Description:

Revolutionary War
Dorchester, MA, ca. May-July 1780
Rare 1780 Rev. War Capt. Lemuel Clap's Company Pay Roll
MDS
Manuscript Document, 1p, 8" x 12.75", Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts, May-July 1780. A receipt for pay for service signed by thirty-three soldiers, including six Claps, one of whom is the Captain's son, Lemuel Clap Jr. (1763-1783). Docketed at verso. Expected folds with very minor separation. Age toning, scattered foxing, and light soiling. Staining along left edge. In very good condition.

Please see lot 292 in our current auction for Captain Lemuel Clap's Company Muster Roll, which would make a wonderful pairing with this present offering!

This document includes several members of the well-known Clap, Bird, and Withington families, all who fought at the Battle of Dorchester Heights during the siege of Boston. Both also bear the name John Capen, who was likely a relative of Clap's first wife Susanna Capen Clap, who had died in 1767.

Lemuel Clap commanded several companies of Massachusetts militia from Dorchester that performed local service during the Siege of Boston (1775-1776), and each successive year to 1781, usually for three to six months. They served primarily around Boston at Dorchester Heights, Noddle's Island (now part of East Boston), and other places nearby. On May 23, 1776, before the Declaration of Independence was completed, Dorchester's Town Meeting voted "that if the Continental Congress should think it best to declare an Independency with Great Britain, we will support them with our lives and fortunes."

When it came to signing the muster rolls of the Continental Army, Dorchester's men and youths more than did their part. "During the time that the Revolution was going on," notes the History of Dorchester, "the town was continually having meetings to induce men to enlist in the army. They were called upon to go to New York, to Canada, to Rhode Island, Long Island, Peek's Kill, West Point, on secret expeditions." The calls for recruits were constant, and Dorchester "put forth all its energies, and the people sacrificed their comfort and estates." A recruitment bounty in 1777 of £20 proved an incentive for many men from Dorchester. Those who accepted the cash had to serve three years, Dorchester's Town Meeting even having "to borrow money to meet these demands."

The enlistment bounties drained the town's treasury, and for "many of the most worthy and industrious of the inhabitants it was difficult to obtain the necessaries of life." By January 1777, nearly a third of Dorchester men above the age of 16 had joined Continental regiments. At first, many local soldiers were stationed close to home at various forts around Boston. "Being inhabitants of Dorchester," a soldier wrote, "we went to our own dwelling places and did business at home, except when on duty. We were allowed good provisions, and the duty was generally easy."

One Dorchester soldier on this list, 18-year-old David Clap Jr., learned firsthand that even such a seemingly mundane task as guarding British prisoners could erupt in bloodshed. "A prisoner," Clap wrote, "one of the British grenadiers, was seen at night by one of our sentinels to be getting pickets that were placed around the fort, and as his orders were to serve them, he ordered the prisoner to desist. After speaking several times without effect, the sentry told him if he persisted in doing so, he would fire. The only answer given was a profane daring of the sentry to fire. He fired, and killed the prisoner on the spot. Some of the other prisoners were so enraged at this, that they threatened to kill the sentry...the officers thought it best not to put him on the main guard again."

Lemuel Clap (1735-1819) was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and became a tanner. In 1760, he married Susanna Capen (1741-1767), with whom he had three children. After her death, he married Rebecca Dexter (1739-1823) in November 1768, and they had eleven children. On April 19, 1775, he was a lieutenant of a company assembled in Dorchester as part of the Lexington alarm. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded several companies that enlisted for short-term service and served at Dorchester Heights, Noddle's Island, and other places nearby. Clap invited George Washington's troops to encamp on his estate during the siege of Boston.

The Captain Lemuel Clapp House (1767) is an historic house located at 199 Boston Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts. It is now owned by the Dorchester Historical Society, which opens the house for tours two afternoons per month. Dorchester is the largest neighborhood within the City of Boston located within Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city.

Of note: Most of the Clap family used only one "p" in their last name until William's generation, when they started using two.

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: 8" x 12.75"
  • Medium: MDS

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