January 30, 1776

The first page and a half of news in the January 30 issue of the Pennsylvania Evening Post was from London, dated November 17. Another paragraph, reportedly from the London Packet and also dated November 17, was printed separately, on the third page under the Philadelphia heading. It began with an italicized notice: “the public may depend upon the authenticity of the following article.” The London Packet had reported on the contents of a letter from Boston, which, if it existed, must have been written earlier in the fall of 1775. The letter had described how Charles Lee, one of the Continental Army’s major generals, “had a mutinous soldier in his corps, upon whom he drew his sword, and running it through his body instantly despatched him.” The letter writer had intimated that Lee had been executed “in consequence of this violence.”

This story was fabricated. Readers of the Evening Post knew that Lee was still very much alive. In reality, the American public could not “depend upon the authenticity” of the article from the London Packet. That said, Charles Lee eventually gained a reputation for being hot-headed, and before the end of the war, he was court martialed and engaged in a duel.

The Pennsylvania Evening Post
Printed by Benjamin Towne

A paragraph in the London Packet of November 17, says, “The public may depend upon the authenticity of the following article. By a letter from Boston, we learn that the army have now plenty of provisions, and are in much better health and spirits than of late. General Lee, a few days before the letter writer sent his information, had a mutinous soldier in his corps, upon whom he drew his sword, and running it through his body instantly despatched him. It is thought that General Lee is not now alive, in consequence of this violence.”