Secret George Washington American Revolutionary War letters up for sale before 250th anniversary
Two secret battlefield letters written by George Washington during one of the toughest winters of the Revolutionary War have recently surfaced and are now up for sale — just in time for America’s 250th birthday celebration this July 4.Four years into the American colonist’s bloody struggle to break free from British rule, Gen.Washington, from his headquarters in Morristown, NJ penned the letters revealing how the Continental Army tried to monitor loyalist activity and British troop movements across the Hudson River during the winter of 1779 to 1780.Those messages, carefully preserved by descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers, are now owned by The Raab Collection, a firm that tracks down historic letters from figures like Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and Theodore Roosevelt.“This is a very exciting find, ” collector and historian Nathan Raab told The Post from his office in Ardmore, Pa.
“We’re very excited to have these letters.”Raab bought the letters for an undisclosed price from a family that had no heirs left to inherit them.The 47-year-old co-author of the 2020 book “The Hunt for History,” is now selling the letters on his site.The first is going for $150,000 and the second for $80,000.In Washington’s day, communication wasn’t easy.There were no phones, texts or emails to rally the troops.
Instead, Washington relied on horse-riding couriers carrying handwritten orders.The first letter, dated Dec.22, 1779, shows Washington, who was commanding about 20,000 Continental soldiers for his New Jersey post, sounding the alarm about Tories — colonists still loyal to the British Crown.
His object was to prevent them from passing information to the British.He instructed its recipient, Lt.
Col.William De Hart, who was part of the 1st NJ Battalion, to keep an eye on them.Part of the letter reads: “The Objects of it are to cover the communication between this & Kings Ferry — to give protected to the well affected Inhabitants & ...