Item #026084 Original 1842 Paymaster's Check to Washington, D.C. Officer, Lt. Josiah Watson, February 1, 1842

Original 1842 Paymaster's Check to Washington, D.C. Officer, Lt. Josiah Watson, February 1, 1842

Item #026084

Check measures approximately 6 3/4" x 2 3/4". It is signed by Major George W. Walker who had been appointed paymaster of the USMC by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 and he served until his death in 1862. The USMC was quite small at the time and there was usually only a couple of qualified paymasters with Walker being the top one. The check is to Lt. Josiah Watson for $71.00 on February 1, 1842. It was Josiah Watson who became involved in the first Civil War battle three months before the Fall of Fort Sumpter. He was in command of the Warrington Navy Yard on January 8, 1861 with 38 Marines under his command who had fired a shot defending the flag. On January 12,, The Secessionist troops had marched from Pensacola to the Navy Yard in two hours and Watson surrendered on orders. Though not as big as the attack and fall of Fort Sumpter, it was the earliest shot in what became known as the Civil War, so Watson moved from being the Chief Financial Officer for the Marines to the commander of the Warrington Navy Yard.

Price: $185.00 save 10% $166.50