Two previously undisclosed battlefield letters penned by George Washington during a challenging winter in the Revolutionary War have recently come to light and are now available for purchase, coinciding with America's upcoming 250th birthday celebration on July 4.
During the harsh winter of 1779 to 1780, four years into the American colonists' fight for independence from British rule, General Washington, stationed at Morristown, NJ, wrote these letters to monitor loyalist activity and British troop movements across the Hudson River.
Preserved by descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers, these letters are now in the possession of The Raab Collection, a firm renowned for sourcing historical letters, including those from figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Nathan Raab, a collector and historian, expressed his enthusiasm over this discovery, stating, "This is a very exciting find. We're very excited to have these letters." He acquired the letters from a family with no remaining heirs and is now offering them for sale on his website, with the first letter priced at $150,000 and the second at $80,000.
In Washington's era, communication was challenging without modern technology like phones or emails. Washington relied on couriers carrying handwritten orders to communicate with his troops.
The first letter, dated December 22, 1779, reveals Washington's concerns about British sympathizers and instructs Lt. Col. William De Hart to monitor and gather intelligence on their activities. Washington emphasized the need to prevent communication between loyalists and the enemy, urging decisive measures to halt their interactions.
Less than a month later, on January 14, 1780, Washington sent another urgent dispatch to De Hart, detailing a surprise raid on British outposts on Staten Island. Despite Washington's plans, the Tories had already alerted the British, leading to the reinforcement of the outposts and the retreat of Lord Stirling's forces.
These well-preserved documents provide valuable insights into the strategic decisions made by Washington during a critical period of the Revolutionary War.
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