I originally wrote this blog post last year for the Boston Massacre’s 250th anniversary. Evidently, it was on the eve of lockdown, and I never posted it… A few days ago I rediscovered the post and lightly edited it. So, here it is, a year later, just in time for the 251st anniversary.

On the evening of March 5, 1770 a skirmish occurred between Boston colonists and British militia stationed at the State House. The situation escalated, growing violent as blunt objects were thrown and a cacophony of shouting erupted. In the height of commotion, the word “fire” was uttered by an unknown party, and the soldiers, with muskets aimed toward the crowd, pulled their triggers. This resulted in the deaths of five civilians—Crispus Attucks, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Samuel Gray, and Patrick Carr.

Paul Revere, “Four coffins of men killed in the Boston Massacre.” Library of Congress.

Many of you, particularity those who attended primary school in the US, are probably familiar with the events recounted above. But, it is also likely you have only heard a fraction of the story. In this short post, I would like to share some overlooked factors that are important to understanding the wider context of the event as a whole.

In order to understand how this event came to pass, we must go further back in time.

Between 1767 and 1768, the Townshend Acts were passed by British parliament. The Townshend Acts specifically related to British colonies, and instilled new taxes on goods such as tea, paper, paint, lead, and glass. Britain, however, had trouble enforcing these new acts on its colonies, and in October of 1768, sent British troops to occupy Boston. Over the next couple years, tensions between England and the colonies rose, and unrest in Boston became the norm.

Paul Revere, 1768, “A View of Part of the Town of Boston in New-England and Brittish Ships of War: Landing Their Troops!”

On February 22, 1770, a group of patriots convened outside the property of a loyalist named Ebenezer Richardson in the north end of Boston. The crowd began throwing rocks and shattering windows, after which Richardson emerged from the building and fired his musket into the crowd. The bullet struck eleven year old Christopher Seider. The young boy passed away from his injuries that night, and as the city mourned, tension rose to a boiling point in the days that followed.

The death of Christopher Seider was likely on the minds of many in Boston on the night on March 5th.

The Victims

Portrait of Crispus Attucks, artist & date unknown. Wikimedia Commons.

After the events of March 5th, the bodies of Crispus Attucks and James Caldwell were kept at Faneuil Hall as neither had any known family in Boston. The other three victims, Samuel Maverick, Samuel Gray, and Patrick Carr, were given private wakes in their homes. On March 8th, the bodies of all five victims were interred at Granary Burying Ground alongside Christopher Seider.

Both James Caldwell and Samuel Maverick were only seventeen years old.

Crispus Attucks is perhaps the most well known of the fallen that night. He is sometimes referred to as the “first martyr” of the American Revolution. It is believed that his father was African and his mother was Wampanoag.

Evidence in an October 2, 1750 advertisement in the Boston Gazette suggests that Attucks may have been enslaved in Framingham for most of his early years:

(Please note that the following quotation is taken from a primary runaway slave advertisement and therefore includes terminology and coded language that is inappropriate for modern usage—these types of sources are helpful for learning information about enslaved and marginalized people that would otherwise be unavailable, but it is also important to remember their context. For example, even though this type of source is know as a “runaway slave advertisement,” it is important not to refer to enslaved people as “slaves” when speaking about them today. By saying "enslaved person” instead of “slave,” we are acknowledging the difference between circumstance and identity.

“Ran away from his master William Brown of Framingham, on the 30th of Sept. last, a Molatto Fellow, about 27 Years of Age, named Crispas, 6 Feet 2 Inches high, short curl’d Hair, his Knees nearer together than common; had on a light colour’d Bear-skin Coat, plain brown Fustian Jacket, or brown all-Wool one, new Buckskin Breeches, blue Yarn Stockings, and a checked woolen Shirt.”

Once self-emancipated, it is likely that Attucks worked as a rope-maker and whaler. Primary newspaper accounts state that he had lately arrived from New Providence and intended to travel to North Carolina. The first accounts of the Boston Massacre refer to Attucks as “Micheal Johnson.” This name was likely an alias adopted by Attucks while in Boston in order to avoid the attention of his former enslavers. The Boston Gazette would end up publishing an article a few days later on March 12th using Attucks’ true name.