Lot 396

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Description:

Regimental Order Book for Colonel Marinus Willett’s New York Militia Protecting the Mohawk Valley

This regimental order book records equipment distributed to Col. Marinus Willett’s regiment of New York militia during the Revolutionary War. It presents a detailed accounting of the delivery of ammunition and stores to the different regiments in Willett’s regiment. Among the items distributed were cartridges, flints, canteens, cartridge paper, kettles, axes, pails, and tents.

The book begins with a list of the officers in the ten companies in Willett’s regiment, followed by a two-page spread for each company. It was created in Albany on May 21, 1781, just weeks before Willett took command of Fort Plain/Rensselaer. Following those pages are two-page entries for five additional companies led by others, including Abraham Livingston (1753-1802) and Peter Van Rensselaer (1751-1813) of the prominent New York families, another for the Tryon County Militia, and one for the Massachusetts Bay Levies.

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] MARINUS WILLETT, Manuscript Regimental Order Book, for “Colo Willets Regt of Levies,” 1781, Albany, New York. 156 pp. total, of which 39 have text, 9ʺ x 5.5ʺ. Housed in rigid boards within leather slipcase with gold titling. Significant water damage and discoloration of most pages of the manuscript; leather case has edge and spine wear.

Historical Background
The outpost of Fort Plain on the Mohawk River fifty miles west of Albany began as a refuge for local inhabitants on the New York frontier during the Revolutionary War. The 1777 Battle of Oriskany between British loyalists and their Iroquois allies on one side and American patriots and their Oneida allies on the other, nearly destroyed the Tryon County militia. British-allied Native Americans continued raids on New York frontier settlements throughout 1778, and in response, Fort Plain was built to provide a refuge for local residents.

In 1780, General Robert Van Rensselaer (1740-1802) made Fort Plain his headquarters and renamed it Fort Rensselaer. During the summer of 1780, loyalist Sir John Johnson (1741-1830) led a series of devastating raids through the Mohawk Valley called the “Burning of the Valleys,” in which his loyalist and Native American forces destroyed patriot homes, farms, and fields. In August, while most of the garrison was away to escort supplies to Fort Stanwix, Johnson’s forces surrounded Fort Rensselaer, but women and children from the area donned men’s uniforms and walked the walls of the fort to present the illusion of a stronger force. The ruse was successful, and Johnson withdrew.

In June 1781, Colonel Marinus Willett replaced General Van Rensselaer in command of patriot forces in the Mohawk Valley, and he made his headquarters at what once again became Fort Plain, though Willett had to continue using “Fort Rensselaer” in official correspondence. The following month, scouting parties from Fort Plain/Rensselaer discovered the camp of a loyalist raiding party ten miles to the south near present-day Sharon Springs. Willett assembled a force of 150 men, marched all night, and surprised and defeated a loyalist force of approximately 300 under the command of John Doxtader (1760-1801).

In October 1781, Willett scored another success at the Battle of Johnstown. That month, a raiding party of British soldiers led by Major John Ross (1744-1809), loyalist militia led by Walter Butler (1752-1781), and Mohawk warriors traveled through the Mohawk Valley and captured Currytown, eleven miles southeast of Fort Plain, but they did not burn the settlement to prevent the smoke from warning Willett’s forces. Militia scouts soon discovered the British party and spread a warning throughout the county. The raiders attacked several farms and homesteads, where they burned buildings and killed settlers. Willett and his force of approximately 400 militia caught up with the raiding party at Johnstown, fourteen miles northeast of Fort Plain, on October 25. Although the British force numbered more than 700, Willett divided his force and sent a small group around the enemy flank to attack them from the rear. Willett’s men began the battle with the only piece of artillery on the field, but it was repeatedly captured and recaptured. During the intense fight, Willett’s right flank broke and fled despite his efforts to rally them. The arrival of Willett’s flanking force saved the battle for the Americans, and although each side suffered similar numbers of killed and wounded, the British lost many more to capture. As the British retreated toward their landing on Oneida Lake, Willett’s militia pursued them, despite a snowstorm that slowed both forces. At West Canada Creek, the patriot forces caught up with the retreating British and an Oneida warrior killed and scalped Walter Butler, the leader of the loyalist militia.

Willett’s victory at the Battle of Johnstown occurred at the same time that news of the British surrender of Yorktown, Virginia, reached the area. Willett’s success effectively ended fighting in the Mohawk Valley, though the Treaty of Paris ending the war was not signed until September 1783.

Marinus Willett (1740-1830) served in the militia during the French and Indian War and took part in the expedition to Fort Ticonderoga. As a New York Son of Liberty, he helped confiscate arms from an arsenal and captured British stores at Turtle Bay in the East River. Willett was appointed a captain in the Continental Army and participated in the Invasion of Canada and the Siege of Quebec. After a series of posts throughout New York, in April 1781 he was made a colonel of the New York militia and assigned to the Mohawk Valley. Most of his efforts involved fighting local loyalists and their Native American allies. In February 1783, Washington instructed Willett to take Fort Ontario on the southern shore of Lake Ontario back from the British, but Willett retreated upon determining that he had lost the element of surprise. The fort would remain in British hands until 1796, after the signing of Jay’s Treaty. Willett maintained his political alignment with Governor George Clinton and later served in the New York State Assembly, as Sheriff of New York County (1784-1787, 1791-1795), and as the forty-eighth mayor of New York City (1807-1808).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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