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Elias and Andrew Durnford Royal Engineers orderly book, 1782-1795

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Summary

Creator:
Durnford, Elias Walker, active 1770-1794 and Durnford, Andrew, 1744-1798
Abstract:
The Elias and Andrew Durnford Royal Engineers orderly book contains copies of incoming and outgoing military orders and correspondence pertaining to the British Army's Corps of Royal Engineers in the late 18th century. Orders and letters from Major General James Bramham, Chief Engineer William Green, and others concern equipment, officers' pay, courts martial, and other military subjects.
Extent:
1 volume
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Rob S. Cox, June 1998, and Meg Hixon, January 2013

Background

Scope and Content:

The Elias and Andrew Durnford Royal Engineers orderly book contains 104 pages of copied incoming and outgoing military orders and correspondence pertaining to the British Army's Corps of Royal Engineers. Orders and letters from Major General James Bramham, Chief Engineer William Green, and others concern equipment, officers' pay, courts martial, and other military subjects. The correspondence is dated June 28, 1782-December 8, 1795.

The Durnfords' main correspondents, Major General James Bramham and Chief Engineer William Green, occasionally transmitted correspondence from King George III and Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond. The orders and letters often pertain to personnel-related issues, such as monetary compensation for lost baggage, officers' pay, command hierarchies, the creation of a Corps of Invalid Engineers, promotions, and hiring laborers in Canada and the West Indies. Others concern the maintenance of works and equipment and the relationship between the re-named Corps of Royal Engineers and other army units (pages 61-62). Lists relate to the reorganized hierarchical and pay structure of the Corps of Engineers (pages 22-24), items that officers should carry while stationed overseas (pages 2-3), and the distribution of engineers by seniority (pages 34-37) and by post (pages 37-40). At least two entries pertain to the court martial of Colonel Hugh Debbieg (November 2, 1784, pages 29-31; June 29, 1789, pages 73-79). Other entries address the court martial of Thomas Wheldale (May 25, 1791, pages 80-86) and the court martial of "Lieutenant Colonel Frazer" (September 10, 1792, page 91). Copied outgoing letters of Andrew Durnford include his acknowledgments of incoming correspondence (not present) and brief reports from St. George's, Bermuda.

Biographical / Historical:

Elias Durnford was born in Ringwood, Hampshire, England, on June 13, 1739, the son of Elias Durnford. He joined the British Army's Corps of Engineers (later the Corps of Royal Engineers) in March 1759. After participating in the Siege of Belle Isle (1761) as an ensign and the Siege of Havana (1762) as a lieutenant, he was made an aide-de-camp and later served as chief engineer and surveyor-general of West Florida. Durnford lived in Pensacola and was lieutenant-governor of West Florida from 1769-1781. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded British troops against Spain, including at the siege of Mobile. He returned to England after the British surrender and was initially stationed in Newcastle. He went back to the Americas in the 1790s, when he participated in campaigns in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia. He and his wife, Rebecca Walker, married on August 25, 1769, and had nine children, including Elias Walker Durnford (1774-1850). Elias Durnford died in Tobago on June 21, 1794.

Andrew Durnford (1744-1798), Elias Durnford's brother, joined the Corps of Engineers in 1770 and also served in North America during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, he became an assistant quartermaster-general in West Florida, and from 1783-1796 he was stationed primarily in Bermuda, where he became the first mayor of St. George's. In 1772, he married Jemima Margaret Isaacson. In 1796, he was suspended after accusations of financial malfeasance, and he died on September 10, 1798, while awaiting his court martial.

Acquisition Information:
1998. M-3481 .
Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Elias and Andrew Durnford Royal Engineers Orderly Book, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan