479 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

WILLIAM WEMMS AND SEVEN OTHERS

On the evening of March 5th, I observed a group of people with sticks and clubs. They mentioned there was no fire, but rather a disturbance involving soldiers and inhabitants. I returned to the room occasionally, but feeling uneasy, I went back to the door and saw several groups of people pass by. One group, consisting of eight or ten individuals, carried white sticks or clubs in their hands.

Captain John Goldfinch recounted that on the evening of March 8th, around nine o'clock, he was passing over Cornhill when he saw a crowd gathered near the passage to the barracks. He approached the scene, and two or three people called out his name, urging him to help send the soldiers back to their barracks to prevent any bloodshed. The people were pelting the soldiers with snowballs, and the soldiers were defending themselves at the entrance.

James Thompson reported that on the same evening, while walking up King Street, he encountered about fifteen people carrying fairly large sticks.

Lieutenant William Carter stated that on the evening of March 5th, he heard the bell ring and was informed of a riot in King Street. He observed several men passing by, not in a group but in pairs or singly. They were walking faster than usual, and each man carried either a club, sword, hanger, cutlass, or gun.

Patrick Keaton witnessed people coming from the North End on the evening of March 5th, around nine o'clock, carrying sticks and clubs. He saw a tall mulatto man, the same one who was later killed, holding two clubs. The man offered one of the clubs to Keaton, who accepted it but then dropped it in the snow. The man continued on, cursing and swearing at the soldiers. Keaton had not been there long when three or four guns went off, prompting him to return home.

John Buckley observed the crowd in King Street that night and believed the sentinel was in danger, thinking that if the sentinel escaped with his life, he would be fortunate.

John Frost saw the crowd and heard them taunting the sentinel, shouting, "Fire, damn you, fire; you dare not fire."

William Botson was at the market and saw no soldiers except for the sentinel, who climbed the steps and loaded his weapon. Soon after, a party came down from the main guard, and the surrounding crowd shouted, "Fire! Fire!" Eventually, they did fire, and as soon as Botson saw a man fall, he left the scene. He also witnessed snowballs being thrown at both the sentinel and the party.

John Waddel reported that on March 5th, he saw soldiers heading towards the Custom House and being heavily harassed by townspeople throwing snowballs, sticks, and other debris. He also observed the sentinel being molested at the Custom House door and saw a soldier knocked down, though he couldn't identify him. The soldier's firelock flew out of his hand, and after picking it up, he fired, which Waddel believed was the first shot. Waddel also recognized Hartegan, whom he knew from Halifax, and kept a closer watch on him than on the others.

Daniel Cornwall was in Milk Street on the evening of March 5th when he heard the bells ring. A young man informed him that a soldier had struck an inhabitant with a cutlass. Cornwall responded, "Where is the damned villain gone?" but received no answer. Shortly afterward, the group turned around and fired two shots.

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