PREFATORY NOTE. The manuscript records of the French and Indian war exist only in very incomplete form and are widely scattered. Such official records as survive are largely in British and French archives or have remained in American state collections. The correspondence of prominent individuals is found in widely separated localities if the writers continued to be men of note in their later years, and the equally important manuscripts of many temporary leaders have been buried because their writers soon fell from their position. of leadership. To the student of history it is extremely helpful to have the location of all important manuscripts of any given period known. It is for this reason that the Society issues this calendar of the manuscripts in its collections relating to the French and Indian war. The first portion of this volume centers about the personality of Sir William Johnson, one of the most notable of American Colonial leaders. Although it summarizes but a small portion of the correspondence of a man of wide influence and of long continued authority, it contains letters nowhere else available. For this reason if for no other it is a worthy contribution to American historical research. In the second division are manuscripts throwing further light upon the war with France and the work of John Bradstreet throughout that war. Again no pretence is made that the collection calendared is all-inclusive but it well illustrates the difficulties attendant upon the duties of a Colonial quartermaster and the experiences of a leader of frontier expeditions during the war. Born in England in 1711 John Bradstreet spent the greater portion of his life in America. From 1745 when he participated in the Louisburg campaign he was active in maintaining British control in America. His death in 1774 obviated the necessity of his taking sides on the question of American independence and left him to share with Sir William Johnson, who died in the same year, the credit of a vigorous opposition 229933 to French interests. Among the later Bradstreet manuscripts is found also a good example of the arguments and methods used in securing a legal title to lands obtained from the Indians during the stormy period preceding the American Revolution. Following these divisions is a group of miscellaneous manuscripts throwing additional light upon various phases of the war. In these the conflict in Pennsylvania is touched upon as well as the war in New England and the Northwest. Although the letters center about no one person several notable leaders are among the writers and the list as a whole is worthy of recognition. Where the names of writers have been forgotten the manuscripts furnish many details regarding the period of which they speak and are the more important coming from widely separated sources. Finally there is the Orderly Book of William Henshaw, a Lieutenant in Capt. Jeduthan Baldwin's company of provincial troops serving under Sir Jeffrey Amherst in the war. The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of this expedition is an especially fitting time for printing this manuscript in full. It opens to the reader a side of military life which is but partially shown by letters of onlookers or even of participants. It is a description of camp life from May to November 1759, given by a minor officer on his march to Fort Edward and when on duty at that fort, and presents a more enduring picture than any occasional visitor could paint. It is upon collections such as the one here calendared that writers of our provincial history must rely for many details. States may reprint colonial records, the writings of colonial leaders may be preserved in printed volumes, but unless the owners and custodians of miscellaneous collections of provincial papers open their treasures to the student no comprehensive record can be obtained. WALDO LINCOLN, Library Committee. |