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Four War of 1812 Letters from Ohio with Great Content, 

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:1,400.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Four War of 1812 Letters from Ohio with Great Content, 

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Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Timothy E. Danielson. 3 ALsS to Samuel P. Hildreth, 1812.

In July 1812, Lieut. T.E. Danielson raised a company of volunteers in Marietta, Ohio, for military service in the War of 1812, leading his men through a long march to the upper Ohio Country. During his service, he wrote these three letters to his friend, Samuel P. Hildreth, providing an exciting account of the hardships endured delivered with a wry sense of humor.

In the first letter, dated September 1812, Danielson described the seemingly precarious situation at Camp Langhorn, near Piqua: We have marched into the very center of more Indians that fought at the battle of Tippacanoe. On our right flank, 100 rods distant is the Shawnee camp -- On the centre of our rear 150 rods distant is the Delaware -- on our left the Kickapoos, Senecas, Mowhawks, Tawas, Mingoes, &c encamped together, amounting in the whole, according to their own account to 861, some of their chiefs say more -- and out little body consisting of 130 in the whole (15 effective men) without a flint, or a single ounce of ammunition, wisely posted in the centre to keep the peace and fortify the Indian agent's house… 6 active Indians with good rifles could pick off every man in the camp without the least possible danger to themselves... The reality of the situation, however, turned out to be less perilous: Danielson noted that some officers attended the Indians' balls!!! Or squawls nightly, while the chiefs attend the soldiers' masques.

Danielson's second letter continues the adventure, though the tension of Camp Langhorn grew thicker and the situation more dangerous. The hardships of the march were compounded when he reported losing his servant: a truly active molatto, the best servant by all odds in the Regt. He found a master at Fort Jennings from whom he had run away at (Ky) which left us entirely without a servant as the other two were left with the baggage. How I swore! When the column arrived at the confluence of the Au Glaze and Maumee Rivers, they heard rumors of hundreds of Indians and discovered one of their number had been tomahawked and scalped. In reality, though, they faced off against 30 Indians, who quickly disappeared. On the report of the guns which proved fatal to a fine soldier of M company, Capt. Brush with 6 or 8 more waded the Miami [i.e. Maumee] and pursued the Indians on foot 2 miles when they were overtaken by 18 or 20 Dragoons whom theu put on the trail and returned. The Dragoons came up with the murderers about 6 miles from camp who were at first much frighted, but on viewing our numbers made a stand, upon which the Dragons concluded it prudent to return to camp, taking with them two blankets which the Indians had lost in the fight... Danielson provides a gruesome account of the man who was scalped and eventually killed. The next day, he continues: Our spies came in last evening, having killed one Indian in the rear of about 300 hundred, as near as they could judge, whom they had followed 10 or 12 miles, passing near our camp in the opposite side of the Miami...

The final letter in the collection, undated, is a gem and a vivid example of life in early Ohio. Feeling under the weather from his journey, Danielson describes his first impressions of the French settlement in Gallipolis: A majority of Parisian inhabitants in this place are seriously objects of pity, which would open the hand of a Yankee even in convulsive fits -- if he had anything to give. A few exceptions however. Mons. Be. and M. rise above poverty Francois which surround them like hog-weeds in the garden above the humble purslain, and look down upon the wretched, penurious countrymen with equal feeling. Never were poor devils placed in a situation less congenial to their habits and abilities. Had they been put in a tub of Yankee soap-grease with marrow bones and pot skimmings in lieu of sycamore forests they would have found a comfortable living. But here alas! They labor like convicts in Simsbury mines without helping themselves or others... The letter includes a manuscript cancellation for Gallipolis.

A brilliant collection of letters from a man with wit and literary style. 

Descended Directly in the Putnam-Hildreth Families of Marietta, Ohio

Condition: The top sheet of the first letter has been heavily browned by exposure to poor quality paper and is brittle, with some tearing at the folds. The other letters in good condition with minor soiling.