Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester: Papers

PRO 30/55

1747-1788

These papers comprise records of British Army Headquarters in America from 1775 to 1783. They represent the official notes of General Thomas Gage, Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Sir Guy Carleton as successive commanders in chief.

The Carleton Papers were originally bound in 58 quarto and four folio volumes. In 1934-1935 they were rebound by New York Public Library into the present 107 volumes.

Each volume in the series contains a consecutive run of papers. The volumes are arranged in chronological order.

Public Record(s)

English

107 volume(s)

Topics

Army

Americas

Personal and family papers

These papers were given to the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1804 by John Symmons of Paddington, who had received them from Maurice Morgann. As secretary to Carleton, Morgann was responsible for their original arrangement. They are called the Carleton or occasionally, the Dorchester Papers, as Sir Guy later became first Baron Dorchester. The papers were acquired by Dr A S W Rosenbach in 1929 and were sold by him to Mr John D Rockefeller Jr in 1930. They were stored, re-arranged and rebound in New York Public Library and were presented by Mr Rockefeller to 'Colonial Williamsburg' in 1935. On 20 October 1957, at the White House, Her Majesty The Queen received this important collection of papers from President Eisenhower, as a gift to Her Majesty from 'Colonial Williamsburg'.

Copies of these documents are included in the Stevens Transcripts (with the reference Additional MSS 42,257-42,496, to which there is a slip index) in the