A New Nation: The Bloody Massacre

John Overholt, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at Harvard’s Houghton Library, explores Paul Revere’s The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, one of the most influential and provocative images of the years leading up to the American Revolution. Produced just three weeks after British soldiers shot and killed five Bostonians on March 5, 1770, the engraving helped shape how the event was understood throughout the colonies.

Though best remembered for his midnight ride, Revere was also a skilled metalworker, printer, and engraver. His depiction of the Boston Massacre circulated widely and transformed a violent confrontation into a powerful political image that helped build support for the revolutionary cause.

The engraving is featured in War of Words, an exhibition at Houghton Library exploring the printed materials that shaped the American Revolution. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Learn more at library.harvard.edu/exhibits/war-words.