As the evening snow fell upon the city of Boston on the night of March 5, 1770, a crowd of men, boys, slaves, and sailors wandered around outside the Customs house on Kings Street. They marched around taunting a group of British officers. Among the officers was Private Hugh Montgomery. The small crowd began to throw snowballs, oyster shells, and ice at the officers. Things began to take a turn for the worse when a man by the name of Richard Holmes raised up his club and hit one of the officers in the head with full force: Private Montgomery. When the private recovered, he shot his musket into the crowd without any orders from his regiment leader, Captain Thomas Preston. From somewhere behind them, a man shouted, "Fire!" The rest of the regiment then fired into the crowd. Once again, Captain Preston did not shout the command. Their shots hit seven of the men and boys. Five of them are killed. This soon became known as The Boston Massacre.
The officers were arrested and sentenced to a trial. There wasn't a single lawyer in Boston who would take up Preston's case in fear that it would be a huge career mistake. Preston knew of only one man who might be able to help him and the men of his regiment. The lawyer's name was John Adams, future president of the United States. Adams, who was already a leading Patriot and who was debating a run for public office, nevertheless agreed to help, in the interest of ensuring a fair trial. 
(Images: Top Left- The Bloody Massacre. Right- Lawyer John Adams)
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