July 22, 1776

Davis, Aaron, 1709-1777

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jonathan Medcalf

Letter discusses appointment of William Draper of Roxbury as captain of a company being raised for Canada. Also inquires about the amount and type of camp baggage available for the company. Letter written when the American forces were in retreat from Canada. American troops were forced to leave their siege of Quebec in May 1776 after the spring weather allowed British ships to bring reinforcements. They eventually fell back to Fort Ticonderoga.

GLC01412.22

1776

United States Lottery

Printed document signed

Title: [Revolutionary War era United States Continental lottery ticket]

Third class lottery ticket, numbered D5m276, signed by John Mease. Indicates the lottery authorized by a congressional resolution on 18 November 1776. The lottery was established to fund the Revolutionary War. Accompanied by letter about the lottery (see GLC01412.23.02).

GLC01412.23.01

September 23, 1778

Delany, Sharp, 1736-1799

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to Joseph Clarke

Letter cosigned by George Campbell as Sitting Manager of the United States Lottery. He assigns care of Rhode Island State lottery tickets to Clark.

GLC01412.24

September 1, 1778

Powell, Jeremiah, 1714-1789

Letter signed

Title: to Selectmen of Newburyport

Letter written by Powell as President of the Massachusetts Bay Council, which was the upper house of the legislature when the General Court was in session to the selectmen of Newburyport, a northern coastal town. The president of the council was always the most senior member of the legislature. He warns of a British fleet sighted near Boston, said to consist of 15 capital ships and seven frigates, and wants to give notice to neighboring towns so they can prepare.

GLC01412.25

August 20, 1780

Phillips, Samuel, 1752-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel Phillips Savage

Phillips discusses the amount of saltpeter he has left in the refining house, mill, and other buildings. States that the amount of gun powder he can produce weekly is uncertain because it depends on weather and other circumstances.

GLC01412.26

28 August 1782

Butler, Zebulon, 1731-1795

Document signed

Title: [Certificate of continental service for Peter Mix]

Certifies that Mix served in the "4th Connt Regt" during 1781. Written at "Camp."

GLC01412.27

June 13, 1779

Gates, Horatio, 1727-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson

Letter written by Major General Gates as commander of the Eastern Department to Colonel Jackson as commander of one of the "16 Additional Continental Regiments" raised at large after December 1776. Each regiment was named for its Colonel, with Jackson's being renamed the 16th Massachusetts in January 1781. Warns of British embarkation in Newport. Approves of Jackson's apprehension of "The Conventioner." Says he is secured and will be treated "as he Deserves." References receiving letter of news of enemy movement off Point Judith. Large tears repaired.

GLC01412.29

22 November 1776

Weare, Meshech, 1713-1786

Document signed

Title: to the keeper of the goal in the county of Hillsborough

Weare signs as Chairman of the New Hampshire Committee of Safety. Prisoner transfer document to the keeper of the jail in Hillsborough County. Includes names of Tory prisoners from New York who were "violently disaffected with the Measures pursuing by the American States" that are being moved to New Hampshire. Also includes instructions to the keeper on what to do with the prisoners.

GLC01412.30

May 29, 1775

Green, Robert, fl. 1775

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his brother

Letter cosigned by Mary Green. Says he has been in bad health for the past five weeks. He hopes to get better by the grace of God. Says their sister has a new daughter three months old. References a letter that came from several brothers and sisters. He hopes he will remember him to them all. Goes into his belief in faith and God. Says the country "Is In a uproar" and that "the peapel" have been taken "the kings forts" of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Says the Revolutionaries have taken the shipping in the "Lake" - probably Champlain. Says they had a small fight with the regulars. The…

GLC01412.31

15 September 1780

Penhallow, John, 1692-1735

Document signed

Title: [Privateer document for outfitting ship]

Cosigned by Joshua Wentworth, John Langston, Jacob Treadwell, Nathan Sherburne, Woodbury Langdon, and W. Gardner. Describes the privateers' prize division between parties.

GLC01412.32

30 June 1775

Wentworth, John, 1737-1820

Document signed

Title: [Marriage certificate for officer and wife]

Partially printed marriage certificate signed by Wentworth as "Captain-General, Governor and Commander in Chief" over the Colony of New Hampshire. For the marriage of Colonel Jonathan Titcomb and Sarah Stedman. Numbered 335. The docket says they were married on 13 July 1775.

GLC01412.33

November 7, 1781

Alexander, William, 1726-1783

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to all concerned

Signs as Major General. Requests that commissaries in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts supply provisions to Major Scott and his recruits while on recruiting service.

GLC01412.34

18 November 1780

McDougall, Alexander, 1732-1786

Document signed

Title: [Order of arrest for Benjamin Stevens]

General McDougall orders the arrest of Stevens for his refusal to deliver provisions to the hospital waggoner. He is also ordered to be arrested because his previous receipts for the hospital were for indefinite quantities. Docketed "arrested by a madman."

GLC01412.35

14 July 1774

Carleton, Guy, 1724-1808

Document signed

Title: [Document to supply clothing for troops]

Witnessed by Doubleday and another illegible signature. Carleton appoints Alexander Adair and Henry Bullock of Charing Cross as his attorneys to contract for the clothing provided for Carleton's 47th Regiment of Foot. Document sealed with Carleton's signet. Bears Carleton's red, wax official seal.

