Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Frederick North collection contains four letters written by North between 1775 and 1783 and a financial record for extraordinary military services and provisions incurred by and paid for by North and George Cooke as Paymasters of Forces, 1766-1767.

The Frederick North collection contains 4 letters from North to various recipients, 1775-1783 and one 1766-1767 record of payment for services. In the first letter (April 17, 1775), written to an unknown recipient, North mentioned transferring a "Dr. Tatten" to Westminster, which he considered "more profitable" than other institutions. He also expressed regret that John Burgoyne did not attend a meeting at which Lord Dartmouth gave "explicit & proper" instructions. In his letter of August 22, 1782, also to an unknown recipient, North referred to a month-long "Tour of visits," which prevented him from writing sooner. He pledged his assistance in recruiting men for the 40th Regiment of Foot, recently renamed the 2nd Somersetshire after Somerset County, but opined that he could "do but little" because of his residence outside the area. In the next piece of correspondence, dated January 19, 1783, North congratulated William Eden on the birth of a son, accepted the role of godfather, and noted that their friendship was a "principal happiness" in his life. North wrote the final letter to the Duke of Portland, September 23, 1783, informing him of the material needs of emigrants from East Florida to the Bahamas, and inquiring if the army's extra provisions could be sent to the Bahamas for the settlers.

Also included in the collection is a 7-page "Account of Extraory Services incurred & Paid by the right honble Lord North & Geo. Cooke," covering 1766-1767, when North and Cooke served as Paymasters of the Forces. This document contains sums paid to various military officials for services and supplies in Germany and colonies such as Grenada, East Florida, and Jamaica. Also provided in the document is a list of names of the compensated and dates of warrant.

1774 Philadelphia reprint of the first volume of The Works of Laurence Sterne (Tristram Shandy, Gentleman), containing manuscript orders for a brigade possibly encamped in Morristown, New Jersey, around May 1781.

The four pages of notes written in the flyleaf of Laurence Sterne's novel, Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, contain orders from a brigade commander and from General George Washington, likely given in May 1781 at Morristown, New Jersey. Orders were typically written in regimental orderly books, but, for an unknown reason, they were instead copied into the novel. The first portion of the document contains the orders of the brigade commander, which concern the shoeing of artillery and ammunition horses, the distribution of 50 pairs of stockings, and the securing of a hogshead of rum. Below this are orders from General George Washington, which establish a "standing Rule" forbidding the impressment of horses and wagons, except by commanding officers and colonels. The document also provides for punishment of violators, including arrest and "39 Lashes whithout Ceremony of a Cour[t] mar[tial]."

The Schoff Revolutionary War collection contains approximately 240 miscellaneous single-items related to various military, social, political, and logistical aspects of the American Revolution, as well as its causes and aftermath.

The Schoff Revolutionary War collection contains approximately 240 miscellaneous items related to aspects of the American Revolution, spanning January 13, 1766, to February 4, 1896. Topics covered include the causes and lead-up to the war, unrest in Boston, British and American strategy, battles and skirmishes, prisoners of war, and social aspects of the conflict. See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" for an item-level inventory of the collection.