Count Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin (1739-1791) was the lover, Prime Minister and possibly the secret husband of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia from 1726-1796. After distinguishing himself in the first Turkish War, he directed Russian policy and proved himself an able and astute administrator with particular responsibility for the south. He gained the Crimea for Russia, constructed the Black Sea Fleet and built the harbour at Sebastopol. This letter refers to the Kherson arsenal which had been annexed from Turkey in 1774. The dam was part of the massive Kherson defences being threatened by the Ottoman Empire. He was placed at the head of the army in the second Turkish War in 1787.