March 28th, 1784-Dated, Manuscript Document Receipt Slave Bill of Sale, in which John Chesnut of Camden, South Carolina, agrees to pay, “...Seven Pounds Five Shillings Sterling in part pay of a Negroe Girl Names Hannah, about twelve years old.” (Plus Livestock), Fine.
This handwritten document records the Sale of an Enslaved Girl named Hannah about twelve years old, to John Chesnut of Camden, South Carolina, who was one of the most prominent merchant-planters and political figures of Post-Revolutionary War South Carolina. This receipt is signed, “Drewry Thompson” on John Chesnut's behalf, who acknowledges receipt of seven pounds five shillings sterling as a down payment on the purchase of Hannah.

The balance to be paid in hard currency or its equivalent in cattle, specifically about six cows and calves, as the buyer may demand from time to time. The use of livestock as currency in lieu of hard money reflects the acute scarcity of specie in the immediate aftermath of the Revolutionary War. This receipt is 1 page, measuring about 9 x 7 inches, boldly written in deep brown ink on laid period paper. Some scattered humidity tone, centerfold splits, yet easily readable with its docket on the blank reverse reading, in full: “Dewry Thomson Receipt for 7 Pounds 5 Shillings.”
John Chesnut, who had served as a supplier to the Continental Army, went on to serve in the South Carolina General Assembly. He was one of Camden's wealthiest and most influential citizens. His name is perhaps best known to history through his granddaughter-in-law “Mary Boykin Chesnut”, whose diary of the Civil War era remains one of the most celebrated personal documents of that conflict.