Lot 767
[Green Mountain Boys] Ira Allen ALS Mentions His Brother Ethan. Autograph letter signed ("Ira Allen"), 1p, 12 x 8¼ in., Colchester, 6 July 1787. To Mr. L[evi] Allen, brother of Ira and Ethan, about "Genl." [Ethan] Allen. "Sir, Gen'l Allen has purchased a Boat in order to move his family &c. which is deficient of sales & Cordage wish you to supply Mr. Stewart with such materials as to aquip sd boat for sailing &c…. have wrote you to Bring with you the warrants you have ag.t Capt. John Stevens and Mr. Garnsey & such others as you may think necessary &c. I am much in want of 10th of Shingle nales & about 1000 board nales immediately wish you to send as to other matters have nothing more. Yours, Ira Allen." Very good; some foxing and staining; laid to a slightly larger sheet.
Ira (1751-1814) was a member of the Green Mountain Boys, led by his brother Ethan (1738-89) who is best known for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war. Ira Allen took part in the conventions at Dorset and Westminster that brought about the independence of Vermont, and he was a leading figure in its political life in the years following. He went to France in 1795 to buy arms for the Vermont Militia. He was captured at sea, taken to England, and placed on trial on a charge of furnishing arms to Irish rebels. He was acquitted after a lawsuit which lasted eight years; he wrote a book on the affair. He helped to establish the University of Vermont, designing its seal, as well as the Great Seal of Vermont.
Estimated Value $3,000 - 5,000.
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