Containers

box 1, folder 1

• Letter written by George Washington (1732-1799) to James Hamilton (1710-1783), Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Pennsylvania. [Wills Creek]: [Saturday] April [27], 1754

Scope and Content Notes

In the letter written on April 27, 1754, George Washington, the Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, sent word to James Hamilton, the Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Pennsylvania, of the surrender of Fort Prince George, the first British fort built at the Forks of the Ohio, on April 17, 1754, by Ensign Edward Ward (c. 1726-1793) to the captain of the French forces in the Ohio Valley, Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur (1705-1775). Washington briefs Lieutenant Governor Hamilton on the alliance between the British and Tanacharison (c. 1700-1754), the Seneca Indian leader also known as the Half King, who expected British support and protection from the French. Washington informs Hamilton of his plan to travel as far as the mouth of Red Stone Creek, where his regiment would have access to river transport and shelter. Washington then provides Hamilton with intelligence that additional French forces, along with six hundred of their Chippewa and Ottawa Indian allies, were travelling along the Ohio and Scioto rivers to join the French at the Forks of the Ohio. The autographed manuscript letter is written on the recto and verso and signed by George Washington on watermarked paper. There is a notation in a different hand on the verso regarding George Washington and Captain William Trent (1715-1787?) with the dates, "Saturday, 27 April…Rec. 3 May." The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter and the dealer catalogue description. SCF

Containers

box 1, folder 2

• Letter written by George Washington (1732-1799) to Robert Dinwiddie (1693-1770), Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Virginia: [May 29, 1754]

Scope and Content Notes

The letter dated May 29, 1754 was written by George Washington, Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, to Robert Dinwiddie, the Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758. It reports on the events of May 28, 1754, when colonial militia and Indian forces led by George Washington and the Seneca Indian leader Tanacharison (c. 1700-1754), attacked and defeated the French force led by Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville (1718–1754). The letter describes Washington's account of the battle at Jumonville Glen on May 28, 1754. Jumonville Glen was the first hostile military encounter between the British and the French over the disputed territory of the Forks of the Ohio, which led to the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The French and Indian War became the North American theater of the global conflict known as the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The autographed manuscript letter is written on the recto and signed by George Washington on watermarked paper. The letter is addressed on the verso, "To The Hon'ble Rob. Dinwiddie Esq., Governor [of Virginia], with a second notation in a different hand with the date, "Col. Washington, 29th May, [1754]." The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter. FCK

Containers

box 1, folder 3

• Letter written by Colonel Henry Bouquet (1719-1765) to George Washington (1732-1799). Camp near Reas Town: July 11, 1758

Scope and Content Notes

The letter was written by Colonel Henry Bouquet (1719-1765) to George Washington from a camp near present day Raystown, Pennsylvania. It concerns troops and provisions needed to build a road west to the Forks of the Ohio. The construction of a road through the western wilderness was a key strategy in the military expedition under the leadership of the British Brigadier General John Forbes (1707-1759) to seize Fort Duquesne from the French in 1758. Colonel Henry Bouquet was second in command during the Forbes Expedition. In the letter, Bouquet reports to Washington that Major [Andrew] Lewis had just arrived with 200 men, and that they will begin immediately to cut the road to meet Colonel [George] Mercer. Bouquet also informs Washington that he has not heard from General Forbes since the 19th of June. The autographed manuscript letter is written on the recto and signed by Colonel Henry Bouquet on watermarked paper. The letter is endorsed by George Washington on the verso, "From Colonel Bouquet, 11th July 1758." The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter and the dealer catalogue description. SCF

Containers

box 1, folder 4

• Original Survey of Lands along the Ohio River written by William Crawford (1732-1782), Soldier and Surveyor, June 1771. Accepted and endorsed by George Washington (1732-1799): November 6, 1772

