<P> The crowd eventually dispersed after Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson promised an inquiry , but the crowd re-formed the next day , prompting the withdrawal of the troops to Castle Island . Eight soldiers , one officer , and four civilians were arrested and charged with murder . Defended by lawyer and future American president John Adams , six of the soldiers were acquitted , while the other two were convicted of manslaughter and given reduced sentences . The men found guilty of manslaughter were sentenced to branding on their hand . Depictions , reports , and propaganda about the event , notably the colored engraving produced by Paul Revere ( shown at top - right ) , further heightened tensions throughout the Thirteen Colonies . </P>
<P> The crowd eventually dispersed after Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson promised an inquiry , but the crowd re-formed the next day , prompting the withdrawal of the troops to Castle Island . Eight soldiers , one officer , and four civilians were arrested and charged with murder . Defended by lawyer and future American president John Adams , six of the soldiers were acquitted , while the other two were convicted of manslaughter and given reduced sentences . The men found guilty of manslaughter were sentenced to branding on their hand . Depictions , reports , and propaganda about the event , notably the colored engraving produced by Paul Revere ( shown at top - right ) , further heightened tensions throughout the Thirteen Colonies . </P>
who won the trial of the boston massacre
who won the trial of the boston massacre
John Adams
John Adams