Glorious News Broadside

Time Period
1763 to 1825
Topics
American Revolution
Military History

Broadsides, or broadsheets, are items printed on one side of a sheet of paper and generally posted or distributed as advertisements or bulletins. They were a quick way of conveying information. In today’s world, think about posters for lost pets or flyers advertising babysitting services. Broadsides often reported newsworthy events or provided additional information or instructions, as this example illustrates. This broadside was printed for the people of Providence, Rhode Island, at about 3:00 p.m. on October 25th, 1781. It first explains that what follows is information that was delivered to Newport (about 35 miles away) the day before by Captain Lovett, who has come straight from Virginia to bring news of Lord Cornwallis’s surrender. The message mentions the British surrender before using a congratulatory tone, “By this glorious Conquest, NINE THOUSAND of the enemy, including Seaman, fell into our hands.”

Note the letter “n” added above the misspelled “Providece” printed at the top. Perhaps the hastiness of the print, due to the importance of the news, caused an error! Edward Powars also printed the text of the Declaration of Independence as a broadside sheet and in The Independent Chronical, a newspaper he printed with Nathaniel Willis in 1776.

The Battle of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781, and news of the British defeat spread quickly through the colonies. Back in England, public sentiments quickly turned against the war due to increasing military defeats and rising costs. Though the American Revolution continued for two more years, Yorktown is recognized as the last major battle of the war. Learn more about the Battle of Yorktown in this article: Surrender of the English Army at Yorktown

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Full Glorious News Broadside

Broadside created by Edward E. Powars, 1781. (VMHC 1781 : 3) 

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Portion of Glorious News Broadside

Broadside created by Edward E. Powars, 1781. (VMHC 1781 : 3)