Pomeroy, Seth & Mary

4 autograph letters, of which 3 signed ("Seth Pomeroy") and 1 signed ("Mary Pomeroy"), 7 pages (7 1/2 x 6 in.; 190 x 152 mm) plus 4 address pages, Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Northampton (Mass.), Lake George (NY), each letter glazed, for condition see below.

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Seth Pomeroy (May 20, 1706 – February 9, 1777) was an American gunsmith and soldier from Northampton, Massachusetts. His military service included the French and Indian War and the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. He fought as a private soldier in the Battle of Bunker Hill, but was later appointed a major general in the Massachusetts militia. He was part of the expedition led by William Pepperrell that captured Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia in 1745. He reconditioned the guns captured from an outlying position after the French had spiked them and supported 46 days of heavy bombardment. In 1755 Lt. Colonel Pomeroy was second in command of the regiment led by Colonel Ephraim Williams which marched to New York to support a move to capture Crown Pont. While on the march, they were ambushed by a force of 800 French and Canadian troops, supported by 600 Iroquois warriors, and led by Baron Dieskau at the Battle of Lake George. Of all the commanding officers, Pomeroy was the only one to survive the battle, and in lieu of Williams' death assumed the rank of Colonel.

The present letters derive from both periods, providing a vivid picture of the siege of Louisburg and the French and Indian War:

Seth, From the Grand Battery 1 mile & half north from the city Louisbourg, 8 May 1745, 3 pages; formerly folded, soiled with a few stains, tear in upper margin affecting 2 words: "The last day of April the Fleet landed on the island of Cape Breton about 5 miles from Louisbourgh. The French saw our vessels & came out with a Company to prevent our landing. But as fast as the boats could get on shore, the men were landed, warm engagement we had with them. They soon retreated we follow'd them & drove them into the woods ... the grand battre is ours ... General Peppril gave me the charge & over sight of above twenty smiths in Boaring of them out. Cannon boats & bourns hundred of them were fired at us, from the city and the grand fort, great numbers of them struck the fort. Some in the parrade amongst the people, but none of them hurt & as soon as we could git the cannon clear we gave them fire for fire & bombarded them on the west side. Louisbourgh is an exceeding strong handsome & well situated place, with a fine harbor, it seems impregnable, but we have been so succeeded ... do not doubt but Providence will deliver it into our hands ... My dearest wife, if it be the will of god I hope to see your pleasant face again ..."

Seth, At the Camp Cape Breton, 20 May 1745, 1 page; formerly folded, seal tear: "We are still without the walls of Louisburg but dayly battring of them with our cannon, but there fortifications are all impregnable. But if god has designed it for us we shall have it ... Of late we had some sad accidents, by a barrel of powder catching a fire, it killed 2 men wounded several more, a cannon split killed 2 wounded many more, several killed by accidents other ways, & many in the army sick."

Mary, Northampton, 9 August 1755, 2 pages; formerly folded, seal tears: "We have a great deal of news in short so much that we have none at all for one day, we hear there is a dissension among the officers, then that the stores are come, then that they are not come & that you have inteligence that there is a superior force at C.B. than yours & that you are sending home for more force. And thus Sir you may have a faint idea how we are out as to truth."

Seth, Lake George (NY), 18 September 1755, 1 page; formerly folded, some soiling: "... the bullets continually flying near me in the time [of] battle & one prevented killing me outright by its cutting of a small limb when it got within about a foot of my body. So much cost it force that only bruised me & fell down at my feet ... I hope that it will be the will of God I may see you again ..."