Lot 226

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Description:

Rare July 4th (and 5th) 1776 DS 140,000 For Muskets! Amazing Date/Place Association!!

Independence! Inventory of Gunpowder and Cartridges in Pennsylvania Navy on July 4, 1776. An Autographic rarity. the few we have ever had were in the $4000-10,000 range and no where near the content of the present. Also the last time we saw one was at least 4 years ago. We feel this should have increased.

This inventory of powder and cartridges, dated on the day following the Declaration of Independence, was probably prepared for the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, which had responsibility for the colony's revolutionary government until a new state government could be formed. It had decided that Philadelphia needed to be protected against the incursions of British naval vessels on the Delaware River. While the Second Continental Congress voted for independence at the Pennsylvania State House in the city, the author of this inventory was counting gunpowder and cartridges the colony and united colonies would need to defend that declaration against the power of the British Army and Navy.

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Manuscript Document Signed, Inventory of gunpowder and cartridges, July 4-5, 1776, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1 p., 7.25" x 6.25". Expected folds; general toning; some tape repairs to verso, partially obscuring file note; very good.

Complete Transcript
50 Pounds onboard Each Armed Boat
60 do do ye the Province Ship
60 do do ye Floating Battery
400 Cartridges 18 pdrs in ye Magazine
145 do 12 pdrs with Grape Shott in ye do
400 do 6 pdrs with do in ye do
140000 do for Muskets of differed Sizes fill'd
1400 lbs Powder in Casks
Philada July 5th 1776
[illegible signature]

[File note on verso:]
[? of Cartridges on board] the Province Ship, Floating Battery & Boats, with an Acct of Cartridges for Muskets fill'd & powder in Store / 4th July 1776

Historical Background
On July 6, 1775, the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety authorized the purchase and outfitting of ships to protect Philadelphia and the Delaware River from the British Navy. By October 1775, thirteen armed galleys had been built at a cost of £550 each. They were outfitted with a single cannon in the bow, and the Committee appointed Thomas Read as commodore of the fleet. They also had ten fire rafts built in late 1775 and early 1776 and placed them under the command of John Hazelwood. Two floating batteries, the Arnold and the Putnam, were built and manned by Pennsylvania Marines. In April 1776, the province acquired the ship Montgomery.

In the summer of 1776, the province of Pennsylvania had one province ship and one floating battery, along with several smaller vessels, which the Committee of Safety placed under the command of Commodore Samuel Davison in early June. Because he was promoted ahead of other captains, there was nearly a mutiny among the fledgling Pennsylvania navy. The Committee of Safety removed Davison from fleet command and eventually dismissed him from the navy.

A report of July 1, 1776, indicated that Davison commanded the ship Montgomery with 109 men, and John Henesy commanded the floating battery with 111 men. In total, the Pennsylvania navy had 743 men aboard 25 vessels.

On July 3, the Committee of Safety directed Captain Martin Wert to deliver to Commodore Davison "the whole Quantity of Ammunition that he now has on Board the Ammunition Vessel," an order which may be related to this inventory.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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May 31, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000