Harrison, Benjamin (ca. 1726-1791) to unknown
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01502 Author/Creator: Harrison, Benjamin (ca. 1726-1791) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 December 1780 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 22.3 x 19.2 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. Says he will need the recipient's assistance when he goes before Congress, the French Ambassador, and the Generals of the Continental Army to communicate the wants and needs of the southern states. Wants information on the troops under the recipient's command. Would like a full report on their status, place of origin, and supplies. Says the assembly is "straining every nerve to send you a respectable body of men, to cloth them well and to lay in the necessary stock of provisions." Letter is pasted on another sheet of paper, with the sheet with the docket separate and pasted on the back of the paper.
Harrison became Governor of Virginia 1782-1784 and delegate to the State convention for the ratification of the Federal Constitution in 1788. He was the father of General and President William Henry Harrison and great-grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison.
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