Description:

SOLDIER''S LETTER ON THE BATTLE OF HARLEM HEIGHTS
Good content Continental Army soldier''s letter, 1p. 4to., "Harlam on the island of New York", Oct. 13, 1776. One month after the Battle of Harlem Heights and shortly before Washington''s retreat north towards White Plains, soldier Zachariah Austin, Jr. (1750-1841) of Bristol Co., Mass. writes his wife. In part, with phonetic spelling corrected: "...through the goodness of a merciful Good I am well...I am very glad to hear from New England...I hope that God will spare my life that I may come home again but life is very uncertain. As far as news there was three men killed from Fort Washington and our men hailed them but the wind blew [not allowing them to be heard] and they took them to be enemy...There was a great stir in our army it was generally thought we should be taken here but we hear that they [the British] went up the [Long Island] sound towards New Haven and landed but we heard that our troops drove them back to their ships...there is a great movement in our army we were ordered to draw four days [rations]...I do remain your loving husband till Death...". Heavily soiled with a small hole at a fold junction, fold splits repaired on verso, good. With transcript. Austin no doubt would soon move out with Washington''s army to its defeat at White Plains on Oct. 18th, and a month later, on Nov. 16, 1776, Washington''s last defense of Manhattan would collapse in Greene''s loss at the Battle of Fort Washington. There would follow the disastrous retreat through New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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

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