Searching the Military Records of UNB's Loyalist Collection

The Loyalist Collection is comprised of over 3400 reels of microfilm and 700 microfiche of primary source material. The Collection is located in the Microforms Department on the third floor of he Harriet Irving Library. The Inventory and Finding aids that provide access to the Collection are available both on-line and in print The Collection encompasses a period of time from approximately 1740 -1870, with the chief focus being the records that relate to Colonial America, the American Revolution, and the early years of Loyalist Settlement in British North America.

The Loyalist Collection is arranged by five categories of material: Church Records, Family Records, Military Records, Public Records, and Special Collections. The category of Military Records is one of the largest in the Collection comprising slightly over 1000 reels of microfilm and 430 microfiche. It contains a rich and varied abundance of sources, and offers any military historian or researcher who is interested in the period of the 18th and 19th centuries, a wealth of primary material. While the principal military sources are located in the section designated as Military Records, similar material can be found within individual records in the categories of Family Records, Public Records, and Special Collections.

Researchers from out of town who are planning to visit the UNB Library to use the Loyalist Collection and related material should write or telephone in advance.

All inquiries should be directed to:
Christine Jack, Manager of the Microforms Department,
Harriet Irving Library, University of New Brunswick,
PO Box 7500, Fredericton, NB. E3B 5H5
Telephone 506-453-4834
Fax 506-453-4595
E-mail: cjack@unb.ca

Researchers who may wish to forward suggestions or comments about the Loyalist Collection Inventory and Finding Aids are invited to contact the author, Kathryn Hilder, Librarian (Ret’d), University of New Brunswick. E-mail: hilder@unb.ca

The Loyalist Collection Inventory is located at the following World Wide Web address:
http://www.lib.unb.ca/collections/loyalist/

To access the Inventory follow the instructions below:

Browse:

On the Loyalist Collection Inventory web page choose, Browse by Document Category. A screen appears with a hypertext link for each category of material in the Loyalist Collection. The link for Military Records will access all records in that category, and the links for Church Records, Family Records, and Special Collections will do the same. In the case of Public Records, the links access the records for a specific geographical/political area since the Public Records section of the Loyalist Collection is organized in that manner.

Search:

Locate the main web page for the Loyalist Collection Inventory. Click on the Search button to access the Search page and follow the instructions on the screen. The full description of each record can be seen by clicking on the words, See full record, that are found at the end of the short record.

In addition to executing a general search for the military records in the Database, or browsing the Military Records category, a researcher my wish to identify military records, or certain types of military records, within specific sections of the Database. In this case, the following search strategy must be used:

Step 1. Type LPR (Loyalist Public Records) or LFR (Loyalist Family Records) or LMR (Loyalist Military Records) or LSC (Loyalist Special Collections) in the first input window. The letter designations represent the categories of material in the Loyalist Collection, and are part of the Call Number for each section. LPR will be used as the example, but the same search strategy should be used for LFR, LMR, and LSC. The Church Records category LCR is not included due to the absence of military sources in that group of records.

Step 2. After typing LPR in the first input window, type the word military in the second input window, and be certain that Anywhere is changed to Call Number in the first input window in the right hand column of windows. The search engine will retrieve from the Public Records section only those records that contain the word military. Other terms may be used e.g. militia, regiment, corps, garrison, orders, musters, etc. in the categories of Public Records, Family Records, Military Records, and Special Collections.

Since a list of all military records in the Loyalist Collection would be far too extensive for this brief overview, a few examples will be used to indicate the richness and depth of the Collection.

Papers and Correspondence :

Sir Jeffery Amherst (2 Collections) 1740-1783; 1714-1937 (predominant 1740-1795).
Sir Frederick Haldimand, 1758-1784.
British Headquarters Papers (Sir Guy Carleton Papers), 1747-1783.
Carleton’s Loyalist Index CDROM, 1747-1783. Lord Charles Cornwallis, 1614-1854.
Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, 1755-1825.
Sir William Pepperrell, 1683-1769.
General James Pattison, 1777-1781.
General Henry Bouquet, 1757-1765.
Edward Winslow, 1695-1866.
John Saunders, 1775-1910.
Edward Jessup, 1771-1916.
Daniel Claus. 1755-1886.
John Savage, 1770-1862.
Joseph Brant, 1774-1889.
James Parker, 1760-1795.
Henry Laurens, 1732-1882.

