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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC01450.089 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1781 |
| Title | Edward McMichael to [Thomas] Ward requesting Ward to release Lieutenant Samuel Seely so Seely can work out a prisoner exchange for McMichael |
| Date | 12 April 1781 |
| Author | McMichael, Edward (fl. 1781) |
| Recipient | Ward, Thomas |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Military document |
| Content Description | Written by McMichael as a Loyalist Captain in the British Army. As a lieutenant in the Continental Army he deserted from his post at Fort Schuyler in August 1776 to join the British. McMichael was taken prisoner out of a flag of truce at Elizabethtown, probably on 9 April 1781. Lieutenant Samuel Seely of the New Jersey militia was then sent behind British lines, probably to work out a prisoner exchange. McMichael then received the "disagreeable news" that Seely was detained by Ward on the armed sloop the "Neptune," which was in New York Harbor. Says Seely was doing work for him and that he had vouched for him personally. Claims Ward is dishonoring him and the 4th Corps he served with. References a previous letter he wrote from Chatham, New Jersey, that delineated Seely's business. Requests that he be released immediately since Ward was already notified about Seely's business. Asks him to abide by the laws of humanity and not retaliate in any way. Requests that Ward does "not neglect sending ... Money, Clothes &c." McMichael was released soon after this letter. Seely is the brother of Colonel Silvanus Seely, the well known diarist. |
| Subjects | Revolutionary War Military History Loyalist Prisoner of War Global History and Civics Navy Truce |
| People | McMichael, Edward (fl. 1781) Ward, Artemas (1727-1800) |
| Place written | Morristown, New Jersey |
| Theme | The American Revolution; Foreign Affairs; Naval & Maritime |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | Recipient is identified as Artemas Ward in preliminary index but it is probable the letter is actually to Thomas Ward, McMichael's commanding officer. Major Ward commanded the Loyal Refugee Volunteers, in which McMichael raised a company of riflemen. McMichael was a prosperous Philadelphia merchant before the war. After deserting the American cause he was given a captain's commission in the "Guides and Pioneers" of the British army. McMichael was threatened with trial for desertion from the 3rd New Jersey Battalion, which he left in 1776. The Americans used the threat to turn him into a spy, but he revealed the plan to the British upon his return. He was taken prisoner again at Bergen Point, New Jersey, was allowed to escape from jail, and once again revealed his situation to the British. After the war he was charged with treason and his property was confiscated. He moved to the Niagara District of Ontario and died in 1800. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |