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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02471.27 |
| From Archive Folder | Items relating to members of Continental Congress, including Congress of 1774 |
| Title | Thomas Sim Lee to Thomas Jefferson re: ship carrying clothing & money for convention troops in Va. and Maryland |
| Date | 27 April 1781 |
| Author | Lee, Thomas Sim (1745-1819) |
| Recipient | Jefferson, Thomas |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Military document |
| Content Description | Maryland governor Lee asks Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson to allow delivery of the enclosed letter [no longer present] to a recently-landed flag ship bearing supplies for General John Burgoyne’s captured army, the so-called Convention Troops. Lee explains that he has told British Convention troops commander General James Hamilton that the ship, now at Hampton Roads in Virginia, may sail to George Town, Maryland in order to deliver those supplies intended for the Convention troops in that state. In January of 1781, the turncoat Benedict Arnold had attacked Virginia, forcing Jefferson and other officials to flee Richmond. By the spring, British general William Phillips had launched an attack on Virginia down the James River. Written two days after Phillips captured Petersburg, this letter forms part of an extensive correspondence between high-ranking American and British officials regarding the fate of the British flag of-truce ship General Riesedel and its Convention Army supplies. |
| Subjects | American Statesmen Revolutionary War Transportation Clothing and Accessories Military Supplies Convention Army Prisoner of War Global History and Civics Maritime |
| People | Burgoyne, John (1722-1792) Lee, Thomas Sim (1745-1819) Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) Hamilton, James (1767-1839) |
| Theme | The American Revolution; Creating a New Government |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | LEE, Thomas Sim, (1745-1819), Delegate from Maryland; completed preparatory studies; held several local offices; member of the provincial council in 1777; Governor of Maryland 1779-1783; Member of the Continental Congress in 1783; member of the house of delegates in 1787; declined to serve in the convention which drafted the Constitution of the United States, but consented to serve in the State convention for the ratification of the Federal Constitution in 1788; again Governor of Maryland 1792-1794; effected the organization of the State militia while he was Governor and took an active part in the suppression of the Whisky Insurrection in western Pennsylvania and Maryland; appointed to the State senate in 1794, but declined to serve; again elected Governor, but declined in 1798; retired from public life and engaged in the management of his estate, "Needwood," in Frederick County, Md. (excerpted from bioguide.congress.gov) |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |