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THE
HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE
FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH
REGIMENT WHICH WITH THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT WERE THEN QUARTERED
THERE; WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THINGS PRIOR
TO THAT CATASTROPHE.
It
may be a proper introduction to this narrative, briefly to
represent the state of things for some time previous to the
said Massacre; and this seems necessary in order to the forming
a just idea of the causes of it.
At
the end of the late [French and Indian] war, in which this
province bore so distinguished a part, a happy union subsisted
between Great Britain and the colonies. This was unfortunately
interrupted by the Stamp Act; but it was in some measure restored
by the repeal of it. It was again interrupted by other acts
of parliament for taxing America; and by the appointment of
a Board of Commissioners, in pursuance of an act, which by
the face of it was made for the relief and encouragement of
commerce, but which in its operation, it was apprehended,
would have, and it has in fact had, a contrary effect. By
the said act the said Commissioners were "to be resident
in some convenient part of his Majesty's dominions in America."
This must be understood to be in some part convenient for
the whole. But it does not appear that, in fixing the place
of their residence, the convenience of the whole was at all
consulted, for Boston, being very far from the centre of the
colonies, could not be the place most convenient for the whole.
Judging by the act, it may seem this town was intended to
be favored, by the Commissioners being appointed to reside
here; and that the consequence of that residence would be
the relief and encouragement of commerce; but the reverse
has been the constant and uniform effect of it; so that the
commerce of the town, from the embarrassments in which it
has been lately involved, is greatly reduced.
The
residence of the Commissioners here has been detrimental,
not only to the commerce, but to the political interests of
the town and province; and not only so, but we can trace from
it the causes of the late horrid massacre. Soon after their
arrival here in November, 1767, instead of confining themselves
to the proper business of their office, they became partizans
of Governor Bernard in his political schemes; and had the
weakness and temerity to infringe upon one of the most essential
rights of the house of commons of this province-that of giving
their votes with freedom, and not being accountable therefor
but to their constituents. One of the members of that house,
Capt. Timothy Folgier, having voted in some affair contrary
to the mind of the said Commissioners, was for so doing dismissed
from the office he held under them.
These
proceedings of theirs, the difficulty of access to them on
office-business, and a supercilious behavior, rendered them
disgustful to people in general, who in consequence thereof
treated them with neglect. This probably stimulated them to
resent it; and to make their resentment felt, they and their
coadjutor, Governor Bernard, made such representations to
his Majesty's ministers as they thought best calculated to
bring the displeasure of the nation upon the town and province;
and in order that those representations might have the more
weight, they are said to have contrived and executed plans
for exciting disturbances and tumults, which otherwise would
probably never have existed; and, when excited, to have transmitted
to the ministry the most exaggerated accounts of them.
Unfortunately
for us, they have been too successful in their said representations,
which, in conjunction with Governor Bernard's, have occasioned
his Majesty's faithful subjects of this town and province
to be treated as enemies and rebels, by an invasion of the
town by sea and land; to which the approaches were made with
all the circumspection usual where a vigorous opposition is
expected. While the town was surrounded by a considerable
number of his Majesty's ships of war, two regiments landed
and took possession of it; and to support these, two other
regiments arrived some time after from Ireland; one of which
landed at Castle Island, and the other in the town.
Thus
were we, in aggravation of our other embarrassments, embarrassed
with troops, forced upon us contrary to our inclination-contrary
to the spirit of Magna Charta-contrary to the very letter
of the Bill of Rights, in which it is declared, that the raising
or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace,
unless it be with the consent of parliament, is against law,
and without the desire of the civil magistrates, to aid whom
was the pretence for sending the troops hither; who were quartered
in the town in direct violation of an act of parliament for
quartering troops in America; and all this in consequence
of the representations of the said Commissioners and the said
Governor, as appears by their memorials and letters lately
published.
As
they were the procuring cause of troops being sent hither,
they must therefore be the remote and a blameable cause of
all the disturbances and bloodshed that have taken place in
consequence of that measure.
We
shall next attend to the conduct of the troops, and to some
circumstances relative to them. Governor Bernard without consulting
the Council, having given up the State House to the troops
at their landing, they took possession of the chambers, where
the representatives of the province and the courts of law
held their meetings; and (except the council-chamber) of all
other parts of that house; in which they continued a considerable
time, to the great annoyance of those courts while they sat,
and of the merchants and gentlemen of the town, who had always
made the lower floor of it their exchange. They [the merchants]
had a right so to do, as the property of it was in the town;
but they were deprived of that right by mere power. The said
Governor soon after, by every stratagem and by every method
but a forcibly entry, endeavored to get possession of the
manufactory-house, to make a barrack of it for the troops;
and for that purpose caused it to be besieged by the troops,
and the people in it to be used very cruelly;
The
General Court, at the first session after the arrival of the
troops, viewed it in this light, and applied to Governor Bernard
to cause such a nuisance to be removed; but to no purpose.
