Editing Crispus Attucks (section)

==Boston Massacre==
{{Main|Boston Massacre}}
[[File:William L. Champney The Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770.jpg|thumb|280px|right|This 19th-century [[lithograph]] is a variation of the famous engraving of the [[Boston Massacre]] by Paul Revere. Produced soon before the [[American Civil War]] and long after the event depicted, this image emphasizes Crispus Attucks, who had become a symbol for abolitionists. ([[John Henry Bufford|John Bufford]] after William L. Champey, {{circa|1856}})<ref>Thomas H. O'Connor, ''The Hub: Boston Past and Present'' (Boston: [[Northeastern University Press]], 2001), p. 56.</ref>]]
In the fall of 1768, [[British Army|British troops]] were sent to Boston to maintain order amid growing [[Colonial history of the United States | colonial]] unrest which had led to a spate of attacks on local officials following the introduction of the [[Stamp Act (1765)|Stamp Act]] and the subsequent [[Townshend Acts]]. Radical [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Whigs]] had coordinated [[Dock (maritime)|waterfront]] mobs against the authorities. The presence of troops, instead of reducing tensions, served to further inflame them.

After dusk on March 5, 1770, a wigmaker's apprentice mistakenly accused a British officer of not paying a bill. The officer ignored his insults but a sentry intervened after the boy began physically assaulting the officer. Both townspeople and nine soldiers of the [[29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot|29th Regiment of Foot]] gathered. The colonists threw snowballs and debris at the soldiers. A group of men including Attucks approached the [[Old State House (Boston)|Old State House]] armed with [[Club (weapon)|clubs and sticks]]. A soldier was struck with a piece of wood, an act some witnesses claimed was done by Attucks. Other witnesses stated that Attucks was "leaning upon a stick" when the soldiers opened fire.<ref>''The Trial of William Wemms, James Hartegan, William M'Cauley, Hugh White, Matthew Killroy, William Warren, John Carrol, and Hugh Montgomery, soldiers in His Majesty's 29th Regiment of Foot, for the murder of Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, and Patrick Carr, on Monday-evening, the 5th of March,1867 at the Superior Court of Judicature, Court of Assize, and General Goal Delivery, held at Boston, the 27th day of November, 1770, by adjournment, before the Hon. Benjamin Lynde, John Cushing, Peter Oliver, and Chris Metzler, Esquires, justices of said court'' (Boston: [[John Fleeming|J. Fleeming]], 1770); and ''A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston'' (New York: John Doggett, Jr., 1849).</ref>

Five colonists were killed and six were wounded. Attucks took two ricocheted bullets in the chest and was believed to be the first to die.<ref>''The Trial of William Wemms''; and ''A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston.''</ref> County coroners Robert Pierpoint and Thomas Crafts Jr. conducted an autopsy on Attucks.<ref>Hiller B. Zobel, ''The Boston Massacre.'' (W. W. Norton and Company, 1970).{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=December 2022}}</ref> He was "felled by two bullets to his chest, one of them 'goring the right lobe of the lungs and a great part of the liver most horribly'."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoock|first=Holger|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953617831|title=Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth|publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown]]|year=2017|isbn=978-0804137287|edition=1st|location=New York|page=7|oclc=953617831}}</ref> Attucks' body was carried to [[Faneuil Hall]], where it [[lay in state]] until Thursday, March 8, when he and the other victims were buried together in the same grave site in Boston's [[Granary Burying Ground]]. He had lived for approximately 47 years.