On this day, March 5, in 1770, British troops fired on an unruly mob and killed five citizens in what is now known as the Boston Massacre .
The first to die in the dramatic shooting was a former slave, Crispus Attucks , who is considered the first casualty of the American Revolution.
British Captain Thomas Preston and seven soldiers were arrested and charged with murder. John Adams , later one of the nation's Founding Fathers and a U.S. president, defended the troops at their subsequent trials, placing the blame on the imposing 6-foot-2 Attucks.
Preston and five soldiers were acquitted, which further inflamed the public. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and were branded on the thumb with a hot iron.
-- Scott McCabe
