Description:

Revolutionary War
Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 1776
Provisioning the "Hancock" in 1776, One of the Most Successful Privateers Fitted Out in America During the Early Years of the Revolution - Rum & Beer!
Partially printed DS

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] David Ford, Partially Printed Document Signed, to John Mitchell, Order for Rations and Rum, March 2, 1776, Philadelphia, PA. 2 pp., 7.5" x 4.75". Toning; irregular edges; scattered foxing; very good.

With this order and receipt to merchant John Mitchell, 1st Lieutenant David Ford of the Pennsylvania privateer Hancock orders rations and rum for the crew. On the verso, Seaman Richard Brettell signed the receipt for the rations. During a five-month privateering voyage from June to December 1776, the Hancock reportedly captured ten prizes. One of them included among its cargo sea turtles bound for the British Prime Minister Lord North, which the captain instead sent to John Hancock, then president of the Second Continental Congress.

Complete Transcript
March the 2nd 1776.
SIR,
PLEASE to deliver for the Hancock Armed Vessel, under my Command two hundred & forty one Rations of Provisions of all Species and Rum.
CAPTAIN, / David Ford.
To Mr. John Mitchell.
241 Rations
No.
Beef, Mutton or Pork,
Bread,
Flour,
Rum or Beer,
Vegetables,

[Receipt on verso:]
Philadelphia, April the 2d 1776.
RECEIVED of Mr. JOHN MITCHELL, Two Hundred & forty One Rations of Provisions of all Species and Rum for this Order.
R. Brettell

Historical Background
When the American Revolutionary War began in early 1775, the Province of Pennsylvania's Committee of Safety determined that Philadelphia needed protection against incursions by the British Navy on the Delaware River. In July 1775, it authorized the purchase and outfitting of armed galleys for that purpose. By the end of August 1776, the Pennsylvania Navy consisted of 27 vessels with 21 more vessels on order.

Armed Boat Hancock was a Pennsylvania privateer brig mounting twelve cannon and owned by John Bayard and James Deane & Company of Philadelphia. It had a crew of 48 officers and men by May 1776. It sailed from Philadelphia in June 1776 with Wingate Newman as captain. The ship also carried a company of marines, led by Captain William Shippin (1750-1777), a Philadelphia merchant. In August, the Hancock captured the HMS Reward that had just left Tortola [now part of British Virgin Islands] bound for London without firing a shot. The privateer reportedly sent ten prizes captured at sea into American ports. It returned to Philadelphia on December 1, 1776. Newman remained the captain, and in December 1776, he was permitted to take one or two field pieces from the Pennsylvania State House yard and proceed to the assistance of General George Washington.

John Mitchell (1741-1816) was born in Ulster, Ireland. He began his career as a merchant in Dominica, British West Indies. He may have spent some time in Baltimore before going into business with his brother Randall Mitchell in Philadelphia in 1769. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a colonel in the Pennsylvania militia, commissary of artillery troops, and muster master of the Pennsylvania navy. In 1778, he was appointed as deputy quartermaster general, a position he held until 1780. After the war, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was elected a city warden in 1787. He was active in the Society of the Cincinnati.

Ex. Doris Harris, 1982.

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 4.75"
  • Medium: Partially printed DS

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