Three George Washington Manuscripts from the American Revolution

Research Services Librarian Rachel Nellis discusses three manuscripts signed by Gen. George Washington during the American Revolution. The manuscripts, recently donated to the Institute as part of the George Miller Chester Jr. (Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut) Collection of Historic General Washington Documents, include two wartime letters written by Washington from Harlem Heights in 1776 and Morristown in 1777. The third manuscript, issued to a French officer in 1783, is one of the earliest examples of a Society of the Cincinnati membership certificate (commonly called the diploma), distributed before Pierre L’Enfant’s design for the printed diploma was executed. The Lunch Bite will examine each manuscript and discuss their individual significance and context within the narrative of the American Revolution.