John Crane was a participant in the Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...

 and a soldier during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Crane was born in Braintree, Massachusetts

Braintree, Massachusetts

The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...

. He served in the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

 as a substitute for his father, who had been drafted. After the war he became a housewright. He married Mehitable Wheeler in 1767 and opened a shop in Boston.

Early in the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

ary movement Crane became active in the Sons of Liberty

Sons of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...

. Before the Boston Tea Party, Crane and the other participants met at his shop to disguise themselves as American Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. At the harbor, Crane was in the hold of a ship when he was knocked unconscious by a crate of tea that fell on him. Taking him for dead, his companions hid him under a pile of wood shavings in a carpenter's shop near the wharf, but he soon recovered.

Crane moved to Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, in 1774 because the Boston Port Bill harmed his business. After shooting began at the battles of Lexington and Concord

Battles of Lexington and Concord

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...

, he joined the siege of Boston

Siege of Boston

The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...

 with an artillery company from Rhode Island, and saw action in July 1775. That year he joined the newly organized Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 as a major in the artillery regiment commanded by Henry Knox

Henry Knox

Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....

. In 1777 Crane was promoted to colonel in command of the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment. He served for the duration of the war, and his regiment saw much action.

In June 1783 Crane was appointed commander of the newly formed Corps of Artillery, succeeding Knox as the head of American artillery forces. He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in September 1783, but he resigned from the army less than two months later.

After the war, Crane moved to Whiting, Maine

Whiting, Maine

Whiting is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Timothy Whiting, an early settler. The population was 430 at the 2000 census...

, to settle on land granted to him by Massachusetts for his wartime service. In 1790 he was appointed a judge of the court of common pleas by Massachusetts governor John Hancock

John Hancock

John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...

, and he served in this position for the rest of his life.