BROOKS, JOHN, Lieut.-Colonel Revolutionary War era autograph letter signed to the Reverend Elias Stone.

Description:

BROOKS, JOHN, Lieut.-Colonel
Revolutionary War era autograph letter signed to the Reverend Elias Stone. "Camp at New Windsor on the Hudson's [sic] River opposite Fish Kill": November 8th, [17]77. 12 1/2 x 8 inches (31.5 x 20.5 cm); two-page letter in dark brown ink on a folded sheet, address panel on the verso of the second leaf, with watermark dated 1774. Several small losses, some affecting the text, from the detachment of the seal when the letter was opened, scattered pale foxing and toning.

John Brooks (1752-1825), trained as a physician, and a militia officer in Reading, Massachusetts at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He led his company in the battles of Lexington and Concord, and subsequently served under Washington in the campaigns in New York and New Jersey. In 1777, the year of this letter, he was active in the Hudson Valley, leading an attack against the British in the Second Battle of Saratoga. After his return to private life (sometime after 1783) he returned to the practice of medicine and, between 1816-1823, he served as the 11th Governor of Massachusetts.
The present letter is mostly a gentle rebuttal to a letter send to him by Reverend Stone, a friend, that he clearly felt was chiding him for some remarks pertaining to the clergy he had made in his previous letter. However, it is the last paragraph that is most interesting. "The glorious Victory gain'd [last?] Quarter since my last is doubtless well known [this presumably refers to Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in October]. Notwithstanding my being an Eye witness I can hardly credit the event. I am now on the march to join Genl. Washington--we are amazingly anxious to be with him. Nothing but a want of Shoes, Britches etc. prevent us from making a rapid march. My fear is that Howe will escape ere we can get there.
Who now dare oppose Independence? I pity the man who does. He must be a knave or a fool..." This is a fine letter by a leading officer in the Continental Army, written from the field at a crucial time in the Hudson River campaign.

C
Estimate $800-1,200

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