The Life and Times of George Washington

The Raab Collection ~ Philadelphia ~

A Great Collections Catalog:

The Life and Times of George Washington

T he R aab C ollection LLC P.O. Box 471 Ardmore, PA 19003 (800) 977-8333 www.raabcollection.com

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Note: All prints illustrated with documents come free of charge with the purchase of the document.

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The Life and Times of George Washington What is a “Great Collections” Catalog?

In this booklet, the second such piece we have produced, we tell the story of a consequential period of American history, using material from our inventory that has been organized as a timeline. By doing this, we hope to guide the reader through history and to simultaneously demonstrate the scope and nature of a great collection - to arm the reader with the tools to create one. Moreover, consistent with our goal to serve as a helpful source and resource for our clients, if you buy an autograph, we provide you with an image with which to frame or otherwise present it. Most autographs in this catalog come with original engravings, often from the files of publisher George P. Putnam.

Washington, the Man and his Place in American Memory The success of the American Revolution was a long-shot, as an unorganized group of farmers took on the greatest military power of the day. George Washington, though a very wealthy landowner with everything to lose, agreed to lead.

Washington fought on, refusing to consider defeat as an option. The success of the Revolution was an astonishing achievement for him and was viewed as such by the American people. After the war he refused to become a king or dictator, showing the sterling character of the man.

Washington always chose men of stature to assist him. As President, he chose a cabinet that included Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton as Treasury Secretary. Washington’s greatest accomplishment in office was the setting of important precedents. He was acutely aware of this aspect of his responsibility, saying “As the first of everything, in our situation, will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles.”

Concretely, he established that the executive under the brand new Constitution was not a passive position, but one of active leadership. He accepted the concept that the Constitution allowed actions which it did not expressly authorize, which increased the powers of the presidency. And, agreeing with Hamilton, he supported measures to encourage business. Washington promoted the fledgling concepts of American nationalism and unity, originated a tradition of U. S. neutrality in European quarrels, and advised against entanglements. He saw that abuse of power was a risk which might entrap his successors, so he limited the powers he exercised, and refused to serve more than two terms in office. Seeing his example, future presidents knew that one day they would go home and

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resume life as private citizens.

Washington believed that public virtue led to prosperity. In his first Inaugural Address, he stated ”There is no truth more thoroughly established than...an indissoluable union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solids rewards of public prosperity and felicity...” A man of pure motives and complete honesty, he lived by these words. When he died, Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized him as “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Lee’s words set the standard by which Washington’s overwhelming reputation has been impressed upon the American memory.

Washington Irving, Literary Giant and First American Professional Author For Washington Irving, telling the story of George Washington was a lifelong passion.

Irving’s mother named the future writer after Washington and took the boy to the hero’s first inauguration in 1789, where the President supposedly blessed him. It is said among the first things Irving ever wrote was on George Washington, whose biography he hoped one day to write.

Washington Irving’s career as a writer started in journals and newspapers. He published Salmagundi (1807-08), and from 1812 -1814 was an editor of Analetic Magazine in Philadelphia and New York. In 1809 appeared Irving’s comic “A History of New York”, by the imaginary Dietrich Knickerbocker, who was supposed to be an eccentric Dutch-American scholar. The book became part of New York folklore. Irving’s success continued with “The Sketch Book”, a collection of stories that included the short stories for which he is so well known, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”.

The success of these stories allowed him to become America’s first professional writer, earning his living from the craft of literature.

In 1828 he wrote his notable biography of Columbus, “The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus,” which led the Spanish to elect him to the Royal Academy. In 1842 President John Tyler appointed him Ambassador to Spain, and he served in that position until 1845.

After returning from Spain, Irving researched and wrote his great 5 volume magnum opus, his immortal “The Life of George Washington”, which was published from 1855-59. He died just a few months later.

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George Palmer Putnam, Founder of a Publishing Empire In 1838, George Palmer Putnam and John Wiley established the publishing house of Wiley & Putnam in New York City. In 1848 he dissolved the partnership and established his own firm under his name, “G. Putnam.” The house of Putnam actively encouraged the first blossoming of American literature, publishing the works of authors that included his close friend Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, and Edgar Allan Poe. In 1996 Putnam became part of Penguin Books.

Palmer took a great interest in Irving’s “Life of Washington” and himself received the original manuscripts from the author. He commissioned works of art from fine artists such as Alonzo Chappel, on subjects relating to Washington, that could be engraved and included in the book, and then exercised supervision over the choice and preparation of the engravings. Enjoying this process, in addition to the illustrations he selected for inclusion, he gathered many engraving related to Washington that either were not ultimately chosen or were for his pleasure and not intended for inclusion. Irving’s “Life of Washington,” likely the most important American biography to its date, was one of the publishing high points of Putnam’s career.

The Putnam Engravings, Irving’s Original Chapters The Raab Collection has acquired Putnam’s original files containing his personal collection of engravings relating to Washington, many of which are proofs and first pressings, both those included and not included in the Irving 5 volume set. The two most significant chapters in the books, both completely in Irving’s hand and signed, are part of these materials.

Battle of Camden

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Original proof and final steel engraving of George Washington, after a painting by Rembrandt Peale, prepared for George P. Putnam. $400

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The Character of Washington and the Challenges He Faced and Overcame

Irving’s Assessment of Washington and the Revolution: The Complete Original Manuscript For the Concluding Remarks of Volume 4 From the Putnam files

Washington: “He fought for a cause, but not for personal renown.”

No portion of Irving’s entire work is more significant than his conclusion to Volume 4, as there he provides his assessments of Washington the man, Washington the leader, the Revolutionary War and the American cause. It is a virtual guide on how to view these, full of insights and valuable perspectives. Here we present the complete Autograph Manuscript Signed of this chapter, at once both literary and biographical, sent by Irving to Putnam and retained by the latter.

Now let’s let Irving speak for himself

“

There his character is to be found in all its majestic simplicity, its massive grandeur, and quiet colossal strength.

“In the volumes here concluded, we have endeavored to narrate faithfully the career of Washington from childhood, through his early surveying expeditions in the wilderness, his diplomatic mission to the French posts on the frontier, his campaigns in the French war, his arduous trials as commander-in-chief, throughout the Revolution, the noble simplicity of his life in retirement, until we have shown him elevated to the presidential chair, by no effort of his own, in a manner against his wishes, by the unanimous vote of a grateful country. The plan of our work has necessarily carried us widely into the campaigns of the Revolution, even where Washington was not present in person; for his spirit pervaded and directed the whole, and a general knowledge of the whole is necessary to appreciate the sagacity, forecast, enduring fortitude, and comprehensive wisdom with which he conducted it. He himself has signified to one who aspired to write his biography, that any memoirs of his life, distinct and unconnected with the history of the war, would be unsatisfactory. In treating of the Revolution, we have endeavored to do justice to what we consider its most striking characteristic; the greatness of the object and the scantiness of the means. We have endeavored to keep in view the prevailing poverty of resources, the scandalous neglects, the squalid miseries of all kinds, with which its champions had to contend in their expeditions through trackless wildernesses, or thinly peopled regions; beneath scorching suns or inclement skies; their wintry marches to be traced by bloody foot- prints on snow and ice; their desolate wintry encampments, rendered still more desolate by nakedness and famine. It was in the patience and fortitude with which these ills were sustained by a half-disciplined yeomanry, voluntary exiles from their homes, destitute of all the “pomp and circumstance” of war to excite them, and animated solely by their patriotism, that we read the noblest and most affecting characteristics of that great struggle for human rights. They do wrong to its moral grandeur, who seek by commonplace exaggeration, to give a melodramatic effect and false glare to its military operations, and to place its greatest triumphs in the conflicts of the field. Lafayette showed a true sense of the nature of the struggle, when Napoleon, accustomed to effect ambitious purposes by hundreds of thousands of troops, and tens of thousands of slain, sneered at the scanty armies of the American Revolution and its

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“boasted allies.” “Sire,” was the admirable and comprehensive reply,” it was the grandest of causes won by skirmishes of sentinels and outposts.”

