328 Political Activity and Resistance to Oppression: From the American Revolution to the Civil War
During the trials, the court took the unusual step of al-
lowing African Americans to testify. Andrew, a slave owned
by merchant Oliver Wendell, recounted what he had seen
that evening, beginning with events before the arrival of
Preston and his men. His testimony cast doubt on claims
that Preston had given the order to fi re and, his reliability
being sworn to by Wendell, helped discredit the case against
Preston. Andrew also testifi ed that he believed that Attucks
struck Killroy with his staff , provoking a response from the
soldiers. Jack, a slave owned by Dr. James Lloyd, also tes-
tifi ed to the crowd’s provocation of the soldiers. Newton
Price, a free black pastry cook originally from the British
West Indies, testifi ed that he witnessed the crowd taunt and
assault the soldiers, that the mob taunted the detail to fi re
upon them, and that he saw Preston position himself be-
tween the mob and his men’s muskets, further casting doubt
on the claim that Preston gave the order to fi re, an order
that, given where he stood, would have seriously injured or
killed him. Th e testimony of these three African AmericansCaldwell, Samuel Gray, and Samuel Maverick—and fatally
wounded a fi ft h, Patrick Carr. Attucks, half African Ameri-
can and half American Indian, was, by some accounts, the
leader of the crowd and was the fi rst to be killed. He was
immediately lionized in the local radical press and memory,
becoming a martyr for the cause of colonial liberty.
Captain Preston was arrested in the early hours of
March 6, 1770, and six of his soldiers were subsequently ar-
rested and removed from Boston pending trial. Th e trials of
the soldiers took place between October 24 and December
5, 1770. Defended by future president John Adams and Jo-
siah Quincy Jr., Captain Preston and six of his men (Privates
John Carroll, James Hartigan, William McCauley, William
Warren, William Wemms, and Hugh White) were acquitted,
and Privates Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Killroy were
convicted of manslaughter. Montgomery was convicted of
shooting Attucks, despite the fact that Wemms had been ex-
plicitly charged with that killing. Pleading benefi t of clergy,
the two men were branded on the thumb and released.
British soldiers open fi re on townspeople during the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Th e fi rst to be killed that evening, Crispus Attucks,
has since come to be known as the fi rst casualty of the American Revolution. (National Archives)