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The town of Dedham, Massachusetts, participated in the American Revolutionary War and the protests and actions that led up to it in a number of ways. The town protested the Stamp Act and then celebrated its repeal by erecting the Pillar of Liberty. Townsmen joined in the boycott of British goods following the Townshend Acts, and they supported the Boston Tea Party. Dedham's Woodward Tavern was the site where the Suffolk Resolves gathering was first convened.
At the outset of the war, nearly every man in town went off when the alarm was sounded following the Battles of Lexington and Concord. There were several Tories in the community, notably Rev. William Clark, but they were largely ostracized and even arrested for being traitors. Many soldiers passed through the town during the war, including George Washington. There was also an encampment of French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau.
In May 1776, several months before Congress acted, Town Meeting voted that "if the Honourable Congress should, for the safety of the Colonies, declare their independence of the Kingdom of Great Britain, they, the said Inhabitants, will solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in the measure."