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395

Charles Lee

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Charles Lee

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Auction Date:2010 Oct 13 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
British soldier turned Virginia planter (1732-1782) who was a general officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. Lee is most notorious for his actions during the Battle of Monmouth, where he disobeyed orders from George Washington and retreated directly into the general and his advancing troops, earning Lee a public rebuke. Lee responded with ‘inappropriate language,’ was court-martialed, and relieved of command for one year. ALS signed “Cha. Lee,” one page, both sides, 7.25 x 9, January 12, 1762. Letter to the Earl of Shelbourne. In full: “The opinion I have of your Lordships goodness and generosity of temper encourages me to take a liberty which I would scarcely take with any other man living. I am confident from this opinion that altho you should look upon my scheme as absurd, you will pardon my impertinence in entreating your patronage. You must know, My Lord, that some time ago Upton presented the enclosed proposals to Lord Bute [John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (1713-1792), was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762–1763) under George III, and was arguably the last important favorite in British politics], who did not seem to disapprove of, and at present since the declaration of the Spanish war seems to relish ‘em as of more obvious utility. His greatest objection…is an unwillingness to enter upon this measure without the concurrence of Mr. Amherst, but this objection I fancy, wou’d be immediately surmounted by the proper representation of the delays which must necessarily attend the appealing to his judgement and certainly if the scheme is rational, the immediate execution of it is more so. Therefore, my Lord, apply to your goodness that this obstacle may be remov’d or in short that this scheme be patronized, if you do not think it is absurd, if you do I only beg that you will condemn it to the flames but not withdraw any part of the favourable opinion with which I flattered myself you might have honoured me.” Second integral page bears an address panel to Shelbourne, as well as docketing in another hand reading “Major Lee with a proposal for raising a regiment in N. America.” Professional archival reinforcement along hinge, as well as a bit of paper loss, intersecting folds, some mild toning, and show-through from writing on opposing sides, otherwise fine condition. Lee served as a lieutenant colonel in the Portuguese army during the 1762 Spanish invasion of Portugal. In this correspondence, Lee—still a loyal British officer who associated himself with many of the British leaders and members of the elite class in London—seeks permission from Great Britain’s prime minister to raise a regiment of colonists to fight the Spanish in Portugal. The British government—one he’d eventually fight against—agreed to dispatch a small army to assist Portugal in driving out the invading Spaniards, with Lee receiving an honorable mention for personal gallantry in action. Even before siding with the fledgling nation in war as one of its top generals, Lee sided with them on principal following a conflict between Native American tribes and American colonists, courting the displeasure of the British government. A fascinating piece of correspondence from the revolutionary who helped win America’s freedom.
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