Details:

Abijah Bigelow handwritten four-page autograph letter (ALS), written from Washington City on May 22, 1813, to his wife, Hannah Bigelow. Penned while traveling to the nation’s capital during the War of 1812, Bigelow chronicles his stagecoach journey from Massachusetts through Worcester, Hartford, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. While in Hartford, he records the amusing arrival of Colonel Pickering and Mr. Gerry after nearly all the beds had been taken, with the landlord offering them the last available bed only if they would agree to “lodge together.”

Among additional highlights, Bigelow recounts viewing New York City’s Washington Hall and City Hall, noting the impressive portraits of George Washington, George Clinton, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton displayed within. Continuing to Philadelphia, he describes visiting the city’s pioneering steam-powered waterworks, museum, Academy of Fine Arts, hospital, and the monument to William Penn. He also comments on the enormous wartime transportation effort, observing that more than eight hundred wagons were engaged daily in hauling flour and supplies, leaving roads badly deteriorated and contributing to rising prices.

The letter also contains vivid references to the ongoing War of 1812. Bigelow writes of traveling through Havre de Grace, “where the British landed and destroyed a number of buildings,” referring to the British raid of May 1813. Near the conclusion of his journey, he recounts the stagecoach overturning on the road to Washington, fortunately noting that none of the passengers were seriously injured. Throughout the correspondence, Bigelow balances observations on politics, travel, and wartime conditions with affectionate instructions to his wife regarding their children, providing an engaging glimpse into both public events and private family life during one of the nation’s formative conflicts.

Very good condition. Four manuscript pages with expected age toning, and scattered foxing

Abijah Bigelow (1775-1860) was a Massachusetts physician, lawyer, and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1817 to 1821. Before entering Congress, he was active in state politics and civic affairs, and later became one of the early settlers and founders of Johnstown in present-day Licking County, Ohio. Written four years before his election to Congress, this letter captures Bigelow during a pivotal period in his life while documenting travel, infrastructure, and the effects of the War of 1812 in extraordinary firsthand detail.

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Reference sku: 11669 1416934-1