JEFFERSON, Thomas (1743-1826). Manuscript document signed ("Th:Jefferson") as President, Washington, 24 September 1805.

One page, vellum, 350 x 410mm (mild toning). Countersigned by James MADISON ("James Madison") as Secretary of State. Endorsed on verso and signed by Young before Justice of the Peace Jacob Hoffman, Washington, 21 November 1805.

Jefferson appoints "Robert Young" as a "Major of the second Legion of the Militia of the District of Columbia." On 3 May 1802 Congress authorized the President to organize the militia for Washington, D.C. Organized into legions, the first was composed of companies north of the Potomac while the second was manned by units from south of the Potomac in Alexandria County, Virginia. Top appointments were reserved for political allies of the administration rather than those with any significant military experience (see Frederick P. Todd, "The Militia and Volunteers of the District of Columbia 1783-1820," Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. Vol. 50 (1948/1950), pp. 379-439). An 1813 letter addressed to James Madison complained of the tremendous lack of discipline in all ranks, noting that the companies "had no confidence in the military skill or experience of principal part of the field Officers of the Militia," and if attacked, the city "should be in continual danger of having our lines broken, & our flanks exposed: to the utter confusion, loss, & disgrace of the whole." The complaint proved prescient as this is how the Battle of Bladensburg unfolded the following year, allowing the British to capture and burn Washington (see Officers of the Volunteer Militia in the District of Columbia to James Madison, 22 September 1813 in The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, Vol. 6, 8 February–24 October 1813).