The results of the Boston Massacre

The British soldiers were eventually put on trial, and patriots John Adams and Josiah Quincy defended the soldiers to show support of the Colonial Justice system. The trial ended in December 1770, two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. The two soldiers had their thumbs branded with a "M" for murder as their punishment. The Sons of Liberty, formed in 1765 to oppose The Stamp Act, advertised the "Boston Massacre" as a battle for American liberty and just cause for the removal of British troops from Boston. Paul Revere made an engraving of the incident, portraying the British soldiers lining up like an organized army to suppress an idealized representation of the colonist uprising. These engravings were given out to the colonist and helped reinforce negative American sentiments about British rule. In April 1775, The American Revolution began skirmished with American militiamen at the Battle of Lexington. British troops were ordered to capture patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The missions were unsuccessful because Paul Revere rode ahead of the British, warning Adams and Hancock that "The British are coming"!