Group of 2 Autograph Documents, signed

Document, signed

Hartford, Connecticut, June 6, 1776. 1 p. Autograph document, signed by Oliver Ellsworth, authorizing Secretary Treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, John Lawrence, to pay 55 pounds 5 shillings to Mr. Moses Kimball, for the purchase of 149 3/4 lbs of salt petre. Creasing from original folds. Corner mounted.

Revolutionary War document, signed less than a month before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Salt petre (potassium nitrate) was a crucial component in making gunpowder, thus indespensible in the the war effort.

Together with:

Autograph Document, signed

Hartford, Connecticut, October 10, 1776. 1 p. Autograph document, signed by Oliver Ellsworth, authorizing Secretary Treasurer of the State of Connecticut, John Lawrence, to pay 31 pounds 6 shillings 10 pence to Mr. _____ _____, for sundry services in service of the state. Creasing from original folds. Corner mounted and matted, with the above, as well as an engraved portrait of Ellsworth.

Two Revolutionary War documents, signed by future third Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Oliver Ellsworth. The two documents reflect the change in how the United States named itself, as the first document refers to Connecticut as a colony, and the second as a state. On September 9, 1776 (a month before the second document was penned), the Continental Congress formally delcared that the new nation would be referred to as the "United States". Up until that point the term "United Colonies" had been in general use.