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Knox, William, 1756-1795 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.00392 Author/Creator: Knox, William, 1756-1795 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 July 1776 Pagination: 3 p. : address ; Height: 33.7 cm, Width: 20.7 cm Order a Copy

Discusses a British ship that was captured near an American fort at Nantasket, Massachusetts. The vessel had come from Ireland to support General William Howe's army and had mistakenly thought the British were still in Boston. Tells a detailed story about how the Committee of Correspondence and Safety ordered every man between sixteen and sixty to gather with full military accoutrements and drafted thirty-two of them to join the invasion of Canada. Many men ran away but the draft was eventually made by offering larger bounties. The debacle caused some to call for the removal of John Brown, the chairman of the Committee. Also discusses the activities of his company, commanded by Henry Jackson, at the event. Notes that there is no other news, business has been slow, and that the town has been made "exceedingly dull with the smallpox."

Knox, William, 1756-1795
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Brown, John, 1744-1780

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