JAMES MONROE SIGNED 1817 PRESIDENTIAL LAND PATENT — WAR OF 1812 VETERAN — ILLINOIS MILITARY BOUNTY LAND
Exceptional original 1817 United States land patent signed by President James Monroe during his first year in the White House.
An important original document signed “James Monroe” as President of the United States, granting 160 acres of military bounty land in Illinois to Covington Mezzick, identified in the patent as a late private in the Thirty-Eighth Regiment of Infantry.
Issued in Washington, D.C., in November 1817, only months after Monroe's inauguration as the fifth President of the United States, the document was issued pursuant to congressional legislation providing land bounties to veterans of the War of 1812.
The patent bears the bold presidential signature of James Monroe and is countersigned by Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office. The document retains its original embossed/applied federal land-office seal.
An especially important feature is the extensive evidence of subsequent use on the reverse. The patent was later recorded in Pike County, Illinois, on October 15, 1823, providing an unusually tangible connection between the presidential document and the actual transfer and recording of the veteran's land title.
Federal records independently list Covington Mezzick in the Illinois Military Patent Book, confirming his appearance in the official military-land records.
Monroe's signed presidential land patents are highly collectible examples of early American presidential autographs. Comparable 1817 Monroe military land grants have sold at auction from approximately $475 to over $1,100, depending upon condition, presentation and authentication.
Condition: Original folds and substantial age toning, staining and surface wear. The paper seal is present but damaged. Some manuscript portions have faded, while Monroe's signature remains clearly legible. The document is complete enough to retain its full historical significance and extensive subsequent land-record endorsements.
An outstanding piece of presidential, military and western land-settlement history—signed by James Monroe in the first year of his presidency.
Exceptional original 1817 United States land patent signed by President James Monroe during his first year in the White House.
An important original document signed “James Monroe” as President of the United States, granting 160 acres of military bounty land in Illinois to Covington Mezzick, identified in the patent as a late private in the Thirty-Eighth Regiment of Infantry.
Issued in Washington, D.C., in November 1817, only months after Monroe's inauguration as the fifth President of the United States, the document was issued pursuant to congressional legislation providing land bounties to veterans of the War of 1812.
The patent bears the bold presidential signature of James Monroe and is countersigned by Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office. The document retains its original embossed/applied federal land-office seal.
An especially important feature is the extensive evidence of subsequent use on the reverse. The patent was later recorded in Pike County, Illinois, on October 15, 1823, providing an unusually tangible connection between the presidential document and the actual transfer and recording of the veteran's land title.
Federal records independently list Covington Mezzick in the Illinois Military Patent Book, confirming his appearance in the official military-land records.
Monroe's signed presidential land patents are highly collectible examples of early American presidential autographs. Comparable 1817 Monroe military land grants have sold at auction from approximately $475 to over $1,100, depending upon condition, presentation and authentication.
Condition: Original folds and substantial age toning, staining and surface wear. The paper seal is present but damaged. Some manuscript portions have faded, while Monroe's signature remains clearly legible. The document is complete enough to retain its full historical significance and extensive subsequent land-record endorsements.
An outstanding piece of presidential, military and western land-settlement history—signed by James Monroe in the first year of his presidency.
