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The British take the Bahamas...
The British take the Bahamas...
Item # 709905
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July 22, 1783
THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, July 22, 1783
* Revolutionary War Era
* 18th century original
* From The Enemy
Most of page 4 is taken up with: "American News - Recapture of the Bahamas" which includes 4 letters reporting the details. Also including: "Articles Entered Upon Between Don Antonio Claraco Sauz, Governor of the Bahama Islands, and his Honour Andrew Deveaux, Col. and Commander in Chief of the Expedition". Another letter mentions: "...Accounts have been received there of the taking of New Providence by a force consisting of 500 regular troops, 1100 Loyalists, and 400 Indians...".
Additionally there are news items from Albany, Philadelphia, New York, and Springfield.
Eight pages, never bound nor trimmed, 9 by 12 inches, very nice condition.
background: The recapture of the Bahamas in April 1783 stands as one of the most audacious "final acts" of the American Revolutionary War, characterized by a brilliant tactical ruse that allowed a small band of Loyalists to outmaneuver a superior Spanish garrison. Led by the young and daring Colonel Andrew Deveaux, the expedition arrived at New Providence with a force significantly smaller than the "500 regulars and 1,100 Loyalists" reported in the London Chronicle; in reality, Deveaux commanded only about 220 men and a handful of vessels. To secure a surrender, he employed a clever "shell game" strategy, repeatedly rowing the same boatloads of men toward the shore while having them hide in the hull on the return trip, creating the illusion of a massive, unending landing force. Fearing an overwhelming slaughter by an army that didn't actually exist, Governor Don Antonio Claraco y Sauz signed the articles of capitulation, unknowingly handing the islands back to the British Crown just months before the Treaty of Paris formally solidified the peace.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
No Longer Available
