Louis Duportail autograph letter signed ("Duportail brigadier general"). One page, 6.5" x 3.75", Hartford; October 2, 1778. Docketed. Brig. Gen. Duportail, Chief Engineer of the Continental Army, requests supplies before marching to Boston at General Washington's request. On September 29, 1778, General Washington requested the brigadier general travel to Boston to examine and aid in the fortifications surrounding the town. Duportail wrote this letter just a few days later to an unknown recipient, in which he requests one day's worth of grain for three horses so that he could make the journey. It reads, in full: "As there is no grain in any tavern, I will be obliged to you to let me have any for one day for three horses." Signed, "Duportail brigadier general / Chief engineer of the army / going to Boston by general / Washington's order." The verso contains a note acknowledging receipt of "One Bushel of Indian Corn". Louis Lebègue Duportail (1743-1802) was sent to America in early 1777 to serve as the Chief Engineer of the Continental Army due to an agreement struck between King Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin. He was instrumental to the Philadelphia campaign and at West Point and assisted in the fortifications of several eastern seaport towns. In 1780, he was captured at Charlestown when the city surrendered but was quickly exchanged. Duportail commanded the engineers at the Battle of Yorktown, after which he was duly promoted to major general on November 16, 1781. After the war, he returned to France and served as the first Minister of War at the outbreak of the French Revolution. However, he was forced to flee back to America by radical Jacobians during the Reign of Terror. He purchased a farm near Valley Forge and remained in America until 1802, when his ship was lost at sea while attempting to return to France. War-dated autograph letters signed by Duportail that mention Washington are scarce, but one such as this that is signed as both Brigadier General and Chief Engineer of the Army is even more so, making this fantastic letter an extreme rarity. An engraved oval portrait of Duportail with an L. C. Handy backstamp accompanies the letter. Condition: A few pieces of linen tape attachment on verso, presumably indicating prior mounting. Partially erased pencil notation to recto. Light soiling and foxing. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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