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Inventory of the Loudoun Papers: North America, 1682-1780
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Title: Loudoun Papers: North America,
Date (inclusive): 1682-1780
Creator:
Campbell, John, (4th Earl of Loudoun), 1705-82
Extent: 8000 pieces approx.
Repository: The Huntington Library
San Marino, California 91108
Language:
English.
These manuscripts had never been out of the possession of the family until they were placed on the market in 1923, by Sotheby's
of London. The collection was to have been sold at auction, but was purchased privately, prior to the date of sale, by Mr.
Huntington, through the agency of Lord Duveen.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information
please go to following
URL .
In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission
from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical
property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances,
the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate
curator for further information.
[Identification of item], Loudoun Papers: North America, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1705-82), military commander, entered the British army shortly before before his accession
to the earldom in 1732. He rose rapidly in rank: captain in the Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons, 1734; captain and governor
of the Stirling Castle garrison, 1741; lieutenant colonel and aide-de-camp to the king with the allied army in Germany, 1743.
Lord Loudoun played an active part in the second Jacobite Rebellion, having raised his own regiment of loyal highlanders.
In the summer of 1747, he returned to the continent to serve in Holland under the Duke of Cumberland.
He left home again in 1756, this time as major general and commander in chief of British forces in North America, succeeding
General Braddock. At the same time he was appointed titular governor of Virginia. Recalled in 1758, Loudoun returned to England,
and received, as compensation, his commission as lieutenant general.
Upon the outbreak of war in Portugal in 1762, Loudoun was once more ordered overseas, and served in that country for a year,
first as second in command under Lord Tyrawley, and then as commander in chief. Upon his return to England he was made governor
of Edinburgh Castle, and in 1770 attained the rank of general.
Lord Loudoun's declining years were devoted to his hobby, botanical experimentation, and to the beautification of the grounds
of Loudoun Castle, the family seat, in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Section relating to North America.
The collection known as the Loudoun Papers: North America represents an accumulation of manuscript materials through six generations
of the Campbell family, Earls of Loudoun, beginning with the year 1510, and extending into the nineteenth century. The papers
fall into two main divisions: those relating to North America, and those relating to Scotland.
1
The group relating to North America is divided into two sections: English colonial manuscripts (personal and official papers
of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun) and French colonial manuscripts (personal and official papers of Pierre François de
Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal), q.v.
2
footnotes:
1Since this report is one of a series on manuscripts relating to American history, the Scottish papers are not included here.
They will be treated separately at a later time.
2Cf.
Huntington Library Bulletin, Number 3. pp. 97-107.
Significant persons represented by 10 letters or more:
- Abercrombie, James aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. Abercromby)
- 67
- Abercromby, James (Maj. Gen. and commander in Chief in 1758)
- 96
- Abercromby, James (agent for Virginia, in England)
- 32
- Alexander, William, later styled Lord Stirling
- 12
- Appy, John
- 18
- Atkin, Edmond
- 20
- Barrington, William Wildman, 2d Viscount Barrington
- 83
- Bartman, George
- 19
- Belcher, Jonathan
- 29
- Bouquet, Henry
- 35
- Braddock, Edward
- 12
- Bradstreet, John
- 36
- Brown, John
- 13
- Burton, Ralph
- 22
- Butler, Thomas
- 10
- Calcraft, John
- 80
- Campbell, John, 4th Earl of Loudoun
- 1218
- Christie, Gabriel
- 32
- Cotterell, William
- 15
- Craven, Charles
- 26
- Cuninghame, James
- 17
- D'Arcy, Robert, 4th Earl of Holdernesse
