Description:

DAVID WOOSTER AND TRYON''S RAID ON DANBURY
DAVID WOOSTER (1711 - 1777) American Revolution brigadier general, succeeded Montgomery as commander in Canada, major general of Connecticut Militia, mortally wounded in Tryon''s invasion at Ridgefield. INTERCEPTING A BRITISH ATTACK AT DANBURY Important war-date L.S. with rank: "David Wooster Maj. General" with integral address leaf, 1p. 8vo., Reading, Ct., "26th April 1777 5 o''clock am" to "The Hon''ble Brigadier Gen. [Peleg] Wadsworth by express" in Durham. In small part: "...I am just arrived here with Six hundred Men, the Enemy passed thro here at 1 o''clock this afternoon, their numbers...are about two thousand, we have every reason to apprehend they will destroy our Magazine at Danbury as there is very few Men there. It is thought they will return this way or take the road Lead''g to Norwalk as there is a quantity of stores at Wilton which Lies on the road. You will mount half your Brigade in Detachments, or fast as they come in to Saugutauck Bridge between Fairfield & Norwalk...". Folds, else fine condition. Floated upon a white mat with a second beige mat surrounding, all set into a brown and gild wood frame. This letter was written during a flurry activity by Connecticut patriots on April 26, 1777, after the British had landed at Compo Beach in Westport, Connecticut. The day before, the British invasion force of 2,000, commanded by Major Gen. William Tryon, marched north to destroy the crucial supply depot at Danbury. On the day after this letter was written, a combined American force under Wooster, Brigadier Gen. Gold Selleck Silliman, and Brigadier Gen. Benedict Arnold engaged Tryon near the town of Ridgefield. When the battle was over, American forces had killed or wounded 200 British soldiers and captured 40 more, with American losses set at 20 killed and 80 wounded. Wooster died five daysmlater from his wounds. While the raid was technically a British success, the influx of American forces in the area assured that the British would not attempt any further such raids in the future.

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December 10, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Wilmington, DE, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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