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Letters and manuscripts of William H. Smyley

Manuscripts

Letters and manuscripts of William H. Smyley

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Description: Set of five letters and manuscripts related to Captain William H. Smyley and his time in and around the Falkland Islands and Patagonia. Includes an undated letter from Smyley to William Rawson offering his services as an expert adviser on the Indians, climate, and landscape of the "coast of Patagonia," should Rawson wish to "form a settlement in any part of the Straits [of Magellan]"; a certificate awarded to Smyley by the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society for "great personal risk" in saving the "lives of your fellow creatures" (1851); a letter from Assistant U.S. Secretary of State John Appleton granting Smyley permission to leave Port Stanley to rescue sailors shipwrecked in the Straights of Magellan, with admiration for his "zealous and humane efforts for the rescue of seamen in distress, and the protection of American property" (1859); a letter from Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Frederick William Seward commending Smyley's rescue of three boats' crew who "but for your benevolent efforts would have perished at sea, or on the sterile coast of Patagonia" (1863); and an undated receipt for payment to Smyley "on account of the Public Service."
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)

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Call number

mssHM 80137-80141

Creator

Smyley, William Horton (1792-1868)(Opens in new tab)

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. Henry Esten, June 30, 1943.

Associated people

Appleton, John, (1815-1864,)

Seward, Frederick William, (1830-1915,)

Find out more

View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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