What Happened To Captain Preston's Shooting?

On March 5, 1770, British soldiers were badgered to the point of outrage by a small group of boys (Wheeler and Becker, 75). The soldiers eventually retaliated at the group and the church bells started ringing alarming the town that a fire had broken out only leading the numbers in the crowd to increase (Wheeler and Becker, 75). Captain Thomas Preston and his sentry were called to the scene to assist. However, their attempts to redirect the crowd were unsuccessful. It is at this point that a musket was fired and the situation continued to escalate leaving some dead and others wounded (Wheeler and Becker, 75). Was Captain Thomas Preston guilty of murder by ordering his soldiers to fire? Or was he innocent and the soldiers fired out of provocation and their own volition? Let us take a moment to examine the evidence which was solely based on eyewitness testimonies. According to Captain Preston, when he arrived to the commotion the crowd was still continuing to grow and becoming increasingly belligerent (Wheeler and Becker, 81). He then attempted to redirect both the crowd and
soldiers which proved unavailing (Wheeler and Becker, 81). A stick struck a soldier and he responsively fired. Thereafter, the soldiers were attacked by clubs and snowballs placing them in inevitable peril where someone in the crowd begins yelling fire (Wheeler and Becker, 81). As a result, a couple of the soldiers started firing immediately. Captain Preston reprimanded the soldiers, who were under the impression the command came from him, for firing without his orders (Wheeler and Becker, 81). In respects to the eyewitness statements made, there were far more corroborating testimonies reinforcing Captain Preston's account of what happened on that evening, some of whom stood within very close proximities of the massacre including Ebenezer Hinkley and Theodore Bliss (Wheeler and Becker, 82, 84). Peter Cunningham, who only stood four feet from the Captain, stated that he heard no commands for fire and only heard Captain Preston order the soldiers to load their guns (Wheeler and Becker, 83). In his statement, Matthew Murray stood Darby 2 within two yards of Captain Preston, confirming that he had heard no such orders and was looking at the Captain when the firing occurred (Wheeler and Becker, 87).
According to Richard Palmes, he asked the Captain if he intended to fire to which he replied "by no means" (Wheeler and Becker, 86). Another witness, William Wyatt, who was also very close to the disturbance, alleged that the mob was yelling fire and Captain Preston did reprimand his men for firing without his orders (Wheeler and Becker, 83). James Woodall confirmed that a stick causing the soldier to instantaneously fire struck a soldier. He ascertained that the Captain did not give the order to fire (Wheeler and Becker, 88). Consistent with all the testimonies, Edward Hill observed the Captain ordering one of his soldiers to put away his gun stating that he "have done mischief enough" (Wheeler and Becker,
86). In the small excerpt of the trial analyzed, the remaining few statements either seem to implausibly conflict with the majority depositions given or provided little inclination that Captain Thomas Preston was guilty. Take Jane Whitehouse's statement for example. Unlike the other corroborations, she did not admit to seeing this stick that caused a soldier to fire. According to her recollections, a man, who she was positive was not the Captain, ordered one of the men to fire to which he did directly upon the word (Wheeler and Becker, 87). Diman Morton seems to validate Jane Whitehouse's testimony when he alleged that he heard one gun after another when the soldiers were dared to fire (Wheeler and Becker, 85). In addition, Nathaniel Fosdick revealed in his testimony that he saw nothing thrown but observed a man who fired only after an effort to push the crowd (Wheeler and Becker, 85). Although none of them proclaimed to have seen the provocation let on by the stick thrown argued in earlier testimonies, each of the testimonies differed as to what caused the first man to fire. It is legally credible in such a case where no facts were presented and the jury's decision relied exclusively on eyewitness testimonies, that Captain Thomas Preston was found and in my opinion innocent, based on the statements analyzed.