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

The Manchester papers primarily contain the diplomatic correspondence, memoranda, and treaty drafts of George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester, who was appointed British Ambassador to France to oversee the negotiations regarding the Peace of Paris in 1783.

The Manchester papers contain 250 letters, 30 drafts, 13 instructions, 9 notes, 4 letter books, and a map, spanning 1779 to 1788. These items primarily relate to diplomacy and Manchester's role in the negotiation of the Peace of Paris in 1783.

The Documents and Correspondence series contains 331 items pertaining to British politics, the American Revolution, the negotiations of the Peace of Paris, and other topics. These include diplomatic correspondence, memoranda, drafts of treaty clauses, and instructions for the period of 1783 to 1784, when Manchester participated in the negotiations with France, Spain, and the Netherlands as ambassador to France at the end of the American Revolutionary war.

Just nine letters in the collection predate 1783. These include several accounts of the British military situation in North America from Captain F. Taylor, Manchester's agent in London, in which Taylor noted that "things are as bad, as they can be" and criticized British politicians for leaving London for their country homes in a time of crisis (September 30, 1780). He also condemned the naval tactics of Admiral Henry Darby (February 12, 1781) and commented on British ships headed to Jamaica (October 30, 1781). Beginning in the spring of 1783, the primary topic of the letters and documents shifts to diplomacy and negotiations between Great Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands. This includes the April 23, 1783, instructions given to Manchester by King George III, which discuss the release of prisoners, the rights of the "French naturalized English," and mandate that Manchester maintain frequent contact with other "Ministers employed in Foreign Courts."

The collection also contains numerous drafts of the treaty's articles and clauses, nearly all of which are in French. With these, it is possible to trace the course of negotiations through the various changes proposed and accepted by the principal negotiators. The drafts of articles pertain to the wide array of issues addressed in the treaty, including boundary negotiations and the ceding of territory, the privileges of British citizens in areas newly controlled by other nations, trading privileges in the West Indies, fishing rights in Newfoundland, use of wood cut in Central America, the release of prisoners of war, and other topics.

Also included is Manchester's incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning the treaty and negotiations, including several dozen letters from the French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes; a roughly equal number from the Spanish Ambassador to France, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Comte d'Aranda; and 23 letters from British secretary of state for foreign affairs Charles James Fox. Correspondence concerns such issues as possession of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and associated fisheries in the north Atlantic, restitutions to be made in India between the English and the French, and minor changes to the wording of the treaty. Correspondence between Manchester and Fox, in particular, reveals the inner workings of the British side of negotiations, including concerns that plenipotentiary David Hartley would "be taken in by [Benjamin] Franklin" and "disgrace both himself and us" (May 15, 1783), and comments on Fox's strong support for Russia and Austria (August 4, 1783). In several letters, Fox comments on specific articles within the treaties.

The collection also has a substantial amount of correspondence relating to diplomacy and European politics, which Manchester received in his position as ambassador. This includes complaints by British citizens about their alleged mistreatment at the hands of the French, such as the seizure of the merchant ship Hereford after it took shelter from a storm in Nantes, France (May 17, 1783), and the capture of the ship Merlin by privateers ([May 1781]). Several of Manchester's colleagues wrote to him about Russian politics and activities, including Sir Robert Murray Keith, who described growing tensions with the Turks (May 30, 1783), and John Collet, who gave an account of the Russian mode of colonizing Crimea, which was to pay Genoan families to settle there (June 2, 1783).

Just 27 letters postdate 1783. These give news of European politics, including information on the Russo-Turkish War, a commercial treaty between France and Portugal (February 2, 1787), and several updates on the movements and activities of the French Navy.

The Letter Books and Map series, 1782-1783, contains four volumes of correspondence and a 1783 map. The first volume contains letters and extracts of correspondence written by Alleyne Fitzherbert to Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham (27 letters) and Charles Fox (10 letters). Covering a total of 216 pages, the letters span November 29, 1782, to May 3, 1783. They chiefly concern the peace negotiations, including discussion of the restoration of enemy ships (December 7, 1782), the wording of the treaty's preamble (January 19, 1783), ongoing negotiations relating to territory in India, and numerous associated topics.

The second volume, which covers August 9, 1782, to May 30, 1783, contains letters written by Grantham to Fitzherbert (86 letters) and Fox (7 letters), totaling 427 pages. These letters announce various appointments and refer frequently to peace negotiations. Also included are many drafts of treaty articles.

The third volume is divided into two parts, which cover April 30, 1782, to December 7, 1783. The first part includes 10 letters between Grenville and Fox, and two between Grenville and Shelburne. These contain further discussion of territory negotiations and the demands of the French, Spanish, and Dutch. The second part of the volume has 58 letters with 49 enclosures, written by Manchester to Fox.

The fourth volume contains 67 letters from Fox to Manchester, dated April 29 to December 2, 1783 and occupying 169 pages. In his letters to Manchester, Fox wrote about the Spanish treatment of British citizens, control of the wood trade in Central America, possession of Tobago, and specific treaty articles.

The map, dated 1783, is housed in the Map Division and depicts several rivers in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Henry Strachey papers contain the incoming and outgoing correspondence of British politician Henry Strachey, primarily concerning Strachey's personal life, activities in North America, plantation in Florida, and political matters. Also included are copies of scattered financial and legal documents and two volumes of reports from colonial governors to the Earl of Dartmouth (1773), which Strachey had copied around 1776.

The Henry Strachey papers comprise approximately 168 letters, a letterbook containing an additional 35 letters, 5 financial records, 23 documents, and 2 volumes of reports from the governors of various American colonies to the Earl of Dartmouth, 1773.

The Correspondence series covers the period between 1733 and 1802, although the bulk centers around 1776-1785. The largest portion of the correspondence is between Strachey and his wife, Jane; they exchanged a total of 34 letters between 1776 and 1778, while Strachey was in North America. The collection includes 29 letters from Henry to Jane and 5 long letters, totaling around 60 pages, from Jane to Henry. Strachey's letters to his wife primarily concern his impressions of the colonies, news about his health, and observations concerning mutual acquaintances. The tone of Strachey's letters is frequently affectionate; on December 2, 1776, he requested locks of hair from her and the children, but intimated that he felt "silly" and "embarrassed" doing so. In his letters, Strachey responded to his wife's curiosity about the colonies. On May 13, 1776, he recommended that she read Andrew Burnaby's and Peter Kalm's books on North America. He also provided rich details of his own experiences, as in his letter of March 24, 1778, in which he wrote a long description of daily life in Philadelphia, including elaborate "Tea drinkings," plays put on by soldiers, unchaperoned balls, and the respect accorded William Howe, who "is King here." Occasionally, Strachey's letters to his wife allude to political events taking place; on December 8, 1777, he mentioned the burning of the Augusta at the Battle of Red Bank, and directed her on how to use a cipher if the necessity arose. Jane Strachey's letters contain primarily family news, descriptions of her daily events, expressions of concern for her husband's health, and her thoughts on running the household.

Approximately 30 letters in the collection, and all 35 letters in the letterbook, relate to Beauclerc Bluff, Strachey's plantation in eastern Florida. The correspondence is both incoming and outgoing, and Strachey's correspondents include East Florida Governor Patrick Tonyn, lawyers Edward and James Penman, and plantation managers Alexander Gray and John Ross. These letters span 1771-1802 and document Strachey's increasing dissatisfaction with the plantation's poor returns and its eventual sale. Approximately 10 letters relate to the sale of Strachey's slaves, including accounts of their prices, and a reference to a male and female slave escaping and joining the Creek Nation (September 29, 1784). Several letters between Strachey and Thomas Bee concern Bee’s purchase of slaves and his failure to pay for them. Letters concerning Beauclerc Bluff also provide details on the struggle to introduce indigo to Florida (January 2, 1777) and on Strachey's waning confidence in the British ability to hold the country. On September 4, 1782, Strachey expressed these concerns to Tonyn and urged him to prepare for this in order to avoid "thinking of such Essentials when all may be hurry & Confusion."

