Description:

War of 1812



Thomas H. Cushing Recruiting in War of 1812 from New Hampshire & Massachusetts

 

THOMAS HUMPHREY CUSHING, Autograph Letter Signed, to Timothy Upham, February 1, 1814, Boston, Massachusetts. 4 pp., 8.125" x 9.75".  Expected folds; expertly mended tear from opening seal that extends through three words but with no loss of text.

 

In command of the military district that included Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Brigadier General T. H. Cushing writes to Major Timothy Upham about recruiting and equipping men for the War of 1812. With the British threatening the part of Massachusetts that is now Maine and blockading the coast, it was vital that the U.S. Army have the manpower to defend the northeastern frontier. Ultimately, New Hampshire supplied nearly 6,000 men and Massachusetts supplied more than 46,000 men during the War of 1812. In addition to appealing to patriotism, the recruiting service stimulated enlistments by offering bounties, advance pay, and land at the end of the war.

 

Complete Transcript

                                                                        Military District No 1.

                                                                        Head Qrs Boston 1st February 1814

Sir

            I have been instructed by the War Department, to furnish Lieut. Hight of the Lt Artillery with on[e] field six pounder & Caissoon, with harness and implements complete, and six draft & ten saddle Horses, for the Recruiting service.

            Lieut. Hights Recruits (and those by other officers of the same Regiment) are to be provided with the “necessary armament, Equipment & Clothing, as used in the field.” And you will please to sign the proper Returns of these officers for such articles.

            Captain Foster, being ordered to Pittsfield, where he will have charge of a Post & Depot, will be instructed to report to you, his progress in the Recruiting service only; and to incorporate his recruits with the Detachment at the close of each month, after which they are to be noted “Joined the Regiment” and drop’d from the Recruiting Returns. You will also make a similar note respecting the men to be turned over by Captain Harrison & Lt Chandler, so soon as you shall have been notified by them, that the men have been sent from their Respective Rendezvous.

            Ensign Edmund Badger of the 9th Regt has reported himself from Williamstown for the Recruiting service. I shall attach him to Captain Foster, who will employ him at Pittsfield, or in its neighbourhood, as may be found most expedient, and any recruits he may enlist will be accounted for by Captain Foster, who will supply him with funds.

                                                                        I am Sir, / very Respectfully

                                                                        your obedt servt

                                                                        T. H. Cushing

                                                                        Brigr Genl Comg

Major Timothy Upham

21st Regt Infy

Portsmouth

 

[Postmark: BOSTON MS FEB 2] / FREE

 

[Address:] Lieut Col. Timothy Upham / 21st Regiment Infantry / Portsmouth / N.H.

 

[Docketing:] Genl Orders Recd / Feby 2d 1814

 

 

Thomas Humphrey Cushing (1755-1822) was born in Massachusetts and served in the 6th Continental Regiment in the Revolutionary War, rising from sergeant to captain during the war. He was one of the last officers discharged from the Continental Army, in June 1784. In 1791, he received a commission as a captain in the 2nd Infantry Regiment, and rose to the rank of major in 1793. From 1797 to 1798 and again from 1800 to 1807, he served as Adjutant and Inspector General of the Army. He received a promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1802 and to colonel in 1805, but in 1811, he was arrested and court martialed on charges of disobedience and misuse of government funds. After a trial that lasted more than a year, the court martial acquitted Cushing of most charges, and he received only an official reprimand. In July 1812, he received a promotion to brigadier general, and again served as Adjutant General of the Army form July 1812 to March 1813. He then received command of Military District Number 1 (Massachusetts and New Hampshire) and made his headquarters in Boston. He retired from the Army in June 1815, after the war had ended. In 1817, his watch stopped a bullet from harming him in a duel with Virginia Congressman William J. Lewis, and the two resolved their differences.

 

Timothy Upham (1783-1855) was born in New Hampshire and became a merchant in Portsmouth. In 1811, Governor John Langdon appointed Upham as an aide with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In anticipation of war with Great Britain, Upham received a commission as major of the 11th U.S. Infantry in March 1812. In January 1813, he was placed in charge of recruiting in the district of Maine, but he commanded the 21st Regiment in the St. Lawrence campaign into Canada later that year. He returned to the recruiting service but again commanded his regiment in a mission to relieve the siege of Fort Erie in August and September of 1814. After the war, he served as the Collector of Customs at Portsmouth from 1816 to 1829. He also served as a brigadier general in the militia, and as major general from 1820 to 1823. In 1830, he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for governor of New Hampshire.

 

Edmund Badger (1780-1851) was born in Massachusetts and enlisted as a sergeant in the 9th U.S. Infantry in April 1813, and received a promotion in August 1813 to ensign and in April 1814 to 3rd lieutenant. He was wounded in the shoulder and throat at the Battle of Sacket’s Harbor in New York in May 1813, which likely accounted for his assignment to the recruiting service and was the basis of his postwar invalid’s pension.

 

 

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