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(AMERICAN REVOLUTION--1779.) Letter from a Frenchman in Maryland.
Estimate:
$500 - $750
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Printed & Manuscript Americana
Description
Description: (AMERICAN REVOLUTION--1779.) Letter from a Frenchman in Maryland. Autograph Letter Signed as "Huguon" on third page, and docketed as from "Hugon," to French consul Barthelemy Terrasson in Baltimore, MD. 8 pages, 13¼ x 8¼ inches, on 2 folding sheets, with no postal markings; 4 short tape repairs. With partial translation. - Montgomery County, MD, 23 November to 29 December 1779
Footnote: A letter by a French settler in rural Maryland during the Revolution. He describes his residence as "Montgomery County near Seneca Bridge at Spencer's Tavern" (the only passage in English); and further clarifies his location as 25 miles from Georgetown, 30 miles from Frederick, MD, and 4 miles from the Potomac River--approximately near the location of Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg today. He writes to the French consul in Baltimore, apparently a good friend, and proclaims his status as a "good Frenchman." He urges the consul to invest in a much-needed general store in his location, and wonders of the Comte de Grasse's naval fleet has yet arrived in Virginia. He also discusses the Great Falls of the Potomac, a ball held in Baltimore, a cock fight, and much more. Provenance: collection of Forest G. Sweet of Battle Creek, MI; Parke-Bernet sale, 22 October 1957.