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The Goulburn papers (301 items) contain the diplomatic correspondence and official documents of Henry Goulburn, British negotiator of the Treaty of Ghent. The collection includes the official and private letters between the British commissioners and the British Foreign Office, letters between the American and British commissioners, and drafts of the treaty. Included is one of the six original copies of Treaty of Ghent, written in the hand of Henry Clay and signed by each commissioner.

The Goulburn papers (301 items) contain the diplomatic correspondence and treaty drafts of the British and American negotiations for the Treaty of Ghent. The collection includes the letters between the British commissioners and the British foreign office, both official and private, and between the American and British commissioners. These comprise 80 letters, 74 drafts and copies of letters, and various enclosures, treaty drafts, and memoranda. Also present is one of the six original copies of Treaty of Ghent, written in the hand of Henry Clay and signed by each commissioner.

Goulburn and the other British commissioners primarily communicated with Prime Minister Liverpool, Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh, and Secretary of War Earl Bathurst, providing them with updates on the negotiation process and receiving instructions and peace guidelines from their superiors. The foreign office also kept the commissioners abreast of military developments in North America, such as the burning of Washington and their defeat at Plattsburgh, New York. Goulburn and his colleagues also exchanged notes, formal gambits, and treaty drafts with the American commissioners ("Ministers Plenipotentiaries") John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell. The collection also contains copies of communications with President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe. The negotiations centered on agreements regarding frontier boarders, Native American land guarantees, naval impressments, Atlantic fishery rights, and general maritime rights. Together, these papers document the peace treaty proceedings throughout the fall of 1814, which ultimately led to the settlement at Ghent.

• October 5, 1813: Letter from Baring Ashburton to Lord Castlereagh concerning impressments and preliminaries to the negotiations with America
• November 8, 1813: Letter from St. John's merchants to Sir Richard Goodwin Keats concerning special fishing privileges near Newfoundland for France and the United States
• January 7, 1814: Newspaper clippings reporting peace overtures
• June 29, 1814: A proclamation from President James Madison which refers to the British blockade of the United States a "paper blockade"
• July 18, 1814: A memorial concerning Loyalist Reverend Bennet Allen's claim for lost property
• July 28, 1814: Instructions from Lord Castlereagh of the foreign office to the British Peace Commission containing requests and requirements for peace (14 enclosures)
• August 8, 1814: Protocol of the peace conferences as revised by the British and American commissioners
• August 9, 1814: Report to Castlereagh on preliminary meetings at Ghent, with enclosed letters from President Madison to the American commissioners
• August 14, 1814: Letter from Castlereagh to British commissioners concerning Indians, fisheries, and boundaries
• August 19, 1814: A draft note from British commissioners to the Americans outlining the British peace requirements
• August 24, 1814: The American commissioners rejection of the British terms
• August 30, 1814: Letter enclosing a copy of a note from Castlereagh to James Monroe offering direct negotiations instead of Russian mediation
• September 1, 1814: Letter from Henry Bathurst to Goulburn, rebuking him for almost breaking off negotiations
• September 4, 1814:Draft of the treaty with British alterations
• September 9, 1814: Letter in which the United States rejects the Canadian boundary proposed by Great Britain
• September 16, 1814: Letter from Henry Bathurst to Goulburn concerning pressures to make peace for political reasons in Britain
• September 17, 1814: Letter from Robert Liverpool to Goulburn concerning negotiating for Indian boundaries
• September 19, 1814: Draft letter from British commissioners to American commissioners concerning boundaries and Indian affairs
• October 4, 1814: Letter from Goulburn to Bathurst concerning the burning of Washington and the decision to communicate this intelligence to the American commissioners (response on October 21, 1814)
• October 8, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to American commissioners regarding an ultimatum on the Indian question
• October 13, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to the British commissioners defending the Louisiana Purchase and denying territorial ambitions
• October 18, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to the British commissioners concerning impressments, maritime law, fisheries, and the boundaries of Maine, Niagara, and Michilimackinac
• October 21, 1814: Letter from Liverpool to Goulburn concerning the grave political consequences of continuing the war
• November 10, 1814: American treaty submission with British comments
• November 21, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to Goulburn discussing the effect of Prevost's failure at the Battle of Plattsburgh on the peace process
• November 1814: American commissioners to British commissioners concerning the disposition of prisoners after the peace treaty is signed with an American amendment to article 8 of the treaty
• December 7, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to American commissioners concerning the charge of the British stealing slaves during the war
• December 10, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to Castlereagh concerning verbal alterations in the treaty, technical details, and general progress in negotiations
• December 14, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to Castlereagh concerning copies of the article relating to the Passamaquoddy Islands
• December 14, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners concerning the Passamaquoddy Islands and the boundaries on the Mississippi River
• December 26, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to Goulburn congratulating him on the treaty signing
• December 26, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners concerning a project for a commercial treaty between the United States and Great Britain
• December 28, 1814: Commercial treaty in the hand of John Quincy Adams
• December 29, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners regarding stolen slaves that the British sold in the West Indies
• December 30, 1814: Letter from Goulburn to Bathurst explaining minor changes to the treaty

The collection contains one letter from Goulburn, stationed at the Irish Office, to an unknown recipient concerning Goulburn's interest in representing Cambridge University in the British House of Commons (February 8, 1826).

