細節
The Property of
ROGER D. NEWELL,
a descendant of General John Stark (1728-1822)
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, President. Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") as President, TO GENERAL JOHN STARK, Monticello, 19 August 1805. One page, 4to, integral address leaf addressed by Jefferson to "General Stark" with small wax seal, recipient's docket, the address leaf tipped to a card at corners (removable) with small seal hole and a small tear at top, a tiny hole in letter at a fold intersection affecting two letters, but the letter in good condition. [with] STARK, JOHN, Major General, Continental Army. Autograph draft letter (unsigned) to Thomas Jefferson, n.p. [Derryfield, N.H.], n.d. [1 November 1805]. 1 page, small folio, laid down on card, browned, small tear at extreme top, ink inscription at bottom margin: "Copy of General John Stark's answer to Thomas Jefferson."
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON'S GRACIOUS SALUTE TO AN OLD VETERAN, HERO OF THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON, WHO "HAS NOT LIVED IN VAIN FOR HIS COUNTRY"
"Respected General...I have lately learnt through the channel of the newspapers, and learnt with great pleasure, that you are still in life, & enjoy health & spirits. The victories of Bennington, the first link in that chain of successes whic[ch] issued in the surrender at Saratoga, are still fresh in the memory of every American, & the name of him who acheived them dear to his heart. Permit therefore a stranger who knows you only by the services you have rendered, to express to you the sincere emotions of pleasure and attachment which he felt on learning that your days had been thus prolonged, his fervent prayers that they may still be continued in comfort, and the conviction, that, whenever they end, your memory will be cherished by those who come after you, as of one who has not lived in vain for his country. I salute you, venerable patriot & General, with affection and reverence...."
In his draft reply, which exhibits many deletions and crossed-out passages, Stark apologizes for not answering sooner, due to "the imbecility inseparably conected with the wane of life." He has been 77 year old "since the 28th of August last, and since the close of the revolutionary war have devoted my time entirely to domestick employments, and in the vale of obscure retirement have tasted that tranquility which the hurry and bustle of a busy world so seldom bestows. [deleted sentence:] You are pleased to compliment me for the part that I had the good fortune to act on the theatre of the revolution...." He expresses gratitude "for the compliment, nor will I conceal the satisfaction I feel in receiving it from a man who possesses so large a share of my confidence. I will confess to you that I once began to think that the labors of revolution were in vain, & that I should live to see the system restored, that I had assisted in destroying [probably an allusion to his anti-Federalist sentiments during Washington's and Adams's Presidencies]. But my fears are at an end, & I am now am calmly preparing to meet the unerring fate of man, with however the satisfactory reflection that I leave a numerous progeny in a country highly favored by nature, & under a government whose principles & views I believe to be correct & just...." STARK'S LETTERS ARE VERY RARE.
General Stark (1728-1822), one of the most vivid military figures of the Revolutionary War, continued to live "in the vale of obscure retirement" long after this letter, dying at the ripe age of 93 on his New Hampshire farm. Stark was born in the frontier town of Londonderry, served with Rodger's Rangers during the French and Indian War, saw action at Fort William Henry and in General Abercromby's thwarted assault on Fort Ticonderoga, and was rapidly promoted to the rank of Captain for gallant service. "In January 1757, en route with a scouting party to Lake Champlain, he distinguished himself by walking forty miles in deep snow, after a day's fighting and a night's marching, in order to bring succor to the wounded" (-DAB). He fought with the Rangers at Crown Point and Ticonderoga in 1759, and after the war returned to "domestick employments." When the news of Lexington and Concord reached him, he rode to Cambridge, Massachusetts and helped organize a regiment from New Hampshire which appointed Stark its Colonel. In the Battle of Bunker Hill, Stark and his regiment held the important rail fence on the left of the American lines and played a key role in repulsing the first two British assaults. He later played an important role in the victories at Trenton and Princeton, but in a dispute over rank, resigned his commission in March 1777 and returned to New Hampshire. When General Burgoyne's army began to move south from Quebec along Lake Champlain, seizing Fort Ticonderoga (in July 1777), Vermont appealed to Massachusetts and New Hampshire for assistance. Stark, who insisted his command be independant of Congress, was appointed a brigadier general by the General Court of New Hampshire, and in only twenty days, raised and equipped a brigade of some 1,500 men "innocent of military uniforms and armed only with personal weapons" (-Boatner). Burgoyne had detached a large force commanded by the Hessian Baum westward into Vermont; at Bennington, on 16 August, Stark's command encircled and soundly defeated the better-equipped professional soldiers. This important battle ("one of the most spectacular and decisive successes of the Revolution") helped set the stage for the final defeat of Burgoyne himself at Saratoga, as Jefferson was well aware. Congress commissioned Stark a Brigadier General in early October; that same month, at Saratoga, Stark led the force which cut off Burgoyne's last avenue of escape. "John Stark had an uncanny way of being at the critical and unexpected place to ruin British plans, first at Bunker Hill, then at Bennington, and finally at Saratoga. He served for the duration of the war, was brevetted Major General in September 1783 and two months later retired from the army to return to his farm. His "numerous progeny" comprised 11 children. (2)
ROGER D. NEWELL,
a descendant of General John Stark (1728-1822)
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, President. Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") as President, TO GENERAL JOHN STARK, Monticello, 19 August 1805. One page, 4to, integral address leaf addressed by Jefferson to "General Stark" with small wax seal, recipient's docket, the address leaf tipped to a card at corners (removable) with small seal hole and a small tear at top, a tiny hole in letter at a fold intersection affecting two letters, but the letter in good condition. [with] STARK, JOHN, Major General, Continental Army. Autograph draft letter (unsigned) to Thomas Jefferson, n.p. [Derryfield, N.H.], n.d. [1 November 1805]. 1 page, small folio, laid down on card, browned, small tear at extreme top, ink inscription at bottom margin: "Copy of General John Stark's answer to Thomas Jefferson."
