This guide, indicating and describing the scope of the Revolutionary War holdings at the Delaware Public Archives, will assist the researcher in finding both original and secondary source material.
A Guide to Revolutionary War Records in the Delaware Public Archives
A Guide to Revolutionary War Records in the Delaware Public Archives
This guide, indicating and describing the scope of the Revolutionary War holdings at the Delaware Public Archives, will assist the researcher in finding both original and secondary source material.
Table of Contents
Records
Page
Delaware Archives
1
Revolutionary War Records
4
Oaths of Allegiance
8
Pension Records
9
Military Pension Receipt Books
10
Revolutionary War Veterans Accounts
11
Proceedings of the Privy Council
11
Legislative Papers
11
Enrolled Bills
12
Council of Safety Minutes
12
Proceedings of the Freemen . . . of the Government
12
12
Votes and Proceedings of the Council of the Delaware State
13
13
Auditor of Accounts Journal
13
Auditor of Accounts Waste Book
13
Auditor’s Letterbooks
13
Newspaper Clippings
14
Photographs
14
Proceedings of the Convention of the Delaware State
14
State Map Collection
14
Delaware Public Archives Motion Picture Collection
16
Broadsides Collection
16
Delaware American Revolution Bicentennial Commission
16
Department of Public Instruction Motion Picture Collection
17
Prints and Engravings
17
Small Manuscripts
19
General Reference
22
General Reference – Biography
23
Pamphlet Collection
24
Reference Reels
25
Bibliography
27
Delaware’s Role in the Revolutionary War
First settled in 1638, controlled in succession by the Swedes, Dutch, and finally the English, Delaware was a thriving colony in the years before the American Revolution. The “Lower Counties,” as Delaware was then known, were technically part of Pennsylvania, though after 1704 the two colonies had separate legislatures. Delaware’s loyalty to Great Britain was tested when Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 and the Townshend Acts in 1768. Delaware avoided the violence that occurred in other colonies, while joining in resistance against the acts. The colony refused to use stamps, held protest meetings, sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress, and boycotted British goods. Committees to ensure compliance with boycott agreements were also formed.(1)
The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, and the Townshend Acts in 1770, except for the tax on tea. As the “imperial crisis” continued, the “Whig” opposition to Parliament’s policies pushed forward in the colonies. This was true in Delaware as well. A Committee of Correspondence was formed in October 1773 to communicate with other colonies. Its members included Thomas McKean, Caesar Rodney, George Read, John McKinly and Thomas Robinson. After the Boston Tea Party and the closing of the port of Boston, the Committee raised subscriptions for the relief of Boston. Committees of Correspondence throughout the colonies strengthened opposition to British policies embodied in measures like the “Intolerable Acts,” passed in the aftermath of the Tea Party.(2)
In 1774, Rodney, McKean, and Read were selected by the Assembly to represent Delaware at the Continental Congress. This Congress asked each colony to establish Committees of Inspection to enforce the boycott of English goods. Delaware’s Committees of Inspection also reported on suspected cases of speculation, discouraged dissent against the American cause, and encouraged the production of native goods such as wool. Each of the counties, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, formed such a committee.
The committees were kept busy throughout the Lower Counties. A number of Delawareans, no matter how much they disliked taxation, remained loyal to Great Britain. These loyalists, or Tories, opposed the Whig cause. New Castle County’s Committee of Inspection, the first organized in Delaware, vigorously pursued such dissent. In May 1775, Kent County’s committee took action when the Pennsylvania Ledger published a letter from county resident Robert Holliday questioning Kent County’s revolutionary fervor. The committee “persuaded” Holliday to sign a statement disavowing his letter. In July 1775, the Sussex County Committee of Inspection suspected Thomas Robinson of expressing Tory sympathies. Robinson refused to appear before the committee, which warned revolutionaries not to deal with him but seems to have taken no other action.(3)
On 15 June 1776 the Assembly separated the Lower Counties from the British government and essentially from Pennsylvania as well. In August and September of 1776 a convention specifically arranged for that purpose drafted a constitution. Approved on 20 September, the document created the Delaware State. The government it formed consisted of a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, with a president and four-man Privy Council, both selected by the legislature, serving as the executive. In this arrangement, similar to that of other new states, the legislative branch was more powerful; as well as choosing the executive, it also nominated justices of the peace.(4)
With the coming of war and changes in government, loyalists in Delaware moved beyond letter-writing and verbal comment. This was especially true in lower Delaware where the area’s isolation and conservatism, the influence of the Anglican Church, and the presence of British ships offshore kept many loyal to the Crown. In June 1776, an attack on Whigs in Kent County was narrowly averted. At the same time in Sussex County, loyalists were reported as gathering in large groups in an attempt to seize control of county government, with at least five British warships sitting in Delaware Bay. Confronted by Whig militia on at least three different occasions, the loyalists eventually dispersed.(5) Throughout the war, bands of armed loyalists organized on several occasions, only to be dispersed by the militia or Continental troops. During and after the war many major loyalist leaders left the state to join British forces or go to England or Canada.
In September 1775 leaders from the three counties formed a Council of Safety to confirm the appointment of militia officers, draft militia regulations, and raise and supply troops, as requested by the Continental Congress. Colonel John Haslet first commanded the Delaware Continental regiment. Many soldiers and officers were drawn from Delaware’s militias. The Delaware “Blues,” as the regiment was sometimes known, some 750 soldiers, took part in the campaign for New York in the summer of 1776. They first saw combat on 27 August, in the Battle of Long Island. Haslet’s men fought bravely at Brooklyn Heights that day, although the American forces were defeated.(6)
In June 1776, Congress ordered that a “flying camp” be established “in the middle colonies” to protect the middle and southern colonies from attack. Ten thousand men were requested, but no more than a few thousand were ever on hand. By October Delaware had supplied roughly 460 out of a requested 600 men, commanded by Colonel Samuel Patterson. Based near Perth Amboy, New Jersey, forces from the camp, including the Delaware contingent, saw some action in the New York campaign. On 1 December 1776, the end of their enlistment, Patterson and his men returned home.(7
In October 1776, as fighting continued around New York, the Delaware regiment was chosen to engage the “Queen’s American Rangers,” a Loyalist force camped at Mamaroneck, New York. Haslet and his men managed to capture thirty-six men and a collection of weapons and blankets. On 25 October 1776, the roughly 280 men still fit for duty in the regiment took part in the battle of White Plains. Haslet’s men defended Chatterton’s Hill, retreating only as the American forces did. After the loss of Forts Washington and Lee in November, the American army withdrew from New York into New Jersey, with British troops in pursuit. Haslet’s men again guarded the rear of the army as the Americans crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania.(8)
Few in the Delaware regiment took part in Washington’s attack on Trenton, or in the battle of Princeton. Many went home during the retreat through New Jersey; on 22 December, along with eight officers, 92 men were present and fit for duty. On 31 December, the end of the enlistment term, only six men, officers included, remained. A separate group of Delawareans led by Thomas Rodney were present at the battle of Princeton on 3 January 1777. Colonel Haslet was killed in the fighting. The “first” Delaware regiment was no more.(9)
More men was not long in coming. In the early months of 1777 two Delaware companies joined Washington’s army. With Haslet’s death, Colonel David Hall was given command. In 1777 the British shifted their attention to Philadelphia. Landing at the Head of Elk in Maryland, British forces marched through Delaware. On 3 September 1777 they were met at Cooch’s Bridge on the Christina Creek, just south of Newark, by about 700 American troops led by Brigadier General William Maxwell. The Americans were forced to retreat. Cooch’s Bridge is said by some to mark the first display of the Stars and Stripes in battle. On 8 September, the British marched through Newark enroute to Philadelphia. The Delaware regiment took part in the battle of the Brandywine on 11 September as well as the battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777. Colonel Hall was wounded at Germantown.(10)
The war had come to Delaware. During September and October, the British occupied Wilmington. The British captured Delaware’s president John McKinly and seized many public records. From the autumn of 1777 through June 1778, the British purchased supplies in New Castle and Port Penn. During that time, the Delaware militia defeated loyalist forces in Kent County. Rioting between Whigs and Tories postponed October 1777 elections in Sussex County. A test act requiring a loyalty oath to the state government was instituted in 1777. As a number of loyalists left Delaware at this time, much of their property was seized. Loyalists remaining in the area staged raids on the Delaware coast, even as the British attacked area shipping.(11)
1778 saw the American army ending its winter encampment at Valley Forge with a new sense of discipline and purpose; the British evacuated Philadelphia, shifting their focus to the south. Captain Allen McLane’s company of dragoons recruited in Delaware, and gained a id for themselves, whether on horseback or as infantry. Serving under “Light Horse Harry” Lee, McLane and his men participated in the bayonet charge at Paulus Hook on 19 August 1779. Charging at four in the morning, the Americans won without firing a shot. The Delaware Blues also continued their service. In June 1778 the regiment participated in the Battle of Monmouth Court House, as well as at Stony Point and Paulus Hook in the summer of 1779. The Blues saw little action the remainder of 1779 and they wintered at Morristown, New Jersey.(12)
A regiment of Delaware militia was called into service alongside the Continental Army in the summer of 1780. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Neill, the regiment served in northern New Jersey and along the Hudson River, serving as a garrison at Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson. Although they did not participate in any battles, members of the Delaware militia unit witnessed the hanging of Major John André on 2 October 1780. André, the British officer engaged in negotiations with Benedict Arnold, had been captured by American militiamen and hung as a spy. Completing their service at Dobbs Ferry on 7 October, Neill’s men were sent home from Philadelphia on 22 October. Their term of service ended 3 November 1780.(13)
In the spring of 1780, the Delaware Continentals were sent to the southern theater. At the Battle of Camden in August 1780, the Blues and troops from Maryland saved the Continental Army from destruction. After Camden, the Delaware regiment was reorganized on two different occasions; first being divided into two companies, then being divided into three companies of light infantry with troops from Maryland. The Third Company, commanded by Captain Robert Kirkwood of the Blues, consisted mainly of Delawareans.
