Revolutionary War-era partial ALS signed “Ch. Carroll of Carrollton,” one page, 6.5 x 6.25, no date but circa 1781. Letter to Maryland Governor Thomas Sim Lee, in part: "Communicating all the intelligence you have received of the movements below, in particular whether de Barras squadron from Newport has joined the Count De Grasse—I have just heard that the French fleet went out of our bay in pursuit of an English fleet & was not returned…We desire to be respectfully remembered to you & Mrs. Lee." Carroll adds a brief postscript apologizing for the "scantness" of the missive. In very good to fine condition, with scattered light toning and foxing, and a tear/hole affecting a few words of text.
On August 25, 1781, a French fleet under the command of Comte de Barras left Newport, Rhode Island, and sailed south to deliver siege equipment to the forces of the Comte de Grasse anchored at Chesapeake Bay. When a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake on September 5th, de Grasse and a line of 24 ships sailed out to meet the encroaching British flotilla. Although the battle proved evenly matched, the strategic decisions of de Grasse enabled de Barras's fleet to arrive unmolested, and subsequently prevented the Royal Navy from supporting or evacuating the forces of Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
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