tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897449870354828612024-03-14T00:12:10.504-04:00David Library of the American RevolutionNews, collection information, and research from the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing, PA.David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-64338349281410213652019-03-21T15:38:00.000-04:002019-03-21T15:48:15.548-04:00Unexpected Discoveries at the David Library by Dusty Marie Dye<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Sans-Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span></div>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #1b0431; font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Sans-Serif; font-size: 140%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Guest blogger Dusty Marie Dye is a PhD candidate
at the University of Maryland. During her residency as a 2018-19 David Library Fellow last summer, she came across some passages in orderly books, correspondence and diaries that were both insightful, and strange. </i></span></h3>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
My fellowship at the David Library
of the American Revolution lasted for the month of June, 2018, and I have to
say it is one of the best experiences of my scholarly career. It goes without
saying that I was tremendously excited to have the extensive collection at the
library at my fingertips on a 24/7 basis, but I could not have expected how amazing
my discoveries would be. My dissertation focuses on eighteenth-century mourning
customs and how those customs give us insight into the lives of the soldiers
and civilians who experienced the turmoil of the American Revolution, the
separation of Great Britain from its North American colonies, and the formation
of an entirely new nation with citizens who struggled to develop new national
identities. With such a peculiar starting point, I have had to be creative in
the sources that I have employed to examine my subject and the collection at
the library has been an absolute treasure of valuable (and sometimes quirky)
information. I found, for example, instructions in an orderly book for New York
soldiers to “furnish 3 Sargts & 30 privates to Burrey the dead bodys &
carkesses & cover the other putred matters” in and around Yorktown in
October 1781. In addition, I found sheet music for funeral dirges and an
officers’ handbook (Thomas Simes' <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Military
Guide for Young Officers</i>) that listed, in detail, the order that soldiers
should march in funeral processions, what the usual funeral expenses should be,
and what should be done with a fallen soldier’s belongings, whether he be an
officer or a “common soldier.” As for civilians, the personal papers and
diaries that can be found at the library are awash with accounts of attending
funerals and lamentations on the deaths of loved ones and friends, including
fears for those marching off to battle and consolations to others who lost
family members to the war. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIKz1ruEHgCU6vDUKwNmro3819RJDQptOlvmRxKR9zxbVPrCo8es4yX22ceYauwSHCSHF5e1Q0yRkgtuJvfnUFyitj2a14_9SaNXagKt26wUo-rI8ITZwi_Zle5WjxbI8MSHQnhcSran8/s1600/Simes+Military+Guide-5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="801" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIKz1ruEHgCU6vDUKwNmro3819RJDQptOlvmRxKR9zxbVPrCo8es4yX22ceYauwSHCSHF5e1Q0yRkgtuJvfnUFyitj2a14_9SaNXagKt26wUo-rI8ITZwi_Zle5WjxbI8MSHQnhcSran8/s640/Simes+Military+Guide-5.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Page from Simes' Guide</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i></i><br />
In the course of my research, I
also found other insights into military life, such as when orderly books
included prohibitions against soldiers throwing apples at one another or
lounging about naked after bathing. There were frequent reminders that the
soldiers who fought the Revolution were ordinary men and boys, such as when
they noted in their diaries that they missed their families or relieved their
boredom by doodling in the margins of orderly books. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVT4nT_idemv-aOB3m1g3Cn0bTdAcXz0TFe6NDljaVt4CEaitgBFlXeB-mAbbNm9-f8TEQ_XP1C_mjZXP3BBmcNkOCScquRPxHVEubCZYtg6PtnUbabMoL1tmwx2PV_f7754PgYfubD-Qw/s1600/Doodle.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1432" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVT4nT_idemv-aOB3m1g3Cn0bTdAcXz0TFe6NDljaVt4CEaitgBFlXeB-mAbbNm9-f8TEQ_XP1C_mjZXP3BBmcNkOCScquRPxHVEubCZYtg6PtnUbabMoL1tmwx2PV_f7754PgYfubD-Qw/s320/Doodle.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A doodle in the margin of an orderly book</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the letters between
soldiers and their wives, in between descriptions of battle, there were
affectionate jokes and references to mundane matters such as the management of
crops and the state of household accounts. In short, the collection at the
David Library allowed me a glimpse into the world of the Revolutionary
generation and the lives that were shaped both by everyday cares and personal
connections and the tremendous disruptions of war. It is my hope that my work,
which will be built upon the discoveries that I made during my fellowship, will
help others to connect on some level with those who fought in the Revolution
and helped to build the nation we live in today.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-17897995789814802142018-09-13T13:02:00.000-04:002018-09-13T13:09:23.509-04:00"Beyond America: The East India Papers of Lords North and Cornwallis," by Adam Nadeau<br />
<br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><i>Guest blogger Adam Nadeau is a PhD candidate
at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. He recently completed a four week residency as a 2018-19 David Library Fellow conducting research for his dissertation examining British imperial reform during the Revolutionary era. </i></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></h3>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">My project seeks to explore the crisis of empire leading up
to, during, and immediately following the American Revolutionary War from a
British imperial perspective, as well as it intends to incorporate the story of
contemporaneous events in British East India into a transoceanic narrative
spanning the years from roughly 1763 to about 1793. As such, I had sought out a
fellowship at the David Library in order to work through parts of the Library’s
vast microfilmed collection of eighteenth-century British imperial papers.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0rYsjsDnxR4bukRmhmvUH9q0ovzdgfrwhXG9xsoC18vdevCHJR_nqqLJKCqE4036fqNmJll83YYEwhZGYDaV_G3qvaQ9097-HCTnbbJlsHEennRZ7TyD3JA_kIklsbDstzptCbNH-zLP/s1600/Cornwallis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0rYsjsDnxR4bukRmhmvUH9q0ovzdgfrwhXG9xsoC18vdevCHJR_nqqLJKCqE4036fqNmJll83YYEwhZGYDaV_G3qvaQ9097-HCTnbbJlsHEennRZ7TyD3JA_kIklsbDstzptCbNH-zLP/s200/Cornwallis.jpg" width="157" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Charles
Cornwallis by John Singleton</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> Copley, c. 1795. Wikimedia </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> Commons.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">While many
researchers venture to the David Library to utilize its British imperial
holdings, I was particularly drawn to the Library’s copies of the papers of
Lords North and Cornwallis, and I was hopeful that such collections contained
materials relating to British rule in India during the 1770s, </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">80s, and </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">90s. In this respect, the David Library far exceeded my
expectations. Upon my arrival, I realized that not only did the David Library
have the few East India documents that were intermixed with Cornwallis’s
American materials; they held the entire Cornwallis collection, much of which
concern the general’s career beyond America.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">The English (later
British) East India Company was chartered by Elizabeth I in 1600 and granted a
monopoly on English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope in an effort to compete
with England’s main commercial rival at the time, the Dutch republic. After about
a decade or so of activity in Southeast Asia, however, English merchants
recognized that Company profits would be greatly increased by shifting their
commercial focus to the textile-rich markets of the Indian subcontinent, and
where English commerce went English diplomacy followed.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">By the turn of
the eighteenth century, Britain had become thoroughly drawn into Indian
dynastic politics, and the entry of the French East India Company into
subcontinental affairs in the 1720s ensured that the imperial wars fought
between France and England during the first half of the eighteenth century
would play out in the East Indian theatre as well.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkwhSb3bqlEQfbt6dEeo2W8JIgt6vqW5CAPI4LDgsPNLRUWDdGrni3o8vlNsWGOiSyosANZjp1jo_HLt-xPBOJ1URbPJb6istZeKo8_srhI8VV5ce5XLu1FDMJQ9WEx_m8ZWZCeooLxa7/s1600/Plassey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1247" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkwhSb3bqlEQfbt6dEeo2W8JIgt6vqW5CAPI4LDgsPNLRUWDdGrni3o8vlNsWGOiSyosANZjp1jo_HLt-xPBOJ1URbPJb6istZeKo8_srhI8VV5ce5XLu1FDMJQ9WEx_m8ZWZCeooLxa7/s320/Plassey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Lord Clive and
Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757, </span></i></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">by Francis Hayman, </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">c. 1760. National Portrait
Gallery, London<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">During the
Seven Years’ War, France and Britain exchanged victories up and down India’s
Coromandel Coast until in June 1757, British East India Company troops faced a
combined French and Bengali force at Plassey on the banks of the Hooghly River.
There, Robert Clive defeated the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, and
installed Mir Jafar as nawab in exchange for </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">£</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">1
million for the defrayment of troops and almost </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">£700,000 in loot. The Treaty of
Paris of 1763 barred the French from making any further military incursions
into Bengal, and in August 1765, the Company acquired from Mughal emperor Shah
Alam II the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">diwani</i>, or right to
collect the imperial revenue of Bengal, valued at some £</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">3 million annually.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">A series of
parliamentary regulations during the 1770s and </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">80s
integrated the presidencies of Bombay, Madras, and Bengal under the civil
jurisdiction of the Governor General and Supreme Council of Bengal and placed
the Company under the oversight of a ministerial Board of Control in London.
All the while, Company influence continued to expand in India as British
officials negotiated subsidiary alliances with a series of Indian rulers,
oftentimes carving up autochthonous territories in the process.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">The East India
papers present in the David Library’s North and Cornwallis collections cover
this crucial period of Company reform and imperial expansion in India during
the 1770s and </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">80s, including documents relating to the administrations of governors
Warren Hastings and John Macpherson, which cast light on the civil affairs of
British India and on the various military operations against hostile Indian
polities that are coterminous with the chronology of the American Revolutionary
War.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA5Ueq1hIU4xOaws9V6mpxIFBOpLzkXS9C6yixS0mEm7NZKSzd2Gk5QqnPxMaJWWzf7Q8jfor2dUKLruIZYdsrIyT2egEi8hv5SJW8EwzhFW149BW-54WhCPAR0yqW1zZIq9vyZJ8KtE_/s1600/manuscript.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1115" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA5Ueq1hIU4xOaws9V6mpxIFBOpLzkXS9C6yixS0mEm7NZKSzd2Gk5QqnPxMaJWWzf7Q8jfor2dUKLruIZYdsrIyT2egEi8hv5SJW8EwzhFW149BW-54WhCPAR0yqW1zZIq9vyZJ8KtE_/s320/manuscript.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">A scan of a
letter to the Governor General of </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Bengal from the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">court of the Nawab, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">May 2,
1785. PRO 30/11/7, fol. 360.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Cornwallis’s
papers are especially illuminating. Four years after returning to Britain,
Cornwallis accepted the position of Governor General of Bengal in 1786 on the condition
that he also be made Commander-in-Chief of British India, becoming the first
governor to hold both posts simultaneously from 1786 to 1793 and again in 1805.
Cornwallis amassed a significant amount of materials during his time in India,
and it appears to me that the bulk of Cornwallis’s papers in fact relate to his
career in the East, covering the period of two of the wars fought between the
Company and the kingdom of Mysore in the 1780s and </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">90s.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">The
Anglo-Mysore Wars were partially a theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars in
Europe in that they saw the Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan backed by France and republican
Europe against monarchical Britain. The result of the Anglo-Mysore Wars,
however, was the defeat of one of the last remaining Indian polities that was
capable of resisting Company rule, leaving the Indian subcontinent open to British
territorial expansion which would persist into the twentieth century.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">The East India
papers of Lords North and Cornwallis are a hidden gem among the David Library’s
collections and may very well be the largest assortment of such materials on
this side of the Atlantic. These documents will become increasingly relevant as
trends in scholarship continue to move towards transoceanic analyses of
Britain’s eighteenth-century empire and as historians of colonial America and
the West Indies begin to expound upon the fiscal and military
interconnectedness of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Further Reading</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Bowen, H. V., Elizabeth Mancke, and John G. Reid, eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Britain’s Oceanic Empire: Atlantic and
Indian Ocean Worlds, c. 1550–1850</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Eacott, Jonathan. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Selling
Empire: India in the Making of Britain and America, 1600–1830</i>. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 2016.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Marshall, P. J. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Making and Unmaking of Empires: Britain, India, and America, c. 1750–1783</i>.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="margin: 0px;">Wickwire, Franklin and Mary. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cornwallis: The Imperial Years</i>. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1980.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-57971887610195102542018-03-17T12:31:00.001-04:002018-03-17T12:50:26.771-04:00Real Houswives of Worcester County<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><b><i> </i></b></span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Guest blogger Ken Miller tells us about his research on three Massachusetts women during the American Revolution. </span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">The American
Revolution carried grave consequences for Bathsheba Spooner, a suspected
loyalist in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The daughter of the reviled Tory,
Brigadier General Timothy Ruggles, the thirty-two-year-old Spooner orchestrated
the murder of her well-to-do husband, Joshua, in early March 1778 with the help
of three co-conspirators—her young lover, the teenaged Continental soldier,
Ezra Ross, and William Brooks and James Buchanan, two British prisoners of war
captured during the Battle of Saratoga. After beating their victim to death and
disposing of his corpse in the family well, his assailants hastily divided
their spoils. Apprehended, tried, and convicted for the grisly crime soon
thereafter, all four malefactors perished at the gallows on July 2, 1778.
