An important WAR OF 1812 appointment signed by President James Madison (and James Monroe) naming Henry A.S. Dearborn, son of the famous Henry Dearborn of Revolutionary War fame, as Collector of Customs for the Ports of Boston and Charlestown.

This important War of 1812 appointment was actually signed by both President James Madison (fourth president) and James Monroe (the future fifth president) as Secretary of State on July 6, 1812. It appoints Henry A.S.Dearborn (1783-1851), son of the famous Henry Dearborn (1751-1829), Collector of Customs and Taxes at the ports of Boston and Charlestown, a very important position at this time in history. The senior Henry Dearborn led a militia troop at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He later served under Bendeict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec, where he was captured and later exchanged. In 1777 he joined Washington at Valley Forge. In 1781 he was appointed by Washington to the post of Quartermaster General and was standing with Washington when Cornwallis surrendered after the Battle of Yorktown. In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Secretary of State, a post which he held for the next eight years. When he left that post he was appointed Collector of Customs in Boston in 1809 and held that position until 1812 when Madison appointed him Senior Major General of the United States Army in command of the Northeast sector from the Niagara River to the New England coast. His only son, Henry A. S. Dearborn, served as Collector of Customs after his father's military appointment in 1812 and held that position until 1829. During that period he also served as Brigadier General commanding the Volunteers in the defense of Boston harbor during the War of 1812. The document has been beautifully framed and measures 17" by 13".