Boston Massacre Week Begins!

Say, kids, what week is it? It’s Boston Massacre Week! The 5th of March is the 239th anniversary of that event, when British soldiers surrounded by an angry crowd killed four men and one boy (or two) outside Boston’s Customs House.

Nearby, as shown in the famous image created by Henry Pelham and recreated by Paul Revere, was the Town House, which is now the Old State House Museum (shown at right in its current context). Its owner, The Bostonian Society, is sponsoring several events this week to commemorate the anniversary. None of them fall on the anniversary, but we’ll leave that aside.

Friday, 6 March, at the Old South Meeting House:

• 6:30 P.M. Historic Voices: Echoing Boston Patriots. Students from Boston Latin School read from the orations that such Bostonians as John Hancock, Dr. Joseph Warren, and John Rock delivered at previous Massacre commemorations. This event is emceed by Suffolk University professor Robert Allison. FREE.

Saturday, 7 March, at the Old State House:

• 11:00 A.M. & 2:00 P.M. Little Redcoats: Kids Reenact the Massacre. Rangers from the Adams National Historical Park will lead young visitors in a bloodless reenactment of the Massacre. FREE.
• 11:30 A.M. & 2:30 P.M. Trial of the Century. Rangers from the Adams National Historical Park host John Adams as he defends the British soldiers accused of murdering Bostonians. The audience will act as jurors deciding whether the shooting was self-defense, cold-blooded murder, or something in between. Free with museum admission.
• 7:00 P.M. Boston Massacre Reenactment. Courageous local reenactors portray the incident that sparked the Revolution on the streets outside the Old State House. See how well the scenario I drafted last year plays out! If no one actually gets shot, it was a success. FREE.

For the rest of this week, Boston 1775 will be exploring the historical nooks and crannies of the Boston Massacre.

(Photo above by Axel R-D, courtesy of Flickr.)