Manuscript document, copy, signed by John Whiting (1721-1786), as Justice of the Peace. New Haven, Connecticut, 29 March 1758. 1 page, 7 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches.

This compelling wartime order illustrates the logistics required to move "the Kings Troops" across the American theater. Issued by Justice of the Peace John Whiting, a prominent figure in New Haven and Yale alumnus (class of 1740), the warrant authorizes a Lieutenant John Fraser to seize the necessary transport to move British forces from Connecticut to Rhode Island, reading in part: "To ye Sheriff of ye County of Newhaven or his Deputy Greeting / Whereas Lieut John Frasur has this day maid his application to me John Whiting...for a warrant to impres a vesill or vesuls to ye amount [of] an Hundred and sixty tones to Transport a number of the Kings Troops from ye Harbour of Newhaven to Providence [sic]."

Whiting further invokes the authority of Major General Hames Abercromby (1706-1781), noting that the impressment of carriages and transport must be conducted "according to ye Rules of War."

At the time of signing, Abercromby had just assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. By the summer of 1758, he would lead a massive force of 6,000 British and 9,000 colonial soldiers in an ambitious invasion of Canada via Lake George. Many of these colonial troops were raised in response to an earlier call from Prime Minister Willian Pitt, with Connecticut alone providing 5,000 men for the campaign season of 1758.

The campaign culminated in the disastrous Battle of Carillon in Ticonderoga, New York. Abercromby’s decision to launch a direct frontal assault against entrenched French troops resulted in a bloody repulse and over 2,000 casualties. This result  led to Abercromby’s eventual recall to England, making this document from March 1758 a significant witness to the high-stakes preparations preceding his downfall.

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