The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-20
FITCH LETTERS ARE
 NOW ON EXHIBITION
Revolutionary Documents in Possession of State
 Library.

The State Library has just pre- Jared. ready for public study and in- Deoklun. a volume Of original doeu- ae4sts Of especial interest to students tTle Reuolutionary WaT- The vol sIae which contains some POO Eagess e1tch deputy connrniss ssioner general Of Ssues fin the Continental Army, 1758- b7S1 About half Of them relate to kis work ass comn1issary general and A1e ether half are personal letters. eu showing him to be well educated. Eerg human pa. .triot.
 Tar1ngh benign ant fate the letters bscaped the accidents of time and were found at an auction sale held in Mansfield in this state last spring. They were secured by che Saate Library and, after examination, were Teated by the Emery process by which each sheet is encased in trans parent silk, Ike q leaf in amber They were then returned to the library, where they were catalogued, iIadexed hnd bound and are now open to in ypection without the danger of dam Rse It was a work requiring much knovvdedge and great patiences b ut the work was worth the price.
 Let t be said for John Fitch that he dfffered from his contemporaries radica1ly in some respects He was an excellent speIler and his handwriting E thing to be e1lvied. TIds lines
 
 rfsats with uIdey iating straigftness ana he restrained tho tendency of his nge to begin every noun and nearly every adjective with capital letter letter by him WAS to reaah a .sCou- Fazlt's desk. 1t would require the miri- mum or edxxfnE
 TW1thal he mast have been q man f importance for he wrote to oo1- Szels Jeremiah zdsworth telling
 
 Aaces 0E Colonel Jeremiah s Hartford Msighbors would never have dared 10 uae- He was interested, as became hds once, in feeding the little and ragged army and his oflciaI letters are Dr tIiat theme. as might be expected On January 2 1779 he wrote to Col nnsI N7adsWorth from Flshkl1 as fol- lc4ss
 n1zsEtsF ars at thds time very alarming W1e Epr1ies freans SC al quarters are much 7eas then hat a ezTsec4ed and besseresT left red sbs1rg wrote to MT. E1derkon. Comfy at West Point, 90 caH on the ptIChasing c0mruds- Orange to supply the garrison this gzi1zter He accordingly made appli ca1ion to them, bIt instead of their salpua lying him. they said they had or provisions b A AIbang. Inanned lately on my arrival here from che Jerseys I wrote to NIT csuyisr to throw in "a quantfty Of provisions At West sEsoint t psfore the river shut yp.
 EHe says, from tlse 1nforniation he. has received from MT Be1knzlp, and MT Ednoundthrop of Orange and tJIster counties he has reason to be-. HeVe that they will lnot nave any more flour to spare than will supply Of these ce11tle es 1zebzs1zsrys, when he expects the mills will begin to gflnd on. th e new crop and hot sooner here is not aore flour at West Point than VII feed what troops there is there unti the first Of February. next45 The troops at Danb11ry have been out Of flour for some days There has small quantity gone on which will keep them but short time The troops ait Peeksk5H are now out from heres which will be but little q have MT Henry Jencks return Of fl1uf on hand Wlafch Is but five hun dred BFols. have sent to Mr. Paul bEttz have not got any return as yet T also wrote to Mr. James Reed to know Wnaf he could supply me with he rVx1te@ he has orders from you to send alE his Hour to the HastSvard
 At present T. know of no more tElan xhe Schenck flour, which don, [ think H'fu exceed twelve hundred bar Feas wllAch if it was now at the vari- Oass fssu4ng stores. would not last more than twenty days at the most We rousnme at this place nba1rsy Reekskfl1 Kings Ferry and West Pofn3-at least seventy five barrels per lay desire sir. that you inaTnedt- ate1y give orders to have a auantity Forwarded on from the Jerseys to Kings Ferry. at least sevent five barrels 9 day Am very much afraid 3l1e troops will si1ffer hefore you can get supply on desire that there may be no time lost ss
 As has been indicated. 1t is not lfke- 4y that many men wrote to Colonel Perennial Wsadsworth with such eraz plzasfa, but evidently General Fitch had q gpod deal on his mind just then sA any rate he wrote ano tfler letter #he same day to Charles Stewart rre- 4ng the prompt shipment Of flour
 n May; Fitch transferred xhis head u1zrters to Danbury. and "a e lwrota to Afa5or General AfcDougA7l from there. Aapparenkly in reply to Q query as to agglky he shifted from FfshlxiIi He wrote that he had several assistants on the Connecticut river and in fine eowns on the Sound .tlaat required ss 91a1zch Of his attention as those on the AqOrth river. On May 31 1779 his anxtety was szltfted from fleur to meat dor he wrote to PsterC Coli as follows:
 Your favour Q Cha, 2Sth < instant I haYe fhAs AaE reealEed sI1raza ediate1y on receipt Of your Of Enc 2sd ir1z fs1ant sent by express to Aneriias and