Joseph Spencer autograph letter signed ("Joseph Spencer"). One page, 7.25" x 7", "Camp at Roxbury" [Near Boston]; June 9, 1775. Addressed to "the Hon:ble Lt. General [John] Thomas". Docketed. Brigadier General Joseph Spencer requests information from Brigadier General John Thomas regarding a soldier's court-martial. While encamped outside of Boston, Joseph Spencer (1714-1789) writes to General Thomas to request information relating to Thomas McCarter's court-martial. It reads, in full: "if you'l [sic] please to order Thos. Mccarter to my Quarter Guard, and also direct that his Crime be transmitted to me, I will take care that he will be proceeded with according to our martial Laws." Signed, "Joseph Spencer." In early 1775, Spencer, an experienced military veteran of the French and Indian War, was serving as brigadier general in the Connecticut militia. He was stationed at Roxbury Heights under General Thomas in May 1775, and both men took part in the siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill. However, when the Continental Army was officially formed in June, Spencer did not receive the major general rank he anticipated. Instead, it was given to Israel Putnam and an indignant Spencer left his command after the fight at Bunker Hill, two weeks after penning this letter. He was eventually persuaded to return and was promoted to major general on August 9, 1776. In October 1777, he organized an amphibious attack against the enemy at Newport but canceled it at the last moment due to bad weather. Congress requested an inquiry into the expedition and its failure the next month. When Spencer learned of its formation, he resigned in protest which Congress accepted in January 1778. Spencer wrote to General Washington on January 7, 1778, and offered the following explanation, "I have took the liberty, freely, to acknowledge to Congress that the Embarrassments attending this army, Requires an abler Commander than I pretend to be, and...desired that such a one may be ordered to relieve me, and that after a proper time, to settle the affairs, relative, to my Command, I may have leave to resign my office in the Army." Spencer went on to serve in the Continental Congress and Connecticut Council before his death in 1789, but despite this long career, his letters appear infrequently, and war-dated material is especially scarce. The letter is accompanied by a typed transcription. Condition: Slightly trimmed and window mounted to the overall size of 7.75" x 7.75". Near-complete separation along fold which crosses signature. Light scattered foxing. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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