The Boston Massacre is an event in our early history that has been largely misunderstood. Blame for the street fight was placed entirely on the British by the colonial media, in hopes of stirring a deeper desire of freedom among the people. However, the truth is that both sides were equally responsible for the brawl.
             Like many March evenings in New England, it was clear but cold and crisp that night of the 5th. About a foot of snow lay on the ground. Where it had melted during the day, ice had formed, clinging stubbornly to the shaded and protected cobblestones, the last evidence of a hard winter. Private Hugh Whites stood guard duty in the sentry box beside the Customs House when a young apprentice began baiting him. The boy, a young man named Edward Garrick, declared that White's company commander had not paid his master for a wig and was a cheat. White challenged the young man to show his face, and when he did, the soldier struck him on the ear with the butt of his rifle. The boy fell back, howling for help as the sergeant pursued with a bared bayonet. The boy's cries brought a half-dozen youths running to help him. They surrounded White, cursing him loudly. Pelting feet and angry cries could be heard in all the streets leading to the Customs House as the crowd grew, many of its mem!
             bers armed with palings torn from picket fences or clubs that once were legs of produce stalls. The commotion grew as the unruly crowd gathered around White. The sentry found himself confronted by an angry, dangerous mod. Now thoroughly terrified, Private White backed up to the Customs House steps, pointing his glittering bayonet at the crowd while loading his musket. Burly Henry Knox, a Boston Bookseller, cried out in warning that if he fired, he would most surly perish. More and more angry Bostonians joined the throng. Several snowballs flew out of the darkness, some of them striking him. Then chunks of ice, and any other debris that could ...