Boston Massacre

On the evening of March 5, 1770, a confrontation between Boston colonists and British soldiers escalated outside the Custom House on King Street. A crowd pelted Private Hugh White with snowballs and debris; Captain Thomas Preston arrived with reinforcements, and after Private Hugh Montgomery was struck and fell, soldiers fired into the crowd. Five colonists died: Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr. Six others sustained wounds. Preston and the soldiers stood trial; two were convicted of manslaughter. Colonial leaders subsequently used the event to mobilize opposition to British military presence.