Collection of twelve issues of The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser newspaper chronicling events of the American Revolution from December 15, 1778 to February 22, 1780:
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (December 15, 1778)
Discussions of Silas Dean's activities in Europe, with commentary from "Common Sense"
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, December 15, 1778; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Extensive discussions about Silas Deane and his activities in Europe, including a lengthy letter from "Common Sense" [Thomas Paine]; resolutions in Congress in December 1778 set forth discussing need for consultation on foreign affairs. Report from Philadelphia that "thirty thousand tons of shipping had been suddenly taken up in New-York for government service, and that a general embargo is laid; the occasion has not yet transpired."
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (December 29, 1778)
Commentary on commissioners Arthur Lee, Benjamin Franklin, and Silas Deane, plus a letter by Thomas Paine addressing a libel
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, December 29, 1778; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Defense of Mr. Arthur Lee, a joint commissioner with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane at the Court of France. Letter of Thomas Paine, author of all writing under the signature of Common Sense, addressing a libel upon him apparently by an aide de camp to General Arnold, M. Clarkson, under the name Plain Truth. Article about remarks of calling constitutional convention in Pennsylvania.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (January 12, 1779)
Notices on the apprehension of a robber-murderer, congressional resolutions, and lottery proceedings
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, January 12, 1779, printed and sold by John Dunlap. Front page notice about the apprehension of James Stevens; the notice stated that Stevens was thought to belong to a gang that committed robberies and murders in New Jersey; Stevens also had care of American prisoners and robbed and mistreated them. Proceedings in Congress concerning raising funds; the United States has not been provided revenues and is not in a condition to raise them, noting the need for bills of credit, for redemption as pledged by the United States; signed in print by Charles Thomson, Secretary. Resolution for a constitutional convention in Pennsylvania, signed in print John Morris, Clerk of the General Assembly. Resolution in Congress concerning the Commissary General of Prisoners of the enemy, signed in print by Charles Thomson. Proceedings in Congress concerning Lottery. Slight damage to one margin and two tiny holes.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (February 18 and 20, 1779)
Featuring William Henry Drayton's letter to the King of Great Britain
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, February 18, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. "W.H.D. TO THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN" dated Philadelphia, February 13th, 1779; response and point-by-point rebuttal to the King’s speech to both houses of Parliament on November 27, 1778. [William Henry Drayton—the first prominent Carolinian to openly call for the establishment of a new government and separation from Great Britain; in 1778 he became president of South Carolina; played a prominent role in drafting a new constitution; and was elected to Congress, where he served on more than eighty committees in the next seventeen months].
Report from Williamsburg that "General Lincoln has had an engagement with the enemy at Savannah, in Georgia, wherein about 300 men were slain on both sides. The militia were turning out briskly, and the General expected soon to be able to dislodge the enemy." Reports from London that the "King of Naples and the Sicilies has formally declared its ports open to our commerce."
Back page advertisement for Doctor Baker, Surgeon—Dentist, from Williamsburg, Virginia; "Dr. Baker "may be had at his lodgings at Mrs. Pyle’s, in Second-Street, below the City Tavern, and opposite Mr. Affleck’s, Cabinet-maker" in Philadelphia. [Dr. Baker was George Washington’s dentist—On 13 October 1773, Washington noted in his diary that "Mr. Baker Surgeon Dentist" had arrived at Mount Vernon that afternoon. The dentist stayed several days and charged £5, according to the planter’s accounts.]
