Today is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre

On this day in the year 1770, five colonists were killed with another six wounded when a squad of British soldiers fired into a crowd of unruly Bostonian protestors. Tensions between the colonists and their British overlords had been on the rise since the 1760s, when Parliament began levying a series of taxes on the North American colonies in the aftermath of the very costly Seven Years' War (known in North America as the French and Indian War).

Private Hugh White was on guard outside the Boston Custom House when an apprentice wigmaker by the name of Edward Garrick called out to a passing officer, Captain-Lieutenant John Goldfinch, concerning his failure to pay a bill owed to Garrick. Goldfinch, however, had settled his debt the previous day and ignored the comment. Private White, however, was having none of it and snapped at Garrick for his lack of respect due to an officer of the British Army. Garrick rounded on White and the two men began to hurl insults back and forth at each other.

Garrick had a set of balls on him, approached White, and jabbed his finger into White's chest while continuing to insult the young private. White then left his post, reared back, and hit Garrick on the side of the head with the butt of his musket. Garrick doubled back in pain as his friend, Bartholomew Broaders, began to yell angrily at White. This shouting by Broaders drew a bigger crowd to the Custom House, a crowd which included Henry Knox, then only 19, the future American Revolutionary War hero and our first Secretary of War.

Over the prevailing minutes the crowd grew larger and larger. Nearby church bells began to ring, usually the signaling of a fire, but now being used to bring more people out into the streets. Soon more than 50 Boston protestors pressed in on Private White. Men led by a former slave, Crispus Attucks, began throwing objects at White and also challenged him to fire his weapon. By this time White had retreated to the steps of the Custom House and began seeking assistance. Runners were sent to inform White's superior officer, Captain Thomas Preston, of the situation unfolding at the Custom House. Preston soon dispatched seven men from the 29th Regiment of Foot to relieve Private White and guard the Custom House with bayonets afixed. Preston was right behind them.

Captain Preston and his seven men arrived at the Custom House and began pushing through the crowd. Henry Knox called out to Captain Preston as he passed, "For God's sake, take care of your men! If they fire, you must die." Preston replied curtly, "I'm aware of it!" When Preston and his men reached Private White, they began loading their muskets and formed a semi-circle around the entrance to the Custom House.

By this time the crowd had swelled to a number exceeding 400, mostly young men and boys. They pressed in on Preston and his men, all the while throwing snowballs, rocks, and oyster shells. Some in the crowd began taunting the soldiers, yelling "Fire!" in the hopes that they could induce and incident. A thrown object hit one of the soldiers - Private Hugh Montgomery - knocking him down and causing him to drop his musket. In a fit of rage, Montgomery grabbed his musket, shouted: "Damn you, fire!" and then discharged his musket into the crowd without receiving a command to do so.

One of the men in the crowd, Richard Palmes, swung a cudgel he was holding at Montgomery, striking him in the arm. He also took a swung at Preston, trying to hit him in the head but instead landing a blow on Preston's arm. Several seconds later, the remaining British soldiers discharged their muskets into the crowd. It was a ragged, undisciplined volley that was not ordered by Captain Preston. Nevertheless, 11 men and boys were felled by British gunfire. Three colonists were killed instantly, including the freed slave Crispus Attucks. Two more died later of their wounds.

The crowd recoiled from the shooting and moved away from the Custom House. The British soldiers reloaded while Captain Preston called for the remainder of the 29th Regiment to join him at the Custom House. The governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, was called to the Custom House where he promptly attempted to restore order, promising the unruly crowd a fair inquiry into the matter which had just transpired.

The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, heavily publicized the event throughout the colonies, entitling the event: "The Boston Massacre." Captain Preston and his soldiers were eventually put on trial for manslaughter where they were defended by future U.S. President John Adams. Robert Treat Paine, a future signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the lead prosecutor opposite John Adams.

The trial saw six of the eight acquitted of manslaughter while two were found guilty of the crime. The two soldiers, however, were given reduced sentences by pleading benefit of clergy, which reduced their punishment from the death penalty to branding of the thumb in open court.

And thus is the story of the Boston Massacre which took place 250 years ago today.


"The Boston Massacre" by Paul Revere (1770)


Boston Custom House - site of the Boston Massacre (Present Day)