The letter is written by Matthew Adgate, Revolutionary War Hero four days after the battle.  The detail in this letter is phenomenal.  It was written only 4 days after the battle.

Matthew Adgate was born in 1737 in Connecticut and died in 1818 at his home in Ausable Chasm. He was an early supporter of the cause for American independence and helped draft the first New York State Constitution. After the war Adgate served as a New York State Assemblyman, County Judge, and Delegate to the 1788 New York State Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

...through God's favor we are all yet alive...Scenes have been gloomy for a few days, but he that makes order and destiny of man has changed the aspect into joy and triumph by the defeat of the invading foe by water and by land.and let all the people ascribe the glory to him.........the day b(rigadier) g(eneral) Smith the last of M(ajor) G(eneral) Izard's army xxx to the west (both Amnerican), G(eorge) Provost (British) with his army XXX Lord Wellingtons Army from France, crafted the xxx at Champlaign and took for xxxx Plattshurgh and from xxx to Ticonderoga (the amount of his number varies from xxx to fifteen thousand), with the highest confidence of success and the few inhabitants that remained at their homes saying that he would meet with no opposition but a trifling one at Plattsburgh....his movement was slow which gave the militia of this countyanmd part of Essex (county) time to rally and meet him with some of the Continental troop....xx as he advanced 8 miles (details!) and retreated killing his men...but retarding his march.  till he took proxxx in the Village of Plattsburgh north of the river and works of defense lying south prevented him [fording] the river the bridge being crossed ......prevented from getting out of the river to drink by beoing shot in the attempt....in the first encounter of b. 800 of their best troops were killed or wounded among whome was a col. Wellington and Major and the wife of one of them...in all his gay attire and trod under the feet of the advancing army.......G. Provost lay for a few days. waiting as if prepared for the wind to favor his fleet and on Sunday took the wind in the morning blowing from the north.  They made the attack with the same commander, the C Perry took last year on Lake Erie.  They were under order not to strike by by Pring? if they could not destroy or take our fleet but the first broadside of our commodore laid C Barkley (?) dead yet without anything like a wound on his body, the destruction on each side is great but theirs out of xxxxx they were double moored.G. Provost (British) seeing his fleet beat xxx scampered off with his guard to Canada first ordering a detachmnet of 1900 to cross the river at Pike, old encampment or perish in the attempt.....this brougth the Battle of Lundy(?)  and the militia obtained.....as they only were ingaged, few, very few of the militia were killed or in any way hurt 5 or 6 killed and some wounded The enemy buried their dead in Plattsburgh but scarcely covered them.....their loss in the whole cannot be less then on third of their whole army..(first page)....900 out of one regiment is said to be destroyed, some whole companies,,,they assent that there was 50,000 militia.  truly there has been but one....old men and boys met them with their muskets....greatest body were from Vermont Volumteers Gov, Chittenden ...there number is said 5,000, ours that arrived in time....2,000. 

You may wish to know something of our brother, Martin.  I have not seen him since he was at Canaan (NY)....enlisted in one of the regimentsduring the war, he is now in Plattsburgh with the army. 

About a paragraph of personal family news. 

..have had many people, B(rigadier) G(eneral) Smith brigade to the west ...the night here and encamped inthe door before the orchard ...their praise they behaved with the greatest decorum.....xxx nor fowls, nor scarcely a potato was taken with liberty.... feed from the barn about 500 horses....some hay they brought from Latham (?).  They ahd a party of dragoons with them.  There is now a captain(?) of company.  The militia have returned home.  

Dear children I am your affectionate parent, 

Matthew Adgate

Sent to:

Stephen Patterson & Wife

Benjamin Baron & Wife

The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. Two British forces, an army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadron under Captain George Downie converged on the lakeside town of Plattsburgh, New York. Plattsburgh was defended by New York and Vermont militia and detachments of regular troops of the United States Army, all under the command of Brigadier General Alexander Macomb, and ships commanded by Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough.

Downie's squadron attacked shortly after dawn on 11 September 1814, but was defeated after a hard fight in which Downie was killed. Prévost then abandoned the attack by land against Macomb's defences and retreated to Canada, stating that even if Plattsburgh was captured, any British troops there could not be supplied without control of the lake.

When the battle took place, American and British delegates were meeting at Ghent in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, attempting to negotiate a treaty acceptable to both sides to end the war. The American victory at Plattsburgh, and the successful defense at the Battle of Baltimore, which began the next day and halted British advances in the Mid-Atlantic states, denied the British negotiators leverage to demand any territorial claims against the United States on the basis of uti possidetis, i.e., retaining territory they held at the end of hostilities. The Treaty of Ghent, in which captured or occupied territories were restored on the basis of status quo ante bellum, i.e., the situation as it existed before the war, was signed three months after the battle. However, this battle may have had little or no impact in advancing the objectives of either side.

VERY RARE item - great details in this narration



See photos for condition details. Needs to be restored-, seam wear, acid ink,  a part is missing. 

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