The Tragic Truth of the Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre is one of the events that kickstarted the Revolutionary War. But many don't the true story on how it became such a heated topic between Americans and the British. Subscribe if you like seeing these Revolutionary War/American History videos.

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[garyedwardgray]

I can’t speak to all of the Bostonians present, but as the closest living relative of Samuel Gray (he had no children; I descend from his brother), I’ve researched this as much as is possible (not a whole lot is known about Samuel). What limited info there is shows that Samuel was a real jackass, always looking to pick a fight with the Brits. Often, because they were so underpaid, the British soldiers would look for side jobs. They’d often show up at the “ropeworks” area, which is where Samuel Gray worked. Samuel had a reputation for beating the hell out of the soldiers whenever they went there. In fact, one of the few things we do know about Samuel is that he was involved in a brawl at the ropeworks with the soldiers just a few days prior to the massacre. Adams was correct in basically describing these guys as hooligans. That said, I suppose you could also make a case defending them. I mean, what was the point of their hooliganism? They felt repressed and subservient to the Brits. And, in fact, they were. So, I’m not going to demonize the Bostonians either. All I’m saying is… they weren’t exactly saints and pinnacles of the community. I don’t know, maybe some were? I can really only speak for Samuel. He was not exactly a nice guy. Never got married or had a family. I’m guessing disconnected from his birth family, since he didn’t live near them (in fact, I was surprised to find out he is my relation; I’m the family genealogist… there were three colonial Gray families… one was in Boston; I assumed this was Samuel’s lineage… I come from the Plymouth/Rhode Island family… I was shocked to learn that Samuel is actually from Rhode Island… brother to my ancestor). He seems like a real anti-social thug. I’m still kinda proud of the connection. As I said, you CAN make a defense for these characters, given the principles about which they were so wound up. There is some value in that. So, they weren’t entirely bad guys either. As with most things, it’s complicated.