Description:

Washington George



Important Washington Signed Document Honoring Benjamin Heywood, Harvard graduate, who Fought at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and then joined the Continental Army

 

 

Large engraved signed document, 22" x 15.75" (by sight). Electing "Captain Benjamin Heywood" to be a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.  Dated the "Fifth Day of May, 1784". Signed by George Washington as President "G Washington", and countersigned by Henry Knox as Secretary "H Knox". Document lightly toned with strong vibrant engraving. Signatures are light as almost always, but unrestored and very readable. Framed to a completed size of 23.5" x 18".

 

A superb extremely wide margined example (these are usually trimmed quite close), signed by Washington, honoring Benjamin Heywood to become a member of the prestigious Society of the Cincinnati. Heywood was entrenched in the Revolution from the very start having attended Harvard (1771), during the rising tensions with the British authorities which ultimately took equal prominence in his life. Having joined the university's first military organization, the Marti-Mercurian Band, he reportedly took part in fighting the British during the Lexington and Concord crisis on April 19, 1775. After graduating from Harvard in 1775, Heywood joined the Continental Army, rising to the rank of Captain in 1776 as a part of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment, also known as the 4th Continental Regiment (which was originally raised on April 23, 1775 one week after the battle at Lexington and Concord). Benjamin Heywood- Served as lieutenant, captain from December 1775 until June 1783, as well as earning an appointment as paymaster attached to Col. Nixon's regiment. The 6th Regiment was located outside of Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, New York Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton and the Battle of Saratoga. The regiment was furloughed June 12, 1783, at West Point, New York and disbanded on November 3, 1783.

 

 

This document honors Heywood by granting membership to the Society of Cincinnati. The concept of the Society of the Cincinnati was that of Major General Henry Knox. The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 at a dinner at Mount Gulian (Verplanck House) in Fishkill, New York, before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Colonial Alexander Hamilton, and the participants agreed to stay in contact with each other after the war. Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy; it included officers of the French Army and Navy above certain ranks. Officers in the Continental Line who died during the War were also entitled to be recorded as members, and membership would devolve to their eldest male heir. Members of the considerably larger fighting forces comprising the Colonial Militias and Minutemen were not entitled to join the Society. Within 12 months of the founding, a constituent Society had been organized in each of the 13 states and in France. Of about 5,500 men originally eligible for membership, 2,150 had joined within a year. 

 

An important Washington signed document honoring a Harvard alum, who fought from the very beginning of the Revolutionary War as a part of Harvard's local military organization (The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War)  -  And within weeks of that battle signed up for the Continental army, fighting until we won our Independence.



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