Manuscript Group 38, Ebenezer Elmer (fl. 1776-1785), Revolutionary War officer Journals, 1776-1785
Archive Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 38, Ebenezer Elmer (fl. 1776-1785), Revolutionary War officer Journals, 1776-1785, 0.25 linear feet
Call Number: MG 38
Ebenezer Elmer, a lieutenant in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment in the Continental Service, maintained fourteen volumes in which he recorded military orders and his own personal observations about the military conflict from January 9, 1776 to August 12, 1779. Included are notes about troop movements encounters with the enemy, leisure activities of the officers, religious services, treaties and encounters with the Indians, and problems with smallpox among the troops. These journals provide rich details about Native American culture. Elmer makes a number of observations about the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca people, describing their instruments of war, peace symbols, child rearing and education practices, systems of trade (use of wampum), and dance. Of special note is Elmer’s observation of an adult white woman who had been taken into captivity by the Mohawks when she was very young.
Gift of L. Q. C. Elmer, ca. 1845.
For more information on the 3rd New Jersey Regiment see:
ManuscriptGroup 94, Elias Dayton (1737-1807) Papers
ManuscriptGroup 216, Captain Thomas Patterson’s 2nd Company, 3rd New Jersey ContinentalRegiment Account book
ManuscriptGroup 377, Joseph Bloomfield (1753-1823) Papers
| Folder | Contents |
| 1 | “Extracts from the Orderly Book of Colonel Dayton’s Battalion,” April-May 18, 1776. Tipped onto Japanese paper and sewn. Elizabethtown, Perth Amboy, Staten Island. (New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings) |
| 2 | “Journal of an Expedition to Canada…in the Continental Service and the Third Regiment of New Jersey Troup, Commanded Elias Dayton Esq. Colonel, by Ebenezer Elmer Ensign,” February 8-June 7, 1796. Albany, Schenectady, Elizabethtown, Perth Amboy, New York City, Johns Town. [No. II] (New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings) |
| 3 | Journal [continuation of “Journal of an Expedition to Canada…”]. June 7-September 22, 1776. Johns Town, German Flats, Fort Schuyler. Includes: a court hearing at Fort Dayton, Captain Joseph Bloomfield, accounts of the regiment, medical notes, military accounts, daily records and personal observations. Includes three loose items: daily company report, July 26, 1776, and two entries dated July 1776 and September 10-16, 1776. [No. III] (New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings) |
| 4 | Journal. January 9-March 2, 1776. (Personal?) Beginning of Elmer’s service. |
| 5 | Journal. September 23-October 7, 1776. With speeches and addresses. Roster. Morristown, Fort Schuyler. Extract of letter from General Clinton, September 14, 1776. (New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings) |
| 6 | Journal. October 10-November 19, 1776. (Continental Service) Fort Schuyler, Tyconderoga [sic]. List of general officers in the Army, list of officers lost in Battle of Bunker Hill. (New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings) |
| 7 | Journal. October 25-October 31, 1776. Saratoga. [No. IV] Journal. October 29-November 20, 1776. Headquarters, Saratoga/Ticonderoga. |
| 8 | Journal. November 20, 1776-January 19, 1777. Ticonderoga. List of artillery mounted at Ticonderoga, November 8, 1776. [No. VI?] |
| 9 | Orders. November 20-December 29, 1776. Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga. |
| 10 | Journal. December 30, 1776-January 13, 1777. Ticonderoga, Saratoga. |
| 11 | Journal. January 20-May 24, 1777. Cromwell’s prayer at the hour of his death. [No. VII] |
| 12 | Notebook. May 25, 1777. With speeches, a play, entries. [No. VIII] |
| 13 | Notebook. June 1-September 5, 1777. Entries, return of sick roster, accounts, orders. Morristown, Middle Brook Camp. |
| 14 | “Memoirs of an Expedition undertaken against the Savages to the Westward, commanded by … Major John Sullivan,” June 18-August 12, 1779. |
| 15 | Writings on political philosophy. n. d. (Sommers) |
| 16 | Account book. 1782-1785. Personal and military. Military notes, August 24, 1782-November 3, 1783. Account of money received towards the Bridge Town Academy, 1785. Essay on religion. |