GLC01412.36

December 8, 1775

Ward, Henry, 1732-1797

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his sisters

Ward writes that he has begun taking garlic and honey for health. Also writes that some supplies had come in including gun powder, muskets, wine, brandy, and coffee. States that he is concerned by the lack of interest among the troops in Cambridge. However, Massachusetts and New Hampshire plan to send a combined total of 5,000 troops to march to Cambridge. Addresses letter on address leaf to Mrs. Isabel Marchant.

GLC01412.37

11 April 1777

Percy, Hugh, 1742-1817

Autograph document signed

Title: [Pass signed for Colonel Wightman]

Written by British Lieutenant General Percy as commander in Rhode Island. Pass allowing Colonel George Wightman "& such Persons as he shall take with him" to go to Narraganset Shore by the way of Connecticut, having obtained leave for that purpose. Marked simply as "Head Quarters," but Percy assumed command of Rhode Island after General Sir Henry Clinton went on leave to England, and Newport inferred as place written because it was the main base of British operations there. Percy returned to England in June 1777 after many disagreements with General Howe and eventually succeeded his…

GLC01412.38

July 18, 1780

Paine, Thomas, 1725-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel Adams

Paine sympathizes with Dr. Adams' loss of his son and attempts to console his friend. Complains of a lack of support for the state from the people. Feels that a good militia will never exist while the people choose their officers. States that he is pleased with the constitution and agrees, with Adams, that there is no better group of framers. He invites Dr. and Mrs. Adams to spend a few days with him in Massachusetts.

GLC01412.39

13 May 1775

Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745-1807

Autograph document signed

Title: [Order of payment to Israel Putnam]

Countersigned by Isreal Putnam, of Bunker Hill fame, on verso. Cosigned by William Pitkin, Thomas Seymour (who was mayor of Hartford from 1774-1812), and Oliver Ellsworth (when this was signed he was a member of the Connecticut legislature and later U.S. Senator and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), of the Pay-Table Committee in Connecticut. The committee was responsible for raising money for the colony during the Revolution. To the Treasurer of Connecticut, John Lawrence. Authorizes payment of 500 pounds to Colonel Putnam as paymaster of the First Company of the Third Regiment of troops…

GLC01412.40

April 17, 1777

Boudinot, Elias, 1740-1821

Letter signed

Title: to Richard Caswell

Boudinot, as Commissary General of Prisoners, asks North Carolina Governor Caswell to send a return on expenses, disbursements, vouchers, and other statistics on prisoners in the state to balance accounts so that prisoner exchanges with General Sir William Howe can be facilitated.

GLC01412.41

29 May 1781

Stark, John, 1728-1822

Document signed

Title: [Charges to the confiscated estate of John Stinson, Jr.]

Countersigned by Jeremiah Page, Justice of the Peace of Dunbarton, New Hampshire, on verso. Bill written by Brigadier General Stark of New Hampshire. A conspicuous war hero, Stark served gallantly at Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Bennington and commanded the Northern Department twice during the Revolution. The bill was sent to the agents for the estate of Stark's Loyalist nephew, John Stinson, Jr., whose estate was confiscated by the Americans. Stark raised and educated Stinson and took him to Cambridge, Massachusetts at the beginning of the Revolution and when the fighting moved to New York,…

GLC01412.42

January 15, 1779

Lewis, Morgan, 1754-1844

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Isaac Goes

Lewis, an American officer, discusses with Major Goes the purchase of oars, poles, and paddles. He includes specific instructions on the amount to purchase and what types. He asks that Goes get at least half of the supplies ready by the first of April.

GLC01412.43

December 12, 1779

Van Cortlandt, Philip, 1749-1831

Document signed

Title: [Return muster roll for the New York brigade]

Return of the non-commissioned officers and privates of the New York Brigade of foot commanded by James Clinton. Includes terms of service of those engaged for the period 1780-1782.

GLC01412.44

27 July 1778

Sullivan, James, 1744-1808

Document signed

Title: [Appointment & bond of Tristram Jordan]

Co-signed by Rishworth Jordan, Thomas Cutts, and Tristram Jordan. Witnessed by Sullivan and Elisha Allen. States that Tristram Jordan, Cutts, and Rishworth Jordan are bound to Henry Gardner Esq. (treasurer of the state of Massachusetts) for the amount of five hundred pounds. However, the bond will be void if Tristram Jordan "well and truly executes the office of a naval officer for the District of Peperrelborough" to which he is appointed.

GLC01412.45

14 October 1783

Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809

Document signed

Title: [Certificate of capture]

Written by Jackson as Colonel of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment (he was breveted a Brigadier General on 30 September 1783). Countersigned by Thomas Ivers, Massachusetts State Treasurer on verso. Note on verso written by Major Moses Ashley on 12 January 1784. Jackson certifies the capture of Asa Whitney, William Powell, and Nathan Smith (alias Wait), deserters from the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, by Ashley. Says Ashley is entitled to the reward for their captured. Note on verso is a reminder to the government "to pay what I am entitled to." There are several dockets, one of which says the…

GLC01412.46

January 14, 1779

Grayson, William, 1736-1790

Document signed

Title: [Legal agreement for sale of land]

Co-signed with William Trent on verso. Witnessed by Francis Lee, Cornelius C. Roosevelt, and an illegible name. Legal agreement made for the transfer of ownership of Indian land. Made between Colonel William Grayson, a wealthy Virginia landowner and Revolutionary hero of the Battle of Monmouth (and a future Congressman) and Major William Trent of New Jersey in which Trent will sell "Nine Hundred Shares or three Votes and the Lands which the said Nine Hundred Shares or three votes entitles a Person to in the Retribution Grant made by the Six Nations to their Traders at Fort Stanwix" in 1768.…

GLC01412.47