Tragically, revolutionary authorities chose to disregard legal precedent and hang
Spooner even though she had reached an advanced stage of pregnancy, with her
post-mortem exam revealing a five-month old fetus.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">I spent the
month of February at the David Library researching the Spooner case as a
short-term residential fellow. I’m approaching the controversy as the
centerpiece of an anticipated microhistory designed to illuminate the perils of
loyalism across Massachusetts during the initial years of the Revolutionary
War. To contextualize the murder, I conducted extensive research in Britain’s
loyalist claims and colonial office records, the British headquarters papers,
and the correspondence of the Massachusetts general, William Heath. I also
perused the papers of Robert Treat Paine, the case’s prosecuting attorney,
uncovering long neglected trial testimony.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">My
investigations ultimately shed light on the wartime travails of Spooner’s more
obscure Worcester County neighbors, underscoring the painful costs of
allegiance for Whig and Tory alike. Among the loyalist claims, for example, I
located the petition of the widow Ann Greenleaf, a Bolton resident who
courageously defied local Whigs by carrying intelligence to the enemy until she
was finally discovered and forced to take refuge behind British lines in late
1778. Sarah Duncan, by contrast, the wife of a loyalist merchant, refused to
abandon her home and family, prompting her devoted husband to remain in
Worcester and brave the wrath of vengeful patriots. The stories of these
diverse Massachusetts women illustrate the wide range of female experiences
during Americans’ first civil war.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8aZq8VHrZ6WVFX7Xw9CTqCZ3Nw5To9CcBo7XYtPfNGErQNO30yn-UxivTrMYKgZH55sfACzIyKUStQlR2XIRMaaxqXdq3fUNl0to-0Yvn_VOqXo46cAAybcNIY69fKeAgX4TwvdgmyHj/s1600/spooner_well.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="738" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8aZq8VHrZ6WVFX7Xw9CTqCZ3Nw5To9CcBo7XYtPfNGErQNO30yn-UxivTrMYKgZH55sfACzIyKUStQlR2XIRMaaxqXdq3fUNl0to-0Yvn_VOqXo46cAAybcNIY69fKeAgX4TwvdgmyHj/s320/spooner_well.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">As for
Bathsheba, the site of her husband’s slaying, the infamous Spooner well,
remains an historic landmark, located just off East Main Street in Brookfield,
Massachusetts. Alas, two hundred and forty years after the crime that sent her
to the gallows, Bathsheba’s final resting place remains unknown.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhj4mwhZxwqogCret94Vx5g-CA87212BVQP0joJjd2q2WMHACHvTCeS2Ps5uWIFkt7unRA-8_Mi-FeLj5m1RHF6cvcQJwFOqocW41oADg28jsWqPAkgOUoef-JRJMIcn-WtCfTEw6sL4YJ/s1600/KenMiller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhj4mwhZxwqogCret94Vx5g-CA87212BVQP0joJjd2q2WMHACHvTCeS2Ps5uWIFkt7unRA-8_Mi-FeLj5m1RHF6cvcQJwFOqocW41oADg28jsWqPAkgOUoef-JRJMIcn-WtCfTEw6sL4YJ/s200/KenMiller.jpg" width="133" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Ken Miller is
associate professor of early American history at Washington College in
Chestertown, Maryland, and the author of "Dangerous
Guests: Enemy Captives and Revolutionary Communities during the War for
Independence," just released in paperback by Cornell University Press.</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-47441185506641445182018-02-23T16:47:00.002-05:002018-04-03T14:48:36.804-04:00For Black History Month, The Story of Elizabeth Freeman, or "Mumbet"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQc8dqpjopmsBU5vxuKNUSjc7-w0iWxEqSrVlTG5UYykRThJIKUB4jO4C-ACtvTDSb-2jyHej-pAWk4SVZwN7uji5S5Lbsq7bHe6Cac-HxFRnIMAPOJ0JoUhyphenhyphenPXeGDRDdG013VgAUnb2M/s1600/WEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQc8dqpjopmsBU5vxuKNUSjc7-w0iWxEqSrVlTG5UYykRThJIKUB4jO4C-ACtvTDSb-2jyHej-pAWk4SVZwN7uji5S5Lbsq7bHe6Cac-HxFRnIMAPOJ0JoUhyphenhyphenPXeGDRDdG013VgAUnb2M/s640/WEB.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">W. E. B. DuBois</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">W. E. B. DuBois was born on February 23, 1868 and is celebrated as a sociologist, historian, educator and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">DuBois' maternal great great grandfather was Tom Burghardt, a slave born in West Africa around 1730, who briefly served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. DuBois also liked to claim that he was a descendent of Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved African American woman <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in Massachusetts to sue for and win her freedom. It's more likely, though that they were only vaguely related by marriage (perhaps Elizabeth Freeman was Tom Burghardt's mother-in-law). Nonetheless, one cannot blame DuBois for wanting to claim Freeman as an ancestor, because she is an exceptional figure. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxSv3rCbNBRS9iAm_ynshhbVoD6xQic2ewQK4uN7QxBuTOPTNQUks7fhz2_-CvDc9mR-0MxeGMhrWxTel0OIEepNvrBwPx5Bj5MalGV7M7qPQDmdJtcAXYEr6uJfiz2DfXHEy9XKbTKKN/s1600/Mumbett70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxSv3rCbNBRS9iAm_ynshhbVoD6xQic2ewQK4uN7QxBuTOPTNQUks7fhz2_-CvDc9mR-0MxeGMhrWxTel0OIEepNvrBwPx5Bj5MalGV7M7qPQDmdJtcAXYEr6uJfiz2DfXHEy9XKbTKKN/s320/Mumbett70.jpg" width="231" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Freeman</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Born into slavery and known as "Mumbet," or sometimes just "Bett," the woman who would later choose to rename herself Elizabeth Freeman was given to John and Hannah Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts in her early teens. During her enslavement to the Ashleys, she had a child called Betsy. (It is Betsy who may have become the later life second wife of DuBois's ancestor Burghardt, but Betsy was not the mother of any of Burghardt's children, and therefore no relation to DuBois.) </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1780, Hannah Ashley struck at Betsy with a heated shovel. Bett intervened, shielded her daughter, and receive the blow intended for Betsy. This resulted in a deep wound on her arm that left her scarred for life. She later said, "<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I had a bad arm all winter, but Madam had the worst of it. I never covered the wound, and when people said to me, before Madam, 'Betty, what ails your arm?' I only answered, 'ask missis!'" </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.28px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Around the same time, Bett heard the Massachusetts Constitution read aloud, either at a public gathering in Sheffield, or perhaps at a meeting John Ashley held in his home. These words from Article 1 captured her imagination:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Inspired, she sought out Theodore Sedgwick, a Stockbridge attorney and abolitionist, to represent her as she sued for her freedom under the newly ratified state constitution. The case was heard in the Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in August 1781. When the jury ruled in Bett’s favor, she became the first African American woman to be set free under the Massachusetts constitution. Her case, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, served as precedent in the State Supreme Court case that brought an end to the practice of slavery in Massachusetts.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;">After Freeman won the lawsuit, the Ashley family asked her to return to work for them for wages, but she refused. Instead she was employed by Thomas Sedgwick as governess to his children. Additionally, she became a well known midwife in Stockbridge, and a practitioner of the healing arts. When the Sedgwick children were all grown, Freeman retired and moved to her own house in Stockbridge near Betsy, and Betsy's children. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9u2RpJC7l4ibVjD_pP6x3QfJyuQhgWmd7delHjTT0QAWQGPNjdEbpHZ4zbqOBdaDWtVIosuw8mt5s4cxG8P-JfLF3cR5jPV5uKyrVwUAhoTFWyovwS_j0Jqo5Ve2zSEtUBhIDN3Jcvoi/s1600/CMSedgwick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="297" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9u2RpJC7l4ibVjD_pP6x3QfJyuQhgWmd7delHjTT0QAWQGPNjdEbpHZ4zbqOBdaDWtVIosuw8mt5s4cxG8P-JfLF3cR5jPV5uKyrVwUAhoTFWyovwS_j0Jqo5Ve2zSEtUBhIDN3Jcvoi/s200/CMSedgwick.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine Maria Sedgwick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;">One of Sedgwick's daughters was the popular novelist Catherine Maria Sedgwick, who remained devoted to her old caregiver, and wrote about her. When Freeman died, Catherine Sedgwick arranged for her to be buried in the Sedgwick family plot in the Stockbridge Cemetery, in a section called "The Sedgwick Pie" because of its shape and layout. Freeman is the only non-family member interred there. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;">Catherine Sedgwick composed Freeman's epitaph, which reads, </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.28px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"ELIZABETH FREEMAN, also known by the name of MUMBET died Dec. 28th 1829. Her supposed age was 85 Years. She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years; She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper and the tenderest friend. Good mother, farewell."</span></b></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #004000; font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fun facts: </b>When Freeman's story was told in the animated children's series <i>Liberty's Kids</i>, her voice was provided by actress Yolanda King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. Among the modern-day descendants of the Sedgwicks are actresses Edie Sedgwick (of Warhol Factory fame) and Edie's cousin Kyra Sedgwick (one degree from her husband, actor Kevin Bacon). </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Interesting Legacy: </b>A women's shelter in Berkshire County, Massachusetts that serves victims of domestic violence is called the Elizabeth Freeman Center in honor of Freeman's spirit of righteousness. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times";"></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Y2IFP9mBVx2SB-HceVKFeM9I2LghdLLV6P46JKZr6bU1pgvYUebpPXyYyyK-CLH_cs_gmqdurqIZMRSAAsxjnF4ncG3N9JOxJ1LMtE9aEwLs1ffiVrfTkNzW7Qsza8iv-ybNPeZVLCp8/s1600/mumbettesgravestone320x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Y2IFP9mBVx2SB-HceVKFeM9I2LghdLLV6P46JKZr6bU1pgvYUebpPXyYyyK-CLH_cs_gmqdurqIZMRSAAsxjnF4ncG3N9JOxJ1LMtE9aEwLs1ffiVrfTkNzW7Qsza8iv-ybNPeZVLCp8/s640/mumbettesgravestone320x480.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth Freeman's headstone in the "Sedgwick Pie" at Stockbridge Cemetery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times";"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>UPDATE, April 3, 2018: </b> It has been announced that Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer ("The Help," "The Shape of Water, "Hidden Figures") will serve as Executive Producer of a feature film about Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman. The screenplay, tentatively titled "Mumbet," is by <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14.86px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Stephen Glantz, and is based on the book “A Free Woman on God’s Earth” by Jana Laiz and Ann-Elizabeth Barnes. Casting has not been announced, but Ms. Spencer seems a good choice to play Elizabeth Freeman.</span> </span><br />
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/octavia-spencer-anti-slavery-movie-mumbet-1202741301/<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times";"></span></b><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.7px; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-91162422917256079962017-11-11T13:04:00.000-05:002017-11-11T13:04:34.466-05:00The Things You Find While Making a Finding Aid
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlE1U9QSKokdGj_JpE75grAYIPPM1PYlbnF_FyBHZpAPajwZlXkDHVVU42y6JI5AXeBBkj6Bt7XQZgSv7I3VCHKuy8wHnnxxtvirQnknZaT7KMhE99sSyad9DLqBzdl98ZiiuZmSx4zzn/s1600/DavidSwain_Nov2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlE1U9QSKokdGj_JpE75grAYIPPM1PYlbnF_FyBHZpAPajwZlXkDHVVU42y6JI5AXeBBkj6Bt7XQZgSv7I3VCHKuy8wHnnxxtvirQnknZaT7KMhE99sSyad9DLqBzdl98ZiiuZmSx4zzn/s200/DavidSwain_Nov2017.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Swain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b>Our steadfast and industrious volunteer David Swain is currently working on a </b><span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>finding aid on the
British Colonial Papers for Georgia. Previously, David toiled for three years at the David Library creating a finding aid for the British Colonial Papers for East and West Florida. David notes that in the run up to the Revolution,
Georgia is an interesting place, located between more
“patriot” South Carolina and more “loyalist” East and West Florida.
Recently, he came across a rather extraordinary letter written by Georgia Governor
James Wright in Savannah to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl
of Dartmouth, in London. David wrote the following introduction to Wright's letter to put it in historical context. His transcription of the letter follows in italics. </b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
By August 1774, Royal Colonial Governor James Wright of
Georgia had become a frustrated man.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As
governor since 1760, Wright combined the practical skills of a political and administrative
leader with the ideals of a strongly patriotic British gentleman.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>For most of 14 years, Wright’s two most
important preoccupations had been economic development, especially through a
nascent silk industry, and maintaining peaceful relations with the Indians on
whose lands Georgia was founded and was expanding.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
In the early years, loyalty to British sovereignty was a
given not to be questioned.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Wright never
questioned it, but, beginning with the controversy in 1765-66 over Britain’s
Stamp Act, inhabitants of the American colonies began, in varying degrees, to
question America’s proper relationship with the British Empire.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
By 1774, questioning led to debates, which led to protests
and resolutions asserting American rights, which led to royal governmental attempts
to quash “illegal” activities, which further fanned the flames of insipient
rebellion.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Georgia played something of a transition role geographically.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In Charleston, South Carolina to the north,
the Sons of Liberty were active and influential.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In St. Augustine, East Florida to the south,
virtually no rebellious movement developed.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In Savannah, Georgia, more of a protest movement developed than Governor
Wright wished for, but it remained relatively weak—partly at least because of
the Governor’s considerable political and administrative skills and his
rock-solid British loyalism.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Still, in August 1774, Wright had grown both frustrated and
pessimistic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In an extraordinary letter
dated August 24, Wright allowed himself to express his personal uncertainties
and fears to his “boss,” Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl of
Dartmouth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This was an official,
numbered letter, yet it strayed from the usual content of reports,
justification of actions taken, and requests for assistance into a morass of
personal doubt and uncertain speculation.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The convoluted nature of Wright’s sentence structure suggests the unrest
within his mind.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yet, through this fog,
Wright’s pessimistic speculations were remarkably on target for what was to
come starting the following April in faraway Massachusetts Bay—an American
revolution, which eventually swallowed up Wright’s royal colony of Georgia.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>Savannah in Georgia the 24<sup>th</sup> of Aug<sup>st</sup>
1774</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>My Lord</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>In mine of July the 25<sup>th</sup> No. 23 & August the
13 No. 24 I acquainted your Lordship that I should give you a full account of
the Conduct & Proceedings of the Liberty People here, as soon as I knew for
certain what they did or meant to do, and I mentioned that Some Papers were
preparing by which I believed it would appear that these Resolutions were not
the voice of the People, but unfairly & insolently made by a Junto of a
very few only but which Papers are not yet Completed. </i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>everything my Lord was done that would be thought of, to
Frustrate their attempt, but this did not totally Prevent it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They have been strongly invited by the
Carolina Sons of Liberty, who have been Suffered to do whatever they Pleased
without the least mark of disapprobation or attempt to Check them, that I have
heard of. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and now again my Lord as in
the time of the Stamp act, I am to be Reflected upon & abused for opposing
the </i><i>licentiousness of the People and its thrown out “Why should
our Governor do so & so when the People in Carolina have gone Greater
Lengths than we have, and the Governor has not taken any notice of it”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In short my Lord at such times as these if a
man has Resolution & integrity Enough to stand forth & attempt to do
his duty its Like being set up as a mark to be shot at, and Raising the
Resentment of great numbers against him<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>However altho’ this is very disagreeable I shall not Regard it.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>I have been Informed of another Summons & meeting to be
in St. John Parish on the 30<sup>th</sup> inst, and my Lord as long as these
kind of Summonses and meetings are Suffered a Private Man to take upon him to
Summons a Whole Province to Consult upon & redress Public grievances, or
support Grievances, I apprehend there will be nothing but Cabals &
Combinations and the Peace of the Province & minds of the People
continually Heated disturbed & distracted and the Proclamation Issued
against them is termed arbitrary & oppressive & an attempt to debar
them of their natural and Law </i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>full Rights & priviledges.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In short my Lord if these Calls &
meetings are considered as illegal & improper it will require the
interposition of higher Authority to remedy the Evil.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>for the executive Powers of Government in the
Colonies are too weak to rectify such abuses, and Prosecutions would only be
Laughed at and no Grand Jury woud [would] fine [find] a Bill of Indictment and
the Persons ordering & carrying them on probably Insulted and abused.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXEUQ5roprrjJ9nrriUTRVkZoownrghb4xyQGgb2wRc1NYl9bOLuTKbyy6Sg_2fCLszxc5z2vWEsz-RipmOzWMB03qHXiZG3j7o7C24ZJ_wqI6D2GWT0NAKO2Mc8FLxfhtiC7OJvnEqVi/s1600/JamesWright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXEUQ5roprrjJ9nrriUTRVkZoownrghb4xyQGgb2wRc1NYl9bOLuTKbyy6Sg_2fCLszxc5z2vWEsz-RipmOzWMB03qHXiZG3j7o7C24ZJ_wqI6D2GWT0NAKO2Mc8FLxfhtiC7OJvnEqVi/s320/JamesWright.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Wright</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>And now I am mentioning these matters Permit me my Lord to
say how things appear to me. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and I
conceive that the Licentious Spirit in America has received Such Countenance
& Encouragement from many Persons, Speeches, and declarations, at the time
of the Stamp act, and ever since in Great Britain, and has now gone to so great
a length and is at such a height, that neither Coercive or Lenient measures
will settle matters and Restore any tolerable Degree of Cordiality &
Harmony with the mother Country.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And in
short things & circumstances in America have increased </i><i>so fast, and at this time so amazingly exceed what at the
first Settling and Planting the Colonies could Possibly have been Supposed or
expected and America is now become, or Indisputably ere long will be, such a
vast, Powerfull & opulent Country or Dominion, that I Humbly Conceive in
order to Restore & Establish Real & Substantial Harmony affection &
Confidence & that Great Britain may receive that benefit & advantage
which She has a Right to expect from the Colonies it may be found advisable to
Settle the Line with respect to Taxation &c by some new mode or
Constitution, and without which my real and candid opinion is, that however
matters may be got over at present & whatever appearance there may be of
amity & union the Flame will only be smothered for a time & break out
again at some future day with more Violence.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>But be these things as they may I doubt not that your
Lordship will Judge it is absolutely necessary that they are brought to a Point
& Clearly Settled and Established Some how or other, and not Suffered to
Remain as they are, nothing but Jealousies, Rancour, and ill Blood.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Law & no Law, Government </i><i>& no Government, Dependence and Independence,
if I may be allowed the expressions and every thing unhinged and Running into
Confusion, so that in short a Man hardly knows what to do, or how to act and
its a most disagreeable State to one who Wishes to Support Law Government &
Good order & to discharge his duty with Honor and integrity.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i>I beg Pardon my Lord for Presuming to Touch on the Grand
& very delicate Point, but Trust that my Zeal for His Majesty’s Service
& to discharge my duty in every Respect with the Utmost integrity will
Plead my excuse, But my Lord if any alteration should be thought of yet
Previous to any thing of this kind intire Submission & obedience to the
Sovereignty of Great Britain, and Satisfaction for all Private damages &
Injuries ought to be exacted & fully Complied with in & by all the
Colonies.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I
have the Honor to be with Perfect</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Esteem
my Lord your Lordships most Obliged</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and
most Obed<sup>t </sup>Hble Servant</i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>J.
