MG-66. EDWARD HAND PAPERS, 1777-1788.
Lancaster physician Edward Hand (1744-1802) served with dis
tinction in the Revolutionary War. Active in organizing the Lancaster County Associators, he participated in engagements at Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, and Princeton. Promoted in 1777 to the rank of brigadier general, Hand was dispatched to Western Pennsylvania to mobilize the militia against the Indians and Tories. Late in 1778, he assumed command at Albany and aided Sullivan’s expedition in 1779. He was elected adjutant general in 1781, served as General Washington’s aide at Yorktown in the same year, and in 1783 was named a major general. After the war, Hand resumed his practice of medicine, devoting considerable time to political affairs. The following are letters or communications relating to African Americans:
General Correspondence, 1777-1784. A letter, June 5, 1778 from Thomas Wilson to Mrs. Hand talks about the status of the G.H. Plantation and that "the Negro Bob wants shirt and trousers," asking the person to whom the communication is being sent "if you send linen my wife will make them." A subsequent communication from Jasper Yeates of Lancaster to Thomas Wilson, included with this letter and dated June 6, 1778 reports that "stuff for the boy’s shirt and trousers" will be sent and that "Mrs. Wilson can spare a little . . . cloth for that purpose."