Description:

McKean Thomas

Declaration Signer Thomas McKean Signs Document Re: Rev. War Financier Oliver Pollack's Prison Sentence

Single page partially printed document signed, 13" x 4.25". From "The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania … for the county of Cumberland …". Dated "September 15, 1799", and signed by Declaration Signer Thomas McKean as "Tho McKean". May come from the upper portion of a larger document. Lightly toned with expected folds. Extensive manuscript on the verso noting the person identified in the document: "Oliver Pollock in our prison under our custody detained together with the day + cause of his being taken retained by whatsoever name the said Oliver is Charged in the same under the safe + secure conduct we have before the justices of the Supreme Court at the day + place within contained, as within we are commanded. The Residue of the Execution of this writ appears by a certain schedule hereto annexed."

A superb document with a lovely dark signature by Thomas McKean. The document mentions the imprisonment of Oliver Pollack, a merchant and financier of the American Revolutionary War, of which he has long been considered a historically undervalued figure. He is often attributed with the creation of the U.S. Dollar sign in 1778. In 1777 he was appointed "commercial agent of the United States at New Orleans", making him the representative of the colonies in the city. He used his fortune to finance American operations in the west, and the successful campaign of General George Rogers Clark in Illinois 1778 occurred with his financial support. In the same year he borrowed $70,000 from Spanish Louisiana's Governor, but the financial needs of the country at the time left him in a loss. In September of that year Pollock introduced Col. David Rogers and Capt. Robert Benham to the Governor. Rogers was delivering an important letter from Patrick Henry from Virginia. This meeting led to Spain joining the War against England. Pollock served as Gálvez's aide-de-camp during the Spanish campaign against the British that began with the Spanish declaration of war in June 1779. Gálvez and the Spanish troops swept through the future states of Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, defeating the British with the capture of Fort Bute and campaigning through the victorious seige of Pensacola in 1781.

In 1783 he was appointed an agent by the United States in Havana, where he would be imprisoned for his debts a year later, amounting to $150,000. In 1785 he was released on parole and returned to Philadelphia, where he met a sympathetic Robert Morris, another financier of the war who had also incurred debts as a result. Morris however had collected a sum of money to buy Pollock time from his debtors. Both Congress and the state of Virginia had continually refused to clear his debts from the war, until 1791 when Congress passed an act discharging them, but in the same year he would return in poverty to Cumberland County.

A fantastic document, albeit somewhat ironic, regarding the fate of one of the financiers of the Revolutionary War.

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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