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Boston Massacre

SOLVED1770King Street (now State Street), Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the evening of March 5, 1770, a confrontation on King Street in Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, resulted in British soldiers firing into a crowd of colonists. The incident began when a wigmaker's apprentice, Edward Garrick, verbally confronted a British officer and was struck by sentry Private Hugh White. A crowd gathered around White, growing to more than 50 people led by Crispus Attucks, a mixed-race former slave, who threw objects and challenged the sentry to fire. Captain Thomas Preston dispatched additional soldiers to relieve White, and the group, numbering eight soldiers plus Preston, faced a crowd estimated between 300 and 400 people who taunted them and threw snowballs and other objects.

Private Hugh Montgomery was struck by a thrown object, dropped his musket, then recovered it and fired into the crowd without an order from Preston. Other soldiers then fired a ragged series of shots. Rope maker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and Crispus Attucks were killed instantly. Samuel Maverick, a 17-year-old apprentice, died the next morning from a ricocheting musket ball. Patrick Carr, an Irish immigrant shot in the abdomen, died two weeks later on March 14. Apprentice Christopher Monk was seriously wounded and, according to reports, died in 1780 purportedly due to injuries sustained that night.

Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson helped disperse the crowd by promising an inquiry. Preston and eight soldiers were arrested by the next morning. Amid continued unrest, British troops were withdrawn to Castle Island. On March 27, 1770, the eight soldiers, Captain Preston, and four civilians were indicted for murder. The civilians, who were in the Custom House, were alleged to have fired shots.

Captain Preston was tried separately in late October 1770 and was acquitted after the jury concluded he had not ordered his men to fire. The trial of the eight soldiers opened on November 27, 1770, with defense attorney John Adams arguing the soldiers had acted in self-defense against a threatening crowd. Patrick Carr's deathbed statement, describing the crowd's provocations, was admitted as testimony and reportedly influenced the outcome. The jury acquitted six of the soldiers; Private Hugh Montgomery and Private Matthew Kilroy were convicted of manslaughter. Under the benefit of clergy provision then in law, their sentences were reduced from death to branding on the thumb. The four civilians were tried separately on December 13, 1770, and all were acquitted; a servant who had testified against them was later convicted of perjury.

The event was widely publicized through pamphlets and Paul Revere's engraving of the scene, which circulated throughout the Thirteen Colonies and is credited with heightening anti-British sentiment in the years preceding the American Revolution.

Key facts

Victims
James Caldwell, Samuel Gray, Patrick Carr, Samuel Maverick, Crispus Attucks
Date
1770
Location
King Street (now State Street), Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1768-10

    First British Army regiments begin arriving in Boston to enforce Crown policy.

  2. 1770-02-22

    Christopher Seider, approximately 11 years old, is killed by a customs employee, heightening tensions in Boston.

  3. 1770-03-05

    British soldiers fire into a crowd on King Street; three colonists killed instantly, others wounded.

  4. 1770-03-06

    Captain Thomas Preston and eight soldiers are arrested.

  5. 1770-03-08

    First four victims are buried with ceremony at Granary Burying Ground.

  6. 1770-03-14

    Patrick Carr, the fifth victim, dies of his wound.

  7. 1770-03-17

    Patrick Carr is buried alongside the other victims.

  8. 1770-03-27

    Eight soldiers, Captain Preston, and four civilians are indicted for murder.

  9. 1770-10

    Captain Thomas Preston is tried separately and acquitted.

  10. 1770-11-27

    Trial of the eight soldiers begins.

  11. 1770-12-13

    Four civilian defendants are tried and acquitted.

  12. 1780

    Christopher Monk, wounded in the 1770 shooting, dies, purportedly from his injuries.

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People

  • William McCauley

    ACQUITTED

    Private charged with murder alongside the other soldiers; acquitted.

  • William Warren

    ACQUITTED

    Private charged with murder alongside the other soldiers; acquitted.

  • James Caldwell

    VICTIM

    Mariner killed instantly by gunfire on March 5, 1770.

  • Hugh Montgomery

    CONVICTED

    Private convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to branding on the thumb.

  • Samuel Gray

    VICTIM

    Rope maker killed instantly by gunfire on March 5, 1770.

  • William Wemms

    ACQUITTED

    Corporal charged with murder alongside the other soldiers; acquitted.

  • Patrick Carr

    VICTIM

    Irish immigrant shot in the abdomen; died two weeks later on March 14, 1770.

  • Thomas Preston

    ACQUITTED

    Captain who commanded the soldiers; tried separately for murder and acquitted in October 1770.

  • Matthew Kilroy

    CONVICTED

    Private convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to branding on the thumb.

  • Samuel Maverick

    VICTIM

    17-year-old apprentice ivory turner, struck by a ricocheting musket ball; died the following morning.

  • Crispus Attucks

    VICTIM

    Mixed-race former slave killed instantly by gunfire on March 5, 1770.

  • James Hartigan

    ACQUITTED

    Private charged with murder alongside the other soldiers; acquitted.

  • John Carroll

    ACQUITTED

    Private charged with murder alongside the other soldiers; acquitted.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

King Street (now State Street), Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay

42.3588, -71.0572

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On March 5, 1770, British soldiers guarding the Boston Custom House fired into a crowd of colonists on King Street, killing three instantly and fatally wounding two others, in a confrontation that inflamed tensions leading to the American Revolution.
Where did the massacre happen?
King Street (now State Street), Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Who was convicted?
Hugh Montgomery (Private convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to branding on the thumb.) and Matthew Kilroy (Private convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to branding on the thumb.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in United States

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICBoston MassacreWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — nps.govnps.gov · 2026-07-10
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — founders.archives.govfounders.archives.gov · 2026-07-10

Record history

First published
JUL 11, 2026