(WAR OF 1812) Black John Letter describing the mock Battle o

Sale 2473 - Lot 223

Price Realized: $ 281

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Estimate: $ 300 - $ 400

(WAR OF 1812.) Black, John. Letter describing the mock Battle of Greenwich Village. Autograph Letter Signed to Abner Austin of Catskill, NY. 3 pages, 9 1/2 x 8 inches, on one folding sheet, with address panel and docketing on final blank and no postal markings; moderate wear at intersection of folds with no loss of text. Greenwich Camp [Greenwich Village, Manhattan], 10 October 1814

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John Black was a papermaker from rural Greene County who had recently enlisted. Here he describes life in a camp "a little above" Fort Gansevoort in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. On the evening of 6 October, his major "came rattling through our tents, crying 'Turn out, turn out, damn it turn out, don't you here the alarm." Quickly realizing that it was a drill, "we bold heroes who knew the alarm to be false, who never shrunk at danger when we knew there was not any, lept forward and in less than five minutes formed a line all with their glittering muskets in their hand--for that was all we had, for we have neither cattrige boxes bayonet belts. When the line was formed, our Coll gave the word to charge which was done in the completest manner according to Duane. . . . We poured three volleys into John Bull which raked him at a terrible rate, for we fired without powder or ball. . . . We then retired to our tents, which ended the Battle of Greenwich."