LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 October Rare Books & Manuscripts #675  / 

30126

Alexander Scammell Autograph Letter Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Alexander Scammell Autograph Letter Signed
<B>Alexander Scammell Autograph Letter Signed</B></I> <I>“Alexdr Scammell</B></I>,<I>” </B></I>two pages, 7.25” x 11.75”, front and verso. West Point, July 23, 1779. To Naby Bishop. In part, “<I>It gave me very sensible pain to hear of your misfortune last Winter whereby you was deprivd of partaking in the winter Amusements but am peculiarly happy in being informed that you have got well again. Tho far distant from you, I sympathize in your felicity or adversity...My dear Girl I have wrote you lately a Number of long Letters the last by Col. Carleton but fear neither of them have reached you as I havnt heard a syllable from you or any of my Mistic friends a number of months since…I have repeatedly urged you to consent to make me happy and that I should continue still in the Service. I have urged every thing a man could who was seeking after happiness…Generously write me your Consent and I will obtain His Excellency's Leave to come to Mistic this Fall…</B></I>” Alexander Scammell, Adjutant General of the Continental Army since early 1778, was in love with Abigail “Naby” Bishop of Mistic (Medford), Massachusetts. She refused to marry him as long as he continued in the army. It has been said that Alexander Scammell was easy to get along with and that he could approach General Washington (“<I>His Excellency</B></I>”) with a familiarity that no other officer could get away with, so he knew he could get permission to leave his post if Naby said yes. Scammell had fought at Bunker Hill and, as Washington's aide, in the battle for New York City in 1776. In 1777, Col. Scammell led his New Hampshire regiment at the Battle of Saratoga. Gen. Washington's increased dependency on Scammell's abilities is evidence by his order to Scammell to arrest Gen. Charles Lee at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, and to supervise the execution of Major John André in 1780. In January 1781, after resigning as Adjutant General, Scammell resumed his command of the First N.H. Regiment. On September 30, 1781, Col. Scammell was captured by British troops near Yorktown, Virginia. Whether or not he resisted is not known. According to various accounts, he was shot in the back after he surrendered. Scammell was rushed into Yorktown and treated by British General Cornwallis' surgeons. At Gen. Washington's request, he was paroled and sent to the hospital at Williamsburg where he died on October 6, 1781. He was 34-years-old. Scammell's grave has never been found. There are a few holes and folds in this letter and the edges are chipped. Overall, in fine condition.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot