The David L. Jarrett Collection of Propaganda Covers

EXTREMELY FINE. THIS REMARKABLE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD FOLDED LETTER BEARS THE PATRIOTIC ENDORSEMENT "ON THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED COLONIES" AT THE DAWN OF THE CREATION OF THE INDEPENDENT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

In his article on United States propaganda covers (Chronicle No. 220), David L. Jarrett describes this extraordinary Revolutionary War period cover as follows: "[The cover] is in my opinion the greatest U.S. propaganda cover. Here the propaganda statement represents an early expression of a powerful message, whose fulfillment would ultimately result in the formation of the United States of America. This is a folded letter addressed by Stephen Moylan to William Bartlett of Beverly (Massachusetts). The letter was written on Christmas day, 1775, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, headquarters for the Continental Army during the siege of Boston (19 April 1775 to 17 March 1776, at which time the British army evacuated). The Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, had brought militia forces from all over New England to the area surrounding Boston. These men remained and their numbers grew. The new Continental Army under General George Washington (who arrived 3 July 1775 to take command) had surrounded Boston to prevent the movement of the British army garrisoned there. The siege of Boston was the opening phase of the Revolutionary War. It played an important role in the creation of the Continental Army and in promoting the unity of the 13 colonies. Commenting on the siege, British General Gage wrote of his surprise at the number of rebels who had surrounded Boston: 'the rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be... In all their wars against the French they never showed such conduct, attention, perseverance, as they do now.' Stephen Moylan (1733-1811), who was born in Ireland and was one of the few Roman Catholic generals in the American Revolution, was a successful Philadelphia merchant. He was among the earliest to enlist in the revolutionary cause and hurried to join the insipient Continental Army stationed in Boston in 1775. He was placed in the commissary department, in which capacity he was operating when he wrote the letter in Figure 20. In March of 1776, Washington made him one of his aides, and in June he was named Quartermaster-General by Congress. He was at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78, on the Hudson River in 1779 and in Connecticut in 1780. He accompanied General Wayne on the exhibition to Bull's Ferry and subsequently was in the Southern campaign. He retired at the close of the war as a brigadier general. He was a zealous patriot desiring to unite the colonies and separate from England. The simple seven words penned by Moylan on the address leaf of this folded letter (which was carried privately) are powerful, poetic and prophetic: 'on the Service of the United Colonies.'" (Image)

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