MCHENRY JAMES Autograph Letter Signed Jam[es Mc]Henry as a p

Sale 2276 - Lot 67

Price Realized: $ 9,600

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

"A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCY MAY NOT BE FAR OFF" MCHENRY, JAMES. Autograph Letter Signed, "Jam[es Mc]Henry," as a physician in the Continental Army, to brother John McHenry, reflecting on the hazards of war and the unlikelihood of imminent peace with England. 4 pages, folio, on a single folded sheet; quite worn, several holes affecting text including center part of signature, closed separations at folds, several dark stains in text area. sold as is. "American Hospital, Cambridge" [MA], 31 January 1776

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

James McHenry, future signer of the Constitution and Secretary of War, was then serving in the Siege of Boston. His only sibling John (1755-1790) was a merchant in Baltimore. James, on the front lines, thought it was no place for his younger brother: "Am I to conclude by not hearing from you . . . that your desire of serving America in a military capacity has subsided for the present? . . . One out of our little family was its full share. I must confess that I had much rather see you pursuing the less hazardous business you have been accustomed to than engaged in the army."
McHenry reflects on the prospects for trade and a successful war: "A declaration of independency may not be far off, and France, Holland &c &c will hardly abstain from a commerce which must [show] a very large balance in their favour. . . . We can hardly suppose a reconciliation between England and America. Both are too far engaged to recede. . . . Under such circumstances, it would be foolishness in the extreme to accept of less than absolute independency."
A wonderful letter by a founding father on the eve of independence, but with substantial condition issues. Published in Life and Correspondence of James McHenry, pages 6-8.