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John Hancock Congressional Resolution Signed as President of the Second Continental Congress....
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Description
"...as the Necessity of obtaining an Army immediately to oppose the Designs of the Enemy is so evident & pressing as to render it proper to give all possible Facility to that Business..."
John Hancock Congressional Resolution Signed as President of the
Second Continental Congress. Two pages on one sheet, 211 x 320
mm. [Philadelphia], November 19 and November 21, 1776.A remarkable Congressional Resolution dated just days after the defeat of the young nation's army at Fort Washington in New York, and only one month before the historic crossing of the Delaware River and the remarkable defeat of Hessian and British troops at the Battle of Trenton. The present resolution underscores the necessity for supplies for the young nation's army and foreshadows the desperate need for such supplies only a year later at Valley Forge, during the hard winter of 1777-1778. So, too, does the resolution repeatedly stress the need for additional troops beyond those of the continental forces. Colonial militias supplied vital troops that augmented the fledging federal force, incentivized by enlistment bonuses and "bounties" as directed in the present Resolution.
The document reads in full:
In Congress Nov. 19th 1776
Resolved, That Letters be immediately sent to the Councils of Safety, Conventions or Legislatures of Pennsylvania, & the States to the South-ward thereof, desiring them forthwith to lay up Magazines of Military Stores, ammunition, & Salt provisions in the safest & most convenient places in the said States respectively, for the use of such Continental Troops & Militia as it may be necessary to bring into the Field in the ensuing winter for the defence [sic] of these States.
Congress deem it necessary upon every principle of propriety to remind the several States how indispensable it is to the Common Safety that they pursue the most immediate & vigorous measures to furnish their respective quotas of troops for the new Army, as the time of Service for which the present Army was enlisted is so near expiring that the Country may be left in a Condition in a great measure defenceless [sic], unless quickly supplied by new levies.
By order of Congress -
In Congress Nov. 21st 1776
as the Necessity of obtaining an Army immediately to oppose the Designs of the Enemy is so evident & pressing as to render it proper to give all possible Facility to that Business.
Resolved, that each State be at Liberty to direct their recruiting Officers to enlist their Men either for the War, or three years, upon the respective Bounties offered by Congress, without presenting enlisting Rolls for both Terms according to a former Resolution, keeping it always in View that in the opinion of Congress, the public Service will be best promoted by Inlistments [sic] for the War, if the recruiting Business is not retarded thereby.
By Order of Congress
[signed] John Hancock, Presid.
Condition: Scattered soiling and staining, tape residue to top margin recto. Creased along old folds, archival reinforcements to separations, recto silked, 55 mm separation above Hancock signature through "Congress" but not touching the signature. Hancock signature dark and bold.
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
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