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Lot 290
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Brit Sends News "Burgoynes Army at the time of the Capitulation" and Campbells Mistreatment in Jail, Fantastic Content 1777
Brit Sends News "Burgoynes Army at the time of the Capitulation" and Campbells Mistreatment in Jail, Fantastic Content 1777
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Description:

Revolutionary War
Concord, MA; Halifax, Nova Scotia, February 14, 1777; November 25, 1777
Brit Sends News "Burgoynes Army at the time of the Capitulation" and Campbells Mistreatment in Jail, Fantastic Content 1777
MD
[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Contemporary Copy of ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, Autograph Letter Signed, to General William Howe, February 14, 1777, Concord, Massachusetts. 2 pp., 8" x 6.25". Text in brackets before the transcript appears in The Ipswich Journal (Suffolk, England), May 31, 1777, 2:4. C Partial separation on folds; soiling; some edge tears.
With: Unknown, Manuscript Document, Report of November 25, 1777, Halifax, [Nova Scotia, Canada]. 2 pp., 6.5" x 8". Separation on central fold with loss of at least one line of text; tear with loss of one-half line of text on verso; soiling; toning.

This pair of documents, likely written by a loyalist or even a spy supplying information, were possibly sent back to superiors in England perhaps even the King. The folks back home were eager to learn of the progress of the Royal Army and Navy against the rebellious American colonies. The letter (possibly dictated) by Member of Parliament and commander of the 71st Regiment of Highlanders Archibald Campbell informs William Howe, the commander-in-chief of British land forces in North America, of his cruel treatment in the common jail of Concord, Massachusetts.

The report provides initial details of the aftermath of the Battles of Saratoga, in which the Americans under General Horatio Gates triumphed over the British invasion force from Quebec under the command of General John Burgoyne. Although the report minimizes British losses, it promises to forward a copy of the convention that includes the terms of the surrender. Through the Convention of Saratoga, Gates had agreed that the 5,900 troops who surrendered would be sent back to Europe after giving a parole that they would not fight again in the conflict. The troops were marched as the "Convention Army" to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they arrived in early November. The Continental Congress ordered Burgoyne to provide a list and description of all officers to ensure that they would not return. When he refused, Congress revoked the convention and determined to hold the prisoners until King George III ratified the convention. The Convention Army—minus some 2,000 who escaped, and a few officers who were exchanged—remained in loose confinement in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland until the end of the war.

Complete Transcript
[Campbell to Howe:]
[A Correspondent has favoured us with the Copy of a Letter wrote to Sir Wm. Howe by Lieut-Col. Archibald Campbell, and by him forwarded through]
the hands of the Council at Boston; And as We can assure the Public of its Authenticity, we take the Earliest Opportunity of Laying it Before them.
Concord Gaol 14th Febry 1777
Sr
After the Subject of my first Epistle to your Excellency, when the fortune of War had placd me in the hands of the Americans, you will think it Strange, that at this Period, I should be Compelld to Exhibit Sentiments so diametrically opposite, & yet equally Consistent with truth. Your Excellency was Informd on that Occasion, that I had Recd from those who took me & from the Controuling Power at Boston, every Mark of humanity, & treatment suitable to my Rank; But I am Persuaded you are a Strager to the Return, which at this hour I experience, after a well meant Endeavor to suppress, what but too often happens in Civil Controvercy—the Chance of Ill-Grounded Representation, scarce eight Days had Elapsed after the Period of my first Address, when I found Myself stripd of half my private Property, the very Necessaries of Life; & I have been Informd lately, that the Side Arms of my Officers have Actually been disposed of, Notwithstanding they were honorably Restord to them by the Captors: I was however, sent upon my Parole of honor to Reading as an Officer, where I Resided untill the first of this Mont; During which time it was even beyond the Power of Malevolent Aspersion, to charge my Conduct justly with Impropriety. On the 1st of Febry I was Committed by order of Congress, thro the Council of Boston to the Common Gaol of Concord, Intimating for a Reason that your Excellency had refusd to Exchange Genll Lee for six field officers (of whom I hap'ned to be one) & that your Excellency had put that Officer under Custody of the Provost.
How far it may be Consistent to Ill-treat an Officer, Because his Commander does not Choose to Accept of a proferd Barter of that Nature, is Left to Reason, & future Consequencies to decide, Especially when it is Considerd that there is no personall Charge against that Officer, & the public Faith & honor of America was Pledgd for his Being treated as a Gentleman.
I am Lodgd in a Dungeon of 12 or 13 Square whose sides are [black] with the Grease & Litter of Successive Criminals. Two doors with double Locks & Bolts shut me up from the Yard, with an Express Prohibition to enter it, either for my health, or the Necessary Calls of Nature.
Two small Windows, strongly grated with Iron Introduce a gloomy Light to the Apartment & these are at this hour without a Single pane of Glass, although the Season for Frost & snow is actually in the Extreme.
In the Corner of the Cell, boxed up with the Partitions, stand as [stands a] Necessary house, which does not seem to have been Emptied since its first Appropriation to this convenience of Malefactors. A Loathsome black-hole decorated with a pair of fixd Chains is granted for my Inner Apartment; from which a Felon was but the Moment Before Removd to make way for your humble servant, & in which his Litter, & his very Excrement to his hour Remains.
The Attendance of a Single Servant on my Person, is also denied me & every Visit from a friend positively Refusd. In short, Sr, was a fire to take place in any Chamber of the Gaol, which is all of Wood, the Chimney Stacks excepted, I might perish in the flames, before the Gaoler could go thro the Ceremony of unbolting the Doors, altho' to do him Justice in this Station, I Really think him, a Man of Attention & humanity. His house is so Remote from the Gaol, that any Call from within, Especially if the Wind is high might be Long of Reaching him Effectually. Thus have I stated to your Excellency the particulars of my Situation. How far I had Claim to Expect it, Reason & propriety will Dictate.
I have the honor to be with great Respect, Sr, Your Excellency's most faithfull, & most Obdt humble Servt
Archd. Cambell
Lt. Coll: of the 71st Regt.
His Excellency Genll. Howe &c &c &c

