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Description:
Beautifully engraved SCARCE Certificate from the DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS issued in 1855. This 12 1/2" x 9 1/2" historic document was printed by the Tappan, Carpenter & Co, New York. The certificate has an ornate border around it with vignettes of troops in battle, a portrait of R. McClelland ( Secretary of the Interior ), portrait of R. Brodhead ( U.S. Senate ), Drummer Boy with troops, farmers and George Washington. There is also an underprint that says "BOUNTYLAND 120 ACRES". This item is hand signed by the Josiah Minot, Commissioner of Pensions and is over 147 years old. The certificate has been folded with center fold split with tissue-thin reinforcement, minor stain in center otherwise fine condition. This is the first time we have had this type of certificate for sale.
Certificate Vignette DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS BOUNTY LAND It is hereby Certified, that under the Act of March , 1855, entitled, "An Act in Addition to certain Acts granting Bounty Land to certain Officers and Soldiers who have been engaged in the Military Service of the United States" "Albert G. Wells was Private, Captain Winters Company, Illinois Volunteers, Black Hawk War" is entitled to locate ONE HUNDRED TWENTY ACRES at any Land Office of the Untied States, in one body and in conformity to the local subdivisions of the public lands, upon any of the public lands "subject while at either the minimum or lower graduated prices." Given under my hand and the Seal of the Department this 29th Day of September 1855 - signed J. Minot Commissioner. Albert Wells was in Regiment 3 of the Whiteside Brigade of Captain Winters Company. Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War began soon after the Sauk Indians, led by Black Hawk, faring poorly in Iowa where the government had moved them, recrossed the Mississippi River and moved back to their former cornfields to plant a new crop. As tensions mounted, panicky settlers killed two Indians seeking a parley and bearing a white flag. Black Hawk, enraged, began killing white settlers. Observing the military forces organizing against him, Black Hawk reconsidered his actions and decided to surrender. Yet an undisciplined militia ignored a peace flag and attacked the Sauk. The Indian warriors promptly returned fire. The militia retreated in a panic, many forgetting their firearms. The Sauk collected the weapons and retreated northward along the Rock River into Wisconsin. The Black Hawk War had begun. General Henry Atkinson was in charge of U.S. Army forces, assisted by four thousand militiamen led by Henry Dodge and James Henry. Traveling with small children and elderly members of the tribe, the Sauk and Fox were unable to move as rapidly as the soldiers. In an effort to distract the Americans, Sauk warriors raided frontier farms and villages. On July 21, 1832, soldiers led by Henry Dodge caught up with Black Hawk's band near the Wisconsin River, outside of present-day Sauk City. Although greatly outnumbered, Sauk warriors turned the attack on American troops, allowing the Indian women and children to flee across the Wisconsin River. The next morning, the American troops discovered that the Sauk warriors had vanished, having quietly forded the river in darkness. Dodge subsequently fell back, journeying north to Fort Winnebago (near present-day Portage) to obtain supplies. At Fort Winnebago, Dodge joined forces with Atkinson and set out in pursuit of the Sauk and Fox. Most members of the starving band had fled west, hoping to find sanctuary among tribes beyond the Mississippi River. On August 2, U.S. soldiers attacked the Sauk and Fox as they attempted to ford the Mississippi River, near what is now Victory in Vernon County. Ignoring a truce flag, the troops aboard a river steamboat fired cannons and rifles, killing hundreds, including many children. Many of those who made it across the river were slain by the Eastern Sioux, allies of the Americans in 1832. Only 150 of the one thousand members of Black Hawk's band survived the events of the summer of 1832. Survivors rejoined the Sauk and Fox who had remained in Iowa. Black Hawk surrendered to officials at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien. The defeated warrior was imprisoned and sent east to meet with President Andrew Jackson and other government officials. Eventually the U. S. government sent him to live with surviving members of the Sauk and Fox nation. JOSIAH MINOT of Concord, Merrimack County, N.H. Democrat. U.S. District Attorney for New Hampshire, 1847-50; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Hampshire, 1860 graduated at Dartmouth College in 1837. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840, and opened an office in Concord. He was appointed, in 1852, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which he resigned, in 1855, to accept the appointment of commissioner of pensions. Background information is from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
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Reference#: blachawwarbo |
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Year:
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