March, 2 by a Vote they restraind their Committee from publishing
the narrative, lest it might unduly prejudice those whose lot it
should be to be jurors to try these Causes: This restraint they
continued by a Vote at their meeting in May,3 & untill the
Trials should be over . . . plaud; as it discovered a Sense of
Justice; as well as the greatest Humanity4 towards those men who
had wantonly lit the hearts Blood of citizens like Water upon
Ground. A Temper far from vindictive; calm and moderate, at a
time, when if ever they might have been expected to be off their
Guard: And yet, so barbarous & cruel, so infamously mean & base
were the Enemies of this Town, who are the common Enemies of all
America & of the Truth it self, that they falsly inserted in the
publick news papers in London the Inhabitants had seizd upon Capt
Preston hung & hung him like Porteus upon a Sign Post! -
I shall now in a few ......... endeavor to show the Temper which
some of the Soldiers, (by whom I do not now particularly mean the
late Prisoners), discoverd at & after the fatal Catastrophes.
Readers may have observd, that I am careful to distinguish between
the evidence given in Court from that which was given out of
Court, Witnesses to this point, it ought not to be supposd, were
admissible at the Trial, unless perhaps the one immediately
following: That a credible Person, who is mistress of a reputable
family in the Town. She testified before the Magistrates, & was
ready to swear it in Court, if she had been called, that on the
Evening of the 5 of March a number of Soldiers were assembled from
Greens Barracks & opposite to her Gate, which is near those
Barracks - that they stood very still until the Guns were fired in
Kingstreet; then they clapd their Hands & gave a Cheer, saying,
this is all we want; they then ran to their Barrack &
came out again in a few minutes, all with their arms, & ran
towards Kingstreet.5 These Barracks were about a quarter of a mile
from Kingstreet: Their standing very still, untill they heard the
firing, compared with their subsequent Conduct, looks as if they
expected it; it seems, as though they knew what the Signal should
[be], & the part they were to act in Consequence of it. This
perhaps may be thought by some to be too straining: I will not
urge it, but leave it to any one to judge, how far if at all, it
affords Grounds of Suspicion, that there was an understanding
between the Soldiers in Kingstreet at the time of the firing &
these; especially, if it be true as has been said, that they fired
without the Command of their officers - There was another Witness
similar to this; an housholder of good reputation, who testified,
that the Soldiers from Greens Barracks rushd by him with their
Arms towards Kingstreet, saying this is our time or chance; that
he never saw6 Dogs so greedy for their prey as they seemd to be,
and the Sergeants could hardly keep them in their ranks.7
Another swore, that after the firing, he saw the Soldiers drawn up
in the Street, and heard Officers [as] they walked backwards &
forwards say, Damn it, what a fine fire that was! How bravely it
dispersd the mob!8 A person belonging to Hallifax in Nova Scotia,
testified that when the Body of troops was drawn up before the
Guard house (which was presently after the Massacre) he heard an
officer say to another, that this was fine work, just what he
wanted.9 I shall add but one more to this List, and that is the
Testimony of a Witness, well known for an honest man in this Town,
who declared, that at about one o'Clock the next morning, as he
was going alone from his own house to the Town House, he met a
Sergeant of the 29th with Eight [or] nine Soldiers, all with very
large Clubs & Cutlasses when one of them speaking of the
Slaughter, swore by God it was a fine thing & said you shall see
more of it.10 These Testimonies it is confessd would not be
pertinent to the Issue of the late Tryal: But I think it necessary
to adduce them here to convince the World of the wretched
Condition this town was in, the Reasons they had to apprehend &
the necessity they were under constantly to be upon their Guard
while such were quarterd among them: Much was brot into Court to
show that the Town was in a State of disorder on the Evening of
the 5 of March previous to the Affray at Murrays Barracks;
Witnesses were admitted to testify that they were met by one &
another armd with Clubs.11 But Nothing appeard there to show the
Cause & even the Necessity of it.11
To these, I cannot help subjoining the Testimony of Mr John Cox, a
very reputable Inhabitant of this town; who swore in Court at one
of the late trials, that after the firing, he went to take up the
dead - that he told the Soldiers, it was a cowardly trick in them
to kill men within reach of their Bayonets, with nothing in their
hands, and that the officer said, damn them, fire again & let them
take the Consequence! - to which he replyd you have killed . . .
already to hang you all - But he was mistaken.
