(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) BURGOYNE, JOHN. Autograph Letter Signed, "J. Burgoyne," to Lord McCartney, recommending...

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) BURGOYNE, JOHN. Autograph Letter Signed, "J. Burgoyne," to Lord McCartney, recommending Mr. Shaw to him. 1 1/2 pages, 4to, with integral address leaf; few short closed separations at folds, ink "260" at upper right of first page in unknown hand, faint bleedthrough throughout. [London], 20 January 1781

". . . I shall . . . presume to introduce this gentleman to you as the younger son of a very respectable family in Lancashire, & professing a character very worthy [of] his birth & connections. I trust with great confidence in his qualities . . . ."
John Burgoyne (1722-1792) was a British General during the American Revolution blamed for the loss at Saratoga; he worked closely with Edmund Burke to impeach Hastings, who was accused of corruption while Governor General of India. Burgoyne would die before the 6-year trial eventually acquitted him.