Summary Information
Draper Manuscripts: George Rogers Clark Papers
1756-1891
- Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818
- Draper, Lyman Copeland, 1851-1891
Draper Mss J
15.0 cubic feet (64 volumes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of and about George Rogers Clark, the most noted military commander in the western campaigns of the Revolution, gathered by Draper from relatives, descendants, and other historians; by transcripts from archives in Spain, Virginia and other localities for an intended complete biography. Included are papers gathered from Clark's descendants and from others who had proposed biographies, recollections of Clark's role in the early history of Kentucky and the Revolutionary War in the West, notes, copies of documents, and interviews with participants or their descendants. Draper's own voluminous notes and drafts of the first two chapters of Draper's proposed biography are also present.
Descriptions of the volumes are copied from the Guide to the Draper Manuscripts by Josephine Harper. Out of date and offensive language may be present. This collection is also available as a microfilm publication. Forms part of the Lyman Copeland Draper Manuscripts. The fifty series included in the Draper Manuscripts have been cataloged individually. See the Draper Manuscripts Overview, and the Guide to the Draper Manuscripts by Josephine Harper (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1983) for further information. There is a restriction on use to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction
Information portion of this finding aid for details.
English, Spanish
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-draper00j ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The second son of John and Ann Rogers Clark, George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) was born near Charlottesville, Virginia, and spent much of his youth on a plantation in Caroline County. After showing little aptitude for formal education, he was trained as a surveyor, and in 1772 and 1773 he made his first journeys west by the Ohio River to explore, hunt, and survey in adjacent areas of Ohio and Kentucky. As an officer in the Virginia militia he participated in Dunmore's War, then returned to Kentucky, where he soon achieved recognition as a leader in both civil and military affairs. Clark's masterful plan for the conquest of the Illinois country, his skilled execution of the campaigns against Kaskaskia and Cahokia in 1778 and Vincennes in 1779, and his later defensive expeditions against British and Indians, 1780-1782, gave military control of Kentucky and the Old Northwest to the Americans. Although never specifically acknowledged in diplomatic records, Clark's conquest and control of the region constituted a major factor in determining its cession to the United States by Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Many of Clark's post-Revolutionary projects were less successful. His retaliatory expedition of 1786 against Indian raiders in the Ohio Valley failed due to insubordination of some of his Kentucky troops. Out of favor politically by 1788, during the next several years Clark engaged in a number of speculative colonial and military negotiations with the Spanish and French but none of these ventures ever materialized. For many years, however, he served as member, and often chairman, of the Virginia commissioners supervising the allotment of lands in the Illinois grant, a tract north of the Ohio set aside for division among Clark's soldiers in payment for their Revolutionary War services. In connection with the development of this grant, he founded the village of Clarksville, Indiana. Clark also wrote (1791) a significant memoir of his Revolutionary service. In declining health and never fully paid by Virginia for his own Revolutionary expenditures, Clark spent the last years of his life (1809-1818) at Locust Grove, the home of his sister Lucy (Mrs. William Croghan) near Louisville.
A full biography of Clark was uppermost in Lyman Draper's plans for nearly half a century. As he wrote in 1851, his proposed “Life and Times of George Rogers Clark” would be far-reaching in scope, “embracing the early explorations of the West—the final settlement and progress of Kentucky—Clark's conquest of the Illinois country, ... Clark's Indian campaigns into the Miami country, and also up the Wabash.” And with a view to future sales, Draper added that “hundreds of brief notices of other Pioneers who figured under him will make a large demand from their descendants and relatives alone.” Five years earlier, Clark's nephew, Dr. John Croghan of Locust Grove, had given Draper not only the bulk of Clark's papers but also manuscripts of Leonard Bliss Jr., and Charles Ripley, two of the other historians and writers who had intended to write Clark biographies. Draper envisioned that his Clark biography would be his most glorious literary achievement, and he was still collecting data for it in the days just preceding his death in 1891. Although he drafted a few chapters, he always allowed his characteristic procrastination and other projects to interrupt the writing and prevent its completion. In the variety of its resources and content, however, Series J reflects the breadth and depth of Draper's conception of his book.
Related Material
Draper Mss K: George Rogers Clark Miscellanies, 1781-1909.
Administrative/Restriction Information
PHOTOCOPY RESTRICTION: Photocopying originals is not permitted; researchers may copy from the microfilm available in the Library.
Contents List
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Draper Mss J
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Series: 1 J (Volume 1)
: Manuscript drafts by Draper for three chapters of his proposed biography of Clark: the first on early Indian tribes of Kentucky (1 J 1-35); the second on Clark's birth in Albemarle County and his education and youthful activities through 1773 (36-59); and the third on the origins of Dunmore's War (60-117). These are followed by appendices on Thomas Bullitt and on the genealogy of the Clark and Rogers families and by a few miscellaneous notes.
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Series: 2 J (Volume 2)
: Notes and letters discussing portraits of Clark and unsuccessful attempts at biographies of Clark by John Bickley, Leonard Bliss Jr., Joseph Bogy, Samuel Brown, Joseph Buchanan, Mann Butler, John Croghan, Joseph H. Daviess, Washington Irving, John Law, Allan B. Magruder, Humphrey Marshall, and Jared Sparks. Draper corresponded frequently with Law, from 1844 to 1870. This volume contains one original undated letter concerning Clark's papers written by George Croghan, the younger.
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Series: 3 J (Volume 3)
: Mainly papers pertaining to Clark acquired from relatives and friends of Leonard Bliss Jr. (1811-1842). Included are a few pieces of correspondence concerning Bliss's papers, Draper's transcription of a brief biographical sketch of Clark by Bliss, a manuscript copy of Clark's memoir about his campaign against Kaskaskia and Vincennes, and bibliographical notes in Bliss's handwriting. Clark's original manuscript of his memoir is in Volume 47 J.
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Series: 4 J (Volume 4)A volume composed of three groups of manuscripts: 1) Transcripts of letters, depositions, and statements concerning military service and the provisioning of expeditions against the Indians and British, 1777-1782, from the family papers of W. Lindsay Pogue. His grandfather, William Pogue, an early settler of Boonesborough, was killed by Indians in 1778; his widow married Clark's commissary-general, Joseph Lindsay, who was killed in the battle of Blue Licks in 1782. The copies were made for Draper in 1853 by Joseph B. Boyd and are preceded by a rough index by Draper. Additional Pogue papers are in Volume 29 J. 2) Transcripts mainly from the Public Archives of Canada of papers, 1778-1780, of Philippe de Rocheblave, British commandant at Kaskaskia when it was captured by Clark. 3) Letters and notes on several persons associated with Clark's career: Edward Abbott, British governor of Vincennes; Henry Bird; Francois Charleville; Isadore Chêne; Philip Dejean; John Hay, British lieutenant governor at Detroit; William La Mothe; and Richard B. Lernoult. Several letters, 1870-1871, by Pierre Menard (1797-1871) contain recollections of John Edgar and his wife.
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Series: 5 J (Volume 5)
: Mainly letters from Reuben T. Durrett discussing the Clark family, Richard Chenoweth, Thomas and William Christy, Hancock Lee, John Nelson, and Jacob Pyeatt. Notes and letters from other writers concern Thomas Dillard, John Donelson, Robert Hays, Thomas Hutchins, and John W. Willis. A few original pages of Donelson's account book for land surveys, 1768-1769, show payments made by Hutchins.
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Series: 6 J (Volume 6)
: Draper correspondence on Benjamin Clark (uncle of George Rogers Clark) and his descendants in the Clark and Naylor families; and on John Floyd, Hancock Lee, James Patton, and William Preston, and their families. A copy of an appraisal of Lee's slaves in 1820 is among the material. One letter (1920) on the Alexander Naylor family was added to the volume by Joseph Schafer.
