Celebration of the 4th of July -- At ISPWICH, 1817., N.p.: n.p. [Massachusetts], n.d. [circa 1817]. Printed broadside, 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches, mounted to paperboard backing 12 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches overall.

Broadside of record for the Fourth of July celebration in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1817. Details the uniformed procession of the Denison Light Infantry Company from the courthouse to "the house of Capt. John H. Harris; where and elegant STANDARD which had been procured by the ladies of the town was presented by CAROLINE GOLDSMITH HARRIS, a Miss of the age of 11, daughter of captain H. to Mr. ANDREW RUSSELL, the Ensign of the Company." Harris's address to Russell is reproduced, as is his gracious reply. After the ceremony, the company returned to the courthouse, where the festivities continued with a parade, music, prayer, toasts, a public dinner, and toasts. 

The Denison Light Infantry Company was named for Daniel Denison (1612-1682), an English-born military officer and politician in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Denison arrived in 1631 with his parents aboard the ship "Lyon" and settled in Roxbury, before he struck out on his own as an early settler of Cambridge. He married Patience Dudley, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Dudley, and grew heavily involved in the town's governance. In 1635, the couple relocated to Ipswich, where Denison continued to follow the path of civic leadership, including service on the Massachusetts General Court, the Governor's Council, and as Commander of the Massachusetts militia. In 1658, most notably,  the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony appointed Denison to review the Colony's legal code. In recognition of his work, Denison was awarded 200 acres of land in Ipswich, as well as ownership of a signifiant portion of Block Island.