- 15
- De Lancey, James
- 29
- De Lancey, Oliver
- 16
- Denny, William
- 29
- Dinwiddie, Robert
- 55
- Dobbs, Arthur
- 12
- Dunk, George Montagu, 2d Earl of Halifax
- 14
- Eyre, William
- 12
- Fitch, Thomas
- 28
- Forbes, John
- 52
- Fox, Henry, 1ST BARON HOUAND
- 40
- Fraser, Simon
- 10
- Gage, Thomas
- 18
- George II, King of Great Britain
- 36
- Gould (afterward Morgan), Sir Charles
- 12
- Hancock, Thomas
- 22
- Hardy, Sir Charles
- 51
- Holburne, Francis
- 25
- Hopkins, Stephen
- 12
- Hopson, Peregrine Thomas
- 40
- Huck-Saunders, Richard
- 29
- Hutchinson, Thomas
- 18
- Johnson, Sir William
- 82
- Kilby, Christopher
- 16
- Lawrence, Charles
- 41
- Leake, Robert
- 42
- Lyttleton, William Henry, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Frankley
- 25
- McAdam, Gilbert
- 15
- Mackay, Samuel
- 10
- Mercer, James F
- 14
- Meserve, Nathaniel
- 14
- Monckton, Robert
- 24
- Monro, George
- 15
- Montresor, James Gabriel
- 31
- Mortier, Abraham
- 17
- Murray, Alexander
- 13
- Napier, James
- 11
- Ord, Thomas
- 25
- Pepperrell, Sir William
- 14
- Phips, Spencer
- 17
- Pitcher, James
- 12
- Pitt, William, 1st Earl of Chatham
- 18
- Pownall, Thomas
- 93
- Prevost, James
- 60
- Robertson, James
- 39
- Robinson, Thomas, 1st Baron Grantham
- 39
- Rogers, Robert
- 31
- Rous, John
- 10
- Rutherfurd, John
- 22
- St. Clair, Sir John
- 25
- Saul, Thomas
- 10
- Sharpe, Horatio
- 31
- Shirley, William
- 105
- Stanwix, John
- 52
- Washington, George
- 10
- Webb, Daniel
- 53
- Wentworth, Benning
- 27
- Whiting, Nathan
- 15
- Wier, Daniel
- 10
- William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
- 10
- Williams, William
- 21
- Williamson, George
- 28
- Winslow, John
- 44
- Young, John
- 31
Some important or interesting items:
- Albany. Proceedings of the Congress held at Albany June and July, 1754
- Atkin, Edmond. To the Right Honorouble the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations: [A report on] the Regulation and Management of the Indian Trade and Commerce; An account of the Situation, Character, and Disposition of the Several Indian Nations that have Intercourse or Connection with South Carolina; A Plan of a general Direction and Management of Indian Affairs throughout North America. May 30, 1755
- Pownall, Thomas. To John Pownall: Considerations on ye Means, Method & Nature of Settling a Colony on ye Lands South of Lake Erie. [ca. 1755]
- _____ Chart [showing]... the several English Colonies & the British Territories up to the River St. Lawrence & the Great Lakes. 1755
- Washington, George. To the Right Honorouble The Earl of Loudoun: An account of Affairs on this Quarter. Fort Cumberland, Jan 10, 1757
- Council of war called by Lord Loudoun at Halifax, to decide on the advisability of attacking Louisbourg or Quebec. Signed by Generals Loudoun, Abercromby, and Hopson, Lord Charles Hay, Admirals Holburne and Sir Charles Hardy, Commodore Holmes, and Captain Fowke. July 23, 1757. Also papers read and referred to in council, from Admiral Sir Charles Knowles, John Henry Bastide, George Scott, and others.
- Transactions at Fort William Henry during its siege in August, 1757. [author unknown]
- Montcalm, Louis Joseph...Marquis de. Articles de la Capitulation accordée au Lt. Colonel Monro pour la Garnison de sa majesté britannique du fort Guillaume Henri...le 9 aoust, 1757.
- Franklin, Benjamin. List of Servants belonging to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania and taken into His Majesty's Service for whom statisfaction has not been made by the officers according to an Act of Parliament. Philadelphia, Aug. 21, 1757
- Colden, Cadwallader. Four letters reporting Indian attacks, and the urgent need of frontier defenses; also a map of the threatened district in Orange and Ulster Counties, New York. October, 1757.
- Abercrombie, James. Letter to the Earl of Loudoun, containing an account of the Skirmish which happened the 19th of April at Concord, Massachusetts Boston, May 4, 1775
- _____. Letter to same, containing an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, in which engagement Lt. Colonel Abercrombie received the wound which caused his death a few days later. Boston, June 20, 1775
- Horvie, William. [Declaration concerning fifteen English ships captured by a small American squadron, commanded by Captain Lambert Wickes.] Irvine, [Scotland], July 1, 1777