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Lot 40
Washington, George. Autograph Letter Signed "G:o Washington," one page, " 9¼ x 7¼ in., Mount Vernon, August 15, 1786. With autograph address leaf to "Doctr. Stuart / Abingdon / 1786." Washington announces "the arrival of a French Gentleman of Rank--Genl. Duplessis" who was recommended by the Count d'Estaing and the Marquis de la Fayette, and rearranges his and Mrs. Washington's schedule to accommodate the visit of the general. Very fine.
In full: "Dear Sir, Mrs. Washington is prevented from dining with you tomorrow by the arrival of a French Gentleman of Rank – Genl. Duplessis – who is introduced, and very warmly recommended to me by the Count de Estaing, the Marq.s de la Fayette &c.a. In consequence I have persuaded Colo [David] Humphreys to postpone his visit to Abingdon. Wishing to show this Gentleman (Genl Duplessis) all the Civilities in my power, I should be glad if you & Mrs. Stuart would dine with us tomorrow. – other Company are also invited from Alexandria at Dinner, at this time. That Mrs. Stuart may be accommodated, George’s Phaeton & a pair of my horses (two others being sent to Fredericksburgh) is carried up by Charles. Yrs. affect.ly G:o: Washington."
In November 1783, two months after the formal peace treaty with Great Britain was signed, Washington had returned home to Mount Vernon to tend to his neglected fields and fortune. He maintained an interest in political affairs, and in foreign affairs favored the French over the English, mindful of France's contributions of money, soldiers, and her Navy during the Revolutionary War. Washington's close friendship with the younger Lafayette, forged during the crucible of war, was a significant factor in his attitude toward the French. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) was a young French aristocrat and military officer who volunteered his services to the cause of the American Revolution and fought in the Continental Army from 1777 through 1781. Washington treated him like the son he never had.
In July 1786, Washington received letters from the Marquis de Lafayette and the Comte d’Estaing, introducing French general Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux du Plessis, who served briefly as Governor of the colony of St. Vincent in the Caribbean and who came to the United States in 1786, seeking to establish a plantation in Georgia. Washington warmly invited du Plessis to visit "the peaceful shades of Mount Vernon," an important tourist attraction for European visitors at that time. In March 1787, du Plessis wrote expressing his thanks to Washington for his hospitality. He subsequently returned to France after an illness which he believed was caused by the low-country Georgia environment.
During the summer of 1786, Washington experienced the deaths of three of his most trusted revolutionary comrades: Nathanael Greene, Tench Tilghman, and Alexander McDougall. In an August 1st letter to Thomas Jefferson, then in Paris, he connected their passing with his concern for the future of America. "Thus some of the pillars of the revolution fall. Others are mouldering by insensible degrees. May our Country never want props to support the glorious fabrick!"
Just a month after Du Plessis’s visit, Shays’s Rebellion would erupt in Massachusetts, bringing the specter of class warfare and sectional discord to America. More than any other event, Shays’s Rebellion would convince Washington to step back into public affairs, where he would exercise leadership in the movement to draft a new federal constitution the following year.
Dr. David Stuart (1753-1814) was a longtime friend and neighbor of Washington. He studied medicine at Paris and Edinburgh and practiced in the Alexandria area, and later served on the commission establishing the boundaries of Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Stuart, Eleanor Calvert Custis, was the granddaughter of Charles, Fifth Lord Baltimore, and the widow of Martha Washington’s son (John Parke Custis). Her daughter, Eleanor Parke Custis, was Martha Washington’s only granddaughter, and George Washington adopted her as his own daughter.
Charles Hector d’Estaing (1729-1794) was an Admiral who brought part of the French Navy to assist the revolutionaries in America in 1778. He managed his fleet cautiously, spent part of 1778 and 1779 in the Caribbean, and failed in his attempt to retake Savannah for the Americans, before departing in 1780. His replacement, however, the Comte de Grasse, lent critical support to the 1781 land campaign of Washington and Rochambeau, leading to the encirclement and defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. D’Estaing was a victim of the guillotine during the Reign of Terror.
David Humphreys (1752-1818), a Connecticut soldier, served as aide-de-camp and advisor to George Washington. Humphreys was chosen for the ceremonial role of escorting the surrendered British colors to Congress after the Battle of Yorktown. He was also an entrepreneur and a distinguished writer, participating with Joel Barlow, John Trumbull and others in "the Hartford Wits."
A beautifully penned, superb quality Washington Autograph Letter Signed. The perfect Washington letter to be framed ad displayed.
Estimated Value $30,000 - 40,000.
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