LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 October Rare Books & Manuscripts #675  / 

30087

William Livingston 1781 ALS David Forman Spy

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
William Livingston 1781 ALS David Forman Spy
<B>William Livingston Autograph Letter Signed</B></I> "<I>Wil Livingston</B></I>" as Governor of New Jersey, 1.5 pages, 7.5" x 9", front and verso. Trenton, April 5, 1781. 8 o'clock P.M. To "<I>His Excellency/the President of Congress</B></I>" Samuel Huntington . In full, "<I>I this moment received a letter from General Forman, accompanied with one for your Excellency which I presumed is upon the same subject with mine. He informs me that he has intelligence from New York that a large imbarkation sic is preparing-General Clinton to command in person - their destination for the Delaware and that Clinton is to take post at New Castle; he adds that he has seldom been disappointed in his intelligence thro the Channel by which he has received the present. I know that General Forman's intelligence has been generally found true and I thought his account of such importance as immediately to apply to Col. Neilson for an Express which he readily furnished.</B></I>" Inlaid integral leaf is blank except for docket. William Livingston, a signer of the Constitution, was Brigadier General of the New Jersey Militia until he became Governor of New Jersey in 1776, serving until his death in 1790. David Forman (1745-1797), a Brigadier General in the New Jersey militia, was known by the nickname of "Black David" among the New Jersey loyalists, because of his excessive cruelty towards not only the enemy but also towards those who did not favor the Revolution. <B>General Forman, a friend of General Washington, headed a spy network in New Jersey which would report British movements along the coast to the Congress in Philadelphia.</B></I> It is interesting to note that on April 10, 1781, Isaac Motte, member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina, wrote the following from Philadelphia in a letter to his father-in-law, Alexander Broughton: "'tis reported, that a strong embarkation…at New York…has sailed for Delaware Bay & that Genl. Clinton is to command in Person. He will try to take Post at New Castle." Lightly creased in upper right, the letter is in very fine condition.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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