William Henry Harrison, Document Signed, First Nations

Description

William H. Harrison, signs an appointment as “Governor and Commander in Chief of the Indiana Territory.”

He appoints Spencer Wiley as ensign in the 3rd Regiment of the Militia of the Indiana Territory. Affixed with an embossed paper seal in the lower left corner and countersigned by Secretary of the Indiana Territory John Gibson. Verso with the oath taken by Spencer Wiley and endorsement by Justice of the Peace Moses Wiley, indicating his witness to the foregoing oath as well as the oath of allegiance to the United States, 24 January 1812.

William Henry Harrison signed this commission approximately one month after his important victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison would go on to serve during the War of 1812 and as the ninth president of the United States.

Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, having the shortest presidency in United States history. He was also the first president to die in office; a brief constitutional crisis resulted as presidential succession was not then fully defined in the United States Constitution. Harrison was the last president born as a British subject in the Thirteen Colonies and was the paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States.

Very good with an excellent, bold ink signature; toning along folds; very small hole at the convergence of horizontal and diagonal fold lines.   

HARRISON, William Henry. Partly Printed Military Document, signed (“Willm. Henry Harrison”), as Governor and Commander in Chief of the Indiana Territory, Vincennes, 10 December 1811.  1 page, 12 3/4 x 7 3/4 in., museum quality matting, ready for framing.