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The Boston Massacre. March 5, 1770. Boston, Massachusetts, Circa 1770. What we know happened. A crowd (or mob) of Bostonians approached and began yell at a group of seven or eight British soldiers and their commanding officer, Captain Thomas Preston.
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The Boston Massacre March 5, 1770
What we know happened. • A crowd (or mob) of Bostonians approached and began yell at a group of seven or eight British soldiers and their commanding officer, Captain Thomas Preston.
British soldiers of the time were nicknamed “Lobsterbacks”
What we know happened. • Preston and his men were coming to the aid of a lone British Sentry (guard) in front of the Custom’s House (Seaport Tax Office).
What we know happened. • The crowd (or mob) surrounded the group of soldiers under Captain Preston’s command. • Captain Preston’s efforts to get the crowd (or mob) to calm down and disperse (go home) failed.
What we know happened. • The crowd (or mob) was calling the soldiers things far worse than “lobsterback”. • The crowd started throwing things.
What we know happened. • A musket was fired at the crowd (or mob). • This first shot was immediately followed by more shots.
What we know happened. • The crowd (or mob) quickly went home. • The soldiers and Captain Preston went back to their barracks (the buildings where groups of soldiers live). • Five Bostonians were dead or dying.
What we know happened. • People were angry.
Questions • Did the soldiers fire with provocation? • Did they fire on their own? • Was Captain Preston guilty of ordering his men to fire into a crowd of civilians? • Was Preston innocent and being used by men like Samuel Adams to confirm the oft-claimed tyranny of England?
A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston. • Printed by Order of the Town of Boston. • THE HORRIDMASSACRE IN BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT
Crispus Attucks This is a mid 1850s depiction of the attack.
Why isn’t Crispus Attucks in the engraving? • Bias? • Racism? • Personal Animosity? • Lack of knowledge? • Another reason.
Questions • Did the soldiers fire with provocation? • Did they fire on their own? • Was Captain Preston guilty of ordering his men to fire into a crowd of civilians? • Was Preston innocent and being used by men like Samuel Adams to confirm the oft-claimed tyranny of England?
What happened after the Boston Massacre? The soldiers were put on trial.
March 13, 1770 • A grand jury indicts Captain Preston and eight soldiers are indicted for murder in connection with the massacre.
September 7, 1770 • Preston and the soldiers are formally arraigned on charges of murder. All plead "Not Guilty."
October 24-30, 1770 • Captain Preston is tried. A jury acquits Preston after the evidence fails to establish that he gave the order to fire.
November 27, 1770 • The trial of the eight soldiers begins.
December 5, 1770 • Six of the soldiers are acquitted on all charges. Two soldiers, Montgomery and Killroy are convicted of manslaugter.
December 14, 1770 • Montgomery and Killroy plead "the benefit of clergy" to reduce their punishment to branding. Sheriff Greenleaf brands the two men on their right thumbs.
The Defense Attorney Speaks • “The part I took in the Defence of Cptn. Preston and the Soldiers . . . was one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my Country” • “As the evidence was, the verdict of the jury was exactly right.”
