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1828 Massachusetts Militia Commission — Signed by Governor Levi Lincoln Jr. — With State Seal
Original printed military commission on laid paper, completed in manuscript, appointing Henry Lewis of Roxbury as Ensign in the First Regiment of Infantry, First Brigade, First Division of the Militia of Massachusetts. Dated May 15, 1828 and boldly signed by Levi Lincoln Jr., then Governor and Commander in Chief of the Commonwealth (1825–1834), with countersignature of Edward D. Bangs, Secretary of the Commonwealth. Embossed paper seal of Massachusetts affixed at left.
The document confers authority to Lewis to “discharge the duties of said office according to the Laws of this Commonwealth and to Military Rule and Discipline.” The reverse side bears several manuscript endorsements dated August 1829, noting that Lewis declined to qualify and returned his commission, signed by Col. William R. Spooner and Major General Aaron Capen of the Massachusetts Militia.
An uncommon and historically interesting example of early 19th-century Massachusetts military administration, providing a full bureaucratic record of a refused commission. Levi Lincoln Jr., son of Jefferson’s Attorney General, served as Governor of Massachusetts and later became the first mayor of Worcester.
A single sheet of paper measuring approximately: 15.5" x 9.75".
There are creases from being folded, and torn along the creases into three pieces, some discoloration, else in good + condition.
A fine piece of early Massachusetts and pre-Civil War American militia history, complete with seal, gubernatorial signature, and later manuscript endorsements.
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