Johann Kalb document signed ("Kalb, major") honoring a Surgeon Major in the Löwendal Regiment. One page of a bifolium, 9" x 7.25", Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, [Germany]; March 1, 1760. Manuscript document in French. "Baron de Kalb" honors a Surgeon Major upon dissolution of the Löwendal Regiment, 1760. A certificate honoring the ‘service and valor' of a Surgeon Major in the Löwendal Regiment at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Germany. The Löwendal regiment, [also Lowendahl, Loewendal] was a Germa-French infantry unit established in 1743. The regiment served with high commendation throughout the War of Austrian Succession and The Seven Years' War, before ultimately being dissolved in a reorganization of the German Infantry in 1760. The honor seen here was issued shortly after the dissolution of the unit, presumably for services rendered during a siege of the fortress late in the previous year. Johann Kalb, "Baron de Kalb", was a German-born French soldier. His distinguished service for the French military during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War ensured he was among the French delegation of men sent to aid the colonies in revolution by Silas Deane, American envoy at the French Court. Though various political machinations nearly sent Kalb home before he could serve the American cause, Congress ultimately granted his promised commission and he joined General Washington at Valley Forge. De Kalb went on to serve as second-in-command to Lafayette during the Canadian Expedition of 1778, before he was sent south to the Carolinas to join General Horatio Gates. On August 16, 1780, their regiment was surprised by the British at the Battle of Camden, and Kalb was shot from his horse while leading a charge. Mortally wounded from nearly a dozen separate injuries, the general died three days later on August 19, 1780. Given Kalb's premature death in 1780, autograph material of any kind is notably scarce, making this document from so early in his distinguished military career a particularly enviable piece. It is accompanied by an engraving depicting Kalb's death at the Battle of Camden. Reference: Friedrich Kapp. The Life of John Kalb, Major-General in the Revolutionary Army. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Condition: Minor chipping to edges, not affecting text. Chiefly split along integral fold, wax seal chiefly intact, ink dark and clear. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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