Sep 28, 2023 - Sale 2646

Sale 2646 - Lot 278

Price Realized: $ 5,250
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
(WAR OF 1812.) "Huzza for Baltimore!": 3 issues of the National Intelligencer on the nearby Battle of Baltimore. 3 issues, each 2 pages on one sheet, each about 21 x 13 inches; stitch holes, various minor wear and foxing; two issues uncut, the other with a subscriber name in the upper margin. Washington, 13, 15 and 17 September 1814
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Additional Details

The National Intelligencer's press and type had recently been destroyed during the British occupation of Washington. They were not yet back to their normal full folio format, but were able to report on the Battle of Baltimore not far to the north, which took place 12 to 14 September. Both clashes are discussed at length in these three issues.

The 13 September issue includes two reports from Baltimore, one headlined "The Enemy at Baltimore!" It also includes a long 27 August report on the fate of the Washington Navy Yard; and a report by Captain Oliver Hazard Perry on naval defenses.

The 15 September issue features a postscript under the rousing headline "Huzza for Baltimore!" with the American commander's 10 a.m. report from the day before: "The enemy, after an unsuccessful attempt both by land and water on this place, appear to be retiring." This is corroborated by eyewitness accounts of "British vessels under way down the river at 9 o'clock. . . . The enemy had been bombarding the fort for four-and-twenty hours, without any other effect than two or three killed and wounded." The bombardment of Baltimore, of course, inspired the Star-Spangled Banner. The newspaper also offers an apology for its irregular service: "Several of our hands are yet in the Militia service. . . . Our office is not yet completely recovered from the chaos in which Mr. Incendiary Cockburn left it. . . . We have dispatched an Agent to Philadelphia, to purchase a supply of type, with the help of which we expect our paper in a day or two to resume its usual shape and appearance."

The 17 September issue includes further confirmation and details of the victory at Baltimore. It also revels in the recent news from the Great Lakes: "The victory of Fort Erie has consummated the glory of the army," which is documented by a long chain of correspondence.