It is a Mistake to say the soldiers were in danger from the
Inhabitants. The reverse is true; the Inhabitants were in danger
from the Soldiers. With all the Indulgence which was & perhaps
ought to be shown to Prisoners upon Tryal for Life, not a single
Instance of any Injury offerd to Soldiers was provd, except at
Murrays Barracks, & not even there but in return for intollerable
Insults. Many Witness[es] were ready if called for to testify to
the Insults & Abuse offerd by the Soldiers to the Inhabitants in
various parts of the Town.
Thus one of the prisoners Witnesses testified in Court that at 7
o'Clock going to the South End he met forty or fifty in small
Parties, four or five in a party. It has been testified by a
credible Witness that before the fifth of March, the Soldiers were
not only seen making their Clubs, but from what the Witness could
collect from their Conversation, they were resolvd to be revengd
on Monday13 and divers others swore to the same purpose; They did
not indeed say, whether they knew them to be soldiers or
Inhabitants: It is as probable that they were Soldiers as
Inhabitants; for it was sworn before the magistrates by a person
of Credit, that on the Saturday before he saw the Soldiers
making Clubs; Another was ready to testify in Court that thirty of
these Clubs or Bludgeons were made, by the Soldiers, in his own
Shop. And in the part of the Town where the Witness was going, a
Gentleman was attackd by two Soldiers, one of them armd with a
Club & the other with a broad Sword; the latter struck him, &
threatned that he should soon hear more of it. It was notorious
that the Soldiers were seen frequently on that evening armd with
Clubs - but in the Judgment of some men, every party that was seen
with Clubs, or in the modern term, Bludgeons, to be sure must have
been Inhabitants. If the Soldiers were in such Danger why were
they not kept in their Barracks after Eight o'clock agreable to
their own orders? In stead of this we find the Testimony of a
person, who was not an Inhabitant of the Town, that being at the
South End on that Evening exactly at Eight o'Clock he saw there
Eleven Soldiers: An officer met them .....orderd them to appear at
their respective places at the time: and if they should see any of
the Inhabitants of the Town, or any other people not belonging to
them, with Arms, Clubs or any other warlike weapon more than two
being assembled together to order them to stop, & if they refusd,
to stop them with their firelocks, and all that should take their
part - the officer went Northward & the Soldiers Southward.
These were orders discretely given indeed! And well becoming a
Gentleman in any Command, over troops sent here, or as the
Minister pretended, to aid the civil Magistrate in keeping the
peace, & with directions never to act without . . . Will any one
think the Town could be safe, even from this band of Soldiers
only, especially while under such direction & influence - This is
a single Instance -No wonder that when the Bells soon after rang
as for fire, & the people in that same part of the town came into
the Streets with Bucketts, they should be told by some, as a
Gentleman who was a Witness in Court for the prisoners swore they
were, that they had better bring Clubs than Bucketts - Such
Appearances were enough to put the Town in Motion. It is a Mistake
to say the Soldiers were in danger from the Inhabitants; the
reverse is true: The Inhabitants were in danger from the Soldiers.
With all the Indulgence which was shown, and perhaps ought to be
shown to Prisoners at the bar, upon trial for Life, not a single
Instance was provd, of any Abuse offerd to any Soldier that
Evening, previous to the insolent Behavior of those of them who
rushd out of Murrays Barracks & fell upon all whom they met: on
the Contrary, there had been many Instances of their insulting &
assaulting the Inhabitants indiscriminately in every part of the
Town.
As it was said in Court that the unhappy persons who fell a
Sacrifice to the Cruel Revenge of the Soldiers, had brot their
Death upon their own heads, I shall finish this paper in saying
what ought to be said in behalf of those who cannot now speak for
themselves. - Mr Maverick a young Gentleman of a good family & a
blameless Life, was at Supper in the House of one of his friends,
and went Out when the bells rang as for fire. .Mr Caldwell, young
Seaman & of a good Character, had been at School to perfect
himself in the Art of Navigation, and had just returnd to the
house of a reputable Person in this town to whose daughter he made
his visits with the honorable Intention of Marriage: He also went
out when the bells rang. W Gray was of a good family, he was at
his own house the whole of the Evening, saving his going into a
Neighbours house to borrow the News paper of the day & returning:
He went out on the ringing of the Bells; and altho a Child swore
in Court that he saw him with a Stick after the bells rang, yet
another Witness saw him before he got into Kingstreet without a
Stick, Others saw him in Kingstreet & testified that he had no
Stick, and when he was shot, the Witness then testified, as is
mentiond in a former paper, that he had no Stick & his Arms were
folded in his bosom; so that it is probable the young Witness
mistook the person. Mr Attucks, it is said was at his Lodgings &
at Supper when the bells rang; Witnesses indeed swore that they
afterwards saw him with a Club, & great pains were taken to make
it appear that he attackd the Soldiers, but the proof faild; even
Andrew, a Negro Witness whom I shall hereafter mention, testifies
that he thot Attucks was the Man who struck one of the Soldiers,
but could not account how he could get at such a Distance, as he
was when he fell, the Soldier firing so soon. Others swear that he
was leaning on his Stick when he fell, which certainly was not a
threatning posture. It may be supposd that he had as good Right to
carry a Stick, even a Bludgeon, as the Soldier who shot him had,
to be armd with Musquet & ball; & if he at any time lifted up his
Weapon of Defence, it was surely not more than a Soldiers leveling
his Gun at the Multitude chargd with Death - If he had killed a
Soldier, he might have been hangd for it, & as a traitor too, for
to attack a Soldier upon his post, was declared Treason; But the
Soldier shot Attucks & killed him, & he was convicted of Man
Slaughter! As to Mr Car, the other deceasd person, it is doubtful
with what Intent he came out. He was at Mr Fields house when the
Bells rang; Mr Field & another Witness who was at the House,
testify that Car went upstairs and got his Sword.
