[REVOLUTIONARY WAR]. -- [BLACK BOYS REBELLION]. SMITH, James (1737-1813). Autograph document signed (“James Smith”), 5 February 1777. 1 page, oblong 12mo (133 x 210 mm), laid down on archival tissue, old folds, some marginal wear, browning. A RARE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY THE FRONTIERSMAN JAMES SMITH OF THE BLACK BOYS FAME. Smith certifies that a soldier served under him: “As we served sometime and did Duty with Richard Thompson during the last Indian War I do certify that as far as I know that he behaved himself as a good officer…” Smith led Pennsylvania’s “Black Boys” in a nine-month rebellion against British rule in 1765. The unofficial band, upset with British policy regarding American Indians following Pontiac’s War, disguised themselves in Native American dress and stopped a pack train, burning goods including rum and gunpowder, that Irish-born official George Crogham sought to trade to Native Americans. The Rebellion also led to the siege of Fort Loudoun in the Pennsylvania mountain country. During the American Revolution, Smith fought in the Pennsylvania militia and later served in the Kentucky General Assembly. In 1799, he published a memoir about his captivity by Native Americans and in 1812 an in-depth analysis of Native American fighting techniques, based on observations during his captivity.