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON'S GRACIOUS SALUTE TO AN OLD VETERAN, HERO OF THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON, WHO "HAS NOT LIVED IN VAIN FOR HIS COUNTRY"
"Respected General...I have lately learnt through the channel of the newspapers, and learnt with great pleasure, that you are still in life, & enjoy health & spirits. The victories of Bennington, the first link in that chain of successes whic[ch] issued in the surrender at Saratoga, are still fresh in the memory of every American, & the name of him who acheived them dear to his heart. Permit therefore a stranger who knows you only by the services you have rendered, to express to you the sincere emotions of pleasure and attachment which he felt on learning that your days had been thus prolonged, his fervent prayers that they may still be continued in comfort, and the conviction, that, whenever they end, your memory will be cherished by those who come after you, as of one who has not lived in vain for his country. I salute you, venerable patriot & General, with affection and reverence...."
In his draft reply, which exhibits many deletions and crossed-out passages, Stark apologizes for not answering sooner, due to "the imbecility inseparably conected with the wane of life." He has been 77 year old "since the 28th of August last, and since the close of the revolutionary war have devoted my time entirely to domestick employments, and in the vale of obscure retirement have tasted that tranquility which the hurry and bustle of a busy world so seldom bestows. [deleted sentence:] You are pleased to compliment me for the part that I had the good fortune to act on the theatre of the revolution...." He expresses gratitude "for the compliment, nor will I conceal the satisfaction I feel in receiving it from a man who possesses so large a share of my confidence. I will confess to you that I once began to think that the labors of revolution were in vain, & that I should live to see the system restored, that I had assisted in destroying [probably an allusion to his anti-Federalist sentiments during Washington's and Adams's Presidencies]. But my fears are at an end, & I am now am calmly preparing to meet the unerring fate of man, with however the satisfactory reflection that I leave a numerous progeny in a country highly favored by nature, & under a government whose principles & views I believe to be correct & just...." STARK'S LETTERS ARE VERY RARE.
General Stark (1728-1822), one of the most vivid military figures of the Revolutionary War, continued to live "in the vale of obscure retirement" long after this letter, dying at the ripe age of 93 on his New Hampshire farm. Stark was born in the frontier town of Londonderry, served with Rodger's Rangers during the French and Indian War, saw action at Fort William Henry and in General Abercromby's thwarted assault on Fort Ticonderoga, and was rapidly promoted to the rank of Captain for gallant service. "In January 1757, en route with a scouting party to Lake Champlain, he distinguished himself by walking forty miles in deep snow, after a day's fighting and a night's marching, in order to bring succor to the wounded" (-DAB). He fought with the Rangers at Crown Point and Ticonderoga in 1759, and after the war returned to "domestick employments." When the news of Lexington and Concord reached him, he rode to Cambridge, Massachusetts and helped organize a regiment from New Hampshire which appointed Stark its Colonel. In the Battle of Bunker Hill, Stark and his regiment held the important rail fence on the left of the American lines and played a key role in repulsing the first two British assaults. He later played an important role in the victories at Trenton and Princeton, but in a dispute over rank, resigned his commission in March 1777 and returned to New Hampshire. When General Burgoyne's army began to move south from Quebec along Lake Champlain, seizing Fort Ticonderoga (in July 1777), Vermont appealed to Massachusetts and New Hampshire for assistance. Stark, who insisted his command be independant of Congress, was appointed a brigadier general by the General Court of New Hampshire, and in only twenty days, raised and equipped a brigade of some 1,500 men "innocent of military uniforms and armed only with personal weapons" (-Boatner). Burgoyne had detached a large force commanded by the Hessian Baum westward into Vermont; at Bennington, on 16 August, Stark's command encircled and soundly defeated the better-equipped professional soldiers. This important battle ("one of the most spectacular and decisive successes of the Revolution") helped set the stage for the final defeat of Burgoyne himself at Saratoga, as Jefferson was well aware. Congress commissioned Stark a Brigadier General in early October; that same month, at Saratoga, Stark led the force which cut off Burgoyne's last avenue of escape. "John Stark had an uncanny way of being at the critical and unexpected place to ruin British plans, first at Bunker Hill, then at Bennington, and finally at Saratoga. He served for the duration of the war, was brevetted Major General in September 1783 and two months later retired from the army to return to his farm. His "numerous progeny" comprised 11 children. (2)