Examples Of What Really Happened At The Boston Massacre

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What Really Happened At The Boston Massacre?
Over the course of centuries, disputes amongst people have been prevalent throughout American history. As a result of the human tendency to disagree with each other, outburst of wars, massacres, and riots often occurred. An example of this is Boston Massacre, in which took place over two centuries ago, on March fifth, 1770. The Boston Massacre, also referred to as the Incident on King Street was a street fight that broke out between colonial residents and British Soldiers. One of the most common misconceptions about this event, roots form it's name. The Boston Massacre was not truly a massacre, in fact it only resulted in five deaths. It was more of a chaotic riot that arose from enraged colonist. …show more content…

Also, some witnesses claim to have heard Captain Preston give the order to fire. As Benjamin Burdick noted in his deposition in source C, he asked one of the British soldiers if he would fire. The soldier’s response was yes, followed by an intimidating push towards Burdick with his bayonet. Evidently, Preston had previously arranged plans for his soldiers to fire at the colonist, which may prove his guilt. The soldier would not have responded yes unless, this was an order given by the captain, before hand. They were fully aware of the consequences that came along with disobeying a captain’s order. In order to avoid punishments, soldiers were often obedient and loyal to their …show more content…

But many witness statements are biased and unreliable due to the amount of chaos during the time of the event. Peter Cunningham asserts he's pretty positive Captain Preston told the soldiers to prepare and fire (Cunningham Source C). However, giving an order to prepare to fire is completely from an order to actually fire. Surrounded by about 100 others yelling “fire”, Wyatt and the British soldiers claim to he have heard Preston’s order (Source B & C). This claim is highly implausible. How would they be able to distinguish Captain Preston’s voice, amongst several others yelling the exact same word, in a riot? Also, it was very dark and several people were moving around. It is not assured that Person, whom they believe has Preston was actually

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