The Americans regrouped and in a series of battles turned the tide against the British. At the battle of Cowpens, 17 January 1781, Kirkwood’s men and their comrades played a crucial role in the American victory. In February, at the battle of Guilford Court House, 15 March 1781, the Delaware troops held their own against the British. In September 1781, after the battle of Eutaw Springs, British general Cornwallis retreated to Yorktown, where Washington and his French allies besieged the British forces. Delaware troops were present here as well. On 19 October Cornwallis surrendered. Delaware’s veterans were ordered home toward the end of 1782. They arrived in Delaware on 17 January 1783.(14)
During the war, the Delaware Assembly struggled to govern the state. The enlistment, provisioning, clothing, and payment of troops proved a constant concern. One source of revenue was the seizure and sale of estates belonging to Loyalists. Matters were not helped by inflation. Despite measures to control currency depreciation, the national extent of the problem did not allow for easy solutions. The Assembly did not recognize Continental or state currency as legal tender after 1781.(15)
An important state responsibility during and after the war was establishing pensions for veterans. Men enlisting for the duration of the war were guaranteed a pension. When a soldier became too old or disabled he would request his pension. As years passed family members and relatives also became eligible for a pension. The compensation of soldiers was a concern due to the collapse of the currency system. Taking into account rank and length of service, auditors estimated how much each soldier should receive, issuing depreciation certificates because the currency had been devalued so severely.(16)
Despite Delaware’s small size, small population, and divided citizenry, the state played an important role in the struggle for independence. Its soldiers participated in many of the important battles of the war, and fought with bravery. At the same time its farmers, businessmen, and sailors provided supplies to keep the American army in existence. Delaware’s contributions to American independence did not end with the war. Delaware played an important role in the formation of the United States of America, being the first to ratify the new federal constitution.
RG 1800.099 Delaware Archives (A series of 13 manuscript boxes, 1 volume of original records and 3 published volumes)
This record series contains various types of Revolutionary War records, including companies’ muster rolls, accounts, lists of pensioners, depreciation records, correspondence, pay rolls, returns, indictments for treason, and petitions. Muster rolls may contain such information as a soldier’s name, rank, age, birthplace, residence, occupation, enlistment date and location, muster-in date and location, mustering officer, term of enlistment, pay dates and amounts, and transfer and promotion data. The rolls may also list deserters and killed, ill, or discharged soldiers. Amounts spent for clothing or provisions for companies or the regiment as a whole are among the items found in accounts. Depreciation certificates were issued to soldiers to be redeemed at a later date, as Continental currency by 1780 was worthless. Correspondence includes missives from Delaware’s Council of Safety, military correspondence, a list of loyalist prisoners taken by Haslet’s regiment at Mamaroneck, New York, reports on the course of the war from officers to various Delaware officials, and communications between Delaware leaders. Lists of pensioners detail the name, rank, amount of pension, and residence of the pensioner. Pay rolls and regiment returns list the name, rank, and time of service of soldiers and officers. Petitions include officers requesting payment, former President McKinly’s request for reimbursement, and persons convicted of treason seeking leniency.
The vast majority of items are published in the first three volumes of the Delaware Archives: Military. Volumes IV and V of the Archives, dealing with the War of 1812, are not listed here. The sixth volume listed here, containing miscellaneous Revolutionary War items, was collated but remains unpublished. Another volume, also not published, “Pension Rolls and Correspondence,” contains information on pension applicants.
Colonel Haslet’s Regiment
Instructions for enlisting men, signed enlistment form, muster rolls, officer lists, regiment returns, receipts, muster rolls, subsistence accounts.
Colonel Samuel Patterson’s Battalion, “flying camp”
Regiment returns, expenditure accounts, supply requisition, receipt for supplies, officer rosters, receipt for pay, account voucher, list of pay rates, salary listing, Assembly resolution appointing commissioners of inspection, officer evaluations, commissioners’ reports, muster rolls, subsistence rolls.
Colonel David Hall’s Regiment
Officer rosters, regiment returns, pay rolls, muster rolls, casualty reports, list of officers and men to be struck from muster rolls, reports to the President of Delaware State, lists of prisoners of war, list of discharges, inspection reports, passes.
Colonel Henry Neill’s Regiment
Officer rosters, muster rolls, regiment returns, pay rolls, provision and forage accounts, enlistment returns, certificates of service, depositions before justices of the peace, assignments of pay, receipts for pay, etc., from various soldiers.
Wagon Brigade under Direction of Colonel Francis Wade
Pay rolls
List of Invalid Prisoners
List of Names of Delaware Pensioners
Militia Lists
Regiment returns, pay rolls, account of discharges
Delaware Militia
Lists of Delinquents from the Various Militia Companies.
Reports of the Auditor of Accounts, Joint Committees of the Assembly . . .
Delaware Militia
Orders on the State Treasurer to Pay Militia Officers
Arrangements . . . of the Sums Charged in the General . . . Militia Accounts
Accounts of the Lieutenants . . . of Militia Against the Delaware State
Miscellaneous Accounts
Depreciation Certificates
Memorials and Petitions in the General Assembly
Papers Pertaining to Naval Affairs
“Notes” made by Elaezer McComb, Auditor of Accounts, while settling claims with the Commission on the part of the United States
List of . . . Delaware pensioners, . . . from the report of Secretary of War . . . 1820
Returns of Provisions Issued
Miscellaneous Items
Military Correspondence
Military Correspondence, continued
Delaware Militia 1777-1780
(Also contains information on the Delaware regiments of the Continental Army) General orders, muster rolls, returns of provisions, pay rolls, lists for depreciation of pay, a history of the Delaware line, commissary accounts, extracts from the Minutes of the Privy Council, recruiting accounts, exchange of prisoners of war, miscellaneous receipts and accounts, women members of the Delaware Regiment, extracts from the State Auditor’s journal, miscellaneous items.
Delaware Pensions
Delaware Militia
Miscellaneous items related to the Delaware Regiment and Delaware militia units.
Treason
Cases and convictions.
Delaware Militia
Depreciation of pay, certificates for Delaware members of Lee’s Legion, certificates for pay and subsistence, affidavits and petitions, information on Captain Peter Jaquett, miscellaneous items.
Revolutionary War letters
Peace
Items dealing with peace negotiations.
Errata in Volumes I and II
Index of names
Records include miscellaneous accounts and receipts, muster rolls, pay rolls, and regiment returns, General Assembly resolutions, proclamations, and drafts, correspondence, Auditor of Accounts reports, documents regarding the treatment of suspected loyalists, and petitions for pardon from those suspected of aiding the British. Photostats include accounts of loyalist activities, military appointments, and a proclamation of a day of thanksgiving. Typescript copies of correspondence transcribed from Peter Force’s American Archives series and the Papers of the Continental Congress may also be found. Many of the documents are noted as being “true” copies.
The rolls include an index to names of pensioners, including death dates when known, and an index to correspondence between pensioners and government officials. Pension rolls from 1790 through 1846 are included (although not for every year inclusive). Pension rolls and correspondence are interspersed. A rough chronological order is followed.
Correspondence includes reports from the Treasury Department to loan agents concerning payment or inquiries about discrepancies, letters from the Navy Department after 1812, instructions on the issuing of money to heirs of pensioners, charts for determining payment, statements certifying the guardians of heirs, instructions on the payment of “half-pay” pensioners, and instructions on determining eligibility.
Only after 1822 do we find correspondence from individuals other than government officials or loan officers. This includes instructions for payment, statements certifying that an individual was the heir of a pensioner, and letters from physicians certifying disability.
Blank forms and circulars are also included.
RG 1800.066 Revolutionary War Records (3 boxes)
These records contain the following subjects: Accounts, Committee of Correspondence, Committee of Inspection and Observation, Committee of Safety (Pennsylvania), Continental Congress, Correspondence, Council of Safety, General Assembly, Loyalists, Military Records, Miscellaneous Records, and Privateer Records. These records are arranged alphabetically by subject heading and thereunder chronologically.
1. General Patterson, punching money and Continental Loan officer salary, n.d.
2. Accounts not paid by Philip Barratt and Isaac Carty, n.d.
3. Supplies, n.d.
4. Supply and requisition of cartridges, n.d.
5. Notes of Thomas Rodney on accounts for troops, 1776
6. Payments to members of Assembly, 1776
7. John Booker, Virginia troops (Buckner Regiment), 1776
8. Payment to Francis Janvier, 1776
9. Delaware Battalion, 1777
10. Payment for delivery of provisions, ca. 1777
11. To George McCall, for making cartridges, 1778
12. To Benjamin Coombe, 1779
13. Receipt to William McClement, 1780
14. Military fines collected in Bucks County, 1780
15. Schooner Delaware, 1782
16. Depreciation Certificates of Delaware Regiment, 1783-1799
17. “Wilmington Robbers,” 1784
18. Pay roll of invalid corps, commanded by James McLane, 1784-1785
19. Settling of depreciation of pay to Delaware Regiment, 1786
20. Captain Robert Kirkwood reimbursement, 1788
21. Return of errors in the printed register of certificates issued by John Pierce, late Paymaster General, 1789
22. Payment to Captain McClement’s company soldiers, 1792-1793
23. State treasurer’s accounts with Edward Pole, 1807
1. Jacob Derrickson, 1771-1810
2. Sussex County, 1775-80
3. Samuel Edwards, 1778-1780
4. Joshua Hill, 1778-1780
5. Christopher Wilson, 1778-1787
6. New Castle County, 1778-1788
7. Carpenter and Walker of Port Penn, 1778
8. Nehemiah Field, 1778
9. Simon Kollock, 1778
10. Boaz Manlove, 1778
11. Thomas Robinson, 1778
12. Luke Shields, 1778
13. Joshua North, 1779-1790
1. New Castle County meeting (transcripts from American Archives), 1774
2. List of contributions for relief of Boston (originals), 1774
3. List of contributions for relief of Boston (photostats), 1774
4. Meeting of convention protesting the closing of the Port of Boston (listed as Meetings at New Castle, Dover, and Lewes, photostats), 1774
5. Lewes meeting, examination of American grievances (transcripts from American Archives), 1774
6. Proceedings and correspondence, Kent County Committee of Correspondence (transcripts from Historical Society of Delaware), 1774-1775
7. Proceedings and correspondence, New Castle County Committee of Correspondence (transcripts, photostats, originals), 1774-1775
1. Hundreds of New Castle County (transcripts from American Archives), 1775
2. Kent County (transcripts and photostats), 1775-1776
3. Kent County, (transcripts, photostats, originals), 1776
4. Disposition of British fleet by Sarah O’Bryan (transcripts), 1777
1. Henry Fisher employment, 1776
1. John Hancock letters, 1776
2. Arms of General Burgoyne’s army, 1778
1. Alexander Wylly (Georgia) to Samuel White, Speaker of the House, Massachusetts (photocopy), 1765
2. Samuel McMasters—James Tilton correspondence (American Archives transcript), 1774-1775
3. Letter from John McKinly for gunpowder (photostat), 1775
4. Correspondence re: Dover Light Infantry (photostat), 1776
5. Thomas Rodney to Caesar Rodney (transcripts, photostats, originals), 1776
6. Colonel John Haslet to General Rodney (transcript), 1776
7. Letter from David Hall, Council of Safety (photocopy), 1776
8. Letter from John McKinly (transcript), 1776
9. Letter from President of the convention, New Castle County (photocopy), 1776
10. Theophilus Park to Rodney (photostat), 1776
11. Samuel Patterson to Caesar Rodney (transcript), 1776
12. Secret Committee, re: supplies, 1776
13. Caesar Rodney letters (photostat), 1776
14. Mark McCall to Thomas Rodney, 1776
15. Thomas Rodney and General Cadwalader conversation, 1776
16. “Roebuck” letter from Alexander Stuart at Lewes, 1776
17. General Anthony Wayne letters to Robinson family, 1776-1780
18. Henry Fisher and William Peery to John Hancock, 1777
19. General Rodney—John Dagworthy correspondence, 1777
20. George Washington to Mordecai Gist, from Wilmington (transcript), 1777
21. General Dagworthy and John Jones to Caesar Rodney (photostat), 1777
22. W. Dansey letter from Germantown camp (photostat), 1777
23. Edward Roche to James Booth, from Valley Forge (photocopy), 1778
24. James Booth to Caesar Rodney, 1778
25. Exportation of wheat to French and Spanish fleets (photostat), 1780
26. Circular letters of Robert Morris, 1781
27. Lafayette to Washington (photostat), 1781
28. James Booth to Caesar Rodney, 1781
29. Letters concerning Allen McLane (photostat), 1781
30. Samuel Patterson to President of Delaware State, 1783
31. Benjamin Gibbs re: army expenses, 1784
32. Loyalists in Delaware (transcript), 1790
33. Inquiry re: George Williams’ veteran status, 1830
1. Minutes and other papers (American Archives transcripts, photostats), 1775-1776
2. Delaware, resolutions of the Council, 1776
3. Kent County, resolutions of the Council (photostats), 1776
4. Sussex County, “A true state of the general disaffection” (photocopies), 1776
1. Assembly members in Kent and Sussex Counties (scholar’s notes), 1776
2. Resolution of separation from Great Britain (American Archives transcript), 1776
1. Eli Baldwin inquest, treason, n.d.
2. Thomas Robinson (American Archives transcript), 1775
3. Oyer and Terminer, Cheney Clow and others, treason, 1775-1782
4. Thomas Lightfoot and Thomas Cockayne, 1777
5. Bond for Thomas Almond and Isaac Tussey, 1778
6. David Finney papers, re: Loyalists, 1777-1778
7. David Finney papers, re: Loyalists, 1779
8. Treason cases, 1778-1779
9. Black Camp insurrection depositions, 1780
10. Luke Shields, treason, 1783
1. Rules and articles, Delaware Troops, n.d.
2. Orders to Thomas Collins, Kent Militia, n.d.
3. Orders, n.d.
4. Regulations for American troops (2 military manuals), 1775-1782
5. Letters to Caesar Rodney (transcripts), 1776
6. Recommendation for William Millan (photostat), 1776
7. Order: Troops to False Cape (American Archive transcript), 1776
8. Order: Troops to Broad Creek, 1776
9. Commissioners’ Report on Haslet’s and Patterson’s battalions, 1776
10. Commanders of the Delaware Regiment 1776-1779
11. Haslet’s Regiment (Delaware Blues), illustrations, 1776-1783
12. Commission, John Carr, ensign, Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, 1777
13. John Reese, arms storage, 1777
14. Archibald Robertson journal extracts (transcripts), 1777
15. John Montressor journal extracts (transcripts), 1777
16. General Howe’s proclamation (transcript), 1777
17. Report of Capt. Jacob Bennett re: ships captured by the British, 1777
18. Kent militia, exhortation, 1777
19. Peter Jaquett’s company records, 1777-1778
20. Soldiers awaiting depreciation certificates, 1779-1780
21. Commission of Francis Wade, Deputy Quartermaster General, 1779
22. McLane’s company annexed to Delaware Regiment ( document photograph), 1779
23. New Castle County barracks on Christiana Creek, 1779
24. Return of Delaware Regiment, 1779
25. Land claim bonus for Levin McGee by John McGee, 1779
26. Edward Deleney enlistment, 1780
27. Delaware Regiment log, North Carolina, 1780
28. Deposition re: David Parker enlistment, 1780
29. Muster roll, Delaware Regiment, Second Battalion, 1780
30. Robert Wilcox petition, surgeon of the Second Delaware Regiment of Militia, 1780
31. Supplies for army, 1780
32. Samuel Shute journal extracts (transcript), 1781
33. Return of forage, 1780
34. Requests for back pay/depreciation certificates, 1783
35. Certificates of military service, 1784
36. Depositions, re: military service, 1785
37. Certificate of military service, 1787
38. Back pay for Isaac McKee, 1787
39. Pay roll for Col. Samuel Patterson’s officers, 1789
40. Vindication of Col. David Hall (photostat), 1790
41. “A catalogue of the muster rolls, pay rolls, and miscellaneous papers pertaining to the Delaware troops in the Revolutionary War: Collected in the Office of the Secretary of State,” 1908
1. Stamp Act Congress (photocopies), 1765
2. Parliament bill relating to Delaware (transcript), 1775
3. Richard Derring petition re: debts (photocopy), 1787
1. George Read to President of Congress, (transcripts, photocopies), 1778
2. Letters of Marque and Reprisal, 1778-1780
3. Commission of Hugh Lyle, 1781
4. Commission of Thomas Bell, 1782
5. Commission issued by the Vice Admiralty Court, Bermuda, against American shipping, to Robert Burton, 1782
6. Commission issued by the Vice Admiralty Court, Bermuda, against French shipping, to Robert Burton, 1782
Citizens were required to take an oath of allegiance or declaration of fidelity to the new nation or the Delaware State and abandon all loyalty to the King of Great Britain. Those who refused were ineligible to hold office, vote or serve on juries. Oaths of Allegiance show the oath taken, name of person sworn before, date of oath, and signature of person taking the oath.
1. Oaths of New Jersey residents, administered by Caesar Rodney, 1777
2. Oaths of allegiance, 1777-1779
3. Oaths of allegiance, ca. 1778
4. Oaths of allegiance, 1778
5. Oaths of allegiance, 1778
6. Ezekiel Hales, 1778
7. Legislation, 1778
8. Oaths of allegiance, 1779
9. Oaths of allegiance, 1780
10. Oaths of allegiance, 1784
RG 1800.110 Revolutionary War Pensions, 1778-1856 (1 Box)
These records include lists of pensioners, correspondence about receiving a pension or payment of a pension, petitions to receive a pension, descriptions of military service, and affidavits supporting pension claims. They often show the unit the veteran served in, when they served and may list battles in which a veteran fought. Some of the affidavits show the veteran’s age, physical condition, occupation, family member names and ages, inventory of property, and other personal information.
1. Edward Kearney, letter to the governor of Delaware, n.d.
2. List of Continental officers who died in service/invalid pension applicants, 1777-1793
3. Invalid pension claims (list of sources), 1778-1856
4. Relief for Hugh Coffill, 1784
5. Payment to Nicholas Way, 1787
6. James Murphy, 1788
7. Delaware pension records, 1789-1834
8. Payments to pensioners, 1790
9. List of invalid pensioners (photostat), 1790-1791
10. Adjusted and allowed claims, 1792-1796
11. Thomas Mason service record, 1818
12. Verification of pensions for Jacob Caulk, Edward Whaley, Joseph Williams, Benjamin Lane, Charles Hamilton and John Alexander, 1818
13. James Fitzgerald, 1819
14. Thomas Flinn,1819
15. John Gibbin, 1819
16. Major Hitchens, 1819
17. Zadock Morris, 1819
18. William Smith, 1819
19. John Turner, 1819
20. William Ake, 1820
21. Jacob Allen, 1820
22. Henry Boyd, 1820
23. Jacob Creemer, 1820
24. James Davis, 1820
25. Issac Dewees, 1820
26. James Donahue, 1820
27. John Eastwick, 1820
28. James Fitzgerald, 1820
29. Francis Freeman, 1820 (African American Revolutionary veteran)
30. John L. Handy, 1820
31. John Hanna, 1820
32. Edward Harmon, 1820
33. David Kirkpatrick, 1820
34. Benjamin Lane, 1820
35. Mitchell Lecatt, 1820
36. Nehemiah Lingrell, 1820
37. John McKinley, 1820
38. John Marks, 1820
39. Issac Milleway, 1820
40. Archibald Morton, 1820
41. Richard Mowlan, 1820
42. Levi Powell, 1820
43. Peter Pusley, 1820
44. Zachariah Rosell, 1820-1824
45. Jesse Royal, 1820
46. William Saunders, inventory and genealogy, 1820
47. John Schofield, 1820
48. John Shelton, 1820
49. Thomas Stayton, 1820
50. John Stevens(on), 1820
51. Abraham Wiles and Major Hitchens, letter from H. Ridgely, 1820
52. Thomas Holston, 1821
53. Isaac McKee, 1823
54. Louder Calloway, 1828
55. Louder Calloway and John Stevens(on), 1829
56. William Arnell, 1831
57. John Cade, 1831
58. Thomas Dazey, 1831
59. Aaron Marshall testimony, 1831
60. Jesse Welden, 1831
61. William O’Neal, 1832
62. Cornelius Paynter(?) and Daniel Jester, 1832
63. Purnal Truit, 1833
64. Delaware pension roll, 1834
65. Alexander Moore, 1834
66. Henry Wells, 1834, 1828-1837
67. Henry Johnson, 1836
68. Reuben Shields, 1836
69. Catharine Meritt, re: William Dowdle, 1837
70. Captain John Corse, 1846
71. Pension application index, ca. 1900
RG 1800.111 Military Pension Receipt Books, 1817-1829 (1 Box)
Pension receipts are a record of military pensions paid to veterans. These records may include date and amount of disbursement, name of recipient and pension period, and signature of recipient. Receipts were not always dated or signed. Although primarily Revolutionary War pensions, this series includes a few War of 1812 pensions.
1. Pension Receipts 1817-1818
2. Pension Receipts 1818-1819
3. Pension Receipts 1819-1820
4. Pension Receipts 1820-1821
5. Pension Receipts 1821-1822 (2 folders)
6. Pension Receipts 1822-1823
7. Pension Receipts 1823-1824
8. Pension Receipts 1824-1826
9. Pension Receipts 1826-1827
10. Pension Receipts 1827-1829
RG 1315.006 Revolutionary War Veterans Accounts with the United States Government, 1776-1787
Entries for each account include disbursements for prisoners of war, the commissary’s department, transportation, the hospital department, quartermaster’s department, contingent expenses, forage department, and for arms, ammunition, and ordnance stores. Other accounts include the depreciation of pay to the Delaware Regiment. Also includes additional records of payments for recruiting bounties for the “Flying Camp,” and records of bounties paid for raising Continental reinforcements at the request of Congress. Additional information appears on supplies delivered, clothing purchased, quartermaster’s certificates taken up in taxes, and accounts of monies received from the Delaware State. Also available on Reference Reel R-77.
OTHER SERIES CONTAINING REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS
RG 1105.001 Proceedings of the Privy Council, 1778-1792
The Delaware State’s Privy Council, created by the 1776 Constitution, worked with the President. The General Assembly selected the four members, two by the House, and two by the Council. Photostats include acts of Congress pertaining to days of fasting, and business of the Council including the exporting of flour to other states and to Bermuda, complaints against Deputy Quartermaster General Francis Wade, the appointment of a deputy quartermaster, the state schooner Delaware, and efforts to regain state papers captured by the British.
RG 1111.000 Legislative Papers, 1776-1783
These files, also on microfilm, contain records created or acted upon by the General Assembly of Delaware. They include letters asking for funds to defend the state, letters from Caesar Rodney asking individuals to break away from the British Crown, and correspondence between Rodney and the Assembly. Petitions, accounts and resolutions may be found, as well as communications and correspondence from the President and the Vice President of the Assembly and state officials.
RG 1111.002 Enrolled Bills, 1776-1784
These documents, available on microfilm, consist of legislation passed by the General Assembly. Subjects of legislation include money bills, acts pertaining to the militia, punishment of treason, raising troops, punishment for desertion, the export of provisions overseas, pardon for those swearing allegiance to the state, the quartering of soldiers, ratification and amending of the Articles of Confederation, recovery of public debts, prevention of fraud within the quartermaster and commissary departments, suspending the use of Continental bills of credit as legal tender, protection of trade on the Delaware river and bay, and determining depreciation of pay.
RG 1111.006 Council of Safety Minutes 1775-1776
The Council of Safety supervised county Committees of Inspection and Observation and militias, and was responsible for raising the “first” Delaware regiment commanded by John Haslet. These files contain the minutes of the Council of Safety from the years 1775-1776. They follow the proceedings of the Council prior to the colonies’ separation from the British Empire. The records show dates of meetings, names of members in attendance, and matters under consideration such as appointments to committees, committee reports, petitions of local inhabitants, appointments of military officers, drafting of rules and regulations for the military, and complaints against certain officers.
RG 1111.021 Proceedings of the Freemen . . . of the Government 1774
This convention of fifteen delegates met to protest the closing of Boston’s port by the British. A photostat of the proceedings details a call for delegates to an expected colonial congress, and the forming of the New Castle County Committee of Correspondence. It is interesting to note that while the Kent and Sussex County delegations affirm their loyalty to the Crown, the New Castle County delegation does not.
RG 1115.0 Votes and Proceedings of the House of Assembly 1776-1783
These records are meeting minutes of the Assembly, the lower house of the General Assembly, from the years 1776-1783. The Assembly consisted of twenty-one members, seven from each county, elected annually. Records include original manuscripts and printed documents, photostats, and typed transcripts. Matters of business include Delaware’s separation from the British Crown and a call for a constitutional convention, an order for the arrest of Thomas Robinson, the making of a new state seal, provisions for the defense of the state, calls for days of fasting or thanksgiving, raising and payment of troops, punishments for treason, appointment of delegates to the Continental Congress, legislation against impressment, the Declaration of Independence, a report on the “disaffection” of Sussex County residents, money for the clothing of troops, currency issues, rations for the families of soldiers, the state schooner Delaware, the procurement of arms, France’s place in peace negotiations, adjustment of depreciation scales, relief for the widows and children of Delaware troops, and a tombstone for Colonel John Haslet’s gravesite. These records have been published in two volumes edited by Claudia Bushman, Harold B. Hancock, and Elizabeth Moyne Homsey (see bibliography section).
RG 1120.9 Votes and Proceedings of the Council of the Delaware State 1776-1783
The Legislative Council, consisting of nine members, three from each county, served as the upper house of the General Assembly. Members were elected during alternate years for three year terms. Meeting minutes include original manuscripts and printed documents, photostats, and typed transcripts. The microfilm version of the Senate Journals, RG 1120.0, contains the Minutes of the Council of the Delaware State from 1776 to 1792, published in 1886.
Material relating to the Revolutionary War includes communication with the Assembly, a letter from Kent County ca. 1776, regarding rumored changes in the Constitution, a list of members of the Council, Correction and Addenda to the published Minutes, resolutions for opening subscriptions for Continental Loan Office certificates, and acts regarding payment, clothing and supplies for Delaware’s troops.
RG 1300.000 Executive Papers 1776-1783
These records include muster rolls of Delaware troops throughout the American Revolution, letters from the Continental Congress to Delaware, and letters to and from Caesar Rodney, John McKinly, and Thomas McKean. There are appointments and commissions of officers and soldiers of the army, marching orders, and supply requests. Also included are various types of correspondence, records of British fleet and troop movements in Delaware and the Delaware Bay, and pay rolls for officers and men in the Continental Army. These records may be found on microfilm.
RG 1315.007 Auditor of Accounts Journal, 1784-1800
Record of receipts and disbursements made by the State. Entries show date of entry, account heading, payee or payer, reason for disbursement, or receipts, amount of receipt or disbursement, and daily balances. Also available on Reference Reel R-77.
RG 1315.008 Auditor of Accounts Waste Book, 1784-1796
More commonly known as a day book, the waste book contains initial recordings of daily receipts and disbursements. Entries show ledger number, account title, reason for disbursement (military, order of General Assembly, salaries, and services rendered to the state) or receipt (tax, fee, or fine collected), date of entry, totals, and reference to entry in a ledger.
RG 1315.009 Auditor’s Letterbooks, Eleazer McComb, 1784-1792
Contains copies of letters written on public business. The letterbook shows date, name of addressee, matters under consideration, and signature of Eleazer McComb. In the booklet dated from 1784 to 1792, the correspondence originates in Dover and concerns, among other things, the settling of the accounts of the General Assembly for the Revolutionary War. In the booklet for 1786, correspondence originates in Wilmington and concerns settling military accounts from the Revolutionary War.
RG 1325.008 Newspaper Clippings
Several newspaper articles dealing with Delaware’s role in the American Revolution may be found in the “American Revolution” and “Bicentennial” folders. Many of these articles were part of a series featured in the Wilmington Morning News, “Looking Back 200 Years,” which ran in 1975 and 1976. An “Allen McLane” folder, with articles on efforts taken in the 1960s to restore his burial place, is among the four “American Revolution” folders.
RG 1325.036 Photographs, General Collection—Historical Scenes
1. Delaware Troops Leaving the Green. 1915 painting by Stanley Arthurs. Color and black & white prints. (Original painting in Delaware Public Archives.)
2. Washington passing through Wilmington on the way to the Battle of Brandywine. Relief panel by James E. Kelly, ca. 1919. Black & white print.
3. Caesar Rodney’s Arrival at Independence Hall, 1776. Painting by Horace Carpenter, 1917-1919. Color print.
RG 1325.036 Photographs, General Collection—Portraits
Includes portraits of notable Delawareans from the Revolutionary period.
RG 1325.147 State Reports Collection, Proceedings of the Convention of the Delaware State, 1776 (reprinted 1927)
Contains rules of order for the convention, which met to draw up a constitution for Delaware, as well as resolutions concerning the “Flying Camp,” delivery and payment for arms, and commissions. Also contains a draft of “A Declaration of Rights and Fundamental Rules,” and the Delaware State Constitution.
RG 1325.203 State Map Collection
The following is a list of maps located in the map collection, and maps found in the vertical file collection. Descriptive information for maps may be found in the “Maps” card catalog.
I. Delaware Bay and Coastline
1. Joshua Fisher. “A Chart of the Delaware Bay and River.” (Philadelphia, London, 1776).
2. Lt. Hunter of His Majesty’s Navy. “A Plan of the Delaware River from Chester to Philadelphia.” 1777.
3. “Carte de la Baye et Riviere de Delaware . . . ” 1778.
4. Lt. Knight of His Majesty’s Navy. “Soundings . . . ” 1779.
1. de Valinger, Leon Jr. “Map of Dover, Delaware in Revolutionary Times.” 1775, 1936.
XVII. American Revolution Maps
1. [Part of the modern counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Lancaster in Pennsylvania, New Castle in Delaware, and Cecil in Maryland.], ca. 1775. Photostat.
2. [Campaigns of 1776 and 1777]. (London, ca. 1777). Photostat.
3. [Part of the modern counties of New Castle in Delaware and Cecil in Maryland], n.d. Photostat.
4. [Cooch’s Bridge and Brandywine, from “Plan General des Operation de l’Armee Britanique . . . ” (Multiple sections of a map of the mid-Atlantic states)]. ca. 1777
5. “Ground Chosen and Entrenched by Washington to Fight Howes’ Army.” (Price & Price, 1777). Photostats.
6. “A Map of the Country from Raritan River in East Jersey to Elk Head in Maryland . . . in 1776 and 1777.” (Philadelphia: C.F. Wayne, 1806). Original.
7. Friedrich Adolph Julius van Wangenheim. “Plan du Camp . . . a Wilmingtown.” 1777. Photostat.
8. “Battle of Brandewyne on the 11th September, 1777.” 1777. Phototstat.
9. Thomas Kitchin, Sr. “Seat of the War in the Environs of Philadelphia . . . ” (London, 1777). Photostat.
10. “A Compleat Plan of Part of the Province of Pennsylvania East and West Jersey” 1778. Photostat.
11. [Area of Chester County in Pennsylvania, including Valley Forge and a Continental powder mill], n.d.
12. “General John Sullivan’s Indian Expedition, 1779.” (Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1929).
13. [Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay (Clinton map #259)]. 1781. Photostat.
14. Washington’s Official Map of Yorktown (Washington: National Archives, 1952). Facsimile reproduction.
15. [French East Coast Map]. 1782. Original, photostat.
16. John Hills. “A Plan of Part of the Province of Pennsylvania . . . ” (Charing Cross: William Faden, 1784). Photostat.
17. “Battle of Brandywine in Which the Americans Were Defeated . . . ” (Charing Cross: William Faden, 1784). Photostat.
18. McGregor, Samuel. “Road from Cooch’s Bridge to Elk Court House . . . ” 1791. Photostat.
19. T. J. Wharton. “Route of the British in 1776 . . . ” 1814. Photostat.
20. “Map of the Original Thirteen Colonies” (S. Augustus Mitchell, 1876). Map with population figures for each state, along with numbers of troops serving in 1776, population of cities in 1776, and important battles of the war. Original.
XVII American Revolution Maps (vertical file)
1. “Encampment of the Army on Landing the 26th Aug. 1777.” 1777 (4). Photostat.
2. “Encampment of the Division under Lt. Gen. Knyphausen 29th August 1777.” 1777 (5). Photostat.
3. “Position of the Division under Lt. Gen. Knyphausen at Cecil Church, Sep. 1777.” 1777 (6). Photostat.
4. “Camp Near Carson’s Tavern; The 2nd of Sept. 1777.” 1777 (6). Photostat.
5. “Position of the Army Near Aiken’s Tavern.” 1777 (8). Photostat.
6. “Position of the Army at New Garden.” 1777 (9). Photostat.
7. “Position of the Army at Brandewyne.” 1777 (10). Photostat.
8. [A Map Showing the Wilmington and Philadelphia Area]. 1777 (11). Photostat.
9. “29 Camp a Wilmington.” 1781 (1). Photostat.
10. “30 Camp a head of Elk . . . ” 1781 (2). Photostat.
1. John Dickinson: A Great Worthy of the Revolution. VHS, 19 minutes. (Delaware State Museums, 1995).
2. The Story of Caesar Rodney. 16mm motion picture, VHS. (1970).
1. “An Ordinance Ascertaining What Captures on Water Shall Be Lawful.” 1781.
RG 1922.000 Delaware American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (DARBC)—Administrative Records, 1969-1977
Records from the DARBC include administrative files pertaining to the celebration of the bicentennial of the American Revolution, as well as photographs, newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, and speeches by the Governor related to the celebration.
RG 1922.001 DARBC—Photograph Collection, 1975-1979
Contains photographs taken to document Bicentennial celebration events and photos used in Commission publications. Subjects include the Dover Light Infantry, time capsule placed in Willingtown Square, Rodney’s Ride, Delaware Trust commissioned paintings, Separation Day celebration, the Old State House, and various local celebrations.
1. Caesar Rodney’s Ride: John Dickinson, Dover, Smyrna, Odessa and New Castle, (reel 1) helical scan videotape, ca. 1976.
2. Caesar Rodney’s Ride: Wilmington, Chester, Marcus Hook and Penn’s Landing, (reel 2) helical scan videotape, ca. 1976.
3. Many Voices, ca. 1976
4. Bicentennial USA (2 reels), ca. 1976
5. Thunder and Rain, 1981
6. The Third Lantern for the Third Century, ca. 1976
7. These States: New England, n.d.
8. These States: Mid-Atlantic, n.d.
9. These States: The South, n.d.
1. Revolutionary War: Delaware Was First (Box 1 & 2). 16mm motion picture. (ca. 1965).
2. Before the Revolution: Yankee Doodle Comes to Delaware. 16mm motion picture. (ca. 1965).
1. Delaware Troops Leaving the Green, print of 1915 painting by Stanley Arthurs.
2. “Declaration of Independence,” facsimile.
3. “Declaration of Independence,” mounted reproduction on wood.
4. Delaware Society of the Cincinnati charter (photostat), 1783.
5. Society of the Cincinnati membership certificate for James Tilton, 1787.
6. “Franklin.” London, 1850.
7. “Battle of Cowpens, Conflict between Cols. Washington and Tarleton.” Colored engraving. 1858.
8. Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition grand prize certificate, 1926.
9. “Flags of American Liberty,” 1932.
10. “To the Delaware Pilots,” copy. 1937.
11. Delaware Tercentenary Commission map of Delaware, with illustrations, 1938.
12. Virginia Gazette facsimile copy, 1976.
13. Declaration of Commission, Light Infantry Company of Dover, 1976.
14. Revolutionary War Bond, 1976.
15. “Burning of King George’s Portrait,” event poster, 1976.
16. “Caesar Rodney Ride,” event poster 1976.
17. “Dedication of State House/Independence Festival ’76,” event poster, 1976.
RG 9200D09.000 John Dickinson Papers, 1765-1783 (10 boxes, 1 oversized box)
Boxes 1-3 of the Dickinson Papers contain John Dickinson’s correspondence relating to the American Revolution. These records are photostats and photocopies of documents from the Historical Society of Delaware, the Historical Society of Philadelphia, the New York Public Library, and elsewhere. Dickinson was a member of Congress, a militia colonel, and President of Delaware and of Pennsylvania during the Revolution.
Box 1 contains correspondence through 1774. Only a few documents relating to the Revolution are found here: a letter from December 1765 regarding the Stamp Act crisis, and letters from December 1767, and January and April 1768 regarding Dickinson’s “Farmer’s Letters.” Letters from Arthur Lee in February 1770 and January 1771 discuss the political situation in England. The trial of suspects in the burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee is the topic of correspondence from January and April 1773, and an October 1773 letter from Charles Thompson deals with the separation of powers in government. A number of letters dating from 1774 deal with events in America and England.
Box 2 contains correspondence from 1775-1782. Topics of discussion include the forming of the second Continental Congress, events in America and England, a letter from woman sculptor Patience Wright, preparations for war, and Dickinson’s commission as colonel for a Philadelphia militia unit, all in 1775. Topics of correspondence from 1776 includes the appointment of generals, the purchase of arms, Dickinson’s reservations regarding the Declaration of Independence, and Dickinson’s service with his troops in New Jersey. Correspondents include General Charles Lee, John Hancock, Benjamin Rush, and General George Washington. In a 1777 letter to George Read, Dickinson wrote that he was unable to serve as a delegate for Delaware in the Congress. Another letter from that year deals with political factions in Pennsylvania. In 1778, Benjamin Rush wrote Dickinson regarding the political situation in Pennsylvania, much correspondence between Dickinson and colleagues in other states exists from that year as well.
Dickinson’s correspondence from 1779 includes letters from colleagues, commentary on current events, and letters from Caesar Rodney regarding war-related matters. Other topics of correspondence include the depreciation of paper money, Delaware legislation under consideration, and Continental Congress “public abuses” committee business. A letter from Allen McLane concerning the attachment of his company to the Delaware Regiment, and correspondence from Arthur Lee at the height of the Lee/Deane controversy in 1779 may also be found.
More Lee correspondence from 1780 is on file, as is correspondence with Caesar and Thomas Rodney. Letters from George Read, informing of Dickinson’s selection to the Delaware General Assembly, and Charles Thomson regarding national finances, also date from 1780. 1781 correspondence includes the proceedings of the Hartford Convention, a letter regarding Delaware’s failure to send delegates to Congress, inquiries regarding Delaware’s troop quota, troop returns, letters from George Washington regarding a military hospital in Wilmington, and a petition congratulating Dickinson on his appointment as President of Delaware.
In 1782, Robert Morris issued circular letters on matters such as finances and the Bank of North America, Eleazer McComb wrote regarding the payment of troops, and much correspondence relating to the militia can be found. Letters regarding a shipment of supplies for British and Hessian prisoners date from that year, as does a circular from George Washington regarding raising troops, and a resolution of Congress regarding privateers. Preparations for peace were a topic of discussion, as were soldiers’ pay and reimbursement for the medical services of Dr. James Tilton. Washington communicated with Dickinson concerning retribution for the murder of a Captain Huddy by Loyalists. Loyalists were active along the Delaware, and the need for a schooner for protection against Loyalist forays is raised in Dickinson’s correspondence.
Correspondence from 1783 can be found in Box 3 of the Dickinson papers. Petitions for pay are found here, as are letters concerning Pennsylvania troops and the ongoing peace process. Joseph Reed wrote Dickinson, concerned over an “error” in Dickinson’s Vindication. Other topics of correspondence included the return home of Pennsylvania troops, business of the Pennsylvania government, and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war.
Box 9 of the Dickinson papers contains Dickinson’s draft of the Articles of Confederation, 1776 (photostats).
Among Captain Robert Kirkwood’s papers are photostats of his journal from 1777-1784. Folder 1 contains general orders, division and brigade orders, proceedings of court martials and courts of inquiry, company returns, muster rolls, musical notations, and a journal of marches from March through December 1777. Folder 2 contains pay rolls and muster rolls from 1777-1780, and January 1781, another musical notation, a furlough from 1779, and regiment returns from August and November 1781. Folder 3 contains a journal of marches from Morristown, New Jersey through the Kirkwood company’s southern campaign, 1780-1782. A casualty return from the battle at Eutaw Springs, September 1781 may be found, as well as a transcript of correspondence between General Henry Clinton and General Benjamin Lincoln before Lincoln’s surrender of Charleston in 1780. Folder 4 contains depreciation pay certificates from 1782-1784, and a list of Indian nations involved in the Revolution. An index to the Kirkwood journal and order book may be found in RG 9270.000, Reference Reel R-57.
Contains two folders pertaining to McLane’s Revolutionary War activities. Folder 1 contains company reports, and journal entries from 1775, 1779, and after the Revolution. The folder also include chronologies of the Revolution written after the war. The second folder includes letters from correspondents such as General “Light-Horse Harry” Lee and George Washington, returns of Lee’s “partisan” corps, to which McLane was attached for a time, troop returns, and pay rolls from this period.
In the “Read, George” folder are photostats of letters relating to the Stamp Act crisis, and letters written during Read’s service in the Continental Congress referring to Lexington and Concord, and other news of the war.
Rodney’s papers include his will, administrative and legal papers, and letters. The letter folders, containing both photostats and originals, are a mixture of personal and official correspondence. One folder of photostats includes instructions to generals, transcripts of letters to state officials, correspondence with his brother Thomas on subjects of the day, letters to the General Assembly regarding acts of Congress, and a letter of 4 July 1776 regarding Rodney’s vote on the Declaration of Independence. Original letters discuss state and national affairs of the 1780s, and loyalists in Delaware in 1776. Another folder of photostats contains correspondence of government and military officials to Rodney in his role as militia general and as President of Delaware State, a letter regarding the recovery of some public records taken during the British occupation of Wilmington, letters of Rodney to the president of Congress, and correspondence of Caesar and Thomas Rodney. Many of these letters relating to the Revolution may also be found in George Herbert Ryden’s The Letters of Caesar Rodney, 1756-1784 (see bibliography section).
Dr. James Tilton was a physician and patriot who served with Haslet’s regiment and then as a surgeon to the Continental Army. He was instrumental in improving care for the sick and wounded by redesigning the military hospitals used by the Americans. Box 2 contains a draft copy of the volumes comprising Francis T. Tilton’s “Dr. James Tilton of Delaware, 1745-1822: A Patriotic Doctor in Our Two Wars with Britain,” which apparently was never published. The first volume of this work, in four bound typescript folios, covers the Revolutionary period and Tilton’s role in the war, with reference to many original documents. A few letters from Tilton written during the Revolution are interspersed with other documents in Box 3 (all are photostats). Acts of Congress concerning hospitals are also included (typescript copies).
Box 6 contains photostats of Tilton correspondence from throughout the Revolutionary period. These include letters concerning Committees of Correspondence, news of the war, the establishment of a hospital in Virginia, the conduct of army physicians, an account of the Delaware Regiment’s attack on loyalists at Mamaroneck, New York, the use of smallpox vaccine, Tilton’s appointment as a hospital physician and surgeon, reports on sick and wounded, and Tilton’s resignation from the Delaware Regiment in 1776.
The “Nehemiah Tilton papers” folder contains photostats of two letters from 1782 dealing with current events and Delaware politics. The “Dr. James Tilton letters” folder contains a typescript copy of a letter from Tilton referring to George Washington’s resignation as commander of the Continental Army.
These records are a mixture of primary and secondary materials. They include transcripts and photostats as well as original documents. Bibliographies and indexes to material held elsewhere are also included.
1. #5: Revolutionary uniforms
2. #15: Revolutionary activities and Cooch’s Bridge, by M. Dunn
3. #25: Index of papers found in the New York Historical Society, re: Delaware
4. #48: Delaware constitutional convention, 27 August-21 September 1776
5. #88: Continental Emission—United States account of taxes paid by Delaware
6. #95: Articles of Confederation
7. #96: Nicholas Way, loan to state, 1776
8. #149: Revolutionary War—military records, bounty warrants, HMS Roebuck, Delaware soldiers’ burial sites, Cooch’s Bridge
9. #180: American Revolution
10. #223: Broad Creek meeting of 20 June 1775 to support new union among the colonies
11. #302: Minutes of the Privy Council of Delaware, 1778-1792
12. #321: Independence
13. #321a: The Declaration of Independence, translated into ten languages
14. #347: Notes on Timoleon’s Dionysius
15. #354: Daughters of the American Revolution lineage book
16. #391: The Declaration of Independence, four 1776 versions
17. #405: Aitken’s Register account of Delaware, 1774
18. #418: Society of the Cincinnati
19. #433: Continental Congress
20. #590: Robbery of the French treasury, 1783
21. #596: Colonial political comment
22. #725: The Irish in Delaware
23. #778: Lawyers of the Revolution
24. #792: Separation Day
25. #820: Revolutionary War soldiers
26. #864: Proceedings of the Convention of the Delaware State, August 1776
RG 9270.002 General Reference Collection – Biography
These records contain a variety of primary and secondary material. Primary sources take the form of original documents, transcripts, and photostats. Only a few Delawareans prominent in the American Revolution are listed below. Additional names can be found in the General Reference—Biography database.
1. Clayton, Joshua
2. Clow, Cheney
3. Dickinson, John
4. Haslet(t), John
5. Ja(c)quett, Peter
6. Kirkwood, Robert
7. McComb, Eleazer
8. McKean, Thomas
9. McKinl(e)y, John
10. McLane, Allen
11. Patten, John
12. Patterson, Samuel
13. Read, George
14. Rodney, Caesar
15. Tilton, James
1. “Before and After the Battle of Brandywine: Extracts from the Journal of Sergeant Thomas Sullivan of H.M. Forty-Ninth Regiment of Foot.” Typescript.
2. Bellas, Henry Hobart, ed. Personal Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson . . . (Wilmington: Historical Society of Delaware, 1896).
3. Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution. (Cambridge, Mass.: University Press, 1889).
4. Conrad, Henry. “Maneuvering for a Battleground” (parts I & II). Motor Travel, May 1925, June 1925.
5. Davis, Burton. Script for “Independence! A Pageant of 1776.” 1950.
6. Delaware Memorial at Valley Forge. (N.p., n.d.).
7. Delaware State Society of the Cincinnati. Unveiling and Preservation of the Monument Erected on the “Dover Green.” (Wilmington: Delaware State Society of the Cincinnati, 1912).
8. Dickens, Charles W., ed. “Orderly book of Caleb Prew Bennett at the Battle of Yorktown, 1781.” Offprint from Delaware History IV, no. 2 (1950).
9. Drake, Edward. “Early Sea Fights of the American Revolution.” S.A.R. Bulletin III (April 1928): 15-22.
10. [—–]. “An Account of the First Naval Battle of the Revolutionary War.” (New Bedford Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, n.d.).
11. Hamilton, Edward P. The Champlain Valley in the American Revolution. (Albany: New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and Champlain Valley Committee for the Observance of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution, n.d.).
12. Hancock, Harold B. “Revolutionary War Period Material in the Hall of Records, 1775-1787: Four Little Known Sources.” Offprint from Delaware History XVII, no.1 (1976).
13. Hancock, Harold B. “Liberty and Independence: The Delaware State During the American Revolution.” Delaware Today, September 1975.
14. Jones, Gilbert S. Valley Forge Park: Historical Record and Guide Book. (1943).
15. Lafayette Day Committee. Lafayette in Delaware. (1934).
16. Londahl-Smidt, Donald M. “Notes Concerning the Uniform of the Delaware Battalion.” Military Collector & Historian XIX, no. 1 (1967): 9-11.
17. MacNeill, Henry T., and Aimée Junkers MacNeill. Valley Forge Landmarks. (Whitford, Pa.: Stephen Moylan Press, 1958).
18. Munroe, John A. “Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.” Delaware Conservationist XXI (Winter 1977-78): 11-16.
19. The Picket Post, miscellaneous issues, 1949-1973. Valley Forge Historical Society.
20. Public Archives Commission of Delaware. George Washington and Delaware. (Dover: Public Archives Commission of Delaware, 1932).
