Sold For $9,694
*Includes Buyers Premium
British army officer, politician, and dramatist (1722-1792) best known for his role in the American Revolution, where he surrendered his army of 5,000 men to American troops on October 17, 1777. War-dated LS signed "J. Burgoyne," one page, 7 x 9.5, March 26, 1778. Letter to Major General William Heath of the Continental Army, in full: "The commanding officer of your troops not being at Cambridge I am under the necessity of troubling you, with the inclosed complaint from Lieutenant Battersby an Officer of the Convention. He is now in the guard house which I think you will agree with me is an improper place for an officer though he might in the first instance be in the wrong. Should an officer endanger his parole by being out at an improper hour-his being put in arrest, or confined to the Limits of the Barracks till the affair was enquired into I should think the worst that could happen to him in any country. I should be obliged Sir to you, if you would release Mr. Battersby from his present disagreeable situation." In fine condition.
This fascinating letter was sent after Burgoyne's surrender but before his return to England, written while detained in a large mansion in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Forwarding one of his lieutenant's complaints to Continental Army General William Heath, he observes that imprisonment in a common guardhouse is too harsh a punishment for an officer and requests a more comfortable situation. In Heath's response, which can be found in the twelfth volume of the Parliamentary Register, he writes that he strictly enforces delicate treatment of officers and that Battersby should have been confined in an 'officer's room' rather than with 'common prisoners.' He goes on to apologize for their error in judgment, but points out that in British-controlled New York, the Continental Army's 'unfortunate officers are often sent to the provost for the smallest trifles, and sometimes they know not what for, and there remain for weeks.' Burgoyne's exchange with the Continental officer is especially interesting in tone, combining a dignified civility with the tension of nations at war.
James Battersby was an Irishman (b. 1751) who entered the 29th Regiment of Foot as an Ensign in 1770, ‘at which time this regiment was stationed in Boston and won unpleasant notoriety in the ‘massacre’ of the fifth of March following.’ He was promoted to a lieutenancy on December 16, 1773, and in February 1776, embarked at Chatham with his regiment for the seat of war in America. He was wounded in the action of October 7th and was one of the convention prisoners. He was promoted to a captaincy on February 16, 1778, while a prisoner. His name appears on the army lists for the last time in 1784. Battersby had been in the companies that surrendered with the rest of Burgoyne’s force in October 1777 following the Battles of Saratoga. He was amongst the prisoners exchanged on January 24, 1781, and returned to his Regiment in Canada.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$300.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
