13 December 1787

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Manuscript letter

Title: to Samuel Ogden

Later copy of the original. Informs Ogden of the birth of his son, writes that "Mrs. Knox desires her affectionate respects to Mrs. Ogden with an earnest request for her appearance here ..." States that "[t]he new constitution is the domestic want, and a pretty general war the European apprehension. Loving peace as I do I pray sincerely for the new constitution, believing that it will be the only means to keep the ship steady in the rising storm. Perhaps the broils of Europe and an opinion that we may be hurt amid the clashing of arms may have the affect to induce the people of this country…

GLC02437.03725

22 December 1787

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Pieter Johan Van Berckel

Written in the third person and signed in text by Knox. Presents his respects to the Minister of the United Netherlands. Explains that the custom of pallbearers attending the church of the deceased on the Sunday after the funeral is no longer standard custom, but would be courteous. Asks that if the minister agrees, he have the Sexton notify the other gentlemen to attend. See GLC02437.03734 for Van Berckel's letter to Knox. Addressed to "Mr. Brown - New Street," at end. Date from docket.

GLC02437.03732

22 December 1787

Van Berckel, Peiter Johan, 1725-1800

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Asks for advice on whether or not to go to church to attend the funeral of Mrs. Otto, since he is not "well enough acquainted with the customs of this country ..." Written in the third person and signed in text as "The Minister from the United Netherlands." Docketed by Knox. Date from docket. See GLC02437.03732 for Knox's response.

GLC02437.03734

23 December 1788

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel Ogden

Assumes that Ogden has returned from Philadelphia, where he and his wife Euphemia wished "his brother" Gouverneur a safe trip to Europe. Reports that his three youngest children have "passed through the measles," and that two of his other children (Henry Jackson and Lucy) have a fever. Asks if Ogden, who operates the Delaware Works, has sent Samuel Shaw's iron to Boston. Asks how he should reply to a letter from James Webber, a London merchant, who wishes to collect a debt owed to him by Ogden. In a post script, comments on the sale of Colonel [Alexander] Hamilton's St. Lawrence lands at…

GLC02437.04060

9 August 1790

Ogden, Samuel, 1746-1810

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Ogden writes Secretary of War Knox to report that four Cherokee Indians traveled to Canada via the West Indies to "procure my Lord Dorchester's permission for the western and northern Indians to join them, and the Southern Indians in the war against the United States." Ogden believes President Washington should know this information in light of the recent treaty with the Creeks. Ogden also informs Knox that the previous autumn there had been another conference of Six Nation Indians in Buffalo decrying American treatment and looking for help from England. Mentions the participation of…

GLC02437.04682

4 October 1782

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Timothy Pickering

Writes that time is passing and he does not have any new artificers to help construct the new barracks to house the infantry. Colonel [John] Crane's party is stationed in the woods, and will want teams (he may be referring to oxen) to "begin to draw the timber to the water side tomorrow or next day." Major Villefranche also will want teams to draw timber for the barracks on Constitution Island. Expects all of the hauling of timber to occupy twelve teams, and would like to know when and where the teams are gathering.

GLC02437.01640

3 November 1783

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Manuscript letter

Title: to Timothy Pickering

Two parts. First part discusses obtaining wood for New York City if the enemy leaves. Second part on verso discusses transporting cannon from Poughkeepsie. Both noted as copies.

GLC02437.02753

14 November 1783

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Timothy Pickering

Writes in full, "Since I saw you I have concluded to march the 1st & 4th Massachusetts regiments the day after tomorrow, I wish you to come down pretty early tomorrow to make the necessary arrangements."

GLC02437.02775

12 November 1787

Peirce, John, 1750-1798

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Gives information about events in Virginia related to ratifying the Constitution. Encloses an act [not present] "now adopted by the legislature," about calling a convention. States that, "the policy of the state is against the constitution and the union itself. a great majority of the members of the Legislature are opposed to it - but the body of the people at large continues in favor of it." Believes the representatives will cave when they return home and are influenced by the people. Mentions the recommendation of Congress respecting British debt and states, "Patrick Henry is against…

GLC02437.03703

19 November 1787

Peirce, John, 1750-1798

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Discusses the delegates' agreement to pay British debts but only if the other states ratify a similar provision. Writes that "Mr. Henry in his harangue respecting this question attacked the constitution of the Union in the strongest terms and endeavored to sow the seeds of jealousy against the federal courts, the new england states and the spirit of the union itself." Discusses concern for federal defrayment of state debt.

GLC02437.03707

7 June 1791

Pintard, John M., ?-1811

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Written by Pintard as the U.S. Consul in Madeira to Knox as Secretary of War. Note of introduction for Mr. John Halsey. Says he is a worthy gentleman and "a warm advocate for the cause of America."

GLC02437.04979

8 September 1788

Ogden, Samuel, 1746-1810

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Relates the opinion of the British Lord Chancellor on a legal case. Apparently, the Lord Chancellor will grant a perpetual injunction against any suit brought to court in England against an American whose estate was confiscated to pay his debts. Notes this policy "might effect some of [Knox's] claims." Written at Delaware Works, located in what is now Morrisville, Pennsylvania, near Trenton, New Jersey.

