Lot 202
1779 (May 24) Easton Pa. to Providence R.I., folded letter from Captain William Pierce, Major General John Sullivan's aide-de-camp, endorsed "p Post", manuscript "12" rating, docketed "Rec'd June 18th 1779", light soiling, Very Fine, the 12 dwt rate for 300-400 miles.
Estimate 7,500 - 10,000
AN IMPORTANT FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION.
The letter indicates the Sullivan Expedition is underway and states: "…I arrived at Camp the 16the ins. & immediately fixed myself to General Sullivans' family (Note: "family" in the 18th century was used to connote a person's staff). On the 20the we arrived at this town, a pretty little place standing on a point between the Rivers Lake & the Delaware, about 12 miles from Bethlehem. There we have an Army collected for the purpose of a secret Expedition, tho' every body knows it. I cannot consistent with my office, give you any intelligence of our rout; let it suffice that we shall have innumerable difficulties to encounter with Savages, Wildernesses, Rocks & Mountains, such as would stagger the persevering spirit of a Hannibal; & if compelled to retreat (but the Devil, why should I introduce such a word?) we should run a hazard equal with Genophon when he retreated through three Hostile Countries with 10,000 men. As this Expedition will be of a very important nature, & as we shall have some of the most curious scenes to encounter, perhaps, that an Army did, I propose keeping an exact journal of all the military operations for the amusement of my friends, that is to say if I escape with whole bones…"
The Sullivan Expedition set out from Easton on June 18 (Sullivan had arrived on May 7) with 2500 men and officers. The instructions were to destroy the Iroquois settlements as the tribe had joined with Canadian Tories to strike frontier settlements. Between June and November 1779, 40 Iroquois towns were destroyed, along with the fields and orchards.
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| Realized $6,250 |
