GARNET VALLET, PA.- A unique George Washington letter, dated 1780 and addressed to Col. Stephen Moylan, heads to auction at Briggs Auction's Fine Estates Auction on Friday, August 23rd. Descended in and cherished by the consignor's family, the letter is now being offered for the first time at public auction.

It was written on January 5th, 1780, after Washington and his troops marched into Morristown, New Jersey that December for winter encampment. In it, Washington requests that Stephen Moylan, the Colonel of the Fourth Continental Light Dragoons camped in Colchester, Connecticut, organize commissions in order to complete an arrangement of the four regimes of calvary as requested by the board of war. Washington, Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, closes with, “I am dear sir, your humble servant, George Washington”


Showing Stephen Moylan's address in Connecticut with a second Washington signature


The letter reads in full

"Dear Sir, The Board of War are anxious to complete an arrangement of the four Regimes of Cavalry and have wrote to me on that account. You will therefore be pleased to forward that of your regiment as speedily as possible. As this will be first upon record in the War Office and will be the scale by which the future formations will take place, I must request you to be as particular as possible in ascertaining the status of the commissions and if any officers are entitled to promotions in consequence of vacancies. You are to specify when the vacancies happened and who formally filled them. The majority of your regiment and that of late Blands can't be filled until regimental mounts are completed. I am dear sir, your most obedient servant, George Washington"

It is additionally signed by George Washington twice on the address page.
Stephen Moylan (1737-1811) was an Irish-American patriot leader during the American Revolutionary War. He held several positions in the Continental Army, including Muster-Master General, Secretary and Aide to General George Washington, 2nd Quartermaster General, Commander of the Fourth Continental Light Dragoons, and Commander of the Cavalry of the Continental Army. In January 1776, he wrote a letter which included the term "United States of America", the earliest known use of that phrase.


Image of Washington's date notation, stating the 5th of January 1780.


The letter came into Briggs Auction’s care through descendants of Stephen Moylan and Thomas Lancaster Lansdale. The family possessed several pieces of George Washington correspondence, which were donated to The Society of Cincinnati. This is the only piece that remained in the family. When the consignor was a child, she found this last remaining letter in a puzzle box in her family’s attic and cherished it from that day.

The letter is lot 99 in the August 23 auction, and has a conservative estimate of $10,000-15,000. It will be sold in conjunction with more than 500 other curated lots in Briggs Auction’s August Fine Estates Auction, including antique, Midcentury Modern, and designer fine furnishings and decorative arts, fine art, fine jewelry, carpets, fine porcelains, and more. Bidding will be online through BriggsAuction.com, their mobile bidding app, and LiveAuctioneers.com. Pre-auction/absentee bidding is now open, with real-time, online bidding beginning at 10am on Friday, August 23.

Preview will be by appointment only. Please call or email Briggs Auction to schedule: 610.566.3138 / info@briggsauction.com.

Briggs Auction, Inc. is a four-generation, family-owned and operated auction house located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, offering online auctions, estate appraisal services and real estate auctions for estates, downsizers and more. Their bi-weekly Discovery auctions feature over 1,000 lots of antique and name-brand furnishings, decorative and fine art, fine and costume jewelry, silver, collectibles, coins, toys, tools, books, home goods, estate vehicles and more.

Monthly Fine Estates auctions feature wonderful 18th and 19th century and Midcentury Modern furnishings, period and contemporary decorative arts, fine art and sculpture, fine porcelains, estate fine jewelry, carpets, silver and more. Please visit www.BriggsAuction.com for their full auction schedule and details.