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Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee. Brilliant

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:350.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 800.00 USD
Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee. Brilliant
Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee. Brilliant cavalry officer in Revolutionary War; Governor of Virginia, member Continental Congress; his eulogy of Washington included the phrase, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen." A.L.S. with initials, Alexandria (Va.), Mar. 10, 1804, 2 pp., each 7 -1/2 x 1 3, with integral address-leaf to Col.(?) Rhea in Trenton, penned at a time when his life was marred by heavy debt and ill health. "...The distress of our friend, Frelet, I greatly sympathize in. Had I the command of cash I once possessed he sh(oul)d experience in the hour of his calamity the sincerity of my esteem. He ought to plant himself south where lands are rich & cheap & where cotton is the road to independence...As to deceiving them (financiers) or any man, I never can think of such...much less do it...Yrs. ever, H.L." The initials lighter than the rest of the dark script. Break starting at fold, else very good. A splendid letter from the father of Robert E. Lee.