To George Washington from Thomas Bee, 14 January 1793
From Thomas Bee
Charleston [S.C.] 14 January 1793.
Dear Sir
The Office of Surveyor of the Customs for this Port being vacant by the death of Mr Weyman1—I have presumed once more to trouble your Excellency & to Sollicit you, in favor of my Brother Joseph Bee, who has by the Events of the War lost the greatest part, if not the whole of a very handsome property, and has now a Wife and three Children to support—he was one of those who was captured at the fall of Charleston in 1780, & from his known Opposition to the British, sent among others to St Augustine, after his Exchange, he joined the Southern Army as a Volunteer in Col. [William] Washingtons Cavalry, where he continued in constant service, until the Evacuation of this Town.2
Mr Izard & major Butler will be able to give any further information that may be deemed requisite,3 with sentiments of the greatest Esteem & respect I remain your Excellencys most Obt & very hume Servant
Tho. Bee
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. For an earlier report of Edward Weyman, Sr.’s death, see Edward Weyman, Jr., to GW, 10 Jan. 1793.
2. Joseph Bee (1746–1815), who had supplied provisions to the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, was arrested by the British after the surrender of Charleston in 1780 and was exiled to St. Augustine. Exchanged in the summer of 1781, Bee served in the South Carolina senate in 1782. At the end of the war in 1783, Bee owned 1,200 acres in St. Paul Parish, 400 acres in St. Bartholomew Parish, and forty-three slaves.
3. U.S. Senator Pierce Butler of South Carolina wrote GW on 6 Feb. about Joseph Bee’s interest in this position. No letter of recommendation from South Carolina’s other senator, Ralph Izard, has been found. GW nominated Edward Weyman, Jr., not Bee, as the surveyor and inspector of the port at Charleston on 18 Feb. 1793.