The
challenging the inhabitants by sentinels posted in all parts
of the town before the lodgings of officers, which (for about
six months, while it lasted), occasioned many quarrels and
uneasiness.
Capt.
Wilson, of the 59th, exciting the negroes of the town to take
away their masters' lives and property, and repair to the
army for protection, which was fully proved against him. The
attack of a party of soldiers on some of the magistrates of
the town-the repeated rescues of soldiers from peace officers-the
firing of a loaded musket in a public street, to the endangering
a great number of peaceable inhabitants-the frequent wounding
of persons by their bayonets and cutlasses, and the numerous
instances of bad behavior in the soldiery, made us early sensible
that the troops were not sent here for any benefit to the
town or province, and that we had no good to expect from such
conservators of the peace.
It
was not expected, however, that such an outrage and massacre,
as happened here on the evening of the fifth instant, would
have been perpetrated. There were then killed and wounded,
by a discharge of musketry, eleven of his Majesty's subjects,
viz.:
Mr.
Samuel Gray, killed on the spot by a ball entering his head.
Crispus Attucks, a mulatto, killed on the spot, two balls
entering his breast.
Mr. James Caldwell, killed on the spot, by two balls entering
his back.
Mr. Samuel Maverick, a youth of seventeen years of age, mortally
wounded; he died the next morning.
Mr. Patrick Carr mortally wounded; he died the 14th instant.
Christopher Monk and John Clark, youths about seventeen years
of age, dangerously wounded. It is apprehended they will die.
Mr. Edward Payne, merchant, standing at his door; wounded.
Messrs. John Green, Robert Patterson, and David Parker; all
dangerously wounded.
The actors in this dreadful tragedy were a party of soldiers
commanded by Capt. Preston of the 29th regiment. This party,
including the Captain, consisted of eight, who are all committed
to jail.
There
are depositions in this affair which mention, that several
guns were fired at the same time from the Custom-house; before
which this shocking scene was exhibited. Into this matter
inquisition is now making. In the meantime it may be proper
to insert here the substance of some of those depositions.
Benjamin
Frizell, on the evening of the 5th of March, having taken
his station near the west corner of the Custom-house in King
street, before and at the time of the soldiers firing their
guns, declares (among other things) that the first discharge
was only of one gun, the next of two guns, upon which he the
deponent thinks he saw a man stumble; the third discharge
was of three guns, upon which he thinks he saw two men fall;
and immediately after were discharged five guns, two of which
were by soldiers on his right hand; the other three, as appeared
to the deponent, were discharged from the balcony, or the
chamber window of the Custom-house, the flashes appearing
on the left hand, and higher than the right hand flashes appeared
to be, and of which the deponent was very sensible, although
his eyes were much turned to the soldiers, who were all on
his right hand.
What
gave occasion to the melancholy event of that evening seems
to have been this. A difference having happened near Mr. Grays
ropewalk, between a soldier and a man belonging to it, the
soldier challenged the ropemakers to a boxing match. The challenge
was accepted by one of them, and the soldier worsted. He ran
to the barrack in the neighborhood, and returned with several
of his companions. The fray was renewed, and the soldiers
were driven off. They soon returned with recruits and were
again worsted. This happened several times, till at length
a considerable body of soldiers was collected, and they also
were driven off, the ropemakers having been joined by their
brethren of the contiguous ropewalks. By this time Mr. Gray
being alarmed interposed, and with the assistance of some
gentlemen prevented any further disturbance. To satisfy the
soldiers and punish the man who had been the occasion of the
first difference, and as an example to the rest, he turned
him out of his service; and waited on Col. Dalrymple, the
commanding officer of the troops, and with him concerted measures
for preventing further mischief. Though this affair ended
thus, it made a strong impression on the minds of the soldiers
in general, who thought the honor of the regiment concerned
to revenge those repeated repulses. For this purpose they
seem to have formed a combination to commit some outrage upon
the inhabitants of the town indiscriminately; and this was
to be done on the evening of the 5th instant or soon after;
as appears by the depositions of the following persons, viz.:
William
Newhall declares, that on Thursday night the 1st of March
instant, he met four soldiers of the 29th regiment, and that
he heard them say, "there were a great many that would
eat their dinners on Monday next, that should not eat any
on Tuesday."
