Signer of the Declaration of Independence, first Governor of New Hampshire, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. DS signed “Josiah Bartlett Chairman” in dark ink, one page, approximately 3.5 × 7.5 inches, issued by the New Hampshire Committee of Safety, Exeter, August 6, 1783. The document reads in full: “State of New Hampshire / In Committee of Safety Exeter 6 Aug: 1783 / To John Taylor Gilman Esq Treas[urer] — / Pay to Col[onel] Supply [Clapp?] or Order Twenty six pounds eleven shillings for which he is to be accountable as Agent Victualler / £26.11.0 — Josiah Bartlett Chairman.” Some toning, old folds, a circular punch hole (as cancelled), and edge wear consistent with age and official use; the signature bold, dark, and fully legible. has been backed. Good condition overall.
This is a military pay warrant directing New Hampshire Treasurer John Taylor Gilman, himself a future Governor of New Hampshire (1794–1805) to pay Colonel Supply Clapp £26.11.0 in his capacity as Agent Victualler, the officer responsible for provisioning troops. Though issued in August 1783, just months after the Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War, New Hampshire’s Committee of Safety continued to manage outstanding military accounts, pay obligations, and troop victualling through the post-war demobilization period. This warrant is a direct artifact of that transitional moment; the young republic settling its debts to the men who had fed its army.
Josiah Bartlett (1729–1795) stands among the most distinguished Founders. A physician and statesman from Kingston, New Hampshire, he was the first delegate to vote for independence when the question was called in the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, and the second to sign the Declaration of Independence, immediately after President John Hancock. He signed the Articles of Confederation, served as Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and was elected New Hampshire’s first Governor under the federal Constitution in 1790. Documents signed by Bartlett in his official capacities are among the most desirable of all Declaration signers’ autographs, and this warrant — signed with the full authority of his chairmanship at the Committee of Safety, is a particularly fine example of his hand in service to his state.