Original January 30, 1787 issue of The Massachusetts Gazette, printed and published by Samuel Hall in Boston, with exceptional contemporary reporting on Shays’ Rebellion and the Springfield Arsenal confrontation.
This issue contains unusually extensive firsthand and near-contemporary reporting on the fighting and immediate pursuit of Daniel Shays and his insurgent forces.
The front page reports that Shays marched with approximately 1,000 men under his immediate command toward General William Shepard’s position at Springfield. After warnings failed, Shepard ordered artillery fired. The account reports three men killed, one badly wounded, and Shays’ force dispersed and retreating.
Inside, under the prominent heading “Important Intelligence,” appears General William Shepard’s January 26 dispatch to Governor James Bowdoin describing the confrontation in extraordinary detail. Shepard reports Shays advancing toward the public buildings with approximately 1,200 men “in battle array,” repeated attempts to stop the advance, and finally his order for artillery to fire into Shays’ column. Shepard records the resulting casualties and retreat.
Alongside Shepard’s report is a January 28 dispatch from General Benjamin Lincoln describing his arrival at Springfield, the positions of the insurgent forces, and the government army’s efforts to surround and disperse them.
Another January 28 report describes the continuing pursuit: Shays had retreated toward Amherst while government troops moved after him, concluding that “We shall require time to hunt up this rebellion.”
Especially significant is the front-page publication of a petition associated with the insurgents. It calls for government troops to be disbanded, protection for participants in the uprising, consideration of their grievances by the General Court, and relief from the burdens under which they claimed to suffer. The petition concludes prominently with the printed name:
DANIEL SHAYS
An outstanding original newspaper from the climactic period of Shays’ Rebellion, documenting the bloodshed at Springfield and the immediate military pursuit of the rebels. The rebellion became one of the major political crises of the Confederation period and formed part of the immediate historical background to the Constitutional Convention later that year.
Condition: Original four-page issue with age toning, scattered staining and foxing, edge wear and losses, and wear/separation along the former bound edge. Irregular losses and tears are present along portions of the lower margins, as shown. Contemporary manuscript ownership notation at the top of the first page. The newspaper remains highly readable, including the important Shays’ Rebellion content. Please examine photographs carefully for exact condition.
Shays Rebellion, Daniel Shays, Springfield Arsenal, Massachusetts Gazette, January 30 1787, 1787 newspaper, William Shepard, Benjamin Lincoln, James Bowdoin, Springfield Massachusetts, Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, early American newspaper, Confederation era, American history, antique newspaper, historical newspaper
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