Ramsay, David (1749-1815) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05100 Author/Creator: Ramsay, David (1749-1815) Place Written: Charleston, South Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 August 1791 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket ; 22.5 x 18.7 cm. Order a Copy
Letter of introduction from Ramsay for Mr. Harper, "an eminent young Lawyer" of South Carolina. Requests Knox shows Harper attention while he is in Philadelphia. Does not usually ask for these types of favors, but thinks Knox will gain much pleasure from meeting Harper. Says the young man has "prospects ... in our rising empire."
David Ramsay (April 2, 1749 - May 8, 1815) was an American physician and historian from Charleston, South Carolina. During the American Revolutionary War he served as a field-surgeon (1780-1781), and from 1776 to 1783 he was a member of the South Carolina legislature. Having acted as one of the council of safety at Charleston, he was, on the capture of that city in 1780, seized by the British as a hostage, and for nearly a year was kept in confinement at St. Augustine, Florida. From 1782 to 1786 he served in the Continental Congress and from 1801 to 1815 in the state Senate, of which he was long president. He was one of the first major historians of the American Revolution.
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