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Paul Revere Autograph Manuscript Signed....
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Description
Paul Revere Rallies Support from the Mechanics of the Town of Boston to Defend their City from the British Fleet During the War of 1812
Paul Revere Autograph Manuscript Signed. Pledge by the
Subscribers, Mechanics of the Town of Boston, volunteering labor to
strengthen Boston's defenses. Pledge on the first page entirely in
Revere's hand, signed at the bottom, "Paul Revere Three
Days." Followed by 8 pages of signatures of prominent Boston
Revolutionaries and the number of days of labor they have pledged.
16mo, 32 pages. Boston: September 8, 1814. Bound in contemporary
paper wrappers.Just a few scant decades following the end of the Revolutionary War, the fledgling United States found itself once more embroiled in conflict with Great Britain. Many of the original revolutionaries, including Paul Revere, Amos Lincoln of Boston Tea Party fame, and their descendants, again rallied to the defense of their country. By the late summer of 1814, rumors of an imminent attack on Boston were widely circulated, prompting Caleb Strong, Governor of Massachusetts, to issue orders for 4,000 troops to march to Boston, and to ready the state militia. According to the Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, "An attack upon the important City of Boston was confidently expected; it was a capital of New England, and the moral effect of its capture would be great. It was a place for the construction of American war vessels, which the enemy feared more than the armies... It was also a wealthy town, and offered a rich harvest for plunderers. It was well known too that it was almost defenseless. Caleb Strong, then Governor, was, it was well known, intensely opposed to the war; and it was not until after all her territory east of the Penobscot river in the District of Maine, (then a part of Massachusetts,) was in possession of the enemy, that any energetic measures were taken for its defense..."
Revere, like Strong (and most New Englanders), vehemently opposed the War of 1812, but still felt a duty to protect his city from attack. On September 8, 1814, Revere, along with 121 other members of the "Mechanics of the Town of Boston," all of whom lived in the North End, signed the present petition volunteering their labor to help Governor Strong in strengthening Boston's defenses. His autograph inscription on the first page reads, in full: "The Subscribers, Mechanics of the Town of Boston to evince our readiness to cooperate by manual labor in measures for the Defence of the Town by naval arsenal, do hereby tender our services to His Excellency the Commander in Chief to be directed in such manner as he shall consider at this eventfull crisis most conducive to the Public Good. Paul Revere, three Days." After inscribing and signing it himself, Revere entrusted the notebook to Isaac Harris, a mast and spar maker, who carried the notebook to the other Mechanics. Their help was quickly accepted. Revere and the other Mechanics lent their time and their tools to the refortification of Noddle's Island, building Fort Strong in September and October of 1814.
Though the expected attack never came, they no doubt "would have defended it to the last man." On February 12, 1815, news finally reached Boston that the United States and Great Britain had signed a peace treaty, the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war. With his country once more at peace, Revere died a few short years later, on May 10, 1818, at his home in Boston.
Condition: Some edgewear, toned, scattered staining, small hole through rear wrapper, lacking majority of spine, wrappers slightly detached at bottom. Text block edges toned, foxed; pencil notation to inside of rear wrapper, ownership signatures and inscriptions to inside front wrapper. Toned and foxed throughout, a few stray ink blots and smears, a few corners with early paper repairs. Very good.
References: Baker, Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, 1913; Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Second Series, Vol. XIV, 1901, pages 149-154.
Provenance: Property of A Distinguished American Collector From The Pacific Northwest
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 17
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