“In regard to the character and conduct of Washington, we have endeavored to place his deeds in the clearest light, and left them to speak for themselves, generally avoiding comment or eulogium. We have quoted his own words and writings largely, to explain his feelings and motives, and give the true key to his policy; for never did man leave a more truthful mirror of his heart and mind, and a more thorough exponent of his conduct, than he has left in his copious correspondence. There his character is to be found in all its majestic simplicity, its massive grandeur, and quiet colossal strength. He was no hero of romance; there was nothing of romantic heroism in his nature. As a warrior, he was incapable of fear, but made no merit of defying danger. He fought for a cause, but not for personal renown. Gladly, when he had won the cause, he hung up his sword, never again to take it down. Glory, that blatant word, which haunts some military minds like the bray of the trumpet, formed no part of his aspirations. To act justly was his instinct, to promote the public weal his constant effort, to deserve the “affections of good men” his ambition. With such qualifications for the pure exercise of sound judgment and comprehensive wisdom, he ascended the presidential chair.

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There for the present we leave him. So far our work is complete, comprehending the whole military life of Washington, and his agency in public affairs, up to the formation of our Constitution. How well we have executed it, we leave to the public to determine; hoping to find it, as heretofore, far more easily satisfied with the result of our labors than we are ourselves. Should the measure of health and good spirits, with which a kind Providence has blessed us beyond the usual term of literary labor, be still continued, we may go on, and in another volume give the presidential career and closing life of Washington. In the meantime, having found a resting-place in our task, we stay our hands, lay by our pen, and seek that relaxation and repose which gathering years require. Sunnyside, 1857. W. I.� Sold with Putnam’s engraving of Washington Irving. $24,000

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Washington at the Age of Twenty Five, from a miniature on ivory presented by Washington to his niece Harriet. $200

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Washington and Gist guard an Indian, original watercolor likely by noted historical artist John McNevin, who often painted for Putnam. The incident occurred during the French and Indian War. $600

Washington’s First Interview with Mrs. Custis Afterwards Mrs. Washington, from the original picture by Alonzo Chappel. $200

The Night Council at Fort Necessity, engraved for Putnam from a painting by John McNevin. $100

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John Hancock Faces Retribution for Instigating the Boston Tea Party His bankers, a British firm that was involved in sending tea to the American colonies, inter fere with his business

The bankers for the prosperous merchant house of Hancock were the prominent firm of Hayley and Hopkins in London. This firm was also involved in the tea trade with the colonies, carrying tea to such places as Boston. After the Sugar and Stamp Acts, the young Hanocock was caught up in the public outrage and fell under the influence of the radical Samuel Adams. When the tea tax brought this simmer to a boil, the two men instigated the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773. Hancock continued to be vocal in his condemnation of the tax and on March 5, 1774 made disparaging comments about the British in a speech remembering the Boston Massacre. Hancock’s debts to Hayley and Hopkins topped 11,000 pounds sterling, a sizeable sum back then, and at the same time, Hancock needed money to continue his enterprises. This made made him particularly vulnerable to acts of retribution, and Hayley and Hopkins, fed up with the losses and uncertainties of the American trade, decided to teach one of its great merchants a lesson.

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Autograph Document Signed, Boston, April 21, 1774, adressed to his bankers Hayley and Hopkins, being a bill of exchange for them to pay 200 pounds on his behalf. A bill of exchange was intended to act like a check would today, “Gentlemen, At thirty days sight of this my first bill/second & third of same tenor & date unpaid. Please do pay to Messrs. Joseph Russell & Son or order two hundred pounds sterling & charge without further advice...” Russell, a wealthy merchant and later privateer, endorsed the note over to Bristol merchant Thomas & Griffiths, which was involved in the American trade.

The book “The House of Hancock” by W.T. Baxter mentions this exact bill of exchange, saying “Hayley became thoroughly frightened” because of the debt and the political crisis. In July 1774, his firm took the extreme step of refusing to honor Hancock bills. Apologetically he wrote Hancock: “The unhappy state of American trade is very alarming... and has forced us to the disagreeable Necessity of Suffering some of your bills to go back protested.”

Dishonoring this check was a shot across the bow, a clear warning that the troublemaker Hancock could, and perhaps would, be financially ruined. Sold with pictured engraving of The Boston Massacre. $27,500

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George Washington Fighting in the French and Indian War: Original watercolor likely by historical artist Dallas.

$500

Washington, Henry & Pendleton Going to the First Congress.

$200

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John and Abigail Adams: A Story of Politics, History, and Romance An extremely rare if not irreplaceable remnant of their famous correspondence This was kept by Adams his entire life and held as a memento into his old age John Adams and Abigail Smith Adams exchanged over 1,100 letters during their lifetimes together, beginning during their courtship in 1762 and continuing throughout John’s political career until 1801. After that they were mainly together and wrote just a smattering of letters. Over 700 of the letters were from John to Abigail, and they were warm letters often beginning with the touching and evocative phrase “My Dearest Friend.” But they were more than that, as Mrs. Adams was a knowledgible and wise woman, and her husband treated her with that respect. He wrote her informative letters that included his descriptions of the Continental Congress, his impressions of Europe while he served in diplomatic roles, and his experiences as President. While separated, Abigail was in Quincy at the family home and provided John with updates about their family, farm, plus political matters and news of the Revolution’s and Presidential Administration’s impact in the Boston area. Their correspondence is famous for its quality and range, and a book about it has been published “My Dearest Friend - Letters of Abigail and John Adams.”

The Massachusetts Historical Society has the Adams Papers, including almost all of the known letters John and Abigail exchanged. The Adams Family Papers Project there believes there are a small number of John’s letters remaining with descendants, but they were unable to identify any in third party private hands.

Our search of auction records for John Adams over the past 35 years reveals nothing to Abigail at all. Any remnant of his correspondence to her on the private market would be of the utmost rarity, if not unique.

Here is that remnant. A well-known, documented and remarkable Free Frank “J. Adams,” with the very bold handwriting Adams used as President, on the front of a folded address sheet addressed to Mrs. Adams at Quincy, Massachusetts, and with a reddish brown “PHI / 25 FE” stamp at upper left for Philadelphia, 25 February. Philadelphia first used this style postmark in August 1798 and it ceased being the U. S. capital in May 1800; John’s letters to Abigail essentially stopped the next year. Using this information, the correspondence list of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and its information on when John was in Philadelphia and Abigail in Quincy, it is possible to date this frank to John’s letter to Abigail of February 25, 1799. This was a time when the United States almost ended up in a war with France.

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That letter was as salty and extraordinary as can be, starting out (of course) “My Dearest Friend,” and going on to blast Benjamin Franklin and France: “...Frederic, Franklin and other Soidisant [self-characterized] Phylosophers, insist that Nature contrives these Things with others to reconcile Men to the thought of quitting the World. If my Phylosophy was theirs I should believe that Nature cared nothing for Men, nor their follies nor their Miseries, nor for herself. She is a mighty Stupid Woman, sometimes beautiful and clever but very often diabolical. A kind of French Republic, cunning and terrible: but cruel as the Grave and unjust as the Tempter and Tormentor.”

