Beschreibung:

AMERICAN REVOLUTION]. KEMBLE, Stephen, Lt. Col., Deputy Adjutant General . Manuscript General Orderly Books, kept in British Army Headquarters under Generals WILLIAM HOWE and (briefly) HENRY CLINTON. V.p. [Boston, Haifax, Nova Scotia, New York, White Plains, Philadelphia, etc.]. various dates from 15 November 1776 through 5 July 1778 (with gaps, see below). 5 vols., TOTALING 944 PAGES, Sheets: 188 x 120mm (7½ x 4½ in.), (with small variations), bound in original sheep (nos.IV and V in speckled sheep, with brass clasps and catches, plain spines, upper cover of each vol. with paper label inscribed "General Orders" and with date ranges beneath, a few pages at front of No.III and end of No.V loose in binding, minor rubbing to spines and cover extremities, the leather a bit dry, but otherwise in exceptional original condition. STEPHEN KEMBLE'S ORDERLY BOOKS FOR HOWE'S HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AMERICA DURING TWO CRITICAL YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CONFLICT Kemble's orderly books, comprising nearly 1000 pages, arguably constitute one of the most important sets of orderly books kept in the British Army during the American Revolution, since they originated in British Army headquarters. Their survival is no less remarkable. The present set of five orderly books covers the following dates: I. 15 November - 11 March 1776, 182pp . II. 12 March - 29 June 1776, 183pp . III. 6 October 1776 - 20 January 1977, 177 pp . IV. 20 June - 19 November 1777, 279pp. V. 23 February 1778- 5 July 1778, 123pp. In light of the lacunae, it is clear that the complete series contained three additional volumes. The book covering the period 30 June - 5 October strayed from the set many years ago and is presently in Morristown, New Jersey (see A. Stein, Orderly Books of the American Revolution in the Morristown National Historical Park Library , p.20). The others are not known to survive. Kemble's series is separate from an orderly book in the Gilder-Lehrman Collection (on deposit at the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York) which may have been kept at the regimental level within Howe's command. The Kemble set parallels Howe's own orderly book (in the Royal Institution, London), covering 17 June 1775 through 26 May 1775, edited by B.F. Stevens ( General Sir William Howe's Orderly Book at Charlestown, Boston and Haifax , 1890), but Kemble sometimes omits the usual daily note of duty officers, password and countersign. Contents include the evacuation of Boston, the naval voyage and training sojourn in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Battle of White Plains (28 October 1776), the capture of Fort Washington (Kemble records Howe's order that "the Fort commonly called Fort Washington is to be hereafter named Fort Knyphausen"), the capture of Fort Lee (20 November 1776), then various events in the Philadelphia campaign including the landing at Head of Elk, the Battles of Brandywine (11 September 1777), Germantown (4 October 1777), the occupation of Philadelphia (26 September-16 June 1778), the army's evacuation of Philadelphia and overland march across New Jersey, and the Battle of Monmouth (28 June 1778). Kemble's final entry, dated 5 July 1778, records the army's return to New York, and Clinton's message: "The Commander in Chief...wishes to declare his satisfaction at the noble ardor shown by that part of the Army, who repulsed so superior a number of the Enemy on the 28th...The irregularity of the Army during the March, reflected much disgrace upon that discipline..." Kemble (1730-1822), an American Loyalist, was an early student at the school which evolved into the University of Pennsylvania. Enlisted under Thomas Gage in 1757, he became that officer's brother-in-law when Gage married his sister. With Gage's support Kemble was rapidly promoted to aide-de-camp in the Montreal campaign. By 1772 he had risen to Major, Deputy Adjutant General and, as a part of his duties in that post, was given charge of British intelligence-gathering efforts. From 1775, after Gage's return to Engl