Wright</i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzXRhCCh4tyxW666hppknpjXfK3TkQAAB-9N-Ej5VqKQU5DZ4T7xgRQr6NOOu-hRE-59TjVliRDYn2_YLpUCrf5IZTQtFpeII7zWmLt-wD-dBF1YglDk4hsSQ_XP93bLpI2CSX8trlOPg/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1155" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzXRhCCh4tyxW666hppknpjXfK3TkQAAB-9N-Ej5VqKQU5DZ4T7xgRQr6NOOu-hRE-59TjVliRDYn2_YLpUCrf5IZTQtFpeII7zWmLt-wD-dBF1YglDk4hsSQ_XP93bLpI2CSX8trlOPg/s400/map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-17757237140764213032017-09-15T12:49:00.000-04:002017-09-15T17:54:05.910-04:00History: It's a Family Thing<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsDfiLYBd0cHc76alrBKmuNzwLMs2zkYe-KFbMbRI1Y37vLpq7AedELYxA67cZfY70IYZ02ko1AwyYweGFmFhAFhZkHAIUN4juEssYWhbOieyeeGdnE0VyiPQI4K-wXm_bHxw6uiUiXfa/s1600/JacobQuasius_Lycoming_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsDfiLYBd0cHc76alrBKmuNzwLMs2zkYe-KFbMbRI1Y37vLpq7AedELYxA67cZfY70IYZ02ko1AwyYweGFmFhAFhZkHAIUN4juEssYWhbOieyeeGdnE0VyiPQI4K-wXm_bHxw6uiUiXfa/s1600/JacobQuasius_Lycoming_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsDfiLYBd0cHc76alrBKmuNzwLMs2zkYe-KFbMbRI1Y37vLpq7AedELYxA67cZfY70IYZ02ko1AwyYweGFmFhAFhZkHAIUN4juEssYWhbOieyeeGdnE0VyiPQI4K-wXm_bHxw6uiUiXfa/s400/JacobQuasius_Lycoming_2017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob Quasius</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Guest blogger<b> Jacob Quasius</b> was an undergraduate fellow at the David Library this summer through the Library's partnership with Lycoming College, where Jacob is now a senior. When asked to write about his experience as a resident researcher at the David Library, he wanted to </i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsDfiLYBd0cHc76alrBKmuNzwLMs2zkYe-KFbMbRI1Y37vLpq7AedELYxA67cZfY70IYZ02ko1AwyYweGFmFhAFhZkHAIUN4juEssYWhbOieyeeGdnE0VyiPQI4K-wXm_bHxw6uiUiXfa/s1600/JacobQuasius_Lycoming_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><i>describe how he shared it with his family.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsDfiLYBd0cHc76alrBKmuNzwLMs2zkYe-KFbMbRI1Y37vLpq7AedELYxA67cZfY70IYZ02ko1AwyYweGFmFhAFhZkHAIUN4juEssYWhbOieyeeGdnE0VyiPQI4K-wXm_bHxw6uiUiXfa/s1600/JacobQuasius_Lycoming_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Growing up in northern New Jersey, I was naturally
surrounded by history. I live an hour away from New York City, two hours from
Philadelphia, a half hour from Morristown, etc., so for as long as I can remember, summer always included at least one “history trip,” whether it was a day
trip or a weekend excursion. Even our “normal” vacations typically involved a
stop at a museum or a historically significant site. As a future history major,
I loved every minute of it.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From an early age, I was an active participant in historical
discussions, frequently pestering the tour guides and reenactors with my
questions, while other kids my age paid no attention. As I got older, I became
increasingly interested in the American Revolution. Trips with my family to
Boston, Philadelphia, Trenton, Morristown and Valley Forge piqued my interest,
and this interest has continued to this day. <span style="margin: 0px;"> (</span>My friends have gotten used to me pulling over to the side of the road to read historical markers.) </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My parents and grandparents noticed my interest in history, and always
encouraged me to expand on my historical knowledge. When I was still in high school, my Grandma gave me her collection of books, covering a wide variety of historical topics, and I
frequently used gift cards to add books to this collection,
including David Hackett Fischer’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington’s
Crossing </i>and David McCullough's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1776</i>.
These books later became the inspiration for the project I researched this summer at the David Library, which is centered on militia involvement in the New Jersey campaign of 1776/1777.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now busy with college, I have less time to go on historical trips with my family, but it doesn't mean I've stopped exploring. There may be fewer of those family trips, but thankfully, there have been a number of trips sponsored by Lycoming College. Even during my month as a fellow at the David
Library, I had the opportunity to take trips to nearby Washington Crossing
Historic Park, Valley Forge National Historic Site, and some of the many historic sites in Philadelphia. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While I value the opportunities my school and this
fellowship have given me to explore my passion for history, I couldn’t help
missing my family enjoying it with me. Luckily, near the end of my fellowship,
I had the opportunity to share the David Library of the American Revolution
with my family. When they visited me at the library, I felt like I was able to
offer my parents and grandparents the same exciting feeling of making new discoveries that they provided to me
throughout my childhood.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After introducing them to the David Library reading room and showing them the online catalog, each pursued an area of special interest. My grandparents looked at how everyday citizens in the Early Republic petitioned their elected officials. Mom looked at
New Jersey census records, searching for family names with which she was familiar, while Dad perused the Washington Papers. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The David Library is a wonderful place that I grew to love through my fresh encounters with surprising collections of manuscripts, and enjoyable interactions with other scholars and like-minded history lovers. However, it was truly an amazing experience to
share the incredible collections of the David Library of the American
Revolution with my family. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-91376897089587231392017-08-26T14:00:00.000-04:002017-08-26T14:00:16.268-04:00The Penobscot Expedition by Geoffrey Fisher<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixjWXc2qrfNWEeDSA6SUwqyV09YNJEeZsRE4dGDAJUL9ZhX3hI3f1cEx0oYwPPWyyFhtJ5X4ZavVhypVs50RbX0YsDzcghv0EKYrePEMaAgIMnLQb-CZK_wDAlCS-BsE5g-wz2pa46sEo/s1600/PenobscotExpeditionBySerres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><i>Geoffrey Fisher, who completed a practicum at the David Library this past spring for credit toward his M. A. in public history from American Public University System, has prepared this article on the Penobscot Expedition, which occurred 238 years ago this month. You can come to the Library and hear Geoff make a presentation on the Battle of Brandywine on Saturday, September 9 at 3:00. </i> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXeD03iX6yKrhPP6VZdUUG2YhDnuqmI2gmb5vPsQPsU-03els7nLhHOyNvblesN3quT9Y9gNdV4tqrv4ZoGUzplT9uxmLLZLVrjX37fDAC9I8cGXTF2wwe5yheIsJkpf4j8kRrxj0pw_W/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0iCIdT5vLdPUA0k2_HKqEotesBlNYlgvPfXysOHAsvI_tr3rJ_g0soRBiOr7H2iwmPUQu1jUd-j3Orc3cPK2Zuu9khy3mpk6fZIpU5GBeirqk-14xnt3LYmlh9LbB0V_u39Dj_nzPoS5/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixjWXc2qrfNWEeDSA6SUwqyV09YNJEeZsRE4dGDAJUL9ZhX3hI3f1cEx0oYwPPWyyFhtJ5X4ZavVhypVs50RbX0YsDzcghv0EKYrePEMaAgIMnLQb-CZK_wDAlCS-BsE5g-wz2pa46sEo/s1600/PenobscotExpeditionBySerres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixjWXc2qrfNWEeDSA6SUwqyV09YNJEeZsRE4dGDAJUL9ZhX3hI3f1cEx0oYwPPWyyFhtJ5X4ZavVhypVs50RbX0YsDzcghv0EKYrePEMaAgIMnLQb-CZK_wDAlCS-BsE5g-wz2pa46sEo/s1600/PenobscotExpeditionBySerres.jpg" /></a>The Penobscot Expedition, July
19-August 15, 1779, was the largest naval event during the Revolutionary
War.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Other than to eliminate the threat
on the <st1:place w:st="on">Penobscot River</st1:place>, the Americans did not
have a clear strategic impetus for this naval engagement that resulted in a
debacle for the rebel forces. The British, on the other hand, held a clear
strategic vision for the river's and island's defenses, and the fortification
that housed the enemy soldiers. First, the construction of a fort would protect
British interests to harvest the wood from the surrounding area. Also, a fort
would project enough naval power to protect British ships while inhibiting any
designs from the Americans on seizing this strategic resource for their
fledgling navy. Second, the construction of a fort would ensure sanctuary of
the Loyalist population with the British on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Nova Scotia</st1:state></st1:place>, which was not far off. Third,
the fort could serve as a base of operations for British naval campaigns off <st1:place w:st="on">New England</st1:place>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>For the Penobscot
Expedition, the Massachusetts State Board of War delegated Brigadier General
Solomon Lovell to command 1,500 militiamen. General Lovell shared leadership
with Commodore Dudley Saltonstall. Saltonstall who led 40+ naval vessels during
the expedition. All told that amounted to about 344 guns. Commodore Saltonstall
also oversaw 300 marines.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Saltonstall's orders were two-fold. First,
he was to take capture or eliminate all of the enemy's sea and land forces.
Second, he needed to seek a cooperative working relationship with the ground
commanders on the ground so that both, the militia and the navy, could
neutralize the enemy's forces.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Arriving on
the 25th of July, the American fleet entered Magebagiduce harbor and saw three
British ships for a total of 56 guns. As they went up the waterway, the
Americans came face to face with the British northern defenses, that included
"a large fort on a regular eminence, below which were two batteries, on
the south side another battery was forming; the whole made a pretty formidable
appearance." As the Americans approached, they noticed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place>'s
daunting exterior. So they lobbed a few shells, which in turn led to a return
of fire from the fortified British and spirited cannonade between the two sides
ensued. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This barrage of cannon fire
would not lead to any ground invasions.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
American assault on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype>
<st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place> is broken down
into three or four main attacks. The first attack began on the 25th with
General Lovell launching his militia forces against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place>
and the island that it was on, Magabagiduce. The cannon fire that broke out
between the fort's defenders and the ships holding the landing parties did not
produce the positive results that General Lovell was hoping for when he started
his offensive. Eventually, he called off his attack due to contrary winds that
prevented his entire force from landing. Lovell did not see any reason to
land the militia against a well prepared defensive position piecemeal.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <br />
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even though
Lovell called off his attack against the fort and the island, the American
navy, under Commodore Saltonstall, went ahead with their attack in the early
hours of 26th by successfully landing on another island. This attack saw close
inter-service cooperation during this stage of the first assault since
"about 150 marines, led by Captain John Welsh of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Warren</i></st1:city></st1:place>
and covered by the guns of the flotilla, landed on Nautilus island directly
opposite the British fort and commanding the mouth of the harbor. The Americans
drove off its defenders and captured four pieces of artillery and some
ammunition. Despite inclement weather, they also managed to get some heavier
guns ashore." A possible reason for the successful landing and the close
cooperation between the services is that this night time assault did not
experience any contrary winds rather than the attempted invasion commanded by
General Lovell. Subsequent attacks would not be so promising.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0iCIdT5vLdPUA0k2_HKqEotesBlNYlgvPfXysOHAsvI_tr3rJ_g0soRBiOr7H2iwmPUQu1jUd-j3Orc3cPK2Zuu9khy3mpk6fZIpU5GBeirqk-14xnt3LYmlh9LbB0V_u39Dj_nzPoS5/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
attack began before the sun had risen on the morning of July 28. Commodore
Saltonstall and Brigadier General Lovell launched another attack that commenced
with another showing of inter-service cooperation. The American brig <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tyrannicide</i> with its fourteen guns was
to remove the British from the woods by firing into them so that the landing
point was devoid of the enemy. The Americans landed with three units: the
marines on the right, two divisions of militia on the left and center,
respectively. As the Americans put their landing parties ashore, they received
assistance from "a heavy cannonade of round and grape shot." The
Americans sustained a loss of "a great number of men," while the
British losses were "inconsiderable." Despite sustaining heavy
casualties during the landing, the American landing parties continued to hold the
initiative.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Although there
is no way to fully ascertain from the primary sources how or why the American's
second attack fizzled out, the secondary sources do mention the close
inter-service relationship that was seen in the early hours of 26th and the
opening stages of the second attack began to fall apart at the most critical
part of the battle, the taking of Fort George. An American primary source reads
that after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tyrannicide</i> cleared the
landing point, the rebels were able to land six or seven hundred men that<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 96px; text-align: justify;">
killed sixteen men,
and wounded as many; our men with great resolution returned the fire, ascended
the almost impassable precipice, routed them and took possession of the hill,
killing (as they supposed) about as many as they lost, and taking a few
prisoners; from thence they advanced to a battery near the large fort, and
possessed themselves of it, with considerable artillery and baggage.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 96px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
The above American primary source reads very differently
from the British account exacting a heavy toll on American invaders while
downplaying their losses.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>On July
31st the Americans began to plan their third attack onto the island to take the
fort. The plan for this attack was to get all of the marines ashore by midnight
and to work with the troops on land so that an attack on a breastwork south of
Fort George, which was close to British shipping, would sever the lines of
communication amongst the fort and ships. On August 1st, the Americans launched
their assault around two in the morning that opened up with a lot of energy and
determination to meet their objective. However, the defenders found their
resolve by sending out fifty men "who soon drove the enemy back, tho'
allowed to be in number above three hundred."<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0iCIdT5vLdPUA0k2_HKqEotesBlNYlgvPfXysOHAsvI_tr3rJ_g0soRBiOr7H2iwmPUQu1jUd-j3Orc3cPK2Zuu9khy3mpk6fZIpU5GBeirqk-14xnt3LYmlh9LbB0V_u39Dj_nzPoS5/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>From August
2nd-15th, it is up to debate on whether or not the fourth attempt to take <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place>
was an actual attack in the literal sense. In between these two weeks,
Commodore Saltonstall convened war councils on August 6th, 9th, and 10th. For
the August 6th attack, the proposed operation was dropped, however, because
Lovell's men were an unruly lot of men who could not be counted on meeting
their objective. The August 9th attack was canceled due to the risky
proposition of exposing American ships to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place>'s
canon without being able to return fire. As for the third and final proposed
attack on August 10th, General Lovell advocated for an attack on the British
fort, the harbor, and to bait the enemy in the smaller batteries to leave their
defensive positions and to come and fight the Americans out in the open. The
Americans attempted to do that on August 11th, but the majority of the rebels
beat a hasty retreat to their fortifications before their operation was
underway. On the night of August 11th, General Lovell called for a war council
on the Americans next moves. He believed that his forces did not have the
necessary martial strength to counter the British on the grounds of their
previous amateurish performances and cowardice, which made it easier for him to
promote the lifting of the siege that started on 12th.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In the
evening of August 13th, the Americans decided to lift the siege and load the
militiamen and marines back onto the boats. While the Americans left their
cannon, accoutrements, and clambered onto their ships, the British fortified
and completed another defensive position "where they are secure[d] against
us; which at our arrival was only a breastwork, containing five or
six-pounders, which then, in all probability, we could have reduced very
easily, as also their shipping, as they have since acknowledged." The
American leadership, Commodore Saltonstall, and General Lovell could not get on
the same page on what should be done from one day to the next.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>On August
14th, British reinforcements entered the Penobscot bay with a half dozen
vessels. Though the Americans still held superior numbers in ships and men,
their hampered leadership and lackluster performance over nearly four weeks
made their strategic and tactical initiative in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Penobscot</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>
untenable. This terrible turn of events threw the navy and army into hysteria
considering that it could effect their escape out of the bay. On August 15th,
some 200 militiamen, "sailors, and marines" began their escape back
to friendly territory.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>From the
beginning of the expedition July 25th-August 15, the Americans lost about 500
killed or captured. One could certainly say and make an argument that the
expedition was a failure due to a deficiency in military training and untested
militiamen, marines, and sailors. With that said, attributing the American defeat
to lackluster training and unproven militiamen lets the leadership, Commodore
Dudley Saltonstall, and General Solomon Lovell, off the hook. Upon closer
inspection of the primary sources, it is not so much the rank and file's sub
standard presentation during the attacks on the island and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Fort</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">George</st1:placename></st1:place>
as it was their leaders' incompetence and lack of inter-service <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">cooperation between the militiamen and the navy
that doomed the operation. The Americans fought well in the taking of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Nautilus</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place> on July 26th and on July 28th,
the first and second attacks respectively. One could also say that there was
not a defined strategic logic and that affected the mission's objective.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </span>
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Blanco
and Sanborn eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution,
