Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was an attack on colonist civilians by British troops on March 5, 1770, and its legal aftermath, which helped spark the American Revolutionary War. A tense situation due to a heavy British military presence in boiled over to incite brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops shooting their muskets into a rioting crowd. There were 11 men shot, five were killed and the remaining six survived their wounds.
== Event ==
The incident began on King Street when a young wig maker's apprentice named Edward Garrick called out to a British officer, Captain John Goldfinch, that he was late paying his barber's bill. Goldfinch had, in fact, settled his account that day but did not reply to the boy. When Garrick remained quite vocal in his complaints an hour later, a sentry outside the customs house, Private Hugh White, called the boy over and clubbed him on the head. Garrick's companions yelled at the sentry, and a British sergeant chased them away. The apprentices returned with more locals, shouting insults at the sentry and throwing snowballs and litter.
White sent a messenger to the main guard for reinforcements. The officer of the day was Captain Thomas Preston. According to his account, he dispatched a non-commissioned officer and 12 privates, all soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot, and he followed soon after. The mob grew in size and continued throwing stones, sticks, and chunks of ice. A group of sailors and dockworkers came carrying large sticks of firewood and pushed to the front of the crowd, directly confronting the soldiers. As bells rang in the surrounding steeples, the crowd of Bostonians grew larger and more threatening.
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