Matthew Kilroy was a soldier of the

29th Regiment of Foot The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Re ...

who was present at the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

. He killed one man and was found guilty of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

Boston Massacre

On 5 March 1770, 7 British soldiers, including Kilroy, were dispatched to King Street in Boston, Massachusetts to relieve Private Hugh White. A large crowd soon gathered around them. After Private Hugh Montgomery was struck by a club, Montgomery shouted, "Damn you, fire!" Kilroy then pointed his gun at rope-maker Gray, who, depending on the source, said, "damn you, don't fire!" or "They dare not fire."Langguth, A. J.
Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution
' (Simon and Schuster, 1989), p. 138. Kilroy then fired the shot that killed Gray. The ball passed through Gray's head and "opened up a hole as big as a man's fist." Several witnesses said that, afterwards, Kilroy's

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

was covered with blood. A few days before the massacre, Kilroy had argued with Gray at Gray's Rope-works. Kilroy had also, according to one witness, said that "he would never miss an opportunity... to fire on the inhabitants." On 27 March, Kilroy was indicted for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

. He was held in prison pending trial, which took place in November and December 1770, in Boston.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, who would later become

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, was his attorney. Kilroy and Montgomery were both found guilty of manslaughter on 5 December. They returned to court nine days later and pleaded "

benefit of clergy In English law, the benefit of clergy (Law Latin: ''privilegium clericale'') was originally a provision by which clergymen accused of a crime could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ec ...

" to avoid the death sentence. Instead, they were branded on the thumb, with a hot iron, the letter "M" for murder."The Summary of the Boston Massacre Trial"
''bostonmassacre.net''. Retrieved 9 November 2010. The two reportedly burst into tears before receiving the punishment.Fleming, Thomas J
"Verdicts of History I: The Boston Massacre"
. ''americanheritage.com''. Retrieved 9 November 2010. Kilroy was illiterate. Kilroy was a main character of the book ''

The Fifth of March ''The Fifth of March'' is a 1993 novel about the Boston Massacre (of March 5, 1770, pre-Revolutionary War) by historian and author Ann Rinaldi, who was also the author of many other historical fiction novels such as '' Girl in Blue'' and '' A B ...

'' by author

Ann Rinaldi Ann Rinaldi (August 27, 1934 – July 1, 2021)
- Shannon Maughan. July ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Matthew Worcestershire Regiment soldiers British people convicted of manslaughter People acquitted of murder Year of birth uncertain British mass murderers Year of death unknown Boston Massacre