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Oliver Cromwell Letter Signed. ...
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Description
Plagued by Illness, Oliver Cromwell Writes to Parliamentarian Robert Bennett While Occupying Edinburgh
Oliver Cromwell Letter Signed. One page of a bifolium, 8 x
11 ¾ inches, Edinburgh, April 12, 1651.A letter addressed to Colonel Robert Bennett:
"I received several letters from you concerning Major Cloberie, but in regard of my sickness there was nothing done in the business at that time, and now having referred the same to the opinion of some officers, they think fit that Major Cloberie do repair to London there to put in his answer, and accordingly I have given him my pass and sent him to put in his answer that so you might not receive any prejudice through want thereof, whereof I thought fit to give you this notice.
Yr Loving friend, O. Cromwell."
Cromwell wrote this letter at the height of the Anglo-Scottish War, also known as the Third Civil War. Between 1650 and 1652, British and Scottish forces engaged in a series of armed conflicts that formed the final stage of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On September 3, 1650, the New Model Army led by Commander-in-Chief Cromwell defeated the Scots and occupied Edinburgh. When Cromwell penned this letter to Bennet, British operations had suffered serious delays due to a prolonged illness that had plagued Cromwell for over two months. Although the British parliament demanded Cromwell's return to England to recover, he refused to leave his post and resumed command in June 1651.
Three months later, on September 3, Cromwell and his forces engaged the Scottish army at the Battle of Worcester. It was a complete British victory. Shortly thereafter, the Scottish government was dissolved and the territory was absorbed into the British Commonwealth. After two years of imposed military rule, the English Parliament allowed two Scottish representatives to join their ranks in 1653.
Cromwell's actions during the War of Three Kingdoms launched the young soldier onto the political stage. Only a year after the conclusion of the war, Cromwell became the Lord Protector, dissolved Parliament, and ruled unilaterally from 1653 until his death in 1658. A controversial figure, he remains one of the most important figures in British history.
Condition: Creased along folds with toning along margins and foxing throughout. Paper reinforcements to the verso of the first page and the recto of the integral page that also repair an open tear to the right margin of the integral page, affecting "E" in Edinburgh. Wax seal largely intact, some minor paper loss surrounding seal restored.
Provenance: The Rendell Gallery.
Auction Info
2023 December 15 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6280 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2023
15th
Friday
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