John Peters

(October 31, 1731 – April 23, 1832) 

Peters was a mariner/shopkeeper working in Boston at the time of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773.   

His birth name was likely not “John Peters.” He was a Portuguese immigrant who allegedly fled Portugal following the destructive earthquake that struck Lisbon on November 1, 1755.  

Peters has an extensive military history. After participating in the “destruction of the tea” on December 16, 1773, Peters went on to serve the Massachusetts militia in the spring of 1775. He participated in the Battles of Concord and Bunker Hill. He signed on to another company in 1778, serving for the remainder of the war. He stayed for a winter at Valley Forge and served at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth. John Peters was declared an American citizen on March 9, 1807. 

John Peters died in Philadelphia, PA, on April 23, 1832.