CONNECTICUT REVOLUTIONAY WAR PAY CERTIFICATE, 1782

CONNECTICUT REVOLUTIONAY WAR PAY CERTIFICATE, 1782

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Item Code: 1309-872

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This is a State of Connecticut Treasury certificate, issued from the Treasury-Office on June 1, 1782, to Captain Timothy Taylor, who served in the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army. It is a single printed sheet with handwritten entries, typical of the paper instruments states used to settle soldiers' back pay during and after the Revolution.

The certificate is marked £33:5:3 (thirty-three pounds, five shillings, and three pence), and the amount is also written out in a flowing hand in the body of the text. It is numbered in manuscript. The printed text states that the sum is one fourth part of the balance due to the officer for his service. It is payable to him or his order at the Treasury in gold or silver on or before June 1, 1786, with lawful interest paid annually on the first of June. The certificate cites an Act of the General Assembly held at Hartford the second Thursday of May last.

It is signed by Samuel Lawrence as Treasurer. The text is enclosed in a printed ornamental border, and the top and bottom borders carry lettering that appears to read "For the Payment of" and "Cut Out Line," a security feature used to match certificates to their stubs or records. Red ink strokes, probably later cancellation or accounting marks, cross the lower body of the text.

The back has a series of handwritten interest endorsements recording payments through the late 1780s:

  • Interest paid to June 1783, signed by Sam. Lawrence, Treasurer
  • Interest paid to June 1784, signed by Richard Butler
  • Interest paid to June 1785, signed by Lawrence, Treasurer
  • Interest paid to 1786, signed by Butler
  • Interest paid to Feb. 1, 1787, signed by R. Butler
  • Interest paid to Feb. 1, 1788, signed by Jno. Jeffery
  • Interest paid to Feb. 1, 1789

Some of the readings are uncertain because of the hole and the handwriting. The endorsements show the certificate was still being serviced years after it was issued. A later note along the right edge is difficult to read.

The paper is toned and aged, with the following issues:

  • A round hole, probably a cancellation punch, in the center of both sides
  • Chipping and an irregular loss along the left edge, which affects part of the border and text
  • Small edge nicks at the top
  • A dark stain at the upper right of the front, and scattered smudges and ink blotting
  • Some creasing and soft fold lines

Despite this wear, the main text, signature, and interest endorsements remain largely legible.

Certificates like this one were how Connecticut paid its officers and soldiers when hard currency was scarce. They circulated as a form of state debt, with interest paid until the debt was settled or converted. The long run of interest endorsements makes this example a good record of how the state handled Revolutionary War obligations.  [ss][ph:L]

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