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Washington George



George Washington Introduces Italian Nobleman to Governor of South Carolina

 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, Autograph Letter Signed, to William Moultrie, January 27, 1785, Mount Vernon, Virginia. 1 p., 8" x 9". Framed with image of Washington.

 

Complete Transcript

                                                                        Mount Vernon Jany 27th 1785

Dear Sir,

            The Gentleman who favors me with the delivery of this letter to Your Excellency, is the Count Castiglioni, an Italian Nobleman, well recommended to me. As he is about to make a tour through the United States I use the freedom of giving him this letter of introduction to you.

            Mrs Washington joins me in every good wish for Mrs Moutree and yourself and with great esteem and regard

            I am Dear Sir

                                                                        Your most Obedt

                                                                        Hble Servant

                                                                        Go: Washington

Govr Moutree                                                 

 

Historical Background

Count Luigi Castiglioni, an Italian nobleman, traveled through the thirteen states and a portion of Canada from May 1785 until 1787. He studied various aspects of American life, particularly political institutions and the young nation’s flora and fauna. It was one of the earliest trips of an Italian person of some fame to the United States.

 

He came with letters of introduction and recommendation from Europe, but others added their commendatory letters along his route. On November 26, 1785, New York attorney Edward Livingston (1764-1836) sent George Washington a letter introducing Castiglioni, “an Italian Nobleman who has been well recommended to many Gentlemen in this City.” On December 13, Washington’s former aide-de-camp and Baltimore merchant Tench Tilghman (1744-1786) wrote, “I do myself the honor to introduce to you Count Castiglioni knight of the Order of St Stephen, an Italian Nobleman, who, in pursuit of Botanical Knowledge, has thought it worth his while to visit this, hitherto, almost unexplored Continent.”

 

Castiglioni arrived at Mount Vernon on December 26 and left on December 29, adding this letter to his growing number of letters of introduction.

 

On April 7, 1786, Moultrie wrote to Washington: “I have been highly honoured and particularly obliged by you, in introducing the Count De Castiglioni to me; I have found him a most agreeable & accomplished Gentleman; & as such, he has received every mark of polite attention from our Citizens; he expresses great satisfaction on his Visit to this State. The Count left this City a few days ago for Georgia & intends to take his rout through the interior Country, down to Mount Vernon, by which he will be able to add greatly to the information he is desirous of obtaining respecting the different States.”

 

In October 1788, Thomas Jefferson’s secretary William Short (1759-1849) wrote from Milan, Italy to Jefferson in Paris, “Count Castiglioni also, who out of gratitude for his treatment in America, seems attached to all Americans, desires I will recall him to your remembrance and assures me of his respect and friendship for you.... The Brother of Count Castiglioni seems one of the best and most friendly men I ever saw. He is a zealous botanist, and seems as much attached to American plants and trees as the Count is to Americans themselves.”

 

 

William Moultrie (1730-1805) was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was educated as a planter. He represented St. Helena Parish in the colonial assembly. In 1775, Moultrie received a commission as colonel of the 2nd South Carolina regiment of militia. In 1776, his defense of a fort on Sullivan’s Island prevented the British from taking Charleston. In return, he received promotion to brigadier general, and his regiment became part of the Continental Army. He was unable to prevent the British capture of Savannah in 1778, and in 1780, he was taken prisoner when British forces captured Charleston. Later exchanged, he served as a major general in 1782. From 1784 to 1785, he served as lieutenant governor of South Carolina, and the legislature twice elected him as governor, a position he held from 1785 to 1787 and from 1792 to 1794.

 

Luigi Castiglioni (1757-1832) was born in Milan, Italy, and displayed a strong interest in the natural sciences, especially botany. In 1784, he traveled through France and England. From late 1785 to 1787, Castiglioni visited the United States, where he developed an admiration for George Washington. In 1790, he published a two-volume work entitled Viaggio negli Stati Uniti dell’America Settentrionale fatto negli anni 1785, 1786 e 1787 con alcune osservazioni sui vegetabili più utili di quel paese (Travels to the United States of North America in the Years 1785, 1786 and 1787, Some Observations on the Most Useful Plants of that Country). At various times in his life he was Director of the Royal Mint, President of the Academy of Fine Arts of Milan, Senator of the Kingdom of Italy, Chamberlain of the Emperor of Austria, Chevalier of S. Stafeno, P.M., and a Knight of the Iron Crown.

 

 

 

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