Rare original partially printed Maryland Pay Order. Most surviving documents of this type are from Connecticut, with a number of known examples from Pennsylvania as well. This is the first Maryland Pay Order we have seen in the last two decades of handling this sort of material. The document authorizes the payment of forty pounds and fourteen shillings to William Rue, a private soldier of the 3rd Maryland Regiment "in the service of the United States." Issued August 23, 1782, at the end of the Revolutionary War. The Maryland regiments of he Continental Army were renowned for their skill and zeal, and are generally considered to have been among the best troops fielded by the Americans during the war. The 3rd Maryland Regiment saw extensive service during the war, beginning in 1776, and participated in most of the major battles of the conflict. On the reverse, Rue has assigned the note to "Major John Davidson" for "value of him received" in January, 1783, when the regiment was disbanded in South Carolina. Speculating in these notes was a common practice at the time, and speculators like the Major would pay a small amount in immediate cash to the soldiers who held the notes (many of whom had gone long stretches with no pay), in hopes that if the notes were redeemed in full by the state, they would profit. It was later transferred to a man named Latimer and signed with an "X" by Rue on the reverse. A fantastic and rare Revolutionary document. $500.00