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The Boston Massacre Incident

This 19th-century lithograph by Henry Pelham is a variation of Revere's famous engraving, produced just before the American Civil War. It emphasizes Crispus Attucks, the black man in the center who became an important symbol for abolitionists. (John Bufford after William L. Champey, circa 1856)[18]. '''At the time, his symbolic nature was used in propaganda. In various records, Attacks was portrayed as white man because so many people viewed him as a hero; however, in other articles that portrayed him as a rebel rouser, his true race was identified. Regardless of the records that say Crispus Attucks was a white man, he was most certainly a black man that had once been a slave. '''On the evening of March 5, Private Hugh White stood on guard duty outside the Boston Custom House on King Street (today known as State Street). A young wigmaker's apprentice named Edward Garrick called out to Captain-Lieutenant John Goldfinch, saying that Goldfinch had refused to pay a bill due to Garrick's master.[19] Goldfinch had settled the account the previous day, and ignored the insult.[20] Private White called out to Garrick that he should be more respectful of the officer, and the two men exchanged insults. Garrick then started poking Goldfinch in the chest with his finger; White left his post, challenged the boy, and struck him on the side of the head with his musket. Garrick cried out in pain, and his companion Bartholomew Broaders began to argue with White which attracted a larger crowd.[21] Henry Knox was a 19-year old bookseller who later served as a general in the revolution; he came upon the scene and warned White that, "if he fired, he must die for it."[20]'''

An 1868 print by Alonzo Chappel showing a more chaotic scene than most earlier representations As the evening progressed, the crowd around Private White grew larger and more boisterous. Church bells were rung, which usually signified a fire, bringing more people out. More than 50 Bostonians pressed around White, led by a mixed-race former slave named Crispus Attucks, throwing objects at the sentry and challenging him to fire his weapon. White had taken up a somewhat safer position on the steps of the Custom House, and he sought assistance. Runners alerted Captain Thomas Preston, the officer of the watch at the nearby barracks.[22][23] According to his report, Preston dispatched a non-commissioned officer and six privates from the grenadier company of the 29th Regiment of Foot to relieve White with fixed bayonets.[24][25] The soldiers were Corporal William Wemms and Privates Hugh Montgomery, John Carroll, William McCauley, William Warren, and Matthew Kilroy, accompanied by Preston. They pushed their way through the crowd, and Henry Knox warned Preston, "For God's sake, take care of your men. If they fire, you must die."[clarification needed] Captain Preston responded "I am aware of it."[26] When they reached Private White on the custom house stairs, the soldiers loaded their muskets and arrayed themselves in a semicircular formation. Preston shouted at the crowd to disperse, estimated between 300 and 400.[27]

Boston Massacre grave marker in the Granary Burying Ground The crowd continued to press around the soldiers, taunting them by yelling "Fire!", by spitting at them, and by throwing snowballs and other small objects.[28] Innkeeper Richard Palmes was carrying a cudgel, and he came up to Preston and asked if the soldiers' weapons were loaded. Preston assured him that they were, but that they would not fire unless he ordered it; he later stated in his deposition that he was unlikely to do so, since he was standing in front of them. A thrown object then struck Private Montgomery, knocking him down and causing him to drop his musket. He recovered his weapon and angrily shouted "Damn you, fire!", then discharged it into the crowd although no command was given. Palmes swung his cudgel first at Montgomery, hitting his arm, and then at Preston. He narrowly missed Preston's head, striking him on the arm instead.[28]

There was a pause of uncertain length (eyewitness estimates ranged from several seconds to two minutes), after which the soldiers fired into the crowd. It was not a disciplined volley, since Preston gave no orders to fire; the soldiers fired a ragged series of shots which hit 11 men.[29] Three Americans died instantly: rope maker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and Crispus Attucks.[30] Samuel Maverick, a 17-year old apprentice ivory turner,[31] was struck by a ricocheting musket ball at the back of the crowd and died early the next morning. Irish immigrant Patrick Carr died two weeks later.[30] Apprentice Christopher Monk was seriously wounded;[32] he was crippled and died in 1780, purportedly due to the injuries that he had sustained in the attack a decade earlier.[33][34]

The crowd moved away from the immediate area of the custom house but continued to grow in nearby streets.[35] Captain Preston immediately called out most of the 29th Regiment, which adopted defensive positions in front of the state house.[36] Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson was summoned to the scene and was forced by the movement of the crowd into the council chamber of the state house. From its balcony, he was able to minimally restore order, promising that there would be a fair inquiry into the shootings if the crowd dispersed.[37]

Quote #1: Most of the surviving copies show all five of them as white. When Attucks was merely a rabble-rouser who deserved to be put down, he was a “stout Molatto fellow” with terrifying looks. But Attucks the hero was white."Peterson, Farah. “Black Lives and the Boston Massacre: JOHN ADAMS'S FAMOUS DEFENSE OF THE BRITISH MAY NOT BE, AS WE'VE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD IT, THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF PRINCIPLE AND THE RULE OF LAW.” The American Scholar, vol. 88, no. 1, 2019, pp. 34–43. Quote #2:"his father is thought to be Prince Yonger, a slave who was brought to America, while his mother is thought to be Nancy Attucks, a Natick Indian."“Attucks, Crispus.” Britannica Online Academic Edition, 2019, pp. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.