17 August 1793

Cleaveland, Moses, 1754-1806

Autograph document signed

Title: [Return of regimental staff for the 21st Connecticut militia]

Cleaveland signs as Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 21st militia.

GLC02499.03

23 May 1775

Ward, Artemas, 1727-1800

Letter signed

Title: to Jedediah Foster

Written by General Ward as commander-in-chief of the army outside Boston to Colonel Foster. Says the bearer of this, Mr. Wood, was lately at Worcester and learned that the selectmen of the town are "binding out" people that can be called friends of the government if they will not join the army. Says it is extraordinary and unjustifiable conduct if it is true. Hopes he will take Wood's information and investigate the situation, claiming "I doubt not you will consult the Safety of the Individuals as well as of the Community."

GLC02499.17

30 December 1794

Barry, John, 1745-1803

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Seagrove

Commodore Barry tells Seagrove that the militia who suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania has arrived home safe. Also indicates that he sent receipts with this letter (not included). Written from Strawberry Hill, Barry's near Philadelphia.

GLC02500.02

16 April 1776

Hawley, Joseph, 1723–1788

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elbridge Gerry

Criticizes the use of prohibited tea. Mentions sending Gerry a memento. Comments that regiments are ineffective without "a man of Judgment and Spirit" leading them. A long postscript discusses Artemas Ward's resignation (because of poor health) from his position as the commanding major general in the Continental Army in April, 1776, and his sensitivity to issues relating to liberty and property. Also mentions quartering soldiers.

GLC02505.23

4 December 1807

Randolph, John, 1773-1833

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Joseph Scott

Written by Randolph as a U.S. Congressman from Virginia to Major Scott. In his carelessness, says he forgot to ask Scott to procure supplies for Roanoke. Said if he had gone to Petersburg he would have bought them there because they are cheaper, but he was unable to go. Says that yesterday they were on the point of a legislative victory for arming the militia. Fears it will be "snatched from our hands by an adjournment." Wax seal partially extent.

GLC02505.37

15 June 1692

Phips, William, 1651-1695

Document signed

Title: [Commission of Penn Townsend as captain of a foot company in the Boston militia].

Countersigned by Secretary of the Province Isaac Addington. Townsend was a merchant in Boston who was active in the administration of the province. Signed as first Royal Governor of Massachusetts. 1 seated black and white engraving of Sir William Phips.

GLC02468.20

26 June 1861

Cobb, Howell, 1815-1868

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Cobb discusses organizing a regiment and procuring arms. Reports that he will return to Georgia (Athens) the following morning, to put his regiment in the field. Marked private. Says "I have [offered?] a regiment & it has been accepted- I have more to ask a great personal favor of you- Can & Will you serve me in the matter? I want arms- & I have reason to believe that a friend... could procure some for me in your state- I should like to get five hundred guns but would gladly take any number I can get. I appeal to you to get from your Governor as many as he is willing to spare-"

GLC02469.04

circa 1862-1864

Letcher, John, 1813-1884

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Zebulon Baird Vance

Letcher, Governor of Virginia (1860-1864) replies to a note from Vance, Governor of North Carolina (1862-1865). Discusses Colonel James P. Dillard, 70th Regiment, North Carolina militia. Writes, "On enquiry I can hear nothing of the criminal therein mentioned. If he can be found and arrested, I will cheerfully deliver him to you on requisition. I will most cheerfully unite with you in all efforts to arrest deserters and return them to their commands." Relates that many deserters are along the line between Virginia and North Carolina. Written on State of Virginia, Executive Department…

GLC02469.11

27 November 1776

Schuyler, Philip John, 1733-1804

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Duane

Written by Major General Schuyler to Duane as a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. References Duane's letter that was delivered 26 November. Says he had to abandon the fortress on York Island because the enemy's strength was overwhelming. Defends his actions as the best he could have done in the situation confronting him. Compares himself favorably to Washington's defeat in New York in August 1776 saying "I wish Gen: Washington had adhered to his own opinion and rejected the Intemporate advice of people of more prowess than Wisdom. In such a situation of ours It is now Eligible…