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Series: 7 J (Volume 7)
: Primarily Draper notes and correspondence referring to Clark's ancestry and boyhood, to the French and Indian War, and to events in the Upper Ohio region prior to 1774. Among the papers are Draper's copies of a letter, 1761, written by Jeffrey Amherst, and of articles from the Pennsylvania Journal, 1756-1759. One original letter concerning the fur trade and other colonial matters was written in 1773 at Pittsburgh by the elder George Croghan.
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Series: 8 J - 9 J (Volumes 8-9)
: Two volumes of letters and interview notes in Draper's arrangement. Although centered on Clark's military campaigns, 1778-1786, many papers also discuss or mention other contemporary events and personalities of this period in Kentucky and western Virginia. Draper's own papers form the bulk of both volumes, but there are several letters addressed to Mann Butler and to Benjamin Drake, notes for interviews recorded by Benjamin Drake, and reminiscences (1838) about Cave Johnson by Daniel Drake. Among the people interviewed by Draper (1846) was Daniel Strother, black pioneer in Vincennes, Indiana (8 J). In one original letter, 1786 (9 J), sent to William Fleming, Caleb Wallace discussed Clark's Wabash campaign.
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Series: 10 J (Volume 10)
: Primarily correspondence and interviews by Draper with numerous Clark family relatives and descendants. The papers are bound in two segments: pages 1-185 in Part 1; pages 186-385 in Part 2. Topics range widely over Clark's ancestry, military career, finances, years of retirement, health, appearance, and portraits. Family traditions about Clark and his romantic interest in Teresa de Leyba are found in a letter (1849) by Lucy Semple Green (Part 1) and an interview (1868) with Jonathan Clark's son, William (b. 1795) in Part 2. Among other papers in Part 1 are a few letters addressed to Mann Butler and extensive manuscript genealogies of the Rogers family by John G. Rogers, Thomas Rogers, and Joseph Underwood. In Part 2 are found notes taken by Leonard Bliss Jr., during an interview with William Croghan and a printed genealogy of the Anderson family of Virginia by R.A. Brock.
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Series: 11 J (Volume 11)
: Papers concerning Clark's career from 1782 to 1794. Included are Draper's correspondence, notes, and transcripts from the Kentucky Gazette (1793), Maryland Journal (1786-1787), and Pennsylvania Packet (1786-1787), and many original manuscripts, 1785-1794, from the papers of William Croghan, Charles De Pauw, Robert Patterson, and members of the Clark family. In addition to letters (1793) by Clark and De Pauw to the French envoy, Edmond Charles Genet, there are original or contemporary copies of letters of scattered dates by Robert Breckinridge, John Brown (1757-1837), Richard Butler, Arthur Campbell, Walter Finney, Robert Patterson, Jesse Robards, and Isaac Shelby. Documents in 1786 include accounts for military supplies for Clark, an address (August 16, 1786) on United States foreign policy by Charles Pinckney, and speeches delivered by Clark and Wabash Indian leaders in October.
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Series: 12 J (Volume 12)
: Draper notes and correspondence on selected topics pertaining to Clark's later years: his part in a proposed French revolutionary expedition against the Spanish in New Orleans in 1793, his relationships with Congress and the Virginia General Assembly, his health, and his death. The volume contains a few earlier manuscripts. A letter (February 17, 1793) by Thomas Paine to James O'Fallon discusses the reception by the French government of Clark's proposition for the Louisiana expedition. A few pieces, including one original letter (1805) by William Clark to William Croghan, concern the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific. In a letter (1810) to William Croghan, John Croghan opposed the use of Clark's papers by Joseph H. Daviess. Among the other manuscripts by Clark's contemporaries are: a letter (1799) by Buckner Thruston to John Coburn concerning claims incurred by the French expedition; a personal letter (1789) by Charles De Pauw to Francois Charleville: and three letters (1812-1813) to William W. Worsley, one by De Pauw and two by Isaac Shelby.
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Series: 13 J (Volume 13)
: Mainly Draper notes and correspondence on frontier settlements and Indian troubles with which Clark was associated in the 1763-1774 period. Sites discussed include Ruddell's Station and Martin's Station in Kentucky and Cresap's farm and Donald Robertson's school in Virginia. Extensive extracts from Robertson's account book, 1756-1773, list the fees he received and the families he served as schoolmaster. Biographical materials pertain not only to Robertson (1717-1783) and his descendants, but also to Isaac Anderson, Henry Bird, Michael Cresap, Joseph Hunter, Angus McDonald, William Macomb, John B. Roy, and George and John Ruddle. A copy of Anderson's journal during Archibald Lochry's expedition down the Ohio River in 1781-1782 and extensive genealogical notes on the Rogers and Clark families in England and Scotland are also found in this volume.
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Series: 14 J - 15 J (Volumes 14-15)
: Two volumes of notes and correspondence relating principally to Dunmore's War during the year 1774.
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Series: 16 J (Volume 16)
: Notes and correspondence primarily about Clark's first visits to Kentucky in 1775 and 1776 and his journey to Pittsburgh in the fall of 1775. Also included is information on John Gabriel Jones, William Kennedy, and the Mingo leader Pluggy: One original letter, written in 1768 by Andrew Lewis and Thomas Walker to Sir William Johnson, discusses the land claims of the Cherokee and the Six Nations (Iroquois) to the Kentucky region. Also found in this volume is a copy of an additional memorial (June 20, 1776) from the inhabitants of Harrodsburg to the Virginia Convention.
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Series: 17 J (Volume 17)
: Mainly original papers, 1777-1786, of John Bowman (1738-1784) and a few papers of his brother Joseph (1752-1779). Commissioned in 1776 as colonel of Kentucky militia, John Bowman conducted an unsuccessful expedition into Indian territory in Ohio in 1779 and in the following year was appointed sheriff of Lincoln County, Kentucky. Joseph Bowman served as major of Clark's Illinois Regiment until his death in Vincennes. For the period 1778-1780 this volume contains muster rolls, payrolls, and provision rolls relating to companies commanded by Joseph Bowman, John Boyle, Hugh Gary [Garry], William Harrod, John Holden, Benjamin Logan, John Logan, Richard May, and Isaac Ruddell. Lists of tithables compiled for Lincoln County in 1783 itemize white and black residents. Business papers, 1777-1783, of Hite & Bowman & Company, a land and stock firm in which the Bowman were in partnership with Isaac Hite, contain lists of subscribers and claimants to Kentucky lands. John Bowman's commission as sheriff signed by Thomas Jefferson, numerous miscellaneous accounts and undated military documents, correspondence by Draper concerning his purchase of the Bowman manuscripts in 1864, and a few letters about the Bowman family and about Ebenezer Chorn (1752-1828) are also filed in this volume.
