Lee, Henry ("Light Horse Harry"), as Continental General

Autograph letter signed, 6 pages (9 x 7 1/2 in.; 228 x 191 mm), Richmond, 6 March 1782, to General Nathanael Greene; two leaves neatly inlaid, separation at central fold.

Autograph letter signed, 6 pages (9 x 7 1/2 in.; 228 x 191 mm), Richmond, 6 March 1782, to General Nathanael Greene; two leaves neatly inlaid, separation at central fold.
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Light Horse Harry seeks payment for his soldiers and discusses the current negotiations between Great Britain and the United States:  "My dear Gen'l, I forgot to inform you before I left Camp, that Capt. Eggleston preferred waiting for his promotion, till you could hear from Congress or the Minister of War.  I would be much obliged if ... you would try to prevail upon Congress to fix my corps in the quota by some one State, or to declare them to be altogether the property of the United States; as one of their present system, there is no possibility of doing the officers and soldiers justice, either in supply of money, men or cloathing ... This state [Virginia] will not comprehend any part of the Legion within the late act of Assembly concerning paying their troops ... No measures are taken for paying men ... The French Legion is at Prince Edward Court House, & it is said that Count Rochambeau is to march the whole or part of his command, as you may call for them.  If you do not halt the cavalry in No. Carolina, they will soon cut up your forage, & I presume you already have as many horse as you need at present.  Governor Harrison declines the scheme I proposed ... to negotiate for the supply of the troops of this state, having already adopted measures which promise success ...  The King's speech is mild, the answer from Parliament is firm & bodes the continuation of the war, tho' no conclusion can be drawn from them, as they would preserve appearances for the faint hope of negotiation ..."  Lee had unexpectedly left the Continental Army in February 1782, after playing a major role as a  cavalry commander in the southern theater.  "He and Greene remained the closest of friends but it is apparent that [Lee] ... was in a depressed mental state that probably can be attributed to true battle fatigue" (Boatner, p. 609).

The Battle of Yorktown concluded on 19 October 1781 with the surrender of British General Lord Charles Cornwallis.  Although this was last major confrontation of the Revolutionary War, it took Great Britain until November 1782 to recognize the existence of the United States as an independent nation and to write the Treaty of Paris, thus severing ties between Britain and her former American colonies.