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164

George Washington

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
George Washington

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Auction Date:2011 Dec 07 @ 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
LS signed “Go: Washington,” one page, 8.75 x 11.75, November 11, 1782. Letter to Lieutenant Colonel Ebenezer Gray, written in the hand of Col. David Humphreys who, on June 23, 1780, had been appointed Aide-de-Camp of Washington, becoming a confidential friend and adviser to the General. In full: “In giving permission of absence to Officers for the recovery of their health, I have supposed the experiment of change of air & diet might be made in a few weeks as well as in any Length of time; –I must therefore consider the indulgence given to you for the purpose, as limited to eight weeks from the date hereof, at the expiration of which time, I shall expect you will return to the Army.” Document has been professionally cleaned and the folds reinforced on the reverse. In very good condition, with some text lightly affected along folds due to the aforementioned restoration, intersecting folds (vertical fold passing through Washington’s last name), and scattered light toning and soiling.

Headquartered at Newburgh in November 1782, Washington found himself with a restive American army after the British surrender at Yorktown. While a peace treaty with the English was in the offing, it had yet to be signed and ratified by the Continental Congress. In the meantime, he sought ways to keep control of his unpaid, malcontent men of rank. The fledgling federal government had no money to pay for their service, so the general came up with creative ways to both occupy the troops and calm their fears. In this letter to Gray, Washington gives "permission of the absence of Officers for the recovery of their health" while hoping that “the experiment of change of air & diet might be made in a few weeks as well as in any Length of time." For Gray it would be an eight-week leave, but such offers were not totally successful and the situation worsened.

On March 10, 1873, an anonymous letter circulated among disgruntled officers at Newburgh, proposing an unauthorized meeting to address their complaints. On the table was a possible military takeover of the civilian government. When Washington discovered the secret meeting, he proposed a regular meeting of ranked personnel and another anonymous note circulated among the agitators. On March 15, Washington crashed the meeting at a Newburgh church and personally addressed the men in a speech that would decide the fate of the new republic. The disaffected were unmoved. Washington then pulled out a letter from a congressional member which outlined the financial distress of the new government and began to read. Unable to see without his glasses, he said, "Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country." Shamed and moved to tears, his officers listened in silence as he read the letter. A vote was taken and the rebels unanimously cast in favor of the republic. Washington averted a military takeover; the road to democracy had begun.
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