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1800 Federal Period Political + Historic Letter to WILLIAM SHEPARD in Congress

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:600.00 - 800.00 USD
1800 Federal Period Political + Historic Letter to WILLIAM SHEPARD in Congress
Political
1800 Historic Letter Regarding “Revolution in the Great (French) Nation” to Major General William Shepard in Congress
(GENERAL WILLIAM SHEPARD) (1737-1817). Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Shay’s Rebellion Era Massachusetts Major General and Congressman. Col. William Shepard was at the Battle of Trenton, N.J. with George Washington, and his likeness appears in the painting The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776, by John Trumbull.
February 7, 1800-Dated Federal Period, Letter of Political and Historic Importance to General Shepard From Samuel Henshaw, dated Philadelphia, PA, 12.5” x 7.5”, 2 pages, on laid period paper and written in brown ink, Very Fine. Henshaw addresses the letter to General William Shepard “in Congress” on the integral (self-made envelope), and writes about the building he just constructed, the new order in France, and inquires about his health He also discusses the upcoming election for Governor, with Mr. Strong as a candidate. A small hole caused by the original wax seal torn when opened with minor foxing; overall its written text is dark and precise. The remnants of the red wax seal are still visible, light creases do not detract from the text whatsoever. This historic letter reads, in full:

“Hon.(ble) W.(m) Shepard Esq(uir)e, Northampton Feb. 7, 1800 -- I thank you my Friend, for your sympathizing letter of the 25th inst. The loss of my Tanworks is very heavy. They were undoubled by the largest & best accommodated for business of any in America. The Centre building was 200 feet, and each wing 50 feet, in length, & each two story high, beside the roof. Tanning and currying could be carried on in those buildings almost as well in the winter as in the Summer.

Altho the misfortune has happened in this inclement season of the year, yet the weather has, blessed be God, been so favourable, & my friends so spirited, that, in three weeks after the fire, I have been able to rebuild 150 feet, and the business is now going on therein as usual. My Neighbours, God bless them! in one single day cut in the forest & dragged to the spot timber for the whole works. My Gratitude, I hope, will ever be equal to their benevolent exertions. Your congratulation on my appointment to the Common Pleas, is very polite; & your hopes, I believe, will be realized. There should be one, at least, to keep watch while the rest sleepeth. I rejoice very much to hear of your health, and hope you will continue to enjoy the rich blessing. Without it, man is but a poor creature. With it, he may be happy, if he will but be virtuous.

What is the current opinion among our Sages at Philadelphia, respecting the new order of things in France? Some begin to think that the President had a prescience of these events. And sent on the Envoys to be in time to take advantage of them. We shall know more about it a few months hence. It is clever, however, in the mean time, to see people looking wise & guessing. And gravely telling you that they survived something like the present Revolution in the Great Nation would soon take place. And that after Bonaparte had re-turned from Egypt, they were sure he would assume the rein of Government. &c. &c. &c. ‘Vain man would be though wife’! I believe Mr. Strong will have more votes for Governor than any other man in the state, yet I much doubt of his being chosen by the people. Should he be a prominent Candidate, the two Branches will elect him. I am, Sir, with great regard your obedient humble servant, - Samuel Henshaw”.
William Shepard (1737-1817) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts (1797–1802), and a military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As a state militia leader he protected the Springfield Armory during Shays' Rebellion, firing cannon into the force of Daniel Shays and compelling them to disperse. He was also served in town and state government and was a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council.

Born in Westfield, Mass. he attended the common schools, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and served in the French and Indian wars for six years. He was a member of the committee of correspondence for Westfield in 1774, and was a lieutenant colonel of Minutemen in April 1775 and served under Colonel Timothy Danielson.

He entered the Continental Army in May 1775 as lieutenant colonel and was commissioned Colonel of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment on October 6, 1776, serving throughout the Revolutionary War, including winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where he commanded the 4th Division of the Massachusetts militia, under the overall command of General John Glover.

His name is immortalized along with his comrades on stone monuments there. Many letters still exist between Shepard and other commanders, including General George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, General Henry Knox and other illustrious founding fathers.

Col. William Shepard was at the Battle of Trenton, N.J. with George Washington, and his likeness appears in the painting The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776, by John Trumbull.

Shepard was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1785 and 1786 and was selectman for Westfield from 1784 to 1787. In this time local farmers and veterans of the war began to rebel after months of destitution and taxation they believed to be unfairly levied by the powers from Boston. Many were consigned to debtors' prison.

Shepard, then a major general in the state militia, called to duty the Fourth Division of the Massachusetts militia in 1786 and defended the Springfield Armory during what became known as Shays' Rebellion (after one of its principal leaders, Daniel Shays), ordering defenders of the arsenal to fire cannons at attacking the rebels at "waist height" with cannons filled with anti-personnel grape shot. Two of the insurgents were mortally wounded. Messages to Governor James Bowdoin express his deep regret at the shedding of blood. He kept in constant contact with Governor Bowdoin, Sam Adams, John Hancock, and General Benjamin Lincoln, who arrived in a blizzard from Boston just after the Springfield arsenal attack to pursue Shays and his men into the surrounding towns.

That order would earn Shepard a lasting reputation as the "murderer of brethren." The local neighbors were so angry that they mutilated his horses, gouging out their eyes, to his horror. He was a member of the Governor's council of Massachusetts from 1792 to 1796, and was appointed in 1796 to treat with the Penobscot Indians and, in 1797, with the Six Nations.

Shepard was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1797 to March 3, 1803; he resumed his agricultural pursuits and died in Westfield, essentially penniless. Interment was in the Mechanic Street Cemetery. A statue of him stands in Westfield, sculpted by Augustus Lukeman. Each year on Patriots' Day, a ceremony is held in Westfield, wherein his descendants and those of four other founding families of Westfield join city and state government representatives, members of the armed forces, clergy, local school children and residents in giving prayer and remembrance of the town's history.

From a mid-western paper c.1928 he was reported to have been quoted as saying, "Hang On! If the motherhood of America ever lets go, it will serve us right if America turns to the saloon or its equivalent. But the motherhood of America will not let go."