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Series: 18 J (Volume 18)Principally Draper notes and correspondence on the activities of George Rogers Clark, 1777-1779, and related political and military events primarily in Kentucky. Topics considered include: courts-martial (1777) over which Clark presided at Harrodsburg; the location of Cove Spring, Kentucky; the exploratory visit (April-June 1777) to the Illinois country made by Benjamin Linn and Samuel Moore to secure information for Clark; the Kaskaskia campaign; the location of Clark's Spring and other sites in and near Kaskaskia; William Harrod's trip (1778) to Missouri for salt; foreign affairs in 1778-the French alliance and England's unsuccessful attempt to secure a contingent of mercenaries from Russia to fight against the American colonies; the capture of Vincennes; John Bowman's expedition (1779); and New Year's Day observances and other customs peculiar to the French settlements along the Mississippi River. Some notes, letters, and summaries of pension applications contain biographical and genealogical data on numerous persons, including: Ichabod Camp, an Episcopal minister who traveled down the Ohio River to Kentucky with Clark in 1778; Charles Charleville; Francois Charleville; Charles Gatliff, with mention of the Indian captivity of his wife and sons James and Cornelius; Father Pierre Gibault; Jean Baptiste Janis; Jean Baptiste La Croix; the Menard family; James Ray; Jean Baptiste St. Gem Sr. and his descendants, particularly Augustus St. Gem (1791-1864). Scattered among Draper's papers are a few original manuscripts, all dated in 1778 unless otherwise noted. These include: minutes of courts-martial conducted by Clark (April-May 1777); two letters by Clark to William Harrod, and one each to Edward Hand and Jean Baptiste Lafont (Laffont); one letter by Matthew Arbuckle to Hand; one by Arthur Campbell to Charles Cummings; one by Samuel Mason to William Harrod; an itemized list of clothing, cloth and sewing supplies, guns, brandy and wine, and other merchandise received by Clark for his Illinois Regiment from September 1778, to January 1779; and an undated deposition by William Chapline concerning the building of a Kentucky cabin for Isaac Taylor by one of the Harrod family. There are copies of three additional letters, one each by John Bowman (1777), Clark (1778), and Patrick Henry (1777).
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Series: 19 J (Volume 19)
: Mainly letters and maps by Reuben T. Durrett discussing for Draper the settlement of Corn Island (1778) and early forts at Louisville, Kentucky.
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Series: 20 J (Volume 20)
: Extensive notes by Draper on Clark's activities in 1778 and correspondence concerning the early settlers of Corn Island near Louisville.
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Series: 21 J - 22 J (Volumes 21-22)
: Two volumes of Draper's correspondence generated by his desire to determine precisely Clark's route in Illinois from Fort Massac to Kaskaskia in 1778. The letters in these volumes were not included in the itemized calendar to Series J.
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Series: 23 J (Volume 23)Draper's copious notes and related correspondence on Clark's career in 1779, with emphasis on the capture of Vincennes. Topics covered more briefly include: Leonard Helm's expedition up the Wabash River (March 1779) and the hostilities with the Indiana Delaware Indians; David Rogers's defeat and death (October 1779); Clark's fiscal claims against Virginia and the effects of currency depreciation; Clark's intended campaign against Detroit; and James Willing and the plans for an expedition against West Florida. Although many other persons are mentioned incidentally, there are substantial biographical and genealogical references for only a few. These include: a lengthy biography of Anthony Crockett; letters concerning Andrew and William Hamilton of West Virginia; and notes on a Pennsylvania officer, James Francis Moore. Found in the volume are three original Revolutionary manuscripts: a letter (October 1779) by Clark to William Fleming containing Clark's views on Indian and military affairs; and two letters (April and August 1779) by John Todd to Fleming; in the first, Todd rejoiced in Clark's success at Vincennes; in the second he made a plea for men and supplies for Clark, supported the need for an expedition to Detroit, and mentioned David Rogers's forthcoming trip to Fort Pitt. Also found are Draper's copies of several of Clark's orders, letters by Clark to John Rogers and to Thomas Jefferson, and a letter by Henry Hamilton, all dated in 1779. Draper also copied orders (1781) affecting the troops in Kaskaskia issued by John Williams.
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Series: 24 J - 25 J (Volumes 24-25)
: Two volumes of Draper's notes and correspondence in which he attempted to determine the geographical details of Clark's route from Kaskaskia, Illinois, to Vincennes, Indiana, in 1779. The letters in these volumes were not included in the itemized calendar to Series J.
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Series: 26 J (Volume 26)
: Draper notes and correspondence on Clark's life in 1780. Among topics discussed are Fort Jefferson on the Mississippi River, Clark's expedition into Ohio against the Shawnee, the defeat of Augustin Mottin de La Balme's expedition by Miami Indians near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the topography of western Kentucky. Some materials contain biographical and genealogical information on John Bailey, Abraham Chapline, Charles Gratiot, Thomas Vickroy (Vickory), and Abraham and Aquilla Whitaker.
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Series: 27 J (Volume 27)
: Draper correspondence on several topics and original papers, 1778-1809, of John Girault, an officer in the Illinois Regiment. Girault's documents pertain only to his Virginia military service, 1778-1781, and to his civil and militia offices in the Mississippi Territory, 1794-1809, Among these papers are a list of men in Girault's company, 1778-1779; commissions signed by William C.C. Claiborne, George Rogers Clark, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, Patrick Henry, Winthrop Sargent, John Todd, and Robert Williams; letters (1802-1803) by Claiborne and one by Albert Gallatin (1809); and minutes of a meeting in Natchez protesting the seizure of the American ship Chesapeake by the English ship Leopard in 1807. Two silhouettes of Girault (27 J 84) were furnished by a grandson. Among subjects discussed in Draper's correspondence are the site of Fort Jefferson; the Miami Wea band's fort and village on the Wabash River; Isaac Bowman; and Angus and Archibald Cameron.
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Series: 28 J (Volume 28)
: Notes and correspondence primarily concerning Clark's relief of St. Louis in May 1780, with a few papers pertaining to John Montgomery's Rock River expedition in the following summer. Participants in these events about whom there is biographical information include Simon Burney, Joseph Calvé, Jean Marie and Jean B. Cardinal, Jean Marie Ducharme, William Frogget, Charles Gratiot, James and Robert McKim, and James Spilman.
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Series: 29 J (Volume 29)
: Draper notes and correspondence accompanied by transcripts of documents pertaining to Clark and his associates primarily in the years 1780-1784. Topics and persons discussed in notes, letters, and clippings include: Henry Bird's expedition and capture of Ruddell's and Martin's stations in Kentucky in June 1780; the establishment and siege of Fort Jefferson, Kentucky (1780); Thomas and William Brooks; Antoine Gainer; Charles Gatliff; and the military services of Abraham, Frederic, and James De Peyster. Copies of additional family papers of W. Lindsay Pogue furnished to Draper by Joseph B. Boyd and W. D. Hixson include: letters by John Dodge at Fort Jefferson in 1780; letters on military affairs in 1782 by Clark, Benjamin Logan, Robert Todd, and Stephen Trigg to Joseph Lindsay; land warrants and related documents issued to or for Clark in the early 1780s; Clark's deposition (1805) about the proposed expedition against Detroit in 1781; and a deposition (1820) by Joseph Pogue about his military service. As Boyd was an autograph collector, his own letters (1852-1853) to Draper contain mention of other early collectors as well as frequent allusions to such other notable Clark contemporaries as Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. Another segment of the Pogue family papers is in Volume 4 J.
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Series: 30 J (Volume 30)
: Notes and correspondence primarily on Clark and frontier troubles in 1781. Major topics discussed are: Clark's intended expedition against Detroit; the defeat at Squire Boone's station; John Floyd's defeat; Jacob Haymaker and the Haymaker family; the location of Ohio River boatyards used by Clark; Archibald Lochry's defeat; and the massacre at Hays's Station, South Carolina, by Tories led by William Cunningham. The few scattered original documents include a statement of losses by the militia of Jefferson County, Kentucky, in Boone's defeat, and single letters written by Clark (1781), William Croghan (1782), and Stephen Trigg (1781).
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Series: 31 J (Volume 31)
: Copies of pension applications with a few letters and interviews, all of which relate primarily to Clark's campaigns in 1780-1781 and to men associated with him. Among specific events and persons discussed in Draper's correspondence and interview notes are Clark's intended expedition to Detroit; the 1781 attack on Fort Jefferson; Archibald Lochry's defeat; John Baker, his family, and his station near Moundsville (West Virginia); Richard Brashear; the Chickasaw Indian leaders James Colbert and his family, and Piomingo; Lewis Field; Joseph Hunter, his son-in-law John Donne, and Donne family descendants; and Thomas Stokeley. A few briefer references pertain to the battle of Clear Fields, Pennsylvania (1779) and to Bowman's campaign (1779). Copies of two letters (1781) by John Gibson discuss Clark's Detroit expedition, troubles with the Moravian Indians, and William Crawford's intended foray against the Wyandot tribe.
