The Government and People of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New England...
Justice of the Peace Commission Signed by 15 Revolutionary Patriots, Appointing Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned [Massachusetts]. [Justices of the Peace]. The Government and People of the Massachusetts-Bay, In New-England. To All Unto Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting: Know Ye, That We Have Assigned and Constituted, And Do by These Presents Assign, Constitute and Appoint Our Trusty and Well-Beloved [Ebenezer Learned of Oxford Esquire] to be One of Our Justices to Keep Our Peace [In Our County of Worcester, Within Our State of Massachusetts Bay].... Roxbury, April 16, 1778. 15-3/4" x 10-1/2" (40 x 26.7 cm) part-printed document, filled in and signed by John Avery, Jr., Deputy Secretary of the Executive Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, large embossed seal to upper-right corner. Moderate toning, faint spotting, horizontal and vertical fold lines. A well-preserved document with remarkable associations. $4,500. * A remarkably preserved appointment issued during the height of the American Revolutionary War. Because Massachusetts had cast off British royal authority but had not yet ratified its formal state constitution (written by John Adams and adopted in 1780), the colony was governed by the 28-member Executive Council of the provincial congress. This document features the bold signatures of 15 Council Members acting collectively as the executive head of state, representing a "who's who" of Revolutionary New England leadership. This commission was granted to Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned [1728-1801]. A seasoned veteran of the French and Indian War, Learned marched a regiment to Cambridge immediately following the Battle of Lexington in 1775 and played a vital role in the Siege of Boston. Promoted to Brigadier General in the Continental Army, he famously commanded a brigade under Horatio Gates at the Battle of Saratoga (1777), where his troops were instrumental in breaking the British lines. Plagued by failing health accelerated by the campaign, he resigned his military commission in March 1778. This civil appointment, dated exactly one month later, represents the home front honoring a broken hero with a vital peacetime magistracy. Signers from the Executive Council include: Artemas Ward [1727-1800], President of the Council: The first Commander-in-Chief of the New Army/Massachuse.
Price: $4,500.00
Book number 86239