(NAVY) Brodhead Daniel D Letterbook kept as agent at the Cha

Sale 2432 - Lot 244

Unsold

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

(NAVY.) Brodhead, Daniel D. Letterbook kept as agent at the Charlestown Navy Yard. 50, [188] manuscript pages. Folio, contemporary 1/2 calf, minor wear; contents clean and legible. Boston, April 1836 to January 1838

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Additional Details

These outgoing letter copies mostly concern financial matters and billing at the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, which built and repaired ships for the United States Navy as well as providing naval supplies such as rope. Some letters discuss individual ships and sailors. Regular correspondents include Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson, and Commodore John Rodgers as president of the Navy Board.
The letters through 5 December 1836 are generally signed "D.D.B. & J.F.A." James F. Anderson was a clerk in Brodhead's employ who was later charged with embezzlement (he was adding zeroes to checks after Brodhead signed them). In the wake of Anderson's departure, Brodhead defaulted on his payments and a new bond was required to be filed. The bond, which featured prominently in the 1839 federal case "United States vs. Brodhead," is here recorded on 23 June 1837.