28

Jesse Root.

Letter from Continental Congress reporting on the fall of Savannah and the Battle of St. Lucia.

Philadelphia, 9 February 1779
Autograph Letter Signed to John Lawrence of Hartford, CT. One page, 13¼ x 8¼ inches, plus integral blank with address panel signed additionally by Root, delivered by favor of Capt. Tracy (no postal markings); mailing folds, minimal wear.

Jesse Root (1733-1822) represented Connecticut in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1782. He begins this letter with a brief but vivid note on the recent British capture of Savannah: "The enemy have the possession of Georgia and treat the inhabitants with great cruelty & savage brutality."

He then forwards the latest reports on the Battle of St. Lucia: "The detachment of the enemy that went from New York under Gen'l Grant found means to elude the vigilance of the Count de Estaing, have surprized & taken the island of St. Lucia. The count thereupon recruited his land forces and proceeded to retake it. On his appearing off the harbour, the English sent a flag & offered  to deliver up the island if they might be permitted to go off with their ships, man & artillery, which the count refused, and attacked the island by land, attempted to storm the works, but was repulsed with considerable loss, and is now retired to Martinico [Martinique]."

Root concludes with a note on Silas Deane's controversial expense accounts from his diplomatic mission to France: "Mr. Dean's matters remain undecided, which I dare say is thought very strange of, however I hope it will not be long before they will be bro't to a decision." 

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