On the verso of this frank is a fascinating docket in Adams’ hand at the very end of his life, meaning he himself chose to retain it. It states simply “Scraps,” which back then had the meaning we would give to “odds and ends.” Thus it contains examples of his handwriting written a quarter century apart.

This famous frank is illustrated in Edward Stern’s “History of the Free Franking of Mail in the United States” and mentioned in David G. Phillips’s “The American Stampless Cover Catalogue.” It is ex Edward Stern and Arthur Richter collections. It goes without saying that it is our first autograph from John to Abigail.

This is particularly touching, since Adams kept this as a memento of his wife into his very old age. Sold with both engravings pictured here. $13,000

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Retreat of the British from Concord, from a painting by Chappel.

$200

The Battle of Lexington, from a painting by Chappel.

$200

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UNITING THE COLONIES - HANCOCK ORDERS THE FIRST NORTHERN TROOPS TO DEFEND THE SOUTH DURING THE REVOLUTION In June, 1775, at the order of the Continental Congress, George Washington assumed command of the fledgling American army which was encircling British forces in Boston. Although the primary attention of the country was on the front in Boston, neither the Congress nor the individual colonies were under any illusions that the war would be confined to New England, and in the colonies recruiting was undertaken for troops to be used wherever needed.

Trouble was brewing in Virginia. The British governor, the Earl of Dunsmore, was rallying Tories, calling on all citizens to actively support the Crown, and offering freedom to the slaves of those in rebellion who would join his cause..

Virginia was in an uproar and asked Congress for help to overcome this royalist threat. On December 4, 1775, Congress acted. It took an important step in the unification of the colonies, ordering the first northern troops to help defend the south in the Revolutionary War. In this very letter, John Hancock sends notice of the act of congress ordering this and counsels them to prepare for the action, in this Autograph Letter Signed, Philadelphia, “Congress Chamber, December 4, 1775,” to Pennsylvania’s Colonel John Bull. “Sir: I am to inform you that the Congress have this day come into the resolution which I now inclose you, and you will immediately determine upon the companies, & see that they are properly equip’d, & when ready inform me thereof, that you may receive the further orders of Congress as to your particular route. I am Sir, Your very huml. servt., John Hancock, Presidt. It is probable the companies will embark on board vessells in this river.” What is crucial is the vision of Congress, seeing that the war was national in scope, and its action to make assistence reciprocal and treat the separate colonies as one country.

$48,500

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“A Declaration, which has had much credit in the World.”

In a letter as sitting Vice President to a sitting Attorney General, Signer of the Declaration of Independence Elbridge Gerry agrees with and quotes John Adams in hailing the global impact of the Declaration By signing the Declaration of Independence, those early patriots became partners in a broader cause. Two of these men, close friends and colleagues for decades, were Elbridge Gerry and John Adams. In 1813, Gerry was inaugurated as James Madison’s Vice President. That same year, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania, died. Rush had been close to both men, but particularly to Adams, who wrote Gerry on April 26, 1813 expressing his sadness at the death of his good friend and lamenting that few men remained who had signed the Declaration (6, including himself and Thomas Jefferson). Richard Rush was the son of Benjamin Rush. In February, he joined Gerry in the Madison Administration as Attorney General. Less than 2 months later, Gerry wrote Rush, quoting Adams on the global impact of the Declaration of Independence, expressing sadness that the number of Signers still alive was dwindling, and reflecting the great esteem with which men of that era held Benjamin Rush.

Autograph Letter Signed as Vice President, Washington, April 8, 1814, to Attorney General Richard Rush. “Enclosed is the extract which I mentioned to you, as a document which ought to be placed in the archives of your venerable father, our highly & respected friend the late Doctor Rush. The extract is from a letter of Mr. Adams, late President of the United States, of the 26th of April last & expresses an opinion in unison with my own. Accept my best wishes; yours sincerely & respectfully E Gerry.

‘A few facts I wish to put upon paper, & an awful warning to do it soon has been given me by the sudden death of our Friend Rush. Livingston & Clymer had preceeded him in the same year, the same spring. How few remain. Three in Massachusetts I believe are a majority of the surviving signers of a Declaration, which has had much credit in the World. As a man of Science, Letters, Taste, Sense, Philosophy, Patriotism, Religion, Morality, Merit, Usefulness, taken all together, Rush has not left his equal in America; nor that I know in the World. In him is taken away, & in a manner most sudden & unexpected, a main prop of my Life. Why should I grieve, when grieving I must bear? John Adams.’” Sold with the engraving on next page.

$13,500

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Draft engraving, General Lincoln Being Called to Service with Word of the Battle of Lexington. $125

Putnam’s Original Copy of George Washington’s Bookplate, Gifted to him by Antiquarian George Livermore.

$1,000

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The First Naval and Marine Landing on foreign shores The Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy Disposes of the First Spoils of War in the History of The U.S. Navy and Marines These were captured in the first American amphibious offensive, and the Continental Navy’s first battle, when the Marines and Navy personnel stormed the beach and took a British fort in the Bahamas in 1776. The Navy’s first at-sea battle took place weeks later.

On December 22, 1775, Esek Hopkins, brother of signer Stephen Hopkins, was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. He was thus Washington’s counterpart, as Washington was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. The Navy then consisted of all of seven ships, his flagship being the Alfred. In mid-February 1776, Commodore Hopkins sailed from Philadelphia, under orders from the Continental Congress to attack British maritime forces in the Chesapeake Bay, along the southern coast and off Rhode Island. But realizing that enemy strength was too great to permit execution of this ambitious task with such meagre resources, Hopkins instead undertook what would be the Navy’s and Marines’ first amphibious offensive, and headed for New Providence, which was then the capital of the Bahamas. On March 3, his squadron put a landing party of Marines and Navy personnel ashore, stormed and seized the local defensive works, and captured a stock of cannon, equipment and supplies that the American armed forces and defenses on land badly needed. The amount of munitions captured was astounding. A full inventory listed eighty-eight cannon (9-pounders to 36-pounders), fifteen mortars (4 inch to 11 inch), 5458 shells, 11071 round shot, and assorted other stores, though only twenty-four casks of gunpowder (a little over a ton).

With the small fleet in New Providence harbor was at least one American merchant vessel commanded by a Captain Jennings, and another from Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Dartmouth is on Narragansett Bay and was directly exposed to British attack; it had no means of repelling a naval attack, a fact that Jennings informed Hopkins. On March 16, in clear weather with fresh breezes, the fleet left New Providence and headed north. Two days later, in a letter to the Committee of Safety of Dartmouth, Hopkins told the Committee that he had heard that they needed some cannon and was therefore sending them two 9-pounders and some shot. He asked the Committee to forward to Rhode Island any shot that did not fit the cannon.

This is that very letter, the first distribution of spoils in U.S. Naval history. Letter Signed, on board the Alfred, March 18, 1776, to the Dartmouth Committee of Safety. “I understand by Captain Jenning that you was in want of Guns, and I have sent by him two 9 lb. guns and some shott, which please accept and make such use of

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them as you think best. And if the opportunity permits, send the shot he has ordered that are too big for your guns to Providence or Howlands Ferry, and you will oblige you and your country’s Friend – Esek Hopkins.” This famous letter appears in Naval Documents of the American Revolution and is specifically referenced in the article “The New Providence Expedition of 1776” on the American War of Independence - At Sea website.

There is docketing on the verson. Just beneath the date are the words “Military Stores, Commodore Hopkins of the Alfred -- to the Committee of Safety”. Elsewhere it reads “Committee of the Town of Dartmouth, Ephraim Pope.”

