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"Ready to March...On the Shortest Notice...."

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:137.00 USD Estimated At:275.00 - 375.00 USD
 Ready to March...On the Shortest Notice....
A.L.S. of American officer Zabdiel Rogers, "Colo. of 20th Reg.," Norwich (Conn.), Jan. 1, 1781, 8 x 12 3/4. To noted Capt. Elijah Backus. "Pursuant to Orders from Genl. Tyler You are Order'd Forthwith to Detach from the Company under your Command One Sergeant And have him Well Equip'd to Join a Company Form'd from this Brigade, to March to Horse Neck To be under the Command of Colo. Mead, or Office Commanding on that Station, to be Held in Service Two Months...The Captain will be from the 8th Regt., who will pay him before he Marches four Pence p(e)r Mile for his Subsistance Money...Have the Company under your Command Well Equip'd & Ready to March if Necessary On the Shortest Notice...." Backus served at Valley Forge, in the 7th Conn. In 1781, he commanded a company of Conn. militia defending New London. His Backus Iron Works assumed a vital role in the Revolution: in addition to two 1,200-lb. iron anchors, Backus, "a very ingenious mechanic, manufactured a number of cannon for the Revolutionary army; this he effected by welding together pieces of iron"--Connecticut Historical Collections..., 1837, p. 292. Docketed. Some minor chipping and one tear at top edge, two edges deckled, marginal toning, else good plus, darkly penned, and appealing for display.