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Series: 32 J (Volume 32)
: Draper notes, correspondence, and copies of manuscripts and newspaper extracts relating to Clark's life, principally in the years 1782-1784. The majority of the materials deal with the events in 1782-Clark's campaign against the Shawnee on the Miami River and other Indian hostilities in the Kentucky region. Three original manuscripts include a letter by Benjamin Logan (1782); George Wilson's invoice for whiskey furnished to Clark for his men from March to June 1782; and Clark's contract as principal surveyor of Virginia bounty lands (December 1783).
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Series: 33 J (Volume 33)
: Draper notes, correspondence, and transcripts of (eighteenth-century newspaper articles and Virginia public records, all of which pertain to Clark's life, 1785-1789. Major topics are the Wabash campaign of 1786 and Clark's proposed colony west of the Mississippi in Spanish territory about 1788. Included are biographical and genealogical materials on his reported associate in the latter venture, Thomas Green of Mississippi, and the Green family. Also filed in the volume is a manuscript on Indian treaties, 1784-1795, written by Daniel Drake.
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Series: 34 J (Volume 34)
: Notes, letters, and transcripts of manuscripts on Clark's life, 1790-1800. Topics and persons discussed include: Adam Shepherd and the Indian fight on Rolling Fork, Kentucky, in 1792; Clark's participation in Genet's proposed attack against the Spanish regime in Louisiana in 1793; Samuel Griffin; Alexander Macomb, and William McComb Sr. and Jr. Found in this volume are an early copy of a list of Virginia officers in the Revolution compiled in 1791 and a letter (1823) of Napoleon B. Coleman discussing the history of Harrison County and of Cynthiana, Kentucky.
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Series: 35 J (Volume 35)
: Notes and correspondence mainly about George Rogers Clark's last years, 1801-1818, and about some of his relatives. Papers pertain particularly to his appearance and character; his health problems; his love of nature and science; his friendship with Thomas Jefferson; his visit (1805) with Aaron Burr; the early history of Clarksville, Indiana; and Dr. Richard W. Ferguson, the surgeon who amputated Clark's leg in 1809. Although many Clark family members are mentioned in this volume, there is substantial material on only a few, including Clark's brother Jonathan, Marston G. Clark, and the elder George Rogers Clark Floyd (circa 1781-circa 1823).
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Series: 36 J (Volume 36)
: Draper's extensive notes on Clark's officers, followed by correspondence and/or pension statements about the following men: John Bailey, Samuel Beard, Lowe Brown, Abraham Chapline, Harmon Consola (Consilla, Consley, Consoley), John Cowan, Valentine T. Dalton, Cornelius Darnel (Darnell), Daniel Davis, Joseph Davis, Elijah Denny, Ludwig Derr, Jesse Evans, John Floyd, Samuel Fulton, John Girault, William Harrod, Leonard Helm, George Holman, David and John Jameson, John Gabriel Jones, Benjamin Kidd, William Lowther, Alexander McConnell, Stace McDonough, Hugh McGary, Timothy de Montbrun, John Moore, William Pope, Richard Rue, Joseph Saunders, James Spilman, Isaac Stratton, James Sullivan, David White, and John Williams.
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Series: 37 J (Volume 37)
: Principally correspondence, and notes from a few interviews, on Clark's soldiers and associates: Thomas Barbee and the Barbee family, James Barnett, Richard Brashear, William Christian, John Crittenden, Joseph Crockett, John Field, Silas Harlan, Richard Harrison, James and William Harrod, Benjamin Linn, William Linn, Archibald Lochry, the descendants of John Martin (born about 1685 in Virginia), John Morrison, William Oldham, Samuel H. Parsons, John Paul, Nathaniel Randolph, William Shannon, George and Philip Slaughter and the Slaughter family, William Bailey Smith, Philip White, John Williams, and James Willing. One original letter (1813) written by James Barnett to William W. Worsley concerns payments for printing, advertising, and the employment of a Negro.
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Series: 38 J (Volume 38)
: Mainly miscellaneous letters to Draper, arranged chronologically by year, 1845-1891. Most of the papers pertain to some aspect of Draper's research on Clark, but exceptions include a letter (1869) on the Samuel Boone family, a discussion (1878) of the post-Civil war status of Negroes in South Carolina by James H. Saye, and an index (38 J 148-152) prepared by Draper in 1846 for a segment of the Robert Patterson Papers (1 MM 16-45).
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Series: 39 J - 42 J (Volumes 39-42)
: Four volumes of manuscript transcripts of letters and reports, 1792-1795, pertaining to Spanish administration of West Florida and Louisiana. Written in Spanish, these copies were made for Draper about 1883 from originals in the Spanish Archives. Most of the documents were authored by Francisco Luis Hector, Baron de Carondelet, governor of Louisiana and West Florida from 1791 to 1797, who made his residence in New Orleans. Also copied was some closely related correspondence of Baron Carondelet's brother-in-law, Luis de Las Casas, in Havana, Cuba, and of Manuel Gayoso de Lemos at Natchez and New Madrid. Principal topics discussed include the military and economic condition of Louisiana and western Florida; American expansionism; Spanish relations with the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Osage Indian tribes; relations with France and England; and reports of Clark's expedition against Louisiana. Among other notable Americans mentioned or quoted in the papers were Auguste Chouteau, William Clark, Elijah Clarke of Georgia, Thomas Jefferson, Anthony Wayne, and James Wilkinson.
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Series: 42A J (Volume 42)
: A volume of English translations of the portions of the Spanish documents in volumes 39 J-42 J which Draper deemed significant for his biography of George Rogers Clark. Most of the translations cover letters and reports by Baron Carondelet and Manuel Gayoso de Lemos and were made for Draper by William F. Giese, instructor in Romance Languages at the University of Wisconsin.
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Series: 43 J (Volume 43)
: Papers concerning Oliver Pollock, agent for the United States in New Orleans during the Revolution and financier of Clark's western campaigns in 1778-1779. Filling the first half of the volume is Draper's manuscript copy of a publication, A Representation of the Case of Oliver Pollock by Augustus B. Woodward (Washington, 1803). Following this are transcripts of Congressional documents; a few relate to Pollock's claims for payment for his Revolutionary services in furnishing money and supplies to the United States and Virginia troops, but the majority concern his actions as United States agent in Havana, Cuba in 1784-1785. A few newspaper clippings are filed at the beginning of each of the two sections in the volume.
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Series: 44 J (Volume 44)A volume composed of two groups of papers: 1) Correspondence of David Todd (1786-1859) with Kentucky historian Mann Butler, 1833-1845, and with Draper, 1842-1854. In his letters Todd discussed family genealogy and gave copious commentary on the careers of his older brothers John and Robert, their father Levi Todd (1756-1807), and numerous associates. A few letters and notes by Draper pertain to the defeat of James Winchester at the Raisin River in 1813. 2) Correspondence, 1846-1854, of Mann Butler with Draper, accompanied by a segment of Butler's papers, 1810-1844. Butler's letters concern his teaching, bookselling business, and historical research. One letter (1834) by former President James Madison refers to Diego de Gardoqui's intrigue in Kentucky in 1788. Notes for portions of Butler's lectures on early western history are also among these papers.
