May 23, 1776

One benefit of Benjamin Towne’s Pennsylvania Evening Post was that, as an evening newspaper, updates from that same day could be printed and immediately distributed. This was the case on Thursday, May 23, when General George Washington arrived in Philadelphia “about two o’clock” in the afternoon—before Towne’s paper went to press. George and Martha Washington had traveled from New York to Philadelphia at the request of John Hancock so that the Continental Congress could have in-person discussions with the commander-in-chief. 

The Pennsylvania Evening Post
Printed by Benjamin Towne

This afternoon, about two o’clock, His Excellency General WASHINGTON arrived in this city, from New-York.