On April 4, 1776, while en route home, Hopkins and the Continental fleet encountered and captured two British warships. This was the first at-sea battle of the Continental Navy. Two days later they had an inconclusive engagement with HMS Glasgow. Hopkins’ squadron arrived at New London, Connecticut, on 8 April, thus ending the Navy’s first foray in history. $13,500

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Old State House, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, lithograph by J. Rogers.

$400

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Washington’s Reorganization of His Army Rare and important document from 1776 Just after the debacle at Long Island, in which Washington and his army suffered disastrous defeat, the Continental Congress set about strengthening and reorganizing the army. On September 16, 1776, it passed the “Eighty-eight Battalion Resolve,” the measure that created the army that would eventually defeat the British. The act also gave Washington authority to raise further troops, it set the proper compensation for officers and soldiers, and guaranteed each officer a grant of land. From the 7th to the 10th of October, 1776, Congress took steps to clarify and bolster these efforts. On the 7th, it established the proportional distribution of regiments. On the 8th, it set further compensation and gave instructions to the states for the disposition of the regiments. On the 10th, it created a Navy from the ships that were struggling to compete with the British maritime behemoth.

Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, the Delaware General Assembly declared its separation from the British government on June 15, 1776. A state constitutional convention met in October, 1776, and George Read, who had just signed the Declaration of Independence and was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, was elected President and presided. In the absence of a governor (the first one took office in February 1777), he was the senior Delaware official and thus acting in a governor ’s stead. Read was receiving the official correspondence from Congress.

This document is completely in Read’s hand and quotes the October 1776 measures of Congress, with their call for state “assemblies, conventions and councils of safety” to take action to make the great re-structuring of the U.S. military a reality. He prepared it as part of compliance with Congress’ Order, and we conjecture that he created these edited extracts of the measures in order to present them to the Delaware convention for its participation.

Autograph Document, with signature tipped in, October, 1776, being extracts from the minutes of Congress from October 7-10, tracking the reorganization of the officer corps, army and navy. The document begins with a recitation of the salaries set for officers, also noting that enlistments are for the duration of the war. “Pay of Regimental Officers to be inlisted during Ye War.” Colonels are to receive 75 dollars and 500 acres of land. By contrast, ensigns received 20 dollars and 150 acres of land. By the 8th of October reference, Read recites the call to the states: “Recommended to assemblies conventions and Council of Safety of ye several states that have Regiments in ye Continental Service at NY Ticonderoga or N. Jersey to Appoint Committees to Proceed there and appoint their officers advising with Gen. Officers then as to the conduct, etc....Additional bounty annually to non commission officers and soldiers of a suit of Cloaths to consist for ye Present year...Recommendation to compleat ye Battalions by 10th November.” By the text on October 10th, Read lists the new Naval commanders: “Rank of ye Capts in ye Navy,” alongside the name of the vessel and number of guns. John Paul Jones sits at the 18th rank, commanding the Providence, which had 12 guns. The verso of the document reads “Extracts from minutes of Congress 7th & 8th Oct. 76,” implying perhaps that the top portion of the document was prepared when Read knew of Congress’s actions as of the 8th, and the bottom after news arrived of the naval measure of the 10th. The reference to November 10 as a target date confirms an October, 1776, date for this document. $7,000

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Lafayette: “Washington Was Like a Father to Me” He writes of his ties, and those of Washington, to Nathanael Greene and his family Washington “had an eminent place in the revolution of the United States...”

Lafayette’s unique relationship with George Washington was vital to America’s victory in the American Revolution. From the Marquis’s influential letters urging France to join the Patriots’ cause to his personal support and his gifts as a battlefield leader, Lafayette was a crucial part of Washington’s accomplishments. Washington saw in Lafayette the son he never had, and Lafayette found in Washington the father he never knew. The importance of his touching relationship to Lafayette is demonstrated by a warm story of an incident that occurred the night after the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. General Nathanael Greene went looking for Washington, and he found the commander in chief asleep on his cloak spread on the ground. Lafayette lay curled up beside him, also asleep on the general’s cloak.

In time Lafayette would gift to Washington the keys to the Bastille, taken at the start of the French Revolution and now hanging at Mount Vernon.

Nathanael Greene was close to Washington throughout the war, and when Washington had to leave camp. When he went to Hartford in 1780 to meet Rochambeau, Greene was left in command in his stead. When Washington gave Greene the crucial command of the American army in the South, Greene proved to be

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his best general and helped win the war. Greene named his son after Washington (the child’s name was George Washington Greene), and Washington became the child’s godfather. Greene also played a key role in the life of Lafayette. He gave Lafayette his first battlefield command, and Lafayette served under him in the early part of the war. Greene was so enthusiastic about the boy general’s courage and ability that he informed Washington, who then asked Congress to give the young Frenchman his own command. Washington also, notably, gave up his opposition to foreign officers commanding in the American army.

Autograph Letter Signed, Lagrange, October 24, 1829, to Joseph Jacotot, relating to both Washington and Greene. The recipient was a renowned educator of the day and a long-time friend of Lafayette. A supporter of Napoleon and foe of the Bourbons, Jacotot fled France in 1815 and became professor of the French language and literature at the University of Louvain in Belgium. “It is with great pleasure, my dear old colleague, that I present to you a young friend of mine, George Washington Greene, godson of the renowned American general who bore the same name and in whom the young Greene inspired complete confidence. General Washington was like a father to me, and had an eminent place in the revolution of the United States in the war of independence.

“The young Greene, who has come to Europe for his health and instruction, has greatly benefited from his journey. He has recently arrived from Italy and would have stayed with our family until the opening of the session if the desire to meet you and to give himself to your instruction, to be one of your most devoted disciples, had not so taken his spirit that he could not longer delay in fulfilling this desire. He knows my opinion of and friendship for you. I have often spoken well of you. It’s under these circumstances that I wish to address you. My deep ties to his family, my sincere interest in him, and my confidence in you all led to this recommendation. I recently had the opportunity to travel through France and I found there many admirers of my old dear colleague [referring to Jacotot] and of his principles.” This is the first letter we can recall seeing in which Lafayette actually states that Washington was like a father to him. It shows the love and lifelong admiration that Lafayette maintained for Gen Washington. It belonged to George P. Putnam. Sold with both engravings pictured.

$15,000

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Washington Crossing the Delaware, from “Irvings Life of Washington,” from a painting by Darley, engraved for Putnam’s publication. $350

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The Surrender of Burgoyne’s Army, from a painting by Trumbull.

$125

Washington at Monmouth, from a painting by Darley, with pre-publication size notations.

$250

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Washington Anxiously Awaits the Arrival of the French Fleet In an unpublished letter to his intelligence chief in central New Jersey, he wishes to receive the latest word on the French, and states that the British remain in place The French were determined to play a role in the outcome of the American War and planned to send a significant number of troops and ships. Count Rochambeau was appointed to command of the army that was destined to support the Americans, and on May 2, 1780, he sailed for the U.S. Meanwhile, the American cause was at a low ebb. Washington felt too weak to move against the British in the north, and in the south Charleston fell to the British on May 12. So Washington, who had been disappointed by the French before, anxiously anticipated their active intervention to make a 1780 campaign possible.

His plan: a joint Franco-American late-summer assault against British-held New York. But when would the French arrive? Would they, in fact, arrive at all?

Washington believed that the fate of the Revolution could in large part hinge on the answers to these questions. He was starved for reliable information and his informants on the coast provided him with whatever relevant news came their way.

