Item 6 is an order to Zabdiel Rogers and Company for supplies to be used by a cannon foundry (most likely of Salisbury, Connecticut), by order of the Governor & Council of Safety. The supplies are to be charged to the state. This is a Revolutionary War era procurement, dated February 20, 1777. The supplies being requisitioned are somewhat surprising: 326 gallons of rum. Evidently, the rum must have made the workers more productive. Still, I have to wonder about a "Council of Safety" supplying rum to munitions workers. Perhaps a "Council of Happy Labor Relations" might place such an order, but does inebriating munitions workers make for a safe working environment? And how would the poor soldiers feel about having their cannons built by drunken workers? I guess all's well that ends well. $300.

Item 68 is the logs from 1847-1848 of the "Henry Kelsey," a sailing ship offering anything but pleasure cruises. The ship sailed from New Orleans to Mexico, Boston, Mobile, Havana, and eventually, across the Atlantic to Barcelona. The crew was evidently quite unhappy, being abusive, disruptive and rebellious. Of course this is not necessarily an objective account, so perhaps there were conditions onboard that led to this behavior. Early on, all hands are called to witness the punishment of a sailor who used abusive language (can you imagine such a thing from a sailor?), left the wheel and struck the captain. It obviously had little impact. The crew continues to be insubordinate, often refuses to work, and is abusive to their captain. The ship spends extra time in Havana as a result of the problem, but it becomes so bad that in Barcelona, they have to call the American consul onboard. Several crewmen are arrested and jailed for violating certain maritime laws. The ship finally returns to Boston with a load of oil, silk, olives and spices, but it was a most unpleasant journey for this rebellious crew and its ineffectual captain. $900.

Item 2 is a sign of changing times. It is an oath of one Lieutenant Charles P. Stewart attesting that John A. Williamson of Alabama states that he is a cotton planter and that a certain group of four bales of cotton are his, and never belonged to the "so-called Confederate Government." The date is August 14, 1865, shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War. I'll bet a few months earlier that Mr. Williamson was not referring to the Confederate States of America as a "so-called" government. Mr. Williamson goes on to swear that he "will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." $625.