1 This article in the form as published is printed at pages 110-
122.
2 March 26. Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p.
20.
3 0n July 10, the town meeting defeated a motion that the printers
be allowed to sell the printed narrative. ibid., p. 34.
4 The words "& Impartiality" were stricken out at this point.
5 see Narrative first Edit. Apendix page 68.
6 At this point the words "Men or" were stricken out.
7 Idem.
8 page 69.
9 page 22.
10 Page 61.
11 The remainder of this paragraph is crossed out in the draft.
Cf., page 108.
12 Narrative Appendix page 4.
13 id, pa. 4 - this alludes to the affrays at the ropewalk: The
Soldiers at Greens Barracks had made three Attacks upon the ropemakers
when they were at their Work, in revenge for one of them being told by
one of the hands in the Walk, that "if he wanted work he might
empty his Vault." Enough to enkindle the flame of resentment in the
Breast of a common Soldier, who of all men has the most delicate
Sentiments of honor! Two of the prisoners were of the party in these
noble Exploits, as was testified in Court.
ARTICLE SIGNED "VINDEX."
[Boston Gazette, December 31, 1770.]
To the PRINTERS.
IN my last, I consider'd the temper which the Soldiers in general,
had discover'd, and the threats they had utter'd, previous to the
5th of March, together with their correspondent behavior, on that
alarming evening. I was the more brief, because there had been a
"Narrative of the horrid Massacre," printed by the Order of this
Town; which was drawn up by a Committee appointed for that
purpose, and reported by their Chairman, James Bowdoin, Esq. The
Affidavits which are annexed to the Narrative, were each of them
taken before two Justices of the Peace, Quorum Unus, to perpetuate
the remembrance of the thing: Col. William Dalrymple, chief
Commander of the Soldiers, was duly notified by the Justices to
attend the Captions: And his Honor the lieutenant-governor,
certified under his hand with the Province Seal affixed, that full
faith and credit was, and ought to be given to the several Acts
and Attestations of the Justices, both in Court and out. - It will
be own'd by the impartial World, that nothing could be fairer: I
am not, however, at all surprized, to find, publish'd in a late
New-York Paper, a letter said to be written in this Town, in which
among other chit-chat, it is asserted, that from the borders of
Connecticut to Boston, there are people who "exclaim against the
Town for imposing on the Country by false Representations:" This
Narrative has been in a Manner adopted by the Province; for I am
assured, that in the last Session of the General Assembly, the
House of Representatives, generously granted to the Town a sum of
Money to defrey the Charge of a vessel, hired for no other Purpose
but to carry it to London; that his Majesty's Council concurr'd
with the House in the grant, and his Honor the lieutenant-governor
gave his Assent to it. - Arts have been used, and are still using,
to detach the rest of the Colonies from this Province; and the
same arts are every day practised, to divide the Towns in this
Province from the Capital. It is the Machiavellian Doctrine,
Divide et impera -Divide and Rule: But the people of this Province
and of this Continent are too wise, and they are lately become too
experienc'd, to be catch'd in such a snare. While their common
Rights are invaded, they will consider themselves, as embark'd in
the same bottom: And that Union which they have hitherto
maintain'd, against all the Efforts of their more powerful common
Enemies, will still cement, notwithstanding such trifling letter
writers as these.
