solence of the
ministerial troops, and the sneers of her hired minions. The
aggressive and daring men had found themselves hampered by the
conservative views of a large class of colonists, who feared lest some
one should take a step not exactly according to the law. But while the
"wise and prudent" were deliberating upon a legal method of action,
there were those, who, "made of sterner stuff," reasoned right to the
conclusion, that they had rights as colonists that ought to be
respected. That there was cause for just indignation on the part of
the people towards the British soldiers, there is no doubt. But there
is reason to question the time and manner of the assault made by the
citizens. Doubtless they had "a zeal, but not according to knowledge."
There is no record to controvert the fact of the leadership of Crispus
Attucks. A manly-looking fellow, six feet two inches in height, he was
a commanding figure among the irate colonists. His enthusiasm for the
threatened interests of the Province, his loyalty to the teachings of
Otis, and his willingness to sacrifice for the cause of equal rights,
endowed him with a courage, which, if tempered with better judgment,
would have made him a military hero in his day. But consumed by the
sacred fires of patriotism, that lighted his path to glory, his career
of usefulness ended at the beginning. John Adams, as the counsel for
the soldiers, thought that the patriots Crispus Attucks led were a
"rabble of saucy boys, negroes, mulattoes, &c.," who could not
restrain their emotion. Attucks led the charge with the shout, "The
way to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main-guard; strike
at the root: this is the nest." A shower of missiles was answered by
the discharge of the guns of Capt. Preston's company. The exposed and
commanding person of the intrepid Attucks went down before the
murderous fire. Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were also killed, while
Patrick Carr and Samuel Maverick were mortally wounded.

The scene that followed beggared description. The people ran from
their homes and places of business into the streets, white with rage.
The bells rang out the alarm of danger. The bodies of Attucks and
Caldwell were carried into Faneuil Hall, where their strange faces
were viewed by the largest gathering of people ever before witnessed.
Maverick was buried from his mother's house in Union Street, and Gray
from his brother's residence in Royal Exchange Lane. But Attucks and