A Brief History
On March 5, 1770, in an incident then known as “The Incident on King Street” British soldiers gunned down 5 American patriots and wounded another 6. The British Army soldiers had been stationed in Boston to protect British authorities believed to be in danger from rebellious Americans upset with arbitrary laws passed by the British Parliament.
Digging Deeper
In 1768 the British Chief Customs Officer asked Colonial Secretary, Lord Hillsborough, to send the soldiers to Massachusetts for the protection of government officials due to unrest over tariffs and other laws perceived as unfair by the colonists. Heavy handed British tactics that attempted to bully Americans into submission, such as seizing John Hancock’s sloop, the Liberty, only made matters worse. At first 4 British regiments were stationed in Massachusetts, and 2 of those remained in February of 1770 when an American boy, age 11 was killed by a British Customs employee.
This offense was apparently enough for the American colonists who were outraged by this latest act of brutality and a confrontation between a British soldier and a colonist resulted in the soldier butt stroking the colonist with the soldier’s musket. A crowd developed and tensions rose. Church bells were rung, calling out citizens which gathered outside the Customs office and insults went back and forth between soldiers and Americans. The crowd, possibly led by a mulatto runaway slave named Crispus Attucks escalated the incident by throwing things at the soldiers, eventually knocking a musket from the hands of a Private Montgomery who was himself knocked down as well. As the soldiers had already loaded their muskets as tensions escalated, Montgomery fired into the crowd, causing an American innkeeper, Richard Palmes, to slug Montgomery with a stick Palmes was carrying. In the following confusion, shots were fired into the crowd of Americans, killing 5 men and wounding another 6.
After the slaughter, the crowd moved back somewhat, giving the soldiers some respite, but numerous other Americans joined the crowd and danger loomed ominously over the scene. The British Acting governor Thomas Hutchinson managed to convince the crowd that a fair inquiry would be held and the crowd reluctantly dispersed, though tensions remained high.
The next day 8 British soldiers and their officer, Captain Thomas Preston, were arrested for murder, along with 4 civilian Customs workers alleged to have fired into the crowd as well. Under heavy pressure from the colonists, the troop garrison was moved just outside of Boston. Tensions remained high and a fierce propaganda war was waged by American Patriots.
At the trial of the soldiers and Customs agents, Loyalist lawyers refused to take the case for the defense, and British authorities contacted American patriot John Adams to defend the accused. Adams accepted and a relatively fair trial was conducted in which 6 of the soldiers were acquitted (mostly due to self-defense) and 2 soldiers were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, as they had more clearly fired into the crowd with deadly intent. Due to circumstances of feeling threatened, the convicted soldiers were given the reduced sentence of having their thumb branded right there in court. Capt. Preston was acquitted in a separate trial which found he had not ordered the troops to fire.
The 4 civilians were also acquitted.
The martyrdom of mixed race Crispus Attucks has been portrayed by abolitionists as fodder for their movement, and later depictions of the scene have portrayed Attucks as a dark skinned Black man instead of as the lighter skinned man he actually was. Regardless, Attucks and his fellow martyrs are remembered and honored as early victims who sacrificed their lives in the interest in American freedom. The Bostonian Society conducts a reenactment of the event each year on March 5.
Question for students (and subscribers): Were the British soldiers justified in firing on the Americans? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Barnett III, Charles, Michael Burgan, et al. The Boston Massacre (Graphic History). Capstone Press, 2006.
York, Neil L. The Boston Massacre. Routledge, 2010.
Zobel, Hiller B. The Boston Massacre. W.W. Norton & Co., 1996.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14176 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14176">25 Comments
The situation was actually dealt with in a civil manner and not very much bloodshed.
It seems as if this event truly helped unite the colonies against Britain. What started as a minor fight quickly became a turning point in the beginnings of the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre helped spark the colonists’ desire for American independence. In addition, the dead rioters then stood as symbols of liberty for the Americans. A united front of hatred from this event towards the British helped fuel rebellion.
The Boston Massacre is a huge reminder of the need for American independence from Britain. There is no way that a nation could run another nation from across the world. Although it was bloody, the massacre is on of the great sparks in the need for American independence.
I think that what is frightening about this situation is that it reminds me of recent events regarding protests about police brutality and current social movements. Things escalate and then its a snowball effect, ending with people getting hurt on both sides. I just think that looking at this situation it is easy to see how a misunderstanding can escalate quickly into something tragic.
Having your thumb branded in court seems like an odd punishment. In theory it was probably a good idea for England to have a British Colony in North America but it was not practical to rule people across the ocean.
I agree with Ellen Liebenguth on the fact that it reminds me of the current events happening with the police. History does have a tendency to repeat itself and this is why history events are important to learn because most likely the same event in the present has happened in the past. Knowing about the events in the past can help rise awareness about current issues and what problems could arise.
The punishment in this case did not seem to fit the crime. But as many below have stated there does seem to be an odd parallel between this even and recent law enforcement events in our country. Americans used this event as a rally cry for independence and it may have just sped up that process.
I enjoyed the article because it recapped the trial as well as the massacre. I did not realize that American John Adams took the trial as the defense lawyer. This must have been a difficult position for John Adams to take, considering he was an American Patriot.
This is event is a great example of the desire for freedom Americans had. We can even say that an event like this united the nation even more. I agree with Ellen and Frank. This event seems way too current if we take into account everything that has been happening recently with the police. Frank makes a good point that history is an important lesson and therefore we should prevent more of these things happening since we know where they lead to.
The results of the trial of the men that fired their weapons seemed to be a pretty fair one of the time. Only 2 men were sentenced for manslaughter because of the belief of their intent to actually kill others. It is interesting to see this development from then to today’s law.
Like the article says, the Boston Massacre seemed to be that spark the Americans needed to finally start fighting for their freedom. Whether it was injustice, taxes, or tariffs, Americans had had enough, and the American Revolution was born.
True pride in America and bravery was shown during the Boston Massacre. This really showed that America wanted independence and to be their own nation. It is sad that the little boy was killed but that helped fuel for a revolution to begin.
As the article said, the Boston Massacre fueled the fire of independence for the colonists. There was one redcoat for every 4 people in Boston, and this event was the high point that made them realize they had a serious problem. There is no reason why they should they be subject to the crown, essentially under occupation, when they can rule themselves much more effectively.
I always love reading something showing how we fought for our independence, it was never going to work out for Britain to run this country from afar.
The Boston Massacre was one of the turning points in U.S. history. It made the american colonists hungry for independence from Great Britain. People wanted their freedom from Britain and some years later they finally got it. It is sad that those people had to die to get us to that point, but the people who risked their lives that day will forever be remembered in history.
Very interesting aritcle. Every American child grows up hearing of the Boston Massacre and how it was a turning point that fueled the American Revolution. I have never heard about the mulotto ex-slave who may have been a part of the massacre.
The soldiers were acquitted of their charges after being heard in court because it was found they were acting out of self-defense. If I were the soldiers I, too, would have felt threatened as the tensions during the situation began to rise. I find it inspiring the way the patriotic Americans rallied behind this event and went on to win the war and achieve their ultimate goal of independence.
The Boston Massacre was the spark that finally got Americans to fight for their freedom. this was a very interesting article and taught me more about the Boston Massacre than I previously knew.
It is interesting to read about such an important turning point in American history and independence. I think this day was a pivotal step in forming solidarity for the American colonists. It was major acts of resistance, such as this massacre and the Boston Tea Party, that were the sources of motivation for all colonists whose ultimate goal was independence from Great Britain.
This was the turning point in America as far as how we looked at Freedom. It was interesting to hear more things that are included with the Boston massacre than I had knew.
Pretty cool that they reenact this every year!
A very brave act for this American people to take a stand against the British soldiers. It’s cool to read about the events that shaped the country we live in today.
This shows how proud and brave american people were when they wanted their independence!
Soon-to-be president John Adams was the lawyer for the British soldiers? I don’t know why that is what stuck out to me in this article. Very interesting to see that Boston reenacts the event every year.
I have never read into the Boston Massacre and actually thought there were a lot more casualties. Still, the loss of any life is tragic.