1783 Continental Army Gen HERMAN SWIFT Signed Doc

Autographs
Continental Army Brigadier General Herman Swift of Connecticut Soldier's Certification of Service in 1783
HERMAN SWIFT (1733-1814). Brevet Brigadier General in the Continental Army, known as "General Washington's Colonel". Member of General Washington's staff and wintered with him at Valley Forge. He carried the wounded Lafayette off the Brandywine battlefield to safety, and put down a near mutiny of Connecticut troops in 1782.
February 14, 1783-Dated Revolutionary War Period, Autograph Document Signed, "H. Swift Colo. - 2nd Connecticut Regt.", measuring 8" x 4.5", 1 page, at Camp Highland, sent to the Pay Table Committee at Hartford, Choice Extremely Fine. Swift writes his certification that George McKinsey was a member of the 5th Connecticut Regiment since January 1780 and remains in service since January 1st, 1781 with the 2nd Connecticut Regiment. A lovely, very clean and nicely handwritten document on laid period paper with an excellent strong signature and one of the finest examples we have seen. The Highland's Department was the smallest in area, and was formed around the defenses on the Hudson River north of New York near West Point.
On March 27, 1758, Heman Swift was commissioned by Thomas Fitch, Governor of Connecticut, first Lieutenant, Ninth Company, under Col. David Worcester, for the invasion of Canada and served through the French and Indian War.
In 1777, the Continental Congress established a permanent army assigning each state, based on its size, a quota of regiments. During the Revolutionary War, 27 infantry regiments were assigned to the "Connecticut Line". These "lines" as a body formed the "Continental Line." In this new formation, Colonel Heman Swift of Cornwall, Connecticut, was given command of the Seventh Regiment.
Colonel Swift was a personal friend of General George Washington and was held by him in high esteem. He was a member of General Washington's staff and wintered with him at Valley Forge. Swift fought bravely throughout the war and was made a Brigadier-General on September 30, 1783, the year he retired from the military. After the close of the war, from 1789 to 1802, he served as a member of the upper house of the Connecticut State legislature.
The second formation, 5th Regiment-Connecticut Line, was part of the re-organized long term Continental Army, America's first regulars. It was formed in the spring of 1777 under Col. Philip Burr Bradley. The Regiment saw its first action against the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut in April 1777 and then was posted to the defense of the vital Highlands near West Point, New York. In October 1777, as reinforcements to Washington's main army, it fought at the Battle of Germantown, Pennsylvania. Suffering from lack of food, clothing and terrible sanitary conditions, the Regiment then spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Well prepared by Maj. Gen. Baron von Steuben, the Regiment fought gallantly at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in June of 1778. The unit served the next three years in the Highlands Defense. It encamped in Reading, Connecticut during the winter of 1778-79, and in retaliation for the British raids against the coastline of Connecticut in July 1779, the Continental Army counterattacked at Stony Point, New York. The Regiment contributed its Light Infantry Company to this assault. After the severe winter of 1779-80 near Morristown, New Jersey, the regiment passed 1780 uneventfully.
The Army was re-organized in 1781, and a new 5th Regiment-Connecticut Line was formed from the former 1st and 8th Regiments. In January, the regiment, now commanded by Col. Isaac Sherman, was sent into action in New York near Morisania. In 1781, the Regiment contributed 2 Light Infantry companies to operations in the south. Both companies fought at Yorktown where they participated in the last major infantry assault of the war-the famous capture of Redoubt Number 10.
Sgt. William Brown of the 5th Regiment-Connecticut Line was awarded the Badge of Merit for his leadership that night. Known as the "Purple Heart," this was the earliest version of the Medal of Honor, and his was one of only three awarded during the Revolutionary War. The unit was mustered out for the last time in December, 1782 at West Point, New York.