PEWTER TEAPOT OF BRIG. GENERAL ASHLEY MOSES WITH PROVENANCE

Pewter teapot. N.p., circa late 18th century. Approx. 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 6 1/4 in.

WITH Typed note. Reading in full: "Pewter tea pot - Carried by Brigadier-General Moses Ashley in his camp chest through the Revolutionary War, seven years; Gen. Ashley spent the Winter at Valley Forge with Gen. Washington / This tea pot is now the property of Mary Ashley Birchard, grand-niece, of La Canada, Cal."

Provenance: Brig. Genl. Moses Ashley (1749-1791); Mercy Ashley Birchard (1766-1835) and Nathan Birchard (1769-1839), sister & brother-in-law to Genl. Ashley; Col. Moses Ashley Birchard  (1808-1887); Mary Ashley Birchard (1879-1976)

Moses Ashley (1749-1791) was born into a well-established Massachusetts family. At the news of the Lexington Alarm in April 1775, Ashley marched to Boston as a lieutenant in the militia regiment of Colonel John Paterson. Deeply committed to the patriot cause, he remained in service until June 1783. He received a captain's commission in January 1777. He served at that rank in the 1st Massachusetts Continental Regiment and was promoted to Major in January 1780. After the war, he remained active in the Massachusetts militia. 

A rare Revolutionary War-used article. 

[Relics, Militaria] [American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe]