LONDON — A letter signed by George Washington accepting the British surrender, which helped pave the way for America’s independence, will go on display for the first time in London on Wednesday.
The letter, written in October 1781 and showcasing the Founding Father’s faded cursive handwriting, will be featured as part of the “Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story, 1763–1783” exhibition at The National Archives.
The note was dictated and signed by Washington and given to Charles Cornwallis, Britain’s lieutenant general commanding the southern campaign, in Yorktown, Virginia, following the British request to end hostilities to agree to the terms of its surrender.
Washington replied stating his “ardent desire to spare the further effusion of blood.”
After the war, Cornwallis took Washington’s letter home with him to Essex, where it remained in the family archive before being presented to the Public Record Office, a predecessor of The National Archives, in 1880.
“For such a short, succinct, and to the point message, this note had tremendous consequences for generations to come,” Sean Cunningham, historian and curator of the exhibition, said in a statement.
“This is the moment the British realized they would have to give up the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States of America; the moment that Britain finally accepts the reality of the declaration of independence drafted five years earlier,” Cunningham added.
“Seeing Washington’s acceptance of British surrender up close is a powerful encounter with a turning point in history,” he added.
The letter is part of the acceptance of British surrender in what became a decisive battle at the end of the American Revolutionary War. It agreed to the ceasefire that ended major fighting and set in motion the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, in which Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States.
The treaty will also be featured in the exhibition in southwest London, which is running through the end of November. The exhibition is set to chart the emergence of America through original documents, letters, maps, treaties and acts of parliament.
Another exhibition highlight is a rare, original “Dunlap broadside” of the Declaration of Independence printed in Philadelphia on the night of July 4, 1776.