21. Report of the Valley Forge Park Commission. (Valley Forge, 1943).
22. “Revolutionary War Bibliography.” (N.p., n.d.).
23. [Revolutionary War sites in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties]. (N.p., n.d).
24. Ross, Howard De Haven. Sir Henry Clinton’s Map of Valley Forge and Vicinity. (Valley Forge Historical Society, 1949).
25. Ross, Howard DeHaven. The Continental Powder Mill on French Creek . . . (Valley Forge Historical Society, 1941).
26. Ryden, George H. Delaware Troops in the Revolution. (Delaware Society of the Sons of the Revolution, 1943).
27. Siebert, Wilbur H. “Loyalist Troops of New England.” Repr. from The New England Quarterly IV, no. 1 (1931): 108-147.
28. Skinner, Mrs. G. S. “Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Ohio,” from Soldiers of the American Revolution Who Lived in the State of Ohio, vols. I & II. (D.A.R. Ohio, 1945).
29. Stevens, Thomas Wood. Yorktown Sesquicentennial Pageants: 1931. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933).
30. Washington’s Army in Delaware in the Summer of 1777 (address by John P. Neilds). (1927).
31. Whiteley, William G. The Revolutionary Soldiers of Delaware. (Wilmington: James and Webb, 1875).
32. The Yorktown Sesquicentennial Celebration, 1781-1931: Its Purpose and Plans. (Yorktown Sesquicentennial Association, Inc., 1931).
1. R-26.1—R-26.4: John Dickinson material in the R. R. Logan Collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Contains a range of material from Dickinson’s life, including correspondence, accounts and receipts, business of the Continental Congress and the Delaware State, drafts of the Articles of Confederation, and other materials relating to the American Revolution. The materials are ordered in a rough chronological fashion. It is best to consult the lists following groups of documents.
2. R-36: John C. Powell, “John Dickinson, Penman of the Revolution” (Ph.D. thesis, University of Iowa, 1938).
3. R-46.1—46.2: Delaware Papers, Colonial and Revolutionary Documents, at the Library of Congress, volumes I & II, III & IV. Dating from the 1770s through the early 1800s, these records contain deeds, state letters, governor’s messages, votes of the Assembly, commissions to officials, communications between the Continental Congress and the state, and more.
4. R-48: Papers from the New York Public Library, 1774-1804. Contains correspondence of John Dickinson, including letters to Caesar Rodney, Thomas Rodney, and others.
5. R-50: James B. Jackson, “A History of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Neill’s Second Delaware Regiment of Militia in the War of the American Revolution,” 1959.
6. R-53: “Letters of Dr. John McKinly,” 1773-1778. Transcripts of correspondence between the first President of Delaware State and his wife. Duplicate of pamphlet found in the McKinly folder in General Reference—Biography, and in the Research Room library.
7. R-57: Index of the Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood, 1777-1791. An index to the journal and order book found among the Kirkwood papers.
8. R-73: Military Commissary Accounts, 1781-1783; Isaac Smith, Personal Accounts, 1781-1853; Pension file of Dennis Kell(e)y, 1832-1840. Commissary and personal accounts are intermingled. The personal accounts date mostly from the 1800s. The commissary accounts detail provisions for prisoners of war apparently taken at Yorktown, listing general comments, regiments, number of rations, and amount of alcohol supplied. The Kelly records include a declaration of service, affidavits, and a declaration of proof for Kelly’s widow Elizabeth.
9. R-75: Thomas Rodney Journal, 1786-1797. Contains references to the Revolution, and poetic and prose descriptions of events at Trenton and Princeton in 1776-1777.
10. R-77: Settlement of Delaware Revolutionary War Claims with the United States, 1776-1787; Account Book of the State Auditor of Delaware, 1784-1800. Claims settlements include disbursements for prisoners of war, Commissary Department, transportation, Hospital Department, Quartermaster’s Department, and depreciation of pay. The Auditor’s “sundry accounts” include the Council of Safety, congressional delegates, George Read, the United States, and various officers. Originals of the Settlement of Revolutionary War Claims may be found in RG 1315.6, and of the Auditor’s Account Book in RG 1315.7.
11. R-89: Daniel Terry Boughner, Jr., “George Read and the Founding of the Delaware State” (Ph.D. dissertation, Catholic University, 1968).
12. R-90: Gail Stuart Rowe, “Power, Politics, and Public Service: The Life of Thomas McKean” (Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1969).
Books relating to the American Revolution may be found in the Research Room. A variety of articles dealing with the American Revolution may be found in publications such as Delaware History as well. While extensive, this list is not complete; please check the card catalog for references to states or particular persons.
Adams, Randolph G. British Headquarters Maps and Sketches Used by Sir Henry Clinton . . . 1775-1782. Ann Arbor: William Clements Library, 1928.
American Philosophical Society. A Rising People: The Founding of the United States, 1765-1789. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1976.
Arthurs, Stanley. The American Historical Scene. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1935.
Ash, Mollie Howard, comp. Cecil County, Maryland Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Elkton: N.p., 1940.
Beach, John W. The Cape Henlopen Lighthouse. Dover: Henlopen Publishing Company, 1970.
Bevans, Wilson Lloyd, and E. Melvin Williams, eds. History of Delaware, Past and Present. New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1929.
Boatner, Mark Mayo. Landmarks of the Revolution. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1975.
Brown, Wallace. The King’s Friends: The Composition and Motives of the American Loyalist Claimants. Providence: Brown University Press, 1965.
Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus. Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, Colonial and Church, from Original Sources, Vol. 1, Baltimore: Williams and Williams Company, 1915; Vol. 2, Lancaster, Pa.: Lancaster Press, 1928.
Brunhouse, Robert L. The Counter-Revolution in Pennsylvania, 1776-1790. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1942.
Buchanan, Roberdeau. Life of the Honorable Thomas McKean L. L. D. Lancaster, Pa.: Inquirer Printing Company, 1890.
Burnham, Smith. “A Distinguished Son of Chester County,” Bulletins of the Chester County Historical Society, 1902-03. N.p., 1903.
Bushman, Claudia L., Herbert B. Hancock, and Elizabeth Moyne Homsey, eds. Proceedings of the Assembly of the Lower Counties on Delaware, 1770-1776, of the Constitutional Convention of 1776, and of the House of Assembly of the Delaware State, 1776-1781. Newark : University of Delaware Press, 1986.
—–. Proceedings of the House of Assembly of the Delaware State, 1781-1792, and of the Constitutional Convention of 1792. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1988.
Butterfield, L. H. Letters of Benjamin Rush. Princeton: Princeton University Press for the American Philosophical Society, 1951.
Callahan, North. Royal Raiders: The Tories of the American Revolution. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1963.
Calhoon, Robert McCluer. The Loyalists in Revolutionary America 1760-1781. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.
Cappon, Lester J. Atlas of American History: The Revolutionary Era, 1760-1790. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976.
Clark, David Sanders. Index to Maps of the American Revolution in Books and Periodicals. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1974.
Clark, Murtie June. Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. Volume 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1981.
Clark, Raymond B., Jr. Maryland Revolutionary Records: How to Find and Interpret Them. St. Michaels, Md.: Raymond B. Clark, 1976.
Coleman, John M. Thomas McKean: Forgotten Leader of the American Revolution. Rockaway, N.J.: American Faculty Press, 1975.
Conrad, Robert T., ed. Sanderson’s Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait and Company, 1846.
Cooch, Eleanor B. Delaware Signers of the Oath of Allegiance. Washington, D.C.: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1942.
Cooch, Edward W. The Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. Cooch’s Bridge, Del.: Edward W. Cooch, 1940.
Coughlan, Margaret N. Creating Independence, 1763-1789: Background Reading for Children. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1972.
Dickens, Charles W., ed. “Orderly book of Caleb Prew Bennett at the Battle of Yorktown, 1781.” Offprint from Delaware History IV, no. 2, 1950.
Dickinson, John, with introduction by R.T. H. Halsey. Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. New York: The Outlook Company, 1903.
Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. A Topical History of Delaware. Dover: Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, 1976.
Duane, William, Jr. Passages from the Remembrancer of Christopher Marshall. Philadelphia: J. Crissy, 1839.
Dyer, Alan F. The Colonial and Early National Periods in American History (1492-1789): A Bibliography of Dissertations. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1975.
Eberlein, Harold Donaldson, and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard. Diary of Independence Hall. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1948.
Elting, John Robert. Military Uniforms in America: The Era of the American Revolution, 1755-1795. San Rafael, Ca.: Presidio Press, 1974.
Ferguson, Bessie Brockson. “Daniel Ferguson: Revolutionary Soldier.” Typescript, 1942.
Fiore, Jordan D. Days of History: 200 Years Ago, Revolutionary Era. Taunton: Historic Reproductions, 1975.
Flower, Milton E. John Dickinson, Conservative Revolutionary. Charlottesville: Published for the Friends of the John Dickinson Plantation by the University Press of Virginia, 1983.
Ford, Paul Leicester, ed. Orderly Book of the “Maryland Loyalists Regiment” . . . 1778. Brooklyn: Historical Printing Club, 1891.
Gilpin, Thomas, ed. Exiles in Virginia: With Observations on the Conduct of the Society of Friends During the Revolutionary War. Philadelphia: For the Subscribers, 1848.
Guthorn, Peter J. British Maps of the American Revolution. Monmouth Beach, N.J.: Philip Freneau Press, 1972.
Hancock, Harold B. “A Calendar of English Microfilms Relating to Delaware and Delawareans.” Typescript, n.d..
—–. The Delaware Loyalists. Wilmington: Historical Society of Delaware, 1940.
—–. Liberty and Independence: The Delaware State during the Revolution. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1976.
—–. The Loyalists of Revolutionary Delaware. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1977.
