Thomas Preston: Innocent Or Guilty In The Events Of The Boston Massacre

In recent discussions pertaining to Thomas Preston, a controversial issue that has been recognized is whether he was innocent or guilty in the events of the Boston Massacre. On one hand, some people dispute that Preston was faultless. From this perspective, it is believed that he was not to blame for the actions of his troops when they opened fire into the crowd. They believe the bitter actions of the troops should not reflect onto Captain Preston. On the other hand; however, others argue that Preston was undeniably at fault as he gave the commanding orders to fire into the crowd. According to this view Preston should be held accountable for the massacre that he was allegedly responsible in orchestrating. My personal opinion is that Captain

Cunningham stated that the person who shouted the order stood with his back towards him. An additional onlooker by the name Matthew Murray stood a couple feet away from Preston had a clear vision as he was talking to another individual when the first gun went off. He heard no command from Preston to open fire and he was looking directly at him when the first firearm went off. The only order given from Preston was to prime and load. The only reason Captain Preston even commanded his servicemen to load their guns was as a safety precaution. The weapons utilized by the soldiers are best known as muskets. Loading this weapon takes some time as a ball has to be put into the muzzle and the powder has to be packed down. Preston had no intention of the weapons ever being used, but instead he was trying to protect his troops who unfortunately, failed him. Oddly, minutes later an unknown person came and put up the guns of the soldiers added Murray. Unfortunately, shots were fired right after with no command from Captain Preston. An anonymous person, whose face was never seen, gave the second order to prime and load. Clearly, multiple people physically saw the face of Mr. Preston or was standing in nearly the same space and those very people adamantly testified that he did not call the commands to fire but rather some unknown individual did. It would be rather hard to believe that Preston really did say the words to fire when multiple

With that being said, Preston would not have given such bizarre commands.
James Wyatt, a bystander of the massacre, revealed that Preston himself put the guns of the soldiers up as soon as he seen them getting ready to shoot again. Also, he was extremely upset and strongly expressed his disapproval of their actions. If Preston had given the orders to his soldiers to open fire, he would not have scolded them for their shocking actions. By putting their guns up, he was letting them know that he did not give those orders and that they should not repeat such actions.
After the shooting occurred another eye witness, Thomas Peck, had spoken with Preston. Peck questioned the captain on what he thought he had done. According to Peck, Mr. Preston answered that he had nothing to do with the bitter actions of his men that they did it with their own will. Preston also states that he was in the streets where he too had a chance of being shot.
If Preston had any part of the shooting he would not have stopped to talk to other individuals explaining what happened. Instead, he would be trying to leave the scene in a hurry. Also, as previously explained by other witnesses it is verified that he was indeed in the line of fire. So, one can conclude that Thomas Preston was telling the truth when he spoke with Mr.