Issued at the Court of St. James’s on November 21, 1792, the commission declares:
“We do by these Presents Constitute and Appoint you to be Ensign … in Our Sixty Sixth [or the Berkshire] Regiment of Foot commanded by Our Trusty and Wellbeloved Lieutenant General Joseph Gabbett.”
Swainson was directed to exercise and discipline the officers and soldiers under his command and to obey all orders received from his colonel and superior officers, according to the rules and discipline of war.
The commission bears the king’s exceptionally large and flowing “George R.” royal sign-manual at the upper left. It is countersigned George Yonge, secretary at war during the closing years of the eighteenth century.
The document retains an impressive paper-covered embossed royal seal, a blue embossed revenue or duty stamp and a small Georgian revenue stamp on the reverse. Contemporary docketing identifies the recipient and records his appointment as:
“Isaac Swainson Gent.
Ensign
in the 66th or the
Berkshire Regt. of
Foot.”
The 66th Regiment was raised during the Seven Years’ War and received its Berkshire designation in 1782. It subsequently earned distinction during the Napoleonic Wars, fighting in Wellington’s Peninsular campaigns. The regiment later served on St. Helena while Napoleon was in exile, and six of its grenadiers helped carry Napoleon’s coffin to his tomb.
George III reigned during one of the most consequential periods in British and American history, encompassing the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the long struggle against Napoleonic France. His royal signature on this military commission dates from only months before Britain entered the French Revolutionary Wars.
A handsome and historically evocative eighteenth-century military document, combining a bold royal autograph, an identifiable British regiment, multiple seals and outstanding display presence.
Condition: Original folds, general toning, scattered staining and light wear, with some weakness along the old fold lines. Portions of the text are faded but remain substantially legible. The large “George R.” signature is strong. The paper-covered royal seal, blue embossed duty stamp and reverse revenue stamp remain present. Please examine the photographs carefully.
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