Lot 226

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Lot 226
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Rev War Dated Archive: Pulaski's French-born Aide-de-Camp Re: Arnold, Lafayette, Greene, d'Estaing, & Rodney, 1780-1781 - Absolutely Fantastic Content!
Rev War Dated Archive: Pulaski's French-born Aide-de-Camp Re: Arnold, Lafayette, Greene, d'Estaing, & Rodney, 1780-1781 - Absolutely Fantastic Content!
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Description:

Rev War Dated Archive: Pulaski's French-born Aide-de-Camp Re: Arnold, Lafayette, Greene, d'Estaing, & Rodney, 1780-1781 - Absolutely Fantastic Content!

A compelling archive of French language materials comprised of seven Revolutionary War-dated autograph letters signed (18pp total), ranging from December 10, 1780 - August 1, 1781, all written in Baltimore, Maryland. These letters were either written by or linked to Captain Paul Bentalon, a French-born Continental Army cavalryman who served as one of Count Casimir Pulaski's aides-de-camp. Bentalon is closely associated with Pulaski's death, as it was he who carried his commander's body from the battlefield during the Siege of Savannah. The overall condition of the autograph letters signed is near fine, with expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, and isolated loss corresponding to red wax seals. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition.

Collectively, the autograph letters signed are rich in military content, referring to ship seizures and prisoners of war; British and French troop movements in the Mid-Atlantic colonies; developments in the Caribbean theatre; the role of Patriot militia and Tories; the scarcity of resources, notably clothing; and the discouraging depreciation of paper money. Major players explicitly referred to in the archive include: Benedict Arnold; Nathanael Greene; the Comte d'Estaing; the Marquis de Lafayette; and Admiral George Rodney.

Paul Bentalon (sometimes spelled Bentalou) (1755-1826) was a French émigré from Montauban, France. A Royal French Dragoon from the age of 15, Bentalon traveled to the colonies to participate in the American Revolution. He enlisted as a Second Lieutenant in the Continental Army cavalry in 1776, and was promoted to First Lieutenant the following year. Bentalon's aplomb at the September 11, 1777 Battle of Brandywine prompted Count Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779) to transfer Bentalon under his command. Pulaski was an idealistic Polish nobleman dedicated to the Patriot cause who has been called the "father of the American cavalry."

Bentalon served two years as Pulaski's aide-de-camp, participating in the Battle of Egg Harbor (October 15, 1778) and the Battle of Charleston (February 1779). Bentalon was riding near Pulaski's side during the Siege of Savannah (September - October 1779) on October 9, 1779 when his superior was mortally wounded with grapeshot. Bentalon gathered up the bleeding Pulaski in his arms and carried him aboard a nearby privateer, the "Wasp." Pulaski died two days later after never regaining consciousness. Bentalon maintains that Pulaski's remains were committed to the sea, though intriguing new evidence suggests Pulaski may have been buried near Savannah.

Bentalon married a local American girl named Katharine "Kitty" Keeports Bentalon (1759-1813) on December 20, 1780. He retired from the military service on June 1, 1781, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel, though he later became involved with a volunteer cavalry unit during the 1790s. Bentalon was a Baltimore shipping merchant and also served as a U.S. Marshall for the District of Maryland from 1817-1826.

Of the autograph letters signed, the then Captain Paul Bentalon wrote five to a French friend named Gautier who was visiting Philadelphia. One of the letters was written by Gautier to his sister back in France; and the last letter was written in English to Gautier by Bentalon's wife, Kitty Bentalon.

The French material has been translated in part, with punctuation silently corrected to improve clarity. The group of seven autograph letters signed--six in French and one in English--includes, in chronological order:

1. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by Gautier, one of Bentalon's French compatriots visiting the colonies, as "Gautier" at the bottom of the third page; with an extensive postscript on the fourth page. Written at Baltimore, Maryland on December 10, 1780 on laid bifold paper. Docketed by the recipient, Gautier's sister in the Haute-Garonne region of France, at top. Expected wear including the faintest of ink bleed-through, else near fine. 6.875" x 8.75."

Gautier recounts to his sister that although rough weather during their transatlantic passage damaged their ship, "we arrived safe and sound at the entry of the Bay, that is to say, on the coasts of America, when we were taken by the frigate 'Iris' the 9th of the month of November. The Capt. held us aboard until the 19th, landing us at Hampton in the province of Virginia, distant some 300 miles from Baltimore which is one hundred leagues."

During their captivity, Gautier concedes that "we were treated well enough by the Capt. while Aboard. We were prisoners of our word [parole] with the liberty of choosing our residence on the mainland. We have not saved a single piece of property; they even took everything in our trunks that looked new or had the appearance of being silver or gold except the money that we took care to keep on ourselves…"

Gautier continues by referring to the taking of the "Buckskin" on the way from England, and notes that "They are arming here a Brigantine destined for Nantes." Gautier and his companions Merignac and Bentalon are headed for Philadelphia in order to obtain a passport from the French ambassador. Gautier mentions that there are many more opportunities in Philadelphia than in Baltimore to mail letters to France.

The British frigate "Iris" was almost certainly "H.M.S. Iris," formerly the "U.S.S. Hancock," one of the first thirteen frigates of the Continental Navy, which had been captured in July 1777 by the Royal Navy. The ship would change hands again in September 1781 when it was seized by the French!

2. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by Paul Bentalon as "Bentalon" near the bottom of the first page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on April 9, 1781 on laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf, bearing the remnants of a red wax seal. Docketed on the last page. Expected wear, else near fine. 6.875" x 8.75."

Bentalon writes to his friend Gautier that "it is very easy for you…to be informed, of all the occasions anyone leaves from Boston or from Philadelphia; these are The Two Most Considerable Ports and also the only ones, In the present Circumstances; Because the Bay [near Baltimore] is more blocked than ever."

Bentalon continues with some war news: "You know without doubt that Arnold received reinforcements from New-York last week of at least Two thousand men. I cannot conceive what is the Desire of the English…The Governor of Maryland wrote yesterday…that four ships (two Large and Two Brigs) came to Alexandria via the Potomac River with several transports; that they burned and pillaged everywhere that they passed; they went in all likelihood to attempt Alexandria…that they will go to Annapolis and Baltimore. The Tories have already spiked all The Cannons in Annapolis, and here, we are very badly prepared to receive them. I tremble on the other hand for General Greene…Let's pray to God that the English want to retreat in a little while…"

Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) had received a commission as Brigadier General in the British Army shortly after his betrayal was exposed in September 1780, and he was sent south to conduct raids in Virginia. He captured Richmond in early January 1781 but surrendered his command to Lord Charles Cornwallis in May 1781.

General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) was appointed by Washington as commander of the Southern Department of the Continental Army in October 1780. In maneuvers in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, Greene faced off against Lord Cornwallis's 6,000-man army as well as Loyalist militias like the ones that Bentalon mention "spiked all The Cannons in Annapolis."

3. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by Paul Bentalon as "Bentalon" at the bottom of the second page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19, 1781 on laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf, bearing the remnants of a red wax seal. Docketed on the last page. Expected wear, else near fine. 6.875" x 8.75."

Bentalon reports to his friend Gautier that "three ships arrived yesterday at Annapolis, coming from Ste. Croix. They assure us that Mr. d'Estaing arrived at the Windward Islands and that Rodney rallied all his forces, and brought forth under the protection of the forts of St. Eustache. Mr. De La fayette [sic] is here since Sunday night. He is well celebrated; his troops have processed without stopping since the day before yesterday. They were just at Elk Ridge Ferry, where in passing, ten men drowned. Mr. de la fayette [sic] himself must leave tomorrow; the merchants of Baltimore are loaning him three thousand pounds of gold to be paid In Two years. This Sum Must Be Employed in buying Shirts and pants for his Division…My compliments to Terrasson. I return to him by Mr. Legros his 400 dollars. The bookseller assured me that they haven't had dictionaries as good since the passage of General Green for the South…"

Bentalon's letter mentions French Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Comte d'Estaing (1729-1794); British Admiral George Rodney (1718-1792); and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834). The Comte d'Estaing and Rodney are discussed in the context of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War as fought in the Caribbean theatre. Rodney had captured the Dutch-controlled island of Sint Eustatius in early February 1781.

"Elk Ridge Ferry" referred to a tragic accident that befell Lafayette's troops on the Patapsco River near Elkridge, Maryland when an overloaded transport boat overturned and men drowned; a 19th century local history of Baltimore City and County confirms the general outlines of Bentalon's report but asserts that only nine men drowned.

4. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by Paul Bentalon as "Bentalon" near the top of the third page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on May 1, 1781 on laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf, bearing the remnants of a red wax seal. Docketed on the last page. Expected wear, else near fine. 6.875" x 8.75."

Bentalon writes to Gautier that his brother-in-law "was so busy all the previous days with the militia that had taken up arms, that he absolutely could not absent himself a single instant. God be thanked he is removed [from danger] because The English retreated from our River, but as I am so accustomed to be crossed continually in all my projects, I fear that they will return…"

Bentalon reports that "The famous 'Gollette' of Mr. Dumeske arrived in the Pawtocson [Patuxent?] River last week; I believe that it is the only vessel that escaped from Ste. Eustache, only to take considerable prizes, and finally entered the Bay…"

5. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by Paul Bentalon as "Bentalon" near the bottom of the third page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on May 9, 1781 on laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf, bearing the remnants of a red wax seal. Docketed on the last page. Expected wear, else near fine. 6.875" x 8.75."

Bentalon writes Gautier that: "I should go to Philadelphia to make a purchase of merchandise for the State store, and should make a sale afterwards to my brother-in-law at the current price in Baltimore. That is a means to Gain surely and honestly. I was awaiting, thus with impatience, this voyage from Annapolis when the news came to us here that Continental money again lost a little value In The moment…I was informed, and one cannot doubt it, that This paper doesn't have the least exchange rate at Boston; you have assured me yourself that the paper Of Maryland isn't accepted in Philadelphia…"

6. A 1p autograph letter in French signed by Paul Bentalon as "Bentalon" near the bottom of the page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on May 26, 1781 on laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf. Docketed on the last page. Expected wear, else near fine. 7.25" x 9.75." Bentalon fears that he will not be able to say farewell to Gautier before the latter returns to France.

7. A 2pp autograph letter in English signed by Katharine "Kitty" Keeports Bentalon (1759-1813) as "Kitty Bentalon" at the center of the third page. Written in Baltimore, Maryland on August 1, 1781 on watermarked laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf. Expected wear, else near fine. 7.5" x 8.875." Bentalon's wife Kitty writes a letter to Gautier inquiring about news from Saint Raffine, Haute-Garonne, France.

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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