Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 56

Manuscript, Collectibles and Aerospace Auction

U.S. Revolutionary War

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 232		Arnold, Benedict (1741-1801) American Revolutionary War General and hero of the battle of Saratoga who turned traitor in 1780 and planned to surrender West Point to the British. His partner in crime, British Major John André, was captured and hanged (he was wearing civilian clothing when captured) and Arnold, hearing of André's capture, escaped to a British warship. He fought for the British for the duration of the war, then went to England where he lived for the rest of his life, except for the years 1787-1791, when he lived in St. John, New Brunswick. Document Signed "Ben. Arnold," 1 page, 12½ x 7¾ in., St. John, New Brunswick, June 20, 1788. A court document filed by Arnold against James Grieg to recover a debt of €40. Signed by Arnold as the deponent. Light toning along folds, else fine. Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $2,520
Lot 233		Gardner, Henry (1730-1782) American Revolution politician who helped organize a provincial congress of New England states in 1774. Document Signed "H Gardner" as Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts, 1 page, 16¼ x 13 in., Boston, Feb. 21, 1777. An early broadside addressed to Ebenezer Dean, the Constable or Collector at Taunton, "…An Act for appportioning and assessing a Tax of One Hundred and one Thousand eight Hundred and Seventy-one Pounds one Shilling and two Pence half Penny, upon the several Towns and other Places in this State, herein afternamed, for defraying the public Charge; and also for assessing a Tax of Seven Thousand three Hundred and twenty Pounds seventeen Shillings, paid the Representatives for their Travel and Attendance in the General Court in the Year One Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy five…." Dean was to collect £178.9 from Taunton. Below the amount, the broadside specifies the manner in which the tax was to be collected and how to deal with noncompliance with the law, including forced sales of personal and/or real property. A scarce broadside. OCLC (64615719) sources no extant copies in institutions. Evans 43295; Bristol, B4516; Shipton & Mooney, 43295; Ford, W.C. Broadsides, 2104. A few light toned spots and normal folds, else fine. Estimated Value $700 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 234		Gates, Horatio (1727-1806) Revolutionary War general; took part in the unsuccessful Conway Cabal which planned to oust Washington and make Gates Commander-in-Chief. Autograph Letter Signed as Adjutant General, 1¼pp and integral address leaf, 12¼ x 7½ in., Headquarters, July 29, 1775. To Lt. Col. (Loammi) Baldwin, Commanding at Chelsea (Mass.), conveying General Washington's wishes. "The General received your letter acquainting him with the Inhabitants being now sending out of Boston to Chelsea. His Excellency Orders you upon no Account to suffer any that are sent thither by General Gages Order, and permission, to come to this Camp, or the Camp at Roxbury until you receive his positive Commands for it. The General Court of the province were wrote to immediately upon your Letter arriving this afternoon, & they will no doubt forthwith give proper directions for the disposal, & the provision necessary for all the Inhabitants that come from Boston to Chelsea. As there can be nothing Hostile to apprehend with you, while this Transaction is going on, the General does not see any morning relating to the misbehaviour of Capt. Lindsay. If there are any reasons for your demanding a reinforcemnt, more than what appears by your last letter, will inform the General thereof by return of the Express." Some splitting along folds and minor paper loss on address leaf, else fine. Gates took command of the Northern Department in August of 1776. He took credit for the victory at Saratoga, even though it was Benedict Arnold and Philip Schuyler who actually defeated the British; Arnold, in fact, referred to Gates as "Granny Gates" for his reluctance to engage in combat. After the failure of the Conway Cabal, Gates took command of the Eastern Department (November 1778), then in May 1780 of the Southern Department. After suffering a diastrous defeat at the battle of Camden, Gates was replaced by Nathanael Greene and never commanded in the field again. Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $3,290
