The signed document is partially printed, filled out in ink, instructs all sheriffs of the state of South Carolina to apprehend one John Portele, who owed money to the estate of Mrs. Jane Amos, deceased. It measures 8x12¾, inlaid to size. The manuscript document in his hand is a petition by one John Mitchell, a minor, that Robert Campbell, Esq., be appointed his guardian. It is 12½x8.

Edward Rutledge, 1749-1800, a member of both the first and second Continental Congresses, at first opposed independence, but later influenced the South Carolina legislation to vote for it, and was himself a signer.