This Day in History: The Boston Massacre

On this day in 1770, tensions in Boston erupt. Five Bostonians are killed by British soldiers. Others are wounded. The event, as you know, would come to be known as the Boston Massacre.

Tension had been mounting for years. Parliament wanted to establish its authority to tax the colonies, and it had approved a series of duties: the much-hated Townshend Acts. Naturally, the colonists didn’t think too much of THAT. What right had Parliament to tax them when the colonists had no representation in Parliament?

The Acts caused such turmoil that British soldiers were sent to Boston in 1768, allegedly to keep the peace.

Boston Massacre by Alonzo Chappel

The presence of the soldiers caused constant friction, and Bostonians were becoming even more irate. Were the soldiers really necessary? Where would they be housed? And at whose expense? Was their presence even legal? Was it all just a pretense, with the ultimate goal of subverting Boston’s own governance?

By February 1770, matters were coming to a head. An 11-year-old boy, Christopher Seider, was killed when a crowd chased a British sympathizer to his house. The Loyalist responded to the angry crowd by firing a musket out his window. Tragically, the shot struck the 11-year-old Seider.

Needless to say, Bostonians were (if possible) even more irate than they were before.

Once a few dominoes had fallen, the rest continued to fall—and quickly! A British soldier was harassed in the street. Various scuffles ensued. People had heard that a soldier might have been killed, and rumors flew that the British would retaliate. By March 5, matters were reaching a fever pitch.

One thing to know at this juncture: We may never know exactly what happened in Boston on the day of the Massacre. It was a confused and chaotic situation. Emotions ran high. The crowd was large. People had different viewpoints.

One catalyst for the problems that day was a simple dispute: A young wigmaker’s apprentice, Edward Gerrish (or Garrick), claimed that he was owed money by a British officer. Gerrish went to find the officer, but he ended up in a scuffle with a British sentry instead. That sentry, Hugh White, hit Gerrish.

By then, a crowd was growing. And it was angry.

In the midst of this frenzy, someone tolled the bells that were typically used to notify Bostonians of a fire. The bells could not have helped matters. Soon, British Captain Thomas Preston arrived with 7 men. Preston’s intent was to keep the peace or to escort White away. But, at this point, the crowd had grown quite large.

The crowd began to taunt Preston and his soldiers. They hurled snow and ice. The result was confusion. An accidental shot may have been fired and at least one soldier thought he heard an order to fire. Three Americans fell, dead. Others were wounded. (Two of the wounded died later.)

Ironically, Preston may have been shouting “DON’T fire,” but the soldier thought he heard “Fire!”

The British soldiers were subsequently tried for murder. Their defense lawyer was none other than future President John Adams.

Naturally, that is a story for another day.

Primary Sources:

• Andrew Stephen Walmsley, Thomas Hutchinson and the Origins of the American Revolution (1998)

• Detailed Description (Boston Massacre Historical Society website)

• Facts about the Boston Massacre that you may not have known (Boston Massacre Historical Society website)

• John Ferling, Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free (2011)

• Robert Allison, The Boston Massacre (2006)

• The Trial of the British Soldiers, of the 29th Regiment of Foot, for the Murder of Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, and Patrick Carr, on Monday Evening, March 5, 1770 (transcript reprinted HERE)