Marquis de Lafayette signed letter from Camp, 13th of August, 1781, the body probably written by James McHenry. It reads Capt. Gaines (probably James Taylor Gaines) carries important dispatches for General Greene and as we have not a single horse fit for the journey. I beg to recommend him to your orders, 8 3/8'' x 6 5/8''. This letter comes at a time when the British fleet and the army under Cornwallis had landed at Yorktown and had begun fortifying the town and Gloucester Point on the other side of the York River. Just one week after this letter, Lafayette would contact Washington with his desire to see the General at Yorktown with their combined forces under his command, trapping Cornwallis. Unbeknownst to Lafayette, Washington had already embarked for Yorktown, with the siege and surrender of Cornwallis coming shortly thereafter on October 19th. Provenance: Estate of Robert S. Knox, New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Light creases and staining.