Needed money: previously unknown letter from George Washington published
As it turned out, the first American president was forced to sell part of his fortune to avoid debt.
In 1787, the first popularly elected president of the United States of America, George Washington, found himself in a difficult financial situation and negotiated the sale of his land. This became known from a letter published on the website of the auction house Raab Collection.
“This letter does not appear in known collections of Washington’s correspondence and was unknown to scholars at the time of discovery,” the source writes.
The publication says that Washington mentioned his material problems in correspondence with his mother. He noted that he intended to sell part of his fortune so as not to get into debt.
One of the buyers of Washington’s land was Colonel Israel Shreve of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment, who fought at the battles of Quebec, Brandywine, and Germantown, and then spent the cold winter of 1777, without clothes and food, with Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. .
Shreve is believed to have first attempted to purchase land from Washington on March 5, 1787, as evidenced by their correspondence.
“Since then I have heard several times that you have about sixteen hundred acres of land in or near Redstone in Pennsylvania, called the Washington Bottoms, which you are inclined to sell,” the colonel wrote.
Shreve also referred to land warrants granted by the federal government to participants in the revolution.
In response, Washington sent the letter mentioned above, in which he admits that he is experiencing financial difficulties and notes that he wants to sell the site in order to “raise money.” In this regard, he offered the colonel conditions that did not include certificates of awards.
“My price is 40 pennsylvania an acre if it is sold in its entirety, which is one-third less than the small parcels of land in the neighborhood that have less intrinsic value are being sold. One-fourth of the money must be paid, the remaining three-quarters in three annual payments from percent,” Washington wrote.
Two months after this correspondence, George Washington went to Philadelphia, where he chaired the Constitutional Convention.
It is also noted that Washington ultimately agreed to sell 1,644 acres of land to Shreve for £4,000 in Pennsylvania currency. The deal ended on July 31, 1795.
“We have never heard Washington disclose a need for funds like this before, and it is perhaps just as surprising that the letter has not been released,” the authors of the publication concluded.
