THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, December 31, 1776 and January 2, 1777  

* Battle of Long Island - New York City 
* American Revolutionary War - 2 issue set
* Continental Army - George Washington loss 

These two issues contain an excellent report on the battle for New York and the eventual evacuation of the city by George Washington.
Beginning in the Dec. 31 issue and taking over 2 complete pages is the beginning of the report which continues on the front page of the January 2, 1777 issue along with the listing of the "Return of commissioned & non-commissioned officers, rank & file, killed, wounded & missing...of General Howe in several actions with the rebels from the 17th of September to the 16th of November, 1776..." taking all of page 1 and some of page 2. The reporting continues on pages 2 & 3 with further detailed of the events in the New York City area.
Truly a terrific pair of issues with a great wealth of historic content on this significant event in the Revolutionary War. Both issues are complete with 8 pages, 8 1/2 by 11 inches.  December 31 has a bit of very light foxing, and January 2 has a stain near the middle causing loss to about 4 words in the list of British soldiers missing.

Background: The British capture of New York City and the subsequent evacuation of George Washington's forces in late 1776 marked a critical, near-fatal nadir for the American Revolution, while simultaneously establishing Manhattan as the strategic nerve center for British operations for the remainder of the war. For the Americans, the loss of this vital port city, the devastating casualties, and the humiliating retreat across New Jersey shattered colonial morale and dwindled the Continental Army to a fraction of its size, pushing the rebellion to the brink of total collapse. For the British, General Howe’s triumph seemed to validate their military superiority and gave them a secure, heavily fortified headquarters from which to launch future campaigns and house thousands of American prisoners of war. However, the significance of the event also lies in its ironic timing: the British victory created a false sense of complacency in London and among the occupying forces, setting the stage for Washington to execute his brilliant, morale-saving counter-strokes at Trenton and Princeton just as the British public was celebrating what they believed was the imminent end of the rebellion.