About the only thing we know for certain is how he died.

The details of his birth are completely unknown.  And much of his background is subject to debate.  The only two surviving documents that refer to him describe him as “mulatto,” “Indian,” “a tall man,” and “stout.”  Some historians point to a notice in the local paper that stated, “Ran away from his Master William Brown of Framingham on the 30th of Sept. last a mulatto Fellow, about 27 years of age, named Crispus, 6 Feet and 2 inches high, short curl’d Hair, his Knees near together than common,” as evidence that he was perhaps a former slave.  And his last name was common among the Wampanoag Indians, and may have come from their word, “ahtug,” meaning “little deer.”  From all the evidence, most historians have concluded that he was a sailor, and possibly a former slave, of mixed race.

What we DO know is that he was on the streets of Boston on March 5, 1770.  He may have gone to join the protest, or he may have been, as some eyewitnesses later described him, passively “leaning on a stick” minding his own business.  Either way, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  American colonists got into a scuffle with British soldiers, the situation got tense, and muskets were fired.  He was hit twice in the chest and died instantly, along with rope maker Samuel Gray, and mariner James Caldwell.  The incident became known as “The Boston Massacre” and was the flash point of the American Revolution.  He was laid in state in Faneuil Hall for three days, and then was buried as a hero with the other victims in Granary Burying Ground, which would later contain other notables like John Hancock

He’s a favorite of elementary school teachers during Black History Month.  But he really embodies the entire American experience.  African Americans surely look to him as a symbol of struggle, success and sacrifice.  But Native Americans also claim him as their own.  White abolitionists long used his story to shame southern slave-holders, ensuring his name would become as much a part of the Civil War story as it had of the Revolution.  And today, he is celebrated by all who visit his grave and the 25-foot-tall marble monument in Boston Common that honors the victims of the Massacre.

He remains a mystery.  But he will forever be remembered as “The First Martyr of the American Revolution.”  And his name, certainly, was Crispus Attucks.