Lot 120
Laurens, Henry (1724-1792) Third President of the Second Continental Congress (November 1, 1777-December 9, 1778). Named minister to Holland in fall of 177, he negotiated Dutch support for the American Revolution. He was taken prisoner on his way home and held in the Tower of London until lDecember 31, 1781, when he was exchanged for General Cornwallis. In 1783 he acted as one of the peace commissioners for the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris.
Autograph Document, one page, 6½ x 8 in., n.p., n.d. Titled "Killed Wounded & Missing in the Action of the 20th June 1779 when the British Troops were attacked at Stono ferry in their Lines & Redoubts--two of the latter were fairly enter.d by the Carolina Troops." He lists by rank 34 killed, 155 wounded and 9 missing, whom he conjectures, "will probably be heard of at home." At lower left he notes, "This I believe is the first instance of attack upon the Enemy's Lines in America--had there been no blunder at James Island the victory would probably have been complete. At lower right he writes, "The enemy left on the ground--1 Tory Colonel, 1 Highland Captain, 24 inferior perhaps R & F had many killed & wounded within Redoubts & intrenchment." The American forces were under General Benjamin Lincoln.
An enclosed copy of a 1994 letter from David Chesnutt at the University of South Carolina confirms that the casualty list is in the hand of Henry Laurens, who was in Philadelphia in 1779 but would have made the list based on information he received from Charleston. Toned, else fine.
Estimated Value $750 - 1,000.
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