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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02437.01202 |
| From Archive Folder | The Henry Knox Papers [0033] September 1781 |
| Title | A list of the Vessels appropriated to the American Army, loaded with Ordnance and Stores |
| Date | September 1781 |
| Document Type | Military document |
| Content Description | Enumerates the military stores for use in the siege of Yorktown that had been embarked on sixty-four ships at Head of Elk, Maryland. The names of the ships and captains are recorded. Pages 1-3 list 64 ships, enumerating type (sloop, schooner, etc.), name, captain and tonnage. (The captain of the schooner "Dolphin" is listed as "James. Negro.") Page 4 (entirely in Shaw's hand) lists quantities of ball and shell. (An annotation indicates a quantity of ball "unloaded to give the French the vessel and put on board the others...." Another indicates that a quantity of shell was on a vessel that was "cast away on Back River Point.") Pages 5-15 comprise "An account of Ordnance & Ordnance stores ship'd on board of several Vesels [sic] at the head of Elk, bound to James River." This account lists ship names, captains and articles shipped in each vessel. Cargo ranges from munitions and weapons to tools and other supplies (among them barrels of flour "for the American Army" and "for the French army"). A "Remarks" column notes transfers of cargo. A note next to the "Dolphin" entry says its cargo was transferred because the vessel was "unfit to proceed." Includes some annotations in the hand of Samuel Shaw. |
| Subjects | Battle (Siege, Surrender) of Yorktown African American History Military History Revolutionary War Maritime Transportation Continental Army Artillery Ammunition Military Provisions Military Supplies France Global History and Civics |
| People | Knox, Henry (1750-1806) |
| Place written | Head of Elk, Maryland |
| Theme | The American Revolution; Merchants & Commerce; Naval & Maritime; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Henry Knox Papers |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |