5. The Riot Over Wigs (That Started A War)
Paul Revere’s engraving of the night of the Boston Massacre was distributed throughout the American colonies, and helped garner support against the British troops. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Just because a riot begins under strange circumstances doesn’t mean that it can’t inspire massive change.
On March 5th, 1770, tensions were running high in the Massachusetts colony town of Boston. When apprentice wig maker Edward Gerrish began harassing British Captain Lieutenant John Goldfinch about not paying for his wig, another soldier hit the young apprentice from behind with his rifle, knocking him to the ground.
The Boston Massacre is credited as beginning the Revolutionary War. The incident is also known as the Wig Riot. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Gerrish promptly got up and rallied his friends to surround the Customs House in Boston. The American colonists, who called themselves Patriots, began throwing snowballs and other objects at the British guards stationed outside, hitting Private Hugh Montgomery and causing his firearm to discharge. This caused the other soldiers to began firing, and within moments five rioters were left dead and three more were injured.
Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell lost their lives over a misunderstanding about the bill for a wig. This event is popularly known as the Boston Massacre, and was the conflict that produced the first five casualties of the American Revolutionary War.
