African Americans fought on both sides the American Revolution, the Patriot cause for independence as well as the Loyalist cause of stable government. It is estimated that 20,000 African Americans joi
Engraving of Crispus Attucks being shot during the Boston Massacre. (John Bufford after William L. Champey, c. 1856)
Pines Bridge Monument in Yorktown Heights
Crispus Attucks
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Crispus Attucks was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African American and Native American descent who is traditionally regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, and as a
African Americans in the Revolutionary War
…incentive for nearly 100,000 enslaved people across the American Colonies to escape, lured by the promise of freedom. In March 1770, Black Bostonian Crispus Attucks was part of the large crowd taunting British soldiers and was one of the number they shot in the incident Patriots called the Boston Massacre. He is…
Speculative portrait of what Attucks might have looked like.
This 19th-century lithograph is a variation of the famous engraving of the Boston massacre by Paul Revere. Produced soon before the American Civil War and long after the event depicted, this image emphasizes Crispus Attucks, who had become a symbol for abolitionists. (John Bufford after William L. Champey, c. 1856)
Crispus Attucks' grave in the Granary Burying Ground
Crispus Attucks Middle School, Sunnyside, Houston, Texas