Inventory of the Loudoun Papers: North America, 1682-1780

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Manuscripts Department

The Huntington Library

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2203

Fax: (626) 449-5720

Email: lgarcia@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Inventory of the Loudoun Papers: North America, 1682-1780

The Huntington Library

San Marino, California

Contact Information

Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: lgarcia@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Descriptive Summary

Title: Loudoun Papers: North America,

Date (inclusive): 1682-1780

Creator: Campbell, John, (4th Earl of Loudoun), 1705-82

Extent: 8000 pieces approx.

Repository: The Huntington Library

San Marino, California 91108

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

These manuscripts had never been out of the possession of the family until they were placed on the market in 1923, by Sotheby's of London. The collection was to have been sold at auction, but was purchased privately, prior to the date of sale, by Mr. Huntington, through the agency of Lord Duveen.

Access

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information please go to following URL .

Publication Rights

In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances, the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate curator for further information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Loudoun Papers: North America, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Biography

John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1705-82), military commander, entered the British army shortly before before his accession to the earldom in 1732. He rose rapidly in rank: captain in the Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons, 1734; captain and governor of the Stirling Castle garrison, 1741; lieutenant colonel and aide-de-camp to the king with the allied army in Germany, 1743. Lord Loudoun played an active part in the second Jacobite Rebellion, having raised his own regiment of loyal highlanders. In the summer of 1747, he returned to the continent to serve in Holland under the Duke of Cumberland.

He left home again in 1756, this time as major general and commander in chief of British forces in North America, succeeding General Braddock. At the same time he was appointed titular governor of Virginia. Recalled in 1758, Loudoun returned to England, and received, as compensation, his commission as lieutenant general.

Upon the outbreak of war in Portugal in 1762, Loudoun was once more ordered overseas, and served in that country for a year, first as second in command under Lord Tyrawley, and then as commander in chief. Upon his return to England he was made governor of Edinburgh Castle, and in 1770 attained the rank of general.

Lord Loudoun's declining years were devoted to his hobby, botanical experimentation, and to the beautification of the grounds of Loudoun Castle, the family seat, in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Scope and Content

Section relating to North America.

The collection known as the Loudoun Papers: North America represents an accumulation of manuscript materials through six generations of the Campbell family, Earls of Loudoun, beginning with the year 1510, and extending into the nineteenth century. The papers fall into two main divisions: those relating to North America, and those relating to Scotland. 1

The group relating to North America is divided into two sections: English colonial manuscripts (personal and official papers of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun) and French colonial manuscripts (personal and official papers of Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal), q.v. 2

footnotes:

1Since this report is one of a series on manuscripts relating to American history, the Scottish papers are not included here. They will be treated separately at a later time.

2Cf. Huntington Library Bulletin, Number 3. pp. 97-107.

Significant persons represented by 10 letters or more:

Abercrombie, James aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. Abercromby): 67
Abercromby, James (Maj. Gen. and commander in Chief in 1758): 96
Abercromby, James (agent for Virginia, in England): 32
Alexander, William, later styled Lord Stirling: 12
Appy, John: 18
Atkin, Edmond: 20
Barrington, William Wildman, 2d Viscount Barrington: 83
Bartman, George: 19
Belcher, Jonathan: 29
Bouquet, Henry: 35
Braddock, Edward: 12
Bradstreet, John: 36
Brown, John: 13
Burton, Ralph: 22
Butler, Thomas: 10
Calcraft, John: 80
Campbell, John, 4th Earl of Loudoun: 1218
Christie, Gabriel: 32
Cotterell, William: 15
Craven, Charles: 26
Cuninghame, James: 17
D'Arcy, Robert, 4th Earl of Holdernesse: 15
De Lancey, James: 29
De Lancey, Oliver: 16
Denny, William: 29
Dinwiddie, Robert: 55
Dobbs, Arthur: 12
Dunk, George Montagu, 2d Earl of Halifax: 14
Eyre, William: 12
Fitch, Thomas: 28
Forbes, John: 52
Fox, Henry, 1ST BARON HOUAND: 40
Fraser, Simon: 10
Gage, Thomas: 18
George II, King of Great Britain: 36
Gould (afterward Morgan), Sir Charles: 12
Hancock, Thomas: 22
Hardy, Sir Charles: 51
Holburne, Francis: 25
Hopkins, Stephen: 12
Hopson, Peregrine Thomas: 40
Huck-Saunders, Richard: 29
Hutchinson, Thomas: 18
Johnson, Sir William: 82
Kilby, Christopher: 16
Lawrence, Charles: 41
Leake, Robert: 42
Lyttleton, William Henry, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Frankley: 25
McAdam, Gilbert: 15
Mackay, Samuel: 10
Mercer, James F: 14
Meserve, Nathaniel: 14
Monckton, Robert: 24
Monro, George: 15
Montresor, James Gabriel: 31
Mortier, Abraham: 17
Murray, Alexander: 13
Napier, James: 11
Ord, Thomas: 25
Pepperrell, Sir William: 14
Phips, Spencer: 17
Pitcher, James: 12
Pitt, William, 1st Earl of Chatham: 18
Pownall, Thomas: 93
Prevost, James: 60
Robertson, James: 39
Robinson, Thomas, 1st Baron Grantham: 39
Rogers, Robert: 31
Rous, John: 10
Rutherfurd, John: 22
St. Clair, Sir John: 25
Saul, Thomas: 10
Sharpe, Horatio: 31
Shirley, William: 105
Stanwix, John: 52
Washington, George: 10
Webb, Daniel: 53
Wentworth, Benning: 27
Whiting, Nathan: 15
Wier, Daniel: 10
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland: 10
Williams, William: 21
Williamson, George: 28
Winslow, John: 44
Young, John: 31