The Tobias Lear papers consist of correspondence and a journal related to Lear's career as the consul general at Algiers, to his contribution during the War of 1812 as a war department secretary, and as a negotiator of prisoner exchanges with the British. Of particular importance is Lear's contemporary account of the illness and death of George Washington.

The Tobias Lear papers (140 items) are comprised of 118 letters, one diary, and two engravings. The letters are almost all written by Lear, and relate primarily to his career as the United States Consul General to Tunis and Algiers, and to his contribution to the War of 1812, both as a prisoner negotiator with the British and as a war department secretary. He wrote the bulk of the letters (35) to his wife Frances Dandridge Henley Lear; these contain lengthy discussions of his personal and professional life. Of particular importance is Lear's contemporary account of the illness and death of George Washington.

The first six items relate to Lear's connection with George Washington, including a letter to Washington concerning generals St. Clair and Knox in Philadelphia, and payments for living expenses received by Lear from the United States Treasury. Of note is a record of Lear's eyewitness account of Washington’s death, which provides details on Washington suffering from “the croup,” the doctor's bleeding treatment, and Washington’s last words (between 10 and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799). Also of note is a letter from Thomas Dobson of Philadelphia concerning the publication of a biography of Washington.

The collection contains one item from Lear's appointment as consul to Saint Domingue, in which he described an uprising against Toussaint L'Ouverture to Secretary of State James Madison (October 27, 1801).

Thirty-nine items relate to Lear's activities as consul general to the Barbary States, including many lengthy letters to his wife describing the negotiations for ransom and Mediterranean trade rights. Lear's negotiations with the Bashaw of Tripoli resulted in the release of some 300 Americans imprisoned as a result of the capture of the frigate Philadelphia. The items dated 1807 give an account of Lear's successful negotiations with the Bey of Tunis.

• July 14, 1803: Copies of letters from James Madison to James Leander Cathcart and Richard O'Brien dealing with affairs between the United States and Barbary potentates: the Bey of Tunis, the Dey of Algiers, and the Pasha of Tripoli
• July 16, 1803 and June 9, 1804: Contemporary copies of letters from Thomas Jefferson to the Dey of Algiers, appointing Lear as consul general
• January 1-17, 1804: A 36-page journal describing the negotiation process in Algiers as well as Algerian food, culture, and customs
• May 1, 1804: "Directions for the Captains of merchant vessels; or vessels bringing the Annuities from the United States to Algiers"
• June 1804: President Thomas Jefferson to Mustapha Pacha, Dey of the City and Regency of Algiers
• August 4, 1804: Orders from Edward Preble concerning Commodore Stephen Decatur and William Bainbridge
• [1804]: Instructions for American ships of war to follow when approaching Algiers
• June 4, 1805: Copy of the "Treaty of Peace and Amity" between the United States and the Pasha of Tripoli
• December 31, 1805-June 28, 1806: Letters among Jefferson, Madison, and Sidi Suliman Melli Melli concerning relations with Tripoli
• May 30 and September 7, 1807: Letter from James Madison to Tobias Lear concerning the settlement with Algiers, the Chesapeake Affair, and poor relations with Britain
• August 8, 1812: Letter from Lear to Charles D. Coxe concerning the state of the Mediterranean and being expelled from Algiers

Twenty-seven items relate to the events surrounding Lear's mission to Plattsburg, New York, for a prisoner exchange with the British during the War of 1812. The exchange was largely negotiated between United States Brigadier General William Winder, George Prevost, and British Colonel Edward Baynes, with Lear present to ratify the agreement. United States Army officer Christopher Van Deventer (1788-1838) was among the hostages released. Present are letters from Commissary General of Prisoners General John Mason, Secretary of State James Monroe, and British Commissioner Thomas Barclay, concerning the prisoner negotiations. Included are lists of the American officers and militia men captured at Detroit, a list of the British soldiers held by the United States, and a memorandum of Lear's expenses incurred during the mission. Also of interest is the letter from Lear to his wife describing a trip by steamboat to Albany (July 4, 1814).

Correspondence written in 1815 and 1816 includes 19 letters dealing with settlement of War of 1812 officers' accounts, most to Robert Brent of the War Department, and letters to his wife relating information on his life in Washington and about news of family and friends. The sole letter written after Lear's death concerns his son Benjamin Lincoln Lear's portion of his father's estate (March 21, 1817).

In addition to the letters and journal are two engravings accompanying the letter from August 4, 1804. One shows both sides of the "Preble Medal" (1804), and the other is a portrait of United States Navy officer Edward Preble (1761-1807), engraved by T. Kelly (undated).

The War of 1812 collection is a miscellaneous collection of approximately 300 single items relating to the War of 1812. The papers cover many aspect of the war on both the American and British sides, including naval and military operations, regimental matters, trade issues, and state and national politics relating to the war.

The War of 1812 collection (approximately 300 items) contains miscellaneous letters and documents relating to the War of 1812. The papers cover many aspects of the war on both the American and British sides, including naval and military operations, regimental matters, trade issues, and state and national politics relating to the war. Item types include letters, memoranda, reports, orders, documents, reminiscences, financial documents, and returns.