During my three weeks of research in Oxford, England, I was immersed in 18th century newspapers preserved in the reading room of the Bodleian Library.  Each evening while strolling back from the library, I felt as if I had entered a time warp.  My path wound through the streets of this ancient and historic city, past buildings and landmarks that

pre-dated the times recounted in the newspapers I was reading. This made my research of the 18th century come alive in ways that wouldn’t otherwise have happened. 

 

One of my first discoveries was the discrepancy between the time an historic event occurred and when it came to be reported.  I arrived in Oxford prepared with the dates and events from the history of the American Revolution.  However, unlike today’s instant access to world-wide news, 18th century reporting was a wee bit slower.  News of the war depended upon hand written reports from British officers delivered by messengers who had to navigate hostile terrain, bad weather and enemy troops - and that was just to get it to a ship which then had to sail 3,000 miles across uncertain seas through storms, shipwrecks and pirates.  When it finally arrived in England, the news still had to negotiate a political landscape that was loathe to report bad tidings.  Therefore, events might not be reported until weeks or even months after the fact.  (For example, the events of the 4th of July, 1776 were not reported until August 10th - and not until October 29th in the Monarch-controlled London Gazette)

 

In contrast to the sworn statements and battlefield reports of the commanding officers, another popular source of the ‘news’ was through correspondence.  It was a common practice in the papers of that period to print letter-excerpts as a form of news.  

 

What is often forgotten when recalling the American War of Independence, and what underscores the family-like attitude between the two countries, is that most American colonials were originally from Britain and they still had friends and families living there. Consequently, the provincials often sent letters to loved ones or friends in Britain and these accounts of battle or wartime conditions in America were much more personal and graphic than the formal military reports.  Some of these published letters were from pro-independence Americans, some were from pro-British Loyalists, and some were from soldiers of both armies.  Therefore, the correspondence itself reflected the various disputes and factions within the colonies.

                

FAMILY FEUD

 

The war between Britain and its North American Colonies was, in many respects, a transatlantic version of the Hatfields and McCoys; the struggle between a dominating parent and an adolescent son; an 18th century Generation Gap.  At first, all America wanted was the keys to the car and no curfew.  Eventually we ran off, took up with a French companion and moved into our own place across the pond.   Now you can read all about it!

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