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Table of Contents > Historic Autographs > Lot 37 |
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Lot Number: 37
Click for a Printable PageSign-in to Bid or Register to Bid Estimate Range: $1,800 - $2,400 Starting Bid: $900 |
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1793 “Walter Stewart” Revolutionary War General Signed Insurance Policy for Cargo of the American Schooner “Fly” an 8-gun Sloop of the Continental Navy in November 1775 |
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WALTER STEWART (1756-1796). Continental Army and Pennsylvania Brevet Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War; Aide-de-Camp to Gates; Stewart’s full-length Portrait is shown within the famous Oil Painting by Colonel John Trumbull in the “Surrender of Cornwallis” at Yorktown, Stewart’s image seen on the left side of the line of the American Continental Army officers. December 18, 1793-Dated Federal Period, Printed Document Signed, “Walter Stewart” on an Insurance Policy for the historic American Schooner “Fly” (the USS Fly was an early Revolutionary War period 8-gun Sloop of the Continental Navy, activated in November 1775), 1 page, measuring about 16” x 13.75”, at Philadelphia, Very Fine. Intersecting folds, some strengthened on the back with glassine tape, short tears and some chipping along the bottom edge. Printed in black typeset on a large sheet of fine laid period paper watermarked “Brandywine.” This special Ship’s Insurance Policy issued by Wharton & Lewis, and taken out by E. Dutilh & Wachsmuth to protect cargo on the Schooner “Fly” on a trip to and from Philadelphia to Martinique. Walter Stewart and Pette Hight sign just below the center, with each subscribing in the amount of 200 Pounds. Scarce, even as a period maritime insurance policy, greatly enhanced in value by the excellent signature of Walter Stewart.Fly, One of the Eight former merchant ships fitted out by the Continental Congress Naval Committee between November 1775 and January 1776. She was purchased in Providence, Rhode Island under a Congressional authorization dated 16 January 1775 for a small tender or despatch vessel for the fleet. A schooner, often referred to as a sloop, she was first commanded by Lieutenant Hoystead Hacker. This ship appears to be the same one that General George Washington authorized on 18 September 1775 to sail for supplies. (A list of those supplies brought to the colonies by Fly was reported in the Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 2, pg 254.) Early in 1776, Fly joined the squadron of Commodore Esek Hopkins off Reedy Island at the head of Delaware Bay, and on 17 February sailed with this force for its historic cruise to New Providence, America's first amphibious operation. Two nights out, Fly fouled the sloop USS Hornet, who was forced to return to port. Fly, however, was able to rejoin the squadron off New Providence 11 March, finding that the operation had been a great success, and that a large quantity of military stores sorely needed by the Continental Army had been taken. Heavily laden with the valuable supplies, the fleet departed New Providence 17 March, and on 4 April arrived off Long Island where it took two small British ships of war and two merchantmen. Two days later the squadron engaged the British sloop-of-war HMS Glasgow, which successfully resisted American attempts to capture her before sailing into Newport Rhode Island, though her tender was captured. On 8 April the fleet arrived at New London, Connecticut, to land the captured military stores. Fly patrolled off New London to learn the strength of the British Fleet until June, when she was detached to carry cannon from Newport to Amboy, New Jersey, where she was blockaded briefly by the British. Later in 1776, she cruised the New Jersey coast to intercept enemy ships bound for New York City. In an encounter with one of these in November, a number of Fly's men were wounded, and she was damaged to the extent that she had to put in at Philadelphia to repair and refit. Ready for active service early in 1777, Fly convoyed merchantmen to sea, carried dispatches, and protected American ships in Cape May Channel. During the later part of the year, she was one of the Continental ships working with the Pennsylvania Navy to defend the Delaware River. In November when the British Fleet and powerful shore batteries forced the evacuation of Fort Mifflin and Fort Mercer, giving the British control of the river, Fly and the other Continental ships were burned to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. Walter Stewart (1756-1796) was an Irish-born Continental Army American General in the American Revolutionary War. Stewart began his military career as captain of a Pennsylvania infantry company at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. He served as an Aide-de-Camp to Horatio Gates for a year with the rank of major. Given command of the Pennsylvania State Regiment, which later became the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment, Stewart led his troops with distinction at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777. He was wounded while leading a detachment at the Battle of Monmouth in the summer of 1778. Despite Stewart's ability to cool tensions during the 1780 Mutiny of the Connecticut Line, his regiment later became involved in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny. The “Newburgh Conspiracy” was an apparent planned military coup by the Continental Army in March 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The conspiracy may have been instigated by members in the Congress of the Confederation, who circulated an anonymous letter in the army camp at Newburgh, New York, on March 10, 1783. Soldiers were unhappy that they had not been paid for some time and that pensions that had been promised remained unfunded. The letter suggested that they should take unspecified action against Congress to resolve the issue. The letter was said to have been written by Major John Armstrong, aide to General Horatio Gates, although the authorship and underlying ideas are subjects of historical debate. Commander-in-Chief George Washington stopped any serious talk of rebellion when he made an emotional address to his officers asking them to support the supremacy of Congress. Not long afterward, Congress approved a compromise agreement that it had previously rejected: it funded some of the pay arrears, and granted soldiers five years of full pay instead of a lifetime pension of half pay. The motivations of numerous actors in these events are unclear. Some historians allege that serious consideration was given within the army to some sort of coup d'tat, while others dispute the notion. The exact motivations of congressmen involved in communications with army officers implicated in the events are similarly debated. He was married in Philadelphia in 1781 before going south with the army to fight in the decisive Siege of Yorktown. After the British surrender, Stewart was deeply involved in the Newburgh Conspiracy. Following a term as Inspector General, he retired from the army at the beginning of 1783, and became a successful Philadelphia businessman and General in the state militia. He died on June 16, 1796 during an outbreak of yellow fever. The mercantile firm of Dutilh & Wachsmuth was established in Philadelphia in 1790 and was dissolved circa 1798. Etienne Dutilh was born in France in 1748 and came to Philadelphia in 1783, after a career as a merchant in Rotterdam and London. Numerous members of the family were established as merchants in Holland, England, Smyrna, and the West Indies. E. Dutilh & Co. was established by 1784, trading primarily with the West Indies but also with Europe. John Godfried Wachsmuth was admitted to full partnership in 1790 under the style of Dutilh & Wachsmuth. Wachsmuth seems to have had American connections, while Dutilh maintained the ties with Europe. Dutilh was away from Philadelphia a great deal, first at Cap Francois (1792-1793) and then in Holland (1793-1795), leaving the management of the Philadelphia house in the hands of Wachsmuth. Accounts for Dutilh & Wachsmuth continue through 1803, but the active partnership was apparently dissolved ca. 1798-1799. Wachsmuth then formed a partnership with John Soullier, an associate of Dutilh's, which continued through 1814. Dutilh anglicized his name to Stephen around 1804 and continued in business until his death in 1810. His widow married John G. Wachsmuth and raised Dutilh's three sons in his home at Germantown. |
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Lot Number: 37
Click for a Printable Page Sign-in to Bid or Register to Bid |
Estimate Range: $1,800 - $2,400 Starting Bid: $900 |
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Early American History Auctions, Inc. 1520 Commerce St., # 312 • Winchester, VA 22601 Phone: 858 • 759 • 3290 Email: Auctions@EarlyAmerican.com |
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