LOT #42032 |
Starting Bid: $20,000
George Washington Letter Signed...
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Description
George Washington Directs Frontier War Strategy After Devastating Campaign Against the Seneca
George Washington Letter Signed ("Go: Washington").
Six pages on one bifolium and one leaf, 7 3/8 x 12 1/8 inches;
"Head Quarters," West Point; October 18, 1779. Housed in a
custom cloth and leather clamshell. Written in the hand of
Washington's aide-de-camp, Robert Hanson Harrison
(1745-1790).An exceptional Revolutionary War letter from General George Washington to Colonel Daniel Brodhead, written at a critical moment in the 1779 campaign against Native American nations allied with the British. The letter responds directly to Brodhead's recent expedition along the Allegheny River, a part of coordinated American operations aimed at diminishing British influence on the western frontier. Washington writes, in part:
"I am exceedingly happy in your success in the expedition up the Alleghany against the Senecca & Muncy Nations...I trust from this stroke and the operations of General Sullivan, who, I am happy to inform you, is now on his return to join the Army, after having laid waste the whole of the Senecca Towns - their Crops & their Country, except in the Quarter where you were, and a Town or two higher up on the Alleghany, and compelling the whole of the Nation to flee to Niagara for refuge, the eyes of the Savages will be opened - and that they will be convinced, that it will be their true interest & policy at least to hold themselves in a state of Neutrality. I approve the sale you directed of the plunder and of the distribution of the profits among the Troops...
With respect to an Expedition against Detroit - I can not at this time direct it to be made, as the state of the force at present with you, is not sufficient to authorise the clearest hopes of success and indeed to ensure it, and because it is not in my power, circumstanced as things are at this critical moment, to say how far it may be practicable to afford sufficient aid from hence. In any other view than that of a certainty of success, I would not undertake the reduction of the post, as a miscarriage would be attended with many disagreable consequences...make such preparations & obtain such necessary information...as may facilitate the work whenever it is undertaken, either this winter when the lake is frozen, which appears to me to be the only season when an effectual blow can be struck - or next Campaign. In the mean time the nature and strength of the Works should be ascertained - whether there are any & what kind of Bomb proofs - what aid could be drawn from the Country of Men - provisions Horses &c. - what opposition, or aid might be expected from from the Indians &c. & prospect of Supplies.
I shall have no objection to your making occasional excursions against any of the Indian Nations that may prove inimical & hostile, when circumstances will permit you to do it with safety.
The powers of making peace or War are in general cases, which affect the common interest, entirely with Congress as they ought of right to be. And therefore - if overtures of peace are made by the Senecca & Muncies - you will communicate the same to them, who will act in consequence; either by appointing Commissioners or otherwise, as to them shall seem most proper...
With respect to Supplies and Trinkets for the Indians - you must try to keep them in the best humour you can - and I daresay on your application to the Honble the Board of War, they will direct such to be furnished, as may be in their power to procure.
We are anxiously waiting for advices from the Southward. His Excellency Count D'Estaing arrived at Savannah in September, with His fleet & a considerable Land force - with a design of striking a blow against the Enemy in that Quarter...He will have crushed the Enemy and relieved Georgia & South Carolina from the dangers, which had already in great part overwhelmed the One - and from which the Other was not entirely free."
Signed, "Go: Washington."
He then adds a lengthy postscript on the verso:
"P.S. You will let me know by the first opportunity what Military stores & Artillery will be necessary, in case an Expedition should be undertaken against Detroit - and whether they could be supplied at Fort Pitt or what part of them...I wish to have a Return of the Military stores of the Garrison & Cannon, particularly distinguishing, whether any of the Latter & of what size are on travelling Carriages."
A full transcript of the letter is available in the extended description online.
By 1778, British commanders in Canada, particularly at Fort Niagara, had cultivated alliances with segments of the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the Seneca, Cayuga, and Mohawk, who conducted raids on frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania. These attacks, including the Wyoming Valley (1778) and Cherry Valley (1778) massacres, prompted calls for a decisive American response.
Washington's strategy in 1779 was aimed at the destruction of the logistical and agricultural base that sustained these allied Native forces. General John Sullivan's expedition moved through western New York, destroying more than forty villages, crops, orchards, and stored food supplies. At the same time, Brodhead's expedition from Fort Pitt targeted Seneca and Munsee settlements along the Allegheny River, extending the campaign into the Ohio Country. Together, these operations aimed to force Indigenous populations to abandon their lands and seek refuge under British protection at Niagara.
Here, Washington evaluates Brodhead's strategy and outlines an expedition against Detroit, recognizing its importance as a British base for supplying Native allies. He directs Brodhead to gather intelligence on fortifications and supplies, given the difficulty of accomplishing a winter campaign. Notably, Washington affirms that war powers remain with Congress, who can be the only body to decide whether or not the Americans remain at war with Native groups.
A historically significant Revolutionary War document, giving a direct glimpse into Washington's strategizing during one of the most consequential-and destructive-campaigns on the American frontier.
Condition: Very good. Expected folds and toning commensurate with age. Minor wear throughout, including staining and small separations, largely confined to the fold lines; evidence of professional mends at a few folds. Letter remains highly legible, with an excellent Washington signature.
