Important
Revolutionary War Diary Fetches $70,400 at John
McInnis
A Tale of Love, Whimsy and Life in the Army
AMESBURY, MASS. - On November 24 at John McInnis Auctions, a
Revolutionary War diary sold for $70,400. Winning bidder Stuart
Goldman commented, "I learned about the diary from an article in
[Antiques and The Arts Weekly]. I collect Revolutionary
War material, and this unit was close to home. It organized in
Dorchester, which included Canton, the town where I live. I
expected it to sell for less, but I was prepared to go higher."
The underbidder on the phone was a California collector, who
related that a "friend saw a front page article about the diary
in The Patriot Ledger, Boston's South Shore daily
newspaper, and he faxed the article to me. The length of the
diary was exceptional, and the unit seems to have served a
particularly interesting role."
McInnis called the diary, which begins December 17, 1776, with a
gathering of 47 militia members south of Boston, "the most
important Revolutionary War diary to come to auction in recent
years.''
"The author recorded official dispatches as well as personal
observances...[that] range from private poetry to reports on
dining with General Washington," McInnis told the Associated
Press via the Ledger.
While the diary's author is not known, the content indicates it
was recorded by an assistant to Col. Solomon Lovell of Weymouth.
During the period described, a 1776-1777 campaign to reinforce
the Continental Army in the New York area, Lovell's assistant was
Adjutant Gardner Gould. The unit served under General Benjamin
Lincoln of Hingham, and spent most of its time between
Morristown, N.J. and Danbury, Conn.
The journal contains a jumble of official army documentation and
personal whimsy, such as Jan. 7, 1777's entry that begins with a
weather report, goes on to record a lengthy recipe purporting to
cure the ails of love and then goes on to document Washington's
victory at Trenton, N.J.
Lovell apparently served both as a troop commander and a
quartermaster, which would have required Gould to distribute
supplies to soldiers.
The diary dutifully records the amounts of rum, soap and beef
that were distributed to soldiers, as well as the tables that
document rank, name and town of origin of Massachusetts militia
members.
Bob Jackman will provide a full review of this auction in an
upcoming issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly.
