Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 8

This latest installment of Library Research Assistant David Swain's catalog of the British Headquarters Papers sheds light on two important topics: the social dynamics of every-day life in the army and the closing years of the British occupation of New York City. As reflected below, the majority of this microfilm covers memorials and petitions written by a range of individuals to the successive commanders-in-chief in Canada. These documents, essentially formalized appeals for assistance, provide an insight into the every-day workings of the army by revealing the numerous problems and concerns that afflicted military personnel and associated civilians, as well as giving us an indication of the mass of paperwork that came to the commander-in-chief. Carleton's orderly book for New York City, comprising the latter portions of this reel, details an almost day-by-day account of the army's operations in that vicinity for the final years of the war. As these documents show, while not engaged in active hostilities, the British Army nevertheless stayed busy with the numerous other duties that afflict a military force in garrison. Our thanks go out to David Swain for faithfully sticking with this project, which has now absorbed several months of his hard work.

WPTIII


28.9 Memorials and petitions; General Sir Guy Carleton’s New York headquarters order book (Reel 7)


Summary contents:

* Military and provincial memorials and petitions to Sir Guy Carleton and General Frederick Haldimand, 1776 and with no date: 40 documents; documents 1 through 40, printed page numbers 1 through 50

* Military and naval memorials to Sir Guy Carleton, 1777: 30 documents; documents 41 through 70; printed page numbers 51 through 92

* Petitions from Royalists: 30 documents; documents 71 through 100; printed page numbers 93 through 135

* Military and provincial memorials and petitions to Sir Guy Carleton, 1778: 26 documents; documents 101 through 126; printed page numbers 136 through 175

* Memorials of Canadian and other inhabitants, 1777-1780 and with no date: 27 documents; documents 127 through 153; printed page numbers 176 through 213

* Military and provincial memorials to General Frederick Haldimand, 1779-1781: 25 documents; documents 154 through 178; printed page numbers 214 through 244

* Military and provincial memorials addressed to General Frederick Haldimand, 1782-1783: 32 documents; documents 179 through 210; printed page numbers 245 through 285

* Sir Guy Carleton’s headquarters order book, New York, Mortier House, and Lefferts House, 1782-1783: 301 documents; documents 211 through 511; printed page numbers 285a through 482

Collection Guide: Readings on the French and Indian War

As part of his summer internship here at the David Library, William "Billy" Griffith of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, has created an annotated finding guide to the books and pamphlets in the Library's collections relating to the French and Indian War. Despite the specificity of the Institution's title, the Library's collection embrace the full period of 1750-1800, containing a wealth of material on the French and Indian War as well as the conflicts of the Early Republic. Thanks to Billy's efforts with the new finding aid, our holdings for the early half of our period should now be much easier to access.The titles are arranged by subject, with the call number of each volume appearing above its title.

WPTIII

The David Library of the American Revolution

Selected Readings on the French and Indian War

* General Histories

* Battles and Campaigns
         - Jumonville Glen/ Fort Necessity 1754
         - Braddock’s March/ Battle of the Monongahela 1755
         - Crown Point Expedition/ Battle of Lake George 1755
         - Fort Bull 1756
         - Siege of Fort William Henry 1757
         - Siege of Louisbourg 1758
         - Battle of Ticonderoga (Carillon) 1758
         - Forbes Expedition to Fort Duquesne 1758
         - Battle of Quebec 1759
         - Treaty of Paris 1763

* British, Provincial, and French Land and Naval Forces/ Native Americans

* People
       - Amherst, Jeffrey
       - Braddock, Edward
       - Forbes, John
       - Hendrick, Chief
       - Johnson, William
       - Loudoun, Lord
       - Montcalm, Louis- Joseph
       - Rogers, Robert
       - Shirley, William
       - Washington, George
       - Wolfe, James

* Journals, Correspondence, Papers, etc