Boston Massacre Site

Honoring the Revolutionary War's first casualties

The Boston Massacre Site on the Freedom Trail sounds dramatic - but it is quite easy to miss.

Only a star set within a circle of cobblestones on the pavement across from the east balcony of the Old State House marks this momentous event in the quest for American freedom.

Once you find the site of the Boston Massacre, you'll be tempted to look at it and continue on your way following the red line of the Freedom Trail within about 30 seconds.

Why should you visit the Boston Massacre Site?

So why even bother to walk by?

Well, if you're interested in American history, particularly in the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, you know that this event marked a turning point in attitudes toward the British.  

Many colonists who remained neutral or indifferent up until this time felt so angry at the idea of Redcoats gunning down Bostonians in the street that they became instant revolutionaries.

So for all of these reasons, you may want to see where the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770.

But . . . so much has changed since that time.

At the time of the Boston Massacre, Boston Harbor began just a couple of blocks to the east of the Old State House - but not anymore.  Landfill projects during the past 2+ centuries have literally redrawn the coastline.   Wharfs and docks once played a much larger role in the daily life of the city than the remnants still in existence today.

For another thing, the Old State House, along with other prominent buildings such as the Old South Meeting House and Faneuil Hall, once dominated the cityscape.  Smaller businesses, street vendors, and hawkers teemed around them.  Small eateries lining Pi Alley served something called "Cat Pie," and plenty of taverns provided, ahem, even more plentiful lubrication.

Now, skyscrapers containing many of the city's financial firms overshadow the Old State House and other buildings.  A nice food court at Pi Alley is a favorite lunch spot for office workers and tourists.  Spinach Pie replaces Cat Pie on the menus there.

Finally, the streets have been paved, and they're clean . . . well, cleaner than in 1790 when horses were abundant and modern sanitation didn't exist.  Even better, we no longer see wharf rats on a daily basis, and with fewer taverns, men don't brawl in the streets.

So if you're walking along the Freedom Trail, you might as well glance at the Boston Massacre site since you'll pass right by it anyway on your way to or from Faneuil Hall.

But don't expect to get much of a sense about what happened on the day of the Boston Massacre, or what the events meant to the American Revolution just by looking at this site - which basically consists of some granite pavers in a small traffic island surrounded by busy city streets.

So if you want to know what happened on that cold spring day in 1770, read on . . .

The Roots of the Boston Massacre

The roots of the Boston Massacre reach back in time to the religious persecution of the Puritans by the English King Charles I back in the 1620s.

Boston's original Puritan settlers led by John Winthrop fled England to escape King Charles' wrath. From the time that the Puritans first pitched their tents on Boston Common in 1630, they embraced the opportunity for independence and autonomy - even though they still considered themselves English citizens.

And with the Atlantic Ocean separating them from England, the early Bostonians began to create their own community, their own governing structures, their own identity.

By 1692, English monarchs William and Mary noticed with alarm the growing independence of the colony - so they appointed a Royal Governor to keep an eye on the colonists. By the 1720s, the colonists' resentment rose to such a level that they refused to pay the Royal Governor's salary.

After that act of defiance, their relationship with England went downhill.

The Sons of Liberty Unite

Throughout the next few decades, tensions on both sides increased. England tried to tighten control as well as raise revenue through a series of taxes, tariffs, and other restrictive measures. Opposition grew from the colonists - who began to regard themselves as Patriots.

By the 1760s, Patriots such as Samuel Adams, his cousin John Adams, John Hancock, and James Otis gave frequent impassioned speeches to large crowds at local gathering spots - the Old State House, the Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall, and of course, the local taverns.

Early in the summer of 1765, a group of 9 Boston shopkeepers and artisans dubbed The Loyal Nine began meeting secretly to oppose the latest tax measure, the Stamp Act. Over the summer, the group began calling themselves the Sons of Liberty as their number increased to over 2,000. And by the end of the year, Sons of Liberty existed in every colony.

In October, 1768, British troops invaded Boston and occupied the city. The conflict between control and defiance escalated.

Setting the Stage for the Boston Massacre

By the summer of 1769, tensions between the British "Redcoats" and the defiant Bostonians reached such a pitch that the Royal Governor fled back to England for safety.

In September, an angry British officer hit outspoken patriot James Otis, 44 years old and one of Boston's leading lawyers, on the head in a tavern.

The British rulers gave orders - again - to keep the Colonials under control. That grew tougher and tougher to achieve as Sons of Liberty such as Sam Adams and Joseph Warren advocated revolt and fanned the flames of revolution at every opportunity.

In early 1770, agitation, frustration, and anger seemed to rise every day on both sides.

Impassioned speeches by the Sons of Liberty in nearby public meeting places - and probably taverns as well - encouraged rebellion and revolution.

Rowdy and brawling crowds of locals and soldiers jostled in the streets around the wharfs and taverns. The locals resented the soldiers and taunted them whenever possible. The soldiers regarded Sam Adams as a trouble-making rabble rouser and the locals as uncouth ruffians.

