Today in 1770, colonists and British soldiers went toe to toe in the streets of Boston. As tensions flared between England and the colonists in America, the civilians grew angry. These angry civilians began yelling at British redcoats standing guard to try and rile them up. The redcoats remained unfazed by the remarks even when the civilians were taunting them to open fire. One of the British redcoats slipped and his rifle fired, sparking the rest of the soldiers to fire, starting the massacre. When the smoke cleared five colonists lay dead in the Boston street. The soldiers were put on trial, but only two were found guilty of manslaughter and given minor slaps on the wrist.
Story continues below advertisement