Scope and Content Notes

William Crawford (1732-1782) was a military officer who served with George Washington in the Virginia Regiment throughout the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Crawford was also a land surveyor and speculator who surveyed and wrote this original survey that describes the 2,314 acres of land between the Big and Little Kanawha Rivers, tributaries of the Ohio River, which were awarded to Washington for his services to the Colony of Virginia during the French and Indian War. Washington's acceptance and endorsement of the survey is written at the bottom of the document and on the verso, and dated, "the 6th day of Nov. 1772." There is also a notation on the verso in a different hand that the survey was, "Lodged 13 Nov. 1772…Patented 15 Dec. 1772." The survey is laid-in to a dark blue, gilt-stamped morocco portfolio that includes a bound-in frontispiece portrait engraving of George Washington by the painter Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827). The engraving is dated 1772 and was published in New York by G. P. Putnam & Co. It was engraved by George Parker (active 1772), after the large portrait that was painted and completed by Peale in May 1772, in which George Washington is portrayed in the uniform of a colonel of the Virginia Regiment from the French and Indian War. The portrait is considered to be the earliest commissioned portrait of George Washington, and was painted at Mount Vernon, Virginia. The engraving faces a calligraphic title page that has the same title as the gilt-stamped portfolio. The survey is written on the recto and signed by William Crawford on watermarked paper. The folder also contains photocopies of the original survey and the dealer catalogue description. SCF

Containers

box 1, folder 5

• Letter written by George Washington (1732-1799), possibly to Colonel William Preston (1729-1783). Mount Vernon.: February 12, 1774

Scope and Content Notes

George Washington wrote this letter from Mount Vernon, Virginia, possibly to Colonel William Preston (1729-1783), recommending that Captain Thomas Rutherford (1729-1804) be considered as an assistant on an upcoming surveying expedition. Washington states that both he and the recipient of the letter were well acquainted with Rutherford. Washington may have recommended Thomas Rutherford to Colonel William Preston to assist with the survey of the western lands of the Kentucky country during the spring of 1774. Surveys of the Kentucky lands that spring followed the British acquisition of French lands in North America that were seized at the end of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), after the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the Royal Proclamation issued in 1763. The surveys foreshadowed the outbreak of Lord Dunmore's War between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo Indian nations in the fall of 1774. Colonel William Preston was the chief surveyor and county lieutenant for Fincastle County, Virginia, which, at that time, encompassed most of the Kentucky lands. In the spring of 1774, Preston organized and deployed surveying parties to continue surveying the Kentucky lands at the request of George Washington and other Virginia land holders. Thomas Rutherford was a military officer from Berkeley County, Virginia, who defended the frontier during and following the French and Indian War. He later represented the Virginia House of Burgesses as an agent to resolve financial matters related to the military campaign brought against the Shawnee Indians by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1732-1809), Governor of Virginia, in 1774. The autographed manuscript letter is written on the recto and signed by George Washington on watermarked paper. The notation on the verso of the letter states, "Col. Washington's Letter abt.…Rutherford." The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter. DAR

Containers

box 1, folder 6

• Letter signed by George Washington (1732-1799) to General Edward Hand (1744-1802). Head Quarters: October 13, 1777

Scope and Content Notes

This letter is signed by George Washington and was sent to General Edward Hand (1744-1802) from Washington's headquarters north of British–occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The letter conveys Washington's grasp of the military situation at Fort Pitt in October 1777, which was threatened by attack from Native American as well as British Loyalists forces. Washington acknowledges receiving an earlier report from General Hand, which provided Washington with intelligence on the state of the garrison at Fort Pitt. This letter conveys Washington's disappointment at the cold attitude expressed by the local population in furnishing assistance in case of an attack on Fort Pitt. Edward Hand was Brigadier General and Commander of Fort Pitt, and was later appointed Adjutant General to George Washington in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The manuscript letter is written on the recto and verso, and signed by George Washington on watermarked paper. The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter and the dealer catalogue description. SCF

Containers

box 1, folder 7

Scope and Content Notes

The Society of the Cincinnati is a military organization that was established in 1783 by officers in the Continental Army who fought in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The idea for the organization originated with Major General Henry Knox (1750-1806) before the war's end as a way to preserve the fraternity and the ideals of the officers that fought together in the American Revolution. The Society acted as a benevolent organization for members in need, and advocated for just compensation from the United States Congress for military services rendered by its members during the American Revolution. Membership in the organization was originally open to officers that served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy, as well as to officers in the French Army or Navy who fought in the American War of Independence. Knox named the Society after the Roman military and political figure Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (520 BC – 430 BC), who successfully defended Rome against military threats, and who, immediately afterwards, resigned the dictatorship and the absolute powers granted to him in times of crisis to return to civilian life. The member officers of the Society of the Cincinnati nominated and elected George Washington (1732-1799) to serve as their first President General, which he did until his death in 1799. In addition, certain original members of the Society of the Cincinnati were founders of the cities of Cincinnati, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

