Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Hancock, John, 1737-1793 Resolution in Congress 27th Dec. 1776 investing Genl Washington with certain powers [fragment]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05611 Author/Creator: Hancock, John, 1737-1793 Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 27 December 1776 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 31.6 cm, Width: 20.5 cm Order a Copy

Final page of document conferring extraordinary power on Washington. For six months he is granted the power "to fill up all Vacancies in every other Department in the American Armies; to take wherever he may be, whatever he may want for the Use of the Army...to arrest and confine Persons who refuse to take the Continental Currency, or are otherwise disaffected to the American Cause." The lost portion of the document confers on Washington other powers as well. It is possible this document was being sent to Washington himself, then intercepted by the British. Title from docket. Transcript for the full document available in collateral file.

Hancock, John, 1737-1797
Washington, George, 1732-1799

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources