Guide to the Diary of Timothy Tuttle 1775-1776 MG 231
TABLE OF CONTENTSDescriptive Summary |
 1775-1776 52 Park Place Newark, New Jersey 07102 Contact: NJHS Library (973) 596-8500 x249 library@jerseyhistory.org https://www.jerseyhistory.org © 2004 All rights reserved. The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher Inventory prepared by Stephen Yautz as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Finding aid encoded by Danielle Kovacs. September 2003. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English. Biographical NoteTimothy Tuttle, a native of Morris County, New Jersey, joined the patriot cause when he enlisted in the First New Jersey Continental Regiment in 1775, commanded by Colonel, later Brigadier General, William Alexander (Lord Stirling). He was accorded the rank of sergeant, and served in Captain Joseph Morris’s First Company. One of Tuttle’s first assignments was the fortification of New York City in late 1775. However, with an American campaign against the British underway in Canada, he was ordered to proceed northward to reinforce the beleaguered American effort. Eventually, Tuttle was stationed at Ticonderoga, and other various locations in the northernmost portions of upstate New York, including Fort Edward, Lake George, and Crown Point. After surviving a bout of smallpox, Tuttle assisted in rebuilding the fortifications on a hill opposite Ticonderoga. The result of the soldiers’ efforts was the halt of the British advance into New York that was led by General Guy Carleton in October 1776. Sergeant Tuttle and a segment of the First New Jersey Regiment were discharged upon their return to New Jersey in early November 1776. Tuttle later served in the New Jersey Militia, and took part in the Battle of Red Bank in 1779 and the Battle of Connecticut Farms (now Union, New Jersey) in 1780, and eventually attained the rank of captain by the end of his term of service. After the Revolutionary War ended, Tuttle managed a large flour mill located in Hanover, New Jersey. He and Mary Ward were married on October 24, 1779, with whom he had four children. Tuttle died in Hanover on June 16, 1816. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThis collection consists of a diary by Timothy Tuttle, a sergeant in the First Company of the First New Jersey Continental Regiment. The journal covers the time span of December 21, 1775 to November 9, 1776. In his diary, Tuttle recounts his activities that include daily routines of sentry duty, assisting in strengthening fortifications in New York City, and participating in the monotonous and grueling task of marching from Morris County to Elizabethtown to New York City, then to Long Island and back to New York City, and finally, to Ticonderoga, New York, where he remained for the duration of his service with the First New Jersey Regiment. In other instances, Tuttle spent much of his time making preparations for battle. At one point, he spent the entire last two weeks in February 1776 doing nothing more than making cartridges for his musket. Malnourishment, fatigue and disease, as with most Continental Army troops at the time, plagued even Tuttle himself, when he was stricken with, and survived, a case of smallpox while encamped at Isle aux Nois, Quebec and Crown Point, New York in June 1776. The inoculations administered on June 19, 1776 seemed to have paid off, for Tuttle reports by July 1st that “the small pox seems to go favorable with us.” Provisions were also low, since he complained that “we are pinched for provisions & I cant but grumble for I Believe it is to Be had, the Yankees [New Englanders] Gits fresh Beef enough.” Records of various loans that Tuttle made to others, as well as records of repayments of those loans, complete the volume. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions on this collection. Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff. Use RestrictionsResearchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission. The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialFor a printed version of Tuttle’s diary in its entirety, see: Wickman, Donald. “The Diary of Timothy Tuttle,” New Jersey History, Fall/Winter 1995, volume 113, numbers 3-4. For documents pertaining to the First New Jersey Continental Regiment, see: Manuscript Group 70, James Alexander and William Alexander (Lord Stirling) Papers Manuscript Group 226, First New Jersey Continental Regiment Orderly Book Manuscript Group 232, William Barton Journal Manuscript Group 833, First New Jersey Continental Regiment Account Book Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationCustodial HistoryInscribed on the front free endpaper, “Sent to Joseph F. Tuttle by favor of Hon. George Vail.” It is not known how the collection came to The New Jersey Historical Society. Preferred CitationThis collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 231, Timothy Tuttle Journal, The New Jersey Historical Society. Return to the Table of Contents BibliographyOfficial Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War. Trenton, New Jersey: William T. Nicholson and Co., 1872. Wickman, Donald. “The Diary of Timothy Tuttle,” New Jersey History, Fall/Winter 1995, volume 113, numbers 3-4. Return to the Table of Contents |
