hm_jollies | Letters from war, Pt. 3

From The Lost War: Letters from British Officers during the American Revolution

Letter from Lieutenant William Feilding (Marine adjutant) to Lord Denbigh.

						Boston Augst. 13. 1775

My Lord

    Since my last nothing extraordinary has happened, except
the Rebels burning the Light Houses on cape Ann & the light house 
at the entrance of Boston. The latter was afterwards repaired & an 
Officer of Marines with 30 men from the Admiral’s Ship sent to 
guard it. On the 31st of July before day about 400 rebels landed on 
the Light House Island, killed the Lieut.& ten Marines & took the 
rest prisoners with several Carpenters. The Men of War’s boats 
manned & armed followed the Rebels to the opposite shore but were 
not able to take any of them,¹ some of the Carpenters made their es-
cape, the rest of the prisoners were obliged to drag a piece of cannon 
up their hill. They still continue to fortify every height & their camps 
are seen all over the Country. Our Troops have been attacked with 
severe fluxes & many have died for want of fresh provisions which 
have been so very scarce that when any have been procured for the 
Hospitals, they allowed only 4 ounces pr. Man Officers included. I 
have eat fresh meat but 3 times these six weeks. Fish & Salt pork 
are our constant Food. A supply of about 30 head of cattle & 50 sheep 
was brought here in a vessel taken by the cruiser, the whole of which 
was purchased for the use of the sick which I was not sorry for. I keep 
my health at present very well tho not quite as stout as wehn at 
Newnham.

N.B. Two Captns. of Marines died yesterday.

1 - American accounts of the burning of the lighthouse at the entrance to Boston Harbor list British casualties as seven killed and twenty-three captured.

Letter from Thomas Dicey to Lord Denbigh.

						Claybrook Augst. 14. 1775

My Lord

    My Father being still in such a situation as to prevent my leaving
him even for an hour I beg leave to take this method of applying to
your Lordsp in behalf of a very near connection who has been very
hardly treated to serve Government.
    The case of my friend & the favour I solicit for him & which I 
shall consider conferred on myself are briefly thus. Some time in
the course of last year a Company in the 33d. Regt. became vacant by
Death. In consequence of which Lord Cornwallis¹ the Coll. recom-
mended the Captn. Lieut. to succeed to the Company & my friend
Lieut. [John] Kerr the Senr. Lieut. to the Captn. Lieutcy. urging Mr.
Kerr’s services as the chief ground of both recommendations. The
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland where the Regt. is answered Lord Corn-
wallis that the Company should go in the Regt. but that the Capt.
Lieutcy. must be given to a Lieut. [the Hon. Robert] Peckenham (a
younger Officer than Lieut. Kerr & of a younger Regt.) who was
Member for an Irish County, a friend of Government & Bro. to Lord
Longford.² Lieut. Kerr therefore was disappointed to serve Mr. Peck-
enham & Govt. & the favour I request of your Lordshp is to procure a
company of Foote for Lieut. Kerr, whose merits as an Officer shall be
fully & satisfactorily certified to your Lordsp or Lord North³ (to
whom I wish your Lordsp to apply rather than Lord Barrington⁴)
by Lord Cornwallis. Mr. Kerr has been in service ever since Aug.
1760 has never been 2 years absent from the Regt. during that time
& was the Chasseur Officer of the 33d. Regt. from the first establish-
ment of that detachment to the conclusion of the war.
    I particularly apply to your Lordsp at this juncture because by the 
many vacancies that have lately happened & the augmentation of the
Army that is daily talked of I conceive a promotion of this sort to be
most practicable than in a time of profound peace and tranquility.

1 - Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Earl Cornwallis, Major General and Colonel of the 33rd Regiment
2 - Edward Michael Pakenham, 6th Baron Longford, Captain in thie Royal Navy, M.P. in the Irish Parliament, and member of the Irish Privy Council
3 - Frederick North, Lord North, First Lord of the Treasury, 1770 - 1782
4 - William Wildman Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, Secretary at War, 1757 - 1778

Letter from Lord Denbigh to Thomas Dicey.

						Newnham Augst. 14. 1775

    Lord Denbigh’s Comp[liment]s to Mr. Dicey, shall always be 
happy to have it in his power to obey any commands of his, but upon
the present occasion can assure him that all promotions in the Army
on the Irish establishment are entirely in the Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland & that neither Lord North nor the Secry. at War have the
least share in them. But as the present Lord Lieut. is a very intimate
friend of Lord D’s he will write to him to recommend Mr. Kerr in
the strongest manner for a Company when any new Regt. shall be
raised in Ireland.