Crispus Attucks (c. 1723 – March 5, 1770) was an African American escaped slave, merchant seaman, and dockworker. In Boston Massachusetts, on March 5, 1770, he was the first casualty of the Boston Massacre, it was reported that he shouted “Be not Afraid” and led his compatriots into the fray and became the first American casualty in the American Revolutionary War. More than 5,000 Blacks slaves and free would fight in the Revolutionary War.
