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

30548

James DeLancey Autograph Document Signed; 1755

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:350.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 900.00 USD
James DeLancey Autograph Document Signed; 1755
<B>James DeLancey Autograph Document Signed in full as Lieutenant Governor of New York.</B></I> Two pages, 6.5" x 8", New York, August 15 & 18, 1755, to Stephen Hopkins speaker of the Connecticut Assembly (and later a signer of the Declaration of Independence). Written during the outbreak of the French and Indian War, DeLancey complains about the difficulties of raising troops for Major General William Johnson for his expedition to Crown Point: "<I>I wrote to you before that the Assembly here had voted 400 men to be immediately raised to reinforce the troops under Major General Johnson...I have now the mortification to tell you, that the bill for this purpose stopt </B></I> <I>sic</B></I> <I> with the council upon a difference between them & the Assembly which has prevented the bill's coming up to me...I received a letter of the 7th from General Shirley acquainting me that he had ordered Colonel Dunbar to march with the troops under his command to Albany without delay...Yesterday I received a letter from General Shirley of the 10th in which he informs me that Governor Dinwiddie's Packet had occasioned his altering Colonel Dunbar's orders...I am afraid the season is so far advanced, that any troops we could now propose to raise here by calling the Assembly again & making a new trial, would come too late to be of any service, as the last division of the Provincials are already passed the Carrying place...</B></I>" On August 28, 1755 Johnson's force of 1,500 managed a rare victory that season at Lake George. In June of 1754, one year prior, James DeLancey presided over the Albany congress. He took this position to create an alliance between the Iroquois and an inter-colonial union to coordinate a common defense. However, as this letter clearly illustrates, this alliance was elusive for some time to come. The first years of the war were a disaster for the British, marred by poor recruitment and a lack of coordination against French regulars and their Native American allies. Britain was finally able to push France out of Canada by 1760 after William Pitt sent thousands of British regular troops and naval support. Usual folds, else fine condition. <I>Ex. Henry E. Luhrs Collection.</B></I><BR><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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