Boston Massacre

 

The Incident

 Involving the deaths of five civilians from British troops on March 5, 1770, the result helped spark the rebellion in British colonies in America which resulted in the American Revolution. A situation due to a large British military presence in Boston boiled over to brawls between soldiers and civilians, and led to troops discharging their muskets after being attacked by a rioting crowd. Three civilians were killed immediataly, and two died after the incident

The Event

The incident started on King Street on March 5, in front of Private Hugh White. A young wigmaker's apprentice named Edward Garrick called out to a British officer, John Goldfinch, that he had not paid his master's bill. Goldfinch had in fact settled his account and did not reply to the insult and continued on his way. Garrick departed, then returned a couple of hours later with companions and continued quite vocal in his complaints. The civilians threw snowballs at the British sentry. He exchanged insults with Private Hugh White, who left his post and challenged the boy, then struck him on the side of the head with his musket. As Garrick cried in pain, one of his companions, Bartholomew Broaders, exchanged insults with Hugh White. This attracted a larger crowd.

The mob grew in size and continued harassing Private White. As bells rang in the surrounding steeples, the crowd of Bostonians grew larger and more threatening. Private White left his sentry box and retreated to the Custom House stairs with his back to a locked door. Nearby, from the Main Guard, the Officer of the Day, Captain THomas Preston , watched this situation escalate and, according to his account, dispatched a non-commissioned officer and several soldiers, with fixed bayonets, to relieve White. He and his subordinate, James Basset, followed soon afterward. Among these soldiers were Corporal William Wemms (apparently the non-commissioned officer mentioned in Preston's report), Hugh Montgomery, John Carroll, James Hartigan, William McCauley, William Warren and Matthew Kilroy. As this relief column moved forward to the now empty sentry box, the crowd pressed around them. When they reached this point they loaded their muskets and joined with Private White at the custom house stairs. As the crowd, estimated at 300 to 400, pressed about them, they formed a semicircular perimeter.

 Private Hugh Montgomery was hit by a club. When he stood up, he fired his musket,saying to one of his defense attorneys that someone had yelled fire. It is sauid that Captain Preston would not have told the soldiers to fire, he was standing in front of the guns, between his men and the crowd of protesters. However, the protesters in the crowd were taunting the soldiers by yelling "Fire", which may have caused the soldier to fire his musket. There was a pause, which lotz witnesses reported lasted from six seconds to two minutes. The soldiers then fired into the crowd. Their bursts hit 11 men. Three Americans—ropemaker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and a sailor of African American and Native American descent, Crispuss Attucks— died instantly. Seventeen-year-old Samuel Maverick, struck by a ricocheting musket ball at the back of the crowd, died a few hours later, in the early morning of the next day. Thirty-year-old Irish immigrant Patrick Carr died two weeks later. To keep the peace, the next day authorities agreed to remove all troops from the center of town to a fort on Castle Island in Boston Harbor. On March 27, the soldiers, Captain Preston, and four men who were in the Customs House and alleged to have fired shots were captured for murder.

The reenactment

 the Boston Massacre is reenacted on March 5, the anniversary of the incident. The reenactment is made by the Bostonian Society and takes place on the actual site of the massacre, in front of the Old State House.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7624911781284911498&q=bostonmassacre&total=146&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

Controversy

Several comments have been made about the Boston Massacre being called a "massacre". The British soldiers were being harassed by a drunken mob and felt their safety was at risk. Also, apart from the soldiers whom were charged for manslaughter the soldiers fired into the air instead of directly into the mob.

The number of soldiers involved in the incident and the origin of the shots has also been controversial. Preshooters and Captston , but only eight were finally tried in November 1770 . Several of the witnesses stated that shots came from the Custom House and the number of dying and wounded numbered 11.