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Sale 111
Lot 120
Revolutionary War Soldier's Pewter Tea Caddy and Creamer Plus Letter & Broadside -- Robert Wilson, Who Accepted the British Standards at Yorktown. Four items belonging to Robert Wilson (1755-1811), the youngest commissioned officer in the Continental Army. The caddy is a narrow oval box with a hinged lid and nob handle, with lock but lacking key. Exterior with ornate engraving on walls and lid, the walls with floral borders and swags and oval cartouche on both sides with the initials "R W." The lid has similar pendant border and central starburst emanating from the handle. The hinge with, apparently, several repairs, one old and perhaps contemporary with the box, along with some more recent work. The lid has an added inscription: "Used in Camp in the War of the Revolution, 1781." Height: 4½ in.; Width: 5½ in. Condition better than Fine. Along with the caddy is a contemporary creamer, footed, with deep-bowl and arching handle. Border and shield cartouche engraved in same manner seen on canister, but by a different hand. The shield bears the initials, "R A W"; some dark spots in the patina. Height: 5 in. Overall fine condition. Accompanied by a letter from Wilson's mother, [2 pp, c. 1786] during Indian hostilities along the Mohawk River in New York, expressing her happiness "to hear that you have compleated your Service without having rec'd a Wound…now that these scenes of blood shed are over…"; letter has stains, chips, and paper fill. Finally, a broadside, 13¼ x 12", Manlius, N.Y., Apr. 22, 1807, headed "TO the People of Onandag County," signed in type by Wilson, in which he attacks the publishers of "Plain Truth" for malighing his reputation.
Robert Wilson was the youngest commissioned officer in the American Army. He was 18 at the time of the Battle of Yorktown. On October 19, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered with his entire force, military and naval, to the allied forces of America and France. The Army, with all of its artillery, stores, military chest, etc., was surrendered to General Washington; the Navy, with its appointments, was surrendered to French Admiral de Grasse. The delivery of the colors is recounted in Benson J. Lossing's The Pictorial Field-Book Of The Revolution: "…For this purpose, twenty-eight British captains, each bearing a flag in a case, were drawn up in line. Opposite to them, at a distance of six paces, twenty-eight American sergeants were placed in line to receive the colors. Ensign Wilson of Clinton's brigade, the youngest commissioned officer in the army (being then only eighteen years of age), was appointed by Colonel Hamilton, the officer of the day, to conduct this interesting ceremony. When Wilson gave the order for the British captains to advance two paces, to deliver up their colors, and the American sergeants to advance two paces to receive them, the former hesitated, and gave as a reason that they were unwilling to surrender their flags to noncommissioned officers. Hamilton, who was at a distance, observed this hesitation, and rode up to inquire the cause. On being informed, he willingly spared the feelings of the British captains, and ordered Ensign Wilson to receive them himself, and hand them to the American sergeants…". Estimate Value $4,000 - UP
Goldberg Auctions, Sept. 20, 2003, Lot 22; Stuart Goldman Collection.
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