Lot 820
Huntington, Samuel (1731-96) Signer of the Declaration of Independence; President of the Continental Congress; Governor of Connecticut. Partly-printed document signed ("Saml Huntington President") as President of the Continental Congress, 1p, vellum, 6½ x 10¾ in., Philadelphia, 21 April 1780. Countersigned by Ben Stoddert as Secretary of the Board of War. Partial seal affixed with red wax at upper left. Appointing John Hardman as "Captain Lieutenant in the second Maryland Regiment in the Army of the United States…." Overall age toning; minor soiling, else fine. Dark signature of Huntington on the indentation line at lower right. Benjamin Stoddert later served as the first U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1798-1801).
On 16 August 1780, Gen. Horatio Gates was surprised north of Camden by a British force of 2,200 troops under Lt. Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis. After the first attack, most of the Continentals escaped. Only General lde Kalb's Second Maryland Brigade (with Hardman in command of a company), the Delaware Continentals, and Dixon's North Carolina militia continued in battle. General de Kalb and Capt. Lt. Hardman were among those wounded and captured on 16 August. Three days later, Baron de Kalb died of his wounds, and Hardman succumbed on 1 Sept. 1780. On 25 Jan. 1906, the War Department issued General Orders No. 20, which said in part: "…names of seacoast batteries are announced as follows: On the Fort Baldwin, Maine, Military Reservation…Battery John Hardman, in honor of Captain John Hardman, 2d Maryland Regiment, Continental Army, who was wounded and taken prisoner at Camden, South Carolina, and who died while a prisoner of war September 1, 1780."
Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000.
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| Realized $2,340 |
