Description:

Welles Gideon 1802 - 1878 Gideon Welles as Connecticut Comptroller investigates Revolutionary War veteran pension claims.

Two early 19th C. documents, the first an ALS with Gideon Welles's clerical signature, and the second a 3pp AMS addressed to Gideon Welles. Both documents concern requests for further information regarding Revolutionary War service.

The first document is a 1pp ALS with integral holographic address leaf clerically signed "Respectfully Yours &c. Gideon Welles Comptroller by Edwin Benjamin" at center. Dated September 7, 1835 from Hartford, Connecticut, Welles responded by way of a secretary to one "Anson Brown esq., Post Master, Austerlitz Co y., N. York" regarding the Revolutionary War service of three individuals named Gillet, Gay, and Wadsworth. The letter is in near fine condition, and the address leaf bears philatelic markings from Hartford. There are expected folds and minor loss to areas corresponding to the wax seal. There is a small .75" long tear along a fold mark on the right edge near bottom.

The second document, a 3pp bifold AMS dated January 9, 1844, reflects a chain of correspondence exchanged between Comptroller Gideon Welles and one Arad Joy of Ovid, Seneca County, New York. It is addressed to "Hon. Gideon Wells, Comptroller, Hartford, Connecticut" and signed "I am Dr Sir Your Most Ob d Serv t Arad Joy" on the bottom of the second page. The document is in near fine condition with expected folds and isolated holes along the gutter. The address leaf bears philatelic markings from New York as well as the notation "Paid". Each page measures 8" x 12.5".

Joy, probably in his capacity as Post Master of Austerlitz, New York, inquired if Welles had certificates testifying to the war service of over fifteen individuals: Robert Jackson, Josiah Hull, Rufus Johnson, Samuel Dean, Jonah Moore, Jal Beers, Roger Sheldon, Noah Seymour, Ephraim Stapleweather, Stephen Edgerton, Albert Stewart, Uriah Roundy, John Flint, Payne Turner, John Humerston, Joseph Jarvis, Jarball Whitney, Elisha Peck, Eliazer Smith, and others. Arad Joy's questions were answered by another hand, and the two correspondents presumably sent the letter back and forth multiple times as responses were recorded and viewed.

"I shall be very much obliged for the information here sought - if you please, you can give 4 certificates on one sheet, with 2 on the 1st + 2 on 3rd page of a sheet of fools cap, when we get through I will pay you fully, I am both able + willing to do it - James Bolter of your place knows me well, + can give you any information you may desire", Joy wrote. As we know from the first document, certificate fees were one dollar in "Hartford bills" nine years earlier in 1835.

The Revolutionary War veterans here listed either hailed from or served in central and northwestern Connecticut, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island, Westchester County, and New York City. On average, they served more than one year under multiple leadership. Opportunities for wartime military promotion were plentiful.

At the close of the communication, the interesting case of Eliazer Smith is mentioned. "Eliazer Smith, resided in Hartford County Connecticut. He arrived as a Drummer, then as a private, next as an orderly sergeant + final as a Leutenant and lastly as a Captain. He served two, three, or four years as Leutenant + Captain, served more than two years as a Captain. He was at the Battle of Bunker Hill, at West Point when Andrie was captured, and was one of his guard the night before his execution, he was at the taking of Stony Point under Gen l Wayne, and at the close of the war sec d an honorable discharged. He served in all from seven years + a half to eight years". Major John Andre (1750-1780) was a British soldier hanged as a spy after Benedict Arnold's (1741-1801) plan to surrender West Point to the British were discovered.

Gideon Welles (1802-1878) later famously served as Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Before this appointment, however, Welles gained political experience on the state level, serving as Comptroller of Connecticut in the 1830s.

Revolutionary War service had to be confirmed in order for veterans to receive pensions. This entailed substantiating the dates of service and the commanding officer. Pensions were offered by the Continental Army as early as 1778 to discourage desertion and incentivize war service. Pensions were granted early on to disabled veterans or to their widows and orphans, but it was only after 1818 that Congress considered granting pensions to uninjured Revolutionary War veterans. The most encompassing pension law approved by Congress in 1832 granted lifetime full pay to officers and enlisted men who had served for over two years.

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