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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC08748.06 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1775 |
| Title | The Pennsylvania Evening Post Vol. 1, no. 14 |
| Date | 14 December 1775 |
| Author | Towne, Benjamin (fb.-1793) |
| Document Type | Newspapers and Magazines |
| Content Description | Includes several letters from mid-October 1775 by Brook Watson in Montreal. As a British officer who owned land in Nova Scotia, Watson pretended to support the American cause in 1774. Intercepted letters to General Thomas Gage proved he was a spy. The letters in this issue were published at the request of Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress. The letters contain several embarrassing comments, including his prediction that Gage will have to leave Boston soon and that "the kingdom of Great-Britain cannot much longer be governed by such weak councils and feeble efforts." Watson says Montreal was saved by the exertions of its residents and that Ethan Allen was captured outside the city on 25 September 1775 and that he is imprisoned on the ship Gaspee. Says Allen's brigandage has turned the Canadians back to the British, "The Canadians before were nine-tenths for the Bostonians; they are now returned to their duty; many in arms for the King." Watson later became a member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London. Another article references problems with lightning that effected British shipping. Lists British ships in Boston and Halifax. Mentions troop movements in Rhode Island. Another article from New York says General Richard Montgomery had secured the ships around Montreal, including the Gaspee, but without Allen on board. Says American forces are moving on Quebec now and that Benedict Arnold had captured the British commander General Guy Carleton (which was not true). Story out of Philadelphia has a black man referencing Lord Dunmore's regiment of free blacks when insulting a white woman. Quotes an excerpt from the London Evening Post that describes the burning of Charlestown, Massachusetts. |
| Subjects | Revolutionary War Spying Revolutionary War General Continental Congress Congress Global History and Civics Foreign Affairs Siege of Boston Prisoner of War Canada Military History Prison Camp Commerce Geography and Natural History Merchants and Trade Navy Women's History Freemen African American Troops African American History Wartime Pillaging and Destruction |
| People | Gage, Thomas (1721-1787) Thomson, Charles (1729-1824) Allen, Ethan (1738-1789) Dunmore, John Murray, Earl of (1732-1809) Arnold, Benedict (1741-1801) |
| Place written | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Theme | The American Revolution; Merchants & Commerce; Foreign Affairs; Women in American History; Naval & Maritime; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |