Collections

The Waldegrave Pelham Clay orderly books consist of three volumes of orders from Clay, a British lieutenant colonel who served in the Mediterranean in 1800, and as a major general, in the British West Indies between 1813-1815. The orders document the military's challenges in distributing food, water, supplies, clothes, and wages, and record disciplinary actions, promotions, and notable military events.

The Waldegrave Pelham Clay orderly books consist of three volumes from Clay, a British lieutenant colonel who served in the Mediterranean in 1800, and as a major general in the British West Indies between 1813-1815. The orders document the military's challenges in distributing food, water, supplies, clothes, and wages, and record disciplinary actions, promotions, and other notable military events.

Volume 1 (162 pages) spans from August 6, 1800-December 24, 1800, and consists of general orders and announcements relating to the 40th Regiment's movements in the Mediterranean and while it was stationed at Valletta and Malta, after the British Siege of Malta. The entries mention the HMS Hector (September 25, 1800) and the HMS Romulus (November 2, 1800). Many orders came from or mentioned Major General Henry Pigot, who was instrumental during the Siege of Malta. The bulk of the orders are from the December 1800, with daily entries covering several pages each. Included in the book are instructions on how to parade (August 7-14, 1800), a recipe for broth (August 19, 1800), and instances of sentencing for courts martial (November 27, 30, December 11, and 16, 1800). Also of note is an entry describing a soldier killed by a French sentinel after he "did not answer when challenged...[and] had straggled from his guard" (December 10, 1800). The order warned that this incident should not be "grounds for Disagreement or Jealousy" between the French and British troops. Women are also mentioned in the orders: the December 13 order stipulates that women and children would be able to draw rations (with amounts noted); and the December 23 order contains information on housing women in military hospitals. The back of this volume contains several charts for Captain Clay's 40th Regiment relating to "bread money accounts" and rations from 1793-1795. Approximately 80 pages were ripped out of the back.

This volume also contains one loose page (page 267) taken from a letterbook with three complete letters and one partial letter from Clay. Two letters, dated October 8 and December 27, 1817, are addressed to Charles Greenwood; a December 26, 1817, letter is addressed to General G. Gibbons; and the December 27, 1817, letter is to Edward. All are addressed from Southwell, England.

Volume 2 (212 pages) spans from November 8, 1811-March 20th 1813, and contains the day to day brigade orders of Clay's regiment while stationed at Antigua. The orders include the daily parole, information on food and supply rations, general instructions for the regiment, disciplinary records, and details on other British military outposts in the West Indies. The volume also contains copies of letters and circulars written from other headquarters in the West Indies including Barbados and Jamaica. The orderly book opens with an entry declaring Clay's command of Antigua.

• December 24, 1811, ordered rations for "Negros in the medical department"
• January 24, 1812, ordered a medical board to report "whether a Black Man named [Azer] Cadette, late a Private soldier in the 12th 10 F. Regiment is fit for [major] service."
• March 25, 1812, requested certificates for "Negros Employ'd not being the property of any officer."
• April 25, 1812, ordered an extra allowance of rum to those involved with extinguishing a fire.
• May 24, 1812, forbid bathing during the day because it was considered unhealthy.
• September 27, 1812, called for a celebration after a the Duke of Wellington's victory over the French at Salamanca in July 1812.
• January 26, 1813, news of a robbery and attempted murder by a group of men in a detachment at St. Johns.

This volume also contains a loose page, possibly from an orderly book. On one side are lists of "Allowances of Provisions to the Troops on board Men of War," and on the other are short entries of troop movements by sea of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 40th Regiment, dated March 2-May 4.

Volume 3 (48 pages), which spans March 31-1813-May 13, 1815, documents Major General Clay's brigade orders, while he was stationed in Antigua and Port of Spain, Trinidad. This is like the other orderly books, in that this volume records how the regiment distributed water and rations, and notes disciplinary actions and celebrations. Though the book does not mention any military engagements, it does offer some information on events on the islands. Approximately 50 pages have been torn out of the book. The first page contains a copy of a form used when scheduling evening and night patrols. Notable entries include instructions to celebrate the Kings birthday with a "Royal Salute" and an extra allowance of rum (June 3, 1814); and the celebration of the Queen's Birthday on January 17, 1815. The entry from June 19, 1814, forbade smoking cigars or having fire close to the sea battery's magazines. Also of note are entries from February 24, 25, and 26, which reported the reactions of an "outrage of yesterday evening in the Green Market by some soldiers." The orders instituted a strict curfew with roll calls. Soldiers were also "strictly forbidden to appear in the Streets with large Sticks of Bludgeons or in the unmilitary practice of carrying their Bayonets, in their Hands, instead of having them suspended in their Belts" (June 25). The June 26 entry forbade soldiers from using their "firelocks for the purpose of using them as Fowling Pieces" (shooting at birds) after a child was wounded in the leg "by a slug fired in this manner by a Black Soldier."

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.

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio, merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899.

The William Bosson Scrapbook includes approximately 140 manuscript and printed items largely dating from 1789 to 1899, including biographical sketches, reminiscences, reflections, correspondences, courtship and family letters, documents, an autobiography, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, engravings, railroad passes, and convention tickets. Of particular note are 10 documents signed by W. G. Brownlow and D. W. Senter; five letters sent by William Bosson to W. G. Brownlow; five biographical sketches and reminiscences related to the reception of the Declaration of Independence in New York, Thomas Hickey's betrayal of General Howe, General Joseph Warren, General Knox, and General George Henry Thomas; nine letters George H. Thomas sent to William Bosson between 1864 and 1868; four letters between Edward Everett and William and Charles Bosson; three letters of introduction for Charles Bosson exchanged between W. Heath and Elbridge Gerry, Elbridge Gerry and Henry Clay, and Josiah Quincy and John Rowan in 1813; one letter from Amos Kendall to Charles Bosson; one letter from Samuel Gilman to Charles Bosson; and one manuscript addressed to the Tennessee Teacher's State Association by W. G. Brownlow.

The scrapbook contains content pertinent to many subjects, including the Revolutionary War; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee; Tennessee reconstruction; and Tennessee mining, cotton manufacture, railroads, government, and education (particularly the development of Common Schools) following the Civil War.

The Genealogical Papers series includes Colonial Dames applications, a Middlesex County genealogy, two transcriptions of William Bosson's autobiography for his sons, two transcribed copies of Thomas Mayo Bosson's "Genealogy of the Bosson Family," transcribed copies and photocopies of genealogical records, and genealogical notes and materials related to the Ushers, Hills, Denisons, Terrells, Powers, Newnans, and Bossons. The genealogical papers also contain two books of compiled information on the Bosson, Usher, and Hill families from items contained in the William Bosson Scrapbook and Genealogical Papers: a book Henry Loring Newnan refers to as the "Bosson-Usher-Hill book" in his letters, and two copies of "William Bosson 1630-1887 Seven Generations."

The genealogical papers include notable content on the Civil War, the First World War (in Richard Bosson's account of service in the Rainbow Division), and World War II (William Loring Newnan and Henry Loring Newnan Jr.).

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers is a heterogeneous collection, spanning many years and pertaining to many individuals and events. Please see the box and folder listing below for details about individual items in the collection.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

A miscellaneous collection of letters and documents by or relating to Winfield Scott, 1818-1862.

The Winfield Scott collection is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents written by or related to Scott, spanning 1818-1862. The items cover much of Scott's long military career, including his involvement in the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, the Anglo-American dispute over the Canadian border, the Mexican-American War, and to a lesser extent, the Civil War. Also present are letters documenting Scott's ideas concerning politics, temperance, army discipline, and his presidential ambitions.

The earliest material in the collection primarily pertains to the War of 1812 and includes a warrant issued by Scott to pay the Seneca Turnpike for toll charges incurred by troops (October 25, 1813) and a note with a brief discussion of supply abuses in the Army (May 27, 1814). In the note Scott wrote, "The expenditures of the war have already been four times greater than they should have been." Somewhat later items include a prolonged discussion of army rank (January 19, 1826), and Scott's observations on the conduct of Col. George Croghan: "I heard of his having drawn a prize; of his being drunk in the street--scattering money to the crowd &c &c. On Saturday he was seen dead drunk in a hackney coach driving up Broadway" (October 4, 1830). Also present is a recommendation of Brevet Major Mann Page Lomax to Secretary of War Lewis Cass (January 21, 1832).

Several items of interest in the collection relate to military actions against Native Americans. On June 22, 1832, Scott wrote to William J. Worth explaining that he was en route to Chicago, where he was to assume command of the army in the Black Hawk War. The letter also includes a discussion of securing supplies from Watervliet, New York (June 22, 1832). In another item, Scott wrote from the headquarters of the Army of the South at Columbus, Georgia, calling for two regiments to be placed under his command for three months "to act against the Seminole Indians in Florida." He also noted that he would be at Picolata, Florida, by February 10, and would confer with William Schley about the Creeks at the borders of Georgia, whom he considered "unquiet, if not in a state of hostility" (January 31, 1836). A letter of June 17, 1836, also concerns the Second Seminole War, particularly regarding general strategy and the logistics of equipping the Georgia Volunteers with rifles (June 17, 1836).

A handful of letters concerns Scott's presidential ambitions and his thoughts on political matters. In a letter of November 16, 1839, he wrote of his desire to be the Whig nominee for president, debated whether to claim Virginia or New Jersey as his home, and noted that he had support in Ohio and Michigan. In other letters, he discussed several prominent Whigs and their politics, his "agitated" reaction to election results (October 12, 1844), and his tactics for gaining the presidential nomination of his party. On the last subject, he noted his attempts to silently bide his time and "become as perfect a non-entity as my best advisors can wish" (June 28, 1845). Other letters reveal Scott's efforts to gather intelligence concerning "Canadian patriots," (July 8, 1841) and his views that a "humble Tract" that he wrote about the abuses of alcohol "led to the formation of the early temperance societies, under pledges to abstain from the use of all intoxicating drinks" (February 17, 1842). However, Scott did not shun all alcoholic beverages, and several items document his wine orders (November 15, 1844; October 29, 1847).

The collection closes with a few items related to the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Items concerning the former conflict include Scott's orders to Brigadier General John Anthony Quitman (May 6, 1847) and a discussion by Brigadier General David Emanuel Twiggs of the scarcity of water and shelter for troops under him (September 23, 1847). Also of interest is Scott's statement that he had "no expectation of a change of feeling on the part of Mexico in favour of peace until we shall have taken Vera Cruz harbour & have the Capitol in extreme peril of capture" (November 30, 1846). Several items relate to the Civil War, including a memorandum entitled "Views," which Scott wrote in 1860 concerning the threat of southern secession and future divisions within the United States (October 29, 1860). He also noted, "From a knowledge of our southern population, it is my solemn conviction that there is some danger of an early act of rashness, preliminary to secession." In a letter dated May 17, 1862, Scott revealed his deeply optimistic view that the war would end soon: "Thank God this unnatural Rebellion is likely to be crushed & terminated in a few weeks, perhaps days."

The Printed Items series (1 item) includes Memoir of General Scott, From Records Cotemporaneous with the Events. (Washington: C. Alexander, 1852).