“Nature held him with an upright dignity”

John Adams to William Tudor, Quincy, April 15, 1818

[Part of: “Let Those Flatter Who Fear”: American Independence in Verse.]

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A worthy painting of the scene would need
The greatest master’s greatest art. Up front,
The council seated, Hutchinson presiding,
Costumed in white wigs and bright scarlet cloaks.
Petitioning for the inhabitants
Was Samuel Adams, dressed in plain simplicity.
Thucydides would write a speech for him;
That is beyond my powers. He represented
The public’s justified determination
That all the troops be taken from the town:
Recent events had proved the ruinous
Effects of standing armies. He held himself, 
Or rather Nature held him, with an upright
Dignity of figure and of gesture.
This was a delicate and dangerous crisis. 
No redcoat’s life was safe in any street
In town; the lives of the inhabitants
No more secure. Even I took my shift
To guard against a breach of peace. The governor,
Conferring with the colonel, hazarded
That they could send one regiment away,
If that would satisfy the people. At this,
Samuel arose, and he stretched forth his arm,
Even then quivering with palsy, saying,
If one could be removed, then so could two;
And nothing short of a complete evacuation
By all the troops could yet restore the peace,
Or satisfy the public mind. With that,
Boston was free.

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