Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 6

 This latest installment of Library Research Assistant David Swain's catalog of War Office 28 continues this week with more coverage of the army's lesser-known departments. Among these are the staffs from the pivotal garrison posts of Montreal and St. John's along with the Quartermaster and Ordnance Departments, responsible for issuing equipment and ammunition to the troops. The selection of letters from Montreal and St. John's provide valuable insights into the day-to-day operations at those settlements along with a window into the social dynamics of the garrisons. The Quartermaster and Ordnance papers, meanwhile, shed new light on the operations of these largely-neglected departments.




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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 7 (begins on Reel 5)
(ends on Reel 6)


The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3—first part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3—second part, 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 General Hospital Department; garrison returns; Engineers Department (reel 5—first part, 204 documents)
28.7 Montreal; St. Johns; Ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department (reel 5—second part, 183 documents; reel 6—first part, 58 documents)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6—second part)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 5

In the latest installment of this special series, Library Research Assistant David Swain adds a new installment to his catalog of War Office 28. This section covers several of the more un-loved and under-studied elements of the army: the various support departments. In particular, this set of WO 28 covers the general hospital, engineers, and general staff, as well as garrison muster rolls that were the product of over-worked muster-masters hired to keep the military paperwork in order. While these departments seldom figure in conventional narratives of the war, the work they did in taking care of wounded and ill soldiers, maintaining and building roads and structures, and insuring the smooth operations of the army across the whole of Canada made a significant impact in both the course and the experience of the conflict. It is hoped that David's good work in opening these documents for more detailed exploration will help to shed light on these under-appreciated elements of the British Army.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 6 (Reel 5)


The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3 (part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3 (part), 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 General Hospital Department; garrison returns; Engineers Department (reel 5, 204 documents)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5; reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Norval D. Reece: How a Lithuanian Jew and a British Quaker steered American patriotism

Our latest installment comes from David Library Trustee Norval D. Reece, a former clerk of Newtown Friends Meeting and a graduate of Yale Divinity School.The entry originally appeared as part of the "From a Faith Perspective" column in the Bucks County Courier Times, May 6, page B4

When you stop to think about it, this Courier Times Friday column, "From a Faith Perspective," featuring writers from different religious backgrounds publishing their views once a week, is remarkable. Not in this country perhaps. But in many countries without freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and a free press, it would be impossible. To even attempt it might get you jail time.

Those of us born in the USA often take for granted the freedoms we have. I know I did. Then I traveled the world as a young man and was re-introduced to my country through the eyes of others in Asia, Africa, the USSR and Europe.

We have been mesmerized in recent weeks by revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Syria and elsewhere. It reminds us again of our own good fortune to live in a country with freedom of religion and a remarkably enduring representative form of government.

The British Army welcomes Spring, 1779

On Sunday, 2 May 1779, Captain John Peebles of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot's Grenadier Company recorded that his command "put on our new coats & trousers..." This seemingly innocuous entry signaled the British Army's annual transition from winter to summer campaign attire, a ritual observed throughout the American Revolution.

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Part 4

War Office 28, Regimental Headquarters Papers
Swain Report Special, Installment 4


In this latest addition to his continuing series, Library Research Assistant David Swain expands his finding aid for the War Office 28 records to encompass the records of the King's Royal Regiment of New York, one of the premiere Royal Provincial Corps in Canada. David's hard work continues to bring to light important documents that add to our understanding of the British war effort from Canada, which might otherwise be overlooked. For clarification on the different Loyalist Regiment establishments in Canada at this time, please see Todd W. Braisted's entry from the beginning of April.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 5 (begin Reel 3)
(end Reel 4)

by David Swain

The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3 (part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3 (part), 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 Engineers; garrison returns; General Hospital Department (reel 5)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5; reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Patron's Perspective: Larry Kidder on the Reliability of Pension Records

In this installment of Patron's Perspective, regular Library Patron Larry Kidder provides further insights from his research on the New Jersey Militia through the Revolutionary War pension records. Larry points out that the value of these pension files does not lie solely with the details they shed on battles and engagements: in many respects, the pensions show us those aspects of the Revolution and the experience of warfare during the period that do not often appear in conventional histories.

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True Confessions: How Reliable are Pension File Depositions?

By Larry Kidder

American Revolution veteran pension files are a vast resource that can aid any research project focusing on individual soldiers or seeking answers to exactly what units at the company level did in specific situations. Since the depositions of veterans were made many years after the war and when the deponents were of an advanced age, one naturally wonders just how accurate any information in them can be. Alfred F. Young in The Shoemaker and the Tea Party discusses human memory and his experience in using pension files. In general, he believes that the human memory is not all that bad. Joseph Plumb Martin wrote an entire book of his memoirs of the Revolution at the same stage in life as the pension applicants and his account has proven very useful to historians to the point where it is almost ubiquitous in works on the revolution. So, the pension depositions are likely to have useful information.

Patron's Perspective: Todd Braisted on Royal Provincial Establishments

Todd Braisted, the reigning authority on Britain's Loyalist Forces in America during the Revolution, contributes a clarification on the differences between Royal Provincial Troops with the British Army in Canada and those with the main British Army in the Thirteen Colonies. This entry is intended to provide some clarifications to accompany our catalogs for the WO28 records covering Loyalist troops in Canada, adding some additional context to their story. For those wanting to know more about the Canadian Royal Provincials, the Library's collection includes copies of the Carleton and Haldimand Papers.

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Administering Provincial Forces

By Todd W. Braisted

The raising and administering of His Majesty’s Provincial Forces was not a uniform process throughout North America. While all Provincials fell under the auspices of the Treasury office in England, how they were mustered, organized and paid was a very different process between the Northern Army and the Army in America.