Captain Preston's Account 

Captain Preston's Account 

(Excerpt - Modified)

On Monday night about 8 o'clock two soldiers were attacked and beat..... About 9 some of the guard came to and informed me the town inhabitants were assembling to attack the troops, and that the bells were ringing as the signal for that purpose and not for fire, and the beacon intended to be fired to bring in the distant people of the country…

In my way there I saw the people in great commotion, and heard them use the most cruel and horrid threats against the troops...... They immediately surrounded the sentry posted there, and with clubs and other weapons threatened to execute their vengeance on him. I was soon informed by a townsman their intention was to carry off the soldier from his post and probably murder him.

They (the soldiers) soon rushed through the people, and by charging their bayonets in half-circles, kept them at a little distance. The mob still increased and were more outrageous, striking their clubs or bludgeons one against another, and calling out, come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, fire and be ..., we know you dare not, and much more such language was used. At this time I was between the soldiers and the mob, parleying with, and endeavouring all in my power to persuade them to retire peaceably, but to no purpose.

They advanced to the points of the bayonets, struck some of them and even the muzzles of the pieces, and seemed to be endeavouring to close with the soldiers. On which some well behaved persons asked me if the guns were charged. I replied yes. They then asked me if I intended to order the men to fire. I answered no, by no means.... While I was thus speaking, one of the soldiers having received a severe blow with a stick, stepped a little on one side and instantly fired, on which turning to and asking him why he fired without orders, I was struck with a club on my arm, which for some time deprived me of the use of it, which blow had it been placed on my head, most probably would have destroyed me.

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, some persons at the same time from behind calling out, ...your bloods-why don't you fire. Instantly three or four of the soldiers fired, one after another, and directly after three more in the same confusion and hurry. The mob then ran away….​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Captain Preston's Biography

Captain Thomas Preston was the key figure in the fatal incident known as the Boston Massacre and the subsequent trials. In fact, Preston’s name is one of the most mentioned in the historic texts, second perhaps only to Crispus Attucks who became a well known American hero. But unlike Attucks whose biographies can be found in abundance, we know practically next to nothing about Preston. The only hard facts that we know are the details of the Massacre itself that were well documented due to the scrutiny they received in the trial.

Here are the few facts that we do know about Thomas Preston.

Thomas Preston was an officer of the 29th Regiment of Foot who was present at the Boston Massacre March 5, 1770. He was arrested after the shooting and charged with murder. As an officer, Preston received a separate trial from the other accused soldiers. The trial lasted from October 24, 1770 to October 30, 1770. It was held in Boston and the future US President John Adams successfully defended Captain Preston who was “honorably acquitted” of the charges. The defense was able to prove that Preston did not give the order for the troops to fire.

And that’s about all what we know for a fact. The details of Preston’s life before his service in Boston and after the trial are very sketchy.

Another basic question remains uncertain, where in England was Captain Preston from? 

It is sometimes mentioned that Preston was Irish. But there are no solid leads to a person with the same name and age in numerous Irish genealogy sources. It is possible that it was simply assumed that Preston was Irish by his association with the 29th British Regiment. In the book Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past, Michael P. Quinlin quotes the description of the 29 Regiment of the British army by one of the contemporaries, “the average man in the twenty-ninth was over thirty, medium tall and Irish”.

Within a month after the trial Preston was reported to have left Boston. Preston wrote a farewell note to General Thomas Gage, the commander of the British occupying forces. In this note he referred to his acquittal, "I take the liberty of wishing you joy at the complete victory obtained over the knaves and foolish villains of Boston."

After his trial, Preston retired from the army and presumably settled in Ireland, though Adams recalled seeing him in London in the 1780s.

Perhaps the last detail on which historians disagree is the amount of compensation he received from the government after returning to England. According to one source, it was a one-time payment of 200 pounds but others mention an annual pension of two hundred pounds a year from the King.