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Series: 45 J (Volume 45)
: Papers by and about Henry Hamilton, British lieutenant governor of Detroit, who was captured by Clark at Vincennes in 1779. Included are Draper notes and correspondence about Hamilton, transcripts of Hamilton papers mainly from the Archives of Canada in Ottawa and the Public Record Office in London and a few original Hamilton documents purchased by Draper from a dealer in 1857. A copy of Hamilton's journal of his Vincennes expedition in 1778 Draper made from a copy in William Clark's handwriting found among papers, of Anthony Wayne in private ownership. Hamilton's original manuscripts are of scattered dates, 1773-1795, and include letters and accounts while he was at Detroit and a memorial (1785) of Peter Pond on behalf of the fur trading operations of the North West Company.
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Series: 46 J (Volume 46)Original manuscripts, 1761-1790. Selected by Draper from many of his acquisitions, most are arranged in chronological sequence by year. Only three writers are represented by more than one letter: George Rogers Clark, four letters, 1780-1781, discussing land surveys, Indian affairs, and his attempts to raise troops for an offensive expedition to Detroit; Governor Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, five letters, 1782-1783, mainly about problems with Clark's accounts and about Clark's plans for the defense of Kentucky; and, Walker Daniel, land agent for Clark and his officers, two letters, 1783, concerning Indian troubles and the movement for Kentucky statehood. Authors of single letters include Jonathan Clark (1781), John Crittenden (1784), George Croghan (1779), Dudley Digges (1778), Lord Dunmore (1774), Henry Hamilton (1776), Josiah HarMarch (1785), William Heth (1788), Thomas Jefferson (1780), Guy Johnson (1772), Archibald Lochry (1781), George Morgan (1780), Thomas Scott (1781), Isaac Shelby (1783), and Levi Todd (1786). Recipients included Sir Guy Carleton (1776), William Croghan (1788), John Dickinson (1785), William Fleming (1778, 1780), William Harrod (1780), Isaac Hite (1781), Andrew Lewis (1774), Benjamin Logan (1783), Joseph Martin (1780, 1783), Robert Patterson (1786), James Ramsey (1770), and Joseph Reed (1781). Specific references to Clark appear in many of the letters, but several pieces refer to affairs which indirectly affected the outcome of Clark's plans and projects, such as relations and negotiations with the southern Indian tribes. In addition to correspondence, there are other kinds of records. Daniel Smith's journal, August 1779 - July 1780, kept while he was a commissioner representing Virginia during the survey of the boundary between North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee is accompanied by Draper's analysis of its contents. Among other papers are: two pages of Robert Elliott's orderly book at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in January 1778; a list of French habitants supporting the Virginia troops in 1779; copies of Clark's accounts with Virginia for the period 1779-1784; Also included are a muster roll (1780) for Evan Shelby's company; a certificate (1782) concerning an oath taken by Isaac Shelby “for preventing the farther Importation of slaves”; a printed copy of the treaty at Fort McIntosh (January 21, 1781) for which Clark, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee were the United States commissioners. A petition (1790) by thirteen inhabitants of Clarksville seeking deeds to the land they occupied is filed under the year 1784, the date these citizens stated they had settled there. Many receipts and other miscellaneous business and legal documents are scattered through the volume; among their signers, in addition to Clark, were Daniel Boone, Richard Brashear, Andrew Heth, Benjamin Logan, Isaac Mason, John Montgomery, James Patten, Robert Patterson, William Pope, and Robert Todd. Two facsimiles of Patrick Henry's letter to Clark, dated January 2, 1778, are filed among the original manuscripts.
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Series: 47 J (Volume 47)
: The original manuscript of George Rogers Clark's Memoir, followed by an assortment of related papers. Begun about 1789 at the suggestion of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and completed about two years later, the Memoir gives Clark's recollections of western history and of his campaigns from 1773 to 1779. This manuscript was among the papers given to Draper by Dr. John Croghan (10 J 228). Other papers in 47 J include: a copy of the journal (1779) of Joseph Bowman during the Vincennes campaign, an incomplete copy of the Memoir and a copy of a letter (1778) to Clark from Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and George Wythe, all transcribed by Leonard Bliss Jr.; a copy of the final four pages of the Memoir made by Mann Butler; and a few miscellaneous papers copied and annotated by Draper. Another copy of the Memoir is in Volume 59 J.
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Series: 48 J (Volume 48)Original manuscripts and contemporary copies, 1774-1778, 1791-1798, and a few brief notes about Clark's career written at later dates by William Clark, John Croghan, and Joseph H. Daviess. Most of the eighteenth-century manuscripts pertain to Clark's Illinois campaign in 1778. Major facets documented include public and private instructions issued to Clark, the French affiance as it related to Clark's expedition, and his occupation of Kaskaskia and Cahokia. Among the papers are Clark's commission as captain in Dunmore's War, a contemporary copy of Dunmore's proclamation (January 23, 1775) at the conclusion of the campaign against the Shawnee; Levi Todd's narrative (1791) of Kentucky events from 1774 to 1777; Clark's diary, December 25, 1776-March 30, 1778, of which portions were written in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and Williamsburg, Virginia; and seven letters (1777-1778) by Patrick Henry on government business and on the purchase of western horses for his private use. Other papers in 1778 include two letters by William Bailey Smith mentioning Daniel Boone's capture by Indians and the raising of troops in the Holston River area; seven letters by Oliver Pollock (primarily contemporary copies) and two by James Willing on such matters as the cooperation of Willing with Clark, Spanish relations in the lower Mississippi Valley, and Pollock's financial operations; a letter by John Bowman describing the Indian siege of Boonesborough; letters by Joseph Bowman, Gabriel Cerré, Joseph Cesirre, and H. Perrault, a contemporary French translation of a letter by Clark, and Leonard Helm's certificate of appointment as superintendent of Indian affairs, all of which relate to the reception of Clark by the French settlers at Kaskaskia and subsequent American administration and Indian relations there; a Virginia assembly resolution of thanks to Clark for his services and a letter of commendation to him by Benjamin Harrison. Pollock's letters are supplemented by invoices (1778) for merchandise he shipped to Clark from New Orleans. Letters to Clark by James Barbour (1780), John Breckinridge (1795), and Nicholas Meriwether (1797) pertain to Kentucky land surveys. A copy of a letter (1797) by Thomas Jefferson and a letter (1798) by Samuel Brown discuss the account of the murder of Logan's family published in Jefferson's Notes on Virginia. An additional facsimile of Patrick Henry's letter to Clark of January 2, 1778, is also filed among the papers. In his bibliographical notes, Draper referred to this volume as “Clark Papers, Volume II.”
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Series: 49 J (Volume 49)Original manuscripts and contemporary copies, mainly dated in 1779. Clark's capture of Vincennes in February is documented by Henry Hamilton's truce offer and Clark's surrender notice, by lists of the British garrison and prisoners taken by Clark at Fort Sackville, by Clark's order governing the transport of Hamilton and his men to Williamsburg, and by the indictment and order for Hamilton's imprisonment in Virginia. Also retained by Clark was a group of Hamilton's papers, 1777-1779, including records of Indian council proceedings and speeches at Detroit (1777 and 1779), and letters (1779) by Charles Beaubien, Alexander Grant, Richard B. Lernoult, David Lyster, Norman McLeod, Alexander Macomb, and a “Mr. Pollard.” Within this correspondence are accounts of the fortification of Detroit, of Samuel Girty's arrival there, and of the massacre at Cherry Valley, New York, by rangers and Indians led by Walter Butler and Joseph Brant. Fully two-thirds of Clark's papers in this volume pertain to his problems during the months following the surrender of Vincennes: the establishment of American government in Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes; the threat of restless Indians to Kentucky and the Illinois country; and the frustrating difficulties encountered in attempting to raise men, money, and supplies for an expedition against Detroit. Most frequently represented among his correspondents were John Montgomery, Oliver Pollock, and John Todd. In addition to the inevitable discussion of financial problems, Pollock's letters include many reports on the manpower and fortifications at British posts in Louisiana and Florida. One of Todd's letters (October 3, 1779) contains a brief reference to Teresa de Leyba, sister of the Spanish governor at St. Louis, with whom Clark's name was linked in romance. From his correspondents Clark also received widespread reports on conditions in Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Williamsburg, Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes. Other writers included John Bowman, Joseph Bowman, Richard Brashear, Daniel Brodhead, Gabriel Cerré, Robert George, Leonard Helm, Daniel Maurice Godefroy de Linctot, Benjamin Logan, Richard McCarty, John Page, James Patten, Thomas Quirk, John Rogers, Levi Todd, Robert Todd, and John Williams. Papers authored by Clark himself include orders, proclamations to the citizens of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, and one personal letter to his father John Clark. Also filed in this volume are a contemporary copy of the resolution of the Virginia House of Delegates awarding a sword to Clark for his capture of Vincennes; an undated manuscript legal opinion by Edmund Pendleton on the claim for half-pay for John Rogers; an undated statement by James Patten discussing the settlement of Kentucky following the surrender of Vincennes, an attack on Fort Jefferson, Bowman's expedition, and Clark's campaign of 1780; and a speech of John Montgomery to the Sauk Indians about 1780.
