1810 – Letter from the Commanding General of a Massachusetts Militia Division to one of his brigade commanders expressing irritation that an election of a company officer had been bungled

Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1810. Unbound. Very good. This one-page letter measuring 7½” x 12½” was sent from Plymouth, Massachusetts by Major General Nathaniel Goodwin, the Commanding General of the 5th Massachusetts Militia Division, to Brigadier General Lincoln, one of his brigade commanders on 22 August 1810. It bears no postal markings and was likely courier-carried as docketing indicates Lincoln received it the same day. It is in nice shape with a tiny bit of insect predation.

In this letter Goodwin expresses displeasure that a member of Lincoln’s brigade had challenged the procedures and results of a company’s officer election that Goodwin (truncated) had already forwarded as approved.

“Col. Brown of your Brigade, made a return . . . of Officers elected . . . which I forwarded to the Adjt. General for Commissions. . .. The Col. Now writes me his Election is disputed as being illegal for a number of reasons, among which is that the Company was not all warned, &c. . .. I will write to the Adjt. General, to stop the Commissions until enquiry is made. . .. Make the enquiry & forward me a statement. If necessary, I will order a Court of Inquiry. . .. “Really, the Col. Ought to have obtained your signature to the Election return before it was forwarded. . .. If you are convinced the company was not warned according to Law, or that they did not proceed regularly, you will order a new Election . . . not ordering the same field officer to preside. Care should be taken that the Company be paraded & not left & then join again, that there may be a fair election. It is not worth while to put people to so much trouble to come to Plymouth, when you can decide” . Goodwin was working for his merchant father in Plymouth, Massachusetts, when the Revolutionary War broke out. He entered the service and was appointed as a major in the Massachusetts Militia. When the British were defeated at Saratoga, Goodwin was placed in charge of the prisoners at Somerville and was presented with Burgoyne’s sword. He also served in the 1778 expedition to Rhode Island under Major General John Sullivan and participated in the inconclusive Battle of Quaker Hill which was the first attempt of war to coordinate American and French military action against the British. He was later promoted to Major General, a rank he held for the remainder of his life. In addition to his militia service, Goodwin represented the town of Plymouth in the General Court. He died in 1819 at the age of 70.

Although it might strike some as strange today, Article I, Section 8, Clause 16, of the U. S. Constitution assigns the right to appoint officers of the militia (and later the National Guard), and at various times, many states have done this through unit elections.

(For more information about Goodwin, see Kingman’s Epitaphs from Burial Hill and various online genealogical and military websites.) . (Inventory #: 010358)