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Historical Sources

Everything we do is made possible by the study of historical documents. These primary sources are the basis of all history

We will be providing source material from two sources. First, we will be looking at sources that we have access to ourselves, and digitising them. Check back here to see what we are working on, and what progress we are making.

Secondly we will be looking at significant texts already in the public domain. Many of these are provided as plain text, or in massive and unwieldy blocks, so we will be looking at presenting them in a more user friendly way. The first text that we have provided in this way is the Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, a collection of Robert E. Lee's letters selected and linked by his son Robert E. Lee junior. We are currently working on U. S. Grant's autobiography, and hope to eventually provide searchable versions of as many documents as possible. Currently we have 600,000 words of primary sources in just over fifty documents

Each of these texts will be searchable, as will the entire collection of sources as we develop it.

Newest Post: 7 July 2017

Many thanks to Harold Rogers for allowing us to post this account of his experiences of National Service in the RAF in 1951-53, including a period on Malta with No.605 Squadron.

This account of the British retreat to Dunkirk and the evacuation that followed was written by Gunner Sidney Fowler and was originally published in the Newsletter of the Friends' Hall Gooch Street, Birmingham.

Current Projects

The Keith Papers Vol III: 1803-1815

SECTION TARGET PROGRESS
Part 1: Channel and North Sea 1803-1807    
1: Operations 142 documents (scanned) 1-40
2: Sea Fencibles 21 documents (scanned)  
3: Manning 31 documents  
4: Convoy and Blockade 33 documents  
5: Miscellaneous 9 documents  
Part II: Channel Fleet, 1812-1814    
1: Bay of Biscay 41 documents  
2: North Coast of Spain 54 documents  
3: Miscellaneous 11 documents  
Part III: The Surrender of Napoleon, 1815 69 documents  

Official Records of the Rebellion,

Volume Total Pages Scanned Documents on site Pages
vol 11 chapter 23 part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1 1077 1077

section 1: 1-15 (complete)
section 2: 1-23
section 5: 49, 57, 61, 74

5-354, 403, 533-548, ,569, 601-606
vol 11 chapter 23 part 3: The Peninsular Campaign, Letters 691 74 nos. 1-4 5-10

Full list of Sources

Napoleonic Wars

Copenhagen, battle of: Nelson's first letter to the Crown Prince
Copenhagen, battle of: Nelson's second letter to the Crown Prince
Keith Papers, Vol III: 1803-1815 (work in progress)

American Civil War

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11 chapter 23 part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1
Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11 chapter 23 part 3: The Peninsular Campaign, Letters
Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee
The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant,

Diary of Progress

13 February

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 22-23 about the battle of Yorktown.

  1. Brig. Gen. William F. Barry, U. S. Army, Chief of Artillery Army of the Potomac, of the siege.
  2. Col. Henry J. Hunt, commanding Artillery Reserve, of operations April 18— June 25.

4 February 2007

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports seventeen to twenty one about the battle of Yorktown.

  1. Brig. Gen. John J. Peck, U. S. Army, of operations April 5—30.
  2. Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, U. S. Army, of reconnaissance toward Yorktown, April 6, with indorsements.
  3. Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, U. S. Army, as Director of the Siege of Yorktown from April 7—May 5.
  4. Brig. Gen. John G. Barnard, U. S. Army, Chief Engineer Army of the Potomac, of operations during the siege.
  5. Lieut. Cyrus B. Comstock, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, of Confederate works at Gloucester Point, Va.

23 January 2007

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports nine-sixteen about the battle of Yorktown.

  1. Col. Charles A. Johnson, Twenty-fifth New York Infantry, of operations April 4—13.
  2. Brig. Gen. George W. Morell, U. S. Army, commanding Second Brigade, of operations April 4—9.
  3. Brig. Gen. William F. Smith, U. S. Army, commanding Second Division, Fourth Corps, of operations April 4—12.
  4. Col. Hiram Berdan, First U. S. Sharpshooters, of operations April 4—21.
  5. Lieut. Henry W. Kingsbury, commanding Battery D, Fifth U. S. Artillery, of operations April 5.
  6. Lieut. Charles E. Hazlett, Battery D, Fifth U. S. Artillery, of operations April 5.
  7. Capt. Augustus P. Martin, Battery C, Massachusetts Light Artillery, of operations April 5.
  8. Capt. William B. Weeden, Battery C, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, of operations April 5.
  9. Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson, U. S. Army, commanding Third Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Corps, of operations April 5—12.

12 January 2007

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1. Three more reports from the battle of Yorktown:

Col. Charles W. Roberts, Second Maine Infantry, of operations April 4-13.
Col. James Barnes, Eighteenth Massachusetts Infantry, of operations April 4-14.
Col. Jesse A. Gove, Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry, of operations April 4-12.

12 December 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1. Started on the Battle of Yorktown, with the first four reports:

Organization of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, during the siege of Yorktown.
Brig. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, U. S. Army, commanding First Brigade, Second Division (Richardson’s), Second Corps, of operations April 4—7.
Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, U. S. Army, commanding division, of operations April 4—6.
Brig. Gen. John H. Martindale, U. S. Army, commanding First Brigade, of operations April 4—7.

28 November 2006

The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, one of the most valuable of all Civil War era autobiographies.

20 November 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1 - added the last five reports to complete this section.
11: Report of Surg. Jonathan Letterman, U. S. Army, Medical Director Army of the Potomac, of operations from July 4 to September 2.
12: Reports of Maj. Albert J. Myer, Chief Signal Officer
13: Reports of B. J. Allen [Allen Pinkerton], Chief of Secret Service Division.
14: Report of Colonel Robert O. Tyler, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, commanding siege train.
15: Report of General Joseph E. Johnston, C. S. Army, commanding Department of Northern Virginia, of operations from April 15 to May 19

30 October 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Report of Col. Henry F. Clarke, U. S. Army, Chief Commissary of Subsistence of operations from August 1, 1861, to November 9, 1862 and Report of Surgeon Charles S. Tripler, U. S. Army, Medical Director, Army of the Potomac, of operations from March 17 to July 3

29 October 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Report of Brig. Gen. Rufus Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster, of the operations from August, 1861, to September 2, 1862.

25 October 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Report of Brig. Gen. Stewart Van Vliet, U. S. Army, Chief Quartermaster, of operations from July 27, 1861, to July 10, 1862. and Report of Col. Charles P. Kingsbury, U. S. Army, Chief Ordnance Officer

9 October 2006

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Report of Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, U. S. Army, Chief of Topographical Engineers

9 August 2006:

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Reports of Lieut. Col. Barton S. Alexander, U. S. Army, Engineer Officer, of operations from April 20 to July 12

20 July 2006:

Official Records of the Rebellion, vol 11, chapter 23, part 1: The Peninsular Campaign, Reports 1: Added Reports of Brig. Gen. John G. Barnard, U. S. Army, Chief Engineer of operations on the Peninsula

19 July 2006:

The Keith Papers Vol III: 1803-1815: Part 1: Channel and North Sea 1803-1807: 1: Operations: Added documents 31- 40

18 July 2006:

The Keith Papers Vol III: 1803-1815: Part 1: Channel and North Sea 1803-1807: 1: Operations: Added documents 21-30

 


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