For the 2013 bombing, see Boston Marathon bombing.
Boston Massacre
Part of American Revolution
The Bloody Massacre, a 1770 engraving by Paul Revere of the Boston Massacre in Boston in March 1770
Date
March 5, 1770; 254 years ago (1770-03-05)
Location
Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British America
Caused by
Townshend Acts
Occupation of Boston
Killing of Christopher Seider and the pardon of his killer
Resulted in
Five American colonists killed
Type
Shooting, manslaughter
Accused
Thomas Preston
William Wemms
Hugh Montgomery
John Carroll
William McCauley
William Warren
Matthew Kilroy
Four civilians
Convicted
Montgomery, Kilroy
Charges
Murder
Verdict
Montgomery and Kilroy found guilty on the lesser offense of manslaughter
Remaining accused found not guilty
Sentence
Montgomery, Kilroy: Branding of the thumb
Parties
29th Regiment
Mob of colonists
Lead figures
Captain Thomas Preston
None
Number
8
300–400
Casualties and losses
Minor injuries
Five killed
The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street[1]) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which nine British soldiers shot several of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles. The event was heavily publicized as "a massacre" by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.[2][3][4] British troops had been stationed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay since 1768 in order to support crown-appointed officials and to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation.
Amid tense relations between the civilians and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry and verbally abused him. He was eventually supported by seven additional soldiers, led by Captain Thomas Preston, who were hit by clubs, stones, and snowballs. Eventually, one soldier fired, prompting the others to fire without an order by Preston. The gunfire instantly killed three people and wounded eight others, two of whom later died of their wounds.[5]
The crowd eventually dispersed after acting governor Thomas Hutchinson promised an inquiry, but they reformed the next day, prompting the withdrawal of the troops to Castle Island. Eight soldiers, one officer, and four civilians were arrested and charged with murder, and they were defended by future U.S. president John Adams. Six of the soldiers were acquitted; the other two were convicted of manslaughter and given reduced sentences. The two found guilty of manslaughter were sentenced to branding on their hand.
Depictions, reports, and propaganda about the event heightened tensions throughout the Thirteen Colonies, notably the colored engraving produced by Paul Revere.
^Zavala, Cesar (March 24, 2017). "The Incident on King Street: the Boston Massacre of 1770". StMU Research Scholars. St. Mary's University of San Antonio, Texas. The shooting became known as the Boston Massacre to all people in the colonies and as The Incident on King Street to the people of Great Britain.
^The Boston Massacre
^Joseph Conlin, The American Past: A Survey of American History, p. 133
^Martin J. Manning, Historical Dictionary of American Propaganda, p. 33
^"Boston Massacre", Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved April 28, 2020
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