Five Watchmen of Boston

The Five Watchmen of Boston were five carved wax totem-figures, each containing one of the mustket balls that killed the five civilians in Boston in March 1770: the "shots heard 'round the world" that heralded the American Revolution. These death messengers were created in 1774 and kept as relics in Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire; they guarded America's perimeter until 1783. (COMIC: Political Animals)