"AS INDIAN AFFAIRS SEEM NOW SETTLED I THINK THE TROOPS MAY SAFELY BE DISBANDED, EXCEPT ONE COMPANY WHICH YOU THINK NECESSARY": RARE 1777 AUTOGRAPH LETTER BOLDLY SIGNED BY PATRICK HENRY REGARDING THE CHICKAMAUGA WARS AND THE CHEROKEE
HENRY, Patrick. Autograph letter signed. No place: December 1, 1777. Single sheet (12 by 7-3/4 inches) of laid paper, folded once for four pages, penned on first page by Patrick Henry, addressed to "Col. Shelby, Washington" on fourth page, interior pages blank. Matted and window framed with 19th-century engraved portrait, entire piece measures 18 by 15 inches.
Rare 1777 autograph letter boldly signed by Patrick Henry regarding the disposition of troops at a critical fort during the Chickamauga Wars, which involved the Cherokee Tribe.
Henry is among the most famous of our nation's forefathers, remembered above all else for having spoken the timeless words, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A lawyer by trade, he was a fiery orator and early radical whose 1765 Resolutions of the Stamp Act are seen by a number of historians as having initiated the Revolutionary War. The letter, entirely in Henry's hand, is dated "Wm.burgh Decr. 1st, 1777," and reads: "Sir, The Discharging troops as you mention I approve of. If you think one company necessary at the Fort please to keep it there. But pray let no Expense be incurred that can be avoided. As Indian affairs seem no settled I think the troops may safely be disbanded, except one company which you think necessary. I shall write the Gov of Carolina about the light Horse. I am, Sin yr hble srvt., P Henry."
As the Revolutionary War began, the British attempted to restrain the Cherokee from attacking the backcountry settlements while keeping them loyal to England. In June, however, combined Cherokee and Loyalist forces attacked settlements in South Carolina and Tennessee. Quickly the colonial governments of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia organized retaliatory expeditions, with open warfare breaking out in the summer of 1776 in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. The Cherokee leader Dragging Canoe, whom some historians call "the Savage Napoleon," and his warriors and other Cherokee fought alongside and in conjunction with Indians from a number of other tribes both in the Old Southwest and in the Old Northwest. At the end of 1776, the only militant Cherokee were those who migrated with Dragging Canoe to the Chickamauga towns. As governor, Patrick Henry presided over several Virginia militia expeditions against the Cherokee people in the west.
Henry's letter refers to Col. Shelby's Fort, originally built in 1771, and later fortified in 1776 as a local defense and settler refuge against Indians. American historians have traditionally chosen 1777 as the end of the Second Cherokee War; but in spite of a peace treaty, hostilities continued past that date. Faint pencil markings to first page in upper corners. This item was bound into an extra-illustrated copy of the "History of the City of New York" circa 1872, in the possession of Emery E. Childs, and while the book—expanded to 21 volumes—has passed through several hands, this particular autograph letter has not been on the market since it was bound in, a happy circumstance that has also maintained this rare letter in excellent condition.
Second leaf window mounted, with thin tacking strip along left edge. Faint fold lines, small pin hole to first leaf. Letter boldly scripted, near-fine condition. A phenomenal piece of American history, extremely well preserved. and beautifully framed.