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AMERICAN REVOLUTION
THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1781
The following is an extraordinary and unique collection of documents relating to the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. On this date Groton and New London, Connecticut were attacked by a superior force of British infantrymen, led by the traitor Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Arriving on 24 sailing vessels from New York, two divisions totaling about 1600 soldiers disembarked at the mouth of the Thames River. Half of the troops marched up the west bank of the river and burned virtually all of the homes and warehouses of New London to the ground. The second division marched along the east bank of the river to Fort Griswold in Groton, defended by Colonel William Ledyard. Outnumbered almost ten to one, the patriots recognized the hopelessness of their situation and surrendered. In spite of this, there followed one of the most despicable and momentous events of the American Revolution – a brutal massacre of Colonel Ledyard after he relinquished his sword as well as many officers and soldiers at Groton Heights, a massacre second only to that carried out against soldiers, women and children at Wyoming (Pennsylvania) by Indians and Tories in 1778. It was the only land battle with the British in Connecticut during the American Revolution.
Presented here are a portion of a large number of Seaport Autograph documents relating to the Battle of Groton Heights. They include pay orders, financial documents, officer’s bonds, &c. They are all original records of the State of Connecticut, officially discarded many years ago, thus not subject to replevin. All relate to acquisition of the land for the creation of Fort Griswold, the engineers who designed and built the fort, several documents signed by Colonel Ledyard, an extraordinarily scarce ALS of Ledyard, and documents of many of the soldiers killed or injured at the battle. It includes all the commanders of the fort, privateers, military suppliers, and records of provisions for families of soldiers. Presented also are documents signed by Lt. Governor Matthew Griswold for whom the fort was named, Maj. General William Holden Parsons, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Oliver Ellsworth and many more as well as court martial papers that followed the battle. In addition there is the most complete bibliography of the battle included, as well as most of the publications relating to the battle including the latest paper back edition, copies of letters of the time and other pertinent material.
Fort Griswold still remains with its ramparts as a magnificent state park overlooking the Thames River
EACH PURCHASE OF OVER $100 WILL INCLUDE A COPY OF THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS, A 399PP REPRINT OF THE ORIGINAL ALLYN VOLUME LAST PUBLISHED 12O YEARS AGO (Value: $30.00). One free copy to a customer. It May also be purchased separately.
COLONEL WILLIAM LEDYARD
Colonel William (1743-1781), throughout the Revolution, was a soldier involved in the defenses of Groton and later Stonington and New London He was the third officer in charge of the fort at Groton Heights, preceded by Edward Mott and Oliver Coit. In offering his sword, hilt extended, in surrender to the commanding British officer, on Sept. 6, 1781, he was immediately killed when his own sword was thrust through his heart. The following documents are either written or signed by Colonel William Ledyard or are signed by others on his behalf. Some relate to work or supplies ordered by him. Signed documents of William Ledyard are extremely scarce. One is known to exist in the Bill Library in Ledyard an done in the high school. Two have appeared on the manuscript market in the past 20 years. Seaport Autographs has several documents relating to and some signed by Colonel Ledyard, including two autographed letters signed by Ledyard, probably the only ones known to exist. There are probably few, if any, extant signed Ledyard pieces other than those cited and presented here.
113169.
(Ledyard, William). Samuel Lyman, member of the Pay Table
committee. ADS, 1p, 6”x8”, [Hartford], Aug. 18, 1780. Fine. It is an order to
the treasurer to pay Ledyard £61-14-0. Samuel Wyllys signs across the
document as auditor. It is receipted on verso by Elijah Austin. $250.00
113172.
Wolcott, Oliver, Jr. Auditor of the Pay Table and
later Secretary of the Treasury in Washington administration. John Chenevard,
member of the Conn. Pay Table. ADS, 1p, 6½”x8”, [Hartford], Nov., 6, 1779. Fine.
It is also signed by Fenn Wadsworth; Oliver Wolcott, Jr. signs
across the face of the document. It is an order to the treasurer to pay the
“Groton Committee of Supplies £485-2-4…” It is receipted on verso by James
Avery, the father of Caleb Avery who was taken prisoner by the British at the
Battle of Groton Heights.
$200.00
113173.
Fort Griswold. Two photographs, each 4”x5” of the
ramparts and buildings of Ft. Griswold , ca1925. Slight fading and wrinkles, and
mounting traces on verso. Plus a 1924 Western Newspaper Union clipped
newspaper story, titled FAMOUS FORTS IN U.S. HISTORY, by Elmo Scott Watson,
Monument to Shame of Benedict Arnold. $25.00
Order to make a pension payment to Sanford Williams for wounds suffered at the Battle of Groton Heights
113174.
Williams, Sanford. A soldier who was hit in the chest
by a musket ball at the Battle of Groton Heights. ADS, 1p, 4”x8”, Groton, Sept.
