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Cornwallis' intention...   General Greene near Charleston...
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Cornwallis' intention... General Greene near Charleston...

Item # 716253 ·
THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, Jan. 12, 1782  

* American Revolutionary War Era
* 18th century from The Enemy 

Page 2 has a post-surrender report noting: "...from ...Earl Cornwallis, make mention that it is not his intention to return to this country until he has effected the entire exchange of the unfortunate veterans who shared captivity with him at York Town....". 
Most of another page is taken up with a "Chronological Table of Facts in the Order of Time for the Year 1781" which has many events on the revolutionary War. It includes: "October 17. Lord Cornwallis began to treat with Gen. Washington about a surrender at York Town. 19th: Articles of Capitulation signed between Lord Cornwallis and Gen. Washington...".
The back page has a report from near the end of the war, noting a ship lost by Cornwallis, & also that: "...the American army under General Green was in great force in the neighbourhood of Charlestown, meaning to invest it..." & more.
Eight pages, 8 1/2 by 11 1/2 inches, bit of foxing, nice condition.

Background: This January 12, 1782, issue of The London Chronicle captures a profound psychological turning point for the British Empire, serving as a raw, contemporary record of a nation grappling with the immediate and catastrophic aftermath of the Siege of Yorktown. By featuring Lord Cornwallis’s vow to remain with his captured "unfortunate veterans" alongside a stark, chronological timeline of the October 1781 surrender, the publication lays bare the collapse of the British strategy in North America to a reading public still reeling from the news. Furthermore, the back-page reports of a lost ship and General Nathanael Greene’s forces encircling Charleston highlight the cascading collapse of the remaining southern strongholds. The true historical significance of this specific text is that it documents the exact interregnum of the American Revolution—the fragile, tense window where major combat had ended at Yorktown, but active military threats remained, forcing the British press and citizenry to publicly confront the undeniable reality that their American colonies were permanently lost.

Item from last month's catalog - #366 - released for May, 2026

Categories: Revolutionary War, British
Price
$62
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.