</i>1290<span style="margin: 0px;">.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0iCIdT5vLdPUA0k2_HKqEotesBlNYlgvPfXysOHAsvI_tr3rJ_g0soRBiOr7H2iwmPUQu1jUd-j3Orc3cPK2Zuu9khy3mpk6fZIpU5GBeirqk-14xnt3LYmlh9LbB0V_u39Dj_nzPoS5/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0iCIdT5vLdPUA0k2_HKqEotesBlNYlgvPfXysOHAsvI_tr3rJ_g0soRBiOr7H2iwmPUQu1jUd-j3Orc3cPK2Zuu9khy3mpk6fZIpU5GBeirqk-14xnt3LYmlh9LbB0V_u39Dj_nzPoS5/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><br /></b></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXeD03iX6yKrhPP6VZdUUG2YhDnuqmI2gmb5vPsQPsU-03els7nLhHOyNvblesN3quT9Y9gNdV4tqrv4ZoGUzplT9uxmLLZLVrjX37fDAC9I8cGXTF2wwe5yheIsJkpf4j8kRrxj0pw_W/s1600/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="576" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXeD03iX6yKrhPP6VZdUUG2YhDnuqmI2gmb5vPsQPsU-03els7nLhHOyNvblesN3quT9Y9gNdV4tqrv4ZoGUzplT9uxmLLZLVrjX37fDAC9I8cGXTF2wwe5yheIsJkpf4j8kRrxj0pw_W/s400/cannon_from_Penobscot_Expedition_image_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Close up of the data plate of the Revolutionary War cannon on display at Norumbega Parkway in Bangor, Maine. It was on a sloop that was destroyed during the Penobscot Expedition in August, 1779. The cannon was recovered in 1876.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Penobscot Bibliography</b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Primary Sources</b>:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;">Author
Unknown. "Operations in <st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state> in
1779: Journal found on board the Hunter, Continental Ship," <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries
Concerning the Antiquity, History and Biography of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region></i>
8 (1864): 51-54.</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;">"Journal
of the Attack of the Rebels on His Majesty's Ships and Troops, Under Command
of Brig. Gen. McLean and Capt. Henry Mowatt, Commencing 24th July, 1779 at
Majebiguiduce in Penobscot Bay." From the <st1:state w:st="on">Nova
Scotia</st1:state> Gazette, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Halifax</st1:city></st1:place>,
September 14, 1779. Communicated by Joseph Williamson, Esq., of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Belfast</st1:city></st1:place>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Collections of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state></st1:place> Historical Society</i> 7 (1876):
123-126.</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;">Goold,
Nathan. "Colonel Jonathan Mitchell's <st1:city w:st="on">Cumberland</st1:city>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Regiment</st1:placename></st1:place>: Bagaduce Expedition,
1779." <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Collections and
Proceedings of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state></st1:place>
Historical Society</i> 10, no. 2 (1899): 143-148.</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Secondary Sources</b>:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;">Blanco,
Richard L. and Paul J. Sanborn eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia</i>, vol. II: M-Z. <st1:state w:st="on"><span style="margin: 0px;">New
York</span></st1:state><span style="margin: 0px;">:
</span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Garland</st1:place></st1:city>
Publishing, 1993.</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"> Author Unknown, "Operations in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state></st1:place> in 1779," <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Historical Magazine,</i><span style="margin: 0px;"> 5</span>2.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid;
Ibid., 53; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of the Attack of the
Rebels on His Majesty's Ships and Troops, </i>125.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"> Author Unknown, "Operations in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state></st1:place> in 1779," <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Historical Magazine,</i><span style="margin: 0px;"> 5</span>4.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Goold,
Nathan. "Colonel Jonathan Mitchell's Cumberland
County Regiment: Bagaduce Expedition,
1779." <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Collections and Proceedings
of the Maine
Historical Society</i> 10, no. 2 (1899): 147.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Blanco
and Sanborn eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution,
</i>1290<span style="margin: 0px;">.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Blanco
and Sanborn eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution,
</i>1289.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid.; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of the Attack of the Rebels on His
Majesty's Ships and Troops, Under Command of Brig. Gen. McLean and Capt. Henry
Mowatt, Commencing 24th July, 1779 at Majebiguiduce in Penobscot Bay</i>. From
the Nova Scotia Gazette, Halifax, September 14, 1779. Communicated by
Joseph Williamson, Esq., of Belfast.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Collections of the Maine Historical Society</i> 7 (1876): 123.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</span>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Richard
L. Blanco and Paul J. Sanborn eds. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia</i>, vol. II: M-Z (N<span style="margin: 0px;">ew York: </span>Garland
Publishing, 1993), 1288.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid.,
Ibid. 1289.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg%20McSweeney/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XRC4HE31/The%20Penobscot%20Expedition.doc#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Author
Unknown, "Operations in Maine in 1779:
Journal found on board the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hunter</i>,
Continental Ship," <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Historical
Magazine, and Notes and Queries Concerning the Antiquity, History and Biography
of America</i>,
8 (1864): 51, 52.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-8677198595308415752017-05-09T14:23:00.000-04:002017-05-09T14:23:35.844-04:00Intern's Report: My Internship at the David Library by Oliver Shortridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Oliver Shortridge graduates this spring from Temple University where he wrote a senior thesis on the history of radio manufacturing in Philadelphia. A life-long train enthusiast, Oliver works part-time at the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad in Bucks County. He was an intern at the David Library this past semester. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px 19px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"> In my final semester as a history major at Temple University, I had the option of earning some final credits
</span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">through an internship, rather than by taking another class. Even though my focus
of study was primarily the Industrial Revolution through to the end of the Cold
War, the David Library of the American Revolution was a logical choice for an
internship for me; I live nearby, and have a personal interest in the American
Revolution.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEG3QNoagi72XNulWMXz8iTwW1oIIHS01FCeZUmFF8zFx5IwPZmw8C89x8agh0o3Yk24a-qrZYYNa70UOI6HrOH80lzVVb38bYz2P8gV75W71ANnc9kN6Xya8HC-WNJFfPpgULuT8ntSa6/s1600/OliverShortridge_intern2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEG3QNoagi72XNulWMXz8iTwW1oIIHS01FCeZUmFF8zFx5IwPZmw8C89x8agh0o3Yk24a-qrZYYNa70UOI6HrOH80lzVVb38bYz2P8gV75W71ANnc9kN6Xya8HC-WNJFfPpgULuT8ntSa6/s320/OliverShortridge_intern2017.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Shortridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To be honest, I had no concrete idea
of what I would be doing at the library, but I ended up contributing to several
projects<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>on the library’s “to do” list.
The first big project I worked on was the newspaper digitization project, in
which I catalogued the Library’s collection of Revolutionary-era newspapers and
then photographed each of them page by page to make the fragile primary sources
available for the public. As a history student, I am no stranger to working
with primary documents, and in the many different papers I wrote for my classes,
I was usually required to find at least one primary source on the topic of
which I was writing. However, the newspaper project was really the first time I
physically got to work with primary sources. I felt privileged to be entrusted
to work with these papers and it was a humbling experience to be able to hold
an authentic newspaper from the 1770s, and skimming through them helped me
learn the vernacular of the 18<sup>th</sup> Century.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The finding aid project was an especially
satisfying one for me. As a person with mild OCD, updating already existing
finding aids and creating ones on topics like Alexander Hamilton, Benedict
Arnold, and the Continental Navy was right up my alley. I also worked with the
vertical files on personal accounts in much the same way.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The county mapping project was very
interesting to work on. I had known that the borders of different counties
changed over time, but I did not know how they changed, or even that several
counties borders have changed numerous times. It was neat to compile the
different states, and I especially enjoyed being entrusted with certain
editorial decisions regarding the finished product. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In addition to both working on
projects and the day-to-day library work, I also helped people with their
research. On numerous occasions, Librarian Kathie Ludwig would have me look up
information requested by an offsite researcher, often a family historian
seeking<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>details about an ancestor who
may have fought in the Revolution. I did not always find what the patron was
looking for, but when I did, and was able to say, “Yes, you are descended from
someone who helped create this country,” it was without a doubt the most
gratifying experience of my internship. (While browsing through the pension
index on behalf of one such offsite researcher, I even came across <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>someone possibly related to me!) </span><br />
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As my internship draws to a close, I
can look back and say that it was definitely everything I had hoped it would be
and more. I got to meet many different people and learn more about the
Revolutionary War than I had anywhere else. I have picked up some new and
useful computer and research skills, and I’ve seen up close how a library is
run.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even though I most likely will not
end up getting a job in any academic or historical institution, I am certain
that what I learned during my internship at the David Library of the American
Revolution will be of enormous help to me in my future career.</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-476053535134909812017-02-11T17:03:00.000-05:002017-02-14T10:51:57.828-05:00Black History Month: The Story of Prince Freeman<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-68c9289e-2f16-c3b7-9f66-65df37e57c63" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Guest Blogger: Emily Bigioni</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;">
</b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many people tend to forget that there were African-American soldiers who served in the American Revolution, many of whom applied for and received military pensions. In honor of Black History Month, we have the story of one of these soldiers and pensioners:</span></b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhzbm79423W9I9iz5CdZvknvxn7MIBg4ZeUEENsy9WqMWRRg7edTUH98ieWjVxtK8CpcEBmLRwAWBFMmbxiHWNRqwkBd6-rvjkRzhRqY6skAZm36A-F_ZqMmVnN44mExMrAaQ_ae6mysR/s1600/Prince_fulllength.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhzbm79423W9I9iz5CdZvknvxn7MIBg4ZeUEENsy9WqMWRRg7edTUH98ieWjVxtK8CpcEBmLRwAWBFMmbxiHWNRqwkBd6-rvjkRzhRqY6skAZm36A-F_ZqMmVnN44mExMrAaQ_ae6mysR/s400/Prince_fulllength.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Prince Freeman's discharge document, </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
signed by General Washington, </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
showing that he was honored </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
with the Badge of Merit.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllWPVyo52X776yCjoLBN02mw-GZANjesEWS6DCW_PKJQfnVVWpUyGbvLSeZidqFQkIieUdR-Uy5y7MQbXhiqu2GWKsXq9VD030_ByDaFpVo5EGiprSW15Dfb6WKJ4AlMk_Bu1G34gla35/s1600/Prince+Freeman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On April 10, 1818, Prince Freeman, an African-American veteran of the Revolutionary War, applied for a pension in Windham County, Vermont. At that point, he was a farmer in Grafton, Vermont. He had first enlisted in May of 1777 as a private in Captain Bulkley's company, in the 3rd Connecticut Regiment, commanded by Samuel Blachley Webb. Freeman served until the end of the war, and was honorably discharged in 1783, on the 8th day of June. After the war, Freeman applied for a bounty land warrant, and moved to Vermont. However, his pension claims that in 1818 he was “destitute of property [and] advanced in years”—aged sixty-two; he further states that he had two young children dependent on him for support. Having been injured in the war, Freeman was unable to work, and so applied for a pension—and received it, being issued eight dollars per month under the decision of Judge Phineas White. Freeman, according to his discharge papers, was honored with the Badge of Merit (the precursor to the Purple Heart Medal) by General George Washington for his six years of service. The Badge of Merit was created by Washington for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the purpose of honoring ordinary soldiers, alongside the Honorary Badges of Distinction. By creating this badge, Washington allowed for the recognition of regular soldiers, not solely officers. Not only a good deed, the Badge of Merit was an inexpensive way to honor soldiers after the Continental Congress ordered Washington to stop promoting soldiers in 1782. It is the oldest military decoration, but not the oldest award; Congress awarded the Fidelity Medallion—a civilian honor—to three privates who had captured the British spy John André, a co-conspirator of Benedict Arnold, in 1780.</span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9bFJiOrTfH0hT3Vv_GFxHeQJv21-TFbmDZw87ESYNrQQIwmajUMTqmbL1JGEGb9Tc8CWP-z7N6V9vmNXz4yoXU7Yg7SmOAfsKxitBVV7WMyCI8D58HsISHnlReyaBJrnfjHa8XC3IgSK/s1600/Merit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9bFJiOrTfH0hT3Vv_GFxHeQJv21-TFbmDZw87ESYNrQQIwmajUMTqmbL1JGEGb9Tc8CWP-z7N6V9vmNXz4yoXU7Yg7SmOAfsKxitBVV7WMyCI8D58HsISHnlReyaBJrnfjHa8XC3IgSK/s200/Merit.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Badge of Merit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Works cited:</i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Johnston, Henry P., editor. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Record of Connecticut Men of the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution 1755-1783</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. 1889. Genealogical Publishing, 1997.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty–Land–Warrant Application Files (RG 15) Pension for Prince Freeman S: 39549</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">National Archives and Record Administration</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">George Washington, "7 August 1782, General Orders." </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Writings of George Washington</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office).</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Military Badges.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">George Washington’s Mount Vernon</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hudgins, Bill. "The Origins of the Purple Heart." </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">American Spirit</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, Nov.-Dec. 2014, pp. 36-40.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9bFJiOrTfH0hT3Vv_GFxHeQJv21-TFbmDZw87ESYNrQQIwmajUMTqmbL1JGEGb9Tc8CWP-z7N6V9vmNXz4yoXU7Yg7SmOAfsKxitBVV7WMyCI8D58HsISHnlReyaBJrnfjHa8XC3IgSK/s1600/Merit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><br /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Emily Bigioni is a volunteer at the David Library and a sophomore at Princeton High School. She has been volunteering since July 2016, and currently works Saturday afternoons. Emily has a love of history, and enjoys reading and researching the Library’s primary source documents.</i></span></div>
</b><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0Washington Crossing, PA 18977, USA40.2759571 -74.868256940.1790551 -75.0296184 40.3728591 -74.706895400000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-14553039922615602882016-07-29T15:07:00.000-04:002016-07-29T15:07:49.816-04:00Meryl Streep Brings on the Rev War History<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWajT2KQcBwCKz0Fw3gzUQZDyFjySVmDL7lRfzjsNlu_fTnRVZlqr6tGNy3IdaEyUaRE2NhlvEKr7lUEawfV81tWaYO547GPJhdvb0GJGETQa5MF3fpy84VqBikJ0VqZUHlgCTht2jZmD/s1600/Streep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWajT2KQcBwCKz0Fw3gzUQZDyFjySVmDL7lRfzjsNlu_fTnRVZlqr6tGNy3IdaEyUaRE2NhlvEKr7lUEawfV81tWaYO547GPJhdvb0GJGETQa5MF3fpy84VqBikJ0VqZUHlgCTht2jZmD/s400/Streep.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">When a major political party chooses Philadelphia as the setting for its national convention, it's no surprise that the speeches from the convention stage include lofty references to the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence and birth of American democracy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">From the stage of Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center where the Democratic National Convention was held this week, there were plenty of references to America's founding era and the events that took place in Philadelphia during that period. But we noted that one of the most interesting historical references made by any of the convention speakers didn't come from a politician or a historian or a teacher. It came from Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">During her speech at the first major party convention to nominate a woman to be President of the United States, Streep asked, "What does it take to be the first female anything?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">She went on to tell the story of Deborah Sampson, "the first woman to take a bullet for our country."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Streep said that Sampson "served, disguised as a man, in George Washington’s Continental Army. She fought to defend a document that didn’t fully defend her. 'All men are created equal,' it read. No mention of women. When she took a blast in battle to her leg, she was afraid to reveal her secret. So she took a pen knife, she dug out the musket ball, and she sewed herself back up again."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Leave it to an actress to recognize a dramatic story worthy of being retold!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">According to resources you can find at the David Library of the American Revolution, Deborah Sampson (1760-1827) did indeed serve in the Continental Army disguised as a man. Calling herself "Robert Shurtleff," she served in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. Sampson was wounded in 1782, and was honorably discharged by General Henry Knox in 1783. In 1804, Paul Revere petitioned Congress for funding to assist her and her family, and as a result, Sampson received a pension from the state of Massachusetts. She later applied for and received a Federal pension under the Congressional legislation dated March 1888.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If you are interested in learning more about Deborah Sampson and other women who participated in the American Revolution, you will find plenty of material at the David Library. Our Sol Feinstone Collection of original manuscripts even includes an officer's report on discovery that a "boy" in his regiment was actually a young woman. In item number 82 in the Collection (Barton, William. Elizabethtown, [N. J.], 17 Nov. 1778.), it is reported that she accidentally gave herself away when, upon being dismissed by the officer, she curtsied. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here are some sources on Deborah Sampson:</span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Full Length Books</span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Freeman, Lucy and Alma Halbert Bond</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> America’s First Woman Warrior: The Courage of
Deborah Sampson</span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (New