Located along the ocean just south of New York, commander David Forman in Monmouth was in a position to monitor shipping traffic both in and out of New York and the region generally. Washington made Forman part of his intelligence network, and Forman provided him with a stream of information. He was particularly active in June of 1780, writing Washington on the 16th and 17th with naval intelligence that had come to his attention. At the end of his letter of June 17, he added a postscript: “This Minute a Report has reached me that a sloop is arrived at Egg Harbor that was two Days in Company with a Large French fleet –that he left them a little to the Southward of Cape Henlopen – the Moment the Fleet appears Your Exely may depend on My pushing Forward the accounts” Washington responded the next day, and though by nature a reserved man, not known for showing his emotions, you can feel in his letter his apprehension about the arrival of the French and his guarding against further disappointment.

Letter Signed, Head Quarters, Springfield, N.J., 18th June 1780, to Forman. “I had last evening the pleasure of receiving yours of yesterday. I hope the intelligence brought by the sloop to Egg Harbor may prove true, but I apprehend the captain may have fallen in with a fleet of French armed merchantmen, which arrived in Delaware a few days ago. I thank you for your promise of the earliest communication should any fleet appear off. The enemy remain in the same position upon the point which they were in when you were here. I am with great Regards, dear sir, Yr most obt Servt, G Washington.” This letter is unpublished, and was unknown until recently, having remained in the same family for nearly 100 years. Sold with Putnam’s engravings $38,500 of Rochambeau and Washington pictured here.

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Valley Forge - Washington & Lafayette, from a painting by Chappel.

$350

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27

A Sketch of the Seige of Fort Schuyler.

$125

The Battle of Camden.

$200

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During the Revolution, Virginia Gov. Jefferson Defends the Western Frontier

Putnam’s copy of the Declaration of Independence Having written and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 while a representative to the Continental Congress, Jefferson returned to Virginia late that year. He served until 1779 in the House of Delegates, one of the two houses of the General Assembly of Virginia that were established in 1776 by the state’s new constitution. In June 1779, Jefferson took office as Governor of Virginia.

Since the Revolutionary War was ongoing, one of Jefferson’s primary tasks was to provide for the defense of the state. At that time, Virginia’s military commitments stretched from the Mississippi in the west to the Continental Army in the East, from troops dispatched to Charleston in the South to Virginian George Rogers Clark operating in the Northwest. There were plenty of military challenges in the West but not enough men to handle them.

“

The men to be raised in your County under the same act, and the Officers to be recommended by you, are to hold themselves in readiness on the shortest warning

Virginia responded. The Governor received authorization to appoint an officer in every county (the county lieutenants, who were mainly already serving as justices of the peace) to recruit men for the duration of the war, and if there were not enough volunteers, to impose a draft. Jefferson and the state’s Council worked with the Board of War on specific defense measures, and before Jefferson had been in office for two months, together they formulated a plan for the defense of the Western frontier and instructions for the Governor to send to county lieutenants to obtain their compliance. The order was issued on July 23, 1779 over Jefferson’s signature, as the “Executive Council Orders For the

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Defense of the Western Frontier”. It related that “The act of General Assembly entitled an act for raising a body of troops for the defense of the Commonwealth having directed that two battalions shall be raised for the Western and two for the Eastern service, the Board advises the Governor to order that the men to be raised according to the said act” be apportioned as provided. The county lieutenants were also requested to recommend to the Governor two men that could be relied on to assume positions of command as a captain and a lieutenant.

Hampshire County, now part of West Virginia, was then on the Northwest frontier of Virginia. It was concerned with Western defense and was assigned to the Western service pool. Autograph Letter Signed, Williamsburg, August 17, 1779, to the County Lieutenant of Hampshire. “You are desired to call together your Field Officers and in conjunction with them to recommend to the Executive a Captain and Lieutenant to take command in one of the battalions to be raised for the defence of the Western frontier, under an act of the late Assembly entitled an act for raising a body of troops for the defence of the Commonwealth. The men to be raised in your County under the same act, and the Officers to be recommended by you, are to hold themselves in readiness on the shortest warning to proceed to such Western rendezvous as shall be notified to them by the Executive or the Field Officer who shall be directed to take command of them. Be pleased to transmit your recommendations to the Executive in Williamsburg by the earliest opportunity you can, and also to report to them from time to time your progress in raising your men.” Sold with Putnam’s copy of the declaration this portrait of Thomas Jefferson. $30,000

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After Arnold’s Treason, George Washington Sends His Spymaster to Gather Intelligence on the British Find “In what manner the British Army is at present disposed...I am anxious to receive intelligence” Benedict Arnold and John Andre’s treasonous plot was discovered when on September 23, Andre was stopped near Tarrytown, N.Y. by some American militiamen, and suspicious papers were found upon his person. Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge returned from a scouting foray and saw the papers. He was Washington’s intelligence chief and had established a strong and successful chain of spies throughout the New York area, thus creating an early secret service in America.

By order of the British commander in America, Gen. George Clinton, on October 16, 1780, Gen. Alexander Leslie, with several English regiments, left New York for the Southern states. This was a considerable force, and word got back to Washington that British troops were on the move.

He needed to determine the significance of the movement, and immediately wrote Tallmadge.

Letter Signed, Head Quarters near Passaic Falls (New Jersey), October 20, 1780, to Tallmadge. “I have recd your favor of the 17th. If you will return the five pieces of Gold which are too light, I will replace them. I have not the means of weighing them, and therefore may be again mistaken. Be pleased to find an appointment as soon as possible of obtaining the following information, with accuracy. Of what number of Men and of what Corps the late embarkation consisted? Whether Sir Henry Clinton went with them?

Whether a reinforcement arrived lately from Europe the number, and whether of which Corps or Recruits?

In what manner the British Army is at present disposed - designating as nearly as possible the Corps which lay at the different places? I am anxious to receive intelligence of the foregoing particulars, and you will oblige me by obtaining it Speedily.” The letter is published in The Writings of George Washington, which states the “five pieces of Gold” mentioned by Washington were for “secret services.”

The answers Washington received would have indicated the course of the war, as it moved from North to South. Leslie’s men (though not accompanied by Gen. Clinton) reported to Lord Cornwallis, where they made up a significant percentage of his force. They participated in Cornwallis’s entire campaign through Virginia and surrendered with him at Yorktown. Sold with all three engravings, including an original 18th century print of Henry Clinton. $88,000

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General Francis Marion, from a painting by Chappel.

$100

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Headquarters of Genl Washington at Tappan, the house in which Maj Andre was tried, from a painting by Ver Bryck.

$100

32

Treason of Arnold, from a painting by Blauvelt.

$120

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THE PEACE: Washington Establishes Flag of Truce For Negotiations With British As Patriots attempt to return to their homes and winter upon him, lines of communication must be kept open

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In future, Flags of truce from the Enemy properly authenticated and conducted...

Sir Guy Carleton was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Clinton as British Commander-in-Chief and he arrived in New York City on May 6, 1782 with instructions to open military negotiations to end the war. Washington was faced with an unusual problem. The war was not officially over and free intercourse between the opposing sides was impossible, yet its pending completion and the inevitable British evacuation from New York meant that there would be extensive matters that would need to be dealt with and many negotiations conducted by the parties that would require passage to and from the lines. There were over 10,000 American prisoners of war in New York City, and with newly obtained British cooperation, their needs could now be attended to by American representatives.

Washington established one crossing point, writing that flags of truce are “confined to Dobbs Ferry” and saying. Meanwhile, Congress had passed a measure aimed at loyalists that forbade entry into the United States by anyone coming through the British lines without special permissions. An example of this problem arose December 29 when loyalist Cleland Kinloch sought to reenter the United States. He was turned back by American sentries.

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This confusion Washington determined to bring to an end, even as he decided, with winter upon him, to replace Dobbs Ferry with a reliable, ice-free crossing place. He wrote to Col. Joseph Vose, commander of the new check point, naming a place on the Croton River about 30 miles south of his headquarters, and issuing instructions about access.

Letter Signed, Head Quarters, Newburgh, N.Y., January 1, 1783. “I approve of your conduct respecting the Flag. Messrs Lewis and Nicholson are to be permitted to proceed on their Journey, but Mr Kinloch will be under the necessity of returning back as I have informed him. Mr. Mott, who was detained some days ago may also return. In future, Flags of truce from the Enemy properly authenticated and conducted are to be received at the New Bridge on the Croton until further directions. Other Instructions will be given in a few days on this subject to the Officer commanding on the Lines...”

This letter, in the hand of aide David Humphreys and inadvertently dated 1782, is in “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources,” Volume 26. Sold with Putnam’s engraving of Washington’s headquarters and his portrait of Washington, pictured below. $25,000

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George Washington Disbands the Fabled Continental Army The day he proclaims the Continental Army discharged, George Washington implements that order by writing the surgeon general to determine what medical personnel need to be retained to care for the sick soldiers The American Revolution officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. On October 18, Congress proclaimed the discharge of men enlisted for the war, and to permit officers on furlough to retire from service. Eleven days later it supplemented that proclamation with an order to discharge the army as of November 4, 1783, specifically mentioning troops from Pennsylvania south. However, troops north of Pennsylvania seem to have been affected as well, as histories cite November 4 as the date the army (and not merely just part of it) was ordered to be disbanded, and Washington took this as the occasion to bid the entire army his personal and emotional farewell. On November 2, Washington’s “Farewell Order” was read to the troops. On November 4, Washington issued a proclamation officially disbanding the Continental Army. In fact, a token number of troops remained afterwards to maintain order, complete enlistment obligations, or because they were ill or needed to care for the sick.

Washington wrote just two letters on November 4, and both of these concerned his proclamation and related to the medical department’s particular needs in the disbanding. This is one of thoe letters.

Letter Signed, Rocky Hill, November 4, 1783, to Dr. John Cochran, the Continental Army’s Director General [surgeon general], officially informing him that he has issued his proclamation disbanding the army, and instructing him to discharge medical personnel no longer needed. “The Troops in Pennsylvania, and to the southward of it (except the garrison of Fort Pitt) being all discharged by a Proclamation of this day, it appears to me no longer necessary to keep in service so many Officers of the Hospital Departmt as are included in the within Copy of a Subsistence Roll for this Month as has been transmitted me. I am now to desire you, to transmit me as soon as possible a List of such Officers of your Departmt as it will be absolutely necessary to retain for the Troops which remain in service, and to acquaint the rest that their services are no longer necessary.” A search of auction records over the past 35 years discloses no other letter of Washington on the subject of disbanding or discharging the Continental Army from November 1783.

Washington said farewell to his remaining officers on December 4 at Fraunces Tavern in New York City. On December 23 he appeared in Congress, sitting at Annapolis, and returned his commission as Commander in Chief. Then he went home to Mount Vernon, thinking his service to his country was at an end. Sold with Putnam’s engravings of Washington bidding farewell to his troops and Washington’s statue. $35,000

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View of New York.

$300

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Washington’s Farewell to his Officers, from a painting by Chappel.

$150

37

Taking Leave of the Army.

$125

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Chief Justice John Marshall Writes About His “Life of George Washington,” the First Great Washington Biography The only Marshall letter in private hands relating to General Washington’s actions in the Revolution of which we can find record It shows the attention to facts and details for which Marshall is famous Within eight years of the death of George Washington in 1799, the first major biography of ‘the father of his country’ was written and published in five volumes.

The author was none other than the sitting Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall; the final volume came out the same year (1807) as Marshall presided over the treason trial of Aaron Burr. Marshall was a great admirer of Washington, and he was given access to Washington’s papers by his family. The biography was successful and influential, remaining the standard work on the life of Washington until surpassed half a century by Washington Irving’s.

The work was so authoritative in its day that fully 27 years after it was published, people were still poring over it to cull information. In February 1834, the 79 year old Chief justice received a long letter from John L. Lawrence, a New York politician who later served in the state senate. Lawrence praised Marshall’s biography, but took issue with a passage in the book regarding the Battle of Long Island, which occurred in August, 1776 and resulted in Washington’s evacuation of his forces to Manhattan, and ultimately out of New York entirely. Specifically, Lawrence disagreed with Marshall’s portrayal of the actions of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull, President of the Provincial Congress of New York and commander of the Long Island militia. Woodhull’s men were ordered to prevent supplies from reaching British troops, but Marshall labored under the belief that they were supposed to have made themselves available for the Battle of Long Island itself. Lawrence complained that Marshall misinterpreted Woodhull’s orders and actions, and sought to set the record straight.

Woodhull was a hero on Long Island, as he was cut down in cold blood following the battle there for refusing to say “God save the King” to a British cavalry officer after being captured, and subsequently died from his wounds.

Autograph Letter Signed, 2 pages, Washington. February 21, 1834, to Lawrence.

Marshall’s response shows his willingness, despite his busy schedule as Chief Justice, to correct the historical record, and his overall care and attention to facts and details. “Judge [Ogden] Edwards did me the favor to deliver yesterday evening your letter of the 13th with the documents to which it refers. It is to me matter for deep concern and self reproach that the biographer of Washington should, from whatever cause, have mistaken the part performed by any individual in the war of our revolution.

Accuracy of detail ought to have been, and was, among my primary objects. If in any instance I have failed to attain this object, the failure is the more lamented if its conse-

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quence be the imputation of blame where praise was merited.

“The evidence with which you have furnished me demonstrates that the small body of militia assembled near Jamaica in Long Island in August 1776 was not called out for the purpose of direct cooperation with the troops in Brooklyn and was not placed by the convention under the officer commanding at that post. It is apparent that their particular object, after the British had landed on Long Is. was to intercept the supplies they might draw from the country. It is apparent also that General Woodhull joined them only a day or two before the battle; and there is every reason to believe that he executed with intelligence and vigor the duty confided to him. I have supposed that the order to march to the western part of Queens county directed an approach to the enemy, and that the heights alluded to were between Jamaica and Brooklyn. But I have not the papers which I read at the time from the publications then in my possession. I only recollect the impression they made that General Woodhull was called into the field for the purpose of aiding the operations from Brooklyn; and that General Washington, knowing the existence of this corps, had a right to count upon it in some slight degree, as guarding the road leading from Jamaica. In this I was mistaken; and in this mistake the statement of which you complain originated.

“I think however that you misconstrue it. No allusion is made to the numbers of the militia under his command, nor to any jealousy of the military officer commanding at Brooklyn, nor is it hinted that the convention had placed him under that office. I rather infer that it appeared to me to be an additional example of the many inconveniences arising in the early part of the war from the disposition of the civil authorities to manage affairs belonging to the military department. I wish very much that I had possessed the information you have now given me. The whole statement would most probably have been omitted, the fact not being connected with the battle; or, if introduced, have been essentially varied.” Both this letter and Lawrence’s that evoked this response appear in the John Marshall Papers, Volume 12.

