Henry Laurens autograph letter signed ("Henry Laurens"). Two pages on one leaf, 7.25" x 9.25", Charles Town, South Carolina; October 28, 1776. Integral leaf addressed by Laurens to "Brigadier General [Lachlan] McIntosh". Henry Laurens writes Lachlan McIntosh congratulating him on his military promotion less than a year before McIntosh would famously kill Declaration of Independence Signer Button Gwinnett in a duel. It reads, in part: "I most heartily congratulate with your other friends on your promotion in the Army. I wish you had an Army worthy of your command. Three or four days ago your favour of the 19th directed by the hand of Sir. P. Houston was brought...Lucas had brought it from Georgia & being Ill of a fever had transferred it to him – that he did not know Sir Patrick nor where he lodged – otherwise I should have done my self the honor of hobbling away to the Baronet in order to have paid my respects to him in performance to any enquiring concerning my affairs in Georgia. – I have been confined to the House, except the last past week...by a slight touch of the gout & a return of debility in the tendon Achilles & am still very lame..." Signed, "Henry Laurens." Lachlan McIntosh (1725-1806) is best remembered as the man who killed Button Gwinnett in a duel on May 16, 1777, but the Scottish-born planter was also Laurens's friend and business associate. As a young man, McIntosh worked for Laurens as a clerk in South Carolina before returning to Georgia. He enlisted in the Georgia Militia and then the Continental Army, eventually earning the rank of brigadier general. Sir Patrick Houston (circa 1743-1785) was a lawyer from Savannah, Georgia who succeeded to the baronetcy in 1762. The Houston family emigrated to America in 1740 and were prominent figures in Georgia politics. Unlike his siblings, Houston remained a loyalist and returned to England sometime in 1784. Houston's sister Priscilla (1744-1820) married McIntosh's brother in 1772. That same brother, George McIntosh (1739-1779), was arrested and charged with treason in early 1777 at the behest of Button Gwinnett, further accelerating the tensions between Gwinnett and Lachlan that led to their infamous duel a few months later. One year after penning this letter, Henry Laurens (1724-1792) succeeded John Hancock as the fifth president of the Continental Congress, serving from November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778. In fall 1779, he was appointed U.S. minister to the Netherlands and traveled to Amsterdam to enlist their support in the war. After successfully negotiating an American-Dutch treaty, his ship was intercepted by the British on its return from Europe. The papers Laurens was carrying back to America were thrown overboard but retrieved by the British, which resulted in British attacks upon Dutch shipping vessels and prompted the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. Laurens was charged with treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London for nearly two years. He was eventually released on December 31, 1781 in exchange for British General Lord Cornwallis. The letter is accompanied by an engraved portrait of Laurens and an engraved portrait of McIntosh in uniform. Condition: Address leaf has been window mounted. Paper loss to blank portion of address leaf from seal removal filled in. Light scattered soiling, toning, and dampstaining. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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