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Hamilton, Alexander. ALS by Hamilton to Samuel Hodgson, related to moving Army personnel and militia across Pennsylvania to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. Full text: “Philadelphia Sep. 14, 1794/ Sr/ W. Abraham Hunt informs me that he can procure waggons as far as Reading but not further. It is therefore adviseable for you immediately to send on a person to engage waggons to take the troops up at Reading. Governor Howel with 500 horse will move from Trenton on Tuesday. The continental troops have already marched for Reading- the rest of the Jersey Militia will follow in all the ensuing week./ The person you send on will have nothing to do but to engage Waggons. General Miller goes off to Reading tomorrow to make arrangements for forage fuel & straw. Your Agent must be directed to report to him & follow his directions. Pray let him depart this Evening as I should be mortified at a moments detention of the troops on the road for want of transportation- I have mislaid the report you made me of the Artillery in Tour- send me this Evening or early in the morning a Copy & note how many of them you are actually prepared to send off/ With esteem/ yr obed Ser/ A Hamilton.” The “Howel” mentioned is New Jersey Governor Richard Howell. Hamilton himself soon travelled west as a civilian military advisor. The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax resistance movement most active in four rural counties in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Several officials attempting to enforce the tax had faced beating, lynching, and/or tarring and feathering. Some distillers who would otherwise have paid the tax were intimidated and prevented from doing so. While the whiskey excise tax was the most obvious grievance against the Federal Government, there were also larger issues of Federal power and how the new government would handle distant, sparsely populated areas. In May 1794, US Marshal Lenox had been ordered to serve subpoenas in western Pennsylvania which would have required witnesses to travel to Philadelphia to testify— a difficult or even impossible journey for an ordinary distiller. The legislation which would have allowed the trials to be held in Pennsylvania’s local courts was passed June 5, but it was not until June 22 that Lenox left for western Pennsylvania to serve the subpoenas. In early fall of 1794, over 12,000 men were marched into western Pennsylvania—Army personnel, as well as militia from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. When they arrived in October 1794, the Whiskey rebels offered no violence against them. Despite the lack of a declaration of war, several defendants were indicted for treason. Measurements: 10" x 8". At one time, the property of John Stuart Groves, a book collector resident in Wilmington, DE, and a founding member of the Lincoln Book Club. Latterly in the collection of the Hill House Museum, Portsmouth, VA. Sale proceeds will benefit conservation and restoration of the Hill House Museum collection. 4to. Very good, on wove paper with slight toning. L. Munn watermark in center. In early 20th Century custom leather clamshell case with embossed name of John Stuart Grove. Case worn.
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