Peter Muhlenberg autograph letter signed ("P: Muhlenberg"). One page, 8" x 12.75", "Cabbin Point", [Virginia]; January 29, 1781. Addressed to an unidentified general. Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg informs an unidentified general in Virginia of their troop movements and lack of ammunition. Peter Muhlenberg (1746-1807) was an ordained minister who formed the 8th Virginia Regiment in 1776. He saw action at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Stony Point. He was commissioned a brigadier general in February 1777, and sent to the southern theater where he served with Generals Steuben, Greene, and Lawson. In this letter, Muhlenberg writes to an unidentified general regarding troop movements and military supplies. It reads, in full: "Before this reaches You, Mr. Newton has probably been with you, to give you an account of the situation of our troops below about 5000 Cartridges have been sent down & the Rifle Men are just setting out – so that I am in hopes, The Enemy will not find an opportunity to avail themselves of our want of Ammunition – You were pleased to order that Colo. Faulkner's Regt. should be relieved by The Riflemen but by a Letter I saw this Morning from Genl. Lawson to Colo. Mead I find He has but 500 Men with him so that if Colo. Falkner's Regt. is relieved Genl. Lawson will not have the Complement you design'd – I shall be happy to receive Your Orders on this Subject by the returning Express – as I shall not relieve that Regt. untill Your further Orders – I wish some loose powder & a Quantity of Lead may be sent in for the use of the Riflemen." Signed, "P. Muhlenberg." Muhlenberg's concerns over ammunition were understandable as General Benedict Arnold had arrived in Virginia the month before and, at the time of this letter, had been engaged in devastating raids in the area. In the eighteenth century, cabin Point, Virginia, was primarily a tobacco shipping port, but General Steuben selected it on January 16, 1781 as an encampment site for several hundred Colonial troops. On January 19th, Arnold retreated to nearby Portsmouth, and that same day, Steuben left General Muhlenberg in charge of the Cabin Point camp while he attempted to locate supplies and men with which to counter Arnold's efforts. While it is not known exactly which general Muhlenberg was writing to, these circumstances imply that General Steuben may have been the recipient. Muhlenberg commanded a brigade at the Battle of Yorktown later in the year and was brevetted major general in September 1783. He served as a Pennsylvania representative in Congress from 1789-1791, 1793-1795, and 1799-1801 and the collector of customs for the port of Philadelphia in 1802. The letter is accompanied by a typed transcription and oval portrait of Muhlenberg in uniform. Condition: Document has been affixed to a mounting page of equal size. Scattered soiling and foxing. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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