The Boston Massacre: Separating Fact from Propaganda
What really happened on that snowy night in 1770? Spoiler: it wasn't quite the massacre the propaganda made it out to be.
The Boston Massacre: Separating Fact from Propaganda
We call it the Boston Massacre. Five colonists dead. British soldiers firing into a crowd. It’s one of the most famous events leading up to the American Revolution.
But here’s the thing: almost everything you think you know about it is wrong.
The Setup
March 5, 1770. Cold night. Snow on the ground. Tensions between British soldiers and Boston colonists at an all-time high.
A young wigmaker’s apprentice gets into it with a British officer over an unpaid bill. Words are exchanged. The apprentice gets hit. A crowd gathers.
By the time it’s over, five colonists are dead and six are wounded.
The Propaganda
Paul Revere’s famous engraving shows British soldiers in a neat firing line, shooting into a peaceful crowd of civilians. It was brilliant propaganda. It was also complete fiction.
The reality? A chaotic scene. A mob of 300-400 colonists. British soldiers surrounded and terrified. Snowballs, ice, rocks, and clubs being thrown. Someone yells “Fire!” (probably not Captain Preston). Shots ring out.
The Defense
Here’s the wildest part: John Adams - yes, that John Adams, future president and staunch patriot - defended the British soldiers in court.
Why? Because he believed in the rule of law. Because he knew the mob had been threatening the soldiers. Because he recognized that justice mattered more than political expediency.
Six soldiers were acquitted. Two were convicted of manslaughter (not murder), branded on their thumbs, and released.
Why It Matters
The Boston Massacre is propaganda that worked so well we’re still calling it a massacre 250 years later. It shows how powerful narrative control can be. It demonstrates how a single event can be spun to serve a larger political purpose.
Was it tragic? Absolutely. Were the colonists innocent victims? Not exactly. Were the British soldiers cold-blooded murderers? The jury said no.
History is messy. Real events don’t fit neat narratives. And that’s what makes them interesting.
Come See the Site
I cover the Boston Massacre site on every Freedom Trail tour. We stand on the exact spot where it happened (marked by a circle of cobblestones in the street). We talk about what really went down. We discuss the propaganda vs. the reality.
Because understanding what actually happened is way more interesting than memorizing the legend.
Interested in more Boston history that doesn’t match the textbooks? Follow me on TikTok @jeremiahpoope or book a Freedom Trail tour.