[REVOLUTIONARY WAR] 1783 Treasury Receipt re: Robert Morris

Autograph document signed by John Lawrence. Hartford, Connecticut, 31 March 1783. 1 page, 8 1/4 x 7 5/8 in. Docketed and signed by Captain Jabez Perkins to verso.

A scarce treasury receipt document from the financial crisis caused by the Revolutionary War. By 1781, the recently founded United States had accrued war debt of over $25 million and public credit was on the verge of collapse. Robert Morris, a Pennsylvania merchant and signer of the Declaration of Independence, paid the debt of the country from his personal funds. During the panic, Morris was the US Superintendent of Finance and Agent of Marine, holding both roles until 1 November 1784.

Here, the document records the receipt of 31 notes signed by Robert Morris "for fifteen hundred + ten dollars which is equal to four hundred fifty three pounds Lawful Money” for the sale of “Beef and Porke” (likely distributed to soldiers or sailors under the command of Captain Perkins).

A scarce Revolutionary War financial document.

Condition: minor offsetting, old creases and folds.

[Revolutionary War, Finances, FInancial History, 1781 Financial Crisis, Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera]