[WAR OF 1812] Early Marine Letter

Autograph letter signed by Samuel Miller to Roger Jones (1789-1852), as lieutenant. Headquarters, Adjts. Office, [Washington D.C.], 20 November 1809. 1 page, 4to, 7 7/8 x 9 3/4 in, with integral envelope on verso of conjoined leaf, with Washington postal stamp.

A brief letter regarding payment of troops between two Marine officers with distinguished careers, Samuel Miller (1795-1855) and Roger Jones (1789-1862). During the War of 1812, Miller commanded a Marine contingent in the defense of Washington D.C. and was wounded during the Battle of Bladensburg. In 1836, he commanded troops in the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), and after his service in Florida, he continued with the Corps seeing promotion until his death in 1855.

The recipient of the letter, Lieutenant Roger Jones (1789-1862), followed a similar trajectory to Miller. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he resigned his Marine commission to accept a captaincy of artillery in the United State Army. After the war, he was appointed adjutant general in 1818 as a colonel, and promoted to Adjutant General of the United States Army in 1826. He was promoted to major general by 1848 and is notably the longest serving adjutant general in United States History. His many children served on both sides during the Civil War.

Here, Miller writes to Jones regarding the payment of troops: ”your detachment were paid by the pay-master to the 1st July current. Viz. commencing with Marie Fleury and ending with Maloney. Tender my regards to all my friends on your station especially to our friend Parker, to whom I will write this Evening."

[War of 1812, Seminole Wars, Civil War, Union, Confederate, Manuscripts, Letters, Documents, Ephemera, Signatures]