James Glentworth (1747-1839) was a Second Lieutenant in the American Revolutionary War, serving from 1777-1783. He fought in the New Jersey Campaigns and the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and also served with George Washington at Valley Forge. He retired from active service in June 1783, and after the war worked as the Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, a position that he may have held until the spring of 1829. James Glentworth became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati on October 31, 1785, and was active in the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania as Assistant Secretary from 1789 to 1792, then as Assistant Treasurer from 1818 to 1828. The Society of the Cincinnati engraved certificate of membership for James Glentworth measures 36 cm x 52.5 cm and is signed on the illustrated recto by The Society's secretary Major General Henry Knox, and by the President General George Washington. It is inscribed on the verso by James Glentworth with the date of March 5, 1790, along with the signature of the former owner, William M. Darlington (1815-1889). The certificate was designed by Aug. L. Belle (active 1785), and engraved on vellum from a copper plate by J. J. Le Veau (active 1785). The folder also contains photocopies of the original membership certificate. DAR

Containers

box 1, folder 8

• Letter signed by George Washington (1732-1799) to the Gentlemen of Carlisle: [October 6, 1794]

Scope and Content Notes

This letter was written to the gentlemen of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, possibly by Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), Secretary of the Treasury, and signed by George Washington during his presidency. In the letter, Washington acknowledges imposing governmental restrictions, but endorses his course of action in the Whiskey Insurrection in the western counties of Pennsylvania in the 1790s, also known as the Whiskey Rebellion. He is certain that conditions in Pennsylvania will improve when order is restored. The letter reflects Washington's confidence as president to enforce the federal powers of the new U.S. government to resolve the Whiskey Rebellion, the events of which came to a head in July and August 1794. The revolt protesting the excise tax on whiskey by farmers on Pennsylvania's western frontier fell apart when Washington ordered the federal militia to Western Pennsylvania in October 1794. Washington entered Carlisle with federal troops on October 4, 1794 and remained there a few days. He assigned General Henry Lee (1756-1818) and Alexander Hamilton the task of leading the 12,950-man army to Western Pennsylvania, arriving by the end of October 1794. The manuscript letter is signed by George Washington and written in three pages on two leaves of watermarked paper. There are also notations on the verso of the second leaf in different hands, one of which reads, "G. Washington's reply." The folder also contains photocopies and transcriptions of the original letter, along with an example of Alexander Hamilton's handwriting. DAR

Containers

box 1, folder 9

• Power of Attorney Affidavit written by George Washington (1732-1799), appointing James Ross, Esquire (1762-1847) of Pittsburgh as his attorney. Philadelphia: August 29, 1795

Scope and Content Notes

George Washington appointed James Ross, Esquire (1762-1847) of Pittsburgh as his attorney to sell property that Washington had titles to in the County of Washington and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in this affidavit written by Washington during his presidency. James Ross was a respected lawyer in Pittsburgh, who served as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1794 to 1803. He was one of three Pennsylvania commissioners appointed by President George Washington to negotiate an end to the Whiskey Rebellion conflict in 1794. The autographed affidavit is written on the recto and signed by George Washington. The letter bears the personal watermark of George Washington. The folder also contains photocopies of the original affidavit. DAR

Containers

box 1, folder 10

• Letter written by George Washington (1732-1799) to his nephew Robert Lewis (1769-1829). Mount Vernon: June 4, 1798

Scope and Content Notes

George Washington reflects on tenant leases, the weather and the seasons, and the state of the animals and the crops in this letter written from Mount Vernon, Virginia, during his retirement to his nephew Robert Lewis (1769-1829) of Spring Hill, Fauquier County, Virginia. The letter is signed by Washington, "Affect. Uncle G. Washington." Washington addressed and signed the letter on the verso to, "Mr. Rob't Lewis, Spring Hill, Fauquier Cty. …G. Washington." There is also an ink notation on the verso in a different hand, "From Genl. Washington, 4th June 1798." The autographed manuscript letter is written on the recto and the verso and signed by George Washington. The letter bears the personal watermark of George Washington. The folder also contains photocopies of the original letter. DAR