Wolcott, Oliver, Signer of the Declaration from Connecticut

Autograph letter signed ("Oliver Wolcott"), 6 pages, bifolium (12 1/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 320 x 197 mm), Horseneck, 6 August 1779, to Connecticut Governor Joseph Trumbull; marginal staining causing some words to fade, center vertical folds reinforced, light toning. Blue linen folding case, blue morocco spine, 3 morocco lettering pieces.  

Defending the Connecticut Coast. Wolcott, who had been a Brigadier General of the militia since 1775, was promoted to Major General in 1779 and commanded a division when the Connecticut Coast Raid took place in July of that year. In this letter, he acknowledges receipt of orders from the Governor to detach troops as support for his command. Prior to receiving these orders, Wolcott arranged to draw from men from the brigades of Artemus Ward and Erastus Wolcott. He now countermands this order and directs Ward to send men in accordance with the Governor's direction. He assesses the local situation as secure enough to permit him to leave for New Haven, which he believes still under threat. The prime objective of Sir Henry Clinton's punitive expedition along the Connecticut Coast in July 1779 was New Haven, which, along with Hartford, served as Connecticut's two capitals. Brigadier Garth's division attacked New Haven on 5 July, and Garth intended to burn it down the following day, once his position had been secured. But the local militia was massing in such numbers that Garth withdrew without being able to organize "the conflagration it so richly deserved." Thus New Haven escaped the fiery fate suffered by Fairfield, Green Farms, and Norwalk in the course of the month.