Rutledge, Edward

Autograph letter signed ("Ed: Rutledge"), 2 pages plus integral address leaf (9 1/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 235 x 196 mm), no place [Charleston, S.C.], 31 May 1792, to Jeremiah Wadsworth in Hartford, Connecticut; formerly folded, small seal tears on address leaf. Green half-morocco clamshell box. 

formerly folded, small seal tears on address leaf.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"Caty" has at last received her recompense.

When General Nathanael Greene took command of the Continental Army's Southern Department, the army was so ill-supplied that he was forced to purchase—at his own expense—food, clothing and equipment, for which merchants accepted his personal note.  He did this impulsively, without proper documentation, but he was confident that the Congress would promptly reimburse him.  After the war, he borrowed from Lafayette, Robert Morris, and Jeremiah Wadsworth, to pay the merchant's loan.  At his death in 1786, the entire sum was due his friends, and his wife Catherine "Caty" Littlefield Greene (1755-1814), asked Wadsworth, then a representative in Congress from Connecticut, to file a formal claim against the government.  Wadsworth and Edward Rutledge were co-executors of Greene's estate.  Wadsworth had served as Commissary General during the Revolution and was frequently at General Greene's headquarters.  He was apparently also in love with Caty, as were many of the men who served with General Greene.

George Washington tried to intervene on her behalf; Alexander Hamilton became her chief advisor; Henry Knox personally prepared the claim and suggested what documents she would need.  Finally, six years later, the House approved the petition by a nine-vote margin, and forwarded it to the Senate.  On 27 April 1792, President George Washington signed the act.  Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, signed a government check for $23,500 and a promissory note for another $23,500 payable by Congress within three years.

The present letter shares the executors satisfaction at this happy result: "It afforded me infinite Satisfaction, to hear of the Success of Mrs. Greene's Petition — much indeed, on the account of the money, which the estate is to be saved, & more, on account of the Justice, which has been done to the Memory of our Friend ..."  Rutledge goes on to savage the representatives who underminded the claim, and goes into details of the bonds held as collateral for the loan which was secured by slaves on her Georgia plantation.