Lot 235		Hancock, John (1737-93) First Signer of the Declaration of Independence; President of the Continental Congress (1775-77); Governor of Massachusetts (1780-85, 1787-93. Letter Signed "John Hancock Presidt" as President of the Continental Congress, 1 p, 12 x 8 in., Philadelphia, August 10, 1776. To Brigadier General (James) Clinton, announcing his promotion. Some overall soiling, staining in upper right quadrant, closely trimmed at right margin; text loss at left margin and center of paragraph professionally repaired and restored. Hancock's signature is large and beautiful, and is followed by a paraph. One vertical fold traverses the "H" in "Hancock. The letter reads: "Sir: The Congress having yesterday been pleased to promote you to the Rank of Brigadier General in the Army of the American States, I do myself the Pleasure to inclose your Commission [not present] and wish you happy…." James Clinton (1733-1812), brother of George Clinton and father of DeWitt Clinton, both of whom served as governors of New York, served in the provincial army during the French and Indian War and was appointed Colonel of the 3rd New York Regiment at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775. In March 1776, he took command of the 2nd New York Regiment and in August, was promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army. This letter accompanied his commission. Clinton distinguished himself during the Saratoga campaign and the Sullivan Expedition. His brigade was with Washington's army at the siege of Yorktown. Estimated Value $8,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 236		July 4th Oration, c. 1820. Manuscript Document, 2pp, 12¼ x 7 7/8 in., c. 1820. In part, "…It is indeed a proud day in the annals of American history. The day which gave birth to our Country's Freedom. The day upon which the immortal Declaration of Independence which you have heard (&) read was put forth to the world declaring these United Colonies free and independent--the day upon which the galling chains of oppression and tyranny were thrown off by an indignant and patriotic people, and eternal resistance sworn, to British aggression…." Some soiling and a few edge tears. With an early 19th century manuscript sheet music for the music and three stanzas of "Yankee Doodle," 1 page, 12½ x 8½ in., n.p., n.d. Also with a printed broadside, titled "The following Odes are for the 4th July, at Middletown," sung to the tunes of "Coronation," "Liberty," and "Bunkerhill,"1 page, 12½ x 7 in. Tape repairs on verso. Overall very good. Estimated Value $700 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 237		Paine, Thomas (1737-1809) Radical American patriot and revolutionary propagandist; author of the pamphlet "Common Sense." Autograph Note Signed, 1 page, 4¾ x 7 in., n.p. (Paris), 4 Vendermaere (probably a misspelling of Vendémiaire, the first month of the French Revolutionary calendar, making the date Sept. 26), n.y. (c. 1787-89). To To Ira Allen (1751-1814), brother of Revolutionary War Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen: "Dear citizen--I called at the Caffe Boston today, where I dined, but you were not at home,--will you call on me tomorrow morining, at 12 O Clock. Thomas Paine." On the verso, Paine addressed the note to "L[e] General Allen / Americain." The Cafe Boston was a gathering-place for Americans in Paris. Very good; overall toning, some ink bleeding. Boldly penned and signed. In 1787, Paine moved to Europe and fanned the flames of revolution in Britain (he was forced to leave Britain and declared an outlaw in 1792), and in France, where he became a citizen and member of the National Convention. Eventually he was imprisoned and would probably have become a victim of Madame Guillotine had it not been for the intercession of American minister James Monroe. Ira Allen was a general in the Vermont militia and used that title while in Europe. He went to Paris from England in 1796 after the failure of his attempt to get England to finance a ship canal between the Richelieu and St. Lawrence Rivers, which would have allowed him to turn Burlington, Vermont, into a port that could trade directly with England. Since Ira owned some 200,000 acres in the Champlain Valley, accomplishing that goal would have made him rich beyond measure. When England turned him down, Ira tried to convince France to finance a revolution in British Canada, create an independent republic called United Columbia and build Ira's canal so Burlington could trade directly with France. Ira got the French money and guns, but the British captured his ship, Olive Branch, and hauled him back to England, where he spent a year in court trying to get his guns back; when the British courts said he'd have a chance if he had adequate documentation of having bought the guns from France, he went back to Paris and got thrown into prison by a revolutionary government that had changed members since he had been there the first time. Ira languished in two Paris jails for a year and didn't get back to America until 1801, where he went bankrupt and spent his last 13 years in poverty and despair. (Our thanks to J. Kevin Graffagnino, Director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan for the information on Ira Allen.). Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $12,925
