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THBBenjamin Stoddert Letter Signed, First US Secretary of the Navy
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About Auction
LiveSep 8, 2017 - Sep 9, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (427)
- Lot Description
Stoddert, Benjamin (1744-1813). First US Secretary of the Navy under Presidents Adams and Jefferson (1798-1801). 1.25pp, 8 x 10 in, Navy Department. September 17, 1798. Addressed to John Martin at Portsmouth, NH. Written less than three months after becoming the first Secretary of Navy, Stoddert writes to Martin ordering him to outfit the USRC Scammel with men and provisions for a three-month cruise.
The ship described in this letter was the second vessel of the United States Revenue Cutter Service, a forerunner of the US Coast Guard, to bear the name USRC Scammel with one serving from 1791-1798 and the other which is referenced in this letter built in 1798. Both ships were named after Revolutionary War soldier Alexander Scammell who played a role in the American victory at Saratoga and later lost his life at the Battle of Yorktown (with the ships using a misspelling of his last name). The 1798 USRC Scammel was a 14-gun schooner built to serve in the Quasi-War with France and launched in Portsmouth, NH.
Stoddert writes to Martin:
The Secretary of the Treasury has delivered to me your letter of the 20th ultimo, whereby I am informed that the Cutter Scammell is launched and will soon be ready to receive her warlike stores and provisions. She is to be completely fitted and equipped for a cruise of three months, and I write by this conveyance to Captain Adams to enlist 15 able Seamen, 8 Ordinary Seamen and 7 Boys which I suppose will be a sufficient number.
Stoddert was an able administrator who was critical to the success of the reconstituted US Navy. During his tenure the United States, he launched a major expansion of the American fleet and successfully countered French aggression with increased American naval power. This letter is a window into the formative years of a young America's increasingly critical naval forces.
Condition
Excellent condition.
Surface grime and craquelure.
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