George III DS for Army Officer Mortally Shot the Next Day During the Bunker Hill Campaign, Of Great American Interest and Very Rare!

A 1p document signed by King George III (1738-1820), as George R" at upper left. The signature measures 2.5" x 1.5" alone. Issued from the Court at St. James's, in London, England, on June 24, [1775]. Partly printed and partly handwritten on vellum, with clerical notations at lower left, and a docket found verso. Expected wear including folds, darkening, and minor discoloration. Missing its seal and with blue paper remnants found at lower left. Trimmed along the right side to a completed size of 10.125" x 9.875." Else very good to near fine and quite legible. From a recently discovered collection that has not seen the light of day for over 70 years!

The military appointment promoted "David Graeme Gent. Ensign in the 52d Regiment of Foot" to the rank of Lieutenant. Only the date "June 24" is visible on the document, but we extrapolate that the year is 1775, which is when Graeme was promoted to that rank, according to family genealogical histories (see more below.)

Biographical details about our promoted lieutenant, David Graeme, can be found in a wonderfully complete family history written by Louisa G. Graeme called "Orr and Sable: A Book of the Graemes and Grahams" (Edinburgh: William Brown, 1903), specifically p. 432, Sketch XXVII, "The Graemes of Orchill: Descended of Montrose from the Second Earl and the Graemes of Pitcairns and Ochill Descended of Montrose from the First Earl."

David Graeme (1749-1775) was the middle son of David Graeme (d. 1779) and Louisa Nairne (d. 1782). Both families hailed from the Ochil Hills region of central-eastern Scotland, situated about halfway between Stirling and Perth. The aforementioned Graeme family history states that the younger David joined the 52nd Regiment of Foot as an ensign on January 13, 1773, under the command of Lieutenant General John Clavering. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1775; though no day or month is listed in the family history, we know from this document that it was June 24, 1775.

David Graeme was attached to the 52nd Regiment of Foot of the British Army, a fighting force that was stationed in the American colonies from 1774-1778 and thus in the thick of the American Revolution. A regimental history provides us with a detailed timeline of the 52nd's--and David Graeme's--whereabouts in the year before the latter's untimely death. After shipping out from Canada, the 52nd joined British forces mobilizing around Boston. Graeme's regiment participated at the Battles of Lexington & Concord in mid-April 1775, and sustained heavy losses at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. While Graeme survived the actual battle--which wounded or killed nearly 50% of British combatants, with especially grim casualty rates among officers--he was shot several days later, on June 25, 1775, one day after his promotion to the rank of lieutenant was finalized. Graeme languished for over a week before dying of his injuries on July 3, 1775; he was 25 years old. The family history speculates that Graeme was probably shot by a Continental marksman.

During George III’s sixty-year-long reign, he confronted the Seven Years’ War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the latent growth of nationalism and other independence movements. He also endured periodic mental instability, possibly caused by the genetic disorder porphyria, and two assassination attempts.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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