Lot 238		[Sumner, Increase] 1799 Manuscript Broadside In Honor of His Death. Original historical manuscript broadside as sent to the printer, 16½ x 10½ in. Headed "Head Quarters Boston June 7th, 1799" and beginning, "His Excellency Increase Sumner Esqr. late governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts having this Day deceased His Honour Moses Gill Esquire Lieutenant Governor & Commander in Chief order that Military honours be paid the deceased in Roxbury on Wednesday next at one oClock P.M. The Funeral Escort will consist of Four batallions of uniformed Infantry & four companies of Cavalry….Brigadier General Winslow…will command the Escort…." Specific instructions are given including, "…all the Military are requested to ware a black Ribbon on the left arm." Sumner (1746-1799) died at the start of his third term. He was the second governor of Massachusetts after the Revolution. The broadside has large dampstains; paper loss in lower portion affects three lines of text; small paper losses affect a couple of words elsewhere in the text; thre are a few closed tears; overall toning and some scattered foxing. Although in poor condition, quite historic and well worth our conservative estimate. Boldly penned. Rare. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 239		Thomson, Charles. 1729-1824) First and only secretary of the Continental Congress (1774-1789); he was chosen to notify Washington of his election to the Presidency. Autograph Document Signed "Cha. Thomson," 1 page, 12½ x 8 in. (Lower Merion, Penn.), July 27, 1796. A bill for the recovery of a horse stolen from Jonathan Fatcliff (signed with his mark) who lived on Thomson's farm, and recovered with the help of Felix Herbert of Princeton. The expenses of $73.39 are for travel to Philadelphia to search for the horse, advertising, and going to Princeton to claim and recover the horse. Thomson certified that "…the above signed Jonathan Ratcliff who lives on my farm had a horse stolen out of the pasture on the night of the 7th of this month July…." Written on laid, watermarked paper; some pin holes at folds, uneven margins, and light toning and foxing, else very good. Estimated Value $600 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 240		[Wilson, Robert] His Personal Pewter Tea Cannister and Creamer. The canister is a narrow oval box with a hinged lid and nob handle, with lock but lacking key. Exterior with ornate engraving on walls and lid, the walls with floral borders and swags and oval cartouche on both sides with the initials "R W." The lid has a similar pendant border and central starburst emanating from the handle. The hinge with, apparently, several repairs, one old and perhaps contemporary with the box, along with some more recent work. The lid has an added inscription, old, perhaps within a generation or two of the war: "Used in Camp in the War of the Revolution, 1781." Height: 4½ in.; Width: 5½ in. Condition better than Fine. Along with the canister is a contemporary creamer---footed, with deep-bowl and arching handle. Border and shield cartouche engraved in the same manner seen on the canister, but by a different hand. The shield bears the initials, "R A W"; some dark spots in the patina. Height: 5 in. Overall Very Fine condition. Robert Wilson was born in New York City (date unknown). His father died before the Revolution and his widowed mother moved with her six children to Albany, N.Y. Robert enlisted in the Revolution at about the age of 12 and served as fifer with the New York troops in the company of his mother's brother, Captain James Gregg. On June 9, 1781, he was commissioned ensign in the First New York Regiment, and served until the close of the Revolution. During Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown, when the British officers did not want to surrender their standards to a noncommissioned officer, Colonel Alexander Hamilton appointed Wilson Officer of the Day to conduct the ceremony of receiving the British flags. He received the colors of twenty-eight British regiments from twenty-eight British captains and handed them to twenty-eight American sergeants. Wilson, who was 18 at the time of the Battle of Yorktown, was thus the youngest commissioned officer in the Revolutionary War army. Wilson later became the second postmaster in Manlius, New York. Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,000. Stuart Goldman estate. Sold in Goldberg's Sept. 20, 2003 auction, Lot 22. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold