Manuscript DS, signed “B. Arnold,” one page, 8 x 12.5, June 20, 1788. Document headed “Supreme Court” in the upper left for the case of Benedict Arnold vs. James Grieg. In full: “Benedict Arnold of the City of Saint John in the Province of New Brunswick merchant the Plaintiff in this case maketh oath that the Defendant James Grieg is justly and truly indebted to this Department in the sum of forty pounds New Brunswick currency for monies and Goods paid and received for this Department by the said James Grieg.” Added at the conclusion in another hand is “and not accounted for,” and signed at the conclusion by Arnold. Light toning along intersecting folds, one directly underneath Arnold’s signature, which is a shade or two lighter than the remainder of the document, but still completely legible, otherwise fine condition.
One of the most well-known traitors in history, Arnold was a successful general from Connecticut during the Revolutionary War, until 1780 when he switched sides and got caught trying to help the British. Settling in Canada after the war, Arnold became a businessman and, history shows, quite a fan of the Canadian judicial system, as he was more than willing to file a lawsuit over every penny owed! A postwar depression had hit Canada, and Arnold found few people who could afford his goods. Though technically in the right, suing others to recover debts heightened his unpopularity. Case in point of trying to wring blood from a turnip is this document, in which Grieg is sued for “forty pounds New Brunswick currency”—the equivalent of about $3,400 in today’s dollars. Arnold filed more than twenty similar suits to recover debts owed in Canada before moving to London in 1791. A terrific document from one of the American Revolution’s most famous—and litigious—collaborators. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
