Handwritten copy of a 1781 commission for Colonel Isaac Franks as Ensign in the 7th Regiment of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed by John Hancock. Created in 1876, this double-sided document (7 1/2 x 12 inches) also includes a history of the house Franks inhabited in Germantown, Pennsylvania, where President Washington stayed during the 1793 Philadelphia Yellow Fever epidemic. In 1876, the commission was owned by George Huffnagle of New Hope, Pennsylvania, Isaac Franks' grandson. The house is still extant and known as the Deshler-Morris House.
Subject: Military Commissions
No additional authority information available for Military Commissions.
This pamphlet reprints an act of Parliament from 1799 that amends an earlier act (from 1756) enabling King George II to grant commissions to foreign Protestant officers and engineers to serve in America. The amendment likely addressed issues or gaps in the original act. Published in London by George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, the pamphlet is a folio-sized document.
Partially printed legal document appointing John C. Marrast as Lieutenant Colonel of the 22nd Alabama Regiment. Issued in Richmond, Virginia on November 16, 1861, by Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of War for the Confederate States of America. The document shows Benjamin's signature. A notation on the document referencing "Bragg" may refer to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Brevet Commission appointing Benjamin J. Levy as Major in the U.S. Volunteers, dated June 2, 1866. The commission is signed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and President Andrew Johnson (by his secretary). Levy was a Lieutenant in the 21st Cavalry of Pennsylvania during the Civil War. The document was issued in Washington, District of Columbia. The commission indicates that Levy's appointment is retroactive to June 28, 1865. Additional notes mention that this is an important document representing an honor bestowed upon Levy. The document's provenance notes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as well.
Certificate commissioning Harvey J. Moses as a Second Lieutenant in the 54th Infantry, New York, signed by Governor Reuben E. Fenton on March 30, 1865. The vellum certificate features an illustrated state seal. Listed in Wolf's Compilation K.
A militia commission appointing Philip L. Cohen as 2nd Lieutenant in the Richmond Hussars cavalry unit, dated June 15, 1874. The verso notes Cohen's resignation accepted November 20, 1876. The commission is signed by James M. Smith, Governor of Georgia.