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This collection holds the official correspondence of Seth Drew, a Massachusetts native was the superintendent of fortifications for the Army Corps of Engineers between 1808 and 1812. He managed the construction and fortification of the harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in anticipation of war with Great Britain.

The Seth Drew papers (23 items) hold the official correspondence of Seth Drew, the superintendent of fortifications for the Army Corps of Engineers between 1808 and 1812. These letters contain detailed instructions from Joseph Gardner Swift, major of engineers, on the construction and workings of the fort at Plymouth. They also include a rough architectural sketch of a barrack. Jacob Eustis, agent at Boston, wrote about supplying Plymouth with cannon and military stores. Other letters are from Army administrators, particularly from the Accountants Office of the Department of War; these letter-writers include William Eustis, Peter Hagner, William Simmons, and Henry Whiting. In one letter, Henry Whiting described the course of events during the first year of the War of 1812, and commented on the "destitute and miserable conditions" of soldiers returning from prisons in Canada.