Teapot

Boston, 1750-70
Pewter, wood
Gift of Miss S. E. Kimball

By its history, this pewter teapot and cup belonged to Crispus Attucks (1723-1770), a sailor of African and Indigenous ancestry. Attucks was among the group of colonists who clashed with British soldiers on March 5, 1770, a conflict later called the Boston Massacre. Eyewitnesses described Attucks as the first to die, “killed instantly” by British musket fire. Immediately following the event, the Sons of Liberty condemned the attack, galvanizing support for the revolutionary cause.

Originally donated to the Bostonian Society (now Revolutionary Spaces) by a descendant of the family who had once enslaved Attucks, the teapot was later given to Historic New England. The cup was separately donated by another member of the same family.