Lot 14
Expenses For Shay's Rebellion. Manuscript Document Signed by Hugh Maxwell and Asaph White, selectmen of the town of Heath, Massachusetts, April 14, 1787, requesting reimbursement for provisions they furnished eleven men from the town who marched to Springfield and were with General William Sheperd when he defended the Federal Arsenal against Daniel Shay and 2,000 farmers. "In Obedience to orders Received from Major General [William] Shepard to furnish the men who should March from the Town of Heath to Springfield in January last with provision until the Commissary should counder order, we the Selectmen of the Town did furnish provision for Eleven Men who marched; from the fifteenth day of January to the twenty sixth…we have credit on the Roll for only Six days provision, leaving due to us six days Rations…." Below the computation of the amount due is, "Heath Aprill 14, 1787. to the Honorable the Committe for Settling the amounts of the Expense incurred by the Rebellion," signed by Maxwell and White. Below this statement is a signed statement by the captain of the men, certifying that they did serve in his company and "they did not draw provision from the public store during the six days Referred to…." Other official notations follow. The one-page folio document is lightly toned and soiled, else Fine.
Shay's Rebellion was an armed uprising that lasted for six months, from August 29, 1786 to February 3, 1787. It was caused by an economic depression that severely affected the farmers of Western Massachusetts. When their petitions to the government for paper currency, lower taxes, and judicial reform went unanswered, an armed group of farmers, led by Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Revolution and a farmer from Pelham, occupied courts in several towns, hoping to prevent further trials and imprisonment for debtors. Governor Bowdoin assembled 4,400 militiamen under General Benjamin Lincoln to protect the Commonwealth. When the Federal arsenal was assaulted on January 25, 1787, General William Shepard defended the arsenal with 1,200 local militiamen, among whom were the eleven men from the town of Heath. General Lincoln arrived in Springfield the next day and chased Shay's army, taking them by surprise on February 3rd in Petersham and ending the rebellion. Of the fourteen leaders, including Shay, who were condemned to death for treason, all but two were pardoned. As Justice of the Peace for Hampshire County, Hugh Maxwell administered the Oath of Allegiance to those insurgents who gave up their arms. Shay's Rebellion is considered one of the leading causes in the formation of the United States Constitution.
Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000.
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| Realized $4,888 |
