Boston Massacre

Paul Revere, “The Bloody Massacre in King-Street, March 5, 1770.” Boston, 1770. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

How picturing the Boston Massacre matters By Kenneth Cohen

• https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/how-picturing-boston-massacre-matters April 9, 2020 "Maybe this painting looks familiar. A long row of red-coated soldiers. A cloud of gun smoke engulfing the street. Falling bodies. A close up of a painting about the Boston Massacre. An African American man is at the center. Detail of a painting of the Boston Massacre on a mirror in the collection." NMAH

Son of Liberty, Man of Law: John Adams & the Boston Massacre Trial 20:59

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0zGzH5hmmc Jul 15, 2022 In 1770, the Boston Massacre and its ensuing trials represented a critical moment in Colonial America: Would mob rule determine the fate of the accused British soldiers, or would the rule of law and commitment to principle persevere? John Adams demonstrated a prescient dedication to both the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial by serving as counsel for the opposition. Four experts, Professor Robert Allison of Suffolk University, Professor Serena Zabin of Carleton College, Professor Renée Lerner of George Washington University Law School, and the Honorable Hiller Zobel, discuss this pivotal moment in U.S. history. Federalist Society

The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.

• Title: The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.

• Creator(s): Revere, Paul, 1735-1818, engraver

• Date Created/Published: Boston : Engrav'd Printed & Sold by Paul Revere, 1770.

• Medium: 1 print : engraving with watercolor, on laid paper ; 25.8 x 33.4 cm. (plate)

• Summary: A sensationalized portrayal of the skirmish, later to become known as the "Boston Massacre," between British soldiers and citizens of Boston on March 5, 1770. On the right a group of seven uniformed soldiers, on the signal of an officer, fire into a crowd of civilians at left. Three of the latter lie bleeding on the ground. Two other casualties have been lifted by the crowd. In the foreground is a dog; in the background are a row of houses, the First Church, and the Town House. Behind the British troops is another row of buildings including the Royal Custom House, which bears the sign (perhaps a sardonic comment) "Butcher's Hall." Beneath the print are 18 lines of verse, which begin: "Unhappy Boston! see thy Sons deplore, Thy hallowed Walks besmeared with guiltless Gore." Also listed are the "unhappy Sufferers" Saml Gray, Saml Maverick, James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks, and Patrick Carr (killed) and it is noted that there were "Six wounded; two of them (Christr Monk & John Clark) Mortally."

• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/p.print

• Notes:

  • Engrav'd Printed & Sold by Paul Revere Boston.

  • The print was copied by Revere from a design by Henry Pelham for an engraving eventually published under the title "The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre," of which only two impressions could be located by Brigham. Revere's print appeared on or about March 28, 1770.

  • Subjects:

  • Attucks, Crispus,---1770.

  • Caldwell, James,--1734-1781.

  • Carr, Patrick,---1770.

  • Clark, John.---1770.

  • Gray, Samuel,---1770.

  • Maverick, Samuel.

  • Monk, Christopher.

  • Boston Massacre, 1770.

  • African Americans--1770.

  • Boston (Mass.)--1770.

• Format:

  • Engravings--1770.

• Collections:

  • Cartoon Prints, American

  • Fine Prints

The bloody massacre perpetrated in King - Street Boston on March 5th, 1770, by a party of the 29th Regt.

Re-engraved by Sidney L. Smith