On the evening of March, the fifth, it being a Monday, several soldier of the 29th Regiment committed brutal acts of bloodshed and violence against several of our young men while under the command of Captain Preston. There are those who are loudly proclaiming this act to be merely the soldiers defending themselves against malicious intent from colonist, however it is unfathomable to this writer how any person could fail to see this event anything but the needless bloodbath that it was.
It is hard to comprehend the vindictive and cruel spirits of the soldiers who attacked that day. Why they would rush upon and several injure many harmless and more often than not, unarmed citizens. Account’s of the day, describe it thusly, “On hearing the noise, one Samuel Atwood came up to see what was the matter… he met the ten or twelve soldiers aforesaid rushing down the alley towards the square and asked them if they intended to murder people? They answered Yes, by G-d, root and branch! With that one of them struck Mr. Atwood with a club which was repeated by another; …show more content…
He claims that a general attack was made upon his men which forced them to retaliate, “On this a general attack was made on the men by a great number of heavy clubs and snowballs being thrown at them, by which all our lives were in imminent danger” (Captain Preston’s account of the Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770) At this point, the author feels it necessary to mention that other accounts primarily recount only some young boys throwing snowballs. “This occasioned some snowballs to be thrown at them which seems to have been the only provocation that was given.” (Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770) I found it difficult to conjure any reason why this, although annoying, almost entirely harmless prank should have warranted the firing of weapons and charging with
It is hard to comprehend the vindictive and cruel spirits of the soldiers who attacked that day. Why they would rush upon and several injure many harmless and more often than not, unarmed citizens. Account’s of the day, describe it thusly, “On hearing the noise, one Samuel Atwood came up to see what was the matter… he met the ten or twelve soldiers aforesaid rushing down the alley towards the square and asked them if they intended to murder people? They answered Yes, by G-d, root and branch! With that one of them struck Mr. Atwood with a club which was repeated by another; …show more content…
He claims that a general attack was made upon his men which forced them to retaliate, “On this a general attack was made on the men by a great number of heavy clubs and snowballs being thrown at them, by which all our lives were in imminent danger” (Captain Preston’s account of the Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770) At this point, the author feels it necessary to mention that other accounts primarily recount only some young boys throwing snowballs. “This occasioned some snowballs to be thrown at them which seems to have been the only provocation that was given.” (Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770) I found it difficult to conjure any reason why this, although annoying, almost entirely harmless prank should have warranted the firing of weapons and charging with