ALS signed “P. Henry,” one page, 8 x 7, July 28, 1794. Letter to friend and neighbor Philip Payne, looking to hire a local man named Billy Hodges to supervise the distilling of the grain harvest into whiskey. In full: “My ankle is so sore that I cannot ride any considerable Distance; so that our intended Visit to you must be put off. I intend to Campbell Court & if able shall call on you Wednesday Night—As it is probable your Merchants cannot get much Rye, perhaps Billy Hodges may not get constant Employment for the Season. I am willing to give him handsome Wages, but do not chuse [sic] to let him know it any Way but thro’ you. And in Case you wish to employ him, I don’t desire you to mention it to him—I have Secured 6,000 Bushels Rye here, Some people say more, & that with corn will keep my Stills going. Besides I have some Rye, & I hope corn to spare at L. Island. Hodges might have the distillings the whole of it, or be on standing Wages.”
In very good condition, with uniform moderate toning, somewhat rough edges, several pencil notations, and professional reinforcement for preservation purposes.
Henry retired from public life to his newly acquired Red Hill plantation in Charlotte County, Virginia, in 1794. The huge estate included a distillery, a blacksmith shop, and a tannery, and Henry held a large number of slaves. Congress put an excise tax on whiskey in 1791, which was extremely unpopular among the smaller farmers who distilled whiskey from their surplus rye and corn for local distribution or family consumption. Because the tax was levied at the point of production, not of sale, the farmers paid the equivalent of double the tax amount of the wealthy landowners who sold their whiskey at higher prices in the East. When Patrick Henry wrote this letter on July 28, 1794, the citizens of western Pennsylvania—descendents of Scots and Irish settlers who had perfected the art of whiskey-making—were active in tumultuous protests against the tax. Their “Whiskey Rebellion” became a test of the powers of the fledgling government to enforce its tax laws. In the fall of 1794 the militia of four states marched toward the Alleghenies to put down the rebellion. The tax delinquents fled and no engagement occurred. The only two prisoners taken were later pardoned by George Washington. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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