Arthur St. Clair autograph letter signed ("Ar. St. Clair"). Two pages on one leaf, 7.25" x 8.75", New York; October 23, 1787. Arthur St. Clair writes a letter regarding payment for a horse during his brief time as President of the Confederation Congress. Addressed to an unidentified recipient, St. Clair discusses payment regarding "the keeping of a Horse that proved totally useless". It was written during his brief tenure as president of the Confederation Congress. It reads, in full: "I must put you in mind of the Certificate you promised to send me respecting my Horse. I should be glad that you would mark the time at which you gave me the one in return for mine, and when you got him back. For it seems t me nothing can be more reasonable than that I should be paid for the keeping of a Horse that proved totally useless, and that had been given to me for one of much greater value, which I had loss thro' the inattention, (to use as soft a word as I can find) of the Quarter Master, - indeed I very much doubt whether there was another officer in the Service that would have been as easily satisfied, and it is certain I have not been well used in the matter, and that any certificate that can now be obtained for the price is very far from payment. I shall be glad to hear from you by the return of the Post, as my stay here will now be very short." Signed, "Ar. St. Clair." Arthur St. Clair (1737-1818), a Scottish-born veteran of the French and Indian War, became the King's magistrate of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, when it was founded on February 26, 1773. He was commissioned colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment in 1776 and was quickly promoted to brigadier general. He took part in the disastrous invasion of Quebec and was with Washington at the crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton, after which he was promoted to major general. In spring 1777, Brigadier General St. Clair became the commander of Fort Ticonderoga in New York and ordered the evacuation of the fort as British General Burgoyne's army prepared to attack. The action earned him a court-martial, but he was exonerated in time to witness British General Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown. After the war, St. Clair was a member of the Confederation Congress from 1786 to 1787, and served as the seventh President of the United States in Congress Assembled from February 2, 1787 to October 29, 1787. From 1789 to 1802, St. Clair was the first Governor of the Northwest Territory and led the American forces at the catastrophic Battle of the Wabash. The letter is accompanied by a hand-colored engraving of St. Clair in uniform by E. Wellmore. Condition: Slight separation at two words caused by ink burn. Light edgewear with 1" closed tear at upper right corner that crosses the date. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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