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Series: 50 J (Volume 50)Mainly original manuscripts and contemporary copies of papers dated in 1780 pertaining to Clark's activities during that year. Major topics discussed are the building and defense of Fort Jefferson on the Mississippi River; British and Indian movements toward Kentucky and the Illinois country; preparations for and the success of Clark's retaliatory expedition against the Shawnee towns of Chillicothe and Piqua in Ohio; Clark's constant struggle to obtain men, money, and supplies; and Augustin Mottin de La Balme's defeat by the Miami Indians. Undocumented in this volume are the Indian attacks on Cahokia and St. Louis late in May; Clark's part in the defense of St. Louis; and the subsequent pursuit of the Indians to Peoria and the Rock River Valley of Illinois, a campaign ordered by Clark and carried out under the command of John Montgomery. Approximately a dozen letters by Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia to Joseph Martin, Evan Shelby, Daniel Smith, and Thomas Walker as well as to Clark concern the building of Fort Jefferson, troop enlistments, currency depreciation, the Shawnee campaign, and the proposed expedition to Detroit. Several letters by Oliver Pollock to Clark not only discuss supplies and finances but also mention treatment of deserters from Clark's forces and news of Bernardo de Galvez's campaign against the British posts in Mobile and Pensacola. One letter by Pierre Prevost concerns the British plan to send Indians south from Mackinac. Other correspondents discussing Indian unrest, military events and appointments, and Clark's campaigns include: Chief Battist of the Kaskaskia Indians, Thomas Bentley, D. Blouin, Daniel Brodhead, Richard Campbell, William Crawford, John Dodge, Pierre Dorion, Robert George, Pierre Gibault, John Gibson, Charles Gratiot, Richard Harrison, J.M.P. Legras, Andrew Lewis, Richard McCarty, John Montgomery, William Shannon, George Slaughter, John Todd, Charles W. Thruston, Thomas Walker, and Richard Winston. Although the Shawnee are the Indians mentioned most frequently in the letters, there are a few references also to other tribes such as the Chickasaw, Kaskaskia, and Kickapoo. Attesting further to Indian threats to settlements in Illinois and Kentucky during this year are petitions from citizens of Cahokia, Boonesborough, Bryan's Station, and Lexington. Citizens of Clarksville on the Mississippi (Fort Jefferson) petitioned for the establishment of a new county. Also in this volume are a certificate of election of magistrates signed by more than ninety inhabitants of Louisville and a group of Louisville court proceedings signed by Thomas Helm. A few letters by Benjamin Day, Dudley Digges, William Mayo Jr., George Meriwether, and George Morgan pertain to business matters; some allusions are obscure, but there are references to Virginia's claims to western lands and to land speculations in Kentucky. Other signers of documents hitherto not mentioned include John Dougherty, David Gass, James Francis Moore, and John South.
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Series: 51 J (Volume 51)Primarily original manuscripts dated in 1781. Single letters by James Fairlie, George Gibson, Thomas Jefferson, William North, and two by Baron Friedrich W. von Steuben relate to Clark's emergency service in helping to repel the British invasion up the James River in January. The rest of the papers directly or indirectly pertain to plans and preparations for Clark's Detroit expedition and to the final abandonment of this project. Among the papers are several letters (January-February) from Jefferson giving instructions to Clark, Clark's commission as brigadier general, his speech to the Kentucky officers and the minutes of the subsequent meetings in Louisville (September 6-7) at which they voted against an offensive campaign, and the report (December) of the Virginia House of Delegates withdrawing support from the Detroit project. Many letters and related papers concern supply problems, military rivalries, and the unpopularity of the proposed expedition among the Virginia and Pennsylvania militiamen. There are numerous allusions to Indian raids and threats in the Ohio Valley, particularly Kentucky. One letter (May) by Archibald Lochry assured Clark of his willingness to join the campaign, but there are no papers on the defeat of Lochry and his troops when surprised by warriors under Joseph Brant's command. Letters (April-May) from Clark's brother Richard and from Joseph Hunter and William Shannon brought news of the critical situation at Fort Jefferson a few months before its abandonment. La Balme's defeat was mentioned in a letter (January) from Daniel Maurice Godefroy de Linctot. Later letters (July-August) from Linctot and Charles Gratiot gave Clark news of affairs in St. Louis and reports of the capture of Natchez and Pensacola by the Spaniards. Cornwallis's defeat was noted in letters (October-November) by Jonathan Clark, Isaac Craig, and John Crittenden. On a social note amid so many military problems, John Gibson (July 2) issued an invitation to Clark to join in the “Celebration of the Anniversary of our Glorious Independence” at Fort Pitt. Among the military documents are: a record of a court-martial (July) at which James Thomson was convicted of horse theft and desertion and sentenced to run the gauntlet through the brigade, signed by Zachariah Morgan and Clark; a deposition (August) by James Ballinger describing his capture by Tawa Indians in March and his observations on the garrison and fortifications in Detroit during his imprisonment there, recorded and signed by John Montgomery; a muster roll (December) of the Illinois Regiment under Montgomery's command; and a certificate of service issued (December) for Leonard Helm. Clark's correspondents represented most frequently (four or more letters each) are Daniel Brodhead, John Floyd, John Gibson, and Thomas Jefferson. Other correspondents not previously mentioned include Hugh M. Breckenridge, Arthur Campbell, Gabriel Cerré, Joseph Crockett, Philip Dejean, John Hackenwelder, Benjamin Harrison, David Kennedy, J. M. P. Legras, Benjamin Logan, Timothy de Montbrun, John Montgomery, Richard Peters, Joseph Reed, George Slaughter, James Sullivan, Abraham Tipton, John Todd, and John Williams. Concluding the volume are notes abstracted by Draper in 1846 from the records of Jefferson County, Kentucky, for the years 1781-1785.