Hardy, Minerva Spencer. Through the Years with Aunt Clara. Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.: N.p., 1966.
Harley, Lewis R. The Life of Charles Thomson. Philadelphia: G. W. Jacobs and Company, 1900.
Hayden, Horace Edwin. A Brief Sketch of Captain Joseph Davis and Lieutenant William Jones of the Pennsylvania Line. Wilkes-Barre: Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, 1897.
Heitman, Francis Barnard. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution. Washington, D.C.: Rare Book Shop Publishing, 1914.
Jackson, John W. The Pennsylvania Navy: 1775-1781: The Defense of the Delaware. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1974.
Johnson, Amandus. Swedish Contributions to American Freedom, 1776-1783, vol. 1. Philadelphia: Swedish Colonial Foundation, 1953.
Jones, Elias. Revised History of Dorchester County, Maryland. Baltimore: Read-Taylor Press, 1925.
Ketchum, Richard M., ed. The American Heritage Book of the American Revolution. New York: American Heritage Publishing Company, 1958.
Kilbourne, John Dwight. Virtuitis Praemium: The Men Who Founded the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, 2 vols. Rockport, Me.: Picton Press, 1998.
Kremer, Bruce J. John Hanson of Mulberry Grove. New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1938.
Lefferts, Charles Mackubin. Uniforms of the American, British, French and German Armies in the War of the American Revolution, 1775-1783. New York: New York Historical Society, 1926.
Letter from the Secretary of War transmitting . . . the name . . . of every person placed on the pension list . . . 1818, &c. Washington, D. C.: Gales & Seaton, 1820; repr. Baltimore: Southern Book Company, 1955.
“Letters to His Wife from Dr. John McKinly.” Typescript, n.d.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, ed. [Major] Andre’s Journal . . . Cambridge, Mass.: Riverside Press, 1903.
MacNeill, Henry T., and Aimée Junkers MacNeill. Valley Forge Landmarks. Whitford, Pa.: Stephen Moylan Press, 1958.
Main, Jackson Turner. The Sovereign States, 1775-1783. New York: New Viewpoints, 1973.
Marshall, John. Atlas to Marshall’s Life of Washington. Philadelphia: J. Crissy, 1832.
Martin, Lawrence. The George Washington Atlas. Washington, D.C.: United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932.
Matchette, Robert B. Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Record Administration, 1995.
Miers, Earl Schenck. On Pale Rider! The Story of Caesar Rodney and His Immortal Ride. Newark: Curtis Paper Company, 1964.
Moore, George H. John Dickinson . . . on Taking up Arms in 1775. New York: George Moore, 1890.
Morris, Irving. “Major Lewis Bush: A Correction.” Typescript, n.d..
Munroe, John A. “Relations Between the Continental Congress and the Delaware Legislature 1776-1789.” Typescript, 1941.
—–. Delaware Becomes a State. Newark: University of Delaware, 1953.
—–. Federalist Delaware, 1775-1815. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1954.
—–. “Caesar Rodney, George Read, and Thomas McKean: The Delaware Signers of the Declaration of Independence.” Typescript, 1970.
—–. Colonial Delaware: A History. Millwood, New York: KTO Press, 1978.
Murfin, James V. National Park Service Guide to the Historical Places of the American Revolution. Washington, D.C.: Office of Publications, National Park Service, 1975.
Neagles, James C. United States Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994.
Nebenzahl, Kenneth. Atlas of the American Revolution. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974.
Neilds, John P. Washington’s Army in Delaware in the Summer of 1777. N.p., 1927.
Neuenschwander, John A. The Middle Colonies and the Coming of the American Revolution. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1974.
Newman, Harry Wright. Maryland Revolutionary Records. Washington, D.C.: Harry Wright Newman, 1938.
Pabst, Anna C. Smith, comp. “Revolutionary War Records: National and Local From Original Manuscripts.” Typescript, 1966.
Peckham, Howard H. Guide to Manuscript Collections in the William Clements Library. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1942.
Peden, Henry C., Jr. Revolutionary Patriots of Delaware, 1775-1783. Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1996.
Peery, Lynn. Some Letters of and Concerning Major William Peery. Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1935.
Pitz, Henry C. The Brandywine Tradition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969.
Public Archives Commission of Delaware. Delaware Archives, 3 vols. Wilmington: Public Archives Commission of Delaware, 1911.
—–. Governor’s Register, State of Delaware Volume I: Appointments and Other Transactions . . . 1674-1851. Dover: Public Archives Commission of Delaware, 1926.
—–. George Washington and Delaware. Dover: Public Archives Commission of Delaware, 1932.
Pyle, Katharine. Once upon a Time in Delaware. N.p.: Delaware Society of Colonial Dames of America, 1911.
Read, William Thompson. Life and Correspondence of George Read. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co., 1870.
Reed, H. Clay. The Delaware Colony. London: Crowell-Collier Press, 1970.
Rodney, George Brydges. In Buff and Blue: Being Certain Portions From the Diary of Richard Hilton. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1897.
Rowe, Gail Stuart. Thomas McKean: The Shaping of an American Republicanism. Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press, 1978.
Ryden, George Herbert, ed. Letters To and From Caesar Rodney, 1756-1784. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933.
Ryden George H[erbert]. Delaware Troops in the Revolution. Wilmington: Delaware Society of the Sons of the Revolution, 1941.
Sabine, Lorenzo. Biographical Sketches of the Loyalists of the American Revolution, with an Historical Essay. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1864.
Scharf, Thomas J. History of Delaware, 1609-1888, 3 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Company, 1888.
Schlesinger, Arthur M. Prelude to Independence: The Newspaper War on Britain, 1764-1776. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1958.
Selesky, Harold E. A Demographic Survey of the Continental Army that Wintered at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777-1778. New Haven: H. E. Selesky, 1987.
Sellers, John R., et al., comps. Manuscript Sources in the Library of Congress for Research on the American Revolution. Washington, D.C.: American Revolution Bicentennial Office, 1975.
Skinner, Mrs. G.S. Roster and Ancestral Roll. Wilmington: Delaware Daughters of the American Revolution, 1940.
Smith, Charles Page. James Wilson, Founding Father: 1742-1798. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1956.
28. Deposition re: David Parker enlistment, 1780
29. Muster roll, Delaware Regiment, Second Battalion, 1780
30. Robert Wilcox petition, surgeon of the Second Delaware Regiment of Militia, 1780
31. Supplies for army, 1780
32. Samuel Shute journal extracts (transcript), 1781
33. Return of forage, 1780
34. Requests for back pay/depreciation certificates, 1783
35. Certificates of military service, 1784
36. Depositions, re: military service, 1785
37. Certificate of military service, 1787
38. Back pay for Isaac McKee, 1787
39. Pay roll for Col. Samuel Patterson’s officers, 1789
40. Vindication of Col. David Hall (photostat), 1790
41. “A catalogue of the muster rolls, pay rolls, and miscellaneous papers pertaining to the Delaware troops in the Revolutionary War: Collected in the Office of the Secretary of State,” 1908
1. Stamp Act Congress (photocopies), 1765
2. Parliament bill relating to Delaware (transcript), 1775
3. Richard Derring petition re: debts (photocopy), 1787
1. George Read to President of Congress, (transcripts, photocopies), 1778
2. Letters of Marque and Reprisal, 1778-1780
3. Commission of Hugh Lyle, 1781
4. Commission of Thomas Bell, 1782
5. Commission issued by the Vice Admiralty Court, Bermuda, against American shipping, to Robert Burton, 1782
6. Commission issued by the Vice Admiralty Court, Bermuda, against French shipping, to Robert Burton, 1782
Citizens were required to take an oath of allegiance or declaration of fidelity to the new nation or the Delaware State and abandon all loyalty to the King of Great Britain. Those who refused were ineligible to hold office, vote or serve on juries. Oaths of Allegiance show the oath taken, name of person sworn before, date of oath, and signature of person taking the oath.
1. Oaths of New Jersey residents, administered by Caesar Rodney, 1777
2. Oaths of allegiance, 1777-1779
3. Oaths of allegiance, ca. 1778
4. Oaths of allegiance, 1778
5. Oaths of allegiance, 1778
6. Ezekiel Hales, 1778
7. Legislation, 1778
8. Oaths of allegiance, 1779
9. Oaths of allegiance, 1780
10. Oaths of allegiance, 1784
RG 1800.110 Revolutionary War Pensions, 1778-1856 (1 Box)
These records include lists of pensioners, correspondence about receiving a pension or payment of a pension, petitions to receive a pension, descriptions of military service, and affidavits supporting pension claims. They often show the unit the veteran served in, when they served and may list battles in which a veteran fought. Some of the affidavits show the veteran’s age, physical condition, occupation, family member names and ages, inventory of property, and other personal information.
1. Edward Kearney, letter to the governor of Delaware, n.d.
2. List of Continental officers who died in service/invalid pension applicants, 1777-1793
3. Invalid pension claims (list of sources), 1778-1856
4. Relief for Hugh Coffill, 1784
5. Payment to Nicholas Way, 1787
6. James Murphy, 1788
7. Delaware pension records, 1789-1834
8. Payments to pensioners, 1790
9. List of invalid pensioners (photostat), 1790-1791
10. Adjusted and allowed claims, 1792-1796
11. Thomas Mason service record, 1818
12. Verification of pensions for Jacob Caulk, Edward Whaley, Joseph Williams, Benjamin Lane, Charles Hamilton and John Alexander, 1818
13. James Fitzgerald, 1819
14. Thomas Flinn,1819
15. John Gibbin, 1819
16. Major Hitchens, 1819
17. Zadock Morris, 1819
18. William Smith, 1819
19. John Turner, 1819
20. William Ake, 1820
Related Topics: American Revolution, Delaware History, Early Delaware History, Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War Guide, Sons of the American Revolution
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