The Boston Massacre

Paul Revere Jr.|Henry Pelham

1770 · Hand-colored engraving and etching · Drawings and Prints

The Bostonian silversmith-engraver Revere made this print in response to a violent confrontation between local residents and British troops on March 5, 1770. With two thousand soldiers billeted in the city to enforce the collection of taxes on imported goods such as tea, tensions grew and skirmishes became commonplace. On the night in question, Americans threw stones and ice balls at a lone guard stationed outside the Custom House. Reinforcements were called, a tense standoff ensued, and rifles eventually fired. Crispus Attucks, a multiracial dockworker shown here in the foreground, was among the five fallen Americans. Issued on March 26, Revere’s image casts the British as instigators and callous executioners. Often copied and widely distributed, it helped push the colony toward revolution.

Artist

Paul Revere Jr.|Henry Pelham

Date

1770

Medium

Hand-colored engraving and etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1910