Captain Preston: The Boston Massacre

After analyzing the video about the Boston Massacre, what it should be called depends all on which side you took. Patriots would have took this as a massacre because, not only would it blame the British, but their people were also considered "slaughtered". Thus, to the Patriots, this would be considered a massacre. However, for the Loyalists and British, this would be considered a riot. A crowd of colonists threw snowballs, stones, oyster shells, and even wood at British soldiers. This was basically a disturbance of peace, or a riot. The soldiers had the right of defending themselves, so I do understand the reasons for shooting, but killing wasn't necessary. In the end however, in my opinion, without being biased to any sides, the Boston Massacre should be considered a riot.

Most of the time it is for the greater good of the strategy put in place. However, in the case of what happened in Boston, the soldiers heard a different order than what was commanded by Captain Thomas Preston. According to Newton Prince, the crowd kept daring the soldiers with words such as “Damn you why don’t you fire?” and even called them lobsters. A constant taunting will cause uneasiness with anyone, causing the feeling of distress. When in a state of distress, it is common for people to become more sensitive to surroundings and even confuse voices. When hearing the word “fire” continuously from the crowd, it would only make sense that the soldiers confused one of the attacker’s voices with the captains as it was dark out and hard to tell that it was not the Captain’s. However, it was not the Captain’s because multiple witnesses, such as Newton Prince, Matthew Murray, and Peter Cunningham, were standing within four feet of him and did not hear or see the word “fire” come from his lips. Captain price did say the words “Don’t fire, stop your firing”. With all of the noise coming from the crowd it is possible that the soldiers did not hear the whole sentence and thought the orders were to continue firing. There was too much commotion for a dark

On the evening of March 5, 1770, with a foot of snow on the ground, groups of Bostonians gathered around the Custom House on King Street. Some had buckets of water, after responding to a fire alarm. Others had clubs to defend themselves or perhaps to threaten the despised “lobsterbacks.” Private Hugh White was, in fact, being threatened by several wigmakers’ apprentices (Aron 24). When Captain Thomas Preston heard of Private White’s situation, he came with seven other soldiers to help. Words escalated into snowballs and stones, and the soldiers began to fight back with the butts of their guns. The crowd of Bostonians was growing and now numbered about 100 (24). Then, a huge chunk of ice came flying in from the mob and knocked

The tension between the colonies and Britain was nothing new. There were several occasions where the colonies became greatly infuriated with the unpleasant treatment they were receiving. Prior to the year 1770, much of the outcry came from the acts passed by the British government, such as the Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Declaratory Act (“A Timeline of the American Revolution”). Even though the colonists were infuriated, it would take something more to push them over the edge. This something would turn out to be what is now called the Boston Massacre. Although the Boston Massacre won’t go down as the deadliest massacre in American history, it will go down as one of the most pivotal turning points due to the colonists’ depiction of the event.

The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores'; (Mahin 1). A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.     

Similar to the way that the colonial and British perspectives greatly varied for the Boston Massacre, their opinions are once again vastly different for the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this event as well, both parties attempt to place the blame on the other which is not unusual due the nature of the sources. However, this highlights the large amount of bias evident in all of the accounts. For the colonial perspective, there are two statements, each from a member of a colonial militia that fought during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Both of these sources place the blame on the British soldiers and claim that the British fired first, killing several colonists. One account, from the Battle of North Bridge, claims that the colonists were ordered to hold their fire and that they didn’t fire until the British opened fire upon them. The other account, from soldier who fought during the skirmish at the Lexington Green, states that the colonists did not even get a single shot off, at least not before the soldier whose account this is was wounded. This source also claims that the British commanding officers were yelling at and insulting the colonists as their ranks closed on the milita. Both these sources are very similar to the colonial perspectives of the Boston Massacre because they all place the blame on the British soldiers and attempt to make themselves appear as the victims.

The diary entry by John Tudor stated that there had been a brutal massacre on King Street in front of the Customhouse by approximately eight soldiers. This murder took place under the command of Captain Thomas Preston. The massacre started by a group of young men that were having a snowball fight, but quickly drew the attention of many, ending in Captain Thomas Preston commanding his soldiers to shoot. The diary stated that Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson was going to do everything he could do to get justice for those killed. Justice Dana and Tudor gave a warrant for Captain Preston to High Sheriff, which ended with the arrest of Captain Preston and the arrest of the eight soldiers. It was no longer safe for the troops to be in the town because everyone hates them, so Lieutenant Governor called for the immediate removal of the troops from the town to Castle William.

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Massacre was a small riot between the colonists and British soldiers. Evidence supports that the colonists were to blame for the events that led to the Boston Massacre, which resulted in five colonial deaths.

Before America was America people fought a war where theoretically they should not have won. After the war ended, they came out victors, but at the price of losing thousands of men. “We are fallen into the most unhappy times, when even innocence itself is nowhere safe!” (Boston Gazette, February 1770). This excerpt shows that the people in the colonies were angry and wanted change. There was sufficient cause for the American colonists to take up arms and rebel against the British government because people have the right to privacy, and Britain was not giving it to them.

The Boston Massacre was an extremely important event in American History. Also, it a very controversial topic. To this day, no one can really give an accurate description of the events that transpired. The Boston Massacre was not a random event at all; many actions led up to the massacre. As a result of this disaster, America was changed forever and sent on a road towards revolution. The Boston Massacre was a defining moment in American history.

On March 5, 1770, there was a clash between a “patriot” mob throwing snowballs, stones and sticks, and a party of British soldiers, armed with charged bayonets. (Document 2). There was a massacre on March 5, 1770, in Boston, because the British men overreacted and killed colonists in an unfair way. The first reason why it was a massacre was the cruelty of the British. The evidence that supports my claim is when the colonists were provoking the British with snowballs and such, the British captain commanded his troops to fire, yelling, “Damn you, fire, be the consequence what it will!”

If you don’t know who Captain Preston is, he is the captain of the group of soldiers. Some people say that he was the one that told the soldiers to fire. It even shows him raising his hand to fire in Paul Revere’s engraving. It is not certain that, this is what happened because there is no other proof but the engraving. From what I have heard Captain Preston was telling the soldiers not to fire.

The Boston Massacre is one of the most controversial events in American history that occurred in Boston before the American Revolution. Certainly, it has a fundamental role in the development of America as a nation, which led it to have a huge motivation for revolution. A heavy British military presence and having very high taxes in the country were some of the main reasons that made Boston citizens very irritated. Thus, there were already many disagreements and tensions between inhabitants and the British that could have led to the Massacre. In this essay, I will carefully analyze three primary sources, and compare these to the interpretation given by HBO’s John Adams. In my view, these sources can be

What happened on March 5th 1770 one may ask, it what we call the Boston massacre. In short the Boston massacre was a shooting done by British navy guards, killing 5 people and injuring 6 others. Captain Thomas Preston was in charge of the 8 or 9 soldiers who were firing. The shooting was caused by undisciplined British soldiers who were angry with American Protestors called patriots. There are many things in this story that contribute to the notion of undisciplined soldier like personal biases, not following orders, and soldier brutality towards protestors.

The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores”. A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.