Content Warning: This section of the guide depicts violence and death.

As England struggles following financial losses from war with France, King George III and his chancellor of the exchequer impose taxes on the American colonies. The colonists resent paying for England’s wars, and a resistance, led by Samuel Adams, grows. To deal with the unrest, the king sends in additional troops. The king and his allies in Parliament are unaware of the mood in the colonies, astounded that they would be unwilling to pay for the protection of the king’s army.

March 5, 1770

Hugh White, a private in the king’s army, guards the Custom House in Boston, a city seething with tension between Bostonians and the occupying British troops. The colonists’ resentment has turned violent. White sees a group of angry young men approaching the guardhouse. They throw snowballs, ignoring his orders to disperse. As the violence escalates, White loads his musket, prepared to shoot. Two men approach the mob, calming them. As the crowd seems about to disperse, a bell tolls, and a cry to fire rings out. The mob turns on White once again. As the crowd presses in closer, reinforcements arrive, a squad of elite grenadiers.