James Willis ALS to James Willis, April 13, 1779; West Point, New York. 1 page. James Willis was a cooper in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, when he joined the American Revolutionary War in 1775. By the spring of 1779, he served in the 14th Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army and was stationed at West Point. On April 13, 1779, Willis wrote this letter to his 16-year-old son in hopes that the younger James Willis would join the same Regiment. He employed a variety of methods to sell James, Jr., on the idea: $100 down immediately, new clothes, a new gun and accoutrements, the possibility of nine-month or three-year service, and transportation by his mother if he could not afford to make it up to New York. Perhaps the most poignant line in the letter is an attempt to assuage any fears his son might have about his safety: “pray come as soon as posebel and i will stand betwen you and harm.” The Clements Library is well known for its extensive manuscript holdings of the Revolutionary War era, and we add carefully to them when possible. This letter will be used by students, scholars, and the public for the light it shines on one blue-collar family’s efforts to make decisions in their lives. It reveals a parent’s efforts to guide their child and give them confidence in their safety, address financial and material concerns, and wrestle with the logistics of making plans possible. The elder Willis’ phonetic spelling brings his voice to the present in a vivid way. Ultimately, James Willis, Jr., would join the revolutionary army–but seems to have avoided serving in the same regiment as his dad…