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Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Charles-Town, Boston...

Great wealth of war content in this Tory newspaper...



Item # 617920

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April 25, 1778

THE PENNSYLVANIA LEDGER OR THE PHILADELPHIA MARKET-DAY ADVERTISER, April 25, 1778 

* Revolutionary War Tory original
* Rare Pro British issue from America


This was a strongly Tory (supportive of the British cause) newspaper which began in 1775 and closed shop in May of 1778 when the British evacuated Philadelphia.
The front page has a brief item from Boston noting that at a meeting of freeholders, "...the Hon. John Hancock, Esq. was chosen Moderator & the following persons were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety..." followed by the list. Also a letter datelined: "Camp, Valley Forge, March 27, 1778" which primarily concerns the transport of supplies in the war effort. One item notes: "...public is burdened with a fruitless expence in an additional number of horses and waggons and the strength of the army id diminished by the extraordinary number of guards required for their protection..." (see).
Page 2 begins with a bit of naval news from Newport. This is followed by a report datelined "New York" which includes in part: "...from Boston has favoured us with rebel news-papers printed there....contains a constitution & form of government for the state of Massachusetts Bay..." and also: "...We hear that one of General Burgoyne's aid de camps has lately returned from the Congress...they have consented that the Gen. and five officers may proceed to Great Britain provided General Philips and the army remain ass hostages...The British & German troops under the command of Lt. General Burgoyne still remain in the vicinity of Cambridge...said that every British officer, now prisoner among the rebels, must...pay to the states...for every day he has been in confinement...The goal [jail] in Boston is crowded with persons who have refused to abjure the British government & swear allegiance to the rebels, who are tendering those execrable oaths to every man they suspect a loyalist...that General Washington has made a demand upon New  England for 4000 men who must join his army..." and more (see).
Page 2 also has 2 nice charts noting the military & naval strength of the British in America. Also: "A List of the Rebel forces in Charles-Town".
Lengthy military reports fill out the balance of page 2 and carry over to take over half of page 3, too much to mention here (see photos), although one item notes a presumed amnesty for those who return their allegiance  to the King's army, and another item has a nice account of a soldier who escaped being jailed because of being a Tory.
Over half of the front page is taken up with the text of two Bills being considered in Parliament relating to America. The first is a: "DRAUGHT of a BILL for declaring the Intentions of the Parliament...concerning the Exercise of the Right of Imposing Taxes within His  Majesty's Colonies..." and the other is a: "DRAUGHT of a BILL to enable his Majesty to appoint Commissioners with sufficient powers to treat, consult, and agree upon the means of quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of the Colonies, Plantations and Provinces of North America." This latter document was an effort to come to agreeable terms for a peace settlement.
Four pages, very light damp stain to a lower corner, numeric notations in margins next to ads (this was the editor's copy), very nice condition. Not surprisingly, being a Tory newspaper, the masthead includes a nice engraving of the Royal coat-of-arms.

Category: Revolutionary War