Two Letters from W Graves, Esq; Respecting the Conduct of Rear Admiral Thomas Graves in North America During his accidental Command there for Four Months in 1781

Date1783

Maker William Graves 1724 - 1801

MediumLarge octovo; Full marble paper-covered boards.

DimensionsOverall: 9 5/8 × 7 1/2 × 3/8in. (24.4 × 19.1 × 1cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2017-137

DescriptionThe title page reads: "TWO/ LETTERS/ FROM/ W. GRAVES, Esq;/ RESPECTING THE CONDUCT OF/ REAR ADMIRAL THOMAS GRAVES,/ IN/ NORTH AMERICA,/ During his accidental Command there for Four Months in 1781/ B"Label TextThis book contains two letters recounting the action of the September 5, 1781, battle off the coast of Virginia, known as the Battle of the Chesapeake or the Battle of the Virginia Capes. French naval forces, commanded by the Count de Grasse, defeated the British force led by Rear Admiral Thomas Graves. The letters were written by William Graves, a "near relation" of Thomas Graves. They provide a contemporary account of the battle from the British perspective. This copy of the book is inscribed with several handwritten notes by someone clearly familiar with the action, and possibly even connected with it.

Contains the following map:
"A REPRESENTATION/ of the Sea Fight on the 5th of September 1781 between Rear/ Admiral GRAVES and the Count DE GRASSE"

This copy of the map is published in William C. Wooldridge, "Mapping Virginia: From the Age of Exploration to the Civil War" (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), #154, 169-171.ProvenanceBefore 1997, Henry Taliaferro (New York, NY); 1997, purchased by William C. Wooldridge (Norfolk, VA); 2009, purchased by the Virginia Cartographical Society (Norfolk, VA); 2017-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).