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Auction archive: Lot number 3

French & Indian War, Manuscript Orderly Book, Recorded by Captain Nathaniel Perry, 1755-1756

Estimate
n. a.
Price realised:
US$19,200
Auction archive: Lot number 3

French & Indian War, Manuscript Orderly Book, Recorded by Captain Nathaniel Perry, 1755-1756

Estimate
n. a.
Price realised:
US$19,200
Beschreibung:

French & Indian War Orderly Book. Leather bound. Approx. 100pp, 6.5 x 8 in. Written by Captain Nathaniel Perry (1713-1756) of Easton, MA. Perry’s entries begin on April 28, 1755, and end on January 22, 1756. Approximately 50pp of the book are specifically war-dated. The remainder of the book consists of notations added following Captain Perry’s death at Fort Cumberland in June 1756. These later additions, most likely added by two of Captain Perry’s sons with whom he served and their descendants, primarily include Perry family genealogies and miscellaneous records of account spanning the decades following the French and Indian War. This original, unpublished manuscript represents a valuable piece of French & Indian War history. This rare orderly book was kept by Captain Nathaniel Perry while he served in the Second Battalion of the Massachusetts regiment under the immediate command of Lt. Colonel John Winslow, and under the overall command of Colonel Robert Monckton. The book stands apart immediately because of its large size and its beautiful leather cover on which the letters “N” and “P” as well as the years “1755” and “1756” can faintly be observed. More significantly, the dates of Captain Perry’s entries coincide with The Battle of Fort Beauséjour and the commencement of the Great Expulsion (1755-1762) – the forcible removal of thousands of Acadians from Nova Scotia by British forces. The Battle of Fort Beauséjour marked the opening of a major offensive by the British against the French as part of the French and Indian War. In the months following their victory, British forces occupied Fort Beauséjour (later renamed Fort Cumberland) and began the expulsion of Acadians from Nova Scotia. While much of Perry’s book records the regular occurrences of military life such as troop movements, court martials, the officer of the day, daily orders and passwords (“parole”), the book also provides insight into the military operations which initiated the expulsion of thousands of Acadians from their homes. Nathaniel Perry was born in 1713 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, to Benjamin Perry, son of Ezra Perry who emigrated from England in the mid-1600s. He married the widow Mehitable Leonard Willis in 1736, and settled in Easton, Massachusetts. The couple had four children: Nathaniel (1738), Lydia (1740), Samuel (1742), and James (1745). Perry appears to have had an extended history of military service pre-dating his time in the French and Indian War, as he is credited with authoring a drill book for the Massachusetts militia which dates from 1751. As tensions mounted between the British and the French over the Acadian territory north of Puritan New England, Fort Beauséjour became a flash point for conflict. Built in 1751, the French stronghold was of significant strategic importance. Recruitment for an English attack on Fort Beauséjour was undertaken by Colonel William Shirley of Massachusetts who also served as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On June 6, 1754, Perry received his commission from Governor Shirley to serve as Captain of a regiment under Colonel John Winslow. Initially, Captain Perry raised a company of 46 men but by May 1755 he had raised a company of nearly 100 men to serve as part of the Second Battalion of Shirley's Regiment. Serving alongside their father in this company were Captain Perry’s sons, Nathaniel and Samuel. Approximately 270 British regulars and approximately 2000 New England militia, including Captain Perry’s regiment, left Boston bound for Fort Beauséjour in May 1755 via a convoy of transports and warships. Perry documented preparations for this journey in the book’s first entry on April 28, 1755, in which he notes that Lt. Colonel George Scott “orders that all of this Battalion get all their men on Board their Veasel,” tend to their affairs “as speedy as posably so that they may be able to sale at a minits warning,” and that “Every captain is desired to Keep a Book to keep orders.” This orderly b

Auction archive: Lot number 3
Auction:
Datum:
4 Dec 2017
Auction house:
Cowan's Auctions, Inc.
Este Ave 6270
Cincinnati OH 45232
United States
info@cowans.com
+1 (0)513 8711670
+1 (0)513 8718670
Beschreibung:

French & Indian War Orderly Book. Leather bound. Approx. 100pp, 6.5 x 8 in. Written by Captain Nathaniel Perry (1713-1756) of Easton, MA. Perry’s entries begin on April 28, 1755, and end on January 22, 1756. Approximately 50pp of the book are specifically war-dated. The remainder of the book consists of notations added following Captain Perry’s death at Fort Cumberland in June 1756. These later additions, most likely added by two of Captain Perry’s sons with whom he served and their descendants, primarily include Perry family genealogies and miscellaneous records of account spanning the decades following the French and Indian War. This original, unpublished manuscript represents a valuable piece of French & Indian War history. This rare orderly book was kept by Captain Nathaniel Perry while he served in the Second Battalion of the Massachusetts regiment under the immediate command of Lt. Colonel John Winslow, and under the overall command of Colonel Robert Monckton. The book stands apart immediately because of its large size and its beautiful leather cover on which the letters “N” and “P” as well as the years “1755” and “1756” can faintly be observed. More significantly, the dates of Captain Perry’s entries coincide with The Battle of Fort Beauséjour and the commencement of the Great Expulsion (1755-1762) – the forcible removal of thousands of Acadians from Nova Scotia by British forces. The Battle of Fort Beauséjour marked the opening of a major offensive by the British against the French as part of the French and Indian War. In the months following their victory, British forces occupied Fort Beauséjour (later renamed Fort Cumberland) and began the expulsion of Acadians from Nova Scotia. While much of Perry’s book records the regular occurrences of military life such as troop movements, court martials, the officer of the day, daily orders and passwords (“parole”), the book also provides insight into the military operations which initiated the expulsion of thousands of Acadians from their homes. Nathaniel Perry was born in 1713 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, to Benjamin Perry, son of Ezra Perry who emigrated from England in the mid-1600s. He married the widow Mehitable Leonard Willis in 1736, and settled in Easton, Massachusetts. The couple had four children: Nathaniel (1738), Lydia (1740), Samuel (1742), and James (1745). Perry appears to have had an extended history of military service pre-dating his time in the French and Indian War, as he is credited with authoring a drill book for the Massachusetts militia which dates from 1751. As tensions mounted between the British and the French over the Acadian territory north of Puritan New England, Fort Beauséjour became a flash point for conflict. Built in 1751, the French stronghold was of significant strategic importance. Recruitment for an English attack on Fort Beauséjour was undertaken by Colonel William Shirley of Massachusetts who also served as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On June 6, 1754, Perry received his commission from Governor Shirley to serve as Captain of a regiment under Colonel John Winslow. Initially, Captain Perry raised a company of 46 men but by May 1755 he had raised a company of nearly 100 men to serve as part of the Second Battalion of Shirley's Regiment. Serving alongside their father in this company were Captain Perry’s sons, Nathaniel and Samuel. Approximately 270 British regulars and approximately 2000 New England militia, including Captain Perry’s regiment, left Boston bound for Fort Beauséjour in May 1755 via a convoy of transports and warships. Perry documented preparations for this journey in the book’s first entry on April 28, 1755, in which he notes that Lt. Colonel George Scott “orders that all of this Battalion get all their men on Board their Veasel,” tend to their affairs “as speedy as posably so that they may be able to sale at a minits warning,” and that “Every captain is desired to Keep a Book to keep orders.” This orderly b

Auction archive: Lot number 3
Auction:
Datum:
4 Dec 2017
Auction house:
Cowan's Auctions, Inc.
Este Ave 6270
Cincinnati OH 45232
United States
info@cowans.com
+1 (0)513 8711670
+1 (0)513 8718670
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