Mordecai Gist autograph letter signed ("M. Gist"). One page of a bifolium, 7.25" x 9", Baltimore; February 2, 1781. Docketing records it was sent to "His Excellency Governor [Thomas Sim] Lee." Brigadier General Mordecai Gist writes to Governor Lee to suspend the appointment of John Crisall. Mordecai Gist (1743-1792) was a wealthy merchant and landowner from Baltimore. Due to his mercantile pursuits, he quickly aligned himself with the patriot cause and took part in the burning of the Peggy Stewart in October 1774. Two months later he organized a company of militia in Baltimore and was later commissioned as a major in the 1st Maryland Regiment under Colonel Smallwood. After the Battle of Brooklyn, he was given command of his own regiment and appointed a colonel. He saw action at the siege of Fort Mifflin and the Battle of Germantown in 1777. In 1779, he was appointed brigadier general and took command of the 2nd Maryland Brigade and, in 1780, saw action at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina. Shortly after this, General Horatio Gates sent Gist back to Baltimore to oversee recruitment and supplies in Maryland and Delaware. He joined the southern army under General Nathanael Greene but remained stationed in Baltimore for the first half of 1781. It was during this period that Gist penned this letter to the governor of Maryland. Bogged down with administrative duties, Gist writes to Lee regarding the suspension of an appointment concerning [John] Crisall, the Maryland deputy commissary. It reads, in full: "Unfortunately my letter to Mr. [Donaldson] Yeates to suspend the appointment of Mr. [John] Crisall has not reached his hands, as I was this morning informed his Commission from Mr. Yeates directed to my care was sent forward by Mr. [David] Poe this morning per Express. as this Packet is directed to your Excellency, I have sent this Express to inform You of the circumstances of this mistake, who I hope will arrive time enough to afford you the Oppty. of withholding the Appointment if necessary." Signed, "M. Gist." It is not known why Gist was looking to suspend Crisall's appointment, but whatever the reason, Gist only remained in Maryland for a few months after this letter before marching back to Greene in the Carolinas. Poor health forced Gist to retire from service in November 1783, and he eventually relocated to South Carolina permanently in 1784. The letter is accompanied by a typed transcription and an engraving of Gist in uniform. Condition: Second sheet is window mounted. Scattered soiling and foxing. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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