[70] Farah Peterson, of The American Scholar, states that Adams' speeches during the trial show that his strategy "was to convince the jury that his clients had only killed a black man and his cronies, and that they didn’t deserve to hang for it. [40] The town meeting became more restive when it learned of this; the council changed its position and unanimously ("under duress", according to Hutchinson's report) agreed to request the troops' removal. [35], Later events such as the Gaspee Affair and the Boston Tea Party further illustrated the crumbling relationship between Britain and its colonies. Crispus Attucks is visible in the lower left-hand corner. Its account of affairs sought to blame Bostonians for denying the validity of Parliamentary laws. the horrid massacre in boston, perpetrated in the evening of the fifth day of march, 1770, by soldiers of the twenty-ninth regiment paul revere engraved the event. White had taken up a somewhat safer position on the steps of the Custom House, and he sought assistance. The gunfire instantly killed three people and wounded eight others, two of whom later died of their wounds.[5]. Copley, Revere and the Boston Massacre. The British soldiers look like they are enjoying the violence, particularly the soldier at the far end. "[26][clarification needed] Captain Preston responded "I am aware of it. The Boston Gazette's version of events, for example, characterized the massacre as part of an ongoing scheme to "quell a Spirit of Liberty", and harped on the negative consequences of quartering troops in the city. [84], Confrontation that occurred on March 5, 1770, This famous depiction of the event was engraved by, Daniel Calfe declares, that on Saturday evening the 3rd of March, a camp-woman, wife to James McDeed, a grenadier of the 29th, came into his father's shop, and the people talking about the affrays at the ropewalks, and blaming the soldiers for the part they had acted in it, the woman said, "the soldiers were in the right;" adding, "that before Tuesday or Wednesday night they would wet their swords or bayonets in New England people's blood.". Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, 1770 By the beginning of 1770, there were 4,000 British soldiers in Boston, a city with 15,000 inhabitants, and tensions were running high. "[69] He argued that the soldiers had the legal right to fight back against the mob and so were innocent. Here are a few of the elements Paul Revere used in his engraving to shape public opinion: Read the document introduction, apply your knowledge of American history, and closely examine the enlarged document image and the linked supplemental materials to answer these questions. Location: Boston (Mass. [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. New York, NY 10036, Our Collection: The weather conditions depicted do not match the testimony presented at the soldier’s trial (no snow). (plate). [30] Three Americans died instantly: rope maker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and Crispus Attucks. "[68], Adams also described the former slave Crispus Attucks, saying "his very look was enough to terrify any person" and that "with one hand [he] took hold of a bayonet, and with the other knocked the man down. Not entirely an accurate depiction of the event that transpired. They were all acquitted, and the servant was eventually convicted of perjury, whipped, and banished from the province. American Revolutionary War § Background and political developments, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Timeline of United States revolutionary history (1760–1789), "Account of the trial of Captain Preston", "Revolution in Boston? [65], The trial of the eight soldiers opened on November 27, 1770. At the same time a number of people passed by him with two fire-engines, as if there had been a fire in the town. [53] The account which it provided was drawn from more than 90 depositions taken after the event, and it included accusations that the soldiers sent by Captain Preston had been deployed with the intention of causing harm. Both sides published pamphlets that told strikingly different stories, which were principally published in London in a bid to influence opinion there. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Saltonstall, 1972. Henry was the half-brother of John Singleton Copley and an accomplished portrait painter, engraver, and mapmaker. The colonists are shown reacting to the British when in fact they had attacked the soldiers. Produced just three weeks after the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s historic engraving "The Bloody Massacre in King-Street" was probably the most effective piece of war propaganda in American history. The Boston Massacre was a confrontation on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The British are lined up and an officer is giving an order to fire, implying that the British soldiers are the aggressors. 25.8 x 33.4 cm. Engraving with watercolor on laid paper. Engraving with hand-coloring. Two of the soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter because there was overwhelming evidence that they had fired directly into the crowd. Boston Massacre as portrayed by Paul Revere. [76], The Boston Massacre is considered one of the most significant events that turned colonial sentiment against King George III and British Parliamentary authority. The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770, by a party of the 29thRegt., 1770. . On the evening of March 5, crowds of day laborers, apprentices, and merchant sailors began to pelt British soldiers with snowballs and rocks. In the first edition, the time on the clock was incorrect. Five years passed between the massacre and outright war, and Neil York suggests that there is only a tenuous connection between the two. [8], Boston's chief customs officer Charles Paxton wrote to Hillsborough for military support because "the Government is as much in the hands of the people as it was in the time of the Stamp Act.