Several letters in the collection focus on politics in England and America. In a letter to Strachey of March 14, 1774, Edward Clive mentioned Alexander Wedderburn's speech criticizing Benjamin Franklin, and congratulated Strachey on a victory over the "Bloomshbury gang" [sic]. Two additional items from Strachey to politician Christopher D'Oyly regard the prospects for restoring peace (August 11, 1776). Also present is a signed copy of a letter from General George Washington to Brigadier General Jared Irwin, requesting his opinion on the advisability of attacking Philadelphia during the winter (December 3, 1777).

The Documents and Financial Records series contains 10 items relating to Strachey's commissions and finances, and some additional miscellany, including an excerpt from the will of John Allen. Also present is a document tracking the number and prices of Strachey's slaves, 1770-1779, and other papers relating to the plantation. The items cover the years 1770 to 1791.

The Papers Relating to the War of Independence and the Preliminary Treaty of Peace series contains 86 letters and documents covering the years 1776 to 1783, with material relating to Strachey's efforts as a peace negotiator during and after the American Revolution, his opinions on Americans and independence, and his relationships with Richard and William Howe. The series includes his commission as secretary to the peace commission (May 6, 1776), three sets of instructions to the commissioners from King George III (May 6-8, 1776), and nineteen letters written by Strachey while he served as secretary to the Howe brothers in New York and Philadelphia from 1776 to 1778. Henry Strachey's diary spanning from June 1776 to the end of 1777 includes commentary on negotiation efforts, the war's progress, and meetings with British officers. An early draft of General Howe's defense of his actions as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America is also present, along with approximately 205 page of material relating to the Treaty of Paris.

The Dartmouth Volumes series contains two bound vellum volumes of copies of replies and reports from the governors of British colonies in answer to the circular of William Legge, 2nd earl of Dartmouth (1731-1801). On July 5, 1773, Dartmouth, then Secretary of State for the colonies, sent out a circular letter with 22 questions to the governors of various British colonies. He collected their responses and accompanying records in two volumes. Around the time that he was appointed to the Howe peace commission, Strachey had copies of the volumes made for his own use.

The first volume contains Dartmouth's circular letter and questionnaires for the mainland colonies, island colonies, and Senegambia (pp. 1-11). They raise such questions as the number and attitudes of Native Americans, quantities of imports and exports, size of the militia, the characteristics of the population, and the geography and resources of each colony. These are followed by the responses of various governors and colonial officials: Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts Bay (pp. 12-30), Francis Legge of Nova Scotia (35-48), Walter Patterson of St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) (53-68), John Wentworth of New Hampshire (73-104), Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut (107-120), William Tryon of New York (123-207), William Franklin of New Jersey (219-242), John Murray of Virginia (249-268), Thomas Penn of Pennsylvania (269-303), James Wright of Georgia (315-358), and Peter Chester of West Florida (363-373).

The answers are lengthy, and provide both quantitative and qualitative information on many aspects of each colony. In his response to the question, "What number of Indians have you and how are they inclined," Governor Trumbull of Connecticut answered, "There are 1,363, many of them dwell in English Families, the rest in small Tribes in various places in Peace, good order, and inclined to Idleness." (p. 115). Several colonies included appendices giving further details; New York included a 1771 list of inhabitants, a surveyor's report, a table of salaries and other records. New Jersey appended an account of marriages, birth, and burials between 1771 and 1772. Pennsylvania provided additional information on imports and exports, 1769-1773. The last item in the volume is copy of a three-page document (433-435), signed by Attorney General William de Grey, and entitled "Case," in which de Grey gave the opinion that Commander-in-Chief Thomas Gage's power over troops in New York superseded the power of the Governor of New York. The document is dated May 16, 1770.

The second volume contains the responses from Jamaica (pp. 29-65), Barbados (67-100), the Leeward Islands (101-158), the Virgin Islands, Grenada (185-226), Carriouacou (227-234), Tobago (263-314), St. Vincent (315-364), Dominica (373-397), the Bahamas (399-433), and Bermuda (435-447). In addition to responses to Dartmouth's questions, the reply from Jamaica contains accounts of "Ordinary Expenses" and "Extraordinary Expenses," and tax information. Barbados' portion of the volume contains a thorough description of numbers of cavalry and infantry and their organization into companies. Concerning the population, the report noted that "[t]he Blacks have decreased considerably within the last five Years…a Decrease that probably has proceeded from the Settlement of the late neutral Islands by the English…." (p. 77-78). Grenada's account includes a list of public and military officers, and of 1772 imports and exports, as well as several other appendices. The two volumes are a very rich source of information on the demographics, geography, and government of the British colonies just before the American Revolution.

The Maps series contains three maps: "Virgin Islands surveyed in 1774," "A chart of Tibee Inlet in Georgia" (1776), and a map of Fort Nassau, Bahamas (1775). These items are located in the Map Division.

This is a miscellaneous collection of letters to and from members of the Howe family, including British army officer William Howe, British naval officer Richard Howe, and their families.

The Richard and William Howe collection contains 48 miscellaneous single letters and documents, spanning 1758 to 1812. The correspondents were various members of the Howe family, including William Howe, Richard Howe, Mary Hartopp Howe, Mary Juliana Howe, and Louisa Catherine Howe. Brought together over several decades, the group of materials includes miscellaneous items related to military operations, as well as a number of family letters. A handful of items concern the Seven Years War and American Revolution, and over half of the collection postdates 1783. See "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" for a full inventory of the items, including abstracts of each letter.

The Richard Oswald collection contains three of Oswald's memoranda ("Plans for Russian Conquest of the North-West Coast--1781," "London, 9th August 1779--General Observations, Relative to the Present State of the War," and "Supplement to the Papers of August 1779 Relative to the State of the Present War") and three letters to and from Oswald concerning the Revolutionary War.

The Richard Oswald collection contains three memoranda and two letters written by Oswald, as well as a letter written to Oswald by William Pulteney, all spanning 1779-1783.

Volume One contains two memoranda of 1779: the 72-page "General Observations, Relative to the Present State of the War" and its continuation, the 33-page "Supplement to the Papers of August." In the former, Oswald anticipates a prolonged conflict (p. 25: "…if we wish to have a good Peace, we ought to prepare for a long War.") and speculates on the relationship between the Americans and French ("…I am of opinion that we have a much better chance of making France tired of the Contest by taking of America, than of recovering America by dint of our attack upon France." [p. 9]). He also suggests that the British "break the Internal Union amongst these Colonies by Dismembering one part from the other" (p. 27), and recommends that this be accomplished by expeditions into Georgia and South Carolina. In the "Supplement," Oswald doubts the value of "be[ing] so tenacious of every Individual part of these possessions as to suppose that the preservation thereof, in the Interim of this War, may not cost more than it is worth" (p. 2). He also comments further on the French, and emphasizes the necessity of taking possession of Charleston, South Carolina, in order to defeat the Americans (p. 9).

Volume Two of the Richard Oswald collection contains a 1780 letter from William Pulteney announcing the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina, and two letters by Oswald to unspecified recipients. In the earlier of the two letters, dated November 16, 1782, Oswald described the willingness of the Americans to continue fighting ("America would carry on the War with Eng'd for 50 years rather than subscribe to…evidence of their own iniquity…") and treaty negotiations concerning the treatment of Loyalists. In the later letter, dated January 8, 1783, he discussed the conflict over rights to cod fishing in Newfoundland. Also included is a memorandum written by Oswald and dated April 12, 1781, suggesting the formation of a Russo-British alliance in order to attack Mexico and California, and thereby challenge Spain in the New World. The 19-page document, entitled "Plans for Russian Conquest of the North-West Coast--1781," presents the unusual idea as an inexpensive way of "cripling [sic] the power of the Bourbon Family for ever."