GLC02544

6 August 1777

Hancock, John, 1737-1793

Document signed

Title: [Resolve of Congress on General Gates's call for militia]

Written in the hand of William Churchill Houston as deputy secretary of the Continental Congress. Signed by Continental Congress President Hancock. It is noted that this is a copy from the Journals of Congress. Resolve issued in the aftermath of the fall of Fort Ticonderoga to the British. On 2 August 1777 Gates was given the permission of Congress to requisition from each state's militia the number of men he felt was necessary to defend against General John Burgoyne's advance. This resolve was sent to help Gates in his recruitment saying it is "impossible, in the present Circumstances of…

GLC02525

9 April 1796

Jay, John, 1745-1829

Document signed

Title: [Appointment of William North to New York militia]

Signed by Jay as Governor of New York, countersigned by Lewis A. Scott as Secretary. Document appoints North as a Major Commandant of a Battalion of Militia in the County of Albany, New York. Note on verso, dated 16 July 1796, and signed by "R. Lush" as "Clk. & one of the Commisr &c." Note says that North was qualified as a Major, agreeable to law. Embossed paper on recto.

GLC02542.13

12 November 1751

Goodwin, Samuel, fl. 1751-1773

Autograph document signed

Title: [Document empowering John North to protect lands of Plymouth proprietors]

Goodwin empowers Captain John North to do what he feels is necessary to protect lands belonging to the Plymouth proprietors. Tells him if someone wants to lease it for a year they will need a bond of performance of 1000 pounds. Says that of any wood cut on the property, the proprietors will have one shilling a cord. Also says to give Mr. Daniel Night a lease of Damers Cove Island on the same conditions. Says the yearly rent is four pounds.

GLC02542.24

February 14, 1776

Massachusetts Bay Council

Printed document signed

Title: [Commission of Joseph North as Colonel in 2nd Regiment of Massachusetts militia from Lincoln County]

Partially printed document signed Perez Morton as deputy secretary of the council. Signers from the Massachusetts Bay Council include: W. Severs, W. Spooner, John Winthrop, Thomas Cushing, Moses Gill, John Whitcomb, James Prescott, Eliad Taylor, Michael Farley, Jabez Fisher, B. White, John Taylor, J. Palmero, B. Greenleaf, and Dr. Samuel Holten. A manuscript note on the verso indicates that North took the oath of service required by the appointment, witnessed by Wiliam Howard and [C. Dalteg]. Also signed on verso by Hannah E. North and William H. Bridge. Includes a paper seal.

GLC02542.25

February 21, 1781

Painter, L., fl. 1781

Document signed

Title: [Enlistment document for volunteers in company of William Van Dueser]

Signed by 23 men to show they have voluntarily enlisted in the company of artillery under the command of William Van Dueser to serve as a guard for the town of New Haven, Connecticut until the first day of 1782. Several people signed their name, but were scratched off the list later. It appears that the document was created by Lieutenant Painter since his signature is below a note that states "those Inlisted the First of January together with myself Jany 1 1781." Related to GLC02542.30.

GLC02542.28

1 June 1781

Hunt, John, fl. 1782

Document signed

Title: [Enlistment document for volunteers in company of William Van Dueser]

Signed by 8 men to show they have voluntarily enlisted in the company of artillery under the command of William Van Dueser to serve as a guard for the town of New Haven, Connecticut until the first day of 1782. Related to GLC02542.28.

GLC02542.30

January 18, 1863

Southgate, William Wallace, 1834-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to R. W. Southgate

Written by a soldier in the 12th Vermont Militia. Argues that soldiers generally oppose the emancipation of enslaved people. Mentions James Ewell Brown [Jeb] Stuart's Cavalry charge upon them but says it did not turn into anything as they were rerouted. Envelope dimensions 6.5 x 10.8 cm. Graphic language warning: Includes expletive racial slurs when referring to Black people.

