HENRY KNOX QUELLS SHAY'S REBELLION (MASSACHUSETTS.) Knox, Henry. Letter organizing a regiment to quell the rebellion. Letter Signed as "HKnox" to Governor James Bowdoin. 3 pages, 12 1/2 x 8 inches, on one sheet; slight separations at folds, minor foxing. War Office [Philadelphia], 21 October 1786
With a mob of impoverished Revolutionary War veterans loose in western Massachusetts, Congress authorized military force to stop the rebellion. Here, the Secretary of War Henry Knox writes to the governor of Massachusetts with detailed instructions, explaining that 660 troops would be raised, plus officers. He adds: "Arrangements will be taken to furnish complete uniform clothing, arms and accoutrements, and one month's pay to the officers and men previous to their marching, and also for the supply of rations. It has been usual in the recruiting service as an inducement for the men to inlist, to advance at the time of being sworn, two dollars or half a month's pay." He concludes with a request for the names of the regiment's new officers: "As soon as your Excellency shall have made the appointments, I request that you would transmit them to this office, and their commissions shall be forwarded as soon as possible." With the aid of this regiment, the rebels were dispersed by March. This important letter is apparently unpublished.
