Washington, George. Calendar of the Correspondence of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, with the Continental Congress; Prepared from the Original Manuscripts in the Library of Congress by John C. Fitzpatrick, Division of Manuscripts. Washington: Library of Congress, 1906. First Edition. [11085]
Maroon cloth, gilt titles & date to spine, small ding in the backstrip, 10 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches, tight. Facsimile sample of Washington's handwriting as frontispiece, with letter-press tissue guard. 741 clean pages with many plates showing the handwriting of the correspondents. With an extensive, useful index. Very good. Hardcover.
"It would be useless to undertake to summarize the nature of this collection or to dwell upon its importance to history and biography. It is enough to say that it is unique, most notable and of imperishable interest, embodying the history of the Revolution and the acts of the leading men of that time." - Prefatory Note.
This begins May 12, 1775, covers the entire period of the American Revolutionary War to March 19, 1783, ending with the April 14, 1789 letter from the Congress informing Washington of his election to the Presidency. It is arranged chronologically, with thousands of entries briefly describing the contents of each letter. These are from Congress to General Washington, and from General Washington to Congress. It includes other authors to Washington on war matters.
Opening to a random page, we find letters from Benedict Arnold, Philip Schuyler, Continental Congress, Edward Antill, Moses Hazen, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, and William Palfrey.
An indispensable book for Revolutionary War research.