With the Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, February 20, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Correspondence and sworn statement of Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson [She moved in the highest levels of Philadelphia Society, is credited with introducing the literary salon to America, and has been called the most learned woman in America]. Philadelphia, General Assembly—An Act to increase the fees on tavern-licenses, the fines on tippling houses, and the rates of excise. Lottery-Office report. ERRATA in the piece of W.H.D. to the King of Great-Britain.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (April 1, 1779)
The principles and articles adopted by Philadelphia's Constitutional Society, chaired by famous artist Charles Wilson Peale
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, April 1, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Principles and Articles agreed to by members of the Constitutional Society in Philadelphia, signed in type by its chairman (and famous artist) Charles Willson Peale, supporting the independence of the United States, equal and universal liberty of conscience, right of electing representatives by ballot, and other aims. Large woodcut of the full-blooded horse Babraham, with advertisement. Advertisement for sale of 6,250 acres in Albany county (NY), along with other properties in Clifton Park.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (April 8, 1779)
Extracts from letters by Declaration signer Carter Braxton, defending his support for American independence
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, April 8, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Extensive correspondence from and involving Carter Braxton of Virginia, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; after his private correspondence to John Ross about the American treaty with the French was seized by the enemy in New York, and published, Carter Braxton strongly defended his support for American independence. Braxton’s letter of October 7, 1778 stated: "With regard to America, you find by her alliance with France she is so closely fixed to her, that she cannot in any event separate herself." Miscellaneous legislative affairs in Pennsylvania. Reward for deserters from Fourth Regiment Light Dragoons, now lying at Lancaster. Two large woodcuts of horses as part of advertisements.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (April 10, 1779)
Gen. Washington's proclamation pardoning deserters who, "having seen their error," return to their corps immediately
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, April 10, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Proclamation By His Excellency George Washington, Esq., General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the United States of America given at Head-Quarters, Middle-Brook, March 10, 1779, conferred full pardon upon deserters provided they return to their corps by May 1, 1779. Boldly signed in type: G. WASHINGTON. Proceedings in the House of Commons in London on December 5, 1778 defending proclamation issued in New York to the provinces by Commissioners; criticizing the burning of New York and 3/4 of Norfolk by the Americans; and addressing American treaty with France: "By their alliance with France, the natural enemy of our country, they had forfeited all right to clemency; they were therefore in future to be treated no longer as subjects of Great-Britain, but as appendages to the French monarchy, whose interest they preferred to ours." Miscellaneous proceedings in General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (April 24, 1779)
Extensive reporting on diplomatic efforts of the merchants in Holland seeking justice for British seizures of their vessels
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, April 24, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Extensive report of diplomatic efforts of the merchants in Holland seeking justice for British seizures of their vessels; the King’s response was conveyed to the Dutch via the Earl of Suffolk, and the King’s response was found to be far from satisfying and ambiguous, and seemed to require the merchants to break off all communication with the present enemies of Britain. The King’s reply was met with another memorial by the united merchants of the principal cities, accusing the British of violating treaties.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (April 27, 1779)
Reprinting a letter to John Jay with evidence that "the British court endeavored to procure both our domestic slaves and the savages of the wilderness to destroy us"
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, April 27, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Trial at the Court of Special Sessions in Charlestown, South Carolina of persons charged with joining the inveterate enemies of the United States of America at Savannah. British attack in Nantucket and Falmouth by Loyal Refugees. Correspondence between Gov. William Livingston of New Jersey and Sir Henry Clinton, concerning Livingston’s claim that Clinton was conspiring to assassinate Livingston. Marine affairs in Boston Harbour. William Livingston’s correspondence with John Jay, President of Congress, providing evidence that "the British court endeavored to procure both our domestic slaves and the savages of the wilderness to destroy us." More proceedings in Congress and in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (May 20, 1779)
News of troop movements in New York and New Jersey
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, May 20, 1779; printed and sold by John Dunlap. Some discoloration and paper loss to margin on page one, no text lost. Nantucket gentlemen claimed goods that were taken from them by the Royal Refugees; claim denied by General Prescot. Brigadier General Silliman and his son taken from General’s house in Fairfield by Tories from Long-Island. [One night in May 1779, nine Tories crossed the sound in a whale boat from Lloyd's Neck. One of the Tories had been previously employed by Silliman as a carpenter, so he knew the house well. Eight of the men forced their way into the house at midnight and took the general and his adult son. They were taken to Oyster Bay, New York, and finally to Flatbush. They were later exchanged]. Considerable body of the enemy landed in Bergen County, [NJ]. Court martial of Mr. Zedwitz of New York, who attempted to give information to the enemy when the British army took possession of New York. Report of skirmish at “Closter Landing” [Bergen County, NJ].
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The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (February 22, 1780)
Revolutionary reportage on taking possession of Verplanck's Point and an extraordinary account of the Battle of Baton Rouge
The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, February 22, 1780, printed and sold by John Dunlap. Extract of a letter from General Sir Henry Clinton to Lord George Germaine, dated Head-Quarters, Dobb’s Ferry, July 25, 1779, concerning taking possession of Verplanks and Stoney Point upon the North River. Letter of Lt. Col. Johnson to Sir Henry Clinton, dated Hardy’s Town, July 24, 1779, informing that the post at Stoney point fell into the hands of the enemy. Return of the casualties of his Majesty’s troops at Stoney-Point. [The Battle of Stony Point took place on July 16, 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. In a well planned and executed nighttime attack, a highly trained select group of George Washington's Continental Army troops under the command of Brigadier General "Mad Anthony" Wayne defeated British troops in a quick and daring assault on their outpost in Stony Point, New York, approximately 30 mi (48 km) north of New York City.].
Copy of letter from Major General Howe to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated 3 December 1775 (events in Quebec and Montreal). US loan has been negotiated with a foreign power, apparently in Amsterdam. Extraordinary and detailed report of the Battle of Baton Rouge, where Spanish forces, led by General Galvez, prevailed in a battle against the English forces. The Battle of Baton Rouge was a brief siege during the Anglo-Spanish War that was decided on September 21, 1779. Baton Rouge was the second British outpost to fall to Spanish arms during Bernardo de Gálvez’s march into British West Florida.
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