The Boston Massacre
This is Tyair Sallam, reporting live from Boston, in position to inform news upon the Boston "Bloody" Massacre across the colonies. The British had repealed almost all of the Townshend Acts! The repeal of the Townshend Acts brought peace and stability to the colonies, but only temporarily. Colonist newspapers portrays the British as tyrants, "lobster backs", who are willing to kill people who stood up for their rights. Bostonians referred to the British troops stationed there as "lobster backs" due to the red coats they wore. As violence against customs officers in Boston upraised, Britain dispatched roughly 1,000 troops to the city of Boston to maintain order. Twenty minutes later, the troops had killed or wounded 11 people.
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Captain Preston claimed guards came to and informed him that the town inhabitants were assembling to attack the troops and went toward the Custom House where the king's money is lodged. A crowd of colonists began taunting and throwing snowballs at a British solider guarding the Custom House. Captain Thomas Preston stated that the mob increased and were more outrageous, striking their clubs or bludgeons one against another, and calling out come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare. His call for help brought Captain Thomas and a squad of soldiers. "The officer on guard was Captain Preston, who was with seven or eight soldiers, with firearms and charged bayonets...", statement mentioned by Samuel Drowne [a witness]. Samuel Drowne also stated, "There was much foul language, between them, and some of them, in consequence if his pushing at them with his bayonet, threw snowballs at him, which occasioned him to knock hastily at the door of the Custom House". Crowds constantly heckled and harassed the troops. "They immediately surrounded the sentry posted there, and with the clubs and other weapons threatened to execute their vengeance on him...", statement given by Caption Thomas Preston. In the midst of the tumult, the troops began firing into the
After the shooting, the people of Boston demanded that the soldiers be tried and executed for the shooting. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. This whole incident is outrageous. There isn't any need to result to violence when something goes wrong.
This is Robert Wood reporter extraordinaire reporting live from the scene of the Boston Massacre. Eight bodies lie on the ground covered in bullet wounds, while six others are being medically treated. It appears a misfiring occurred when the colonists and British soldiers were in a heated argument. Someone dared the soldiers to fire their arms at unarmed people and indeed they did. The commander of these troops stated that he told the to cease fire but the soldiers continued their assault.
Colonist Perspective On the evening of March 5, 1770, five innocent civilians were brutally murdered in the streets of Boston at the hands of corrupt British Red Coats. Our brothers and sisters, we peacefully protesting the corrupt, British imposed taxation without our representation. Among those whose lives were taken was Crispus Attucks, a former Black slave. The brutality expressed by the British is foreshadowing for more restrictions and intervention to come. The only way we can defeat British corruption is by coming together as one under this pertinent cause.
Although they wielded the guns that killed five civilians, the trials of the British soldiers shows how they retained innocence in the murder of the Bostonians. If not for the violent assaults dealt by the Bostonians, the soldiers never would have needed to fire upon the rioters in order to defend themselves. However it went down, the Boston Massacre is one of the most overlooked events in world history. The spark of the Boston Massacre grew into the Revolutionary War. The anger of the outcome of the trial led colonists to events such as the Boston Tea Party, the First Continental Congress, and eventually the American Revolution.
“By this fatal maneuver three men were laid dead on the spot and two more struggling for life; but what showed a degree of cruelty unknown to British troops, at least since the house of Hanover has directed their operation, was an attempt to fire upon or push with their bayonets the persons who undertook to remove the slain and wounded!” When the colonists tried to help their injured friends, the soldiers took it upon themselves to fire upon those who tried to help. This is an example of how little the soldiers cared about the wellbeing of the
At this point, the anti-British fever in Boston was rampant. To calm the
They said you Centinel, damned rascally scoundrel lobster son of a bitch.” Cruikshanks also describes how the Centinel warned the colonists that if they attacked or harmed him or his men, the Centinel would have to take action. This proves that the soldiers did not spontaneously attack without warning; instead, they warned the mob that they will act in self-defense if threatened. The mob knew that the consequences, and yet they chose to continue. Captain Thomas Preston, a British soldier, said “the mob still increased and were more outrageous, striking their clubs or bludgeons one against another, and calling out, come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, God damn you, fire and be damned… all our lives were in imminent danger.”
For about seven years British soldiers were living around Boston. The Americans called them “Redcoats“ and “Lobsterbacks” because they wore red coats. Some of the Americans did not like the “Redcoats”. The British and Americans were not getting along well. The colonists knew another Battle was coming.
During the battle, William Hull of Franklin reported seeing that, “the scene was terrible when hand to hand fighting began. In the midst of the fight, we saw seven young bucks each take one of the soldiers horses, (the soldiers having been killed by the first volley) and galloped toward the
General Howe, who was the senior officer present believed the hill was "open and easy of ascent and in short would be easily carried”. and General Burgoyne agreed, saying that the "untrained rabble" would be no match for their "trained troops" the British didn't attack the fort until the next day. Before their attack the British fired “Hot Shot” at Charleston setting the entire city on fire and forcing the snipers to flee. At 2:00 pm the British started to ferry over an army of 2,000 infantrymen to “scare them off”, but as we know that did not work. When the Brits landed on the beach they made a giant row and started to march up the hill.
One day, this rivalry led to a disaster on the streets of Boston. It was March 5, 1770, and a group of particularly fiery Bostonians were taunting the soldiers. They were getting closer and closer to the troops, and without warning, the soldiers opened fire on the citizens. The troops ended up killing five Bostonians. Sam Adams, a Patriot, called the event “a horrid massacre.”
According to the news article provided, British soldiers that were protecting British officials in Boston meaninglessly attacked citizens during the night. While roaming the streets of Boston, a group of four young men passed by a British barrack when a soldier began to attack the passing men, Edward Archbald and William Merchant. John Hicks, a young man discovered the situation and knocked the soldiers off the others back into their barrack which they soon returned armed. Samuel Atwood heard the disruption and ran into the fleeing young men followed by the British troops and asked them if they intended to harm- they affirmed and struck Mr. Atwood. Hurt, Samuel Atwood retreated to his whereabouts and came across two British officers and asked
Two named Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr, died later. After the violent event, Captain Preston and his men were taken to court, defended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy II, and two soldiers were found guilty of murder. This insane event led to the evacuation of the British army from Boston. Also, this event played a crucial role in initiating the American Revolution. I have never deeply studied the Boston Massacre, so I found the articles I read about the event extremely interesting.
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot”. They were throwing sticks, snowballs, and trash at a group of British troops. The loyalists got very annoyed with the patriots so they shot into the mob killing five. The riot began when around 50 colonists attacked a British sentinel. A British officer called in for additional troops
The Boston Massacre is an event most Americans and British students learn about over the course of their education. In America, we learn that British soldiers fired upon innocent civilians, although this may not have been the case. British historians have referred to the Boston Massacre as the "Incident on King Street". After looking over the "Captain Thomas Preston 's Account of the Boston Massacre", as well as "Boston Massacre Trial Depositions" I believe that American historians should refer to the "Boston Massacre" as the "Incident on King Street". The definition of a massacre refers to an unnecessary and random killing of a large number of individuals.