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Series: 52 J (Volume 52)Original manuscripts and a few contemporary copies of papers dated in 1782 and 1783. Subjects reflected in Clark's incoming correspondence for 1782 are the massive Indian threats to the Ohio Valley, the efforts made by Clark and his loyal officers to construct the forts and row galleys ordered by the Virginia government for the defense of Kentucky, the siege of Bryan's Station, the battle of Blue Licks, the plans of Clark and William Irvine for a two-pronged retaliatory expedition against the Shawnee towns and Sandusky, and the countermanding of Irvine's participation. More than a dozen letters by John Floyd detail the attempts to mount an adequate Kentucky defense in the face of such formidable obstacles as lack of money, arms, tools, and raw materials, as well as reluctant, impetuous, and sometimes mutinous militia; that Kentuckians could be resourceful was demonstrated by Floyd's report that ropes were being made of pawpaw bark because there was no hemp. One letter (April 14) by John Nevill brought news of the massacre of the Moravian Indians, an act which Nevill feared correctly would bring a “verry Troublesome summer.” Reports of the Bryan's Station and the Blue Licks engagements are found not only in Floyd's letters, but also in a narrative containing copies of letters by Levi Todd and several other officers. Draper attributed the authorship of the narrative to Todd, although this copy is in Clark's handwriting. Aside from two letters early in 1783, one bearing congratulations from Jonathan Clark, the other from Bartholomew Tardiveau relaying a proposal that an Indian woman prisoner had made to return to her people to intercede for peace, there are few allusions to Clark's campaign against the Shawnee in Ohio in the fall of 1782. Frequently mentioned in 1782 letters and dominant in the 1783 correspondence are fiscal claims to Virginia for supplies and services and the financial problems and sacrifices incurred by Clark and some of his correspondents-John Gibson, J.M.P. Legras, and Oliver Pollock-during the earlier Revolutionary campaigns in the West. Several writers in these years-John Crittenden, Walker Daniel, and John Marshall-also discussed Clark's land interests. From Governor Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, Clark received eight letters giving instructions, criticisms, optimistic expectation that the western Indians would abide by the peace terms between the United States and Great Britain, and finally (July 2, 1783) the cancellation of Clark's commission as a Virginia officer accompanied by thanks for his many services. From two other notable Virginians there are also letters. Three from James Monroe sought information on western settlement and social conditions; in one Monroe also alluded to reports that Clark was engaging in undesirable private speculation and was drinking to excess. Three from Thomas Jefferson expressed interest in obtaining fossils and other natural history specimens, as well as observations about the western Indians; Jefferson also proposed (December 4, 1783) to Clark the leadership of an expedition to explore the country between the Mississippi River and California, a region which Jefferson feared would be colonized by the British. Another document signed by Clark is a certificate (1782) concerning the settlement of an account held by Edward Worthington. A draft of a letter (June 1783) to the governor of Virginia, requesting redress for creditors of the state of Virginia, Thwaites ascribed to Clark but believed it to be in the handwriting of John Crittenden. Other miscellaneous papers found in the volume include lists of officers in the Illinois Regiment with dates of their enlistment; a petition concerning the payment of judges; a letter on behalf of civil and military officers of Fayette County, Kentucky, signed by Daniel Boone; and a contemporary copy of a proclamation (March 24, 1783) by Caesar Anne de la Luzerne, French minister to the United States, announcing the arrival of official news that Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. Writers of letters in 1782-1783, not previously mentioned include: John Campbell, Valentine T. Dalton, William Davies, John Dodge, Pierre Gamelin, Robert George, Charles Gratiot, William Irvine, Benjamin Logan, John McDowell, Thomas Marshall, Michel Perrault, Jacob Pyeatt, Edmund Randolph, Jacob Rubsamen, Israel Ruland, George Walls, and John Williams.
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Series: 53 J (Volume 53)Original manuscripts and contemporary copies of correspondence and records, 1784-1792. In the opening pages are a printed proclamation of the articles of peace between the United States and Great Britain as ratified by Congress (January 1784), signed by Charles Thomson; Clark's commission (1784) as principal surveyor of the Virginia land grant for the Illinois Regiment, signed by Governor Harrison; and records (1784) of Clark's election by Congress as commissioner to negotiate with the Indians, including letters from Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Mifflin, as well as the congressional certificate of election and commission, both signed by Thomson. Numerous letters from Clark's fellow commissioners, Arthur Lee and Richard Butler, and related papers from the spring of 1784 through March 1786, pertain to travel and negotiations, which resulted in treaties at Fort McIntosh in January 1785, and at Fort Finney in February 1786. As the treaties failed to quell Indian troubles, Clark's correspondence later in 1786 largely concerns the Indian threat to Fort Finney, hostilities at Vincennes, and the preparations for and execution of Clark's Wabash campaign. Also found are proceedings (1786) of the Board of Officers of the Kentucky District selecting Clark to command the Wabash offensive, signed by Benjamin Logan. Letters by John Small and Daniel Sullivan in Vincennes and John Edgar in Kaskaskia comment on the dissatisfaction expressed by the French inhabitants toward the weak American government, and an undated proclamation [circa 1786?] by Clark to the citizens of Vincennes shows his attempt to restore legal government functions through cooperation of both civil and military authorities. A letter and proclamation from Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia and proceedings of the Virginia Council, all dated in 1787, disavowed Clark's actions in recruiting men and seizing Spanish property (a Spanish merchant ship) during his defense of Vincennes in the preceding year. Scattered through the correspondence of the 1780s are occasional references to Clark's land claims and interests; one letter (August 1784) from Governor Harrison expressed disapproval of Clark's attempt to settle Clarksville (Indiana) for fear it would involve the United States in a war with the Indians north of the Ohio. A letter (1786) from George Mason sought information from Clark on land on Panther Creek, Kentucky, to which Mason had a claim. Economic conditions in the Mississippi Valley and relations with the Spanish are touched upon in letters by John Williams (to his father William Williams, 1784) and by Thomas Green (to Clark, 1786), and in a proclamation (1788) by George Morgan promoting his proposed settlement at New Madrid in Spanish territory. Letters (1789-1791) to Clark by John Brown and a contemporary copy of a portion of a letter (1791) by Jefferson to Harry Innes mention Clark's writing of his, memoir. Several letters (1787-1792) by Jonathan Clark concert his brother's business affairs, particularly the rejection of his claims against the state of Virginia. Other writers of letters in this volume are: James Alder, Archibald Blair, Abraham Chapline, Isaac Cox, John Crittenden, Joseph Crockett, William Croghan, A.B. Crump, Valentine T. Dalton, Walter Finney, Christopher Greenup, John Harvie, Moses Henry, James Innes, John May, and Benjamin Sebastian. One printed handbill contains “AN ACT Concerning the erection of KENTUCKY into an INDEPENDENT STATE,” dated December 29, 1788. This volume Draper cited as “Clark Papers, Volume VII.”
