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200

Revolutionary War Broadside

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
Revolutionary War Broadside
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Rare Revolutionary War broadside signed in type by John Hancock, and dated 8 October 1779 from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, establishing the sums of money for soldiers and their families. Obtaining the necessary supplies and personnel to support the Continental Army was a source of constant concern for Congress and George Washington. By 1779, the copious amounts of paper currency printed by the states and Congress were causing an inflationary crisis that threatened to undermine the entire effort. To make matters worse, the British and their agents were armed with much desired hard currency which proved attractive to many farmers looking to earn badly needed cash. Militarily, the situation in the north was a stalemate; the British controlled New York and its harbor, while Washington, lacking naval aid, could only observe and attempt to contain them there. These pressures took their tool on morale, thus making the 1779 resolve more necessary. This copy, according to a manuscript note on the docket on verso, was directed to the Selectmen of Topsfield, whose residents included the direct lineal ancestors of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. Joseph Smith's great grandfather was Samuel Smith Jr., a Selectman of Topsfield who represented the town at the First Provincial Congress of 1774. Printed by Thomas & John Fleet: Boston: 1779. Single-page measures 9'' x 13''. Chipped at bottom and right margins with no loss to text, else fine.
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