Myth: Paul Revere began printing and selling a depiction of the Boston Massacre in 1770.

Fact: Although Paul Revere was the first to begin selling these color prints of the Boston Massacre, the myth here is that it is an accurate depiction of the events of March 5, 1770. In fact, the print is full of inaccuracies. First of all, the print seems to indicate the events occurred during the day but in fact, they occurred after 9:00pm which during that time of year would have been dark.

The print also shows the British troops in a straight line with Captain Preston behind them however eye witnesses accounts and testimony during the trial indicate they were in a semicircle with Preston in front.

Also, in the print, there is no snow on the ground but in fact there was snow on the ground that night and the colonists were hurling snowballs and pieces of ice at the British Soldiers. The print also fails to depict that fact that many of the colonists were also carrying clubs.

This Paul Revere print is not so much a depiction of the events on that fateful night as it is a propaganda piece.