October 7, 1747-Dated Colonial Period Manuscript Letter Signed, “William Broadbrooks,” of Norwich, Connecticut, being from this Soldier to his Company Captain regarding his wages for "ye designed Expedition against Canady". Extremely rare letter from a Connecticut soldier serving in King George's War (1744-1748), Very Fine.
A rare handwritten letter, 1 page, measuring 6.2” x 4.5”, where William Broadbrooks writes his Captain, Benjamin Lee in Plainfield, Ct., and requests him: “Sir -- Please to pay unto Daniel Lothrop or Order, when ever it Shall Come Into your Hands ye whole of my Wages and Perquisites which are or Shall become Due to me (until this date) as being a Soldier in your Company in ye Designed Expedition Against Canada: for which I have Rec'd ye full Value of P. Lothrop -- (Signed) William Broadbrooks’ plus two witnesses: Simon Huntington and Joshua Lothrop. Endorsed on the reverse: “Lebanon (CT) Feby 6, 1753 -- Received the content of Col. Jonathan Trumbull & Dan(iel) & Josh(uah) Lothrop -- (Signed) Benjamin Lee”. Well written on very clean watermarked British laid period paper with a couple of small fold intersection wear holes, light transmittal folds more soiled on the reverse side.

This letter dated October 7, 1747 from a common soldier to his company captain concerning wages for "ye designed Expedition against Canady" fits this documented grievance almost exactly. It would have been written right around the time the expedition was finally being wound down and troops were pressing for settlement of what they were owed.
This letter documents a well-known but often overlooked episode of King George's War (1744-1748). In 1746, the British government ordered a major colonial mobilization for a planned joint invasion of French Canada. Massachusetts Governor William Shirley coordinated the effort, and nine colonies, including Connecticut, raised regiments and companies for the campaign. Connecticut's colonial government authorized substantial troop levies that year specifically for this purpose.

There was considerable war fever in Connecticut during King George's War. Eight ships with 1,100 men under Deputy Governor Roger Wolcott helped the British seize Fort Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. The Connecticut General Assembly spent 12,000 Pounds to equip this force during its eleven-month occupation of the fort. Expecting a deeper penetration of Canada, the Assembly offered bounties of ten to thirty pounds to raise 600 more men for the effort, of whom the writer of this letter, William Broadbrooks was a member.

The expedition was formally abandoned by late 1747, but not before enormous colonial expense, sickness among the troops, and the letter reflects persistent disputes over wages, pay arrears, and provisions owed to the soldiers who had been raised and held in readiness but never actually deployed to Canada.

Signed Colonial-period manuscript letters from common soldiers (as opposed to officers or well-known figures) relating to King George's War are genuinely scarce on the market. This conflict is far less collected and documented than the French and Indian War or the American Revolution, and surviving common-soldier correspondence from the 1740s is uncommon.