Thomas Mifflin autograph letter signed ("T. Mifflin"). One page of a bifolium, 8" x 12.75", Philadelphia; May 27, 1777. Major General Thomas Mifflin, Quartermaster General of the Continental Army, writes to the Commissary General Jeremiah Wadsworth to discuss a temporary replacement for Wadsworth and military supplies. Major General Thomas Mifflin discusses a temporary replacement for the commissary general. It reads, in part: "Absence from Philadelphia and much vexation from the most vexatious Department in the Universe prevented my writing a long Letter to you...I am determined not to send or employ a new hand in your Absence. If you want Assistance appoint an Ass. Dep. QM General or two; and one or more Forage Masters, as may be necessary & let me know their names & Stations – Enclosed is the Regulation of my Department, agreeable to which make your Appointment. Above all things avoid Gen. Harrison & the Blue Devils – there was too much of both in your Letter to Col. T. I did not believe that any black Legs could have mortified and vexed you so much. Have you received the Certificate for 50000 Dr. Sent last week? Your friend, T. Mifflin." Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800) was a member of Pennsylvania's Provincial Assembly in the early 1770s. During the American Revolution, he served as an aide-de-camp to General Washington and Quartermaster General; he was appointed major general in 1777. Mifflin then served two terms in the Continental Congress, during which he was elected president of the Congress from November 3, 1783 to November 30, 1784. He continued his service to Pennsylvania and the emerging nation by later serving as a delegate in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and, in 1787, the United States Constitutional Convention. After signing the U.S. Constitution in 1787, he replaced Benjamin Franklin as president of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mifflin was unanimously reelected to the presidency on November 11, 1789, and headed the committee that penned the state's 1790 Constitution. That year, Mifflin was elected the last president of Pennsylvania and the first governor of the Commonwealth; he served as governor until 1799. Revolutionary War dated letters from Mifflin are particularly uncommon, especially from his relatively brief time as major general. It is accompanied by an engraved portrait of Mifflin in uniform from E. Wellmore. Condition: Minor edgewear with two closed tears to folds along the left edge that measure 2.25" and 1", respectively. Two small areas of paper loss along integral fold at intersection of folds that does not touch the text. Area of paper loss from seal removal upon opening to blank portion of address leaf. Minute scattered soiling. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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