Boston Massacre

Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
Part of the 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
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] 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.^[4]

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 in court by attorney, and 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.
^ 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

[1] 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.

[2] Joseph Conlin, The American Past: A Survey of American History, p. 133

[3] Martin J. Manning, Historical Dictionary of American Propaganda, p. 33

[4] "Boston Massacre", Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved April 28, 2020

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