Darby, Samuel (1737-1807) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01687 Author/Creator: Darby, Samuel (1737-1807) Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript document signed Date: circa October 1782 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 31.1 x 21.6 cm. Order a Copy
Date added later in pencil. Signed by Major Samuel Darby of the 7th Massachusetts Regiment and 28 other officers. Asks Henry Knox to consider the plight of a Mr. G. Smith, who had been a Sergeant in the 7th Massachusetts as well as the Quarter Master Sergeant for two years. He was discharged last spring, having found an able-bodied man to replace him, as he was not in good enough health to continue in the service. Since that time, he has opened a Public House in the West Point area to provide lodging, liquor, victuals, and entertainment to travelers. Major General [John] Paterson granted him a license to sell liquor and it became an entertainment spot for soldiers, but his license has apparently been revoked, to the "very great disappointment" of the soldiers. This will also render him in debt and "will be the means of ruining of him in all probability, if he can't have the privilege granted him of running a Public House." Adds that since Mr. Smith has a "steady woman for a wife" and kept a Public House before the war, Knox should consider granting him permission.
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