25, 1788. Fine. It is an order to the state treasurer to pay “Isaac Avery nine
pounds…in full of my Pension for the year past, it being allowed me for being
wounded in Fort Griswold…” Avery was also wounded at the same battle. Oliver
Wolcott, Jr., as auditor, signs across the face of the document. He was
later Secretary of the Treasury under G. Washington. There are endorsements on
verso by James Cotton & Abijah Parke. $250.00
James Comstock, oldest soldier to be killed at the Battle of Groton Heights.
113175.
Comstock, James (1708-83). He was a captain in the
French and Indian war. As a lieutenant, at age 75, he was the oldest soldier to
be killed at Ft. Griswold on Sept. 6, 1781. He was from New London and was
visiting his son-in-law, Nathaniel Adams, Jr. On learning of the attack on the
fort, they both rushed into action and both were killed during the battle. MsDS
as a witness. Document is in unknown hand, 1p, 6”x8”, New London, June 4, 1755.
Very fine. A discharge of a restriction against Zachariah Whipple,
reinstating his properties “both real and personal.” The selectmen of New London
had confiscated his property in 1746 “according to the law.” Also witnessed by
Samuel Powers. Daniel Coit, Town Clerk dockets the document on verso.
$300.00
Pay order for Adam Shapley, mortally wounded at the Battle of Groton Heights. Receipt signed by Lt. Col. Joseph Harris, Jr. who was court-martialed and cashiered for neglect of duty during the burning of New London
113176. 
(Shapley,
Adam) (1739-82). He was captain in command of Ft.
Trumbull when the British arrived. Overwhelmed, he and his 23 men escaped by
boat to Groton. Shapley was mortally wounded at the Battle of Groton Heights but
lingered on his death bed until Feb. 12, 1782. Partly printed pay order to the
treasurer to pay Shapley £14, 7 days before his death, 1p, 5”x6’, [Hartford],
Feb. 5, 1782. Fine. It is receipted on verso by Joseph Harris, Jr. & Daniel
Spencer. After the burning of New London by Arnold on Sept. 6, 1781, Lt.
Col. Harris was court-martialed for neglect of duty in New London and was
cashiered. $275.00
Newspaper report on the battle of Groton Heights, four days after the attack by Benedict Arnold
113177. The
Connecticut Courant and Weekly Intelligencer, 4pp,
14”x9”, Hartford, Sept. 18, 1781. The first published report of the attack by
Arnold on Groton Heights and New London, with the burning of both towns.
Col. Ledyard . . . and 70 other officers and men were murdered . . .” This
report was datelined New London, September 10, 1781. Moderate age-toning. Some
weak fold repaired with archival paper. This story, four days after the
battle, described the “murder” of the soldiers at Fort Griswold. Webster’s
definition of murder is “to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with
premeditated malice, or to slaughter wantonly.” A massacre is defined as
“a cruel and wanton murder.” For historians to question the mode of killing
at Fort Griswold in 1999 as not being a massacre, in not supported by this
earliest observation and the letters of Zabdiel Rogers. $850.00
The first printed narrative of the Battle of Groton Heights
113178.
Narrative of Jonathan Rathbun with Accurate Accounts of the Capture of
Groton Fort and the Massacre that Followed and the Sacking and Burning of New
London . . . by Rufus Avery & Stephen Hempstead, 1840. New gray
paper cover. Internally very fine. A very scarce imprint. $225.00
10052.
The Battle of Groton Heights: A Story of the Storming
of Fort Griswold and the Burning of New London . . .,
also containing The Narrative of Rufus Avery, by
Rev. N. H. Burnham, E. E. Darrow, Printer, New London, 1894. Original red paper
cover with marginal wear and detached at the spine. Internally very fine.
A scarce imprint.
$50.00
113142.
The Battle of Groton Heights, September 6, 1781 by Charles Allyn,
399pp, reprint with paper cover, edited by Norman F. Boas with new introduction
and 16pp of photographs of original documents relating to the battle, Seaport
Autographs, Mystic, Connecticut, 1999. New. The first reprint of Allyn’s volume
in 120 years. $30.00
ef
11775.
Biddle, Clement
(1740-1814). ). Revolutionary War hero, the "Quaker Soldier" and Philadelphia
merchant. He joined the army in 1775 and served at Princeton, Germantown,
Brandywine, and Monmouth and also wintered at Valley Forge. He was a close
friend of Washington who in
1787 appointed him U.S. Marshall of Pennsylvania. In 1794 he participated in
the Whiskey Rebellion. Partly printed MsDS, 1p, 10"x8", Philadelphia, 1792 April
23. Very good. Minor archival paper repairs on verso and other minor defects.
Biddle signs the document as a notary public in protest to a
promissory note identified in the document. At the lower left is his personal
embossed seal. $350.00
11776.
Biddle, Clement
(1740-1814). ALS, 1p, 10"x8", Philadelphia, 1802 Oct. 29. Fine. The second leaf
is inlaid and has several archival paper repairs on verso. The address leaf
bears a Philadelphia cds and Ms rate. It is a business letter addressed to the
Bank of Columbia. $750.00
114056.
Biddle, Clement
(1740-1814). S slip of paper mounted to a card. Fine. "Qr. M. Genl" is
written across his paraph in another hand. $160.00
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114059.
Dearborn Henry
(1751-1829). Soldier and statesman. During the American Revolution he led a
company at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He then joined Benedict Arnold on his
Quebec expedition. Captured, he was later exchanged. Dearborn subsequently saw
action against Burgoyne, wintered at Valley Forge and for a time was on General
Washington's staff. After the war he retired to Maine where he was made major
general of the militia. He was later a MOC and served in Jefferson's cabinet for
8 years as Secretary of War. He was then Collector of the Port of Boston from
1810 to 1812, when he was appointed senior major general of the army in command
of the northern frontier against the British. He was relieved of command in
1813. Ft. Dearborn (present site of Chicago) was named in his honor. ALS, 1p,
9"x8", Boston, 1810 Feb. 12. Fine. There is a seal tear and minor tears repaired
on verso with archival tape. The integral address leaf bears a Boston cds. It is
addressed to David Gelston, Collector at New York. He sends a correction of
dates on the clearance of the vessel Morningstar. $775.00
A pay order to a doctor for supplying medicines to Col. Belden's Regiment in 1777
110108. Ellsworth, Oliver (1745-1807). A patriot, delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention, Chief Justice of the United States, and Minister Plenipotentiary to France. John Chenevard, a member of the Connecticut Pay Table during the American Revolution, ADS, 1p, 7”x8”, [Hartford], 1777 Dec. 6. Very fine. It is also signed by Oliver Ellsworth. An order to pay Dr. Elizur Hale ₤1-11-6 “for medicine Supplyd Colo Thos Beldens Regt…” It is receipted on verso by Elizur Hale, Jr. Col. Belden commanded a militia regiment from 1776 to 1780. In 1777 his regiment served at Peekskill from March until June. On July 4, 1779, Hale served in Capt. Nathan Chapman’s militia company in New Haven, when it was attacked and pillaged by General Tryon. $225.00
Commander of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment that attacked the Indians responsible for the Wyoming Massacre.
114064.
Hartley, Thomas (1748-1800). A soldier and statesman
in the American Revolution he volunteered as a lieutenant colonel in Irvine’s
Regiment (1776) and later, as colonel, commanded the 6th Pennsylvania
Regiment in attacking the Indians responsible for the Wyoming Massacre. He was
elected to the 1st Congress from Pennsylvania and served from 1789
until his death. ALS, 1p, 10”x8”, Yorke Town, Pa 1799 Sept. 30. Very good. Some
marginal defects with minor archival paper repairs on verso. He sends bank note
for his account. Scarce. $250.00
114065.
Hartley, Thomas (1748-1800). ALS, 1p, 13”x8”, Yorke Town. PA, 1786 Dec.
13. He writes to Jasper Yeates concerning a bond of Philip Smith payable to both
of them. The integral address leaf, without postal marks, shows that it was
hand-carried by Capt. McClelland. Yeates was chairman of the Lancaster Committee
of Correspondence in 1776, a delegate to the Pennsylvania convention to ratify
the Federal Constitution and was an associate justice of the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court. In 1794 George Washington appointed him as an arbitrator to
settle the Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania. Scarce. $250.00
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110132
Palmer, Jonathan, Jr. (1747-1819). From Stonington, Connecticut, he was in the
local militia, attaining the rank of colonel. In 1776 he served in the battle of
New York as a lieutenant in the 5th Company, 4th Battalion in General
Wadsworth’s brigade. After the war he was appointed by President Washington
Collector of Customs at Stonington (1791) and by Timothy Pickering as the first
postmaster of Stonington (1793). He also served in the state legislature in
1789, the first year of the Federal government. Partly printed DS, 1p, 3”x7”,
New Haven, 1789 October. Very fine. It is his receipt “in full of my
Debenture, for attending the General Assembly . . .” Plus Colonel
Jonathan Palmer’s War Diary, 33pp, Seaport Autographs, Stonington, CT, 1985.
His wartime diary is illustrated and annotated, featuring the British naval
attack on Stonington. 2 pieces. $70.00
110141. Warren, James (1726-1808). An ardent patriot during the American Revolution. His home in Plymouth, Massachusetts was a center of political activity. His wife Mercy Otis Warren was a noted author, activist, and the sister of James Otis; she and Abigail Adams were intimate friends. Warren was in the Provincial Assembly of Massachusetts and succeeded Jospeh Warren as president when the latter was shot and killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. James Warren played a prominent role in the formation of committees of correspondence. He also served on the War Board. Title page of a book from his library, signed, “The Modern Part of an Universal History…”, London, Volume XVI, 1760. We have four pages including those form Volumes XXXVI (1762), XXXVII (1762) and XXXVIII (1763). All are in fine condition. The price of each: $150.00
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