Bloodshed in the name of revolution was probably inevitable.

The Boston Massacre occurs

Although accounts of the Boston Massacre by observers differ in some details, everyone agreed that tension between the Redcoats and the Patriots was high . . . and revolution was in the air.

On March 5, 1770, a quarrel broke out under the balcony of the Old State House when a young wigmaker's apprentice accused a British officer of not paying a bill, while the officer insisted that he had. The wigmaker and some compatriots had just left one of the local taverns. By most accounts, they were looking for a fight.

After exchanges of taunts from both sides, the officer - or possibly a different Redcoat - hit the boy with his musket and the crowd grew larger. More soldiers arrived.

The crowd started throwing snowballs and stones at the soldiers and shouting, "Come out, you rascals, you bloody-backs, you lobster scroundrels - fire if you dare."

Amid this taunting and shoving, the crowd grew even rowdier.

Eye witness accounts differ as to what happened next. At some point, church bells started ringing and someone shouted "Fire!"

Did the bells start ringing to warn of danger? Or did they ring later? Did someone shout "fire" because the church bells were often used as fire alarms? Or was "fire" shouted as an order?

Did, as at least one witness suggested, a colonist hit a soldier with a stick before the shooting began? By then, taunting had turned into a street brawl - so who could tell?

In any case, the British soldiers fired their guns more or less point blank, even though they had been under orders not to shoot. Three people lay dead, and two more of the eight wounded died later from their injuries. You can see their tombstone in the Granary Burying Ground, where their bodies were laid to rest.

The first to be killed was former slave Crispus Attucks, of African and Native American ancestry, and the first person to die for the cause of American liberty.

The Results of the Boston Massacre

Word about the "massacre," as the Sons of Liberty cleverly labeled it, spread quickly. Colonial Minutemen from all over the countryside prepared to converge on Boston and drive the British to the sea.

The British avoided much worse fighting and loss of life by withdrawing to a Boston Harbor Island and surrendering Captain Thomas Preston and eight soldiers involved in the incident.

John Adams and Josiah Quincy defended Captain Preston and the soldiers after other Boston lawyers refused. They won acquittals for all but two who were convicted of manslaughter, branded on the hand, and released.

The Sons of Liberty now had martyrs to the cause of independence. Paul Revere made copies of a rather inaccurate depiction of the event by Boston engraver Henry Pelham, and sold many of them in the weeks following the event. 

You can see a copy, complete with the rather inflammatory description, here.

By capturing the Boston Massacre on paper, Revere did much to turn public sentiment against the British.

Every year on the anniversary of the event, a Boston Massacre Oration (speech) is given to commemorate the quest for American liberty.

Insider tips

If you happen to visit Boston on March 5, you can watch an re-enactment of the Boston Massacre under the east balcony of the Old State House. Participants include the Massachusetts Council on Minutemen and Militia, and His Majesty's Fifth Regiment of Foot.  You can also see a few artifacts related to the massacre in the Old State House Museum.

If you want to get the "big picture" view of the American Revolution and how the Boston Massacre fits in, you'll find an excellent presentation on the History Channel's "The Revolution."

Many Boston visitors have trouble finding the Boston Massacre Site because they're expecting some sort of raised monument or marker.  Sometimes when I'm waiting to cross the street near the Old State House, visitors will ask me, "Where's the Boston Massacre?"  They always look a little shocked when I point to the site.  It really is just some granite blocks at ground level in a traffic island.

However, this particular neighborhood is one of Boston's oldest, and you're surrounded by historical sites (as well as tall skyscrapers).  You'll also find remembrances of the Massacre in other locations.

For example, you can see the tombstone for the Boston Massacre victims at the Granary Burying Ground, also on the Freedom Trail.

You can also find a monument, the Boston Massacre Memorial, erected in 1888 near the Central Burying Ground in Boston Common.

And, if you're so inclined, you can even stop for a drink and burger at one of the historic Boston bars and taverns in the neighborhood, including one where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and other Sons of Liberty met frequently to plot the Revolution.

Resources for kids

Several books aimed at kids make the history surrounding the events leading up to the Boston Massacre come alive.  Lydia the Patriot focuses on the Massacre, and is part of a series of books featuring girls involved in early American history.  In The Fifth of March , author Ann Rinaldi shows the events through the eyes of a young indentured servant working for John Adams who becomes friendly with one of the British soldiers.  And in The Boston Massacre , Michael Burgan presents the events in a fast-moving graphic novel.

Details and Directions

Open: At all times
Location: The traffic island near the east side of the Old State House at the corner of Washington and State Streets, Downtown Boston.
Closest T station: Orange and Blue Lines/State Street (in the sub-basement of the Old State House - look for signs on Washington Street)
For more information: www.bostonhistory.org; 617-720-1713