Legal Papers of John Adams, volume 3
1770-10-27
Adams. It is certain a great bitterness between Soldiers and Inhabitants.
No Evidence applys to Soldiers in Goal nor to Capt. Preston.
It was Prestons duty on the message to him to go and take all the Care he could of his men and protect them.
The Ev
He had Account of the assault.
Had the Centry been a private Citizen and Capt. a Citizen it was his duty to go to assist.
He order
A Sarg
Capt
They call'd the Centry bloody Back, must allude to the severe whippings. Also Lobster.
Opposed to the Evidence of Yankee,
Wm. Wyat is one who thinks Capt. Preston ordered to fire.
Robert Goddard. You observed he is not capable of making Obs
Prisoner knows the use of Language too well to Say murder 'em.
He says Capt. was behind the Soldiers.
Danl. Calf. Nearly right with regard to Capt
It must be this Capt. said fire by no means when People spoke to him.
Morton. Shows there was a mistake made about Com
Had a Surtot on not Red.
Marching Guard to Fortification.
Fosdick. Never saw em prime and load. Therefore not Cool.
87
Sherriff Greenleaf.
2 After Bells ringing said no fire here. Some killed. I went to Lt. G
Peter Cunningham. He is warm temper and brisk Spirits, natural for such a Witness to Suppose Capt. gave Orders.
His distance.
Man is a Social Creature. His Passion and Ima
The Circum
Have had a tendency to produce Gloom and Melancholly in all our minds.
May account for the variation in the Testimony of honest Men.
NB. this is applicable to agravated account of Assaults.3
The Publication of Evidence, an
Jos. Edwards. Says a Man with Musket ordered to prime and load.
John Frost. Said Fire fire. It might be said by 3 Sorts of people.
Benja. Leigh. The 1st. assault was by people from Dock Square.
Pris
Lt. Govr.
4 After I had got to K
Knox. Said he stopt Prisoner Going down, and therefore, they primed and Loaded before he got down, comp
Burdick. The Soldiers had reason to think they came to kill 'em.
88Preston said perhaps you may, too Cool for a man who had ordered to fire.5
NB. It was his Trade.
Robt. Fullerton.
Richd. Palmes. An Inh
Self preservation would have made Capt. alter his place at firing.
He had time to order to recover. Surprise. Might think it only Powder, no man fell.
Palmes and Bliss. Both Say Prisoner was before Soldiers.
Wyat. His Account of Stepping before and saying why did you fire, must show him to be diabolically malicious.
Math. Murray. Preston before 'em. Saw the woman talking to soldier.
Andrew. People thought they were in Riot by Crying Murray and Riot act.
What Occasion'd he the Lad to put himself into that posture before Bayonet.
Saw the Officer with 2 persons in front of Soldiers.
Stout Man Struck at officer, 2 persons still talking to Prisoner.
No Body else remembers this.
Cornwall. NB. he said Prisoner not talking with any Body.
Whitehouse. Went up to G
Lt. Govr. Had Prisoner been conscious of Rashness, he would have gone off, Evidence of Innocence.
Paine Massacre Notes. See Descriptive List of Sources and Documents.
What follows may be Paine's minute of Sheriff Stephen Greenleaf's testimony, although it appears in the MS directly in the middle of Paine's minute of JA's argument. More significant, it does not appear in either Summary of Evidence, Docs. IV and VI.
This comment (like others which follow) is apparently Paine's.
This is almost certainly Paine's minute of Hutchinson's original testimony. Its position in the MS is inexplicable.
Compare text at note