British Troops in Boston

In 1770 the temperament in Boston was explosive. The Stamp Act, although rescinded, was replaced by the Townshend Acts, and tempers were hot. Altercations between colonialists and royalists was common place resulting in property damage and unrest. The royalist governor of the Massachusetts colony requested that British troops be sent to and billited in Boston.

This action did not help and the angry crowds of colonials grew larger which resulted in confrontations between the British troops and the colonials. A Town Hall was called and those assembled there including Samuel Adams and John Adams, demanded that the two British garrisons be removed from Boston. The governor was only willing to remove one.

This led to the crowd confronting a group of British soldiers. In the confusion shots were fired by the British and five colonials were killed...the Boston Massacre!! Eventually the two garrisons were removed. John Adams, then a prominent Boston attorney, defended the British soldiers at trial. Because of a defense that included that the soldiers feared for their lives, and that no one really knew who gave the order to fire, they were acquitted.

During the British soldiers return trip to Halifax, one of the shooters admitted he gave the order to fire!!