BREAKING 1776 NEWS: First British Report of America’s Declaration of Independence
After extensive archive and internet research, including a few email exchanges with the British Library, it is my conclusion that the first official British newspaper report of the actual July 4th Declaration was published in the August 10 to 13, 1776, London Chronicle. While the full printing of the Declaration appeared four days later in ...
The Death and Reinterment of Dr. Joseph Warren
As research for his forthcoming book 1775, Derek W. Beck uncovered photos of Dr. Joseph Warren’s skull, which support the idea that Warren was shot facing his enemy, at close range, during the Battle of Bunker Hill. As Beck summarizes: “Dr. Joseph Warren was shot in the face, looking at his assailant, and given the ...
Massachusetts Provincial Congress Adjourns on the Eve of Revolutionary War
This is a quick follow up to my previous post that featured the 1775 April 17 issue of the Boston Evening-Post. That issue, published by Thomas and John Fleet two days before the Battle of Lexington and Concord, turned out to be its second to last issue under the Fleet brothers. From the same issue, ...
The Massachusetts Spy Moves to Worcester, Loses Readers, Never Returns to Boston
Without any mention in the issue, the 1775 April 6 edition of Isaiah Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy — featuring the famous serpent “Join or Die” cartoon in the name plate — was his last from Boston. As the colophon states, it was printed at the “South-Corner of MARSHALL’s-LANE, leading from the MILL-BRIDGE into UNION STREET,” Boston. ...
Benedict Arnold Commits Treason of the Blackest Dye
About three weeks after George Washington learned of Benedict Arnold’s treason, the Boston Gazette published an issue loaded with juicy details. Among the articles was an extract from Nathanael Greene’s orders, mis-dated September 16, 1780, instead of September 26. Below is the extract:
First Draft of John Paul Jones’ Famous Naval Victory
The September 24 to 28, 1779 issue of the Edinburgh Advertiser gives readers a true first draft of history as it reports, perhaps for the first time anywhere, the famous naval victory by John Paul Jones in the Bonnehomme Richard over the HMS Serapis, known as the Battle of Flamborough Head. This newspaper report is ...
The Only Newspaper Announcing Paul Revere’s 1776 Military Promotion to Lieutenant Colonel
Paul Revere was a silversmith, engraver, political activist and express rider known for alarming Boston’s countryside on the night of April 18, 1775. Far less known about Revere is his military role during the Revolutionary War. According to The Life of Colonel Paul Revere, Volume 1, by Elbridge Henry Goss: “When the British troops evacuated ...
Advertising the Launch of Royal American Magazine
Supplementing his weekly Massachusetts Spy newspaper, perhaps to satisfy a demand for more hard-hitting anti-British essays and illustrations, Isaiah Thomas printed the first issue of Royal American Magazine in January 1774. The magazine was published every month until the eve of the Revolutionary War and featured Paul Revere and John Hancock among its many contributors. ...
The Beginning of the End: Cornwallis Trapped at Yorktown
The October 16, 1781 Pennsylvania Packet includes several early October reports about the American and French forces surrounding Cornwallis at Yorktown. Here is the first one from that issue.
New Collection: The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The 235th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord is quickly approaching, so the unveiling of this collection is very timely. Below is the introduction to Rag Linen’s Battle of Lexington and Concord collection. “The New England militia were elaborately organized and actively led. On the morning of April 19, 1775, they stood against ...
The Arrivial of the Second Continental Congress
The May 9, 1775 Pennsylvania Evening Post (Philadelphia) included a short description of the Massachusetts and Connecticut delegates arriving in New York en route to Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress, which was the congress that managed colonial affairs during the Revolutionary War and declared independence from Britain 14 months later. Dateline: New York, May ...
Gen. George Washington’s Arrival in Cambridge: The Public and Private Exchanges
Last week, J.L. Bell wrote on his Boston 1775 blog about Gen. George Washington’s arrival in Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army. Washington was accompanied by Gen. Charles Lee, an experienced British officer who was bitter about not being appointed Commander in Chief and, according to Wikipedia, had nothing but the utmost disdain ...
