Description:

Revolutionary War
Lebanon, CT, September 26, 1777
General James Wadsworth Signed Order for Cannon Powder
ADS

Revolutionary War. Autograph Document Signed, "Attest James Wadsworth Clerk," 1p, 7.5" x 4", Lebanon, Connecticut, September 26, 1777. Docketing on verso. Expected folds and creases. Unevenly cut bottom edge. Minor toning. In near fine condition.

To Elderkin and Wales at Windham, in full: "Deliver to Capt. Daniel Tyler of Pomfret twenty five Pounds weight of Cannon Powder to prove the Field Pieces at Pomfret and charge the Same in Accts. By Order of the Governor and Council of Safety." Endorsed on verso by Nathaniel Wales.

Jedediah Elderkin (1718-1793) was commissioned colonel of the 15th Regiment of Connecticut militia in May 1775, but it was as a procurer of munitions and other supplies for the army, not as a field commander, that he contributed most to the American cause. A silk producer as well as a lawyer before the war, Elderkin undertook a very different type of manufacturing in December 1775 when he joined Captain Nathaniel Wales, Jr. (1733-1810) in erecting a powder mill. The Windham Powder Mill was established at the urging of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, and manufactured most of the powder used by the Continental army in their mills in Windham.

James Wadsworth III (1730-1816) was an American lawyer from Durham, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale College in 1748, he became clerk of Durham from 1756 to 1786. Initially a brigadier general of the Connecticut militia during the Revolutionary War, after the death of David Wooster in 1777 he became the major general of militia and the second-highest ranked militia officer in the state. After the war, Wadsworth became a justice of the New Haven County Court of Common Pleas. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786, Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1784 to 1785, a member of the Connecticut Executive Council from 1785 to 1790, and as a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors from 1787 to 1788.

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: 7.5" x 4"
  • Medium: ADS

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