Revolutionary War soldier, lawyer, senator, and vice president under Jefferson (1756–1836), probably best known for mortally wounding Alexander Hamilton in a duel on July 11, 1804. Important manuscript DS, in French, signed “Aaron Burr, Aide de Camp,” one page, 8.75 x 8.75, January 3, 1776. A document, headed “For Congressional use,” addressed to Monsieur Charles François de Ferrière. In part (translated): “[…] from Colonel Donald Campbel [sic] Commander-in-Chief of the Bourbon Army before Quebec […] who by this letter can arrest any soldier from the Continental Army found on the road without a passport, and can also request assistance to bring them to the headquarters to be examined in case of desertion. You are to take this letter to the headquarters in St. Jean facing Quebec…. By order of the Commander-in-Chief….” On December 31, 1775, after months of planning, the successful capture of Montreal, and the personal approval of George Washington, a group of American rebels attempted to take Quebec from the British and to enlist the support of French Canadians in the Revolutionary War. The attack, led by commanders Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery, proved to be a resounding failure, with a final toll of 48 killed, 34 wounded, and nearly 400 captured, together comprising more than half of the American force of 900. Burr, who was Montgomery’s aide-de-camp, was one of the few men to escape unharmed in a charge during which Montgomery was killed in a hail of grapeshot. Reports of Burr’s bravery made him a national hero, and he was appointed to George Washington’s staff in New York—a position he soon quit so that he could return to the field. (The roots of the animosity between Washington and Burr were sown soon after, after Washington failed to officially commend Burr for his leadership in a strategic retreat that saved an entire brigade—including, in a supreme irony, Alexander Hamilton, the man Burr would later slay in a duel.) With the death of Montgomery, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Campbell assumed command of Montgomery’s troops and instantly ordered a retreat. Though American forces led by Arnold maintained an ineffective offensive in Canada for the next several months, they withdrew completely by the middle of June 1776, and no further battles in the war were fought on Canadian soil. In fair condition, with loss to left margin affecting several words (losses restored), intersecting folds (vertical fold to “Aaron” and “Aide”; separations and associated chips stabilized by silking to reverse), and soiling, staining, and wrinkling. The signature itself is clean and otherwise unaffected, and easily rates as fine. A most significant document of this dramatic Revolutionary War battle! R&R COA.
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