A handwritten certificate of commission to a Loyalist surgeon in the army of the English colony of Rhode Island from Henry Ward, Secretary of the General Assembly three weeks after the Lexington-Concord battle, 1775

Handwritten document with bold signature of Henry Ward and bottom right. Entitled "By the Honorable the General Assembly of the English Colony of Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America". To Ebenezer Richmond, Gentleman, Greeting".

A commissioning certificate for Dr. Richmond to be appointed Surgeon of the Regiment being raised in the County of Providence. It states that 1500 men will be enlisted in the new regiment. This is ordered by King George the Third and His Majesty's General Assembly and Committee of Safety, in 1775.

This is a rare (and perhaps only) survival of a medical appointment of a physician by the British, in the name of King George the Third, to a loyalist regiment during the Revolutionary War.

Henry Ward (b. 27 Dec 1732 d. 25 Nov 1797) was the first Secretary of the Rhode Island Colony prior to and during the Revolutionary War. He was the son of Richard Ward and Mary (Tillinghast) Ward. Ward was followed in his position by Samuel Eddy in 1798, who was the second Secretary.

Dr. Ebenezer Richmond (1747-1788) was the nephew of a famous Rhode Island gentleman, William Richmond. Dr. Richmond was recruited into Colonel William Richmond's Regiment of Rhode Island State Troops, where he had the rank of Surgeon’s Mat under Lieutenant Colonel Gideon Hoxie.

Contributed by anonymous