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Historic ADS, signed “Go: Washington,” one page, 7.5 x 8.5, December 8, 1788. Handwritten document describing the heroic death of Revolutionary War Captain George Hurlbut of the Second Regiment of Light Dragoons, penned as part of Washington's noble attempt to secure half-pay for his descendants. In part: "I do hereby certify to all whom it may concern that Capt'n George Hurlbut of the Second Regiment of Light Dragoons received a wound in the gallant performance of his duty at Tarry Town in the summer of 1781, of which after having languished in the most exquisite pains until 8th of May 1783, he expired. And I do hereby farther make known (as my own private opinion) from the very brave manner in which he saved a considerable quantity of stores, by swimming on board a vessel & extinguishing the flames that had been kindled by the enemy amidst a severe fire from their ships (for which he then received my particular thanks in the public orders of the Army)…from his having survived until after the war was in fact concluded by the signature of the provisional Treaty of Peace, that the Heir or Heirs of the said Captain George Hurlbut ought, in point of the Justice & the reason of the case, to be entitled to the Commutation of his half-pay." In fine condition. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
On the night of July 15, 1781, five American river sloops carrying four eighteen-pound cannons, flour and other supplies from West Point and the Hudson Highlands came under attack from the approaching British gunboats. Lacking support, Capt. Hurlbut and twelve fellow dragoons took a position on board one of the sloops to protect the valuable stores. Armed only with the swords and pistols of cavalry soldiers, Capt. Hurlbut kept his men concealed until the enemy were alongside, at which point he ordered them to fire. Soon surrounded, Hurlbut ordered his men to jump overboard and make for the shore, and the British immediately boarded the grounded sloops and set them afire. Heavy volleys from the American troops forced the British to retreat before seizing the supplies, and several men from shore jumped into the river and swam toward the burning sloop, extinguished the fire, and saved the vessels and most of the cargo. While Capt. Hurlbut had been in the water, however, he was struck with a musket ball through the thigh. General Washington reportedly visited the injured officer several times during his recovery. In March 1783, he wrote to Washington: 'The wound which I received almost two years ago is at length healed, but the disagreeable symptoms…forbid me to expect a return of health…my only remaining wish is to return to New London…in the circle of my friends to wait a decision of my fate.'
Hurlbut died from complications of his painful wounds on May 8, 1783, some six months after the signing of the Preliminary Articles of Peace on November 30, 1782. As such he fell outside of the provisions of the law passed by Congress to give half-pay pensions to the widows of officers killed during the war. But since the cause of Hurlbut's death stemmed from valorous actions performed on active service during the Revolution, Washington aimed to aid his family, offering this 'certificate of the facts, respecting the brilliant Service which your brother performed, at the moment when he met with the wound, that occasioned his death together with a private opinion annexed to it.' With this certificate, he thought that she might make 'applications to the Board of Treasury, the Commissioner for settling the accounts of the army, or any other persons to whom the business may appertain.' Washington also pointed out: 'There can be no doubt but that (as heir to your Brother) you are entitled to the proportion of land, promised to all officers of his rank, who served through the war, or dyed in the service' (see: Washington's letter to Anna Welsh, December 8, 1788, published in The Papers of George Washington).
