THE CONNECTICUT COURANT, Hartford, May 26, 1778  The ftpg. has a desertion ad for a solder from Col. Wyllys' regiment (see). Half of the ftpg. is taken up with a "Speech of the Right Hon. the Earl of Abington in the House of Lords" with most of the comments concerning the Revolutionary War, bits including: "...that the American prisoners in this country (men who are made prisoners in the glorious cause of Liberty & are nick named rebels, only to sanctify the rebellion of Ministers against the freedom of this country) are treated with a Savage Barbarity...Whilsts you are making prisoners of the American by fifties and hundreds, they are making prisoners of you by whole armies. The fate of General Burgoyne is known; and if General Howe does not again shift his position his fate will be the same..." and more (see for portions). Almost the entirety of pg. 2 is taken up with a terrific & very lengthy letter from Henry Laurens, the President of Congress, concerning the war. It begins: "Three years have now passed away since the commencement of the present war...You cannot but remember how reluctantly we were dragged into this arduous conquest..." and so much more. Truly terrific reading! The photos below only show portions. Pg. 3 includes some "Parliamentary Proceedings" which include: "...the United States of North America who are in full possession of Independence, as pronounced by them on the 4th of July 1776 having proposed to the King to consolidate by a formal convention the connection begun to be established between the two nations..." with more (see). Rare to find period mention of "4th of July" as a phrase. Other bits on pg. 3 as well. One-third of the bkpg. has a nice address to Lord North signed in type by Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee which has some great content relating to the war (see photos for full text), including: "...Col. Ethan Allen was dragged in chains from Canada to England..." and so much more. Complete in 4 pgs., irregular at the blank spine margin, otherwise rather nice. Some great content in this issue from the middle of the Revolutionary War.