The candor of this Town was indeed such, that at their annual
Meeting in March, by a vote, they restrain'd their Committee from
publishing the Narrative here, altho' it was printed, lest it
might unduly prejudice those, whose Lot it might be, to be Jurors
to try these Causes: This Restraint, they continued at their
Meeting in May, and untill the Trials should be over.-A Caution,
which all good Men will applaud: As it discover'd a sense of
Justice; as well as the greatest Humanity towards those Men, who
had spilt the blood of Citizens, like Water upon the Ground! -A
temper far from vindictive - Calm and sedate, when it might have
been expected, if ever, they would be off their guard. And yet so
barbarous and cruel, so infamously mean and base were the Enemies
of this Town, who are the common Enemies of all America and of the
Truth itself, that they had it falsely inserted in the public
News-Papers in London, that the Inhabitants had seiz'd upon Capt.
Preston and hung him, like Porteus upon a sign-post!
I shall now, in a few instances, endeavor to show, the temper
which many of the Soldiers discover'd after the fatal Catastrophe
was over. The Reader may have observed, that I am careful to
distinguish, between the Evidence given in Court, from that which
was given out of Court: Witnesses to this point, it is not to be
suppos'd, were admissible at the Trial; unless perhaps the one
immediately following: This is a creditable person who is Mistress
of a reputable family in the Town. She testified before the
Magistrates, and was ready to swear it in Court, if she had been
called, that on the Evening of the 5th of March, a number of
Soldiers were assembled at Green's Barracks, and opposite to her
Gate, which is near those Barracks; that they stood very still,
until the Guns were fired in King-Street; then they clapped their
hands and gave a Cheer, saying, this is all we want; they then ran
to their Barracks and came out again in a few minutes, all with
their arms, and ran towards King-Street.1 - These Barracks are
about a quarter of a Mile from King-Street: Their standing very
still untill they heard the firing, compared with their subsequent
Conduct, looks as if they expected it: It seems as tho' they knew
what the signal should be, and the part they were to act in
consequence of it. This, perhaps, may be tho't by some to be too
straining: I will not urge it; but leave it to any one to judge,
how far, if at all, it affords grounds of Suspicion, that there
was an understanding, between the Soldiers in King-Street at the
time of the firing, and these; especially if it be true, as has
been said, that they fired without the command of their officer.-
There was also a Witness, an householder of good reputation, whose
testimony was similar to this: That the Soldiers from Green's
Barracks, on that Evening, rushed by him, with their arms, & ran
towards King-Street, saying, this is our time or chance; that he
never saw Dogs so greedy for their Prey, and the Serjeants could
hardly keep them in their Ranks 2 - Another swore, that after
the firing, he saw the Soldiers drawn up under Arms, and heard the
officers, as they walked backwards and forwards say to one another,
Damn it, what a fine fire that was! How bravely it dispers'd the Mob3
- A gentleman belonging to Halifax in Nova Scotia testified that when
the body of Troops was drawn up before the guardhouse (which was
presently after the Massacre) he heard an Officer say to another,
that this was fine work, just what he wanted!4 - I shall add but
one more to this list, and that is, the testimony of a Witness,
well known in this Town for an honest man; who declared that at
about one o'Clock the next morning, as he was going alone from his
own House to the Town-House, he met a Serjeant of the 29th with
eight or nine Soldiers, all with very large Clubs and Cutlasses,
when one of them, speaking of the Slaughter, swore by God, it was
a fine thing, and said, you shall see more of it.5 - To these I
cannot help subjoining, the testimony of Mr. John Cox, a very
reputable Inhabitant of this Town ; who swore in Court at one of
the late trials, that after the firing, he went to take up the
dead; that he told the Soldiers, it was a cowardly trick in them
to kill men within reach of their Bayonets, with nothing in their
hands; and that the officer said, damn them, fire again, and let
them take the consequence - to which he replied, you have killed
enough already to hang you all: But it has since appeared that he
was mistaken. - There are others, who saw, a very large party from
the Southguard, after the firing, take their post under Liberty-
Tree; by which one would think they intended to act the same part
which the Soldiers in New-York had before done, as indeed some of
them had threatened they would, and which would probably have bro't on
a new scene of confusion. But the commanding officer, very prudently
ordered the regiment to be under arms, which prevented it.
If these testimonies would not have been pertinent to the issue of
the late trial, I think it necessary to adduce them here, to
convince the world of the wretched state this Town had been in;
the reason they had to apprehend, while such blood-thirsty inmates
were quarter'd among them ; and the necessity they were tinder,
constantly to be on their guard, while there were even such
exultations at the barbarous "action" of the Evening.