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 Summary: Laurens transmits five important Acts of Congress, including an embargo prohibiting the export of grain and flour in an effort to redirect domestic supply of foodstuffs to the Continental Army.
Henry Laurens. Autograph Letter Signed, as President of the Continental Congress, to George Bryan, Vice President of Pennsylvania. Yorktown [Pennsylvania], June 9, 1778. 8 ¼ x 13 ¼ in. Inventory# 20733 $25,000 Complete Transcript:
Pres. of Congress to V.P. Bryan, 1778
Yorktown 9th June 1778
Honourble Sir.
You will receive within the present Inclosure [not included] five Acts of Congress as undermentioned
1.......27th May for an Establishment of the American Army.
2......4 June for appointing Commissioners for holding a treaty with the Delaware
Shawnese [sic] & other Indians at Fort Pitt the 23d July next.
3......6 June for extending to the Militia subsistence in lieu of extra rations.
4......8 June for raising a Company of foot in the county of Northumberland &c
5......ibid, for laying a general Embargo on certain articles of provisions... I have the honour to be with very great Respect Honourable Sir
Your obedient & most humble Sevt,
Henry Laurens,
President of Congress The Honorable
Vice President Bryan
Pennsylvania
Historical Background:
The congressional embargo prohibiting the export of grains had a material impact. It was urgent given the sufferings and privations experienced by Washington’s army at Valley Forge over the winter of 1777-1778. By 1779 exports declined to a trickle, and overseas trade from the port of Philadelphia fell to between one-fifth and two-fifths of its prewar size. The volume of Philadelphia exports, largely breadstuffs, dropped from over sixty thousand tons in 1773 to less than four thousand tons in 1779. Although a few merchants continued to risk running blockades and fighting privateers to reach overseas markets, most had given up. With limited access to export trade, supplying the Continental Army (or, in some cases, the British Army) became the only real option for market farmers. The bill of May 27, modifying the establishment of the Continental Army, was very significant. George Washington had lobbied for its passage, stating to John Bannister on April 21, 1778, “I do not pronounce absolutely, that we shall have no Army, if the establishment fails: But the Army, we may have, will be without discipline, without energy, … and destitute of those cements necessary to promise success, on the one hand, or to withstand the shocks of adversity, on the other. It is indeed hard to say how extensive the evil may be, if the measure should be rejected, or much longer delayed. I find it a very arduous task to keep the Officers in tolerable humour, and to protract such a combination in quitting the service, as might possibly undo us forever. The difference between our service and that of the Enemy, is very striking. With us, from the peculiar, unhappy situation of things, the Officer, a few instances excepted, must break in upon his private fortune for … support, without a prospect of future relief.” This important legislation established new rules and regulations, and a more satisfactory pay scale, for officers, aides-de-camp, engineers, cavalry, and the provost department. The Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778), made possible by the June 4 act, was negotiated with the Delaware, or Lenape Indians. It was the first written treaty between the United States and any nation of Indians. It gave the U.S. permission to travel through Delaware territory, and promised Delaware assistance in the frontier war against Britain and British-allied Indians. In return, the U.S. promised to build a fort in Delaware country, to provide clothing and guns, recognized the Delawares as a sovereign nation, and encouraged the Delaware to join with other Ohio Valley Indians to form a state with representation in Congress. The principle Delaware signer, White Eyes, was murdered by frontiersmen the following year, and the treaty of alliance fell apart. Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a prosperous merchant and planter from Charleston, South Carolina. As business agent for the London-based owners of Bance Island, a British slave castle in West Africa, Laurens made a fortune in the slave trade. Laurens received slave ships arriving in Charleston, advertised the sale of slaves in the newspaper, organized the auctions, and took a 10% commission on each sale. He served as President of the Continental Congress from November 1777 to December 1778. Upon his appointment as minister to Holland in 1779, he was captured on the high seas by the British and held prisoner in the Tower of London. He was released in 1781 in exchange for Lord Cornwallis. George Bryan (1731-1791) served as Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania (the equivalent of lieutenant-governor) from 1777-1779. During this period, he focused much of his effort on mobilizing the state's resources to combat Tory and Indian harassment of settlers on the frontier. He also pushed for emancipation of all slaves in Pennsylvania, which subsequently served as a model for gradual emancipation in all the northern colonies. Bryan was appointed a trustee of the University of the State of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1779 and served until his death in 1791. He acted as treasurer of this board from 1779 to 1788.
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