Description
A handwritten letter from future Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger to Admiral Alexander Hood, congratulating him on success at sea during the Anglo-French War in 1778.
Quarto, 4pp. Letter measures 7.25″ x 9″. Written across three pages, with address and seal on last leaf. Faint soiling along previous folds, otherwise near fine with clean and legible writing. Letter is addressed on the verso “To Alexander Hood Esq. Captain of His Majesty’s Ship Robust Plymouth,” and previously closed with a black wax seal. Housed in custom blue cloth folder, title in gilt over black morocco label.
Full transcript: “My dear sir, I cannot help wishing to express to you the satisfaction I have enjoyed from the Accounts received of the Robust, in the safety of which We had so many reasons to be interested. Allow me to offer you my sincerest Congratulations on her having returned with so much Honor from the dangerous scene; and let me flatter myself that I may also wish you Joy of a young Lieutenant, not, We hope, altogether unworthy of his Captain. We have learnt with inexpressible satisfaction, that his Conduct during the Action, is honored with /// your Applause; and that it was such as We expected from his disposition acting under such happy Auspices. I regret very much that your stay in Port will hardly allow me an opportunity of seeing you and telling you all I feel on this occasion. You will be persuaded that I shall on every account look forward with the utmost impatience to the moment of your return, and that I most ardently wish you may bring Victory and Triumph to the Nation, equal to the Personal Honor which must attend you in every circumstance. We leave this place on Saturday, and shall probably be at Burton – Pynsent in the course of next week where we hope soon to have the Pleasure of Mrs Hood’s company. – May we all enjoy in common, the satisfaction of prosperous accounts from /// those whose success is most essential to our happiness. Lady Chatham as well as my sister desire their best compliments and every good wish. I am, My Dear Sir, your obliged and affectionate Humble Servant / W. Pitt / Hayes. Tuesday August 11, 1778.”
William Pitt the Elder, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766-1768, had five children with his wife, Hester, including William Pitt II. This son, also known as William Pitt the Younger, followed in his father’s political footsteps to become the last Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783-1800), and the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1801, 1804-1806). The Pitt family maintained close ties with Admiral Alexander Hood, while their son, James, was serving on a ship under Hood’s command.
William Pitt the Younger wrote this letter to Admiral Hood in celebration of the success of the HMS Robust during the Battle of Ushant, which took place on July 27, 1778. This was the first naval battle of the Anglo-French War and a proxy of the American Revolutionary War following America’s alliance with France. Following the battle, Admiral Hood served aboard the HMS Queen, then was third in command aboard the HMS Royal George during the French Revolutionary War.
Provenance: This letter was previously sold by Wilson Printed Books and Manuscripts of London in 1984.
