Thaddeus Kościuszko autograph letter signed ("Thad: Kosciusko Colo."). One page, 7.75" x 6.25", Fishkill [New York]; December 29, 1778, [to Alexander McDougall]. Thaddeus Kościuszko writes a letter advising that the masons previously engaged in fortifying Fort Arnold be discharged due to an adequate number already present at the garrison. It reads, in full: "The massins at Fort Arnold cannot be impliod at advantage and I think to be proper to discharge them, wilbe sufficient number from the Garison." Signed, "Thad: Kosciusko / Colo." Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817) was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer who traveled to America in 1776 to take part in the Revolution. He was appointed a colonel in the Continental Army and was assigned to finish the construction of Fort Arnold near West Point, New York in 1778. The fort was initially named after General Benedict Arnold, but following his defection to the British in 1780, it was rechristened Fort Clinton after General James Clinton and the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition. The fortifications were widely praised, and upon its completion, General Washington granted Kosciuszko's transfer to a combat position in the southern theater under Major General Nathanael Greene. He was promoted to brigadier general by Congress in 1783. The letter is accompanied by a typed transcription, an engraving of Kosciuszko by E. Holl, and an engraving of Kosciusko's monument at West Point. Condition: .75 closed tear at left margin. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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