SPECTACULAR JULY 1776 LETTER PREPARING CONTINENTAL BATTERIES FROM ATTACK BY THE BRITISH FORCES IN BOSTON HARBOR JUST 21 DAYS AFTER THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
[American Revolution]. Benjamin Lincoln Autograph War dated Letter Signed (“Benj: Lincoln”). One page, 7.25″ x 5.25″, Boston; July 31, 1776. Addressed to Colonel Marshall “at Castle Island” [Castle William fortress in the Boston Harbor], ordering a detachment of troops be sent to him. It was written while Lincoln (1733-1810) was Major General of the Massachusetts militia and in command of coastal defenses. Docketed. He writes, in full:
“You are desired to detach one sergeant, one Corpl. & Twelve privates as guard at yr. Magazine on Jamaica Plain & you will send them immediately -” Signed, “Benj: Lincoln”.
Less than two months after this letter, Lincoln was ordered to join General Washington in New York after the Battle of Long Island forced the Continental forces to retreat from New York City. He went on to participate in numerous significant engagements such as the battles of White Plains, Bound Brook, Bemis Heights, and the sieges of Savannah, Charleston and Yorktown. He was captured by the British at Charleston in 1780 but paroled a few months later. Lincoln was General Washington’s second in command at Yorktown and personally received Cornwallis’ sword of surrender from the British General’s second in command, Charles O’Hara. Lincoln served as the first Secretary of War from 1781 to 1783. After the war, he was called upon to put down Shays’ Rebellion and appointed collector of the Port of Boston from 1789 to 1809. The letter is accompanied by a hand-colored engraved portrait of Lincoln by T. Illman.
