillery, later renamed Commissary of Military Stores of the Continental Army.
Related Catalog Records:

Archivegrid
OCLC

Scope and Content: Three successive provincial congresses served as the government of Massachusetts in opposition to the crown-appointed governor and council, before and during the outbreak of the Revolution.  Proceedings are a daily account of their activities.
Arrangement: In three subseries: (1) Oct. 7-Dec. 10, l774 (2) Feb. 1-May 29, 1775 (3) May 31-July 19, 1775; Arranged within each subseries chronologically by date of meeting
Notes: Owned and annotated by William Lincoln, compiler of published version.  Vol. 1 (Oct. 7, 1774-Apr. 15, 1775) presented by nephew William S. Lincoln to state secretary in 1889.  Vol. 2 (Apr. 22-May 21, 1775) presented by Lincoln to American Antiquarian Society in 1875; transferred to Archives at request of State Archivist Richard Hale, 1971
Related Catalog Records:

Archivegrid
OCLC

Scope and Content: Three successive provincial congresses (1774-1775) served as the government of Massachusetts in opposition to the governor and council appointed by the English Crown.  Series consists of public documents relating to their affairs, as transcribed or referenced in the congresses’ journals ((M-Ar)1704X)
Related Catalog Records:

Archivegrid
OCLC