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Lot 243
Provisions for Benedict Arnold, Deserters, Pulaski and Indians That Had Fought at Valley Forge. Philadelphia Immediately after 1778 British Evacuation
Description:

Provisions for Benedict Arnold, Deserters, Pulaski and Indians That Had Fought at Valley Forge. Philadelphia Immediately after 1778 British Evacuation

This return lists the stores and provisions distributed to a variety of military and civilian individuals and groups during the first week after the British evacuated their occupation of Philadelphia in the summer of 1778. The return lists the distribution of flour, bread, beef, and bacon in pounds, butter and tongue in kegs, salt in pints, and spirits (rum) and whiskey in gills (4 fluid ounces).

The first recipient on the list is "Genl Arnold's Family," followed by "British deserters" and a variety of other categorical groups, including "Waggoners," "Indians," "Express Riders," "Bakers," "Butchers," "Invalids," and "Prisoners Exclusive of British." There are also several military groups, including the 3rd Maryland Regiment; the 2nd, 6th, 10th, 11th, and 13th Pennsylvania Regiments; Col. Proctor's Artillery; Col. Jackson's Detachment; Col. Hartley's Regiment; and the Pennsylvania State Fleet. Also, Casimir Pulaski is mentioned and he had just finished his stint at Valley Forge. The list also includes several, such as Secretary of War Richard Peters, Commissary of Prisoners Thomas Franklin, and Deputy Quarter Master General John Mitchell. The only keg of beef tongue (considered a delicacy in eighteenth-century America) on this list was distributed to the Commissary General's Mess, an advantage of overseeing supplies.

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Manuscript Document, Return of Stores and Provisions Issued at Philadelphia from 24 to 30 June 1778 Inclusive. 1 p., 12.5" x 15.25". Some tears at intersections of folds with minor loss; general browning and some staining.

Historical Background
After nine months of occupation, some 15,000 British troops under General Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia on June 18, 1778. Their position there had become untenable after France's entrance into the war on the American side. They marched overland to New York City, while some three thousand Loyalists sailed down the Delaware River to escape the returning Americans. General Benedict Arnold led the American forces that reclaimed the city the following day, and the Continental Congress returned on June 24. General George Washington appointed Arnold as military governor of the city. During the summer of 1778, Arnold met his second wife, Margaret "Peggy" Shippen (1760-1804), a member of a Loyalist family whom he married in April 1779. Her political beliefs may have been one of the factors contributing to his treason, beginning in the summer of 1779 though not discovered until September 1780.

General Arnold's family in June 1778 consisted of his sister Hannah Arnold (1742-1803), who had moved from New Haven, Connecticut, to Philadelphia; his three sons by his first marriage to Margaret Mansfield (1745-1775), whom Hannah Arnold was raising, and perhaps some servants.

When the British occupied Philadelphia, they placed American prisoners in public jails and billeted American officer prisoners in the state capitol. When the Americans returned, they brought with them several British prisoners, as well as other prisoners (German Hessians, Loyalists) who were not British soldiers.

The "Indians" on this list were likely some of the fifty warriors from the Oneida and Tuscarora nations whom General George Washington had requested to join the army at Valley Forge as scouts and small-unit fighters. They arrived in mid-May and fought with a reconnaissance force commanded by the Marquis de Lafayette in eastern Pennsylvania. Many of them returned to upstate New York in mid-June when the British threatened their families and homes there.

The "Indians" mentioned in this document also likely included a party of Senecas, who were in search of Atskeray, a Seneca warrior who had been wounded and captured near Fort Pitt. General Washington had referred the Senecas to the President of Congress. On June 24, Arnold wrote to Henry Laurens that a "Committee of Senecas" had arrived the day before in search of their captive chief.

Like Paul Revere and William Dawes, who rode from Boston to warn the minutemen of Lexington and Concord of the approach of British soldiers in April 1775, express riders were employed throughout the Revolutionary War. Both civilian and military leaders employed them to deliver important messages or summon others.

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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