1784 West Point AMERICAN CORPS of ARTILLERY Document SIGNED by TIMOTHY PICKERING

Description

- 1784 AMERICAN CORPS of ARTILLERY Document -
- SIGNED by QMG TIMOTHY PICKERING / West Point -
- SIGNED by Joseph Bliss / Bookstore Clerk of Henry Knox -
VERY RARE, immediate
post-Revolutionary War “AMERICAN CORPS of ARTILLERY” document
written entirely in the hand of Colonel / Quartermaster General (QMG) TIMOTHY PICKERING and genuinely SIGNED by him within the written text itself
.   The
top
of the document
reads
,
“The United States / To Joseph Bliss P.M. of the American Corps of Artillery”
.
Document is
dated
June 19th 1784
, at WEST POINT, and concerns the payment by “Timothy Pickering QMG & DeWolfe” of SIX dollars to Joseph Bliss, paymaster (P.M.) of the American Corps of Artillery – for his
“forage rations for one riding horse for the month of June – 30 rations”
.   The
signature
of PAYMASTER Joseph Bliss is located at the very bottom of the document, whereby he acknowledges receipt of the “six dollars in full of the above amount having signed duplicates”.   There is a docket / filing notation on the backside of the document.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, Major General Henry Knox was chosen by General George Washington to take command of the Continental Army in New York after Washington departed on December 4th 1783.  General Knox returned to West Point along with the remnants of the Army on December 18th and in accordance with General Washington’s instructions, continued to disband the army there.
Knox organized the remaining Army into an infantry regiment
(38 officers / 67 noncommissioned officers / and 527 rank + file) under the command of Colonel Henry Jackson
and a
small corps of artillery
(13 officers / 25 noncommissioned officers / and 100 rank + file)
- as the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment had been disbanded at West Point on January 1st 1784.
JOSEPH BLISS (1757 - 1819)
was born in Concord, Massachusetts and worked as a clerk in Henry Knox’s Boston book store prior to the Rev War.  When Knox became Washington's chief of artillery, Bliss enlisted and served in Knox’s regiment throughout the war.  He was present at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777 and attained the ranks of Ensign, Lieutenant, Captain, and Paymaster.  His commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Continental Artillery is listed as February 1st 1777.  Joseph Bliss was subject to a court-martial in 1781, with Colonel Henry Jackson as President and with Alexander Hamilton appointed as a sitting member.   Bliss was tried for “contemptuous behavior to Captain Jackson” and a breach of the rules and articles of war.  Lieutenant Bliss was found guilty of not saluting Captain Thomas Jackson (3rd Regiment of Artillery) on the Brigade Parade when he was officer of the day.  Bliss was sentenced to be reprimanded in general orders.  Bliss was transferred to the Corps of Artillery on June 17th 1783.  He served as PAYMASTER of the Corps of Artillery from January 29th 1784 until June 20th 1784.  Following the Revolutionary War, he moved to Haverhill (New Hampshire) and became an Inn-Keeper.  In 1795, President George Washington appointed him POSTMASTER of the town.
CONDITION:
document measures about 7 ½ x 12 ¼ inches in size and is in EXCELLENT, original condition with dark writing and a bold signature.  There are five horizontal folds, but NO rips or tears (see scans).
The
signature / autograph of Timothy Pickering (within the text itself) is guaranteed authentic
.   Winning bidder to pay
for shipping, postage & INSURANCE
.   Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
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