AARON BURR -WAR MILITARY ORDERS, PRINCETON, FEBRUARY 21

AARON BURR AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, REVOLUTIONARY WAR MILITARY ORDERS, PRINCETON, FEBRUARY 21, 1778, ORDERING SURVEILLANCE OF A LOYALIST FAMILY ATTEMPTING TO CROSS TO BRITISH LINES Aaron Burr (1756 to 1836), the future Vice President of the United States and the man who killed Alexander Hamilton in their 1804 duel, signs a military order letter as an officer in the Continental Army, dated Princeton, February 21, 1778, in the depths of the Valley Forge winter. Writing in behalf of "the General" to "Dear Col[onel]," Burr delivers sharp operational orders: "The General has ordered Catto Campbell immediately back to Cranbury and from thence to be returned to [Brunswick?] by the Way he came, he is permitted to write to Mrs. Campbell from Cranbury but to make no longer Delay, You will immediately let Mrs. Camp[bell] know that she has Liberty to pass to the British Lines with her Family and Furniture, and [her?] Movements / Campbell must be carefully watched and should my Flag in future arrive at your Post detain them till they can be reported to the Gen[era]l." The address leaf reads "Colonel Wilson / Cranbury." February 1778 found Washington's army at Valley Forge in its most desperate hour. The order that Mrs. Campbell be allowed to cross to the British with her family and furniture, while her husband is kept under watch and any future flags detained, is a precise operational instruction dealing with a loyalist household in contested territory. Revolutionary War letters signed by Burr in any military context are very scarce; a field order of this operational specificity, written during the Valley Forge winter, is notable. *ALS, one page on bifolium with address leaf, dark brown ink; Princeton, February 21, 1778; addressed to Colonel Wilson, Cranbury; signed with Burr's hand; address leaf "Colonel Wilson / Cranbury" with docketing on verso; paper toned and worn with age, some edge losses and fold tears, text fully legible; good condition consistent with age and field use.* This item will be accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from One of a Kind Collectibles.

Condition
Good; toned and worn with age, edge losses, fold tears, text fully legible