WASHINGTON, George.
General Washington's Letter, Declaring His Acceptance of the Command of the Armies of the United States.
[Philadelphia]: Published for General Information, 1798.
$15,000.00
In Stock
Item Number: RRB-152402
+$500
Rare 1798 Printing of General Washington's Letter Accepting Command of the Armies of the United States
Rare original 1798 letterpress broadside of George Washington’s letter accepting the command of the armies of the United States, one of the final public acts of his career. Printed on a single leaf of laid paper in three columns beneath a decorative caption title, the document gathers President John Adams’s message to the Senate of July 18, 1798, transmitting the letter and congratulating the Senate and the public on Washington’s appointment as Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief; the notification from the Secretary of War; and Washington’s letter itself, dated Mount Vernon, July 13, 1798 and addressed to President Adams. In it Washington writes that he has “finally determined to accept the Commission of Commander in Chief of the Armies of the United States, with the reserve only, that I shall not be called into the field until the army is in a situation to require my presence, or it becomes indispensable by the urgency of circumstances,” closing “With very great respect and consideration, Dear Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, Go. Washington,” and marked at the foot, [Published for General Information.] (Sabin 101713) (Evans 34829). In very good condition, with a central horizontal fold. The broadside measures 18.5 inches by 11.25 inches. Rare with ESTC recording three other known copies held with the Library of Congress, the John Carter Brown Library and the Boston Athenaeum.
In the summer of 1798, with the United States locked in an undeclared naval conflict with Revolutionary France known as the Quasi-War, President John Adams recalled George Washington from retirement at Mount Vernon and, on July 4, 1798, nominated him Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of the newly enlarged United States Army. In the letter printed here, dated July 13, 1798 and addressed to Adams, Washington accepts the commission, stipulating only that he not be called into the field until the army required his presence. He agreed to serve on the condition that he could name his principal subordinates, and Alexander Hamilton was accordingly appointed second in command as Inspector General. In the event, war with France was averted through diplomacy, and Washington, who died in December 1799, never took the field. The appointment was the last public office of his life.
General Washington's Letter, Declaring His Acceptance of the Command of the Armies of the United States.
$15,000.00
In Stock
Other Books by this Author
