These general orders were written in late 1794 and issued from Charlestown, Mass. by William Calder in early 1795. The orders read: “General Orders Head Quarters Boston Octr 13th 1794 By the Order of June 6th last 11885 men - including Officers Where required to be detached From the Militia of this Commonwealth to be held in readiness to march at a minute Warning for the Defence of these Eunited States in Case of Necessity the Officers & men where To be completely armed and formed into Corpes As therein Directed and in Order that the Commander in Chief as well as the Officers Apointed to Command in the Detachment Should be able to know the State theirof As Early as possible the men where required To be made of Each Corpes as Soon as Organized. Considerable Time haveing Elapsed Since the Order Issued and no returns having yet Received of any part of the Detachment the Commander in Chief calls when all Officers Where Duty it may be to comply with the General Requisitions of the Aforesaid Orders Within their [ ] Commands without Further Delay. Charlestown Jany 21st 1795. A True Coppy — Attest William Calder Maj “[ ]“ The back side reads “Public Service to Capt Sam Hastings, Lexington”. William Calder (1735 - 1802) was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts and may have served with Hazen’s Regiment and Roger’s Rangers during the French and Indian War, and he became a major in the Continental Army probably after the Revolutionary War. We don’t know much more about him, but the spelling mistakes were his, and these orders were issued in October of 1794 and apparently not sent until January of 1795, and they called for a large size military force to be ready at a moment’s notice. George Washington was President and Commander-in-chief at the time these orders were issued, and America had concerns about possible war with France and Britain at the time, and the orders made a lot of sense in that light. Samuel Hastings (1757 - 1834) was at Lexington Common on April 19, 1775, when the Revolutionary War broke out. He volunteered to join the American army and became a major in the Lexington Artillery; later he was chosen one of Gen. Charles Lee's life guard and taken prisoner with him at Long Island. A British officer wounded Hastings in the neck with a sword, and his queue of hair broke the force of the blow and saved his life. He was paroled, but never exchanged, and we’re not sure why his name is on the back of the orders. The letter is folded and measures 11 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. wide, with scattered light browning and a red stain on the right edge, it is an original signed document, and an interesting look into the mindset of the American military after the Revolutionary War ended. Size: 7 1/2 x 11 3/4 #3545 #80