York: Paragon House, 1992). Call Number: 2991</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mann, Herman</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Female Review: Life of Deborah
Sampson, the female soldier in the War
of Revolution</span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
(NewYork: Anos Press, 1972). Call Number: 1053</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Young, Alfred F.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Masquerade:
The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 2004). Call Number:
5768</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sources that includes the history of Deborah
Sampson:</span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Glory, Passion, and Principle: The
Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution</span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (New York: Atria Books, 2003). Call
Number: 5781</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Laska, Vera O., </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Remember the Ladies”: Outstanding
Women of the American Revolution</span></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bicentennial
Commission, 1976),Call Number: 1083p</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Our thanks to Alyssa Brophy, summer intern at the David Library </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">from Kutztown University for her assistance in preparing this post.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-8728117086665837602016-02-11T15:40:00.000-05:002016-02-11T15:47:12.033-05:00A Scholar's Report<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Guest blogger Patrick Callaway is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maine. He is the recipient of a travel grant from the David Library which allowed him to make two trips to the Library to conduct research for his dissertation, "Grain, Warfare, and the Reunification of the British Atlantic Economy, 1750-1815. In this post, he tells us about the resources he used at the David Library, which may offer other researchers some clues about the treasures waiting to be mined!</i></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During my research at the
David Library, I was able to consult with many records that will be of importance
to my dissertation research into the patterns of the grain trade in the late
colonial and Early Republic United States.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">he most important of these records
that I have been able to consult at the David Library is the Colonial Office
16/1 records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These records provide the
only quantitative study of colonial trade prior to the revolution, and will
form the base line “norm” for my study of post-revolutionary trade patterns.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> records of the Philadelphia
Customs House will provide an interesting comparison source to the CO 16
records as the customs records also provide a quantitative assessment of the
trade entering and leaving Philadelphia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hope that this will provide evidence to prove or disprove my hypothesis
of the continuity of trade both in destination and in content of the
trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Baynton and Wharton
correspondence proved to be unexpectedly useful in my research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These merchant records suggest a trade in
grain between Philadelphia merchants, Canadian farmers, and the larger British
Atlantic much earlier than other resources suggest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on these records, I will be able to
revise part of one chapter of my dissertation as well as (potentially) produce
a conference paper based on the correspondence of Baynton and Wharton in
Philadelphia and their correspondents in Montreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their further correspondence with a series of
merchants in Madeira, Lisbon, and Cadiz is also potentially significant for my
research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am currently writing a
conference paper based on my findings in this resource that will be presented
at the Northeastern University graduate student conference in April. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another unexpectedly rich source I
found at the David Library is the Liverpool Papers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first Lord Liverpool was a member of the
Board of Trade leading up to Jay’s Treaty in 1794.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The records included the minute books and notes
for the Board for a three-year period which outlined not only the general sense
of how British trade relations would be managed in a broad sense but also the
place of the United States within the trading system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discussion on the import/export management of
particular commodities is included within the source; this gives me an
important insight into the official thinking of the British government at this
critical time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also included in the
source are a selection of papers from the second Lord Liverpool, who served as
Prime Minister during the Peninsular Campaign and the War of 1812.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Dearborn Papers provide an
interesting insight into the management of the Canadian campaign in 1812 and
the continuing connection between the Canadas and the United States during the
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This source will be useful to me as
I attempt to assess the nature of the War of 1812 along the northern frontier.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The War Office 60/14 files could
also be an interesting resource for my research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The WO 60 series outlines the provisions sent
from Britain and Ireland to the British forces in America during the
revolution, and the shortages encountered by the British Army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This aberration to the normal trading
patterns is interesting as it may be possible to use this source to analyze the
importance of food commodities in trade when an extraordinary demand is created
by war in the Atlantic World.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The British Colonial Office records
on the correspondence between the West Indies and Jamaica and the Secretary of
State were somewhat less fruitful than I hoped for my narrowly tailored
topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the correspondence
focused on the Revolutionary War era and the measures taken for local defense
in conjunction with the Royal Navy rather than the economic condition of the
islands as they were denied access to American produce as a result of the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I would like to thank Kathie Brian,
and Meg for all of their help during my time at the David Library and to
express my gratitude to the Library for the generous
support that made my time there possible.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-84267550863672491682015-07-01T14:58:00.000-04:002015-07-01T14:58:15.422-04:00Intern's Report: Getting "Up Close and Personal" With a Common Soldier
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> <em>Today's blogger, Erin Weinman, is a history major at Rutgers University. This post is the story of her favorite project during her summer internship at the David Library of the American Revolution.</em></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<strong>By Erin Weinman</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My </span></span>internship
at the David Library <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ends today, and when I look back
on the past<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>six <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>weeks, I think I was able to absorb much more
actual knowledge of life in Revolutionary America than</span></span> any class could
<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ever </span></span>allow me to learn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Librarian Kathie Ludwig asked me to undertake a
very interesting task:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>transcribing</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> a series of letters written by a <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Revolutionary War soldier </span></span>named
Oliver Reed. <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The letters are part of a family
collection, and the current custodians permitted<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="color: black;">the David Library to digitize them</span></span></span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="color: black;">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My job was
to make transcriptions so that Library patrons can enjoy easy access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>At first, the letters were a
bit difficult to read, but as a history student, transcribing <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is</span></span> an important skill I <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">must acquire</span></span> if I want to become a
historian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
letters ended up being one of the most fascinating series of personal accounts
I have ever read. I had the choice to write a research paper for my senior
capstone at Rutgers University, <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">but </span></span>I
chose <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">instead </span></span>to come to the David
Library to <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">experience </span></span>what it <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is</span></span> like to be a historian<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,</span></span> and nothing could be more “hands-on”<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> than</span></span> this project. Although my job was
simply <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">to</span></span> transcribe, I was able to
learn who Oliver was on a personal level. These were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i> words that I was reading, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i>
personal thoughts that he had shared privately with his wife. Once I finished
all the transcribing, I was eager to learn more about the man who had written
these letters and <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">with </span></span>help from <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kathie and from Richard Wood, a volunteer at the
David Library, </span></span>I was able to <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">flesh </span></span>out
the story of Oliver. We were all amazed at what came up<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,</span></span> and I soon <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">learned the </span></span>fascinating history <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">of Oliver’s regiment</span></span>, including <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">the fact that it marched </span></span>through my
hometown <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">of Somerville, New Jersey</span></span>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While many great American patriots
are well known, the letters allowed a peek into the life of an average soldier.
Oliver Reed of Pomfret, <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Connecticut </span></span>first
enlisted in the army during Lexington where he served for 12 days. Before long,
he was a sergeant in the 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Continental Regiment. His heartfelt
letters <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">humanize a man who might
otherwise be lost to history, giving voice to his longing for his children, as
well as his cravings for pickles and cider, and<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black;">they</span> </span></span></span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">describe
his struggles with chronic </span></span>illness. It’s a part of a soldier’s
life that is rarely seen when studying the American Revolution, and <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">amazingly, the David Library’s collection allowed
me to bring </span></span>Reed’s <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">story to
fuller </span></span>life in relation to the ongoing war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Born in 1745, Oliver married Betty
Force and moved to Pomfret in time for the birth of their first child, <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">a daughter, </span></span>Nabby. By 1776, Oliver
was off in Cambridge and marching to New York for the Battle of Long Island.
Using the letters of George Washington, soldier cards and a multitude of
secondary resources, <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I was able to piece together </span></span>the
world of Oliver <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Reed by forming </span></span>a
timeline of <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">historical </span></span>events includ<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ing</span></span> the siege of Philadelphia, the
battles of Trenton and Princeton, and eventually Valley Forge. <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Along the way, I </span></span>discovered <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">a lot </span></span>about the 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
Continental (later renamed Fourth Connecticut) Regiment and its leaders, Capt.
Beriah Bill, Capt. Stephen Brown and Col. John Durkee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The letters d<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">o</span></span> more, however, than just piece
together a possible campaign trail. <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">They
allow </span></span>us to see what it was like to be an average soldier<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, or </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to be a woman on the home front. Oliver
himself <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">was </span></span>constantly sick
and <span style="color: black;"><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">repeat</span></span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">edly expressed his desire to go</span></span></span> home, even just for a few
weeks. He wanted to provide for his family, send gifts to his children from
Boston and eat real food. “I want sum of your pickels to Eat Long with Cold
meat”, he <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">wrote.</span></span> “I want sum
sider too”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
home front was perhaps even more tragic. In August 1777, Betty wrote to Oliver
about the deaths of two of their children. Records show that a third child died
just days after the letter was written. <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Betty </span></span>had
little support and relied on the help of neighbors for milk and wood.
Eventually, she took her surviving son, Oliver Jr., and moved him to her
in-laws’ in Wrentham, Massachusetts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I’m
pleased to report that I was invited to write an article about the Oliver Reed
letters for the website <a href="http://allthingsliberty.com/">allthingsliberty.com</a> (Journal of the American
Revolution). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My </span></span>article
follows the lives of Oliver and Betty as the war continued. <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">T</span></span>he emergence of Oliver’s letters <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">reveals a previously </span></span>undiscovered story
that <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">illuminates </span></span>the life of a <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">common</span></span> <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Revolutionary era soldier</span></span>. Special
thanks to both Richard and <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kathie</span></span>
for <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">their </span></span>help <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">with</span></span> this project. It was an
opportunity I never thought I would have as an undergraduate. The article is <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">scheduled to be published on </span></span><a href="http://allthingsliberty.com/">allthingsliberty.com</a>
<span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">this </span></span>August. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The Oliver Reed Letters, a part of
the David Library Digital Archives, are currently being curated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Library will be making the digital
letters available to researchers in the near future.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-5015002949865502802015-06-24T14:11:00.002-04:002015-06-24T14:11:49.893-04:00<h2>
<a href="http://davidlibraryar.blogspot.com/2015/05/womens-work-summer-interns-first-blog.html">Independence Day: A Bibliography Compiled by Summer Intern Erin Weinman </a> </h2>
<h3 class="post-header-line-1">
<em><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Erin Weinman of Somerville, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">NJ is a senior history major at Rutgers University. She is interning at the David Library this summer.</span></em></h3>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRaZJckuFCXF4s8SzKy8rHJuwT-VgkWRd8KBfZdLVoZ2RERCDkkz-5hJX5hLD4fGVH6a6dXcq58qjegzBwj62sG_fq_qLC4VSmkXsZbccxMgRDYaz75rILS5aKOAuZgWEwTFM4aWa6b1l/s1600/Erin_Weinman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRaZJckuFCXF4s8SzKy8rHJuwT-VgkWRd8KBfZdLVoZ2RERCDkkz-5hJX5hLD4fGVH6a6dXcq58qjegzBwj62sG_fq_qLC4VSmkXsZbccxMgRDYaz75rILS5aKOAuZgWEwTFM4aWa6b1l/s200/Erin_Weinman.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erin Weinman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="post-header-line-1">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"> The <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Fourth of July is just around the corner, and the nation is preparing once again to celebrate our founding
history. The David Library is home to an extensive collection on the
Declaration of Independence, some of the signers and the events that surrounded America's declaration of independence from England. Why not pick up a little summer reading to get you in the spirit (of '76)? The following books are available at the David Library (call numbers are the David Library's), but you are likely to find some of these at your local public library or bookseller as well. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirvD6Bsm5vA9af8Z7Lr4WkzN4Veu3sJm0wO5gon3TRrwNypytYH-1XxODWwIRIKjVCLGhdWn0ELYm7frlerqLgQbXKZGq3gtWoLtfqjXhXRqHLwDdW5tIbLAwWwtSB2fdTkx6Nm8cMOsU/s1600/Our.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirvD6Bsm5vA9af8Z7Lr4WkzN4Veu3sJm0wO5gon3TRrwNypytYH-1XxODWwIRIKjVCLGhdWn0ELYm7frlerqLgQbXKZGq3gtWoLtfqjXhXRqHLwDdW5tIbLAwWwtSB2fdTkx6Nm8cMOsU/s1600/Our.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Allen, Danielle. <em> Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality.</em> New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2014. Call number 7510.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Casey,
Robert E. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Declaration of
Independence: Illustrated Story of its Adoption.</i> New York: Illustrated Publishers, 1914. Call number 1481. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Ellis,
Joseph J. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Sphinx: The Character
of Thomas Jefferson. </i>New York: Alfred <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>K.
Knopf, 1997. Call number 4494.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Fowler,
William M. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Baron of Beacon Hill: A
Biography of John Hancock. </i>Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1979. Call number 569.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Franklin,
Benjamin. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Autobiography; Poor Richard; Letters.</i>
New York: D. Appleton and <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Company, 1899.