Daniel
Calfe declares, that on Saturday evening the 3d of March,
a camp-woman, wife to James McDeed, a grenadier of the 29th,
came into his father's shop, and the people talking about
the affrays at the ropewalks, and blaming the soldiers for
the part they had acted in it, the woman said, "the soldiers
were in the right;" adding, "that before Tuesday
or Wednesday night they would wet their swords or bayonets
in New England people's blood."
Samuel
Drowne declares that, about nine o'clock of the evening of
the fifth of March current, standing at his own door in Cornhill,
he saw about fourteen or fifteen soldiers of the 29th regiment,
who came from Murray's barracks, armed with naked cutlasses,
swords, &c., and came upon the inhabitants of the town,
then standing or walking in Coruhffl, and abused some, and
violently assaulted others as they met them; most of whom
were without so much as a stick in their hand to defend themselves,
as he very clearly could discern, it being moonlight, and
himself being one of the assaulted persons. All or most of
the said soldiers he saw go into King street (some of them
through Royal Exchange lane), and there followed them, and
soon discovered them to be quarrelling and fighting with the
people whom they saw there, which he thinks were not more
than a dozen, when the soldiers came first, armed as aforesaid.
Of those dozen people, the most of them were gentlemen, standing
together a little below the Town House, upon the Exchange.
At the appearance of those soldiers so armed, the most of
the twelve persons went off, some of them being first assaulted.
The
violent proceedings of this party, and their going into King
street, "quarrelling and fighting with the people whom
they saw there" (mentioned in Mr. Drowne's deposition),
was immediately introductory to the grand catastrophe.
These
assailants, who issued from Murray's barracks (so called),
after attacking and wounding divers persons in Cornhill, as
abovementioned, being armed, proceeded (most of them) up the
Royal Exchange lane into King street; where, making a short
stop, and after assaulting and driving away the few they met
there, they brandished their arms and cried out, "where
are the boogers! where are the cowards!" At this time
there were very few persons in the street beside themselves.
This party in proceeding from Exchange lane into King street,
must pass the sentry posted at the westerly corner of the
Custom House, which butts on that lane and fronts on that
street. This is needful to be mentioned, as near that spot
and in that street the bloody tragedy was acted, and the street
actors in it were stationed: their station being but a few
feet from the front side of the said Custom House. The outrageous
behavior and the threats of the said party occasioned the
ringing of the meeting-house bell near the head of King street,
which bell ringing quick, as for fire, it presently brought
out a number of inhabitants, who being soon sensible of the
occasion of it, were naturally led to King street, where the
said party had made a stop but a little while before, and
where their stopping had drawn together a number of boys,
round the sentry at the Custom House. whether the boys mistook
the sentry for one of the said party, and thence took occasion
to differ with him, or whether he first affronted them, which
is affirmed in several depositions,-however that may be, there
was much foul language between them, and some of them, in
consequence of his pushing at them with his bayonet, threw
snowballs at him, which occasioned him to knock hastily at
the door of the Custom House. From hence two persons thereupon
proceeded immediately to the main-guard, which was posted
opposite to the State House, at a small distance, near the
head of the said street. The officer on guard was Capt. Preston,
who with seven or eight soldiers, with fire-arms and charged
bayonets, issued from the guardhouse, and in great haste posted
himself and his soldiers in front of the Custom House, near
the corner aforesaid. In passing to this station the soldiers
pushed several persons with their bayonets, driving through
the people in so rough a manner that it appeared they intended
to create a disturbance. This occasioned some snowballs to
be thrown at them which seems to have been the only provocation
that was given. Mr. Knox (between whom and Capt. Preston there
was some conversation on the spot) declares, that while he
was talking with Capt. Preston, the soldiers of his detachment
had attacked the people with their bayonets and that there
was not the least provocation given to Capt. Preston of his
party; the backs of the people being toward them when the
people were attacked. He also declares, that Capt. Preston
seemed to be in great haste and much agitated, and that, according
to his opinion, there were not then present in King street
above seventy or eighty persons at the extent.
The
said party was formed into a half circle; and within a short
time after they had been posted at the Custom House, began
to fire upon the people. Captain
Preston is said to have ordered them to fire, and to have
repeated that order. One gun was fired first; then others
in succession and with deliberation, till ten or a dozen guns
were fired; or till that number of discharges were made from
the guns that were fired. By which means eleven persons were
killed and wounded, as above represented. |