GLC02617

January 27, 1862

Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh, 1822-1905

Letter signed

Title: to Charles Stewart

Written in camp near Edward's Ferry (possibly in Virginia). Dana, Colonel and Acting Inspector General, writes to Stewart, Assistant Adjutant General, Corps of Observation. Supports unspecified charges against Colonel George W. B. Tompkins, 2nd New York State Militia. Includes notes concerning Tompkins's muster and pay rolls for Company B to be used as evidence. Also encloses the pay accounts of Tompkins (not included). Numbered "52" at the top.

GLC02464.02

1775

Haring, John, 1739-1809

Document signed

Title: Printed form for appointment of New York militia officer [blank]

[Continental Congress members]

GLC02471.18

1828

Binns, John, 1772-1860

Pamphlet

Title: Monumental Inscriptions.

8 images of fictitious funeral monuments, each to a man executed by Jackson. The first six are for Tennessee militiamen executed in February 1815, after the Battle of New Orleans, for being deserters. The last two are for John Woods, a mutineer Jackson had executed during the Creek War. The imagined tombstones bear inscriptions detailing how each was a good man and soldier, and regardless of this, was "By the Orders of General Andrew Jackson, Shot to Death." Each monument was supposedly erected on 4 July, 1828. One reminds the reader "Let not the splendor of Military renown Blot out…

GLC08460

21 November 1862

Hershman, J.T., fl. 1862

Newspaper

Title: Camden confederate. [Vol. 2, no. 4 (November 21, 1862)]

Schedule of the South Carolina Railroad. Proclamation of Governor Francis Wilkinson Pickens, including 10 resolutions ordering all "white residents" to be put under arms in a militia immediately and the draft of all men ages 18 to 45. Asked to be printed twice in the newspapers. Letter to the editor is glad that the patrol system has been kept up without compulsion. Description of the reception and burial of General J. B. Villepigue, his staff, and 10 privates in Camden. Also two short articles: one on the death of Lieutenant Edward P. Niles and another on the body of Lieutenant H. M.…

GLC08494

17 April 1810

Young, Alexander, 1768-1834

Newspaper

Title: New-England palladium. [Vol. 35, no. 31 (April 17, 1810)]

Co-published with Thomas Minns (1773-1836). Front page contains advertisements, an update on the militia law passed by the Massachusetts legislature, and foreign news on France and Holland. A column of news from other newspapers on page 2. Notice of the importation of 45 merino sheep into Massachusetts. News of the election of Colonel James Monroe to the Virginia Legislature from Albemarle. An extract from his speech on the occasion says he would only reluctantly criticize the administrations of Jefferson and Madison, but that he would not wave his right to do so if it would help his…

GLC08725.05

1809

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Pamphlet

Title: Message from the President... A statement of the militia....

GLC08698

2 July 1862

Ing, John H., 1819-1901

Printed document signed

Title: to Edwin M. Stanton

Ing, a Baltimore attorney, offers a plan to bring the Maryland militia into the service of the Union. Indicates that 5,000 volunteers and 10,000-15,000 "Home Guards" could be ready in 30-60 days. Also states that he suggested the same plan to Governor Thomas Hicks after the Battle of Bull Run. Asks for a personal interview and seeks to further serve the government.

GLC08406

October 28, 1779

Paca, William, 1740-1799

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William Homsley

Written by Paca as a state senator in Maryland to Homsley, a resident of Queen Anne County, Maryland. Discusses the market for barley and tries to negotiate a sale with Homsley. Mentions that the enemy's light horse have made an excursion into New Jersey. They have caused mischief with the principle damage being the burning of a courthouse (the town's name is illegible). Says he received a letter from a colonel of militia that says he captured a British colonel and three privates after they had their horses shot from under them.

GLC00138

October 8, 1781

McKean, Thomas, 1734-1817

Letter signed

Title: to Joseph Reed

Written by McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as President of the Confederation Congress to Reed as President of the supreme executive council in Pennsylvania. Says that Brigadier General William Irvine (McKean has written Irwine) sets out tomorrow to take command of Fort Pitt and might need the assistance of the local militia. Sends along a copy of Irvine's instructions (not included here). Says he "rests assured" that every measure of support will be given to Irvine by the militia. Written 11 days before the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown.

GLC00131