Call number 7048.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Hawken,
Henry A. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trumpets of Glory: Fourth of
July Orations 1786-1861.</i> Granby, CT.: <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Salmon
Brook Historical Society, 1976. Call number 1388.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Hogeland,
William. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous
Weeks When America Became <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Independent</i>.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Call number 7198.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Maier,
Pauline. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Scripture: Making the
Declaration of Independence.</i> New York:
Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1997. Call number 4477.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">McCullough,
David. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">John Adams.</i> New York: Simon
& Schuster, 2001. Call number 5808.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Miller,
Marla R. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Betsy Ross and the Making of
America.</i> New York: Henry Holt, 2010. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Call
number 7177.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Rakove,
Jack N. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Annotated U.S. Constitution
and Declaration of Independence.</i> Cambridge,
Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. Call number <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>7184.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Travers,
Len. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Celebrating the Fourth: Independence
Day and the Rites of Nationalism in<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>
the Early Republic.</i> Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press,
1997. Call number 4539. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Additionally, there's a good article in the July/August 2010 issue of <em>American Spirit, </em>the magazine of the Daughters of the American Revolution by Anthony, Lena, “Cannons and Camaraderie: The Earliest Fourth of July Traditions.” We have a copy at the David Library. If you live close enough, drop in at the David Library sometime between now and July 3 (the Library will be closed on July 4) to read it. Understanding the origins of our traditional Fourth of July celebrations may enhance the holiday for you this year. </span></o:p></span></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></div>
</div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-2846556786095067032015-05-15T13:42:00.000-04:002015-05-15T13:42:23.105-04:00Women's Work: A Summer Intern's First Blog Post by Brianna Heverly
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><em>Brianna Heverly of Yardley, PA is a senior at Rider University with a double major in History and Education and minor in Special Education. She is interning at the David Library this summer, and as she familiarizes herself with the collections, she decided to look into the role women played in the Continental Army.</em></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeyfyDAWWbNZJcspRGjkbW9b1Z2yFyvGf_NzekxxuAEW3OCOjzVZ8R0W6rLOL-sv4_CO544XY0B6F6RsvikmZlTiTGsjAu_Ej6SXdg9djwB5-iuoT2Qltip2kBfkHYxr4KMgey9mtqU8x/s1600/BriannaHeverly_intern2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeyfyDAWWbNZJcspRGjkbW9b1Z2yFyvGf_NzekxxuAEW3OCOjzVZ8R0W6rLOL-sv4_CO544XY0B6F6RsvikmZlTiTGsjAu_Ej6SXdg9djwB5-iuoT2Qltip2kBfkHYxr4KMgey9mtqU8x/s320/BriannaHeverly_intern2015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brianna Heverly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"> Although the American Revolution was fought by an army of
men, women played a crucial role in fighting for independence against the
British.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women worked together to
provide men with food, clothing, shelter, and support -- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all necessary to win the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without these essentials, often provided
women in the role of camp followers, the Continental Army would not be equipped
enough to fight the British and win the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of the
most known women of the American Revolution is Margaret Cochran Corbin,
otherwise known as “Captain Molly,” or Molly Pitcher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Captain Molly is recognized for taking over
charge of the cannon after her husband was wounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She bravely fought until she was injured, but
her legacy lives on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other women were
involved in the war even though they never fired a shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were brave enough to follow their
husbands to war to cook food for the soldiers to eat and sew clothing for them
to be protected from the elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some women
also followed the men into battle and would bring them water while they
fought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although some of the women who
were involved in the war were those who wanted to be with their husbands, there
were still many others involved who did not have a husband or relative whom
they followed. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> C</span>ontinental
Army soldiers recognized the importance of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a diary of a soldier I came across at the
David Library, the soldier recognized the importance of women who nursed
injured soldiers and saved lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
officers, such as Lieutenant John Charles Philip von Krafft, showed appreciation
to women who opened their homes to provide shelter as the men were
travelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Von Krafft relied on women
to offer their homes to soldiers in order to escape the harsh elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another soldier, Joseph Plumb Martin, stated,
“The women in Pennsylvania, taken in general, are certainly very worthy
characters… [and were] well treated by them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the fact that paper was scarce during the war, these soldiers
took the time and paper to write, in letters and diaries, about these women and
their roles in the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The David
Library of the American Revolution has an abundance of sources about the role
of women in the Revolutionary War, including secondary source books about women
being camp followers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of these,
Women Patriots of the American Revolution by Charles E. Claghorn, provided a
detailed list of women who lived during the Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next to each woman’s name was a brief
one-line summary of her contribution and/or connection to the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there was greater detail for a particular
woman, a greater in-depth description of her would be found in the heart of the
book. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From these secondary sources, I
gathered that most women in the war were typically nurses, made clothing,
cooked the food, provided housing for the soldiers, and delivered messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some women even fought in battle by either
dressing up as a man or taking their husband’s place on the battlefield. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">The David Library is first and
foremost a primary source library, and I found multiple primary resources,
including diaries of Continental Army soldiers, which supported the claims the
books made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To find the
sources I needed, I used the catalogue on the David Library’s website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to use and is organized in such a
way that allows for different kinds of searches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, because there are so many types
of sources at the David Library, such as books, pamphlets, microfilm, journals,
and so on, the catalogue allows the researcher to narrow their search to
exactly what they want and where in the library they will find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the user is still not sure, they can do a
broad search of the subject or title and find sources in all of these
categories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The catalogue includes short
descriptions of the books in the collection, which can help the user determine
whether or not the source is suitable for his or her research.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">The David Library’s collections
hold an abundance of sources, fostering the thoroughness and reliability of any
project a researcher might undertake on the era of the American Revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">-----------------</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><em>Sources consulted for this blog post:</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"> Blumenthal, Walter Hart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women
Camp Followers of the American Revolution</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Claghorn, Charles E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women
Patriots of the American Revolution: a biographical dictionary</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Compiled by: Cooke, Denis J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“17 Voices: The Diaries of Events and
Occurrences Surrounding the British Occupation of Philadelphia”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Mayer, Holly A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Belonging
to the Army: camp followers and community during the American Revolution</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Rees, John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“… the
multitude of women”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An Examination of
the Numbers of Female Campfollowers With the Continental Army<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Rees, John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The
proportion of Women which ought to be allowed…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An Overview of Continental Army Female Camp Followers<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Sowers, Betty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Campfollowing:
a history of the military wife<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Young, Philip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Revolutionary
ladies</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><em> </em></span></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-86211818690138279972015-03-12T13:18:00.000-04:002015-03-12T13:33:22.848-04:00For Women's History Month: Ann Whittall -- A Guest Blog by Larry Kidder <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDBrx3wTKE1PkxNECMTYRgdcCfxzt3xjkokSVl8K2bM0lSWQ42Ud0vhE6M69j8VPb6KYSJAyFT9Muw-b9UIQIqg_1LQ2ZFZbm4XZCqJa7fzaIWk8KP01Nd6wVd3bzqT0S19XCzhMA2WoR/s1600/Kidder_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDBrx3wTKE1PkxNECMTYRgdcCfxzt3xjkokSVl8K2bM0lSWQ42Ud0vhE6M69j8VPb6KYSJAyFT9Muw-b9UIQIqg_1LQ2ZFZbm4XZCqJa7fzaIWk8KP01Nd6wVd3bzqT0S19XCzhMA2WoR/s1600/Kidder_9.jpg" height="320" width="265" /></a><i> </i><br />
<i>Larry Kidder, pictured at right, is the author of "<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle">A People Harassed and Exhausted: The Story of a New Jersey Militia Regiment in the American Revolution." March is Women's History Month.</span></i><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"></span><br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:200%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
been doing a lot of research lately on individuals in New Jersey who
experienced the War of Independence in various ways. A number of these people
are women, and during Women’s History Month it is appropriate to really focus on
the many roles women played during the war. Most of the time when we think of
the Revolution we tend to focus on military or political contributions and
don’t really think about how the political and military decisions made by leaders
affected the lives of everyday people not associated with the military, both
men and women.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One woman
whose actions were determined by events completely outside of her control was
Ann Whitall of Red Bank, along the Delaware River. Ann came from a devout
Quaker family and she was vehemently opposed to the use of war to solve
problems. Although she and her husband, James, tried to avoid the war, it came to their home in 1777 in a particularly violent way. Soldiers of the Patriot army came to their property and informed them that they were going to build a fort on it. James
reminded them that it was their war, not his, but this of course did not stop
them. The fort they built at Red Bank, Fort Mercer, was attacked on October 22
by about 1200 Hessians, but Ann refused to leave her house and sat down calmly
to do some spinning. A stray shot entered the house, but she did not panic,
merely removed to the cellar. Surviving the battle was not the end of her story
because when the firing ceased there were a number of wounded soldiers from
both sides who needed attention. Her opposition to war did not include ignoring
soldiers in need, so she turned her home into a hospital and worked hard to
care for the wounded with everything she had available. However, her pity for
the wounded was not without limits. She could not help reminding soldiers
complaining of their discomfort and broken condition that they had brought it
on themselves by participating in war.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ann was
one of the huge number of ordinary people who simply wanted to go about their
everyday lives in a peaceful manner, trying to make the world a better place,
but who were caught up in tragic events. Her story is one of showing great
courage by not running from danger and also one of upholding humanitarian ideals
even while believing that the people in need brought on their own suffering.
Learning the story of Ann Whitall should be a reminder that we cannot control
what comes our way in life and the only thing we can control is how we deal
with it and whether it shatters or strengthens our ideals.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I first
learned about Ann while working on the Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors
project for Crossroads of the American Revolution, a project that benefitted
from many hours at the David Library. That program seeks to identify and tell
the stories of a wide variety of men and women from throughout New Jersey who
experienced situations where they had to make decisions that would greatly
influence the course of their lives. The growing group of stories can be viewed
on the Crossroads website at <a href="http://www.revolutionarynj.org/">http://www.revolutionarynj.org</a>.</div>
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle">
</span><br />
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"><br /></span>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-75995555009641571392013-09-11T12:50:00.000-04:002013-09-11T12:52:46.050-04:00<br />
<h2 style="margin: 24pt 0in 0pt;">
The Price of Rebellion </h2>
<h2 style="margin: 24pt 0in 0pt;">
By Christopher F. Minty, Guest Blogger</h2>
<div style="margin: 24pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em></em></span></span> <span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em>Christopher Forbes Minty was in residence this summer as a David Library Fellow from the University of Sterling in Scotland.</em></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkkd32CSYRm8zvX1s_yiQRaTlyXLmCD1PBCM0CF2Mc6Z3nj09J3Y0kGnswPb4akfYTanTIFqxlw69_P0tZHstcmWypEzMSD72pZ9mTTb_XfCP0AQ5IUPNex7rXkFiopDyuF_Ohoq_q6XC/s1600/Christopher_F_Minty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkkd32CSYRm8zvX1s_yiQRaTlyXLmCD1PBCM0CF2Mc6Z3nj09J3Y0kGnswPb4akfYTanTIFqxlw69_P0tZHstcmWypEzMSD72pZ9mTTb_XfCP0AQ5IUPNex7rXkFiopDyuF_Ohoq_q6XC/s320/Christopher_F_Minty.jpg" width="298" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> When the War of American Independence officially began on 19 April 1775,
the impact it would have soon reverberated around the world. As blood was spilt
in Massachusetts, the battle lines were officially drawn and support for the colonial
movement against the British gained tremendous support throughout the colonies.
Indeed, when news of Lexington and Concord arrived in New York, Lieutenant
Governor Cadwallader Colden, an elderly Scotsman who had been in the colonies
for two generations, reluctantly informed the earl of Dartmouth that he would
continue to give him “the most material Transaction of the People.” Writing on
3 May, he realised the news would not be well received, noting that it would “</span><span lang="EN-GB">almost entirely destroy the Expectations you have had reason to
entertain of the Conduct which this Province would pursue”. Despite this,
Colden lamented that “[e]very species of public and private Resentment was
threatened, to terrify the Inhabitants of the Province, if they continued disunited
from the others” and “[t]he Minds of the People in the City were kept in
constant agitation, by Riots and Attempts to prevent the Transports from
loading Here, with Stores, Provisions &c. for the Army.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As similar reports began to filter
into Parliament, coffeehouses, and taverns, Americans in Britain quickly understood
that conflict between British and American troops could destroy their lives.
With the unpredictability of war and the customary delay in the diffusion of
knowledge from the colonies, British statesmen were left frustratingly unaware
over the American Revolution on the most local level. For Americans living in
Glasgow, Bristol, or London, they could not have been aware of the fates and
safety of their friends and family. Across the water, “good Accounts,” as John
Adams admitted, soon began to circulate regarding the colonial effort. In fact,
Adams believed that accounts he had received from New York and North Carolina
were “very good,” and he had “no Doubts…of the Union” of the colonies.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond;">
This was not the type of information the American MP Henry Cruger would want to
hear. Having been elected in 1774 alongside Edmund Burke for Bristol, Henry
Cruger became one of a handful of MPs born in the American colonies. He came
from a wealthy mercantile family in New York and left behind numerous relatives
who were still immersed in the Atlantic trade with Britain at the start of the
Revolution. In one letter in particular, written to John Harris Cruger, and
available at the David Library, he outlined his anxieties and fears with such
histrionic flair that he comes across as almost nonsensical.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Writing
on 5 July 1775 shortly after news of Lexington and Concord arrived in London, Cruger
noted how he had just arrived in town from Bristol. As he rushed into his
accommodation and scrambled his quill pen, he desperately sought to let his
family know “how and where I am”. Unfortunately for the Crugers still in New
York, Henry informed them that as his “[h]eart is almost broke” because the
British ministry, led by Lord North, were “finding every Thing in this Country
go to their Liking, are bent upon carrying Matters to the utmost Extremities”.
More troops were being dispatched across the Atlantic and more were being
mustered. “Poor America,” he opined, “will be utterly undone”. According to the
MP, there was, however, a glimmer of hope. In order to alleviate America’s
ultimate capitulation and ruin, Cruger suggested that “some Concession[s]” must
be “speedily made” and if they did this, he alleged, it would be “speedily
grasped at here”. Indeed, according to Cruger “all good Men wish for a
Reconciliation.” But Cruger’s wish for reconciliation between Britain and its
American colonies was not solely predicated upon his desire to protect the
colonies. Instead, as he noted to John Harris, he alleged that he had “£50,000
or £60,000 Sterling in America,” and with the onset of hostilities the chances
of recovering any of this became increasingly unlikely. To give some degree of context,
these figures equate to roughly $7,606,380 or $9,127,656.44 in modern terms.
Needless to say, Cruger was clearly a wealthy man, and the thought of losing
this infatuated him. He could see “[n]othing but <u>certain Ruin</u>” unless
conflict stopped. He knew he could not travel to America; opponents of the
Revolutionary movement, Loyalists, were being forcibly driven out of New York. Months
before Cruger was even aware of Lexington and Concord, John Adams wrote how
notable New York Patriots such as Isaac Sears and Alexander McDougall had “siezed
the City Arms and Ammunition, out of the Hands of the Mayor,” with the
assistance of “the Friends of Liberty” in New Jersey, and consequently “[t]he
Tories there, durst not shew their Heads.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond;">
Cruger could not return to this; instead, he anxiously waited on news. “Oh
Johny!,” he exclaimed, “one Thing or other deprives me of my rational Faculties
– drives me almost to Madness and Desperation.” Despite his self-proclaimed
temporary loss of reason, Cruger still had to perform his duties as a MP, which
were being increasingly drawn towards American affairs. This, he alleged,
“afflict[ed]” him more than his private concerns and it was because of this he
declared that “Oh that my Head was Water, and my Eyes a Fountain of Tears that
I might weep Day & Night for the Distress of my Native Country.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> Although
the War of American Independence had only just begun, its impact had already touched
one American in Britain, Henry Cruger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<h4 style="margin: 10pt 0in 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Henry Cruger to John Harris Cruger, Dartmouth Papers,
1765–1782, D(W) 1778/I ii/983/I #1144, Staffordshire Record Office, United
Kingdom<o:p></o:p></span></span></h4>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">I am just arrived here from Bristol, where
I left your Father well, and in tolerable <u>Spirits</u>, the Want of which
myself, and some im<u>port</u>ant Business brought me hither. In the midst of
my Hurry and Confusion I sit down to write a few Lines that you and all our
Family may know where and how I am – By one Thing or other my Heart is almost
broke: Administration finding every Thing in this Country go to their Liking,
are bent upon carrying Matters to the utmost Extremities – many more Troops are
going out and <u>more recruiting</u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>–
Poor America will be utterly undone, <u>unless</u> some Concession on their
Part is speedily made, which I am persuaded will be as speedily grasped at
here; for all good Men wish for a Reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
have now £50,000 or £60,000 Sterling in America, and can see Nothing but <u>certain
Ruin</u>. Thank God I have but a slender <u>Family</u> to participate in my
approaching Distresses. – This Appearance of Bankruptcy, I assure you Johny,
does not annoy me equal to the Letters I have lately received from New York, in
which I am <u>suspected</u> of Want of <u>Honor</u> in my Treaty of Marriage
with my dear Miss John —; Heavens! One would imagine that Reason and Reflection
had lately totally forsaken Mankind – These are the Days in which – “many that
are married should wish they were not” – And my Brother, in Spite of all that I
feel, or Calumny can say – there is still a <u>Consolation in reflecting</u>
that if the impending Storm overwhelms me, I shall <u>sink singly</u>. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is <u>impossible</u> for me to come to
America – The Idea savours of Madness Neither Constituents, Creditors nor
Reason will hear of it. Oh Johny! one Thing or other deprives me of my rational
Faculties – drives me almost to Madness and Desperation. I am indeed but illy
calculated just now for a Husband – I wish my adorable Betsey a much better
[one]. My private concerns afflict me much, but those of the Publick, in which
I am deeply involved, afflict me more, and make me exclaim – Oh that my Head
was Water, and my Eyes a Fountain of Tears that I might weep Day & Night
for the Distress of my Native Country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
Mail is just closing, and I have neither Time nor Spirits to add more. I hope
soon to be composed and will write to you again, and to <u>all</u> my <u>Female
Friends</u> in a free, full and honest Manner. In the interim, give to them and
all Friends the dearest–tenderest Love, of your distracted and unhappy Brother.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> Cadwallader Colden to the earl of Dartmouth, 3 May 1775, CO 5/1106,
ff. 171–173, The National Archives, Kew<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> John Adams to Abigail Adams, 30 April 1775, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">he Adams Papers</span></i>, Adams
Family Correspondence, vol. 1, <i>December 1761</i></span></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">–</span></span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">May 1776</span></span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">, ed. Lyman H. Butterfield (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1963), 188–189.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Meg/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/SKFFWLG8/The%20Price%20of%20Rebellion.docx" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> All quotes from Henry Cruger taken from Henry Cruger to John Harris
Cruger, 5 July 1775, Dartmouth Papers, 1765–1782, D(W) 1778/I ii/983/I #1144,
Staffordshire Record Office, United Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-92008124649720732502013-08-29T15:39:00.000-04:002013-08-29T16:03:46.226-04:00Intern's Corner<em></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kyle Stenger joined us this summer as an intern from Rider University. He has recently returned to his classes at Rider for his senior year. The following are his thoughts on his summer internship.</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Being an historian is no easy thing. Not everyone has what
it takes to handle the strenuous and relentless tasks that are thrown in the
way of those who search through the past. This is what I have learned
throughout my academic career and it was justified in my time as intern at the
David Library of the American Revolution. However, anyone from the most
distinguished in academia to the most casual common-man can enter the David
Library and feel at ease with the most knowledgeable staff—a team that I feel
lucky to have been a part of this summer. Being here has really shown me what
it takes to do in reality what I have been practicing in school as a student of
history: researching the past and making my findings accessible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So what
exactly did I do here at the David Library? I took on many projects; some
pertain to the practice of history and some deal with the general operations of
a library. I have cleaned and dusted bookshelves and re-shelved books used by
patrons. That is the dull stuff, yes, but it is necessary to run the library.