Journals, Diaries, Orderly Books, Muster Books :

Major John Andre, 1777-1778..
Sir John Johnson, 1776-1777.
Major Augustine Prevost, 1774.
Lieutenant John Peebles, 1740-1816.
Captain John Ashton Shuttleworth, 1791-1794.
Henry Nase, 26 December 1776-15 May 1797.
Ward Chipman, 1775-1837.
John Danford, 10 November 1775-6 May 1776.
Edward Coats, 16 February 1759-18 September 1759.

Public Records (Great Britain) :

High Court of Admiralty. Letters of Marque : Declarations Against America, and Letters of Marque : Declarations Against France, Spain, and the United Provinces, 1777-1783.
Admiralty. Hydrographic Office. Hydrographic Surveys : Manuscripts relating Principally to New Brunswick, 1760-1886.
Great Britain. Army. Headquarters Office Papers for Nova Scotia, 1825-1870.
Halifax Garrison Orderly Book, 4 February 1801-5 October 1801.
Annapolis Royal Garrison Account Book, 1782-1792.
Muster Rolls and Settlement Lists, 1784.
Regimental Returns, King’s New Brunswick Regiment, 1793-1797.
Colonial Office. Original Correspondence. American and West Indies. Military and Naval Despatches. (4 Series), 1755-1763; 1763-1783; 1770-1784; 1702-1794.
National Maritime Museum (Greenwich, England). Documents Relating to the American Revolution, 1775-1783.
Public Records. American Manuscript Maps in British Repositories (2 Series), 1760-1872; 1585-1893.
Treasury. Miscellanea, Documents Relating to Refugees, 1780-1839.
War Office. Muster Books and Pay Lists (10 Regiments), various dates from c. 1760-1800.
The British Army List, 1764-1784.
In-Letters : America and West Indies (2 Series), 1755-1795; 1791-1800.
Out-Letters : America and West Indies, 1763-1790.
Pension Documents, 1776-1881.
Garrison Orders for Louisbourg and Gibraltar, 1727-1749.
American Rebellion Entry Books, 1773-1783, 1798-1799.
Headquarters Records : America, 1775-1785.

Public Records (Canada) :

National Archives of Canada. Record Group 8 1 “C Series” British Military and Naval Records. Index, and 110 reels of microfilm, 1767-1899.
New Brunswick Museum Collections (3 Series). 1755-1880; 1782-1893; 1782-1895.
New Brunswick. Executive Council. Records. Militia and Regular Army, 1796-1875.
Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Fort Anne Papers. 1606-1963.
Nova Scotia. Lieutenant Governor. Commission Books, 1749-1835.
New Brunswick. Militia Records, 1798-1881.

Public Records (United States) :

United States. Department of State. War of 1812 Papers, 1789-1815.
America. Public Records. Colonial Records of Delaware, 1634-1792.

Collections :

Connecticut Historical Society. American Revolution Collection, 1765-1844.
Massachusetts Historical Society. Louisbourg Papers, 1744-1758.
New York Historical Society. Early American Orderly Books, 1748-1817.
Niagara Historical Society. Collection, 1727-1964.
Delancey-Robinson Collection, 1789-1876.
Morristown National Historic Park (Morristown, New Jersey) : Lidgerwood Collection. Hessian Documents of the American Revolution, 1776-1783.
David Library of the American Revolution. The Sol Feinstone Collection of the American Revolution. 1604/05-1893 ; predominant 1745-1852.
British Pamphlets Relating to the American Revolution, 1764-1783.

Kathryn Hilder, Librarian (Ret’d). Author of the Loyalist Collection Inventory. University of New Brunswick hilder@unb.ca