A RARE VALLEY FORGE MUSTER ROLL
30
●
(AMERICAN REVOLUTION.)
Valley Forge muster roll of a company of
Bailey’s Massachusetts Regiment.
Document Signed by Colonel John Bailey, Captain
Hugh Maxwell, and Henry Sewall as Deputy Muster Master. 2 pages, 12
1
/
2
x 15
1
/
2
inches,
on one sheet; minor marginal wear and folds.
Valley Forge, PA, 10 March 1778
[15,000/25,000]
This roll lists the names of 4 officers and 47 enlisted men of Captain Hugh Maxwell’s
company in the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment (here described as the “First Massachusetts
Regiment of Foot”). They had joined Washington’s main army at Valley Forge after serving at
Saratoga in October 1777. The document lists the soldiers by rank, giving their names, term of
service and “Remarks.” While most of the soldiers listed were enlisted for a three-year term,
about a quarter had enlisted for the duration of the war. Wet weather and poor sanitation
would conspire to kill nearly 2,500 men that winter, but this company was doing well—only
three are noted as being “Sick absent.” At least one of the soldiers was African-American,
Cato Gray of Pelham, Massachusetts. Other members listed were veterans of the Lexington
Alarm of 19 April 1775. Valley Forge muster rolls appear on the market quite infrequently.
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