Description
Autograph Letter in the third person, in which “Colonel Congreve presents his compliments to the Rt, Honble The Lord Mayor …”, commanded by the Prince Regent to request the Lord Mayor attend a dinner at Carlton House tomorrow, with apologies for the short notice. 1 page 7 x 4 inches, with two lines overleaf, in good condition. Carlton House, Friday evening 19 June, no year given. Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet (1772-1828) was an English inventor and rocket artillery pioneer distinguished for his development and deployment of Congreve rockets. Parliament authorized Congreve to form two rocket companies for the army in 1809. Congreve subsequently commanded one of these at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. Congreve rockets were used for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the War of 1812 — the “rockets’ red glare” in the American national anthem describes their firing at Fort McHenry during the latter conflict. They remained in the arsenal of the United Kingdom until the 1850s. Congreve was awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Hanoverian army’s artillery in 1811, and was often referred to as “Colonel Congreve”, Congreve enjoyed the friendship of the Prince Regent, in whose household he served as an equerry from 1811, carrying on the service when the Prince, who supported his rocket projects, became King George IV in 1820.