After the Boston Massacre on March 5 , 1770 , Bowdoin was chosen by the Boston town meeting to serve on a committee that investigated the affair . The committee took depositions and produced a report describing the event that was published as '' A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre '' . The work was highly critical not only of the governor , but also the behavior of the British Army troops that were stationed in Boston , and is characterized by historian Francis Walett as one of the major propaganda pieces influencing public opinion in the colonies . Bowdoin 's opposition to British policies continued during the Hutchinson administration , and when letters by Hutchinson were published to outrage similar to the Bernard letters affair , Bowdoin again penned works highly critical of the governor and calling for his removal . Hutchinson 's successor , General Thomas Gage , vetoed Bowdoin 's reelection to the council in 1774 , citing " express orders from His Majesty " that he be excluded from that body
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
James Bowdoin