Sold For $666
*Includes Buyers Premium
DS as president, one page, 8 x 10.5, March 1, 1853. President Fillmore authorizes and directs "the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to four full powers to Commander Cadwalader Ringgold." In fine condition.
Naval officer and explorer Cadwalader Ringgold (1802–1867) was the commander of a naval expedition to China that set sail in 1853, the year of this document. Ringgold's squadron, with the USS Vincennes as his flagship, stood out to sea on June 11, 1853. After stopping at Funchal, Madeira Islands; Porto Praya; and Simonstown, False Bay; the expedition arrived in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, on the island of Java, on December 12th, and in China in March 1854.
The expedition coincided with Commodore Matthew Perry's trip to Japan. Although Commodore Perry ordered him home as insane in 1854, an embittered Ringgold was pronounced fully competent after a medical survey. He was promoted to captain in 1857 and served with distinction during the Civil War. This document probably relates to his authority for the China expedition.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$75.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
