Hancock-signed Congressional Commission and Documents of Reverend Hezekiah Smith

Description:

Hancock-signed Congressional Commission and Documents of Reverend Hezekiah Smith, c. 1777-78, commission dated 1777 for Reverend Smith to be appointed Chaplain of Nixon's Battalion, signed by John Hancock, a furlough dated December 12th, 1777 from General Gates at Albany, New York, signed by Isaac Pierce, secretary to General Gates, an invitation to have dinner with General George Washington at White Plains, New York, dated August 1st, 1778, two letters dated March, 1905, regarding the sale of the documents to another family member, and a reprint of the life, journals, letters, and addresses of the Reverend Hezekiah Smith, DD.

Note: Reverend Smith was born in Long Island on April 21st, 1737, and graduated from Princeton in 1758. He was ordained in Charleston, South Carolina, and moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1766. In 1775, he began his service as a chaplain and remained in the army until 1780. According to his journals and letters, he frequently spent time with General Washington, and was at many of the important battles of the American Revolution. Smith helped with the establishment of Brown University, and was given a diploma of Doctor of Divinity in 1797. He died in 1805.
Estimate $4,000-6,000

Some foxing and light paper loss, and separation at folds and where mounted on pasteboard sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century.


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