Memorial portrait of Crispus Attucks. "The brave soldier of the Revolutionary War, 1770." Crispus Attucks (1723 - March 5, 1770) may have been an American slave or freeman, merchant seaman and dockworker of Wampanoag and African descent. He was the first casualty of the Boston Massacre, and is widely considered to be the first American casualty in the American Revolutionary War. Little is known for certain about Attucks beyond that he, along with Samuel Gray and James Caldwell, died during the incident. Historians disagree on whether Attucks was a free man or an escaped slave; but agree that he was of Wampanoag and African descent. While the extent of his participation in events leading to the massacre is unclear, Attucks in the 18th century became an icon of the anti-slavery movement. In the early 19th century, as the abolitionist movement gained momentum in Boston, supporters lauded Attucks as an African-American who played a heroic role in the history of the United States. He was half Wampanoag, so his story also holds special significance for Native Americans.