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The Trial of William Wemms and Other Soldiers

William Wemms · 1770

A 1770 printed record of the trial of British soldiers charged with the murder of Crispus Attucks and four other men killed in the Boston Massacre.

This 1770 trial record names Attucks as one of the men murdered by the soldiers on trial.

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About this source

What it is

This is a printed trial record from 1770, published with permission of the court, documenting the trial of William Wemms, James Hartegan, William McCauley, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren, John Carrol, and Hugh Montgomery, soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot charged with the murder of Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, and Patrick Carr.

Why it matters

This is a primary legal document from the same year as the Boston Massacre, giving a direct record of the trial of the soldiers accused of killing Attucks and the other victims. It shows how the colonial legal system responded to the event and provides evidence of how Attucks's death was treated in official proceedings.

Look closer

  • Why do you think this trial record was printed and published for the public to read?
  • What does the list of defendants tell you about who was held responsible for the deaths?
  • How might a trial record differ from a newspaper account of the same event?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Crispus Attucks and Thomas Hutchinson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Hand-colored engraving of the Boston Massacre on King Street: British soldiers in red coats fire volleys through smoke at a crowd of colonists, with people wounded and dead on the ground, a church steeple and Butcher's Hall in the background, and a verse and caption printed below.Painting

Primary source

The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street

Paul Revere · 1770

Scanned page of the Boston Gazette, March 12, 1770, reporting the funeral of Boston Massacre victims. Four coffin illustrations labeled SG, SM, JC, and CA, each with a skull and crossbones, appear beneath the printed text.Newspaper article

Primary source

Boston Gazette Report on the Boston Massacre Funeral

12 March 1770

A mostly black scanned cover of a book with a white Library of Congress label at bottom left showing a barcode and number 00005705010, and red stamp; top left reads E 215 .4 .B75 in white call number text.Book

Primary source

A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston

James Bowdoin, Samuel Pemberton, Joseph Warren · 1770

Scan of a newspaper column of text with four coffin illustrations in a row, each with initials (SG, SM, JC, CA), a skull and crossbones, and a skull over crossed bones. The coffins are dark with white outlines. Text above and below describes the funerals of victims of the Boston Massacre.Painting

Primary source

Four Coffins of Men Killed in the Boston Massacre

Paul Revere · 12 March 1770

Photograph of a dark gray slate headstone with a rounded top edged with small stones, in a shaded graveyard with grass and other gravestones behind it. The inscription lists the remains of Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks and Patrick Carr, victims of the Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770, interred by order of the Town of Boston. It also notes Christopher Snider, aged 12, killed February 22nd 1770, and carries partly worn lines about independence and a 1876 date.Photograph

Secondary source

Boston Massacre Victims Grave

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