Provision Return for Captain William Lewis, Legion of the United States, Fort Defiance, Northwest Territory, July 1796.

Rare Jay’s Treaty era military ration return from the Northwest Territory…

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A rare provision return slip, issued late July–August, 1796, for one man of Captain William Lewis’s Company, covering four days of rations during a detached command at the western frontier. This document is a direct relic of postwar U.S. military administration and the consolidation of federal power in the Old Northwest.

A native of Truro Parish, Fairfax, Virginia, William Lewis (1750–1830) was married to Ann Montgomery (1759–1832) and had three sons. During the American Revolution, he rose to Major in the 10th Virginia Regiment and was taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston in 1780. After the war, Lewis returned to military service as a captain in the newly formed Legion of the United States—General “Mad” Anthony Wayne’s reorganized postwar army, created to secure the Northwest Territory and composed of four combined-arms Sub-Legions. In early 1793, Lewis recruited volunteers in Virginia and Maryland (including Richmond, Alexandria, and Hagerstown), leading them to join Wayne’s forces at Pittsburgh. His company became part of the 3rd Sub-Legion’s line.

Lewis’s service was concentrated on the volatile Ohio frontier. During Wayne’s 1794 campaign, his company helped construct and defend Fort Defiance—a key Army outpost and log fortress at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers. The fort’s role had been to “defy” British influence and Indian attacks – indeed its name came, purportedly, from Wayne’s boast that “I defy the English, Indians, and all the devils of hell to take it.” Contemporary reports from the site describe Lewis’s men as healthy and fit following the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

When the Treaty of Greenville (August 1795) ended the Northwest Indian War, U.S. troops transitioned to occupying and supplying frontier forts. Captain Lewis is closely associated with Fort Defiance and spent considerable time there: in the spring of 1795 he was serving as its acting Assistant Quartermaster, helping manage supplies for the garrison.

The present slip dates from a pivotal summer: July 1796 marked the transfer of British posts to U.S. control under Jay’s Treaty. It reads: “Provision return for one man of Captain Wm. Lewis Company / returned from Command for four days Commencing the 25th and ending the 28th July 1796 Inclusive. Men 1 days 4 rations 4.” The slip’s “returned from command” suggests Lewis’s company had just completed a detached mission.

The document is autographed by “MacRea, Agent” and “John Steele.” Captain John MacRae (also spelled MacRea or McRae) was a quartermaster agent in the Legion of the United States. John Steele was likely a junior officer in the Legion serving in the Northwest Territory. Steele’s co-signature indicates he either drew provisions for Lewis’s company or witnessed the return—standard procedure when a company was detached or the captain absent.

A rare document offering an immediate connection to the men and moments that secured the American frontier.

Price: $450.00