Lot 28
Cornwallis, Lieutenant General Lord Charles -- 1782 ALS Ten Months After His Surrender at Yorktown (1738-1805) British general best remembered for his surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution. Autograph letter signed "Cornwallis," one page, 9 x 7¼", Culford near Newmarket, Aug. 19, 1782. Ten months after his surrender at Yorktown, now back in England, Cornwallis writes to Mr. John Spottiswood, "I desired Col: Schutz, who is coming in a few days to my neighbourhood, to call or send to your house for the parcel of papers left for me by the Lord Advocate. I am, Sir, Your Most Obed:t Servnt. Cornwallis." One contemporary ink smear and two vertical folds, else fine. Matted with a biographical plaque and a color image of Cornwallis and handsomely framed to an overall size of 22 x 25".
On October 19, 1781, General Cornwallis claimed illness and refused to attend the surrender ceremony at Yorktown. General George Washington considered the gesture an affront and refused to accept the sword of surrender, according the pleasure to General Benjamin Lincoln, who had been humiliated by the British at Charleston. Cornwallis continued serving the British government as Governor-General and commander-in-chief in India. Estimate Value $1,200 - UP
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| Realized $750 |