Some important or interesting items:

Albany. Proceedings of the Congress held at Albany June and July, 1754
Atkin, Edmond. To the Right Honorouble the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations: [A report on] the Regulation and Management of the Indian Trade and Commerce; An account of the Situation, Character, and Disposition of the Several Indian Nations that have Intercourse or Connection with South Carolina; A Plan of a general Direction and Management of Indian Affairs throughout North America. May 30, 1755
Pownall, Thomas. To John Pownall: Considerations on ye Means, Method & Nature of Settling a Colony on ye Lands South of Lake Erie. [ca. 1755]
_____ Chart [showing]... the several English Colonies & the British Territories up to the River St. Lawrence & the Great Lakes. 1755
Washington, George. To the Right Honorouble The Earl of Loudoun: An account of Affairs on this Quarter. Fort Cumberland, Jan 10, 1757
Council of war called by Lord Loudoun at Halifax, to decide on the advisability of attacking Louisbourg or Quebec. Signed by Generals Loudoun, Abercromby, and Hopson, Lord Charles Hay, Admirals Holburne and Sir Charles Hardy, Commodore Holmes, and Captain Fowke. July 23, 1757. Also papers read and referred to in council, from Admiral Sir Charles Knowles, John Henry Bastide, George Scott, and others.
Transactions at Fort William Henry during its siege in August, 1757. [author unknown]
Montcalm, Louis Joseph...Marquis de. Articles de la Capitulation accordée au Lt. Colonel Monro pour la Garnison de sa majesté britannique du fort Guillaume Henri...le 9 aoust, 1757.
Franklin, Benjamin. List of Servants belonging to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania and taken into His Majesty's Service for whom statisfaction has not been made by the officers according to an Act of Parliament. Philadelphia, Aug. 21, 1757
Colden, Cadwallader. Four letters reporting Indian attacks, and the urgent need of frontier defenses; also a map of the threatened district in Orange and Ulster Counties, New York. October, 1757.
Abercrombie, James. Letter to the Earl of Loudoun, containing an account of the Skirmish which happened the 19th of April at Concord, Massachusetts Boston, May 4, 1775
_____. Letter to same, containing an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, in which engagement Lt. Colonel Abercrombie received the wound which caused his death a few days later. Boston, June 20, 1775
Horvie, William. [Declaration concerning fifteen English ships captured by a small American squadron, commanded by Captain Lambert Wickes.] Irvine, [Scotland], July 1, 1777

Container List

Subject matter:

I. Seven Years War in North America, from 1754 to 1759

A. Preliminaries

1. French encroachments on western and northern frontiers

2. Resolution of King George II and ministry to send to North America a commander in chief with British regiments, for the defense of the colonies.

1755

B. The command of Edward Braddock

1. Plans for military operations: Crown Point, Niagara, Fort Frontenac, Nova Scotia

2. The immediate design against Fort Duquesne

a. Expedition to the Ohio

b. Defeat and death of General Braddock

c. Investigation into the behavior of the British regulars

C. The command of William Shirley (pro tem.)

1. Crown Point and Niagara expeditions

a. Victorious action near Lake George

b. Postponement of further operations

c. Efforts to strengthen Oswego

2. Indian affairs: Sir William Johnson's appointment as superintendent

3. British Army establishment, maintenance, subsistence, etc. as shown by returns of troops, ordnance, stores; paymasters' accounts (general and regimental); orders, warrants, appointments, & commissions issued by the commander in chief