Occasionally our librarian, Ms. Katherine Ludwig, will charge me with the
challenge of answering a research question sent in by a patron located too far
from the library to make a visit. Almost always these questions relate to
genealogical affairs and require a good amount of time and patience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In most cases I go straight to the
Revolutionary War Pension Records. Other times I pick up the Pennsylvania
Archives or scroll through the New Jersey Archives on microfilm; however, for a
lot of our microfilm collections we hold film guides to make it easier accessing
the materials. Every once in a while an answer will not be available, meaning
either there were not many records kept about the topic in question or, in a
rare instance, the David Library does not carry the necessary materials. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Besides the normal parts of the
job, which I have just described, I have worked on two big projects throughout
the summer. One came about because of a need for space. The library is running
out of shelf room and the idea came up to go through our entire journal
collection and make a catalogue of specific articles in each journal that
actually concerns our era and topic; that is, the years 1750-1800 and the
American Revolution, respectively. Bear in mind that the subject matter for the
American Revolution branches out a great distance. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The journal collection consists of
many academic monthlies, quarterlies, and annuals. We have received issues from
journals such as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of American
History, </i>the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of Southern
History</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Neptune</i> (a
journal of maritime history), and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal
of the Society for Army Historical Research </i>(a British military history
journal). There is a great deal more (I have conquered barely half of the
collection this summer), and we include even the most minute issues from local
historical societies and even Bicentennial special programs. Going through
these journals, I have expanded the boundaries of my horizons immeasurably; so
much more has been researched and written about than I had previously even
thought of. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By far the most gigantic project I
have ever been apart of is the British General Courts Martial records. It is an
occupation in and of itself. Interns have been working on it for the past few
years and they will continue to work on it even when I start my own career. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Around 2011, the historian who was
employed here traveled to London and visited the British National Archives. He
returned with photographs of Court Martial records: 15 large books with around
400-500 handwritten pages each documenting court martial trials which had taken
place all over the world (from Gibraltar to New York to Nova Scotia to army
camps in India) and occurred from the 1730’s to the 1770’s. <o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My job, as was and is and will be
other intern’s job, is to transcribe these records and enter all pertinent
information into a database, which is an Excel spreadsheet as of now. It is
very tedious and time-consuming work, and one may go so far as to call it
“boring” work. However, that person would be one who had not experienced this
work. It is tiring, yes, but also exciting. I have read glimpses of people’s
lives from close to 250 years ago. I have found out why certain, supposedly
unimportant, people died so long ago. I have gone through such cases as
desertion, theft, drunkenness, mutiny, rape, and even murder, and have
experienced some of these people’s best and worst times.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have gone through pages which
have not been seen by many eyes since they were first written in the 18<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>
Century.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have studied families who are not
famous but common. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have followed the most plain
soldier from town to town during his time in the War of the Revolution. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have done seemingly the most unimportant and
nonchalant work there is to do in a library.</span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And it has been quite the pleasure.
I have learned and enjoyed so much here at the David Library that I do not
regret taking an unpaid internship and not making nearly as much money as I
could have this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people that
I have met and worked with, the patrons that have come in, the conversations I
have had, has all been worth it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kyle Stenger, 20 August 2013<o:p></o:p></span>David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-18347046929210613642013-08-23T13:07:00.000-04:002013-08-23T13:07:33.189-04:00Intern's Corner
<br />
<em>We were very pleased to have Tegan Rice join us as a residential intern this summer. Tegan is a student at Northern Illinois University, where she is working towards her M.A. in history.</em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>My Month at the David Library</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">By Tegan Rice</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj945XJgRthLebFvUByBq268u8iKm1pL2cNEa0siA3gNla_bIYX6VMpJKcXIvzVH1bOpVt673QcPeeIZpiEh3hfT-N9I157lcC3weE2Salobtq_3BnDXC_eiRHexhwuHTzHZjWfSARyt2qF/s1600/Tegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj945XJgRthLebFvUByBq268u8iKm1pL2cNEa0siA3gNla_bIYX6VMpJKcXIvzVH1bOpVt673QcPeeIZpiEh3hfT-N9I157lcC3weE2Salobtq_3BnDXC_eiRHexhwuHTzHZjWfSARyt2qF/s320/Tegan.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tegan introducing a movie at DLAR.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
For the short month
that I was able to intern at the David Library, I had many tasks given to
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing more than I could handle,
mind, but more than enough to keep me busy and introduce me to the variety of
needs a special collections library has (far more than anyone who has never
worked in one could guess).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My main
task, or what I refer to as my main task as it was finish-able as opposed to
ongoing, was to go through the vault which contained the rare and old books and
pamphlets in the library’s collection and make sure the catalogue record
accurately reflected the items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Of course this is
valuable work as it teaches how libraries catalogue their items and what
information is important and so on and so forth, but the IMPORTANT part was
that I handled books and pamphlets that were hundreds of years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to touch several editions of Thomas
Paine’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Common Sense</i>, I fan-girled
out on a book signed in ink by John Hancock, and I felt an amazing rush of
discovery when I found a series of books each signed by John Adams (these may
or may not be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the </i>John Adams, but I
like to hope).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at the original <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Declaration of Independence </i>somehow does
not compare to being able to leaf through one of the hundreds of reprints from
the same century with my own hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I finished the task
over the month of my internship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
vault is now accurately catalogued, slightly re-organized and cleaned, and
several items put in proper boxes that needed it, and those boxes itemized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is all wonderful, and comes with a great
sense of accomplishment, but John Hancock’s signature and Thomas Paine’s many,
many works overshadow that sense with blissful bragging rights. Sadly, not
enough people will understand why my bragging about holding a book signed by
John Hancock is more valid than them bragging about their random piece of paper
signed by [insert any modern celebrity here].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-57465093129426233202012-08-24T13:26:00.000-04:002012-08-24T14:47:30.128-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: Courts Martial</u><br />
<br />
<strong>Trial of Evan Morgan</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is my last week with the David Library, and so this will be my final post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For my final entry, I have chosen to write about one of the other projects that I have been working on this summer: reading and indexing British courts martial from the mid 1700’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is particularly interesting work, as many of the soldiers on trial get themselves into downright humorous situations that could rival any that appear on courtroom TV shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below is a summary of the trial of Private Evan Morgan, one of my personal favorite cases that I read this summer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On October 13, 1748, a general court martial was held in Berwick to hear the case of Pvt. Morgan, accused of desertion and joining the enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few witnesses were called testifying that he had in fact left the unit and was not seen again by them until the trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morgan then got the chance to give his version of events.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In August, 1745, Morgan’s unit was travelling in a bilander (merchant ship with two masts), which had stopped for a time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several men, Morgan included, left the ship to go to a pub and have a few drinks before the ship moved on again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the pub was very crowded and Morgan was unable to get himself a drink before the ship was preparing to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His companions told him it was time to leave, but Morgan elected to stay and have his drink and spent the night at the pub instead of the crowed vessel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a presumably eventful night (he only reported getting a half hour of sleep at the pub), Morgan awoke to find that the bilander had already moved on without him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morgan set out after his unit, but was apprehended by four Dutch-speaking men who took his hat and coat and took him back to their guard house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They placed him before an officer who tried to recruit him for service in France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not wanting to enlist for foreign service, Morgan proceeded to talk and connive his way out and return to his home unit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morgan was able to get the commanding officer drunk and then convinced the others that he had enlisted without actually doing so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He joined a different unit, and marched with them to winter quarters, where he and four other men plotted to make their escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This did not go as planned, however, as when the group was escaping, they made it to a river only to remember that two of them could not swim, Morgan included.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morgan was recaptured, and sent to prison on and off until his trial in 1748, three years after the fateful night at the pub.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morgan was found guilty of desertion and joining the enemy under the 10<sup>th</sup> Article of War and sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes (not uncommon for desertion charges).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the case was later sent to the king for confirmation, Morgan was pardoned, and continued to serve with the British military.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">WO71/39 p. 20-25</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope you have enjoyed following the blog this summer. For more information about every topic covered here and more, please feel free to come to the David Library of the American Revolution.</span></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-142099611401224292012-08-23T12:11:00.002-04:002012-08-23T14:15:30.498-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: August in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>The Battle of Bennington August 16, 1777</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The campaigning season of 1777 looked especially bleak to the Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>General Burgoyne’s army had marched down from Canada and had come dangerously close to capturing the whole Lake Champlain-Hudson River waterway, which would have divided the colonies and dealt a crippling blow to the American cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burgoyne had already won at Hubbardton and captured Ft. Ticonderoga, and the Patriots desperately needed a victory to both save the campaign and the whole Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the situation was not set entirely against the Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British were facing a serious problem of supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though ostensibly supplied by their base in Canada, the slow trickle of provisions that reached Burgoyne was not sufficient to keep his army moving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>General Sir Guy Carleton, commander in Canada, was resentful of Burgoyne’s power and popularity and did not put forth every effort to support his rival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British supply problem was also exacerbated by the scorched earth policy of American General Philip Schuyler, who convinced the majority of the locals to flee with their crops and livestock, further starving the British forces.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to secure food and draft animals for his army, Burgoyne dispatched Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum with 800 Brunswick, Canadians, Tories, and Indians into Vermont to raid the American supply base at Bennington.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although this was intended to be a surprise move against unsuspecting and undefended farmers, all did not go according to plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baum did not speak a word of English, and grossly underestimated his opposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baum moved his troops slowly and stopped frequently to redress formations, giving the Americans the initiative and plenty of time to organize resistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Colonel John Stark, promoted to Brigadier General of Vermont Militia, and General Benjamin Lincoln gathered nearly 1,500 men together to oppose Baum’s men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After some initial skirmishes with Stark’s men, Baum sent for reinforcements, but Burgoyne misunderstood the gravity of the local resistance and so sent only 640 men under Lt. Col. Heinrich Breymann on August 15<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the opposing armies came within sight of each other, Baum set up a defensive position on what later became known as Hessian Hill to wait for reinforcement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A number of local patriots, mistaken for loyalists by Baum, were able to infiltrate the German camp and give detailed information on its defenses to Stark, and were later credited with hitting the Germans in the rear while Stark attacked from the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on this intelligence, Stark was able to easily surround the German position and set up his attack for 3 PM August 16, 1777.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After two hours of fighting, the Americans had won a decisive victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One by one, every single German position was captured or destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this was not the end of the battle; around 5 PM, Lt. Col. Breymann arrived on the scene.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Breymann arrived and began pushing the American line, attempting to hit their flanks with his light infantry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the Americans were able to steadily retreat in order and delay the German advance until more American forces arrived on the scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeking revenge for their defeat at Hubbardton, Warner’s men arrived on the battlefield at precisely the right time and place to hit both of Breymann’s flanks and rout the German force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All told, the day ended in a decisive victory for the Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the fighting, nearly 700 Germans were taken prisoner and 200 dead, compared to only 100 American casualties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stark was proclaimed an American hero and given full commission by Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burgoyne also lost most of his light infantry, and so would later have to fight Gates’ troops without good scouts, putting him at a serious disadvantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More immediately, the Battle of Bennington changed the progress of the campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Previously, Burgoyne was supremely confident that his forces would reach Albany and link up with St. Leger, but the battle revised Burgoyne’s attitudes and priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Survival became a goal, and the loss of supply made Burgoyne much more willing to gamble it all rather than retreat in the face of earlier successes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was this attitude that persuaded Burgoyne to give a last ditch effort to reach Albany that set the stage for the crushing American victory at Saratoga that changed the whole War.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution: 1775-1783 : An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland, 1993. Print. p. 108-115.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoT3UGAkvxSdvutDTAoo1DT9wf-yJf1xssB0LJC9Qn24d6Kcm5DXnsUceLyzWSmAs46TnCVNMEDwBrOjf5i4q4KA16fB68maQ1STPezkXxFYK8jZqYLT_o0cjdEZvm6HkCatbH2FzAuod/s1600/John_stark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoT3UGAkvxSdvutDTAoo1DT9wf-yJf1xssB0LJC9Qn24d6Kcm5DXnsUceLyzWSmAs46TnCVNMEDwBrOjf5i4q4KA16fB68maQ1STPezkXxFYK8jZqYLT_o0cjdEZvm6HkCatbH2FzAuod/s400/John_stark.jpg" width="335" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unknown, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Portrait of John Stark.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-12820380202346160062012-08-18T11:37:00.000-04:002012-08-18T11:37:03.465-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: August in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>The Siege of Newport, Rhode Island 1778</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the signing of the Franco-American Alliance, the Comte d’Estaing sailed from Toulon in April 1778 with nearly 4,000 infantry and several naval vessels to aid in the struggle for American Independence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the debacle that followed convinced many Americans, General Sullivan in particular, that they were better off without their new allies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Initially, Washington intended the French contingent to join an assault on New York to regain what was lost in the Battle of Long Island two years prior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to the much more able defense put up by the British than by Washington previously and to local sandbars blocking the French ships, however, this was deemed impossible and the attack abandoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On July 29<sup>th</sup>, the French arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, to meet up with Sullivan’s troops and attack there instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the start, the siege did not go well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D’Estaing’s troops, after being at sea for the better part of four months, were low on provisions and plagued by scurvy, and were eager to attack as soon as possible to procure supplies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sullivan expressly did not want to rush into battle, both because his forces were still gathering and, after suffering defeats at Staten Island, Brandywine, and Germantown, did not want to engage the enemy until he was sure he held the advantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British also kept up a substantial garrison at Newport of some 6,000 men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further exacerbating the problem was the distrust and contempt that each of the commanders held for each other, the perceived French arrogance and American incompetence put the two generals at odds every time they attempted to coordinate an attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This conflict between the two allies came to a head in mid August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On August 9<sup>th</sup>, Sullivan launched an assault while the French were still landing their men, and the French similarly abandoned their allies in the afternoon when a British fleet appeared under Admiral Howe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day, the French set sail to engage the British at sea and were battered so heavily by a storm that d’Estaing decided to withdraw to Boston for repairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the 12<sup>th</sup> and 13<sup>th</sup>, that same storm hit the unsheltered American forces and devastated their supplies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When word reached Sullivan that d’Estaing was retreating, he sent a protest of his conduct to Boston, and by the 30<sup>th</sup> was forced to abandon the siege.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This first action of the joint French-American forces was just short of a disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the best efforts of Congress and the Rhode Island legislature, public opinion regarded the French conduct of nothing less than a betrayal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Riots broke out and a few French officers were harmed, but the conflict soon simmered down and relations were repaired between the newfound allies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite this rocky start to Franco-American cooperation, the two nations would eventually come together for the decisive victory of the Yorktown campaign and win the war as allies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution: 1775-1783 : An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland, 1993. Print. p. 1218-1219.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdbuNQ1XXM006N5b6ddsCpn-QRnK7NznwOh9bPUKQQLX58MuisFhxFInSgm5D5ISW476aJlvFVs-bl5vlhkUjrynIY-SSEvpU8iewl5_8XIEs2gYmMx61F3oYZTIqPiUTrkIY9IgkbOA2/s1600/John+Sullivan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdbuNQ1XXM006N5b6ddsCpn-QRnK7NznwOh9bPUKQQLX58MuisFhxFInSgm5D5ISW476aJlvFVs-bl5vlhkUjrynIY-SSEvpU8iewl5_8XIEs2gYmMx61F3oYZTIqPiUTrkIY9IgkbOA2/s400/John+Sullivan.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Revolutionary War General John Sullivan.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By A. Tenney, 1873.