Description:

Revolutionary War
Savannah, GA, December 15, 1778
Rev War Content Sam Elbert ALS to Ben Lincoln Rare ALS Re: Troop Returns
ALS
Samuel Elbert (1740-1788). Autograph Letter Signed, "S: Elbert", as colonel, 2pp on one sheet measuring 6.5" x 8", Savannah, December 15, 1778. Typed full translation included. Docketed at verso. Expected folds and creases. Two isolated stains at center and lower right, not affecting legibility of text. Housed in protective mylar. Not examined out of plastic; appears in near fine condition.

To Major General Benjamin Lincoln regarding troop returns. In full: "I am instructed by Major General Howe, to forward the Returns you desired, the present disorders in this State, occasioned by the late Invasion of the Enemy, makes it Impossible to send them by the Returning Express, the necessary steps are taken and as soon as Satisfactory ones can be procured they will be sent to you.

The Rank & file, belonging to the Infantry of the Brigade under my Command are about four Hundred & fifty, of these, two Hundred are Encamped at Medway, fifty more are posted near Augusta and the remainder (except the sick and those on furlough which I Estimate at about one Hundred & twenty) are doing duty onboard our Gallies, which are almost destitute of Men. The Light dragoons about Sixty men are posted near Augusta with the Infantry; besides the foregoing there are three Companies of Artillery, about Sixty men, one of which does duty in the Fort at Sunbury & the other two are at Medway camp."

The British had just invaded Georgia, and ultimately captured Savannah with ease two weeks later, on December 29, 1778. Elbert would be wounded and captured at the Battle of Brier Creek in March 1779, and imprisoned for over a year before being exchanged after the capture of Charleston in 1780.

Elbert was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Savannah, Georgia, who commanded the victorious patriot forces in a naval battle near St. Simons Island, Georgia, on April 19, 1778. He rose to the rank of major general in the Georgia militia and colonel in the Continental Army. He was brevetted a brigadier general after the end of the war. Elbert was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of Georgia. On January 4, 1785, Elbert was elected governor of the Georgia. He was a passionate advocate of education and cultural matters.

Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810) was an American army officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was involved in three major surrenders during the war. Lincoln served from 1781 to 1783 as the first United States Secretary of War. While Secretary of War, he became an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati of the state of Massachusetts and was elected as the first president of the Massachusetts Society on June 9, 1783. In 1787, Lincoln led a militia army (privately funded by Massachusetts merchants) in the suppression of Shays' Rebellion, and was a strong supporter of the new United States Constitution. He was for many of his later years the politically influential customs collector of the Port of Boston.

Robert Howe (c.1732-1786) was a Continental Army general from the Province of North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. The descendant of a prominent family in North Carolina, Howe was one of five generals, and the only major general, in the Continental Army from that state. He also played a role in the colonial and state governments of North Carolina, serving in the legislative bodies of both. At the outset of the Revolutionary War, Howe was promoted to brigadier general and was heavily involved in actions in the Southern Department, commanding the Continental Army and Patriot militia forces in defeat in the First Battle of Savannah. He sat as a senior officer on the court-martial board that sentenced to death John Andre, a British officer accused of assisting Benedict Arnold in the latter's plot to change allegiance and deliver West Point to the British.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 6.5" x 8"
  • Medium: ALS

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