[American Revolution] Very Rare First Report of the Battle of Bunker Hill Printed in England

The London Gazette
London: Printed by Thomas Harrison, July 22-25, 1775. Numb. 11581. Bifolium, 12 x 7 1/2 in. (305 x 191 mm). Printed newspaper in two columns. Disbound. With the text of an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill by Thomas Gage. In part: "I am to acquaint your Lordship of an Action that happened on the 17th instant between His Majesty's Troops and a large Body of the Rebel Forces. An Alarm was given...that the Rebels had broke Ground, and were raising a Battery, on the Heights of the Peninsula of Charles-Town...Preparations were instantly made for landing a Body of Men...under the Command of Major-General Howe...The Troops formed as soon as landed...the Attack began by a sharp Cannonade from our Field Pieces...Orders were executed with Perseverance, under a heavy Fire from the vast Numbers of the Rebels...the Loss the Rebels sustained must have been considerable...I inclose your Lordship a Return of the killed and wounded of His Majesty's Troops..." Partial ink stamp at bottom of second page. Creased; small sections of loss to left margin; scattered stains.

A very rare issue of The London-Gazette, the official mouthpiece of the English Crown, containing the first English appearance of Colonial Governor Thomas Gage's account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on June 17, 1775. The issue prints the full text of a letter written by Gage eight days after the battle, to the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, which took a month to arrive in England. Gage offers an inflated account of the conflict, emphasizing rebel losses while downplaying those of the British. Despite his attempts to control the narrative of the conflict, Gage was dismissed from his office three days after his report was received.

The text from this issue was used in the following days to print a broadside version of Gage's account. (Evans 13842)

Very rare. We can locate no other copies of this issue featuring Gage's initial report in the available auction record.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

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How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

[American Revolution] Very Rare First Report of the Battle of Bunker Hill Printed in England

How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

[American Revolution] Very Rare First Report of the Battle of Bunker Hill Printed in England

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