References: George Washington to Daniel Brodhead, October 18, 1779, Founders Online, National Archives (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013), from The Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series, vol. 22; Joseph R. Fischer, A Well-Executed Failure: The Sullivan Campaign against the Iroquois, July-September 1779 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997).
More Information: Full transcript:
"Dear Sir.
I had on the 15th the pleasure by Captn McIntire to receive Your Letter of the 16th Ulto continued to the 24th – I am exceedingly happy in your success in the expedition up the Alleghany against the Senecca & Muncy Nations – and transmit you the inclosed Extract from General Orders, which will convey to you the sentiments I entertain of your conduct — and of that of the Officers and [Men] employed in the expedition. This you will be pleased to communicate to the Troops, thro the Channel of Your Orders. I trust from this stroke and the operations of General Sullivan, who, I am happy to inform you, is now on his return to join the Army, after having laid waste the whole of the Senecca Towns — their Crops & their Country, except in the Quarter where you were, and a Town or two higher up on the Alleghany, and compelling the whole of the Nation to flee to Niagara for refuge, the eyes of the Savages will be opened — and that they will be convinced, that it will be their true interest & policy at least to hold themselves in a state of Neutrality. I approve the sale you directed of the plunder and of the distribution of the profits among the Troops.
I have transmitted that part of Your Letter which relates to the want of Cloathing to James Wilkinson, Esq Cloathier General at philadelphia — and directed him to take measures for supplying it. I wish however, that you had ascertained the number of Men to be supplied and their Regiments & Corps, as this is essential to govern the Cloathier in his conduct.
I have also written to Colo. Palfrey Pay Master General, who is also at Philadelphia & inclosed the paragraph, which respects the pay of the Troops and requested him to pursue measures for having them paid.
With respect to an Expedition against Detroit — I can not at this time direct it to be made, as the state of the force at present with you, is not sufficient to authorise the clearest hopes of success and indeed to ensure it, and because it is not in my power, circumstanced as things are at this critical moment, to say how far it may be practicable to afford sufficient aid from hence. In any other view than that of a certainty of success, I would not undertake the reduction of the post, as a miscarriage would be attended with many disagreable consequences. However, as it is of great importance to reduce it, and I shall willingly attempt it when ever circumstances will justify it, you will turn your closest attention to the subject — and make such preparations & obtain such necessary information as may be in your power, without exciting much alarm, as may facilitate the work whenever it is undertaken, either this winter when the lake is frozen, which appears to me to be the only season when an effectual blow can be struck – or next Campaign. In the mean time the nature and strength of the Works should be ascertained — whether there are any & what kind of Bomb proofs — what aid could be drawn from the Country of Men – provisions Horses &c. — what opposition, or aid might be expected from from the Indians &c. & prospect of Supplies.
I shall have no objection to your making occasional excursions against any of the Indian Nations that may prove inimical & hostile, when circumstances will permit you to do it with safety.
The powers of making peace or War are in general cases, which affect the common interest, entirely with Congress as they ought of right to be. And therefore — if overtures of peace are made by the Senecca & Muncies – you will communicate the same to them, who will act in consequence; either by appointing Commissioners or otherwise, as to them shall seem most proper.
Colo. Clark is not an Officer in the Continental line — nor does he act under my instructions. He is in the service of the State of Virginia. I make no doubt however, that the Instructions he has received are calculated to promote the general good; and from the character he seems justly to have acquired, I should suppose he will act with caution and prudence — and do nothing that will not be promotive of it.
With respect to Supplies and Trinkets for the Indians — you must try to keep them in the best humour you can — and I daresay on your application to the Honble the Board of War, they will direct such to be furnished, as may be in their power to procure.
We are anxiously waiting for advices from the Southward. His Excellency Count D'Estaing arrived at Savannah in September, with His fleet & a considerable Land force — with a design of striking a blow against the Enemy in that Quarter — which from his [vast superiority he] was able easily to do, if they have not found means of escaping. His arrival there of itself was very interesting — and if it has been attended with all the expected success — He will have crushed the Enemy and relieved Georgia & South Carolina from the dangers, which had already in great part overwhelmed the One — and from which the Other was not entirely free.
I am Dr: Sir, with great regard
Yr: Most Obed Servt.
Go: Washington
P.S. I duly recd Your Letter of the 31st of July. – (turn over)
P.S. You will let me know by the first opportunity what Military stores & Artillery will be necessary, in case an Expedition should be undertaken against Detroit — and whether they could be supplied at Fort Pitt or what part of them. If from the information you gain in the points [I] have mentioned above, as necessary to be inquired into, and your accounts of our Affairs in this Quarter, you should have reason to conclude the expedition will be undertaken; and the Military stores essential for it cannot be furnished at Pittsburg — You will apply to the Board of War in the first instance to prevent delay, to whom I have written and requested that they may be supplied. [You] will, however, take the earliest Opportunity to furnish me with an Estimate as above required, both of the Cannon &c. & stores – and of any deficiency. And indeed I wish to have a Return of the Military stores of the Garrison & Cannon, particularly distinguishing, whether any of the Latter & of what size are on travelling Carriages."
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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