Letters & Mortar Shells

by Elizabeth Askins

A Letter Telling of a Revolution

This particular letter was written in 1779 by a Mr. Abraham Lott to General Nathanael Green. I found this manuscript residing on the Lowcountry Digital Libraries’ website in the Charleston Museum Collection of Revolutionary War Letters. The letter details Lott’s poor health, the current state of the military affairs, and even his family. There is a current stronghold in Charlestown where companies of men are stationed, and the enemy has recently retreated. I was surprised to see Lott mentioning his family to General Green, clearly, they were decently close friends.

I found this manuscript incredibly hard to read, and not just because of the small, watermark-like cursive. I could only make out bits and pieces of the story, so I relied heavily on the description from The Charleston Museum Archives. The paper is rather yellowed, and the creases muddle the words a bit. The ink has also faded a decent amount, almost as if it was written with watercolor paint. Who knows? Maybe Lott was running out of ink.

The writing takes up the entire page with little white space, though it looks fairly neatly written. Abraham Lott must have been running out of paper, but not in a rush, as his letter is very lengthy yet shoved into one page. This letter gives personality to those fighting in the war that, otherwise, we may not have known about.

Mortar that Mortally Wounds

These five mortar shells can be found in the Digital Public Library of America. They date back to the Revolutionary War and were used in White Plains, Battle of New York that occurred in 1776.

      As you can expect, being hit with one of these would cause great bodily harm to someone.They are dark in color, and some of them have chips and are broken in half. By using the hand in the photo for reference, these shells are about the size of a dodgeball, though I would predict these come at you a great deal faster and leave a lasting impact as opposed to rubber. The notes on the image describe the height and condition of these shells, though they are hard to read.

It amazes me how the shell on the far left is broken. What could this solid mortar shell have hit to crack it in half? A note reads, “fragment of exploded shell showing bolts and bullets”. This describes whoever made these mortar shells as resourceful, and even a responsible recycler! The notes denote that some of the shells vary in weight, denoting shells of 71 pounds, 75 pounds, and even a hefty 84 pounds. I could only imagine one of these soaring at me on a battlefield riddled with flying bullets, sharp bayonets, and swinging swords as drummer boys played in the background.

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