6/23/2012 3:11:11 PM
Granary Burying Ground
On March 5th, 1770, British soldiers fired into an unarmed crowd killing five and wounding six others.
The crowd had gathered because a British soldier, Private Hugh White, on guard duty struck a young man named Edward Garrick with the butt of his musket for insulting a British officer. The scuffle drew a rather large crowd of about 50 people including Henry Knox, just 19 years old at the time, who warned White that if he killed anyone he would die for his actions. Knox later became a general in the revolutionary war.
Once the British got word of the incident, six privates and a non-commissioned officer were sent to support White. The soldiers took up defensive positions with loaded muskets and bayonets attached. The crowd continued to shout insults and throw items and snowballs at the soldiers taunting them to fire. Private Hugh Montgomery was struck by an object that knocked him to the ground. Witnesses state that Montgomery angrily stood and fired into the crowed which precipitated the rest of the soldiers firing.
Victims:
Samuel Gray
Samuel Maverick
James Caldwell
Crispus Attucks
Patrick Carr
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Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five victims of the Boston Massacre. The cemetery has 2,345 graves, but historians estimate as many as 5,000 people are buried in it. The cemetery is adjacent to Park Street Church and immediately across from Suffolk University Law School.