Benedict Arnold autograph letter signed ("B. Arnold"). Two pages on one leaf, 7.25" x 9", St. John, [New Brunswick, Canada]; February 1, 1788. Benedict Arnold, traitor to the American cause in the American Revolution, writes a postwar letter discussing his trade with the United States and the misuse of his name. Letter by Arnold to an unidentified recipient in which he discusses his New Brunswick lumber trade with the U.S. and the misuse of his name as debt security. The letter reads, in part: "In the Spring of 1786, Capt. Abiather [Abiathar] Camp was Employed by me to barter some provisions in the States for Lumber, and to agree for a quantity of Lumber to be paid for in Goods. He went to Machias [Maine], where contrary to my Instructions he trusted his Goods, (which have never been paid for) and Contracted in his Own Name to Deliver Sails & Cordage, Anchors etc for a vessel, and receive Lumber in payment, in expectation that I would furnish the Goods, but as, on his return I had not the Goods he Applied to Mesr. McGeorge & Co. to furnish the Articles & take Lumber in payment, as the People with whom the Contract was made, were strangers to him, they wished me to be Security, which I offered to do provided they would give me a Commission...which they declined, & delivered the Goods to Capt. Camp...They in my Absence pretended to Mr. Hervey that, I had obligated myself for the payment of the Debt and to prevent a Suit Mr. Hervey was induced to draw a Bill on me for the Amt. of their Demand, which has been returned Protected for which they have now sued him." Signed, "B. Arnold". After the Revolutionary War, in 1785, Arnold moved to Saint John, New Brunswick with his son. The two established a business in the West Indies and brought the rest of the family over in 1787. While there Arnold was involved in several lawsuits stemming from bad business deals. This letter appears to relate to one of his troubled business ventures, with a Captain Abiathar Camp Sr. (1732-1788), who was born in Durham, Connecticut, but moved to Saint John because he was a loyalist during the Revolution. An inscription at the bottom of the second page of this letter, in ink, reads "Presented to John J. Bloomfield, N.Y. by J.W. Lawrence, St. John NB, April 20, 1878. Benedict Arnold lived at St. John, over five years." It is accompanied by an engraved vignette portrait of Arnold and an engraving titled "Treason of Arnold". Condition: Pencil notation to recto. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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