It is important to know the timeline of the massacre because it helps to put the event into context so we can understand why and how it happened. If you want to read more about the American Revolution, check out this article on the best books on the American Revolution. Sources: Allison, Robert. The Boston Massacre.
The eight British soldiers accused of murder were tried separately from their officer Captain Preston. As a result of the trial, six soldiers were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense, but two were found guilty of murder because of the overpowering proof that they fired into the crowd. Discover Machu Picchu and Peru with its rich history, culture, ancient Inca civilization and travel information.
Boston Massacre Historical Society. Historic Timeline It took only few hours for the tragic events to unfold on the evening in March of , starting from a confrontation with the British regulars and ending with the death of five colonists. Governor Hutchinson calls for calm. A group of angry citizens gather in Faneuil Hall, where they call for the immediate removal of all British troops. John Adams and Josiah Quincy agree to defend Preston and the soldiers. The first four victims of the massacre are buried in the Granary Burying Ground.
All shops are closed. Church bells ring throughout the city of Boston. Captain Preston offers his views of the events of March 5 in a deposition. A grand jury indicts Captain Preston and eight soldiers are indicted for murder in connection with the massacre. A frigate carrying reports and letters of Hutchinson relating the events of March 5 leaves Boston bound for England. Advice from London concerning the handling of prosecutions for deaths and injuries resulting from the March 5 shootings reaches Hutchinson.
Preston's account of events, and complaints about the Boston public, are published in the London paper, Public Advertiser. Captain Preston's London letter, much to his dismay, is published in Boston papers, turning public sentiment against him. The narrative is seen as an attempt to influence potential jurors in the upcoming trials. Preston and the soldiers are formally arraigned on charges of murder. Within hours, Preston and his soldiers were arrested and jailed and the propaganda machine was in full force on both sides of the conflict.
Preston wrote his version of the events from his jail cell for publication, while Sons of Liberty leaders such as John Hancock and Samuel Adams incited colonists to keep fighting the British. As tensions rose, British troops retreated from Boston to Fort William.
Paul Revere encouraged anti-British attitudes by etching a now-famous engraving depicting British soldiers callously murdering American colonists. It showed the British as the instigators though the colonists had started the fight. It also portrayed the soldiers as vicious men and the colonists as gentlemen. It was later determined that Revere had copied his engraving from one made by Boston artist Henry Pelham.
It took seven months to arraign Preston and the other soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre and bring them to trial. Adams was no fan of the British but wanted Preston and his men to receive a fair trial. Certain that impartial jurors were nonexistent in Boston, Adams convinced the judge to seat a jury of non-Bostonians.
Eyewitnesses presented contradictory evidence on whether Preston had ordered his men to fire on the colonists. The remaining soldiers claimed self-defense and were all found not guilty of murder. Two of them—Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy—were found guilty of manslaughter and were branded on the thumbs as first offenders per English law. The Boston Massacre had a major impact on relations between Britain and the American colonists.
It further incensed colonists already weary of British rule and unfair taxation and roused them to fight for independence. The victims were troublemakers who got more than they deserved. Over the next five years, the colonists continued their rebellion and staged the Boston Tea Party , formed the First Continental Congress and defended their militia arsenal at Concord against the redcoats, effectively launching the American Revolution.
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