Excerpt, 12pp, from 1770s-1780s journal, possibly belonging to a William Case Clark, containing 3pp poem titled "A New Song Called the Gaspee." In prose, a small portion of the poem reads:

A New Song Called the Gaspee

Twas in the Reign of George the Third

Our publik peace was much disturbed

By ships of war that came and laid

Within our ports to stop the trade

In seventeen hundred and seventy two

In Newport Harbor lay a crew

That played the parts of pirates ther

Those sons of freedom could not bear'

The Gaspee was a British military ship sent by the King to enforce maritime trade laws and prevent smuggling in the Americas prior to the American Revolution. Already frustrated by oppressive tax acts, colonists conspired to destroy the vessel in the dead of night. Abraham Whipple and a small group of men rowed out to the ship and set it on fire. They took Lieutenant Dudingston and his crew as prisoners and detained them at Pawtuxet Village. The Gaspee Affair was the first violent uprising against the British by American colonists, preceding the Boston Tea Party by more than a year. The poem entry is most likely a period copy. There are very few records of the poem, none of which are on original paper from the period, and the author is unknown. Additional entries in the journal include a copy of those killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, a record of the weather for 1775, and various lists recording weights and measures of various goods dating from 1772 until 1780.

Fragility and brittleness of the paper, very rough binding with some portions missing and folds that make it difficult to read. The poem pages; however, are in very good condition and are legible.