Date: July 13, 1776
Author: [Anonymous]
“A report having prevailed, that Dr. Warren was not killed, I think it necessary to contradict it, as I saw a soldier, after the doctor was wounded, and lying in the trenches, going to run him through the body with his bayonet, on which the Doctor desired he would not kill him, for he was much wounded, and could live but a little while longer; on which the soldier swore that he would, for that he did more mischief than any one else, and immediately ran him through the body.”
“The following Accounts are taken from the Boston Gazette, now published there by the Provincials.
Though the body of the great Patriot, Dr. Warren (which our savage enemies scarce privileged with earth enough…sufficiently known by the artificial teeth… as a doubt had arose in some people’s minds whether the body taken up was really the Doctor’s”
Source: London Evening Post, London, July 13, 1776, Issue 8474. Also appeared in: General Evening Post, London, August 20, 1776, Issue 6654; Middlesex Journal and Evening Advertiser, London, August 20, 1776, Issue 1154; and Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser, London, August 19, 1776, Issue 2261. EEBO early English Books
Commentary: A year after Joseph Warren was killed in battle, details of his demise continued to fascinate some on both sides of the conflict. This news article identifies a persistent rumor that Dr. Warren was not killed. Attributing quotations to the Boston Gazette, posthumous identification of Warren’s corpse from false teeth, asserted by 19th century secondary sources to have been made by Paul Revere, is related to British readers. The article appeared in four British newspapers.
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