On (Virtual) Display in the State Library

This March, our virtual display case features an item in honor of the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, which occurred on March 5, 1770. We are sharing a pamphlet-style program that dates to 1888 and was published for the dedication ceremony of the monument to Crispus Attucks, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Samuel Gray and Patrick Carr – the five victims of the Boston Massacre. 

The pamphlet, “Exercises at the ceremony of unveiling and dedication of the monument to Crispus Attucks, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Samuel Gray and Patrick Carr,” complements the ceremony that occurred on November 14, 1888 for the dedication of the monument and a procession of government official and invited guests throughout the city. The procession route was from the State House to the site of the monument on Boston Common, then on to the site of the Boston Massacre (in front of the present-day Old State House), before culminating at Faneuil Hall. The pamphlet describes the commemorative events that occurred at the monument and at Faneuil Hall, as well as a physical description of the monument and some historical background into the massacre and aftermath. 

In the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, tensions in Boston were running high. On the night of March 5, a crowd of colonists gathered on King Street (now State Street) and began taunting and throwing snowballs and other items at a British soldier stationed in front of the Customs House. Soldiers from the British 29th Regiment of Foot joined the sentry and during the confrontation that ensued opened fire on the colonists. Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native American descent, was the first victim. James Caldwell and Samuel Gray were also shot and killed that night, Samuel  Maverick died of his injuries the next morning, and Patrick Carr succumbed to injuries two weeks later. Posthumously, the men were treated as heroes and the Boston Massacre itself was a rallying cry throughout the colonies to resist against British rule. When the day of the victims’ funerals and burial arrived, shops throughout the city were closed and bells were ordered to toll a solemn peal. A procession moved from their funeral locations to the Granary Burial Ground, where they were laid to rest. Pictured is an excerpt from the Boston Gazette and Country Journal, part of our Special Collections historical newspaper holdings, which describes the day as well as depicts an image of four coffins (Patrick Carr was buried at a later date).

Over one hundred years later, the victims of the Boston Massacre were honored again with the dedication of the monument, which is also known as the Crispus Attucks Monument and Victory. Erected by the Commonwealth and designed by Robert Kraus, the monument includes a bas-relief depiction of the moment that the British fired shots, with a slain Crispus Attucks in the foreground. Crispus Attucks is widely considered the first victim of both the Boston Massacre and the Revolutionary War and became an icon for the abolitionist movement in the 19th century; in 1858, Boston abolitionist William Cooper Nell established March 5 as Crispus Attucks Day. Attucks’ legacy lived on throughout the 20th century and up to today, as his name and actions were remembered again last summer during Black Lives Matter protests. 

You can read the dedication pamphlet in its entirety on DSpace. And there are countless resources to check out about the Boston Massacre, including the recently published The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin. You can also learn more about Crispus Attucks by visiting Revolutionary Spaces’ virtual exhibit Reflecting Attucks, available on their website.

Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian