Details
WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President. Printed document signed ("G:Washington") as Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army, countersigned by John Trumbull Jr., Secretary and by a regimental adjutant, "Head Quarters" [New Windsor, near Newburgh, New York], 7 June 1783. 2 pages, folio, 330 x 205 mm. (13 x 8 1/4 in.), very minor discoloration to paper, a small hole at one fold intersection not affecting text, in generally good condition for this document, professionally enclosed in a two-sided mat and double-glazed in a fine giltwood frame. A Continental Army discharge certificate in which "His Excellency George Washington....certifies that "William Gilchrist, Private in the Second New York Regiment," who has "faithfully served the United States six years," and who is additionally awarded a badge of merit for his six years' service, is honorably discharged.
A discharge signed one day before Washington's famous circular letter to each of the thirteen states, in which he announced his retirement as commander, stating his hope "to pass the remainder of my life in a state of undisturbed repose," expressing his pleasure at America's newly won "absolute freedom and independence," and cautioning his countrymen to maintain "an indissoluble union of the states under one Federal head" (Fitzpatrick, 26:483-496).
A discharge signed one day before Washington's famous circular letter to each of the thirteen states, in which he announced his retirement as commander, stating his hope "to pass the remainder of my life in a state of undisturbed repose," expressing his pleasure at America's newly won "absolute freedom and independence," and cautioning his countrymen to maintain "an indissoluble union of the states under one Federal head" (Fitzpatrick, 26:483-496).