November 17, 2020 Early Arms & Militaria: Age of Exploration, Empire & Revolution
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2020
Grant of land to Commodore Thomas MacDonough by the grateful city of Albany. Autograph Document Signed by Mayor Philip S. Van Rensselaer, Albany, 3 October 1814; ink on vellum with paper seal of the city in left margin; 15 x 16 1/2 inches (view) within glazed frame. The heroes of American naval and military victories of the War of 1812 were publicly celebrated, with Congress, states and cities usually voting for the commissioning of presentation swords, medals or commemorative silver services to the victorious commanding officers, most not completed until well after the war. Albany, the capital of New York and directly in the path of the invading British amphibious force coming down the Lake Champlain corridor, decided to give Commodore Thomas Macdonough a more immediate and perhaps financially-viable gift within weeks of his victory off Plattsburgh—land. This deed awards him a desirable parcel on Washington Square in the heart of the city for his "gallant conduct . . . in the signal victory achieved by him over a superior British squadron on Lake Champlain on the eleventh day of September last." CONDITION: the vellum with folds and slight buckling, as usual with such documents, the text and signatures strong and seal complete; not examined outside of the frame. JLK
Item Dimensions: 21 x 20"