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Series: 54 J (Volume 54)Miscellaneous original manuscripts dated from 1787 to 1825. Survey notes, deeds, plats, and a few letters of varied dates relate to Clark's land interests, the grant to the Illinois Regiment, and the development of Clarksville (Indiana). A few letters, 1793-1794, mention French foreign affairs, Clark's preparations and expenditures for the abortive French expedition against the Spaniards in the Mississippi Valley, and Spanish defense measures. Composing this correspondence are letters of Joseph Fauchet to Clark (1794), Michael Lacassagne to Isaac Shelby (1793), Edmund Randolph to James Monroe (1794), and G. Roulstone to John Sevier (1794). A letter by William Logan to Shelby and a contemporary copy of a proclamation by Juan Ventura Morales, intendant of the Province of Louisiana, concern Spanish-American relations in 1802. Papers written and/or signed by Clark in this volume include several promissory notes and orders (1787), a plat for land surveyed for him by Robert Todd (1787) several deeds for tracts in the Illinois grant (1788-1789), a letter (1799) on financial matters addressed to Isaac Hite, a deposition (1805) containing an account of Clark's intended expedition against Detroit in 1781, and a letter (1805) to John Breckinridge accompanying a copy of a memorial to Congress requesting ratification of a deed for lands granted Clark by Indians. Papers, 1810-1818, are primarily bills and receipts for taxes, clothing, carriage and harness, and other expenditures for personal merchandise and services for Clark during his last years. Miscellaneous documents concerning Clark's contemporaries include: an address (1808) by inhabitants of St. Charles District, Louisiana Territory, expressing satisfaction with John Coburn as judge; a survey and plat (1809) for land in Madison County, Kentucky, done by Joseph Barnett for Isaac Shelby; a letter (1825) by Barnett to Shelby concerning Barnett's fiscal problems arising from his service in the War of 1812; and a War of 1812 discharge paper (1815) for Benjamin Bowman. Other writers of letters in this volume are: Richard C. Anderson, Cuthbert Bullitt, Jonathan Clark, Lardner Clark, William Clark, Martin Durald, John Hardin, Henry Lee, G. Nicholas, James Speed, the elder John C. Symmes, John Taylor, James Wilkinson, and George Wilson. Persons addressed who have not been previously mentioned included: Edward Clark, John Coburn, William Croghan, Gabriel Johnston, Henry Lee, Peyton Short, and Thomas Todd. Among additional signatures to be found on legal and business documents are those of John Baley, Henry Blunt, Alexander Breckinridge, Daniel Brodhead, Abraham Chapline, Marston G. Clark, Andrew Heth, Patrick Joyes, James F. Moore, Samuel Oldham, Jacob Owen, Edmund Rogers, Michael Slaughter, Richard Taylor, Richard Terrell, Robert Todd, and B[uckner] Thruston. A printed handbill (1798), entitled “There is a Snake in the Grass!!!”, warned Kentucky citizens against signing an address to the president in support of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
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Series: 55 J (Volume 55)Original manuscripts, 1793-1818, 1823. Most numerous and significant are the records of the intended French expedition against Louisiana proposed and organized by Clark in 1793. Opening the volume is a draft of Clark's proposal in the handwriting of James O'Fallon, dated in February 1793, and addressed to the French minister [Edmond Genet]. Also found are: John Brown's letter of introduction of André Michaux, the French botanist who was also deeply involved in the French project; three letters written by Michaux; letters offering their services written by Clark's friends and former officers, Benjamin Logan and John Montgomery; and a letter from Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, endorsed by James Monroe, discussing the legality of the expedition. Nearly a dozen letters, 1794-1796, by Samuel Fulton, Clark's agent in the United States and France, concern first provisions and supplies and later the lengthy negotiations with the French government for payment of the expenses incurred by Clark and his men. Other papers pertaining to the French plan include: an extensive printed broadside (December 13, 1793) on the navigation of the Mississippi composed of an address by John Breckenridge “To the INHABITANTS of the UNITED STATES West of the Allegany and, Apalachian [sic] Mountains;” Clark's letter (1795) to the Committee of Public Safety requesting renewal of the expedition; single letters by Joseph Fauchet, French minister to the United States in 1794, Hugh McCullom, and P. Tardiveau; and the detailed financial accounts and claims submitted to the French government. Nearly a dozen letters, 1794-1810, by Jonathan Clark relate primarily to his unsuccessful efforts to gather proof and secure payment of his younger brother's claims against the state of Virginia, but there are also references to law suits, family affairs, and national events and economic conditions. There are also numerous personal letters from other members of Clark's family; his brothers Edmund and William; and his relatives in the Croghan, Gwathmey, and O'Fallon families. Between 1798 and 1806 there are letters from three authors, Joseph H. Daviess, Allan B. Magruder, and Stephen C. Ustick, requesting use of Clark's papers for their writings on western history and Indian warfare. Inspired by news of a Fourth of July tribute to Clark by citizens of Jefferson County, Kentucky, in 1811, Francis Vigo also sent felicitations to his old friend. Letters by William Croghan, Charles Fenton Mercer, and John Pope detail the award of a sword and pension to Clark by Virginia in 1812, and Clark's gracious acceptance. Receipts, 1809-1813, for services of doctors Richard W. Ferguson and John Collins and a few of the family letters allude to the amputation of Clark's leg and other health matters. One letter (1823) by Silas Moor Stilwell concerning the land grant to the Illinois Regiment was addressed to William Croghan after Clark's death. Other correspondents not previously mentioned include: John Adair, Abraham Buford, Abraham Chapline, Dennis Fitzhugh, Samuel F. Fitzhugh, George C. Gwathmey, Owen Gwathmey, Samuel Gwahmey, Benjamin Howard, Harry Innes, John O'Fallon, G.D. Pendleton, Worden Pope, Samuel Shannon, and William Sullivan. Also found are a few Clark obituaries and a copy of John Rowan's address at the funeral. Similar materials are also in Volume 12 J. Filed as an undated paper is a printed piece, “An Act to Incorporate the Indiana Canal Company” [1811], in which Clark was listed as one of the directors.
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Series: 56 J (Volume 56)
: Judge-advocate's record book, 1779-1781, containing proceedings of courts-martial and courts of inquiry held by officers of Clark's Illinois Regiment. Cases involve desertion, assault, rioting, and various disputes among the officers. Numerous entries bear Clark's signatures of approval.
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Series: 57 J (Volume 57)
: Manuscript autobiography, 1827, by Daniel Trabue of Adair County, Kentucky, giving the history of Trabue's Huguenot family and a detailed narrative of his life and of frontier events in Virginia and Kentucky during the Revolutionary period until 1780. A clipping, a few letters, and notes by Draper, all relating to the Trabue family, follow the autobiography.
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Series: 58 J (Volume 58)Transcripts of two groups of manuscripts by or about Clark: 1) Copies made by Draper in 1848 of transcripts of correspondence, 1779-1781, between Sir Henry Clinton and General Frederick Haldimand, and copies of Clark's correspondence captured by the British in 1779. The copies from which Draper made his selections had been transcribed by Jared Sparks from the papers of Sir Guy Carleton in London. 2) A copy of Clark's narrative of his Illinois campaign, 1777-1779, written in November 1779, for George Mason. This transcript was made for Draper in 1847 by Mrs. Taliaferro P. Shaffner from the original in possession of Mr. Shaffner and the Kentucky Historical Society.
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Series: 59 J (Volume 59)
: Notes and transcripts made by Draper in 1846. These include: a copy of Clark's “Memoir,” the original of which is in Volume 47 J; notes on the attack on Boonesborough in 1778, on Samuel Brady, and on John Lewis (1678-1762) of Virginia and his descendants; and a copy of an account of the battle of Point Pleasant written by Andrew Lewis about 1840.
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Series: 60 J (Volume 60)
: Five of Draper's notebooks bound together. The first four contain selections and excerpts from the records in the Virginia State Archives known as the “Illinois Papers,” studied and copied by Draper in 1847. Included are letters to and from Clark and notes on many of his associates. In addition to “Illinois Papers,” the fifth notebook contains some materials from other sources: notes from the Virginia Gazette, 1774-1776; depositions by James Paull (1838) and Basil Brown (1834) about David Rogers's defeat in 1779; and notes on Thomas P. Bullitt and some of his descendants. All of these notebooks pertain largely to Clark's military career in the period from 1777 to 1783. Each notebook contains a detailed index by Draper.
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Series: 61 J (Volume 61)
: Original manuscript proceedings, 1783-1816, of the Board of Commissioners governing the surveying, selection, and awarding of the Virginia land grant for the Illinois Regiment. In addition to minutes of the commissioners' meetings, there are lists of men in the regiment with notations about the lands allotted to each.
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Series: 62 J (Volume 62)
: An original record book, May 16 - June 10, 1778, containing orders, court-martial proceedings, and. inspection reports pertaining to Virginia units in the Continental Army at Washington's headquarters [Valley Forge, Pennsylvania].
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Series: 63 J (Volume 63)A notebook containing two series of manuscript entries: 1) George Rogers Clark's orderly book, 1781-1782 2) William Clark's diary, May 23 - August 20, 1791, written while he was a member of Charles Scott's expedition against the Indians in the Wabash River region of Indiana.
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Series: 64 J (Volume 64)
: Three small notebooks bound together. These contain miscellaneous memoranda by Draper, mainly brief notations of material to be included in his Clark biography.
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