MARCH 5, 1770

WAMPANOAG CRISPUS ATTUCKS KILLED AT BOSTON MASSACRE

Born circa 1723, in Framingham, Massachusetts, Crispus’ father is generally accepted as having been from Africa and a slave to a Colonel Buckminster of Framingham. Crispus’ mother was of Wampanoag origin, likely Natick, and possibly also a slave of Buckminster’s. It is likely that Crispus was a “runaway” by 1750. He most likely spent time as a crew member on board whaling ships. Toward evening on March 5, 1770, a crowd of Boston colonists began taunting a small group of British soldiers. When one of the soldiers was struck, the others fired their muskets, killing three of the Americans instantly and mortally wounding two others. Attucks was the first to fall, thus becoming one of the first men to lose his life in the cause of American independence. His body was carried to Faneuil Hall, where it lay in state until March 8, when all five victims were buried in a common grave. In 1888 the Crispus Attucks monument was unveiled in the Boston Common.

Sources:
  “Crispus Attucks: American Leader,” Britannica.  Retrieved 5/29/2021, Crispus Attucks | American leader | Britannica
“Crispus Attucks Family,” Crispus Attucks Museum.  Retrieved 5/29/2021, Crispus Attucks Family (crispusattucksmuseum.org)
Mural: Herschel Levit (1912-1986), 1935. “Crispus Attacks,” at the Recorder of Deeds building, built in 1943. 515 D St., NW, Washington, D.C. Public Domain.