An invitation to dine with the local volunteer corps - Hand Written Letter from the Enoch Wood Scrapbook

Move your pointing device over the image to zoom to detail. If using a mouse click on the image to toggle zoom.
When in zoom mode use + or - keys to adjust level of image zoom.

Date:13th of April 1813

Description:Hand-written letter from Major Williamson of the Longport Corps., inviting Enoch Wood to dinner on Wednesday 21st April 1813.

It reads;

Major Williamson and the officers of the Longport Corps request the honour of Mr. Wood's company to dinner on Wednesday 21st April at Burslem at 3 O' Clock.

An answer is requested.


Volunteer Corps

The French Revolution in 1789 signalled the start of a very turbulent period in European history.

During the 1790s the French Revolutionary government waged war on much of Europe, including Italy, Spain, the Netherlands. In 1793 the Republic declared that it was at war with Great Britain.

Fear of invasion prompted the organisation of voluntary home defence forces all over the country.

Enoch Wood and the Volunteer Corps.

Enoch Wood was central to the formation of the volunteers corps in the Burslem area. Documentation from the collection shows that he sat at the head of virtually all of the committees that decided how the corps was run from about 1797 to 1814.

About this document

Collected by local industrialist Enoch Wood, this item is now part if the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.