[Unknown to Unknown:]
Halifax 25th Novbr 1777
By Passengers Arrivd Yesterday from Quebec in the Magdalen Schooner, who were in Genll Burgoynes Army at the time of the Capitulation with the Rebels, we have certain Information, that the Loss of the British Troops in these several Engagements, was very Inconsiderable, & that the whole killd on our side did not exceed 800; Our Wounded did not amount to a Thousand, & most of them so slightly that they were Recovering very fast, & Joining their Respective Regiments in such Numbers, that not about 300 of them Remain in the Hospital on the Day of the surrender, many of them having made their Escape to Tyconderoga thro the Wood, Notwithstanding their wounds. The Numbers Capitulated for, were 4200, of whom about 1000, (Chiefly loyal Inhabitants that had Joind the Army) Chose to Return to Canada till Exchangd. The Enemy, who were about 25,000 [missing line or lines] Posted in their usually dastardly Manner, behind Trees, & Logs of Wood) as our Artillery, which layd upon them very briskly, made great Havoc In among them. The Cause of the Convention was the want of Provisions. When the above Passengers came by Tyconderoga on their way to Canada, Brigadier-Genll Powel was there, with about 2000 Men, & they afterwards met Brigdr-Genll Maclean on Lake Champlain on his way to Tyconderoga, with the Last Division of the Troops sent to the Relief of that place, Consisting of the 31st Regt & the 1st Battalion of Royal Highland Emigrants. Genll Clinton advancd up by Hudsons River as far as Eusopas, which he Burnt to ashes, as also all the other Villages as he came along, on each side of the River; Driving every thing Before him, with great Success, till within 40 Miles of Albany, But this Intelligence Reachd Genll Burgoyne too late, as he Did not Receive it till after the Convention.
On the other hand, the Accounts from the Southward, from the Rebels themselves, were very favourable, as Genll Sr Wm Howe had repeatedly attackd & Defeated Mr Washingtons Army, who by the last Intelligence was Obligd to Retire beyond the Delaware into New-Jersey with the Remains of his Army, the Royal Army in Possession of Philadelphia, & fleet Advancing up the Delaware, without any Material Accident, Except the Roebuck of 40 Guns, Commanded by Capt Hammon, being Damagd by Chevaux de frise. As soon as we Receive an Authenticated Copy of the Convention, it shall [half line of text lost]
It is Reported, that Genll Clinton had Intercepted Genll Burgoyne, Under-March toward Boston."

