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Lot 180
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Revolutionary War letter written by intelligent British Naval Officer with excellent content, 1779
Revolutionary War letter written by intelligent British Naval Officer with excellent content, 1779
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Description:

Revolutionary War

ALS penned by Lieutenant Edward Down of the H.M.S. Blonde to his wife Mary, handwritten in precise and elegant cursive on watermarked cream paper. 3pp bifold letter measures approximately 7.875” x 12.875” and is dated February 16, 1779 from aboard the Blonde in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The letter is a duplicate copy annotated with the date, location, and an internal numbering system. In very to extra fine condition, with expected wear including fold marks. Comes with weathered address leaf addressed to “Mrs. Down, Ilfracombe near Barnstaple, Devon”, with various philatelic markings and partial red wax seal.

Down addresses his letter to “My dear Life”, as he called Mary, who lived in southwestern England with at least five children, Will, James, Edward, Sally, and Mary. While Down discusses domestic matters, his letters are also extremely informative. He updates his wife about the H.M.S. Blonde and her activities, often giving precise accounts of movements, the capture of enemy vessels, and even the weather.

Please see below for letter excerpt with uncorrected spelling and grammar errors:

"Blonde

Feby 6 th 79

My last letter dated Novr. 20th was sent by a Brig bound to Falmouth she said without Convoy, or Guns to protect her from the Enemy … Capt Milligan has just left us, having chang’d with Capt Barkley of the Scarboro[ugh] … We have the greatest Reason to expect happiness with our new Captain, he has great interest with the Commander in Chief Admiral Gambier, having formerly been his Captain, that we may expect the best of Cruizes … I have been sent to twice by ? George Collier who commd at Halifax to be her first Lieut in the Rainbow, but as the Ship is directly in Harbor, I thought it against my Interest to accept of it. As the Blonde will go to the Leward, and likely will be Frequently at New York, therefore beg you will write me by the Packett to be left at the Post office there … We have only receiv’d the first dividend for the french Ship, and no part of the french brig Catherine taken in June last … It is a great mortification to us to be laying here froze up and doing nothing in the beginning of the French War."

Edward Down served as a lieutenant on the H.M.S. Blonde, a ship confiscated from the French in February 1760 during the Battle of Bishop’s Court during the Seven Years’ War. Following its capture, the Blonde was outfitted as a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate in the British Royal Navy, meaning it was in the next to highest class for a fighting vessel. Typically, frigates of this class were double-deckers, ranged between 700 and 1450 tons, and had about 215-294 crew members including marines. Fifth-rate frigates were often fast and well-armed, and were frequently dispatched on special assignments to interrupt enemy shipping. Although there was considerable risk in serving on a fifth-rate frigate like the Blonde, there was also considerable opportunity, as crew members received shares of the profits depending on their rank.

Down mentions some important individuals in his letters, like two consecutive captains of the Blonde: Captain John Milligan (d. 1788), who commanded the vessel between 1776 - 1778, and Captain Andrew Barkley (d. 1790), who served as captain between 1778 and its shipwreck in 1782.

Nova Scotia was the target of American as well as foreign navies during the Revolutionary War. The Royal Navy maintained a presence at Halifax to doubly protect its settlements and harass its harassers. Down mentions prize money frequently throughout his letters. The Blonde intercepted American and French vessels carrying arms, fabric, tea, foodstuffs, and lumber from Europe, the Caribbean, and the colonies. Confiscated goods were sold at Halifax, where Down often complained they were sold at a depressed value. Lieutenants were second only to the ship captain in how much prize money they collected by size of share. His letters to Mary carefully record his various winnings, as he had a large family to support.

Down’s whereabouts are unknown after the winter of 1779. We might assume, however, that this career naval officer was still aboard the Blonde during the rest of the American Revolution. About three years after this last letter was written, the Blonde was shipwrecked off Nova Scotia’s southeastern tip at Seal Island (now known as Blonde Island). The Blonde’s British crew as well as sixty American prisoners were rescued by Captain Noah Stoddard, an American privateer. The Blonde’s crew were allowed to embark the H.M.S. Observer, a vessel that was shortly engaged in the Battle of Halifax while en route to port. If Edward Down was aboard the Observer at this time, the chances that he was wounded or killed were very small; three British were killed and five wounded in the battle with the American privateer Jack. The odds of survival for other frigates were not very good, as the majority were wrecked, burnt, or captured by war’s end.

Ex William J. Burgher Collection

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