1756

ENGLAND

4. Selection of Lord Loudoun as commander in chief in North America:

Petitions for preferment addressed to Loudoun

5. Selection of Daniel Webb and James Abercromby as temporary commanders in chief pending Loudoun's arrival in America

6. Regulations on army establishment

a. Rules for settling rank and precedence in America

b. Plans for paying, victualling, and equipping an augmented expeditionary force

7. Preparations for shipments of provisions, ordnance, stores, arms, hospital supplies, and Indian presents

8. Recruiting in England and on the continent for the American service:

Formation of the Royal American Regiment (the 62nd, later 60th)

AMERICA

9. Recruiting difficulties in the colonies:

Enlistment of hired and indentured servants

10. Crown Point expedition

a. Support given by New York and New England colonies only

b. Appointment of John Winslow as commander of the expedition

11. Shirley's extravagance in respect to contracts for army supplies

12. Deplorable condition of the garrison at Oswego

13. Indian affairs

a. Establishment of two departments, northern and southern, under Sir William Johnson and Edmond Atkin, respectively

b. Defenses in the country of the Six Nations

c. Treaties and alliances

14. Arrival in America of the new command: Daniel Webb (June 7) superseded by James Abercromby (June 16), superseded by the Earl of Loudoun (July 23)

D. The command of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun

1. Fall of Oswego:

Reduction of the 50th and 51st Regiments

2. Retrenchments

a. Abandonment of the Crown Point Expedition

b. Strengthening of the several forts and frontier posts

3. Friction between Shirley and Loudoun

4. Reluctance of colonial assemblies to cooperate with the new commander in chief

5. Money troubles incidental to the paying of the troops:

Variations in colonial coinage rates and values

6. Indian affairs

a. Alarm in the southern colonies because of the treaty of peace between the French and Cherokee

b. Atkin's scheme for the regulation of the Indian trade

7. Plans and preparations for the forthcoming campaign

8. British army establishment, etc. as shown by returns, lists, accounts, orders, warrants, issued in 1756

1757

ENGLAND

9. Investigation into the conduct of William Shirley, while commander in chief in North America

10. Adoption of a vigorous offensive war policy by a new ministry under William Pitt

a. Obstructions due to Pitt's temporary eclipse

b. Preparations for a spring campaign against Louisbourg

c. Sailing delays

11. Recall of Lord Loudoun

a. Dissatisfaction with Loudoun's decision to abandon the attack on Louisbourg

b. Resignation of the Duke of Cumberland, Loudoun's most powerful supporter

AMERICA

12. Loudoun's conferences with the colonial governors relative to quotas of men and arms, and frontier defenses

13. Frontier defenses

a. Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet with detachment ordered to South Carolina

b. Fort No. 4 strengthened for the protection of the Connecticut River settlers

c. Middle colonies defended by a detachment under Col. John Stanwix

d. Maj. Gen. Webb with detachment ordered to the New York frontiers

14. Offensive expedition against Louisbourg, commanded by Lord Loudoun

a. Embargo on all shipping

b. Concentration of troops, arms, and provisions at New York, preparatory to sailing

c. Council of war at Halifax in which it was decided to abandon the campaign

15. Fall of Fort William Henry

a. Subsequent investigation

b. Negotiations with the French contesting the validity of the capitulation

16. Insubordination of Lord Charles Hay at Halifax, his arrest and return to England for trial

17. Indian affairs

a. Troubles relative to Indian trade in Pennsylvania

b. Defection of the Six Nations following the capitulation of Fort William Henry

c. Threatened massacres and wide-spread alarms

18. British army establishment as shown in an increasing volume of returns, accounts, orders, warrants, etc. for the year, 1757

1758

19. Loudoun's preparations (in ignorance of his recall) for operations in 1758

20. News of Loudoun's recall, and the appointment of his successor, Major. General Abercromby, reaches America.

21. Sale of Lord Loudoun's effects at public vendue

E. The command of James Abercromby: current events in America as reported in letters addressed to the Earl of Loudoun in England

Note

The papers of Major General James Abercromby for the period of his command in North America, are also in the Huntington Library. Cf. Abercromby Papers, p.

1759

F. The command of Jeffrey Amherst: current events in America as reported in letters addressed to the Earl of Loudoun in England

II. The American Revolution, from 1775 to 1780

A. British army establishment as shown in returns of troops, ordnance, stores, and clothing; lists of officers; expense accounts; and lists of transports taken up for the expedition to America

B. Progress of the war as reported in letters addressed to Lord Loudoun from American Loyalists and British officers on the American service

C. Inquiry into the causes of the failure of the expedition from Canada under the command of Maj. Gen. Burgoyne

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