New York State Provincial Congress Military Committee Correspondence and Administrative Papers A1813

New York State Provincial Congress Military Committee Correspondence and Administrative Papers

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

This series contains correspondence, rough minutes, resolutions, lists of officers, and accounts compiled by the Military Committee of the Provincial Congress. These records concern organizing, raising, and supplying troops; orders to military commanders; progress of the war; and accusations against suspected loyalists. The records are fragile due to burn damage.

Creator:

New York (State). Provincial Congress. Military Committee

Title:

Provincial Congress Military Committee correspondence and administrative papers

Quantity:

0.1 cubic feet

Quantity:

1 35mm microfilm roll(s)

Inclusive Dates:

1775-1778

Series Number:

A1813

Scope and Content Note

The Military Committee acted for or made recommendations to the Provincial Congress on matters relating to troops raised in New York. This series contains correspondence, rough minutes and resolutions, lists of officers, and accounts compiled by the Military Committee. Correspondence and other items were often read into the record of congressional proceedings.

Records concern: organization of the state's military force; raising and supplying troops; orders to military commanders; progress of the war, e.g. ships seized and troops killed, wounded, or taken prisoner; and accusations against persons suspected of loyalty to Great Britain.

Included is the "Friends of Liberty" letter written from White Plains on January 8, 1776, by the Westchester County Committee of Safety to assure the New York Provincial Committee of Safety of its loyal support.

Alternate Formats Available

Microfilm is available for use at the New York State Archives or through interlibrary loan.

Selected documents from the series were published in Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution in the Office of the Secretary of State (Albany, 1868).

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

There are portions of a rough alphabetical name and subject index, including a list of correspondence.

Custodial History

These records were at one time bound by the Secretary of State's office as Volume 25 of a series titled "Papers Laid Before the Provincial Congress." The records suffered severe burn damage in the State Capitol fire in 1911.

Friends of Liberty letter. This item was removed from the series as part of the Freedom Train exhibit that traveled the state from January 1949 to February 1950 (L. 1948, Ch. 659).