[John Hancock]. Thomas Cushing autograph letter signed ("Thomas Cushing"). One page of a bifolium, 7.5" x 12.5", Watertown; June 6, 1776. Integral leaf addressed by Cushing to "The honble. John Hancock". Docketed. Thomas Cushing, member of the First and Second Continental Congresses, transmits John Hancock's commission as the first major general of the Massachusetts militia and discusses the completion of a Continental gunship. It reads, in part: "This serves to cover your commission as First Major General of the Militia there this Colony ~ Wm. Winthrop Informed me he would furnish you with a list of the numbers of the new House as also on the list of the Committees Elected for the Present Year. The House would not hear of Electing in the Council any of the Members of the Congress, as they said, they suffered so much the last year for the want of the Board's being full. The Twenty four Gun Ship at Newbury Port was launched a few days ago, she is as fine a ship, it is generally thought, as ever was built upon the Continent...Pray send me a p[am]phlet lately printed at Philadelphia which contains an Extract of the Providing of the Congress Relative to the Continental Navy..." Signed, "Thomas Cushing." Thomas Cushing (1725-1788) was a merchant and lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a member of the provincial assembly from 1761 until its dissolution in 1774 and then as a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. He also served on the legislative committee that addressed General Washington in 1776 on the departure of British troops from Boston. While Cushing ultimately lost his seat in Congress for resisting American independence, he remained active in politics throughout the Revolutionary period. After the war, Cushing served as the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under John Hancock before briefly assuming the position of acting governor upon the latter's resignation in 1785. An engraving of Hancock by L.B. Forrest accompanies the letter. Condition: Professional repairs from various periods, including two areas of paper loss on recto since filled, and one area on recto once separated but now repaired, some of which affect text. Moderate loss to blank margins at integral address leaf also repaired. Letter silked, presumably after paper-loss repairs. Two small pieces of paper attachment on verso (page 4) indicating previous mounting. "Presented by William T. Forsythe" is penned in an unknown hand at bottom margin of recto. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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