Description:

Napoleonic Wars -

Wonderful letter mentioning "...Bonaparte's invincibles..."

Autograph letter signed "John H. Rogers", 8" x 9.5", 4p, conjoined, Alicante, August 21, 1808, to Mr. John Rogers, Newton [Massachusetts] (his father). Overall even aging, very fine condition.

In full: "Dear Sir, I confirm that I had the pleasure of writing by Capt Bradford which vessel I hope has safe arrived, enclosed hand you an order on Mess. David Coffin & Co of Newberry Port for $167.93 payable in Boston which please recover & pass to our credit.

Have had many fights during the last two months but thank God the Spaniards have been victorious on all sides and all the French Troops that can are now leaving Spain - Moncey's army was defeated before Valencia where he lost 2,500 men - he left Madrid with 12,00 & returned with 1,500 except those killed before Valencia & about 500 men in different skirmishes, the others all perished by hunger, fatigue & heat -

Dupont with 30,000 men entered the Andalucias & after 5 weeks was obliged to capitulate & gave up the remaining part of his army which consisted 17,000 - what a humbling thing for Bonapartes invincibles to yield to Spanish sans culottes for certainly a great many of them were without breeches -

Taragosa held out 15 attacks and the French under Lefebre were at last beat off shamefully, they must have lost from 20 to 25,000 men before that city.

Junot with 40,000 men have been destroyed & taken prisoners in Portugal by the Portuguese, Spaniards & English - Cuesta has had a severe engagement with Bessurs near Valencia in old Castile where both armies suffered very much and the French will have lost from 6 to 7000 men in Catalonia. They will have lost 20,000 men at the last calculation our new King Joseph entered Madrid the 20 July was proclaimed King the 25th & left Madrid precipitately the 29 with all the French that were in the City. He without doubt has gone to look for other subjects more worthy of him than the Spaniards - Deputies are now on their way to Madrid from all the cities & Towns in Spain who have a right to vote in Cortes, and from their well know Talents we look forward with confidence to a good constitutional govt which will make the happiness of the people - the hand of Providence never was more visible than in the affairs of Spain, for a country without Govt, without Troops, without arms or ammunition, to do in 3 months what all Europe together have not been able to do in 8 years can only be attributed to that God who holds in his hands the destinies of worlds & says to Tyrants this far shall thou go but no further.

Josiah is very well and growing a fine lad. He has a great deal of application and assists me essentially. He does honour to your & himself. Is already cashier & Bookskeeper and from morning to night has not one idle hour - he is learning music,, drawing & Italian by dividing his time very judiciously he improves in all. When you have an opportunity ship young Mingille, who we hope will have improved by your good advice. Give both our kind regards to all friends and accept the cordial affection with which I remain yr dutiful Son John H. Rogers

P.S. I have requested Mr. John Belknap to pay you any monies he may have of mine, which employ as before requested."

John H. Rogers was born about 1773 in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of John Rogers, Jr., and Mary Hall. He married the daughter of Robert Montgomery, the United States consul in Alicante, Spain. He was the founder of a shipping company in Alicante, Spain, beginning about 1802.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000