TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Restrictions
Access Points
Related Material
Administrative Information
Container List
Volume |
Guide to the Elias Dayton (1737-1807), Revolutionary War Officer Papers
1759-1783
MG 94
The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
Phone: (973) 596-8500 x249
Email: library@jerseyhistory.org
URL: https://www.jerseyhistory.org
© 2005 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Inventory prepared by James Lewis as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. December 2005. 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.
Descriptive Summary
| Creator: |
Dayton, Elias, 1737-1807. |
| Title: |
Elias Dayton (1737-1807), Revolutionary War Officer Papers |
| Dates: |
1759-1783 |
| Abstract: |
Correspondence with Philip Schuyler, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, George Washington, and others; military commissions; returns of New Jersey regiments; accounts of the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, as well as of the siege of Yorktown; journal kept on the expedition against the Indians near Detroit in 1764. |
| Quantity: |
0.5 linear feet |
| Collection Number: |
MG 94 |
Biographical Note
Elias Dayton (1737-1807) was a merchant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1756, he became a lieutenant in the Jersey Blues, a colonial militia that fought in the French and Indian Wars (1754-1763). He was later present at the signing of the peace treaty with the Native American Chief Pontiac outside Detroit, Michigan in 1764. In 1776, Dayton was appointed colonel of the Third New Jersey Regiment of Foot, also known as the Third Battalion, New Jersey Line, in the Continental Army. His unit was stationed at Albany in May 1776; in the fall of 1776 the unit built Fort Schuyler (Rome, N.Y.) and Fort Dayton (Herkimer, N.Y.) and fought off Indian raids from Johnstown and German Flats before returning to Morristown, New Jersey in March of 1777. Dayton and his unit saw action at Bound Brook, Staten Island, and Brandywine in 1777-1778, defended New Jersey from British raids in 1779, and fought at the siege of Yorktown in 1781. On January 3, 1783, Dayton was promoted to Brigadier-General and on November 3, 1783 the unit was discharged. On June 5, 1799, the State of New Jersey promoted Dayton to Major General of the Second Division of Militia.
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Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of one volume containing the papers of Elias Dayton dating from 1759-1783. The volume is entitled “List of Papers Sent by A. D. Dayton to the New Jersey Historical Society, May 8, 1850” and contains a number of Elias Dayton’s promotions; a journal documenting his time with the New Jersey Blues; notes detailing the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and the siege of Yorktown; and sketches of the deployment of the armies at Germantown, and Yorktown. The papers also include letters of Captain Charles Argill, George Washington, General Schuyler, and Jeffery Amherst. These letters discuss such topics as: permission for Argill to return to England and military orders. Most of these papers were reprinted in Vol. 1, Nos. 5 and 9 of the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.
Use Restrictions
Researchers 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.
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Access Points
The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron, 1717-1797.
Argill, Charles, Captain.
Dayton, Elias, 1737-1807.
Schuyler, Philip John, 1733-1804.
Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von, 1730-1794.
Washington, George, 1732-1799.
Subject Organizations:
United States. Continental Army.
United States. Continental Army. New Jersey Regiment, Third.
Subject Topics:
Brandywine, Battle of, Pa., 1777.
Command of troops.
Generals–United States.
Germantown, Battle of, Philadelphia, Pa., 1777.
Military maneuvers–United States.
Soldiers–United States.
Subject Places:
Elizabeth (N.J.)
Morristown (N.J.)
Yorktown (Va.)–History–Siege, 1781.
Document Types:
Diaries.
Letters (Correspondence).
Sketches.
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Related Material
Manuscript Group 38, Ebenezer Elmer (fl. 1776-1785) Papers: Elmer was in Dayton’s unit in the Revolutionary War.
Manuscript Group 216, Captain Thomas Patterson’s 2nd Company, 3rd New Jersey Continental Regiment Account book
Manuscript Group 224, 7th Rifle Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line / Patton’s Additional Regiment Orderly book.
Manuscript Group 227, Jersey Brigade Orderly Book: Dayton was the commanding officer at the time this orderly book was written.
Manuscript Group 377, Joseph Bloomfield (1753-1823) Papers
Manuscript Group 651, Schuyler Family Papers
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 94, Elias Dayton, Revolutionary War Officer Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Aaron Ogden Dayton, 1850.
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Container List
| Volume |
| Box |
Folder |
Title |
Date |
| 1 |
1 |
Single volume of Elias Dayton papers |
1759-1783 |
|
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