Auction Name: 2026 June 25 Liberty & Legacy: 250 Years of the American Spirit Americana & Political Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47023

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6332*47023

Declaration Signer William Ellery June 1776 Autograph Receipt Signed ("William Ellery"). Cut slip on laid paper, 5 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Philadelphia; June 25, 1776.

A remarkable Revolutionary War-date document, being a receipt accomplished in William Ellery's hand, in the third person, for delivery of ten thousand dollars to Nathanael Greene, dated just nine days before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. At this moment, the Committee of Five was nearing the completion of its draft of the Declaration of Independence, while the Continental Army prepared for a major clash with the British in New York. The receipt reads, in full:

"Received of William Ellery Ten Thousand Continental Dollars, which I promise to deliver to Nathaniel [sic] Greene Esq. on my arrival at New York having signed another Receipt for said Sum of the same Tenor and Date / Accidents & Robberies excepted, he paying for the Carriage thereof a reasonable Commission." Signed at the conclusion by Robert Stevens Jr., who was tasked with carrying this receipt to Greene.

Ellery most commonly signed with an abbreviated version of his name; full "William Ellery" signatures are comparatively scarcer. We could not locate another example of a 1776 document-excepting, of course, the Declaration-signed by Ellery with his full first and last name.

On the date that Ellery penned this receipt, Greene was stationed with Washington's army in New York, overseeing the construction of defenses and urgent supply needs, including moving munitions and securing equipment for the Continental Army. Ellery, meanwhile a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, was participating in the government of the colonies, and was serving on the special committee for purchasing clothing for the army. On June 11, as a battle with England in New York became increasingly likely, the Congress approved that $10,000 (worth more than $400,000, today) be "drawn on the Treasurers...for the use of the Pensylvania batallions [sic]," among other drafts made to fund the Continental Army. This document thus bridges the geographic distance between Congress's legislative activity in Philadelphia and the immediate military needs of Greene's command in New York, in the final days before America formally declared independence.

A fascinating piece with a powerful association between one of the nation's Founding Fathers and one of its greatest generals.

Condition: Overall fine, lightly age-toned with expected folds; rough left edge where slip was removed. Minor ink offset where document was folded; a touch of blotting in the bottom lines, not affecting legibility. Ink retains excellent contrast.

References: Journals of the Continental Congress, p. 430.

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