[REVOLUTIONARY WAR]. The Salem Gazette. Nearing the end of the Revolutionary War and Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Salem: Samuel Hall, 31 October 1782. Vol. 2, No. 55. 4pp., small folio (368 x 229 mm), spotting, some splitting along spine. BRITISH FORCES BEGIN TO EVACUATE CHARLESTON. On 14 December 1782, approximately 14,000 people including British forces evacuated Charleston, marking the beginning of the end for the British in America. General William Moultrie of South Carolina once spoke of this historical moment: “This fourteenth day of December, 1782, ought never to be forgotten by the Carolinians; it ought to be the day of festivity with them, as it is the real day of their deliverance and independence”.