A search of auction records for the past 35 years fails to turn up any other letters of Marshall on Washington, nor so we recall having seen any. Sold with pictured engraving of Chief Justice Marshall. $11,000

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The Only Known Surviving Credential to the House of Representatives For the 1st Congress in 1789 At the Birth of the Nation The First United States Congress officially convened on March 4, 1789, though it was not until April 1 that the House of Representatives held a session with its first quorum. Its initial order of business was the election of a Speaker, selecting Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg, a Representative from Pennsylvania. The next order of business was the election of the Clerk, and that post went to Virginian John Beckley. The Senate achieved its first quorum five days later.

The First Congress served until March 3, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington’s presidency, initially at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Considering the centrality of the question of representation, the right to serve as a representative had to be properly documented. Members of the Continental Congress received credentials certifying that they had been duly elected to Congress and had the right to serve, and sometimes they were given written instructions as well. In March 1789, the members of the First Congress presented their credentials to the Clerks of the House and Senate, respectively. Those for the Senate were retained for record purposes and survive in its archives. However, in the House, the clerk did not feel that the papers themselves had significance and destroyed them after receipt and entry.

On November 20, 1788, the Massachusetts legislature approved a bill specifying the manner for electing its allotment of eight Representatives to the U.S. Congress. This legislation was forwarded to Governor John Hancock, and he approved it. The election soon followed and eight men were selected to represent the Commonwealth in the first House of Representatives.

Document Signed, Boston, January 6, 1789, reciting that the district election returns had been examined “respecting the choice of a representative to represent the people thereof in the Congress of the United States,” and continuing “I hereby certify the said Hon. George Thacher, Esq. to be a representative of this Commonwealth to represent the people thereof in the Congress of the United States.” Thacher would have presented this very document to Beckley in March, when the first Congress under the U.S. Constitution met. However, he apparently asked for the original back to retain as a keepsake, rather than leaving it with Beckley, as it escaped the destructive fate of the others. A noted historian of the First Federal Congress Project states to us that his organization has never, until now, seen or heard of any surviving credential for the House from the First Congress (or indeed the first numbers of Congresses) in any institution or collection, and assumed there were none. Nor did our search of records back to 1968 turn up any. This, then, is apparently the sole surviving credential for the first House of Representatives.

The Raab Collection would like to express its gratitude to the National Archives’

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Continental Congress Papers, and the First Federal Congress Project at George Washington University, for their invaluable assistance in research, expert direction to primary resources, and generous willingness to share their experience and information. $75,000

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Inauguration of Washington.

$300

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President George Washington Calls the Senate Into Session For His Second Inauguration The only call into session for a Washington inauguration we can find in private hands Washington was Inaugurated as President for the first time on April 30, 1789, in front of New York’s Federal Hall. He was re-elected in 1792. France declared war on Great Britain on February 1, 1793, so by the time of his second inauguration, He was aware that hostilities were brewing; news of the war declaration was speeding across the Atlantic at that very moment. It was in this tension-laden atmosphere, in which actions in Europe would surely have momentous yet uncertain consequences in the U.S., that Washington’s second term would begin.

The inaugural ceremony would take place before the U.S. Senate and in the Senate Chamber, but for this to happen it would first be necessary to call the Senate into session for inauguration day. There were 15 states in the Union at this time, and therefore 30 U.S. senators, but only 17 were in Philadelphia to receive a call into session and be able to attend the history-making moment. Thus, in all likelihood, only 17 Senators received letters commanding their presence that day. This is one of those original letters, the only other known to exist outside an institution and one of only two known to exist anywhere.

Manuscript Letter Signed as President, Philadelphia, March 1, 1793, to Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Theodore Foster. “Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate shall be convened on Monday the 4 instant, you are desired to attend at the Senate Chamber in Philadelphia on that day then and there to receive and deliberate on such communications as shall be made to you on my part.” John Fitzgerald relates in his work “The Writings of George Washington” that “This extra session of the Senate convened and adjourned on March 4.”

The second inauguration of George Washington as President of the United States took place in Philadelphia, in the Senate Chamber of that part of Independence Hall known as Congress Hall, on March 4, 1793. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term for not only Washington as President, but John Adams as Vice President, and was the first such ceremony to take place on the date fixed by the Congress for inaugurations. Before an assembly of congressmen, cabinet officers, judges of the federal and district courts, foreign officials, and a gathering of Philadelphians, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William Cushing administered the oath of office, becoming the first Supreme Court justice to swear in a president.

Our research has turned up only one other such letter that demonstrably still exists. There are none listed in auction records over the past 35 years, and we know of none in private hands otherwise. There is one, Sen. Roger Sherman’s copy, in

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the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Papers of Washington is not specifically aware of any. Nor did they know of any in private hands. They took a copy of this letter as an example for the others. Sold with th pictured engravings of Washington’s inauguration and of President Washington. $62,000

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Pres. Washington Orders Sec. of State Jefferson to Implement one the Most important Policies in US Diplomatic History “...with as little loss of time as may be” In April 1793, word reached President Washington that war had broken out between revolutionary France and Great Britain and its allies. On April 22, 1793, Washington issued a Proclamation of Neutrality that barred American ships from supplying war matériel to either side.

Citizen Genêt was dispatched by the French government to the United States to promote American support for France in the war. Genêt stayed in South Carolina where his goals were to recruit and arm American privateers which would join French expeditions against the British.

Meanwhile, Genêt’s privateers were capturing British ships and rearming them as privateers. The British minister to the U.S., George Hammond, complained to Secretary of State Jefferson about this on May 8, 1793, saying that these privateers, illegally fitted out at Charleston, had gone to sea.

The President decided to request written opinions from his advisors on the problem. This style of governing, where Washington solicited a range of Cabinet-level opinions to guide his thought process, became a hallmark of his leadership.

Consequently, members of the Cabinet submitted their opinions.

In his opinion, Jefferson acknowledged that the United States should prevent France from fitting out privateers in our ports, in order to preserve a fair and secure neutrality. But, he continued, Great Britain should be satisfied with a moderate apology on the part of the United States. As to restoration of the prizes-that was impossible. Attorney General Edmund Randolph added a new wrinkle.

Even if the British had no right to restoration of the prizes themselves, it might have a right to compensation from the U.S. The President was impressed with the weight of the arguments for compensation but against restoring the prizes themselves; so he decided. This was a compromise between the conflicting opinions that existed in the Cabinet. This decision was officially announced to the British and French foreign ministers in letters dated the same day in June.

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Genet did not send the proscribed privateers away as requested and they remained in or cruising out of American ports. Everyone in the U.S. government, including Jefferson, acknowledged that the U.S. ought to prevent American ports being used for belligerent purposes.

The President again raised the question of the prizes on August 2. Hamilton had lost patience with the French minister and his privateers. Jefferson proposed to “require from Mr. Genet a delivery of the prizes to their owners, otherwise... we should be bound to pay for them & must take credit for it with France.” Jefferson’s plan was agreed to, with the additional provision that the governors of the states were to be notified that the proscribed privateers were not to be permitted to stay in our ports.

On August 30, Hammond officially requested an interpretation of these words specifically to determine whether the letter applied just to named prizes or also those that might be taken in the future by proscribed privateers. Jefferson immediately saw that Hammond wished to establish a general rule that either restitution or compensation would be made. He drafted a letter to Hammond dated September 5 to establish the grounds on which he thought a general rule should be formed. This letter is included in Yale University’s list of important documents of American diplomatic history. The United States, wrote Jefferson, was bound by treaties with certain belligerents to protect and defend, or restore “by all means in their power,” the vessels of these nations which might be in the waters or ports of the United States.” Should any similar situations involving the taking of property, the US would feel equally incumbent to compensate.

