Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Bligh, Thomas, 1685-1775 to unknown

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.292 Author/Creator: Bligh, Thomas, 1685-1775 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: September 15, 1758 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 31 cm, Width: 19.5 cm Order a Copy

Letter written on the British naval ship the Essex. Lieutenant General Bligh mentions issues with prisoners and says he was forced to land at Plymouth due to bad weather, but will soon continue to Portsmouth where he will await further orders. Letter written shortly after the British defeat during the expedition against St. Malo, France, September 7-12, 1758. Bligh, the commander in charge of the expedition, was attempting to follow up the successful August raid at Cherbourg, France. The expedition at St. Malo was mired by bad weather and logistics and the 7,000 soldiers that managed to land were forced to march nine miles to the Bay of St. Cas to escape. The retreat was slow and the numerically superior French army killed, wounded, or captured between 750 and 1000 British troops.

Bligh, Thomas, 1685-1775

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources