Page 34 - 201710_BWISC-Convention_Booth_BWI-MaritimeMail

WEST INDIES MARITIME MAIL - PRE 1842

SWIMMER & MERCHANT SHIP

This is part of a small extant correspondence of four letters from St Vincent, the earliest
known correspondence from St Vincent, to St Augustine, Florida in 1772. They were written by
Robert Barrie, a civilian doctor attached to the army to put down the Carib revolt over “land
grabbing”. They were addressed to his pregnant wife, Dolly, in Florida, where in times of peace he
had a practice. Two of the four have no markings,(this is one) the first went to Boston and then
worked its way south through very primitive Colonial roads to New York, Philadelphia, Suffolk in
Virginia, Charlestown and finally St Augustine, and the fourth has markings from Pensacola, capital
of West Florida.
The second letter written on 13th October and the third letter (this one) written on 9th
December at Grand Sable bear no markings. According to the contents “3 fifuM enclave this in a
letter to Qoxdan........... an account o f the danger o f losing them in the su xf 3 ’m obliged to
put mg letter in a dottle and have a negnoe to swim o f to the schooner that cornier them
to JCingstown”. From there it would have gone to Jamaica from where feeder packet services
went to Vera Cruz, Tampico and Pensacola. Clearly the fourth cover went by this route, and it is
probable that this letter did so as well, with postal markings on the outer cover. It arrived in St
Augustine on 17th February 1773, the same day as the first letter and the day Dolly had her baby. Ex
Glassco.