Day: November 25, 2008

This time of year just begs for a Thanksgiving-oriented post. As I was racking my brain trying to come up with a suitable one, I remembered something that had caught my eye several years ago. It is a “Proclamation by Richard Caswell concerning a day of thanksgiving.” Caswell was the first governor of the newly independent state of North Carolina, and in his proclamation he declared that November 28, 1777, would be a day of “General and Solemn Thanksgiving.” For what were we giving thanks? It was for General Horatio Gates and his army’s surprising victory over British forces at Saratoga, New York.

You can read the entire proclamation here: Proclamation by Richard Caswell concerning a day of thanksgiving [as printed in the North-Carolina Gazette].

It’s been on our blogroll for a few months, but our friends on the 4th floor of Wilson Library are officially launching “Southern Sources.”

The staff at the Southern Historical Collection hope to use “Southern Sources” as a way to highlight some of the deeply hidden gems in the SHC and as a way to encourage a greater level of public engagement with archival materials in general. Through regular posts, Southern Sources will show off interesting staff finds, curiosities, old favorites, and other samples from our collection.

So, after you’ve finished reading about Blenheim Ginger Ale and the verities of golf, take a look at Southern Sources.