</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-17801554626677952682012-08-16T12:40:00.002-04:002012-08-18T12:01:17.303-04:00<u>Intern's Coner: August in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>The Battle of Long Island, August 27th, 1776</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The largest battle of the war, the Battle of Long Island was the first battle in U.S. History, just eight weeks after the Declaration of Independence, and very nearly the last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overconfident from their victories at <st1:place>Breed’s Hill</st1:place>, <st1:city><st1:place>Boston</st1:place></st1:city>, and Sullivan’s <st1:place><st1:city>Island</st1:city>, <st1:state>Washington</st1:state></st1:place>’s fledgling army of 20,000 men occupied <st1:state><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:state>, a vital tactical position on the mouth of the <st1:city><st1:place>Hudson</st1:place></st1:city> as well as a psychological and political symbol of the Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the Patriots took up an untenable position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Washington split his troops, stationing half on Manhattan and the other half on the butt end of Long Island, which given the British naval superiority, left them completely exposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From their base on <st1:place>Staten Island</st1:place>, and with uncontested mastery of the seas, the British could attack the Patriots from any direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> On August 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> and 22<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>, 20,000 British and Hessian troops began landing on <st1:place>Long Island</st1:place> to face some 9,000 Americans under the command of General John Sullivan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early on, <st1:state><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:state> suspected this move to be a feint, as the wind impeded and slowed the British movements by forcing their ships out of the <st1:place>East River</st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><st1:state><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:state> initially believed the real attack to come at <st1:city><st1:place>Manhattan</st1:place></st1:city>, and so did not substantially reinforce Sullivan until the 25<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, when he himself arrived with more men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the British in retrospect perhaps should have moved on <st1:city><st1:place>Manhattan</st1:place></st1:city> as they could have seized the bridges and cut off <st1:state><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:state>’s troops, the British did not want to repeat the evacuation of <st1:city><st1:place>Boston</st1:place></st1:city>, where strong American artillery positions much like those on <st1:place><st1:placename>Brooklyn</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Heights</st1:placetype></st1:place> forced their withdrawal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless, <st1:place>Long Island</st1:place> was where both sides had committed their forces, and where the fighting would be decided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Adopting a daring night march, around 4,000 British soldiers led by Generals Clinton and Cornwallis moved through the largely undefended Jamaica pass on the exposed American left on the night of the 26<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, an were quickly reinforced by another 6,000 along with General Howe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the opposite side of the battlefield, British General Grant moved against the Americans there, drawing attention away from Clinton and Cornwallis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the American attention was diverted, Clinton and Howe rolled up the American left, and the American positions off of <st1:place><st1:placename>Brooklyn</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Heights</st1:placetype></st1:place> were enveloped and destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the battle, the Patriots suffered 200 men killed and 900 prisoners, including Generals Sullivan and <st1:place>Stirling</st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> However, the British decided not to press their victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Howe held his men back, giving up what may have been <st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place>Britain</st1:place></st1:country>’s best chance of winning the war in a single stroke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he hunkered down for a drawn out siege of the American fortified positions, giving <st1:state><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:state> time to execute his famous retreat to <st1:city><st1:place>Manhattan</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Washington and the Continental army, though badly beaten and greatly demoralized, were able to escape and carry on the fight until their eventual victory eight years later.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i>The American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland Pub., 1993. Print.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>p. 956-959.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Selesky, Harold E. <i>Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.</i> Detroit: Scribner, Thomson Gale, 2006. Print. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>p. 646-655.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO_W4ZRn0t3Jj50etr82OHBwg49oYBifcFHvc63jhhLPLtFyBy2BE3PsP5qXQKb9dKJbntuGchaMtSoe9X3KpSedDY8Viupu1fiFyoMhSoZHfmCxDgFXa8YBDnp2FP_ViA-ZpwRhHNzGY/s1600/Long+Island.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO_W4ZRn0t3Jj50etr82OHBwg49oYBifcFHvc63jhhLPLtFyBy2BE3PsP5qXQKb9dKJbntuGchaMtSoe9X3KpSedDY8Viupu1fiFyoMhSoZHfmCxDgFXa8YBDnp2FP_ViA-ZpwRhHNzGY/s400/Long+Island.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Battle of Long Island</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As taken from <a href="http://www.britishbattles.com/long-island.htm"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.britishbattles.com/long-island.htm</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-13937083100544408082012-08-10T12:30:00.000-04:002012-08-18T11:42:15.627-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: August in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>Defection of Benedict Arnold</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> The son of British immigrants, Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich Connecticut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His early life was fraught with deaths in the family, his mother and father in 1759 and 1761 respectively due to ill health and only one sibling of five surviving to adulthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a youth, Arnold was reckless and thrill-seeking, often endangering himself to perform acrobatic stunts and solving his personal conflicts with violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His daring was coupled with intelligence and ambition, which made him a natural leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To start his professional life, Arnold was apprenticed to his cousins who ran an apothecary, where he gained valuable business experience to later start his own drug and book trade in New Haven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During his career, Arnold became a Free Mason, and expanded his business greatly to include numerous ventures from the West Indies to Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> As tensions grew with Britain, Arnold sided with the Revolutionaries, beginning formal military service in 1774.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arnold proved himself a fine military commander, serving with great distinction during an invasion of Canada, the Battle of Valcour Island, and the Saratoga Campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately for him, his political skill was nowhere near equal to his military successes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout his career, Arnold was continually at odds with those around him, both fellow officers and civilian political authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was brought to trial several times for financial irregularities, had his character ruthlessly attacked by fellow officers, and quarreled enough with Horatio Gates that he was only able to participate in later actions of the Saratoga campaign by directly disobeying Gates’ orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Arnold’s dissatisfaction with the Revolutionary cause reached its peak during his tenure as military governor of Philadelphia, when financial struggles and embitterment over his treatment in the Continental forces sowed the seeds of treason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Corresponding through John Andre with General Clinton, Arnold plotted to seek command of an important post and the deliver it to the British.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this time, Washington wanted to get Arnold back into the mainstream of American military service, and called him from his post in Philadelphia to take command of West Point, a perfect prize to offer the British, on August 3, 1780.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His treachery went awry, however, as Andre was captured while carrying details of West Point’s defenses to the British from Arnold, and the plot was exposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of delivering West Point to the British, Arnold was only able to defect himself, in what Washington called “treachery of the blackest dye.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Arnold was appointed local Brigadier General of the British forces and served wi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">th some note, raiding through Virginia and igniting intense hatred and a bounty of 5,000 on his head from Governor Thomas Jefferson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1781, Arnold left for England, ingratiating himself with the Tories before the King’s party fell from power and Arnold was again sidetracked by those he served.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arnold retired as a colonel on half pay, securing pensions and half pay commissions for his wife and children, though he would never see active service again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He travelled, fought a duel with the Earl of Louderdale, and eventually secured a grant of 13,400 acres in Canada for his sister and sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the age of 60, Arnold died in 1801 of dropsy and gout, and his wife Peggy died three years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Despite his popular mythos, Arnold was not quite the despicable traitor as he has often been portrayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arnold was an extremely talented military commander, but was unable to deal with the stresses of command off the battlefield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The constant attacks on his character and the petty squabbles that sidetracked his career fostered deep resentment with the Revolutionary cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it may be too much to say that Arnold was totally vindicated in his betrayal, he was not completely unjustified and malicious either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had he not chosen to “return to his former loyalty,” as he would have put it, Arnold would be remembered for his many decisive victories and the vital role he played in securing Independence, but due to his actions his name still lives on as synonymous with treachery. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution: 1775-1783 : An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland, 1993. Print. p. 46-56.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRR8XUnd7Bc2_LTqW7z9luYhOWoB8BuJ-qJF3q7y29SGc6Yqkz7StuAymXxa6UOufehLtwsZ3VAzk6Va7uHSK5fI8GO1hQUnBtx80gsEEoDCQxVulA7um2MzCkRMD9c2hPleOf_jmLCpCN/s1600/Benedict+Arnold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRR8XUnd7Bc2_LTqW7z9luYhOWoB8BuJ-qJF3q7y29SGc6Yqkz7StuAymXxa6UOufehLtwsZ3VAzk6Va7uHSK5fI8GO1hQUnBtx80gsEEoDCQxVulA7um2MzCkRMD9c2hPleOf_jmLCpCN/s400/Benedict+Arnold.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hall, H.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Benedict Arnold.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1879.</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-36885849604311668692012-07-28T11:51:00.002-04:002012-08-18T11:45:06.089-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: July in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>Lord Dunmore and the Battle of Gwynn's Island</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> When Independence was declared, the old British royal governors were expelled from office and replaced with new governments, but this does not mean that they happily accepted their fate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Murray, Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, fled his capitol in Williamsburg in 1775 only to raise a small army of soldiers, sailors, Loyalists and slaves in an attempt to regain the control of the colony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proclaiming martial law throughout Virginia, Dunmore seized Norfolk harbor and proceeded to raid and destroy Patriots along the Elizabeth and James Rivers with a Royal Navy Warship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These raids only strengthened Patriot resolve and most of lower Virginia took up arms against their former governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> In response, Dunmore moved his command to Gwynn’s Island in the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Piankatank River in May 1776.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concerned that the British forces on the island would tie up troops that were desperately needed in other campaigns, Virginia, under pressure from Washington and the Continental Congress, dispatched Colonels William Daingerfield and Hugh Mercer to eliminate the British forces on the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Progress was slow in this endeavor, as the British had the advantage of the water barrier for their defense and the Patriots lacked sufficient cannon to assault the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dunmore’s troops were also unable to move against the massing Patriot forces as they were plagued by rampant sickness that either killed severely weakened most of his men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> By July 8<sup>th</sup>, however, the stalemate was broken when General Andrew Lewis arrived with reinforcements and 14 artillery pieces, giving the Patriots a significant advantage in firepower and men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the British ships were moving about in the harbor on the morning of July 9<sup>th</sup>, Lewis began an artillery barrage, silencing the British guns, severely damaging the British ships, and even wounding Dunmore himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With his artillery completely outclassed and his men weakened by the rampant disease, Dunmore decided to evacuate, leaving only 30 escaped slave soldiers deemed too ill to move as the rest of the troops sailed for the British stronghold at New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> The next day, under cover of heavy artillery support, the Patriot forces moved on Gwynn’s Island, not realizing that Dunmore had already left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expecting resistance, the Patriots were shocked at the scene of death and destruction that they found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British garrison had been hit so hard by smallpox that even the graves that covered the landscape were insufficient to house the bodies that lay among the remains of the British outpost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The barracks had been destroyed by a fire, and the living that remained were hardly in better condition than the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bodies of all stages of decay, both dead and dying, lay in a scene of “misery, distress, and cruelty.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> After the capture of Gwynn’s Island, Dunmore posed no real threat to Virginia, his hopes of reconquest dead with the majority of his men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He later dismissed most of his remaining forces and returned to Great Britain to reclaim his seat in the House of Lords in British Parliament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1781 he was sent to raise a force of Loyalists in America to attempt an invasion of Virginia, but by the time he arrived, Cornwallis had already surrendered at Yorktown and the project was abandoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dunmore was later appointed governor of the Bahamas in 1786, but irregularities in his financial accounts and a scandal involving the secret marriage of his daughter to a young son of George III led to his dismissal in 1796 and he died in retirement 13 years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution: 1775-1783 : An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland, 1993. Print. p. 714-716, 1132-1135.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8688yEuMT2j_kw0fw4Om6MpeuecAliEoFWtaZg76isQzb-d7SlffJdcjLjsq4sYfYFqcBmxihpYMMAi4-pLineMJM76q-GO8bfFqzwNzmIjsIuxlrjBdo5t4Plx3pU8MfRQklEHmCTbzU/s1600/Lord+Dunmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8688yEuMT2j_kw0fw4Om6MpeuecAliEoFWtaZg76isQzb-d7SlffJdcjLjsq4sYfYFqcBmxihpYMMAi4-pLineMJM76q-GO8bfFqzwNzmIjsIuxlrjBdo5t4Plx3pU8MfRQklEHmCTbzU/s400/Lord+Dunmore.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Reynolds, Joshua, Sir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Portrait of John Murray, 4<sup>th</sup> Earl of Dunmore.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1765.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089744987035482861.post-1237351869820073752012-07-27T12:28:00.003-04:002012-08-18T11:47:03.095-04:00<u>Intern's Corner: July in the Revolution</u><br />
<br />
<strong>The Battle of Grenada and the Comte d'Estaing</strong><br />
By Mark Relation, DLAR Intern<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> While the majority of popular focus tends to emphasize the battles fought in the northern colonies such as Trenton and Saratoga, the American Revolution was also fought in other theaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the French joined the war, it became a more global conflict as they began to send reinforcements to the Revolutionaries and to challenge British naval dominance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Setting sail in April 1778, the Comte d’Estaing sat at the head of a significant fleet and expeditionary force sent to come to the aide of the beleaguered Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few defeats and setbacks in the north, most notably a failed attack on New York and another failed move against the British in Newport, RI, d’Estaing repaired his fleet in Boston for some time before setting out to the Caribbean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This move was so that d’Estaing could recuperate his forces at the French island of Martinique and capture British posts at Grenada and St. Vincent while reinforcements from France were being gathered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moving with a force of 25 ships and 5,500 troops, d’Estaing easily captured the two islands, along with 30 merchant ships that were docked in the Grenada harbor, but holding on to these prizes was another matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> British Vice Admiral John Byron with 21 ships quickly mobilized against the French fleet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to changing wind conditions, faulty intelligence, and the general difficulty of communication at sea, the ensuing battle progressed with much confusion on both sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thinking that half the French fleet was at Port Royale rather than at Grenada, Byron believed he had a numerical advantage, and ordered his ships on in a general chase of the perceived disorderly French fleet, which quickly disrupted the British battle formation as each ship eagerly pressed forward as fast as it could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The French were in a much better position than Byron had presumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With their entire fleet present and in good order, they managed to form a proper battle line and were able to inflict significant damage to a number of British vessels as they attempted to form up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Byron was unable to get his forces fighting properly, as his change in orders in response to learning the French full numbers only served to further disorder his fleet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Once the smoke settled, the fighting proved somewhat indecisive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The French had suffered more casualties, 190 killed and 759 wounded to the British 183 killed and 346 wounded, but the French had managed to defend their captured position at Grenada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the fighting, the British had also suffered heavy damage to a number of their ships’ riggings, so that for a time after, the British fleet was only able to form a defensive line due to a loss of tactical mobility. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D’Estaing had achieved a tactical victory but did not press his advantage and pursue any more action against the British.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he moved the French fleet off to Georgia for his ill-fated Savannah Campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loss of productive sugar plantations in the West Indies caused wealthy British merchants to pressure Parliament, and of the next shipment of 7,000 reinforcements, 3,000 were sent to Jamaica to continue the fighting in the West Indies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> D’Estaing himself would be largely forgotten in popular memory of the Revolution, as his attempt on Savannah would end in a clear defeat due to his own overconfidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His contribution to the cause, however, was much more than a string of French failures as he played a significant role in persuading the French government to send the forces that would later fight at Yorktown, the battle that ensured American success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His contribution did not go unnoticed, however, as he was given citizenship and a grant of 20,000 acres of land from the State of Georgia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was executed during the French Revolution on April 29<sup>th</sup>, 1794.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The land did acquire a bit of fame when legends grew that d’Estaing used the land to base the operations of a group of bandits, the first case of organized crime in the south.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless of whether or not the land was actually the base of the first southern crime syndicate, d’Estaing deserves to be remembered as a key contributor to the success of the American Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Revolution: 1775-1783 : An Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Garland, 1993. Print. p. 514-515, 697-699.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQDbIel7rRqfR1KaVBnZYMxWhycBiyoppxJjPwyD8bdesBwXTBlcPWGKPXZzZY29zb0Pb1sazCB6fxut3euEKdj5hmNKa0WkslrFR0OMPYwva-yDAHfvqhn60OdmKUw99t1UwSDULL9Ok/s1600/battle+of+grenada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQDbIel7rRqfR1KaVBnZYMxWhycBiyoppxJjPwyD8bdesBwXTBlcPWGKPXZzZY29zb0Pb1sazCB6fxut3euEKdj5hmNKa0WkslrFR0OMPYwva-yDAHfvqhn60OdmKUw99t1UwSDULL9Ok/s400/battle+of+grenada.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hue, Jean-Francois, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Naval Combat off the Isle of Grenada, 6th July 1779. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1788</span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Library of the American Revolutionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569497863814993225noreply@blogger.com0