researching the british army during the american revolution
TRANSCRIPT
Researching the British Army
during the American
Revolution
Mrs. Torrison’s AP World
History Class
Final Research Task
• Creating a collective biography of the
18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot while
they served in America from July 1767
through July 1776
− 71 RI officers; 13 other officers
− 738 enlisted men (sergeants, corporals,
drummers, fifers and privates)
− About 20 women come into the narrative
Develop a Research Question
What were the redcoats really like during the American
Revolution?
Where?
When?
Who /
Which regiment(s)?
Constraints
• British Military Records were organized
almost exclusively by regiment prior to
1918, so selecting “men from Liverpool” for
instance would be nearly impossible.
• Many of the records for regiments that
served in Canada were lost
• Many of the Irish records were burned
during the final phases of the Easter Rising
Determine how to “clarify” the
research question Where – in Boston, New
York, Yorktown,
London, Ireland,
Ghana, India?
Liked to connect to
Illinois & Old Northwest
Limited me to five
potential regiments
8th, 18th, 22nd,34th and
42nd
Which of the five regiments?
• 8th (King’s) Regiment – served in America/Canada
from 1768 to 1786 (mostly on Great Lakes)
• 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment – served in Illinois from
1768 to 1776 (detachments also in Boston & NYC)
• 22nd Regiment – attempted to reach Illinois in 1764,
but forced back down Mississippi Rv.
• 34th Regiment – served in Illinois from 1765 to 1768
• 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment – served in Illinois in
1765
Selected – 18th (Royal Irish)
Regiment of Foot• Served for a long period in Illinois and America; also
present in Boston
• Many men remained in America in other regiments
after 1775/6
• No recent works published on the regiment; only one
since 1922; Generally ignored by historians
• Over 90% of the muster rolls for the regiment still
exist (WO 12/3501 – this is fairly rare)
• Many court martial records and other supporting
records still exist
• Good stories including ties to George Washington,
John Adams, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson; a US
Congressman, a US Spy, and a US Navy officer
Search for leads in secondary
sources
• Houlding’s Fit for Service
• Oxford History of the British Army
• Shy’s Toward Lexington
• Sylvia Frey’s British Soldier in America
• Etc.
In Context
• Give the big picture of the knowledge
base and how your research fits into that
Houlding
Alan Guy
Baule
Hayter
Hagist
Basic Reference Sources ; Encyclopedias, books on the British Army in general, chapters in
scholarly reference texts
Core Texts to the period
“Historiographic Cannon”
(Houlding, Frey, Shy, Guy, Hayter, etc.)
Supplemental Secondary Sources – Regimental
histories, etc.
Secondary images, published articles,
etc.
Primary Sources
Newspapers
Official Records
Letters & diaries
Paintings
Find Primary Records
• US National Archives
• UK National Archives (Public Record Office)
• University of Michigan – Gage Papers +
• University of Virginia – Randolph Family Papers
• Illinois Historical Society - Springfield
• Newspaper Collections
• Google Books
• Friends / colleagues / librarians
Core are
papers
from UK
National
Archives
Contemporary Cartoons
Newspapers
• Irish
• English
• Scottish
• American
Sermons
from
Deputy
Chaplain
Some Images
An Example
William Blackwood• He was Irish; he was 17
• Joined the army in 1767 after
paying £400 to purchase his
commission
• Served in Illinois from 1768 to
1772
• Accused and tried for stealing a
slave while in Illinois
• Served at Lexington and Concord
• Returned to England in 2/1776
• Retired from the Army in 1790
• Died in 1794
• Inspection Returns WO 27/11,
etc.
• Commission Registers WO 25 &
printed Army Lists
• WO 12/3501 & 2; Letters from
Thomas Gage Papers
• Randolph County Records
• National Army Museum (UK)
Orderly Book, Returns
• WO 12/3501, Inspection Returns
• London Gazette
• Probate Records (his will)
Rev. Mr. Robert Newburgh
• Ordained in Ireland
• Was actually court martialed
for immoral conduct, conduct
unbecoming a gentleman, etc.
• Found guilty and suspended
for six months; sentence
reduced by Gage
• He sued another officer in
civil court for slander
• Eventually retired after
transferring to another
regiment
• Certificates of ordination in
JAG records (WO 72)
• Court martial records (WO 71)
• Gage Papers (UMich)
• Gage Papers / Randoph Papers
(UVa)
• Printed Army Lists (WO 65)
Elizabeth House Trist
• Nanny to Thomas Jefferson’s
daughter in Philadelphia in
1774/5
• Her husband was a British
officer, Nicholas Trist
• He left the army and moved to
a farm in Louisiana in 1775
• Mrs. Trist travelled there
keeping a travel diary
• Trist lived at Monticello after
his death and her grandson
married TJ’s granddaughter
James Cairns (also Himes, Hemes)
• Born in Ballanderry, Antrim,
Ireland
• Came to America in 1767
• Deserted by April 1774
• Captured in November 1776 while
in the rebel army
• Court martialled, found guilty of
having borne arms in the rebel
Army
• Pardoned by Gen. Howe
• Sent to the West Indies in 1778
• Most likely died in Antigua
• Pennsylvania Packet
• WO 12/3501
• WO 12/3501 & PA Packet
• WO 71/78 & Howe’s Orderly
Book
• Howe’s Orderly Book
• WO 12/2197
• WO 12/2197 (missing from
records)
What has this research led to:
• Several articles− Literacy and extra duty among British Soldiers, The NWTA Courtier, Jan/Feb. 2012.
− The Eighteenth Century British Sergeant Major, The Brigade Dispatch, Autumn 2011.
− The Punishment Book of the Royal Irish and 65th Regiments of Foot 1774-1775, Journal for the Society of Army Historical Research. Spring 2010.
− The Recruitment of John Lindsey, Military Collector and Historian, Spring 2009
− The First Prisoner of War (or possibly the first deserter) of the American Revolution, Archiving Early America, Summer/Fall, 2008.
− Basic Research Methodology for 18th Century Research, BAR Dispatch, Spring 2008.
− Drummers in the British Army during the American Revolution, Journal for the Society of Army Historical Research. Spring 2008.
− The Impact of Half Pay on a British Regiment of Foot in America, 1767-1775, The Journal of Early American Wars and Armed Conflicts, 1 (2), Summer 2006
− The Practice of Drafting in the British Army during the American Revolution, Brigade Dispatch, 36 (2), Summer 2006.
− A ‘Sink of Men and Treasure:’ Causalities of the Grenadier Company of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot, 1767 to 1775, Military Collector and Historian, Fall, 2005, 57(3).
• Some blog entries
• A couple of presentations
• Forthcoming book− Protecting the Empire’s Frontier: The Royal Irish Officers on North American Service, 1767 to
1776.