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Southern Campaigns, Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain _________________________ Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain Final Report for National Park Service Southeast Region Atlanta, Georgia Submitted by Evans-Hatch & Associates 510 Duane Street, Astoria, Oregon (503) 325-1313 / [email protected] August 2003 1 ________________________________ Evans-Hatch & Associates Final Report, August 2003 Southern Campaigns, Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain _________________________ CONTENTS PART 1: Narrative Report Introduction Objective Methods Observations and Findings Resources Investigated General Findings Suggestions for Future Activities Collections in Scotland Additional Work in the United Kingdom and North America PART 2: Regiments List: British and Loyalist PART 3: Bibliography Printed Primary Sources Guides and Finding Aids Books and Journal Articles PART 4: List of Repositories Contacted PART 5: Archive Document Record Index Summaries of Record Content Inventory of Records PART 6: Appendices A: Correspondence with Repositories Sample Letters from Evans-Hatch & NPS Director Jerry Belson Responses from Repositories B: The National Archives (Public Record Office) Finding Aids: Leaflets Ordering Copies (Microform and Other Forms) C. Archive Document Record Form D: Copies of Selected Research Material (in separate notebook) PART 7: Electronic Report Electronic Final Report (MS WORD) Inventory (MS ACCESS database) 2 ________________________________ Evans-Hatch & Associates Final Report, August 2003 Southern Campaigns, Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain _________________________ PART 1: Narrative Report Introduction This report presents the results of a survey conducted by the authors to identify primary documentation that memorializes British involvement in the American War of Independence. The survey, which is the second phase of a multiple-phased project organized by the Southeast Regional Office of the National Park Service, was limited to archives housed in England and Scotland. Phase I of this NPS project focused on Canadian repositories; phase III will survey collections housed in the United States. This multi-phased survey was designed to facilitate the interpretive and preservation efforts of the six NPS parks that were created to commemorate the War of Independence (Moores Creek and Guilford Courthouse parks in North Carolina, as well as Fort Moultrie, Kings Mountain, Ninety-Six, and Cowpens in South Carolina). Each of the six locales was the site of significant events during the war years from 1776 to 1781, and the cumulative result of events at those sites helps give us a broader view of the history of that revolution in the south. This survey of British repositories focused primarily on events occurring in and around the sites of these six NPS parks. However, as with any war campaign, events in the southern campaigns were very fluid. Regiments and Battalions were merged and separated as dynamic circumstances dictated. A support unit belonging to one regiment would be detached to provide additional support for a second regiment. Men were reassigned, equipment and provisions were redirected, marching orders were modified or changed during troop movements. Therefore, although the focus of this survey remained on events directly connected with the six parks, the researchers, being cognizant of this fluidity of campaigns, also recorded primary documents relating both to the southern colonies generally and documents relating to units that were involved in other southern campaigns Objective The overarching objective of this project was to locate and describe information about all historical resources, including documents, artifacts, and artwork, that will enhance the National Park Service’s understanding and interpretation of the Revolutionary War in the South, particularly the British experiences. This Phase II entailed conducting research in Britain only (England and Scotland). Diaries, memoirs, personal letters, muster rolls, pay lists, claims for pensions, memorials, and other similar items providing details of the individual participant’s lives were identified as being particularly useful. Artifacts and artwork that conveyed information about regimental uniforms, weapons, supplies and the everyday lives of British and Loyalist participants were also sought and recorded. In short, any record or tangible item having the potential of imparting greater understanding of the lives of British and Loyalist officers and soldiers, Native Americans, African Americans, and women associated with or involved in the southern campaigns was sought out, identified and recorded during the course of this survey. 3 ________________________________ Evans-Hatch & Associates Final Report, August 2003 Southern Campaigns, Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain _________________________ This report of Phase II includes an annotated bibliography of published material, as well as an inventory of primary sources that were created at or near the time of the event(s) recorded, as well as artifacts and artwork conveying greater understanding of participants’ lives. Each document, artwork or artifact examined is described on a separate inventory record form. An index of primary documents and items recorded is also included and appears immediately before the individual inventory sheets. More than 215 document records are included in this report. All data collected has been incorporated into a database created in Microsoft ACCESS, and is therefore searchable and “sortable” in any manner desired by future researchers. A computer disk will accompany the final version of this report. Methods The method, or approach, of achieving the objectives of this project involved completing several tasks in a systematic sequence of steps. A broad knowledge of historical research practices, a familiarity with a broad array of repositories in the U.S. and Canada, and an astute observation of and adaptability to new, slightly different ways of organizing archival material and artifacts in the UK greatly aided in carrying out the prescribed methodology. Close attention to detail and impeccable record keeping also proved invaluable tools in locating, recording, organizing, and synthesizing the enormous quantity of information gathered during the project. The methodology employed is best summarized in the brief description of tasks undertaken appearing below. 1. A meeting in Atlanta with the key NPS personnel was held to clarify the project objectives and the needs of the Park Service. This initial meeting proved extremely valuable in helping Evans-Hatch gain a clear understanding of the requirements and needs of NPS. A tentative form for recording archival information was presented at the meeting (and later slightly revised). 2. A thorough library search was conducted for secondary source material (published books and journal articles) and guides to archival holdings that pertained to the British and Loyalist experience in the South during the Revolutionary War. Various URL computer web pages proved invaluable in making this initial search for relevant material. Important secondary source material and archival guides were then examined at major urban and university libraries in Portland and Eugene, Oregon. Bibliographies and footnotes were closely examined in order to glean additional information about the British regiments and men in the South and about potential repositories with pertinent holdings. Archival guides were studied carefully to gain an initial familiarity with repositories likely to have relevant material. 3. An initial bibliography broken into three parts (printed primary material, guides to repositories, and published works) was compiled and briefly annotated. (This kept expanding throughout the project as new material was discovered.) 4. A list of all military regiments and persons associated with the regiments was compiled for the six NPS parks and other important southern campaigns. (This list kept expanding as the project developed and new information was gathered.) 4 ________________________________ Evans-Hatch & Associates Final Report, August 2003 Southern Campaigns, Revolutionary War Phase II: Research in Great Britain _________________________ 5. A list of repositories in the United Kingdom likely to hold relevant information was compiled after consulting three principal sources: the Historical Manuscripts Commission "Archon Directory" web site, which presents information about hundreds of repositories in England, Scotland, and Wales; the Army Museums Ogilby Trust web site directory of regimental museums; and A Guide to Military Museums and Other Places of Military Interest (1994) by Terence Wise and Shirley Wise. A fourth source, Record Repositories in Great Britain, published by the Public Record Office and the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts in 1999, also proved useful as the project progressed. All British regiments engaged in actions commemorated at the six NPS Revolutionary War park units, plus other major campaigns in the South, were searched in the index of each of these four directories. 6. A single-page letter was then composed, explaining the project and inquiring about relevant holdings, and mailed, along with a copy of the letter of introduction from NPS Regional Director Jerry Belson, to around sixty repositories in England, Scotland, and Wales. Within days, responses began to arrive via e-mail and then