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IMPORTANT WAR OF 1812 MANUSCRIPTS FROM OHIO.

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
IMPORTANT WAR OF 1812 MANUSCRIPTS FROM OHIO.
IMPORTANT WAR OF 1812 MANUSCRIPTS FROM OHIO. Elijah Wadsworth Papers. 1807-1866, 26 items. A Major General in the Militia from the turn of the century, Elijah Wadsworth had the responsibility of organizing the defenses of northern Ohio after the disastrous defeat of Isaac Hull near Detroit left the region vulnerable. For his troubles in rousing the militia, and appointing Brig. Gen. Simon Perkins to take up forward position, for his pains in 1812 and 1813 in maintaining a semblance of order and military preparedness as Tecumseh's multi-tribal alliance waged a brilliant campaign against William Henry Harrison, it appears that Wadsworth was rapidly forgotten by the War Department. For nearly three decades after his death, his widow attempted to secure a pension, repeatedly receiving the unhappy word. The Wadsworth Papers include a selection of letters and documents that may have been assembled, in part, to support Maria Wadsworth's pension application. The most important and dramatic letter is a one-page letter from Wadsworth to his wife, written August 25, 1812, that provides one of the earliest, though brief, descriptions of the devastation of Hull. "I have but one moment to write this... Colonel Cass and [lacuna], with their regiments landed here last evening [on th]e way home prisoners of war. General Hull has [surrend]ered up to the British the Garrison of Detroit [and] the Whole Michigan Territory..." Of equal interest is an exchange of letters between Perkins and Wadsworth, May 8, 1813. In the first, Perkins crows that the militia will not need to be extended, since the "army besieging General Harrison have no doubt been informed of the fate of their friend below and whether they succeed in the attempt on him or not, they will very soon retire..." Wadsworth's reply was less than encouraging: "As to the immediate relief of General Harrison and the stores at Sandusky and Huron I very much fear those stores will fall sacrifice in case an immediate relief is not sent forward which I conceive of much more importance than a few weeks service at the portion of militia ordered out." In all, the collection includes four pre-war letters relating to militia business (all between Wadsworth and Perkins); nine war-date letters, including two from Brig. Gen. Simon Perkins, plus a warrant to pay John Sloane for goods delivered to the government, and two receipts; and 10 letters regarding the nearly 30 year struggle to obtain a pension for Wadsworth's widow, Maria. Condition problems throughout the war-date letters, with soiling and age toning of the paper, small tears and separation along folds with minor loss of text on some letters (the letter after Hull's defeat is missing a half inch section along the left margin). PLEASE NOTE: THIS LOT WILL BE SOLD ON EBAY LIVE AUCTIONS BETWEEN 4:00-5:00pm EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ON MAY 10, 2002. REGISTER NOW TO BID LIVE ONLINE THE DAY OF THE SALE! (EST 1000-1500)
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