Beyond that, no formal promises were given as to restitution for the British that would draw them into the conflict unnecessarily. This fell short of a rejection but by refusing to order a blanket policy of compensation, it was a forward looking policy of neutrality.

In this very letter, Washington ordered the implementation of this policy. Autograph Letter Signed as President, Philadelphia, September 7, 1793, to Thomas Jefferson. ”Sir: I have received your letter of yesterday’s date, and approving the measures suggested therein, desire you will make arrangements for carrying them into effect with as little loss of time as may be.” This letter is included in Fitzgerald’s The Writings of George Washington.

This policy was considered so important that Article 9 of the Jay Treaty of 1795 incorporated the entire letter within the treaty itself. This is the first letter of George Washington to Thomas Jefferson we have carried. A search of auction records for the past 32 years (1975-2007) reveals no Washington-to-Jefferson letters as President/Secretary of State having reached the market. It showed just one letter of Washington to Jefferson of any kind sold over the past two decades.

Sold with the engraving of Washington’s cabinet belonging to Putnam.

$100,000

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John Adams: “Which Nation is the greatest destroyer of mankind, the French, or the British?”

“That prudence which prevailed with General Washington, General Adams and General Jefferson, to adhere steadfastly to the Principle of Neutrality, and avoid as long as possible any inter ference with unprincipled wars of Europe...”

In 1793, war broke out between revolutionary France and a coalition of nations arrayed against her, led

by Great Britain. President Washington declared neutrality and the United States adopted a policy of trying to avoid getting involved in Europe’s conflict. However, American trade and economic prosperity were bound to the sea and American merchant ships plied all waters carrying valuable goods of every description. It was not long before both sides in the European war began preying upon U.S. vessels, seizing them and carrying them off on the pretext that they were in violation. The British also began taking (impressing) seamen off American ships, claiming they owed service to the Royal Navy or merchant marine. Hundreds of ships were seized while Washington was still president, and the presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were completely absorbed by the issues this war created. For the vast majority of this time, Americans were divided in which side they preferred, and these divisions embittered the dialogue and life of the nation.

The Treaty of Tilsit, signed in July 1807, established Napoleon’s supremacy in western and central Europe and broadened the French attempt to exclude Great Britain from all Continental trade. Portugal was a long-time friend of Britain and was a hold-out, so Napoleon determined to attempt to force that nation to close her ports by conquest. He sent French troops into Spain to get at Portugal. On December 1, 1807, the French captured Lisbon. Thinking Portugal in his grasp and with an existing military presence in Spain, Napoleon then began a series of maneuvers to secure Spain for France. A bloody uprising against foreign hegemony began in Madrid on May 2. A few months later the British landed a force in Lisbon under Sir Arthur Wellesley – soon to become the Duke of Wellington – to support the Spanish and Portuguese resistance.

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Luis de Onis was a Spanish diplomat who was appointed envoy to the U.S. in 1809 when Joseph Bonaparte was on the throne of Spain. However, notwithstanding his repeated efforts, President Madison refused him recognition.

In this extraordinary letter, Adams shows himself to be one of the most erudiate men of his age, and a virtuoso bringing together strands of knowledge and experience from numerous directions to create an enlightening and even entertaining assessment.

“

Even with these as far as they are sincere and real patriots I sympathize.

Autograph Letter Signed, Quincy, January 5, 1811, to Henry Guest, a New Jersey patriot and friend of both Adams and Thomas Paine. “... My heart sympathizes with the patriots in Spain: but who are these patriots? Are they the priests and their implicit followers who are fighting to defend the Inquisition, and the most bigotted and despotic system of religious Intolerance? Even with these as far as they are sincere and real patriots I sympathize. Are they partisans of England attracted by British intrigue or seduced by British pensions, subsidies, or largess? As far as they can be sincere patriots, I sympathize with them, but as far as they are corrupted by sinister motives, I have no more sympathy with them, than I have with their neighbours who are in the interest of France.

Upon honour! And in conscience! Which Nation is the greatest destroyer of mankind, the French, or the British? I say nothing of George or Napoleon, but state the question between the two nations. I presume it was not ‘Fear’ of the Tyrant Gallic, or British, which weighed with our Government to suspend the recognition of Don Onis, but prudence. That prudence which prevailed with General Washington, General Adams and General Jefferson, to adhere steadfastly to the Principle of Neutrality, and avoid as long as possible any interference with unprincipled wars of Europe, has I suppose been respected and continued by General Madison. I hope however, that this system will not be pursued till we lose all national sense of honour. The Mr. Quincy who enquired of you is indeed the orator in Congress and one of the most respected men in Old Massachusetts. My hand trembles as well as yours, and I am only one lustre behind you in the respectability of old age. I hope to meet you, soon, for it cannot be long, in a world where there will be no jealously, envy, hatred or malice of nations or of men...” He continues, “P.S. I can see little more in the present contest in Spain than a repetition of the struggle, one hundred years ago, between Louis 14th on one hand, and England, Holland, and the Emperor on the other, to determine whether the Archduke Charles or the Duke of Anjou should wear the crown of Spain.” We obtained this letter directly from the Guest descendants. It is unpublished and adds greatly to our historical knowledge. Sold with Putnam’s engraving of Adams.

$52,000

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Washington, from the Bust by Ceracchi, and original photograph (Salt print) of the same bust. $150

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Working With Washington Is a “Labor of Love”

The Valedictory of Washington Irving: The Complete Original Manuscript For the Preface of Volume 5

From the Putnam files Irving: The Work is “the crowning effort of my literary career.”

In April 1859 Irving completed his “Life of Washington.” It was the last literary work he would ever write, as he died just seven months later. Perhaps he had a premonition, as in the famous Preface to Volume 5, he thanks the public for its acceptance of his work for over half a century, resigns his last volume to its fate, and warmly speaks of the pleasure preparing this biography of Washington has given him. Again, he speaks for himself.

“The present volume completes a work to which the author had long looked forward as the crowning effort of his literary career. The idea of writing a life of Washington entered at an early day into his mind. It was especially pressed upon his attention nearly thirty years ago while he was in Europe, by a proposition of the late Mr. Archibald Constable, the eminent publisher of Edinburgh, and he resolved to undertake it as soon as he should return to the United States, and be within reach of the necessary documents. Various circumstances occurred to prevent him from carrying this resolution into prompt effect. It remained, however, a cherished purpose of his heart, which he has at length, though somewhat tardily, accomplished.

“The manuscript for the present volume was nearly ready for the press some months since, but the author, by applying himself too closely in his eagerness to finish it, brought on a nervous indisposition, which unfitted him for a time for the irksome but indispensable task of revision. In this he has been kindly assisted by his nephew, Pierre Munro Irving, who had previously aided him in the course of his necessary researches, and who now carefully collated the manuscript with the works, letters, and inedited documents from which the facts had been derived. He has likewise had the kindness to superintend the printing of the volume, and the correction of the proof sheets. Thus aided, the author is enabled to lay the volume before the public.

“How far this, the last labor of his pen, may meet with general acceptation is with him a matter of hope rather than of confidence. He is conscious of his own short- comings and of the splendid achievements of oratory of which the character of Washington has recently been made the theme. Grateful, however, for the kindly disposition which has greeted each successive volume, and with a profound sense of the indulgence he has experienced from the public through a long literary career, now extending through more than half a century, he resigns his last volume to its fate, with a feeling of satisfaction that he has at length reached the close of his task, and with the comforting assurance that it has been with him a labor of love, and as such has to a certain degree carried with it its own reward. Washington Irving. Sunnyside, April 1859.” $16,000

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