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... from Nova Scotia were staying, tensions soared. More fights were breaking out around the city. On March 2, 1770, a certain Private Walker was walking past Sam Gray's rope shop, a shop for colonists who lacked any one specific talent, but needed a job. When William Green, a rope worker, saw him and asked if he would like a job, the soldier said that he would like a job.
At this William Green replied, "Then go and clean my little-house. " Little-house, back then meant out house. This made the soldier mad and he threw a punch at the rope worker. The soldier was driven off when William Green whistled for his coworker's assistance. The soldier later returned with more men, but the rope workers drove them off again. One more time the soldier came back with more men who were also armed with batons.
The rope workers fought back with the planks of wood they used to twist rope with; and for the last time the soldiers were driven, however both the soldiers and the rope workers both new they were destined to meet again. On the morning of March 5, 1770 the city awoke with no notion in their minds that people were going to die on this day. The word that was traveling around the city was that the rope workers, and the soldiers involved in the fight were going to finish what was started. When night fell everything went sour. Edward Garrick a young apprentice was with a group of other young men. Garrick was taunting a soldier, when another soldier who came to back the original soldier up came and said to Garrick, "come closer so I can see your face. " When the boy did so the soldier hit him on the head with the butt of his musket.
The news of the boy being hit traveled fast through the city and pretty soon there was a mob of people surrounding and yelling at the soldier who had hit the boy. Captain Thomas Preston was watching what was going on through a near by window. He rounded up some men and marched out to King Street, to come to the rescue of one of his soldiers. When he had arrived the crowd had grown to about three hundred people. He ordered his men into a semi circle. The crowd saw them raise their muskets, but did not run, because they were under the impression that the soldiers could not fir without orders from their commanding officer.
Soon the bells from the church began ringing, which meant that there was a fire. This caused everyone to come rushing out of their homes and join the crowd. In all the confusion a musket shot silenced all, Private Hugh Montgomery fired the shot. Although his shot did not hit anyone, this act inspired more shooting. Private Mathew Killroy's follow up shot was more successful than Private Montgomery's. Killroy's shot hit Sam Gray in the face blowing a hole through his head.
More shots rang out and a black man named Crispus Attucks fell to the ground with two musket balls in his chest. There were shouts from the crowd advising the colonists to charge while the soldiers were reloading, but as soon as they started running more shots were heard. Two musket balls hit James Caldwell in the chest he dropped to the ground where he stood. Another shot struck an Irish immigrant running back to a shop. The shot was said to have "went through his right hip and tore away part of his backbone and seriously injured the hip bone. " Samuel Maverick a seventeen-year-old boy was running back to his home when a musket ball ricocheted and struck him in the chest. Two colonists had now been killed, three were on their deathbeds, and six others lay wounded.
The colonists needed to take a minute to comprehend and realize what had just taken place on King Street in Boston. Captain Preston was outraged, he was running up the line of soldiers pushing guns to the air yelling "cease fire. " Preston ordered his men back to the barracks. Boston was soon ringing the bells calling out the militia, the word traveling around was that the British troops intended on massacring the whole city. The council sent letters to other towns to send their militias. Preston watched as the crowd grew from around three hundred, to over a thousand.
He called out the whole twenty-ninth regiment to march out side with him. Governor Hutchinson was sent for to try to calm things down. He said that "The law shall have its course. " and for the people to all go home. Some of the crowd left at his words but others weren't so willing. So he ordered that the British go back to their barracks. Once they had left the crowd dispersed.
Captain Preston was arrested at 2: 00 AM. He was tried and put in jail to await further sentencing. The eight soldiers involved were isolated to the barracks and were to be jailed the following morning. Boston was not going to rest until someone was punished for these acts of unnecessary murder. For some reason the judge decided to hold the trial for the soldiers on a different date then the trial of Captain Preston. The two attorneys selected to defend the soldiers and Captain Preston were John Adams and Josiah Quincy Jr.
Captain Preston's trial began at 8: 00 AM on the morning of October 24, 1770. The trial did not last long, and no documentation of Captain Preston's trial made it through time. The jury found Thomas Preston not guilty of ordering his men to fire into the crowd. Thomas Preston was freed, however he sought refuge at Castle William. The angry citizens did not waste their time going after Preston, for they did not blame him for what happened they blames the soldiers who were to be tried shortly after. The trial of the soldiers was on November 27, 1770.
the two attorneys who defended Thomas Preston were defending the soldiers as well. All the soldiers pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. It took the jury only two and a half hours to reach a verdict for the soldiers. One by one the judge called up the prisoners, and the jury read off the verdicts for each, they were all pronounced not guilty for both charges. When they reached Mathew Killroy, and Hugh Montgomery the verdicts were a little different. The jury said that they were not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Back then you were sentenced to death if you were Guilty of manslaughter. When the two soldiers were asked why they should not be sentenced to death they both replied, "Benefit of the clergy. " This was a legal device that let first offenders off without punishment, priest used it. They were not put to death. They were set free, but only after they had been branded on the thumb.
The Boston Massacre was an event that only strengthened colonial America's hatred toward the British nation. People could answer the question of whether or no the Boston Massacre was truly a massacre differently. In my mind, yes, it was a massacre, I believe this because in the dictionary it states that a massacre is, "The unnecessary, and indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings or animals. " I would have to say five people is a large number of human beings to kill in one sitting. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lukes, Bonnie L. 2000. The Boston Massacre. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.
Freedman, Russell. 2000. Give Me Liberty. Library in congress cataloging-in-publication data. Hull, Mary E. 1999.
The Boston Tea Party. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers. Stout, Neil R. 1976. The Perfect Crisis.
New York, NY: New York University Press. web web web
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