1758 French + Indian War NAVAL Appointment / Commission SIGNED Governor Pownall for Sale

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1758 French + Indian War NAVAL Appointment / Commission SIGNED Governor Pownall For Sale

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1758 French + Indian War NAVAL Appointment / Commission SIGNED Governor Pownall:
$3500.00

- 1758 French + Indian War NAVAL Appointment / Commission -- Lieutenant Souther onboard the Massachusetts SHIP “King George” -- SIGNED by Massachusetts Colonial GOVERNOR Thomas Pownall -

EXTREMELY RARE and important, AMERICAN French + Indian War NAVAL Commission – appointing Daniel Souther a LIEUTENANT onboard the Province of Massachusetts Bay SHIP “King George”. Daniel Souther also served as CAPTAIN of the Brigantine “Massachusetts” during the Revolutionary War and took a British ship of war as a “prize”.

Commission itself is authentically written in pen ink in a manuscript form on VELLUM, dated August 9th 1758 at Boston, and is genuinely SIGNED (autographed) along the bottom by Massachusetts GOVERNOR Thomas Pownall and by DEPUTY SECRETARY Thomas Clarke. There is a wax / paper SEAL located in the upper left corner of the commission.

The naval commission reads in part, “Thomas Pownall Esquire Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over his Majesty’s Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England; Vice Admiral of the same etc… appoint you the said Daniel Souther to be Lieutenant of the Province Ship of War called the King George Commanded by Benjamin Hallowell jun’r Esq’r You are therefore carefully and diligently to Discharge the Duty of a Lieutenant in keeping the Inferiour Officers and Mariners in good Order… etc.”.

INTERESTING HISTORICAL NOTE: there was a noted mutiny which took place in Boston Harbor aboard the SHIP “King George” on December 5th 1757, with five Salem (MA) seamen deserting.

This is an EXTREMELY RARE and very possibly a UNIQUE American French and Indian War NAVAL Commission. The fact that this commission had to be written or executed in a manuscript form indicates how UNUSUAL this type of NAVAL appointment was. I have NEVER seen another during my 35+ years collecting documents from the FOUR French + Indian Wars that were fought in North America. Compared to the partly-printed French + Indian War “ARMY” commissions usually offered for sale, those typically found issued to Colonial Militia “Foot Company” officers, commissions for NAVAL officers of war date are virtually nonexistent. This commission would be a significant addition to any French and Indian War collection.

PROVENANCE: commission originated from Stuart Goldman, an early American document collector of the past, who acquired this commission at a New England estate sale in the 1990’s.

Ship “KING GEORGE” - the armed ship “King George” was built by John Ruddock and was launched on April 18th 1757, but it set sail a month later on May 18th 1757. She made eight cruises that summer and fall. The warship was owned and kept in commission by the Province of the Massachusetts Bay for the protection of the TRADE and FISHERY of the Province. The “King George” was tasked with guarding the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine during the last French and Indian War (1754 - 1763). It was commanded by the British CAPTAIN Benjamin Hallowell and consisted of a crew of approximately 150 men, including officers, with purportedly 20 carriage guns. Captain Hallowell’s Massachusetts commission was dated August 27th 1757. The King George made six cruises in 1758, her most successful year for “prizes” - which included the French letter-of-marque ship St. Michael, the French letter-of-marque snow Glorie, the letter-of-marque ship Astree, and the ship Frippone. The \"King George”, under Hallowell’s command, rendered distinguished service at Louisbourg and Newfoundland in the conquest of Canada as noted by several published sources of the time, particularly the Pennsylvania Gazette.

DANIEL SOUTHER (1727 - 1797) was born in Hingham, Massachusetts and eventually settled in Hull, where he was a town treasurer. During the last French and Indian War, Daniel Souther served in the British Royal Navy as a Lieutenant onboard the Massachusetts Province ship “King George” which was commanded by Captain Benjamin Hallowell. In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Daniel Souther was commissioned Captain of the Massachusetts State Navy BRIGANTINE “Massachusetts”, with a crew of 30 men and 16 guns. Under instructions from the Massachusetts Council, Captain Souther was “ordered and directed immediately to proceed to sea, and use your utmost endeavours to protect the sea-coast and trade of the United States, and you are also directed to exert yourself in making captures of all ships and other vessels, goods, wares, and merchandise, belonging to the King of Great Britain or any of his subjects”. In this capacity, in September of 1776 the “Massachusetts” under Souther’s command captured and took as a “prize” a British Brigantine “Henry and Ann” of about 250 tons sailing from Falmouth in England with a crew of 28 men + 6 three-pound cannons. Also onboard was a company of the 16th Royal Regiment of Dragoons with their horse accoutrements. On December 4th 1776, Captain Daniel Souther petitioned the Massachusetts Council to resign his commission as Commander of the state’s armed Brig “Massachusetts” by reason of ill health. Souther’s petition was read and concurred in the House of Representatives the following day, December 5th, and he was thanked for his fidelity and good conduct.

CONDITION: commission document is guaranteed authentic and original (NOT a copy). It measures about 10 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches in size and is in EXCELLENT overall condition. There are three vertical folds and one horizontal fold. There are NO rips or tears, only some scattered toning. The wax / paper seal is fully intact and in EXCELLENT condition as well. (see SCANS). The signatures / autographs of GOVERNOR Thomas Pownall and Thomas Clarke are BOTH guaranteed authentic. Winning buyer to pay $45 for shipping, postage & INSURANCE. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. PLEASE READ: I have been buying + selling American historical autographs & documents for over 40 years and a former member of both the “Manuscript Society” and the UACC. We ship everything INSURED (thru the USPS) with a value over $50. This helps us know that the item you took the time to purchase arrived safely. Packages are shipped out within 1 – 3 business days, but typically the next day. Please understand, we do not make any money on shipping costs, but rather run a deficit over the course of a year. Most buyers don’t realize that charges me a 13.3 percent FEE on the item sold, an additional 13.3 percent FEE on my quoted shipping charges, and another 13.3 percent FEE on the sales tax that collects on the item. Everything we sell is packaged with the utmost care. Please read my response over the last 25 years. The comments are often – the best packaging I have ever seen or “bullet proof” packaging. We do NOT offer returns for one simple reason. In the past, I have had some buyers purchase items from me and then proceed to shop them around during the return period to try and make a fast profit, without any financial risk. After they were unsuccessful, they returned the item to me. This information, however, made it back to me from different people I know who were directly offered my item immediately after I had sold it and before it was returned to me for a refund. offer with confidence! You will receive the exact item pictured and in the same condition as described in my listing.