General Jeffery Amherst served as commander in chief of the British army in North America during the Seven Years’ War from 1758 until 1763. Under Amherst’s leadership the British defeated French forces enabling the British Crown to claim Canada. Like many military officers, Amherst kept a journal of his daily activities, and the scope of this publication is from March 1757, while he was Commissary to the troops of Hesse-Kassel on British service in Germany, until his return to Great Britain in December 1763. The daily journal contains a record of and a commentary on events that Amherst witnessed or that he learned of through his correspondence. Where he mentions letters or orders received or sent, where possible, the present-day source locations of documents are identified. The Daily and Personal Journals are the record of the man who played a decisive role in British victories at Louisbourg, on Lake Champlain, and at Montreal. Amherst wrote the personal journal after he returned home. It does not have entries made on a daily basis. It is replete with lists, diagrams, and compendia to more fully explain events. Colored diagrams show dispositions or “Orders of Battle,” organizational structures, and evidence of uniform colors of units for campaigns at Louisbourg, Quebec, Niagara, Lake Champlain, the Carolinas, Montreal, and the Caribbean. In addition, Amherst made mileage charts and lists of ships, currency values, and officers who died during the war.
ContentsIllustrationsMapsAcknowledgmentsJeffery Amherst in America: A Personal AssessmentThe TextsPart One. The Daily Journals: Amherst MSS U1350 O15Preface to the Daily JournalsU1350 O15/1: 14 January 1758 to 18 June 1758U1350 O15/2: 19 June 1758 to 9 August 1758U1350 O15/3: 10 August 1758 to 20 November 1758U1350 O15/4: 21 November 1758 to 13 July 1759U1350 O15/5: 14 July 1759 to 23 September 1759U1350 O15/6: 24 September 1759 to 28 May 1760U1350 O15/7: 29 May 1760 to 9 August 1760U1350 O15/8: 10 August 1760 to 11 September 1760U1350 O15/9: 12 September 1760 to 8 June 1761U1350 O15/10: 19 July 1761 to 27 February 1763U1350 O15/11: 28 February 1763 to 9 November 1763U1350 O15/12: 16 November 1763 to 29 December 1763List of the Men of WarState of the Provincial Troops in 1759State of the Provincial Troops in 1760State of the Provincial Troops in 1761State of the Provincial Troops in 1762Provincial Troops, Voted and Raised, in the Years 1759–1762State of the Recruits Demanded of the Several Provinces in the Year 1762Part Two. The Personal Journal: Amherst MSS U1350 O14Preface to the Personal JournalExtracts from Amherst’s Journal U1350 O14, 14 January 1758–29 December 1763Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc., 1758Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc., 1759Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc., 1760Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc. 1761Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc. 1762Distribution of Troops, Diagrams, Orders, etc. 1763New Establishment of Regiments, 1763Ranging Companies Employed During Amherst’s CommandList of Vessels Built and Taken on the LakesState of Provincial Troops, 1759–1762Officers Killed, Dead, or Missing in the American Army, 1758–1763List of Men of War employed at New YorkMileage ChartsUntitled List of RegimentsIndex