Historical Background
In December 1776, the British captured Major General Charles Lee (1732-1782). In January 1777, the Continental Congress proposed to exchange six Hessian field officers captured at the Battle of Trenton and Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell for General Lee. After the British refused to exchange General Lee for six British officers held by the Americans, Lt. Colonel William Barton led a raid on July 10, 1777, to capture British General Richard Prescott. During his captivity in New York City, Lee may have abandoned the American cause, as he wrote several notes to General William Howe about how best to defeat the Americans.

In February 1777, Campbell also appealed to General George Washington about his treatment at Concord, giving what Washington termed "an Account of the severity of his Confinement as is scarce ever inflicted upon the most atrocious Criminals." Washington wrote a severe letter to the Massachusetts Council, insisting that they misunderstood the direction of Congress and demanding that Campbell be treated in the same way as General Lee was by the British—"confined to a commodious house with genteel accommodations"—and that "we have no right or Reason to be more severe upon Colo Campbell." By May, Campbell was living at the jailer's tavern, a considerable improvement from his previous confinement. In May 1778, Campbell was released in exchange for American Ethan Allen (1738-1789), who had been imprisoned since September 1775 in Quebec, England, Ireland, and in prison ships off the American coast.

In 1778, the British and Americans swapped Generals Lee and Prescott, but when Lee returned to the Continental Army, he was a critic of the reforms instated by Baron von Steuben. At the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, Lee led the advance guard but his attack was so disorganized that the entire advance guard retreated. When Washington confronted him, Lee became insubordinate and was removed from command for one year. He then began criticizing the Continental Congress for enforcing the sentence on him, leading to his permanent dismissal from the Continental Army in January 1780.

In May 1775, a small force of Green Mountain Boys with militia from Massachusetts and Connecticut surprised a small British force and captured Fort Ticonderoga at the southern end of Lake Champlain, New York. Two years later, British General John Burgoyne led a force of 7,000 British Army soldiers with perhaps 2,000 Native American and Loyalist allies to retake Fort Ticonderoga. After minor skirmishing, the Americans retreated before the British could attack the fort, causing an uproar in the Continental Congress and among the American public. General Arthur St. Clair, in charge of Fort Ticonderoga, and General Philip Schuyler, in charge of the Continental Army's Northern Department, were both removed. Though they were both later cleared of wrongdoing, they never held any further commands during the war.

British General Burgoyne continued his campaign down the Hudson River valley in an attempt to separate New England from the rest of the American colonies by meeting a force under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton moving northward up the Hudson River from New York City. However, when New England militia forces captured around 1,000 Hessian troops from Burgoyne's army in the Battle of Bennington, Vermont, on August 16, and Burgoyne lost additional troops in the Battles of Saratoga from September 19 to October 7, he was forced to surrender to a larger American force under the command of General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777. The victory was an important morale boost and led France to enter the war in alliance with the fledgling United States.

Archibald Campbell (1739-1791) was born in Scotland and educated at Glasgow University and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1758, he was commissioned in the Royal Engineers, with whom he served during the Seven Years' War in Quebec, the coast of France, and the West Indies. In 1768, he was appointed chief engineer of the British East India Company at Bengal. There, he made a fortune in the construction and repair of ships and in the silk trade. He used his wealth to become a major landowner in Argyll, Scotland. In 1774, he became a Member of Parliament for the Stirling Burghs. In 1776, he sailed for America in command of the 71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders. He was captured when his transport came into Boston harbor just after the British squadron had left in June 1776. He was placed in the common jail in retaliation for alleged British mistreatment of Major General Charles Lee. In May 1778, he was released in exchange for Ethan Allen. Late in 1778, Campbell commanded an army in victories at Savannah, Georgia, and Augusta, Georgia, where he showed particular concern for the civilian population and prisoners. He served as provisional governor of Georgia From December 1778 to July 1779, when he returned to Great Britain. He served as lieutenant governor and major general in Jamaica (1779-1781), then as governor of Jamaica (1781-1784), where he successfully prevented a French invasion. From 1786 to 1789, he served as commander-in-chief and governor of Madras in India. Illness in 1789 forced his return to Great Britain, where he acquired the office of Usher of the White Rod. He and his wife died without children, and they are both buried at Westminster Abbey.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 6.25"; 6.5" x 8"
  • Medium: MD

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