ipl-logo

The Boston Massacre: Guilty Or Murder?

610 Words3 Pages

On March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd on King’s Street in Boston. Five people died and the soldiers were charged with murder. The events of the Boston Massacre made the colonies hunger for independence even stronger, however I believe that the soldiers are not guilty of committing murder. I will prove through historical accounts and eyewitness testimony that the British Soldiers are indeed not guilty of murder, but were acting purely out of self-defense.

William Sawyer, a Boston citizen, gave this account of the incident during the trial, “The people kept huzzaing. Damn’ em. Daring’ em to fire. Threw snow balls. I think they hit ‘em. As soon as the snowballs were thrown, and a club, a soldier fired. I heard the club strike upon the Gun and the corner man next the …show more content…

This was the first gun. As soon as he had fired he said “Damn you, fire”. I am so sure that I thought it was he that spoke. That next gun fired and so they fired through pretty quick.” According to John Adams HBO Mini Series, Captain Preston said during the trial that he was standing in front of the soldiers ordering them not to fire, but when one of his soldiers got hit in the head with a club he stood back up and fired into the crowd. After that, the rest of the soldiers fired. Due to the fact that a club was thrown from the crowd at a guard proves that the gun was fired out of self-defense. Daniel Cornwall, another Boston citizen who saw the events of the Boston Massacre, said this in his testimony, “Captain Preston was within two yards of me and before the men and nearest to the right and facing the Street. I was looking at him. Did not hear any order. He faced me. I think I should have heard him. I directly heard a voice say “Damn you, why do you fire? Don’t fire”. I thought it was the Captain’s then. I now

Show More
Related

  • Shatyra Wiley Report: The Boston Massacre

    165 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Captain Thomas Preston: Necessary Or Justified?

    1400 Words  | 6 Pages

    The facts of the case are that the Captain had been standing in front of the soldiers talking to someone at the time when the first gun went off, which would make giving an order to fire very senseless, considering that the Captain himself could have been shot. While he spoke with another person, another soldier was hit with an object causing him to unwittingly fire into the crowd and at that instant or immediately after, a man was seen talking to the soldiers from behind advising them to fire. Therefore, the tragic events that occurred that night was at first a terrible accident leading to a foolish act made by a man who had no right to tell any soldier to fire. This shows that Captain Thomas Preston had no part in this shooting other than being at the

    Read More

  • Who Is William Wright Go To Prison

    420 Words  | 2 Pages

    William undertook the job with the result aforesaid. He said McCampbell began shooting first and prevented him from leaving the store, and that he then fired two or three shots but not in the direction of McCampbell. William was not injured in the encounter.

    Read More

  • The Boston Massacre: The Bloody Massacre By Paul Revere

    509 Words  | 3 Pages

    On March 5th, 1770, the event now known as the Boston Massacre took place, in which about 5 colonists were killed after soldiers opened fire on a riot. The event led to the engraving entitled "The Bloody Massacre" by Paul Revere. Revere was a well known silversmith and leader of Patriots, the group against the British Parliament, who had been taxing them and not letting them live in the areas they wanted to live in. The group called the Sons of Liberty was a group of Patriots who had held protests against the British taxation and boycotted many British goods in retaliation. The Boston Massacre occurred after a British customs official killed the 11 year old Christopher Seider, followed by a large funeral held by the Sons of Liberty.

    Read More

  • Boston Massacre Dbq

    505 Words  | 3 Pages

    So overall I believe that the Soldiers were innocent and did not want to kill colonists, that makes the Boston Massacre not a massacre at all just a act of self

    Read More

  • Was The Boston Massacre An Accident?

    166 Words  | 1 Pages

    The colonists was throwing snowballs and had no other way to protect themselves. On the other hand the Redcoats had to protect themselves also. Based on other sources I was given in multiple court trials the court room discussed what happened in the Boston Massacre. It was both the colonists and the redcoats fault.

    Read More

  • What Did We Learn About The Boston Massacre

    536 Words  | 3 Pages

    This lesson was effective because it showed you what different people thought of the same event. In many people 's accounts it was biased, but others close to what we believe is the truth. An example of a biased depiction of the Massacre is Paul Revere 's engraving, which he actually copied from Henry Pelham. It depicts a line of British soldiers firing on unarmed colonists, and the British commander giving them an order to fire, while in real life the colonists were taunting the British and has weapons such as sticks, snowballs and small knives. Also, only one British soldier fired after a colonist hit him with a stick, which proves that while Revere 's engraving is famous, it is not even close to accurate.

    Read More

  • The Boarded Window Essay

    484 Words  | 2 Pages

    He heard the drop of the body, even over the echo of the gunshot ringing throughout the terrain. His curiosity peaked. He wanted to look over to make sure he confirmed the kill, but he knew that if he looked he could be killed by another sniper off in the distance. Instead of looking, he flees when the time is right. Soon after he made it home.

    Read More

  • The Boston Massacre Or Accident?

    318 Words  | 2 Pages

    There were many possibilities that it was an accident. One way it was an accident is the colonists were hitting the British’s guns with sticks and one could have fired from getting hit with a stick. Then it was just a chain of events leading to all the other firings. Another way the Boston Massacre was an accident

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: The Revolutionary War

    685 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, I have proven that the Colonists should be held accountable for the first shot that fired on April, 19th 1775. Based on information documented prior to the first shot of the revolutionary war, The colonists were proven to be the angriest between the two groups. They had a reason to fire at the British first. On the other hand though, the British weren 't. They were proven to not have as much enterprise to defeat the Colonists. They were fighting only to defend themselves.

    Read More

  • Boston Massacre Research Paper

    641 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this event, the British soldiers clearly felt threatened and the colonists were instigating trying to pick a fight with them. Another reason that proves that the British are innocent is that Captain Preston was standing in front of his soldiers. In addition, there was a misfire which led to the start of the soldiers to shoot. They also fired because they believed that Captain

    Read More

  • The Boston Massacre: Murder Or Self Defense?

    280 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although there are many historians that go back and forth between believing that the Boston Massacre was murder or self defense. But it is clear that is was an act of murder on the part of the Red-Coat soldiers. There were many pieces of evidence leaning onto the side of murder, the first one being that every murder has a motive right? This motive involved a colonist named Samuel Gray and a soldier named Killroy. A day before the massacre happened, Killroy and Samuel got in a fight in Samuels shop.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Boston Massacre

    558 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Boston Massacre: The Incident On King Street

    735 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • One Shot Narrative

    3065 Words  | 13 Pages

    I yelled in vain, even as I covered him. As soon as he made it, I felt a pang of relief in my heart. The weapon was already loaded, so he immediately began to open fire on our enemy. I must admit, his fire power mixed with ours pushed them back a little.

    Read More

More about The Boston Massacre: Guilty Or Murder?

Open Document