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1853 · 0007667 — Philadelphia: Privately Printed by C. Sherman 1853. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 12mo 336 pages original cloth spine lightly sunned. Scarce. <br/><br/>Londoner Esther De Berdt married an American lawyer and re-located to Philadelphia in 1770. As part of the Philadelphia gentry she met many of the important Colonists including Gen. George Washington. Initially opposed she warmed to the cause of independence. Her husband Joseph became Washington's aide and secretary and eventually a general and still later Governor of Pennsylvania. Esther meanwhile headed the Ladies of Philadelphia and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Continental Army. She dies at age 34 in 1780 failing to see the success that crowned her efforts. Much of this text is in the form of letters. She was one of the outstanding women of the American Revolution. Privately Printed by C. Sherman hardcover