A Benedict Arnold letter... Less than 60 days until the Declaration!

THE NEW-ENGLAND CHRONICLE, Boston, May 9, 1776  

* Infamous traitor Benedict Arnold
* Pre Declaration if Independence 
* American Revolutionary War 

Although the title might sound rather common (similar title published in Salem & Cambridge), this is actually a very scarce, short-lived title. 
On April 25, 1776 this newspaper was removed from Cambridge and printed at Boston, just 2 issues before this one. The last issue of this title published was on September 12, 1776, meaning just eleven issues were published at Boston.
The front page begins with a letter: "It is now become highly necessary that the Colonies acquaint themselves with all the stratagems and art of war..." with much more on this, taking close to half of the front page.
This is followed by a report from the House of Lords: "...the Following Protest was entered Against the Proceedings of the House...on the second reading of the bill to Prohibit all Trade and Commerce with certain Colonies in America." This detailed report takes over half of the front page, and over half of page 2.
Page 3 has an uncommon letter from Benedict Arnold (before his defection) taking over half a column, headed: "Extract of a Letter from Brigadier-General Arnold, dated Holland House, March 26 and 28, 1776". This is followed by an: "Extract of a letter from a Gentleman in the Continental Army before Quebec". Other war-related content as well.
Four pages, never-trimmed margins, archivally rejoined at the blank spine, very nice, clean condition.

Background: The intersection of these specific reports in May 1776 captures the precise psychological tipping point where the American colonists transitioned from aggrieved British subjects into an independent wartime nation. By publishing British parliamentary dissent against the Prohibitory Act alongside urgent front-page directives on the "art of war," the newspaper documents a society realizing that reconciliation was impossible; England had effectively declared war on American commerce, leaving the colonies no choice but to master military strategy. This existential shift is punctuated by the frontline dispatch from Benedict Arnold at Quebec—a reminder that while the political debate raged in Boston, American soldiers were already bleeding on foreign soil under commanders who were, at that moment, risking everything for the revolutionary cause. Collectively, these articles represent the final prologue to independence, capturing the raw, bleeding edge of a revolution just two months before the Declaration of Independence codified their de facto separation from the Crown.