Crispus Attucks The First Black to Fall in the American Revolution.

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Crispus AttucksThe First Black to Fall in
the American Revolution.
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Attucks Family Background

• Little is known about the early years of
  Crispus Attucks. He was born a slave around 1723
  probably in the colony of Massachusetts. His
  father, Prince Yonger, was an African and his
  mother, Nancy Attucks, was an Indian and possible
  descendant of John Attucks, a member of the
  Natick Indian tribe.
• John Attucks was executed for treason in 1676
  during the King Philip War. The word "attuck" in
  the Natick language means deer. In 1750, Crispus
  was a slave of William Brown of Framingham.

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The Escape of Attucks

• Crispus was an expert trader of horses and
  cattle and did business with white men. He kept
  the money he made and tried to buy his freedom
  from his owner, William Brown. However, his owner
  refused to purchase his freedom because of
  Crispus' value to him. Because Crispus wanted his
  freedom, he ran away from his owner. His owner
  desperately wanted him back and printed a
  fugitive slave notice in the October 2, 1750
  issue of the Boston "Gazette, it read
• Ran away from his master William Brown of
  Framingham on the 30th of Sept. last a mulatto
  fellow about 27 years of age, named Crispus, 6
  feet and 2 inches high,

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short curl'd hair, his knees nearer together than
common and had on a light colour'd beaver skin
coat, plain new buckskin breeches, blue yarn
stockings and a checked woolen shirt. Whoever
shall take up said runaway and convey him to his
aforesaid master shall have 10 pounds old tenor
reward, and all necessary charges paid. And all
masters of vessels and others are hereby
cautioned against concealing or carrying off said
servant on penalty of law."
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A New Beginning

• Attucks was never caught and nothing is known
  of the twenty years before he resurfaced again.
  Historians surmise that he escaped to Nantucket,
  Massachusetts and sailed as a harpoonist on a
  whaling ship. During those twenty years, the
  American colonies were in conflict with England.
  The colonies resented the fact that they had to
  buy almost everything from England and were
  unhappy about the lack of free trade. The most
  outspoken colony was Massachusetts. British king,
  George III, sent two regiments into the Boston
  Harbor in the fall of 1769. The British
  occupation resulted in many conflicts with the
  citizens of Boston. According to historian John
  Fiske, "the soldiers did many things that greatly
  annoyed the people. They led brawling, riotous
  lives, and made the quite street hideous by night
  with their drunken shoutsOn Sundays the soldiers
  would race horses on the Common, or would play
  'Yankee Doodle' just outside the church-doors
  during the services."

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The Boston Massacre

• Crispus Attucks was living in Boston during
  this time. On March 5, 1770 Crispus was eating
  dinner when he became aware of a fight between
  Boston men and British soldiers. He went to Dock
  Square to investigate. He picked up a stick and
  shouted to the crowd gathered there to follow him
  to King Street. When they arrived at King Street,
  Attucks went to the front of the crowd and struck
  at one of the British Soldiers. The soldier fired
  and hit Attucks with two musket balls. Four other
  men were killed, and six others were wounded.

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The next day, Attucks' body was taken to Faneuil
Hall, and two days later, all the businesses were
closed for his and the other victims' funeral.
The funeral was attended by the largest crowd
known to have assembled in North America. Attucks
was buried in the Old Granary Burial Ground. This
traumatic event is known as the Boston Massacre.
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An Unjust Trial

• The British soldiers were placed on trial for the
  murders, and the charge stated that Attucks had
  been attacked "with force and arms, feloniously,
  willfully, and of malice aforethought." The
  soldier who had attacked Attucks was found not
  guilty, and two other soldiers were found guilty.
  The guilty soldiers received a punishment
  consisting of having their hands branded with a
  hot iron. The citizens of Boston were outraged at
  the verdict. But Crispus Attucks became a hero
  and has been honored as a man who died fighting
  for his freedom and that of others.

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In Memory Of Crispus Attucks

• In 1888, a Crispus Attucks monument was erected
  on Boston Common. At the unveiling, John Fiske
  said the Boston Massacre, "was one of the most
  significant and impressive events in the noble
  struggle in which our forefathers succeeded in
  vindicating, for themselves and their posterity,
  the sacred right of self-government." In 1996,
  President Clinton enacted a Black Patriots Coin
  Law to commemorate African American contributions
  to the founding of America.

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The coin was struck in 1998, the 275th
anniversary of the birth of Crispus Attucks, the
first black man to die for America's freedom.
According to Philip Diehl, Director of the U.S.
Mint, "The Black Revolutionary War Patriots
Silver Dollar will recall and commemorate history
by focusing on Crispus Attucks' sacrifice as a
symbol of the commitment of all Black American
patriots."