Manuscript, 1783 Virginia Militia Commission for John Hall
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On January 21, 1783, more than a year after the effective end of the War for Independence with Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, Virginia Governor Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, signed this commission appointing John Hall a First Lieutenant in the Pittsylvania County militia. Interestingly, Harrison makes the appointment retroactive to June 1781, about the same time that Cornwallis invaded Virginia. There is further evidence from pension records that Hall did not survive the war, so this appointment—which is more a confirmation of service—may have been posthumously issued.
