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Lot 233
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Benjamin Franklin With Gold & Silver Coins Procures Supplies for Braddock’s Disastrous Expedition to Pittsburgh! PSA Slabbed and Graded NM- MINT 8
Benjamin Franklin With Gold & Silver Coins Procures Supplies for Braddock’s Disastrous Expedition to Pittsburgh! PSA Slabbed and Graded NM- MINT 8
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Description:

Benjamin Franklin
[Lancaster, PA?], April 23, [1755]
Benjamin Franklin With Gold & Silver Coins Procures Supplies for Braddock's Disastrous Expedition to Pittsburgh! PSA Slabbed and Graded NM- MINT 8
ADS

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Autograph Document Signed in Text, Account, April 23, [1755], [Lancaster, PA?]. 1 p., 6.5" x 4.25". Slabbed; general toning; very good. Purchased from leading autograph dealer Kenneth Rendell in 1974 for $1,500. It is interesting to note for comparison purposes that at this time Lincoln signed endorsements sold for around $400, typically today they fetch around $10,000!

Benjamin Franklin prepared this account in the spring of 1755 as he undertook a project to acquire wagons and horses for General Edward Braddock's Expedition against the French at the modern site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the French and Indian War. The account lists the balance due to Franklin of approximately £200 that he spent in addition to the £800 he received from Braddock.

When Braddock reached Frederick, Maryland, on April 21, he learned that he had 20 wagons, instead of the promised 200, and 200 horses instead of the promised 2,500. Franklin and his son had traveled to Frederick to arrange postal service for the army, but also to remove some of the suspicions and prejudices that Braddock had toward the Quaker government of Pennsylvania. When Franklin mentioned that it was a pity Braddock had not landed in Pennsylvania, where every farmer had a wagon, Braddock replied, "Then you, Sir, who are a man of Interest there, can probably procure them for us; and I beg you will undertake it." Franklin accepted the commission, for which he received approximately £800 for expenses. He had a broadside addressed to Pennsylvania farmers printed in Lancaster on April 26, and within a week, Franklin had procured 150 wagons and 260 horses, with more arriving daily. Braddock later wrote to Franklin that while Virginia and Maryland had promised everything but performed nothing, Pennsylvania had promised nothing but done everything. Braddock's secretary wrote to the Pennsylvania Provincial Council, "With the Assistance we have had from Mr. Franklin, who is almost the only Person to whom the Genl. is indebted for either Waggons or Horses, we hope to get over the Mountains." Franklin also aided Braddock by soliciting forage from Pennsylvania farmers and laborers to work on the road Braddock's army needed to proceed westward.

Franklin spent the money on printing the broadside and small advances to a variety of farmers for their wagons and horses. With the £200 of his own money that he spent on horses, Franklin spent a total of "upwards of one thousand pounds sterling," for which he sent Braddock an account. Fortunately for Franklin, Braddock sent an order on the paymaster for the amount of £1,000, leaving the balance to the next account. Braddock's death left Franklin unable to obtain the remainder of his own money that he spent on behalf of the expedition.

The account lists Maryland Bills, pistoles, joannes, gold, and silver, and provides totals in pounds, shillings, and pence. Like other British colonies in North America, Maryland used paper money known as "bills of credit" to address the colony's financial needs and serve as a medium of exchange. Pistoles were Spanish gold coins in use since the sixteenth century. By the first half of the eighteenth century, it was one of the most common circulating coins and served as a primary medium of exchange. It was worth approximately 18 shillings. Joannes (or johannas) were Portuguese gold coins minted in Brazil that featured an image of King John V of Portugal. Though not as common as Spanish coins, the joannes were part of the diverse currency of colonial America.

Complete Transcript
April 23. By Maryland Bills & Pistoles £196.0.6
By 47 Ounces of Gold containing 215½ Pistoles at 27/ and a Joannes at £5.5.0 296.13.6
By 720 Ounces of Silver containg 834 Dollars at 7/6 312.15.0
Balance due to B Franklin, being Money advanced by him more than received for the service 199.17.8½
£1005:6:8½

Historical Background
In the summer of 1755, General Edward Braddock (1695-1755) led a British force of 2,100 British regular and provincial troops in an attempt to capture the French Fort Duquesne, established in 1754 at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at the current site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As the commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America, Braddock led the main offensive against the French as part of the global Seven Years' War (French and Indian War in British North America). Braddock's force departed Fort Cumberland in western Maryland, in three divisions between June 7 and 10, 1755, but faced the logistical challenge of moving equipment, cannon, supplies, and men through densely wooded forests and across the Allegheny Mountains, a journey of approximately 110 miles.

Among those in Braddock's force was George Washington, whom Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie had promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia Regiment the previous summer. However, in this campaign, Washington served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Braddock with no official position in the chain of command. Washington's white body servant, John Alton (d. 1785), also accompanied him.

Braddock had sent Washington from Fort Cumberland on May 15, 1755, to Hampton, Virginia, to obtain funds for the expedition from William Johnston, Braddock's deputy paymaster general. By the end of May, Washington had returned to Fort Cumberland. He departed with Braddock on June 10. After leaving Fort Cumberland, Braddock's force determined to leave behind some wagons and employ more pack horses to speed their progress.

Braddock insisted on clearing a road to the fort that he hoped to take and defend. The forces at Fort Duquesne included about 250 French marines and Canadian militia, together with about 640 Native American allies camped outside the fort. On July 9, Braddock's men crossed the Monongahela River about ten miles south of Fort Duquesne.

When some of his advanced forces came unexpectedly upon French forces, the Battle of the Monongahela began. After several hours of intense combat along the forest road, Braddock was shot off his horse. Washington managed to impose some order and form a rear guard, allowing the British to disengage and earning him the sobriquet "Hero of the Monongahela." Just over a week later, Washington wrote to his mother, "I luckily escapd with[ou]t a wound, tho' I had four Bullets through my Coat, and two Horses shot under me." During the long retreat, General Braddock died of his wounds. Of Braddock's force of approximately 1,400 at the battle, 456 were killed and 422 wounded. In sharp contrast, the French and their Native American allies lost approximately 30 killed and 57 wounded.

With the end of the disastrous campaign, many farmers sought compensation for their lost wagons and animals. Braddock's wagon-master took all of his records to Albany, New York, making compensation much more difficult, and a few farmers even sued Franklin personally. Eventually, General William Shirley, who replaced Braddock as British commander-in-chief in North America, and Pennsylvania Governor Robert Hunter Morris appointed a commission to settle the accounts of the owners of the wagons, teams, and horses used in the expedition. They completed their work in the winter and spring of 1756.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 6.5" x 4.25"
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