Mar 29, 2018 - Sale 2471

Sale 2471 - Lot 263

Price Realized: $ 1,625
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
ONE OF THE SOLDIERS WHO CREATED THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (MILITARY--AMERICAN REVOLUTION.) Pay bond issued to African-American soldier Timothy Cesar. Partially printed Document Signed by John Lawrence as treasurer of Connecticut, inscribed on verso with 7 annual payment notes, each signed by the state's treasurer, and also the signatures of Timothy Cesar (by mark) and witness Gideon Frackingham; 1-inch circular cancellation hole in center of document and uneven cancellation cut on left edge, otherwise minor wear and toning. Hartford, CT, 1782-89

Additional Details

Timothy Cesar (circa 1742-1822) of Haddam, CT served in various Connecticut regiments in the American Revolution from 1777 until the fighting was done. In January of 1781, he joined the 2nd Company of the state's 4th Regiment, composed of African-American enlisted men who fought under white officers. He was transferred to the Invalid Corps in August 1782--whether due to injury or illness, we do not know.
The army which won freedom from the British was determined, but not well funded. Soldiers (white and black) were often paid with nearly worthless paper money, or in bonds--a promise that they would be repaid for their service after the war. This bond was issued on 1 June 1782 to Cesar for 13 pounds, 6 shilling, and 11 1/2 pence for his service "in the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army," to be paid before June 1786. In the margins is a decorative engraving reading "For payment of the Connecticut Line." On verso, various treasurers note that the interest was duly paid each year through 1789. Cesar died in New Haven at the age of 80, and his Connecticut Journal death notice on 9 April 1822 described him as "black" and "a revolutionary pensioner." References: White, Connecticut's Black Soldiers 1775-1783, page 57; Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War, page 272.