Edward Garrick (spelled Gerrich and occasionally Gerrish according to some historical documents) was an American wigmaker's apprentice and resident of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, who is known for instigating the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre, known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street, was a confrontation, on March 5, 1770, during the American Revolution in Boston in what was then the colonial-era Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the confrontati ...

on March 5, 1770.

Early life

Not much is known about Garrick's early childhood, but he was 13 years old when the Boston Massacre took place. Thirteen was a common age for boys to become apprentices in the 18th century, and Garrick was an apprentice at the time of the Massacre. Around 1770, he was employed by John Piemont, a wigmaker and later

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

-keeper. That same year,

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

sent 2,000 British soldiers to Boston who became frequent clients of Piemont. It is likely Garrick and other apprentices tended to the wigs of these soldiers six days a week, as that was the average for workers in 1770. During early March 1770, Garrick also worked as an escort for Ann Green and Mary Rogers, the daughter and maid of Boston customs official Bartholomew Green.

Role in 1770 Boston Massacre

During the evening of March 5, 1770, a drunk Edward Garrick and his fellow wigmaker's apprentice Bartholomew Broaders were among a crowd of local youth taunting and throwing snowballs at John Goldfinch, a captain-lieutenant of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. They had arrived here after crossing paths with Goldfinch after escorting Ann Green and Mary Rogers to the now-famous

Boston Custom House The Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts, was established in the 17th century and stood near the waterfront in several successive locations through the years. In 1849 the U.S. federal government constructed a neoclassical building on State Stree ...

. Hugh White, a British private 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 R ...

on guard by the

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

, overheard this and arrived to aid Goldfinch as Garrick mocked the captain-lieutenant for his negligence to pay a bill due to one of the apprentices of John Piemont, which, in fact, had been paid. When White yelled at Garrick, telling him to show more respect to Goldfinch, Garrick responded only with an exchange of insults and a poke. Fed up, White struck Garrick in the head with his musket, causing him to fall and cry out in pain. Upon this, Broaders and other youths began to argue with White and insult him, drawing a large crowd of civilians. Garrick, bleeding, fled to a British

barrack Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

, where he spread the word of his injury to a crowd in front of it. This crowd included John Green, a Bostonian tailor who would later testify at the Boston Massacre trials. Meanwhile, the chaos that was ongoing at the Custom House resulted in the Massacre.

After the Massacre

Bartholomew Broaders gave a short account of what happened the evening of March 5 in which Garrick is mentioned talking to British soldier Sergeant Daniels before the Massacre. Broaders' story was published in 1775 and found online. Garrick was first to testify at the Queen Street Courthouse, where Thomas Preston was charged for manslaughter at the Massacre. At the trial, Garrick said only the following: There are no later records describing of Garrick's later life and death, and he is not listed in ''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution,'' a historical document listing

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

soldiers serving in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. A book entitled ''The United States Declaration of Independence (Revisited)'' is one of the few sources that acknowledges his role in the Massacre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrick, Edward 18th-century American artisans Boston Massacre People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution 1750s births American children 18th century in Boston Artisans from Boston