GLC02437.03984

20 July 1793

Peirce, Joseph, 1745-1828

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

References Knox's letter of 29 June. Waited to respond until after the sitting of the Committee of the Sale of Eastern Lands. Met with John White of Charlestown, Massachusetts who is indebted to the Flucker Estate through a bond and a mortgage. White said he was still waiting for the British government to compensate him for the burning of his property in Charlestown in 1775. Goes into details about the debt and its interest. Discusses Isaac Winslow and the Taylor purchase. Mentions he spoke to Mr. Jarvis of the Committee, who said Knox should now be in possession of all the land between…

GLC02437.05905

2 April 1794

Peirce, Joseph, 1745-1828

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Informs Knox he sent out notifications to his properties and mentions hiring a gardener. Asks Knox to provide the gardener with instructions. Also speaks of the possibility of war and the impact it will have. Mentions the people's unfavorable opinion of China.

GLC02437.06073

6 April 1794

Peirce, Joseph, 1745-1828

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Informs Knox he will send the grapevines with the gardener along with some seeds and tools. Mentions how the prospect of war is keeping Knox from traveling. Refers to a promise Knox supposedly made to another gentleman. Discusses properties (possibly near Knox's land holdings in Maine) Knox is trying to purchase, the price of land, and various property boundaries. Believes Knox should consider purchasing land from the government if his plan fails.

GLC02437.06074

23 March 1872

Lee, Samuel Phillips, 1812-1897

Manuscript document signed

Title: to Richard T. Renshaw

Rear Admiral Lee orders Renshaw to investigate an attack reported by the Colonel Chief of Staff, Jose de Chasso. De Chasso's report was relayed by Genl. Franciscos de Ceballos. Sailors "supposed to belong to the Worcester, attacked a Sentinel stationed on the Cavalry Mole."

GLC02254.33

15 July 1872

Bermejo, Segismundo, 1832-1899

Manuscript document signed

Title: To the commander of the sloop of war Canandaigua [in Spanish]

Seal in upper lefthand corner of first page. Pages sewn together in upper lefthand corner. Denounces the ex-Confederate blockade runner "Virginius". Argues that the ship has violated Spanish waters and committed piratical acts. Admiral Bermejo y Merelo was Spanish minister of the Navy during the Spanish-American war. The Virginius, a former Confederate blockade runner, was being used by Cuban rebels and their American supporters during Cuba's unsuccessful struggle for independence from Spain. After the Spanish captured the ship and executed several of its crew, war with the U.S. was…

GLC02254.34

circa 1872-1875

Renshaw, Richard T., 1822-1879

Manuscript document

Title: [Instructions for directing letters]

Renshaw gives his address aboard the U.S.S. Worcester in care of the Consul General in Havana, via the US Secretary of State. He adds, "you do not want to put any stamps on your letter."

GLC02254.39

11 October 1776

Hancock, John, 1737-1793

Autograph document signed

Title: [Orders to George Washington to blockade the Hudson River]

Orders to blockade and defend Mount Washington from the enemy without regard to expense. Allows Washington's appointment of a Deputy Commissary of Stores for the Army at New York. Docket not in Hancock's hand.

GLC00372.01

20 April 1776

Harrison, Robert H., 1745-1790

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Transmits a letter originally to George Washington from a committee of the Continental Congress (not included) and asks Knox to go to New London, Connecticut to comply with its orders to work on its fortification and harbor. Requests a report after attending to the matter. Knox was then moving southward toward New York, planning coastal defenses against the British navy for Rhode Island and Connecticut in the process. Harrison was then a secretary to George Washington.

GLC02437.00274

24 April 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Writes that he curses "the man who first brought on this war only because it separates me from my Love." Mentions that he has received instructions from George Washington to inspect and fortify the local harbor in order to make it safe for Continental troops and the American navy (see GLC02437.00274). Comments on his meeting with Admiral Esek Hopkins and his son, John B. Hopkins, who was recently injured in a naval engagement with the British ship Glasgow. Gives a favorable impression of both, comparing Esek to the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp and proclaiming that John will become a "formidable…

GLC02437.00276

circa March 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Responds affectionately to a letter from Lucy asking what has become of him. Answers that he has not written because of how busy he has been (during the siege of Boston). Comments that the British are packing up and leaving Boston, and Knox expects to be in the town in 2-3 days, at which time he will also be able to visit her. He is uncertain where the British are going and in what state they will have left Boston, but states that "to New York my Dear Lucy [we] must prepare to follow them. As we are Citizens of the World any place will be our home & equally cheap." Copy.

GLC02437.00264

7 April 1776

Stevens, Ebenezer, 1751-1823

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Stevens writes Knox to update him on activities during his march to Crown Point, New York. Reports difficulties in transporting ordnance and stores because of broken carts, the scarcity of food for the pack animals, and "Cattle very low in flesh." Indicates that "the Country people are very Spirited in Giving their Assistance." The road has been reported to be difficult and by some accounts impassable, but Stevens affirms his determination to fulfill his orders. Stevens was on his way to reinforce the siege of Quebec, which ultimately failed. Crown Point was fortified during the summer…

GLC02437.00270

12 April 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Orders an officer to proceed to Norwich, Connecticut with powder and ammunition. Notes that the officer has a warrant to impress teams of animals if necessary. A note on the verso records numerical quantities of unnamed items being transferred from Cambridge, Massachusetts to various New England towns. Knox was then moving southward toward New York, planning coastal defenses against the British navy for Rhode Island and Connecticut in the process.

GLC02437.00271

18 April 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Explains that he has remained in Newport, Rhode Island, where a recent British naval attack had been fended off, to fulfill orders to help protect the town from additional attacks. He will depart for Norwich later in the day, where he hopes to stay with Lucy's cousin Fayerweather on a stop before arriving there. Closes affectionately, affirming his love for his wife and their new daughter Lucy. Knox was then moving southward toward New York, planning coastal defenses against the British navy for Rhode Island and Connecticut in the process.

GLC02437.00273